cmyk
THE ASIAN AGENATION| 5
www.asianage.com
WINDOWS
President Droupadi Murmu
celebrates her birthday at
Rashtrapati Bhavan in New
Delhi on Thursday.
■ Report on Page 5 — PTI
Lt. Gen. Subramani
appointed as next
Vice-Chief of Army
New Delhi: Lt Gen. N.S. Raja
Subramani is set to be the
next Vice-Chief of Army
Staff with the government
clearing his appointment to
the post. The officer, who is
presently helming the
Army’s Central Command,
will succeed Lt. Gen.
Upendra Dwivedi. Lt. Gen.
Dwivedi, currently serving
as the Vice-Chief, will be
the next Chief of the Army
Staff when incumbent Gen.
Manoj Pande retires on June
30. Lt. Gen. Subramani has
been appointed as the next
Vice-Chief. In appointing Lt.
Gen. Subramani as the Vice-
Chief of the Army, the gov-
ernment followed the
seniority principle.
Full report on Page 4
Shah to attend Yoga
Day celebrations in Guj
Ahmedabad: Union home
minister Amit Shah will
participate in a yoga event
in Ahmedabad on June 21
(Friday) on the occasion of
International Day of Yoga.
Mr Shah will perform yoga
at a public garden on
Sindhu Bhavan Road in the
city with some other par-
ticipants.
Bhartruhari Mahtab is
pro-tem Speaker of LS
New Delhi: Seven-term par-
liamentarian Bhartruhari
Mahtab was on Thursday
appointed pro-tem Speaker
of the Lok Sabha. Mr Mahtab,
a BJP member from Cuttack,
was appointed by President
Droupadi Murmu to perform
the duties of the LS presiding
officer till the election of the
Speaker.
Full report on Page 5
COUNTERPOINT
WEATHER
Max : 39OC
Min: 31OC
RH: 41%
Rain: 10%
Forecast: Cloudy
ASTROGUIDE
Krodhi: Uttarayana
Tithi: Jyeshta Shukla
Chaturdasi till 7.30 am
Star: Jyeshta till 6.14 pm
Varjyam: Nil
Durmuhurtam: 8.23 am to
9.16 am; 12.44 pm to 1.36 pm
Rahukalam: 10.30 am to 12 pm
SUNSET TODAY 7.22 PM
SUNRISE TOMORROW 5.24 AM
MOONRISE TOMORROW 8.04 PM
MOONSET TODAY 4.15 AM
WB gov Bose: ‘Not secure’
with current Kolkata police
contingent in Raj Bhavan
RNI No. 57290/94, Regd No: DL-SW-05/4189/15-17
J&K will get
statehood &
its govt back
soon: Modi
Launches 84 projects
worth `1,500 crores
YUSUF JAMEEL
SRINAGAR, JUNE 20
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on
Thursday said that the
preparations for holding
Assembly elections in
Jammu and Kashmir
have begun and that its
statehood too will be
restored soon.
“The people of J&K
(will) elect their repre-
sentatives at the local
level, and through them,
you (will) find ways to
solve problems,” he said
in Srinagar and quipped,
“What can be better than
this?”
Elaborating, the Prime
Minister said, “The
preparations for the
Assembly elections have
started. The time is not
far when you will elect
the new government of
Jammu and Kashmir
with your votes”.
Mr Modi added that the
day “when J&K will,
once again, make its
future better as a state
will also come soon”.
The Prime Minister,
who was speaking at an
event titled “Empowe-
ring Youth, Transfo-
rming J&K” at the lake-
side Sher-i-Kashmir
International Conven-
tion Centre in Srinagar,
underlined the consis-
tent efforts the Centre
has been making under
his leadership to bridge
divides, both emotional
and geographic, between
it and J&K. He said:
“Dori dil ki rahi hou ya
Dilli ki (be it the distance
between hearts or the dis-
tance from Delhi), we are
trying our best to erase
them.” The PM unveiled
84 developmental pro-
jects worth `1,500 crores.
■ More on Page 5
Hasina to begin
her 2-day India
visit from today
New Delhi, June 20:
Bangladesh Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina
will pay a two-day state
visit to India beginning
Friday to further expand
the already close ties
between the two coun-
tries. It will be the first
incoming bilateral state
visit by a foreign leader
after the formation of
the new government in
India following the Lok
Sabha elections.
Ms Hasina was among
seven top leaders from
India’s neighbourhood
and the Indian Ocean
region who attended the
swearing-in ceremony of
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and the
Union council of minis-
ters at the Rashtrapati
Bhavan on June 9.
■ More on Page 5
In Vietnam, Putin signs deals Jaishankar, Ranil hold Colombo talks
to bolster links with S-E Asia
Hanoi, June 20: Russian
President Vladimir Putin
signed a series of deals
with Vietnamese
President To Lam on
Thursday, during a state
visit that comes as
Moscow is seeking to bol-
ster ties in Asia to offset
growing international iso-
lation over its military
actions in Ukraine.
The two signed agree-
ments to further coopera-
tion on education, science
and technology, oil and
gas exploration and
health. They also agreed to
work on a roadmap for a
nuclear science and tech-
nology centre in Vietnam.
NEW DELHI FRIDAY 21 JUNE 2024
PM meets US Dalai team, in signal to China
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi during a meeting
with the seven-member US
congressional delegation
in New Delhi on Thursday.
The US team was led by
Court gives Kejriwal bail,
might leave Tihar today
■ Bond set at `1L ■ AAP begins celebrations
SANJAY KAW
NEW DELHI, JUNE 20
In a major relief to Delhi
chief minister Arvind
Kejriwal, the Rouse
Avenue court on
Thursday granted him
bail almost three months
after he was arrested by
the Enforcement
Directorate in a money
laundering case linked to
the excise policy “scam.”
Special judge Niyay
Bindu also declined the
ED's prayer to keep in
abeyance the bail order
for 48 hours to allow the
Central agency to appeal
against it before a superi-
or court.
The judge ordered Mr
Kejriwal’s release on a
personal bond of `1 lakh.
She, however, imposed
certain conditions on the
AAP leader before granti-
ng him relief, including
that he will not try to
hamper the investigation
or influence the witness-
Delhi sees a huge spike in deaths
due to heatwave: 34 in last 24 hrs
■ Total goes up to 49 ■ NGO claims 192 homeless people died of heat
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, JUNE 20
The continued severe heat-
wave spell has claimed at
least 34 lives in Delhi in the
past 24 hours. The total
count of heatstroke-related
deaths in the city has now
gone up to 49.
Of the 34 fresh heat-relat-
ed deaths, 13 were report-
ed from Safdarjung
Hospital and seven more
from the Ram Manohar
Lohia Hospital, both run
by the Central govern-
ment, and 14 from Delhi
government-run hospitals.
About 500 other patients
suffering from heat-relat-
ed ailments are undergo-
Vladimir Putin
Following the talks, Mr
Putin said that the two
countries share an inter-
est in “developing a reli-
able security architec-
ture” in the Asia-Pacific
Region based on not using
force and peacefully set-
tling disputes with no
room for “closed military-
political blocs”.
WORLD| 6
Nasa chief Nelson: US
and India to expand
collaboration in space
Michael McCaul, chairman
of the House Foreign
Affairs Committee, and its
other members included
former US House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi. The delega-
Arvind Kejriwal
es. The judge also direct-
ed Mr Kejriwal to appear
before the court whenev-
er required and to cooper-
ate with the investiga-
tion.
Mr Kejriwal is expected
to come out of Delhi’s
Tihar jail after he fur-
nishes the bail bond
before the Rouse Avenue
court on Friday. “Once
we get the release order
from the court, Mr
Kejriwal can walk out of
jail,” a senior Tihar
prison officer told this
newspaper.
A woman suffering from a heat-related illness being
brought to the LNJP Hospital for treatment in New
Delhi on Thursday.
ing treatment at various Hospital, 26 are on life-
city hospitals. Of the 32 support systems.
patients admitted at RML
This was echoed by
Vietnam’s new President
To Lam, who said they seek
to further “further cooper-
ate in defence and security
to cope with non-tradition-
al security challenges”
while implementing ener-
gy projects and expanding
investments. He also con-
gratulated Mr Putin on his
re-election and praised
Russia’s “domestic politi-
cal stability”.
Mr Putin arrived in
Hanoi early Thursday
morning from North
Korea, where he and
North Korean leader Kim
Jong Un signed an agree-
ment. — AP
tion had earlier met the
Dalai Lama in McLeodganj.
The meeting with the spiri-
tual leader had infuriated
Beijing. —PTI
■ Report on Page 5
After the Rouse Avenue
court order, the Delhi CM
will remain imprisoned
only if the high court or
the Supreme Court stays
his bail order.
The money laundering
case against Mr Kejriwal
is an offshoot of a corrup-
tion case filed by the CBI
in the excise policy matter.
After the CBI case, the ED
stepped in and arrested the
Delhi CM on March 2.
The Rouse Avenue court
granted bail to Mr
Kejriwal just a day after it
had extended his judicial
custody till July 3.
Earlier in the day, the
judge had reserved the
order on his bail plea
after hearing the ED,
which sought to link him
to the alleged proceeds of
crime and co-accused.
The defence had, howev-
er, claimed that the prose-
cution had no evidence to
nail the AAP leader. The
grant of regular bail to
■ Turn to Page 4
— PTI
Delhi health minister
New Delhi: External
affairs minister S.
Jaishankar Thursday
held wide-ranging talks
with Sri Lanka’s top
leadership, including
President Ranil
Wickremesinghe, and
jointly commissioned
with him the Maritime
Rescue Coordination
Centre built with a $6
million grant from
India, as New Delhi
stepped up bilateral
cooperation with its
time-tested neighbour.
The EAM said he con-
veyed the warm greet-
ings of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and dis-
cussed the way forward
for the bilateral coopera-
tion.
■ More on Page 5
DELHI AGE| 16
Taylor Swift’s pvt jet vandalised
by climate activists in London
ahead of her show in Wembley
■ Minister vows to rectify system, accepts
moral responsibility as protests escalate
Govt admits leak, will
probe Neet-NET mess
RAKESH K SINGH and
BHASKAR HARI SHARMA
NEW DELHI, JUNE 20
Taking moral responsibil-
ity for the “errors in Neet-
UG examination (which
was) limited to specific
regions”, Union educa-
tion minister
Dharmendra Pradhan
said on Thursday that the
“UGC-NET” question
paper was leaked on the
DarkNet and ordered the
setting up of a high-level
committee to suggest fire-
walls to further strength-
en the National Testing
Agency (NTA), which
conducts entrance tests
for admission into vari-
ous courses.
The announcement of
the high-level committee
comes amid massive
furore and political spar-
ring over the alleged
irregularities in the Neet-
UG 2024 exam and the
scrapping of the UGC-
NET entrance test just a
day after it was held on
Leaks as Modi ‘crippled’, edu
bodies in RSS control: Rahul
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, JUNE 20
Launching a scathing
attack over the alleged
irregularities in the Neet-
UG exam and the cancel-
lation of UGC-NET,
Congress leader Rahul
Gandhi said Prime
Minister Narendra Modi
has “psychologically col-
lapsed” post-elections and
will struggle to run a gov-
ernment like this. He said
the main reason for paper
leaks is that educational
Saurabh Bharadwaj said
out of 310 heatstroke
patients admitted to vari-
ous city government-run
hospitals, 112 have been
discharged. “The condi-
tion of the remaining
patients is stable,” he
added.
As Delhi has been bat-
tling searing heatwave
conditions over the last
week, hospitals have seen
a rise in the number of
casualties and patients
owing to heatstroke.
The Centre for Holistic
Development, an NGO
working for the homeless,
has claimed that 192
homeless deaths were
■ Turn to Page 4
External affairs minister S. Jaishankar during a meeting with Sri Lankan President
Ranil Wickremesinghe in Colombo on Thursday.
cmyk
Vol. 31 No. 126 | 16 PAGES | `5.00
Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan address-
es a press conference in New Delhi on Thursday. — PTI
Tuesday. with several student
The minister reiterated groups staging protests
that the government is over alleged irregulari-
committed to holding
zero-error exams and will
have to rectify the system
ties in both the tests and
demanding a ban on NTA
and the resignation of Mr
as the government is com- Pradhan.
mitted to safeguarding Extending solidarity
the interests of students. with the students, the
The outcry against Congress said that it will
alleged irregularities protest at Parliament on
grew louder on Thursday, ■ Turn to Page 4
◗ RAHUL GANDHI said ment’s alleged silence
the Prime Minister has after the accused admit-
ted receiving Neet-UG
‘psychologically col- question papers before-
lapsed’ post-elections
and will struggle to run
hand, Mr Gandhi said,
“Silence is because the
a government like this Prime Minister is crip-
pled. Right now, the PM’s
institutions have been main agenda is the (elec-
captured by the BJP and tion of) Speaker. He is
its parent organisation, bothered about his gov-
the RSS, and paper leaks ernment and the Speaker
will not stop unless that is (election)...The Prime
reversed. Minister has psychologi-
At a press conference in cally collapsed and, know-
the national capital, when ing his personality, he
asked about the govern- ■ Turn to Page 4
TN hooch tragedy: Death
toll rises to 35, 4 arrested
`10 lakhs to kin of victims: Stalin
AGE CORRESPONDENTS
with agency inputs
the bereaved families.
State minister for
CHENNAI, JUNE 20 youth affairs and sports
development Udh-
The death toll in Tamil ayanidhi Stalin visited
Nadu’s Kallakurichi the district and handed
district due to con- over the “relief”
sumption of “methanol- cheques.
mixed arrack” climbed While the Opposition
to at least 35 on parties attacked the
Thursday, with about ruling DMK over the
40 others hospitalised. hooch tragedy, the state
Officials have government trans-
expressed concern that ferred the case to CB-
the death toll may rise. CID, held a review
Tamil Nadu chief meeting with top offi-
minister M.K. Stalin cials and appointed a
said four persons one-man commission
linked to the sale of poi- headed by retired high
sonous arrack have court judge B.
been arrested so far and Gokuldas for a detailed
announced `10 lakh probe into the incident.
assistance to each of ■ More on Page 5
— PTI
 CITY
THE ASIAN AGE | FRIDAY | 21 JUNE 2024 | NEW DELHI
IN BRIEF
Protest held for Roy
against UAPA trial
New Delhi: Left groups on
Thursday staged a protest
against the order to prose-
cute author
Arundhati Roy and
former central uni-
versity of Kashmir
professor Sheikh
Showkat Hussain
under the stringent Arundhati
Unlawful Activities Roy
(Prevention) Act.
Delhi lieutenant-governor V.K.
Saxena, earlier last week,
gave his sanction to prose-
cute Ms Roy and Mr Hussain
for allegedly making provoca-
tive speeches at an event in
2010. Holding banners and
posters demanding removal
of the UAPA charge against
the duo, scores of students
and members of CPI-ML gath-
ered here at Jantar Mantar to
register their protest. All India
Students Association (AISA)
also participated in the
protest, which observed a
Prativad Divas or protest day.
On October 21, 2010 Ms Roy
and Mr Hussain participated
in a conference organised
under the banner of “Azadi-
The Only Way”. According to
the Raj Niwas officials, the
issues discussed and spoken
about at the conference
“propagated the separation
of Kashmir from India”.
House help abducts
employer’s son, held
New Delhi: A woman, working
as domestic help, was arrest-
ed for allegedly kidnapping
her employer’s son and steal-
ing 500 grams of gold and
`5.70 lakh cash from his house
in West Delhi’s Uttam Nagar
area, the police said on
Thursday. The accused was
identified as Madhu Saini (40),
a resident of Sadar Bazar. The
matter came to light on June
16, when the victim’s father
Rakesh Kumar filed a com-
plaint and reported that his
son had been missing since
Saturday last week, along with
around 500 grams of gold
jewellery and `5.70 lakh cash,
DCP Ankit Singh said. Based
on the complaint, an FIR was
registered. Multiple police
teams were formed and CCTV
footage was examined to
identify the accused, Mr Singh
said. During the investigation,
the police found that Saini
had used her 14-year-old son
as a “tool” to befriend the
victim and kidnap him, the
DCP said.
Suspected criminal
held after gunfight
Noida: A 25-year-old wanted
criminal was arrested here fol-
lowing a gunfight with the
police in which he suffered
gunshot injuries, officials said
on Thursday. In a late-night
operation on Wednesday, the
Sector-113 police station team
in Noida engaged in an enco-
unter with two criminals. “The
police signalled the duo, who
were riding a motorcycle, to
stop for a check. However,
instead of complying, the
criminals opened fire on the
police team and attempted to
flee,” additional DCP Manish
Kumar Mishra said. “In the
ensuing exchange of gunfire,
the police managed to appre-
hend one of the criminals,
identified as Prakash alias
Chuha,” Mr Mishra said.
B.TECH DROPOUT
HELD FOR DUPING
MAN OF `7.5L
New Delhi: A 34-year-old
B.Tech dropout was arrested
for allegedly duping a man of
`7.48 lakh on the pretext of
online investment, the police
said on Thursday. During the
investigation, the police fou-
nd transactions to the tune of
`7.35 crore in the account of
the accused, they identified
as Ankit Gupta. He was also
found to have 12 complaints
registered against him on the
ministry of home affairs por-
tal. “On April 26, complainant
Dhan Singh Negi filed an
NCRP complaint stating that
he came in touch with a
woman on April 10, who lured
him to earn extra income by
spending a few hours,” DCP
Rohit Meena said. The com-
plainant was added to an
online messaging app group
and was cheated of `7.48
lakh in the name of invest-
ment and good returns, the
DCP said. Gupta was arrested
from Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur
district on June 13. Gupta,
during questioning, disclosed
that he in connivance with an
accomplice of his registered
four fake firms in his name
and opened bank accounts to
defraud people. His acco-
mplice, a Delhi resident, is
still at large and raids are
being conducted to nab him,
the police said.
■ Students gather outside Pradhan’s house, demand ban on NTA
AAP seeks INDIA support
Protests over Neet, Net rock to get water from Haryana
Delhi; several students held
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, JUNE 20
Around 50 students from
different universities and
members of various stu-
dents’ outfits were
detained on Thursday
while they were protesting
against the cancellation of
the UGC-NET examina-
tion and irregularities in
the Neet.
The students were
detained from outside the
ministry of education as
well as the education min-
ister Dharmendra
Pradhan’s residence
A large number of stu-
dents, including members
of political outfits such as
the Students’ Federation
of India (SFI), All India
Students Association
(AISA), Democratic
Students’ Front (DSF),
Krantikari Yuva
Sangathan (KYS), and
Congress-affiliated NSUI
participated in the
protest.
The students gathered
outside the education min-
istry and Mr Pradhan’s
residence demanding a
ban on the National
Testing Agency (NTA), the
body which conducts the
examination and a probe
into the alleged paper
leak.
Several members of the
National Students’ Union
‘Heatwave conditions abated from Delhi’
New Delhi, June 20: Light
rains and thunderstorm on
Thursday abated the heat-
waves in the national capi-
tal, according to India
meteorological depart-
ment. The maximum tem-
perature settled at 40°C one
notch above the season’s
average, while the mini-
mum temperature record-
ed at 29.6°C, two notches
above season’s average, the
IMD said.
“Heatwave conditions
have abated from Delhi on
Thursday under the influ-
ence of the current west-
ern disturbance and lower
level easterlies from Bay of
Bengal,” the IMD said.
The weather department
has predicted partly cloudy
sky with possibility of rain
or thunderstorm or dust
L-G asks staff
to provide aid
to homeless
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, JUNE 20
Delhi lieutenant-gover-
nor V.K. Saxena has
asked the chief secretary
to meet officers from the
Delhi urban shelter
improvement board and
the social welfare and
health departments in
the wake of a rise in the
instances of heat-related
deaths in the city. In a let-
ter, the L-G office has
directed the officials to
ensure adequate meas-
ures are in place for pro-
viding water and other
facilities to the destitute,
homeless and the poor.
“Fifty-two people have
been reportedly declared
dead on arrival (in hospi-
tals) and most of these
were destitute homeless
people. The actual num-
bers appear to be much
higher. The L-G is
anguished over such
unfortunate incidents in
the national capital,”
read the letter.
Elderly woman, son found
dead at home in N-W Delhi
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, JUNE 20
A 72-year-old woman and
her son were found dead
under mysterious circum-
stances inside their house
in Northwest Delhi’s
Shalimar Bagh area, the
police said. A domestic
help, who came to their
house Wednesday
evening, discovered the
two in an unconscious
condition, they said.
Santosh was in the bed,
while her son 42-year-old
son Kishan Kumar was
lying on the floor, a police
officer said.
The help called the
neighbours, who
informed the police.
Another officer said, a
police team took the two
to a hospital where
doctors declared them
Security personnel detain a student during a protest in New Delhi on Thursday over
the Neet-UG and UGC-NET examinations issue.
of India were detained
while protesting. During
the protest, NSUI national
president Varun
Choudhary flung a bag
full of counterfeit curren-
cy in the air and demand-
ed an urgent probe into
the matter.
“Now the UGC NET
examination has been can-
celled due to a paper
leak... NTA has failed stu-
dents time and again. We
demand a complete scrap-
ping of the NTA,” AISA
unit of JNU in a statement
said. Students who joined
the protest were manhan-
Clouds hover in the sky in Noida on Thursday morning.
storm on Friday. The maxi-
mum and minimum tem-
perature are likely to settle
around 40 and 29°C respec-
tively, it said.
Humidity oscillated
between 67 per cent and 46
Central team visits hospitals to
check readiness for heat patients
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, JUNE 20
A Union health ministry
team visited AIIMS and
three other Centre-run
hospitals — RML,
Safdarjung, and Lady
Hardinge — here on
Thursday to take stock of
the preparedness for heat-
stroke patients and also to
assess the number of
deaths due to the illness
over the last few days. The
three-member team was
constituted by Dr Atul
Goel, director-general of
health services (DGHS) on
the instructions of Union
health minister J P
Nadda.
Mr Nadda on Thursday
asked health ministry
officials to visit Central
government hospitals reg-
ularly till heatwave condi-
tions persist to review the
arrangements that have
been made for patients
coming to the hospitals
with heatstroke.
“They reviewed the pre-
dead.
It is suspected they both
were dead long before the
maid spotted them, he
said.
The cause of the death
will only be ascertained
in the post mortem exam-
ination report, he said,
adding. no foul play was
suspected so far.
Kishan Kumar was a
habitual drinker and a
bottle of liquor was
recovered from the spot,
the officer said.
The bodies were handed
over to the woman's daugh-
ter, who lives in Delhi’s
Nihal Vihar. Her another
son, who live in Japan, has
also been inf-ormed about
the incident.
The woman owned two
shops on the ground floor,
which had been rented
out.
— PRITAM BANDYOPADHYAY
dled and assaulted by the
police, the outfits alleged.
“Female students were
heckled and manhandled
brutally,” said the SFI.
The DSF said, “Instead
of addressing the con-
cerns of the students and
holding the NTA account-
able, the Delhi police bru-
tally attacked and
detained several students
including JNUSU repre-
sentatives from the protest
site.”
The claims were refuted
by the police who said per-
mission was not taken to
protest in the high securi-
— PTI
per cent.
Swathes of northern
India, including the nation-
al capital, have been in the
grip of a punishingly long
heat wave, increasing heat
stroke casualties and
A woman covers her child’s head with a cloth for pro-
tection from the scorching sun in New Delhi.
paredness of the hospitals
and also assessed the
exact number of deaths
that have happened over
the past few days due to
heatstroke,” an official
said.
The unrelenting heat-
wave sweeping large parts
of the country has
claimed at least 114 lives
and left over 40,984 people
grappling with suspected
heatstroke between
Tillu gang member nabbed
after encounter with police
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, JUNE 20
The Delhi police has
arrested an alleged sharp-
shooter of the Tillu
Tajpuriya gang from
Rohini following a brief
encounter.
Sumit had jumped the
parole in a murder case
registered at the Kanj-
hawla police station and
was also wanted in another
murder case lodged at the
Alipur police station.
The police said he also
allegedly murdered an
active member of the Gogi
gang in April after jump-
ing parole.
“He was arrested after a
brief shootout with the
team of special staff of
Rohini police,” deputy
ty area, which remains
under section 144. The stu-
dents’ outfits also demand-
ed the resignation of Mr
Pradhan over the alleged
corruption in the exams.
Indian Youth Congress
(IYC) workers too staged a
protest near the residence
against the alleged rig-
ging. IYC president
Srinivas B.V. said that the
“scam” is not just cheat-
ing with the students but a
betrayal of the future of
the country. Several IYC
workers were detained in
the protest, the statement
added.
prompting the Centre to
issue advisory to hospitals
to set up special units to
cater to such patients.
During the past three
days, the bodies of 50 peo-
ple evidently belonging to
the underprivileged back-
grounds were recovered
around Delhi, police said
on Wednesday. Meanwhile,
the Air Quality Index (AQI)
of the national capital at 9
am was recorded in the
“moderate” category with
a reading of 161, according
to the Central Pollution
Control Board.
An AQI between zero and
50 is considered “good”, 51
and 100 “satisfactory”, 101
and 200 “moderate”, 201
and 300 “poor”, 301 and 400
“very poor”, and 401 and
500 “severe”. — PTI
— PTI
March 1 and June 18 this
year, health ministry
sources said on Thursday.
Uttar Pradesh is the
worst-affected, having
reported 37 deaths fol-
lowed by Bihar, Rajasthan
and Odisha, according to
the data compiled under
the national heat-related
illness and death surveil-
lance by the National
Centre for Disease
Control (NCDC).
◗ SUMIT HAD jumped
parole in a murder case
registered at Kanjhawla
police station and was
also wanted in another
murder case
commissioner of police
(Rohini) Guriqbal Singh
Sidhu said.
The officer said Sumit,
who also works for the
Sandeep Dheela gang, is
the main person who
arranged weapons for the
Tillu Tajpuriya gang.
The deputy commission-
er of police said on
Wednesday, the special
staff of Rohini received
information about Sumit
that he would be passing
through the Begumpur
area after which a team
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, JUNE 20
Amid the ongoing water
crisis in the city, AAP
Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay
Singh on Thursday sought
the INDIA bloc’s support
in the party’s fight to get
Delhi’s share of water
from Haryana.
Accusing the BJP of
sponsoring the water cri-
sis in the national capital,
Mr Singh said, “They
carry out protests and
indulge in theatrics. If
they really want Delhi to
get water, they should
protest outside Haryana
Bhawan”. He said water
minister Atishi will be
starting an indefinite fast
from June 21 to get Delhi’s
share of water from
Haryana, which is ruled
by the BJP.
“I appeal to INDIA bloc
parties to support us in
this fight. We are asking
for our share of water
from Haryana,” said Mr
Singh, adding that “we are
not asking for any addi-
tional water from
Haryana. The Haryana
government has stopped
drinking water of 100
MGD, equivalent to the
demand of 28 lakh people,
we are only asking for that
same water. This will
solve the water crisis”.
The AAP MP said, “As a
minister, Ms Atishi made
continuous efforts for the
people of Delhi. She went
to many places and plead-
ed. She repeatedly request-
ed the L-G, officials, the
central government and
the Haryana government
to give Delhi its due share
of water. She has been
repeatedly requesting all
the departments con-
cerned to give water to 28
lakh people as per their
rights to give us the water
that we have been getting.
However, the BJP is not
ready to listen to even a
Centre asks states
to celebrate Int’l
Day of Yoga today
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, JUNE 20
The Union health ministry
has urged states to observe
the International Day of
Yoga (IDY) on June 21 at all
operational Ayushman
Arogya Mandirs (AAMs)
by organising mass
demonstrations. It also
suggested inviting promi-
nent public figures as yoga
ambassadors to motivate
the participants.
Ayushman Arogya
Mandirs are envisaged to
deliver expanded health
services beyond maternal
and child care to include
care for non-communica-
ble diseases, palliative
and rehabilitative care,
oral, eye and ENT care,
mental health and first
level care for emergencies
and trauma, including
free essential drugs and
diagnostic services.
In a letter to states
recently, Union health sec-
retary Apurva Chandra
said yoga is a vital part of
comprehensive primary
healthcare at Ayushman
Arogya Mandir (AAM)
and group sessions are
regularly being conducted
at AAM to promote holis-
tic health.
Moreover, mass demon-
strations are organised on
IDY every year. The
International Day of Yoga
led by inspector Amit
Dahiya,under ACP Ishwar
Singh, was constituted
and a tip-off was received
regarding Sumit thta he
would come to Rohini’s
Sector 24 area to threaten
a property dealer in an
extortion bid.
The team laid a trap and
he was spotted coming on
a motorcycle. Sumit
opened fire when he was
signalled to stop. In return,
the police fired back and
shot him in the leg.
Sumit was apprehended
and was taken to Baba Sa-
heb Ambedkar Hospital for
treatment, the police said.
“With his arrest, a total
of five criminal cases
including two murders
have been worked out,”
DCP Sidhu said.
A man carries a water can as buckets are seen in queue
to be filled from a water tanker in New Delhi.
— PRITAM BANDYOPADHYAY
‘Corruption, apathy, inaction’:
Delhi BJP MPs hit out at AAP
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, JUNE 20
The corruption, inaction
and appalling apathy of the
ruling Aam Aadmi Party
(AAP) has forced Delhi to
face an unprecedented cri-
sis of shortage despite the
release of adequate water
in Yamuna by neighbour-
ing Haryana, BJP MPs
alleged on Thursday.
In a joint press confer-
ence, Delhi BJP president
Virendra Sachdeva
accused water minister
Atishi of dishing out lies
on the issue and challeng-
ing her to verify the docu-
ments related to water
released by Haryana.
If there is shor ta g e
of water in Delhi,
how is it possible that
water tankers and
bottled water is freely
available, he asked.
Union minister of state
single word of Atishi, who
is a minister from Delhi”.
Announcing Atishi’s
hunger strike, Mr Singh
said that it would be the
first time in the history of
the country that a state’s
water minister is tired of
CJI, SC judges
will take part
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, JUNE 20
Chief Justice of India D.Y.
Chandrachud and other
Supreme Court judges will
participate in the 10th
International Yoga Day
celebrations on Friday.
“On the occasion of the
10th International Yoga
Day on 21 June 2024, a
Yoga Event will be organ-
ised for officers and staff
members of the Registry
in Congregation Hall, 2nd
floor, ‘C’ Block and Yoga
and Recreation Hall, 4th
Floor, ‘A’ Block, Additional
Building Complex,
Supreme Court of India.
The Chief Justice of India
and companion judges
will participate in the
event,”an apex court cir-
cular said.
(IDY) celebrated annually
on June 21 aims to gener-
ate awareness about its
vast potential in improv-
ing overall health and
wellbeing and to inculcate
the practice of yoga
among citizens. According
to a ministry of AYUSH’s
communication, the
theme for this year’s IDY is
‘Yoga for Self and Society’.
‘All 383 villages in Delhi to have
PNG connections by March 2025’
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, JUNE 20
All the 383 villages in the
national capital will be
provided with piped natu-
ral gas supply by March
2025, officials at the L-G
office said on Thursday.
Lieutenant-gover nor
V.K. Saxena, who had
envisaged the project, in a
recent review meeting was
informed by the officials
that so far 111 villages
have been equipped with
PNG connections and
another 200 will get it by
December 2024, they said.
“By March 2025, all 383
urban villages in Delhi
will have PNG supply,”
they said.
In June 2023, Mr Saxena
directed officers con-
cerned with providing the
villages with the best
amenities including PNG
pg 2
and East Delhi MP Harsh
Malhotra said that it was
the responsibility of the
ruling AAP to provide
water to people but they
were indulging in a blame
game and lies.
Northeast Delhi MP
Manoj Tiwari slammed the
AAP asking why it was not
calling a special session to
discuss the issue of water
crisis in Delhi.
Water minister Atishi
should apologise the
Delhi people for lying
over the water issue, said
South Delhi MP Ramvir
Singh Bidhuri.
Northwest Delhi MP
Yogendra Chandolia said
that Atishi used to blame
Haryana for not releasing
water for Delhi in
Yamuna but when her lies
were exposed she changed
her stand and started
pleading for it on humani-
tarian ground.
raising her voice for the
water crisis and is forced to
sit on an indefinite fast. “I
request all the parties of
the INDIA alliance to sup-
port Atishi and the Aam
Aadmi Party in this fight”,
he said.
‘Old vehicles
found parked
in public space
may be seized’
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, JUNE 20
Overage vehicles need to
be parked in private
spaces or be scrapped,
Delhi government said
in a public notice on
Thursday.
Vehicles found parked
in public places in viola-
tion of the guidelines
may be impounded, the
notice said. Reiterating
its guidelines for over-
age vehicles issued this
February, the transport
department said there is
a complete prohibition
on parking overage vehi-
cles in areas just outside
residences, which are
considered public place.
“Keep such vehicles in
private parking spaces
owned by the individual,
not in a shared parking
space, even if it’s part of
a residential complex. A
parking space allotted to
the owner within a resi-
dential complex is con-
sidered private,” it said.
According to the
notice, the Delhi govern-
ment has deregistered
5.5 million overage vehi-
cles. Owners of such
vehicles have the option
of obtaining a No
Objection Certificate
(NOC) to move the vehi-
cle out of Delhi within
one year of the vehicle's
expiry date, it said.
connections. The PNG
supply would go a long
way in transforming the
face of the villages in
Delhi, officials said.
The Indraprastha Gas
Limited (IGL) officials
informed the L-G in the
review meeting that 1.79
lakh households will bene-
fit from PNG connections
provided to 111 villages so
far. The company has
received 1.29 lakh applica-
tions for the connections
out of which 77,513 metres
have been installed so far.
The IGL and other con-
cerned agencies laid
pipelines within six
months after the project
was conceived and the
first-ever PNG connection
in Northwest Delhi's
Qutabgarh village was
inaugurated by the Lt
Governor in December
2023.
THE ASIAN AGE | FRIDAY | 21 JUNE 2024 | NEW DELHI pg 3
 NATION
THE ASIAN AGE | FRIDAY | 21 JUNE 2024 | NEW DELHI
pg 4

■ Panel formed for detailed probe ■ `10L relief declared

SHORT TAKES
UGC-NET paper leak
case: CBI files FIR
New Delhi: The CBI regis-
tered an FIR into the UGC-
NET paper leak case on
Thursday against unidenti-
fied persons on a reference
from the Union education
ministry, officials said. The
UGC-NET, 2024, exam for the
selection of junior research
fellows, assistant professors
and PhD scholars was con-
ducted by the national test-
ing agency (NTA) on June 18
in two shifts across the coun-
try. The next day, the
University Grants Commis-
sion received inputs from the
National Cyber Crime Threat
Analytics Unit of the Indian
Cyber Crime Coordination
Centre (l4C) that the paper
was available on the
darknet and was allegedly
being sold for Rs 5-6 lakh on
messaging platforms,
sources said. They said the
CBI will work in close coordi-
nation with the I4C while
initiating its own darknet
exploration softwares and
systems to nail down the
perpetrators. — PTI
Hooch tragedy toll in TN at 35, in `20K-cr bank fraud case
4 held; Opp slams ruling DMK
AGE CORRESPONDENTS,
with agency inputs
CHENNAI, JUNE 20
The death toll in Tamil
Nadu’s Kallakurichi dis-
trict due to consumption
of “methanol-mixed
arrack” climbed to at least
35 on Thursday, with
about 40 others hospi-
talised. Officials have
expressed concern that
the death toll may rise.
Tamil Nadu chief minis-
ter M.K. Stalin said four
persons linked to the sale
of poisonous arrack have
been arrested so far and
announced `10 lakh assis-
tance to each of the
bereaved families and
assured a thorough probe.
The chief minister said
that a thorough investiga-
tion would be done into
the supply of Methanol to
identify the culprits and
ED searches at 35 premises
AGE CORRESPONDENT, ◗ IT IS alleged that the to invest in real estate, for-
NEW DELHI, JUNE 20
shares of listed compa- eign investment and
investment in new ven-
The Enforcement nies were “rigged”, tures.
Annamalai, at a press con- Directorate on Thursday books of account were Bogus sales, capital
◗ CM M.K. STALIN said that a ference he said that the searched about 35 premis- window dressed for assets, debtors and profit
thorough investigation would be CM should have come es in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai obtaining higher loans were shown in group con-
done into the supply of Methanol to down to Kallakurichi to and Nagpur as part of a through collusion of cerns to get more loans so
identify the culprits and also the console the people who money-laundering probe auditors/professionals that it does not
procurement sources and posted a had lost their loved ones against a company and its get non-performing assets
message in his X page saying that he instead of deputing promoters accused of per- of a bank fraud of more (NPA) tag, the sources
Udhayanidhi Stalin. He petrating an alleged bank than `20,000 crore in a said.
was terribly distressed by the incident demanded the announce- loan fraud of more than number of listed compa- It is alleged that the
and was closely monitoring the ment on the closing down `20,000 Crore. nies which were finally shares of listed compa-
actions taken on all fronts of 100 TASMAC shops and The raids are being car- taken over in NCLT pro- nies were “rigged”, books
assured to extend ried out on the Amtek ceedings at nominal price of account were window
also the procurement commission headed by all help to the victims Group and its directors, leaving the consortium of dressed for obtaining
sources and posted a mes- retired high court judge B. through the schemes of including Arvind Dham, banks with nominal higher loans through col-
sage in his X page saying Gokuldas for a detailed the government once Gautam Malhotra and recovery, they further lusion of auditors/profes-
that he was terribly dis- probe into the incident. the mourning was over. others. said. sionals.
tressed by the incident Meanwhile, BJP’s He also announced a About 35 business and The Supreme Court too Thousands of crores of
and was closely monitor- national co-incharge of protest by the BJP on residential premises in had sought an ED probe, assets have been allegedly
ing the actions taken on Tamil Nadu affairs, P. Saturday. Delhi, Gurug the sources said. parked in the name of
all fronts. Sudhakar Reddy, wanted Leader of the Opposition ram, Noida, Mumbai According to the ED’s shell companies, a num-
While the Opposition the government to appoint in the state Assembly and Nagpur are being probe, this led to a loss of ber of foreign assets have
parties attacked the ruling a sitting high court Judge Edappadi K. Palaniswami raided since this morn- nearly `10,000-`15,000 been created and money
DMK over the hooch for the probe instead of a had demanded chief min- ing, the official sources crore to the excheq is still parked under
tragedy, the state govern- retired judge and demand- ister to step down and said. uer, the sources further the new names thro
ment transferred the case ed that the chief minister called for a state-wide The probe arose from a said. ugh benami directors
to CB-CID, held a review take responsibility for the protest on June 24 against CBI FIR against a group The Central agency and shareholders, the
meeting with top officials catastrophe. the government failure to entity of Amtek — ACIL apprehends that the loan sources in the agency
and appointed a one-man BJP state president K. prevent the tragedy. Limited — on allegations funds were “siphoned off ” said.

NIA crackdown on
Khalistani network
New Delhi: Cracking down
French scribe
leaves India
on proscribed terror outfit
Babbar Khalsa International
(BKI), the NIA on Thursday after work
conducted multi-state
searches and arrested a key
operative Jaspreet Singh
permit denied
from Ferozepur district in AGE CORRESPONDENT
Punjab who is linked with NEW DELHI, JUNE 20
designated terrorist Lakhbir
Singh Sandhu alias Landa. French journalist
The central anti- terror Sebastien Farcis has
agency searched the premis- become the second
es of 10 suspects today French journalist this
across Madhya Pradesh, year to leave India in
Gujarat and Punjab, leading unpleasant circum-
that led to the arrest of stances after a reported
Jaspreet Singh from Feroze- run-in with Indian
pur in Punjab. During the authorities.
search, the agency sleuths Mr. Farcis, who said he
seized one 32 bore revolver, worked as South Asia
69 cartridges of various correspondent for radio
bores, 100 gm heroin, 100 France Internationale,
gm opium, `2,20,500 cash Radio France and the
and various digital devices Swiss and Belgian
from Jaspreet, who was Public Radios and left
found to be associated with India earlier this week
the foreign based terrorist on June 17, alleged that
Hasina’s 2-day visit
to India from today
To hold talks with Modi tomorrow takes charge
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, JUNE 20
In an indication of the
importance of India’s
relations with
Bangladesh, the neigh-
bouring country’s Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina
will be undertaking her
second visit to New Delhi,
this time a two-day visit
starting Friday. Ms
Hasina will hold talks on
Saturday with Prime
Firefighters douse a fire which broke out in the empty coaches of a train parked near Minister Narendra Modi
Secunderabad railway station on Thursday. — PTI on the entire gamut of the
already-close bilateral
ties between both nations.
■ Rebels use camouflage jackets to target forces The Bangladesh PM will
reach New Delhi on
Key changes
in Army as
new chief
t w o AGE CORRESPONDENT
nations
will ink
s o m e
bilateral
pacts. Ms
Hasina
Sheikh Hasina will also
meet President Droupadi
Murmu and vice-presi-
dent Jagdeep Dhankhar
before returning home on
Saturday evening, the
MEA said on Thursday.
The Bangladesh Prime
Minister was among the
international leaders who
had attended the swear-
ing-in ceremony of Mr
Modi and the Union coun-
cil of ministers on June 9.
NEW DELHI, JUNE 20
Lt. Gen. N.S. Raja Subr-
amani will be the next
Vice-Chief of Army
Staff. Lt. Gen. Subram-
ani, who is presently
helming the Army’s
Central Command,
will take over from Lt.
Gen. Upendra Dwivedi,
who will take charge as
the next Army Chief on
June 30.
The top brass of the
Indian Army is also
going to see some
changes as Lt. Gen.
Dwivedi takes charge as
the new chief.

Naxals come up with strategy

Landa. on March 7 this year, the Friday following which Mr Modi had in Lt. Gen. Ajai Kumar
Union home ministry minister of external November last year high- Singh, Commander of
declined to renew his affairs S. Jaishankar will lighted the achievements the Southern Command,
3rd arrest by ED in journalist permit there- call on her in the evening. in bilateral ties with is also retiring on June

to escape drone hits in C’garh

Raj scheme case
New Delhi: The Enforcement
Directorate on Thursday said
that it has made a fresh
arrest in connection with its
money laundering probing
into alleged irregularities in
Jal Jeevan Mission scheme
being implemented in
Rajasthan. The arrested,
Mahesh Mittal, proprietor of
Shree Ganpati Tubewell
Company, was taken into
custody on Wednesday. He
was produced before a court
that sent him to ED custody
till June 24. Earlier this week,
the central agency had
arrested Padamchand Jain,
proprietor of Shree Shyam
Tubewell Company. A man
named Piyush Jain was the
first to be arrested in this
case in February. Probe
found that Padamchand Jain
and others were involved in
giving bribes to public ser-
vants in order to obtain ille-
gal protection and Mittal is
one of the main accused.
by preventing him from
practicing his profes-
sion which led to loss of
income.
Mr. Farcis said in a
post on X that “no rea-
son has been provided to
justify this work ban,
despite formal and
repeated requests made”
to the ministry, adding
that he had “tried to
appeal also but to no
avail so far”.
“I have been working
as a journalist in India
since 2011 and have
obtained all the neces-
sary visas and accredita-
tions. I have respected
the regulations imposed
in Inda for foreign jour-
nalists and never
worked in restricted or
protected areas without
a permit. On several
occasions, the MHA
even permitted me to
report from border
areas. Therefore this
work ban comes as a big
shock,” he said.
RABINDRA NATH
CHOUDHURY
RAIPUR, JUNE 20
Recovery of a special type
of military clothing
designed to camouflage
one in a jungle at an
encounter site in Sukma
district under Bastar in
Chhattisgarh by the secu-
rity personnel has estab-
lished that Maoists use
snipers to target the coun-
terinsurgency forces.
A pair of guerrilla
sniper smock jackets was
recovered at an encounter
site in Sukma district
recently taking the securi-
ty forces by surprise, a
senior police officer of
Sukma said on
Thursday.
“This was the first time
the Maoists’ camouflaged
wears were found at the
encounter site in Bastar. It
◗ A PAIR of guerrilla
sniper smock jackets
was recovered at an
encounter site in Sukma
district recently taking
the security forces by
surprise
has reinforced our belief
that Maoists deploy
snipers against security
forces. Besides, they use
sniper jackets to target
the security forces as
well as to avoid surve
illance and strike by
drones, the police officer
added.
“The Maoists camou-
flage them behind trees to
target the security forces
at a distance. The recov-
ery of the sniper jackets
at the encounter site in
Sukma district had estab-
lished it”, Bastar range
inspector general of
police P. Sunderraj told
this newspaper on
Thursday.
The snipe jackets also
come handy for the
Maoists to keep a track on
the movement of security
forces in the forests,
besides saving themselves
from Drone strike, a
police officer said..
In another development,
at least half-a-dozen tun-
nels, dug by Maoists in
jungles in Sukam district
to protect them from
drone attack, were found
at an encounter site
in Sukma district rece
ntly.
“Maoists use the tunnels
not only as a shield but
also to target security
forces. At one end of the
tunnel, the Maoists create
a booby trap for security
forces”, Mr Sunderraj
said.
Ms Hasina will be accord-
ed a ceremonial reception
at Rashtrapati Bhavan on
Saturday morning after
which she will hold talks
with Mr Modi. Later, the
India, Oz & France vow to
work for free Indo-Pacific
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, JUNE 20
With an eye on China,
India held its trilateral
meeting with France and
Australia on various
issues, including mar-
itime safety and security
in the Indo-Pacific, earlier
on Wednesday. The three
nations reaffirmed com-
mitment to advancing
their shared values and
working together towards
an inclusive and rules-
based Indo-Pacific, the
MEA said on Thursday.
The MEA on Thursday
Bangladesh since 2014,
including the land bound-
ary agreement and reso-
lution of the maritime
boundary with Bangl-
adesh.
said, “The trilateral focal
points meeting was held
on June 19. The Indian
side was led by Piyush
Srivastava, joint secretary
(Europe West) and
Paramita Tripathi, joint
secretary (Oceania and
Indo-Pacific), while the
French side was led by
Benoît Guidée, director
(Asia and Oceania), min-
istry of foreign affairs and
the Australian side was
led by Sarah Storey, first
assistant secretary, south
and Central Asia division,
department of foreign
affairs and trade.”
30. He could be succeeded
by Lt. Gen. Dhiraj Seth,
who is commanding the
South Western Army
Command in Jaipur.
Army Training Comm-
and chief Lt. Gen. Manj-
inder Singh is likely to
be the new head of the
South Western Army
Command in Jaipur.
Northern Command
Chief of Staff Lt. Gen.
Anindya Sengupta is
likely to head the
Central Command in
Lucknow on promotion.
Also, Western Comm-
and Chief of Staff Lt.
Gen. Devendra Sharma
is likely to move to
Shimla to head the Trai-
ning Command there.
The Leh-based 14
Corps is going to get a
new chief in Maj. Gen.
Hitesh Bhalla. He will be
putting up his new rank
of Lt. Gen. on July 1 in
his new office and will
succeed Lt. Gen. Rashim
Bali.

Spike in deaths due to
heat: 34 in last 24 hrs
■ Continued from Page 1
recorded in Delhi during the
heatwave from June 11 to 19.
Officials, however, could not
confirm if the deaths were
related to heatstroke.
L-G V.K. Saxena has directed
chief secretary Naresh Kumar
to immediately convey a meet-
ing with officers of various
departments to ensure ade-
quate measures are in place
for providing water and other
facilities to destitute, home-
less and poor. He also directed
the district magistrates to
visit the shelter homes and
hospitals in their respective
jurisdictions.
The Delhi police said they
had been receiving calls
regarding the unnatural
deaths of security guards, beg-
‘Leaks as Modi ‘crippled’, edu bodies in RSS control’
■ Continued from Page 1
will struggle to run a gov-
ernment like this.”
The former Congress
president also took a jibe
at the PM's image, saying
the Opposition has
demolished the “concept
of Narendra Modi”.
“Now no one is afraid of
him. People ridicule
him…The chest, which
was earlier 56 inches,
now I cannot give the
number, but it has
Kejriwal granted bail, Govt admits leak, to probe Neet-NET mess
might leave jail today ■ Continued from Page 1
and gunrunning. Paper leak ◗ THE EDUCATION ministry "Issue notice returnable on
Friday. The BJP, however, via DarkWeb marks a new July 8. In the meantime, fur-
■ Continued from Page 1 accused the Congress of trend in organised exam
said it is waiting for a report ther proceedings before the
Mr Kejriwal will give the Aam Aadmi Party indulging in petty politics as scams in the country. from the Bihar police’s high courts shall remain
gars and underprivileged peo- and its allies a stick to beat the Modi govern- it asserted that the Centre is Meanwhile, over two dozen economic offences unit on stayed."
ple. ment, as bail under the stringent PMLA can looking into the matter “very students from different uni- alleged irregularities in the While refusing to stay the
“The actual reason behind be granted only if the judge is prima facie sat- sensitively” and justice will versities and members of var- conduct of Neet in Patna counselling exercise, the
the deaths can only be ascer- isfied that the accused has not committed the be done with every student ious students' groups were and will take further bench said, "All this has been
tained after the autopsy,” a offence and that he is unlikely to commit any who appeared for the medical detained in the national capi- argued from day one and they
action on the basis of that (some petitioners) have been
senior police officer said. offence while on bail. entrance test. tal while they were protesting
The city's main crematori- Buoyed by the court order, the AAP sup- At a press conference, Mr against the cancellation of wanting stay of counselling.
um, Nigambodh Ghat, has also porters burst into celebratory mood. A large Pradhan, however, said the UGC-NET examination Meanwhile, the Supreme We have denied that."
seen a spike in the number of number of party supporters also burst fire errors in Neet examination and irregularities in the Neet. Court on Thursday sought "Ultimately, if all of you suc-
cremations. On Wednesday, crackers outside the chief minister’s resi- are limited to specific regions The students were detained responses from the Centre, ceed, everything will go. The
142 corpses were brought to dence. and strict action will be taken outside the Shastri Bhavan, NTA and others on a slew of examination goes and the
Nigambodh Ghat for crema- In her post on X, Aam Aadmi Party leader against any NTA official if which houses the education petitions seeking scrapping of counselling will also go," the
tion, against the daily average Atishi wrote, "Satyamev Jayate (truth alone found guilty. He also urged ministry, as well as outside the Neet-UG 2024 exam and a top court told the petitioners,
of 50-60 bodies, Suman Gupta, triumphs).” Feeling vindicated, the AAP on the Opposition parties to not Mr Pradhan's residence. court-monitored probe into one of whom sought defer-
general secretary of the its official social media handle on X said: politicise the issue, as isolat- Earlier in the day, the educa- the alleged irregularities in ment of the counselling until
Nigambodh Ghat Sanchalan “Truth can be troubled, not defeated. ed incidents should not affect tion ministry stated that a the medical entrance test. after July 8.
Samiti, which manages opera- Rejecting all the objections raised by the lakhs of students who cleared day after the UGC-NET was The apex court also stayed When the bench asked the
tions at the crematorium, said. BJP's ED, the Honourable Court has granted the medical entrance exam cancelled, no complaints further proceedings on simi- NTA's lawyer about the coun-
The number was higher on bail to Delhi chief minister rightfully. were received about the lar pleas pending before dif- selling, he said it will start on
Tuesday as well, when 97 @ArvindKejriwal.” Punjab chief minister On the cancellation of the exam, but a suo moto action ferent high courts. July 6 and continue for a few
bodies were cremated at the and senior AAP leader Bhagwant Mann post- UGC-NET examination for was taken on the basis of The SC, however, made it more days.
city's oldest and largest ed on X in Hindi, “We have faith in the the selection of junior inputs available with them to clear that it will not stay the The Neet examination was
crematorium. court… Kejriwal Ji gets bail… truth wins." research fellows, assistant protect students' interests. "A counselling process for held on May 5 across 4,750
professors and PhD scholars, fresh date for the exam will be admission into the MBBS and centres and around 24 lakh
Mr Pradhan said the exam announced soon," officials allied courses. A vacation candidates appeared for it.
paper was leaked on DarkNet.
"Let us have faith in our sys-
told the media, adding that
the details of the inputs can-
bench of Justices Vikram
Nath and S.V.N. Bhatti issued
The results were announced
on June 4. As many as 67 stu-
become 30-32 (inches),” Pointing to the Vyapam guilty to book. tems and no irregularities or not be shared as the matter notices to the parties seeking dents scored a perfect 720,
Mr Gandhi said. scam in Madhya Pradesh, The frontal organisa- malpractices will be tolerat- has been referred to the CBI their responses on four sepa- with six from a centre in
"Paper leaks are hap- Mr Gandhi, who earlier tions of the Congress will ed," he said, adding that the and is currently under inves- rate pleas filed by the NTA Haryana's Faridabad figuring
pening because all the called the BJP-ruled be protesting on Friday high-level panel to review and tigation. seeking the transfer of some in the list, raising suspicions
universities and their states the "epicentre of against the Neet irregu- improve the functioning of The education ministry said pending petitions, including about irregularities. It has
vice-chancellors have paper leaks", today said larities across the coun- NTA would be notified soon. it is waiting for a report from those claiming paper leaks, been alleged that grace marks
been captured by the BJP this is now being replicat- try. They also plan to DarkWeb, also known as the Bihar police's economic from high courts to the apex contributed to 67 students
and its parent organisa- ed across the country. march to Parliament on DarkNet, is an encrypted offences unit on alleged irreg- court. sharing the top rank.
tion. They have penetrat- Mr Gandhi also said Friday. Mr Gandhi will Internet domain that is not ularities in the conduct of As the bench issued notices The Neet-UG examination is
ed the educational insti- that the Opposition will likely also join in the indexed by conventional Neet in Patna and will take on the NTA's petitions, the conducted by the NTA for
tutions and destroyed raise the exam paper protest march. search engines like Google further action on the basis of counsel appearing for the admissions to MBBS, BDS,
them... As long as this leaks issue in Parliament, Earlier in the day, a del- and is variously used by crim- that. The ministry also sum- testing agency urged it to stay Ayush and other related
capture cannot be asserting that it will pres- egation of Neet aspirants inal gangs and international moned NTA D-G Subodh the related proceedings courses in government and
reversed, paper leaks will sure the government to also met the Congress syndicates for illegal activi- Kumar Singh to discuss the before different high courts. private institutions across
continue," he added. take action and bring the leader. ties including drug peddling issue further. The top court ordered: the country.
 NATION
THE ASIAN AGE | FRIDAY | 21 JUNE 2024 | NEW DELHI
SHORT TAKES
Odisha House elects
new woman Speaker
Bhubaneswar: Former minis-
ter and senior BJP leader
Surama Padhy was on
Thursday elected unopposed
as the Speaker of the Odisha
Assembly. She succeeded
BJD’s Pramila Mallick as the
Speaker of the 17th Assem-
bly. Ms Padhy had filed her
nomination for the post on
Wednesday. No other nomi-
nations from any other polit-
ical party were filed. Odisha
chief minister Mohan Charan
Majhi had proposed the
name of Ms Padhy. The
newly-elected Speaker has
vast experience as a minister
in the BJD-BJP coalition
government in Odisha from
2004 to 2009. “I extend my
greetings and good wishes
to Padhy as she has been
elected as the Speaker of
the 17th Assembly. I am fully
confident that she will main-
tain the dignity of this
sacred House and manage
its affairs without any bias.
We are all committed to
serving the people of
Odisha,” Mr Majhi said.
Prez turns 66; Modi
and Dhankhar greet
New Delhi: Vice-president
Jagdeep Dhankhar and
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi were among a host of
prominent leaders who
wished President Droupadi
Murmu a long and healthy
life on her 66th birthday on
Thursday. Scores of citizens
and various leaders took to
X to wish Ms Murmu, while
some dignitaries called on
her at the Rashtrapati
Bhavan. “On my birthday, I
am delighted to receive
warm wishes from fellow cit-
izens. Your love and bonding
is a source of energy and
inspiration for me. I express
my thankfulness and wish
everyone a bright future,”
the President said on X. She
started her day by visiting
the Lord Jagannath temple
in Delhi. “Prayed for the wel-
fare of all countrymen and
also (wished) that our coun-
try continues to set new
standards of progress,” the
President’s office said. — PTI
Slugfest begins over
paddy MSP in Odisha
Bhubaneswar: The Centre on
Wednesday hiked the mini-
mum support price (MSP) for
paddy by 5.35 per cent to
`2,300 per quintal for the
2024-25 kharif marketing
season. However, this deci-
sion of the Centre has trig-
gered a political slugfest
across Odisha. The Oppo-
sition BJD alleged that the
ruling BJP has failed to keep
its promise of increasing the
MSP of paddy to `3,100 per
quintal. As per the BJD,
farmers are not happy over
the MSP increase of `117 per
one quintal of paddy. Along
with the BJD, the Congress
has also demanded that the
MSP of paddy should be
increased. In response to the
demands by the Opposition
parties, the ruling BJP said
that their party came to
power in the state only 15
days ago and it will take
some time to calculate the
arithmetic to pay the prom-
ised MSP to the farmers.
7-TIME MP SET
TO BE PRO-TEM
SPEAKER OF LS
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, JUNE 20
President Droupadi Mu-rmu
on Thursday appointed
seven-time MP Bhartruhari
Mahtab as pro-tem Speaker
to perform the duties of the
LS presiding officer till the
election of the Speaker. In a
post on X, parliamentary
affairs minister Kiren Rijiju
said, “President is pleased to
appoint Bhartruhari Mahtab,
Member, Lok Sabha as
Speaker Pro-tem under
Article 95(1) of the
Constitution to perform the
duties of Speaker till elec-
tion of the Speaker.” “The
President is also pleased to
appoint Sur-esh Kodikunnil,
Thali-kkottai Rajuthevar Baa-
lu, Radha Mohan Singh,
Faggan Singh Kulaste and
Sudip Bandyop-adhyay,
Members of Lok Sabha
under Article 99 of the
Constitution to assist
Speaker Protem in
Oath/Affirmation to newly
elected Members of 18th Lok
Sabha till election of the
Speaker,” Mr Rijiju added.
The post of pro-tem Speaker
traditionally goes to the
seniormost member of
Parliament, who later admin-
isters oath to the Prime
Minister’s council of
ministers and other MPs.
■ Modi praises youth for high voter turnout in LS elections
We will not hesitate to teach
enemies of J&K a lesson: PM
YUSUF JAMEEL
SRINAGAR, JUNE 20
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi on Thursday said
that the preparation for
holding Assembly elec-
tions in Jammu and
Kashmir have begun and
that its statehood too will
be restored soon.
The Prime Minister also
said that the government
has taken the recent ter-
ror attacks in J&K very
seriously. He assured the
people of the Union terri-
tory and the rest of the
country that “we will not
hesitate to teach a lesson
to the enemies of Jammu
and Kashmir.” He also
assured the people that
permanent peace will be
established in J&K.
Mr Modi laid foundation
stones or inaugurated 84
major developmental proj-
ects worth `1,500 crores in
J&K virtually on the occa-
sion. He also launched the
“Competitiveness Improv-
ement in Agriculture and
Allied Sectors Proj-
ect” worth `1,800 crores.
“The people of J&K
(will) elect their represen-
tatives at the local level
and through them you
(will) find ways to solve
problems,” he said and
then asked, “What can be
better than this?”
Elaborating, the Prime
Minister said, “Therefore,
now the preparations for
the Assembly elections
have also started. The
time is not far when you
will elect the new govern-
ment of Jammu and
Kashmir with your
votes”. He added that the
day “when J&K will, once
Pleas for EVM
verification
on 8 LS seats
in 6 states
VINEETA PANDEY
NEW DELHI, JUNE 20
Post announcement of
election results, the Ele-
ction Commission (EC)
has received eight appli-
cations for the LS and
three for state Assembly
polls for checking/veri-
fication of burnt memo-
ry/microcontroller of
the EVMs. The requests
have come from second
and third-position candi-
dates. Of the eight appli-
cations, three are from
BJP candidates, three
from the Congress and
one each from the
YSRCP and the DMDK.
The applications for
the eight parliamentary
constituencies involve
six states and 92 polling
stations, while for the
Assembly elections,
three applications are
from two states involv-
ing 26 polling stations by
the losing candidates.
More applications are
expected as the last date
for filing applications is
July 19.
Following the Supreme
Court order, the ECI had
on June 1 issued a
detailed standard oper-
ating procedure for the
application process, pro-
tocols for units to be
checked, safeguards and
controls for the conduct
of the checking/verifi-
cation process and re-
quired documentation.
Not secure with current police Buzz over bureaucratic rejig Apprises PM of welfare schemes
contingent in Raj Bhavan: Bose Yadav in Delhi, meets Modi, Shah
Kolkata, June 20: West
Bengal governor C.V.
Ananda Bose on Thursday
said that he was appre-
hending a threat to his
security because of the
presence of the current
contingent of the Kolkata
police posted at Raj
Bhavan in Kolkata.
His statement comes
days after he ordered
police personnel to vacate
the Raj Bhavan premises.
They, however, are still on
duty in the Governor
House.
“I have reasons to
believe that the presence
of the current officer-in-
charge and his team is a
threat to my personal
security,” Mr Bose said.
“I have informed Bengal
CM Mamata Banerjee that
I am insecure with
Army soldiers and the dog squad perform yoga at the
Line of Control in Jammu district on Thursday, the eve of
the International Yoga Day.
The people of J&K
(will) elect their rep-
resentatives at the
local level and
through them you
(will) find ways to
solve problems
— Narendra
Modi
Prime Minister
again, make its future bet-
ter as a state will also
come soon”.
The PM who was speak-
ing at an event titled
“Empowering Youth,
Transforming J&K” at the
lakeside Sher-i-Kashmir
International Convention
Centre here, underlined
the consistent efforts the
Centre has been making
under his leadership to
bridge divides, both emo-
tional and geographic,
between it and J&K. He
said, “Dori dil ki rahi hou
ya Dilli ki (the distance
that may have been of
■ Committed to working for steady development of friendly ties: Jaishankar
EAM holds talks with top Lankan leadership
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, JUNE 20
External affairs minister
(EAM) S. Jaishankar on
Thursday met Sri Lankan
President Ranil Wickrem-
esinghe in Colombo and
“discussed the way for-
ward for the India-Sri
Lanka cooperation, espe-
cially in the power, energy
and connectivity sectors”.
Appreciating the progr-
ess made on various bilat-
eral projects and initia-
tives, the EAM said, “India
is committed to working
Daughter got more votes than
PM: Sharad takes dig at Modi
SONU SHRIVASTAVA
MUMBAI, JUNE 20
NCP founder Sharad
Pawar on Thursday took a
dig at Prime Minister
Narendra Modi stating his
daughter Supriya Sule
received more votes than
the PM in the Lok Sabha
election. Mr Pawar said
that Narendra Modi has
lost credibility among the
people and nobody belie-
ves in “Modi’s guarantee”.
The 83-year-old veteran
Maratha politician is on a
three-day tour of drought-
affected villages in
Baramati, which had wit-
nessed a battle between
Supriya Sule and Sunetra
Pawar, wife of Maharas-
Kolkata
police in
Raj Bha-
van, but
there was
no action,”
he said.
Sources
C.V. Ananda in the
Bose G o v e r n o r
House said
Mr Bose has complained
to the state government
that there has been con-
stant snooping by police
personnel posted in Raj
Bhavan and he could
sense that they were doing
it on the insistence of
“influencers” from out-
side.
“The policemen posted
here have been snooping
on my movements as well
as many of my officers.
Their acts are with the
— PTI
hearts or from Delhi), we
are trying our best to
erase them.”
Pertinently, the Prime
Minister had while meet-
ing 14 J&K leaders in
Delhi on June 24, 2021 said
that he wants to
bridge “Dilli ki Dori” (dis-
tance from Delhi) as well
as “Dil ki Dori” (distance
from the heart)’. The
opposition has been
insisting on the distances
remaining unbridged.
He, once again, praised
the people, especially
youth of J&K for the high
voter turnout in the
recently held Lok Sabha
elections and said, “They
have ensured victory of
democracy”. He added, “I
have come to express my
thanks for your efforts for
keeping the flag of democ-
racy high.”
“We are witnessing Atal
(Behari Vajpayee) ji’s
vision of Kashmiriyat,
Jamhooriyat and Insa-
niyat turning into a reali-
ty today,” he added.
for the steady develop-
ment of our traditionally
close and friendly ties”.
The EAM joined the Sri
Lankan President at the
“virtual commissioning of
the Maritime Rescue
Coordination Centre and
the virtual handing over
of 154 houses under the
Government of India
housing schemes”.
Mr Jaishankar also
called on Sri Lankan
Prime Minister Dinesh
Gunawardena and met his
Sri Lankan counterpart
Ali Sabry. During his day-
htra deputy
chief minis-
ter Ajit
Pawar.
Addressing
a public
rally in
Sharad B a r a m a t i ,
Pawar the NCP
founder said
that Supriya Sule was
elected by the margin of
more than 1.58 lakh votes
from the Baramati Lok
Sabha constituency, while
the Prime Minister of the
country was elected by
1.50 lakh votes in Vara-
nasi. “It means that the
people have given more
votes to Supriya Sule than
the PM,” he said.
It may be recalled that in
tacit support of their
political masters in gov-
ernment. This is violative
of the Constitution,” Mr
Bose said.
The governor has
brought the matter to the
notice of Ms Banerjee
from time to time but no
action has been taken by
her. The CM also holds the
home portfolio.
“None of these can hap-
pen without the knowl-
edge of the highest
authorities in the police
department which is
under the Home depart-
ment,” he asserted.
Mr Bose claimed he had
information about the
“misdeeds” of the police
contingent posted in Raj
Bhavan, under the cur-
rent officer-in-charge.
— PTI
Claims of J&K
staff being
forced to take
part in event
AGE CORRESPONDENT
SRINAGAR, JUNE 20
As preparations are in
full swing for the 10th
International Yoga Day
event to be led by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi
on the sprawling lawns
of a lakeside convention
centre in Srinagar on
Friday, allegations of
the J&K government
employees being forced
to participate in it as
well have surfaced.
Many people on Thurs-
day took to social media
platforms to claim that
not only has the partici-
pation of the govern-
ment employees in the
event been made compul-
sory by the heads of
their respective depart-
ments, female employees
were forced to report at
Srinagar’s Sri Pratap Co-
llege at 4 am “where they
were asked to change
their clothes” and then
take part in the yoga
exercises in the run-up to
the main event to be held
at the Sher-i-Kashmir
International Convent-
ion Centre on the banks
of the Dal Lake.
The J&K government,
however, termed the
allegation as false and
claimed that all the par-
ticipants have volun-
teered for the event.
S. Jaishankar
long visit, Mr Jaishankar
met Lankan Opposition
leader Sajith Premadasa
and former President
Mahinda Rajapaksa.
the recently concluded
Lok Sabha election, Mr
Modi had defeated
Congress Ajay Rai by a
margin of 1,52,513 in the
Varanasi Lok Sabha con-
stituency, while Supriya
Sule had defeated NDA
candidate Sunetra Pawar
by 1,58,333 votes in the
Baramati LS constituency.
Mr Pawar said that the
youth of Baramati has al-
ways helped him. Ms Sule
won from Baramati for
the fourth time. “Barama-
tikars (the people of
Baramati) have elected
Supriya Sule by a huge
margin. The people need
to not to be told which but-
ton (on EVM) they needed
to press,” Mr Pawar said.
■ ■
RABINDRA NATH
CHOUDHURY
BHOPAL, JUNE 20
Madhya Pradesh chief
minister Mohan Yadav on
Thursday met Prime
Minister Narendra Modi
in Delhi amid buzz over a
major bureaucratic
reshuffle in the state.
An official press release
issued in Bhopal, however,
said that Mr Yadav briefed
Mr Modi on the progress
of the two river-linking
projects being undertaken
in the state currently.
He invited Mr Modi to
lay the foundation for the
Ken-Betwa river linking
project.
The state government is
also undertaking a project
to link the rivers of
Parvati, Kalisingh and
Chambal.
Children perform during a procession to celebrate the anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji
Maharaj’s coronation in Nagpur on Thursday.
Modi meets US delegation for
Dalai in strong signal to China
India-US ties most consequential, says visiting team
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, JUNE 20
In what is being seen as a
clear message to China,
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi on Thursday met the
seven-member US con-
gressional delegation that
had earlier met the Dalai
Lama in McLeodganj,
Himachal Pradesh, on
Wednesday. The meeting
of the US delegation with
the Dalai Lama had infu-
riated Beijing. The US del-
egation was led by
Michael McCaul, chair-
man of the House Foreign
Affairs Committee, and its
other members included
former US House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi and
Amerish Babulal “Ami
Bera”.
The delegation called on
Mr Modi Thursday and
“described India-US rela-
tions as the most conse-
The EAM met an eight-
member delegation of
Tamil leaders from the
northern and eastern
provinces during which he
“discussed issues pertain-
ing to the
development and devolu-
tion in their provinces”.
It may be recalled that
India has been pressing
for the devolution of pow-
ers to Sri Lankan Tamils
in the form of implemen-
tation of the 13th amend-
ment so that Sri Lankan
Tamils can also live with
respect and dignity as
Left helped TMC win 12
LS seats, claims Suvendu
RAJIB CHOWDHURI
KOLKATA, JUNE 20
West Bengal Leader of
the Opposition Suvendu
Adhikari, who has been
in the eye of a storm
within the state BJP for
its poor performance in
the Lok Sabha polls, has
passed the blame on the
Left apparently for his
party’s poll debacle.
He alleged on Thursday
that the Communists
helped the ruling TMC to
bag 12 parliamentary
seats out of the 29 it won
this time. The Nandigram
BJP MLA also claimed
that the INDIA partner
had an agenda to divide
the Hindu votes in which
it succeeded.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Madhya Pradesh chief
minister Mohan Yadav during a meeting.
This apart, the chief
minister also apprised the
PM on the implementa-
tion of various welfare
schemes in the state, the
press release said.
Mr Yadav who left
Bhopal on Tuesday for a
quential one and
expressed their strong
support for further deep-
ening the Comprehensive
Strategic Global
Partnership in all areas,
including trade, new and
emerging technology,
defence, people to people
exchanges”, a statement
put out by the Prime
Minister’s Office said on
Thursday evening. The
delegation “congratulated
the Prime Minister on his
election for the historic
third consecutive term”
and also “expressed deep
appreciation for the scale,
fairness and transparency
of the recently concluded
world’s largest democratic
electoral exercise in
India,” the PMO said.
The PM “highlighted the
significant role played by
the consistent and biparti-
san support of the US
Congress in advancing
equals in the island
nation.
It may also be recalled
that India had earlier allo-
cated a whopping $4 bil-
lion of Indian assistance
to Sri Lanka after the
island nation had suffered
a dramatic economic col-
lapse two years ago. Sri
Lanka is now on the path
to economic recovery. Last
year, the two nations had
inked four pacts including
one “to make the Sri
Lankan port of Trin-
comalee a regional hub for
industry and energy”.
Speaking on the side-
lines of the celebrations
of the “Foundation Day”
of Bengal, he said, “They
(Left) earlier helped TMC
to win 56 seats by dividing
votes in 2021 (Assembly
polls). Muslims attend
their rallies but do not
vote for them. They (Left)
only split the Hindu-
Sanatani votes.”
He added, “Now every-
one is seeing that 12 seats
went to TMC. Nearly 95
per cent of the Muslims
voted for TMC. CPI(M)
got success in its agenda.
They fielded candidates
like Sujan Chakraborty,
Sayan Banerjee and
Srijan Bhattacharya here
and there to divide the
Hindu votes.”
— PTI
three-day visit to Delhi to
meet different Union min-
isters to discuss the vari-
ous ongoing projects in
the state also met Union
home minister Amit Shah
there.
The chief minister also
pg 5
— PTI
India-US ties, which are
based on shared demo-
cratic values, respect for
rule of law and strong
people-to-people ties”. He
reiterated India’s commit-
ment to strengthen bilat-
eral relations for the glob-
al good further, the PMO
said.
Mr Modi also recalled
his state visit to the US in
June last year “when he
had an opportunity to
address a joint session of
the US Congress for a his-
toric second time”.
Ms Pelosi on Wednesday
criticised Chinese
President Xi Jinping. The
visit comes days after the
US Congress passed a bill
with bipartisan support
that urged China to start a
dialogue with Tibetan
leaders to find a solution
to the longstanding con-
flict, US media reports
said.
Opp. targets
Shinde over
Maratha-OBC
growing rift
SONU SHRIVASTAVA
MUMBAI, JUNE 20
Opposition parties in
Maharashtra on
Thursday warned the
Eknath Shinde govern-
ment over the growing
tensions between the
Maratha community
and the OBCs. Congress
leader Vijay Wadettiwar,
dalit leader Prakash
Ambedkar met the OBC
leaders, who have been
on an indefinite fast for
the last eight days oppos-
ing the inclusion of the
Maratha community in
the OBC (other back-
ward class) category.
NCP founder Sharad
Pawar said the Shinde
government has to
resolve both the issues.
OBC activists Prof.
Lakshman Hake and
Navnath Waghmare
have been on an indefi-
nite fast at the Wadi
Godri village in Jalna
district demanding to
not disturb the OBC
quota while providing
the reservation to the
Marathas. Mr Hake and
Mr Waghmare’s protest
came in the backdrop of
Maratha quota activist
Manoj Jarange, who has
been demanding OBC
reservation for his com-
munity members as
Kunbis, the agrarian
group classified as an
OBC (other backward
class) community.
met Union urban and
housing development min-
ister Manohar Lal Khattar
and Union forest and envi-
ronment minister Bhupe-
ndra Yadav in Delhi to dis-
cuss various projects rela-
ted to Madhya Pradesh.
Mr Yadav is scheduled to
visit Ayodhya on
Thursday to attend vari-
ous religious functions.
He is scheduled to return
to Delhi on Thursday
night from Ayodhya.
The chief minister’s
meeting with the PM and
home minister has trig-
gered speculation that a
major reshuffle in bureau-
cracy was on the cards.
The bureaucratic reshuf-
fle in the state was expect-
ed ever since Mr Yadav
assumed power in the
November 2023 Assembly
elections.
 NEW DELHI | FRIDAY | 21 JUNE 2024
quick
BITES
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Pound Sterling (`) 106.28 0.04
Euro (`) 89.72 0.13
Gold (10gm)* (`) 72,103▲371 0.52
Brent crude ($/bbl)* 85.79 0.85
IN 10-Yr bond yield 6.978 0.004
US 10-Yr T-bill yield* 4.252 0.035
* As of 8:30 PM IST
Rajesh assumes
charge as BHEL
director finance
Rajesh Kumar Dwivedi has
assumed charge as director
(finance) of public sector engi-
neering and manufacturing
enterprise Bharat Heavy
Electricals Ltd (BHEL). Prior to
this, he was general manager
and head - corporate finance in
BHEL. He joined BHEL as exec-
utive trainee in 1992 and han-
dled strategies, manufacturing
and project construction in the
power sector along with Board
level exposure.
Printed & Published by
K. Sudhakar on behalf of
Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited.
Printed at BFL Infotech Ltd, C-9 Sector
3, Noida-201301. Published at 219, N D
Tiwari Bhawan, Deen Dayal Upadhyay
Marg, New Delhi-110002.
Editor: Kaushik Mitter, RNI
Registration number 30074/09,
Air surcharge Re 1. © All rights
reserved. Reproduction in whole or
in part without written permission of
The Editor,
Financial Chronicle ® is prohibited.
WORLD Israel pounds Gaza,
SHORT
MANY SHOT AT
TAKES
JUNETEENTH
OAKLAND EVENT
Oakland, June 20: A 20: Israeli forces pounded
Juneteenth celebration turned
violent when several people
were shot, police in Oakland,
California, said.
The Lake Merritt event on
Wednesday night was largely
peaceful, with as many as 5,000
in attendance, until a sideshow
involving “motorbikes and
vehicles” took place at
Bellevue and Grand avenues at
around 8:15 pm on the north
side of the lake, police said in a
news release on Thursday.
A fight broke out down the
street from the sideshow and a
crowd gathered in the area of
the fight, police said. “During
that fight multiple shots rang
out,” Paul Chambers, OPD’s
strategic communications ma-
nager, said. The shooting hap-
pened at 8:45 pm. While it was
not immediately clear how
many people were injured,
police said several were struck
by gunfire and were taken to a
hospital, police said.
PUTIN’S FIERCE
CRITIC RUTTE ALL
SET TO LEAD NATO
Amsterdam, June 20: Mark
Rutte, who looks set to be
Nato’s next secretary-general,
is a fierce critic of Russian Pr-
esident Vladimir Putin and a
staunch ally of Ukraine who
honed his skills as a political
dealmaker during nearly 14
years as Dutch PM.
Rutte, 57, has been one of the
driving forces behind Europe’s
military support for Ukraine
since Russia’s 2022 invasion,
and says defeat on the battle-
field for Moscow is vital to
secure peace in Europe.
His view is heavily influenced
by the downing of an airliner
over Ukraine in 2014, which the
Netherlands blames on Russia,
and in which 196 of the 298 vic-
tims were Dutch. “Nato must
be powerful to counter Moscow,
and other European Union
leaders must not be naive about
Putin’s Russia,” he says. “He
won’t stop at Ukraine if we
don’t stop him now. This war is
bigger than Ukraine itself.”
Mitigate risks in
unsecured loans:
Reserve Bank gov
MUMBAI, JUNE 20
The Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) governor
Shaktikanta Das on
Thursday said that while
lenders should pursue
business growth, it should
not be at the expense of
taking on unacceptable
risks. He called on banks
and non-banking finan-
cial companies (NBFCs) to
strengthen their oversight
mechanisms to mitigate
risks associated with
unsecured lending.
“While business models
may be designed to drive
profitability and growth,
they sometimes contain
vulnerabilities that may
not be apparent. Pursuit
of business growth is
important, but it should
never come at the expense
of taking on unacceptable
risks. Robust risk miti-
gants are essential for
ensuring long-term suc-
cess and resilience of a
regulated entity as well as
the overall financial sys-
tem,” said Das while
speaking at the second
global conference on
financial resilience organ-
ised by the College of
Supervisors in Mumbai.
Das said that the central
bank’s timely action has
resulted in moderation of
vulnerabilities in unse-
cured loans. “Our timely
action resulted in slowing
down growth of unsecur-
ed loans. If left unattend-
ed, vulnerabilities on uns-
ecured loans could have
become a problem.”
Last year, the central
bank increased the risk
weight on consumer loans
advanced by commercial
banks and non-banking
Moscow’s oil depots,
goes deep into Rafah Kyiv’s power grid hit
US destroy two sites in Yemen belonging to the Houthis
Cairo, Washington, June
areas in the central Gaza
Strip overnight, killing
three people and wound-
ing dozens of others,
according to medics, while
tanks deepened their inva-
sion into Rafah in the
south, residents said.
American forces destroy-
ed two sites in Yemen be-
longing to the Houthi reb-
els, the US military said on
Wednesday, after a series
of ship attacks in recent
days by the group.
The Houthis have been
targeting vessels in the
Red Sea and Gulf of Aden
since November 2023 in
attacks they say are in sol-
idarity with Palestinians
during the Israel-Hamas
war in the Gaza Strip.
“USCENTCOM forces
successfully destroyed one
ground control station and
one command and control
node” in a Houthi-con-
trolled area of Yemen, the
military command said in
a statement on X.
It added that in the past
24 hours, CENTCOM forc-
es had additionally destro-
yed two Iranian-backed
Safe superintelligence
firm by OpenAI founder
Washington, June 20: Ilya
Sutskever, one of the
founders of OpenAI who
was involved in a failed ef-
fort to push out CEO Sam
Altman, said he’s starting
a safety-focused artificial
intelligence company.
Sutskever, a respected AI
researcher who left the Ch-
atGPT maker last month,
said in a social media post
on Wednesday that he’s cr-
eated Safe Superintellig-
ence Inc. with two co-
founders. The company’s
only goal and focus is safe-
ly developing “superintel-
ligence — a reference to AI
systems that are smarter
● INDIA’S FINANCIAL
system is now in a
stronger position
characterised by
robust capital adequa-
cy, low levels of non
performing assets, and
healthy profitability of
banks and NBFCs.
finance companies by 25
percentage points. The
consumer credit of banks
and NBFCs attracts a risk
weight of 125 percent,
from 100 per cent earlier.
Regarding supervision,
the RBI governor stressed
the need to anticipate the
development of a crisis
and take timely action. “It
is our endeavour to smell
a crisis. Supervision has
become a very complex
task,” he added.
He said that “necessary
policy actions” are on the
anvil for positioning the
Reserve Bank as a model
central bank of the global
south. “Our goal is to
make the Reserve Bank’s
supervision a global mod-
el, by building a ‘through
the cycle’ risk assessment
framework with continu-
ous horizon scanning and
a holistic risk assessment.
Das said that India’s
financial system is now in
a stronger position char-
acterised by robust capital
adequacy, low levels of
non performing assets,
and healthy profitability
of banks and NBFCs.
Palestinian children play in a water spring during a heat wave in al-Faraa in the
Israeli-occupied West Bank, on Thursday.
Houthi “uncrewed surface
vessels (USV) in the Red
Sea.” On Tuesday, CENT-
COM reported that it had
destroyed eight drones
belonging to the Houthis.
Israeli planes struck a
house in Al-Nuseirat
camp, killing two people
and wounding 12 others,
while tanks shelled areas
Ilya Sutskever
than humans.
It vowed not to be distra-
cted by management over-
head or product cycles,
and under its business
model, work on safety and
security would be insulat-
ed from short-term comm-
ercial pressures. — AP
GOVT TO ACT ON
UNSOLICITED
PROMOTIONAL
CALLS, MESSAGES
New Delhi, June 20: The
consumer affairs min-
istry on Thursday
sought public commen-
ts until July 21 on draft
guidelines to curb unso-
licited and unwanted
business communicati-
ons like promotional
calls and text messages.
The guidelines - pre-
pared after consulta-
tions with stakeholders,
including telecom firms
and regulators - define
“business communica-
tion” as any communi-
cation related to goods
or services like promo-
tional and service mes-
sages but excludes per-
sonal communication.
They will apply to all
individuals and entities
that make or engage
others for such commu-
nications or benefit
from them, the ministry
said in a statement.
The draft guidelines
classify any business
communication as uns-
olicited and unwanted
if it does not comply
with the recipient’s con-
sent or registered pref-
erences. Other condi-
tions that would make a
communication unau-
thorised include using
unregistered numbers
or SMS headers, calling
despite recipients opt-
ing out, failing to obtain
digital consent, not
identifying the caller
and purpose, and lack-
ing an opt-out option.
The proposals also bar
such communications
that violate the telecom
regulator telecom regu-
lations authority of
India (Trai) rules on
commercial messages
based on customer pref-
erences. — PTI
in Al-Maghazi and Al-
Bureij camps, wounding
many other people, health
officials said. Nuseirat,
Maghazi and Bureij are
three of Gaza’s eight his-
toric refugee camps.
In Deir al-Balah, a city
packed with displaced peo-
ple in the central Gaza
Strip, an Israeli air strike
EU MANDATED
EVs TURN OVER
DATA: BEIJING
Beijing, June 20: The Eu-
ropean Commission so-
ught an unprecedented
amount of detailed infor-
mation on Chinese autom-
akers’ supply chains du-
ring its investigation into
the country’s subsidised
electric vehicle imports.
The Commission slapped
extra duties on imported
Chinese EVs following the
probe. — Reuters
Nirmala holds Budget
parleys with industry
Fiscal deficit, jobs, manufacturing growth, tax reforms discussed
MADHUSUDAN SAHOO
WITH INPUT FROM
AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, JUNE 20
Union finance minister
Nirmala Sitharaman on
Thursday met economists
as well as experts of the
financial and capital mar-
kets sector.
During the meeting,
chaired by the finance
minister, several key
issues were discussed
with all the stakeholders,
including the country’s
fiscal deficit, job growth,
manufacturing growth
and tax reforms among
others in connection with
the forthcoming Union
Budget to be presented in
Parliament next month.
During the meeting,
economists stressed on
the importance of further
reducing the fiscal deficit
in the upcoming budget,
while experts in the finan-
cial sector urged a case for
tax sops in the upcoming
To-be unicorns are worth `4.8L-cr: Report
FALAKNAAZ SYED
MUMBAI, JUNE 20
India is currently home to
67 unicorns, 46 gazelles
and 106 cheetahs accord-
ing to the ASK Private
Wealth Hurun India
Future Unicorn Index
2024.
The year 2024 saw inclu-
sion of 38 new entrants to
the index, including 7
Gazelles (companies like-
ly to turn unicorns in
three years) and 31
— AFP
killed one Palestinian and
wounded several others on
Thursday, medics said.
The Israeli military said
on Wednesday forces were
continuing their operatio-
ns, targeting militants and
military infrastructure in
what it described as “pre-
cise, intelligence-based”
activities. — Agencies
ELECTION DATE
BETTING PROBE
CALL FOR SUNAK
London, June 20: UK PM
Rishi Sunak faced calls on
Thursday to launch an
inquiry after a member of
his security detail was
arrested for allegedly bet-
ting on the timing of the
July 4 general election.
London’s Metropolitan
Police said it was told by
the Gambling Commiss-
ion that a close protection
officer was being probed
over the alleged bets. The
regulator was looking
into claims that party
candidate Craig Williams,
who served as Sunak’s
ministerial aide, placed a
bet on when the election
would be held. — AFP
FY25 Budget for deepen-
ing of the market. After
the meeting, the econo-
mists and all experts in
the different sectors
stressed job growth in the
country with the govern-
ment’s people-friendly
policies, which will boost
employment growth.
However, the finance
ministry said in a post on
X (formerly Twitter) that
this was the second pre-
budget consultation,
which was attended by
leading experts of the
financial and capital mar-
kets sector in connection
with the forthcoming gen-
Cheetahs (unicorn in five
years). Last year there
were 68 unicorns, 51
gazelles, and 96 cheetahs.
However, a record 25
potential unicorns with
prominent names such as
Rapido, Koo, Dunzo, Paper
Boat, Dotpe, Gaana and
Park dropped from the
list.
“Amidst a funding win-
ter, inflated pre-2021 valu-
ations, and setbacks from
companies like Byju’s, the
once golden start-up
Kyiv, June 20: Russia
resumed its aerial pound-
ing of Ukraine’s power
grid and Kyiv’s forces ag-
ain targeted Russian oil
facilities with cross-bor-
der drone strikes, officials
said on Thursday.
With no major changes
reported along the 1,000-
km (600-mile) front line,
where a recent push by the
Kremlin’s forces in east-
ern and northeastern
Ukraine has made only
incremental gains, both
sides in the war have
taken aim at distant infra-
structure targets.
In its seventh major atta-
ck on Ukrainian power
plants since Moscow
intensified energy infras-
tructure attacks three mo-
nths ago, Russia fired nine
missiles and 27 Shahed
drones at energy facilities
and critical infrastructure
in central and eastern
Ukraine, the Ukrainian air
force said.
Air defences intercepted
all the drones and five
cruise missiles, it said.
The attack hit power stru-
ctures in the Donetsk,
Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv and
Vinnytsia regions of Ukra-
ine, causing “extensive
damage,” according to
national power company
Ukrenergo. Seven workers
were injured, it said.
Ukrenergo announced
extended blackouts
despite electricity imports
and help with emergency
supplies from European
countries. — AP
Nasa chief says US, India
to expand space alliance
Washington, June 20: Nasa
administrator Bill Nelson
has said that the US space
agency will expand collab-
oration with India and it
will include a “joint
effort” aboard the
International Space Stati-
on with an Indian astro-
naut.
Nelson’s comments came
after a fact sheet issued by
● THE ECONOMISTS
and all experts in the
different sectors
stressed job growth in
the country with the
government’s people-
friendly policies, which
will boost employment
growth.
eral Budget 2024-25.
Besides, several top offi-
cials in the finance and
corporate affairs ministry,
including finance secre-
tary and the secretaries of
the departments of eco-
nomic affairs, revenue,
financial services, and
corporate affairs, as well
as the chief economic
adviser of India also
attended the meeting.
Emerging from an over
two-hour long meeting
with the finance minister,
Arun Kohli, managing
director and Country
head, Morgan Stanley
India Company, said tax
● INDIAN TECH start-
ups raised a total $4.1
billion in first half of
2024, four per cent
higher than H2 2023,
although the numbers
still trailed the levels
seen a year ago.
ecosystem now faces a
critical turning point,
Anas Rahman Junaid,
managing director and
chief researcher, Hurun
U.S. PATRIOT’S FOR UKRAINE
SOUTH KOREA SAYS WILL RECONSIDER PROVID-
ING WEAPONS TO UKRAINE, YONHAP SAYS
South Korea on Thursday said it will
review the possibility of supplying
weapons to Ukraine, Yonhap news reported
citing an official after the leaders of North Korea
and Russia signed a pact pledging mutual defence
in the event of war.
EU SANCTIONS
TARGET RUSSIAN GAS FOR
THE FIRST TIME,
DIPLOMATS SAY
European Union countries
agreed on a 14th package of
curbs against Russia over its
war in Ukraine, diplomats
said on Thursday, including
their first restrictions on
Russian gas. Ukraine and the
European Commission have
extended a freight liberalisa-
tion agreement.
Treason trial against
dual US citizen opens
Moscow, June 20: A dual
US-Russian citizen accus-
ed of donating around $50
to a pro-Ukrainian charity
went on trial for treason in
the Russian city of
Yekaterinburg on Thursd-
ay, a regional court said.
Ksenia Karelina, a 32-
year-old ballerina living
and working in Los Ange-
les, was detained by police
the US and India after the
iCET Dialogue between US
national security adviser
Jake Sullivan and his
Indian counterpart Ajit
Doval on Monday said
they were working toward
commencing advanced
training for Isro astro-
nauts in the US.
“Building on my visit to
India last year, Nasa con-
pg 6
policies need to be stable
and long-term oriented.
Participants also made
their point on capital
gains tax and securities
transaction tax.
According to George
Alexander Muthoot, man-
aging director of Muthoot
Group, some of the play-
ers pitched for deepening
the market and providing
some tax incentives.
“We’ve suggested that
since NBFC credit has
grown and RBI has
flagged over-dependence
on banks, allocation of
funds from SIDBI and
NABARD could increase
for refinancing of
NBFCs,”
Aggarwal,
Raman
director
finance industry develop-
ment council (FIDC).
Non-banking financial
companies or NBFCs also
sought clarity on goods
and service tax demand on
co-lending and payment of
GST on service fee,
Agarwal said.
India said.
Meanwhile, a report by
market intelligence plat-
form Tracxn said Indian
tech start-ups raised a
total $4.1 billion in first
half of 2024, four per cent
higher than H2 2023,
although the numbers still
trailed the levels seen a
year ago.
At $4.1 billion, India still
remains the fourth-high-
est funded country global-
ly in the tech start-up
landscape, it said.
ROMANIA ANNOU-
NCED that it would
send a Patriot mis-
sile system to Ukr-
aine, welcomed by
Kyiv as a “crucial
contribution” to
help its fight agai-
nst Russia. US pl-
ans to halt all open
orders for Patriot
air defence sys-
tems and redirect
supply to Ukraine.
in Yekaterinburg in late
January while on a trip to
visit her family in Russia.
Prosecutors accused her
of “proactively transferri-
ng funds to a Ukrainian
organisation, which the
Ukrainian Armed Forces
subsequently used to pur-
chase tactical medicine,
equipment, weapons and
ammunition”. — AFP
tinues to further the US
and India initiative on
Critical and Emerging
Technology for the benefit
of humanity. Together we
are expanding our count-
ries’ collaboration in spa-
ce, to include a joint effort
aboard the International
Space Station with an Isro
astronaut,” Nelson, wrote
on X on Wednesday. — PTI
 EDIT
THE ASIAN AGE | FRIDAY | 21 JUNE 2024 | NEW DELHI
pg 7

Subhani

21 JUNE 2024

US delegation’s Dalai meet

is India’s message to China
T
he boot appears to be on the other foot now. China, accustomed to
irritating the world with its fanciful territorial claims and its
actions on the LAC with India and its aggressive posturing on
Taiwan and the Pacific Ocean, is now getting a bit of a taste of its
own medicine.
A bipartisan Congressional delegation of seven prominent US lawmakers
visited Dharmshala in Himachal Pradesh to engage with the Dalai Lama
and to assure him of American support for full autonomy for Tibet.
The presence of former Speaker of the US House of Representatives
Nancy Pelosi, who once needled China by visiting Taiwan in 2022 when she
was in office, and the Republican House Foreign Affairs Committee chair-
man Michael McCaul was meant to be a signal to China that its views on
territory are not always taken as the last word and its sensitivities are not
going to silence the world forever.
The US President is also to soon sign the Resolve Tibet Act after the bill,
moved last month in the US House by Mr McCaul who also led the delega-
tion to Dharamshala, received overwhelming bipartisan support. “The US
strongly condemns all oppression and coercion

Modi 3.0 at G-7: Diplomacy

India will not take of Tibetans,” is what Mr McCaul said while
it lying down as piloting the bill. LETTERS
China continues Whether the signing of the bill into law suc-
to play games in ceeds in its aim to put the people of Tibet in
charge of their own future by starting a dia-
CAP HAJJ NUMBERS
renaming places logue with China on the status of their land or
in India such as not, it is certain to rile China more as it chal-
Arunachal lenges the view it has propagated for so long
Pradesh and that Tibet has been part of China since ancient
times.
objecting to visits India is not just a spectator to the US meeting
there by the Prime with the Dalai Lama as it facilitated this inter-
tweaked on Ukraine, China Prime Minister and Western supremacy”.
The death toll in the Hajj
pilgrimage in Saudi
Arabia due to extreme
heatwave has climbed to
Minister action in a strategic ploy while showing the The real problem con- more than 1,000. Ninety
Narendra Modi met fronting the United States
ability to stand up to China. How this will add to Indians were among
the tensions as the troops of both nations face each other from quarters too
close for comfort is not known.
K.C. Singh Ukrainian President
Volodymyr
and its allies is that institu-
tions like the United them. This year, more
The message is clear that India will not take it lying down as China con- Zelenskyy on the Nations and World Trade than 1.8 million people are
tinues to play games in renaming places in India such as Arunachal Organisation have become
Pradesh and objecting to visits there by the Prime Minister.
sidelines of G-7. fairly dysfunctional.
participating in the pil-
To tacitly support the concept of an autonomous Tibet is a counter card He was sending a Globalisation and immi- grimage, according to the
that India is obviously playing here even as the US rakes up the issue of signal of India gration have triggered an Saudi government. Due to
Chinese moves that led to the Dalai Lama and a whole host of Tibetans remaining electoral rebellion in Wes-
climate change, tempera-

T
seeking refuge in India since 1959. he annual Group
The meeting of US lawmakers with the Dalai Lama on Indian soil will not of Seven summit,
change India’s declared position of recognising Tibet as a part of China of the seven pro-
after having treated it as a de facto independent country. minent global ec-
What India’s stand here tries to convey is that it would like Beijing to onomies besides
resolve tensions with Tibet and help protect the region’s native Buddhist India and China, was held
culture, which had drawn a lot from the Buddhism as practised in India in Italy on June 13-15. The
and which had fostered cultural and religious ties with Tibet. Leaders’ Communique is-
With the talks to resolve the boundary issues that came up with the sued on June 15 addresses
Galwan clashes of 2020 going nowhere after initial agreements saw some of the “pressing challenges of
India’s advantage being nullified, India may have decided to up the ante in our times”. Ten other
the latest round of being the facilitator of the US lawmakers’ meeting with nations were invited, inclu-
the Tibetan spiritual leader whom China dubs a separatist. ding India, more for dis-
play and networking, than
any substantive contribu-
tion to the summit’s out-
come.
TN’s illicit liquor threat The attendance by Pope
Francis reflected the desire
of the host, Italian Prime
a promise of $50 billion aid
to Ukraine. That would be
repaid from interest and
earnings from the $300 bil-
lion frozen Russian funds.
The US also announced a
10-year security pact with
Ukraine, which if Donald
Trump gets elected in
November is likely to be
scrapped.
The criticality of the
Ukraine war to the trans-
Atlantic alliance is obvious
from the way two other
meetings were structured
immediately before and
after the G-7 summit in
Italy. On June 11 the
Ukraine Recovery Confer-
even-handed on
the subject.
ing Africa, Sustainable De-
velopment Goals (SDGs),
global food security, cli-
mate resilience, and so on.
The Ukraine and Gaza con-
flicts also figure promi-
nently. But the context of a
deep political churn and
rise of the far-right in
Western nations and the
growing strategic conver-
gence of China, Russia and
Iran are complicating the
geostrategic choices.
Underlining this is the
tern democracies. Sanc-
tions and tariffs are global-
ly creating new strategic
walls for protectionist poli-
tics. Donald Trump’s resur-
rection increases the possi-
bility of these forces gain-
ing more currency and val-
idation across the world.
The four-month jailing of
former Trump economic
adviser Peter Navarro, an
arch protectionist, for con-
tempt of Congress has
implications. Because he
was sentenced due to
unwillingness to cooperate
in the January 6, 2021
Capitol Hill insurrection
inquiry, he is now a Trump
tures have touched
around 49 degrees
Celsius in Mecca. Saudi
Arabia has spent billions
of dollars on crowd con-
trol and safety measures
for those attending the
annual five-day pilgrim-
age, but the sheer num-
bers of participants mak-
es ensuring their safety
difficult. Perhaps, they
should put a cap on it.
Bhagwan Thadani

I
t should be intriguing that a hooch tragedy of such mega proportions, Minister Giorgia Meloni, to
taking a heavy toll of at least 34 lives and sending innumerable people underscore her right-wing
to hospital in Kallakurichi district, could happen in a state where licit commitment to family val-
liquor can be bought across the counter from noon to 10 pm on all days ues and conservatism. As a
other than declared holidays. People consuming spurious liquor, and at result, the word “abortion”
times perishing because of it, is a misfortune associated with states having went missing from the
total prohibition like Bihar and Gujarat where bootleggers operate on the communique. Ironically,
sly and their brew, at times, get mixed with poisonous substances like the gathering of the most
methanol. powerful group of nations
That such a tragedy struck Tamil Nadu again, however, should not be a economically also hap-
surprise as only a year back 10 persons were killed by spurious arrack in pened to be a conclave of
Marakkanam and Madurantakam, impelling Opposition party leaders to those beleaguered at home
allege that illicit liquor flows whenever the DMK comes to power. The gov- politically. France and
ernment, at that time, shrugged off the charge by pointing out that the Germany had just wit-
state was witnessing such a tragedy after a gap of 18 years. It also blamed nessed the rout of ruling
the deaths on industrial spirit, which is not meant for human consump- parties in European parlia-
tion. But that did not explain how the industrial spirit or methanol got into mentary elections, besides
the barrel or container from which arrack was poured out to drinkers. the success of far-right
Even on Wednesday when the catastrophe unfolded at Karunapuram groups. In the United
with people falling sick and getting admitted to hospital, the administra- Kingdom, the ruling Con-
tion was in denial, suggesting that it was a health issue and not related to servative Party faces antic-
illicit spirit. Then the blame was placed on methanol, as though it was ipated defeat at the hands
freely available for people looking for a drink. They were all attempts to of Labour in the elections
gloss over a stark reality of there existing a thriving illicit liquor trade on July 4. In France a snap
that allegedly has a nexus with politicians and police personnel. poll to Parliament on June
Otherwise, when the state has an exclusive enforcement wing to crack 30 and July 7 is expected to
down on hooch, how does an active network of bootleggers continue its result in a win for the right-
trade unabated? Though tragedies have struck repeatedly, why has noth- wing National Rally (RN).
ing substantial been done to put an end to it? It is time the state govern- The G-7 summit got
ment at least wakes up and acts. undermined by more than
domestic churn in member
states, other than in Italy.
The ongoing war in
Ukraine and conflict in
Gaza dominate any global
discussion. The US has so
far failed to force Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu to abandon his
THE ASIAN AGE maximalist positions and
implement a sustainable
KAUSHIK MITTER K. SUDHAKAR ceasefire. This is even
Editor Printer & Publisher
harming the re-election
THE ASIAN AGE office is located at: campaign of US President
New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru National Youth Centre, 219 Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, New Delhi-110002. Phone: Joe Biden. Ukraine domi-
(011) 23211124. nated the summit’s pro-
Published and Printed on behalf of and for ceedings with the head-
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lines stolen by the presence
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RNI Registration number: 57290/94 Volodymyr Zelenskyy and
ence met to discuss financ-
ing. And after the G-7 sum-
mit, a Global Peace Sum-
mit was held on June 15-16
in Geneva to rally support
for Ukraine. Out of the 160
nations invited, only 90 odd
attended.
Significantly, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi
met Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy on
the sidelines of G-7. He was
sending a signal of India
remaining even-handed on
the subject. India also sent
its very experienced diplo-
mat Pavan Kapoor, a for-
mer ambassador to Russia
and now secretary at the
MEA headquarters, to
Geneva. He chose not to
endorse the summit resolu-
tion, repeating the Indian
stand that for diplomacy to
succeed, Russia has to be at
the table.
Realising that the G-7
would train its guns on
Russia, President Vladimir
Putin presented a peace
proposal in advance. He
suggested that the four
eastern provinces of Uk-
raine, now partly held by
Russia, and Crimea should
be ceded to it. Also, he
sought the demilitarisation
of Ukraine and a commit-
ment that it would not join
the North Atlantic Treaty
Organisation. This was
rejected out of hand by
Ukraine.
The G-7 communique
lists the standard litany of
subjects like the impor-
tance of democratic values,
the UN Charter and a rules-
based global order, engag-
visit of President Vladimir
Putin immediately after
the G-7 summit to North
Korea on June 18 and
Vietnam on June 19-20. The
first involves the purchase
of ammunition and mili-
tary equipment for the Uk-
raine conflict. However, in
exchange Russia may end
up parting with technology
to increase the strategic
nuclear and conventional
military capability of a
highly irresponsible and
unpredictable nation.
China too has been flex-
ing its muscles in the South
China Sea. It may not pre-
fer a more jingoistic North
Korea, with which it
shares a border. It wants it
to remain a useful buffer,
not an inciter of regional
tensions, as China’s focus
is on annexing Taiwan.
Some analysts surmise
that China would reach
optimum military prepar-
edness for a forcible occu-
pation of Taiwan by 2027.
Thus, unsurprisingly, the
Chinese foreign ministry
spokesman scoffed at the G-
7, saying the group “does
not represent the world”,
adding that the “seven
countries only account for
10 per cent of the world
population, and year after
year their share in the glob-
al economy keeps drop-
ping”. Alleging that the G-7
had strayed from its raison
d’être of coordinating for
stability in the global eco-
nomic environment, the
spokesman concluded the
group had “become a polit-
ical tool to perpetuate US
favourite. His book The
New MAGA Development
expounds his vision which
can be expected to be
implemented if Donald
Trump wins. He proposes,
inter alia, a Reciprocal
Trade Act which will
empower the US govern-
ment to impose tariffs that
match those imposed by
other nations on any US
product.
The Narendra Modi gov-
ernment starts a fresh term
amidst this chaotic sce-
nario. Diplomacy shall be
tested severely as self-inter-
est dominates global
geopolitics amidst a new
Cold War.
Coalition politics should
not hamper the govern-
ment’s conduct of foreign
policy, except perhaps the
JD(U)’s interest in new
dams in Nepal or the TDP’s
focus on foreign invest-
ment. Prime Minister Mo-
di’s warm exchange of mes-
sages with the President of
Taiwan demonstrates that
freedom. The government
also permitted a high-level
US delegation led by the
House Foreign Affairs
Committee chair and
including former Speaker
Nancy Pelosi to meet the
Dalai Lama in McLeodganj
on June 19. This has clearly
signalled to China that
India too can play the game
of mixing provocation with
diplomacy.
The writer is a former
secretary in the external
affairs ministry. He tweets
at @ambkcsingh.
Mumbai
FALSE HOPE
EVERY YEAR for the past few years
now, just before the budget there is
news of the income tax exemption limit
being raised making the salaried mid-
dle class employees happy. Only for
their hopes to be dashed when the actu-
al budget is presented. This year, too,
there are rumours floating around that
the tax exemption limit is to be revised.
Salaried employees are advised not to
get their hopes too high for fear of dis-
appointment. Ideally, exemption limits
must be linked with inflation. A five per
cent inflation rate means the exemp-
tion limit, too, should increase by five
per cent. Otherwise, the government
keeps on getting richer at the cost of the
tax payer.
Anthony Henriques
Mumbai
LOUD AND CLEAR
RSS CHIEF Mohan Bhagwat has virtual-
ly laid out a road map for the new gov-
ernment and prescribed a model code of
conduct, something that people expected
the Election Commission of India to
enforce during the 2024 general election.
The similarity between the two is in
what remains unsaid. The EC put the
party on notice; the RSS supremo deliv-
ered a sermon to “whomsoever it may
concern”. Mr Bhagwat’s message is loud
and clear whereas the EC’s was muted.
Both have the potential to hit the target
without exposing it. It is akin to the
recent example of a juvenile justice
board in Pune asking a minor offender
to write a 300-word essay. But in this
case, who is meant to write that essay?
M.R. Jayanthy
Navi Mumbai

S
ome doomsayers point to the election of
Engineer Rashid, Amritpal Singh and
Sarabjeet Singh to the Lok Sabha as proof
that “democracy is in danger” in this coun-
try. Some even go as far as saying that “democra-
Bhopinder cy itself is dangerous”.
Singh Such assessments are too simplistic. Constant
fear-mongering has made many citizens impatient
and alarmist. For, the poll victory of such voices
may just turn out to be the most ameliorative out-
come for the troubled regions they now represent
trasting performances of the candidates from the
ruling national party (still the largest party). In
Khadoor Sahib, first-time incarcerated and
“Independent” candidate Amritpal Singh got
4,04,430 votes compared to the BJP’s 86,373. In
Faridkot, the till-then electorally unsuccessful
candidate (lost once for Lok Sabha, four times for
Assembly) Sarabjeet Singh got 2,98,062 votes, com-
pared to his nearest rival, popular musician and
parliamentarian Hans Raj Hans, who got only
1,23,533. In both Punjab constituencies, the
The reality of ground emotions and frustrations
was implicit when the electorate denied a man-
date to the relatively moderate Omar and Sajad.
The backgrounds of all three unlikely winners
don’t suggest any major achievements (even from
an extremist perspective) to warrant such thump-
ing endorsement, other than the sheer symbolism
of sending someone with such a railing presence
to the Lok Sabha. It is a clear signal to the powers-
that-be. If Omar was truly as unpopular as the
Baramulla results show, then his National
that unfiltered and unheeded grouses from the
outlier border districts are unworthy of tabling in
Parliament is sheer hubris. Such a cavalier atti-
tude had ensured the presence of such forces in
the first place. These three could put forth certain
genuine grievances (along with the unacceptable),
and the redressal of the fair ones could only
strengthen the country.
Democracy is also brutally auto-correcting.
Ultimately, if these three do not work for the socio-
economic betterment of their constituents, they

The LS election of as Members of Parliament.

Democracies are about the dominant national
narrative. In recent times, this had undeniable
nation’s ruling party candidate came fifth.
Jammu and Kashmir, which has been among
the most bandied “success” stories of the ruling
Conference’s candidates would not have won the
only other two seats in Kashmir. Similarly, the
Congress, which is widely believed to have con-
will not get re-elected. Many were similarly con-
cerned when Simranjeet Singh Mann won the
byelection from Sangrur in 2022, yet he was rele-

Amritpal, Rashid portents of majoritarianism. Majoritarianism is party, was surprisingly left uncontested (not even tributed to the regression in Punjab in the 1980s, gated to third position within two years as his vote
not just of religion and ethnicity, but also of opin- by other NDA constituents). Their strong claim of would not have won seven out of 13 Lok Sabha share crashed from 35.61 per cent to 18.55 per cent
ion. It is predicated on “either with us, or with “normalcy” and the end of local disaffection with seats (the BJP won none). It would be highly naïve this time (all 10 other candidates from Maan’s
them” binaries. Only a large-hearted and inclu- many announced investments, etc., notwithstand- of the electorate to imagine anything substantial party also lost their security deposits).

may prove a boost sive leadership can stop the resulting societal
alienation. If it is left unaddressed, the alienation
can metastasise the disaffected “others” to make
for our democracy
extremist choices on the rebound. Such electoral
choices may not always be rational, but rather
emotional. These three winners represent those
extremist choices of a frustrated and possibly
slighted populace, sending a larger “message”.
That larger “message” can be gauged by the con-
ing, the ruling party did not feel the need to prove
itself towards electoral validation.
The Baramulla seat had political heavyweights
in Omar Abdullah, Sajad Gani Lone (widely be-
lieved to be a proxy of the BJP) and the locked-up
“Independent” candidate, Engineer Rashid. Yet,
despite the incredulous claims of spending only
`27,000 on the election, Rashid got 4,69,574 votes, as
against 2,66,301 for Omar, and 1,71,582 for Sajad.
from the three MPs in a practical sense, other than
sending an invaluable “message”, that the
unheard and diminished voices of the “others”
need to be heard.
It is a counterpoise to the metaphor of “bulldoz-
er” politics. Looked at positively, the entry of
these three, who have held simply unacceptable
positions earlier, is an opportunity to engage,
thaw and win over the disgruntled. To suggest
The permitted expressions of distrust with
“Delhi” are in fact healthy for democracy as it acts
as a societal safety valve. The participation of the
disillusioned is the key to secure future peace and
prosperity.
The writer is a retired lieutenant-general and a
former lieutenant-governor of the Andaman and
Nicobar Islands and Puducherry
 FRIDAY | 21 JUNE 2024 | THE ASIAN AGE | NEW DELHI

CRICKH T PAGE

TOP GUNS
SHORT SINGLES MOSES KONDETY
BRIDGETOWN (BARBADOS),
SUPER EIGHT
JUNE 20 GROUP 1
Indian players pay Suryakumar Yadav and
TEAMS
INDIA
P
1
W
1
L
0
N/R
0
Pts
2
NRR
+2.350
Jasprit Bumrah stood out
tribute to Johnson as the Blues turned in a AFGHANISTAN 1 0 1 0 0 -2.350
red hot show to begin
AUSTRALIA 0 0 0 0 0 00
T he Indian cricket team wore
black armbands in honour of
former fast bowler David Johnson
their Super Eight cam-
paign with a convincing
47-run victory over
BANGLADESH 0 0 0 0 0 00
who passed away on Thursday, Afghanistan at the
during their T20 World Cup Super
Eight match against Afghanistan.
Both skipper Rohit Sharma and
Kensington Oval here on
Thursday.
After rattling a robust
India shoot down Afghans in Super game GROUP 2
TEAMS P W L N/R Pts NRR
Virat Kohli came out to bat wear- 181, they bowled out ENGLAND 1 1 0 0 2 +1.343
ing black armbands. Rashid Khan's men for 134 SCOREBOARD S. AFRICA 1 1 0 0 2 +0.900
“Team India will wear black arm- to get a headstart in their
bands today in memory of former quest for a spot in the India: Rohit Sharma c USA 1 0 1 0 0 -0.900
India fast bowler David Johnson, semifinals. Rashid Khan b Fazalhaq WEST INDIES 1 0 1 0 0 -1.343
who passed away on Thursday,” None of the Afghan bat- Farooqi 8, Virat Kohli c
the BCCI had said shortly before ters could withstand the Nabi b Rashid Khan 24,
Rishabh Pant lbw b Rashid
the start of play at the Kensington pressure created by the

Salt blasts Eng

Oval.
Several Indian cricketers includ-
ing Sachin Tendulkar led the trib-
utes for Johnson. “Deeply sad-
dened by the passing of my former
Khan 20, Suryakumar
bowlers, among whom Yadav c Nabi b Fazalhaq
Bumrah was brilliant Farooqi 53, Shivam Dube
with figures of 4-1-7-3. lbw b Rashid Khan 10,
Azmatullah Omarzai was Hardik Pandya c
their highest scorer with

teammate, David Johnson. He was
full of life and never gave up on the
field. My thoughts are with his
friends and family,” Tendulkar
wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Former India bowlers and
Johnson's state teammates
Venkatesh Prasad and Anil
Kumble also paid their tributes on
social media.
WI win has given
us confidence: Salt
to win over WI
Azmatullah b Naveen-ul-
26. Haq 32, Ravindra Jadeja c
Earlier, India elected to Gulbadin b Fazalhaq
bat and posted their high- Farooqi 7, Axar Patel run
est total of the tourna- out (Gurbaz/Naveen-ul-
ment, surpassing the 119 Haq) 12, Arshdeep Singh Gros-Islet (Saint Lucia),
all out against Pakistan in not out 2. Extras (lb-5, w-
8) 13. Total (for 8 wickets
June 20: Phil Salt SCOREBOARD
New York. It was built on thrashed a brilliant 87 not
Surya's hurricane half- in 20 Overs) 181.
out off just 47 balls as West Indies: Brandon King
ton, Hardik Pandya's Fall of Wickets: 11-1, 54-2, defending champions retired hurt 23, Johnson
thrilling 32 and their sta- 62-3, 90-4, 150-5, 159-6, England romped to an Charles c Brook b Ali 38,
bilising stand of 60 for the 165-7, 181-8. eight-wicket victory over Nicholas Pooran c Buttler b
Archer 36, Rovman Powell c
fifth wicket. the West Indies in their
Surya was stylish, tim-
ing the ball sweetly as he
Bowler: Fazalhaq Farooqi
4-0-33-3, Mohammad Nabi
3-0-24-0, Naveen-ul-Haq
T20 World Cup Super
Eight clash on
Wood b Livingstone 36,
Andre Russell c Salt b
Rashid 1, Sherfane
sent it scurrying to the
fence five times and thrice
4-0-40-1, Rashid Khan 4-
0-26-3, Noor Ahmad 3-0-
Wednesday.
Salt smashed seven
Rutherford not out 28,
Romario Shepherd not out

E ngland opener Phil Salt said
the convincing eight-wicket
victory over the West Indies in
their Super Eight clash has given
his side “confidence and momen-
tum” at the right time in the T20
World Cup after a chaotic run in
the event’s group stage. Salt played
a major hand in the win here, rac-
ing his way to an unbeaten 87 off
47 balls as the defending champi-
ons replied to the home team’s
180/4 with 181/2 in 17.3 overs.
“It’s been a very stop-start (tour-
nament) for us. We had a hiccup
against Australia and then, the
rain out against Scotland. It didn’t
really feel like we played much
cricket up to this point,” Salt said
in the post-match press meet.
“I feel in tournament cricket, you
need a bit of confidence and
momentum at the right time and
you need to keep building on it. So,
to get a win against the hosts gives
us the first push in that direction,”
he added.
Marsh backs Oz to
‘fire in big games’
over it. Some of his shots
were picture perfect as he
executed them in complete
balance.
The No. 4 brought up his
half-century and 150 of
India’s innings with a
boundary off Farooqi but
fell soon, holing out to
Mohammad Nabi at long-
off after making 53 in 28
balls.
Pandya switched gears
in the 16th over. He
thumped left-arm spinner
Noor Ahmad through
cover to bring up his 100th
boundary in T20 interna-
tionals and celebrated it
with a six on the next ball.
Pandya was out while
trying to up the ante,
caught by Omarzai off
mediumpacer Naveen-ul
Haq, who was the most
expensive Afghan bowler,
going for 40 in his four
overs.
The openers couldn't
click, again. The tourna-
ment's leading wicket
taker Fazalhaq Farooqi
(3/33) started well, with
India’s Jasprit Bumrah (left) celebrates the dismissal of Afghanistan batter Najibullah
Zadran during their Super Eight match at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown,
Barbados, on Thursday. India won by 47 runs.
made its way past
Hazratullah Zazai at short
third man to the boundary.
Off-spinner Nabi was
pressed into the attack
and bowled a tidy second
over in which he conceded
only three runs.
Rohit (8 in 13 balls) sur-
vived a confident shout for
leg before wicket on the
first ball of Farooqi's sec-
ond over and got away
after the Afghans
reviewed the umpire's 'not
out' decision. However, he
went for a heave but only
managed to sky a catch to
Rashid Khan at mid-on.
That was Farooqi's 50th
wicket in T20 internation-
als.
It was not until the fifth
over that India got their
first big hit - Kohli slapped
Naveen-ul Haq straight
into the sight screen for a
six.
Rishabh Pant picked up
from the other end, smash-
ing three successive
boundaries off Nabi even
— AP
Pant was out in the next
over, trapped leg before
wicket while trying to
reverse sweep Rashid
Khan. His 20 came off 11
balls.
Kohli followed soon, hit-
ting Rashid straight to
Naveen at long-off after
making a run-a-ball 24
that contained a sole
boundary.
Shivam Dube (10),
Ravindra Jadeja (7) and
Axar Patel (12) could not
contribute significantly to
30-0, Azmatullah Omarzai
2-0-23-0.
Afghanistan: Rahmanullah
Gurbaz c Pant b Bumrah 11,
Hazratullah Zazai c Jadeja
b Bumrah 2, Ibrahim
Zadran c Sharma b Patel 8,
Gulbadin Naib c Pant b
Kuldeep Yadav 17,
Azmatullah Omarzai c
Patel b Jadeja 26,
Najibullah Zadran c Liam Livingstone 1-0-20-1.
Arshdeep Singh b Bumrah
19, Mohammad Nabi c
Jadeja b Kuldeep Yadav
14, Rashid Khan c Jadeja b
Arshdeep Singh 2, Noor
Ahmad c Sharma b
Arshdeep Singh 12,
Naveen-ul-Haq c Pant b
Arshdeep Singh 0,
Fazalhaq Farooqi not out
4. Extras (b-4, lb-7, nb-1,
w-7) 19. Total (all out in 20
overs) 134.
Fall of wickets: 1-13, 2-23,
3-23, 4-67, 5-71, 6-102, 7-
114, 8-121, 9-121.
Bowling: Arshdeep Singh
4-0-36-3, Jasprit Bumrah
4-1-7-3, Axar Patel 3-1-15-1,
Hardik Pandya 2-0-13-0,
Kuldeep Yadav 4-0-32-2,
Ravindra Jadeja 3-0-20-1.
fours and five sixes dur-
ing a swashbuckling
innings at the Daren
Sammy National Stadium
in St. Lucia while Jonny
Bairstow hit an unbeaten
48 as England finished on
181/2 off 17.3 overs after
earlier restricting the
West Indies to 180/4.
Player of the Match Salt
effectively sealed victory
after cutting loose in the
16th over, hammering 30
runs off West Indies
bowler Romario
Shepherd with an exhibi-
tion of power-hitting that
included three sixes and
three fours.
The win marked an
emphatic return to form
for England, who
laboured through the first
round group phase and
flirted with elimination
at one stage.
The England opener
praised the contribution
of Bairstow, who kept the
runs flowing and took the
pressure off Salt at the
5. Extras (b-2, lb-1, w-10) 13.
Total (for 4 wickets in 20
overs) 180.
Fall of wickets: 0-40*
(Brandon King, retired hurt),
1-94, 2-137, 3-141, 4-143.
Bowling: Reece Topley 3-0-
26-0, Mark Wood 3-0-36-0,
Jofra Archer 4-0-34-1, Sam
Curran 3-0-25-0, Adil Rashid
4-0-21-1, Moeen Ali 2-0-15-1,
England: Phil Salt not out 87,
Jos Buttler lbw b Chase 25,
Moeen Ali c Charles b
Russell 13, Jonny Bairstow
not out 48. Extras (lb-1, w-7)
8. Total (for 2 wickets in 17.3
overs) 181.
Fall of wickets: 1-67, 2-84.
Bowling: Akeal Hosein 4-0-
35-0, Romario Shepherd 2-
0-41-0, Andre Russell 2-0-
21-1, Alzarri Joseph 2.3-0-
32-0, Gudakesh Motie 4-0-
32-0, Roston Chase 3-0-19-1.
other end. England’s
other runs came from 25
from skipper Jos Buttler
while Moeen Ali added a
brisk 13. — AFP

A ustralia skipper Mitchell

Marsh has expressed confi-
dence in his players to ‘stand up in
four dot balls to Rohit
Sharma before an edge
did not last long and per-
ished four balls later as he
as Naveen dropped a catch
on the boundary. However,
the team total. It did not
matter in the end though.

big moments’ following criticism

for sloppy fielding against
Scotland in their last group match
of the T20 World Cup, which saw
the former champions spilling half
a dozen catches.
Even though Australia won by
five wickets, their reputation took
a bit of a beating and Marsh put
his hand up in admitting the
errors.
“It was obviously not our best
effort in the field. I think I dropped
three of the catches, so I take the
brunt of that,” he said during a
media interaction.
“But the thing we speak about, is
that we’ve got a lot of trust in our
group. We had an off night in the
field and this group loves to stand
up in big moments and they all
start now ? so I’ve got a lot of trust
in the group,” Marsh added.
Marsh has struggled with a ham-
string injury he suffered during
the Indian Premier League in
April, which forced him to head
home for rehabilitation. But the
skipper said if the need arises, he
will be available for sharing bowl-
ing workload.
Oz need all-round effort
against tricky Bangladesh
North Sound (Antigua),
June 20: It’s a mismatch
on paper but title-
favourites Australia
would be wary of slipping
on the proverbial banana
peel that Bangladesh can
be when the two teams
clash in their Super Eight,
Group 1, match of the T20
World Cup here on Friday.
Australia, champions of
the 2021 edition of the
tournament, will be mind-
ful of the dangers of tak-
ing Bangladesh lightly.
The supremely confi-
dent team from Down
Under was humbled 1-4 by
the South Asians in a T20
International series in
2021, and any laxity can be
severely punished in con-
ditions here that have
close resemblance to the
sub-continent.
From an Australian per-
spective, it might bring
increased onus on leg-
spinner Adam Zampa and
part-timers such as Glenn
Maxwell and Travis Head.
Bangladesh will hope
that their assortment of
clever and experienced
T20 bowlers like
Mustafizur Rahman,
Shakib Al Hasan,
Mahmudullah and Taskin
Ahmed can deliver
against the Australian
batters.
However, Bangladesh’s
real problem lies in a rick-
ety batting line-up.
— PTI
ENGLAND BATTERS LOOK TO
TAME STRONG SA BOWLING
Gros Islet (St Lucia), June
20: If their authoritative
win against the West
Indies is a sign, England
batters seemed to have
found their cloak of
invincibility at the right
time and they will eye an
encore against a formida-
ble South African bowl-
ing unit in a Group-2
match of the T20 World
Cup Super 8s here on
Friday.
England were at their
menacing best against the
Windies, while handing
them a crushing eight-
wicket defeat here that
has also fired them to the will have their one foot in
top of the group through the semifinals of this ICC
a better Net Run Rate — showpiece will come as England’s Phil Salt plays a shot against the West Indies
+1.34 against SA’s +0.90. an additional motivation. during their Super 8 match at the Darren Sammy
That the winners here — PTI National Stadium in Gros Islet on Wednesday. — AP

Hosts Germany through to last 16 of Euros FORMER INDIA PACER JOHNSON DIES AFTER
Stuttgart (Germany), June
20: Hosts Germany
became the first team to
qualify for the knockout
phase of Euro 2024 on
Wednesday thanks to a 2-0
win over Hungary, while
Scotland drew with
Switzerland and Croatia’s
hopes of progressing were
left hanging in the balance
after they were held by
Albania.
Germany followed up
their 5-1 demolition of
Scotland in the tourna-
ment’s opening game by
seeing off the Hungarians
in Stuttgart, with Jamal
Musiala and Ilkay
Gundogan scoring either
side of half-time.
Julian Nagelsmann’s
team have a maximum six
points with one game still
to come in Group A, and
are certain to progress to
the last 16 at least as run-
ners-up in the section.
Hungary put up a fight
but the hosts had too much
Germany’s Jamal Musiala (centre) scores against Hungary during their Group ‘A’
match at the Euro 2024 tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, on Wednesday.
quality in the final third,
with Bayern Munich star
Musiala firing in the open-
er midway through the
first half after captain
Gundogan refused to give
up a lost cause in the box.
Germany then doubled
their lead on 67 minutes as
Gundogan, of Barcelona,
— AP
swept home an assist by
Maximilian Mittelstaedt.
Germany have now won
their opening two games
at a World Cup or
European Championship
for the first time since
Euro 2012.
Hungary’s hopes of pro-
gressing now hang by a
thread, while group rivals
Switzerland and Scotland
played out a 1-1 stalemate
in Wednesday’s late
match.
Scotland went ahead
early on when Callum
McGregor cut the ball
back for Scott McTominay
to score with a shot that
went in via a big touch off
Fabian Schaer.
However, Switzerland
equalised when Xherdan
Shaqiri pounced on a stray
pass by Anthony Ralston
to smash a superb first-
time strike high into the
net. The Swiss saw Dan
Ndoye miss a glorious sec-
ond-half opportunity and
Breel Embolo have a goal
disallowed for offside, but
Scotland deserved the
draw which keeps their
hopes alive. — AFP
FALLING FROM FOURTH-FLOOR APARTMENT
Bengaluru, June 20: Former ● Former India pacer incident. Neither, there was a
India pacer David Johnson David Johnson, who suicide note,” the police said,
died on Thursday after falling adding a probe was nonethe-
from the balcony of his played two Tests for India, less being conducted.
fourth-floor apartment here was 52 and is survived by A senior police official later
and an investigation is in his wife and two children. also informed that Johnson
progress to figure out if it had been visiting a de-addic-
was a case of suicide, the “The body is taken for post- tion centre in the city.
police has said. mortem to the Ambedkar Earlier, a Karnataka State
Johnson, who played two Medical College Hospital at Cricket Association (KSCA)
Tests for India, was 52 and is Shampura main road,” it official said Johnson was
survived by his wife and two added. brought dead to a nearby hos-
children. Johnson, who was admitted pital by the members of his
“It is believed that 52-year- to the St Philomena’s family and friends.
old David Jude Johnson fell Hospital last week after com- “We were informed that he
from his apartment in plaining of acute stomach had fallen from the fourth
Kanaka Sri Layout in pain, was battling health floor of his apartment build-
Kothanur. A UDR (unnatural issues for a while now. ing. He was taken to a hospi-
death report) has been filed at “None of his family mem- tal but the doctors declared
the Kothanur police station,” bers have raised any suspi- him brought dead,” the KSCA
a statement from the state cion. It was a ’self-fall’ and official said.
police read. there is no eyewitness to the — PTI
Published by K. Sudhakar for and on behalf of Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited at Jawaharlal Nehru National Youth
Centre, 219 Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, New Delhi 110 002. and Printed by him at BFL Infotech Limited, C – 9,
Sector – III, Noida – 201301.
Editor – Kaushik Mitter,
RNI Registration number 57290/94 Price in Nepal - Nep.Rs. 20.00 per copy.
 matinee
Does Sonakshi
have her
delhi
THE AGE
family’s
blessings?

16 >>
FRIDAY | 21 JUNE 2024
INTERNATIONAL YOGA DAY

Yoga is the answer

Crisis, pain, and difficulties are part and parcel of everyday life. Only
those who can tap their inner strengths and build the
potential to fight through the suffering and keep up that
confidence are the ones who emerge stronger, resilient, and happy. Yoga is
the only way to achieve it all, writes Swati Sharma

‘Yoga fosters MAT TO THE STREET

holistic well-being’
Y
ash Birla, an Indian industrialist
and scion of the Birla family
empire, underwent a transforma-
tive journey through yoga and spiritu-
ality after experiencing personal
tragedies and challenges. “Yoga tran-
scends exercise; it is a scientific disci-
pline that harmonises body and breath.
Integrating with prana through
pranayama, yoga aims to connect
deeply with the soul, fostering holistic
well-being and spiritual growth,” says
Yash. Through asanas, pranayama, and
meditation, Yash found a means to
manage stress, cultivate inner peace,
and enhance mental clarity. One inspir-
ing tale from Yash’s life revolves
around his resilience in the face of
adversity. Despite experiencing person-
al tragedies, including the loss of close
family members in a tragic plane
crash, Yash emerged stronger and
more determined. “I turned to yoga
and spirituality as pillars of strength,
embracing their transformative power
to navigate grief and find inner peace.”
Through his journey, Yash exempli-
fies the ability to rise above challenges
and find meaning in life’s setbacks. His
story encourages individuals to
embrace adversity as an opportunity
for personal growth and spiritual evo-
lution, illustrating the profound impact
of resilience and perseverance.
Yoga outfits
TOLOVE ‘My baby bump
Fitness and style experts on
balancing the traditional art is due to lavish
of meditation with a perfect
dash of modern style food served by
>> full story on pg 5 << Prabhas...’
Says Deepika, “We relished
varied delicacies on the sets”
SPIRITUALITY, INTERTWINED BVS PRAKASH
WITH YOGA, PROVIDED ME
Bollywood diva Deepika Padukone
WITH A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING stated that working in her maiden
OF LIFE’S PURPOSE AND A Telugu film Kalki 2898 AD was a
CONNECTION TO HIGHER unique experience. “It was an incredible and
CONSCIOUSNESS. THIS HOLISTIC fascinating experience working in Kalki,”
APPROACH NOT ONLY REVITALISED says the actress and adds, “We enjoyed work-
MY PHYSICAL HEALTH BUT ALSO ing in a new world created by director Nag
Ashwin and it was a unique experience.” She
NURTURED MY EMOTIONAL AND also stated that Nag Ashwin’s magic stored in
SPIRITUAL WELL-BEING.” his mind has finally taken shape. “As
Amitabh ji stated, we all got new things to
— YASH BIRLA, INDUSTRIALIST do,” she
pointed out.
Later, in a
>> more on pg 4 << chit chat
with Rana
Da g gubati,
she said,

Winds of Change
INTERNATIONAL MUSIC DAY

“My baby
bump is due
to the lavish
food served
Sparing a thought for the environment, by my co-
EVEN OTHER ACTORS s t a r ,
music bands are going eco-friendly, giving WOULD VOUCH FOR HIS Prabhas and
their fans across the world one more HOSPITALITY AS WE RELISHED I should
SEVERAL DELICACIES ON THE blame it on
reason to celebrate World Music Day SETS EVERY DAY. IT WAS A him,” she
GREAT EXPERIENCE BOTH said jokingly
VIKRAM SHARMA liness. While folk rock band, PROFESSIONALLY AND and added,
Swarathma, is all set to make PERSONALLY TOO.” “Even other
This is music for the ears. history with solar-powered con- actors would
Yegor
Pop stars and rock bands cert tour—a groundbreaking
—DEEPIKA vouch for his
Svysokikhgor, a
across the globe—who hitherto initiative that is sure to revolu- hospitality
key member of
limited themselves to making tionise the live music experi- as we relished several delicacies on the sets
the Russian rock
music and entertaining peo- ence—rock band Coldplay is all every day.”
band
ple—are now hitting a new note. set to make the most eco-friend- The mother-to-be also said that she worked
Ciolkowska
Along with the melody, harmo- ly album, Moon Music. for three years in the movie and it has been an
ny, tempo, and dynamics, they enriching experience. “It was a great experi-
have added a dash of eco-friend- TURN TO PAGE 11 ence both professionally and personally too.”
 Friday 21 June 2024 10

spotlight Delhi Age

PHOTOS: MANAS BHATIA

ESHA LOHIA

Imagine bus stops made

from bamboo and terra-
cotta, vegetable markets
covered with bamboo canopies,
or indigenous air-cooling sys-
tems that use evaporative cool-
ing via water and terracotta
cones! There is a growing trend
of solarpunk culture where
architects, artists, designers, and
green warriors envision a future
where AI technology, nature,
artistic expressions, and people
live in perfect harmony.
A utopian concept, solarpunk
is a subgenre of speculative fic-
tion that is a combination of
nature and technology, keeping
sustainable community building
as its core theme for the good of
the planet.
‘Solar’ represents renewable
energy and an optimistic future
that rejects climate doomerism,
while ‘punk’ reflects a counter-
cultural, post-capitalist, and
decolonial drive to create such a A market with AI-generated bamboo canopies AI-generated bamboo-terracotta bus stops
future. Manas Bhatia (28), an

Junk Dystopia,
architect and digital artist says,
“Solarpunk is a fictional concept
about a hypothetical future that
is green and works on renewable
energy. Nature is integrated well
with the architecture and plan-

Hug Solarpunk
ning of the city.”

BEYOND AESTHETICS

Technology, especially AI, is

often being used by artists as

Utopian Ideas
well as architectural designers
to envision an aesthetically
pleasing and problem-solving
solarpunk future. A future
where climatic and environmen- Reimagine spaces under highways as public spaces
tal issues are resolved and
humanity embraces nature in its
entirety instead of just biomim-
The concept of blending fiction, AI technology, design, and art to convert
icking it. Manas says, “I can't
create a futuristic city on a new,
dreams of a futuristic sustainable world into reality is gaining momentum
barren land as the real-world company says, “Sustainability is
I AIM TO CATER TO

‘‘
space is limited. So, I aim to not just about being eco-conscious.
cater to the existing world by THE EXISTING It can also be aspirational, trendy,
reimagining negative public WORLD BY REIMAGINING and realistic. Until people don’t see
spaces into charming, positive NEGATIVE PUBLIC what it can be like to live in houses
ones using AI.” SPACES INTO CHARMING, made with earth bricks and tim-
Most of Manas’s AI-designed POSITIVE ONES USING AI.” ber, they won’t know how to appre-
work is just an expression of his ciate it.” Akshay started off work-
vision of a green future. AI has a — MANAS BHATIA, ing with existing architects who
lot of potential to solve real- architect and digital artist work in the sustainability arena.
world problems by creating sus- They realised that they were bare-
tainable, eco-conscious infra- ly making a difference since
SUSTAINABILITY IS

‘‘
structures. The inspiration cement and steel were the primary
drawn from AI-generated images NOT JUST ABOUT materials used widely. “Now, we
can be empowering for several BEING ECO-CONSCIOUS. use excavation soil from the site
designers to be aspirational in IT CAN BE ASPIRATIONAL, with a patented alternative for
their eco-friendly approach. TRENDY, AND REALISTIC.” cement. We make carbon-negative
— AKSHAY TANDON, blocks and bricks and use alterna-
REAL WORLD PROBLEM-SOLVING tives to cement mortar and plaster
founder, Solarpunk Futures as well,” he explains.
Many architectural designers
and companies are blending IN INDIA, PEOPLE MAINSTREAM MOMENT

community-driven art with
nature and turning these utopi-
an ideas into reality. Monish
Siripurapu, founder of Ant
Studio and its sister company,
CoolAnt says that as an architect
he focuses on making designs
that are not just innovative but
also experiential. He says,
“Through CoolAnt, we are slid-
ing into problem-solving, social
work, and touching on the envi-
ronmental aspects through our
architectural designs.”
Monish’s Beehive CoolAnt
installation, an air-cooling sys-
tem uses evaporative cooling, an
ancient technique with water
and local materials. He chose ter-
racotta for its robustness and
‘‘
ARE MOSTLY Solarpunk may not be achiev-
INTERESTED IN EITHERable to its idealistic benchmark
PROFITABILITY OR but serves as a token of inspira-
SURVIVABILITY. AIMING
tion to turn dreams into practi-
FOR A SUSTAINABLE LIFE IS cality. With the ongoing climatic
SECONDARY TO THEM.” changes, India is becoming more
receptive towards environment-
— MONISH SIRIPURAPU,
friendly alternatives. Acquiring
founder, Ant Studio
funds for such projects, mainte-
Beehive CoolAnt, cooling system PHOTO: ANT STUDIO
nance, and seeking skilled crafts-
malleability, avoiding plastic. As ed in either profitability or sur- MATERIAL MATTERS men are some of the challenges
air passes through terracotta vivability. Aiming for a sustain- that many face. Akshay says,
cones, it cools naturally. able life is secondary to them. Solarpunks use sustainable mate- “There is an awakening towards
When asked why this system is Through open-source, we aim rials that have low environmental accepting this concept, yet it
open-source, he says, “The to take solutions to the masses.” impact. This means a revival of remains a subculture. People are
problem that we are catering to He adds that the fight towards traditional construction methods still quite agnostic but all move-
is not just limited to specific sustainability can be solved with locally sourced materials. ment starts with a subculture.
areas but the entire world. In when the ideas are accessible Akshay Tandon, founder of Art, creativity, and design will
India, people are mostly interest- easily to common people. Solarpunk Futures, a construction make it mainstream.”
 Friday 21 June 2024 11

music Delhi Age

WINDS OF CHANGE
Sparing a thought for the environment, music bands are
going eco-friendly, giving their fans across the world one
more reason to celebrate World Music Day
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9
Members of British rock band Coldplay
Even Radiohead has begun to
send their gear via ship instead
of airfreight in their effort to
reduce their carbon footprint.
What more? Their buses run on
biofuel, they use water flasks
instead of disposable plastic
cups, and the rock band is even
encouraging their fans to take
public transportation to their
shows!
If World Music Day is not
enough reason to celebrate,
then what is it?

ENRICHING EXPERIENCE
“As a band, we are excited to
bring alive a concert experience
that is friendlier to the earth.
The experience of co-creating
this vision with our sustainabil-
ity and engineering partners
Jishnu Dasgupta has been very enriching,” says
Jishnu Dasgupta, a member of
Swarathma.
He says it is almost as much
fun as planning the set lists and
the concert itself. “The teams
have collaborated to design a
revolutionary clean energy
power unit that will run the con-
certs across the country. By
partnering with these industry
frontrunners, Swarathma aims
to set a new standard for envi-
ronmentally conscious enter-
tainment and promote the adop-
tion of sustainable practices
within the music industry,”
adds Jishnu, the band’s bassist.
POSITIVE CHANGE
Yegor Svysokikhgor, a key
Yegor Svysokikhgor member of the Russian rock
band Ciolkowska, is a happy
man this World Music Day. “It’s
wonderful to see how music
bands are going eco-friendly.
Their concern about the envi-
ronment and the use of environ-
mentally friendly technologies
in their activities will go a long
way in bringing about a positive
change,” smiles Yegor.
Speaking to the Hyderabad
Chronicle from St. Petersburg,
the Ciolkowska frontman, who
is a regular visitor to the holy
city of Varanasi, says he and his
band members try to be eco-
nomical and do not use plastic
bags and bottles. “We try to be
as environmentally friendly as
Jashan Bhumkar
ELECTRIFYING PERFORMANCES
warathma, a renowned folk-rock band from Bengaluru,
S is poised to transform the live concert experience by
utilising solar and clean energy to power their sound sys-
tems. They are embarking on a nationwide tour in support
of their fourth studio album, titled Raushan, due this year.
Renowned for their electrifying performances and eclectic
sound, Swarathma will bring their unique blend of music
and activism to audiences across the nation, powered by a
portable clean energy system that will replace the diesel
generators that are the norm across concerts today.
Billie Eilish
Johnny Greenwoof from Radiohead Thom Yorke
IRISH ROCK BAND U2
WORKED WITH
GREENPEACE IN THE
EARLY 90S TO PROTEST
THE SELLAFIELD
NUCLEAR REPROCESS-
ING SITE IN ENGLAND.
LATER, THEY WORKED
WITH GREENPEACE TO
PROTEST THE
DESTRUCTION OF THE friendly album are truly
KHIMKI FOREST IN remarkable examples of music
bands getting eco-friendly. It’s
RUSSIA. THEY HAVE fantastic to see music bands tak-
BEEN INVOLVED IN ing such proactive steps
ENVIRONMENTAL towards environmental sustain-
ACTIVISM, WORKING ability,” says Jashan.
WITH UNICEF AND He says using recycled materi-
AMNESTY als like plastic bottles and river
INTERNATIONAL. plastic not only reduces car-
bon emissions signifi-
Bono from U2 EVEN cantly but also helps
BILLIE EILISH combat plastic pollu-
TOOK ACTION ON tion. “These initia-
possible in our everyday lives,” sumer waste, HER ECO-CONSCIOUS tives not only pro-
informs Yegor, who launched while a special VALUES; EILISH’S HAPPIER mote eco-con-
Ciolkowska in 2012. The band “ n o t e b o o k ” THAN EVER TOUR INCORPO- sciousness but
released their debut EP Pistolet edition will RATED REUSABLE WATER also inspire fans
Buduschego in 2015, their sec- also be com- BOTTLES AND MERCHAN- and other artists
ond album Avtomat Proshlogo prised of 70% worldwide to con-
DISE MADE FROM
in 2016, and went on to release river plastic, RECYCLED MATERI- sider the environ-
their third album Psychedelia taken from the ALS. mental impact of
years later. “Since music binds Rio Las Vacas in their activities,” adds
people across the world, such Guatemala. The band
moves by music bands will drive says this will reduce carbon
the singer. “It’s great that
music bands are becoming more
their fans to become eco-friend- emissions by 85%. eco-friendly. In the past, the
ly,” adds Yegor. music that came from the flute,
REMARKABLE violin, or sitar were good for the
COLDPLAY ALBUM Indian singer Jashan environment. Getting back to
Each vinyl copy of the Bhumkar describes it as a fan- the roots of music is the only
Coldplay album will be pressed tastic move by music bands. way to make it more enjoyable
onto discs made from nine plas- “Swarathma’s solar-powered to listen to,” said actor and
tic bottles recovered from con- concert tour and Coldplay's eco- musician Aushim Khetarpal.

the buzz
Yoga is the...
NIRVAAN BIRLA, founder
of Birla Open Minds
‘Once
Y
ash’s son Nirvaan
Birla too swears
by Yoga. Coming
from a spiritually
I embraced
inclined family, he was
introduced to yoga at
it, yoga became
an early age, empha-
sising overall well- indispensable’
being. “Initially, it felt
challenging, but once I
embraced it, yoga became
indispensable. The benefits
extend beyond the physical;
they profoundly impact the
mind,” says Nirvaan.
Through yoga, he achieved greater
focus and agility, enriching his
mental and physical health in
immeasurable ways. “At Birla Open
Minds Education Pvt. Ltd., we
recognise the significance of yoga
and have integrated it into our cur-
riculum through the graded subject
Soul Science. This approach
ensures that students, from an
early age, appreciate the impor-
tance of internal well-being.” One
of the most inspiring experiences,
says Nirvaan, is the International
Yoga Festival held every March in
Rishikesh, which the Birla family
attends almost every year.
PAYAL GIDWANI TIWARI,
yoga expert in Bollywood
and the author of Body
Goddess: The Complete
Guide to Yoga for Women
gave me the
ability to face
I
t’s been over 20 years
that Payal has been
doing yoga. “And as you
keep doing it for years and
obstacles’
years together, you realise how
you’ve changed as an individual,
how strong you’ve become from within,
and how you know how to face every situation that is
coming into your life with more ease, strength, vigour,
power, and awareness,” she says.
“Yoga is an internal journey. It is a journey that you feel
all throughout your life. And every obstacle in our lives,
you can fight with awareness if you do yoga.”
With all the obstacles and challenges that came
into Payal’s life, including several deaths in
her family, yoga showed her the way.
C M Y K C M Y K
Friday 21 June 2024 13
Delhi Age
SHINJINI KULKARNI, Kathak Dancer
MAT TO THE
A
s a Kathak dancer, Shinjini
Kulkarni’s life is an intricate
blend of rhythm, movement,
and grace. “However, an injury
once threatened to steal my passion
and livelihood, casting a shadow
over my world. It was during this
LATA REDDY, homemaker
A spiritual
discipline For
STREET —
YOGA
OUTFITS
trying time that I discovered yoga, a International
Y
practice that became oga is a spiritual disci-
my beacon of pline that enhances your Yoga Day, we
‘It
TO LOVE
hope,” says the overall health in areas speak to
grand daugh- such as balance, heart, breath-
fitness and
ter of Kathak
maestro Pt.
B i r j u
made me
ing, arthritis, back pain, sleep-
ing disorders, and eye vision.
Although yoga originated in
style experts
Maharaj.
Through to return to India, it has gained wide-
spread popularity in many
on balancing
the
yoga,
not
she
only the dance
other countries, particularly
among the younger genera- traditional art
found physi- tion, as it significantly
of meditation
cal rehabilita-
tion but also a floor’ improves their overall health.
with a
profound mental
and spiritual awak- perfect dash
ening. “The asanas of modern
helped restore my strength and flex-
ibility, while the meditative prac- style.
tices nurtured resilience and inner
peace. Yoga reconnected me with
my body, enabling me to return to
the dance floor with renewed
vigour.“
Today, she dances with deeper
awareness and gratitude, embody-
“In terms of styles,
ing the harmony that yoga has racerbacks, jazz
infused into her life. pants, and sweats are
major statements, but fit, it is important for designs to have
one can enhance their adjustable elements, such as straps
‘A lifeline for those NIVI SHRIVASTAVA
style with ribbed
designs, shoulder
and waistbands.”
who are struggling’ cuts, thumbhole
long-sleeved tops,
IN SYNC WITH NATURE:
W
hether you’re a sea- high-waisted leg-
gings, etc.” For young yoga practitioners, blends
soned yogi or just start- made from natural materials (like
ing your practice, the pop of acid. Tonal — Umashan cotton, wool, linen), eco-friendly per-
Naidoo
‘Yoga right attire
enhance your experi-
can black remains a key
element in all yoga
formance fabrics, and vegan apparel
that are alternative to synthetic fab-
ence and boost your confidence on and athleisure out- rics are the latest fad. Runway model
the mat. Practicing yoga has
immensely benefited people from all
fits, feels Umashan Naidoo, head of
customer & beauty at Westside.
and yoga coach Amit Ranjan, who
has been practicing it for more than
age groups, and continues to do so. Elaborating more on the trends, ten years, shares his two cents. He
Naidoo says, “In terms of styles, says, “The meditative aspects of yoga
‘My life transformed’
VIBRANT MOOD:
The overall wellness wear is shifting
racerbacks, jazz pants, and sweats
are major statements, but one can
enhance their style with ribbed
have enhanced my focus and mind-
fulness, allowing me to approach
life's challenges with a calm and cen-
SHIVAM DIXIT, co-founder and towards feeling good on every occa- designs, shoulder cuts, thumbhole tered mindset. The best yoga wear for
CEO of Counsel India KULDEEP NEGI, Olympic weightlifting and sion (including yoga and gym wear). long-sleeved tops, high-waisted leg- me is comfortable, free-flowing, and
power yoga expert People are thoughtfully choosing to gings, etc. Our fabrics let you move vibrant to uplift the mood. The fabric
A
s someone passionate balance their focus on function, com- at your own pace and are perfect for feel, fall, and fit are important factors
K
about mental health, uldeep comes fort, and style with versatile pieces cool airport looks as well as a fit- for good yoga wear. Flowy garments
Shivam has seen innumer- from a family that celebrate human connection. ness lifestyle.” colours are also being appreci- help asanas with ease and do not
able tales of how hardship can with a strong Nature-inspired shades of green, ated, especially when it comes restrict blood circulation. Choose
unleash the human spirit’s emphasis on fitness. blue, and black with joyful accents of HIGH ON DESIGN: to activewear bottoms, like leg- details that reflect your personality
unbreakable strength. “I am “My younger brother citrus lime and orange or peachy pop gings. Preference is for and make you feel good — bold
reminded on this International was always dedicated are currently popular, informs In 2024, yoga and fitness wear colours that effortlessly com- prints, calming pastels, and classic
Yoga Day of how yoga has helped to yoga, but during my Humera Tamboli, founder of fashion trends are all about embracing plement any outfit, such as black or neutrals are popular choices
many people get through their college years and early label Sensing. bold colours and vibrant prints. purple, and blue, that allow along with stylish details like mesh
darkest moments by acting as a business ventures, I She says, “Conventional design While black remains a staple and for a pop of personality in panels and cut-outs.”
beacon of light.” neglected my well- details of layering, pleats, and pock- a favorite in the Indian activewear the activewear. Our Triaction Interestingly, many yoga enthusi-
“We frequently find our greatest being, leading to ets cross paths with bold yet subtle market, a shift in consumer pref- collection includes RTW high- asts are also shifting from plain, bor-
sources of hope and strength at stress, sleeplessness, textures and playful contrasts. There erences is clear with a growing waist leggings in trendy ing products to vibrant, purposefully
these times of extreme suffering. and an unbalanced is a lot of sustainable fabric innova- desire for smart athletic wear. colours. With respect to designed accessories. Prateek Kedia,
‘Made my life easier’ Yoga is a comprehensive practice
that treats the mind, body, and
lifestyle. Frustrated, I
sought an escape and
tion happening around the world.
Choose styles made from blends of
Bhavin Devpuria ,
marketing head at
activewear, for example, while
practicing yoga, it is important
Founder, of WiseLife Wellness India
Private Limited, talks about the lat-
PRAVEEN BIDHURI, a fitness expert spirit. Yoga is a lifeline for people found inspiration in natural materials that are breath- T r i u m p h to prioritise moisture-wicking est trends in Yoga accessories and
who are struggling with chronic my brother’s happy able, soothing on the skin, and have Inter national, and quick-dry materials to stay highlights, “In 2024, yoga accessories
A
s a young adult, Praveen had many bad habits, pain or loss of movement,” he and healthy life,” he relaxed fits. Also, check wash-care remarks, “Vibrant comfortable while practicing will be focusing on aesthetics and
including a disrupted sleep schedule, a poor diet, says. “We must look deep within informs. and drying instructions especially indoors or out- functionality. We offer a range of
and frequent partying. “This lifestyle led to irrita- ourselves when a crisis arises. Kuldeep began with for innovative fabrics so that they doors. It mats made from cork and natural
tion, irresponsible behaviour, frustration, and a lack of Through this process of inner basic Surya Namaskar can last longer.” must sup- rubber, popular for their eco-friendly
direction. Despite coming from a business-oriented fami- discovery, yoga enabled me to and meditation, even- port the materials and superior grip. When
ly, I was not contributing to our ventures. However, I even- find new hope, resilience, and tually transitioning to power yoga. “This prac- LUXE AESTHETIC: body with investing in yoga accessories, it’s cru-
tually realised that I was on the wrong path and needed to happiness by connecting with my tice transformed my life, allowing me to leave breathable, cial to consider individual needs.
make a change,” he says. A friend suggested that he start inner strength.” It taught him to behind my stressful business pursuits. Today, Quiet Luxury has become supportive Mats with extra cushioning for those
by waking up early and practicing yoga. “From the first accept our frailties, channel our I am a power yoga trainer and an inspiration the everyday norm, and ath- fabrics with knee pain and those that effec-
week of my yoga routine, I noticed positive changes in my suffering into strength, and main- to many who seek to escape a demanding leisure is embracing sober- “VIBRANT COLOURS ARE ALSO t h a t tively absorb moisture due to sweat-
body and mind, which motivated me to continue. “Today, tain composure in the face of lifestyle,” smiles Kuldeep. By committing to ing palettes and a luxe feel BEING APPRECIATED, e n h a n c e ing are good buys. Prioritizing dura-
I manage two businesses: our family enterprise and my chaos. “Many people have discov- yoga, he achieved significant personal growth. with calculated colour ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO movement. bility, ease of maintenance, and eco-
own gym, where I also train others in yoga. Yoga has ered a fresh sense of purpose and “I also ventured into Olympic lifting and highlights. The trend- ACTIVEWEAR BOTTOMS, LIKE To ensure a friendliness are some things to keep
made my life easier, happier, and strengthened my mind,” the bravery to keep going through maintained a rigorous fitness schedule, rising ing colours are ice blue, LEGGINGS.” more per- in mind for choosing the best acces-
he says, adding that it keeps him refreshed. yoga,” informs Shivam. at 4:30 AM to start my day with yoga,” he says. winter white, melange, and a — BHAVIN DEVPURIA s o n a l i s e d sory.”
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coffee-break Delhi Age

CALVIN AND HOBBES|Bill Watterson Dennis the Menace

DOONESBURY|Garry Trudeau

B.C.|Johnny Hart hocus focus

UP AND RUNNING|Gray and Shack

BLONDIE|Dean Young and John Marshall

jumble

ANDY CAPP |Reg Smythe