280c. 230c. Sunrise: 06:25 am Sunset: 06:46 pm RAINING SOPS: TEXTILES SECTOR GETS PLI SCHEME The "Mission" of your life, of your soul is to "grow up." WE’LL NEED TO BE DISRUPTIVE AND PRESENT FRESH CONTENT: AYUSHMANN KHURRANA TALIBAN GOVT DOES NOT INSPIRE CONFIDENCE Master Choa Kok Sui 56 AIRBUS TRANSPORT AIRCRAFT FOR IAF Vol. 65 No. 113 | THURSDAY | SEPTEMBER 9, 2021 | 17 Pages | ` 4 | EDITIONS: MUMBAI*, Pune, Indore, Bhopal, E-paper EDIT PETROL ` 107.26 Per litre DIESEL ` 96.19 Per litre www.freepressjournal.in twitter.com/fpjindia Reg. No. Mcs/048/2018-20; RNI No. 1541/1957 M.p.c.s office Mumbai-400001 See Cinema Journal * ` 5 Outside Mumbai Metropolitan Region 16 will arrive in flyaway condition; 40 to be manufactured in India by a TATA consortium; first time private company will produce a military aircraft FROM OUR BUREAU / New Delhi THE LINES 40 FEARED DROWNED is feared that 35-40 people Itdrowned after two boats, coming from different directions in Brahmaputra river, on Wednesday collided with each other near Nimati Ghat in Assam’s Jorhat district, according to NDRF Assistant Commandant 12 Battalion. At least 35 people had been rescued when reports last trickled in. A team of NDRF from the 12th Battalion stationed in Sibsagar is already on site to help in the rescue operation. Departmental action has been ordered by the state gov, ernment. SP Jorhat, Ankur Jain said: “Till now many have been rescued. Around 35 to 40 are missing. (There is) a strong water current… reaching the accident spot is getting difficult." The police said the rescue operation will continue past midnight. NSA MEETS CIA CHIEF N SA Ajit Doval on Wednesday held talks with his Russian counterpart Gen Nikolay Patrushev in mitigating any possible security threat from the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, a day after holding similar deliberations with CIA Chief William Burns. Burns, Patrushev and the UK's Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) Richard Moore were among key intelligence and security officials to visit India over the last few days, it is learnt. The Doval-Patrushev talks delved into security implications of the Taliban's capture of power for India, Russia and the Central Asian region, as a number of dreaded terror groups, including Jaish-e-Muhammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba, having a strong presence in the war-torn country, people familiar with the meeting said. NO DOORSTEP VACCINATION T he Supreme Court on Wednesday junked a PIL filed by Youth Bar Association of India (YBAI) for directions to the Centre for providing "door-todoor" Covid-19 vaccination to all citizens, particularly the elderly, differently abled, weaker sections and those not capable of online registration. It also dismissed another PIL, which demanded compensation for kin in the case of each Covid death, treating it as medical negligence. RAHUL AT VAISHNO DEVI F ormer Congress President Rahul Gandhi will be visiting Mata Vaishno Devi temple at Katra, off Jammu, on Thursday. The Congress announced it as part of his travel programme to Jammu and Kashmir on September 9, but it did not say if he has any party engagement or a meeting with people there. NO EXTENSION FOR ED BOSS T he Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition challenging the retrospective extension of the tenure of Sanjay Kumar Mishra for a year as the Director of the Enforcement Director but ruled that no further extension be granted to him. A 3-judge Bench said the extension during superannuation should be done in rare and exceptional cases. GASP! Pakistan stamp on interim govt M T20 WC: Ashwin in, Shikhar out PRESS TRUST OF INDIA New Delhi Senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin returned to India's white-ball outfit after four years when he was included in the 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup alongside the fast-rising trio of Ishan Kishan, Axar Patel and Varun Chakaravarthy . Also making the squad was Suryakumar Yadav, the 30year-old Mumbai batsman who has been making a name for himself for his power-hitting. The 34-year-old Ashwin last played white-ball cricket for India in 2017 before being sidelined from one-day cricket following the Champions Trophy However, he . kept performing in the IPL besides leading India's spin attack in Test cricket. Kishan (23) and Chakaravarthy (30) have been rewarded for their consistent performance in the IPL and also impressed in the few opportunities they got with the Indian team. The T20 World Cup starts October 17 in the UAE and Oman. The big names to be dropped were opener Shikhar Dhawan and legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal. Rahul Chahar has been preferred over Chahal who was a certainty in India's limited over squads until now. CONTD. ON NATION PAGE S ullah Mohammad Yaqoob, the new defence minister of Afghanistan, is the son of Taliban's founder Mullah Omar who was the mastermind of the IC-814 hijacking. The hijacking of the Indian Airlines flight in 1999 was part of the conspiracy to get top terrorists, including Jaishe-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar, released from Indian prisons. The hijackers had kept the 176 passengers hostage till their demands were met. CHEERS! WHEAT China eyeing US’ MSP UP 40 PAISE Bagram airbase THE LOWEST IN DECADES ONLINE REPORT / Kabul FPJ NEWS SERVICE New Delhi achieve this objective in 40 paise is mystifying. The Congress predictably dubbed the hike in wheat MSP as "unt ke muh me zeera;" party chief spokesman and general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said the government has increased the cost of farming to Rs 25,000 per hectares by pushing up the prices of diesel, fertilisers and agriculture implements, including tractors. And now, farmers have been given a pittance. He also described the cost of production claim by the government as a big fraud on the farmers. He charged that the government is forcing the hand of the farmers to shift to other crops to help the corporate sector. The Government claims the The Union Cabinet has approved a hike in minimum support price for wheat which is the lowest in decades. It has been increased by Rs 40 per quintal, which translates into a pittance – 40 paise per kg. This lollipop of a hike has come amid protests by farmers against three new farm laws that they say would give control to private firms over agricultural produce. The rationale behind MSP -theprice at which the government buys the grain from the farmer -- is ostensibly to cover the cost of production and protect farmers from panic selling. How the government hopes to ARMY TO INDUCT WOMEN IN NDA OUR BUREAU / New Delhi The Centre on Wednesday informed the Supreme Court that the Armed Forces have agreed to induct women into permanent commission through the National Defence Academy (NDA) and a decision to this effect was taken by the government on Tuesday evening. The decision comes less than a month after the top court allowed women to sit for examinations to the National Defence Academy (NDA). Women make up a miniscule 0.56% of India's 1.4 million army personnel. Their representation is somewhat better in the air force (1.08%) and navy (6.5%). On Wednesday the government sought time to frame guide, lines for women candidates to take up courses in the NDA. A Bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and M M Sundresh appreciated Bhati's contention that the chiefs of three Armed Forces have agreed to induct women and the decision by the government was taken late Tuesday evening A Bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and M M Sundresh appreciated the decision and said the court has been periodically nudging the authorities to do it themselves, but sometimes things move only when the court steps in. "Armed Forces are respected force of this country but on gender , equality they have to do more," Justice Kaul said. , CONTD. ON NATION PAGE ion resident Subhash Aadhangale, 48, was eager to meet his ailing mother in Nashik and spend time with his extended family at his ancestral home. While arrangements were being made for the family’s journey to Nashik, which takes about four hours on a bus, Aadhangale realised his pet dog, six-year-old Jacky will not be , China is eyeing the former US airbase of Bagram in Afghanistan to expand its influence in the region and embarrass America. It is, therefore, considering sending military personnel and economic development officials to Bagram Airfield, one of the most potent symbols of American military during the 20-year war. Ostensibly these soldiers and workers will be sent as part of , its 'Belt and Road Initiative.' China, through a foreign ministry spokesperson, issued a denial. ‘’What I can tell everyone is, that this is a piece of purely false information,’’ Wang Wenbin told reporters. However, Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the Stimson Center think tank, believes China may not be sincere in its denial and is very interested in that land. ‘’Given their past experience, the Chinese must be eager to get their hands on whatever the U.S. has left at the base,'’ says the director. US forces in Afghanistan abandoned their base at Bagram airport overnight in July - shutting off the lights and slipping away into the night without telling government forces who were supposed to take it over, an online report said. Authority grants across-the-board 6-9 month extension to developers to complete projects SWEETY ADIMULAM Mumbai People’s forums have expressed disappointment against the real estate authorities of Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka for giving developers blanket extensions of six to nine months to complete real estate projects amid the second wave of Covid-19. The president of the Maharashtra Societies Welfare Association, Ramesh Prabhu, said, under section 6 of RERA Act, there was a provision to give a one-year extension under the force majeure clause, provided the developer/promoter made an application. But MahaRERA had given a blanket extension to all, which was uncalled for. He explained, “This force majeure clause, why is it only applicable to the builders and not to the allottee (homebuyer)? For instance, if an allottee has lost their job and wants to with- draw from the project, the concerned builder will deduct the amount the allottee paid as earnest money . Therefore, such an arbitrary extension for all projects was not needed. As a result, even efficient builders who would have otherwise completed their projects on time will become lethargic. It is a onesided decision, taken only to benefit developers.” Further, observed Prabhu, throughout this process, CONTD. ON NATION PAGE Daily drinking water a fundamental right: HC Raps authorities for plight of villagers who get water twice a month URVI MAHAJANI Mumbai Supply of regular drinking water is a fundamental right and it is really unfortunate that people have to knock at the doors of the court to get water even after 75 years of Independence, observed the Bombay high court on Wednesday while hearing a petition by the residents of Kambe village in Bhiwandi, Thane district. The villagers have been receiving water twice a month, that too for approximately two hours a day . LAST WORD allowed to board the bus. There was no way in the world that Aadhangale would leave Jacky alone, or in the care of anyone else. So, he asked his wife and children to go ahead with the journey while , he and his brother, Dinkar, 43, rode to Nashik on a bike, the good boy Jacky stacked in an open box that was placed between them. As Jacky isn’t used to such a long bike ride, the brothers took regular breaks to ensure the pet was fed and MSP rates have been tweaked in such a manner that the farmers will be encouraged to go in for crop diversification and snap out of the wheat-rice production cycle. But these support prices are clearly aligned in favour of oilseeds, pulses and coarse cereals. Among pulses, for instance, the MSP for gram has been increased by Rs 130 to Rs 5,230 per quintal and that of lentil (masur) has been hiked by Rs 400 to Rs 5,550 per quintal. SUGARCANE GROWERS MOST CHEATED: Surjewala said the most cheated is the sugarcane growers as the MSP has been increased by just 1.75% or just Rs 5 over the previous year from Rs 285 to Rs 290 CONTD. ON NATION PAGE Citizens’ forums upset with MahaRERA move Not without our Jacky SACHIN HARALKAR Mumbai of eligible products and services from the Indian offset partners, the announcement added. The Spanish C-295MW is a transport aircraft of 5-10 Tonne capacity with contemporary technology It has a rear . ramp door for quick reaction and para dropping of troops and cargo. Under the project, around 600 highly skilled jobs are expected to be generated directly; over 3,000 indirect jobs and an additional 3,000 medium skill employment opportunities with more than 42.5 lakh man-hours of work will be generated within the sector. allowed to stretch his limbs. “We didn’t want him to get stressed at any stage of the journey Jacky is a . family member and to look after him is our duty Aadhangale said. ,” The brothers set out for Nashik from Sion on Monday and reached , their destination only late Tuesday . It took them two days instead of four hours, but “every minute was worth it,” Aadhangale said. “He was in a playful mood when we reached Nashik,” he added. PIC SACHIN HARALKAR BETWEEN The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Modi on Wednesday cleared the purchase of 56 transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF) from Spain's Airbus. Of these, 16 aircraft are to be delivered in flyaway condition within four years and 40 to be manufactured in India within 10 years by a TATA consortium that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh hailed as "a major boost to Atmani-rbhar Bharat." He said all 56 aircraft will have indigenous electronic warfare suite while sev- eral MSMEs spread over the country will be involved in the manufacture of parts of the aircraft. This is for the first time that a private Indian company (Tata) will be producing a military aircraft, he said. The price tag was not specified for the purchase of the aircraft of 5 to 10 tonne capacity that will replace the ageing Avro aircraft, in use for the last 60 years. Sources, however, said the deal could potentially cost between ₹20,000 crore and ₹21,000 crore, depending on the exchange rate. The Spanish manufacturer is also bound by the offset obligation through direct purchase The observations were made by Justices SJ Kathawalla and Milind Jadhav while hearing a petition by Shobha Bhoi and others seeking direction to STEM Water Distribution and Infra company a joint venture be, tween the Thane Zilla Parishad and the BhiwandiNizampur City Municipal Corporation, to supply drinking water on a daily basis. The managing director of STEM, Bhausaheb Dangde, told the HC on Wednesday that they were supplying water daily but only to one par- ticular point and claimed that distribution of water from that point to the homes of the petitioners was the responsibility of the gram panchayat of the said village. Dangde further said that the demand for water in the said village had increased in the last few years owing to an increase in the population there. He said that they needed to upgrade their system. To this Justice Kathawalla questioned as to what the villagers should do till their system was upgraded. CONTD. ON NATION PAGE “This force majeure clause, why is it only applicable to the builders and not to the allottee (homebuyer)? For instance, if an allottee has lost their job and wants to withdraw from the project, the concerned builder will deduct the amount the allottee paid as earnest money... As a result of this extension, even efficient builders who would have otherwise completed their projects on time will become lethargic. It is a one-sided decision, taken only to benefit developers — Ramesh Prabhu, president, Maharashtra Societies Welfare Association NCP to field OBC faces for vacant local body seats SANJAY JOG Mumbai Days after the ruling and opposition parties agreed that the task of collecting OBC political reservation data (empirical data) should be done by the State Backward Classes Commission (SBCC), the Nationalist Congress Party on Wednesday reiterated that until then, elections to the local and civic bodies should be postponed. However, at the meeting of sitting and former legislators chaired by party chief Sharad Pawar, the NCP admitted that elections could not be indefinitely avoided and said if the state election commission were to announce a poll schedule, the party would field OBC candidates in seats that would have otherwise been reserved for the community . The NCP’s decision comes at a time when the Supreme Court has quashed political reservation for OBCs in local and civic bodies. The state has approached the Supreme Court with a plea to direct the Centre to share the empirical data on OBCs. NCP chief spokesman and Minority Affairs Minister Nawab Malik said, CONTD. ON NATION PAGE