02022022 first india ahmedabad

AHMEDABAD l WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/79050 l Vol 3 l Issue No. 68
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD, LUCKNOW & NEW DELHI www.firstindia.co.in | www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ | twitter.com/thefirstindia | facebook.com/thefirstindia | instagram.com/thefirstindia
2022-23
NARENDRA MODI
Prime Minister
Budget this year has
come with a new con-
fidence of development
amidst the once-in-a-
century calamity. This
Budget will create new
opportunities for the
common people along
with providing strength
to the economy
Rahul Gandhi
@RahulGandhi
M0di G0vernment’s Zer0
Sum Budget! Nothing
for - Salaried class -
Middle class - The poor
& deprived - Youth -
Farmers - MSMEs
Mamata Banerjee
@MamataOfficial
Budget has zero for
common people,
who are crushed by
unemployment &
inflation. Govt is lost
in big words signifying
nothing - a Pegasus
spin Budget
Top
QUOTE
Amit Shah
@AmitShah
The development of the
North-eastern region
has always been the
top priority of the Modi
govt. The announcement
of the ‘PM Development
Initiative’ for the
Northeast will go a
long way in realising
PM Modi’s vision of a
prosperous northeast.
Top
TWEETS
SENSEX SURGES 848
PTS, NIFTY AT 17,340
The domestic equity indices
on Tuesday continued to trade
higher after the Budget in a
highly volatile trading session.
Sensex surged 814 points
or 1.42 per cent to settle at
58,014. The broader Nifty had
moved 238 points or 1.39 per
cent to close at 17,340.
New Delhi: The gov-
ernment on Tuesday
appointedtwonewcom-
manders for the North-
ern and Eastern Army
commands. The North-
ern Army commands
look after the interna-
tional borders from Pa-
kistan in Jammu and
Kashmir and China in
Ladakh.
Lieutenant General
Upendra Dwivedi has
been appointed as new
Northern Army Com-
mander. Meanwhile,
Lieutenant General RP
Kalitahasbeenappoint-
ed as new Eastern
Army Command chief.
Lt Gen RP Kalita is Eastern Army
Commander,Lt Gen Dwivedi takes
charge of Northern Command
Lt Gen Rana Pratap Kalita Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi
LT GEN MANOJ PANDE ASSUMES CHARGE
AS THE VICE CHIEF OF ARMY STAFF
New Delhi: Lt Gen Manoj Pande on
Tuesday took charge as the new Vice
Chief of the Indian Army, succeeding
Lt Gen C P Mohanty. Lt Gen Pande was
serving as the Eastern Army Com-
mander before assuming the new role.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman shows the
digital tablet wrapped in a traditional ‘Bahi Khata’ style
pouch. She spoke for 1 hour and 30 minutes on Tuesday,
making it the shortest among the budget speeches.
First of all, I express my
condolences to those who have
suffered in the Covid. We are
celebrating Amrit Mahotsav and this is the
budget of Amrit Kaal, blue print from 75
years of independence to 100 years
—Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister
midst a wave of expectations, Fi-
nance Minister Nirmala Sithara-
manpresentedherfourthbudgeton
Tuesday
. As she started the 90-min-
ute budget speech in Parliament,
LokSabhaSpeakerOmBirlasmiled
and said, “The minister is reading the digital
budget today
.” Likewise, the biggest two an-
nouncements in the Budget were also from the
digital area. There were some disappointments
too as the tax slab this year too emianed un-
changed as well. It was also announed that the
RBI will launch digital currency
. Meanwhile,
30% tax was imposed on income earned from
cryptocurrencies through investment mode.
A
Tax on income from transfer of digital assets
like crypto, NFT to be charged at 30%; tax
slabs remained unchanged this time too
The government proposed
expanding highways by
25,000 kms under PM Gati Shakti
Master Plan, allocating `60K cr to
Nal se Jal scheme, 80 lakh houses
for `48K cr in PM housing scheme,
and boosting infra in the North East
Sitharaman expects a nominal
GDP growth rate of 11.1%
1
2
3
India@100
BUDGET BLUEPRINT
FORAMRIT KAAL
FISCAL DEFICIT
PEGGED AT 6.4%
PM E-VIDYA PROG
EXPANDED
ADDL `51,971 CRORE TO
SETTLE AIR INDIA’s DEBT
GAMING, ANIMATION
PART OF ECONOMY
MSP DIRECTLY IN
ACCOUNT OF FARMERS
Finance minister Nirmala Sithara-
man on February 1 pegged the
government’s fiscal
deficit for the financial
year 2022-23 at 6.4% of
gross domestic product
(GDP) as the budget recognised the
need to boost growth.
Due to the closure of schools dur-
ing COVID, kids of the village were
deprived of education
for two years. Under PM
e-Vidya, a class-one TV
channel programme for
such children will now be increased
from 12 to 200 channels.
The government allocated an addi-
tional Rs 51,971 crore towards the
settlement of outstand-
ing liabilities of Air India
and other sundry com-
mitments. This amount
has been accounted in the revised
estimates of total expenditure.
There are immense employment
opportunities in animation, visual
effects, gaming and
comics i.e. AVGC sector.
In such a situation, the
AVGC Promotion Task
Force will interact with all the stake-
holders associated with it.
Five kilometers from the banks
of Ganga, organic farming will be
promoted on the land.
There will be digitisa-
tion of agricultural land
documents. States will
be asked to change the syllabus of
Agriculture University.
NOW, CHIP-BASED
E-PASSPORTS
E-passports will be issued in 2022-
23, which will have chip. The min-
ister said the e-passport
will use Radio-Frequency
Identification (RFID) and
biometrics to verify the
identity of the people and will be an
upgrade from the traditional one.
`7.55 LAKH CRORE
FOR INVESTMENT
Capital investment helps both
large industries and MSMEs to
increase employment.
For this, a provision of
Rs 7.55 lakh crore has
been increased. Sov-
ereign Green Bonds will be issued
to deal with climate change.
ANNOUNCEMENT FOR
EMPLOYMENT & POOR
Expressways will be built under
PM Gati Shakti Master Plan. NH
network will be extended
to 25,000 km. A provi-
sion of Rs 20K crore
has been made for this
mission to create 60 lakh new jobs.
80 lakh houses will also be built.
RS 6,000 CRORE TO
STRENGTHEN MSME
New schemes will be started to
strengthen MSME. `6,000 crores
will be given in 5 years.
Udayam, E-Shram, NCS
and Aseem portal will
be interlinked. This will
provide credit facilities and create
possibilities for entrepreneurship.
400 NEW GEN VANDE
BHARAT TRAINS
During next 3 years, 400 new gen-
eration Vande Bharat trains will be
run. 100 Pradhan Mantri
Gatishakti Cargo Termi-
nal will also be devel-
oped during this period.
Innovative avenues will be adopted
to develop the metro system.
5G SPECTRUM
AUCTIONS THIS YEAR
GST COLLECTION
HIGHEST SINCE JAN
Sitharaman said auctions for 5G
mobile services will be rolled out
this year. 5G services
will be launched in
major cities includ-
ing Delhi, Mumbai,
Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru,
Hyderabad and Ahmedabad.
The gross GST collections for the
month of January 2022 is at
Rs 1,40,986 crore,
which is the highest
since the inception of
GST, said Sitharaman
on Tuesday, while presenting an-
nouncing the Union Budget.
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Chief
Minister Bhupendra
Patel on Tuesday wel-
comed the union budg-
et, saying it will fulfil
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi’s vision of
“
AtmanirbharBharat”.
In a statement, Patel
thanked Modi and Un-
ion Finance Minister
Nirmala Sitharaman
for presenting a “pro-
people budget.”
“Despite providing
vaccines against COV-
ID-19 free to people and
strengthening the
healthcare infrastruc-
ture, the budget did
not propose any hike
in taxes,” the chief
minister said.
It reflected the Un-
ion government’s re-
solve to uplift the econ-
omy as well as various
sections of society
such as farmers, trad-
ers, women, the youth,
rural folks and Sched-
uled Castes and Sched-
uled Tribes communi-
ties, Patel added.
“This budget pro-
vides a blueprint and
roadmap for the next 25
years. It focuses mainly
on the PM Gati Shakti
scheme, all-inclusive
growth, increase in pro-
ductivity and new in-
vestment. Gujarat is al-
ready leading in the
Gati Shakti project and
we resolve to remain
ahead of others in the
futuretoo,”saidtheCM.
He also welcomed
the Kisan Drone
schemeandannounced
that his government
willusedronesinGuja-
rat for crop assessment
and digitization of
land records, as pro-
posed in the budget.
The CM also wel-
comed Sitharaman’s
announcement of es-
tablishing an interna-
tional university and
international arbitra-
tion centre at GIFT
City in Gujarat.
CM HAILS BUDGET AS ‘PRO-PEOPLE’
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel
WHAT’S IN IT FOR GUJARAT
l World-class foreign universities and institutions will be
allowed in Gandhinagar’s GIFT City to offer courses in
Financial Management, FinTech, Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics free from domestic
regulations, except those by IFSCA to facilitate
availability of high-end human resources for financial
services and technology.
l An International Arbitration Centre will be set up in the
GIFT City for timely settlement of disputes under
international jurisprudence.
l Services for global capital for sustainable and climate
finance in the country will be facilitated in the GIFT City.
l Draft development project reports of five river linages,
including Damanganga-Pinjal, and Par-Tapi-Narmada in
Gujarat have been finalized. Once a consensus is
reached among the beneficiary states, the Centre will
provide support for implementation.
12 BIG TAKEAWAYS FROM THE BUDGET
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India@100
BUDGET BLUEPRINT
India@100
BIG DIGITAL PUSH FROM SITHARAMAN’S TABLET

https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/
Union Budget
Vol3IssueNo.68 RNINO.GUJENG/2019/79050.Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Planet Survey No.148P, Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. Sanand, Dist. Ahmedabad. Pub-
lishedat D/3023rdFloorPlotNo.35TitaniumSquare,SchemeNo.2,ThaltejTaluka,Ghatlodiya,Ahmedabad.Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra. Editor: Haresh Jhala responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
he Union Budget
lacks any tangi-
ble measures to
increase reve-
nue generation
even though the capital
expenditure plans have
gone up significantly and
the fiscal deficit estimate
suggests that the govern-
ment is relying too much
on strong growth to help
drive fiscal consolidation,
rating agency Moody’s
said in a note.The budget
underscoresgovernment’s
previous emphasis on
capex to sustain near-term
recovery from the pan-
demic, while simultane-
ously paving the way for
longer-term restructuring
of the economy, it stated.
But the various spending
initiatives are not offset by
any significant announce-
ments related to further
increase revenue genera-
tion; rather, the an-
nounced revenue-related
measures are aimed at
other objectives such as
fostering startup innova-
tion, ensuring more equi-
table treatment for coop-
eratives and state employ-
ees, and promoting tax
compliance through sim-
plification, Christian de
Guzman, a senior vice-
president, sovereign risk
group, Moody’s Investors
Service, said.
On the fiscal consolida-
tion front, he said the tar-
get for the central deficit
to narrow to 6.4 % in FY23
from a 6.9% in FY22 sug-
gests government is rely-
ing on strong growth to
help drive fiscal consolida-
tion in light of large bump
in capex, which is up by
35% for next fiscal and
this poses some uncertain-
ty given the prevalence of
the pandemic-related
risks. The wider-than-ex-
pected deficit in current
fiscal in part reflects high-
er spending on back of the
second wave as well as a
larger subsidy bill that
was driven by higher food
and commodity prices.
BUDGET LACKS
ANY SERIOUS
MEASURES TO BOOST
REVENUE: MOODY’S
The focus on
climate-related
initiatives in the
budget signals the
government’s
broadening
commitment
towards achieving
net-zero carbon
emissions by 2070
T
BUDGET: IN ALL ITS INCLUSIVENESS
A REALISTIC PARADIGM SHIFT
ver since the very incep-
tion of budget in 1860s, it
has shown a transforma-
tion from briefcase to bahi
khata, then to tablet for
now. The budget’22 depicts
these transformations
with a more realistic route.
This budget came at a cru-
cial juncture for the public
and policy makers alike for
the following reasons: up-
coming elections in five
states; looming omicron
threat; nascent economic
recovery;keynumberslike
fiscal deficit, tax collec-
tion,andspendingoutlook.
Focus areas of Budget
were-PM Gati Shakti; In-
clusive Development; Pro-
ductivity Enhancement;
Sunrise Opportunities;
Energy Transition; Cli-
mate Action; Financing of
investments. Budget reit-
erates focus on public in-
vestment to modernize in-
frastructure over the me-
diumterm,leveragingtech
platform of Gati Shakti via
a multi-modal approach.
Standardization of Metro
rail systems would help in
loweringcostsandexports.
Budget proposes Rs 19,500
crore for PLI for manufac-
turing high-efficiency so-
lar modules which is a step
in direction of achieving
280 GW of installed solar
capacity by 2030.
How the extension of
ECLGS will help
medium, small firms
Extension of Emergency
Credit Line Scheme till
2023 up to is welcome step
but not enough at all. How-
ever this scheme has so far
been extensively used by
MSMEs since the onset of
the pandemic to avail
credit. This has helped
them during this tumultu-
ous period. This scheme
had prevented lakhs of
MSMEs from being down-
graded to NPA (non-per-
forming loan) category.
Separately, the govern-
ment will roll out a five-
year programme to accel-
erate MSME performance
bring in rating mecha-
nism for MSMEs. Under
ECLGS, which is for help-
ing companies tide over
liquidity crunch resulting
from Covid-19 curbs,
banks provide additional
loans to existing borrow-
ers without asking for ex-
tra collateral. To encour-
age banks, these loans are
fully guaranteed by the
government against credit
losses. This scheme will be
key to ensure that MSMEs
impacted by intermittent
lockdowns in states get
funding to stay afloat.
Sanctions and disburse-
ments under the facility
are relatively faster since
lenders have the Central
government guarantee in
case of default against
these loans. Companies
from hospitality, travel
and tourism as well as lei-
sure and sporting sectors
are expected to benefit
from the relaxation in the
scheme. Hotels, restau-
rants, canteens, caterers,
marriage halls, tour oper-
ators, as well as amuse-
ment parks and theatres
can avail the facility. Ac-
counts that are classified
as non-performing assets
or where over dues have
crossed 60 days (SMA-II)
are not eligible.
Why enhanced
capex allocation
The government has an-
nounced a sharp jump of
35.4 per cent in capital ex-
penditure to fund various
infrastructure projects in
2022-23.. The Union Budget
hasraiseditsallocationfor
capital expenditure to Rs
7.5 lakh crore in 2022-23, up
from Rs 5.5 lakh crore in
2021-22. Considering that
private sector investments
remain subdued, the gov-
ernment hopes that the
continuing focus on ramp-
inguppubliccapitalspend-
ing will help crowd in pri-
vate sector investments.
However, there is concern
over the ability to spend.
Data from CGA shows that
in the ongoing financial
year, the Centre’s capital
spending has not grown at
the rate it was hoped. The
targeted focus on capital
expenditure, with its re-
sulting multiplier effects,
will be vital in sustaining
the economic growth.
Tax on crypto work
Taxing virtual assets at
30% would formally bring
virtual assets such as
cryptocurrencies and
non-fungible tokens un-
der the tax net, thereby
according it the recogni-
tion by the government.
Other Areas
The Parvat Mala an-
nouncement with 8 rope-
way projects in 2022–23
will ease transport linked
congestion in hilly areas
and push tourism. Reduc-
tion of surcharge on un-
listed shares from 28.5% to
23% will likely facilitate
investor exits and invest-
ment churn
Introduction of central
bank digital currency to
boost digital economy lays
down a solid plan of the
government to have a pub-
lic digital currency
. With a
clear focus on education
andannouncementof dedi-
cated TV channels, EdTech
and content development
will see higher demand. E-
registrations and E-admin-
istration under several
schemes and regulations
will definitely ease and
speed governance. Howev-
er, its implementation
would be the key towards
ease of doing business
Despite a projected 9.2
per cent growth in GDP in
FY22 to above pre-pandem-
ic levels, the Indian econo-
my continues to face a slew
of structural challenges
that existed prior to the
pandemic and new chal-
lenges brought on by Cov-
id-19. Inflation is the most
important headwind. The
Survey notes that supply
chain disruptions and
slow economic growth
have contributed to an in-
crease in inflation. The
withdrawal of stimulus in
developed economies in
the upcoming fiscal is like-
ly to affect capital flows
into the country
.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
Companies from
hospitality, travel
and tourism as well as
leisure and sporting sectors
are expected to benefit from
the relaxation in the
scheme. Hotels,
restaurants, canteens,
caterers, marriage halls,
tour operators, as well
as amusement parks
and theatres can avail
the facility
E
PROFESSOR
ND MATHUR
The writer is Dean School of
Humanities and Social Sciences
JECRC University, Jaipur
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman holds a
folder-case containing Budget 2022-23 as she leaves
from the North Block for Parliament on Tuesday.
Considering that private sector investments
remain subdued, the government hopes that
the continuing focus on ramping up public capital
spending will help crowd in private sector
investments. However, there is concern
over the ability to spend
PERSPECTIVE
NION
B DGET
2022-23 02
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia AHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2022
The happiness which comes from long practice, which
leads to the end of suffering, which at first is like
poison, but at last like nectar - this kind of happiness
arises from the serenity of one’s own mind.
—Bhagavad Gita
QUOTE-UNQUOTE
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
There is an impactful thrust
towards renewable energy
incentives with an increased
focus on reducing infrastructural
waste for a greener tomorrow.
We appreciate the
Government’s vision of
building the skilling ecosystem
for youth in India, which will
play a critical role in driving
innovation in the industry.”
—Venu Srinivasan,
Chairman, TVS Motor Company
We hail the new budget and
the capital infusions for the
MSME sector. A step forward
for the “Make In India” brigade,
the extension of the customs
duty exemption on steel scrap
and the additional allocation
for PLI in solar PV module
manufacturing is an exciting
move as the MSMEs warm up
to the alternative energy sector.
—R Narayan,
President FICCI-CMSME

Union Budget
I congratulate PM
@narendramodi ji,
FM @nsitharaman
ji and team for this
historic Budget.
This Budget will go
a long way to
strengthen economy
of the country,
reeling under Covid
infection era, and
will help in the
overall development
of the country.
Jagat Prakash Nadda
@JPNadda
I was astonished
that the Finance
Minister was
outlining a plan for
the next 25 years
which she called the
Amrit Kaal! The
government seems to
believe that the
present does not need
any attention and
the people living in
the present can be
asked to wait until
Amrit Kaal drawns.
P Chidambaram
@PChidambaram
Congratulations to
PM @modi Ji FM
@nsitharaman Ji
for a futuristic
#Aatma Nirbhar
BharatKaBudget
laying blueprint for
India’s Amrit Kaal.
Emphasis on multi-
modal infra and
newer avenues for
investment will
position India at the
center of emerging
global economy.
Smriti Irani
@smritiirani
Union Budget
presented in Parl
has been brought to
woo the public with
new promises, while
the implementation
of the promises of the
past years and old
announcements etc
has been forgotten,
how it can be
justified. Why is the
Centre not concerned
on rising poverty,
unemployment,
inflation and farmer
suicides?
Mayawati
@Mayawati
TOURISM
Hospitality and
tourism gets
ECLGS extension
Union Finance Minister
Nirmala Sitharaman
while presenting Union
Budget on Tuesday said
that the hospitality and
related services, especially
those provided by micro
and small enterprises,
have yet to regain their
pre-pandemic level of
business. Considering this,
the ECLGS will be extend-
ed up to March 2023 and
its guarantee cover will be
expanded by Rs 50,000
crore to a total cover of
Rs 5 lakh crore, with the
additional amount being
earmarked exclusively
for hospitality and related
enterprises.
DEVP OF NE
‘PM-DevINE’ for
NE; `1,500
crore allocated
Anew scheme — Prime
Minister’s Development
Initiative for North-East
(PM-DevINE) was an-
nounced on Tuesday. The
latest scheme by the Cen-
tral government has been
allocated Rs 1,500 crore.
It will fund the infrastruc-
ture, in the spirit of Prime
Minister Gati Shakti, and
social development pro-
jects based on the needs
of the Northeast. This will
enable livelihood activi-
ties for youth and women,
filling the gaps in various
sectors. Sitharaman said
the new scheme will be
implemented through the
North-Eastern Council.
HEALTH/WOMEN/EDUCATION
NION
B DGET
2022-23 03
PRICES SLASHED
Govt rejigs customs duty
 Frozen mussels
 Frozen squids
 Asafoetida
 Cocoa beans
 Methyl alcohol
 Acetic acid
 Cut and polished diamonds
 Camera lens for cellular
mobile phone
PRICES HIKED
Govt increases customs duty
 Umbrellas
 Imitation Jewellery
 Loudspeakers
 Head earphones
 Smart meters
 Solar cells
 Solar modules
 X-ray machines
 Parts of electronic toys
60L JOBS
Production Linked Incentive
(PLI) Scheme of the Centre
has the potential to create
60 lakh new jobs during the
next five years
`30L CRORE
PLI Scheme has received
good response with potential
for addl production of `30L cr
‘Big win’ for edu,new
digi varsity announced
 One class-one TV channel
programme of PM eVIDYA
will be expanded from 12 to
200 TV channels. This will en-
able all states to provide sup-
plementary edu in regional
languages for classes 1-12
 750 virtual labs in science,
maths, and 75 skilling e-labs
for simulated learning envi-
ron, will be set-up in 2022-23
 High-quality e-content in
all spoken languages will be
developed for delivery via
internet, mobile phones, TV
radio through Digital Teachers
 Digital University for
world-class quality
 An International Arbitration
Centre to be set up for timely
settlement of disputes under
international jurisprudence
 World-class foreign
universities will set up in
Gandhinagar’s GIFT City, free
from domestic regulations,
to facilitate the availability
of skilled manpower in the
financial services space
EDUCATION
`37,383.36 given to
Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan
`40,828 crore given to
the Higher Education Dept
Booster dose for healthcare
inance Minister
Nirmala Sithara-
man on Tuesday
presented her
fourth Union
Budget with a focus on the
healthcare sector amid
coronavirus pandemic.
“We are in the midst of
the Omicron wave, the
speed of our vaccination
campaign has helped great-
ly
. With the accelerated im-
provement of health infra-
structure in the past two
years, we are in a strong
position to withstand chal-
lenges. I am confident that
with Sabka Prayas we will
continue our journey of
strong growth,” Nirmala
Sitharaman said.
Last year, Finance Minis-
ter Nirmala Sitharaman
while presenting budget
said the government will
spend Rs 64,180 crore over
the next six years to im-
prove healthcare services.
NAT’L TELE MENTAL
HEALTH PROGRAM
“Thepandemichasaccentu-
atedmentalhealthproblems
in people of all ages. To bet-
ter the access to quality
mental health counseling
andcareservices,aNational
TeleMentalHealthprogram
will be launched. This will
include a network of 23 tele
mental health centres of ex-
cellence with Nimhans be-
ingthenodalcentreandIIIT
Bangalore providing tech-
nology support,” Sithara-
man said.
NATIONAL DIGITAL
HEALTH ECOSYSTEM
“An open platform for the
National Digital Health
Ecosystem will be rolled
out. It will consist of digital
registries of health provid-
ers and health facilities,
unique health identity and
universal access to health
facilities,” Finance Minis-
ter Sitharaman said.
PROGRESS IN HEALTH
CARE, MED SECTOR
“95 per cent of 112 aspira-
tional districts have made
significant progress in
health, infracture,” Sithar-
aman said. “The income-
tax is not an allowable ex-
penditure for computation
of business income. This
includes tax as well as sur-
charges.
THE HEALTH AND
EDUCATION CESS
The ‘Health and Education
Cess‘ is imposed as an ad-
ditional surcharge on the
taxpayer for funding spe-
cific government welfare
programs.
However, some courts have
allowed ‘Health and educa-
tion ‘cess’ as business ex-
penditure, which is against
the legislative intent. To
reiterate the legislative in-
tent, I propose to clarify
that any surcharge or cess
on income and profits is
not allowable as business
expenditure,” Finance
Minister Nirmala Sithara-
man said on Tuesday
.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday while announcing the
Budget, opened her speech stressing on strengthening the healthcare sector
HEALTH
F
A medic takes an elderly woman for treatment
at a government hospital in Delhi on Tuesday.
‘Nari Shakti’ schemes get a new look!
Mission Shakti, Mission
Vatsalya, Saksham
Anganwadi and Poshan
2.0 to provide benefits
New Delhi: The budget al-
located to the Women and
Child Development Minis-
try stood at `25,172.28 crore
in 2022-23, a slight increase
of 3 per cent from`24,435
crore that was given in
2021-22.
Sitharaman said recog-
nising the importance of
‘Nari Shakti’ as the harbin-
ger of India’s bright future
and for women-led develop-
ment during the ‘Amrit
Kaal’, the govt has compre-
hensively revamped the
schemes of the Ministry of
Women and Child Develop-
ment. The budget alloca-
tion for autonomous bodies
dropped from `188 crore in
2021-22 to `152 crore in 2022-
23. These autonomous bod-
ies include - Central Adop-
tion Resource Agency
(CARA), National Commis-
sion for Protection of Child
Rights (NCPCR) and the
National Commission for
Women.
`25,172 CR FOR WOMEN CHILD DEVP
Women contingents from India Reserve Battalion of Nagaland Arm Police.
SAKSHAM ANGANWADI
Two lakh anganwadis
will be upgraded
under the scheme. It
is a new generation
Anganwadi that has
better infrastructure
and audiovisual aids
covered by clean energy
and provides improved
environments for early
childhood developments.
ASPIRATIONAL BLOCKS
The program will focus
on the quality of
life of citizens in most
backward districts of the
country in key sectors
such as health, nutrition,
financial inclusion and
basic infrastructure.
WALK THE TALK ON BUDGET!
A woman speaks on the Mobile phone at Showroom as televisions displays live telecast of Union Budget 2022-23
presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in Mumbai on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI

Union Budget
DIGI RUPEE/RAIL/START-UPs/I-T/AGRI
All except RBI currency are assets.
Reserve Bank (of India) will be
issuing a digital currency. A
currency becomes, or, a currency
is a currency only when it is issued by
the central bank, even if it is crypto.
Anything outside of that, even loosely all
of it referred to as cryptocurrencies, they
are not currencies.
—Nirmala Sitharaman,
Finance Minister
04-05
NION
B DGET
2022-23
BUDGET AT
A GLANCE
l 2020-21 (ACTUALS) l 2021-22 (BE) l 2021-22 (RE) l 2022-23 (BE) IN `CRORE
REVENUE REVENUE
CAPITAL CAPITAL
RECEIPTS EXPENDITURE
16,33,920
30,83,519
18,75,916
4,26,317
17,88,824
29,29,000
16,94,812
5,54,236
20,78,936
31,67,289
16,91,064
6,02,711
22,04,422
31,94,663
17,40,487
7,50,246
GOVT EMPLOYEES’ TAX DEDUCTION LIMIT INCREASED TO
14 PER CENT; REDUCTION IN CORP SURCHARGE PROPOSED
hile presenting
the Union Budg-
et on Tuesday,
Finance Minis-
ter Nirmala Si-
tharaman pro-
posed no change in income
tax slabs. She, however, pro-
posed that both Centre and
states government employ-
ees’ tax deduction limit be
increased from 10% to 14%.
The move, she said, will help
the social security benefits
of state government em-
ployees and bring them at
par with the Central govern-
ment employees.
The FM also proposed a
reduction in corporate sur-
charge and said that the
transfer of any virtual digi-
tal asset shall be taxed at the
rate of 30%. “Corporate sur-
charge to be reduced from
12% to 7%. I propose to pro-
vide that any income from
transfer of any virtual digi-
tal asset shall be taxed at the
rate of 30%. No deduction in
respect of any expenditure
or allowance shall be al-
lowed while computing such
income, except the cost of
acquisition,” she said.
With the Budget propos-
ing taxing virtual assets at
30%, Sitharaman said that it
cannot be mentioned as a
replacement of any other
income and 1% TDS to be
charged further on pay-
ments made using digital
assets to keep a track on
transactions.
Sitharaman said that co-
operative societies can now
pay 18.5% alternate mini-
mum tax and companies pay
15%. From now, cooperative,
too, will have to pay only
15%.
W 10
KEY TAX-
RELATED
TAKEAWAYS
INCOME TAX
UNCHANGED
NO STANDARD
DEDUCTION
MAT REDUCTION FOR
COOPERATIVES
NPS FOR GOVT
STAFF
LONG-TERM
CAPITAL GAINS
UPDATED I-T
RETURNS
RELIEF FOR
DIVYANGS
RELIEF FOR
STARTUPS
CORPORATE
TAX
CRYPTO
TAX
Like last year, there was no
change in the income tax slabs
in this year’s budget, dashing
hopes of taxpayers. This re-
gime is optional for taxpayers.
There was no change in stand-
ard deduction either. A salaried
individual is allowed to claim a
standard deduction of Rs 50K
from his/her salary income.
The finance minister said that the
government proposes to reduce
Minimum Alternative Tax (MAT) to
15 per cent for co-operative
societies, at par with corporates.
The government has proposed
to increase tax deduction from
10% to 14% on contribution
to NPS by state government to
employees. The benefit won’t
be available to non-govern-
ment staff.
Sitharaman announced that
surcharge on the long-term
capital gains (LTCG) will
be capped at 15%. LTCG
surcharge is available only
for listed shares and units
of mutual funds. The
government charges
a 10% long-term
capital gains tax
on profits of Rs 1
lakh and above
made on equity
investments if
held for more
than a year.
Govt to provide a one-time
window to correct omissions
in ITRs filed. Taxpayers can file
returns within two years from
the assessment years.
FM announced tax relief for
people with disabilities. “The
guardian of the differently-
abled can take an insurance
scheme for such a person.
An extension of 1 year for the
incentives provided to start-
ups. Tax incentives for startups
increased from 3 years to four
years of incorporation.
The corporate tax rate has
been kept at the same level.
However, concessional rate of
15 per cent would be available
for one more year.
FM Sitharaman proposed a 30 per cent tax on income
from transfer of virtual digital assets. One per cent tax
deducted at source (TDS) on transfer of virtual assets
above a threshold, gifts would be taxed, the minister said.
Separately, she announced that government will soon roll
out digital rupee based on blockchain technology.
1
7
2
8
9
10
3
4
5
6
New Delhi: Finance Minister Nir-
mala Sitharaman on Tuesday an-
nounced that e-passports would be
rolled out from next year for more
convenience to the public. The e-
passports will use embedded chips
and futuristic technology, she said.
According to oficials, the e-pass-
ports will have more security fea-
tures and will use Radio-Frequency
Identification and biometrics. The
passports will be in line with inter-
national rules. The
passport jacket will
have an electronic chip
with security-related
data encoded on it. Pass-
ports are issued in booklets
currently. The e-passport is
expected to facilitate smooth
passage through immigration
posts globally and provide more
security as it hinges on biomet-
ric data.
The Union Budget
has a provision of
Rs 1.37 lakh crores
of the capital
investment support
for the Railways. It
will help complete
the stalled
Railways projects.
Thank you PM
Narendra Modi Ji
for higher
investment in
railways.
Ashwini Vaishnaw
@AshwiniVaishnaw
The Budget
presented by the
Centre is positive
and a welcome. The
decision to
construct 80 lakh
new houses under
the Pradhan
Mantri Awas
Yojana is a welcome
step. This Budget
will greatly benefit
the farmers. The
decision to increase
the paddy
procurement and
wheat in this
Budget will greatly
benefit the farmers.
Nitish Kumar
@NitishKumar
Nothing is in Union
budget for working
middle class. The
budget turned out to
be myopic there is
no concrete answer
to many issues of
industry slowing
economy in
pandemic.
Uddhav Thackeray
@OfficeofUT
USIBC
congratulates the
FM and the GOI on
today’s Budget
announcement.
Overall, the
initiatives show
India’s continued
commitment to
enhancing
productivity,
creating jobs, and
capitalising on 9%
projected growth to
integrate into global
value chains.
Atul Keshap, USIBC
chief
@USAmbKeshap
Reflecting the hopes
and aspirations of
the new India, the
Budget is
encouraging,
predictable, growth-
oriented and
people-oriented. PM
Modi and Finance
Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman are
concerned about all
sections of society.
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
This Budget is the
blueprint to fulfill
the aspirations and
hopes of a new
India in the 100th
year of
Independence.
Heartfelt gratitude
to respected PM
Modi and Finance
Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman for this
Budget that is
beneficial for 140
crore Indians.
Anurag Thakur
@ianuragthakur
Substantial
amounts have been
allocated towards
research and
development in
several sectors
including defence.
The proposal to
reserve 25 per cent of
the RD Budget for
startups and private
entities is an
excellent move.
Rajnath Singh
@rajnathsingh
Presented by
Finance Minister
Nirmala
Sitharaman under
the guidance of
respected Prime
Minister Shri
Narendra Modi,
this Budget 2022
will encourage
latest infrastructure
that will lay the
foundation of new
India and will
make 130 crore
Indians’ life
better.
Nitin Gadkari
@nitin_gadkari
E-PASSPORTS USING EMBEDDED CHIPS
TO BE ROLLED OUT IN 2022-23
RBI set to launch digital rupee in FY23
F
inance Minister Nir-
mala Sitharaman an-
nounced that the Re-
serve Bank of India will use
block-chain and other tech-
nology to bring out a digital
currency in the coming fi-
nancial year 2022-23.
“TheGovernmentproposed
tointroduceDigitalRupee,us-
ingblockchainandothertech-
nologies, to be issued by the
RBI starting 2022-23 for more
efficient and cheaper curren-
cy management system, “ Si-
tharaman said.
With this, India will join
the ranks of countries issu-
ing their own Central bank
Digital Currency (CBDC).
CBDC is the legal tender is-
sued by a central bank in a
digital form.
REFORMING SEZ ACT TO ENHANCE
COMPETITIVENESS OF EXPORTS
 A new legislation will
replace the SEZ Act that will
cover all large existing and
new industrial enclaves to
enhance competitiveness of
exports.
 The budget has paved
the way for faster resolution
of bankrupt companies by
proposing amendments to en-
hance the resolution process’s
efficiency and cross-border
insolvency resolution.
 Sitharaman announced
revoking of anti-dumping
duties on certain steel prod-
ucts imported from countries
including China, a move aimed
at containing high prices of
metals and promoting domes-
tic manufacturing.
 India outlined plans to
spend an additional $2.6 bil-
lion to boost local manufactur-
ing of solar modules, stepping
up a campaign to cut imports
from China. The country,
which has an ambitious plan
of generating 280 gigawatts of
sun-fired electricity by 2030,
imports nearly 80% of the
components for solar power
from China.
 India sharply reduced its
asset-sale targets, raising
questions about how much
it plans to raise from the
marquee initial public offering
of LIC. But the FM in a presser
clarified that it will not impact
the listing.
 Startups will be promoted
to facilitate ‘Drone Shakti’
through varied applications
and for Drone-As-A-Service
(DrAAS). In select ITIs, in all
states, the required courses
for skilling, will be started.
 Skilling programmes and
partnership with the industry
will be reoriented to promote
continuous skilling avenues.
BANKING INDUSTRY MATTERS
MSME AGRICULTURE
 Udyam, e-shram, NCS and
ASEEM portals to be inter-
linked.
 130 lakh MSMEs provided
additional credit under Emer-
gency Credit Linked Guaran-
tee Scheme (ECLGS)
 ECLGS to be extended up
to March 2023.
 Guarantee cover under
ECLGS to be expanded by Rs
50000 Crore to total cover of
Rs 5 Lakh Crore.
 Rs 2 lakh Crore additional
credit for Micro and Small
Enterprises to be facilitated
under the CGTMSE.
 Raising and Accelerating
MSME performance (RAMP)
programme with outlay of Rs
6000 crore to be rolled out.
 `2.37 lakh crore direct payment
to 1.63 crore farmers for procure-
ment of wheat and paddy.
 Chemical free Natural farming to
be promoted throughout the county.
Initial focus is on farmer’s lands
in 5 Km wide corridors along river
Ganga.
 NABARD to facilitate fund with
blended capital to finance startups
for agriculture rural enterprise.
 ‘Kisan Drones’ for crop assess-
ment, digitization of land records,
spraying of insecticides and nutri-
ents.
KEN BETWA PROJECT
 1400 crore outlay for imple-
mentation of the Ken – Betwa link
project.
 9.08 lakh hectares of farmers’
lands to receive irrigation benefits
by Ken-Betwa link project.
MSP
 Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman did men-
tion MSP in her fourth budget speech. She said, “The
procurement of wheat in rabi 2021-22 and the estimated
procurement of paddy in kharif 2021-22 will cover 1208
lakh metric tonnes of wheat and paddy from 163 lakh
farmers, and Rs 2.37 lakh crore direct payment of MSP
value to their accounts.”
75 DIGITAL BANKING
UNITS IN 75 DISTS
DIGITAL BANKING BY
POST OFFICES
IBC AMENDMENTS
NOT ANNOUNCED YET
75 Digital banking units will
be set up in 75 districts of the
country.
1.5 lakh post offices will
come under the core banking
system which will enable
access to accounts through
net banking, mobile banking,
ATMs, and also provide online
transfer of funds.
Changes in the IBC to en-
able seamless cross-border
insolvency.
No mention was made on
promises of privatisation of
public sector banks.
 80 lakh affordable houses
will be completed at `44,000
cr under PM Awas Yojna in
2022-23.
 The allocation for the trans-
port sector has gone up to `3.5
lakh crore in 2022-23 from
`2.3 lakh crore in 2021-22.
 There is a sharp increase in
the allocations for highways,
cargo terminals and potable
tap water connections, includ-
ing the Gati Shakti Master Plan
for multimodal connectivity
(which will build 25,000 km of
expressways) and five river-
linking projects.
 Border Infrastructure Man-
agement has been allocated
`2,744 crore.
 The Budget 2022 docu-
ments show that the railway
ministry has been allocated
`1,40,367.13 crore.
 100% electrification of
Broad Gauge Routes by the
year 2023. Also, indigenously
developed automatic train pro-
tection system to be launched
 2,000 km of network will be
brought under Kavach
 400 new-generation Vande
Bharat Trains with better en-
ergy efficiency and passenger
riding experience are planned.
 One hundred PM GatiShakti
Cargo Terminals for multi-
modal logistics facilities will
be developed during the next
three years.
 Mass Urban Transport in-
cluding Connectivity to Railways
 Multimodal connectivity
between mass urban transport
and railway stations will be
facilitated on priority.
 Design of metro systems,
including civil structures, will
be re-oriented and standard-
ized for Indian conditions
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEFENCE
TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE
RAILWAYS
BATTERY-SWAPPING POLICY
 Government to release a policy on
battery swapping and standards for
interoperability of electric vehicles
(EVs) infrastructure that will acceler-
ate the shift from fossil fuel-burning
vehicles to EVs.
KISAN DRONES
 Villages will get more hi-tech,
with use of ‘Kisan Drones’ (drones
for farmers) for crop assessment,
digitisation of land records, spraying
of insecticides, and nutrients.
 Government aims to ensure that vil-
lages have the same access to online
services that are available in cities.
 Focus on building optic fibre net-
works under the Bharatnet project
to take broadband services closer to
more villages.
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES
 Government to follow light-touch
regulatory approach in support of
startups and enterprises in AI, geo-
spatial systems and drones, semicon-
ductors, space economy, genomics
and pharmaceuticals, green energy,
and clean mobility systems.
 A task force is to be set up for the
animation and gaming industry.
 Overall, a three-year tax incentive
that was available to startups that
started before March this year, has
been extended to include ventures that
are incorporated before March 2023.
GOVERNMENT SPEND ON IT
 Investments in IT will be stepped
up in multiple areas, including agricul-
ture, education, health care, logistics
and procurement. Enhancements of
existing online portals and platforms
as well as developments of new ones.
 These are aimed at offering high-
quality e-content for education in
regional languages, setting up of a
digital university, tele-mental health
services, real-time logistics informa-
tion and end-to-end online procure-
ment management.
 One notable area of government
investment is fintech, a burgeoning
sector in India. The Finance Minister
has proposed to set up 75 digital
banking units in 75 districts across
the country, to mark India’s 75th year
of independence. The government
also plans to bring all the 1.5 lakh
post office branches in the country
onto a core banking system, enabling
them to offer internet banking and
mobile banking.
 As the
country moves
closer to the roll-
out of 5G wire-
less, manufactur-
ing of related
technologies will
be included in
India’s product linked incentive schemes,
the minister said.
 Spectrum auctions will be con-
ducted this year to roll out 5G services
 Scheme for design led manufactur-
ing in 5G will be launched as part of PLI
scheme, the FM said
 To enable affordable broadband
and mobile service proliferation
in rural and remote areas, 5% of
annual collections under the uni-
versal service obligation fund
will be allocated.
TELECOM
TAXES
This Budget is continuation of
last year’s holistic agenda: FM  Allocation of Rs
5,25,166.15 cr for FY23 as the
defence budget for the finan-
cial year 2022-23, up almost
10 per cent over Budget 2021.
 Defence RD will be opened
up for industry, startups and
academia with 25 per cent of
defence RD budget earmarked.
 Private industry will be
encouraged to take up design
and development of military
platforms and equipment in
collaboration with DRDO.
 An independent nodal um-
brella body will be set up for
meeting wide ranging testing
and certification requirements.
2,547.48
1,40,571
1,36,568
2,08,499
2,17,110
2,01,750
1,99,300
2,39,600
2,32,000
2020-21
2020-21
'21-22
'21-22
'21-22
'21-22
'22-23
'22-23
6,561
5,360
Excess
IN FIGURES
Working Results
875
In `crore
In `crore
(Actuals)
Gross Traffic Receipts
Total Working Expenses
(Actuals)
(BE)
(BE)
(RE)
(RE)
(BE)
(BE)
BLENDED FINANCE CGTMSE SCH REVAMP
Govt backed Funds NIIF and SIDBI
Fund of Funds have provided
scale capital creating a multiplier
effect. For encouraging important
sunrise sectors like Climate Ac-
tion, Deep-Tech, Digital Economy,
Pharma and Agri-Tech, govt
will promote thematic funds for
blended finance with the govern-
ment share being limited to 20%.
In a further move to help MSMEs
impacted by the pandemic, the
Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for
Micro and Small Enterprises will
also be revamped with required
infusion of funds, the FM said.
“This will facilitate credit of Rs 2
lakh crore for MSEs and expand
employment,” Finance Minister
Nirmala Sitharaman said.

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New Delhi: The Indi-
an Air Force (IAF) on
Tuesdayreceivedthree
of the last four Rafale
fighter jets, as reported
by sources. The fighter
planes were handed
over by France at Is-
tres-Le Tube air base
of Rafale manufactur-
er Dassault Aviation,
and is situated north-
west of Marseille.
When they fly out of
France, these fighter
jets will receive mid-
air refueling by the air
force of India’s close
ally, the United Arab
Emirates, using Air-
bus multi-role trans-
port tankers.
After this, the IAF
will wait for the right
opportunity to take the
fighter jets to India be-
tween February 15 and
20. According to people
aware of the de-
velopments,
the handed
over planes will now be
test-checked for all the
details. The fighter jets
are expected to arrive
in India between Feb-
ruary 15 and 16, the
source said.
These Rafale fighter
jets are fully equipped
with India specific en-
hancements, which
will give them extra
teeth to fight any re-
gional adversary
.
The last fighter jet is
nearlyreadywithfresh
paint and enhance-
ments, but will arrive
in April due to the
r e a s o n s
b e s t
known to
IAF.
The last
of the 36
contracted
f i g h t e r s
fromFranceisactually
the first fighter used
for training IAF per-
sonnel after the deliv-
eries started from
France. This fighter
was inspected by De-
fence Secretary
Ajay Kumar at the
Istres air base dur-
ing his visit to
France for a high level
defence dialogue in De-
cember 2021.
On the arrival of the
fighter jets, the IAF
will test the spe-
cific en-
hance-
ments to their satisfac-
tion under Indian con-
ditions apart from
verifying the original
equipment manufac-
turers claims as per
agreement. After this,
work will begin in ret-
rofitting the remain-
ing 32 aircraft at Am-
bala and Hashimara
air base. The upgrada-
tion exercise will be
carried out at Ambala
air base which has the
maintenance cum re-
pair set up for the Ra-
fale in India.
—Agencies
INDIA
AHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2022
06
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NEW OMICRON VARIANT SPREADING EVEN
FASTER THAN ORIGINAL: REPORTS
New studies are
emerging that sug-
gest the latest version
of the highly-infectious
omicron variant is trans-
mitting even faster than
the original, and mild
cases of the first may not
offer much protection
against future infections.
The findings cast doubt
on hopes that the wave
of omicron that’s sweep-
ing the world may help
in ending the pandemic.
Calls for govts to treat
Covid-19 as endemic
like influenza are rising
globally as people grow
stigma. According to one
report from researchers at the University of California,
San Francisco, that was published online, the protec-
tion from a natural infection was about one-third that
obtained through a booster shot, the study found.
FORMER CONGRESS MINISTER JAGMOHAN
SINGH KANG JOINS AAM AADMI PARTY
Chandigarh: Upset over denial of party ticket from the Kharar
Assembly segment, senior Congress leader and former
Punjab minister Jagmohan Singh Kang joined the Aam
Aadmi Party on Tuesday. Jagmohan Kang along with his two
sons Yadwindra Singh Kang and Amrinder Singh Kang joined
Arvind Kejriwal’s party. Voting for Punjab’s 117 Assembly
seats will be held on February 20 and the counting will take
place on March 10.
IN THE COURTYARD
Channi asks people to ensure his
victory from Chamkaur Sahib
Chandigarh: Punjab
CM and Congress candi-
date Charanjit Singh
Channi on Tues-
day asked people
of his constitu-
ency Chamkaur
Sahib to make
him win with a
margin of at least 50,000
votes in the February 20
state assembly polls. His
remarks came days af-
ter AAP leader and Del-
hi CM Kejriwal claimed
that Mr Channi was los-
ing from his home turf
Chamkaur Sahib seat.
Addressing people after
filing nomination pa-
pers from Chamkaur
Sahib seat (SC) in Rup-
nagar district, Channi
made an impassioned
speech and asked people
to ensure his win. —ANI
New Delhi: The Centre
on Monday extended
work from home ar-
rangement for 50% of
its employees below the
level of Under Secretary
till February 15, accord-
ing to a Personnel Min-
istryorder.Personswith
disabilities and preg-
nant women employees
would continue to be
exempted from attend-
ing offices.
The Personnel Minis-
try had on January 3 is-
sued an order allowing
work from home 50 per
cent of employees below
the level of Under Secre-
tary till January 31, be-
cause of the rise in Cov-
id cases. All officers of
the level of Under Secre-
tary and above are to at-
tend office regularly
, the
order stated. Personnel
Ministry also extended
the suspension of biom-
etric attendance for the
employees till Feb 15.
Centrehadearlierlast
month suspended the
markingof biometricat-
tendance for all its em-
ployees till Jan 31, as a
measure to stop the
spread of Covid-19. —PTI
Centre extends WFH
for 50% junior staffers
Centre’s non-senior staffers below Under
Secretary level to work from home till Feb 15
France hands over 3
Indianised jets to IAF
MORE RAFALE POWER IN QUIVER
Although IAF remains tight-lipped over what
India specific enhancements are on Rafale, it
is learnt that these relate to long range Meteor
air-to-air missile, low band frequency jam-
mers, advanced communication systems, more
capable radio altimeter, radar warning receiver,
high altitude engine start up, synthetic aper-
ture radar, ground moving target indicator and
tracking, missile approach warning systems
and very high frequency range decoys.
WHAT’S IN INDIA-SPECIFIC RAFALES?












COVID HIGHLIGHTS
 Uttarakhand BJP,
Congress Get 95
Rebel Candidates To
Withdraw Nomina-
tions
 Probe Agency
Officer Rajeshwar
Singh’s Retirement
Accepted, May Con-
test UP Polls For BJP
 Punjab BJP Chief
Ashwani Kumar Shar-
ma Files Nomination
From Pathankot
POLL HIGHLIGHTS
BJP PLANS TO WIN GANDHI
FAMILY’S BASTION RAE BARELI
Rae Bareli: After
thrashing the Congress
in neighbouring Ame-
thi, the BJP is working
flat out for a win across
the assembly segments
in Rae Bareli — the only
citadel left of the Gan-
dhi family in UP. The
BJP appears to have
worked to a plan, begin-
ning with the weaning
away of Congress MLC
and MLAs.
Rae Bareli was the
onlyLokSabhaseatwon
by the Congress in 2019
in UP
. In the 2017 assem-
bly elections, only two
Vidhan Sabha seats, Rae
Bareli (Sadar) and
Harchandpur, remained
loyal to the Congress.
They were won by Aditi
Singh and Rakesh Singh
for the party
.
Both winners from
the last time have now
switched sides to the
BJP and have been field-
ed against the Congress
from the same seats. Be-
sides Rae Bareli (Sadar)
and Harchandpur seats,
Rae Bareli has four as-
sembly constituencies
— Bachrawan, Saraini,
Uchahar and Salon.
The Congress and the
SP had contested the
2017 assembly polls as
allies, but are no longer
together. —PTI
UP POLLS
‘THEY LEFT US IN LURCH, WILL CHOOSE NOTA’
date Charanjit Singh
Channi on Tues-
day asked people
ency Chamkaur
Sahib to make
him win with a POLL HIGHLIGHTS
POLL HIGHLIGHTS
PUNJAB
New Delhi: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi’s YouTube
channel on Tuesday
crossed 1 crore
subscriptions and is
the highest amongst
top global leaders.
Brazil President Jair
Bolsonaro ranks
second after PM Modi
on the list of global
leaders with the high-
est subscriptions on
their YouTube channel
with a total of 36 lakh
subscribers. Steadily
following behind is
Mexico Prez Andres
Manuel Lopez Obra-
dor with 30.7 lakh.
The subscription
number list of global
leaders also includes
Indonesia President
Joko Widodo with
28.8 lakh subscribers.
In the decreasing
trend, the White
House has 19 lakh
subscribers, followed
by US President Joe
Biden with 7.03 lakh
subscribers. —ANI
PM Modi now
has 1 crore
YouTube fans
MINORITY-STATUS
PETITION: SC FINES GOVT
FOR NOT RESPONDING
New Delhi: The Supreme
Court have pulled up the
Centre for not taking a
stand on a plea seeking
that minority status of a
community be decided at
state level and not at the
national level and imposed
a fine of Rs 7,500. A bench
of Justices Sanjay Kishan
Kaul and M M Sundresh
pointed out that the court
had on January 7 granted
one last chance to the
Centre to file an affidavit
but the government again
failed to take a stand on the
issue. Additional solicitor
general KM Nataraj submit-
ted that the draft of the
affidavit is ready and there
was delay in filing because
of the pandemic. But the
bench was not convinced
and quipped, “Don’t make
excuses which we find very
difficult to accept.”
TARUN TEJPAL’S PLEA
FOR IN-CAMERA
HEARING TO BE LISTED
New Delhi: The Supreme
Court on Tuesday said it will
list for hearing the appeal
filed by former Editor-in-
Chief of Tehelka magazine
Tarun Tejpal challenging
the order of the Goa bench
of the Bombay High Court,
which has rejected his
application for in-camera
hearing in the 2013 sexual
assault case. A Bench of
Chief Justice of India NV
Ramana and Justices AS
Bopanna and Hima Kohli
said it will list the matter
for hearing after senior
advocate Siddharth Luthra,
appearing for Tejpal, men-
tioned the plea for listing
saying two judges have
recused from hearing the
case. Yesterday, Justice UU
Lalit recused himself from
hearing the case. Before
that Justice L Nageswara
Rao had recused himself.
FOR BULLET TRAIN PROJECT, AN IMPORTANT
RULING FROM SUPREME COURT
New Delhi: In a verdict pertaining to the Japan-funded Bullet
train project, the Supreme Court on Monday said no com-
pany and even the Republic
of India can be permitted to
deviate from any terms and
conditions of the agreements
including the loan deed about
the Mumbai-Ahmedabad rail
project. The Supreme Court set
aside the Delhi HC’s verdict in
favour of a firm called Montecarlo Limited. A bench compris-
ing Justices M R Shah and A S Bopanna said in their verdict.
WE’RE IN A DEMOCRACY, CAN’T STOP RIVALS
FROM CONTESTING POLLS: SUPREME COURT
New Delhi: The Supreme Court have protected SAD
functionary Bikram Singh Majithia from arrest in a drug
trafficking case till February 23 and told the Charanjit
Singh Channi-led Congress government in Punjab that
in a democracy governments must not slap election-eve
criminal cases on political opponents to prevent them
from contesting. A bench of Chief Justice N V Ramana and
Justices A S Bopanna and Hima Kohli ordered reprieve to
Majithia, against whom the FIR under the NDPS Act was
registered on December 20 for offences that allegedly took
place between 2004 and 2015.
HC GRANTS JAILED GANGSTER ABU SALEM
TIME TO SUPPORT ILLEGAL DETENTION CLAIM
New Delhi: The Delhi HC on Tuesday granted time to extradited
gangster Abu Salem, serving life imprisonment for his role in
the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts
case, to file documents in sup-
port of his habeas corpus peti-
tion claiming that his detention
was illegal. A bench of Justices
Siddharth Mridul and Anup
Jairam Bhambhani said Salem
counsel should place on record
the electronic copy of the judgement on which he was relying
upon to show that his habeas corpus petition was maintainable.
AHMEDABAD SERIAL BLASTS CASE VERDICT
DEFERRED AS JUDGE TESTS COVID POSITIVE
Ahmedabad: A special court here on Tuesday deferred the
verdict in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial bomb blasts case as
the judge concerned has tested positive for coronavirus,
a senior public prosecutor said. The court is now likely to
pronounce the verdict on February 8, but the judge would
confirm the date a few days in advance, he said. At least 56
people were killed and over 200 injured in 21 bomb blasts
that had hit Ahmedabad city within a span of 70 minutes
on July 26, 2008. “The verdict in the 2008 serial bomb
blasts case was to be delivered today, but special judge A
R Patel tested positive for the coronavirus on January 30
and is under home isolation,” said public prosecutor.
17 STATES HAVE PRE-PUBLISHED DRAFT
RULES FOR LABOUR REFORMS
New Delhi: Labour reforms are progressing steadily
as at least 17 states have pre-published draft rules for
four labour codes on wages, social security, industrial
relations and occupational safety, health and work-
ing conditions (OSH), according to the Economic
Survey 2021-22, tabled in Parliament. “As on Jan 11,
2022, 26 states/UTs have also pre-published the draft
rules under the Code on Wages, 22 states/UTs under
Industrial Relations Code, 20 states/UTs under Code
on Social Security, and 17 states/UTs under OSH WC
Code,” it said.
Itanagar: The Indian teenager
who was allegedly abducted
by the Chinese army from
Arunachal Pradesh who has
reunited with his family, was
given electric shocks in Chinese
custody. Miram’s father Opang
Taron said his son was tied and blindfolded while
in the custody of China’s People’s Liberation Army
(PLA) for more than a week, the father alleged. “He is
still in shock, was kicked in the back and given a mild
electric shock initially” said Taron to reporters.
Ahmedabad: A mob of 100
people torched two private buses
carrying employees of a com-
pany on the outskirts of Gujarat’s
Bharuch town after one of the
vehicles mowed down and killed
an elderly man, police said on
Tuesday.The incident took place on Dahej bypass road
on Monday night, but no one was injured in the mob
violence as all passengers of the two buses of the
Dahej-based firm got down before the vehicles were
set ablaze, Bharuch inspector AK Bharwad said.
ARUNACHAL TEEN GIVEN ELECTRIC SHOCKS
IN CHINESE CUSTODY, ALLEGES FATHER
100-PERSON MOB BURNS 2 BUSES IN GUJ
AFTER 1 RUNS OVER AN ELDERLY MAN
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Mumbai on
Tuesday reported 803
new Covid-19 cases
and seven deaths, the
Brihanmumbai Mu-
nicipal Corporation
(BMC) said in a re-
lease here. On the sec-
ond day in a row,
Mumbai reported less
than 1,000 new corona-
virus infections, while
daily fatalities fell to
single digit for the
first time since De-
cember 19, 2021.
Brihanmumbai Mu-
nicipal Corporation’s
Commissioner Dr
Iqbal SIngh Chahal
while tweeting on the
dip in the covid cases
and rate of positivity
said,Mumbaiisalmost
back to normal with
positivity of 1.5 %.
With1.5%positivity
Mumbacktonormal
CRUCIAL READ
Iqbal Singh Chahal
@IqbalSinghChah2
Mumbai is almost
back to normal
with positivity of 1.5
percent.

NEWS
07
GUJARAT REACTS TO THE BUDGET
Industry leaders
tag it ‘visionary’,
‘futuristic’,
and a right
step toward
‘Aatmanirbhar
Bharat’, farmers
less than
pleased but
consensus is
that middle
class given short
end of the stick
NION
B DGET
2022-23
The total budget for agriculture and allied sectors has
fallen from 4.26% last year to 3.84% this year, that for
rural development, from 5.59% to 5.23%, and the budg-
et for Pradhan Mantri Fasal Vima Yojana has been re-
duced from Rs16,000 crore to Rs15,500 crore. The allo-
cation for MGNREGA has also
gone from Rs97,034 crore to
Rs72,034 crore. The PSS and
MIS schemes spent Rs3,595 crore
last year to help farmers get
proper prices for their crops. This
year, that budget is less than a
third, at Rs1,500 crore. Further,
the government’s contribution to
the Agri Infrastructure Fund has
almost halved from Rs900 crore
to Rs500 crore. The government talks of supporting co-
operatives, but the budget of the farmers’ association
has been slashed from Rs700 crore to Rs500 crore this
year. Last year, the budget had allocated Rs700 crore to
help farmers stop burning their fields. This year, there
is no budget for this. Moreover, farmers have not got
any relief on the use of diesel in agriculture, nor is there
any increase in subsidy on chemical fertilizers. Sugar-
cane farmers have been left out entirely.
—Darshan Naik, farmer leader
The removal of anti-dumping duty on stainless
steel and steel scrap will help reduce the cost of
raw material, which might benefit Rajkot’s
hardware and kitchenware industries—which
account for 10% of the national production—to
some extent. Similarly,
around 68% of the de-
fence supply parts
which were earlier im-
ported will now be pro-
cured locally, which
could benefit allied in-
dustries. That said, the
budget has failed farm-
ers, who had expected
great things. In 2017,
PM Modi had said farmers’ income would dou-
ble by 2022. A farmer has four primary de-
mands: sufficient water, electricity, protection of
crops from wild animals and crop price as per
expenses incurred. Crop procurement, promo-
tion of natural farming, delivery of digital and
hi-tech services to farmers and use of ‘Kisan
drones’ for agricultural benefits are all good, but
how will they double farmer’s incomes?
—Dilip Sakhiya, former president, Bhartiya Kisan Sangh
FARMERS UNHAPPY
Thisbudgetaimsforsustainablegrowth.
TheUniongovernment’splantorevive
theSpecialEconomicZonewiththecoop-
erationofthe
stategovernment
willboostindus-
trialinvestment
andemployment
generation.Asthe
Uniongovern-
menthas
plannedforan
“AtmanirbharBharat”,ithasstarted
protectingtheinterestsofdomesticindus-
triesbyimposingcustomsdutyandin-
creasingtariffsonimportedgoods.GIFT
cityhasaspecialfocus,withthedecision
toallowafintechuniversitythere.
—Piruz Khambhatta,
Chairman, Rasna Pvt. Ltd
Thebudgetdoesnotmeetpeople’sexpecta-
tions.Aftersufferingmajorsetbacksforthe
pasttwoyearsduetoCOVID-19,theMSME
sectorwaslooking
foramuch-needed
boost.Itwouldhave
beenbetterifsome
incentivepackage
wasannounced.In
Rajkotdistrictalone,
therearearound
37,000MSME
units.Thebudgethasnothingnew.Thefocus
onroadsandimprovingruralconnectivity
isdefinitelyaplus,butwhataboutemploy-
mentandsmallbusinesses?I’dtermthe
budget“KahiKhushi,KahiGam”
—VP Vaishnav, President, Rajkot Chamber of
Commerce and Industry
Itisabalancedbudgetthatcoversall
sectors.Production-linkedincentive
schemesin14sectorstocreate6million
jobs,theadditionalallocationforPLI
insolarPVmodulemanufacturing,75
digitalbanksin75districts,corebank-
ingtostartinpostoffices,2,000km
railroutework,400moreVandeMat-
aramtrains,Rs2.37trillionworthof
MSPdirectpaymentstowheatand
paddyfarmers,Rs2trillionoutlayfor
MSMEs,additionalloanfor14million
MSMEs,Rs48,000croreforhousing
projects,reductionintherateofalter-
nativeminimumtaxforco-operative
societies,etcareallhighpoints.Butit
doesnothelpsalariedpersons,given
thestagnanttaxstructure.
—Mohan Nair, CMD, Sabari
Chemicals Ltd, Vadodara
The focus on infrastructure will
give an impetus to downstream in-
dustry. That income tax returns
can be amended by filling nominal
fees in two years is a sign of trust-
building between the government
and taxpayer. Further, the govern-
ment is promoting technology-ena-
bled development, energy transition
and climate action, as well as chem-
ical-free natural farming, post-har-
vest value addition, consumption
and branding of millet products.
Post pandemic, the focus is on edu-
cation, skill development and
health. RCM in GST or some con-
cessions would have given a boost to
the pandemic-affected service sector.
— Vikram Mahurkar, Managing Director,
Checkmate Services, Vadodara
This budget has laid down a road
map of the next 25 years, with its
strong emphasis on digital curren-
cy. Further, the government’s plans
to promote or-
ganic farming
along the Gan-
ga will take ag-
ricultural pro-
duction to a
new level. The
government
has increased
capital expenditure on infrastruc-
ture with emphasis on expanding
national highways and developing
logistics parks, which will connect
the nation and, in turn, strengthen
the supply chain.
—Vinod Agrawal,
Chairman CII, Gujarat
The budget accelerates nation-
building and will help to put In-
dia in the ranks of the developed
countries of
the world. In
particular, in-
frastructure,
digital econo-
my, digital ed-
ucation, agri-
culture,
health, infor-
mation and technology will un-
dergo major changes and the
structure will be strengthened
which will benefit every citizen of
the country.
—Himanshu Patel, Vice-President, Va-
dodara Chamber of Commerce and Industry
People generally expect a ma-
jor reduction in taxes and du-
ties every year. It is not possi-
ble. No
major
changes
mean
thegoing
is good.
Credit of
Rs2 lakh
crore for
MSMEs is a welcome move.
The major thrust on infra-
structure, water, urban plan-
ning and some clarity on dig-
ital currency is good.
—Abhishek Gangwal, President,
Federation of Gujarat Industries
This budget focuses on support-
ing growth through encourag-
ing investments and entrepre-
neurs, start-
ups and tax-
payers by
creating
trust. For the
common citi-
zens, taxpay-
ers will be
given more
time to update their income tax
returns (ITR), meaning indi-
vidual taxpayers will get more
time to file their updated in-
come tax returns in case they
missed declaring the income at
the time of filing..
—Arun Narang, Finance expert
The budget considers the de-
mands of the economy and fo-
cuses on digitization. New sec-
tors like gaming have also been
discussed,
which is good.
Digitizing the
economy and
including vil-
lages will
bring down
infrastruc-
ture costs.
This is a future-centric budget.
One suggestion would be to
make details of capital expendi-
ture transparent, to build trust
among industries.
—Vinod Pahilwani,
Chairman, The Institute of Chartered Ac-
countants of India, Vadodara Branch
We were expecting a change in
income tax slabs in view of the
pandemic, but that did not hap-
pen. There is
nothing
much for the
middle or
lower-mid-
dle class.
Huge
amounts of
money set
aside previously for several pack-
ages have not been used till today.
No one pays any attention after
the budget is announced. Neither
government have any procedure
to check if the announcement is
reaching the grassroots level.
—Sanjay Ezhava, Businessman
It’s a pro-growth budget that em-
phasizes capital expenditure. I be-
lieve the 35% increase in capital
expenditure
for FY-23 is
positive and
will drive the
creation of
much-needed
infrastructure
and jobs. This
budget assures
and advances the opportunity for
self-reliant India amid the pan-
demic. It is a growth-oriented
budget, focused on harnessing the
energies of New India.
— Biraj Kumar Sinha, MD, Unison Insur-
ance Broking Pvt. Ltd, Vadodara
It is a visionary budget, largely focused on
sustainability and transition towards clean-
er and greener mobility, which is the future
of transportation. The
proposed Battery Swap-
ping Policy will provide
a mammoth push to the
EV adaptability cam-
paign across the nation.
We are eagerly looking
forward to the govern-
ment’s ambitious vision
towards upgrading the EV infrastructure
ecosystem and also, easing the supply chain
through a multi-modal logistics park that
will augment the movement of goods and
services across the region.
—Yatin Gupte, CMD, Wardwizard Innovations
Mobility Ltd, Vadodara
Members of the Gujarat Chamber of
Commerce and Industry watch Finance
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman deliver the
Union Budget, in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

Dr AP Singh, IFS
Gandhinagar: Look-
ing to the importance
of these wetlands eco-
systems, World Wet-
lands Day is celebrated
annually on February
2, to raise global aware-
ness about the vital
role of wetlands for
people and planet. This
day also marks the date
of the adoption of the
convention on wet-
lands on February 2,
1971, in the Iranian city
of Ramsar, and imple-
mented in 1975.
Thol Wildlife Sanc-
tuary near Ahmedabad
and Wadhwana wet-
land in Vadodara were
included among the
country’s four wet-
lands to be included on
the Ramsar List of
Wetlands of Interna-
tional Importance, the
Union government
said on Saturday
.
With this, the num-
ber of Ramsar listed
wetlands in Gujarat
goes up to three, nine
years after Nalsarovar
earned the tag in 2012.
Notably, wetlands in
Gujarat cover 17.56 %
of the state’s geo-
graphical area and
comprise 22.7% of In-
dia’s wetlands.
As per the latest gov-
ernment data, about
60,000 tourists visit the
Nal Sarovar Bird Sanc-
tuary annually, earn-
ing the forest depart-
ment revenue about
Rs30 lakh each year.
Meanwhile, the rough-
ly 50,000 visitors to the
sanctuary at Thol ac-
count for revenue of
about Rs50,000. In ad-
dition, tourists to Nal
Sarovar use boats to
visit the wetlands, gar-
nering a seasonal in-
come of Rs80,000 for
the 300 boatmen who
operate there.
The theme for World
Wetlands Day 2022
—“Wetlands Action for
People and Nature”—
highlights the impor-
tance of actions to en-
sure the conservation
and sustainable use of
wetlands for human
and planetary health.
Looking to the need
of their conservation
and management, the
state government has
constituted the State
Wetland Authority, Gu-
jarat—under the provi-
sions of Environment
(Protection) Act, 1986,
as per the guidelines of
the Union govern-
ment’s Ministry of En-
vironment, Forest and
Climate Change—
which works on future
developmental course
of action.
—The author is Ad-
ditional Principal
Chief Conservator of
Forests, Monitoring
Evaluation, Gujarat.
With Thol Wadhwana Guj has 3 of 4 major wetland systems
WORLD WETLANDS DAY
Thol is a regular haunt for migratory birds including flamingos each winter. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
State’s wetlands cover 17.56% of
its geographical area, account for
22.7% of India’s national total
BSF nabs Pak national, seizes 3
fishing boats in Kutch creek area
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: The Bor-
der Security Force
(BSF) apprehended a
Pakistani national
from the creek area in
Kutch district and
seized three fishing
boats during patrolling
along the Indo-Pak
maritime border on
Monday, officials said.
While the Pak intrud-
er, appearing to be a
fisherman, was nabbed,
some four other fisher-
men managed to escape
into Pakistan territory
after spotting BSF pa-
trol boats in the morn-
ing in the creek area,
said an official release.
During patrolling in
the Sir Creek area,
“The BSF observed
movement of some Pa-
kistani fishing boats
with four to five fisher-
men on board. They
were attempting to en-
ter Indian territory by
taking advantage of
rough sea conditions,”
said the statement.
On seeing BSF patrol
boats, Pakistani intrud-
erstriedtoescape,itsaid.
“However, BSF patrol
chased them and appre-
hended one Pakistani
fisherman and seized
threeof theirboats,while
rest of the fishermen
managed to escape into
Pakistani side taking ad-
vantage of slushy and
marshy terrain of the
area,”saidthestatement.
All three seized boats
were searched, but noth-
ingsuspiciouswasrecov-
eredfromthem,itsaid.“
A
thorough search opera-
tionhasbeenlaunchedin
thearea,buttillnownoth-
ing suspicious has been
recovered,” the BSF said.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: A mob
torched two staff buses
of a Dahej-based firm
on the outskirts of
Bharuch after one of
the vehicles mowed
down and killed an el-
derly man, Bharuch ‘
A’
division police station’s
inspector AK Bharwad
said on Tuesday
.
The incident took
place on Dahej bypass
road on Monday night,
but no one was injured
in the mob violence as
all passengers of the
two buses got down be-
fore the vehicles were
set ablaze.
The police have
lodged two separate
FIRs- in connection
with the death of the
manandthetorchingof
buses by the mob.
“Some locals got an-
gry when a senior citi-
zen, Ismail Manchwala
(65), died after being hit
by one of the company
buses at Sherpur bus
stop around 9 pm,”
Bharwad said. “Later,
the two buses were set
ablaze by a mob of
around 100 locals. No
one was injured as all
thepassengersgotdown
quickly
,” Bharwad said.
The local fire brigade
personnel rushed to the
spot and doused the
flames. A case of rash
driving and causing
deathbynegligencewas
registered against the
unidentified bus driver,
who fled from the spot
aftertheaccident.Anda
separateFIRoncharges
of assault and rioting
was registered against
the mob of around 100
people. No arrests have
been made.
BSF Gujarat Frontier takes care of the security of 826km of the international border from Barmer
district in Rajasthan to Gujarat. —FILE PHOTO
Firefighters doused the blaze with no casualties.
Angry locals torch 2 pvt buses after
sr citizen mowed down in Bharuch
With38in24hrs,nCoVdeaths
continueupwardtrendinGuj
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Guja-
rat on Tuesday report-
ed 8,338 COVID-19
cases, raising its tally
to 11,68,997, while the
deaths, at 38, were the
highest in the third
wave of the pandemic,
taking the toll in the
state to 10,511, a
health department of-
ficial said.
At 16,629, the number
of people discharged on
Tuesday was almost
double the new cases re-
corded, which took the
recovery count to
10,83,022, leaving the
state with an active tally
of 75,464, he said.
Ahmedabad led with
2,702 new cases, followed
by Vadodara with 2,196,
Rajkot635,Surat394,and
Gandhinagar 287 cases,
among other districts.
Ahmedabad also led
the fatality list with
eightdeaths,followedby
six in Rajkot, five in Su-
rat, three in Vadodara,
among other districts,
he added.
A government release
said 4.49 lakh people
were vaccinated against
COVID-19 during the
day, taking the total
number of doses admin-
istered so far in Gujarat
to 9.83 crore.
Adjoining Dadra and
Nagar Haveli, Daman
and Diu reported 10 new
cases and 20 recoveries,
after which the caseload
stood at 12,069 and the
number of people dis-
charged was 11,254.
23-yr-old woman arrested
for eloping with 15-yr-old
First India Bureau
Mehsana: The local
police on Monday
evening arrested a
23-year-old woman
under the Prevention
of Children from Sex-
ual Offences (POCSO)
Act, for eloping with
a minor boy
.
On January 25,
Yash (name changed),
a 15-year-old boy, went
missing. Failing to
find him around
Mehsana town, the
parents lodged a miss-
ing complaint with
Mehsana A division
police station. Yash
had fled from home
with Rs10,000 cash, a
mobile, six pairs of
clothes and a gold
chain.
When Yash’s father
called him instead of
Yash, a woman an-
swered the call and,
she said that Yash and
she had eloped. Yash’s
father informed the
police, who put the
cell phone on surveil-
lance. They found the
phone constantly on
the move till it stopped
at a guesthouse in
Songadh Taluka of
Tapi district, where
the duo checked in.
A police team
rushed to the spot and
brought the duo to
Mehsana. On ques-
tioning, the woman
said she was in love
with Yash so, they de-
cided to elope. They
had taken a loan of
Rs50,000 against the
gold chain from a pri-
vate financier in Va-
dodara.
08
2NDFRONT
Finance minister
Nirmala
Sitharaman and
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi have
deeply disappointed
with Direct Tax
measures. This is a
betrayal of the
salaried and middle
classes. Also, how can
they tax crypto
currency without the
passing of the Crypto
Currency Bill? What
about regulation?
What about investor
protection?
—Hardik Patel, Working
president, Guj Congress
This is a patchwork
budget, with no relief
to the poor, middle
class, youth, farmers
or even government
employees, and
shows a lack of
vision. Fund
allocation for the
MGNREGA scheme,
which employs
crores of people, has
shrunk from Rs95
lakh crore to just
Rs73 lakh crore.
Farmers’ subsidies
have also fallen from
Rs140 lakh crore
last year to Rs105
lakh crore.
—Sukhram Rathva,
LOP, Guj Assembly
Will the central
government be able
to use the earmarked
Rs1.04 lakh crore for
education in 2022-
23? In the current
fiscal, the budget
estimate expenditure
for education was
Rs93,000 crore. This
has been down to
Rs88,000 crore. The
second issue is budget
allocation for the
education is just
0.4% of GDP and
2.63% of the budget
plan of Rs38.45 lakh
crore. It’s too little for
education.
—Hemantkumar Shah
Economist
Medics take a COVID-19 patient into the emergency ward at the civil
hospital in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
MISTY MORNING
Ahmedabad woke up to a foggy morning on Tuesday, with visibility taking a hit, as seen here
in the city’s CTM area. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI
What you choose to do today,
will define what you will do
tomorrow. Break the boundaries
or crack the comfort zone - today!
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor, First India
COVID-19 UPDATE
10,83,022
TOTALRECOVERED
16,629 MORE
IN A DAY
11,68,997
TOTAL CASES
8,338 CASES
IN A DAY
2,702 MAX
CASES IN
A’BAD
ACTIVE CASES
10,511
TOTAL DEATHS
75,464
38 DEATHS
IN A DAY
More were ‘attempting
to enter Indian territory
by taking advantage of
rough sea conditions’

AHMEDABAD, WEDNESDAY
FEBRUARY 2, 2022
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
THE TRUE
WOMAN ICON
Never felt safe in UP, but it is
different under Yogi ji: Jaya Prada
CITY FIRST
he has played
many roles in real
life just like in the
reel. From an ac-
tress in the South
switching to Bol-
lywood and mak-
ing a mark for herself, Jaya
Prada carved a niche for her-
self in politics too. From
NTR to N Chandrababu
Naidu, from MSY to Congress
and now to BJP
, her life has come
full circle. In a free-wheeling in-
terview with Ayushi Vi-
jayvargiya of First
India News, Jaya
Prada talked
about her rise
in every role
she essayed
on and off-
screen!
Q: Your ca-
reer has been
a motivation
for many wom-
en in our coun-
try. Tell us about
your journey.
A: I was just 13 and
new to the industry
then, but with the
support of the
d i r e c t o r s ,
producers and immense love and
appreciation of the audience, I
have been able to make a mark in
the industry
. People always ac-
cepted me in the roles I essayed.
Q: Being from a middle-class
family, what kind of challeng-
es did you have to face in Bol-
lywood?
A: Indeed, it was a challenge as I
wasfromSouthIndiaandaspired
for Bollywood, where the lan-
guage used was Hindi. I did a lot
of practice to get my accent right
and I must say that the heroes op-
posite me always supported me.
Q: You were a star in the 80s
and 90s, how was the feeling?
A: It was a proud moment for me
to be able to get acceptance in
every house. The characters I
played were mostly homely and
it was a nice feeling that even the
women appreciated me.
Q: What was the turning point
in your life when you decided
to become a political leader?
A: It was accidental. NTR was a
big leader at that time and he was
incrisis.Iwashisheroineinmany
movies and he was like a father
figure. He was contesting for the
postof CMfromTDPandhecalled
meup.Ijoinedhimwithoutthink-
ing of the consequences of quit-
ting acting and joining politics
when my career was in its prime.
Q: How did you then decide to
join Samajwadi Party in UP?
A: I like to take up challenges.
There was a rift between Chan-
drababu (Naidu) and NTR. I had
totakeacallandIwentwithChan-
drababuji because it was for my
state Andhra Pradesh. After elec-
tions, after elections, no one re-
membered me and I decided to
make Satta, for which I ap-
proached Amar Singh and
through him I met Mulayam Sin-
gh.Thoughnotkeenoncontesting
election, Netaji called on me to do
so and my UP journey started.
Q:Howwouldyoudescribeyour
journey from ‘Cycle to Kamal’?
A: I was a Rajya Sabha Member
but I was not being given respect
due to me. I feared for my life. Be
it Chandrababu or Azam Khan,
they both did not give me my
due. I was very pained. When I
joined BJP and met Modi ji,
Amit Shah and Yogiji, I was so
encouraged by the way they
treated women. I now feel safe
and want to live and work for the
country
.
Q: So the fight was not just
yours but for women in general?
A: At that time when indecent
language was used for me, even
Praiyankaji and Soniaji did not
support me. It was Sushmaji
who supported me then, not
even Jaya Bachchan who sup-
ported Azam Khan or Dimple
Yadav. It was very painful for me,
I feel even the general public
would not support women who
keep silent when another wom-
an is being targeted.
S
Jagdeesh Chandra accords a floral welcome to Jaya Prada at his residence, also seen are Dhirendra Raghav and Rishee Miglani
Jaya Prada appreciates the beautiful flowers
Jagdeesh Chandra gifts the First India
traditional annual calendar to Jaya Pradha and Dhirendra
Ayushi Vijayvargiya interviewing Jaya Prada
Bhupendra Yadav welcomes Jaya Prada to BJP
Renowned actress
and BJP leader Jaya
Prada who was in
Jaipur on Monday,
paid a courtesy visit
to the residence of
Jagdeesh Chandra
where she greatly
appreciated the
beautiful garden and
flowers and also
gave an exclusive
interview to First
India News!
—PHOTOS BY MUKESH KIRADOO

F
A
C
E
O
F
T
H
E
D
A
Y
KOMAL KHANCHANDANI, ARTIST
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
Health tips from an expert
will enable you to get closer
to your fitness goals.
Chances of being misled by
competitors in business are high.
Your generous behavior would enable
to enjoy some lovely moments with
family. Love comes your way as
friendship turns into romance
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
Yoga would help in
raising energy levels and
improve your metabolism.
Place emphasis on
domestic affairs to enhance the
domestic tranquility and harmony.
Associating yourself with
humanitarian group on social front
would benefit you.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
Investment antiques and
jewellery would bring
handsome financial gains.
On professional front,
recognition for good work would
motivate you to work harder. Efforts
made to improve looks or personality
will bring desired results. May get
lucky today on romantic front.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Your hard work and
dedication are likely to be
noticed by seniors, paving
way for promotion or
increment. Family will be supportive of
career aspirations. A promising day
overall as you stay in limelight without
any efforts. Harsh words may create a
rift in your romantic relationship.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
A sound financial health of
businessmen would enable
to give monetary benefits
to employees. Your sole
dependency on friends may fail to
bring any respite from loneliness
today. It is good day to confess your
love as stars appear favourable for
positive reply.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
You will succeed in resolving
misunderstanding with
family members. Seek
proper valuation of the
property you are planning to buy. You
will remain much in demand on social
front. You need to stand by romantic
partner during testing times to make
the relationship stronger.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
You succeed in completing
an important project well
before deadline.
Disagreements on the
family front are foreseen. Be careful
about the legal apprehensions in the
property you are planning to buy.
Your intuition will save you from a
tricky spot today.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Those suffering from
chronic ailments may find
remarkable improvement
in their health with home
remedies. You will enjoy the trust of
senior management. Minor domestic
disputes may snowball into a major
row. Recognition will come your way
for your social endeavour.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
Implementation of new
ideas and projects would
add to your prestige on the
professional front. A sound
monetary position would enable you
to keep pace with changing times.
Avoid raising controversial issues at
home to maintain harmony. It is a
wonderful day for you.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
You will have an awesome
day today .Continue to put
in efforts at work and you
will see promising
opportunities coming your way.
Matrimonial match for siblings will
bring happiness for entire family. You
will get a good price for your
property.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
Paying special attention to
plan your career would
give immense joy. You are
likely to get clearance or
approval for your construction plans.
You find things moving in the way
you want them. Gifting something to
your beloved is likely to make the day
memorable.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Seek the opinion of your
family before finalizing a
property deal. An
impromptu invitation to a
function from an unexpected friend is
likely to be received. Your bold
initiatives on romantic front bring
back passion and spark in romantic
relationship.
YOUR
DAY
Horoscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
10
ETC
avratrey is
dedicated to
the feminine
nature of
the Divine.
Ma Durga,
Lakshmi and
Saraswati- ie energy,
wealth and knowledge
are symbols of the
three dimensions of
the divinity. They also
represent the three
basic qualities of ex-
istence- tamas, rajas
and sattva.
As per the Mahaka-
la Samhita, there are
four Navratrey in the
Vedic calendar named
Sharad Navratrey,
Chaitra Navratrey,
Magh Gupt Navratrey
and Ashadha Gupt
Navratrey.
The Magha
Navratrey, ie the Gupt
Navratrey, is a nine
days period dedicated
to the nine forms of
Shakti- Mother God-
dess. It falls in the
month of Magha- Jan-
uary/February. It’s
also called Shishir
Navratrey due to the
cold weather. It’s
mainly observed in
the North Indian
states of Punjab, Har-
yana, Rajasthan,
Himachal Pradesh, Ut-
tar Pradesh, and Utta-
rakhand.
In 2022, the
Navratrey start
Wednesday, 2nd Feb-
ruary- ie Pratiprada
of Shukla Paksha of
Magha month. The
Kalash Sthapna ma-
hurata is 8:34 to 9:59
AM and 12:13 to 12:58
PM. The last day of
Navratrey is Thurs-
day, 10th February
2022. The Kalash with
Jal and coconut, Kum-
kum, red Hibiscus
flowers, fruits, along
with a raw bowl for
the sprouting of Ja-
war is kept in pooja.
An Akhand Jyot is lit
for Ma Bhagavati.
Prayers are dedicat-
ed to Lord Ganesh,
Varun Dev, Vishnu
Dev, Mahadev Shiva,
the Navgraha and Ma
Shakti. Devi Paath is
recited and fast is ob-
served.
The Gupt Navratrey
is meant for saadhaks
who perform special-
ized tantric rituals,
V a s h i k a r a n s ,
Uchaatans, Stamb-
hans, Videshan and
Maran rituals. The
prayers are offered in
secrecy. The saadhak
worships to enhance
the power of sadhana
and tantra- the whole
ritual is steered to en-
hance the understand-
ing and mechanics of
the esoteric aspects of
spirituality, tantra,
the wisdom of the self
and to gain Riddhi-
Siddhi, ie- wealth,
prosperity and wis-
dom.
According to Bhag-
wat, there are 10 Ma-
havidyas that origi-
nate from the aggres-
sive and subtle forms
of goddess Mahakaali.
Every Mahavidya is
capable of solving
all the problems
of her worship-
per, in her various
forms and mani-
festations. The
Dus Mahav-
idyas are-
Devi Kaali,
Devi Tara,
Maa Lalita,
Maa Bhu-
vneshwari,
T r i p u r
Bhairavi,
Mata Chin-
namastika,
M a a
D h o o m a -
vati, Maa
B a g l a -
m u k h i ,
Devi Ma-
tangi, Mata Kamla.
It is considered
‘shubh’ to chant
scriptures like ‘Durga
Saptshati’, ‘Devi Ma-
haatmya’, ‘Shrimad
Devi Bhagwat’.
As per Mahab-
hagavata Puran, once
Lord Shiva disagreed
with Ma Sati on her
insistence to visit her
father Daksh’s yajna
and started walking
away. Ma felt offended
and manifested her-
self into Dus Mahav-
idyas and blocked all
the ten directions to
stop Shiva.
Each form of the
Devi has its own man-
tra, legend, direction,
shakti and blessing.
Dus Mahavidyas are
also related to Vedic
astrology and are
worshipped to pacify
the malefic effects of
the nine planets. As
per Guhyatiguyha
Tantra, they are the
powers behind the ten
incarnations of Lord
Vishnu.
Navaratri is the
best time to reflect
upon one’s actions
and thoughts through
the worship of the
Dus Mahavidyas,
along with the nine
forms of Maa Durga.
Jai Maa!
N
DEEPAK
deepaklifemusings@gmail.com
DEEPAK’S CORNER
GUPT
GUPT
GUPT
NAVRATREY
NAVRATREY

ETC
11
BUDGET 2022!
FROM BITCOINS TO
STABLECOINS
inance Minister
Nirmala Sithara-
man announced
that the country
will be taxing all
digital assets at a
rate of 30% — no
deductions or exemptions
apply. This includes every-
thing from cryptocurren-
cies to non-fungible to-
kens (NFTs) to other ways
that people earn from
digital assets, like yield-
ing, farming and mining.
The country moves closer
to recognizing cryptocur-
rencies as legal tender in
the world’s second-largest
internet market.
To capture details of all
such crypto transactions,
she also proposed a 1% tax
deduction at source on
payments made related to
the purchase of virtual as-
sets. India also plans to go
live with its central bank
digital currency (CBDC),
the ‘digital rupee’, by
March 2023.
The proposal comes at a
time when the purchase of
NFTs are quickly making
inroads in India despite
regulatory uncertainty in
the nation. India’s propos-
als have somewhat created
more confusion among en-
trepreneurs, venture capi-
talists, and the general
public alike about how
traders and investors plan
to tackle cryptocurrencies.
By introducing a tax sys-
tem for crypto-related
transactions, people ap-
pear to be either recognis-
ing such virtual assets as
legal tender or as an inves-
tor wondered aloud, “take
their pound of flesh from
all the action.”
F
MITALI DUSAD
mitalidusad01@gmail.com
“A country would have
never been so excited
about the government
introducing a tax on any-
thing! But personally, as a
crypto enthusiast, I am so
excited by this move. It will
give India a chance to be-
come the Web3 innovation
hub in the coming decade.”
—ABHAY KHANDELWAL
“The magnitude and
frequency of these vir-
tual currency transactions
have made it imperative
to provide for a specific
tax regime. India’s central
bank will also introduce a
digital currency in the next
financial year. The intro-
duction of a central bank
digital currency will give
a big boost to the digital
economy. Digital currency
will also lead to a more ef-
ficient and cheaper curren-
cy management system.”
” —SOUMYA SHARMA
“While clearing the specula-
tions about legalisation of
crypto in India, FM’s new
proposal will scare the mil-
lennial investors, who can’t
be ignored cause they are a
large part of Indian crypto
run, they will have to do a
lot of paperwork.”
—AMAR MISHRA
“Although 30% tax might be
a little too high for the crypto
community, it’s better than
a complete ban on trading.
In a way crypto traders will
be legitimised and work
towards a more transparent
ecosystem which will reduce
scams and frauds in the
crypto space.”
—RAHUL RAMKRISHNA
“I think popular crypto-as-
sets like Bitcoin, Ethereum
will be pre-approved by
the regulators for getting
listed on the exchange. I
think including Cryptocur-
rency in the tax bracket will
definitely boost market
which will also be revived.”
—AKARSHAN JAISWAL
“There are several ways in
which Digital Rupee could
be transacted but without a
formal RBI announcement
judging its impact will
be speculative. We have
a long way to go but the
steps seems to be in the
right direction. ”
—PRANAV VERMA
India may not have any laws to govern
cryptocurrencies yet, but it doesn’t want to miss out
on the gold rush. As the 30% tax surprise looms for
NFT investors who use crypto, many see the proposed
tax on the transfer of virtual digital assets as a step
forward to remove some of the uncertainty in the
market, while some others still wait for the detailed
guidelines to determine how the tax will actually be
implemented. City First spoke to a few netizens to
know their take on the big decision!
NFT Drop art by Norman O’ Flynn
Trending tweets
Trending tweets
Mural art on the Ethereum blockchain

12
CITY BUZZ
GET VACCINATED
STAY MASKED
D
elhi-based Ma-
layali Rintu
Thomas’ Writ-
ing with Fire’
is hardly a couple of
steps from making his-
tory at the Oscars. The
film has been shortlist-
ed for the Oscar as one
of the main 15 movies
in the documentary
feature category. It is
just a matter of half a
month to sit and watch
whether Rintu and Su-
shmit would take the
country’s pride to more
prominent statures in
the Film World. ‘Writ-
ing with Fire’ is the ac-
count of an all-ladies
run computerised pa-
per working in the Ban-
da area on the edges of
UP-Madhya Pradesh
line, arranged around
620 KM from Delhi. The
docu-film accounts the
excursion of a week af-
ter week provincial pa-
per called ‘Khabar La-
hariya’ started by Dalit
ladies - Kavitha Devi
and Meera Jadev.
India in 94th
Academy Awards!
It's Raining Blockbusters
I
n 2022, Bhojpuri
Cinema, one of the
premier networks
for Bhojpuri films,
is gearing up for a year
of high-octane enter-
tainment in February
.
Thechannelisgearing
up to air a spate of big-
budget Bhojpuri block-
busters. On February 1,
Bhojpuri Cinema will
screen a special movie
titled ‘Bhaiya Hamar
Dayavan,’followedbya
birthday special for
Dinesh Lal Nirahua ti-
tled‘humHaiDulhaHin-
dustani,’ on February 2.
OnFebruary5,Basant
Panchami will be cele-
brated with Bhakti Ras,
who will convey Divine
Spirituality through
bhajans between 4:30
and 6 a.m. Finally on
February12,aWorldTel-
evision Premiere of ‘Ek
Duje Ke Liye 2’ starring
Pawan Singh, Madhu
Sharma, and Sahar Af-
sha is scheduled. From
February 12 through the
14, superhit love movies
will be shown to com-
memorate the Interna-
tional Day of Love.
BUDGET SWAY ON PEOPLE!
PEOPLE!
s we know that Feb-
ruary 1 was the big
day for the coun-
try since the Fi-
nance Minister of
India, Nirmala Sith-
raman unveiled a
new budget for the fiscal year
2022-23 intending to boost the
growth amidst the continued
disruption from the deadly
pandemic and rising infla-
tion. Not only Financial De-
partment but, as the new
budget was announced major
sectors of our society like
Health infrastructure, Re-
search, Hospitality, Educa-
tion and Lifestyle also had a
huge impact. The healthcare
sector was looking for some
impetus from the Union
Budget 22-23 but they were
greatlt disappointed as
both health infrastruc-
ture and research were
snubbed.
City First reached out to
some citizens of our country
and talked about the new
budget of 2022-23.
A
In the budget, Custom duties are on cut
and polished diamonds, gems are to be
reduced to 5% will help us get more profit
and will help the customer too to get
better quality jewels at a reasonable price.
—Harshil Wahi, Jeweller
The budget
acknowledges the impact
on mental well being
during covid. Overall
steps proposed for
setting up telehealth
centres are positive
towards acceptance and
increasing access to
quality mental health
services.
—Dr Sarika Boora,
Head Psychologist
Director, Delhi
As a teacher, I’m quite
enthusiastic about the
announcement of the
formation of a digital
university. This step can
offer access to quality
education to Indian
students. I’m also
looking forward to
e-Vidya channels as they
can help to learn in a fun
manner.
—Harsha Kachhiwal,,
Teacher at MCD
Schools
As It’s interesting for us
diamond jewellers and
traders as cut and
polished diamonds has
been brought down to
5% from 7.5%. This can
help boost the gems and
jewellery sector and
attract more clients
—Vaibhav Verma,
Jewellery designer and
consultant
The global economy is
inevitably moving
towards a digital
ecosystem. The newest
and most promising
addition to the digital
payment sector was
cryptocurrency.
NFTs quickly made
inroads in India despite
regulatory uncertainty.
As a crypto investor, I’m
thankful that The
government has at least
acknowledged this. I’m
hopeful that this can
change India’s future.
—Aditya Sharma
An engineering student
UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR
uttkarsha.shekhar@firstindia.co.in
The Union Budget 2022 has once again
disappointed the middle-income salaried
employees. The unchanged tax slabs are
quite discouraging. Instead of offering
subsidies, the government must now focus
on strengthening the education system
and work opportunities in the rural
sector. The announcements in infrastructure (PM Gati
Shakti National Master Plan) with a spend of Rs. 20,000
crores may improve mobility and connectivity with the
rural sector. This as a result will improve rural incomes.
—Professor Shilpi Jain,
FORE School of Management, New Delhi
I
n the world where
90% of the popula-
tion is active on So-
cial Media and most
of the businesses are
running with the help
of it also gives rise to
the number of influenc-
ers and the influencers
are considered to have
fair skin, almond eyes,
long hair and a petite
figure. And then every-
one starts to fit into that
beauty standard. Many
young women starve
themselves to get to
their ideal size to the
extent that they risk se-
vere illness and even
death.
TOXIC BEAUTY STANDARDS
Being on weight loss
means enjoying the
process, developing
habits that you can fol-
low lifelong.
Here are a few point-
ers that can help you in
this process
—Eat, local, season-
al and minimize pack-
aged foods.
—Avoid Skipping
mealsespeciallybreak-
fast. (Eat within 1 hr of
getting up)
—Eat at least 4-5
meals /day so that your
metabolism is high.
—Haveearlydinners.
Starvation /crash
diets can lead to a lot
of nutritional deficien-
cies, reduce metabo-
lism, muscle loss rath-
er than fat loss and can
also further affect your
Kidneys or liver.
—Shilpa Mittal,
Nutritionist
Dieting isn’t wrong
when done properly but
what most people are
doing is starving them-
selves on very low calo-
ries for a long period
just to get “social media
approval”
One client of mine
said, and I quote “
“I have done enough
crash diets, maintained
a calorie deficit, cut my-
self to 2 meals a day,
cutoff on sugar, salt
and shred 3-4 kgs”. A
better strategy will
be, to add some exercis-
es to your plan and cre-
ate a sustainable diet
including all the major
macros - proteins, carbs
and fats from the usual
food items you usually
eat and add some sup-
plementation if needed.
—Ritika Trivedi,
Fitness Trainer
ASHNEER STOOPS TO CONQUER?
A
shneer Grov-
er, one of the
judges on the
r e a l i t y
show Shark Tank India,
asked forgiveness for
losing his bad. Kapil
tossed the topic of
Ashneer’srudeness on
the show, to which he
said “Sometimes I get
furious, we take out
time to be there, travel-
ling to Mumbai from
Delhi, and somebody of-
fers you a vain idea.
How should I encour-
age them? All I can tell
them is to not waste
their stretch and do
something else. Later,
after a Kapil’s joke, Ash-
neer got down on his
knees and apologised
and said, I am using
this stage to speak to
anyone who has been
offended. Rs 20,000
crore are kneeling and
apologising here.
JLF2022:ArtwithaPlethora
S
et to take place
between March
5 to 14, 2022, the
Jaipur Literature Fes-
tival will return to its
home city, Jaipur, for
its 15th edition. Each
year, Teamwork Arts,
the producer of the
iconic Festival, pro-
motes art and world
heritage with numer-
ous innovative initia-
tives at the festival. This
year too, the Festival
will feature various
sessions highlighting
many aspects of art
and culture. Perform-
ing arts legend Sohini
Roychowdhury
, an expo-
nent of Bharatanatyam,
and Sharon Lowen, a
renowned dancer of In-
dian classical dance
forms - Odissi, Manipu-
ri, Mayurbhanj Serai-
kella Chhau - will join
Manjari Sinha, ac-
claimed music and
dance critic, for a fasci-
nating conversation on
Sringara, exploring
the evocative and evo-
lutionary form.
YASHASVI SHRIVASTAV
cityfirstdel@gmail.com
Rintu Thomas
Khabar Lahariya’s team
Ashneer Grover Kapil Sharma
Shilpa Mittal
Ritika Trivedi
Ashneer Grover
Sohini Roy

02022022 first india ahmedabad

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