!#$ # Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2021-2023 INDORE BHOPAL UJJAIN MUMBAI PUNE ) #"(* ( #) )%&"' )%' ( $ $ " + & # " ! $ " - & & !$ Air India’s privatisation likely to be completed by May-June: Puri As many as 79.79 per cent voters exercised their franchise in ten hours of polling for 30 Assembly seats in West Bengal on Saturday while the voter turnout was around 72.14 per cent in Assam in the same period. More than half of the 73lakh electorate in Bengal's 30 Assembly constituencies have cast their ballot and sealed the fate of 191 candidates who are in the fray on the first day of the eight-phase elections in West Bengal where polling is underway in five districts. At least 21 female aspirants are contesting elections in West Bengal while 23 in Assam. In Bengal, the serpentine queues showed people are aware of the importance of the crucial poll that is seeing a bitter battle between the ruling Trinamool Congress-led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the BJP that has pitched every high-profile leader into campaigning in West Bengal. As per the latest figures from Bengal, the approximate voter turnout trend till 5 p.m. in Bankura was the highest at 80.03 per cent, Jhargram at 80.55 per cent, Purbo Medinipur at 82.42 per cent, Paschim Medinipur at 80.16 per cent and Purulia at 77.13 per cent, according to the Election Commission's voter turnout App. $ ! " A huge controversy erupted on Saturday amid the polling for 30 assembly seats in West Bengal, with the BJP releasing an audio clip where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is purportedly heard cajoling a BJP leader from Nandigram to rejoin the TMC and help her win the seat. Banerjee is pitted against her former protege and now the BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari in Nandigram, the spring board Sachin Tendulkar tests Covid +ve, family negative Prez Kovind shifted to AIIMS ( )! %* * $ % ) &,!% ## ) ! * *& * % ! %)*!*+* & ! # ( &% ! % ) *+( / &( '# %% /' )) '(& +( - ! !) ' ( &($ .' * *& &( !% *& &% + ) / , % ) *( ' *! * ‘Covovax trials begin in India’ $! (!)!% ) ) !% % ! !*!0 %) % .' * &% * $&( , !% ' (* (&$ &,!) ! # % (+$ %)*!*+* & % ! ( &&% - ## &% *+( / %%&+% * * *(! #) &( &,&, . "&!%*#/ , !% *& % / &* , #&' !&* %& / ) , &$' %/ &, , . !% ##/ )* (* !% % ! Former India batsman and captain Sachin Tendulkar has tested positive for Covid-19. Tendulkar, the world's highest run-getter in Test cricket and ODI cricket shared the information on his twitter handle . on Saturday "I have been testing myself and taking all the recommended precautions to ensure Covid is . kept at bay However, I've tested positive today following mild symptoms. All others at home have tested neg- " Cancel PM’s B’desh visa at once = 1+)8/437 '6+ 93*+6;'< -4+7 84 .+6+ '3* .+ '3-1'*+7. '3* 1+)896+7 43 +3-'1 8 /7 ' :/41'8/43 4, 8.+ +1+)8/43 )4*+ 4, )43*9)8 %.< 7.491*3 8 <496 :/7' (+ )'3)+11+* %+ > ;/11 )4251'/3 84 that propelled her to power in 2011, dislodging the Left Front from power after a 34-year unbroken rule. A BJP delegation, led by party general secretary minder Bengal and Kailash Vijayvargiya, met the state's chief electoral officer. $ " #& $ SEEKS REPORT on action taken so far in the case The Election Commission has again called chief secretary Iqbal Singh Bains and additional chief secretary of home department Rajesh Rajora in connection with the black money in elections. Both of them have to appear before the commission on April 1. Earlier, the date to appear before the % !#" ' commission was March 25, but it was extended to April 1. The commission had called them to its office on January 5 and sought an action-taken report. In a letter to the chief electoral officer, the commission had asked the government to take action on black money used in elections. The letter was written on the ground of I-T raids on various places in the state. The commission has asked the government to take action, especially against four police officers. They included three offi- Centre’s four-point plan to tackle Suez Canal blockage ative." Tendulkar has quarantined himself at home. “Following all the necessary protocols as advised by my doctor," he added. Tendulkar thanked all the healthcare professionals, who are supporting others . across the country Interestingly, on March 27, 1994, opener Navjot Singh Sidhu suffered a stiff neck and wasn't available to open in the second ODI against New Zealand, Auckland. $ The Centre has chalked out a four-point plan to deal with the blockage in the Suez Canal, which has disrupted global trade, with over 200 vessels stuck in the channel. The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has welcomed cooperation and help from the US and other countries to refloat a giant cargo ship that has run The privatisation of the debt-laden national carrier, Air India, is expected to be completed by May-June, said Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh . Puri on Saturday Multiple entities in February this year had expressed interest in bidding for the government's stake in the cash-strapped airline. According to a report by Mint, Tata Group and SpiceJet Chairman Ajay Singh have been shortlisted to bid for Air India. “At a meeting on Monday, it was decided that the government will close the financial bids within 64 days,” Puri said, adding that there were multiple bidders and some have been shortlisted. Other Public sector undertakings (PSUs) like Pawan Hans disinvestment is also under process, the minister added. "The airline still is in debt of Rs 60,000 crore and it is liable to be sold," Puri further said. The minister also said that the second wave of COVID-19 has delayed airlines being allowed to operate 100 per cent that was planned to happen from the start of the summer schedule this month-end. But for now, there are no questions to curtail the domestic operations, he added. $ # aground and disrupted traffic on the world's busiest waterway trade routes. $ ' % cers of IPS cadre and one of SPS cadre. When the commission called the two officers on January 5, it told both of them to take strict action against the four officers. Both the officers were told to take action within 15 days of the meeting and reply back to the commission. After that, the government issued charge-sheets to those four officers and sought an explanation from them. SPS officer Arun Mishra got a stay on the matter. $ INDIA BREAKS ALL 2021 RECORDS IN C-CASES 3*/' 43 !'896*'< (640+ '11 ;/8. 8.+ 6+)46*7 4, )4643':/697 ./-.+78 /3,+)8/437 /3 8.+ 5'78 .4967 ;./1+ 8.+ *'< 7 *+'8.7 '3* ./8 8.+ <+'6 7 5+'0 '8 8.+ ')8/:+ )'7+7 '174 849).+* 1'0. "./7 ' ,6+7. ./-. 4, /7 8.+ ./-.+78 /3 4:+6 *'<7 3*/' .'* 1'78 7++3 4:+6 3+; )'7+7 43 )84(+6 1'78 <+'6 3*/' '174 6+)46* +* 8.+ <+'6 7 ./-.+78 8+787 )43*9)8+* /3 8.+ 5'78 .4967 597./3- 95 8.47+ 8+78+* ,46 4643':/697 74 ,'6 )646+ 7 2'3< '7 84 )646+ 5+451+ .':+ (++3 :'))/3'8+* /3 8.+ )49386< .4967 1'0. /3 $ Penis size shrinking due to rise in pollution: Scientist The next time you turn a blind eye towards pollution, think again as it could affect the ‘male . member’ in your family Environmental scientist Shanna Swan has cautioned that the size of the human penis is shrinking due to pollution, which has been on the rise for the past few years. In her book, titled 'CountDown', Swan has said that humanity is facing an "existential crisis" in the fertility rates as human penises are shrinking and genitals becoming malfunctioned due to pollution, putting human reproduction in a challeng- ing situation. According to her, this is happening because of phthalates. Phthalate is a chemical used when manufacturing plastics. It makes the plastic flexible. However, it impacts the hormoneproducing endocrine system. She studied the phthalate syndrome as part of her research. In her report she explains that fetuses exposed to phthalates are likely to be born with smaller penises. As per the World Air Quality Report, 2020, India has 22 out of the 30 most polluted cities in the world. Ghaziabad is the second most polluted city in the world followed by Bulandshahar, Bisrakh Jalalpur, etc. While the National Capital New Delhi is the tenth most polluted city in the world. College exams deferred due to corona pandemic Ten Covid deaths were re. ported in state on Saturday Total 19 deaths have been reported in the state in the last couple of days, including nine on Friday Earlier, 12 . deaths were reported on January 1, this year and 14 on January 3. The sudden surge in death has been reported in the state after two months. Corona positive rate too has increased to 8%. The state reported 2,142 corona cases on Saturday, taking corona tally to 2,86,407. Toll went up to 3,947 with Saturday's 10 deaths. Active cases went up to 12,995 with 26,701 more samples being sent for testing, 211 of them were rejected. Indore reported 619 corona cases taking its tally to 67,188 and toll to 953 while Bhopal's tally stands at 49,489 and toll at 628. Active cases in Indore stand at 2,834 and in Bhopal 3,455. Jabalpur reported 159 corona cases with 1,005 active cases while Gwalior reported 67 corona cases with 423 active cases. Khargone reported 39 new cases, Sagar (32), Vidisha (58), Chhindwara (36), Ujjain (85), Ratlam OPEN BOOK pattern exam for 1 & 2 year UG students in June FINAL YEAR UG and PG exams in May through offline mode Higher Education Department has deferred exams by two months in view of cases corona rising across the state. The exams scheduled from April . would now begin in May Exams will be held on open book pattern for first and second year students in June while final year exams of UG and PG courses would be held in May, said minister of Higher Education Department Mohan Yadav on . Saturday The decision was taken at a high level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Shivraj Sigh . Chouhan on Saturday (76), Betul (56), Burhanpur (22), Shajapur (17) and Seoni (19). Mandsaur re- Higher education minister Yadav said that students of all undergraduate courses studying in first and second year would give exams on open book pattern. The exams would be held in June. Students would write copies at home and submit it at nearby exam centre. There are more than 10.55 lakh students in these classes. But about 4.30 lakh final year students of all uncourses dergraduate would have to come to the exam centres and appear . in exam physically As many as 1.72 lakh students of fourth semester of all postgraduate courses would also write the exams in offline mode. The final year undergraduate and postgraduate students would write . the exams in May Universities would release the detailed scheduled later. ported 13 corona cases while Damoh reported 14 new cases and Sehore 17. ',-!) .$",.#$# '(&'$/0 ",.,+! "!/$/ (+ ! #!4 ,+ !01.#!4 3(0' /!*-)$/ 3$.$ /$+0 %,. 0$/0(+& $!)0' #$-!.0*$+0 /!(# 0'!0 -,/(0(2$ .!0$ ,% ',-!) 3$+0 1- 0, At least 91 killed in one of deadliest days since coup: Myanmar media As Myanmar's military celebrated the Armed annual Forces Day holiday with a parade on Saturday in the capital, country's soldiers and police elsewhere reportedly killed dozens of people as they suppressed protests in the deadliest bloodletting since last month's coup. A count issued by an independent researcher in Yangon who has been compiling near-real time death tolls put the total by 9 pm at 100, spread over more than two dozen cities and towns. The online news site Myanmar Now earlier reported the death toll had reached 91. Both numbers are higher than all estimates for the previous high on March 14, which ranged in counts from 74 to 90. Figures collected by the researcher, who asked not to be named for his security, have generally tallied with the counts issued at the end of each day by the )$ &"' ! " " " " Assistance Association of Political Prisoners, which documents deaths and arrests and is widely seen as a definitive source. The Associated Press is unable to independently confirm the death tolls. The killings quickly drew international condemnation, with multiple diplomatic missions to Myanmar releasing statements that mentioned the killing of civilians Saturday, including children. "This 76th Myanmar armed forces day will stay engraved as a day of terror and dishonour," the European Union's delegation to Myanmar said on Twitter. $ +$3 "!/$/ ,.,+! ED attaches 32 properties of ex-IAS officers to the tune of Rs 1.49 crore The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday said that it has attached 32 properties of former IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre Arvind Joshi and Tinoo Joshi valued at Rs 1.49 crore. The attached properties are in the form of agricultural land and plots. The ED has registered a case on the basis of FIR and charge-sheet filed by the Lokayukta, Bhopal against ex- IAS officers of MP Cadre and others for amassing disproportionate assets to the tune of more than Rs 41 crore. probe financial The agency said that Arvind Joshi and Tinoo Joshi have acquired huge number of movable and immovable properties in the name of their family members and their close associates from . the ill-gotten money The ED in a statement said, , "Such money mostly received in the form of cash has been utilised either directly or has been routed through multiple layers of bank accounts opened in the name of family members, their close associates and various firms." $ Aero Surveyor plane crashes near Bhopal, three injured Aero Surveyor plane of Company Pinnacle Saturday on crashed evening after technical snag in engine leaving three crew members injured on Saturday evening. Airport authority was yet to comment on the technical snag. Authorities said that it was up to the company to probe the crash. The flight was being captained by Ashwin Sharma. Two other occupants were Sami and Raj. The trio was discharged after treatment. According to reports, the plane nose-dived in an at field agriculture Bisenkhedi near Aero City under Gandhi Nagar police station and broke down into pieces. SHO Nagar Gandhi Arun Sharma said, "Pinnacle Company's plane was flying from Nanded to Guna. It stopped at Bhopal en-route to Guna. Captain Ashwin Sharma was flying it with two others. After the plane took off from Bhopal, it developed technical snag in engine leading to crash in agriculture field with standing crop. All the three pilots sustained minor injuries. They were rushed to hospital." Airport director Anil Vikram Singh said, "For the last two days, the plane was parked at state hanger in Bhopal. Pinnacle Company's plane took off for Guna but developed some technical problems mid. way $