New Delhi,(PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2022 exhibition ahead of the formal launch of 5G mobile telephony services in India.

 

After inaugurating the exhibition at Pragati Maidan here, he went around pavilions set up by different telecom operators and technology providers to get a first-hand experience of what 5G can do.

He started with Reliance Jio’s stalls, where he witnessed the ‘True 5G’ devices displayed and experienced the use case through Jio Glass.

Flanked by Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and billionaires Mukesh Ambani of Reliance, Sunil Bharti Mittal of Bharti Airtel and Kumar Mangalam Birla of Vodafone Idea, he spent time understanding the indigenous development of end-to-end 5G technology.

He thereafter visited stalls of Airtel, Vodafone Idea, C-DOT and others. PTI 

 New Delhi, (PTI) President Droupadi Murmu on Friday conferred cinema veteran Asha Parekh with the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award and honoured other winners of the 68th National Film Awards, including actors Ajay Devgn, Suriya and folk singer Nanchamma.
 The National Film awards were announced in July honouring the best in cinema in 2020.

 At the ceremony held at Vigyan Bhawan here, Murmu said, "Cinema is not only an industry, it is also a medium of artistic expression of our culture and values of life. It is also a medium for connecting our society and nation-building."

 The event was attended by the winners including Parekh, Devgn, who along with Suriya, was given the best actor honour for "Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior. Suriya was awarded for his performance in "Soorarai Pottru", the biggest winner of the National Film Awards this year.

 

 

 Parekh said she is grateful to receive the prestigious award a day before her 80th birthday.
 "It is a huge honour to have received the Dada Saheb Phalke award. It makes me very grateful that the recognition comes to me just one day before my 80th birthday.

 

"This is the best honour I could get from the Government of India. I would like to thank the jury for the recognition that they have bestowed upon me, my long journey and fulfilling the journey in the film industry," said the cinema legend.

Parekh's stardom was on a par with her male contemporaries Rajesh Khanna, Rajendra Kumar, Dharmendra and Manoj Kumar in the 1960s-1970s. In a career spanning over five decades, she starred in over 95 films that include titles such as "Dil Deke Dekho", "Kati Patang", "Teesri Manzil", "Baharon Ke Sapne", "Pyar Ka Mausam", and "Caravan".

Devgn said he shared his win with all his fans.

"Not counting the wins or the blessings, just feeling grateful for all of it. Most importantly, your love. I share this win with all of you. Honoured to receive my awards from the President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu," the actor, who also won the award as producer of "Tanhaji...", he said in an Instagram post.

This was Devgn third best actor National Award after "Zakhm" (1998) and "The Legend of Bhagat Singh" (2002).
 After receiving the award, Suriya called the win "special".
"This honour means a lot... It's a very special and I'm happy that I got it for "Soorarai Pottru"," the actor told PTI.
Suriya and his wife, actor Jyothika, have produced the Sudha Kongara-directed film.

 

 

"Soorarai Pottru" also won best feature, best actress for Aparna Balamurali, best screenplay for Shalini Usha Nair and Kongara as well as best music direction (background score) for GV Prakash Kumar. The film is inspired by the life of Air Deccan founder Capt G R Gopinath.
 Aparna said she derives inspiration from her win.

 "I feel great. Words won't be enough to express my feelings and what I'm going through today. Thanks to my director for having trust in me and she is the one who pushed me. I definitely want to take this forward in my career as an inspiration and encouragement. This really has given me a push to better my career and do better characters," the actor told PTI.

 

 "Tanhaji..." bagged the two other awards-- best popular film providing wholesome entertainment and best costume design for Nachiket Barve and Mahesh Sherla.
 "Winning a National Award is always an item to be ticked off from my wishlist. It's the most prestigious thing that an artist can ask for. I have got it for my first Hindi film which feels really great," director Om Raut told PTI.
Set in the 17th century, "Tanhaji..." is based on the life of Tanaji Malusare, the military leader of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's army.
    "This is a moment of extreme pride for anyone who was born in Mumbai and I'm a Maharashtrian. We call the film 'Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior' but the kind of success we got, I can happily say Tanhaji is no longer unsung," he added.

 

 

The late Malayalam filmmaker Sachidanandan KR was posthumously awarded best director for "Ayyappanum Koshiyum". His wife received the award. The film also took home best supporting actor for Biju Menon, best action direction (stunt choreography) and best playback female singer for Nanchamma, a tribal folk singer, who received a standing ovation as she came on the stage to receive her award from the president.
    Union minister Anurag Thakur said cinema proved to be the universal language that unites the country.
    "Amid the grim reality of COVID and fragile macro-economic conditions, the entertainment and messaging provided by the films was the only beacon of hope for all of us," he said.
     The award for best playback singer male was given to Rahul Deshpande for Marathi film "Mi Vasantrao".
    Tamil artiste Lakshmi Priya Chandramouli was named the best supporting actress for her performance in Tamil movie "Sivaranjaniyum Innum Sila Pengallum", which received the best editing award for Sreekar Prasad as well.
    The best Hindi film prize went to "Toolsidas Junior", directed by Mridul Toolsidas. The Ashutosh Gowariker production, which was the last film appearance of late actor Rajiv Kapoor, also received a special jury mention for child actor Varun Buddhadev.
    In the music category, Thaman S received the best music direction (songs) for Allu Arjun's Telugu hit "Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo", while Manoj Muntashir was awarded best lyrics for Hindi film "Saina".
    Telugu movie "Natyam" won awards for best make-up artist (TV Rambabu) and best choreography (Sandhya Raju).
    Filmmaker Madonne Ashwin won the Indira Gandhi award for best debut film of a director for his Tamil venture "Mandela". He won another award -- the Best Dialogue writer.
    The best Telugu film award was bagged by "Colour Photo", while "Sivaranjaniyum Innum Sila Pengallum" won the best Tamil film. "Thinkalazcha Nishchayam" was declared the best Malayalam film and "Dollu" took home the best Kannada Film award.
    Marathi movie "Sumi" won the best Children's film award and its actors Akanksha Pingle and Divyesh Indulkar shared the best child artist honour with Anish Mangesh Gosavi of "Tak-Tak".
    Director-composer Vishal Bhardwaj won the best music direction award for the track "Marenge Toh Wahin Jaakar" from filmmaker Vinod Kapri's "1232 kms", a documentary about the migrant workers' exodus during the lockdown.
    The prize for the most film-friendly state went to Madhya Pradesh, with special mention for Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. PTI

 

New Delhi, (PTI) The Centre has accorded a Y category security cover to five RSS leaders in Kerala in view of possible threats to them, official sources said on Saturday.

 

The names of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leaders is understood to have been found on the radar of the Popular Front of India (PFI) after central probe agencies recovered documents in this connection during the recent crackdown on the Islamic organisation, which the Centre banned early this week.

The smallest category of central security cover– Y– has been accorded to the five RSS leaders based on inputs and recommendations provided to the Union home ministry by central investigative and intelligence agencies, sources said.

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) VIP security wing has been asked to render the task, they said.

About two to three armed commandos will be provided to each protectee as part of the cover, the sources said.

A similar cover has also been provided to Bihar BJP chief and MP from West Champaran Sanjay Jaiswal.

He was given a Y cover security in the wake of protests against him and other BJP leaders during the ‘Agnipath’ recruitment scheme launch in June. The cover was later withdrawn but has been restored now.

With the addition of these six protectees, the CRPF has been covering at least 125 people under its VIP security umbrella. PTI 

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday appealed Union Home Minister Amit Shah to release Altaf Shah, son-in-law of late separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani, on humanitarian grounds as he is suffering from renal cancer. 

Shah, along with six others, was arrested in 2017 in connection with a terror funding case. He is presently in the ICU of Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Delhi.

 

"Continued incarceration of Altaf Shah is inhumane as he is critically ill. Request @HMOIndia to release him on humanitarian grounds so that he can be with his family in such distressing times," Mehbooba tweeted.

The PDP president was commenting on a tweet by Shah's daughter.

"My incarcerated father has been diagnosed of acute renal cancer which has metastasis and has spread to his other body parts, including his bones. It is my whole family’s request to please allow us to see him and consider his bail application on health grounds @HMOIndia @PMOIndia," Ruwa Shah had tweeted last night. 

"He is presently on oxygen support in the ICU of RML hospital - where there is no oncology department. My father, Altaf Shah, is 66 and is a political prisoner since last 5 years at New Delhi’s Tihar Jail. @amnesty @AIIndia," she added. 

Mumbai,(PTI) Mumbai police have registered a case against former Maharashtra minister Chhagan Bhujbal and two others on the charge of threatening to kill a man, who had forwarded videos to the senior NCP leader in which the latter allegedly spoke against Hindu religion, an official said.

 

The First Information Report (FIR) in this connection was registered at Chembur police station late Friday night, he said.

“Based on the complaint filed by the man, an offence under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 506 (2) (criminal intimidation) and 34 (common intention) was registered against Bhujbal and two others,” the official said on Saturday.

“The complainant said that he was threatened for forwarding two videos to Bhujbal, in which the latter allegedly spoke against Hindu religion,” he added.

The case is being investigated by unit -6 of the Mumbai crime branch, the official said.

Bhujbal, who belongs to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), currently represents the Yeola Assembly constituency in Nashik district. He had earlier served as the deputy chief minister of the state. PTI

Mumbai, (PTI) Sebi on Friday decided to tighten IPO disclosure norms, bring mutual fund transactions under insider trading rules ambit, introduce new option for appointment of independent directors and modify the Offer For Sale (OFS) framework.

Besides, easing the open offer price calculation for PSU divestments and facilitating online bond platform providers were among the proposals approved by the board of Sebi during its meeting held here.

The watchdog has decided to tighten disclosure norms for companies going for initial public offers, insisting that they should share more details on pricing. These include the requirement for disclosures about the price at which the institutional investors have bought shares going back to up to 18 months before the Initial Public Offering (IPO).

The new norms, which follow heavy erosion of investor wealth in recent IPOs like Paytm and Zomato that led to concerns about the offer prices, will be applicable for all issuances.

Sebi Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch said new-age technology companies or loss making companies cannot be assessed by the same financial parameters and the regulator felt that there is a need to end the information asymmetry.

“It will give a better basis for the investors to make their investments,” she said.

Against the backdrop of the Franklin Templeton episode that had rattled many mutual fund investors, Sebi has cleared a proposal to bring buying and selling of mutual fund units under the ambit of insider trading rules.

A proposal for the introduction of a new option for appointment and removal of independent directors from the boards of companies has been cleared by the regulator.

Once the amended rules are in place, the appointment and removal of independent directors could be done by way of two parameters — threshold for ordinary resolution and threshold for majority of minority shareholders.

Meanwhile to bring in more flexibility in the OFS framework, the watchdog will modify the relevant norms, including doing away with the minimum shareholding requirement for non-promoter shareholders.

OFS has emerged as among the favoured options for share sales.

In a move aimed to do away with possible impediment on pricing in PSU disinvestments, the regulator has decided to dispense with a requirement for calculating open offer price in such cases.

As per Sebi norms, one of the parameters prescribed to determine open offer price of a frequently traded scrip is Volume-Weighted Average Market Price (VWAMP) for 60 trading days immediately preceding the date of the public announcement.

The board, during its meeting here, approved amending the takeover regulations in the context of strategic disinvestment of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and consideration payable under open offer. PTI

 Kolkata, September 30

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday filed its first charge sheet in the multi-crore West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) recruitment scam at a special court here.

A total of 16 persons, including former West Bengal Education Minister and Trinamool Congress Secretary General, Partha Chatterjee has been named in the chargesheet. Chatterjee's name is sixth in the list.

The CBI's first chargesheet in the matter has been submitted just 11 days after Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is conducting a parallel probe in the scam, submitted its first chargesheet on September 30. In the ED chargesheet, the central agency named six persons, including Chatterjee and his close aide Arpita Mukherjee.

The CBI's chargesheet in the matter comes after 51 days since it started its investigation in the matter.]

The other important names in the CBI's chargesheet include the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education's (WBBSE) former President Kalyanmoy Gangopadhyay, WBSSC's former  Secretary Ashok Saha and the WBSSC's screening committee's former convener S.P. Sinha, among others.

Chatterjee is the only name that is common in both the chargesheets.

Trinamool Congress state General Secretary and pokesman, Kunal Ghosh said that if anyone is found guilty of scams the law will take its own course and the party does not have any further comments on this matter. CPI-M Rajya Sabha member, Bikash Bhattacharya said that the central agencies should wind up the investigation process fast and net more influential beneficiaries of the scam. BJP state spokesman Samik Bhattacharya said that the CBI is heading in the right direction.

Recently, the CBI had submitted its progress report at the Calcutta High Court's bench of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay where it detailed on how marks were tampered at the server of the WBSSC to make room for ineligible candidates depriving the eligible ones. In its report, the CBI sleuths also mentioned that marks as low as "zero to five" were to higher marks ranging from "50 to 53" at the server. The CBI also submitted the scanned copies of the original optical mark recognition (OMR) sheets as supporting documents.

 

 Mumbai, September 30

Home, auto and other loan EMIs are set to rise further after the RBI on Friday raised the key interest rate by 50 basis points, the fourth straight increase since May, with more hikes expected to rein in inflation.

The monetary policy committee (MPC), comprising three members from the RBI and three external experts, raised the key lending rate or the repo rate to 5.90 per cent - the highest since April 2019 - with five out of the six members voting in favour of the hike.

Since the first unscheduled mid-meeting hike in May, the cumulative increase in interest rate now stands at 190 basis points and mirrors similar aggressive monetary tightening in major economies around the globe to contain runaway inflation by dampening demand.

The MPC also decided by a majority of 5 out of 6 members to remain focused on the withdrawal of the accommodative policy stance to ensure that inflation remains within the target going forward, while supporting growth, said RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das.

“The inflation trajectory remains clouded with uncertainties arising from continuing geopolitical tensions and nervous global financial market sentiments,” he said. “If high inflation is allowed to linger, it invariably triggers second-order effects.” The rise in repo rates would translate into higher borrowing costs for corporates and individuals.

Pledging to “remain alert and nimble” and data-dependent, he said “calibrated action” will be taken to shield the economy amid fears of a global recession.

“In this backdrop, MPC was of the view that persistence of high inflation, necessitates further calibrated withdrawal of monetary accommodation to restrain broadening of price pressures, anchor inflation expectations and contain the second-round effects. This action will support the medium-term growth prospects of our economy,” he said.

He said the current policy rate, adjusted for inflation, was still below 2019 levels.

The RBI cut its economic growth outlook for FY23 to 7 per cent from 7.2 per cent previously, while keeping its 6.7 per cent forecast on inflation.

Consumer price index-based inflation accelerated to 7 per cent in August, driven by a surge in food prices, and has stayed above the RBI’s mandated 2-6 per cent target band for eight consecutive months.

Rumki Mujumdar, economist, Deloitte India, said inflation is expected to remain high even though supply-side constraints will likely ease. “This is because we are optimistic about demand and expect strong consumer spending to exceed supply, therefore leading to demand-pull inflation.” On the rupee, Das said the RBI did not have a level for the currency in mind and it was focused on curbing volatility.

The 67 per cent decline in foreign exchange reserves, he said, was due to valuation impact and that the war chest remains robust.

His statement implied that RBI interventions are likely to continue and be focused towards defending any extreme volatility in the rupee.

“The RBI intervenes to curb exchange rate volatility,” Das said. “The adequacy of forex reserves is always kept in mind and the umbrella continues to remain strong.” Sunil Kumar Sinha, Principal Economist, India Ratings and Research, said with inflation likely to continue at elevated levels, further rate hikes was a possibility.

This is likely to be in baby steps and will be more focussed on restraining the broadening of price pressures and/or pre-empt second-round effects, he said.

“It is likely to be less aggressive, more data dependent and focussed on anchoring inflation/inflationary expectation as opposed to the current rate hikes (started in May 2022) which were essentially focussed on aligning the policy rate to surging inflation.” “The rise in rates will slow down capex plans of corporate India which were just about kicking off,” said Anu Aggarwal, head of corporate banking at Kotak Mahindra Bank.

Das said the world has witnessed two major shocks in the last two and half years - the COVID-19 pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine. “These shocks have produced a profound impact on the global economy.” And now, the world is in the midst of a third major shock, in form of a “storm” arising from aggressive monetary policy actions from advanced countries’ central banks, he said.

“Despite this unsettling global environment, the Indian economy continues to be resilient. There is macroeconomic stability. The financial system remains intact, with improved performance parameters,” he said. “The country has withstood the shocks from COVID-19 and the conflict in Ukraine.” Real GDP growth in June quarter at 13.5 per cent was lower than RBI’s estimate but a late recovery in kharif sowing, comfortable reservoir levels, improvement in capacity utilisation, buoyant bank credit expansion and the government’s continued thrust on capital expenditure are expected to support aggregate demand and output in the second half.

 

 Ahmedabad, (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated phase-1 of the Ahmedabad Metro rail project between Thaltej and Vastral here, and also travelled in the train.

He inaugurated the project on the metro rail’s east-west corridor from Kalupur station, where he reached in Vande Bharat Express train that he flagged off from Gandhinagar railway station in the morning. The prime minister flagged off the metro train at Kalupur station. He then boarded the train there and travelled to Thaltej metro station. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and party MPs C R Paatil and Kirit Solanki accompanied him during the journey.

With the inauguration, the 21-km corridor of the project between Thaltej and Vastral with 17 stations became operational. This corridor has a 6.6 km underground section with four stations, the Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation (GMRC) said in a release.

On March 4, 2019, the prime minister had inaugurated a part of phase-1 of the project connecting Vastral to Apparel Park, a distance of 6.5 km. The project was sanctioned in 2014.

The metro rail tickets will be priced between Rs 5 and Rs 15, the GMRC said.

The second phase of the project will connect state capital Gandhinagar to Ahmedabad, which will essentially be the expansion of the first phase. This phase will have two corridors – a 22.8-km stretch from Motera Stadium to Mahatma Mandir having 20 stations and a 5.4-km route from Gujarat National Law University to GIFT City having two stations. The entire route under phase-2 of the project will be elevated. PTI

 New Delhi, September 30

Congress presidential candidate Shashi Tharoor has landed in a controversy on Friday as the manifesto shared by him for the election shows a “distorted map of India” in which he has omitted parts of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

He shared the distorted map of India, where he talked about ‘decentralization of the organization’

The goof-up by Tharoor, who is running for the president's post of the country's oldest party does not show good precedent. Later Tharoor rectified the blunder by replacing it with the correct map of India in his election manifesto.

This is not the first time the Lok Sabha MP has shared a distorted map of India. Earlier in 2019, Tharoor shared a 'distorted' map of India on Twitter. The northernmost territory of the country was missing from the map shared by the Congress leader.

In December 2019, he shared the cover of a booklet about the Kerala Congress's protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). He later deleted the tweet and rectified his mistake.

Tharoor has issued a manifesto explaining how he intends to rejuvenate the party through decentralisation and internal reorganisation if he wins the election.

"Every party needs leadership, but at all levels and not just at the top. The Congress must empower the party in the states by giving real authority to the PCC Presidents, decentralize authority and truly empower the grassroots office-bearers of the party. We must provide a credible alternative to the BJP 's centralization of authority in its party affairs and in the affairs of governance. Re-imagining the organization, delegating powers to state, district and block leaders and empowering grassroots workers will not only free the new leader from the onerous burdens of over-administration, but help create the strong state leadership that in past eras strengthened the Congress' national appeal," the Congress leader's manifesto reads.

He also promised to increase focus on youth and to give a bigger role to women in the party "The Congress will support leadership by women, for women, in keeping with the "Ladki hoon, lad sakti hoon" principle. Women will be encouraged to take up issues that actually matter to women in our society. More positions for women should be reserved in PCCs and in the electoral fray. The party will work to pass the Women's Reservation Bill. In these efforts, the role and capacity of All India Mahila Congress will be strengthened," the manifesto reads.

Tharoor filed his nomination at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) office in the national capital. Before that, he visited the Raj Ghat to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi.

"There is a need for decentralisation in this party. We are not an election machine for winning elections every five years. We must serve the people of India," Tharoor said.

He said the manifesto explains "how we hope to rejuvenate the party, to decentralize the organisation of the party".

The senior Congress leader also hit out at the BJP government at the Centre, saying things are "not really functioning properly" in the country.

"We have seen that things are not really functioning properly in our country: demonetisation, historical unemployment, inflation. Congress should be the party to bring change," he said.

Tharoor will primarily take on another veteran leader of the Congress, Mallikarjun Kharge, for the party president post. Jharkhand Congress leader KN Tripathi, too, has filed his nomination.

Earlier, Digvijaya Singh and Ashok Gehlot said that they have dropped out of the race.

The former Madhya Pradesh chief minister visited Kharge at his residence this morning. "I told him that I stand by him and can't even think of contesting against him, I will be his proposer," Singh told reporters.

Nominations for the post of Congress president closed at 3 pm today and results will be declared on October 19.