FREE PRESS FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms - VOL. 11 NO. 313 | BHOPAL | TUESDAY | APRIL 26, 2022 | PAGES 14 WWW.FREEPRESSJOURNAL.IN Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2021-2023; EDIT LEARN FROM INDIRA, NOT FROM A POLL STRATEGIST THE PIONEERING NIGHTINGALE Pg-12 INDIA 3rd-LARGEST MILITARY SPENDER AFTER US, CHINA India's military spending of $76.6 billion ranked third highest in the world followed by the US and China, stated Sweden based think-tank -- Stockholm InRePeace ternational search Institute (SIPRI) -in its report published on . Monday The report stated that India's military spending was up by 0.9 per cent from 2020 and by 33 per cent from 2012. In a push to strengthen the indigenous arms industry, 64 per cent of capital outlays in the military budget of 2021 were earmarked for acquisitions of domestically produced arms. India is facing the threat of a two-front war -- from China and Pakistan. Since 2020, India has been engaged in border dispute at Line of Actual Control with China. The report also stated total global military expenditure has increased by 0.7 per cent in real terms in 2021, to reach $2,113 billion. It stated that the five largest spenders in 2021 were the US, China, India, the UK and Russia, together ac- Usha Thakur flags encroachment by ‘particular class’ LINKS IT TO situation shown in The Kashmir Files News Brief DEGREES OF PAK INVALID NEW DELHI: The University Grants Commission(UGC) and the All India Council for Technical Education(AICTE) have in a joint circular advised the students not to go to Pakistan for any kind of studies as degrees obtained from there will not be valid to pursue higher education or find a government job in India. RETIREMENTS TO HIT SC WORK NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court work will be hit in the coming months because of the retirement of seven judges, including two chief justices, in 2022. It already has the pendency of 70,362 cases as on April 1, 2022. The year will also see three Chief Justices taking the charge. NO HC BREATHER FOR RANA COUPLE MUMBAI: Bombay High Court Monday dismissed a writ petition filed by lawmaker couple Navneet Rana and Ravi Rana, both arrested under various charges in connection with the Hanuman Chalisa recital controversy, seeking that one of the two FIRs registered against them under section 353 of the IPC be quashed. ADANI WORLD'S 5TH RICHEST NEW DELHI: Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani has become the world's fifth-richest person overtaking legendary investor Warren Buffett, according to Forbes data. According to Forbes estimates, while Warren Buffett's net worth stood at $121.7 billion. Buffett is 91 years old. INDORE A Madhya Pradesh minister on Monday said people from a “particular class” were allegedly encroaching land in a town near Indore and asked others to be on alert lest a situation like the one depicted in the film The Kashmir Files is created. The film depicts atrocities committed on the Kashmiri Pandits by Pakistanbacked terrorists, leading to their migration from the region. Addressing industrialists at a function organised by Laghu Udyog Bharti here, MP Culture and Spiritualism Minister Usha Thakur said, “I had warned you a few days ago that the way random encroachment by a She asked local industrialists to alert admin about such encroachments particular class is going on at Sanwer Road (industrial area), it will become the cause of trouble.” “My sincere request to you is not to just shed tears while watching The Kashmir Files. By becoming a vigilant watchdog, you should also be worried whether is file a such being created in your streets and areas,” the minister added. She asked local industrialists to alert the administration about such encroachment and she would help in getting them removed. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence has seized 205.6 kg heroin worth Rs 1,439 crore from a container near Kandla port in Gujarat and arrested an importer from Punjab in this connection following an extensive search operation, the DRI . said on Monday According to a senior police official, the contraband was recovered from one of the 17 containers which had arrived at the Kandla port from Iran between September and October last year. SC junks plea against mandatory vax for students NEW DELHI The Supreme Court on Monday declined to entertain a plea challenging a Karnataka government order, which made Covid-19 vaccination mandatory for students and staff for physical attendance in educational institutions. A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and Surya Kant said this is a matter where the court should not interfere. "We will not entertain this. Take your vaccine in wider national interest, there are some matters, where we should not interfere," said Justice Chandrachud. CONTD. ON P6 Earlier on April 21, the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad had announced that the DRI in a joint operation with the ATS seized over 200 kg of heroin worth Rs 1,300 crore after conducting a raid at a container station near Kandla port in Kutch district of the state. On Monday, the DRI in a release said, "Based on intelligence developed jointly with officers of the Gujarat ATS, officers of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence are currently examining a consignment, imported by an Uttarak- Gujarat Independent MLA Jignesh Mevani was rearrested by Assam Police on Monday for allegedly assaulting officials after a court here granted him bail in a case related to a tweet by him against Prime Minister Narendra Modi . on Monday Mevani, an MLA supported by the Congress, was booked under IPC Sections related to voluntarily causing hurt, assault or criminal force to deter public MOBILE TEAMS to repair defunct hand pumps OUR STAFF REPORTER city.bhopal@fpj.co.in Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has asked all the officials to remain on toes and ensure proper supply of potable water in cities as well as far flung also Chouhan areas. warned of action if complains related to water supply are not met in time. Chouhan had first called a meeting of senior officials of PHE department in the morning and apprised them of large number of complaints coming from Officials ground. the briefed CM that there was issue with power and low voltage supply because of which overhead water tanks could not be filled. CM asked the officials to chalk out a proper strategy hand-based firm at Kandla port." The consignment arrived at the Kandla port from the Bandar Abbas port, Iran. The consignment, imported in 17 containers having 10,318 bags, had a gross weight of 394 metric tonnes and was declared as "gypsum powder", said the release. "So far, 205.6 kg of heroin, valued at Rs 1,439 crore in the illicit market, has been recovered. A detailed examination of the consignment is still going on at the port," the DRI said. CONTD. ON P6 servant disfrom of charge duty his and others, police said. Earlier in the day, a Kokrajhar court granted him bail in connection with a case related to his tweet against Modi. The Gujarat legislator was arrested on April 19 from Palanpur town in Gujarat after an FIR was registered against him in Kokrajhar. He was brought here two days later. CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan convenes meeting at CM House at 6:30 am on water crisis in state on Monday Despite internal disagreements, the Twitter board is reportedly inching towards hostile the finalising takeover deal worth $46.5 billion made by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and an announcement was expected as early as Monday (US time). San Francisco, April 25 (IANS) Despite internal disagreements, the Twitter board is reportedly inching towards finalising the hostile takeover deal worth $46.5 billion made by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and an announcement was expected as early as Monday (US time). The Washington Post reported, citing people close to the matter, that Twitter is in discussions to "sell itself to Elon Musk" and could "finalise a deal as 29.40c. 24.00c soon as this week". "The two sides met Sunday to discuss Musk's proposal and were making progress, though still had issues to hash out, the peo- ple said. There is no guarantee they will reach a deal," the report said. The New York Times also reported that Twitter's board is seriously considering Musk's offer to buy . the company Musk's initial bid of about $43 billion was seen as undervaluing the com. pany significantly The Tesla and SpaceX CEO last month further revealed his Twitter takeover Sunrise : 05.58 Sunset : 06.51 State loses 17 tigers in 107 days BHOPAL A total of 17 tigers have died in Madhya Pradesh in the last 107 days, including three due to poaching, an . official said on Monday "Between January 8 and April 24, a total of 17 tigers have died in the state. This includes three deaths due to poaching, with two of them being electrocuted. Between January and December last year, the state had lost 42 tigers, the biggest chunk of the 127 deaths nationwide reported by the National Tiger Conservation Authority," he said. Ajay Dubey, founder of Prayatna, an environmental action group, said the deaths were caused due to shrinking prey base, like deer, and said this was an alarming situation. "I also agree territorial fights are a big reason. Tigers kill as they feel a fellow big cat that has entered its territory will reduce the prey base. This fight for survival is costing MP dear. The forest department must focus on developing grasslands so that the herbivore prey base can be increased," Dubey said. Refuting these claims, a forest official said there was no shrinking of prey base and nor was there a shortage of grasslands. Only three deaths took place due to poaching, after which vigil was increased, with officials of the power department and asked them to come prepared with plan at 6 in the evening. In the evening officials of power department and PHE- both were present and sites were discussed where problem related to low voltage was reported. Officials from the power department ensured of proper voltage. On the other hand, CM Chouhan instructed installations of 5000 new hand pumps in problematic area. PHE officials informed CM that 95% of the hand pumps were working and supply water. At present there are 5.57 lakh hand pumps in rural areas besides 16,915 piped water connections. CONTD. ON P6 Govt blocks 16 YouTube channels, one FB account Prashant's entry in Cong put in limbo as TRS hires I-PAC NEW DELHI The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has blocked 16 YouTube news channels, including six Pakistan and ten India based channels having a cumulative viewership of over 68 crore, for spreading disinformation related to the country's national security, foreign relations and public order. The ministry also blocked one Facebook account. "It was observed that these channels were used to spread fake news over social media on matters related to , national security India's foreign relations, communal harmony in the country, and public order. None of the digital news publishers had furnished information to the Ministry as required under rule 18 of the IT Rules, 2021," the I&B ministry said. Utilizing the emergency powers under the IT Rules, 2021, the inistry issued orders on April 22 for blocking of 16 YouTube based news channels and one Facebook account. The ministry noted that the content published by some of the India based YouTube channels referred to a community as terrorists, and incited hatred among the members of various religious communities. Twitter 'inching closer' to finalising $46.5-bn deal with Musk AGENCIES New Delhi nominal terms, however, military spending grew by 6.1 per cent." As a result of a sharp economic recovery in 2021, the global military burden -world military expenditure as a share of world gross domestic product (GDP), fell by 0.1 percentage points, from 2.3 per cent in 2020 to 2.2 per cent in 2021. Meanwhile, the US military spending amounted to $801 billion in 2021, a drop of 1.4 per cent from 2020. CONTD. ON P6 CM REVIEWS SITUATION EARLY MORNING, ORDERS OFFICIALS TO... Mevani rearrested hrs after getting bail KOKRAJHAR continued to grow in 2021, reaching an all-time high of $2.1 trillion. This was the seventh consecutive year that spending increased. "Even amid the economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic, world military spending hit record levels," said Diego Lopes da Silva, Senior Researcher with SIPRI's Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme. "There was a slowdown in the rate of real-terms growth due to inflation. In WATER INSTALL 5K HANDPUMPS TO IMPROVE SITUATION CRISIS counting for 62 per cent of expenditure, according to new data on global military spending. World military spending Heroin worth ` 1,439 crore seized near Kandla port AHMEDABAD WEATHER EDITIONS: INDORE, BHOPAL, UJJAIN, MUMBAI, PUNE FOR 24X7 UPDATES NEW DELHI `3 QUALITY AT VALUE RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 plan that will see $25.5 billion in loans and $21 billion in personal equity -- taking the final bid to $46.5 billion. In a fresh filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Musk said that the funding is provided through two debt commitment letters from Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, in which the bank commits to offering a series of loans worth $25.5 billion. CONTD. ON P6 OUR BUREAU New Delhi Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Monday put in limbo the imminent induction of poll strategist Prashant Kishor Pandey (45) in the party for violating the condition she had slapped on him not to work for any party once he joins the Congress. She was apparently irked by Prashant, popularly known as PK, travelling to Hyderabad for finalising a deal with Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao before of his Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) signed a contract on Sunday with the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) in the Telangana Assembly elections the next year despite the fact that the Congress is its main rival party and Prashant had agreed to work for the Congress in all Assembly elections leading to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Congress general secre- tary and chief spokesman Randeep Singh Surjewala refused to comment on the Telangana development or say anything on PK's entry in the Congress, while addressing a Press conference on a meeting Sonia Gandhi held at her residence with an 8-member group she had set up last week to study a presentation by Prashant on April 16 and which gave its re. port to her on Thursday Sonia Gandhi talked to the group, which includes Surjewala, besides some sen. iors like A K Antony Surjewala said she has decided to set up an empowerment group, 2024 and its members would be finalised in some days. CONTD. ON P6 Female tiger cub found dead in Bandhavgarh OUR STAFF REPORTER BHOPAL Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR) lost another female tiger cub on Sunday, a forest official said on Monday. It is suspected that the cub, which was 7 to 8 months old, was killed in an attack by a tiger, the official said. Some forest beat guards on Sunday spotted the carcass, showing severe injury marks on head, stomach, back and ears in Dhamokhar buffer zone near Barbaspur area of reserve, BTR's field director BS Annigeri said. CONTD. ON P6 while the rest were due to natural reasons, the official added. As per the All-India Tiger Estimation Report 2018, Madhya Pradesh is home to 526 tigers, the highest for any state of the country. MP has six tiger reserves, namely Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Pench, Satpura, Pan. na and Sanjay Bhang to become medicinal plant OUR BUREAU New Delhi Bhang, a weed used by Sadhus for concentration and by others as an intoxicant that makes one laugh, cry or repeatedly do same thing, may soon be available in the market as a medicine full of protein. The scientists of the Lucknow-based National Biotanical Research Instite (NBRI) of the Government of India has developed three varieties of Bhang with a minimum of intoxicantion and a maximum protein. They are busy establishing increased protein content in Bhang, opening up its use as a medicine if the selected samples picked up from Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Manipur give the constant result as it will open up farming of Bhang as medicinal plant. The intoxicant THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) is more than 5% in the Bhang plant. CONTD. ON P6 Bible teaching in Bengaluru pvt school stirs controversy SHANKAR RAJ Bengaluru After the hijab in classrooms row in Karnataka, a fresh controversy threatens school education in the state. This time, a right wing group has objected to a school taking an undertaking from parents that they would not object to their wards carrying the Bible to class. A Hindu Janajagruti Samiti State spokesperson alleged that the school has asked non-Christian students to compulsorily carry and read the Bible. This violated Articles 25 and 30 of the Constitution, he said. Following the allegations, the Block Education Officer visited the school to take stock of the situation. "I have come here to get a report from the school authority," he said. Karnataka Primary and Secondary education Minister BC Nagesh said "no institution can teach religious textbooks. As you know, the Bible is a reli. gious book of Christianity Such things cannot be taught in our institutions. Whether it is a minority institution or other institutions. No religious practices are allowed" the minister was quoted by ANI. Principal of Clarence High School, Jerry George Mathew was quoted by ANI as asyingt, "We are aware that some people are upset about one of the policies of our school. CONTD. ON P6