02032023-TTB-01.qxd 3/1/2023 11:22 PM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 143 NO. 60 | 12 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2021-2023 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  HARYANA IMRAN SUSPENDS ‘JAIL BHARO’ PROTEST AS COURT ANNOUNCES POLLS WORLD /thetribunechd ADANI SECURES $3 BN CABINET OKAYS PROCUREMENT CREDIT FROM SOVEREIGN OF 70 TRAINER AIRCRAFT WEALTH FUND BUSINESS FROM HAL BACK PAGE BODY OF MAN WHO FLED ARMY CUSTODY FOUND, KIN PROTEST J&K thursday | 2 march 2023 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Rules violated, CPR’s FCRAlicence goes Was under scrutiny after I-T surveys in Sept Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 1 The Ministry of Home Affairs has suspended the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licence of prominent public think-tank Centre for Policy Research (CPR) over violation of laws, officials said. The CPR was under scrutiny after it faced income tax surveys in September last year. With the suspension of its FCRA licence, the thinktank will not be able to receive any funds from abroad. The donors of CPR included Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, University of Pennsylvania, World Resources Institute and Duke University, Focus on all global priorities, not just Ukraine conflict,says India as ForeignMinistersarrive EAM, Lavrov talk Ukraine GATES FOUNDATION AMONG DONORS Donors of CPR include Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, University of Pennsylvania, World Resources Institute and Duke University. It also receives grants from ICSSR sources said. CPR, a nonprofit organisation and a recognised institution of the Department of Science and Technology, also receives grants from the Indian Council for Social Science Research (ICSSR). The think-tank has been asked to give a clarification and provide documents regarding the FCRA funds continued on page 9 Sandeep Dikshit Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 1 India is keen that all priorities and not just the RussiaUkraine conflict be discussed at the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meet (FMM) to be held on Thursday. “We are very clear the ministerial should focus on all priorities that are currently relevant in the global context,” said Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra today, as the National Capital turned into a hub of diplomatic activity with two External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in New Delhi on Wednesday. PTI dozen Foreign Ministers, many from the world’s most economically powerful countries, sitting down for a gala dinner on the eve of the FMM. With the Ukraine conflict in the continued on page 9 New Delhi, March 1 External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday held wide-ranging talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, focusing on the Ukraine conflict, bilateral ties and issues related to the G20 meeting. Jaishankar tweeted only on aspects relating to bilateral cooperation and G20 issues. The Russian side said they also discussed enhanced coordination on the international stage and at multilateral fora — the UN, G20, SCO and BRICS included. “They confirmed their compliance with the estab- ENHANCED COORDINATION ON INTERNATIONAL STAGE TAKEN UP TOO: RUSSIAN SIDE lishment of a polycentric world order based on fair and democratic principles and the rule of law,’’ they added. Significantly, NSA Ajit Doval had visited Moscow in early February and called on Russian President Vladimir Putin besides meeting his counterpart Nikolai Patrushev. Jaishankar also met his counterparts Naledi Pandor (South Africa), WB Hoekstra (Netherlands), Santiago Cafiero (Argentina) and Geoffrey Onyeama (Nigeria). — TNS ANI INDIA BUNDLED OUT FOR 109 Australia came out strong in 3rd Test to end Day 1 at 156/4, taking a 47-run lead Entities must comply with law, says Jaishankar on BBC tax survey row Atishi, Saurabh AAP’s pick for Delhi Cabinet SCHEME FOR YOUNG PROFESSIONALS Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 1 India and the UK mentioned the legal process to each other over the BBC tax “survey” and the extradition of Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told British Foreign Secretary James Clever- UK CITES LEGAL PROCESS FOR DELAY IN EXTRADITING MALLYA, NIRAV ■ British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly formally launched the Young Professionals Scheme ■ The scheme will permit 3,000 degree holders each from UK and India to live, study and work in other country ly that “all entities operating in India must fully comply with relevant laws” when the latter raised the BBC tax surveys during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 ministerial. “UK Foreign Secretary brought up the BBC tax issue with the EAM today. He was firmly told that all entities operating in India must comply fully with relevant laws and regulations,” said an official source. When Jaishankar raised the issue of the pending extradition of Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya from London, Cleverly said: “The legal process in the UK, just as it is in India, is independent of the government. We always want to see the machinery of the justice system working promptly but those are the decisions of the British judicial system.” Last month, the income tax authorities had carried out surveys at the BBC offices in New Delhi and Mumbai. Moody’s ups India’s growth forecast to 5.5% Mann to meet Shah on Ajnala clash New Delhi, March 1 Moody’s Investors Service on Wednesday raised India’s economic growth estimate for 2023 to 5.5% from 4.8% pegged earlier, on the back of a sharp increase in capital expenditure in the Budget and a resilient economic momentum. It, however, revised downwards India’s growth estimate for 2022 to 6.8% from 7% pegged in November last year. In its February update to Global Macro Outlook 2023-24, Moody’s raised the baseline 2023 real growth projections “meaningfully” for several G20 economies, LPG GETS COSTLIER; ATF PRICE CUT BY 4% AT ~1.49L CR, FEB GST REVENUE RISES 12% May give feedback on law and order situation in Punjab today Sanjeev Singh Bariana Tribune News Service ~50 rise in domestic LPG rate ~1,103 per refill cost in Delhi ~350.50 increase in commercial LPG rates ~2,119.5 per 19 kg refill cost in Delhi ~4,606.50 per kilolitre cut in ATF price ■ Revenue up due to higher collections from imports, high consumer spending ■ Intake from HP ~691 cr, Punjab ~1,651 cr, Haryana ~7,310 cr and Delhi ~4,769 cr ■ February revenue lower than January’s ~1.58 lakh cr, which was second highest since 2017 including the US, Canada, the Euro area, India, Russia, Mexico, and Turkiye, accounting for a stronger end to 2022. “In the case of India, the upward revisions addi- tionally incorporate the sharp increase in capital expenditure Budget allocation to Rs 10 trillion, up from Rs 7.5 trillion for year ending in March 2023,” Moody’s said. — PTI Chandigarh, March 1 Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Thursday to discuss the law and order situation in the state, especially in the wake of the recent storming of an Ajnala police station by a mob led by Khalistan sympathiser Amritpal Singh. A senior functionary of the CM’s Office said: “The CM has got an appointment with Shah for Thursday afternoon. CENTRE KEEPING CLOSE WATCH ■ On Feb 24, a mob led by Khalistan sympathiser Amritpal Singh stormed Ajnala police station over release of aide ■ MHA recently sought report on incident from Punjab Police; Intel agencies also shared a report He is expected to have a detailed discussion on the Ajnala incident. The Home Ministry has got its feedback on the incident from various sources. However, CM Mann is expected to give an updated feedback on the ground situation. The state is expecting support from the Centre on the issue.” The meeting has been scheduled at 3.30 pm. “The incident is a warning sign for the state. It needs to chalk out an action plan. The state is not prepared for upheaval witnessed in the past,” said the functionary. The meeting also gains relevance in light of the Union continued on page 9 Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 1 A day after two jailed Delhi ministers, Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain, resigned from their respective posts, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday recommended the names of party MLAs Atishi and Saurabh Bhardwaj to Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena for their induction into the Cabinet. Atishi, a key member of former Deputy CM Sisodia’s education team, will become the first woman minister in the Kejriwal government. She represents the Kalkaji constituency. Saurabh, party’s national spokesperson, is currently serving the Delhi Jal Board as its vice-chairman. The legislator from Greater Kailash was also a minister during the first stint of the AAP government. Denying any crisis in the AAP government following the arrest of Sisodia, Kejriwal said, “PM Narendra Modi wants to stop the good work Atishi Saurabh KEJRI GOVT’S FIRST WOMAN MINISTER ■ Atishi, who represents Kalka- ji, will be the first woman minister in Kejriwal govt ■ She was a key member of former Deputy CM Sisodia’s education team ■ Saurabh, AAP’s national spokesperson, is vice-chairman of Delhi Jal Board ■ Greater Kailash MLA was also a minister during the first stint of AAP govt being done in Delhi, but I want to assure the people it will not stop... Both Atishi and Saurabh are highly educated and professional leaders. They will carry on the good work at double the speed.” No entry without nod of panchayat, HP public service panel under Malpractices Act Kaithal village tells Rajasthan cops Move to check paper leak | Govt recently dissolved staff selection commission Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Our Correspondent Jammu, March 1 A team of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and top officials of the J&K administration held a meeting here on Wednesday in which the issue of targeted killings also surfaced. Home Minister Amit Shah has sent the team to the Union Territory to assess the security situation and review the work on various developmental projects. The MHA team, headed by Joint Secretary, Lokhande Prashant Sitaram, held the meeting with senior officials, including Additional Chief Secretary (Home) RK Goyal and Director General of Police Dilbag Singh, at Civil Secretariat here. continued on page 9 A mahapanchayat being held at Baba Ladana village in Kaithal. tion with the murder of Junaid and Nasir, both Rajasthan residents, whose charred bodies were found in a burnt vehicle in Bhiwani district on February 16. The police have booked Kalu, a resident of the village, and are conducted raids to nab him. During a panchayat meeting held a few of days ago at the village, the residents had expressed solidarity with Kalu’s family and decided not to allow the Rajasthan Police to conduct raids in the village. Kalu’s family members had accused the police continued on page 9 Shimla, March 1 The state government decided to bring the Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (HPPSC) within the ambit of the Himachal Pradesh Prevention of Malpractices at University, Board or other Specified Examinations Act, 1984, at a Cabinet meeting here today. The decision has been taken to avert any malpractices and ensure fair and transparent selection of candidates on merit. CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu presides over a Cabinet meeting. TRIBUNE PHOTO The decision comes after the Himachal Pradesh Staff Selection Commission in 14K cases a year, hepatitis C prevalence highest in Punjab Karam Prakash MINISTER CITES HIGH NUMBER OF DRUG USERS Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 1 In an alarming revelation, the Centre reported that Punjab witnessed over 55,000 cases of hepatitis C in the past four years, with 14,333 in 2021-22 alone, the highest in the country. Health officials say hepatitis C is caused by a bloodborne virus which leads to inflammation in liver. It can spread through the use of ALARMING SCENARIO ISTOCK In Jammu, MHA team discusses security situation Kaithal, March 1 Hundreds of cow activists and villagers attended a mahapanchayat at Baba Ladana village in Kaithal district on Wednesday and decided to allow police to enter the village only after seeking the consent of the sarpanch, panchayat member, numbardar or chowkidar. They condemned raids being conducted by the Rajasthan Police in connec- BHIWANI MURDERS injectable drugs, unsafe injection practices, unsafe healthcare and transfusion of unscreened blood and blood products. Year 2019-20 2020-21 2021 -22 2022 -23 Cases 14,582 10,847 14,333 16,136 (till Jan) As per the data from the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, while Punjab reported 14,333 cases in 2021-22, Uttar Pradesh wit- nessed 13,065 cases and Haryana 6,285 cases. In 202223, Punjab is set to surpass all previous figures with 16,136 cases already reported till January. Asked about the high prevalence of hepatitis C in the state, Punjab Health Minister Dr Balbir Singh said it was a cause of concern and the state government was committed to address the issue on priority. “We will soon launch a programme to ascertain the possible causes of the spread of Hepatitis C. The rise could be due to high number of intravenous drug users,” he said. Last year, a large number of jail inmates were found infected with the disease. Besides the highest number of cases, Punjab tops the nation in loss of positive cases (to discontinue the treatment). Of 14,333 patients in 2021-22, 4,325 or 30 per cent did not complete the treatment. Hamirpur was recently dissolved over alleged irregularities. “The step has been tak- en to check the rampant paper leaks and rein in the exam paper mafias that have been active in the state,” said a source. “The government wants to make the selection process absolutely transparent, so the need was felt to bring the Public Service Commission under the 1984 Act,” the source said. The other major decision by the Cabinet was to bring 90,362 MGNREGA workers, ekal naris and persons with more than 40 per cent continued on page 9 IN BRIEF NIA files additional chargesheet against 3 BKI men NEW DELHI: The NIA on Wednesday filed a supplementary chargesheet against three Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) operatives in a case related to seizure of arms & ammo in Haryana last year. PTI Hindenburg: SC to deliver verdict on pleas today NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court will on Thursday deliver its ver- dict on a bunch of petitions seeking an inquiry into the Hindenburg-Adani report that led the Adani Group shares to crash. TNS Indian-origin MIT Professor awarded Marconi Prize NEW YORK: Hari Balakrishnan, an Indian-origin MIT Professor, has received prestigious Marconi Prize for fundamental discoveries in wired & wireless networking, mobile sensing, and distributed systems. PTI