DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA

JOURNALISM OF COURAGE
THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2024, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 22 PAGES SINCE 1932 `7.00 (`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2024

THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2024, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 22 PAGES
Sensex 80,000: Doubles
in 5 yrs, took 12 to climb
from 20,000 to 40,000
HITESH VYAS
& GEORGE MATHEW
MUMBAI, JULY 3
A MONTH AFTER the Lok Sabha
election results were declared,
the BSE’s 30-share Sensex
crossed the 80,000 mark for the
first time on Wednesday during
intraday trades. The index took
nearly seven months or 139 ses-
sionstoadd10,000points,afterit
surpassed the 70,000 level on
December 11, 2023, as a host of
factorslikeexpectationsof conti-
nuity in government policies,
highereconomicgrowthforecast
andheavydomesticfundbuying
boosted the bullish fervour.
The Sensex jumped 545.35
points, or 0.69 per cent, to end at
Amaravati to irrigation
projects: Armed with
wishlist, Naidu in Delhi
SREENIVAS JANYALA
& RITIKA CHOPRA
HYDERABAD,
NEW DELHI, JULY 3
WITHAlongwishlistforhisstate,
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister
Chandrababu Naidu will spend
Thursday and Friday in the na-
tionalcapital,meetingthePrime
Minister as well as a host of
Cabinet ministers, it is learnt.
After storming to power in
the recently concluded
Assembly elections and emerg-
ing as the second largest NDA
constituentintheLokSabha,this
is the first time Naidu is going to
meet Union Ministers specifi-
cally for issues related to his
MOVING UP
Sensex rise Time taken
10000-20000 1.9 years
20000-40000 11.8 years
40000-80000 5 years
79,986.8 on Wednesday. It hit a
new peak of 80,074 during intra-
day trades, rising 632.85 points.
The broader Nifty 50 added
162.65 points, or 0.67 per cent, to
close at an all-time high of
24,286.5.
The rise in domestic indices
on Wednesday was boosted by
largecaps, withfinancials taking
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
E
E X P L A I NE D
Focus for
his first
● Delhi trip
WHILE SPECIAL category
status for Andhra Pradesh
has been a longstanding
demand, Naidu’s focus
during this trip is likely to
be on pressing for funds
for projects considered
close to his heart,
including the Amaravati
redevelopment.
state. He had earlier attended
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA
Out on bail,
Soren set to
return as CM,
Champai quits
Soren had
resigned
before arrest
five months
ago
ABHISHEK ANGAD
RANCHI, JULY 3
JHARKHAND CHIEF Minister
Champai Soren on Wednesday
stepped down from the post,
paving the way for his predeces-
sorandJharkhandMuktiMorcha
(JMM) executive president
Hemant Soren’s return as CM.
Champai Soren met
Governor C P Radhakrishnan on
Wednesday evening and ten-
deredhisresignationafterwhich
Hemant Soren submitted his re-
quest to form the government.
Earlier in the day, the ruling
coalition’s 45 MLAs elected
Hemant as their leader and, ac-
cording to insiders, convinced
Champai to step down to ensure
a smooth transfer of power.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
MANY NON-INDIAN PIECES OUT, REFERENCES TO BHARAT IN
Revamped Class 6 English language
textbook has content ‘Made in India’
ABHINAYA HARIGOVIND
NEW DELHI, JULY 3
THENEWEnglishlanguagetext-
book for Class 6 titled 'Poorvi',
among the first to be developed
by NCERT in line with the
NationalCurriculumFramework
(NCF)2023,hasarevampedcon-
tent with most chapters rooted
JOURNALISM OF COURAGE
SINCE 1932
STAMPEDE TOLL 121, CM ORDERS JUDICIAL PROBE
At the cremation of a victim of the stampede in Hathras on Wednesday. Abhinav Saha
Hathras preacher claimed he could
revive dead, was arrested in 2000
NEETIKA JHA
& MANISH SAHU
HATHRAS, LUCKNOW, JULY 3
NARAYANSAKARVishwaHarior
'Bhole Baba', the local preacher
who addressed the 'satsang' in
Hathraswherethestampedeoc-
curredonTuesday—thetollrose
to 121 on Wednesday — is
reveredbyhisfollowerswhobe-
lievehe'sa“healer”with“cures”,
in an Indian context, with refer-
encestoIndianculture,tradition,
and ancient knowledge.
While the old book had sto-
ries by non-Indian authors fea-
turing non-Indian characters –
“Patrick,” “Ms Beam” for exam-
ple — the new textbook, except
forfivepoemsbynon-Indianau-
thors, has most of its content,
which included nine prose
an“exorcist”who“getsridof evil
spirits”, and a “godman” with
“magicalpowers”whocangrant
their wishes.
In fact, his alleged claim of
“magical powers” even got him
arrested in Agra in 2000, when
he allegedly took the body of a
16-year-oldgirlforciblyfromher
family, claiming he would bring
her back to life. The case was
later closed.
Over more than two decades
pieces,situatedinIndiansettings
with Indian characters.
In contrast, the old book had
eight poems, seven of which
werebynon-Indianauthors;and
eight prose pieces, five of which
were by non-Indian authors and
set outside India.
This is ostensibly in line with
the new National Education
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
`7.00 (`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
now, after leaving the Uttar
Pradesh Police in the 1990s
where he was Constable Suraj
Pal from Kasganj, to become a
self-styled religious preacher, he
has gathered a considerable fol-
lowing — mostly low-income
Dalitfamilies,wherethemenare
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
MORE REPORTS
PAGE 13
BUSINESS AS USUAL
BY UNNY
OPP WALKS OUT FROM RS
Hope for peace,
violence down:
PM on Manipur
Targets Gandhis, says family makes a
Dalit take blame for election defeats
VIKAS PATHAK
NEW DELHI, JULY 3
ADAYaftertheOppositioninter-
rupted his speech in Lok Sabha
by raising slogans on the issue of
Manipur, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi said Wednesday
that there was “hope for peace” PM Narendra Modi in Rajya
andincidentsof violencehadde- Sabha on Wednesday. ANI
clined in the state roiled by eth-
nic clashes.
Replying to the debate in
Rajya Sabha on the Motion of
“thoseelementswho are adding
fuel to the Manipur fire”.
Thanks to the President’s “I request them to stop this.
Address, Modi said there should
be no politics over the happen-
AtimewillcomewhenManipur
willrejectthem,”hesaid.Healso
ings in the state and cautioned CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
Manipur seeks 5,000
PMAY units, enhanced
allocation for security
5,000 units of housing for vio-
AMRITA NAYAK DUTTA lence-affected victims as a spe-
NEW DELHI, JULY 3 cial project under the Pradhan
MantriAwasYojana(PMAY),and
AHEAD OF the presentation of enhancedallocationforsecurity-
the Union Budget, the Manipur related expenditure, which has
governmenthasapproachedthe increased significantly in the
Centre with a wishlist that in- wake of the ethnic violence.
cludes demand for additional Sources told The Indian
funds over and above the 10% Express that these issues were
usually earmarked from gross flagged to the Finance Ministry
budgetary support for North- during the pre-Budget meeting
East states, financial support for CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
 2 THE SECOND PAGE
● Revamped Class 6 English
Policy2020,whichcallsforacur-
riculumtobe“rootedintheIndian
and local context and ethos." So
pieces by Western authors have
made way for one by Sudha
Murthy about Rama Natha, the
son of a rich landlord obsessed
with the idea of a magic potion,
and one by S.I. Farooqui about a
child named Amber talking to a
neem tree. There's also a chapter
on 'Health and Wellness' with a
three-pagesectiononyogaandits
benefits.
Further, Bharat makes an ap-
pearance for the first time in the
chapter titled "Culture and
Tradition," and is used inter-
changeably with India. In fact,
Bharat is mentioned 19 times,
whereasIndiaismentionedseven
times in the same chapter.
Asectioninthischaptertitled
‘HamaraBharat,IncredibleIndia!’
beginswithaseven-sentencepas-
sage that refers to India only as
‘Bharat’–“Bharathasbeenknown
worldwide as a land of wise and
heroicindividuals…Alltheseele-
ments ensure that Bharat pros-
pers and is respected globally.”
In the Chapter titled
"Nurturing Nature," a section on
‘SpicesthatHealUs’speaksofuses
of spices other than cooking. It
triestoillustratethisthroughalet-
ter from a grandmother to her
grandchildrenthatdetailsalistof
natural cures and “benefits of
spices.”
Askedaboutthesechanges,an
NCERT spokesperson told The
IndianExpressthattheNCF2023
and the NEP 2020 “have empha-
sised on connecting learning to
the immediate environment of
thestudentsothattheycanrelate
learning to their context.”
On the references to Bharat,
the spokesperson said: “The first
ArticleoftheConstitutionofIndia
Gangster Jathedi’s mother dies
under mysterious circumstances
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
CHANDIGARH, JULY 3
GANGSTER KALA Jathedi's
mother Kamla passed away on
Wednesday at her residence in
Sonipat under mysterious cir-
cumstances. Jathedi is known as
one of the close-aides of gang-
ster Lawrence Bishnoi.
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states that ‘India, that is Bharat,
shall be a union of states,’ implic-
itly codifying India and Bharat as
equallyofficialshortnamesforthe
Republic of India. At the same
time, it aims to encourage stu-
dents to explore India by sharing
narratives from different parts of
the country.”
The old NCERT English lan-
guage textbook "Honeysuckle"
had eight chapters of which the
majority of them were stories by
Western authors, It also had the
English retelling of a story 'Fair
play' by Munshi Premchand and
thestory"BanyanTree'byRuskin
Bond.
The NCERT initially aimed to
release new textbooks based on
the NCF 2023 only for Classes 3
and 6 this year. While textbooks
forClass3areavailableinthemar-
ket,thoseforClass6havebeende-
layed.
In fact, it was only this week
thatNCERTreleasednewEnglish
andHinditextbooksforClass6,in
the middle of the academic ses-
sion.Textbooksfortheremaining
subjects,suchassocialscience,sci-
ence, and mathematics, are not
ready yet, and schools have been
asked to teach from a bridge pro-
gram for Class 6 until then.
These textbooks have been
developedundertheoversightof
a19-membercommitteechaired
byM.C.Pant,Chancellor,National
Institute of Educational Planning
andAdministration,andincluded
philanthropist and writer Sudha
Murty; Bibek Debroy,
Chairperson, Economic Advisory
Council to the Prime Minister;
ChamuKrishnaShastry,founding
member of the RSS-affiliated
Samskrita Bharati; Manjul
Bhargava, Professor, Princeton
University; singer Shankar
Mahadevan.
According to the preliminary
police probe, she consumed
some poisonous substance. Her
relatives told the police that she
“accidentally” consumed some
insecticide.
“She was rushed to a nearby
private hospital where she died
duringtreatment.Furtherinves-
tigations are on,” one of the in-
vestigating officers said.
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FROM PAGE ONE
Hope for peace in Manipur, violence on
the decline, stop adding fuel to fire: PM
reminded the Congress – it had
staged a walkout with other
Oppositionpartiesbythen–that
President’s rule had to be im-
posed 10 times in Manipur and
it was “not in our tenure”.
“Those who know the history
of Manipur… they know that
therehasbeenalongsocialstrug-
glethere.Therootsofthestruggle
are very deep. No one can deny
this. Congress people should not
forget that because of these rea-
sonsPresident’srulehadtobeim-
posed there 10 times… Some is-
sues must have been there. And
this has not happened in our
tenure,”hesaid.
Modirecalledthatsimilarin-
cidents had taken place in
Manipur in 1993, and lasted five
years.
“To stabilise the situation in
Manipur,thegovernmentismak-
ing relentless efforts. Whatever
incidents have happened there,
morethan11,000FIRshavebeen
lodged. Mainpur is a small state.
Morethan500peoplehavebeen
arrested,” he said.
“We will have to accept that
in Manipur, violentincidents are
reducing. This means there is
hope for peace. Today, in most
parts of Manipur, schools, col-
leges and offices are running. In
Manipur too, exams were held
like in other places,” he said.
● Amaravati to irrigation projects: Armed with wishlist, Naidu in Delhi
swearing-in ceremony.
Sources in the state govern-
ment said Naidu sought reports
onpendingirrigationprojects,the
Amaravaticapitalproject,thestate
of infrastructure including state
highwaysandroads,andageneral
report on the financial status of
the state before leaving for Delhi.
All these issues are likely to be
takenupfordiscussion,itislearnt.
Sources said he will seek ad-
ditional funds, concessions and
tax breaks, particularly if special
category status cannot be
granted to the state.
There are three ministers
from Andhra Pradesh in Modi’s
Cabinet, and they will accom-
pany Naidu to the meetings, it is
learnt. They are TDP’s
Srikakulam MP Kinjarapu
FULL REPORTS ON
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
TheUnionHomeMInister,he
said, had stayed there for days,
andtheMinisterof State(Home)
for weeks, and that officials had
been visiting the state regularly.
Earlier, in his speech, Modi
mounted a sharp attack on the
Opposition, calling the Congress
anti-Dalit and anti-Constitution,
and its INDIA bloc allies oppor-
tunistic.
Targeting the Gandhi family,
he said Mallikarjun Kharge,
Leader of Opposition in Rajya
Sabha and Congress president,
had become “a wall” between
the Congress defeat in the Lok
Sabha elections and the family.
“The Congress has had this
tradition – a Dalit is propped up
to take blame for the defeat, and
the family escapes. They did the
same for the Speaker’s contest.
They did the same to Meira
Kumar in a President’s election
andwithSushilShindeinaVice-
President election. Their mind-
set is anti-SC, anti-ST and anti-
OBC. They insulted Ram Nath
Kovind as President because of
this. And also insult the present
President Droupadi Murmu
these days,” he said.
Accusing the Congress of be-
ing anti-Constitution, he said,
“They said that this was the first
electioninwhichtheConstitution
wasthemainissue.Havetheyfor-
Rammohan Naidu, Guntur MP P
Chandrasekhar,andBJPMPfrom
Narasapuram B R Srinivas
Varma.
According to state govern-
ment sources, apart from Modi,
Naidu is likely to meet Home
Minister Amit Shah, Finance
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman,
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh,
Health Minister JP Nadda,
Agriculture and Rural
Development Minister Shivraj
Singh Chouhan, and Housing
and Urban Affairs Minister
Manohar Lal Khattar. Meetings
with Modi, Shah, Khattar, and
Chouhan are expected to take
place on Thursday. “With the
Finance Minister and Defence
Minister, he will most likely
meet on Friday,” a source said.
● Out on bail, Soren set to return as CM, Champai out
Aleaderwhowaspresentat
the meeting said, “Champai
Soren was made the CM to
avoid any instability and the
mandate was for the grand al-
liance led by Hemant, which
got a majority in the 2019 elec-
tions. However, there was ini-
tial reluctance on the part of
Champai Soren, citing certain
instability in the government if
any further trouble is caused.
Champai was then later con-
vinced and, after brief reluc-
tance, he became ready to give
up the post.”
According to JMM insiders,
Hemant initially did not plan to
take over as CM but made the
decisionbecauseof certainmis-
stepsbytheChampaiSoren-led
administration.TheJMMleader
felt that these missteps could
dent the ruling coalition in the
Assembly elections scheduled
for later this year.
TheGovernorwhowillnow
decideonthedateof theswear-
ing-in ceremony asked
Champai Soren to remain in of-
fice till “alternative arrange-
ments are made”, the Raj
Bhavan said in a statement.
JMM sources said Hemant
Soren would now attempt to
fulfil his government’s remain-
ing promises and that will form
his pitch to the public for the
Assembly polls. On the cam-
paign trail, the JMM leader will
also speak about how he was
kept in jail for five months in a
“false case and that he was
forced to leave the post of the
CM”, said party insiders
Hemant Soren got bail on
June28,fivemonthsafterhewas
● Sensex 80,000: Doubles in 5 yrs, took 12 to climb from 20,000 to 40,000
centre stage. HDFC Bank’s
shares rose on account of an in-
crease in its weight in MSCI’s
August review. According to
Nuvama Alternative & Invest in the market as per your
Quantitative Research, HDFC
Bank’s weight in the MSCI EM
Index, which is currently
around 3.8 per cent, is likely to
jump to 7.2-7.5 per cent, poten-
tially bringing in $3.2-4 billion
inflows over six days. The rise in
Reliance Industries shares and
banking stocks also added to the
sentiment.
“Sensex milestones are a
journey and not a destination.
Do remember that this journey
gotten that the 1977 elections
were fought to save democracy
andtheConstitution?Andvoters
atthattimeshowedthatdemoc-
racy flows in their veins?” – he
was referring to the elections in
which Indira Gandhi was swept
out of power after imposing
Emergency in the country in
1975.
He said even if this election
was about protecting the
Constitution, the voters found
the BJP and NDA capable of it.
“I witnessed the Emergency
closely. Which Constitution
made you extend the Lok
Sabha’s tenure to seven years at
that time? They amended many
Articles, destroying the
Constitution’s soul.”
“When Khargeji was in the
Cabinet in the last government,
under which Constitution did
you make the NAC (National
Advisory Council) sit over the
PMO? You destroyed the dignity
of the post of Prime Minister.
Which Constitution allowed an
MP(areferencetoRahulGandhi)
to tear an ordinance cleared by
the Cabinet? How was one fam-
ily prioritised in the protocol?
You have lived with slogans of
‘IndiaisIndiraandIndiraisIndia’,
and have never respected the
Constitution.TheCongressisthe
biggest opponent of the
Landing in New Delhi
Wednesday evening, he will
leave on Friday afternoon.
During his time here, a few in-
dustrialists are also likely to call
on him.
In his meetings, Naidu, it is
learnt, will press for funds for
specificprojects."Thepreference
would be to get money released
forbig-ticketprojectssuchasthe
Polavaram national irrigation
project and development of
Amaravati," said a source.
The Andhra Pradesh govern-
ment, in a meeting with the
Finance Minister earlier this
month, has already asked for a
“multi-year allocation for the
completion of the Polavaram
project,” which is expected to
fulfill the state’s drinking water,
Outgoing Chief Minister Champai Soren and Hemant Soren
with Governor C P Radhakrishnan and others in Ranchi. PTI
ED TO MOVE SC
AGAINST BAIL ORDER
New Delhi: The ED plans to
approach the Supreme
Court soon against the
Jharkhand High Court or-
der granting bail to JMM
leader Hemant Soren who
was arrested on January
31 in an alleged money
laundering case linked to
a land scam probe.
Officers of the ED, it is
learnt, have discussed the
matter with their legal
team and the agency will
be moving the SC. –ENS
arrested, with the Jharkhand
High Court saying there exist
“reasons to believe that he was
not guilty of the offence” of
money laundering brought
againsthimoveraplotof landin
is both forward as well as back-
ward. NASDAQ went so back-
wards that it took 17 years to
come back to the previous peak.
risk appetite, have a long-term
horizon, significantly moderate
your return expectations and
follow the dharma of asset allo-
cation,” said Nilesh Shah,
Managing Director, Kotak
Mahindra AMC.
Launched in January 1986,
the Sensex crossed its first
10,000 level during intraday
deals on February 6, 2006. The
index crossed the 20,000 level
on November 5, 2007, and the
Constitution,” he said.
Opposition leaders raised
slogans that Kharge be allowed
to intervene. When permission
was not granted, the Opposition
walked out. Chairman Jagdeep
Dhankarsaidhewassadthatthe
Opposition had insulted the
Constitution by walking out.
Modi said that since the
Opposition had been badly de-
feated, it chooses to scream,
shout and run away.
“There are people sitting
with them today who have
borne the brunt of the
Emergency. This is oppor-
tunism,” Modi said, referring to
partieslikeRJDandSP.“Hadthey
respected the Constitution, they
would not have done so.
Emergency was also a human
rights crisis. Many people were
tortured. JP (Jayaprakash
Narayan) could never recover
once he came out of jail. Even
common people were not
spared,” he said.
Modi wondered why parties
talking about minorities say
nothing about the incidents in
Muzaffarnagar and Turkman
Gate during the Emergency.
“How will the country forgive
them?Theyarehidingtheirdark
deeds by holding the
Constitution in their hands,” he
said.
irrigation, and power needs. The
project’s total cost stood at
around Rs 55,500 crore when it
was approved by the Technical
Advisory Committee in 2019.
Apart from that, the state has
asked for central assistance in
building Amaravati as the “sole
capital of Andhra Pradesh”, and
an allocation of Rs 15,000 crore
towards essential infrastructure
development. The provisional
estimate to construct Amravati
city is around Rs 1 lakh crore, of
which essential infrastructure
such as the Raj Bhawan, high
court, secretariat, legislative
Assembly and Council and the
land development and trunk in-
frastructure could cost over Rs
50,000 crore in the next five
years.
Ranchi. For many JMM mem-
bers, the regular bail for their
party leader came as a surprise.
In his first address after get-
ting out of jail, Hemant told
party workers that he had re-
ceived information that the
Assembly elections might be
announced early and that he
was “ready”.
State BJP president Babulal
Marandi, meanwhile, targeted
the JMM for "favouring dynasty
politics" and said tribal leaders
outside the Soren family would
only ever be “kaam chalau
(makeshift choices)”. He said
the Soren family would “use
such leaders as per their wish”
and discard them “like a fly in
milk”. Marandi said there was a
lesson for other tribal leaders in
the ruling party. “They should
understand their boundary
lines. They should understand
that they are only meant to be
the palanquin of Shibu Soren’s
family,” he said.
40,000-mark on July 5, 2019,
during intraday trades. It took
five years for the Sensex to rise
from 40,000 to 80,000.
In the last 10,000 points run
up in the Sensex, realty, PSU,
auto, power, capital goods and
metal stocks contributed the
most, while FMCG, banks and IT
sector, though positive, under-
performed, said Deepak Jasani,
Head of Retail Research, HDFC
Securities.
In the last seven months,
while the Sensex has risen by
14.38 per cent, BSE 100, BSE
Smallcap and BSE Midcap have
jumped by 18.76 per cent, 29.1
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2024
●Manipur seeks 5,000 PMAY units,
enhanced allocation for security
betweenthestatesandtheCentre.
It is learned that the reconstruc-
tion of infrastructure, especially
housesdamagedintheviolence,is
amongthestate’smajordemands,
with Manipur pressing for it as a
special project under the PMAY.
The state is also in touch with the
Home Ministry for this and has
sought “sufficient funds” in the
Union Budget to address this
need.
Other demands made by
Manipur include enhancing the
upper limit of professional tax
from Rs 2,500 per annum to Rs
50,000 per annum, and continu-
ation of the Scheme for Special
Assistance to States for Capital
Investmenttohelpthestatemeet
criticalcapitalexpenditureinsec-
tors facing a resource crunch. It
has also sought extension of the
timeline until July 31 for utilisa-
tion of funds released under this
scheme as a one-time relaxation,
citingtheunrestinthestateaffect-
ing the movement of goods and
people leading to the slow
progress of projects taken up un-
der the scheme.
Manipur has been roiled by
ethnic clashes since May 2023.
Given that this Union Budget
will be the first full-fledged
Budget since violence broke out,
Manipurisalreadyintheprocess
ofdraftingseveralproposalstobe
sent to different Central govern-
ment ministries under existing
schemesforrehabilitationefforts,
including livelihood generation.
Towardsthis,Manipurhassought
an enhanced allocation for itself
● Hathras preacher
employed as labourers, masons,
agricultural labourers, safai kar-
macharis, carpenters or carpet-
sellers,manyof whomwerewit-
ness to his rising popularity.
Many said what drew them
to 'Bhole Baba', also from a Dalit
family, was that he did not seek
any offerings. “Baba does not
take or ask for anything. In his
satsang, he would tell us not to
lie, and not to consume meat,
fish, egg and alcohol,” said
Urmila Devi, who had accompa-
nied her sister, Taramati, to the
satsang.
Taramati, a widow, is among
thoseinjured.Thetwosistersare
residents of Mathura. This was
the fourth time Taramatiwas at-
tending a satsang addressed by
'Bhole Baba', and she had asked
her sister to join this time.
Like the two sisters, most of
the women devotees are in the
40-70 years age group. “As the
satsang was getting over, Bhole
Baba said, ‘aaj pralay aayegi, aur
phir pralay aa gayee (today is
doomsday, and he was right),”
said Taramati from her hospital
bed.
According to residents of
Donkeli village in Hathras dis-
trict,'BholeBaba'has10to 12se-
vadars (main followers) in every
village. “They come and inform
people in the village about the
satsang, and ferry them to the
venue in cars and buses,” said a
villager. Many of his followers
wear a yellow locket with his
photo around their necks.
Theauthoritieshavesaidthat
a scramble among devotees to
collect the dust from the
preacher's feet was among the
causes of the stampede. Vivek
Thakur, an auto-rickshaw driver
from the village, said his devo-
teesbelievethat“if youapplythe
dust from his feet on your body
or head, it will heal all ailments”.
InSokhanavillageof Hathras,
from where four persons died in
the stampede, residents said
'Bhole Baba' would routinely
perform exorcisms, mostly on
young girls. “At the satsang yes-
terday, there were more than
100peoplewhowerepossessed,
and he cured them all,” claimed
a villager who did not want to be
named.
“He would ask followers to
perform good deeds so that they
would be rewarded with a bet-
ter life in their next birth. He told
usthatif wefollowedthepathof
good,wewouldbebornintobet-
ter circumstances in our next
life,” said some women in
Damadpura in Sikandrarao.
per cent and 31.42 per cent, re-
spectively. The excessive spec-
ulation in some small and mid-
caps prompted market
regulator Sebi to caution about
the "froth" in the segment.
The bull run in Indian equi-
ties witnessed over the last few
years has been driven by in-
creased participation of retail
investors, boosted by strong
economic growth outlook and
valuations. These investors are
investing directly and also
through the mutual fund route.
As per SEBI’s monthly data,
at the end of April 2024, 3.6
crore demat accounts were reg-
under the various schemes, be-
yond the 10% Gross Budgetary
Support earmarked for North-
East states.
OfficialssaidManipurhasalso
sought early reimbursement of
funds which it spent on security
expenditure on the ground that
the amount has been increasing
significantly since the last finan-
cial year and has thus been put-
tingastrainonthestate’sfinances.
A major amount of the secu-
rity-relatedexpenditureaswellas
approved relief packages is still
pendingreimbursementfromthe
Centre,theofficialssaid.Without
divulging the exact figures of the
expenditureincurredbythestate,
theysaidManipurhassoughtad-
ditional funds in the upcoming
Budget for both.
The state is also learnt to have
pointed out that over 40,000
houses were damaged in a hail-
stormlastmonthaswellasflood-
ing due to Cyclone Remal. It has
sought adequate funds in the
Budgetforreliefpackagesfollow-
ing these natural disasters.
Officials said the Centre had
provided immense support to
Manipur through a special grant
for ‘economic loss and recovery’,
timelyreleaseoffunds,relaxation
oftimelinesconcerningCentrally
Sponsored Schemes.
Earlierthisyear,ManipurChief
MinisterNBirenSinghsoughtafi-
nancial grant of Rs 2,000 crore
from the Centre as a special case,
citingthelossoftaxrevenueinthe
state due to security and eco-
nomic challenges in the state.
“When I got married in 2001,
he was not as famous, but his
popularity increased over time.
If you attend his satsangs more
than seven times, you can be-
come a sevadar. The sevaders
have a special dress. Women
wear pink saris and men also
wear a pink uniform,” said an-
other devotee.
Meanwhile, a retired police
officer, Tejveer Singh, who was
then the Station House Officer of
Shahganj, Agra, recalled the ar-
rest of the preacher in March
2000.“SurajPal,alongwith200-
250people,arrivedatthecrema-
tion ground where the body of a
16-year-old girl had been
brought by her family. Suraj Pal
and the others stopped the fam-
ilyfromperformingthelastrites,
and tried to convince them that
he could resurrect her,” he said.
According to police station
records, the girl, Sneh Lata, was
the daughter of a local resident.
The case was lodged on March
18, 2000.
Singh said the accused
forcibly took the body from the
family. Meanwhile, the police
were informed. “When we
reached the spot, Suraj Pal and
his supporters argued with us.
He claimed that he could resur-
rect the girl. His supporters then
started pelting stones at the po-
lice team. Additional police per-
sonnel were called in, and the
situation was brought under
control. We arrested Suraj Pal
and the others involved,” said
Singh, who retired as Deputy
Superintendentof Policein2019.
A case was lodged at the
Shahganj police station against
six persons, including Suraj Pal,
his wife and four others (two of
whom were women) under IPC
Section109(punishmentofabet-
ment if the act abetted is com-
mitted in consequence, and
where no express provision is
made for its punishment) and
Drugs and Magic Remedies
(ObjectionableAdvertisements)
Act.
When contacted, Deputy
Commissioner of Police, Agra,
Suraj Kumar Rai, confirmed the
arrests. The case was investi-
gated and a chargesheet was
filed,hesaid.Later,furtherinves-
tigation was conducted after
new evidence emerged. “Based
ontheevidencecollectedduring
the further investigation, a clo-
surereportwasfiledinthecase,”
Rai said.
According to police records,
the closure report was filed on
December 2, 2000.
istered with National Securities
Depository Ltd (NSDL) and 11.8
crore with Central Depository
Services (CDSL) (India). The
number of mutual fund folios is
also rising month after month.
Net inflows into equity mu-
tual funds grew 83 per cent
month-on-month to touch a
record high of Rs 34,697 crore in
May, as compared to Rs
18,917.09 crore in April, the
Association of Mutual Funds in
India (AMFI) data showed. In
May, the systematic investment
plan’s (SIP) contribution
touched an all-time high of Rs
20,904 crore.
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2024 THE CITY 3
Security stepped up AMID EXCISE POLICY PROBE IN POCSO CASES

KejriwalmovesHCforbail
Consider upper
outside Rahul Gandhi’s As case accused Singh age revealed in
house after intel input seeks bail, ED tells HC ossification test

EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

NEW DELHI, JUNE 3
THEDELHIPolicestepped upse-
curity outside the house of
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi
after receiving intelligence in-
puts about possible threatsfrom
right-wing groups, senior offi-
cers said on Wednesday.
A senior police officer said
that a platoon of paramilitary
personnel and several teams of
the Delhi Police, from the New
Delhi district, were deployed
outside his residence. The secu-
rity was heightened during the
afternoon hours after a tip-off
was received regarding a possi-
ble disturbance in the area, he
said. This comes after Rahul
Gandhi, in his maiden speech as
the Leader of Opposition in the
Lok Sabha, took a swipe at the
BJP, saying those who call them-
selvesHindusareengagedin"vi-
olence and hate". The party
leaders have reacted sharply to
the remark, alleging that Rahul
Gandhi insulted Hindus.
This comes after Rahul
Gandhi’s maiden speech in
Lok Sabha as the LoP on
Monday. File
Rahul Gandhi's maiden
speech on Monday lasted about
100 minutes. Several bits were
however expunged later by Lok
Sabha Speaker Om Birla, includ-
ingsomereferencestoHinduism
in the context of the BJP, some
prominentindustrialiststhatthe
Congressfrequentlymentionsin
the context of the Narendra
Modi government, Agnipath
scheme, and one each to the
NEET row, Manipur and the
Prime Minister specifically.
incorruptioncasebyCBI
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, JULY 3
CHIEFMINISTERArvindKejriwal
on Wednesday moved the Delhi
High Courtfor bail in thecorrup-
tion case filed by the CBI, which
is linked to the now-scrapped
excise policy.
Kejriwal's counsel men-
tioned the matter before a divi-
sionbenchof ActingChief Justice
Manmohan and Justice Tushar
Rao Gedela, seeking its listing on
Thursday. The bench, however,
listed the bail plea for hearing on
Friday.
On Tuesday, the High Court
issued notice to the central
agency over the Chief Minister’s
pleachallenginghisarrestbythe
CBI, and a June 26 trial court or-
derthatremandedhim tothree-
day CBI custody. The High Court
listed the matter for the next
hearing on July 17.
On June 25, Kejriwal was
questioned by CBI in Tihar jail,
Delhi CM
Arvind
Kejriwal.
File
wherehewasinjudicialcustody
in connection with the
EnforcementDirectorate’s(ED’s)
money laundering probe per-
taining to the excise policy.
On June 26, the CBI placed
Kejriwalunder“formal”arrestin
the corruption case and pro-
duced him before the Rouse
Avenue court of Special Judge
Amitabh Rawat. The agency
sought his custody for five days
to confront him with the evi-
dence in the conspiracy case
linked to excise policy. Sending
the Chief Minister to three-day
CBI custody, Judge Rawat said
that his arrest was “not illegal”
On Tuesday, the High
Court issued notice to
the central agency over
the Chief Minister’s
plea challenging his
arrest.
and that the agency should not
be “overzealous”.
On June 29, the trial court
sent Kejriwal to judicial custody
untilJuly12ashisthree-daycus-
tody ended.
Kejriwal was arrested on
March 21 by the ED in a money
laundering case linked totheex-
cise policy. On June 25, the Delhi
High Court held a trial court or-
der granting him bail in the ED
case.
The next day, Kejriwal with-
drew his plea in the Supreme
Court against the High Court’s
decision to reserve its verdict on
the ED plea to stay the trial court
bail order.
he was cash handler for
AAP during Goa polls
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, JULY 3
THE ENFORCEMENTDirectorate
(ED) has informed the Delhi
HighCourtthatChanpreetSingh,
who worked with the Aam
Aadmi Party (AAP) during the
2022 Goa election, was a "cash
handler" for the party and is a
"key person" involved in the
transfer and use of proceeds of
crime in the alleged excise pol-
icy scam. The submission was
made in the ED's reply to Singh's
regular bail plea moved before
the High Court.
On Wednesday, the High
Court listed the matter for hear-
ing on July 9.
Singh, who was arrested by
ED on April 12, moved the Delhi
High Court after the trial court
denied him bail on June 6. He is
presently in judicial custody.
The central agency, in its reply,
said Singh is "closely associated"
with the co-accused and sus-
pects such as Vijay Nair, and
Rajesh Joshi. The ED said that
Singhwasa"cashhandleronbe-
half of the AAP for the Goa elec-
tion and then distributed (it) to
thevendors,surveyworkers,and
volunteers who were working
for the AAP campaign in Goa".
For the submission, the
agency said it relied upon the
data seized by the Income Tax
Department on January 29,
2022, (six months before the in-
vestigationintothiscasestarted)
from an angadiya or courier firm
R Kantilal. The data was perused
and then explained by Sagar
Patel, an employee of the Goa-
based firm. The agency said
Singh was an employee of
Chariot Productions Media Pvt
Ltd since 2020 and later joined
the AAP campaign "in his capac-
ity till March 2022 for the Goa
election".
as that of victim,
says High Court
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court
recently said that in the POCSO
(Protection of Children from
SexualOffencesAct)caseswhere
the age of the victim is deter-
mined with a bone age ossifica-
tion test, the upper age given in
the test's reference range is to be
consideredandmarginoferrorof
two years should be applied.
A division bench of Justice
Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice
Manoj Jain in its July 2 order ob-
served, "We cannot be oblivious
of the fact that we are following
(an) adversarial system of law
where the presumption of inno-
cence is indispensable philoso-
phy...Sincetheadversarialsystem
inIndiaisbasedonthe‘innocence
of the accused’, the burden of
proof,generally,fallsonprosecu-
tion.” Thedecisioncameonrefer-
ence received from a trial court
dealing with a POCSO case in
which the age of the victim was
determined between 16 and 18
years. ENS

27 years and a doctor’s death later, Delhi court acquits two men
in GB Pant Hospital graft case, terms CBI probe ‘superficial’
NIRBHAYTHAKUR
NEWDELHI,JULY3
IN1997,THECBIfiledacomplaint
againstadoctoratDelhi'sGBPant
Hospital, accusing him of enter-
ingintoacriminalconspiracywith
a director of a company in order
tocheatthehospitalofRs6.8crore
in 1990.
TheCBIstatedthat32indents
(official requests for goods) were
placed by the hospital without
there being a requirement, and
fraudulent certificates were is-
sued to the company – BL
MarketingServicePrivateLimited
–toavoidtheopentenderprocess.
Besides, the equipment was al-
legedlyprocuredatanexorbitant
price by the hospital.
On June 7, 27 years later, a
Delhi court acquitted all three –
the doctor, the firm director, and
thecompanyitself–callingthein-
vestigationoftheCBI“superficial”.
By doing so, the judge at the
Rouse Avenue court disposed of
perhaps the oldest pending cor-
ruptioncaseinCentralDelhi'strial
courts.
However, justice came a little
too late for the doctor: Dr OP Jain
diedin2020.Thecompanydirec-
tor, Sunil Aggarwal, has been out
on bail. Pulling up the CBI, the
court of Special Judge Bhupinder
Singh noted that there was noth-
ing on record to suggest that the
equipment procured were avail-
able at a lower price elsewhere.
The court further said that none
ofthewitnessesexaminedbythe
prosecution stated that the pro-
cured equipment was not re-
ceived or used by the hospital.
“...no witness examined by the
WHAT THE COURT SAID
■ Pulling up the CBI, the
court of Special Judge
Bhupinder Singh noted
there was nothing on
record to suggest the
equipment procured
were available at a
lower price
elsewhere
■ The judge, hearing
the matter at the
Rouse Avenue court,
further said that none of
the witnesses examined by
the prosecution stated that
the procured equipment
was not received or used
by the hospital
■ The court said the FIR
was filed years after the
alleged offence took place
“without aiming to reach
at any just conclusion”,
which eliminated the
possibility of getting
any evidence
■ The court further
said that the role of
several people,
including then
hospital director,
involved in the process
was not investigated by the
agency
■ The investigating officer
did not probe the matter
independently, the court
said
prosecution could throw light as
to how the prosecution came to
the conclusion that the equip-
ment/articles were purchased at
higher prices,” the court added.
The court said the FIR was filed
“without aiming to reach at any
justconclusion”yearsaftertheal-
leged offence took place, which
eliminated the possibility of get-
ting any evidence.
Thecourtfurthersaidtherole
of several people involved in the
process was not investigated by
the agency, adding the fate of the
casewassealedbythemannerin
which it was being investigated.
To be sure, Dr Jain and Aggarwal,
whowereonbailthroughout,did
not spend time behind bars.
Oldest corruption case
in Central Delhi?
Outside the various court-
roomsinRouseAvenueinCentral
Delhi is a list which shows the
progressoftheoldestcases,which
are to be disposed of by 2024. On
apaperonthewallnexttotheen-
tranceofJudgeBhupinder'sroom,
werethewords“CBIvsDrOPJain”
withtheremark“disposed”writ-
ten next to it with a blue gel pen.
Accordingtodataavailableonthe
NationalJudicialDatagrid(NJDG)
website, 121 criminal cases (0.1%
ofallpendingcriminalcases)have
beenpendingforthelast20to30
yearsinCentralDelhi. Alongwith
Rouse Avenue, Tis Hazari Courts
(Central)hasthejurisdictionofall
cases in Central Delhi. Going by
the records, the case against Dr
Jain and Aggarwal was perhaps
the oldest pending corruption
case in Central Delhi's trial courts
which was disposed of.

4 THE CITY
THE INDIAN EXPRESS,THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2024
Rain abates after record showers but
waterlogging woes continue in NCR
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE
NEW DELHI, JULY 3
EVEN AS the intensity of rain has
abated after Delhi witnessed
recordshowersonFriday,water-
loggingwoescontinuedtohaunt
several parts across the NCR on
Wednesday.
Delhi on Friday recorded
228.1 mm of rain, which is the
highest that the city has regis-
tered in a day in June in 88 years.
On Wednesday, however, Delhi
and neighbouring Haryana
recorded 29 per cent deficient
rainfall, as per the data from the
IndiaMeteorologicalDepartment
(IMD).
Ayanagarweatherstationreg-
isteredmoderateshowersat39.8
mm in three hours. Other
weather stations in Delhi
recordedlightrainfall.Safdarjung
base station, Palam, Ridge, and
Lodhi Road stations registered 9
mm, 14.1 mm, 4.2 mm, and 6.7
mm of rain, respectively. Light
rainfall is recorded when the
range is between 2.5 mm and
15.5mmwhiletherangeofmod-
erate rainfall is from 15.6 mm to
64.4 mm.
Gurgaon, on the other hand,
received 35 mm of rain till 4 pm
on Wednesday.
In an advisory issued on
Wednesday for Delhi-NCR, the
IMD warned of slippery roads,
lowvisibility,trafficsnarlsaswell
aslocalisedwaterlogginginsome
areasduetomoderateorintense
spells of rain over Central and
South Delhi and adjoining areas
of Gurgaon and Faridabad.
Amidcomplaintsofwaterlog-
ging, teams of the Municipal
Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG)
BRIEFLY
HCjunks
appealto
debarPMin
LokSabha
NewDelhi:TheDelhiHigh
Court Wednesday dis-
missed an appeal against
an earlier order rejecting
a plea for disqualification
of the candidature of
Prime Minister Narendra
ModifromVaranasiinthe
Lok Sabha elections. A di-
vision bench of Acting
Chief Justice Manmohan
and Justice Tushar Rao
Gedela said, “In the opin-
ionof thisCourt,alltheal-
legations in the appeal
are a figment of the ap-
pellant’s imagination,
vague and bereft of any
material particulars. This
Court is in agreement
with the learned Single
Judge that the petition is
replete with unsubstan-
tiated, disjointed, scan-
dalous, incoherent and
preposterous allega-
tions.” It directed the lo-
cal SHO to keep a watch
on the appellant. ENS
50%decline
infire-related
calls:DFS
New Delhi: There has
been a decline of almost
50% in fire-related calls
sincelastweekafterDelhi
was inundated in the
monsoonshower,DFSof-
ficials said. According to
officials, the department,
on average, received over
200 calls related to fire
and bird and animal res-
cue every day during the
summer season.
Ex-Assam
Congleader
joinsAAP
NewDelhi:FormerAssam
Congress leader Romen
Chandra Borthakur
joined the AAP here on
Wednesday. Delhi cabi-
net minister Atishi and
the party's northeast in-
charge Rajesh Sharma
welcomedBorthakur. PTI
weredeployedinvariouspartsof
the city, said officials.
Officials said employees,
pumps, and machinery are de-
ployed at all waterlogged loca-
tions to facilitate drainage. Chief
EngineerManojYadavinstructed
junior and assistant engineers to
be present in the field with their
teams and machinery as soon as
the rain began.
Meanwhile, officials at the
Municipal Corporation of Delhi
(MCD) said that only one com-
plaint of waterlogging was re-
ceivedfromMunirka;whilepeo-
ple from several parts of South
Delhi, including Malviya Nagar,
Aya Nagar, and Katwariya Sarai,
complainedofwaterloggedroads
and streets.
The rain, however, brought
some respite from heat and hu-
midityasthemaximumtemper-
ature dropped to 34.1 degrees
Celsius from the previous day’s
36.7 degrees Celsius at the
Safdarjungbasestation.Themin-
imumtemperaturewasalsoclose
to normal at 29 degrees Celsius.
Nosignificantrainfallwasob-
served in North, Northwest, and
West Delhi.
Afterseveraldaysof"heavyto
very heavy rain" alerts, the IMD
has not issued any warning for
Delhi on Thursday. A “generally
cloudy sky with light rain, thun-
derstormsorlightning”hasbeen
predicted.
An orange alert was sounded
in the capital till Tuesday, which
changed to a yellow alert on
Wednesday.
The IMD on Wednesday also
said that “heavy to very heavy
rainfall” is likely to occur over
Northwest India during the next
four to five days.
After heat challenge, MCD drags its feet on unsafe
monsoon ailments buildings data, deadline deferred ‘Attendance issues’:
concern for animals
SOPHIYAMATHEW
NEWDELHI,JULY3
TILU, A seven-month-old Indian
Spitzwearingamuzzlemask,lay
impatiently in bed at the Sanjay
Gandhi Animal Care Centre
(SGACC)asadripranthroughher
vein.Shehasbeendiagnosedwith
dengue. As the treatment went
on, Tilu's owner held her paws
gently for almost an hour to
soothe her.
With the intense heat giving
way to monsoon last week, con-
cern over diseases such as canine
distemper virus, hemorrhagic
fever, tick fever, vector-borne dis-
eases, mite infections, and highly
contagious canine parvovirus in-
fections among animals have
grown.
Ajay Kainth, manager of
SGACC,saidthefrequencyof skin
infectionshasincreasedsincethe
beginning of the monsoon with
one to two cases reported every
day. Goldy, the in-charge of the
catssection,said,“Duringthissea-
son, our main concern is hy-
pothermia, so we cannot bathe
the cats. Additionally, they are
prone to bed sores due to the
higher moisture levels from in-
creased humidity. We need to
consistently treat their wounds
with ointment. Otherwise, they
are vulnerable to maggots.”
Sangam Vihar: Man
crushed to death by water
tanker, another stabbed
NewDelhi:Amanwascrushedto
deathbyawatertankerwhilean-
other was stabbed in Delhi's
Sangam Vihar area on
Wednesday.
Police said that three people
weretryingtofixanautorickshaw
on the side of a waterlogged road
whenawatertankerpassedthem
by, sprinkling water on them.
Enraged,theoccupants,along
withlocalsgatheredarounditand
startedpeltingstonesandvandal-
ising the tanker.
Thetankerdriver,SapanSingh,
35, drove on and one of the three
men was crushed under it. Singh
then abandoned the tanker and
escaped.Theageofthethreemen
Overcast sky before the
showers in New Delhi on
Wednesday; (right)
waterlogging in Gurgaon.
Praveen Khanna/Express
FORECAST
35 35
34 34 34
33
Max temp (°C)
Min temp (°C)
28 27 27 28 28
26
4-Jul 09-Jul
Forecast: 4-7 July: Generally
cloudy sky with light/moderate rain
8-9 July: Rain or Thundershowers
DU’s Faculty of Law
Ashok, caretaker of birds’
section at SGACC. Express
MedicaldirectorVijayPanwar
said, “High humidity, along with
dampness or dark surroundings,
increasestheriskofskininfection
amonganimals.”Ashok,thecare-
taker for birds, said, “If the birds
get drenched, and it has already
lost a considerable number of
feathers,itcannotlandsafely.This
can lead to numerous accidents
and shoulder ruptures.”
Last year, SGACC reported
around275casesofhypothermia,
300dengue,375tickfever,300ca-
nine parvovirus and around 210
skin infections during monsoon.
Rishi Dev, an animal activist,
said, “Animals are not suffering
because of the monsoon it is be-
cause of the rift between human
beings and animals ...When the
humans make animals depend-
ent for survival, the animals get
trapped.”
is being ascertained.
"A PCR call was received at
4:30pmthat2-3peoplewerein-
volvedinabrawlatRathiyaMarg,
Sangam Vihar, using knifes," said
DCP Ankit Chauhan, South
District, Delhi.
Thethreelookedforthedriver
invain.Meanwhile,Ahmed,ares-
ident of Sangam Vihar, stopped
and asked why the three were
pelting stones at the tanker. The
men then stabbed him with a
knife, police said.
He was rushed to Majeedia
hospital, Hamdard Nagar, from
where he has been referred to
Safdarjung hospital. No arrests
have been made yet. ENS
ANANDVIHAR
Moderate
114
AQI
0 PM 10
0-50 Good
MONSOON TROUBLES
SAMANHUSAIN
NEWDELHI,JULY3
THE ARRIVAL of monsoon on
Friday laid bare the unprepared-
ness of civic officials as roads and
streetswereinundatedandwater
enteredhomesandoffices.While
poor drainage system has been a
pet peeve in several parts of the
city, unsafe buildings continue to
be a major concern.
The Aam Aadmi Party-ruled
Municipal Corporation of Delhi
(MCD), however, is yet to release
its dangerous building data. The
civic body is expected to release
the findings of its survey before
the first monsoon showers to al-
lowfornecessaryrepairs. Theini-
tial deadline to release the find-
ingswasJune14butthedeadline
has now been shifted to July 15.
Severalunsafebuildingsinthe
city are said to be still inhabited.
AmarblemosqueintheChuri
WalanareaofOldDelhicollapsed
on June 17, after a crack appeared
initswall.TheDelhiBJPcriticised
the delay in ordering the danger-
ousbuildingsurvey,attributingit
to the "callous working” of Delhi
Mayor Shelly Oberoi. “I had
warned that this year's excep-
tional heat would cause old, de-
pletedbuildingstodevelopcracks,
andthemonsoon,whichwillfol-
low could prove fatal,” Delhi BJP
leader Praveen Shankar Kapoor
said.
In Gali Mem Wali, Katra
Midnight move: Transfer orders issued to 5,000 govt
teachers who have completed 10 years in same school
SOPHIYAMATHEW
NEWDELHI,JULY3
TWO DAYS after Education min-
ister Atishi asked the Education
Department to halt transfers of
government school teachers, the
department, in a midnight up-
heaval, issued transfer orders to
around 5,000 teachers on its offi-
cial website on Tuesday.
The annual transfer policy
mandatesthetransferofteachers
who have served in the same
school for over 10 years.
On Wednesday, Atishi issued
a show-cause notice to the
Secretary of Education and the
Directorate of Education for “dis-
ITO
Satisfactory
73
AQI
500 0 PM 10 500
51-100 Satisfactory 101-200 Moderate
MCDisexpectedtoreleasethefindingsbeforethe first
monsoon showerstoallowfornecessaryrepairs. Archive
YEAR-ON-YEAR COMPARISON
LAST YEAR
■ Monsoon arrived on
June 26
■ Unsafe building survey
completed by July 11
■ 30.74 L buildings
examined across 12 zones
Badyan, in Old Delhi the wall of a
house collapsed on June 28.
The MCD's dangerous build-
ingsurveyacrossall12zoneswas
completed last year by July 11,
identifying 57 unsafe structures.
With the July 15 deadline loom-
ing, the civic body has so far only
completedthesurveyoftheSouth
Zone, identifying four dangerous
buildings.Ofthese,twohavebeen
demolished.
obeying”theminister’sorder,cit-
ing Article 239 AA which “gives
the Delhi government power to
exercise over matters in the
Concurrent List”.
Meanwhile, the Government
Schools Teachers' Association
(GSTA)hasalsoraiseditsconcerns
over the move. Its General
Secretary, Ajay Veer Yadav, has
written to the Directorate of
Education (DoE) and the
LieutenantGovernorofDelhi,put-
ting forward the demand for the
formation of a grievance redres-
sal committee for all transferred
teachers.
A delegation of four-five gov-
ernment school teachers, includ-
ing Yadav, will meet the Director
PUSA
Satisfactory
63
AQI
0 PM 10 500
201-300 Poor 301-400 Very Poor
MCD: first phase
of desilting over;
80,690.4 MT of
silt removed
from 713 drains
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, JULY 3
THE MUNICIPAL Corporation of
Delhi (MCD) announced on
Wednesday that the first phase
of desilting work in the national
capital is over with the removal
of 80,690.4 MT of silt from 713
drains.
The civic body has desilted
466kilometersof drainsasapart
of the monsoon preparedness
plan.Of themajor22drainstobe
transferred to the Irrigation and
Flood Control Department, 14
drains are under the MCD and
desilting has been completed in
12 drains.
“Machinery and manpower
are deployed at ground level for
desilting work; machines such
assuctioncumjettingmachines,
suction machines, jetting ma-
chines,porcelains,backhoeload-
ers, and trucks are used for
cleaning of drains,” the civic
body said in a statement.
To clear instances of water-
logging, 72permanentpumping
stations are functional, in addi-
tion to 465 mobile and sub-
mersible pumps of different ca-
pacities. To clear the drains, the
MCD coordinated with other
agencies like PWD, DSIIDC, and
the Irrigation and Flood Control
Departmentof theDelhigovern-
ment. “The tireless efforts of the
corporation are to ensure that
the people of Delhi do not face
problems due to waterlogging
during the monsoon season.
MCD has achieved an average of
more than 100 per cent
(103.37%) desilting target set for
drainsunderitsjurisdiction,”the
corporation said.
THIS YEAR
■ Monsoon arrived on
June 28
■ Survey expected to finish
by July 15
■ Aim to examine 27.66
lakh buildings
“Intheremaining11zones,the
survey is currently in the ad-
vanced stage,” the MCD stated.
“There are nearly 40 lakh res-
identsinDelhi,andweareunder-
staffed in terms of field workers.
The civic body might not have
seentheobjectiveinsurveyingas
many houses as last year.
However, 80 per cent of the sur-
vey has been completed,” said a
senior MCD official.
Education minister Atishi
has issued show-cause
notice to DoE.
ofEducationonThursdaytoraise
their concerns. Yadav said con-
cerns of teachers on medical
grounds, retirement basis, physi-
ROHINI
Moderate
114
AQI
0 PM 10 500
At 8.30pm
401-500 Severe
T1 mishap due to
lack of repair or weak
foundation? Delhi
Police asks authorities
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, JULY 3
WHO WAS responsible for the
maintenance of the canopy at
Terminal1?Whenwasthestruc-
tureinstalledatthesaidlocation?
Who constructed the canopy?
These are some of the ques-
tions that the Delhi Police has
askedinanoticesentouttomul-
tiple airport authorities in the
backdrop of the canopy tragedy
attheIndiraGandhiInternational
(IGI) Airport last week when a
taxi driver died and eight others
wereinjuredaftercomingunder
the collapsing structure.
The authorities to which the
notice have been sent include
Delhi International Airport
Limited (DIAL) and Airports
Authority of India (AAI), sources
said.
The notice has been sent out
to ascertain if the the collapse
took place over lack of repair of
thestructureorif thecanopyhad
a problem at foundation level
from the start, the sources
added.
The authorities have also
been asked to provide details of
the contractors and officials in-
volved in the construction work.
Besides,detailsoflastrepairwork
and inspection have also been
sought, the sources added.
A senior police officer, re-
questing anonymity, said the in-
vestigatingofficer(IO)inthecase
has issued notice to the authori-
ties handling airport mainte-
nance and operations.
The officer said the notices
were sent out two days ago fol-
lowing a number of inspections
of the collapse site by police
teams of the IGI unit and foren-
sic experts. “It will be investi-
defers term-end exam
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE
NEWDELHI,JULY3
THEDELHIUniversity'sFacultyof
Law has deferred the LLB semes-
ter end-term tests, which were
scheduled to start on Thursday.
Students of the second, fourth,
and sixth semesters were due to
appearfortheexaminationsfrom
July 4-July 26. However, officials
have cited attendance issues as
thereasonbehindthedeferment.
SpeakingtoTheIndianExpress,
DU Registrar Vikas Gupta said,
"Thereweresomeissueswiththe
attendance of students. We are
going to hold remedial classes to
meettherequiredattendancecri-
terionandwewillnotifythefresh
dates for the examination soon.”
A notification by DU’s Faculty
of Law Head and Dean Anju Vali
TikooonWednesdayread,"Under
the orders of the Hon’ble Vice
Chancellor(YogeshSingh),theex-
aminations of LLB II/IV/VI term
scheduledfrom4thJulyarepost-
poned.Freshdateswouldbenoti-
fied in due course”
When contacted to know the
exact reason behind the move,
Tikoosaid,"Theexamshavebeen
deferred because of the V-C’s or-
ders".Hedidnotelaboratefurther.
cally challenged status as well as
the distance from residence
should be considered in a trans-
parent manner.
Praveen Sharma, 36, who has
been teaching at a government
schoolinSultanpuriforthelast14
years, said, “This decision will af-
fectthestudent-teacherrelation-
shiptosomeextent.Besides,itwill
affectteacherswhohaveillnessor
who are handicapped…”
Earlier, Deputy Director of
Education, Sushitha Biju, sought
online requests for the transfer of
teaching staff in government
schoolsunderDoEinacircularis-
sued on June 11. “All the teachers
who have completed 10 years
continuously in the same school
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
S K Y WA T C H
July4
Generallycloudysky.
Lightrain/lightning
/thunderstorm
MAX: 34 MIN: 26
3.4°C belownormal 1.9°C belownormal
A man was killed and
another 8 injured in the
mishap last Friday. Archive
gated whether there were any
defects in the structure, which
ledtothecollapse,”addedtheof-
ficer.
Said another officer, “The in-
vestigation into the incident is
still in the preliminary stages as
several agencies such as (Bureau
of Civil Aviation Security) BCAS
and a team of IIT is involved...on
our part, we are probing on
whose part does the negligence
lie as currently the FIR has been
lodged against unknown per-
sons...once responses are re-
ceived, further legal action will
be taken.”
Officialshadearliersaiditwill
take two to three months for the
Terminal1tobefunctionalagain,
shifting all operations to the
Terminal2and3forthetimebe-
ing.
A portion of the canopy and
several beams collapsed on June
28 when Delhi saw the heaviest
June downpour in 88 years. A
Delhi International Airport
Limited (DIAL) spokesperson
cited the record-breaking heavy
winds and rain as the reason be-
hind the collapse.
Meanwhile, students and
teachershaveexpressedconcern
over the deferment. "We have
beenhearingthatduetoafewstu-
dents not being able to meet the
70 per cent attendance criterion,
the entire examination schedule
isbeingpushedforwardjusttoac-
commodatethosewhohavebeen
detained.Thisisunfairfortheoth-
ers who have been regularly at-
tending classes and also has im-
plications on our academic
calendars. Many of us have also
made plans to go back home, we
are having to cancel our tickets
now”saidafinal-yearlawstudent,
pleading anonymity.
MeghRaj,AssistantProfessor,
said, “The postponement of ex-
amination of even semesters in
LawFacultybyV-Cwillcreatedif-
ficultiesforstudents.Someof the
final-year students who already
havetakenprovisionaladmission
inLLMcoursesindifferentuniver-
sities will not be able to submit
their final degree within time.
Also, there will be a delay in the
completionoftheLLBdegree;and
consequently,theregistrationbe-
fore Bar Council as an advocate.
Moreover,thisdecisionwoulddis-
turb the next academic session
also.” Megh Raj is also a DU aca-
demic council member.
shallcompulsorilyapplyonline…
fortransferonthebasisofmutual
or general opting for maximum
number of schools,” read the cir-
cular.Italsosaidtheheadquarters
will, on its own, transfer to any
school the teachers who do not
apply as per the official require-
ment.
AccordingtotheGSTA,follow-
ingthisdecision,itappealedtothe
DoE to consider their argument
thatthedecisionwouldaffectthe
student-teacher relationship. It
claimed that a verbal assurance
was given by the authority to not
enforce the transfers, and that it
would be made voluntary. Yadav
claimed that the issue was being
politicised on purpose.
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2024 5
SALE ON "AS–IS-WHERE-IS" BASIS OF DAMAGED GOODS
TENDER NOTICE
BELONGING TO C L GUPTA OVERSEAS LLP
Affected factory at Plot No-A-1 Sez, Moradabad -244001
Period of inspection of damaged 04.07.2024 to 15.07.2024 from
items 11.00 am to 5.00 pm
Contact person Mr. Girdhari Gupta Mobile
No 8218581693/8126538705
Last date & time of submission By 2.00 pm on 16.07.2024
of tender document
Date of opening of tender document 2.30 pm on 16.07.2024
Expected Minimum Price Rs.70 to Rs. 80 Lakhs
Cost of the Tender document would be Rs1000/- to be paid either in cash or in DD
Sealed Tenders are invited from intending buyers for the disposal, strictly on “as-is-where-is”
basis with all defects of Damaged Salvage (Referred as “Damaged Items”) of Burnt and melted
Building Pre -Feb Structure, Roof sheets, machinery, electrical cables-Aluminum & Copper, elec-
trical motors , soot affected corrugated box & Powder coating material and belonging to C L
GUPTA OVERSEAS LLP lying at our Factory Plot NO. A-1, Sez, Moradabad -244001 Tenders
Government of Rajasthan to be submitted on or before 16.07.2024 by 2.00 pm to THE COMMERCIAL HEAD C L GUPTA
Office of the Chairman, NEET PG Admission/Counseling Board-2024 SMS OVERSEAS LLP at Plot NO. A-1, Sez, Moradabad -244001 Under no circumstances, tender
forms will be accepted after this date. Tenders will be opened on 16.07.2024 at 2.30 p.m.
Medical College, Jaipur, Rajasthan Phone: 0141-2619020
https://medicaleducation.rajasthan.gov.in/me/#/home/dptHome
www.rajmdsneet2024.org
No. State PG Counseling Board/2024/ Dated: 03.07.2024
NOTIFICATION
State Dental P.G. Seats (MDS) Allotments-2024
The registration for PG Dental course (MDS) in Rajasthan shall commence on-
line from 05.07.2024. The schedule for allotment will be as below:
Schedule for Allotment process
Application form (Registration) 05.07.2024
Start date for filling of on-line application form and
deposition of required application fee
It is a mandatory step for subsequent process of
counseling and allotment.
Both the parts (Part 1 and Part 2) of the application form
must be filled and completed.
Last date for depositing the application fee at the website 10.07.2024 (4.00 pm)
Last date for submitting the on-line application form at the 10.07.2024 (11.45 pm)
website
Document Verification (off-line) of all registered candidates 11.07.2024 to 12.07.2024
at Academic Block, SMS Medical College, Jaipur (10.00 am to 4.00 pm)
Verification of Disability certificate (issued by 16 centers 12.07.2024, 9.00 pm
approved by MCC) of all persons with disabilities (PWD),
candidates of all categories (at 9.00 am sharp at Academic
Block, SMS Medical College, Jaipur)
Verification, Allotment and Reporting by Sr. Demonstrator 12.07.2024, 9.00 pm
candidates for In- Service Quota (sub quota), (before the
Board, 9.00 am sharp at Academic Block, SMS Medical
College, Jaipur) (after applying/registering as per the
procedure) All such candidates must present themselves
physically along with all original relevant documents, before
the Board
Publishing of provisional seat matrix 14.07.2024
(after Sr. Demonstrator allotments)
Publishing of provisional merit list 14.07.2024
Deposition of security amount 15.07.2024 to 17.07.2024
(refer the Instructions Booklet for details) (4.00 pm)
On-line choice filling locking of the choices by the candidates15.07.2024 to 17.07.2024
(including filling up and saving of the choices / changing the (11.45 pm)
filled choices multiple times) (choices autolocked at
11.45 pm on 17.07.2024)
Printing of the on-line application form after auto-locking of 18.07.2024
the choices filled and saved by the candidates
Declaration of the result 20.07.2024
(midnight)
Printing of allotment letters on-line, reporting, document 21.07.2024 to
submission (including prescribed eligibility criteria) at the 25.07.2024
allotted college desk at Academic Block, SMS Medical (10.00 am to 5.00 pm)
College, Jaipur along with printout of allotment letter, all
original documents, deposition of prescribed one year tuition
fee, required bonds etc. and other documents as listed in Prime Ministers Museum and Library
instruction booklet
Commencement of academic session 01.08.2024 Cordially invites you to a Public Lecture
Further Processes to be published latet on
1. Refer information booklet, college information sheet and college fee structure
etc. and other information at the website. Regarding fee, also refer order dated The Mughal Engagement with a Sanskrit Text:
19.05.2022 of Hon'ble Supreme Court in civil appeal no. 3978-3995/2017. Dara Shikoh and Yogavasistha
2. All registered candidates must present themselves personally along with all
original relevant documents and 2 sets of self- attested photocopies of the by
same (as mentioned in the instruction booklet) on the scheduled dates and time
for verification of the documents. Candidate who does not come for Dr. Mohsin Ali
verification within the stipulated period or whose documents are not verified
or found incomplete or on verification he/she is found ineligible, shall not be
Senior Fellow, PMML
allowed to participate in the respective round of counselling process. Tuesday, 4 July 2024 at 3:00pm
3. All PwD candidates must present themselves physically for document
verification before the admission board on 12.07.2024 as per the notification Venue:
and the list to be made available at the website.
4. All candidates are required to deposit non-refundable application fee of Rs. 4000/- Seminar Room, Library Building
(Rs. 3000/- for SC, ST, ST-STA category candidate of Rajasthan state domicile) Prime Ministers Museum and Library
+ applicable transaction charges.
5. The candidates are advised to visit the websites regularly for registration and Teen Murti House, New Delhi
other relevant information. All are welcome.
Chairman Those wishing to have their names added to the email list may please
NEET PG Admission/Counseling Board-2024,
DIPR-5373 Jaipur, Rajasthan
email us at:- ccs2nmml@gmail.com
CBC 09142/12/0013/2425
 6 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2024

NMDC Ltd.    

(A Govt. Of India Enterprise) (ISO 9001 Company) 9414616A HAV JHANAK
Bailadila Iron Ore Mines, Bacheli Complex BAHADUR RAI,
Bacheli, Distt. - South Bastar (Dantewada), CG - 494553 9422897W RFN ARUN
Phone No.: 07857-230210, Mob.: 8085559082 KUMAR RAI
04 JULY
e-Tender Notice We salute and remember Hav
BIOM/BC/Contracts/Publication/2024-25/088/ Date: 04.07.2024 Jhanak Bahadur Rai and Rfn
Bailadila Iron Ore Mines, Bacheli Complex, NMDC Ltd. invites e-bids for the following works. Intending tenderers may visit and download Arun Kumar Rai of1/11 Gorkha
Tender Documents from CPP Portal or www.nmdc.co.in or http://www.mstcecommerce.com/eprochome/nmdc/. Any corrigendum/ Hav Jhanak Rfn Arun
Rifles (BATALIK) who had made
addedum to be issued, the bidder must visit the online protal from time to time to notice the same. Corrigendum/addedum will not be published Bahadur Rai Kumar Rai
the supreme sacrifice during 'OP
in any newspaper. The offer has to be submitted online at the given MSTC portal only till 03:30 PM and will be opened on 04:00 PM on
VIJAY' (KARGIL) in 1999 in a true act of valour. The brave soldiers will
respective last dates.
always be remembered for their enthusiasm. To these bravehearts we
MSTC Ref. No. NMDC Tender. No. pledge that we shall always be guided by their immortal spirits and do
Short Description EMD Last Date of
NMDC/ Bacheli/ BIOM/BC/ CONTRACTS / their names proud.
of Work (Rs.) Sub'n
24-25/ET/ OTE(88)/24- 25/
CO AND ALL RANKS, 1/11 GORKHA RIFLES
Removing and cleaning weed growth before and after monsoon (BRAVEST OF THE BRAVE)
1. 62/282 E-024A under the OH lines 33/11/3.3 KV HT Lines connecting to main 11,133/- 04-08-2024 (BATALIK)
sub-station Hilltop Dep-5.
INDO-TIBETAN BORDER POLICE (ITBP)
Miscellaneous Electrical repair works Township Quarters and
2. 63/283 E-034 Public Buildings at Bacheli. 77,727/- 04-08-2024 4 July 2024
ITBP salutes its braveheart Assistant
Shifting of Lump ore from 10 & 11A Lump stock pile to
3. 64/284 LP-029 3,16,200/- 05-08-2024 Commandant Pawan Chaudhary of 20th
Dynamic stock pile at LP 4,00,000 Cum.
Battalion, who made supreme sacrifice in the
Mechanized loading of Lump Ore & CLO through lump Ore line of duty on this day in Leh in 2000.
4. 65/285 LP-030 Hopper Dep-5. 3,03,100/- 05-08-2024 Rajasthan State Road Development And Construction Corporation Ltd., JAIPUR
No. NIT/2024-25/6238-52
BÊ-d³fd½fQf Àfc¨f³ff Àfa£¹ff 43/2024-25 Date: 02.07.2024 Resident of : Vill.- Harsar, Distt.- Kangra
Replacement of Old CGI Sheets and Industrial painting of Assistant
5. 66/286 C-380 conveyors/Motor houses from secondary crusher to Conv.24 at 1,68,800/- 05-08-2024
d³f¸³fd»fdJ°f ´fdS¹fûþ³ffAûÔ ´fS SfþÀ±ff³f Sfª¹f ÀfOI dUI fÀf EUÔ d³f¸ffʯf d³f¦f¸f d»f. (RSRDC Ltd.) ¸fZÔ ´fÔþeIÈ °f Mû»f I »fZ¢Vf³f NZIZ QfSûÔ ÀfZ ´f±fI S UÀfc»fe
WZ°fb BÊ-MZd³OdSÔ¦f ´fidI ¹ff ÀfZ Afg³f»ffBʳf d³fdUQf Af¸fÔdÂf°f I e þf°fe W` :- Commandant (Himachal Pradesh)
Dep-5 Bacheli. IYf¹fÊ IYf d½f½fSX¯f AfSXdÃf°f SXfdVf (÷Y.) d³fd½fQf Àfc¨f³ff Àfa£¹ff Pawan
6. 67/287 C-383 Rehabilitation of old RCC Frames structures of Thickner Tank Collection of Toll Tax on following Road for a period of 02 years:- Chaudhary
No.2 of SP-5, BIOM Bacheli Complex (Phase-II). 1,89,700/- 05-08-2024 (1) "Bikaner Byepass Road" UBN:RRC2425WLOB00104 4246.58 Lakh BÊ-43/24-25
(2) "Pratapgarh-Mandsaur Road" UBN:RRC2425WLOB00105 1075.31 Lakh Shaheed Constable
(1) "Suket-Julmi-Pipliya-Bhawani Mandi Road." UBN:RRC2425SLOB00110 2443.03 Lakh BÊ-47/24-25 Udheshwar Das
HOD (M&S and Contracts) d³fd½fQf ÀfZ Àf¸¶fd³²f°f ´fi´fÂf ¸fZÔ d³fd½fQf Vfb»I , ²fSûWS SfdVf, OfC³f»fûO I S³fZ ½f Jû»f³fZ I e °ffSeJ ÀfdW°f Àf¸´fc¯fÊ d½f½fS¯f E½fa ÀfaVfû²f³f ½fZ¶fÀffBÊM: 30-07-1949 To 04-07-1994
BIOM, Bacheli Complex http://eproc.rajasthan.gov.in, http://sppp.rajasthan.nic.in °f±ff http://roads.rajasthan.gov.in/rsrdc ´fS QZJf ªff ÀfI °ff W` Ü B¨Lb I
Àfa½fZQI ûÔ I û A´f³fZ dOdªfM»f WÀ°ffÃfS IZ ¸ff²¹f¸f ÀfZ ½fZ¶fÀffBÊM http://eproc.rajasthan.gov.in ´fS SdªfÀMOÊ I S½ff³ff Af½fV¹fI W` Ü ¸fWXf´fi¶fa²fIY 118Bn Assam
JAMMU & KASHMIR
4 July 1994
The 118 Battalion of CRPF was deployed in
Srinagar city, Jammu and Kashmir. On 4th July, a Road Opening Party
(ROP) of the 118 Battalion was stationed at Solina Bazar. At around
1545 hrs, ROP personnel near the Silk Factory came under fire,
leading to an encounter. Shaheed Constable Udheshwar Das, who was
leading the attack, sustained severe injuries. He was evacuated to the
92 Army Base Hospital, where he attained martyrdom. The nation will
forever remain indebted to him and his family.
Shaheed Constable
Gurunam Singh
30-09-1973 To 04-07-1994
38 Bn Punjab
JAMMU & KASHMIR
4 July 1999
The 38 Battalion of CRPF was deployed in district
Doda, Jammu & Kashmir, for conducting anti-terrorist operations. On
4th July 1999, its troops were ambushed by militants while on an area
domination patrol. The militants opened indiscriminate fire at the
troops from a dense jungle. The troops immediately retaliated and
advanced towards the militants. Overwhelmed by the valour of the
troops, the militants fled, taking advantage of the dense jungle. During
the encounter, Shaheed Constable Gurnam Singh, who was fighting
from the front and had bravely charged at the militants, received
severe injuries and attained martyrdom. The nation will forever
remain indebted to him and his family.
Shaheed Constable
G. Venkataiah
05-02-1966 To 04-07-2016
113 Bn Telangana
JAMMU & KASHMIR
24 June 2002
On 24th June 2002, militants fired a rifle grenade
at the CRPF platoon post of 113 Battalion in village Sogam, district
Kupwara. The rifle grenade landed on the verandah of the first floor
Governmen
Governmentt of Jharkhand where Constable G. Venkataiah was sitting along with other troopers.
JHARKHAND FL
FLYING
YING INSTITUTE
INSTITUTE Upon seeing the grenade, he, without caring for his life, pounced on it
Society
(A Socie ty R
Register
egistered
ed under Dept. of Cabine
Cabinett Secretariat
Secretariat and ran to throw it away from the troopers. Unfortunately, before he
and Vigilance (Civil A
Avia
viation
tion Division), Jharkhand could throw the grenade away, it exploded, severely injuring him. Five
other troopers also received injuries, but as the braveheart had taken
STA
STATE
TE HANGAR, BIRSA
BIRSA MUNDA
MUNDA AIRPOR
AIRPORTT ROAD
ROAD,, HINOO,
HINOO, RANCHI the major blast on himself, their injuries were not as severe. Later, the
Email – jfi.g
jfi.govtfly@gmail.c
ovtfly@gmail.com,
om, TTelefa
elefax:-
x:- 0651-2250319, 2251090 severly injured braveheart breathed his last on 4th of July 2002 and
Tender Ref. No: -HSS/03/2024-JFI-143 /Ranchi, Date:- 02/07/ 2024 attained martyrdom. Such heroic deeds of sacrificing one's own life to
save others are rarely heard, and we salute the bravery of Shaheed
2nd Call Very Short e-Tender Notice Constable G. Venkataiah
e-Tenders under two bid system are invited for Helicopters Shuttle Service Between Deoghar and Basukinath Shaheed Constable
at Jharkhand. Sh. Hira Kumar Jha,
As per the following schedule of events:-
Second-in-Command
1. Tender Ref. No. HSS/03/2024-JFI/143 / Ranchi, Dated-02/07/2024 15-08-1969 To 04-07-2014
JHARKHAND FLYING INSTITUTE “JFI” invites Very Short e-
Tender fromService Provider or Non Scheduled Operator’s Permit
7 Bn Bihar
2. Name of Work BIHAR
(NSOP) holders for Helicopter Shuttle service between Deoghar and
Basukinath at State of Jharkhand. 4 July 2014
Rs. 25,000/- (Rs. Twenty Five Thousand only) Through Online On 4th July 2014, troops of 7th Battalion of CRPF launched an
3. Tender Participation
Mode. operation against Maoists in the village of Lakhari, PS-Khaira, District
4. EMD Rs. 2,00,000/- (Rs. Two Lakhs only) Through Online Mode. Jamui. The operation was commanded by Sh. Hira Kumar Jha,
Publish of Tender on website & Start of Second-in-Command. The troops cordoned off the village before first
5. 03/07/2024 at 11:30AM
Submission of e-bids light and began the search. As the troops started searching the village,
6. Start of Downloading Tender Documents. 03/07/2024 at 11:30 AM the Maoists hiding inside the huts moved out, using civilians as
7. Last date for submission of e-bids. 08/07/2024 upto 11:30AM shields, and opened indiscriminate fire at the troops. The troops
8. Opening of Technical Bids. 09/07/2024 at 11:30 AM
retaliated in a controlled manner, avoiding collateral damage. Sh. Hira
9. Opening of Financial Bids. After scrutiny of Technical Bid
Kumar Jha, Second-in-Command, who was leading the attack, noticed
10. Time for work completion. 10 days from the signing of agreement.
11. Officer Inviting e-Tender Managing Director, Jharkhand Flying Institute, Govt. of Jharkhand a Maoist wielding an AK-47 who was trying to flee the area under
Mr. Rathour Nitant K. Singh, Section Officer human shield. He immediately took along two constables and chased
12. Officer Name/Mob. No. for further enquiry
Mob. No. 9472749978, E-Mail- jfi.govtfly@gmail.com the Maoist. After closing in on the Maoist, he launched an assault and
injured him. Unfortunately, in the endeavor, he also sustained injuries
For further details and applying online, please visit jharkhandtenders.gov.in Sd/- and sacrificed his life for the nation. Three dreaded Maoists were
Managing Director apprehended in the operation. For his act of gallantry and bravery,
PR 328453 Civil Aviation(24-25).D Jharkhand Flying Institute Shaheed Sh. Hira Kumar Jha, Second in Command was posthumously
awarded the “Shaurya Chakra”.
Shaheed Constable
Dibakar Das
1-03-1982 To 04-07-2016
138 Bn Assam
Arunachal Pradesh
3 July 2016
On 3rd July 2016, the troops of 138 Battalion of
CRPF, along with Civil Police, were deployed in the Daporijo market
area in Subansiri district, Arunachal Pradesh, for law and order duties.
During the deployment, the troops noticed two persons fighting and
creating a disturbance. The troops approached the quarrelling persons
in an attempt to stop the fight from escalating. However, one of the
assailants attacked the troops with a knife, seriously injuring
Constable Dibakar Das. As the location was a marketplace, the troops
refrained from firing to avoid harming innocent civilians. Gravely
injured in the attack, Constable Dibakar Das succumbed to his injuries
on 4th of July 2016 and attained martyrdom.
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2024
Air pollution behind Large gap to bridge in quantum capabilities: Report
7% of deaths in 10
cities: Lancet study
ANURADHA
MASCARENHAS
PUNE,JULY3
ABOUT 11.5 PER cent of deaths
in Delhi every year, roughly
12,000 deaths, can be attributed
to air pollution, the highest for
any city in the country, a first-of-
its-kindmulti-citystudyinIndia,
published in the Lancet, has re-
vealed.
Across 10 cities —
Ahmedabad,Bengaluru,Chennai,
Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata,
Mumbai, Pune, Shimla and
Varanasi — more than 33,000
deaths could be attributed to air
pollution every year on an aver-
age,thestudysaid.Shimlahasthe
lowest mortality burden among
these cities, with only 59 deaths
every year, about 3.7 per cent of
its total, that could be attributed
to pollution. Together, about 7.2
per cent of all deaths in these
cities,amountingtoabout33,000
deaths every year, could be said
tobecausedbyairpollutionevery
year, the study said.
The study, carried out by re-
searchersfromIndiaandabroad,
foundthatPM2.5concentrations
in these 10 cities, exceeded the
safe limits defined by the World
Health Organisation (15 micro-
grams per cubic metre) on 99.8
per cent of the days.
The researchers obtained
daily death data from the civil
registries in these ten cities be-
tween 2008 and 2019. For every
city, only three to seven years of
daily death data during this pe-
riod was made available.
Together, more than 3.6 million
deaths in these cities were ex-
amined. Giventhe sparse nature
of airpollutiondataacrossmany
cities, researchers leveraged a
previously-developed machine-
learning based exposure model
that combined data from the
regulatory monitors, satellites,
meteorology and other sources
togeneratePM2.5exposuredata
with a high level of detail in
terms of time and location.
Thestudyfound1.42percent
rise in mortality for every in-
crease of 10 micrograms/cu me-
DEATHS IN CITIES
Average number of
deaths attributable to
air pollution every year
Delhi 11,964
Mumbai 5,091
Kolkata 4,678
Chennai 2,870
Ahmedabad
Bengaluru
2,495
2,102
Hyderabad
Pune
1,597
1,367
Varanasi 831
Shimla 59
tre in the PM2.5 levels when all
the ten cities were taken to-
gether. There was large variation
among the cities, with Delhi
showing a rise of 0.31 per cent in
mortality while Bengaluru hav-
ing an increase of 3.06 per cent.
Thissuggestedthatpeopleliving
in less polluted cities carried a
higherriskof mortalityduetoin-
crease in pollution than those
living in polluted cities.
“In our results, we see that
cities such as Bengaluru and
Shimla which have relatively
lower levels of air pollution
showed stronger effects. This is
likelyduetothesharpincreasein
risk at lower levels of exposure
which plateaus at higher levels
which are unlikely to be experi-
enced in these cities,” Dr
Siddharth Mandal of the Centre
for Chronic Disease Control, one
oftheco-authorsofthestudy,said.
Dr Bhargav Krishna, Fellow at
the Sustainable Futures
Collaborativeandaleadauthoron
the study told The Indian Express,
that the study broke new ground
intheunderstandingof airpollu-
tion and health in India. “It is the
firstmulti-citystudytoassessthe
relationshipbetweenshort-term
air pollution exposure and death
in India, with the cities included
spanning a wide range of air pol-
lutionconcentrationsandsituated
in different agro-climatological
zones,” he said.
AMITABHSINHA
NEWDELHI,JULY3
INDIA MAY have done the right
thingbylaunchinga`6,000crore
NationalQuantumMissiontode-
velop some of most sought-after
technologies for the future, but it
wouldhavetoovercomeasignif-
icantlylargegapthatcurrentlyex-
ists between its capabilities and
thoseofotherleadingcountriesin
these areas like the United States
and China, a new assessment of
India’spotentialinquantumtech-
LK Advani
admitted to
Apollo Hospital
New Delhi: Veteran BJP leader LK
Advani has been admitted to
Apollo Hospital on Wednesday
evening. Apollo officials said the
Advani is stable and is under ob-
servation. TheveteranBJPleader
has been admitted under senior
consultant neurologist Dr Vinit
Suri.
“Advani is stable and under
observation. He has been admit-
ted under Dr Vinit Suri, senior
consultant, Neurology," a hospi-
tal source said, adding that he
was admitted around 9 pm. The
details of Advani's ailment were
not known immediately.
Last week , Advani was ad-
mitted to the All India Institute
of Medical Sciences. ENS
nologieshasrevealed.Theassess-
mentbyItihaasa,anon-profitthat
studies the evolution of technol-
ogy and business domains in the
country,showsthatIndiawasjust
oneamong17countriestohavea
dedicated government pro-
grammetobackresearchinquan-
tum technologies, and one of the
12tohavecommittedseparatein-
vestments for the purpose. But
several countries were much
aheadofIndia,notjustintermsof
committed funding for research
anddevelopmentbutalsointheir
current capabilities.
NC discusses upcoming
J&K Assembly elections
NAVEED IQBAL
SRINAGAR, JULY 3
THE PRESENT political situation
and upcoming Assembly elec-
tions were among the issues
discussed during a meeting of
theNationalConference’swork-
ing committee on Wednesday,
party spokesperson Tanvir
Sadiq said.
The party is holding a two-
day working committee meet-
ing in Srinagar, headed by NC
president Farooq Abdullah. In a
statement, the party said,
“During this time, core compe-
tenciesandfuturecoursesof ac-
tion will be discussed and put
EXPRESS NETWORK 7
India’s`6,000croretranslates
to about $0.75 billion over five
years. China, on the other hand,
India is among the 17 countries
with formal national quantum
missions, and is among the top
wasestimatedtobespending$15
billion for developing quantum
technologies. The United
12countriesintermsof commit-
ted investments,” the assess-
ment said.
Kingdom was spending $4.3 bil- Quantum technologies ex-
lion, the United States $3.75 bil-
lion, Germany $3.3 billion and
ploit the extremely weird and
counter-intuitive—butveryspe-
South Korea $2.35 billion. cial nonetheless — properties of
India was far behind the subatomic particles like an elec-
United States and China in terms trontodevelopprocessesandde-
of patents obtained in quantum vices with capabilities and effi-
technologiestillnow,andinpub- ciencies that are impossible to
lications in top journals. achievewithclassical,non-quan-
“It is commendable that tum, systems.
into perspective.” The party’s
Lok Sabha election perform-
ance, in which it won two of the
three seats, was also analysed.
While Assembly polls in J&K
are yet to be announced, Sadiq
said,“TheSupremeCourthasset
a deadline of September 30 and
we are working around that. We
are also putting the Lok Sabha
electionresultsintoperspective.”
OnJuly1,theNationalConference
formed a committee, led by sen-
ior party member and former fi-
nance minister Abdul Rahim
Rather, to draft the party’s mani-
festo for the Assembly elections,
while it had already announced
“constituency in-charges” in the
Valley last year.
INVITATION OF APPLICATION FOR ALLOTMENT
OF CAMERO SI REGIMENTAL SHOPS AT SUBROTO PARK
1 Air Officer Commanding, Air Force Central Accounts Office,
Subroto Park, New Delhi-10, invites applications from War
Widows/ Widows of Defence personnel killed while on duty.
Disabled soldiers/EX Servicemen and spouses/Widows of
Ex servicemen etc for allotment of SI Regimental Shop at Subroto
Park Complex, New Delhi. Details of shop are appended below:
(a) Tour Travel and Packers Movers
2 The applicable terms and conditions are mentioned in application
form.
3. The application form is available from 04 July 24 at Service
Institute, AFCAO, Subroto Park, New Delhi-10 between 0800 hrs
to 1400 hrs on every day except Saturday, Sunday and holidays
(Tele No. 01125687194/7359). The application form for tendering
may be collected on payment of Rs. 500/- per application. The last
date of deposit / receipt of completed application is 19 July 24 by
0900 hrs along with EMD (Earnest Money Deposit) of Rs. 5,000/-
(Rupees Five Thousand only). The EMD should be in the form of
Demand Draft drawn in favour of OIC SI Fund, Payable at New
Delhi. Shop will be allotted on auction basis.

8 IN PARLIAMENT
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2024
LS Speaker RAJYA SABHA ADJOURNED SINE DIE
amends rules,
bars slogans
during oath
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
NEW DELHI, JULY 3
WITH SOME Lok Sabha mem-
bers resorting to sloganeering
during oath taking, Speaker Om
Birla has amended the rule
which now bars MPs-elect from
addinganyremarktotheoathas
members of the House.
Birla added a fresh clause to
'Direction 1' to the 'Directions by
the Speaker' for regulating cer-
tain matters related to the func-
tioning of the House that are not
specificallyprovidedintherules.
Accordingtotheamendment
to 'Direction 1', the new clause 3
now states that a member shall
makeandsubscribeoathoraffir-
mation, and "shall not use any
word or expression or make any
remarkasaprefixorsuffixtothe
form of oath or affirmation".
The amendment came after
several members raised slogans
like "Jai Samvidhan" and "Jai
Hindu Rashtra" while taking
oathlastweek.Onememberhad
also raised the slogan 'Jai
Palestine', which too was ob-
jected to by several members.
The speaker had urged the
members to stick to the pre-
scribed format but in vain.
Parliamentary Affairs
Minister Kiren Rijiju alleged sev-
eral members used the solemn
occasion of taking oath or mak-
ing affirmation to send a politi-
cal message.
Jailed preacher
Amritpal likely
to take oath as
MP on July 5
KANCHAN VASDEV
CHANDIGARH, JULY 3
WARIS PUNJAB De chief and MP
elect from Khadoor Sahib
Amritpal Singh will take oath as
a Lok Sabha member on July 5,
the same day as Jailed Kashmiri
leader Engineer Rashid, it is
learnt.
Sources in Punjab govern-
ment said the radical preacher
he will be flown from Dibrugarh
jailFridayandtakentoLokSabha
Speaker Om Birla’s chamber. He
will not be taken to the Lok
Sabha floor. A sourcesaid he was
given a parole of up to four days
by Deputy Commissioner of
Amritsar, starting from July 5.
“The parole will be allowed only
for oath taking. The parole of up
tofourdaysisgiventomakesure
that he can be flown on any of
these four days if the weather
does not allow his transit,” said
the source.
Independent MP from
Faridkot, Sarabjeet SinghKhalsa,
who met Lok Sabha Speaker Om
Birla on Wednesday, also said
that Amritpal would take oath
onJuly5.Aftercomingbackfrom
the meeting, Khalsa said: “The
Speaker has told me that Bhai
Amritpal will be taking oath on
July 5.”
Amritpal's spokesperson
Rajdev Singh Khalsa, who is in
touch with the Waris Punjab De
chief, told The IndianExpress that
they have not received any offi-
cial information in this regard.
Hinduism, Manipur, Constitution: The takeaways from PM’s replies in House
VIKAS PATHAK
NEW DELHI, JULY 3
IF THERE was any hope that the
BJP, which has come to power
well short of a majority, and the
Oppositionwouldhavesmoother
relations in this Parliament ses-
sion,itwassettledduringthede-
bate on the Motion of Thanks on
the President’s address.
While Leader of the Oppo-
sition Rahul Gandhi’s attacks on
BJP and PM Narendra Modi were
met with an uproar inside and
outsidetheHousebyBJP,followed
bytheexpunctionoflargepartsof
his speech by the Speaker, Modi
himself led a no-holds-barred
counterinhisreplytotheMotion.
If the thrustof his take-down
in LS was that the Congress was
“anti-Hindu”, he branded it
“anti-Dalit” in Rajya Sabha.
Congress as ‘anti-Hindu’,
‘anti-Dalit’
Seizing on the opening pro-
videdbyRahulGandhi’sremarks
Opp walks out during PM’s speech,
Dhankhar says insult to Constitution
DIVYA A
NEW DELHI, JULY 3
FORTY-FIVEMINUTESintoPrime
MinisterNarendraModi’sspeech
in Rajya Sabha — his response to
the discussion on Motion of
ThankstothePresident'sAddress
— the entire Opposition walked
out as Leader of Opposition
Mallikarjun Kharge wasn’t al-
lowedtointerveneonModi’sre-
marks on the Constitution.
WithalmosthalfoftheUpper
House empty, and Deputy
Chairman Harivansh of NDA ally
JanataDal(United)thesoleoccu-
pant of the Opposition benches,
thePrimeMinistercontinuedhis
speechuninterruptedforthenext
hour, save for the loud bench-
thumpingfromtheTreasuryside.
After the Motion was
adopted by voice vote by the re-
mainingMPs,theHouse wasad-
journed sine die.
During his speech, which
started at noon, Modi said it was
possibleforhimtobecomePrime
Minister because of the
Constitution and B R Ambedkar.
“I am here because of the
Constitution given by Babasaheb
Ambedkar. There are many like
me who have been able to come
here because of the Constitution.
The people have also given their
mandate for the third time,” he
said. At this point, Kharge sought
tomakeapointoforderandinter-
vene in the speech. With Rajya
Sabha Chairman Jagdeep
Dhankhar ignoring their de-
mands,theOppositionbeganrais-
ing slogans. “LoP ko bolne do (Let
theLeaderof Oppositionspeak)”.
The PM then said that he had
suggested November 26 be cele-
brated as Constitution Day, “but
it is those who wave around the
Constitution these days who re-
jected my idea”. Kharge wished
to comment on this, too, but was
not allowed to. Incensed, the IN-
DIAblocpartieswalkedoutofthe
‘Pro-women leaders have locked their
mouths’: PM raises Bengal flogging case
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, JULY 3
HIGHLIGHTING THE public flog-
ging of a couple in West Bengal,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Wednesday questioned the si-
lence of “those who consider
themselves progressive pro-
women leaders” and said that
the selective approach of the
Opposition on atrocities on
women is “worrying”.
In his reply on the Motion of
thankstothePresident’saddress
in the Rajya Sabha on
Wednesday, the PM said, “The
selective approach of the
Opposition on atrocities against
women is worrying.”
Referring to the incident
from West Bengal’s Uttar
Dinajpurdistrict,inwhichaTMC
functionary is the accused, Modi
said, “I am not trying to score a
political point. But a little while
ago, I saw some visuals on social
referringtoHinduisminthecon-
text of the BJP, Modi took the
Congress leader on at length in
hisreplytotheMotionof Thanks.
Modi said: “People of the
country will never forgive what
happened... Hindus are tolerant
as a community. That is why we
have a democracy and such di-
versity... It was said Hindus are
violent. Are these your values?...
IsthisyourhatredfortheHindus
of the country?”
The PM’s remarks were sig-
nificantgiventhatbothinsidethe
Houseandoutside,theCongress
and ally and SP chief Akhilesh
Yadavhavebeenunderliningthe
BJP failed to win from Faizabad,
a seat which covers Ayodhya.
IntheRajyaSabha,wherethe
Congress’s LoP is Mallikarjun
Kharge, Modi questioned the
Congress’s caste credentials.
With the BJP smarting at the
INDIA’s claims against it of be-
ing against SCs, STs and OBCs,
and of its leaders holding the
Constitution up as they took
oath, the PM said that for the
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge
with other MPs after the walkout on Wednesday. PTI
UpperHouse.TheBijuJanataDal,
too, made a quiet exit. The BJD
was the BJP's informal ally until
recently, when the saffron party
ousted it from power in Odisha.
Speaking to reporters after
thewalkout,Khargeaccused the
Prime Minister of lying in his
speech.
Dhankhar said that despite
the LoP being given a chance to
speak, he insulted the
Constitution. “I gave the LoP a
chance to speak without inter-
ruption. He has turned his back
not to you and me, but to the
Constitution.Hehasinsultedthe
Constitution. I condemn their
conduct. People of the country
would be sad,” he said.
“They (Opposition) are not
being able to digest defeat,” the
PMremarked,beforecontinuing
his speech.
At the end of the session,
Dhankhar said without naming
Kharge: “Witnessing seasoned
Membersconductthemselvesir-
responsibly was particularly dis-
heartening.Iwishtoreiteratethat
disruptions not only impede the
transactionof listedbusinessbut
also erode the prestige of this es-
PM Narendra Modi, Leader of Rajya Sabha J P Nadda and Union Minister Lalan Singh call on
Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar after the end of the session. PTI
media which had come from
Bengal.Awomanisbeingbeaten
up on the road in public. She is
crying,butnoonestandingthere
helpsher,theyareinsteadshoot-
ing videos. And the incident in
Sandeshkhali. The visuals give
goosebumps.”
PM Narendra Modi in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. PTI
Congress, Dalit leaders such as
Kharge were dispensable fall
guys. “He (Kharge) stood up as a
wall so that the blame of the
(Lok Sabha elections) defeat
does not go where it should (to
the Gandhi family)...They did the
same for the Speaker’s contest,”
Modi said.
Emergency as counter to
Constitution narrative
RAHUL,SONIASHOULD
FOLLOWNORMSIN
PARLIAMENT:BALUNI
New Delhi: The BJP's national
media departmenthead and
Garhwal Lok Sabha MP Anil
Baluni said Wednesday that
Leader of Opposition in Lok
Sabha Rahul Gandhi and his
mother Sonia, a Rajya Sabha
MP, should follow demo-
cratic norms in Parliament.
He said both Congress
leadersinstigatedOpposition
MPs to enter the Well of the
both Houses. He said the
manner in which there were
attempts to create obstruc-
tions during the address of
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi do not suit opposition
leaders occupying constitu-
tional positions. ENS
teemedinstitution...Theywalked
away from their Constitutional
ordainment and that has sent a
dangerous precedent, antitheti-
cal to democratic values.”
“I have been hearing the vet-
erans since yesterday. No pain is
being reflected in their words.
What visuals can be more
shamefulandpainful.Thosewho
considerthemselvesprogressive
pro-women leaders, they have
also locked their mouths.
Modi,whoinhisfirstaddress
outside Parliament after the re-
sults, invoked the Emergency,
continuedinthesameveininhis
reply on the Motion of Thanks.
“They (the Congress) said that
this was the first election where
the Constitution was the main
issue. Have they forgotten that
the1977(post-Emergency)elec-
tions were fought to save
democracy and the Constitution
Why didn’t we get
even a minute to
intervene: Kharge
ASAD REHMAN
NEW DELHI, JULY 3
COUNTERING PRIME Minister
Narendra Modi’s attack on the
Congress in Rajya Sabha
Wednesday,callingit“thebiggest
opponent of the Constitution”,
party president Mallikarjun
Khargesaid,“thetruthisBJP-RSS,
JanSanghandtheirpoliticalfore-
fathers had fiercely opposed the
Constitution”.
During PM’s address on the
Motion of Thanks on President’s
address, the Opposition, led by
the Congress, walked out after
Khargewas notallowed tointer-
veneduringModi'sspeech.They
gathered at the gate of the old
Parliament building, the
Samvidhan Sadan.
Besides Leader of the
Opposition in Rajya Sabha
MallikarjunKharge,CongressCPP
chairperson and Rajya Sabha
member Sonia Gandhi and P
Chidambaram, AAP’s Sanjay
Singh, NCP (SP) chief Sharad
Pawar, DMK's Tiruchi Siva, TMC’s
SagarikaGhoseandSushmitaDev,
JMM’s Mahua Maji, RJD’s Manoj
JhaandShivSena-UBT'sPriyanka
Chaturvedi were also present.
Kharge claimed that during
the address of Leader of the
Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul
Gandhi, PM Modi and other
ministers had interrupted.
“If what we have to say is not
heard, then why should we
hear… When Rahul Gandhi
spoke,PMNarendraModigotup
twice to clarify. Four ministers
Because the incident related to a
party which they have political
connection with,” he said.
On Sunday, a video went vi-
ral showing the public flogging
of acouplebyaman–lateriden-
tified as TMC’s Tajimul Islam. He
was arrested on Sunday.
– and that voters at the time
showedthat democracyflows in
their veins?” he said.
“Even if this election was
about protecting the Constit-
ution, voters found us capable of
it,” Modi said
On other “infringements” of
theConstitutionbytheCongress,
Modi talked about the role per-
formedbytheNationalAdvisory
Council, headed by Sonia
Gandhi, under the UPA govern-
ment,“whenKhargejiwasinthe
Cabinet”, and referred to the
tearing up of a government or-
dinance by Rahul Gandhi at the
time (he did not name Gandhi).
Underlining ‘clear mandate’
With the crux of the
Opposition’sattackbeingthatthe
BJP that talked of 370-plus seats
had been reduced to 240, Modi
reminded what the party led by
himhadachieved in returningto
powerforthethirdtimewas“his-
toric”. “After Independence, this
has happened the second time,
and after 60 years.”
clarified.WhenIspoke,attempts
were made to interrupt. Today,
whydidn’t weget even aminute
to intervene during the PM’s ad-
dress,” said Kharge.
“I was raising my hand and
the members of the INDIA bloc
partieswerestandingtodrawthe
attention of the Chairman
(Jagdeep Dhankhar). I requested
thePMmanytimes,buthetooig-
noredit.Allthelieshehasspoken,
Ihaveitwithme.Theyareexperts
in speaking lies,” Kharge said.
“The truth is,” he said, “Dr
Babasaheb Ambedkar had given
the credit of drafting the
ConstitutiontotheCongress.”He
quoted what was published in
the RSS mouthpiece Organiser
fromNovember30,1949:“there
is no mention of the unique con-
stitutional developments in an-
cient Bharat”.
“They had opposed and re-
jectedtheConstitution andnow,
theyaretalkingaboutprotecting
it. They have been anti-
Constitution since the begin-
ning,” he said.
INDIAallyAAPmemberinthe
RajyaSabhaSanjaySinghsaidthat
the BJP “is tearing apart the
Constitution by occupying the
Parliament”andthat“itisrunning
the House as per its whims”. “In
Rajya Sabha, during Mallikarjun
Khargeji’s speech, the BJP mem-
bersprotestedmanytimes.When
I was addressing, the BJP began
shouting. The opposition leaders
were repeatedly stopped, but to-
day the LoP was not allowed to
speak even for a minute during
the PM's speech,” said Singh.
PM has a habit
of misleading
people: TMC
New Delhi: On PM Narendra
Modi referring to the Bengal
flogging incident in the Rajya
Sabha on Wednesday, the TMC
hit back saying that state police
had taken “prompt action”.
TMC Rajya Sabha member
Sagarika Ghose said that PM
Modi has “a habit of misleading
people”.
“...In Bengal, the police act
without fear or favour... The ac-
cused in this case has already
beenarrested,heisinjailandpo-
lice have launched a suo motu
investigation. You (with your
Ajay Mishra Tenis and Brij
Bhushans) should learn some
sane administration and tough
policing from Bengal,” Ghose
posted on X.
“...(The) Bengal government
and West Bengal police has
taken prompt action. Zero toler-
anceforviolence.ThePMshould
first sack the sexual predators in
his party,” said TMC Rajya Sabha
member and spokesperson
Sushmita Dev on X. ENS
He also talked of the state
elections held simultaneously
which the NDA had won and
mentioned the states where the
BJP had made inroads.
ThePMsaid,themandatethe
Congresshadreceivedwasto“sit
intheOppositionandkeepshout-
ingwhenyoulosealllogic”.Heat-
tackedRahulGandhi,mockinghis
new-found authority as the LoP
byreferringtohimas“baalakbud-
dhi(infantile)”,andques-
tioningthelogicofhisat-
tacks.
INDIA’s ‘unnatural’
alliance
The PM pointed out
that many of the leaders who
were now Congress allies in the
INDIA bloc had suffered under
its rule during the Emergency.
“This is opportunism. Had they
respected the Constitution, they
would not have done so.”
Referringtoincidentsof high-
handedness during the
Emergency such as in
Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh
Rahul says no aid for
martyred Agniveer,
Army rebuts: Over
`98 lakh already paid
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, JULY 3
LEADER OF Opposition in Lok
SabhaRahulGandhiWednesday
saidthatthefamilyof amartyred
Agniveer had received no finan-
cial assistance, an allegation
countered by the Indian Army
which stated that Ajay Kumar’s
family had already been paid
`98.39lakhandthatthefinalset-
tlement would be a total of
around `1.65 crore.
GandhionWednesdayshared
onXapurportedvideoofKumar’s
father, who said he had not re-
ceived any money. He claimed in
his post that Defence Minister
RajnathSingh“lied”inParliament
aboutcompensationbeingissued
to families of Agniveers who are
killedinaction.“...RajnathSinghji
infrontof thephotoof Shivjilied
about the compensation to
Agniveers. I had said in my
speech that don’t listen to me,
don’t listen to him. Listen to the
families of Agniveers,” said the
Congress MP.
AfterGandhi’sstatement,the
IndianArmyputoutastatement
onXtitled‘Clarificationonemol-
umentstoAgniveerAjayKumar’,
saying: “Certain posts on Social
Media have brought out that
compensation hasn't been paid
to the Next of Kin of Agniveer
Ajay Kumar who lost his life in
the line of duty.”
“It is emphasised that the
Indian Army salutes the
supreme sacrifice made by
Agniveer Ajay Kumar. The last
rites were carried out with full
Military Honours. Of the total
amount due, family of Agniveer
Ajay has already been paid Rs
98.39 lakhs,” it said.
“Ex-Gratiaandotherbenefits
amounting to approximately 67
Rijiju on Rahul: Has
to substantiate claims
or apologise to House
DIVYA A
NEW DELHI, JULY 3
A DAY after the Treasury
benches accused Leader of
Opposition Rahul Gandhi of
making unsubstantiated claims,
Union Parliamentary Affairs
Minister Kiren Rijiju said
Wednesday that in this case, the
member concerned would have
to either substantiate his claims
or apologise to the House.
The Rahul’s remarks that
were made on Tuesday were ex-
punged. Rijiju said they have
brought the matter to the notice
of Speaker Om Birla to take ap-
propriate action.
“If theylieandmisleadonthe
floor of the House, we have
mechanisms in the form of
Parliamentary rules and regula-
tions; a notice has been put up
to the Speaker to take action,”
Rijijusaid,talkingtoreportersaf-
ter the conclusion of the 264th
session of Parliament on
Wednesday.
and Turkman Gate in Delhi, he
askedhowpartiessuchastheSP
andRJDwhichsworebyminori-
ties could stand with the
Congress. “They are hiding their
dark deeds behind the act of
holding up the Constitution.”
In the Lok Sabha, Modi said
the Congress had a “parasitic”
rolevis-a-visitsallies:“...Thepar-
asiteeatsthebodyinwhichitre-
sides. I say this on the basis of
facts. Wherever there
wasadirectcontestwith
the BJP, or where the
Congress was the major
party, the strike rate of
the Congress was only
26%. But where they al-
lied as a junior partner, their
strike rate was 50%.”
Manipur, paper leaks, ‘misuse’
of agencies: ‘Don’t do politics’
AccusedbytheOppositionof
using Central agencies to target
rival parties, Modi talked about
what happened under the
Congress. “In 2013, Mulayam
Singh Yadav said it is not easy to
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
A screengrab from Rahul
Gandhi’s video on X. He
accused Defence Minister
Rajnath Singh of lying about
the Agniveer scheme. PTI
lakhs, as applicable according to
the provisions of the Agniveer
Scheme, will be paid on Final
Account Settlement shortly post
due Police verification. The total
amountwillbeRs1.65Crapprox-
imately. It is re-emphasised that
emoluments due to a fallen hero
arepaidexpeditiouslytotheNext
ofKinofdepartedsoldiers,includ-
ingAgniveers,”saidthestatement.
Government sources said
that the break-up of compensa-
tion given to Agniveers killed in
the line of duty is as follows —
`48 lakh as insurance from the
Union government, `50 lakh in-
surance from financial institu-
tions under an MoU, `39,000 as
an additional sum, ex-gratia of
`44 lakh, Army welfare fund of
`8 lakh, balance of pay till com-
pletion of his tenure (`13 lakh)
and Seva Nidhi of `2.3 lakh.
“Out of this, money under
the first three categories has
been paid to the Agniveer’s fam-
ily, while the remaining `67.3
lakh will be paid after due
process,” said the source.
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju
in New Delhi, Wednesday. PTI
“When the LoP kept on lying
in the Lok Sabha with regards to
facts, figures and issues, a notice
wasputtotheSpeakertotakeap-
propriate action. We are waiting
for the action. This implies to
everyone, no member is above
theChairandcanescape,”hesaid.
“Action will follow as per the
rules under which the appeal
has been filed,” he said, adding
that this falls under the provi-
sions of Rule 115. Under the said
rule, the Speaker can direct the
member to furnish details as to
under what circumstances he
misled the House, Rijiju said.
fight against the Congress, as it
will put you in jail... I want to ask
(seniorSPMP)RamGopalYadav,
did Netaji lie? Please tell your
nephew (Akhilesh Yadav) who
unleashed the CBI on him when
he entered politics. The CPI(M)’s
Prakash Karat said in 2013 that
the Congress misused agencies
againstpoliticalopponents.That
the CBI is a caged pigeon was
said by the Supreme Court in
UPA days,” Modi said.
On the other hand, he said, “I
am fighting corruption as a mis-
sion and conviction – not for po-
litical purposes.”
On the allegations made by
the Opposition over exam paper
leaks, Modi said they were “sac-
rificing an important matter at
thealtar of politics”. “I assure the
youth that the government will
not spare the culprits.”
On the Manipur issue, Modi
stepped up his counter-attack
from his address in LS to the one
in RS. He said: “The state and
Centrearetryingtheirbesttotalk
to everyone to restore peace.”
 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

9 GOVT & POLITICS

THE INDIAN EXPRESS, THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2024

Jaishankar meets Lavrov, raises issue of NO TRIAL FOR FOUR YEARS

DELHI CONFIDENTIAL
Indian nationals fighting for Russian Army Do not make a
mockery of
sought early release and return
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE of all Indian nationals who were
NEW DELHI, JULY 3 with the Russian Army.
India had also demanded

justice: Apex
EXTERNAL AFFAIRS MINISTER S that there be a “verified stop to
JaishankarmethisRussiancoun- any further recruitment of
terpartSergeyLavrovinKazakh- Indian nationals” by the Russian
stan capital Astana on the side- Army and that such activities
lines of the Shanghai would not be in “consonance

court slams NIA

Cooperation Organisation (SCO) with our partnership.” By mid-
summit Wednesday and June, only about 10 Indians
stronglyraisedtheissueof Indian working as support staff with
nationalsfightingfortheRussian the Russian military were re-
Army in the war zone while External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with his Russian leased and repatriated to India.
pressing for their safe return.
Jaishankar is attending the
counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Kazakhstan capital Astana. PTI Jaishankar alsodiscussed the
global strategic landscape and
Says accused has right to speedy trial
SCO’s annual summit in place of exchanged assessments and examine 80 witnesses in the
Prime Minister Narendra Modi. rently in the war zone. Pressed According to reports, around views with Lavrov. EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE case, the bench, also comprising
The meeting comes ahead of for their safe and expeditious re- 200 Indian nationals were re- He also met Belarus Foreign NEW DELHI, JULY 3 Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, asked, “Tell
BAREFOOT PARLEYS Modi’s likely visit to Russia for
theannualbilateralsummitwith
turn,” he said in his post.
InapostonXaboutthemeet-
cruited as security helpersin the
Russian military. By mid-June, it
minister Maksim Ryzhenkov
Wednesday, and tweeted, THE SUPREME Court said
us how many years he should
remain in jail?”
DURING PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi’s marathon two- Russian President Vladimir ing,RussianForeignMinistrysaid, was clear that four Indian na- “Welcome Belarus to the SCO as Wednesday every accused has Though the counsel for NIA
hour speech in Rajya Sabha, Union Parliamentary Affairs Putin.Thevisit,whichisyettobe “Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey tionals had died in the war zone, its newest member. Discussed the righttospeedytrialirrespec- prayed for more time, the court
Minister Kiren Rijiju was seen taking brisk walks up to Home officiallyannounced,isexpected Lavrov and Foreign Minister of according to the Ministry of our bilateral relationship and its tive of the seriousness of the declined to adjourn the hearing.
Minister Amit Shah and those from keyNDA partners, includ- to take place on July 8-9. India Dr Subrahmanyam Jaisha- External Affairs (MEA). future growth potential.” The charges, and slammed the “As enshrined in the
ing NCP’s Praful Patel and JD(U)’s Lalan Singh, apparently to AfterthemeetingwithLavrov, nkarholdtalksonthesidelinesof On June 12, Foreign Secretary meeting of the two Foreign National Investigation Agency Constitution, every accused has
discuss strategy to counter the Opposition’s narrative of not Jaishankar tweeted, “Good to theShanghaiCooperationOrgan- VinayKwatrasaid,“Sincethefirst Ministers came days after the (NIA) for opposing the bail plea a right to speedy trial irrespec-
being allowed to speak. What also caught the attention of one meet Russian FM Sergey Lavrov isation (#SCO) Heads of State day,wehaveconstantlybeendis- first-everIndia-BelarusConsular of amanwhohasbeenlodgedin tive of the seriousness of the
and all was Rijiju walking barefoot in the hall for his short par- in Astana today. Wide-ranging Council meeting. Astana, July 3.” cussing this matter with Russian Dialogue on June 28 in Minsk. jail for four years after being crime,” said the bench, adding
leys with the leaders. conversation on our bilateral Over last few months, India authorities, the system and the On Tuesday, Jaishankar had charged under the Unlawful that in the instant case, it is con-
partnership and contemporary hasbeenpressingRussiatoensure leadership. All of our efforts are met Deputy PM of Kazakhstan Activities (Prevention) Act in a vinced that this right has been
issues. Noted the progress in the safety and repatriation of its aimed at keeping Indians safe.” MuratNurtleuanddiscussedex- counterfeit currency case. frustrated, thus violating Article
HEAT & WARMTH many areas since our last meet-
ing in December 2023.”
nationals employed by Russian
Army and has taken immediate
After the death of two
Indianswasconfirmed,theMEA
panding Strategic Partnership
and India's increasing engage-
“Do not make a mockery of
justice...YouaretheState;youare
21 (protection of life and per-
sonal liberty).
IN CONTRAST to the heated exchanges between the “Raised our strong concern action on receiving information said India had strongly taken up ment with Central Asia in vari- NIA... He (the accused) has the The Supreme Court also took
Opposition and ruling alliance members inside Parliament, on Indian nationalswho arecur- about “Indians in the war zone.” the matter with Russia and ous formats. right to a speedy trial, whatever note of the fact that two of the
there was some warmth and camaraderie outside. At Krishi offence he has committed. He co-accused in the case had al-
Bhawan,when CongressMP Kodikunnil Sureshcame tomeet might have committed a serious ready been granted bail.
Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and
Dairying,GeorgeKurian,MoSforRuralDevelopmentKamlesh
Dr Gangadhar offence,butyouareundertheob-
ligation to start the trial. He has
Acting on a tip-off, Mumbai
police had apprehended Shaikh
Paswan greeted him in the corridor. Paswan also requested
Suresh to have a round of his office, which he did. After that,
appointed NMC beeninjailforthepastfouryears.
To date, the charge has not been
on February 9, 2020, and al-
legedly recovered counterfeit
Paswan guided Suresh towards Kurian’s room nearby. chairperson framed,”JusticeJBPardiwala,pre-
siding over a two-judge bench,
currency originating from
Pakistan from him. In February
SURPRISE VISIT New Delhi: The Appointment
Committee of the Cabinet
said while granting bail to the ac-
cused, Javed Gulam Nabi Shaikh.
this year, the Bombay High
Court rejected his bail plea fol-
THE DELHI unit leaders of Bahujan Samaj Party were taken Wednesday appointed officiat- While noting that the lowing which he approached
by surprise when Samajwadi Party’s Lok Sabha member R K ing chairperson Dr BN Ganga- Central agency had proposed to the apex court.
Chaudhary turned up at their office on Wednesday. dhar as the head of the National
Chaudhary was one of the founding members of the BSP and Medical Commission (NMC)
had worked with Kanshi Ram. Sources close to him said that
he visited the BSP office only to refresh his memories linked
with the premises. However, Chaudhary left the place early
while appointing Dr Sanjay
Behari as president of Medical
Assessment and Rating Board.
Govt forms 8 Cabinet
as BSP leaders appeared slightly uncomfortable, fearing “re-
action” from party chief Mayawati, it is learnt.
DrGangadhar,formerdirector
of NIMHANS, was also the presi-
dent of the autonomous Medical
committees; security,
SMART CITIES MISSION
Assessment and Rating Board.
Dr Behari is the director of
Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for
appointments panels
Govt to release funds Medical Sciences and Tech-
nology, Thiruvananthapuram.
Dr Anil D’Cruz, Director for
remain unchanged
till Sept 30; 26 cities yet oncologyof ApolloHospital,Mu-
mbai has been appointed as the EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
the Cabinet Secretariat shows
that the CCEA will now have 11

to get full Central share ARMY CHIEF IN J&K

DAMINI NATH
NEW DELHI, JULY 3
HAVING EXTENDED the Smart
CitiesMissiondeadlineforathird
time, till March 31, 2025, the
Centre last week told the states
and UTs that it will disburse the
remaining funds till September
30 on a “first come first serve ba-
sis”,TheIndianExpresshaslearnt.
Of the 100 cities under the
Mission, 26 are yet to receive
100%shareof thecentralfunding
as work on projects is still ongo-
ing, according to Union Housing
and Urban Affairs Ministry.
The Mission was to end on
June 30, but on June 29 the Mi-
nistry of Housing and Urban Aff-
airs (MoHUA) wrote to all states
and UTs informing them that the
Mission will extend till March 31,
2025withoutanyadditionalcost.
The states and UTs were told
the remaining central funds
wouldbereleasedtillSeptember
30, or earlier, on a first come first
serve basis, and were asked to
expeditetheirproposalsforfund
release. The Smart Cities are re-
quired to get projects approved
and secure the matching funds
fromstatesbeforetheyaregiven
central share of funding. Of total
central share of Rs 48,000 crore,
Rs 46,585 crore had been re-
leased, with 74 cities getting
100% of their Government of
India contributions, a ministry
statement on Wednesday said.
Citiesyettoreceive100%ofthe
centralfundsincludeeightinUTs
— Diu, Jammu, Kavaratti, Panaji,
Port Blair, Puducherry, Silvassa,
andSrinagar—andtheNewDelhi
Municipal Council (NDMC) area
thatisalsounderthecentralgov-
ernment.Othercitiesyettogeten-
tire GoI funding are Amritsar and
Jalandhar in Punjab; Atal Nagar,
Bilaspur and Raipur in Chhattis-
garh; Biharsharif, Muzaffarpur
and Patna in Bihar; Greater War-
angal and Karimnagar in Telan-
gana; Dahod (Gujarat); Imphal
(Manipur); Karnal (Haryana);
Mangaluru (Karnataka); Namchi
(Sikkim); Nashik (Maharashtra);
and Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh).
As on Wednesday, the min-
istrysaidthe 100citieshadcom-
pleted 7,188 projects worth Rs
1.44 lakh crore. The remaining
830 projects worth Rs 19,926
crore were “in advanced stages
of completion”.“TheMissionhas
been getting multiple requests
from some States/city govern-
ment representatives, to grant
somemoretimetocompletethe
balance 10% projects. These bal-
ance ongoing projects are in ad-
vanced stage of implementa-
tion,” the ministry said.
whole-time member of the PG NEW DELHI, JULY 3 members, three more than the
Medical Education Board. Dr existing figure.
Rajendra Achyut Badwe, THE UNION government Besides Kumaraswamy,
Professor Emeritus, Tata Memo- Wednesday constituted eight Lalan Singh and Chouhan, the
Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi reviewed the security situation along the Line of Control rial Centre, Mumbai has been Cabinet committees, with the CCEA members are PM Modi,
in J&K, Wednesday. He exhorted troops to remain steadfast to meet all security challenges, appointed a part-time member Cabinet Committee on Defence Minister Rajnath Singh,
officials said. He also chaired a meeting of field commanders upon reaching Poonch. PTI in the UG Medical Education Economic Affairs (CCEA) getting Home Minister Shah, Road
Board. ENS three new faces and the two Transport and Highways
most powerful panels — the Minister Nitin Gadkari, Finance
AppointmentsCommitteeof the Minister Nirmala Sitharaman,
Pushed by Naveen, BJD’s gloves are off against Cabinet (ACC) and Cabinet
Committee on Security (CCS) —
remaining unchanged.
External Affairs Minister S
Jaishankar, Commerce Minister
Piyush Goyal and Education
Modi govt, joins Opposition in House walkouts Home Minister Amit Shah is
the sole Cabinet member to fea-
ture on all these panels.
Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Lalan Singh is also a member
of the Cabinet Committee on
in Parliament. According to the the BJP dispensation is part of its The three new faces in the Parliamentary Affairs.
SUJIT BISOYI BJD camp, Patnaik’s message to “well-thought-outstrategyafter CCEA are Agriculture Minister No change has been made in
BHUBANESWAR, JULY 3 BJD MP his MPs was: “No more support the poll setbacks to win back the Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Heavy thepowerfulAppointmentsCom-
Sulata Deo toBJP,onlyopposition”.Thiswas confidence of the people”. Industries Minister H D Kumara- mittee, which is headed by Modi
DURING PRIME Minister a marked shift from the party’s Participatinginthedebateon swamy, and Fisheries, Animal and where Shah is sole member.
Narendra Modi's reply in the stand in the last 10 years. the motion of thanks on the HusbandryandDairyingMinister Similarly, the composition of
Rajya Sabha Wednesday to the fering debacles in the recent si- OnWednesday,BJDleaderin President’s address, the BJD at- Rajiv Ranjan ‘Lalan’ Singh. the CCS has been kept un-
debate on the motion of thanks multaneous polls in Odisha, RajyaSabhaSasmitPatratoldThe tacked the Modi government. TheeightCabinetCommittees changed. Also headed by the
on the President's address, the which saw the BJP storming to Indian Express: “We walked out Referring to President’s address are the CCEA, ACC, CCS, Cabinet Prime Minister, the CCS has the
Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MPs joined power in state. In LS polls, BJP duringPM’sreply,protestingthe in which she said the people of Committee on Accommodation, same four members — Rajnath,
the Congress-led Opposition won 20 seats of 21. continued neglect to Odisha, es- the country have elected “a sta- Cabinet Committee on Parliam- Shah,SitharamanandJaishankar.
members as they staged a walk- Currently, the BJD has nine pecially with regard to our de- ble government with clear ma- entaryAffairs,CabinetCommittee Apart from Lalan Singh and
out from the House in protest. MPsintheRajyaSabha,wherethe mands for special category sta- jority” for the consecutive third on Political Affairs, Cabinet Kumaraswamy, two other NDA
This was the second time in NDA does not have a majority. tus (SCS) and revision of coal term, BJD member Sulata Deo Committee on Investment and partners — Food Processing
a week that the BJD MPs staged Earlylastweek,whenthefirst royalty. The state has been hist- said, “It is neither a stable nor a Growth, and Cabinet Committee IndustriesMinisterChiragPaswan
a walkout from the Rajya Sabha, session of Parliament after LS orically neglected by successive majority government”. on Skill, Employment and andJayantChaudhary—havealso
having also joined the INDIA al- polls began, BJD announced it governments in Delhi.” Deo slammed Modi for his Livelihood. beenincludedintwocommittees.
liance's protest in the House on would stop giving “issue-based “There have been several de- “undignified remarks” on Patn- Prime Minister Narendra While Paswan has been made a
June 28 over their demand for a support” to BJP in the House. BJD mands pending before the aik’s health. “When the BJP gov- Modi heads six committees but member in the Cabinet Comm-
discussion on NEET and NET. supremo Patnaik held a meeting Centre for the last 10 years and ernmentinOdishawasswornin, is not part of two — Cabinet ittee on Investment and Growth,
Knownasa“trustedinformal withhisparty’sRajyaSabhaMPs, there have been no reflection or NaveenPatnaikattendedthecer- Committee on Accommodation Minister of State for Education
ally” of the ruling BJP-led NDA asking them to ensure the party reference of our demands in the emony. They (BJP) must have as- and Cabinet Committee on Jayant Chaudhary has been in-
governmentfor10years,theBJD goes all out to “protect the inter- PM's replies,” said Patra. certained whether he is fine or Parliamentary Affairs. cluded as a Special Invitee on the
has now changed its position in ests of Odisha” and emerges as a BJD sources said the party’s not. Then why did he (PM) make The composition of the Cabinet Committee on Skill,
Parliamentandoutsideaftersuf- “strong and vibrant” Opposition new-found aggression against false statements?” she asked. Cabinet committees released by Employment, and Livelihood.

Champai was left with no option as coalition, JMM rallied behind Hemant
ABHISHEK ANGAD
RANCHI, JULY 3
HEMANT SOREN is set to return
asJharkhandChief Ministerwith
the JMM’s legislature party
choosing him as its leader
Wednesday. After incumbent
CM Champai Soren tendered his
resignation Wednesday,
Hemant submitted a request to
form the government.
What message does the JMM
hope to send with Hemant’s
return as CM?
Thepartyhasgotashotinthe
arm from regular bail to Hemant
in the money laundering case,
with the Jharkhand HC noting in
its order that “there exist reasons
to believe that he is not guilty”.
Goingforward,theJMMledby
Hemantissettogotopublicwith
the message that he was kept in
jailforfivemonthsina“false”case
ledbyanagencycontrolledbythe
Centre, “forcing” him to leave the
post of CM. With elections due at
theendoftheyear,thisisthebest-
case scenario for the JMM, which
isanywayontheupswingafterits
LokSabhapollperform-
ance.
Sources close to
Hemantalsosuggested
that while he was “not
keen” to take over so
soon after coming out
on bail, there was alarm over al-
legationsregardingsomeaspects
of the Champai administration.
Did Champai go out willingly?
No. Sources said Champai
pushed back, pointing out that
elections were due in two
months and the bid to remove
him from the post “would not
look good”. He also argued that
whilehewasalsoa“massleader”
inhisownright,Hemantwasout
only on bail, and there could be
attempts to destabilise his gov-
ernment again.
Asourcepresentatthemeet-
ing of the JMM and its
coalition partners said:
“Champai ji said it was a
matter of only two
months before the elec-
tions, and what was the
need for such a hurry. He
said he considered Hemant and
(hiswifeandMLA)Kalpanaashis
son and daughter.”
However, all the members of
thecoalitiongovernment,includ-
ingthoseoftheCongressandRJD,
backed Hemant at the meeting,
leaving Champai with few op-
Congress leader Pradeep
Yadavthenhada45-minute-long
conversation with Champai.
Followingit,thelatterannounced
he would step down as CM.
Where does this leave
Champai?
Hemaybeaccommodatedin
the new Hemant government,
but sources admitted the party
will tread carefully and watch
closely his next moves. It is also
not clear whether Champai will
Former CM Hemant Soren with Congress leaders Ghulam agreetotakeupaministerialpost.
Ahmed Mir and Rajesh Thakur in Ranchi, Wednesday. PTI Champai’sfive-monthtenure
as CM was pretty smooth, with
the JMM leader careful to signal
tions. One of the Congress MLAs Leadersalsounderlinedthatit in so many words that he was a
present is reported to have said was important that the coalition “Hemant-Part II”. After Kalpana
thatthe2019winof thecoalition government portray a “unified took on a public role following
had been a vote for Hemant, and command”,andleavenopossibil- Hemant’s arrest, Champai also
that it would serve them well to ityof doubtsamong thepublicas rallied behind her, careful not to
fight again under his leadership. to who is leading the JMM. leave scope for any tensions.
However, as it became clear
Tuesday that he would be eased
out as CM, Champai found it dif-
ficulttohidehisdisappointment.
Sources said he mentioned to
people close to Hemant that he
had not even asked Kalpana to
move out of the CM house.
TheJMMwouldbewaryofan
angryChampaiashecommands
considerable support in Kolhan
region, which accounts for 14
Assembly seats. Sources close to
Hemant point out they have al-
ternativesintheregionnow,with
DeepakBirua,theJMMMLAfrom
Chaibasa(inKolhanregion),hold-
ing the Welfare and Transport
Department,andanotherleader,
Jobha Manjhi, a former minister-
turned-MP from Singhbhum.
How has BJP reacted?
State BJP chief Babulal
Marandi said the decision by the
JMM showed that tribal leaders
outside the Shibu Soren family
were only “kaam chalau (make
doleaders)”fortheparty.Hesaid
the Soren family used and dis-
carded them, like “a fly in milk”,
and that the JMM’s triballeaders
should take heed from this.
“They should understand their
limits. They should understand
that they are only meant to be
thepalanquinof theShibuSoren
family,” Marandi said.
That the BJP hopes to make
this line of attack stick was clear
from similar statements by its
senior leaders. Assam CM Hima-
nta Biswa Sarma, BJP Jharkhand
co-incharge,postedonX:“There-
moval of a senior tribal leader
from the post of Chief Minister in
JharkhandbytheJMMandCong-
ress party is deeply distressing.”
 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THE INDIAN EXPRESS, THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2024

10 THE EDITORIAL PAGE

WORDLY WISE
More men are killed by overwork than the
importance of the world justifies.
— RUDYARD KIPLING

FOUNDED BY
An unexpected bounty
§

§
RAMNATH GOENKA
BECAUSE THE TRUTH INVOLVES US ALL
How the government utilises the RBI’s surplus
will indicate its view of the economy

AFTER THE STAMPEDE Rajeswari Sengupta

Hathras tragedy should lead to setting down of careful WITH A NEW government at the Centre, the of the Centre was 4.6 per cent of GDP, much therefore needed in India is to calculate how
economicpolicydiscoursehasnowshiftedto higherthanthethreepercentmedium-term muchcapexistrulyneededandof whatkind.
safety protocols. UP government needs to do more

U
speculating about the Union Budget for
TTAR PRADESH CHIEF Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced that a re- 2024-25. This year’s budget is especially im-
tired judge will probe Tuesday’s deadly stampede at a satsang (religious portant for one specific reason. In an unex-
pectedturnof events,theRBIannouncedlast
congregation) held by a self-styled preacher in Hathras. The investiga-
month that it is transferring a sizeable divi-
tion will “pinpoint lapses” and the culprits won’t be spared, he has said. dend to the government, significantly more
Accountability for the incident that claimed more than 120 lives and left at least 300 thanwhatwasanticipated.Thishastriggered
injured must be fixed urgently. Initial reports indicate that the crowd gathered to hear muchdiscussionabouthowthegovernment
the godman, Bhole Baba, far exceeded the estimate the organisers gave to the district can spend this windfall. We need to ask
administration. Many devotees tripped while trying to collect the soil the self-pro- a more fundamental question: Should the
government spend it at all?
claimed preacher had walked on. There is no doubt that the satsang’s organisers must
Fiscal management should be guided by
be held to account. But the state administration would be mistaken to assume that its two general principles. First, deficits should
role in a mass event, even if privately organised, is limited to issuing permissions and be kept at prudent levels. In India, that level
providing security. Along with the organisers, the onus is on state authorities to en- shouldideallybearoundthreepercentofGDP
sure that safety isn’t compromised. CM Adityanath’s allusion to “a conspiracy” sounds fortheCentreaccordingtothelong-standing
diversionary. His government must deploy its energies and resources, instead, in un- FiscalResponsibilityandBudgetManagement
covering the multiple failings behind the grievous incident, and ensuring that it does (FRBM) Act. Second, governments should
spend a bit more than this norm when the
not happen again.
economy is doing badly and a bit less when
Authorities must be stringent about the size of a gathering. However, the administra- the economy is doing well.
tive and police machinery is not always equipped to ensure that the crowd does not swell Thepurposeofvaryingthedeficit,asspec-
beyond the sanctioned numbers. In such situations, the number and placement of exits ifiedbythesecondprinciple,istostabilisethe
at the event are crucial, as are real-time interventions to ensure that religious or cultural economy. In bad times, when private sector
demand is falling, the government needs to
fervour does not imperil public safety. Healthcare facilities should be kept on alert. By all
stepinandboostdemandtopropuptheecon-
accounts, many of these boxes were not ticked at Hathras. Safety, it is now apparent, was
omy. The needs are reversed when the econ-
not a priority for the organisers of the satsang and the administration did precious little omy starts to recover. As private demand re-
tonudgethemtotakethenecessaryprecautions.Thedevoteeshadgatheredinamakeshift
vives, the government needs to curtail its
tent, pitched on a field made marshy by the rains. The terrain caused many to slip and spending lest overall demand races ahead of
thehumid weather made matters worse. The narrowexitroutes at thesatsang site, partly supply, fostering inflation. A critical aspect of
blocked by vehicles, were insufficient to evacuate the panicking crowd. The nearby hos- this second principle is that policies must be
symmetric.Larger-than-normaldeficitsneed
pitalwashard-pressedtohandletheinfluxof injuredpeople.Severaldoctorswerereport-
to be followed by smaller-than-normal
edly not at work and the healthcare facility did not have oxygen cylinders to support peo- deficits so that government debt gets sta-
ple suffering respiratory distress. bilised instead of spiralling upwards.
Religious gatherings, festivals, weddings and functions that draw large crowds are a Followingthesetwoprinciplescankeepa
regularpartof thecultural,politicalandreligiouscalendarsof almosteverydistrict,oreven countryoutofdebtproblemswhilestabilising
neighbourhood, in the country. Hathras is a lesson — such gatherings are susceptible to the ups and downs of growth cycles. That is
why theseprinciplesarefollowedin prudent
panic-inducing triggers. The tragedy should push policymakers to evolve safety-related
countries all over the world.
protocols. The Adityanath government which uses Section 144 to restrict people’s gath-
But not in India. Here, governments have
erings on occasions as different as the farmers’ protest to religious festivals should reflect alwaysstruggledtospendwithintheirmeans,
on its failings in Hathras. A government that takes pride in organising the Kumbh should
irrespectiveof whethertheeconomyisslow-
do better than merely smelling conspiracies. It — and other authorities across the coun- ing or booming. In the 20-year period from
try — must ensure that mass gatherings do not turn chaotic and take such a high toll. 2000-01 to 2019-20, the average fiscal deficit
Governments spend on capex
for two reasons: To stimulate
growth and to meet the needs
of the economy. Let’s address
the second criterion first.
Infrastructure in India is
definitely a problem that
needs to be solved. But not all
at once. Since the pandemic,
the government’s capex
spending has been growing at
an average annual rate of 30
per cent. It is not obvious that
this pace needs to be
increased, or even sustained.
On the contrary, recent
developments demonstrate
that the speed of construction
has serious downsides.
target set by the FRBM Act.
During the pandemic, the deficit shot up
to 9.2 per cent of GDP in 2020-21, a large in-
crease but a reasonable one, considering the
size of the shock to the economy. But curi-
ously even after the economy recovered, the
deficit has been slow to come down. In the
Interim Budget presented earlier this year,
theFinanceMinisterannouncedthatthegov-
ernmentwastargetingadeficitof 5.1percent
for2024-25.Inotherwords,threeyearsafter
thepandemicended,thedeficitisstillhigher
than the pre-pandemic levels, and nowhere
close to the FRBM norm.
Since the Centre has been slow to reduce
its deficit, India’s fiscal metrics have deterio-
rated.Theconsolidatedcentralandstategov-
ernmentdeficitisnowaround8.5-9percent
of GDP (compared to the six per cent recom-
mendedbytheFRBMAct).Totalgovernment
debt has been more than 80 per cent of GDP
over the last few years, compared to an
average of 74 per cent in the period from
2010-11 to 2019-20.
It is against this background that the RBI
announced last month that it will transfer Rs
2.11 lakh crore to the central government as
dividend, double the amount that had been
budgeted.Thecrucialquestionnowis:What
should the government do with this
unexpected bounty?
According to some commentators, the
government should increase its capital ex-
penditure(capex).AspertheInterimBudget,
the capex growth rate is supposed to slow
down in 2024-25. But now with this surplus
dividend, the government may be tempted
to step up its capex spending. That would
be a mistake.
The general sentiment in India seems to
be that any spending on capex is great news.
Thisisnotcorrect.LookatChina,forexample.
As part of their infrastructure building spree,
they built two to three airports in the same
city and are now struggling to repay the debt
that was incurred for these projects. What is
Governmentsspendoncapexfortworea-
sons: To stimulate growth and to meet the
needs of the economy. Let’s address the sec-
ond criterion first. Infrastructure in India is
definitely a problem that needs to be solved.
But not all at once. Since the pandemic, the
government’s capex spending has been
growing at an average annual rate of 30 per
cent. It is not obvious that this pace needs to
be increased, or even sustained. On the con-
trary,recentdevelopmentsdemonstratethat
thespeedof construction—andfocusonnew
projects, rather than maintenance — has
serious downsides.
In addition, not all capex is essential for
growth. For example, using Rs 1.6 lakh crore
torevitalisetelecomMTNLandBSNLissurely
not critical, especially when affordable cell-
phone services are being provided through-
outthecountrybyprivateoperators.Likewise,
it is not obvious that spending lakhs of crores
on bullet trains can be justified in a country
whose per capita income is less than $2,500.
Regardingthefirstcriterion,wehavetoask
thequestionagain:Whydoesthegovernment
needtostimulateaneconomythatisdoingso
well? Given the strong economic perform-
ance, it should instead use the surplus divi-
dend from the RBI to bring the fiscal deficit
down closer to three per cent.
There is, however, a caveat to this discus-
sion. And this relates to the true state of the
Indianeconomy.Whatiftheeconomyisactu-
allyweakerthanwhatthe7-8percentgrowth
figuressuggest?Thentheremaybeacasefor
the government to keep spending to support
the economy.
There seems to be a lack of consensus on
thisfundamentalpoint.If theeconomyisnot
doing very well, then we should not be
surprised if the budget uses the surplus
dividend to announce a further increase in
infrastructure spending.
The writer is Associate Professor of
Economics, IGIDR

THE DRAVID STORIES

They speak of the little big things that made
him a World Cup winning coach
ANSWER IS A QUESTION BANK
V
IRENDER SEHWAG TELLS a story about Rahul Dravid from his playing days It can address problem of paper leaks, ensure transparency in evaluation process
that captures the essence of the coach he would later become. The first
time a young Sehwag was getting ready to open the batting in a Test at
Lord’s in 2002, he saw Rahul Dravid, slated to bat at No 3, already ready,
Vinay Sahasrabuddhe
with his pads on. “You won’t give me time to put pads on”, remarked Dravid. The chronic THE NDA GOVERNMENT has rightly ap- iner nexus etc are still not uncommon.” Its TheQuestionBanksystempotentiallypro-
risk-takerSehwagwentontoscore84thatday.Afterthatinnings,toputtheteam’sopener pointeda committee under theleadershipof report also said that “the Committee recom- videsaone-stopsolutiontomanychallenges.
at ease, Dravid began to wear his pads only after Sehwag. It was Dravid who fought hard KoppillilRadhakrishnan,formerchairmanof mendsthattheparameterof theInstitution’s Itcurbsthetendencyof preparingforspecific
withtheselectorstokeepfaithintheout-of-formODIopenerSehwagduringhiscaptaincy theIndianSpaceResearchOrganisation(ISRO) exammanagementcompetencybealsocon- questions, ignoring the need to grasp a sub-
in the mid 2000’s. And Dravid, again, who encouraged pacer Zaheer Khan’s comeback in to“makerecommendationsonreformingthe sidered as a mandatory norm towards con- ject holistically. Also, with the question bank
the middle of the career. mechanism of the examination process and sideration of accreditation. The NAAC and alreadymadepublic,noteachercanenjoythe
improving data security protocols and the NBAshouldawardmarks/gradestosuchuni- libertyofnotcoveringportionsofthesyllabus.
It’s in these little big things that the strength of Dravid’s reign as a World Cup winning
structure and functioning of NTA (National versities/institutes who conduct examina- Ifonechoosestohavequestionswithdifferent
coach lies. Of not imposing his own philosophy on the players, but allowing them to grow TestingAgency)”.Itwasalsocourageousofthe tions smoothly.” The recommendation to chronological number/s for every other stu-
on their own, and stepping in when needed. When Shubman Gill’s position was at stake Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to look into the “experiments like the Question dent;thequestionof copyingandrelatedun-
in Testsearlier this year against England,Dravidhad totell the young opener thathe could bite the bullet and unhesitatingly cancel the Bank system” besides incentivising “adop- fair practices may not arise at all.
be let go after that Test. But the way he approached the situation — reminding Gill about UGC-NET examination after investigations tion of complete digitisation of the exami- The larger question is of the woefully in-
unearthed some wrongdoings. The Question Bank system nation process by institutes/universities to adequate supply of human resources to pro-
his talent, what’s needed of him, and how the worst-case scenario of playing in Ranji
Trophy wasn’t as bad as it seemed — relaxed the opener enough for him to return with a
The obvious question is: “What next?” provides a solution to ensure fair and timely conduct of examina- videleadershiptooureducationalinstitutions,
The answer lies in the NEP 2020. It clearly several issues. When a tion and declaration of results, amongst not just universities but also colleges and
hundred. As Suryakumar Yadav told this newspaper, Dravid’s pre-World Cup presenta- “aims to transform the nature of learning as- others” is noteworthy. schools.Itishightimewedeliberateuponthe
tiontoldtheteam,essentially,thathetruststheplayerstoknowwhat’sbest.“Leaveevery- sessments from one that is summative and
question bank providing a The Question Bank system provides a so- advisabilityofevolvinganindependentcadre,
thing else to us, you guys go enjoy” were his words that put the team at ease. primarilytestsrotememorisationskillstoone category-wise pool of lutiontoseveralissues.Whenaquestionbank an Indian Education Service. This may help
It might have been Rohit Sharma who triggered the all-out attacking batting philos- that is: More regular and formative, more questions is provided to the providing a category-wise pool of questions someamountof qualitycontrolandperhaps,
ophy after the 2023 ODI World Cup, but he has shared with this newspaper how Dravid competency-based,andonethattestshigher- students at the beginning of is provided to the students at the beginning provide fillip to institution-building in the
orderskills,suchasanalysis,criticalthinking, of an academic year, the element of secrecy present-daycontext.Itistimetorecognisethe
trusted and nurtured him. Legendary players seldom come without ego, but Dravid has
andconceptualclarity.”Criticsmustnotethat an academic year, the vanishes.Professionalwrongdoersouttoleak urgency and importance of evolving inde-
aself-deprecating way.When thecoach’s selflessness and vision is notindoubtand when it is already a part of the agenda of the element of secrecy vanishes. a question paper also lose their “business”. pendentcoursesinschoolmanagement,col-
players don’t feel their territory is being cramped or encroached, it’s not a surprise that Ministry of Education. Professional wrongdoers out Withlikelyquestionsalreadyinthepublic,all lege management and also university man-
seniors and juniors combine as well as they did in winning the World Cup. The Parliamentary Standing Committee that is left to the agencies conducting exami- agement.Ifsuchcoursesareintroduced,afew
to leak a question paper also
on Education, Women, Children, Youth and nationsisadrawof specificserialnumbersof yearslater,wecanhavevarsityVCsandregis-
Sports, in its 336th report in 2021 had also lose their ‘business’. With questions to be made a part of the question trars who have a Masters in University
takennoteof somekeychallengesinthecon- likely questions already open paper, limited to a specific examination cen- Management besides having a doctorate in

A GREEK WEEK in the public, all that is left to

duct of public examinations. It stated that
“even after several decades, many State
Universities regularly fail smooth and flaw-
less conduct of examinations. Instances like
A new law wants people to work for six days question paper leak, administering a wrong
out of seven. But to what end? question paper, confusion about seating
the agencies conducting
examinations is a draw of
specific serial numbers of
questions to be made a part
tre. Rules should provide for total rejection of
theanswersheetwhenanexamineeattempts
questionsnotearmarkedforhisrespectiveex-
aminationcentre.Whenpublicexaminations
are conducted through this Question Bank
system,issueslikequestionpaperleak,fram-
their own discipline.
Trustinthesystemandguaranteeoftrans-
parency,fairnessandjusticearethemainstays
of anyevaluationsystem.Theintroductionof
questionbanks,evolvingalternateevaluation
systems and incubating institutional leader-

B
arrangementsandexaminationcentre,ram- ing of out-of-syllabus questions or adminis- shipwillensurethatthistrustremainsintact.
ACK IN 1930, when John Maynard Keynes predicted that within a hundred
pantcasesof copying,framingquestionsthat
of the question paper, tering a wrong question paper, etc, can be
years, most people would be working for 15 hours a week, did the economist areoutof syllabi,wrongexaminersbeingap- limited to a specific eliminatedandfoul-playorcheatingtenden- The writer is former president, Indian Council
imagine how wildly wrong he would be? Not that there haven’t been stalwart pointed for assessment and student-exam- examination centre. cies nipped in the bud. for Cultural Relations and a BJP leader
efforts by certain European countries, like Spain, Belgium, Germany and
Iceland, to experiment with encouraging workers to have a life outside work and find
meaning in other avenues and pursuits. But even as these places institute the four-hour
work week, the pull in the opposite direction — of overwork and constant hustle in pur-
suit of the corporate profits at the end of the rainbow — remains strong as ever. JULY 4, 1984, FORTY YEARS AGO
The most recent illustration of this is Greece’s new six-day work week legislation
which, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis hopes, will help boost the national economy’s VALLEY UNDER CURFEW ThakurhasbeenappointedtheDeputyChief bysomefromtheSikhcommunity.However,
productivity. That he has described the initiative as “growth-friendly” (a phrase about as Minister.Thakur,whohadpreviouslyheaded a start could not be made as a demand was
meaningful as other business jargon like “personal development” and “self actualisa- FOLLOWING THE DRAMA which led to the departments of finance and law in Sheikh put forth for the withdrawal of the Army be-
dismissalofFarooqAbdullah’sministry,there Abdullah’s Cabinet, will be in charge of fi- fore the seva started.
tion”) should be enough to set alarm bells ringing — as indeed they are, with Greek work-
seems to prevail an uneasy calm in the nance, planning and development, besides
ers wondering what will happen to their hard-won legal protections in a country that al-
ready has the longest working hours in Europe.
KashmirValley.Aninformalcurfewisinplace
inSrinagarandothertownsintheValley.The
power development and labour.
FLOODS RAGE ON
The larger question confronting Greece, and the rest of the world, is this: Productivity,
yes, but to what end? With the proliferation of “bullshit jobs” — characterised by anthro-
capitalisunderthewatchfuleyesof theCRPF,
the Border Security Force and men from the
AKAL TAKHT DAMAGE FLOODS IN MAHARASHTRA continued un-
abated while the situation improved in West
pologist David Graeber as those which could disappear and leave the global economy ut- MP Armed Police. The army is being kept on THE ARMY MAY be withdrawn from Bengal. The death toll in Maharashtra rose to
terly unaffected — it has become harder and harder to tell what work matters and what alert for any summons from authorities. Harmandir Sahib if tension due to its pres- six in the last two days while the rain-fed
ence in the Golden Temple complex materi- rivers,especiallyintheKonkanregioncontin-
doesn’t. Should workers really have to give up more of their shrinking leisure time to fill
up reimbursement forms and sit in meetings that could have been emails? For Greece — J&K’S NEW DEPUTY CM alises. Government is keen to commence re-
pair work in the Akal Takht and other
ued to be in spate. Official sources in Bombay
saidtheShashtri,Vashishti,andJagbudirivers
as indeed for others — it might be useful to go back to what Aristotle once said, that “the IN THE NEW 15-member ministry headed damaged portions during the Army action. in the Konkan region and Doodhganga river
end of labour is to gain leisure”. A six-day work week puts paid to any hope of the latter. by G M Shah in Jammu and Kashmir, D D Arrangements for “kar seva” are demanded in the Kolhapur district were overflowing.

THE INDIAN EXPRESS, THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2024
11 THE IDEAS PAGE
A switch in the House
Two contrasting speeches in the 18th Lok Sabha, by the Leader of Opposition
and the Prime Minister, show that myths have no monopolists
Sanjay Srivastava
THE KISHKINDHA KAND section of the
Ramayana narrates the story of Ram slaying
theformidablemonkeykingVali,sonofIndra
andelderbrothertoSugriva.Valihadpursued
an asura into a cave, commanding Sugriva to
wait at its mouth. After a long period of wait-
ing,asbloodflowsoutof thecave,Sugrivaas-
sumesthathisbrotherhasbeenkilled.Here-
turns to the kingdom of Kishkindha and is
crowned king. It was Vali, however, who had
killed the asura and on his return to
Kishkindha, accused Sugriva of betrayal and
usurpation. Sugriva is driven away and sub-
jected to many indignities at Vali’s hands.
Sugriva and Ram forge a friendship and the
aggrieved brother asks his friend to avenge
himself by killing Vali. Ram suggests that
Sugrivachallengeshisbrothertoabattle,and
Vali would then meet his end at his hands. A
battle ensues, Sugriva is easily bested by Vali
but no arrow leaves Ram’s bow.
Sugriva is puzzled. Ram explains that he
was unable to fire his arrow, as both Sugriva
andValilookalikeandhewasafraidof killing
the wrong person. Ram asks Lakshman to
makeagarlandof thegajapushpicreeperand
put it around Sugriva’s neck, to distinguish
himfromhisbrother.Sugrivaonceagainchal-
lenges Vali who, naturally, accepts. This time
the arrow from Ram’s bow finds its target —
piercing Vali’s chest.
To deal with our fears, the story suggests,
we must first identify them and articulate
theirpresence.Thereisamiddle-aged,t-shirt-
donningpoliticianwhodeployedthesymbol-
ism of fear in a Parliamentary speech, which
suggests that he has learnt a thing or two
about the potency of speaking about over-
coming it. Politicians are neither gods nor
asuras, but political success is as dependent
on the here and the now as on deploying
mythologies that move us. But two parlia-
mentaryspeeches—onebytheLeaderof the
Opposition and the other by the Prime
Minister, are instructive in what they tell us
aboutthepeculiarnatureof politicalsymbol-
ismafterwhatcanbeconsideredasetbackfor
the ruling party in the recent elections.
Let us start with Rahul Gandhi’s manner
of naming fear to — after his own fashion —
counterit.Inwhatmustbeconsideredanex-
traordinary departure from convention and
tradition for a leader of the Congress, Rahul
Gandhi’skeystrategywastoinvokeareligious
imaginary as the context for the re-fashion-
ing of an opposition voice. He marshalled a
variety of religious figures — Guru Nanak,
Jesus Christ, Shiva — to his cause. The visage
of the Lord of Dance made multiple appear-
ances — albeit interrupted by human forces
—intheparliamentarybuilding.However,as
Gandhirepeatedlyflourishedanimageof the
“destroyer”oftheHindutrinity,humanlimbs
that may have been directed to alter camera
anglescouldnoterasethemeaningsthatwere
sought to be conveyed.
The Prime Minister responded the next
day.ThebeatificsmilesportedbytheSpeaker
of theHousecouldnot,however,disguisethe
uncharacteristicallythis-worldlyresponseby
Narendra Modi. Quite in contrast to Gandhi,
theopeninglinesofModi’sspeechreferredto
Indian history and the Indian people. This,
fromapoliticalleaderwhosekeyelectoraland
political strategy has been the invocation of
myths, including how “ancient” values and
achievements continue to guide and make
Yameena Zaidi and Anupam Guha
ON JUNE 29, the government of Karnataka
released the Karnataka Platform Based Gig
Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Bill,
2024 inviting public suggestions. If passed,
this would make Karnataka the second
Indian state, after Rajasthan, with legisla-
tion for gig workers. This draft bill has the
potential to extend to gig workers key rights
that the Rajasthan Platform-Based Gig
Workers (registration and Welfare) Act,
2023 failed to provide.
One criticism of the Rajasthan law is that
it does not acknowledge the expanding
view of various legal and economic scholars
like Evgeny Morozov, Moritz Altenried, and
Julia Tomassetti who argue that platform-
based gig work is employment and the plat-
forms are not intermediaries or markets but
employers. This view is gaining traction in
international legal cases with courts in the
Netherlands acknowledging that the driv-
ers and platforms have a “modern em-
ployer-employee relationship” while courts
in the UK and Spain consider associates
“workers” but have not stated that the em-
ployer is the platform. The Rajasthan law
does neither, it does not consider the plat-
contemporary India a unique society. Rather
thancastinghisargumentsinthelanguageof
adirectconnectionwithdivinity,thePMpre-
sented comparisons and metaphors from
everyday life. The Congress, he noted, is like
the small child who has been injured in a bi-
cycle accident and is being mollified that it’s
not such a terrible tragedy. The Congress de-
ploys a mythical mode and the BJP, a factual
one to make sense of their respective post-
election advantages. And the Speaker smiled
away,whetherincomprehensionorbemuse-
ment,isnotclear.Perhapshehadsomesense
of theepic—Ramayanic—proportionsof the
drama unfolding before him.
Let us now turn to another aspect of the
two speeches. An important way in which
Gandhisoughttomakewhatmightotherwise
have been an entirely abstract idea — fear —
intoaconcreteemotionwasthroughexcerpts
fromconversationswiththose,hesaid,hehad
met on different occasions. There was the
woman who spoke of being beaten by her
husband as she was unable to prepare a de-
cent enough meal because of inflation; the
familyof theAgniveerwhofeareddestitution
because their son had lost his life and little or
no compensation might be forthcoming; the
fear expressed by a Manipuri woman at the
possible future of her region; and the stories
articulated by young women and men who
had suffered in the recent NEET fiasco.
Perhaps, most provocatively, he spoke of the
fear within the BJP where dissent he said, is
severely punished.
The PM responded — with an unprece-
dentedchorusof theOpposition’ssloganeer-
inginthebackground,includingexhortingthe
PM to “have shame” — by quoting “facts and
figures”. It was notable that Modi did not di-
Rights of the new worker
Karnatakabillprovidesframeworktobringgigworkintoregulatoryambitof labour
form worker an employee or the platform
the employer, but declares a separate cate-
gory called “gig work”, which it does not de-
fine in how it differs from extant work. The
Karnataka bill while continuing to refer to
platform companies as “intermediaries”
does provide a clearer definition of gig-
workers and creates mechanisms for a for-
mal contract between platform companies
and workers. Details of what this contract
will look like remain unanswered. This po-
tentially provides an enabling framework
to bring platform-based gig work into the
regulatory ambit of labour.
One concrete issue plaguing gig work-
ers is that their employers, the platform
companies, arbitrarily and often terminate
their access to the platform, in effect, ter-
minating their jobs. Since these companies
refuse to acknowledge they are employers,
this is framed as blocking access to a serv-
ice. The Karnataka bill draft refutes this
framing by mandating that companies pro-
vide notice of termination, with a valid rea-
son, 14 days in advance. While it states that
grounds for termination will be provided to
workers at the time of contract signing, at
The Prime Minister
responded the next day. The
beatific smile sported by the
Speaker of the House could
not, however, disguise the
uncharacteristically
this-worldly response by
Narendra Modi. Quite in
contrast to Gandhi, the
opening lines of Modi’s
speech referred to Indian
history and the Indian people.
This, from a political leader
whose key electoral and
political strategy has been the
invocation of myths,
including how ‘ancient’ values
and achievements continue to
guide and make
contemporary India a unique
society. Rather than cast his
arguments in the language of
a direct connection with
divinity, the PM presented
comparisons and metaphors
from everyday life.
this stage it is difficult to ascertain to what
extent the legislation will be able to prevent
unfair terminations. In effect, the draft af-
firms that what the platforms provide is not
a mere service which can be arbitrarily
withdrawn. Unlike the Rajasthan legisla-
tion, where algorithmic transparency can
be sought only by the state and the welfare
board, the Karnataka bill draft empowers
gig workers to request access to informa-
tion about work, ratings and personal data.
Currently, gig workers have an opaque rela-
tionship with the platforms, which moni-
tor the actions of the workers, punishing
those who do not “perform”, but most plat-
forms do not even divulge what these met-
rics are. This provision reduces the potential
for algorithmic wage discrimination, work-
place harassment, etc.
The bill also expands the role of the
welfare board beyond overseeing the dis-
bursement of social security, to include
consultation with gig-worker associations
and empowers the board to make social se-
curity schemes for women and people with
disabilities. Thus, the draft accepts the so-
cialised nature of platform-based gig work
C R Sasikumar
rectlyrefuteGandhi’sinvocationoffearasthe
dominant motif of BJP governance. He spoke
of the Supreme Court’s warnings against the
threatstonationhood—theOpposition’sslo-
ganeeringnowechoedwith“wewantjustice”
— and the “warning” he was now offering to
theCongresstonotobstructthecountry’spath
to progress and development. The
Opposition’s“anti-nationalconspiracies”that
obstructed the very development that was
happeninginthecountry,hedeclared,would
be unequivocally countered. A politician
whosepoliticalmasteryliesinpresentingcer-
tainpossibilitiesthatmayotherwiseremainat
thelevelofabstraction—fear,anxiety,unease,
hostility — as concrete facts, had become the
purveyor of facts and figures. On the other
hand,theCongress’keyrepresentative—who
hasunsuccessfullyreliedon“factsandfigures”
as a political strategy — now has recourse to
the potency of mythological ideas.
We are now in a moment where the
mythical narratives — of ancient glories and
moralsuperiority—throughwhichthedom-
inant party had cast the efficacy and truth-
valueof itsgovernancestrategyhavebecome
ragged. There is the exhaustion of repetition,
with repetition depleting the original power
of the narrative. Simultaneously, the Leader
of the Opposition has discovered that
myths have no monopolists, and their po-
tency lies in developing the appropriate
languages of invocation.
Perhaps,theSpeakerwasexpressingsome
mixture of bemusement and concern at the
turn of events.
The writer is British Academy Global Professor,
Department of Anthropology and Sociology,
SOAS University of London
instead of an atomised transaction be-
tween a service provider and an “associ-
ate”. It creates a grievance redressal mech-
anism for gig workers; however, they can
only be raised about provisions of the draft
bill. It however mandates that gig-workers
be compensated on at least a weekly basis.
Notably, the draft bill states that gig work-
ers have the right to raise disputes through
the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 and there-
fore in an indirect, however significant,
manner empowers them to make use of
existing Indian labour laws and potentially
brings gig workers out of regulatory lacuna.
These developments indicate that even if
indirectly, the draft bill brings collective
bargaining for gig workers back on the
agenda and reflects the impact of the grow-
ing strength of gig worker unions in India.
For platform-based gig workers, this is a
promising development, though the recog-
nition of gig work as employment remains
to be won.
Zaidi studies at Simon Fraser University
and Guha is assistant professor at Ashank
Desai Centre for Policy Studies, IIT Bombay
WHAT THE OTHERS SAY
“The New Popular Front's program should be considered a pragmatic, socially
democratic set of proposals aimed at reducing inequalities and preparing for the
future. There is nothing radical in this agenda.”
Nine internal
security challenges
Because a country projects its strength
at the international level in direct
proportion to its internal cohesion
Prakash Singh
THEDUSTOFelectionshassettled.TheNDA
government is firmly in the saddle. The
Prime Minister has a formidable list of
achievements to his credit. At the interna-
tionallevel,Indiahasprestige,whichitprob-
ablyhasneverhadsinceIndependence.Our
economy is on an upswing. China has, for
the first time, realised that it can no longer
bullyIndiaand,beyondapoint,Indiawould
not shrink from a bloody confrontation.
Thegovernmentshouldhaveawell-or-
chestrated plan for the next five years. On
internal security, the following nine points
should merit serious attention.
One, internal security doctrine. Ideally,
thecountryshouldhaveanationalsecurity
doctrine (NSD). The National Security
Advisory Board has, from time to time,
worked on it and prepared drafts. Those
were never approved. All significant pow-
ers have an NSD through which they de-
scribe the internal and external challenges
facingthecountryandprescribepoliciesfor
dealingwiththem.Ifthereareanyproblems
in developing the NSD, its internal security
component at least, which is simpler, could
beworkedout.Thereistoomuchadhocism
indealingwithinternalsecuritychallenges,
especially with a change in government.
Two, Internal Security Ministry. The
Ministryof HomeAffairshasbecomemuch
too heavy and unwieldy. Internal security
matters, which demand immediate atten-
tion, quite often do not get the prompt and
thorough attention they deserve. It is high
time that a young, junior minister working
in the MHA is given independent charge of
internal security. Rajesh Pilot showed what
adifferencesuchanarrangementcanmake.
Three, Jammu and Kashmir. The state is
farfromnormaldespitetheHomeMinister’s
claim that terror incidents are down by 66
per cent since the abrogation of Article 370.
Terrorists recently struck at four places in
the Jammu region. Obviously, they are des-
perate to explode the narrative of “Naya
Kashmir”. We cannot be complacent about
the objectives of the Pakistani deep state.
Thegovernmentmusttakeearlystepstore-
organisethesecuritygrid,restorestatehood
to J&K and hold elections for the Assembly.
Four,theNortheast.ThePrimeMinister
has called the Northeast “a piece of our
heart”. The beating of the heart is unfortu-
nately not healthy. A Framework
Agreement signed with the rebel Nagas in
2015 had raised great hopes, but these re-
mainunfulfilledbecauseof theNSCN(IM)’s
insistence on a separate flag and constitu-
tion. The government should meanwhile
insist on rigorous implementation of the
suspension of operations agreement and
ensure that the rebels do not engage in ex-
tortion and forcible recruitments. Manipur
has been a disaster. Ethnic conflicts con-
tinue to simmer with occasional outbursts
of violence. The Home Ministry’s forma-
tionof amulti-ethnicpeacecommitteehas
notbeenproductive;itistimeforthePMto
take charge of the situation himself. The
problemsof illegalmigration,drugtraffick-
ing and arms smuggling would require a
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
A FALSE CLAIM
THIS REFERS TO the article, ‘Attack on
RSS is a self-goal’ (IE, July 3). The article
arguing that Rahul Gandhi’s attack on
Hindutva in his Parliament speech is a
product of pseudo-secularism is un-
warranted. Claims that the RSS is not
political are unconvincing since it’s the
BJP’s parent organisation. However, no
other political party has the RSS’s reach.
Its avowed objective of Hinduisation
post the Mughal era to enable Hindus
to regain their cultural identity and lib-
erate them from a victim complex,
raises a pertinent point about the need
to reconcile caste inequalities.
L R Murmu, New Delhi
JUSTICE CALLS
THISREFERSTOtheeditorial,‘Syndicate
vs law’ (IE, July 2). The incidents of bru-
tality reflect a stifled approach in a
civilised society. Law must take its
courseandadministerjustice.Timeand
again, we witness such horrendous
clashes, yet there’s no straight jacket
formulatopreventit.Weneedastrong-
holdonthebureaucraticsetuptomain-
tain law and order across the nation.
Rajesh Raj, New Delhi
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
— THE GUARDIAN
comprehensive approach.
Five,theNaxalproblem.TheMinisterof
State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai, in a
statement made in the Rajya Sabha on
February 7, claimed that the implementa-
tionof the“nationalpolicyandactionplan”
had resulted in a consistent decline in vio-
lence and shrinkage of the geographical
spread of left-wing extremism’s (LWE) in-
fluence. Violence and the resultant deaths
had declined by 73 per cent from a high in
2010. Rai further stated that the number of
police stations reporting LWE-related vio-
lence had come down from 465 police sta-
tionsacross96districtsin2010to171police
stationsacross42districtsin2023.Sofar,so
good.WithNaxalsonthebackfoot,itisnow
timeforthehealingtouch.Thegovernment
should offer them the olive branch, declare
a unilateral ceasefire for a month, persuade
them to come to the negotiating table, ad-
dress their genuine grievances, and bring
them into the mainstream.
Six, Intelligence Bureau/CBI. The two
premier central police organisations, the
Intelligence Bureau and the CBI, require re-
structuring.TheIBwassetupthroughanad-
ministrativeorderonDecember23,1887.It
is high time that it is given a statutory basis,
withsafeguardstopreventthemisuseofin-
telligence to bolster the party in power. The
CBI was set up through a resolution passed
onAprilFools’Dayin1963,anditderivesthe
power to investigate from the Delhi Special
Police Establishment Act, 1946. It is an
anomalous arrangement and, as recom-
mendedinthe24threportoftheparliamen-
tary committee, “the need of the hour is to
strengthen the CBI in terms of legal man-
date, infrastructure and resources”.
Seven, state police. The Prime Minister
wants the PMO to function as the People’s
PMO.Indeed,itshould!Butof greatervalue
and more relevance would be the transfor-
mation of the “Ruler’s Police” that we have
inheritedfromtheBritishintothe“People’s
Police”. Robert Peel, former British prime
minister,isrememberedtothisdayforhav-
ingreformedthecountry’spolice.Itisagreat
opportunity and also a challenge for our
Prime Minister.
Eight, Central Armed Police Forces. The
CAPFswithanoverallstrengthofmorethan
a million are beset with serious internal
problemsofunplannedexpansion,haphaz-
arddeployment,inadequatetraining,falling
standardsofdiscipline,vaguecriteriaforthe
selection of top officers, friction between
cadre and All India Service officers, etc. The
government would do well to appoint a
high-poweredcommissiontogointothese
problems for their long-term solution.
Nine, technology. There is enormous
scopefortechnologicalinputsintothefunc-
tioningofpoliceinthecountry.Theseinputs
wouldactasforcemultipliers.Assuggested
by the PM at the DGPs’ conference held in
Lucknow in 2021, there is a need to set up a
high-powered technology mission to rec-
ommend the adoption of the latest tech for
thenewchallengeswhichthepolicearefac-
ing or are likely to face in the future.
Acountryprojectsitsstrengthatthein-
ternational level in direct proportion to its
internal cohesion, its ability to resolve dif-
ferences within and not have any swamps
whereterroristsorextremistscanbreed.The
internal security scenario of the country
would be better if action on the above lines
is initiated with foresight and imagination.
The writer was formerly Director General
of BSF, DGP UP and DGP Assam
INDIA-UK TIES RESET
THIS REFERS TO the article, ‘Delhi & a
newLondon’(IE,July3).Daysbeforethe
UK vote, it sent important signals sug-
gesting that it wants to reset relations
with India. The Labour Party is likely to
come to power. Its outreach bodes well
forLondon-Delhities.Undertheformer
leader, Jeremy Corbyn, the party criti-
cised alleged human rights abuse in
India, especially against minorities and
in Kashmir. Meanwhile, India has been
unhappywiththesurgeinpro-Khalistan
sentiments in the UK. How the Labour
balances these factors could determine
the future of India-UK relations.
S S Paul, Nadia
OPPOSITION’S TASK
THIS REFERS TO the editorial, ‘The first
face-off’(IE,June3).AstrongOpposition
in a democracy facilitates effective and
relevantdebate.Thiselectionlegitimised
a strong opposition. This should be
utilised by both the Opposition and the
rulingpartytoactivelyparticipateinde-
bates rather than chasing personal
vendettas.Oppositionpartiesshouldtry
to focus on issues of people’s welfare.
Haritha Rao, Hyderabad
 12 EXPRESS NETWORK
SC slams Manipur We want to be part of planetary defence SEXUAL HARASSMENT CHARGE
for not taking Kuki mission, study asteroid: ISRO Chairman Woman who filed
prisoner to hospital
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
NEW DELHI, JULY 3
THE SUPREME Court on
Wednesdaytookastrongnoteof
an undertrial prisoner lodged in
a Manipur jail not being taken to
a hospital for treatment just be-
cause he belonged to the minor-
ity Kuki community, saying it
does not “trust the State”.
A bench of Justices JB
Pardiwala and Ujjal Bhuyan
made some strong observations
against the state while hearing a
pleafiledbythepetitioner-cum-
prisoner Lunkhongam Haokip
that he was suffering from piles
and tuberculosis and was not
taken to hospital by jail officials
despite having severe backache.
“We do not trust the
State...Theaccusedwasnottaken
to hospital because he is from
theKukicommunity.Sosad!We
direct him to be examined now.
If the medical report reveals
something serious, we will take
you to task,” the bench said.
Haokip’scounselclaimedthat
Maharashtra Zika cases: POLICE ARREST 3, INITIATE STEPS TO BRING BACK ACCUSED WORKING IN ISRAEL
Centre asks states to be Anonymous letter cracks 15-year-old Kerala
vigilant, focus on testing murder; villagers thought victim had eloped Centre defends Hindi
pregnant women, foetus SHAJU PHILIP
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, JULY 3
WITH EIGHT cases of the mos-
quito-borneZikainfectionbeing
reported from Maharashtra, the
Centre’s Director-General of
Health Services Wednesday
asked states to focus on screen-
ing pregnant women for the
virus and monitor the growth of
their foetuses.
While most people infected
with Zika experience no symp-
toms or mild symptoms — such
asfever,rash,headache,andjoint
and muscle pain — in pregnant
women, it can lead to micro-
cephaly in the foetus.
Microcephaly is a condition
where a baby’s head is smaller
thanexpectedbecausetheirbrain
complaint againstEXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
the jail officials did not pay heed
to requests for medical help.
The bench perused an order
of the Manipur High Court and
foundthattheundertrialprisoner
wasnottakentohospitalsincehe
was from Kuki community and
“shiftinghimtoahospitalwillbe
hazardous taking into account
the law and order situation”.
Thebenchdirectedthejailsu-
perintendent and the state au-
thorities “to make necessary
arrangements for his transporta-
tion to the Gauhati Medical
College and get him examined
therein.” It sought a detailed re-
portonorbeforeJuly15andasked
the state to bear all the expenses
including the treatment cost.
Manipur has been in the grip
of an ethnic conflict between the
minorityKukiandmajorityMeitei
communities since May last year
over a high court order directing
thestatetoconsiderincludingthe
non-tribal Meitei community in
thelistof ScheduledTribes.More
than 170 people have been killed
and hundred others injured dur-
ing the ethnic violence.
does not develop fully. There has
been no case of microcephaly
since 2016 in the country.
Testing facilities for Zika are
available at National Institute of
Virology in Pune, the National
Centre for Disease Control in
Delhi and a few of ICMR’s net-
work of virus research and diag-
nostic laboratories.
Astheinfectionistransmitted
mainlybytheaedesaegyptimos-
quitoes, states have also been
asked to intensify mosquito con-
trolmeasures.Aedesaegyptimos-
quitoes breed in clean, stagnant
water, and monsoons provide
themamplebreedinggrounds.
Stateshavealsobeenaskedto
advisehospitalsandhealthfacili-
ties to appoint a nodal person to
ensurethatsuchpremisesremain
free of these mosquitoes.
BENGALURU, JULY 3
ISROISkeenonparticipatingina
planetary defence mission in
space and study the asteroid
Apophis when it comes close to
the Earth, ISRO Chairman S
Somanath said in Bengaluru on
Wednesday.
“When Apophis comes in
2029, we should be able to go
and meet this asteroid when it is
very close to Earth. It is a one-
time opportunity and India
should be part of such efforts. It
is yet to be decided in what way
we should participate,”
Somanath said.
Discovered in 2004, Apophis
wasseenasapotentialcontender
to have a collision with the Earth.
But subsequent measurements
haveshownthattherewasnorisk
ofApophisimpactingtheEarthfor
at least a century, according to
NASA.In2029,however,itwould
makeafly-byoftheEarthatadis-
tance of about 32,000 km. NASA
has redirected one of its opera-
tional spacecraft to study this as-
teroid, and this spacecraft would
names of new criminal
THIRUVANANANTHAPURAM,
JULY 3
FOR15YEARS,aKeralavillagebe-
lieved that a young mother had
eloped with her lover. But on
Wednesday,policemadearevela-
tionthatcameasasurprisetores-
idents of Thripperumthura in
Alappuzha – the 30-year-old
woman,Kala,hadbeenmurdered,
allegedly by her husband Anil
Kumar,andherbodydumpedinto
thesepticchamberattheirhouse.
Police on Wednesday ar-
rested three persons, allegedly
the accomplices in the murder,
and said steps have been initi-
ated tobringback Kumar, who is
working in Israel.
The arrest of Jinu Gopalan, R
Somarajan and Pramod, all na-
tivesof Thripperumthuravillage,
were made after police opened
the septic
chamber at
Kumar’shouse
to collect evi-
dence to cor-
roborate the
statements of
the accused
that Kala’s
ISRO chief S Somanath
speaks at Antariksh Bhavan
in Bengaluru, Wednesday. PTI
getasneartoApophisas4,000km
onApril23,2029.Itwilltherefore,
keepfollowingtheasteroidfor18
monthstomapitsterrainandun-
derstand its chemical make-up.
ISRO is looking at working in
somecapacitytostudytheaster-
oid Apophis when it is 32,000
km away from Earth in 2029 to
prepareforplanetarydefenceef-
forts, ISRO scientists said.
“We must provide whatever
support we can in the asteroid
mission to participate and learn.
We are eager to spread our
knowledge,” Somanath said.
Referring to NASA's Double
The house and the septic chamber where the body of the
woman was allegedly dumped. S Narayanan
body had been dumped there.
Alappuzha Superintendent
of Police Chaitra Teresa John told
the media that Kala had gone
missing in 2008-09. “We have
confirmed that she was killed.
Personal issues led to the mur-
der. It was suspected that she
had a relationship with another
person. We have collected evi-
AsteroidRedirectionTest(DART)
mission in 2022, which facili-
tated the change of trajectory of
an asteroid in deep space, he
said,“Whenthereisinformation
that an asteroid will strike Earth
in a couple of years, there will be
ademandtoact.Itwouldbebet-
ter if we act when there is no
threat. This is why there are
many missions to go near aster-
oids and understand them. One
of them is DART.”
“Itisamissiontoshowitispos-
sibletochangetheasteroidtrajec-
tory a little and cause it to depart
from its course. If we can change
thetrajectory,itwillmissEarthby
a whisker. That will be good
enoughtosaveEarth,”hesaid.
DART showed that a space-
craft’skineticimpactwithitstar-
get asteroid, Dimorphos, had
successfully altered its orbit.
“This marks humanity’s first
time purposely changing the
motion of a celestial object and
thefirstfull-scaledemonstration
of asteroid deflection technol-
ogy,” NASA had stated in 2022.
As a major space-faring na-
tion with the capability "to carry
outcomplexmissionsof takinga
dence from the septic tank,
which will be sent for forensic
examination.Since15yearshave
elapsed, it is a big challenge for
the police,” she said.
The SP said that though Kala
hadbeenmissing,nobodyfileda
missing person complaint. “The
caseemergedafterAmbalapuzha
policelookedintoananonymous
spacecraft from one place to an-
other",SomanathsaidIndia"will
one day be in a position to han-
dle an asteroid mission, land on
an asteroid and possibly carry
out aplanetarydefenseactionto
protect Earth".
“We should start by collabo-
rating with other nations that
havealreadystarted workinthis
area. For example, there is Japan
Aerospace Exploration Agency
(JAXA), which has gone to an as-
teroid and collected samples.
There are also many other agen-
cies,” he said.
Associate director of ISRO's
Telemetry, Tracking and
Command Centre (ISTRAC), Anil
KumarAKsaid,"In2004,ourob-
servatories were able to see an
object 340 meters in size was
coming close. Our people calcu-
latedwiththeavailabledatathat
the threat of this object coming
and impacting Earth is more
than one in 100 probability
which is a high risk."
"The object is known as
Apophisanditssphereis360days
which is almost one Earth year
andasaresultitcanbeseenoften
in the vicinity of Earth," he said.
letter that dropped hints about
themurder.Itwascredibleinfor-
mation but we don't want to re-
vealmoreaboutthatletteratthis
stage,” she said. The police said
Kumarandthethreearrestedac-
cused,whoarehisrelatives,took
Kala in a car and killed her near
Valiya Perumbuzha bridge.
The two got married in 2007,
but their families were unhappy
since they came from different
castes,officialssaid.Monthsafter
thewedding,Anil,amason,went
to Africa for work. Back home,
Kala lived with her in-laws.
Police are yet to ascertain the
day or month when she went
missing.At thetime, shewasthe
mother of a toddler, now a 16-
year-oldboy.Kumar,meanwhile,
married another woman.
Kumar’s father Thankachan
told the media on Wednesday,
“Therewasnoissuebetweenthe
two.Shehadgonewithsomeone
and might be living somewhere.
She left their son with me.”
Local panchayat member
Nisha Sojan said the entire vil-
lage is in shock.
“Everybody believed Kala
was living with another man.
When she went missing, her
family was not interested to file
a missing complaint since they
were upset with her marriage to
Kumar. For the village, she was a
woman who abandoned a
child,” she said.
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2024
Bengal Governor
moves top court
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, JULY 3
A CONTRACTUAL woman em-
ployee of the West Bengal Raj
Bhavan, who had accused
Governor C V Ananda Bose of
sexual harassment, has moved
the Supreme Court seeking di-
rection to the police to investi-
gate the matter.
Thepetitionersaid that sheis
left remediless “due to the blan-
ket immunity bestowed under
Article 361, Constitution” to the
Governor. According to Article
361 of the Constitution, criminal
proceedingscannotbeinstituted
in a court against the Governor
during his term of office.
"This court has to decide
whether a victim like the peti-
tioner can be rendered remedi-
less, with the only option being
to wait for the accused to demit
his office, which delay will then
be inexplainableduringthe trial,
and render the entire procedure
a mere lip service, without any
laws in Madras HC
ARUN JANARDHANAN
CHENNAI, JULY 3
THE UNION Government de-
fended the Hindi nomenclature
of threenewcriminallawsbefore
the Madras High Court
Wednesday,assertingtheconsti-
tutionallegitimacyof thenames
against allegations of unconsti-
tutionality. The submission was
made before a bench of Acting
Chief Justice R Mahadevan and
JusticeMohammedShaffiqwho
heard a plea seeking to declare
theHindinamesof thenewlaws
as unconstitutional.
The plea, filed by
Thoothukudi-based lawyer B
RamkumarAdityan,hassparked
significant debate as he argued
that the Hindi and Sanskrit
names of the new laws violate
Article 348 of the Constitution,
which mandates that authorita-
tive texts, including the names
of laws, should be in English.
Additional Solicitor General
A R L Sundaresan, representing
the Union Government, argued
that the new names reflect the
willof theParliament,whichhad
justice to the victim herein," the
plea said.
The petitioner urged the top
court to “frame guidelines and
qualification to the extent the
immunity given under Article
361 can be exercised by the of-
fice of… Governor”.
The woman had lodged a
complaint with Kolkata Police.
She also soughtadirection to
theStateof WestBengalthrough
the Director General of Police to
provide protection and security
to her.
The petitioner accused the
Governor of revealing her iden-
tity and requested the SC to di-
rect the state government to
compensate her “for loss of rep-
utation and dignity” suffered by
her family and her due to this.
In her plea, the woman con-
tended that the object behind
grantingimmunityunderArticle
361 was to insulate the Head of
Statefromanypossibleexposure
to malicious publicity of his in-
volvement in any offence insti-
tuted during his term of office.
named the laws in its wisdom.
“It’s the wisdom of the
Parliament. All of us have elected
theParliamentandtheselawmak-
ers,ontheirwisdom,havenamed
it.Theirwillisshowninthenames.
Ifit’sagainsttheConstitution,then
okay. But no rights are affected,”
Sundaresan said. He further ar-
gued that the names were also in
English letters, making them ac-
cessible.
The courtroom discussions
were charged, with the peti-
tioner’s counsel making refer-
ences to Article 348. “As per
Article 348 of the Constitution,
all authoritative text was to be in
English. The names of the new
laws are authoritative texts,
which will be quoted often by
lawyers. Therefore, the names
should also be in English,” the
petitioner’s counsel argued.
Sundaresan rebutted, “The
namesof thenewlawswerealso
inEnglishasEnglishletterswere
used. With the passage of time,
the public and lawyers will get
accustomed to the new names.
The names do not affect funda-
mental rights warranting inter-
ference by the court,” he said.
NEET-UG leak
case: CBI arrests
‘co-conspirator’
NewDelhi:TheCentralBureauof
Investigation (CBI) has arrested
anallegedco-conspiratorincon-
nection with the National
Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test
(Undergraduate)paperleakcase.
Asourcesaidtheaccusedhas
been identified as Aman Singh
and he was arrested from
Dhanbad in Jharkhand.
This is the sixth arrest by the
central agency in connection
with the case. Last week, the CBI
had arrested the principal, vice-
principal of Jharkhand’s Oasis
School and a local journalist.
On June 22, the Ministry of
Education had handed over the
matter of alleged irregularities in
theNEET(UG)examination2024
toCBIfor“acomprehensiveinves-
tigation”. The CBI has registered
six FIRs in the case. ENS
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2024
BRIEFLY
KARNATAKA
Threedrownto
deathinbidto
escapepolice
Bengaluru: Three people
died and at least five peo-
ple are feared to have
drowned after their cora-
cle overturned in Krishna
river in Karnataka’s
Vijayapura, said police.
The incident took place
when the victims were
playing cards along the
river bank and saw the
police. Fearing arrest,
they boarded a coracle
along the river bank,
however, it overturned
due to wind. Three peo-
ple swam back to safety
while five are feared to
have drowned, said a po-
lice officer. ENS
JAMMU & KASHMIR
960constables
deployedalong
border:DGP
The Jammu and Kashmir
government
Wednesday deployed
on
960 police constables
alongtheborder. Director
General of Police R R
Swainsaid:“Wehave de-
ployed 960 fresh pass out
jawans from Jammu and
Kashmir police Training
Academy in border ar-
eas.” “They are very
young and hail from bor-
dervillages.Theirrecruit-
ment also was area spe-
cific,” Swain added. ENS
MOHALI
CISFconstable
whoslapped
Kangana
transferred
CentralIndustrialSecurity
ForceconstableKulwinder
Kaur,whowassuspended
after she slapped BJP MP
Kangana Ranaut at the
Chandigarh airport last
month, has been trans-
ferred to Bengaluru.
Accordingtosources,Kaur
remains under suspen-
sion and has been trans-
ferred to a reserve battal-
ion of CISF in Bengaluru.
The CISF suspended
Kulwinder Kaur after the
incidentonJune6andalso
launched an inquiry
against her. ENS
With four more in a day, bridge-collapse Flood situation worsens in Assam; eight
tally in Bihar goes up to nine in a fortnight deaths take toll to 46, over 16 lakh affected
SANTOSH SINGH
PATNA, JULY 3
THREE SMALL bridges collapsed
in Siwan district while another
one crumbled in Saran district
on Wednesday, taking the tally
of similar incidents in Bihar to
nine since June 18.
The Nitish Kumar-led Bihar
government while ordering a
probe into the incident has
sought a detailed report from
boththedistrictadministrations.
No casualties have been re-
ported in the four incidents.
Since July 18, bridges have
collapsed in Kishanganj, Araria,
Madhubani, East Champaran
and Siwan.
OnWednesday,threebridges
collapsedinSiwanalone.Asmall
Meet 11-yr-old ‘Rock goddess’ who floored America’s Got Talent in Governance Awards
SUANSHU KHURANA
NEW DELHI, JULY 3
DRESSED IN a red-and-gold silk
pavadai (skirt) and wielding an
electric guitar, 10-year-old Maya
Neelakantan walked onto the
stage at the Pasadena Civic
Auditorium in Los Angeles in
March.
The audience at the audition
for America’s Got Talent (AGT),
one of television’sbiggest reality
shows, seemed uncertain of
what to expect as she opened
her routine with an intricate
alaap in Natabhairavi, a grand
devotional raga.
And then she let it rip.
Maya seamlessly transi-
tioned into American rap-rock
band Papa Roach’s Last Resort, a
hit from 2000 known for its ag-
gressive and distorted guitar
melodies.Theinterplaybetween
OVER 2 LAKH PEOPLE GATHERED FOR EVENT, SAYS FIR
People tried to flee into open field,
fell down slope: Hathras SDM report
MAULSHREE SETH
LUCKNOW, JULY 3
OVER 2 lakh devotees, a scram-
ble to collect dust from the
preacher’s feet, and a desperate
bid to escape the surging crowd
by rushing into the open fields
nearby, only to fall and be
stepped on by those behind.
These are just a few of the obser-
vations made by Sikandra Rao
Sub-Divisional Magistrate
(SDM)Ravindra Kumar inhis re-
port on the stampede that killed
121 people in Uttar Pradesh’s
Hathras on Tuesday.
Kumar, who was present at
the Satsang addressed by local
preacher Narayan Sakar Hari or
BholeBabainPhulraivillage,has
submitted his report to the dis-
trict magistrate. The report will
form the basis of the final find-
ings that will be submitted to
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath,
sources said.
As per the report, as the
preacherleftthevenue,devotees
rushed towards his vehicle to
catchaglimpseof him.Manyalso
triedtocollectthe‘CharanRaj’or
the dust left from his feet. As the
crowd surged, people who were
part of the baba’s personal secu-
rity allegedly tried to push peo-
ple back but failed, leading to
“dhakka-mukki (jostling)” and
chaos, the report says.
Many devotees then made a
desperate attempt to rush to-
wards the open fields in front of
thesatsangpandaltosavethem-
selves, the report states. But the
‘My mother’s body was in Agra, sister-in-law’s in
Hathras & niece’s in Aligarh... whole family is gone’
DHEERAJ MISHRA &
NEETIKA JHA
HATHRAS, JULY 3
TUESDAY STARTED off as a nor-
mal day for 31-year-old Pratap
Singh, a daily wage labourer
from Sokhna village in Hathras.
He left for work early in the
morning and did not know that
his senior citizen mother, along
withtwootherfamilymembers,
including his nine-year-old
niece, would leave for a Satsang
in Phulrai village.
Around 3 pm, Singh’s phone
startedringingrepeatedly.Heig-
RECENT INCIDENTS
JUNE 17: 77-metre bridge
collapsed in Madhubani
JUNE 18: A new 182-metre
bridge in Araria’s Sikti
block caved and fell.
JUNE 25: A 70-metre long
bridge over the Mariya
river in Kishanganj
district collapsed
bridgeconstructedin1998overa
Gandak river stream at
Maharajganj’s Deoria Panchayat
withtheMPLADfundof `6lakh.
Anotherbridgeconstructedwith
`10 lakh MPLAD fund in 2004
Entries for Excellence
open till July 20
Carnatic, rock and metal got
Maya a standing ovation from
everyone in the room, including
judges Simon Cowell, Heidi
Klum, Howie Mandel, Sofia
Vergara and Terry Crews. Cowell
even dubbed her a “Rock god-
dess”.
The telecast of the audition
last weekend went viral on so-
cial media, giving the Chennai
girl the confidence to pursue her
genre-defying music. The
YouTube video that's floating
aroundonsocialmediahasgath-
ered over 22 lakh views. Maya
will now be seen in the AGT
semi-finals. Only 10 contestants
proceed to the final round.
Sincethetelecast,Maya,who
just turned 11, can’t stop
googling her name, savouring
theattention at her family home
inChennai.Forme,asthatstand-
ing ovation came in, I felt that
same experience. I am excited
The satsang venue in Phulrai village of Hathras . Abhinav Saha
slopingpathfromtheroadtothe
fields was slippery. Devotees
started falling and could not get
up as others started stepping
overthemtoreach thefields,the
report says.
“On July 2, on National
Highway 91 from Sikandra Rao
toEtahRoad,nearvillagePhulrai
Mugalgari on the south side, a
‘Satsang’ event of Narayan Sakar
Hari was proposed. I was pres-
ent on the occasion. In the pan-
dal of the satsang, a crowd of
over 2 lakh people were pres-
ent,” Kumar’s report states.
The preacher reached the
pandal at around 12.30 pm and
the event went on for about one
hour.“Bhole Babaleftthe pandal
around 1.40 pm to go towards
National Highway 91 towards
Etah. When Bhole Baba took his
path outside, men, women and
children who had come started
nored some calls and when he
picked one, he received disas-
trous news. His 70-year-old
mother Jaimanti Devi, sister-in-
law Rajkumari, 42 and nine-
year-old Bhoomi - wereall miss-
ing. They had gone to attend a
Satsang to be addressed by a lo-
cal preacher, Narayan Sakar
Vishwa Hari aka ‘Bhole Baba’,
and a stampede had occurred at
the venue, he was told.
All three of his family mem-
bers got separated from each
other amid the chaos. By the
time Singh would know about
their location, all three were
dead and their bodies ended up
JUNE 23: A portion of a
bridge between Amwa and
Chainpur railway stations
in Ghorasahan block of
East Champaran, gave way
JUNE 22: A 20-feet bridge
over a canal connecting
Daraunda and
Maharajganj blocks
collapsed in Siwan
collapsedatNautanSikandarpur
over Dhamahi river.
The third Siwan bridge col-
lapsed in Teghra area.In the
fourth incident a portion of a
150-year-old bridge in Saran’s
Maya Neelakantan performs
at the America’s Got Talent
audition at Los Angeles.
about returning to the stage
again whenever that happens
next,”saysanexuberantMayain
putting his Charan Raj on their
forehead. There was a huge
crowd already waiting to have a
glimpseof himonthesidesof GT
Road as well as on the divider in
the centre of the road,” the re-
port adds.
To escape the chaos, the SDM
said in his report, devotees tried
to make their way to the open
fields in front of the pandal but
thewaytothisfieldwasaslippery
slope. As a result, many devotees
fell. As per Kumar’s report, those
who fell could not get up as the
crowdfromtheroadstartedrush-
ing to the field stepping over
them,leavingmanywomen,men
and children injured.
The injured were rushed to
the neighbouring hospitals and
the community health centre at
Sikandra Rao with the help of
revenueandpoliceofficialspres-
ent at the spot, the report states.
in three different districts.
“I was running on the roads,
the highway, hospitals. I didn't
know where they actually are. I
wouldaskeverypersoninawhite
suit - whether a doctor or any
hospitalstaffer-if theyhaveseen
myfamilymembers,”saidSingh.
“It was only late on Tuesday
night that I got a call from a per-
soninmyvillagethathereceived
a photo of my mother on
WhatsApp and she is at a hospi-
tal in Agra. I saw a glimmer of
hope, but soon the person called
again to say that a government
ambulance is bringing her body.
The mortal remains of my little
Damdaspurpur collapsed.
Meanwhile, the water re-
sourcesdepartmenthasdirected
the chief engineers to monitor
water level of North Bihar rivers,
which have been getting addi-
tional discharge of water be-
causeof incessantrainsinNepal.
SlammingtheJD(U)-BJPgovern-
ment in the state and the NDA
coalition at the Centre, RJD
leader and former deputy chief
minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav
in a post on X said: “See, how 4
bridges collapsed in Bihar in a
single day?The NDA govern-
ment should tell who is guilty?”
A JD (U) leader, however, said:
“Thestate hasorderedinquiriesto
findthetruth.Therecouldbemul-
tiple reasons for the bridge col-
lapses, including rains and excess
flowof waterfromNepalrivers”.
a conversation with The Indian
Express over Zoom.
Sitting in her bedroom, be-
fore a wall shelf full of stuffed
toys, she says the medley she
performed at AGT is the kind of
musicshewants“tocreateinthe
future”.
Born to a Tamil father who
owns an IT company and an
Australianmother whoworksin
the education sector, Maya grew
up surrounded by Carnatic mu-
sic, which she imbibed from her
grandmother, and rock and
metal, that her father,
Neelakantan, would often play
in the car and at home.
“IheardMetallicawhenIwas
about five and loved how ener-
getic it sounded. I was always
jumpingaroundthehousewhen
Iheardit,”saysMaya,whobegan
learning to play the guitar from
her father at six and followed it
up with some YouTube guitar
EXPRESS NETWORK 13
Toll 121, FIR does not
name preacher, CM
orders judicial probe
DHEERAJ MISHRA
HATHRAS, JULY 3
A DAY after the stampede at the
'satsang' at Phulrai village, in
Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh,
thetollroseto121onWednesday.
While Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath announced a judicial
probe, police filed an FIR against
theorganisers,includingcharges
related to culpable homicide,
wrongfulrestraintanddisappear-
ance of evidence.
According to the FIR, about
2.5 lakh people had gathered for
the event for which only 80,000
were permitted. While the FIR
names ‘mukhya sevadar’
DevprakashMadhukarandother
unidentified organisers, it does
not mention the local preacher,
Narayan Sakar Vishwa Hari or
'Bhole Baba', who addressed the
gathering. On Tuesday, Chief
Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh
had said action would be taken
against the preacher.
Asked about this, Adityanath
said at a press conference: “The
initial FIR has been registered
against those who sought per-
missionfortheevent,andthein-
vestigationwillexpandtoholdall
responsiblepartiesaccountable.”
niece, Bhoomi, were found in
Aligarh and my sister-in-law's in
Hathras. The whole family is
gone.Mybrotherhasthreemore
children, how will he survive
now?” said Singh.
Rinku,32,anotherresidentof
the village, has just reached
home after her aunt, Son Devi,
was cremated in Sokhna.
Devi, withhertwo nephews,
hadattended the Satsang. While
the two men survived the stam-
pede, Son Devi could not run to
saveherlife.Herbodywasfound
byRinkuinafield.Around50km
from Sokhna, Kamlesh Devi, 22
andhersix-month-olddaughter
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
GUWAHATI, JULY 3
EIGHT PEOPLE lost their lives on
Wednesday as Assam continues
toreelunderseverefloods,taking
the total number of flood related
deathsinthestatethisyearto46.
As of Wednesday evening, a
total population of 16.25 lakh
across 2800 villages in 29 dis-
tricts have been affected by the
floods. The worst affected dis-
trictsin the stateare Nagaon and
Darrang in Central Assam and
Karimganj in the Barak Valley.
Chief Minister Himanta
Biswa Sarma while addressing
themediasaidthatthefocuswill
isonassessingthedamageatthe
earliest so that all possible help
can be extended to the affected
lessons.
At eight, she discovered the
American prog rock band Tool,
“which is a genre on its own”,
says Maya. Maya also stumbled
upon a video of "Guitar
Prasanna", a US-based IIT
Chennai and Berklee graduate
who is a pioneer in performing
Carnatic music on the guitar. “I
didn’t know you could play this
music on a guitar. Before I dis-
covered them, it felt like some-
thing was missing from my mu-
sic,” says Maya, who has been
taking online classes from
Prasanna for the last two years.
But what turned things
around for her was a cover of
Tool’s 7empest (pronounced
Tempest). She recorded it in her
room sitting next to her Peppa
Pig toy and uploaded it on
YouTube.
The video reached Tool gui-
taristAdamJoneshimself.Hegot
Addressing the media after
inspecting the site of the stam-
pede and meeting those injured,
he said:“A judicial probe byare-
tired high court judge will be
conducted into the incident...
Retired officials of the policeand
civic administration will be part
of the judicial probe and action
willbetakenagainstthosefound
responsible.”He said a Special
Investigation Team led by the
Additional Director General of
Police, Agra, has already submit-
ted a preliminary report.
Later in the day, the UP gov-
ernment said retired High Court
judge Brijesh Kumar Srivastava
will lead the three-member ju-
dicialprobepanel.RetiredIPSof-
ficers Hemant Rao and Bhavesh
Kumar Singh will be the other
two members of the panel.
The judicial panel has been
asked to complete the probe
within two months.
Meanwhile, an FIR has been
registeredunderBharatiyaNyaya
Sanhita Sections 105 (culpable
homicidenotamountingtomur-
der),110(attempttocommitcul-
pablehomicide),126(2)(wrong-
ful restraint), 223 (disobedience
to order duly promulgated by
publicservant),238(causingdis-
appearance of evidence).
Chanchalwerecrematedaround
9 pm on Wednesday in Donkeli.
Their bodies had been brought
there from Hathras District
Hospital. It has been raining in
Donkeli since the afternoon.
The wet soil was dug to bury
Chanchal's body while her
mother's pyre burnt near a
mango tree just 100 metres
away. Kamlesh was married
three years ago to Lala Ram of
Donkeli who is an agricultural
labourerandhadtwodaughters.
Both Ram and Laxmi, her two
and half year old daughters kept
lookingatthepyreinpainwhich
they were unable to express.
Girls prepare to cook on a makeshift boat in Morigaon. PTI
people by August 15.
“If it doesn’t rain in the com-
ing days, we expect that the
flood conditions will improve in
about two days. But from our
in touch with Maya and gave her
advice on how to play better.
Days later, he couriered her a
signed Gibson guitar — the kind
that he plays and is even named
after him.
“That was special. And that’s
the guitar I played on America’s
Got Talent. We’ve been in touch
ever since and I am very proud
to have a friend like him,” says
Maya, who also impressed gui-
tarist Gary Holt, who plays for
thelegendarythrashmetalband
Slayer.He,too,recentlygiftedher
a guitar, besides cheering for her
atherLosAngelesauditionalong
with Prasanna. Maya says that
as much as she loves playing
music by other musicians, she is
keenonhardtrainingsothatshe
can find her path with original
music. “What I did on the show
was kind of a small part of what
I want to be doing in the future,”
says Maya.
Grieving relatives of victims in Hathras on Wednesday.
Abhinav Saha
House of key accused
locked, neighbours in
‘disbelief’ about role
in organising satsang
DHEERAJ MISHRA
HATHRAS, JULY 03
FOR MANY residents of the New
ColonyintheDamadpuraareaof
Sikandrarau in Hathras,
Devprakash Madhukar, whohas
been named in the stampede
FIR,wasjusta“normalengineer”
until the police arrived at his
house on Tuesday night.
He was the chief organiser or
'mukhya sewadar' of the satsang
where preacher Narayan Sakar
Vishwa Hari alias Bhole Baba ad-
dressedthegatheringonTuesday.
Madhukar has been named
as the main accused along with
othersewadars. Atthemaingate
of histhree-storeyhouse,located
in a Jatav-dominated area, a
square-shaped picture of ‘Bhole
Baba’ is installed at the top. The
house remained locked on
Wednesday. Neighbours said
Madhukar’sfamily–hiswifeand
twochildren–hasleftthevillage.
Thehousesof hisassociateswere
also found locked in the area.
While expressing shock over
the incident, Madhukar’s neigh-
bourssaidtheywereawareof his
association with the preacher
buthadnoideathathewasasso-
ciated with organising such a
large congregation.
“Though I knew that he was
associated with Narayan Sakar
Vishwa Hari, but I didn't know
that he was among the main
Sewadars who were given the
task to organise such a big con-
gregation," said 54-year-old
Ramdas Gautam, who runs a ki-
rana store in New Colony.
past experience, it is observed
that in July there is a third wave
of floods too...before 15th
August, we will help people in
whatever way we can,” he said.
New Delhi: The third edition of
TheIndianExpressExcellencein
Governance Awards will be held
next year, for which entries are
now open till July 20, 2024. The
awards, instituted five years ago,
acknowlede district magistrates
acrossthecountryforinnovative
projects implemented by them
in their areas ranging from tech-
nology to women and child wel-
fare, health and education to the
implementation of Central
schemes.
The awards help spread best
practices across government,
sharing innovation, leadership
and learning.
The awards are spread over
18 categories — education,
healthcare, gender and inclu-
sion, social welfare, agriculture,
e-governance, skill develop-
OUT OF TOTAL DEAD,
113 ARE WOMEN
Hathras: Out of total killed in
the stampede, 113 are
women. Six of the deceased
are from neighbouring
states-- Madhya Pradesh (1),
Haryana (4) and Rajasthan
(1). There are 31 injured un-
dergoingtreatment indiffer-
ent hospitals. ” ENS
“Therearearound60%of peo-
ple in the area who are the fol-
lowers of that baba. They have
created a network at the local
level and organise and share the
details of upcoming programs
among their group members.
They seem to me as hardened
believers. They also asked me to
join the group, but I declined,"
said Jitendra Gautam, a resident
of the village. Apart from
Madhukar,otherorganiserswere
Mahesh Chandra, a resident of
KheriaKhurd;AnarSingh,aprin-
cipal from Krishna Vihar Colony;
Sanju Yadav; teachers
Chandradev and Ramprakash.
TheIndianExpresstriedtocon-
tact all the organisers, but their
cellphones were switched off.
The FIR against Madhukar
andotherunidentifiedsewadars
hasbeenlodgedunderBharatiya
Nyaya Sanhita sections 105 (cul-
pable homicide not amounting
to murder), 110, 126(2) [wrong-
fully restrains], 223 and 238
(causing disappearance of evi-
denceorgivingfalseinformation
to screen offender).
Manipur rivers
still flowing
above flood mark
Imphal: The Manipur Water
ResourcesandReliefandDisaster
Management Minister
AwangbowNewmai Wednesday
said the state is still vulnerable to
flood as the major rivers are still
flowing above the flood levels.
“Asthemajorriversareabove
flood level a few days of rain up-
stream can make the situation
persist.Ihaveappealedtothepeo-
ple to remain vigilant,” he said.
Theministersaid10areasare
inundated in Imphal West and
24 in Imphal East district owing
to the overflowing and breach of
river banks of major rivers. ENS
ment, MSME & industries, start-
up and innovations, sustainabil-
ity, water, energy, resource utili-
sation from Central & state
schemes, disaster resilience and
management,lawandorderand
public amenities,and a jury spe-
cial.
In its second edition in 2023,
The Indian Express received
around 400 applications. ENS

14 THE WORLD
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2024
DEMOCRATS ANGRY OVER PRESIDENT’S SLOW RESPONSE AFTER DEBATE
Biden tells key ally he is weighing
whether to continue in elections
Donors have been informing party leaders, White House that they think Biden should step down
KATIE ROGERS
WASHINGTON, JULY 3
PRESIDENT BIDEN has told a key
allythatheknowshemaynotbe
able to salvage his candidacy if
he cannot convince the public in
the coming days that he is up for
the job after a disastrous debate
performance last week.
The president, who the ally
emphasized is still deeply in the
fightforre-election,understands
that his next few appearances
heading into the holiday week-
endmustgowell,particularlyan
interview scheduled for Friday
with George Stephanopoulos of
ABCNewsandcampaignstopsin
Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
AndrewBates,aWhiteHouse
spokesman, said the report was
“absolutely false” and that the
WhiteHousehadnotbeengiven
enough time to respond.
Theconversationisthefirstin-
dicationtobecomepublicthatthe
presidentisseriouslyconsidering
whether he can recover after a
devastating performance on the
debate stage in Atlanta on
Thursday. A top adviser to Biden
said the president was “well
aware of the political challenge.”
Campaign officials were
nervouslyawaitingtheresultsof
aninternal pollWednesday, rec-
ognizingthatbadnumberscould
fuelthecrisis.ACBSNewspollre-
leased Wednesday showed for-
mer President Donald Trump
edging ahead of Biden since the
debatewith50percentto48per-
centnationallyand51percentto
48percentinbattlegroundstates.
Biden has been slow to per-
sonally reach out to key
KENYA
BRIEFLY
Activistsrethink
strategyafter
violentprotests
Nairobi: Activists behind
Kenya's anti-government
protests are rethinking
theirstrategyafterdemon-
strations Tuesday were
marred by violence and
looting. The activists say
the violencewas the work
of “goons” hired by politi-
cianstodiscreditlegitimate
demonstrators, push their
ownagendas. REUTERS
CANADA
Canadanames
firstwoman
Defencechief
Ottawa: Canada named a
woman aschief of thede-
fense staff for the first
time ever on Wednesday,
continuing a push by
Justin Trudeau to ap-
pointment women to the
most senior jobs.
Carignan has com-
manded troops in
Afghanistan, Iraq and
Syria during her 35 years
in the army. REUTERS
THERE ARE PRECISELY 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 POSSIBLE POSITIONS INTO WHICH THE FACETS CAN BE PERMUTED
Rubik’s cube @ 50: Half-century of fun exploring 43 billion billion permutations
SIOBHAN ROBERTS
JULY 3
BRIGHT AND early on the first
Saturday in January, Tomas
Rokickiandafewhundredfellow
enthusiastsgatheredinavastlec-
ture hall at the Moscone Center
indowntownSanFrancisco.Abig
math conference was underway
and Rokicki, a retired program-
merbasedinPaloAlto,California,
had helped organize a two-day
special session about “serious
recreational mathematics” cele-
brating the 50th anniversary of
theRubik’sCube.ErnoRubik,the
Cube’s inventor, was top of the
show at 8 a.m., via videoconfer-
ence from the south of Spain.
Rubik, a Hungarian architect,
US President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrive at Fort
Lesley J McNair in Washington on Monday. NYT
Democrats, which has fueled
anger in the party and frustrated
some of his own advisers. He
called only Representative
Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the
HouseDemocraticleaderTuesday
night and still had not spoken
withSenatorChuckSchumer,the
Senate Democratic leader. Key
donors expressed exasperation
thathedidnotjoinacampaigncall
Monday meant to assuage them.
Bidenhastoldatleastoneperson
that he is open to the possibility
thatplanstomoveonfromhisde-
bate — and flip the focus back to
Trump — may not work.
Someofthepresident’sadvis-
ers have grown increasingly pes-
simistic in the past day as the un-
rest in the party has continued to
grow,areflectionof unhappiness
not just over the debate but the
handling of it since then.
Biden’s team had sought to
Gazans scramble to find shelter
as Israel launches fresh strikes
REUTERS
CAIRO, GAZA, JULY 3
MANYPALESTINIANSwereseek-
ing shelter on Wednesday after
fleeing their homes in southern
Gaza and complained of water
shortages as Israel pressed on
with its military offensive in the
densely populated enclave.
Israeli forces carried out new
military strikes in the southern
city of Rafah amid fierce fighting
with Palestinian militants
overnight,residentssaid.Atleast
Authorities in Russia’s Dagestan
ban full-face veil after twin attacks
REUTERS
MOSCOW, JULY 3
ISLAMIC AUTHORITIES in
Russia’s mostly-Muslim
Dagestan on Wednesday tem-
porarily banned women from
wearing the niqab full-face veil,
after simultaneous attacks tar-
geting churchesandsynagogues
killed 22 last month.
In a statement posted on the
Telegram messenger app, the
designer,sculptorandretiredpro-
fessor, took part in a Q&A session
with Rokicki and his co-organiz-
ers,ErikDemaine,acomputersci-
entist at Massachusetts Institute
of Technology,andRobertHearn,
a retired computer scientist, of
Portola Valley, California.
Rokicki asked Rubik about
thefirsttimehesolvedtheCube:
“Did you solve corners-first?”
These days, new cubers learn
onYouTube,watchingtutorialsat
1.5xspeed.Rokickiinsteadrecom-
mendstheold-fashionedstrategy:
Setoutonalonepathanddiscover
a solving method, even if it takes
weeks or months. Corners-first is
a common route, since once the
corners are solved, the edges can
be slotted in with relative ease.
Rubiksaidthat,yes,heindeeddid
RACE FOR
THE WHITE
HOUSE
persuading elected Democrats
and party figures not to publicly
call on him to drop out. But
Representative Lloyd Doggett of
Texas became the first Democrat
CongressmantosayTuesdaythat
Biden should step aside, and oth-
ers have indicated that they may
followsuit.Keypartydonorshave
been privately calling House
members, Senators, super PACs
and the White House to say that
they think Biden should step
down,accordingtoDemocratsfa-
miliarwiththediscussion. NYT
An Israeli tank near the Gaza
border on Tuesday. Reuters
12 people were killed in new
strikes in central and northern
Gaza, health officials said.
Dagestan Muftiate said it was in-
troducing a “temporary” ban on
the niqab after an appeal from
Russia's ministry of nationality
policy and religious affairs.
Reportsfollowingtheattackssaid
one of the gunmen had planned
to escape wearing a niqab.
The muftiate, a religious or-
ganisationrepresentingDagestani
Muslims,saidthatthebanwould
remain in place “until identified
threats are eliminated and a new
theologicalconclusionisreached.”
corners-first.Rubik,whoisknown
to take a philosophical approach
to cubology added: “My method
wasunderstanding.”
Rubik dates the Cube to the
springof1974.Preparingacourse
on descriptive geometry and tin-
keringwiththefivePlatonicsolids,
he had become especially taken
bythecube.But,ashewroteinhis
2020memoir,Cubed,ThePuzzleof
Us All, for quite a while it “never
once occurred to me that I was
creating a puzzle.”
By about the time of his 30th
birthday, in July 1974, he had cre-
atedthestructure,realizeditspuz-
zlingpotentialand—afterplaying
with it intermittently for a few
months—solvedtheCubeforthe
first time. He submitted a patent
application in January 1975, and
Biden’s lapses are said
to be increasingly
common, worrisome
THE NEW YORK TIMES
JULY 3
INTHEweeksandmonthsbefore
President Joe Biden’s politically
devastating performance on the
debate stage, current and former
officials and others who met him
behind closed doors noticed that
he increasingly appeared con-
fusedorlistless,orwouldlosethe
thread of conversations.
Like many people his age,
Biden,81,haslongexperiencedin-
stances in which he mangled a
sentence,forgotanameormixed
up a few facts, even though he
couldbesharpandengagedmost
of the time. But people in the
roomwithhimmorerecentlysaid
the lapses seemed to be growing
morefrequent,morepronounced
and more worrisome.
In the 23 days leading up to
the debate against former
President Donald Trump, Biden
jetted across the Atlantic Ocean
twice for meetings with foreign
leaders and then flew from Italy
to California for a splashy
fundraiser, maintaining a gru-
elling pace that exhausted even
much younger aides.
Biden was drained enough
from the back-to-back trips to
Europe that his team cut his
planned debate preparation by
two days so he could rest at his
Fighting continued overnight
in two locations at the centre of
Rafah, where tanks have seized
severaldistrictsandadvancedfur-
ther west and north of the city in
recent days, and concerns about
the plight of hundreds of thou-
sands are growing. The Israeli
military said its forces had con-
tinued targeted, intelligence-
based operations in Rafah, dis-
mantled several military sites
and killed Palestinian militants.
Hamas’ armed wing said it had
shelled two Israeli tanks in a
neighbourhood west of Rafah.
PUTIN,XITOMEETAT
CENTRALASIANSUMMIT
Beijing: Russian President
Vladimir Putin and Chinese
PresidentXiJinpingwillmeet
Thursday for the second time
in twomonthsatKazakhstan
for a session of Shanghai
Cooperation Organisation, a
group founded to counter
Western alliances. AP
Early cube models at Erno Rubik’s warehouse in Budapest. NYT
TOLL RISES, DESTRUCTION WIDESPREAD
HURRICANE BERYL TAKES AIM AT JAMAICA
The center of Hurricane Beryl churned menacingly toward Jamaica on Wednesday, after uprooting trees,
ripping off roofs and destroying farms as it forged a destructive, water-soaked path across smaller islands
in the Caribbean. The death toll from the powerful Category 4 hurricane increased to at least seven, but it
is widely expected to rise as communications come back online across the drenched islands.
house in Delaware before joining
advisers at Camp David for re-
hearsals.Thepreparations,which
took place over six days, never
started before 11 a.m. and Biden
was given time for an afternoon
nap each day, according to a per-
son familiar with the process.
Therecentmomentsofdisori-
entation generated concern
among advisers and allies alike.
He seemed confused at points
duringaD-Dayanniversarycere-
mony in France on June 6. The
next day, he misstated the pur-
pose of a new tranche of military
aid to Ukraine when meeting
with its president. On June 10, he
appeared to freeze up at an early
celebrationoftheJuneteenthhol-
iday. On June 18, his soft-spoken
tone and brief struggle to sum-
mon the name of his homeland
securitysecretaryatanimmigra-
tion event unnerved some of his
allies at the event.
In the days since the debate ,
aides and others described him
as being in good shape — alert,
coherentandengagedincompli-
catedandimportantdiscussions.
Last week’s debate prompted
somearoundhimtoexpresscon-
cernthatthedeclinehadacceler-
ated lately. Several advisers and
officials who see Biden regularly
saidtheywerestunnedbyhisde-
bate performance because it was
theworsttheyhadeverseenhim.
Khamenei says
turnout in Iran
poll’s first round
was ‘lower than
expected’
Iran’s
Supreme
Leader
Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei
Dubai: Iran's Supreme Leader Ali
Khamenei said on Wednesday
thattheturnoutinthefirstround
ofthecountry'spresidentialelec-
tion was "lower than expected",
semi-official Tasnim reported.
Turnout was about 40%,
Iran's interior ministry said - the
lowest on record since the 1979
revolution. “We hope that peo-
ple's turnout for the second
round will be important and a
source of pride for the Islamic
Republic,” Khamenei said, call-
ing upon Iranians to cast their
ballot this coming Friday.
Friday’s vote will be a tight
race between lawmaker
Massoud Pezeshkian, the sole
moderate in the original field of
four candidates, and former
Revolutionary Guards member
Saeed Jalili. The election is to
elect a successor to President
EbrahimRaisi,whodiedinahel-
icopter crash in May. REUTERS
VOTER APATHY IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE, SAYS STARMER
Sunak battles till the end,
Starmer eyes victory as
UK goes to polls today
(Left)Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at a campaign in London; Labour leader Keir Starmer in
Carmarthenshire on Wednesday. AP
JILL LAWLESS
LONDON, JULY 3
RISHI SUNAK has covered thou-
sands of miles in the past few
weeks, but he hasn’t outrun the
expectation that his time as
Britain’s prime minister is in its
final hours.
United Kingdom voters will
cast ballots in a national election
Thursday, passing judgment on
Sunak’s 20 months in office, and
on the four Conservative prime
ministers before him. They are
widelyexpectedtodosomething
they have not done since 2005:
ElectaLabourPartygovernment.
Duringahecticfinaltwodays
of campaigning that saw him
visit a food distribution ware-
house, a supermarket, a farm
and more, Sunak insisted “the
outcome of this election is not a
foregone conclusion.”
“People can see that we have
Amid bid to oust PM,
Nepal’s largest parties
form panel to reform
2015 Constitution
YUBARAJ GHIMIRE
KATHMANDU, JULY 3
THETWOlargestpartiesinNepal’s
Parliament,thatarelikelyheaded
topower,havesetupapaneltore-
form the 2015 Constitution amid
public and political pressure for a
return to the status of a Hindu
country — but it is unclear how
deepthechangeswillgo.
The panel was set up late on
Monday, the same day the Sher
Bahadur Deuba-led Nepali
Congress(NC)andtheKPOli-led
Communist Party of Nepal-
Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-
UML) finalised an agreement to
oust Prime Minister Prachanda
of the Maoist Centre. Theforma-
tionofthebodycameamidgrow-
ing pressure for changes to the
Constitution,withsomeevende-
manding that Nepal’s status as a
Hindu country be restored.. The
panel will be headed by Kalyan
Shrestha,aretiredChief Justiceof
Nepal’s Supreme Court.
Nepal’sConstitutionthatwas
promulgatedinSeptember2015
by the end of 1977 the “Magic
Cube” had debuted in toy stores
in Hungary. Travelers spirited it
out“intheirluggage,nexttoother
Hungariandelicacieslikesausage
and Tokaji wine,” he recalled.
After the session with Rubik,
Rokicki gave a talk on mathe-
matical aspects of the Cube. He
started with the fact that it
scrambles into some 43 billion
billion colorful combinations. “A
reasonably big number,” he said,
possibly more than all the grains
of sand in the world.
Part of the puzzle’s appeal is
thecomplexitythatemergesfrom
its simplicity. The Cube is com-
posed of the 20 smaller “cubies”
(eight corners and 12 edges cen-
tered between the corners) and
sixface-centerpiecesattachedto
turned a corner,” said the
Conservative leader, who has
been in office since October
2022.
But even a last-minute pep
talk at a Conservative rally
Tuesday night by former Prime
Minister Boris Johnson did little
to lift the party’s mood.
Conservative Cabinet minister
Mel Stride said Wednesday it
looked like Labour was heading
for an “extraordinary landslide.”
Labour warned against tak-
ing the election result for
granted, imploring supporters
not to grow complacent about
polls that have given the party a
solid double-digit lead.
The party has won the sup-
port of large chunks of the busi-
ness community and endorse-
ments from traditionally
conservative newspapers in-
cluding the Rupert Murdoch-
owned Sunday Times.
But for many voters, the lack
has been held by its architects —
mainlytheMaoistCentre,theNC
and the CPN-UML — as the most
progressive in the world.
“The Constitution was pre-
pared without the involvement
of experts and there were many
inadequaciesin it,” said Narayan
Ghimire, a professor of law at
Purvanchal University. “The NC
and CPN-UML declaration is in
response to the growing public
pressure for it.”
Sourcessuggestthatthefuture
ruling partners want to limit the
changestoareviewoftheelectoral
systemandcertainaspectsoffed-
eralstructurethathaveprovedtoo
expensive. “The reform or review
process can’t be restricted to two
issues,” said Rajendra Lingden,
Chairman of the Pro-Monarchy
RastriyaPrajatantraParty.“Wewill
seek restoration of Nepal's status
asaHindukingdom.”
Meanwhile, The CPN-UML
handed over a letter to the Prime
Minister, formally ending their
four month long coalition. All the
ministersfromthepartyalsosub-
mittedtheirresignationtothePM.
the core. The core mechanism is
anchored by a 3D cross, around
which tabs on the edge and cor-
ner cubies interlock in a geomet-
rically ingenious way that allows
the structure to rotate.
Thecubiesdisplay54colorful
facets, nine each of white, red,
blue,orange,yellowandgreen.In
itssolvedstate,theCube’ssixfaces
are configured such that all nine
facetsarethesamecolor.Turning
thepuzzlescramblesthecolors—
in total, there are precisely
43,252,003,274,489,856,000pos-
sible positions into which the
facets can be permuted.
All the while, the puzzle’s es-
sentialform—itscubic-ness—re-
mains unchanged. This feature
demonstrates group theory, the
mathematical study of symme-
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
REUTERS
of trust applies not just to
Conservatives, but to politicians
in general.
Veteran rouser of the right,
NigelFarage,hasleapedintothat
breach with his Reform U.K.
party and grabbed headlines,
and voters’ attention, with his
anti-immigration rhetoric.
The Liberal Democrats and
Green Party also want to sweep
up disaffected voters from the
bigger parties. Across UK, voters
say they want change but aren’t
optimistic it will come.
Starmer has agreed that his
biggestchallengeis“themindset
in some voters that everything’s
broken, nothing can be fixed.”
Manyelectionexpertsexpect
a low turnout, below the 67%
recorded in 2019. Yet this elec-
tion may bring a scale of change
Britain has not seen for decades
if it delivers a big Labour major-
ity and a diminished
Conservative Party. AP
Ready to help
fund WikiLeaks,
hopeful Assange
may return, says
Roger Waters
Singer,
Songwriter
Roger
Waters
London: Musician and singer-
songwriterRogerWaterssayshe
hopes a now free Julian Assange
might oneday be abletoresume
his work at WikiLeaks if he
wantsto, and thatheis prepared
to help fund the whistleblower
media organisation.
The Pink Floyd co-founder,
who had long called for the re-
lease of the Australian publisher
from a jail in Britain, told Reuters
he had exchanged messages of
“sighs of relief” with Assange's
wife Stella since he arrived in
Canberra last week. Waters also
visited Assange in jail last year
with Stella and former Greek fi-
nance minister YanisVaroufakis.
“If he could (return to
WikiLeaks) and if that's what he
would want to do, I’m sure he’s
got the balls to do it,” Waters
said. Asked if Assange would be
in a condition to do so, Waters
said:“Youhave toaskJulian...but
I hope so.” REUTERS
try: A so-called symmetry group
ofageometricobjectisthecollec-
tion,orgroup,of transformations
that can be applied to the object
but that nonetheless leave the
structurepreserved.Asquarehas
eight symmetries. A plain cube
has 48 symmetries. The Rubik’s
Cube has some 43 quintillion.
Thesesymmetriesarea“fantastic
property,” Rokicki said, that “re-
ally gives the Cube its elegance.”
Therearemanypathstosolv-
ing the Cube. During his lecture,
Rokicki zeroed in on a specific
number: What is the minimum
number of moves necessary to
solve even the most scrambled
positions? Rokicki set out to cal-
culate this, known as God’s
number, in 1999. In 2010 he
found the answer: 20. NYT

15 ECONOMY
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2024
SENSEX: 79,986.80 ▲ 545.35 (0.69%) NIFTY: 24,286.50 ▲ 162.65 (0.67%) NIKKEI: 40,580.76 ▲ 506.07 HANG SENG: 17,978.57 ▲ 209.43 FTSE: 8,152.71 ▲ 31.51 DAX: 18,302.50 ▲ 138.44
GLOBAL INDIAAI SUMMIT 2024
India may start procuring AI GPUs in
next two-three months: IT minister
ENS ECONOMIC BUREAU
NEW DELHI, JULY 3
THE CENTRE will roll out the
Rs 10,000 crore India AI Mission
in the next two to three months
under which it will help procure
computing power for the do-
mestic industry run artificial in-
telligence (AI) systems, IT
Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw
said Wednesday.
“We will procure 10,000 or
more graphics processing units
(GPUs) under a public-private
partnership so that the efficien-
cies of the industry can be har-
nessed for a bigger cause. We
will also have an AI innovation
centre, high quality data sets
which can add more value to
the efforts of startups, and an
application development initia-
tive where apps relevant to our
socio-economic problems can
be developed. We will have a
huge focus on skill develop-
ment,” Vaishnaw said at the in-
augural session of the Global
IndiaAI Summit 2024.
BRIEFLY
Sebiallows
passivefunds
forinvestment
New Delhi: The Securities
and Exchange Board of
India (Sebi) has stream-
lined norms for passive
funds – index funds and
Exchange Traded Funds
(ETFs)–pertainingtoexpo-
sure to securities of group
companies of the sponsor
to facilitate a level playing
field for mutual funds. PTI
Povertyfallsto
8.5%in2022-
2024:NCAER
NewDelhi:PovertyinIndiais
estimated to have declined
to 8.5 per cent in 2022-24
from 21.2 per cent in 2011-
12, despite the challenges
posed by the pandemic, ac-
cording to a research paper
by the economic think tank
NCAER. PTI
TKM,IISctieup
forMobility
EngineeringLab
New Delhi: Toyota Kirloskar
Motor (TKM) on Wednes-
day announced that it has
joinedhandswiththeIndian
Institute of Science (IISc) to
support the establishment
of a Mobility Engineering
Laboratory.Thisinitiativeby
IISc is supported by TKM in
the field of learning, aims to
enableteachinginadvanced
cutting-edge technologies,
aswellashigh-endresearch
and development. ENS
Strengthen
governance:
RBItobanks
Mumbai: RBI Governor
Shaktikanta Das
Wednesday asked banks to
on
further strengthen the gov-
ernancestandards,riskman-
agementpracticesandcom-
plianceculture.Aspartofthe
ReserveBank'sengagement
with the senior manage-
mentofitsregulatedentities,
Das held meetings with the
managing directors and
chief executive officers of
public sector and select pri-
vatebanks. PTI
Lendersreject
settlement
proposalbyJAL
New Delhi: Lenders of
Jaiprakash Associates Ltd
(JAL) led by ICICI Bank have
rejected the modified one-
time settlement proposal,
in which the group had of-
fered a higher upfront pay-
ment and sales of its ce-
ment assets. PTI
Minister of Electronics and Information Technology
Ashwini Vaishnaw at the Global India-AI Summit 2024, in
New Delhi on Wednesday.
The IndiaAI Mission was ap-
proved by the previous Union
Cabinet earlier this year, ahead
of the Lok Sabha elections.
While still a blueprint, the ap-
proval could spur investments
in this sector — with private
companies setting up data cen-
tres in the country, and allow-
ing startups access so they can
test and build their generative
AI models.
6TH MINISTERIAL COUNCIL MEETING OF GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
In ‘integrated partnership’ of global AI
group with OECD, some trade-offs for India
SOUMYARENDRABARIK
NEWDELHI,JULY3
DURING THE sixth ministerial
council meeting of the Global
Partnership on Artificial Intellig-
ence(GPAI),representativesofthe
grouping announced an “inte-
gratedpartnership”withtheOrg-
anisationforEconomicCo-opera-
tion and Development (OECD) to
bring “OECD members and GPAI
countriesonequalfooting,under
the GPAI brand” – but to arrive at
this consensus, some trade-offs
hadtobemadebehindthescenes,
The Indian Express has learnt.
TheGPAI,sinceitsinceptionin
2020, was supported by a secre-
tariat hosted by the OECD. This
paper has learnt that the initial
conversation was that the GPAI
would work under the OECD’s
Working Party on Artificial
Intelligence Governance (AIGO).
However,countrieslikeIndiaand
Japan are understood to have
pushed back on it, with concerns
thattheeffortstheyhavemadeat
making GPAI a relevant multi
stakeholder organisation might
Microblogging platform Koo shuts shop
ANEES HUSSAIN
BENGALURU, JULY 3
HOMEGROWN MICROBLOG-
GING platform Koo, which had
positioned itself as a rival and vi-
able alternative to Twitter (now
X) is shutting down. Its co-
founders, Aprameya Radhakr-
ishna and Mayank Bidawatka,
on Wednesday announced that
the platform will be discontin-
uing its services to the public, as
talks for a partnership with mul-
tiple larger internet companies,
conglomerates and media
houses did not yield the desired
outcome.
Fed minutes: Inflation cooling, but
more evidence is needed for rate cuts
ASSOCIATEDPRESS
WASHINGTON,JULY3
US FEDERAL Reserve officials at
their most recent meeting wel-
comed recent signs that infla-
tion is slowing and highlighted
data suggesting that the job
market and the broader econ-
omy could be cooling.
Both trends, if they contin-
ued, could lead the Fed to cut
its benchmark interest rate in
the coming months from its 23-
year peak. The minutes of the
Fed’s June 11-12 meeting, re-
leased Wednesday, showed
that the policymakers saw sev-
eral factors that could further
ease inflation in the coming
months. These factors included
the slower growth of wages,
which reduces pressure on
companies to raise prices to
cover their labor costs.
Source: PIB
Vaishnaw said there is a gen-
eral understanding that mod-
ern technology is becoming ex-
pensive and “in many
geographies, it gets limited in
the hands of the few - big tech,
government controlled”. Citing
the example of India’s digital
public infrastructure work, he
added that technology should
be accessible to everyone. He
mentioned the various inter-
A STRATEGIC WIN
■ The announcement
that the GPAI will have an
“integrated partnership”
with the OECD, bringing
OECD members and GPAI
countries together under
the former’s brand is a
strategic win for India
and like-minded
countries
get diluted if it were to work un-
der the OECD.
As such, the announcement
that the GPAI will have an “inte-
grated partnership” with the
OECD, bringing OECD members
and GPAI countries together un-
der the former’s brand is a strate-
gicwinforIndiaandlike-minded
countries. Effectively, India man-
aged to negotiate that the GPAI
bannerbekeptalive,andfunction
alongsideOECDmembers,rather
than working under them.
Therewerealsoconcernsthat
because India, and a large part of
The platform had started off
well around three years ago –
March 2021 – when the govern-
ment was locked in a tiff with
Twitter over intermediary
guidelines, but slowly started
losing momentum, witnessing
a sharp decline in its monthly
active user base. The platform
had a good start, notching some
30 million downloads in the first
two years of its launch.
“We explored partnership
with multiple larger internet
companies, conglomerates and
media houses, but these talks
didn't yield the outcome we
wanted,” the co-founders wrote
US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
The policymakers also
pointed to anecdotal cases of
retail chains and other busi-
nesses lowering prices and of-
fering discounts, a sign that
customers are increasingly re-
sisting higher prices.
And in a noticeable shift
ventions that have happened
globally to limit the problems
posed by AI systems, including
the AI Act passed in the
European Union and the exec-
utive order in the United States,
and called these measures “very
relevant”.
“These are very relevant for
all of us. We are all facing the
same challenges, the global
south is looking at universal
support, thought process…”
Vaishnaw said. The minister
said that though the last year
has seen AI traverse a “momen-
tous” journey with growth vis-
ible in both its consumption and
enthusiasm in how it might
change businesses and the so-
cieties, there has also been a “re-
alisation” about its “dangers” to
social institutions.
“IntherecentLokSabhaelec-
tionswesawthethreatof misin-
formation, disinformationwhich
was multiplied with the power
of AI. The entire world has expe-
rienced this and is feeling the
same threats,” Vaishnaw said.
the developing world, is not a
member of the OECD, if the GPAI
wastogoundertheAIGO,itwould
reducethespaceforthemtoraise
issues relevant to the AI-related
discourse in their respective na-
tions. The joint announcement
madeWednesdaysaysthatit“un-
derscoresthatallmembersof the
integratedpartnershipwillpartic-
ipate equally, without distinction
ordisparities,inthepartnership’s
activitiesanditsdecision-making”.
It also added that the integrated
partnershipmayconsiderthede-
velopment of its specific working
methods, through consensus,
based on the equal footing of all
members irrespective of their
OECDmembershipstatus.
But, there have been trade-
offs, especially on where the sec-
retariat of the GPAI would be
hosted.Itisunderstoodthatsince
India took over the presidency of
the GPAI, it had been pushing for
anindependentsecretariat,toes-
sentially take the grouping out-
side of the OECD’s purview. This
has not come to fruition, as the
GPAI’s secretariat is expected to
We were just months
away from beating
Twitter in India in 2022
and could have doubled
down on that short-term
goal with capital behind us
... the little yellow birdsays
its final goodbye “
— APRAMEYA RADHAKRISHNA
& MAYANK BIDAWATKA
CO-FOUNDERS, KOO
in a post on LinkedIn.
The duo said that although
they would have liked to keep
Reuters file
from previous minutes, the of-
ficials cited concerns that a fur-
ther cooling in the job market
would likely lead to layoffs.
So far, slowing demand
for workers has mostly ap-
peared in the form of fewer job
postings.
Will support
AI application
development:
OpenAI
New Delhi: ChatGPT maker
OpenAIiscommittedtosup-
portingIndiaAImission’sap-
plicationdevelopmentinitia-
tive, its vice president,
Srinivas Narayanan said,
highlighting that concrete
use cases of Artificial Intelli-
gence (AI) are emerging in
thecountryacrossareassuch
as agriculture, healthcare
and education. OpenAI is
keepingIndiainmindinim-
portantdecisionsthatarebe-
ing made, Narayanan said,
endorsingIndia’sAIMission.
NarayanansaidIndia’sAI
Mission is a “shining exam-
ple” for entire world, of an
end-to-end public invest-
mentingenerativeAI. PTI
continue with the OECD.
“The secretariat at the OECD
was coming to an end around
May,butthewholethingwasina
limbo on where the secretariat
wouldbeafterthat.Indiawanted
either an independent or a rota-
tion secretariat, but OECD seems
tohaveputitsfootdowninkeep-
ing the secretariat with itself,” a
senior government official said.
“TheideaisthatGPAIwillremain
associatedwithOECD.Non-OECD
GPAImemberswill betreatedon
par with OECD members,” a sec-
ond senior government official
said on condition of anonymity.
Launched in June 2020 with
15 members, GPAI is the fruition
of an idea developed within the
G7.Today,GPAI’s29membersare
Argentina, Australia, Belgium,
Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic,
Denmark,France,Germany,India,
Ireland,Israel,Italy,Japan,Mexico,
the Netherlands, New Zealand,
Poland, the Republic of Korea,
Senegal, Serbia, Singapore,
Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey,
the United Kingdom, the United
States, and the European Union.
the app running, “the cost of
technology services to keep a so-
cial media app running is high
and we've had to take this tough
decision”.
At its peak, Koo grossed
about 2.1 million daily active
users, about 10 million monthly
active users, and over 9,000 VIPs
that included some of the most
prominent personalities from
various fields.
“We were just months away
from beating Twitter in India in
2022 and could have doubled
down on that short-term goal
with capital behind us,” they
said. FE
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GOLD
`72,550
Note: Gold, silver rates at Delhi spot market, gold per 10g, silver per 1 kg; Crude oil (Indian basket) as of July 2
Domestic funds drive
up markets; FPIs exit
HITESHVYAS
&GEORGEMATHEW
MUMBAI,JULY3
THEMAINdriversofthesustained
bull rally in the markets were the
domestic institutional investors
(DIIs),includingmutualfunds,in-
surance companies and other fi-
nancialinstitutions.However,for-
eign portfolio investors (FPIs)
were not showing the same en-
thusiasmandremainedsellersin
the cash market during most of
thesessionssinceDecember2023
when the Sensex hit the 70,000
level for the first time.
Aidedbyhugeinflowsintoeq-
uity schemes, mutual funds
bought stocks worth Rs 2,40,000
croresinceJanuarythisyear,neu-
tralisingtheFPIsellinginthemar-
ket.Ontheotherhand,FPIspulled
out Rs 1,21,000 crore from the
Indian stock market — excluding
investments in the initial public
offerings (IPOs) — in the last six
months, according to exchange
data. Domestic funds bought
stocks worth Rs 1,55,000 crore
from March to May this year
ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
FPIsell-offwasmorepronounced
in May when they withdrew Rs
42,214 crore from the cash mar-
ket before the announcement of
the election results.
Themarketregisteredvolatile
movements,especiallyinthefirst
week of June when the election
results were in focus. The Sensex
hasgainedover10,000points(be-
tween December 11, 2023, and
July 3, 2024) largely by domestic
fund buying.
Netinflowsintoequitymutual
funds have been showing a good
growth month after month.
Inflows grew 83 per cent month-
on-monthinMay.“Thismoneyis
now being deployed in the stock
market,takingtheindicestonew
peak. Mutual funds went on a
IF FISCAL DEFICIT
FALLS TO 4%
S&P: India’s
rating upgrade
possible in next
24 months
NewDelhi: Asovereignratingup-
grade for India in the next 24
months is possible if the central
government is able to prudently
manage its finances and bring
downfiscaldeficitto4percentof
GDP, an S&P Global Ratings offi-
cial said on Wednesday.
S&P Global Ratings Director,
Sovereign Ratings, YeeFarn Phua,
saidthetriggerforupgradewould
be general government (Centre +
states) deficit falling below 7 per
cent of the GDP, and a lot of this
would have to be driven by the
central government.
“If the central government is
abletobringdownfiscaldeficitto
4percentoftheGDP,wewillcon-
sider a rating upgrade over the
next 24 months,” Phua said.
The central government esti-
matestobringdownfiscaldeficit
to 5.1 per cent of the GDP in the
current fiscal, from 5.63 per cent
in 2023-24. As per the fiscal con-
solidation roadmap, the deficit --
the difference between govern-
mentexpenditureandrevenue--
will be brought down to 4.5 per
cent by 2025-26. PTI
: From 18.00 Hrs on 02.07.2024 onwards
Date: 03/07/2024
USD RATE
`83.49
FPI & DII OUTFLOWS,
INFLOWS INTO MKT
In2024sofar;in`Crore
FPI
Jan -35,977 +26,743
Feb -15,962 +25,379
Mar +3,314 +56,311
Apr -35,692 +44,186
May -42,214 +55,733
June +2,037 +28,633
July* +3,057 +3,641
*As on July 2, 2024; Source: BSE
(Excluding IPO investments)
buyingspree,sendingtheindices
to new peaks. Some small and
mic-capstockswitnessedfrothas
a result of the DII buying spree,”
said a market source. Insurance
companies led by LIC which mo-
bilised Rs 3,70,543 crore as new
premium income in FY2024 also
invested a significant portion of
this money in stocks during the
last six months.
The FPI strategy during most
ofrecentmonthswastosellIndia
whichisexpensiveandbuyChina
which is very cheap mainly
throughHongKong.“ThePEratio
in India is more than double the
PE ratio in Hong Kong. So long as
this ‘Sell India, Buy China’ trade
sustains,FPIsellingwillweighon
the markets,” said an investment
analyst.
Market Outlook
Although the participants re-
main cautious of the high valua-
tions,theydonotwanttomissout
ontheopportunity,DeepakJasani,
Head of Retail Research, HDFC
Securitiessaid.Thenear-termtrig-
gers of the forthcoming Union
Services PMI rises in
June on new orders
ENSECONOMICBUREAU
NEWDELHI,JULY3
SERVICES ACTIVITY across the
country improved in June, with
the HSBC India Services Business
ActivityIndex,orservicesPMI,ris-
ingto60.5duringthemonthfrom
five-month low of 60.2 in May.
The uptick was mainly a result of
strongerriseinnewordersandan
“unprecedentedexpansion”inin-
ternationalsales,areleasebyS&P
Global said.
The pace of increase in activ-
ity was quicker than in May and
above its long-run average, the
global ratings agency said.
Demand strength and rising in-
takes of new business were cited
asthekeydeterminantsofgrowth
by panellists.
The manufacturing activity
alsowitnessedaconsiderablere-
covery in June, largely due to the
same reason. Data released on
Monday showed manufacturing
PMI rising to 58.3 from 57.5 in
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
OIL SILVER
$87.46 `91,300
International market data till 1900 IST
E
E X P L A I NE D
Goodgrowth
MoM in
● equity MFs
DII THE MARKETS have been
volatile, especially during
first week of June
when the election
results were in focus.
However, the benchmark
BSE Sensex gained over
10,000 points in last 7
months largely on buying
by domestic funds. Net in-
flows into equity mutual
funds have also been
showing a good growth
month after month.
Budgetand the FY25firstquarter
results have provided the oppor-
tunity to the participants to build
positions ahead of them.
India is one of the few large
markets that offer visible growth
at a good pace over the next few
yearsunaffectedmostlybyglobal
developments. A decent mon-
soonintermsofspreadandinten-
sity could improve the prospects
of growth even further while
bringing down inflation, he said.
Aidedbygainsinmanufactur-
ingandservicessectors,business
activityinthecountrygotfurther
strengthened in June with the
paceofjobcreationfastestinover
18 years, according to HSBC pur-
chasing managers' index (PMI)
survey released last week.
Marketsarealsoexpectingre-
tailinflationtoeaseinthecoming
monthswhichislikelytoprompt
the Reserve Bank of India to con-
sider a rate cut. “A rate cut by the
US Fed over the next few months
could make equity as an asset
class even more attractive, bene-
fitting Indian equities by way of
more inflows,” Jasani said.
May. As a result, the composite
PMI, a weighted average of both
manufacturing and services PMI,
increasedto60.9inJunefrom60.5
the previous month, S&P Global
said.
During June, services firms
witnessed a record expansion in
international orders from Asia,
Australia, Europe, Latin America,
the Middle East and the US, the
ratings agency said.
Afasterriseinactivityalsoen-
couraged services firms to in-
crease their staffing levels at the
fastest pace since August 2022.
Anecdotalevidencehighlighteda
mixture of short-term and per-
manent hires for junior, medium
and senior level positions, S&P
Global said.
On the inflation front, panel-
lists reported higher prices for
food (chicken, eggs and vegeta-
bles) and fuel. Average input
prices, however, rose at a below-
trend rate and one that was the
softest in four months. FE
 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

16 E EXPLAINED
EXPLAINED CULTURE
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2024

EXPLAINED GLOBAL
@ieExplained
#ExpressExplained
If there are questions of current or contemporary relevance that you would like
explained, please write to explained@indianexpress.com

The continuing relevance

of Franz Kafka Elections in the UK
UDBHAV SETH
tique of the modernist project. His Trial
(published posthumously in 1925), was
After post-Brexit economic crises, scandals, and political tumult, Conservatives are likely to face a record
NEW DELHI, JULY 3 aboutamanwho’saccusedof acrimebut defeat in Thursday’s elections. But many remain skeptical about what a Labour govt will really change
is never told what it was, and The
FRANZ KAFKA shone a light through the Metamorphosis (1915) was the story of a
smokescreenof bureaucracy tolay barea man who wakes up on a Monday morn- growth and clean energy.
disillusioned political class, clueless au- ing to discover he has turned into a giant ALIND CHAUHAN & Labour has vowed to not raise taxes “for
thorities, and spiteful officers. insect, but continues to worry about be- ARJUN SENGUPTA working people”. There will be no increase
Born in 1883 in Prague, then part of ing late for work. NEW DELHI, JULY 3 in the basic, higher, or additional rates of in-
the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Kafka Among Kafka’s short stories and come tax, National Insurance, or VAT.
startedoutworkinginaninsurancecom- novellas were The Castle (1926), and In AS THE United Kingdom votes on Thursday, Corporationtaxwillbecappedatthecurrent
pany, but spent his nights and weekends the Penal Colony (1919). Kafka destroyed Keir Starmer’s Labour Party is headed for a level of 25%.
writing — his stories reflected what he a lot of his work during his lifetime, and landslide victory — some opinion polls have Starmer has also claimed he will resolve
saw glimpsed in the offices and over- some were published by his friend Max given Labour more than 400 of the 650 seats issues with the NHS, by adding 40,000 more
heard in the corridors. Brod after his death, in defiance of in the House of Commons. This will end the appointmentseveryweek,incentivisingstaff
The outcome was ‘Kafkaesque’, a Kafka’s wishes. These works, as Brod 14-year rule of the Conservative Party, also to carry out extra appointments out-of-
nightmarish world of wrote in a postscript to The known as the Tory party, currently led by hours, and using the “spare capacity” in the
labyrinthine bureaucracy, Trial’s first edition, were Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. private sector. He has promised to recruit an
full of forms, permits, signa- among Kafka’s best, of the additional 8,500 new staff to treat children
tures, and contracts, that ex- highest “literary and ethical Falling living standards and adults.
isted only to protect the pro- value”. The UK has been mired in economic tur- Labour Party chief Keir Starmer (left) and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Reuters While Starmer has been a vocal critic of
cedure, not to serve the moil since it voted to leave the European Sunak’simmigrationpolicy,hetoohasprom-
people.
Kafka, a hundred Union in 2016. ised to bring down net migration by intro-
Wednesday marked a years on Currently, the biggest concern for voters ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE UK & NATIONAL ELECTIONS ducing visa restrictions, training workers in
century of Kafka’s death. But A century after Kafka’s is their deteriorating living standards. While sectors where there is domestic scarcity, and
Kafka lives on, through the death, the world that he was the rate of inflation fell to 2% in May after KEY METERICS Parliament seats in the UK’s increasingbordersecurity.Labourhasprom-
modest body of his own tormented by continues to peaking at 11.1% in October 2022, real wages four constituents ised to scrap Sunak’s Rwanda policy.
work that has survived, and survive in many respects. In havecontinuedtodecline,andfoodpricesre- Population Inflation Labour has promised it will set up state-
Scotland
in the works of the writers Franz Kafka. today’s historic socio-eco- main 20% above the levels seen in July 2021. 67 million 2% owned Great British Energy, backed by $10.5
he inspired in various ways Wikimedia Commons nomic inequality, continu- ThishasmadetheoutgoingConservative 59 billion,andpartnerwith“energycompanies,
— such as Paul Auster, ing injustices, and even the government the first in modern British his- Northern Ireland
local authorities, and co-operatives to install
Ismael Kadare, Gabriel looming climate catastro- torytoleavetheBritishpeopleworseoff than Unemployment Median age thousands of clean power projects, through
18
Garcia Marquez, Salman Rushdie, Zadie phe, Kafka’s tragicomic criticism of before — household disposable incomes are 4.40% 41 years a combination of onshore wind, solar, and
Smith, Margaret Atwood. modernism remains relevant. poisedtogodownby0.9%between2019and Wales hydropower projects”. Starmer has said he
The Internet has rediscovered him the end of 2024, according to a report by 40 will expand clean energy by doubling on-
Critic of modernist through memes and videos about his think tank Resolution Foundation. A record
GDP per capita Food
shore wind, tripling solar power, and quad-
(2022) inflation
rationalism characters who remain helpless in the number of citizens now rely on food stamps. England rupling offshore wind by 2030.
$46,125 1.7% 553
Kafka’sgreatcontemporaries,Virginia face of larger forces, and react with con- All this as public spending has seen con-
Woolf and T S Eliot, described the misery fusion and fear. stant cuts during the Tories’ 14 years in Labour ‘selling its soul’
of post World War I Europe — of a conti- As the critic George Steiner wrote in power. The famed National Health Service HOW UK VOTES KEY PARTIES IN FRAY Despite Starmer’s tall claims, critics have
nentravagedandagenerationdestroyed, his introduction to a translation of The (NHS) is in a shambles with very long wait saidhehas“soldLabour’ssoul”inabidtomake
of a world in which science had failed in Trial by Willa Muir and Edwin Muir, times and falling numbers of general practi- Voting age 18 SEATS IN PREVIOUS PARLIAMENT thepartymoreelectable.TheysaythatStarmer
its promise of a better life for mankind. Kafka’s works have diffused into “so tioners;pensionshavefailedto keepupwith isamanwithoutanideology,whowilldo“any-
Parliamentary seats 650 Conservative Party 345
Thepervasivedistrustof authorityplaced many recesses of our private and public inflation; and public housing is literally thing” to make Labour more electable.
at its centre the intellectual elite of existence”thattheyhave illuminatedthe falling apart. Parliamentary term 5 years Labour Party 206 Under Starmer, the party has moved to
Europe, the erstwhile champions of its absurdnature of livingin themodern age Seats required for majority 326 Scottish National Party 43 thecentreof thepoliticalspectrum,abandon-
post-Enlightenment rationality. — with all the knowledge of history and Tory party in disarray Liberal Democrats 15 ingmuchof itsleftist,workingclasstraditions.
Kafka’s work was shot through with science but without any of the wisdom it Brexit has also been followed by political Source: UK Office for National Statistics, Starmer replaced leftist Jeremy Corbyn
this despondency, and added to the cri- should have entailed. uncertainty. It cost Conservative Prime Reform UK 1 in 2020. His campaign for Labour leader-
Trading Economics
Minister David Cameron, who opposed ship floated a set of “10 pledges”, which in-
Brexit,hisjob.FourotherConservativePrime cluded reviewing arms sales, taxing the

HORMONESCONTROLMOSQUITOES’ Ministershavefollowed,noneof whomhave

lasted for more than 38 months in power.
■ Liz Truss, Sunak’s predecessor in 10
Number10,duringwhichhefacedallegations
of cronyism and corruption, from accepting
freebiesandfavoursfromrichTorydonorsto
him. Sunak reneging on the UK’s climate
promises has also been exploited by Labour.
In May, Sunak called for early elections,
rich, and bringing utilities under state own-
ership. Since becoming the party leader,
Starmer has abandoned most of these

ATTRACTIONTOBLOOD:STUDY Downing Street, the official residence of the

A NEW study has suggested that a pair of
mosquito hormones work in tandem to
activate or suppress the insects’ cravings
for blood.
Female mosquitoes consume animal
bloodinordertodeveloptheir
eggs.Butaftertheirmeal,they
lose their appetite till such
time they lay their eggs.
Entomologist Michael
Strand, of the University of
Georgia in Athens, studied
what controls this cycle. He,
PAPER
andhiscolleagues,foundthat
the levels of a mosquito gut CLIP
and RYamide work together to stimulate
and suppress mosquitoes’ attraction to
humans and other hosts.
Mosquitoes are the deadliest animal
on the planet. They act as vectors for dis-
eases such as malaria,
dengue, West Nile virus, yel-
low fever, Zika, chikun-
gunya, and lymphatic filar-
iasis, which together kill
around 700,000 people in
the world. The mosquito
menace is getting worse
with climate change, as
mosquitoes can now sur-
British Prime Minister, resigned on October
20,2022afteronly49daysinofficeandadis-
astrous mini-budget. The budget came at a
time when prices and energy costs were
soaring,andtheUKwasseenasenteringinto
recession. Truss’s unrealistic ‘Growth Plan’,
fundedbyaseriesof taxcuts,lefteconomists
bewildered and her party spooked.
■BeforeTruss,BorisJohnsonleftofficein
ablizzardof scandals,includingtheinfamous
‘Partygate’, in which he and other
Conservative Party members were caught
partyingduringthepeakof theCovid-19pan-
demic,whileBritainwasundersevererestric-
tionsonlargegatherings.Partygatewasseen
as the last straw in Johnson’s three years at
lying about his actions in Parliament.
■ Johnson had succeeded Theresa May
on July 24, 2019, after Britain’s first woman
Prime Minister failed to finalise a workable
plan for Brexit. Pro-Brexit May came to
power after Cameron in 2016, with the
promise of chalking out a beneficial Brexit
agreement with the EU.
■ The current Prime Minister, Sunak, has
failedtorightthesinkingToryship.Makingil-
legalimmigrationhispetissue,hehastriedin
vain to shift the narrative from Conservative
corruption and economic mismanagement.
His policy of sending undocumented im-
migrants to Rwanda has been seen by many
Britons as inhumane, and given the opposi-
tion Labour plenty of ammunition to attack
after some improvements on the economic
front.ButtheTorycampaignhasfailedtoim-
press. A record number of Conservative MPs
have decided not to run, and many have
changed parties.
Labour’s plan for ‘change’
In the run-up to the election, Labour
leader Starmer has promised to be the agent
of change that Britain needs. He has said the
first mission of his government would be to
boost economic growth.
According to Labour’s manifesto, the
party will establish a National Wealth Fund,
capitalised with $9.2 billion, which aims to
attract three pounds of private investment
for every pound of public money to support
promises. He has also faced huge backlash
for his pro-Israel position amidst the cur-
rent conflict in Gaza.
Starmer’s actions have alienated a sec-
tionof Labour’sleftwing.FormerLabourstal-
warts like Corbyn are standing for elections
as Independents. The Left’s place is now oc-
cupied by Tory turncoats like pro-Brexit
Natalie Elphicke.
Many have compared Starmer to former
Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair, who
brought Labour to power in 1997 after 18
years of Tory rule. Blair too “reformed” the
party to become “more pragmatic”. But un-
like Blair, who at his peak had record public
ratings, public opinion of Starmer remains,
and is likely to remain, lukewarm.

hormone called F(NPF) vive in places that were

spiked when the creatures were looking
for a host, and dropped once they were
donefeasting.NPFlevelsalsocloselymir-
rored mosquitoes’ interest in humans.
Another gut hormone, RYamide, was
foundtoworkintheoppositeway.AsNPF
levels fell down after a blood meal,
RYamide levels went up, and vice versa.
The researchers thus surmised that NPF
hitherto too cold for them.
The recent discovery will aid scien-
tists’ effort to fight mosquitoes. “The dis-
covery could provide new pesticide tar-
gets for preventing mosquito
reproduction and disease transmission,”
ZhenZou,anentomologistattheChinese
Academyof Science’sInstituteof Zoology
in Beijing, told nature.com. ENS
What Labour’s win could mean for India-UK FTA
RAVI DUTTA MISHRA
NEW DELHI, JULY 3
NEWDELHIandLondonhavebeennegotiat-
ing a proposed free trade agreement (FTA)
for more than two years to boost trade be-
tweenthetwonations.Theagreementcould
result in a mutual tariff relaxation on a range
of goods such as cars, clothes, alcoholic bev-
erages, and medical instruments.
However,alandslidevictoryfortheLabour
PartyintheUKelectionscouldleadtoachange
in the dynamic of the FTA negotiations.
Political certainty a plus
Since the UK unexpectedly voted in a ref-
erendum to leave the European Union (EU),
London has not seen the kind of politicalsta-
bility needed for a deal with India that has a
high tariff regime.
But if Labour wins comfortably, there
might finally be enough political legroom to
signadealwithIndia.SinceBrexit,themajor-
ity of the trade deals signed by the UK have
been rollover agreements, that resemble
deals that London previously had when it
was an EU member.
Not an ‘anti-India’ Labour Party
Under Keir Starmer, Labour has changed.
It is not the same party as that headed by his
predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn, who called for
international intervention in Kashmir.
Starmerhasrecognisedthegrowingpolit-
icalcloutof theUK’sIndianoriginpopulation
— the largest immigrant group in the coun-
try — and has tried to stamp out ‘anti-India
sentiments’ within his party. In an event on
Friday, Labour Party Chair Anneliese Dodds
claimedthattheparty,underStarmer,iscon-
fident of having cleansed its ranks of any
members with “extremist views” on India.
In fact, under Starmer’s leadership,
Labour has even raised questions regarding
theTories’delayinsigningtheFTAwithIndia.
Visas a likely sticking point
That said, immigration remains among
the most heated issues in British politics.
WhiletheToriesandLabourdisagreeonhow
to restrict immigration into the UK, there is
a bipartisan consensus on the fact that it
must be restricted. This could be a sticking
point for a trade deal with India.
New Delhi is seeking temporary visas for
its service sector workforce under the FTA —
thisiswhereitexpectstogainthemostinthe
deal.WiththeUKbeingapowerhouseinthe
ITandfinancialservicessegment,India’sserv-
ice sector could benefit from the integration.
ButgiventheUK’spoliticalclimate,Labouris
likely to negotiate hard on the visa issue.
Tougher negotiations on climate
India will also likely face tougher negoti-
ationsonclimatefromaLabourgovernment,
which hasrepeatedlycorneredtheToriesfor
deviating from the UK’s 2030 net zero goals.
India has sought a relaxation on the car-
bontaxthattheUKisexpectedtoimplement
along the lines of the EU. New Delhi argued
during the FTA negotiations that the pro-
posed carbon border adjustment mecha-
nism could take awaymuch of the tariff con-
cessions agreed during the FTA.

Why SEBI accused Hindenburg of breaking Indian law over its Adani report
HITESH VYAS
NEW DELHI, JULY 3
US-BASED short-seller Hindenburg
ResearchannouncedMondaythatithadre-
ceivedashowcausenoticefromIndia’scap-
ital markets regulator SEBI for short-selling
Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL) stock, immedi-
ately before and after the release of its re-
port last year accusing Adani of stock ma-
nipulation and accounting fraud.
Hindenburg rejected the notice and
termed it “nonsense”. SEBI has not re-
sponded to requests seeking a comment.
What did the Hindenburg report say?
On January 24, 2023, US-based investor
research firm Hindenburg Research re-
leasedareportaccusingtheGautamAdani-
led Adani Group of “brazen stock manipu-
lation and accounting fraud scheme over
the course of decades”.
The report was released ahead of the Rs
20,000-croreFollow-onPublicOffer(FPO)of
Adani Enterprises Ltd, the flagship entity of
the ports-to-energy conglomerate. Adani
companies’ shares tanked (most have now
recovered)afterthereportwasreleasedand
the fully-subscribed FPO was later called off
by the Group.
Adanideniedallallegationsandaccused
Hindenburg of leading a “calculated attack
on India, the independence, integrity and
quality of Indian institutions, and the
growth story and ambition of India”.
What is SEBI’s show cause notice?
Hindenburg said on July 1 that “on the
morning of June 27” it received a “bizarre
email ostensibly from SEBI”. It claimed to
have received another email, a 46-page
show cause notice, which outlined sus-
pected violations of Indian regulations.
SEBI’snoticestatedthatHindenburgap-
peared to have colluded with certain enti-
ties to use advance knowledge of non-pub-
lic information to build short positions in
AEL shares and book profits.
The notice named Hindenburg
Research, its founder Nathan Anderson,
partner-investor Mark Kingdon, and three
entities owned or controlled by Kingdon:
Kingdon Capital Management LLC, M
Kingdon Offshore Master Fund LP, and K
India Opportunities Fund (KIOF) - Class F.
SEBI has alleged that on November 30,
2022, the short
seller shared a
draftof itsAdani
EXPLAINED ECONOMICS
Group report
exclusively with its client Kingdon Capital
Management. Mark Kingdon held 99%
stakeholdinginKingdonCapitalandwasthe
ultimate beneficiary owner (UBO) of the M
KingdonOffshoreMasterFundLP,which,on
December 28, 2022, started the process of
subscribing to 100 per cent Participating
Redeemable (PR) shares of KIOF Class F, the
Foreign Portfolio Investor (FPI).
The FPI then took short positions in the
futures of AEL before the Hindenburg
Report was published. It then squared off
itsentire short position after the report was
released, making a profit of Rs 183.24 crore.
How has Hindenburg responded?
Hindenburg said that instead of “mean-
ingfully pursuing the parties that ran a se-
cret offshore shell empire engaging in bil-
lions of dollars of undisclosed related party
transactions
through public
companies”,
the regulator
“seems more interested in pursuing those
who expose such practices”.
It added, “Much of the show cause no-
tice seemed designed to imply that our le-
gal and disclosed investment stance was
somethingsecretorinsidious,ortoadvance
novellegalargumentsclaimingjurisdiction
over us. Note that we are a US-based re-
search firm with zero Indian entities, em-
ployees, consultants or operations.”
SEBI, Hindenburg said, claimed that the
disclaimers in its report were misleading
because we were “indirectly participating
in the Indian securities market,” and, there-
fore, were short [on] Adani. “This wasn’t a
mystery,” Hindenburg said — “virtually
everyone on earth knew we were short
Adanibecause weprominentlyand repeat-
edly disclosed it”.
It also alleged that SEBI may have “pres-
sured brokers behind-the-scenes to close
short positions in Adani under the threat of
expensive, perpetual investigations, effec-
tively creating buying pressure and setting
a ‘floor’ for Adani’s stocks at a critical time”.
Why did Hindenburg bring in Kotak?
In its statement, Hindenburg said that
SEBI’s notice had “conspicuously failed to
name…Kotak Bank, one of India’s largest
banksandbrokeragefirms…,whichcreated
and oversaw the offshore fund structure
used by our investor partner [Kingdon] to
bet against Adani. Instead, it simply named
theK-IndiaOpportunitiesfundandmasked
the‘Kotak’ name with the acronym ‘KMIL’”.
“We suspect SEBI’s lack of mention of
[Uday] Kotak or any other Kotak board
member may be meant to protect yet an-
other powerful Indian businessman from
theprospectof scrutiny,aroleSEBIseemsto
embrace,” it said.
In response, Kotak Mahindra Bank said
thatKIOFisaSEBI-registeredFPI,established
in 2013, and it follows due KYC procedures.
“Kotak Mahindra International Limited
(KMIL) and KIOF unequivocally state that
Hindenburg has never been a client of the
firm nor has it ever been an investor in the
Fund. The Fund was never aware that
Hindenburg was a partner of any of its in-
vestors. KMIL has also received a confir-
mation and declaration from the Fund’s
investor that its investments were made
as a principal and not on behalf of any
other person,” a Kotak Mahindra
spokesperson said.
LONGER VERSION ON
indianexpress.com/explained
 17 CLASSIFIEDS & TENDERS
Classifieds
PERSONAL
I,Zubair Alam,S/o-Mohammad
Ishaq,R/o-1/10392/A6, Top-
Floor,Kh No.415/154,West
Gorakh Park,near
Nala,Shahdara, Delhi-
110032,have changed my name
to Zubair Alam Ansari,for
future. 0040736556-4
I,VIDYOTMA PANDEY,W/O
VIJENDER KUMAR PANDEY R/o-
C-430,DIVYA JYOTI APARTMENT
SECTOR-19 ROHINI DELHI-
110089,HAVE CHANGED MY
NAME TO VIDYOTAMA PANDEY.
0040736546-2
I,Usha Rani W/o,Bharat Bhushan
Sharma R/o-7/179,Ramesh-
Nagar, New Delhi-110015,my
father’s name is wrongly-
written in my 10th-class
certificate as D.N. Sharma
instead-of his correct-name
Dina Nath Sharma.
0040736566-6
I,Usha Rani W/o Bharat Bhushan
Sharma R/o 7/179, Ramesh
Nagar, New Delhi-110015, have
changed my name to Usha
Sharma. 0040736566-5
I,Tushar,S/O-Satish Kumar
Goel,R/O-B-2/207,Sector-
17,Rohini, Delhi-110089,have
changed my name to Tushar
Goel for all purposes.
0040736534-3
I,Tarunpreet Kaur Kochar,W/o
Gurpreet Singh,R/o D-36-A,
Fateh-Nagar,Near Tilak Nagar,
Delhi-110018 have changed my
name to Tarunpreet Kaur.
0040736487-5
I,Tanmay S/o Manish Kumar R/o
2133, Nai Basti, Narela Mandi,
Narela, Delhi have changed my
name to Tanmay Mangla.
0040736527-2
I,Sunita Johri w/o Shailendra
Johri,R/o-422,Asha Pushp
Vihar,Sec-
14,Kaushambi,Nr.Radisson
Hotel,Ghaziabad-
201010,U.P,have changed my
name to Sunita Kumari
permanently. 0040736487-1
I,Vanshika Bhatt D/o Kiran Bhatt
R/o M-1, Plot-4/7, Sector-
2,Rajender Nagar,
Ghaziabad,have changed my
name to Vanshika Bhat.
0040736546-3
I,Shubham,S/o Shri Ashok
Kumar,R/o B-75, Dakshin
Puri,VTC: Pushpa Bhawan S.O.,
District:South
Delhi,State:Delhi-110062, have
changed my name to Shubham
Kumar for all purposes.
0040736556-7
I,Shamim Khatoon,W/o-Zubair
Alam Ansari,R/o-1/10392/A6,
Top-Floor,Kh No.415/154,West
Gorakh Park,near
Nala,Shahdara, Delhi-
110032,have changed my name
to Shamim Khatoon Ansari,for
future. 0040736556-3
I,Shabbir S/O Ishab,R/O 40
Olanda Kaman Bharatpur
Rajasthan-321024,Have
Changed My Name To Sabbeer
Ahmad H/O Hafijan
Permanently. 0040736571-1
I,Saurabh S/o Arun Kumar
Paswan,R/o 91U, Gali
No.5,Lakhpat Colony-
II,Meethapur Extn., Badarpur
Delhi,have changed my name
to Saurabh Kumar.
0040736527-4
I,SURAT SINGH,S/O RAM
SWAROOP,R/O L-502 ADITYA
MEGA-CITY VAIBHAV KHAND
INDIRAPURAM GHAZIABAD UP-
201014,HAVE CHANGED MY
NAME FROM SURAT SINGH TO
SURAT SINGH MITTAL,FOR
ALL,FUTURE PURPOSES.
0040736546-5
I,SAUMYA W/O DHARMENDRA
SAHA,R/O SKD-515 SHIPRA
KRISHNA-VISTA,AHINSA
KHAND-1
INDIRAPURAM,GHAZIABAD,UP
201014,HAVE CHANGED MY
NAME,FROM SAUMYA TO
SAUMYA SAHA,FOR
ALL,FUTURE PURPOSES.
0040736546-4
I,SANJAY KUMAR DUHOON,S/O
TEJ PAL SINGH,R/O-B-106
IRCON CGHS LTD.PLOT NO.14
SECTOR-18A DWARKA,DELHI-
110078,HAVE CHANGED MY
NAME TO SANJAY KUMAR.
0040736487-6
I,Rina Kumari,W/o Sh.Binode
Kumar Saha R/o Purbo,
Nayatola, Kamarta,
Harishchandrapur, Tulsihata,
Malda,West Bengal-
732140,after marriage I have
changed my name from Rina
Kumari to Rina Saha for all
future purposes. 0040736527-5
I,Ridima Tandon D/o Raj kumar
tandon,Address J-11/30 Rajouri
Garden extension Delhi-
110027, changed my name to
Ridhima Tandon. 0040736527-1
I,Radha Raotela,W/o Jagjivan
Singh Rautela.R/o
Flat.no.B2603, Apex Golf
Avenue,Sector-1,Greater Noida
West,Gautam Budh-Nagar,U.P-
201306,have changed my name
to Radha Rautela.
0040736527-7
I,Praduman Rautela/Praduman
S/o Jagjivan Singh Rautela,R/o
Flat.no.B2603,Apex Golf
Avenue, Sector-1,Greater
Noida-West, Gautam Budh-
NagarU.P-201306,have
changed my name to
Praduman Singh Rautela.
0040736527-6
I Devinder Kaur Bhooi W/o
Swaran Singh R/o F-269, GF,
Mansarover Garden, Delhi-
110015,have changed my name
to Devinder Kaur for-all-
purposes.
0040736566-2
I,Poonam D/o Santosh
Kumar,R/o E-7/672C, Sangam
Vihar,New Delhi-110080,have
changed my name to Poonam
Goswami 0040736546-1
I,MOHD SARFRAJ
SALMANI/SARFRAJ
AHMED,S/O-
ALLIMUDDIN,HOUSE.NO-
C,35,PLOT.NO-6, RAMA-PARK,
UTTAM-NAGAR,
DWARKA,DELHI-110059,have
changed my name to
SARFARAJ AHMAD,for all,future
purposes. 0040736487-3
I,MEENU W/O DEEPAK R/O
4/10,JASBIR
COLONY,ROHTAK,HARYANA-
124001.HAVE CHANGED MY
NAME TO SONIA DEVI.
0040736566-1
I,M.B.Preethamol alias Preeta
Mol,W/O-Unni Krishnan,R/O-
House NO.3713/85,KH
No.116/20 & 117/16,B-
Block,Gali No-110,Sant
Nagar,Burari,Delhi-
110084,have changed my name
to Preetha. 0040736556-2
I,KM SUNITA KUMARI,W/O
RANDHEER SINGH,R/O CM-
308,AMRAPALI-VILLAGE
INDIRAPURAM,GHAZIABAD,UP-
201014,HAVE CHANGED MY
NAME,FROM SUNITA KUMARI
TO SUNEETA SINGH,FOR
ALL,FUTURE PURPOSES.
0040736546-6
I,Harish Goyal alias Harish
Kumar,S/O-Sarvan Kumar
Goyal,R/O-H-23,Vikash Group,
Housing Society,West
Enclave,Rani Bagh,Delhi-
110034,have changed my name
to Harish Kumar Goyal in
future. 0040736534-2
I,Gurpreet Singh Kochar, S/o
Satnam Singh,R/o D-36-
A,Fateh-Nagar, Near-Tilak-
Nagar,Delhi-110018,have
changed my name to Gurpreet
Singh. 0040736487-4
I,Gaurav Sachdeva,S/O Late
Shri.MOHIDER PAUL
SACHDEVA,R/o-BA-94,West-
Shalimar Bagh,Delhi-
110088,inform that I have
changed the name of my minor
son Shourya Sachdeva aged-
17-years and he shall hereafter
be known as SHAURYA
SACHDEVA. 0040736546-7
I,Gaurav Rastogi Parent of
Viaan,R/o 1201,SPR
Imperial,Classic Tower-
3,Sector-82, Faridabad have
changed my minor son’s name
to Viaan Rastogi.
0040736527-3
I,Balram Shrivastava S/o-
Nagendra Prasad, Flat.no.A-
2.Plot.no.2/63, Sect-2, Rajender
Nagar, Sahibabad, Ghaziabad-
UP-201005, have changed my
name to Balram Prasad.
0040736487-2
I,Anita W/o Naresh Kataria,R/o
H.No. 540/28, Gali No.8A,Jyoti
Park,Gurgaon -122001
(Haryana),have changed my
name to Anita Kataria.
0040736556-1
I, Ujjwal Joshi S/o Sh. J. C. Joshi
R/o Y-235 B, Sector-12, NOIDA-
201301, Gautam Buddha Nagar,
(U. P.) do hereby solemnly
affirm and declare that : My
correct name is Ujjwal Joshi S/o
Sh. J. C. Joshi (Jagdish Chandra
Joshi) and my D.O.B. is
06.02.1994. I was also known as
Yogendra Joshi as mentioned
in my Syndicate Bank/ Canara
Bank FD Account No.
87784050012737/2. The actual
name of mine is Ujjwal Joshi for
all purposes. 0040736492-1
I, Swati Arora W/o Vikram
Kumar Yadav R/o RZP-262, Flat
No-9, 2nd Floor, Gali No-5,
Palam Colony, Raj Nagar Part-2,
Delhi-110077 have changed my
name to Swati Yadav
0070910908-1
I, Suresh Madaan S/o Mulkhraj
R/o:WZ-108, Sant Nagar, Tilak
Nagar, New Delhi-110018 Have
Changed My Name to Suresh
Kumar for all Purposes.
0070910859-1
I, Shamim Akhtar W/o Khalid
Rashid R/o B-236, Gali no-20,
Subhash Mohalla, North
Ghonda Delhi-110053. My
husband name wrongly
mentioned in my passport as
Khalid Rasheed Salmani. I
confirm that his actual &
correct name is Khalid Rashid.
This is my true statement.
0070910857-1
I, Shaik Soudagar Ameer
Mastan Shareef (Aadhaar
No.221552280803) S/o
Soudagar Mastanvali Shaik R/o
F.No. 206, Plot No. 30,
Pochanpur Extn., Dwarka,
Sector23, Delhi–110075 declare
that my name is mentioned
asSoudagar Ameer Mastan
Shareef in my Passport No.
M4450940, Engineering Degree,
Intermediate & Secondary
Educational Certificates. Now I
have changedmy name from
Soudagar Ameer Mastan
Shareef AliasAmeermastan
Shareef S, Alias Ameer Mastan
ShareefS to Shaik Soudagar
Ameer Mastan Shareef for
allfuture purposes.
0040736489-1
I, SONIA MENGHI W/O RAMESH
KUMAR R/O 37, FF, GOPAL
NAGAR, AZAD PUR, DELHI-
110033 HAVE CHANGED MY
NAME TO SONIA. SONIA
MENGHI AND SONIA IS ONE AND
THE SAME PERSON.
0070910925-1
I,Shilpy Bhutani W/O Ram Arora
R/O B-201 B-Block Jhilmil Delhi-
110095,Have Changed My
Name To Riya Kwatra
Permanently 0040736571-2
I Babita Verma D/o Rameshwar
Prasad Verma and W/o Rajesh
Kumar Sinha R/o C-4 Flat No-01,
Indranagar, Jamshedpur,
Luyabasa, East Singhbhum,
Jharkhand-831004, have
changed my name to Seema
Sinha 0070910856-1
I, Ramesh Gupta S/o Umrao
Singh R/o G-27/6, Sector-3,
Rohini, Delhi-110085 have
changed my name to Ramesh
Kumar 0070910903-1
I, Ramesh Chander Sharawat
s/o Udai Singh r/o EC-149, SF,
Maya Enclave, Hari Nagar,
Delhi-110064 have changed my
name to RAMESH CHANDER.
0040736488-1
I, Rajeev Kumar S/o Govaardhan
Das R/o G-17 KH.NO.660/3 , GALI
NO.4, AMAR COLONY EAST, A-
BLOCK, GOKAL PUR, PO: GOKAL
PURI, DELHI-94 HAVE CHANGED
MY NAME TO RAJEEV BABRAY
FOR ALL PURPOSES
0070910926-1
I, Priti W/o Raj Kumar Arora R/o
C-15/B SECOND FLOOR GURU
RAM DASS NAGAR LAXMI
NAGAR DELHI 110092 have
changed my name to Preeti
Arora 0070910852-1
I, Om Prakash Chaturvedi S/o
Ramarcha Saran Chaturvedi
R/o Piparwar, Mahmoodpur
Rewa M.P-486111 Declare That
name of my Son’s has been
Wrongly Written As Puneet
Chatuervedi in my Army
Document Army No-17010543Y
the Actual name of my Son’s
Puneet Chaturvedi for all
future purposes 0070910854-1
I, Nilesh Shukla, father of
Arghya Shukla, currently
residing at Flat no. B-2806, Gaur
Sportswood, Sector 79, Noida –
201305, Uttar Pradesh, do
hereby solemnly affirm and
declare that my son Arghya
Nilesh Shukla and Arghya
Shukla refer to the same
person. Henceforth he would
be known by the name of
Arghya Shukla for all future
purposes. 0040736548-1
I, Nilesh Amarnath Shukla, son
of Amarnath Shukla, currently
residing at Flat no. B-2806, Gaur
Sportswood, Sector 79, Noida –
201305, Uttar Pradesh, do
hereby solemnly affirm and
declare that Nilesh Amarnath
Shukla and Nilesh Shukla refer
to the same person, i.e. myself.
Henceforth I would be known
by the name of Nilesh Shukla
for all future purposes.
0040736547-1
I, Nikita Sagtani D/O Ganesh
Prasad Sagtani, R/o D- 58
Second Floor, Ashok Vihar
Phase 1, Ashok Vihar, North
West Delhi, Delhi-110052. have
changed my name and shall
hereafter be Known as Nikitaa
Sagtani 0070910924-1
I, Mohammad Khurshid Alam
S/o Zainul Haque R/o 650, UGF,
Flat No UG-2, Karim Apartment,
Gali No-11, Zakir Nagar, Delhi-
110085 have changed my name
to Md Khursheed Alam
0070910906-1
I, Meenu Gupta W/o Ramesh
Gupta R/o G-27/6, Sector-3,
Rohini, Delhi-110085 have
changed my name to Meenu
Devi 0070910905-1
I, Mahboob Alam S/O Hamid
Khan, R/o Dwarka Sector- 7,
Wz- 0041, 3rd Floor, Govardhan
Kunj, Palam Village, Dwarka
Sec- 6, South West Delhi-
110075, have changed my name
and shall hereafter be Known
as Mahboob Ali Khan.
0070910927-1
I, Kiran Bala Sharma W/o
Sandeep Sharma R/o B-1/503,
Varun Apartment Near -N.K
Barodia Sector-9, Rohini, Delhi-
110085, have changed my name
to Kiran Sharma. 0070910855-1
I, Himanshu Saxena S/o
Mahender Kumar R/o Flat No-
1638, Tower-E, 11th Avenue,
Gaur City-2, Greater Noida
West, UP-201009 have changed
my name to HIMANSHU TIWARI
for all future purposes.
0070910923-1
I, GURDAYAL GILL, S/O KEHAR
SINGH, R/O A-144 A, ASHA
PARK, OPPOSITE JHEEL WALA
PARK, ASHA PARK, NEW DELHI,
WEST DELHI-110018, have
changed my name to
GURDAYAL SINGH For all future
purposes 0070910920-1
I, Raj Kumar S/o Manohar Lal
R/o C-15/B SECOND FLOOR
GURU RAM DASS NAGAR LAXMI
NAGAR DELHI 110092 have
changed my name to Raj
Kumar Arora 0070910853-1
I, Chandra Pal,S/o Ghasi
Ram,R/o-E-5/14, Gali No.16, 5-
Pusta, Sonia Vihar, Delhi-
110094,have changed my name
to Chander pal.
0040736556-5
I, Amresh Srivastav S/O Brijesh
Kumar Srivastava R/O MS-
9/402, Kendriya Vihar, Sec-56,
Gurgaon-122011 have changed
my name to Amresh Kumar
Srivastava for all purposes.
0070910913-1
I hitherto known as Raj Kumar
alias Raj Kumar Kanojia S/o
Gyan Chand R/o B-11,DDA Janta
Flats, Kalkaji, South Delhi,
Delhi-110019,have changed my
name and shall hereafter be
known as Raj Kumar Kanojia.
0040736527-8
I Tanmay Kkumar Garg S/o Sh.
Ashok Garg R/o F-97, New
Saraswati Apartments, Sector -
9, Rohini, New Delhi -110085
have changed the name of my
minor daughter from Akshaya
Garg to Akshayaa Garg for all
purposes. 0040736472-3
I Swaran Singh Bhooi S/o Karam
Singh R/o,F-269, GF,
Mansarover Garden,Delhi-
110015, have changed my name
to Swaran Singh for all-
purposes.
0040736566-3
I Bhaskar S/o Chandeshwar
shukla R/o H.no 73/c amba
complex,Flat UGF-03,Yusuf
sarai Delhi-16.Have changed
my name to Bhaskar shukla for
all purpose.
0070910858-1
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2024
I Rashid S/o Sh. Nooruddin R/o PUBLIC NOTICE RECRUITMENT
2450, Chatta Jam Beg, Darya QdÃf¯ffÔ¨f»f dUôb°f dU°fSX¯f d³f¦f¸f d»fq
Ganj, Delhi -110002 is also I, Madan Lal S/o Manak Chand A»´fIYf»fe³f BÊ-d³fdUQf Àfc¨f³ff
known as Mohd. Rashid. Both R/o 4839, Gali Laddoo Ghati,
names are of one and the same Pahar Ganj, Swami Ram Tirth SITUATION VACANT d³fdUQf ÀfÔq 26/2024-25- dUôb°f dU°fS¯f J¯O
person. 0040736472-5 Nagar, New Delhi-55, I have ´fi±f¸f Wf±fSÀf IZ ÃfZÂff³°fʦf°f ´fc¯fÊ þ¸ff ¹fûþ³ff ¸fQ
Lost/Misplacesd orignal ¸fZÔ Sd³fa¦f d³fd½fQf Àf¸¶fa²fe I f¹fÊÜ (d³fdUQf ´fi´fÂf
I Rajeev Bhayana S/o Som Datt Demand Letter, Allotment OTHERS Vfb»I 1180.00 (þeqEÀfqMeq ÀfdW°f) ²fSûWS
Bhayana R/o,A-117 Shardapuri Letter & Conveyance Deed of SfdVf ø 0 5000.00) d³fdUQf ÀfÔq 27/2024-
Ramesh-Nagar, Delhi- DDA MIG Flat No. 324, 1st Floor,
110015,have changed my name
25- dUôb°f dU°fS¯f J¯O dõ°fe¹f Wf±fSÀf IZ
Jahangir Puri, Delhi, vide File
to Rajiv Bhayana for all- ÃfZÂff³°fʦf°f ´fc¯fÊ þ¸ff ¹fûþ³ff ¸fQ ¸fZÔ Sd³fÔ¦f d³fdUQf
No-M.34(20)95/JH/AAY and
purposes. 0040736566-4 Àf¸¶f³²fe I f¹fÊÜ (d³fdUQf ´fi´fÂf Vfb»I 1180.00
the LR No. 1861191/2024
(þeEÀfqMeq ÀfdW°f) ²fSûWS SfdVf ø q 5000.00)
I Parvesh Chaudhary w/o Dated 01.07.2024.
d³fdUQf ÀfÔq 28/2024-25- dUôb°f dU°fS¯f
Shivajeet Chaudhary r/o 361,
old shiv mandir, lal kuan,
J¯O °fÈ°fe¹f ÀffÀf³fe Wf±fSÀf IZ ÃfZÂff³°fʦf°f ´fc¯fÊ
Village-chipiyana buzurg, þ¸ff ¹fûþ³ff ¸fQ ¸fZÔ SÔd³fÔ¦f d³fdUQf Àf¸¶f³²fe I f¹fÊÜ
gautam Budh nagar, (d³fdUQf ´fi´fÂf Vfb»I 1180.00 (þeEÀfqMeq
ghaziabad-201009 have ÀfdW°f) ²fSûWS SfdVf ø q 5000.00) d³fdUQf ÀfÔq
changed my name to Pravesh 29/2024-25- dUôb°f dU°fS¯f J¯O dõØfe¹f
Chaudhary for all purpose. Wf±fSÀf IZ ÃfZÂff³°fʦf°f dUôb°f dU°fS¯f C´fJ¯O
dõ°fe¹f Wf±fSÀf ¸fZÔ ¶feqÀfeq¶feq A³fbS Ãf¯f I f I f¹fÊ
0070910929-1
I Sf¹ff þf³ffÜ (d³fdUQf ´fi´fÂf Vfb»I 1180.00
I Nehal Gupta W/o Arpan Gupta
(þeEÀfqMeq ÀfdW°f) §fSûWS SfdVf ø q 5000.00)
resident of House Number 2, H-
street, Indian Institute of d³fdUQf ÀfÔq 30/2024-25- dUôb°f dU°fS¯f
Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, J¯O ´fi±f¸f / dõ°fe¹f Wf±fSÀf IZ ÃfZÂff³°fʦf°f ±fie RZ þ
Delhi-110016, have changed my IZ ¸feMS I f I f¹fÊ I Sf¹ff þf³ffÜ (d³fdUQf ´fi´fÂf
Vfb»I 1180.00 (þeEÀfqMeq ÀfdW°f) ²fSûWS
name to Nehal Pitaliya
0070910842-1 SfdVf ø q 2000.00) d³fdUQf ÀfÔq 31/2024-
25- dUôb°f dU°fS¯f J¯O °fÈ°fe¹f ÀffÀf³fe Wf±fSÀf
I Mahima Goel W/o Sh. Tanmay
IZ ÃfZÂff³°fʦf°f ±fie RZ þ IZ ¸feMS I f I f¹fÊ I Sf¹ff
Kkumar Garg D/o Sh. Suresh
þf³ffÜ (d³fdUQf ´fi´fÂf Vfb»I 1180.00
Kumar R/o F-97, New Saraswati
Apartments, Sector -9, Rohini,
(þeqEÀfqMeq ÀfdW°f) ²fSûWS SfdVf ø q
2000.00) d³fdUQf ÀfÔq 32/2024-25- dUôb°f
New Delhi -110085 have
dU°fS¯f J¯O ¨f°fb±fÊ ÀffQf¶ffQ IZ ÃfZÂffÖ°fʦf°f dUôb°f
changed my name to Mahiima
Tanmay Garg for all purposes. dU°fS¯f C´fJ¯O ´fi±f¸f ÀffQf¶ffQ ¸fZÔ ´fc¯fÊ þ¸ff
¹fûþ³ff IZ A³°fʦf°f þ»f þeU³f d¸fVf³f IZ A²fe³f
0040736472-4
ÀfSI fSe ³f»fIc ´fûÔ I û ÀfÔ¹fûþ³f QZ³fZ Àf¸¶f³²fe I f¹fÊÜ
I Gagan Maran S/o Bhojraj
(d³fdUQf ´fi´fÂf Vfb»I 1180.00 (þeqEÀfqMeq
Maran R/o LIG-15, Shayadri ÀfdW°f) ²fSûWS SfdVf ø 0 10000.00) d³fdUQf
Parisar, Bhadbhada Road,
ÀfÔq 33/2024-25- dUôb°f dU°fS¯f J¯O ¨f°fb±fÊ
Huzur, Bhopal, C.T.T. Nagar,
ÀffQf¶ffQ IZ ÃfZÂff³°fʦf°f dUôb°f dU°fS¯f C´fJ¯O
Madhya Pradesh-462003, have
changed my name to Gagan M dõ°fe¹f ÀffQf¶ffQ ¸fZÔ ´fc¯fÊ þ¸ff ¹fûþ³ff IZ A³°fʦf°f
Meena 0070910921-1 þ»f þeU³f d¸fVf³f IZ A²fe³f ÀfSI fSe ³f»fIc ´fûÔ I û
ÀfÔ¹fûþ³f QZ³fZ Àf¸¶f³²fe I f¹fÊÜ (d³fdUQf ´fi´fÂf Vfb»I
I Bharti D/o Gulshan Kumar R/o
1180.00 (þeEÀfqMeq ÀfdW°f) ²fSûWS SfdVf ø q
Ward No- 4, Village- Chudrer,
Tehsil - Palampur, Saliana
5000.00) d³fdUQf d½fIi ¹f d°fd±f EUÔ Jb»f³fZ I e
dQ³ffÔI 19.07.2024 A³¹f Àf¸¶fd³²f°f
(240), Kangra, Himachal
Pradesh-176103, have changed þf³fI fSe BÊ-´fiû¢¹fûS¸fZÔM ´fûMÊ»f
my name to Bharti Sabharwal https://etender.up.nic.in ´fS C´f»f¶²f W`Ü
0070910919-1
WXÀ°ff./- A²feÃf¯f Ad·f¹f³°ff, dUôb°f dU°fSX¯f
¸f¯OX»f WXf±fSXÀf, ´fÂf ÀfÔq-3381/
I,Tamanjeet Singh,S/O-Mr. Inder dUqdUq¸faqWfq/A-1, dQ³ffaIY: 02/07/2024
Pal Singh,R/O-H.No.190,Old
Gupta Colony,Delhi-
110009,have changed my name
to Amanpreet Singh.
0040736534-1
I, Dinesh Kumar Porwal S/O, Sarvesh
Kumar Porwal R/o Rzk-144, Nihal
Vihar, Nangloi, New Delhi-110041
have changed my name to Dinesh
Porwal. 0130043259-1
LOST & FOUND
I, Ram Kishan Rang S/o Rati Ram
Rang R/o DDA MIG FLAT NO. B-9,
GROUND FLOOR, PRASAD
NAGAR RESIDENTIAL SCHEME,
Phase- 2, New Delhi-110005,
Vide file No. F. 57(12)79/HB(M)I,
I have Lost/Misplaced Original
Demand Cum Allotment Letter,
Possession Letter, Site
Possession Silp, NOC For Water
and Electricity Connection ,
THE LR.NO.1864894/2024, Dated
02-07-2024 0040736477-1
Lost my all Original Property-
Paper of my Plot No.B-20,Vijay
Vihar, Rithala,Delhi-
110085.Finder may Contact-
Krishna Dahiya at H.No.B-9/75,
Sector-3,Rohini, Delhi-110085.
0040736487-12
We, Mr. Shashikant D. Valecha,
s/o late Shri D.T.Valecha, and
Mrs Deepa Valecha, wife of Mr.
Shashikant D. Valecha, both
residents of 23, Clitheroe
Avenue, Rayners Lane, Harrow,
HA29UU, UK, currently residing
at 117, Pocket A-3, Sector-8,
Rohini, Delhi 110085, have lost
the Possession Letter along
with Site Plan and other
documents for our property in
Vatika Infotech City, Jaipur. If PUBLIC NOTICE
Be it known to all that my Clients Sh. Rakesh
found, please contact on
Kumar Tanwar S/o Late Sh. Harnand Singh &
9205363609. 0070910849-1 Smt. Shashi Tanwar W/o Sh. Rakesh Kumar
Tanwar, both R/o WZ-53, Tatar Pur, Tagore
Garden, New Delhi-110027, have severed all
their relations and connections with their real
PUBLIC NOTICE son MR. KUNAL TANWAR and his family,
have debarred and disowned from all their
movable & immovable Properties, with
immediate effect, due to acting beyond control,
disobedient, showing unfamiliar &
PUBLIC NOTICE irresponsible attitude towards my clients.
Whomsoever deals with them in monetary
This is to inform public at large that my
Client Sh. Ajay Goel, S/o Late Sh.
form or in any other nature shall do so at
her/his own cost, risk and responsibility.
Shamsher Singh Goel and Smt. Bimla Devi,
Sd/-
residents of A- 1, Kewal park Ext, Behind
Power House Sheesha Market, Azadpur,
JAI VEER SINGH
ADVOCATE
Delhi-110033 being anguished by the
misconduct, misbehavior and intolerable Enri. No. D/1036/1992
attitude as well as quarrelsome nature of
their son Sh. Jatin Goel, Daughter-in-law
Mrs. Shafali Garg and grandson Master
Shresth Goel, has severed all their
relationships with their son, daughter in law
and Grandson as such disown and
PUBLIC NOTICE
disinherit, all of them from their movable
The General Public is hereby informed that the
and immovable property (ies). Further, my
New Okhla Industrial Development Authority
clients were not/are not/ shall not be
under residential scheme allotted plot No.
responsible for any of their acts/liabilities.
A-385 Sector 31, measuring 331sq yard to Mr.
V N Sehgal. On demise of Mr. V N Sehgal on
Sd/- 24-02-2019, the plot No. A-385 Sector 31 was
MEENAKSHI GARG transferred to his legal heir and wife Mrs
Shukla Sehgal. Since then, Mrs Shukla Sehgal
ADVOCATE
has also expired on 15- 07-2022. On the basis
Chamber No. 273, Old Lawyers Block, of legal heir and succession rules, Dr. Amit
Delhi High Court, New Delhi-110503 Sehgal S/o Late Mr. V N Sehgal and Dr Ritu
Sehgal D/o Mr V N Sehgal, both son and
daughter have applied and submitted all the
PUBLIC NOTICE relevant documents at the Office of the
General Public is hereby informed that my
Authority for the transfer of plot No. A-385
clients Jagat Ram, aged about 67 years, s/o late
Sector 31. Regarding the transfer of this
property, if any person has any objection to
Meer Singh and his wife Santosh Yadav aged
this, he/she may lodge their objection at the
64 years both residents of WZ-48, Jawala Heri
Office of the Authority within 30 days of the
village, Paschim Vihar, Post Office: Paschim
Vihar, New Delhi-110063 have severed all
publication of this notice in the newspaper.
their relations and connections with their son
After expiry of this period as per rules, the
Sumit Yadav, aged 36 years, son of Jagat Ram
NOIDA Authority have an obligation to
transfer this property to the son Amit Sehgal
and his wife Alka Yadav w/o Sumit Yadav - and daughter Ritu Sehgal in place of the
both residents of A-6/37, IIIrd Floor, Paschim
Vihar, New Delhi as they have proven to be
deceased, Mrs Shukla Sehgal.
Sd/-
most disobedient, disrespectful and harmful
towards my clients and their other family
MANDEEP CHOUDHARY
Advocate
members and hereby disown and debar them Chamber No: 374,
from inheriting any of their moveable and
immovable properties. Anybody dealing with
Lawyer's Chamber Block,
Saket Courts, New Delhi
them shall be doing so at his / her own cost and
peril and my client and her other
family members shall not be held liable or
responsible therefor.
PUBLIC NOTICE
Sd/-
N.S. Yadav PUBLIC AT LARGE IS HEREBY INFORMED BY
Advocate THE WAY OF THIS NOTICE THAT MY CLIENTS
Ch.No.507, Western Wing
Tis Hazari Courts Delhi-110054
MR. SHIVJI S/O SH. SH. SHOBH NATH AND
MRS. BADAMI DEVI W/O MR. SHIVJI AND
BOTH R/O B-152, TRANSIST CAMP, GOVIND
PURI, KALKAJI, SOUTH DELHI-110019 HAS
PUBLIC NOTICE RENOUNCED & SEVERED ALL HER
RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEIR SON SELESH,
It is hereby informed to the
HER DAUGHTER-IN-LAW NIDHI AND THEIR
GRNAD DAUGHTER CHAHAT BHARADWAJ
General Public that my Client R/O R/O B-152, TRANSIST CAMP, GOVIND PURI,
KALKAJI, SOUTH DELHI-110019 AS THEY ARE
Sh. J.B. Singh, S/o D.R. NOT OBEYING AND RESPECTING MY CLIENTS
Chaudhary, has 50%
AND MY CLIENTS ARE LIVING WITH THEM
AND NOW THEY HAS NO RELATION WITH
ownership rights, title and THEM IN ANY MANNER AND THEY HAVE
DEBARRED THEM FROM ALL HER MOVABLE
interestinthe Basement of AND IMMOVABLE PROPERTIES. THEREFORE,
H.No. M-69, Greater Kailash-
MY CLIENTS SHALL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE
FOR ANY OF THEIR ACT DONE IN PAST,
1, New Delhi, and Builder,
PRESENT OR FUTURE.
Sd/-
JAY PRAKASH SINGH
Rajeev Dhingra, S/o Sh. Raj ADVOCATE
Kumar Dhingra, R/o M-51, Ch. No.534, Seat No.38,
M-Block Market, Greater Hall No.2 Dwarka Court Complex,
New Delhi-110075
Kailash-1, New Delhi is
creating clout in the interest/
title/claim of the same, so PUBLIC NOTICE
General Public is advised not My client Musharaf Ali S/o Ashraf Ali
to have any dealings with said R/o L-1, 1693, Street No. 29/6,
Sangam Vihar South Delhi, Delhi-
person in respect of the 110062 has disowned his son Asif Ali
abovementioned property and
and daughter- in-law Sakeela from all
dealings if any shall be at his his movable and immovable properties
/her/it’s own peril, risk, cost due to their misbehavior and has ''IMPORTANT''
severed all relations with them. In
and consequences. Whilst care is taken prior to acceptance of advertising
future my client will not be copy, it is not possible to verify its contents. The Indian
Karnail Singh responsible for any of their acts or Express (P) Limited cannot be held responsible for such
transactions. contents, nor for any loss or damage incurred as a
(Advocate) Sd/-
result of transactions with companies, associations or
individuals advertising in its newspapers or Publications.
Chamber 153, Lawyers Ikrar Hussain
Advocate
We therefore recommend that readers make
Block, Saket Court Complex, Chamber No.438 Saket Court
necessary inquiries before sending any monies or
entering into any agreements with advertisers or
Saket, New Delhi. 811163363 New Delhi 110017 otherwise acting on an advertisement in any manner
whatsoever.
 18 CALENDAR WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2024

OVER THE HEDGE by Michael Fry & T Lewis

CROSSWORD 5407 DAY TODAY BY PETER VIDAL

ARIES (Mar 21 - Apr 20) LIBRA (Sep 24 - Oct 23)

ACROSS
1 Not an artist producing great
works of art? (11)
9 Where one may pray for
eloquence of speech (7)
10 New job an instrumentalist
gets to work on (5)
11 Journey in South Africa (4)
12 They may put up houses
for sale (8)
14 Tin or tape cutter (6)
16 It’s experienced in poetic
form (6)
18 He sends abroad for
money (8)
19 Emperor in knight’s
armour (4)
22 Pushing forwards (5)
23 Dry wine for those taking
flight (7)
24 Fill a position as a
successful astronaut? (2,4,5)
Solutions Crossword5406Across: 1Cheats,4Thorough,9Meadow,10Glossary,12
Onus,13Satyr,14Idea,17Nutsandbolts,20Eveningclass,23Real,24Shore,25Etui,
28Innuendo,29Dahlia,30Gunsmith,31PursueDown:1Compound,2Evacuate,3Toot,
5Hillycountry,6Rash,7Uganda,8Heyday,11Paidonthedot,15Halve,16Stick,18
Tantalus,19Estimate,21Trying,22Cannon,26Term,27Tabu
JUMBLED WORDS
Your romantic life
is beginning to
look rather more
expensive. There is
no better way to someone’s
heart than a generous gesture,
perhaps a little present here
and there as a token of your
love. A partner might reveal
hidden depths.
TAURUS (Apr 21 - May 21)
You must keep a
firm focus on
down-to-earth and
routine activities,
CALVIN & HOBBES by Bill Watterson and realise that the more
trivial or downright boring
tasks you complete now, the
better you’ll be able to cope
with a coming emotional
whirlwind. Keep both feet on
the ground - at the same time.
DOWN
GEMINI (May 22 - June 21)
2 Angry as a rodent that is
Consider the
trapped (5)
pleasurable aspects
3 I have an old-fashioned of today’s tasks. The
image (4) ancient sages teach
4 An open-air practice? (3-3) us that any activity can be
5 Pretty girl in red and rose (8) fulfilling if tackled with the
right attitude, and this is a
6 Possibly resigns from the
lesson which you may now
choir (7)
take to heart. Besides, perhaps
7 Consort very disturbed by the biggest ambitions are
argument (11) not the best ones.
8 Like one who cares or is a
decent sort (11) MARVIN by Tom Armstrong CANCER (June 22 - July 23)
Take domestic
13 The offer of money may responsibilities
make him cross (8) seriously today.
15 Some grass to spare What seems to be
perhaps (7) important are friendships
17 Breaks a leg to play on and duties outside the
without a pause (6) home, you don’t want family
arrangements to slip out of
20 A very good bearer (5)
your control. A close friend
21 Baggage in the can help you choose between
hold (4) irreconcilable options.
LEO (July 24 - Aug 23)
When powerful
planets move across
your chart they
oblige you to face
the reality of change. You may
prepare for such pressures by
sharing your hopes and fears
and encouraging loved ones
DifficultyLevel3s to reveal their innermost
SOLUTION SUDOKU 5610
The financial
situation should
now be clear, but
within a few days
you’ll realise that the only
thing you can rely on is
uncertainty. Make a point of
listening to the experts, even
to partners who may never
have spoken a single word of
sense in their lives.
SCORPIO (Oct 24 - Nov 23)
You are going to
have to take a great
deal more
responsibility than
you ever wanted before very
much longer. Today, though,
your main task is to keep a grip
on changeable emotions, and
realise that your feelings may
relate more to the past than
the present.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov 24 - Dec 22)
Spend a great deal
of energy trying to
work out what
makes others tick.
Your doubts concerning
someone’s intentions or
behaviour may be spot-on, but
it’s not yet clear what you
should do about it. With any
luck the problem will have
passed on by the time you
have to make a final choice.
CAPRICORN (Dec 23 - Jan 20)
You must keep the
legal situation in
view, and see to it
that you are always
aware of your rights. Also, you
may lend whatever support is
required to a close companion
or relation who is struggling in
an educational or adventurous
project. Good communication
is the key to sure-fire success.
AQUARIUS (Jan 21 - Feb 19)
It is terribly easy to
get swept along by
self-interest, and to
blame other people
for standing in your way.
However, if ever there was a
time to take a saintly attitude

Instructions feelings. I hope you’re not too and realise that you can’t
Given below are four jumbled words. Solve the jumbles to make proper words and move TosolveaSudokupuzzle, surprised by what you hear. live by bread alone, this is
them to the respective squares below. Select the letters in the shaded squares and everydigitfrom1to9 it! It’s your value system
VIRGO (Aug 24 - Sep 23)
SUDOKU 5611

jumble them to get the answer for the given quip. mustappearineachofthe which counts.
You may share the ___ of the great, but you may not share the __. Financial
nineverticalcolumns,in considerations are PISCES (Feb 20 - Mar 20)
- Aesop (7,.,5)
eachoftheninehorizontal now impinging on You’ll soon be
BXAOR EOYLLS rowsandineachofthe your thoughts and growing more
nineboxes. feelings, although whether excitable, perhaps
major developments are in because you’ll sense
hand is questionable. You may the possibilities ahead. If,
EPIOS CILBPU DifficultyLevel do yourself a favour and keep however, your emotions should
1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy; an eye open for bargains, with start to spin into overdrive,
down-to-earth necessities you’ll run the risk of wearing
3s=Medium;4s=Hard;
preferable to wild luxuries - yourself out and ending up flat
- Aesop 5s=VeryHard; but only just. on your back before long.
Answer: You may share the labours of the great, but you may not share the spoil. 6s=Genius
SOLUTION: BORAX, POISE, SOLELY, PUBLIC

APPEAL FOR IDENTIFICATION

Office of the Project Director Rajasthan Forestry and Biodiversity Development Project
Aravalli Bhawan, Jhalana Institutional Area, Jaipur-302004, Rajasthan
Notification
The Project Management Unit, RFBDP, Jaipur proposes to procure Consultancy The general public is hereby informed that an
Services under Rajasthan Forestry and Biodiversity Development Project as per the
following:
unidentified person about 65 years of age
UBN No. Consultancy Service whose name: unknown, residence, and family
FOR2425SLOB00419 Hiring of Project is unknown has found dead at LNJP Hospital,
Facilitation Team (PFT)
Delhi on 18/06/2024. In this regard, an
The detailed advertisement, scope of work, eligibility/qualifications, and prescribed
application format may be downloaded from http://sppp.rajasthan.gov.in or information has been registered vide DD No:
http://forest.rajasthan.gov.in or http://afd.dgmarket.com
Telephone - +91-141-2709101/5199654
04A, dated: 18/06/2024 at PS Jama Masjid,
Email: rfbdp.afd@gmail.com Delhi. Sincere efforts have been made by the Unknown
Project Director, RFBDP
local police to identify the deceased person,
Raj.Samwad/C/24/1681

but no clue has come to light so far. The description of the UIDB
is as under: Sex: Male, Age: 65 Years, Height: 5’6”,
Complexion: Shallow, Wearing: Orange Colour kurta & white
colour Pyjama. If anyone has any information about his
relatives, kindly inform the SHO/ PS Jama Masjid, Delhi.

E-mail : cic@cbi.gov.in
Ph.: 011-24368638, 24368641 SHO
Fax : 011-24368639 PS Jama Masjid, Delhi.
DP/8028/CD/2024 011-23261625, 8750870422,

SEARCH FOR MISSING / KIDNAPPED

General public is hereby informed that a
Female namelyJyoti Kumari D/o
Mahanand, R/o Room No. 27, Sunil ka Plot,
Gali no.2, Gopalji colony, Samalkha, Delhi.
has been missing/kidnapped since 12.06.24.
At 12.00 PM from her home. In this regard
FIR No. 270/24, dated 12.06.2024, U/S 363
Jyoti IPC, has been lodged at Police Station
Kumari Kapashera, Delhi. The description of
missing/kidnapped girl is as under:
Name: Jyoti Kumari, Age: 14 Years, Height: 5’4”, Face:
Round, Built: Thin, Complexion: Wheatish, Wearing: Black
–blue suit- salwar and slipper in feet.
If anyone has any information about this missing/kidnapped girl
please inform P.S. Kapashera, Delhi
 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

19 SPORT
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2024 EURO: QUARTERFINAL FIXTURES
July 5: Spain vs Germany; Stuttgart; 9:30 pm
July 6: Portugal vs France; Hamburg; 12:30 am
July 6: England vs Switzerland; Düsseldorf; 9:30 pm
July 7: Netherlands vs Türkiye; Berlin; 12:30 am
Live on Sony Sports Network

TEAM INDIA ON WAY HOME

Flight with call sign AIC24WC, breakfast with PM, open-top bus parade
DEVENDRA PANDEY &
SUKALP SHARMA
MUMBAI, NEW DELHI, JULY 3
LIKE M S Dhoni’s 2007 ICC World T20-win-
ning team, Rohit Sharma’s victorious side
will take a ride on an open-top bus in
Mumbai on Thursday after their delayed re-
turn from Bridgetown, Barbados due to a
hurricane. The parade will start from the
National Centre for Performing Arts at
NarimanPointandisscheduledtoculminate
at Wankhede Stadium.
“Join us for the Victory Parade honouring
TeamIndia'sWorldCupwin!HeadtoMarine
Drive and Wankhede Stadium on July 4th
from 5:00 pm onwards to celebrate with
us!,” Jay Shah, secretary of the Board of
Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) posted on
X on Wednesday.
Beforethevictoryparade,theteamwhich
is returning home on a chartered Air India
plane, will land in New Delhi in the early
hours of Thursday and attend a breakfast
Following its departure from
Barbados, the aircraft was the
most-tracked plane globally on
popular flight tracking service
Flightradar24.
hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“The players are tired and mentally fa-
tigued. That is why it was decided to have a
short open-top bus parade from NCPA,
Nariman Point, to Wankhede Stadium,
which is not more than 2 kilometres, fol-
lowed by a prize distribution ceremony,
where the Rs 125 crore prize money will be
distributed by BCCI Secretary Jay Shah,” said
a BCCI source.
The Indian squad left Barbados on
Wednesday afternoon and will also use a
chartered planetofly from DelhitoMumbai.
Following its departure from Barbados, the
aircraft was the most-tracked plane globally
on popular flight tracking service
Flightradar24. Apart from the players, the
flight has on board the team's support staff,
players’ family members, a few BCCI officials
and some Indian mediapersons.
TheaircrafthadoperatedAirIndia’sDelhi-
New York flight a day earlier and was sched-
uled to operate the New York-Delhi flight be-
foreitwasrepositionedtoBridgetownairport
insteadtobringbacktheIndianteamstuckon
the Caribbean island.
After their seven-run win over South
Africa in the final, the Indian team's return
home was delayed by Hurricane Beryl hit-
ting the Caribbean, till the BCCI arranged the
Air India flight to get the players home.
The special flight is expected to land in
Delhi at around 6 am on Thursday, as per
flight tracking data and information avail-
able on the Air India website. The total flight
time is likely to be almost 16 hours.
The flight, which is being operated by a
long-range Boeing 777-200LR aircraft
India captain Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav pose with the T20 World Cup named ‘Avijit’ (unconquered) and bearing
trophy aboard their flight from Barbados to Delhi. PTI registration VT-AEE, has a special call sign
AIC24WC — a tribute to India’s title win.
DGCA seeks report
from Air India
New Delhi: The Directorate General of
Civil Aviation(DGCA) has soughta re-
port from Air India after the airline
cancelled a scheduled international
flight (Newark-Delhi) to operate the
chartertoferrytheIndiancricketteam
from Barbados to Delhi, according to
sources in the know. Sources in the
airline said that operations were not
disrupted as passengers were acco-
modated on other flights of Air India
andpartnerairlines.WhileIndianair-
lines are allowed to operate charter
flights,DGCArulesstipulatethatsuch
flights should not disrupt scheduled
operations. The airline did not com-
ment on the DGCA seeking a report
from it. ENSECONOMICBUREAU

Netherlands turn
back the clock
Ronald Koeman’s team shows glimpses of Total
Football during drubbing of Romania in Rd of 16
ForthefirsttimeinthetournamentBergwijn
SANDIP G started on the right wing and the return of
JULY 3 Dumfries enhanced their threat on this side.
The right-sided combo wreaked havoc on
IT WAS gorgeously simple football — the the Romanian defence. Dumfries, all verve,
hardest thing there is, to reproduce Johan presses high, makes quick overlapping runs.
Cruyff. From the Dutch side of the centre cir- Consequently, Bergwijn slides in and ef-
cle, Jerdy Schouten rolled a pass to Xavi fectively becomes a No.10.
Simons. A pass with neither power nor pace, He has twinkling feet to wriggle out of
but it immaculately split two Romanian tight spaces and maximise half spaces,
shirts, the referee and found Xavi Simons in which makes the perfect bill to unlock low
the space. blocks. All the goals came through the left-
The playmaker cushioned the ball on his side, but the industry on the right-side con-
left instep, spun to his right, took a couple tributed too.
touches, and released Cody Gakpo, ferreting Butthemasterstrokewasslottingthefor-
on the left flank. He cut away, then cut in, ward Simons into a deeper role. Just 21, he is
leaving his marker in the wake, took a touch prone to stray lapses, but he’s the most in-
to gather himself and slammed the ball net- ventive creator at Koeman’s disposal. A ver-
wards, a low and ferocious shot inside goal- satile forward, capable of playing on the
keeper Florin Nita’s near post. wings as well as false 9 or No 10, he con-
Itwasathrowbackgoalfromathrowback ducted the orchestra with the maturity of a
display, bursting with a blend of flair and fi- seasoned maestro.
nesse (except in front of the goal), pace and
precision, transporting for a moment or two Vision and quick thinking
totheheady90sof Dutchfootball,withthose Both goals originated from his vision and
highly-skilled artistes of self-destruction. At quick thinking. His link-up play with Gakpo
first, the goal wasa three-man orchestra. But was reminiscent of Arjen Robben-Wesley
thereplayswouldinsistthat moremenwere Sneijder tangos, albeit on the opposite wing.
involved.Whilethemenontheleftmadethe But for over-enthusiasm in front of the goal,
goal happen, the ones on the right helped he could have made his presence in thescor-
makethegoalhappenwithdelightfulmove- ing sheet too. “I thought he was absolutely
ment off the ball and scattering the defend- the best. Tremendous in his positioning, his
ers’ attention. drive, how aggressively he wins the ball,”
TURKEY’S LIFE-SAVER
The moment Schouten passed the ball to Koeman said. Goalkeeper Mert Gunok pulled off one of the saves of the European Championship deep into injury time on Tuesday to book Turkey’s place in the quarterfinals. Reuters
Simons, right-back Denzel Dumfries hared If he is the pulse, Gakpo is the punch. A
down his flank, forcing Romanian left-back Germannewspaper called hisgoalTurbo-To,
Vasile Mogos to attend him. This, in turn fur- translated as turbo hit. The shot clocked 125 ■ Gunok leaped to his right to palm away ■ Austria coach Ralf Rangnick when ■ Stopping Baumgartner's header from ■ Gunok's save set up a quarterfinal
nishedleftwingerStevenBergwijnthespace kph; a low-flung bullet. a close-range header from Austria's asked if the stop reminded him of going in was Gunok's fourth major save of against the Netherlands on Saturday.
to veer towards the centre of the box, like a His swift cutbacks, like the swipe of a Christoph Baumgartner four minutes England goalkeeper Gordon Banks’ the Round of 16 game, including a Gunok was kept busy as Austria had 21
No.10.Therewasalreadythe sharp knife, leaves the de- into stoppage time. The save helped famous stop to deny Pelé at the 1970 one-on-one situation against Marko attempts compared to Turkey's six.
heavily marked Memphis fender clasping his boot in Turkey hold onto a 2-1 win. World Cup, replied: “True”. Arnautovic. Gunok started off as a basketball player.
Depaysniffingnearthegoal- air. Amplifying his complex-
keeper. The Dutch seemed ity to the full backs, he is a
topossessnumericaladvan- right-footed player operat-
tage, though it was an illu- ing on the left.
sion caused by their posi-
tional superiority.
Freeze frame the mo-
ment Gakpo was to pull the
In his classical move, he
picks up the ball on his right
flank, feigns to go down to-
wards the byline, then cuts
Demiral shines but night ends in controversy
trigger, you could see insideandscores.Sometimes
Bergwijn in a chasm of
space. The goal, thus, was
he would score at the near
post and sometimes he
SCORELINE ‘WOLF SALUTE’ GOAL CELEBRATION CAUSES FURORE Turkey’s matches have been like
more total football than it would take a few more steps
home games in Germany, where
first came across, involving inside the penalty area, or Austria Turkey Berlin: Europeansoccer'sgoverningbody an estimated three million
Cruyffian principles of posi-
tional rotation, creating an
just outside it, and score at
the far post. Sometimes he
1 2 UEFA opened an investigation on
Wednesday into a "wolf salute" goal cel-
people with Turkish roots live.
MGregoritsch66' MDemiral1';59'
extramanandwinningone- would shoot low and some- ebration by Turkey centre-back Merih
on-ones. Not every move times he would shoot high. Demiral that Germany condemned as Unbelievable save
though was from the man- The left-flank Robben. “His racist due to its far right associations. TurkeygoalkeeperMertGunokputanex-
ual of Total Football,but there Cody Gakpo celebrates starting position is on the left LORI EWING The 26-year-old defender raised both clamation point on the full-throttle night
were shades that would have after scoring the side because he is really dan- LEIPZIG, JULY 3 hands and made the gesture with his fin- with one of the tournament's top saves,
delighted its inventors. Netherlands’ first goal gerousif hecomesoneagainst gers after his second goal in Turkey's stretching with lightning quick reflexes to
At least, this was a lively, against Romania. Reuters one with the right full-back,” TURKEY WRESTED the dark horses tag from stunning 2-1 win over Austria in the last- Merih Demiral palm away Christoph Baumgartner's header
at times breathtaking, per- Koeman would say. Austria's grasp in a pulsating Euro 2024 last- 16 of Euro 2024. The gesture - mimicking scored both that looked destined for the net. Austria for-
formance unlike the group The manager would elab- 16 match on Tuesday, sparking celebrations the shape of a wolf's head — is linked to goals in wardMichaelGregoritschdescribeditasone
games. So much so that a scribe told man- orate hisqualities. “Hecango inside,outside, in Turkish communities around the world, the right-wing "Grey Wolves", an ultra- Turkey’s 2-1 of the best saves he had ever seen.
ager Ronald Koeman that Cruyff would have he has his qualities, he’s strong. He’s playing even as far away as Toronto. nationalist youth branch of Turkey's win over “You have to give credit to the Turkish
cried had he watched them surrender to at a great level this tournament, maybe the Merih Demiral scored both goals in the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), Austria. Reuters goalkeeper because I think it was extremely
Austria. He gave a pragmatic answer. most important player until now. I hope that 2-1full-throttlevictory that injected Turkish whichisinalliancewithPresidentTayyip difficult to stop. Unbelievable, really,”
“I know he liked attacking football very therestcancometothatlevel,”hesaidabout fans with hope of another long Euros run af- Erdogan's ruling AK Party. Gregoritsch said.
much, but I was a part of his team for a long the joint top-scorer of the tournament with ter their narrow 3-2 loss in the 2008 semi- "The symbols of Turkish right-wing behaviour" of Demiral. Austria coach Ralf Rangnick was asked if
timeandwehadworsematchesthanwedid three goals. finals. However giants the Netherlands, 3-0 extremists have no place in our stadi- Ithasbeencrackingdownonmiscon- the save reminded him of England keeper
againstAustria.Of course,weareaproudna- His accuracy has improved. Of his 11 winners over Romania in Tuesday's early ums,"Germany'sInteriorMinisterNancy duct during the tournament, banning Gordon Banks' famous stop to deny Pele at
tion; we like to win, we like to play nice foot- shots, seven were on target, three resulted in last-16 game, stand in their way. Faeser said in a post on X. "Using the Albania's Mirlind Daku for two games af- the 1970 World Cup.
ball, but it’s not always (going to) happen.” goals too. He creates goals too, like when he Demiral's two goals came from Arda European Football Championship as a ter he led fans in offensive chants, and “True,” he replied, then added that had
This was not an outpour a lone defeat tiptoed on the byline and threaded a pass in Guler corners. platform for racism is completely unac- also investigating England's Jude the ball gone in his squad would have gone
brought, but a reaction to the dreary football tight space for Donyell Malen to score. The A hailstorm of bottles and cups rained ceptable." Bellinghamforacrotch-grabbinggesture. on to win. “(But) with Gordon Banks in goal,
of Dutch for the best part of a decade. Before lattercomingoff thebenchshowedhisgoals- down at the 19-year-old Real Madrid mid- Faeser said the group was under sur- Demiral told reporters that he had that was the last chance that we had.”
the Euros, a newspaper ran the headline scoring knack with a brace, the second the fielder's feet when he set up to take the sec- veillance by Germany's domestic intelli- planned the gesture. "I had a certain spe- The atmosphere inside Leipzig's stadium
“Total Non-football”. He was accused of end product of a frenetic run, wherein he ond corner and, after the goal, Guler turned gence service. The "Grey Wolves" were cific celebration in my mind. That's what was electric on Tuesday. Turkey's matches
favouritism and “lack of ideas.” choppedinsidetwodefenderstounleash his to the Austria fans and icily pointed one fin- involved in political violence that killed Idid. IthastodowithTurkishidentitybe- have been like home games in Germany,
Attacking football, though, finally hap- thunderbolt. ger to his ear. some5,000peoplearounda1980coupin causeI'mveryproudtobeaTurk,"hesaid where an estimated three million people
pened. Just at the right time, when the busi- That they managed 23 attempts in the On a night Turkey were missing captain Turkey.UEFA said it had opened an inves- in UEFA's translation of his comments in with Turkish roots live. Tuesday's match was
ness-end is winking. game reflects their attacking mindset, Hakan Calhanoglu to suspension, Guler's tigation into "the alleged inappropriate Turkish. REUTERS the only onein the round of 16 not shown on
though just seven shots were on target and fearlessness was remarkable. freeTVinGermany,promptingoutragefrom
Rediscovering the verve three that found the net’s back exposes their His sliding through ball set up the corner Turkish fans. Turkey, a team that always ar-
From the start, they rediscovered the sloppy finishing (seven off 64 in the whole that led to Demiral's first goal before the stars and the first Turkish player to win the worked for the team and ran like I've never rives at major tournaments with high hopes
verve. The movements were sharp, the tran- tournament).If theirforwardscouldtickthat game was a minute old. Clocked at 57 sec- Champions League trophy last season, quar- seen him run in his career,” Turkey manager onlytocrashout withnearmisses, advanced
sitions smoother, passing pinpoint, commu- box, the Dutch could whirr into serious title onds, it was the fastest goal of a Euros knock- ter-backedTurkeyallnightandnearlyscored Vincenzo Montella said. “We still know he outof theEurogroupstageforthethirdtime.
nicationimprovedandpressingmorerelent- contenders, and a chip off the old Total out game. with a brazen shot from 50 metres with needs to mature physically, especially given They play the Netherlands in the quarter-fi-
less.Afewtweakstotheforwardlinehelped. Football block. Guler, one of Europe's brightest young Austria's keeper far out of his goal. “He his young age, so I compliment him.” nals in Berlin on Saturday. REUTERS
20 SPORT
Colombiahold
BRIEFLY
Brazilto1-1draw
Santa Clara: Colombia coach Néstor
Lorenzo challenged his team to stay
sharp and energized through every
physical and emotional moment
against mighty Brazil, all the way
through two scorching-hot halves of
soccerandnearlyanother10minutesof
stoppage time. “This was a match that
we all wanted to have our strong mo-
mentsofplay,andIthinkwehavetaken
another step forward," Lorenzo said.
“WithBrazil,youcannotbecarelessnot
even one second." Daniel Muñoz
scored the tying goal in the first-half
stoppage time, and Colombia won its
first-round group at the Copa America
with a 1-1 draw against Brazil on
Tuesday night that extended its un-
beaten streak to 26 games. AP
Jamessignstwo-year
dealtostayatLakers
Los Angeles: LeBron James, the NBA's
all-time leading scorer, has agreed to
sign a two-year,
$104-million maxi-
mum contract to re-
turn to the Los
Angeles Lakers, ac-
cording to multiple
reports on
Wednesday. Both ESPN and The
Athletic, citing sources, said four-
times NBA champion James would
have a player option for the 2025-26
season and a no-trade clause. James's
decision to stick with the Lakers, who
drafted his son last week, was hardly
a surprise as several outlets reported
over the weekend that he intended to
opt out of his $51.4-million player op-
tion for next season and seek a new
deal with the team.. REUTERS
Praggnanandhaa
drawswithDeac
Bucharest: Indian Grandmaster R
Praggnanandhaa was held to a draw
bylowest-rankedDeacBogdan-Daniel
of Romania in the sixth round of the
SuperbetClassictournament,apartof
the grand chess tour here. Iranian-
French Grandmaster Alireza Firouzja
shinedwithhismovesagainstWesley
SooftheUnitedStates.WiththeWorld
Championship on his mind, India's D
Gukesh seemed to keep in reserve his
real weapons and signed for peace
with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of
France. Praggnanandhaa tried his
hand against the ever-solid Nimzo
Indian defense. But it was an off day
for the Indian who was confidently
breached by the Romanian.
PandyatopsICC
PTI
all-rounders’rankings
Mumbai: Hardik
Pandya rose two
places to become
the first Indian to
occupy the num-
ber one spot in the
ICC's T20I all-
rounders' rankings on Wednesday, as
the country's cricketers improved
their standings following their title-
winning performance in the just-
concluded World Cup. The 30-year-
old, who handed telling blows to
South Africa in the T20 World Cup fi-
nal on July 29 by dismissing half-cen-
turion Heinrich Klaasen and David
Miller in his 3/20 effort, climbed up
two places to go level with Sri Lankan
star Wanindu Hasaranga as the top-
ranked men's T20I all-rounder. PTI
REST-LESS APPROACH
Only time will tell if Sindhu’s hectic schedule catches up with her at Paris
SHIVANI NAIK
JULY 3
MAYBE NONE of the past matters, because
it istheOlympicsand because it isPV Sindhu
at the Games. Perhaps, the injuries-healing
statusof eachplayerintheselast27dayswill
ultimately decide if she can sneak in a very
difficult third Olympic medal in women’s
singles. But one of Sindhu’s most frustrating
statistics of 2024 also reveals that she has lit-
erally poured in effortin terms of the highest
court duration amongst all players, throw-
ing in everything in lead-up competitions in
ordertosortoutherslowlyfadingelitegame.
The meticulous data site Statminton re-
cently released figures of average court-
times spent by the world’s top players. And
unsurprisingly, albeit a tad sighingly, Sindhu
found herself on the top having averaged
56.7 minutes over 9 tournaments.
An Se-young, who goes in as title
favourite,butworryinglyhasn’tbeenstomp-
ing about playing cautiously managing her
injuries, is second-highest averaging 50.8
minutes. Chinese He Bingjiao averages 49.8,
and has spent a minimum of 30 minutes to
finish a match as per Statminton in 2024.
Chen Yufei is fifth with 47.9 and Carolina
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Rusty start, classy finish
Alcaraz recovers to extend winning run at Wimbledon to nine matches with 7-6(5), 6-2, 6-2 victory over Vukic
REUTERS
LONDON, JULY 3
DEFENDING WIMBLEDON champion Carlos
Alcarazmadeashakystartagainstunseeded
Australian Aleksandar Vukic but moved
throughthegearstoseala7-6(5)6-26-2vic-
tory and power into the third round on
Wednesday. The result extended Alcaraz's
winning run at the grasscourt Grand Slam to
nine matches but the Spaniard could face a
tricky test in his next match against
American 29thseedFrancesTiafoewhobeat
Borna Coric 7-6(5) 6-1 6-3.
Third seed Alcaraz broke for a 4-2 lead as
Vukic miscued anoverheadsmashat thenet
buttheSpaniardhanded theadvantageback
to his 69th-ranked opponent three games
later and was broken yet again in the open-
ing set to trail 5-6.
He recovered to force a tiebreak, where
he tookahealthy5-1 lead,butallowed Vukic
to win three straight points only to raise his
level again and take the set as Spanish fans
breathed a sigh of relief on Court One.
Fromthere,itwasaruthlessperformance
from Alcaraz as the 21-year-old showcased
his explosive power and delicate touch as he
racked up 40 winners to blow Vukic away.
"I'mreally happyaboutmy performance.
The first set was the key for me. He served
for the set, then I played a really good
tiebreak. In the second set and third set, I
played at a really high level. I'm really happy
about it," Alcaraz said.
"It was difficult for me to close the (first)
set. I knew it was going to be the same. I had
to be there. I put a few returns in, a few win-
ners.Itwasagoodgameformeonthereturn
side."Inthosesituations,youhavetoincrease
your level, put the early ball in, try to be ag-
gressive with your style. That's all I thought
about in that situation and it was helpful."
The French Open champion, who is bid-
dingforafourthGrandSlamtitle,didnotgive
Vukicanymoreopportunitiesandclosedout
thesecondsetquicklybeforeeasingthrough
thethirdandfinishingthematchwithaflurry
of aces.Alcarazsaidhewasrelishinghisclash
with Tiafoe, having beaten the American en
route to his U.S. Open triumph in 2022.
"I'm going for him. We played a good
match in the U.S. Open (semi-finals). I know
he's a talented player, a tough one, even
tougheron grasswithhisstyle,"Alcarazsaid.
"Good volley, good slices. It's going to be
a difficult match. I'm ready to take that chal-
lenge, put on a show."
Gauff crushes Tadoni
Coco Gauff did not look at her imperious
best under the roof on Wimbledon's Court
Lakshya looks to benefit from Yoo’s intense coaching methods
VINAYAKK MOHANARANGAN
BENGALURU, JULY 3
SOMETIME AFTER the Indian Open in
January, where he suffered his latest in a se-
ries of first-round exits, Lakshya Sen sat
down for a chat with former All England
champion and his mentor Prakash
Padukone. Trying to get out of the slump in
form dating back to the backend of 2023,
Lakshya's chances of going to Paris for the
Olympics were hanging by the proverbial
thread. Padukone asked then, "Are you just
looking for a place in the Olympics, or are
you trying to have a realistic chance of win-
ning a medal?"
Lakshya responded: "I want to win a
medal.SoPrakashsirsaid,'thenfirstyouhave
to show us that you can win a tournament.
You don't have to go everywhere and try to
reach the quarterfinals'. Even though I did-
n'twinatournamentinEurope,Imanagedto
Marin seventh on the list with 45.5.
AkaneYamaguchi(44.9)andTaiTzuYing
(42.7) have been sparsely seen exerting to
the fullest this year. And Michelle Li (40.9)
and Beiwen Zhang (39.4) who made Top-10
with their punishing rally games, have fallen
back on court times, not making the 10 top
plodders, and subsequently also reflected in
theirstrugglingresults.GregoriaTunjungav-
erages 42.9, and is placed at 11th on the
Statminton numbers.
Interestingly,23women’ssingles players
average more court time per match than the
Tokyo Olympics average of 38.1.
Could that significant increase in court
duration(Sindhuregularlylogs18.6minutes
more than Tokyo average in 2024), mean
she’s laboring away searching for wins? Or
as happens with stats, when viewed from a
different lens, does it point to Sindhu actu-
ally being prepared for the inevitable long
drag, given all top players are struggling to
wrap up matches in two sets?
A bunch of matches including the 92
minutes one she dragged Chen Yufei into at
French Open, have seen Sindhu show far
more proactive point constructions than in
past few years, with varied strokeplay. But
56 minutes on an average, simultaneously,
pointstoherattackinggamelackingthesting
Act. Copyright: The Indian Express (P) Limited. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any manner, electronic or otherwise, in whole or in part, without prior written permission is prohibited. The Indian Express®
21-year-old Carlos Alcaraz showcased his explosive power and delicate touch as he racked up 40 winners to blow Aleksandar Vukic away.
One on Wednesday but she was always in
control of an error-strewn second-round 6-
2 6-1 victory over Romanian qualifier Anca
Todoni. TheU.S.Openchampion slipped and
fell twice on the slick court and muttered to
herself duringtheonehoursixminutematch
against an opponent ranked 140 places be-
low her. "I do think I could have played
cleaner at some points but overall I'm happy
tohavegotthroughtothethirdround,"Gauff
said in an interview on court.
Second seed Gauff, a crowd favourite at
Wimbledon after announcing her arrival on
thebigstagewithafourth-roundrunasa15-
year-oldfiveyearsago,produced16unforced
errors in the short match and managed to
land only 43% of her first serves.
But her nervous opponent, at 19 six
months Gauff'sjunior, hit 23 unforced errors
andcouldnotfindherrangeagainstthefleet-
footed American, who wrapped up the
match with a drop shot that Todoni could
only send wide.
pull off two really good weeks with confi-
dence-boostingwins.Andoncemyqualifica-
tionwasconfirmed,Irealisedthatitwastime
to increase my training intensity."
That is when he took the ini-
tiative to reach out to a familiar
face. Lakshya will make his
OlympicsdebutinParis,andinthe
last stretch leading up to the
Games, he has brought back Yoo
Yong Sung, the Korean coach who
worked with him in 2022.
Yoo is a two-time men's doubles silver
medallist at the Olympics, and it is this as-
pect that made Lakshya and his team take
the call: to add the doubles intensity to his
singles training routines.
"Singlessequencesareimportant.Butfor
improving pace of play, especially towards
theendof games,doublestraininghelps.The
sheer monotony with which the singles rou-
tines are done can sometimes get boring.
When the doubles aspect is introduced, they
PV Sindhu has averaged 56.7 minutes
per match over 9 tournaments.
to pierce rival defenses.
A glass-half-full argument suggests she
might be one of the better-prepared ones at
Paris to last long matches with better stam-
ina. At theFrench Open, Sindhu tallied an av-
KEY RESULTS
Men's Singles second round: Carlos
Alcaraz (ESPx3) bt Aleksandar
Vukic (AUS) 7-6 (5), 6-2, 6-2; Daniil
Medvedev (RUSx5) bt Alexandre
Muller (FRA) 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4), 6-4, 7-
5; Fabio Fognini (ITA) bt Casper
Ruud (NORx8) 6-4, 7-5, 6-7 (1), 6-3
Women's singles second round:
KCoco Gauff (USAx2) bt Anca
Todoni (ROU) 6-2, 6-1; Emma
Raducanu bt Elise Mertens (BEL) 6-
1, 6-2; Emma Navarro (USAx19) bt
Naomi Osaka (JPN) 6-4, 6-1
Gauff, who suffered a humiliating first-
round exit last year at the hands of compa-
triot Sofia Kenin, said she had learned from
that disappointment and from her triumph
enjoy training more, I feel. The pace in-
creases, racket preparation, reflexes, every-
thing is taken care of," coach Vimal Kumar
told The Indian Express at the
Prakash Padukone Badminton
Academy.
As Vimal explained why Yoo
returned, Lakshya was undergo-
ing multi-feed training with Yoo.
In badminton training, there is
single shuttle training which is
how regular rallying would hap-
pen in a match. Whereasin multi-feed train-
ing, a coach on the other side of the net has a
stack of shuttles that they keep peppering at
high speed, not allowing the athlete any
breathing space to react.
It is not a realistic match simulation but
practising at that pace, makes match situa-
tions look slower in comparison. And Yoo's
speed of multi-feeding is a sight to behold,
ashebombardsLakshyawithshuttlesstand-
ingoveradeskfirstmid-courtandthenfrom
erage of 75 minutes over 3 matches, and at
MalaysiaMasterswhereshemadefinals,she
averaged 65 long minutes reaching Sunday
stage. The loss from a leading position
though was a familiar topple. And the power
to finish a rally sooner and wrap up in
straight two sets, summoning the attacking
kills at will, just doesn’t seem to be in her
trend in 2024.
Her admirable stamina levels ought not
to lull her into thinking that she can pull
matches at the crunch in deciders. The
Olympic Knockouts afford no regrets, and
coaches Agus and Padukone will need to in-
still a plan to up the gears when she hits the
14-point mark, or the opponent does.
Ready for the marathons
On thewhole, though, Sindhu haskept in
shape to be prepared for the long back-and-
forths, even as Yufei, An Se Young and
Yamaguchi too have struggled to nip rallies
early. Even the perennially in a hurry Marin
has seen her considerably altered game
needing those 2-3 extra shots before she can
charge for the kill.
Thepurelyattackingstylehasturnedrare
inwomen’ssinglesastopplayerscollectively
aged by 3 years, though the golden genera-
tionhasdonewelltoletexperienceandnous
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, THURSDAY, JULY4, 2024
at the U.S. Open to manage expectations and
emotions. "Overall, I just learned about life a
lot. What I do, I'm very passionate about but
it's not ever that serious," she said.
"It's a game, it's sport. Sometimes the
worldcanmakeyoufeellikethereissomuch
pressure and expectation."
The draw has opened up for Gauff after
the first-day withdrawals of Belarusians
ArynaSabalenka,theAustralianOpencham-
pion, and former world No. 1 Victoria
Azarenka. She will next play British qualifier
Sonay Kartel or France's Clara Burel.
Medvedev survives
Fifth seed Daniil Medvedev battled his
way to a 6-7(3) 7-6(4) 6-4 7-5 victory over
102-ranked Alexandre Muller on
Wednesday to reach the third round of
Wimbledon. The Russian looked out of sorts
earlyonCentreCourtashelostthefirstseton
a tiebreak to the 27-year-old Frenchman in
their first ever Tour-level meeting and had to
close range.
"The intensity with which coach Yoo op-
erates can help me with my flat game and
the drives and also, I think with the defense
when someone is attacking, and then how
tocounterit.Andalsoalotof quick,tight,skill
work, like taps on the net. I think doing those
double drills makes you even more alert and
sharpens the singles game. And mainly, for
the multi-feed drills, the intensity is really
good, I wanted to add that to my game,"
Lakshya told The Indian Express at the end
of his training session.
Taking stock of where his game was after
the European leg, Lakshya took the initiative
to ask Yoo if he was available for a short stint
with him, dropped him a message, and de-
spite a brief delay in arrival, joined up with
the team post Indonesia Open. "Everyone
was on the same page and OGQ made it pos-
sible within a very short period of time. We
just wanted to go all in," Lakshya added.
The22-year-old'snextstopisinMarseille,
floodthegapsleftbyslowingreflexes.TaiTzu
Ying’s mellowed brilliance can still kill. And
An Se-young, the youngest of the lot, might
not find the path to gold as much of a romp
as she wants. In Yufei, TTY, Yamaguchi and
Marin, the resistance breathes immensely.
Sindhu has bettered them in court time.
The trend of ever-lengthening matches
is even more pronounced in men’s singles.
Kodai Naraoka can pick the blame tab, regu-
larly playing 63.7 minutes on average. Death
by a dozen tosses is his preferred technique,
and somewhere you have to admire his
tenacity in logging tennis-length Futures
matches playing badminton, withoutsitting
in the breaks.
The Batch of the 2018 Junior World
Championships is much-celebrated. But the
quartet of Kodai, Kunlavut, Sen and Shifeng
have ushered in the era of endless matches.
Kenta Nishimoto occupies the second spot
in the regulation Japanese for all such noto-
rious things as returning shuttles ceaselessly
(averaging 60.4 mins in 2024). But it’s that
2018 bunch 4/5ths of the list.
Sen is third (59.8 mins), Li Shifeng (58.9)
is fourth and Kunlavut fifth with 58.5 min-
utes. Nishimoto and Kunlavut went on for
102 minutes at one point, terrifying each
other with their relentlessness.
Reuters
save a set point to avoid going down 2-0.
However, Medvedev, runner-up at the
AustralianOpen,foundabitmoreof hisusual
groove to level the match with a tiebreak be-
fore outlasting a strong Muller to clinch the
thirdsetandthenthematchoverthree-and-
a-half hours.
The 28-year-old reached the semi-finals
last year at the All England Club but was
made to work hard for the win by Muller
who kept pace with the Russian despite
needing a medical timeout for a left thigh is-
sue before the fourth set.
TheFrenchmandelightedthecrowdwith
some unconventional shots, including un-
derarm serves and tweeners. However his
inexperienceonthesurface,havingwononly
three matches on grass in his career, showed
as Medvedev stepped up his attacks at the
net after losing the first set.
The move paid off, though the pair took
turns in trading breaks over the second and
third sets.
France where he will train at The Halle des
SportsParsemainfromJuly8to21alongwith
theOlympics-boundPopovbrothers,Christo
and Toma Junior. Indian shuttlers Kiran
George, Ayush Shetty will also be travelling
as sparring partners. The similarities are
aplenty between the Sens and Popovs.
Brothers who play badminton (Lakshya's
brother Chirag is the national champion
now), coached by the fathers (DK Sen and
Thomas Popov), and a similar age group.
Lakshya became quite close with the
Popovs when badminton resumed after
Covid cancellations, with back-to-back tour-
naments in Bali where the players stayed in
resorts. Conversations have been happening
ever since about collaborating, and it was
deemed that before Paris, training in France
wasgoingtobebeneficialtoallparties.Coach
Vimal added that the Indians will take turns
sparring with Toma Junior (who has quali-
fied in singles) while Christov (who will play
doubles) will do the same for Lakshya.
It’s a wonder then that sixth on the list is
the wily old fox, HS Prannoy, averaging 57.1
minutes. He hasn’t won much, troubled by
his niggles, but the man can put in a slugfest
shift, and is undeterred by dropping the first
set. So a decider is never daunting for he has
the finishing hacks against top names, but
will need his best stamina reserves if push
comes to shove for a Paris medal.
Anders Antonsen, Anthony Ginting and
Jonatan Christie, all medal hopes, have aver-
aged above 54 minutes in 2024. Though in
what is an interesting Statminton finding,
three of the finest attacking players, also
strong contenders, don’t make the top 10
court duration players cutoff mark of 53.9.
Viktor Axelsen, Shi Yuqi and Lee Zii Jia with
their whipping attacks, have logged 49.6,
53.3 and 49.5 minutes respectively.
It is still higher than the Tokyo mark of
44.4 by 5 minutes. But Kodai Naraoka has
drifted the game away from Tokyo averages
byalmost20minutesmore,signallingagen-
eral slow buffering of proceedings.
If exceptionally fast shuttles and courts
are not conjured, expect badminton at Paris
to stretch every sinew in long, dragging bat-
tles. Sindhu looks prepared for these, given
her recent matches. But tough to say if that’s
a good thing or bad.