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REVANTH URGES ‘IT’S TIME FOR PARTY RAHUL URGES MODI TO RACE FOR T20
LEADERS WHO LEFT DRAMA TO END’ VISIT MANIPUR OPENER’S SLOT
CONGRESS TO RETURN HEATS UP

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Initiate action against

WEATHER
GENERALLY CLOUDY SKY. VERY LIGHT RAIN
TO LIGHT RAIN WITH THUNDERSTORM/
PM to hold talks with wrong beneficiaries: SC
Putin on global issues
LIGHTNING. THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM
TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 33
AND 26 DEGREES CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY.
RAINFALL: Nil
RELATIVE HUMIDITY
Max. 90 % Min. 60 %
PM Modi was received by Russia's first Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov
TEMPERATURE ASHOK TUTEJA Ukraine. However, India has been
Max: 32.2 °C (-4) Min: 25.6 °C (-2) NEW DELHI, 8 JULY quite clear that while the war
SUN RISES SUN SETS must end, it cannot afford to

P
05:31 hrs 19:23 hrs rime Minister Narendra
MOON RISES MOON SETS
Modi arrived in Moscow
09:22 hrs 21:57 hrs
to a red carpet welcome
on Monday evening for
THUMBNAILS talks with Russian President
Vladimir Putin on bilateral coop-
eration as well as various region-
al and global issues, including the
war in Ukraine.
Mr Modi, who is accompanied
by a high-powered delegation, was
received at the Vnukovo Inter-
national Airport by Russia's First
Deputy Prime Minister Denis
Manturov and senior Indian offi-
cials.
President Putin will hold a
private dinner in honour of the
Indian leader tonight. This will pro-
vide the two leaders an opportu-
National Cadet Corps (NCC) perform during nity to discuss the entire gamut
an Inter-Group Band Competition hosted of bilateral ties and global devel-
by the North Eastern Region (NER) at opments in an informal setting.
Sarusajai Stadium in Guwahati on Tomorrow, Mr Modi will
Monday. � ANI address the Indian community in
Russia, pay respects at the Tomb
SC dismisses WB govt plea against court- of the Unknown Soldier in the
monitored CBI probe into Sandeshkhali Kremlin and visit an exhibition in
cases: The Supreme Court on Monday dis- Moscow. Thereafter, Mr Modi
missed a plea filed by the West Bengal gov- and Mr Putin will hold the 22nd
ernment challenging the court-monitored India-Russia Annual Summit,
CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) probe which will be followed by dele-
into land grabbing and extortion cases in gation-level talks between the
Sandeshkhali. (P3) two countries. Thereafter, Mr
Modi will leave for Austria for the
second leg of his overseas visit.
In a statement, Mr Modi said,
''I look forward to reviewing all
aspects of bilateral cooperation
with my friend President Vladimir
Putin and sharing perspectives on
various regional and global issues.
We seek to play a supportive role
for a peaceful and stable region.
The visit will also provide me an
opportunity to meet the vibrant
Indian community in Russia.''
He noted that the Special and
Privileged Strategic Partnership
between India and Russia has
advanced over the past ten years,
including in the areas of energy,
security, trade, investment, health,
education, culture, tourism and
people-to-people exchanges.
A whole range of issues, includ-
ing defence, trade linkages, cul-
ture, education, civil nuclear
cooperation, culture and peo-
ple-to-people contacts, will be on
the agenda of the Indian PM and
the Russian President. They will
also discuss various global devel-
opments.
Given the personal chemistry
between the two leaders, the
ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict
is bound to figure prominently dur-
ing the meeting. The PM is expect-
ed to reiterate India's stand that
this is not the time for war and that
the two warring nations must
give dialogue and diplomacy a
chance to resolve the crisis.
India has been under intense
pressure from the West to min-
imise its engagement with Rus-
sia for its ''aggression'' against
alienate Russia due to various fac-
tors, including Moscow's increas-
ing proximity with China.
The talks between the two
leaders will also provide Mr Modi
an opportunity to raise with Mr
Putin the issue of Indian nation-
als who were misled into partic-
ipating in Russia's war with
Ukraine. While ten Indians have
returned home, an estimated 30-
45 Indian nationals are still work-
ing for the Russian Army. India
has strongly taken up with Russ-
ian authorities the issue of their
early repatriation. The PM's visit
to Moscow marks a continuation
of high-level engagement between
India and Russia. The last annu-
al summit was held in New Delhi
in December 2021.
After concluding the Russia visit,
Mr Modi will leave for Austria
tomorrow afternoon in what will
be the first visit of an Indian PM
to the European nation after 41
years. Mr Modi said that in Aus-
tria, he will have the opportuni-
ty to meet President Alexander Van
der Bellen and Chancellor Karl
Nehammer. ''Austria is our stead-
fast and reliable partner and we
share the ideals of democracy and
pluralism,'' he said.
PARMOD KUMAR
NEW DELHI, 8 JULY
Stating “We should not be in
self-denial (NEET-UG 2024 was
compromised by paper leak)
as it only adds to the problem,
the Supreme Court on Mon-
day directed the National
Testing Agency (NTA) to make
full disclosure about the nature
of the leak, places where the
leak took place and the lag of
time between leak and con-
duct of the exam that took place
on May 5, 2024, in which
23,33,287 candidates took the
exam and 72,000 students
did not.
The court asked the NTA
to state when the leak first took
place, the manner in which the
leaked question papers were
disseminated and the lag of
time between the occurrence
of the leak and the conduct
of the examination exam on
May 5, 2024.
The court further directed
the NTA to inform about the
steps taken by it to identify ben-
eficiaries of the leak, identi-
fy the centres/cities where
the leak took place and the
from the CBI, the bench
deferred passing any order on
the merits and posted the
matter for hearing on Thurs-
day – July 11, 2024.
“We are of the view that an
order on merits would have
to be deferred”, said CJI Chan-
drachud. On the conclusion
of the hearing which lasted for
over an hour and a half, the
top court in its order asked the
Central government and the
National Testing Agency to
inform whether it would be
feasible to use data analytics
in a cyber forensics unit or any
agency employed by the gov-
ernment to identify suspect
cases, so that modality can be
formed to segregate tainted
from the untainted students.
The court further directed
the Central government to set
up a multi-disciplinary team
of renowned experts to ensure
due measures are taken to
obviate any further breach in
NEET papers.
Stating that the experts
on the committee could be
from outside the government,
the court directed that the con-
stitution of the committee

5 soldiers killed as terrorists attack Hemant Soren wins trust

modalities followed to iden- shall be informed to it (court)
tify beneficiaries of the leak. and the court shall decide if

vote in J’khand Assembly Besides seeking informa-

military truck with grenades in J&K
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
JAMMU, 8 JULY
Five Army soldiers were killed
and five others were injured
when terrorists on Monday
attacked a military truck with
grenades in Billawar region in
the Kathua district of the
Jammu division.
The injured soldiers were
rushed to a nearby hospital
for treatment.
Reports said that the Army
truck came under terror attack
in the Badnota village in the
Machhedi area of the Lohai
Malhar block in Billawar. Ter-
rorists tossed grenades at the
Army vehicle and opened fire
at it from the hilltop.
The soldiers retaliated and
an encounter broke out in the
area. A massive search oper-
ation has been launched in the
jungle area by reinforcements
of the Army, CRPF and J&K
Police.
Additional DGP (Jammu
Range) Anand Jain said,
“Exchange of fire between
terrorists and security forces
is going on in the Machedi area
of Kathua district. Massive
search operation has been
launched after two soldiers
were injured in a terrorist
attack.”
Officials said five soldiers
have been martryred in the
incident.
The attack in the district
came days after a CRPF jawan
was killed and two Pakistani
terrorists eliminated in the
Hiranagar area of the Kathua
district on 12 June.
An Army soldier was
injured yesterday in a ter-
rorist attack in the Rajouri dis-
trict of Jammu and two sol-
diers lost their lives in the Kul-
gam encounter. Six terrorists
were also neutralised in Kash-
mir.
Terrorist attacks particu-
larly in the Jammu region
have heightened in the past
few weeks.
Jammu’s Reasi district was
rocked by a terror attack at a
pilgrims’ bus on 9 June in
which 9 persons were killed
and 41 injured. This was fol-
lowed by twin terror attacks
in the Doda district on 11 and
12 June 12.
Six security personnel were
injured when terrorists attacked
a joint check post at Chattar-
galla, while a police person-
nel was injured in a gunfight
with terrorists at Kota top in
the Gandoh area on 12 June.
On June 26, three terror-
ists were killed during an
encounter with security forces
in a forest area in Jammu
and Kashmir's Doda district.
Following the attacks, secu-
rity forces intensified their anti-
terrorist operations and
announced a cash reward of
Rs 5 lakh each for four Pak-
istani terrorists believed to have
infiltrated and operated in the
district.
Security has also been
heightened in Punjab’s
Pathankot area neighbouring
the Kathua district of Jammu
where movement of terrorists
was noticed a few days ago.
The Punjab government has
tightened security for the
Amarnath pilgrims passing
through Pathankot while trav-
elling to the Kashmir valley.
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
RANCHI, 8 JULY
Jharkhand Chief Minister
Hemant Soren on Monday
won the trust vote in the state
assembly with a comfortable
majority of 45 MLAs.
He had moved a confi-
dence motion after he took
office earlier this week when
he got bail from the Jhark-
hand High Court in an alleged
land scam.
Jharkhand Speaker
Rabindra Nath Mahto allot-
ted one hour for debate on
the confidence motion.
The Jharkhand Mukti
Morcha (JMM) chief replaced
Champai Soren, who had
taken over the post follow-
ing the former's dramatic
arrest in a land scam case
around five months ago. He
had resigned as the chief
minister, shortly before his
arrest on January 31 by the
Enforcement Directorate.
Hemant was granted bail
by the Jharkhand High Court
on June 28.
“Today is July 4. On Jan
31, from the same place, I con-
veyed a message to you all
on how the opposition has
conspired against me. They
were successful. For five
months, they tried to keep
me inside the jail by differ-
ent means. We took the legal
path, and people supported
us,” Soren had said before tak-
ing the oath.
In the Jharkhand Legisla-
tive Assembly, the JMM-Con-
gress-RJD alliance holds 45
seats, with the JMM having 27
legislators, the Congress 17,
and the RJD one seat. The
Opposition BJP has 24 MLAs.
The strength of the state
assembly currently stands at
76 following several mem-
bers’ transition to the Lok
Sabha, resignations, and
expulsions. This adjustment
lowers the halfway mark to
38, facilitating Soren’s major-
ity. Following the trust vote
victory, Hemant is also
expected to expand his cab-
inet later on Monday as Gov-
ernor C P Radhakrishnan is
likely to be out of the state
after July 9.
tion from the NTA, Chief Jus-
tice D Y Chandrachud head-
ing a bench also comprising
Justice J B Pardiwala and Jus-
tice Manoj Misra directed the
Central Bureau of Investiga-
tion (CBI) to file a status report
on its investigation and the
material that has come to
light as of today.
The investigating agency,
the court said, would also
furnish information on the
identified beneficiaries of the
paper leak, identify the cen-
tres/cities where the leak took
place and the modalities fol-
lowed to identify beneficiar-
ies of the leak.
The status report by the CBI
will be filed by the investigating
officer investigating six FIRs
registered in Patna, Delhi,
Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maha-
rashtra and Jharkhand. “We
are also of the view that CBI
shall file a status report before
this court on the status of the
investigation as of today and
material which has come to
light till today,” the court said
in its order.
Having directed the full dis-
closure of information from
the NTA and the status report
the committee shall go ahead
or need people from a diverse
pool of domain expertise and
data analytics.
On the plea by a number
of petitioners seeking the
cancellation of NEET-UG
2024 in its entity and its recon-
duct, Chief Justice Chandra-
chud said the parameters for
the grant of such a prayer are
well settled and they include
– whether the leak of the
paper is traceable to systemic
levels, whether the breach is
of the nature and scale that
fouls the integrity of the entire
examination process and
whether it is not possible to
segregate tainted (the ben-
eficiaries of the paper leak)
from the untainted students
who appeared for the NEET-
UG 2024. Having spelt out the
parameters that would weigh
in favour of retest, Chief Jus-
tice Chandrachud said that in
a situation where a breach of
sanctity affects the entirety of
the exam and if segregation
is not possible then retesting
is needed. But if beneficiar-
ies are identified then retest
won’t be needed which
involves students on such a
wide spectrum.

Newly inducted minister takes oath twice due
to goof-up during expansion of MP cabinet
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
BHOPAL, 8 JULY
Congressman-turned-BJP
leader Ramniwas Rawat on
Monday became a minister
in the Dr Mohan Yadav led
BJP government of Madhya
Pradesh twice in a matter of
15 minutes.
The faux pas occurred
when Rawat was first admin-
istered the oath as a minis-
ter of state at around 9.05 AM
at the Governor House in
Bhopal by MP Governor Man-
gubhai Patel.
Shortly after, Rawat
realised that he had taken oath
as a minister of state. He
pointed it out to Chief Min-
ister Dr Mohan Yadav.
Subsequently, Rawat took
another oath at around 9.20
AM. This time he was sworn
in as a cabinet minister.
Nonetheless, till then
Rawat had not resigned as a
minister of state, for which he
was sworn in 15 minutes ago.
Also, sources said that
Rawat was officially still a Con-
gress MLA at the time of the
swearing in, as he had not yet
resigned from his Congress
MLA post in the State Assem-
bly either.
Rawat is a six-time MLA
from the Vijaypur assembly
seat in Sheopur district. He
is one of the seniormost Con-
gress leaders of MP. He was
the working President of the
State Congress too.
However, despite win-
ning as MLA from the Vijay-
pur seat continuously for
the sixth time in the 2023
Assembly polls, Rawat was
sidelined by the Congress
and since then he was unhap-
py.
He finally joined the BJP
on 30 April. His move to the
BJP played a significant role
in the BJP's easy win at the
Morena seat in the 2024 Lok
Sabha polls, as it is assumed
that Rawat took more than
40,000 votes with him being
with the BJP.
This was the first expan-
sion of the Mohan Yadav
government in seven months
of its formation.
The number of ministers
has gone up to 31 from 30.
The number of cabinet min-
isters has increased to 19
from 18. There are 12 min-
isters of state.
Three ministerial berths
are still vacant, as there can
be a maximum of 34 minis-
ters in the state government.
The opposition Congress
reacted sharply to the bizarre
events in the oath-taking
procedure.
MP Congress spokesper-
son Avneesh Bundela charged
that such a mistake has never
occurred in the past any-
where in the country.
Govt cites data on job creation to refute
Citigroup report on employment in India
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 8 JULY
The Ministry of Labour and
Employment on Monday
rebutted a research report
by Citigroup questioning
India’s capacity to create suf-
ficient employment oppor-
tunities even with seven per
cent growth rate, and said the
report had failed to use offi-
cial data such as the Period-
ic Labour Force Survey (PLFS)
and the Reserve Bank of
India's KLEMS data.
In a rebuttal, the Ministry
said the report, quoted by
some of the print and elec-
tronic media, had failed to
“account for the compre-
hensive and positive employ-
ment data available from offi-
cial sources.” The Ministry said
it “rebuts such reports which
do not analyse all official
data sources available in the
public domain.”
The Ministry said accord-
ing to PLFS and RBI's KLEMS
data, India has generated
more than eight crore (80
million) employment oppor-
tunities from 2017-18 to 2021-
22. This translates to an aver-
age of over two crore (20 mil-
lion) employment per year,
despite the fact that world
economy was hit by Covid-
19 pandemic during 2020-21.
These figures contradict
Citigroup’s assertion of India’s
inability to generate suffi-
cient employment, the Min-
istry said. This significant
employment creation demon-
strates the effectiveness of var-
ious government initiatives
aimed at boosting employ-
ment across sectors.
The Annual PLFS report
depicts an improving trend
in labour market indicators
related to: (i) Labour Force Par-
ticipation Rate (LFPR), (ii)
Worker Population Ratio
(WPR) and (iii) Unemploy-
ment Rate (UR) for persons
of age 15 years and above dur-
ing 2017-18 to 2022-23. For
instance, the WPR i.e. employ-
ment has increased from 46.8
per cent in 2017-18 to 56 per
cent in 2022-23.
Similarly, the labour force
participation has also
increased in the country from
49.8 per cent in 2017-18 to 57.9
per cent in 2022-23. The
Unemployment Rate has
declined from 6.0 per cent in
2017-18 to a low of 3.2 per cent
in 2022-23.
The PLFS data shows that
during the last five years,
more employment opportu-
nities have been generated
compared to the number of
people joining the labour
force, resulting in a consistent
reduction in the unemploy-
ment rate.
This is a clear indicator of
the positive impact of gov-
ernment policies on employ-
ment. Contrary to the report,
which suggests a dire employ-
ment scenario, the official
data reveals a more opti-
mistic picture of the Indian
job market, the Ministry
said.
02 NEW DELHI, TUESDAY 09 JULY 2024
THUMBNAILS
3-day 'Taiwan Expo in India'
kicks off in city: The flag-
ship platform for Taiwan-
India economic and cultur-
al exchanges, "Taiwan
Expo in India 2024,"
returns to New Delhi after
a five-year hiatus. The
expo, hosted at Bharat
Mandapam (Pragati Maid-
an), saw the participation
of about 120 Taiwanese
companies. The Taiwan
Excellence Pavilion made a
significant impact on the
opening day of Taiwan
Expo India 2024 with an
inauguration attended by
James CF Huang, Chairman
of Taiwan External Trade
Development Council
(TAITRA), Tih-Ju, Chu,
Deputy Mayor, New Taipei
City government, Pu Lal-
duhoma, CM of Mizoram,
Sujeet Kumar, MP of
Odisha, Mr. Manish Sharma,
Chair, FICCI, and popular
dancer, choreographer,
and television personality
Shakti Mohan, renowned
industry association mem-
bers, media representa-
tives, and visitors. The
three-day Taiwan Expo
2024 in India from 8 to 10
July, offers Taiwanese
companies a prime oppor-
tunity to showcase their
top products in New Delhi.
Blind murder case cracked in 24 hours; 3 Mayor holds meeting to discuss sanitation issues
held for killing man who borrowed `2.5L
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 8 JULY
The Delhi Police cracked a
blind murder case with the
arrest of three accused with-
in 24 hours of the commis-
sion of the crime, the police
said on Monday.
During the intervening
night of Thursday-Friday, a
man was allegedly murdered
near the Dangal Maidan
parking on SPM Marg in old
Delhi.
On June 5, the Kotwali
Police Station received infor-
mation about the murder
through a caller, a relative of
the deceased. Soon after
receiving the information,
a police team rushed to the
spot and found a male body
aged about 35-40 years lying
in a pool of blood.
The police registered a
case under sections 103
(1)/3(5)/61(2) of the Bharatiya
CLEANING DRIVE
A worker at India Gate lawn on Monday.
Bharadwaj holds review meet to ascertain
preparedness to prevent dengue in city
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 8 JULY
Delhi Health Minister Saurabh
Bhardwaj on Monday held an
important review meeting
with Medical Superinten-
dents (MS) and Medical Direc-
tors (MD) of all the state gov-
ernment hospitals over the
prevention of dengue in the
national capital.
The minister took stock of
the preparedness in view of
the vector borne diseases,
while the concerned officials
and medical institutions
chiefs gave detailed infor-
mation about the availabil-
ity of medicines in hospi-
tals, arrangement for dengue
beds and other preparations.
Bhardwaj also gave instruc-
tions to take necessary steps
to prevent the serious vector
borne disease. He has direct-
ed the concerned depart-
ment and officials to inten-
sify fogging and cleaning
campaigns in dengue prone
areas.
The Health Minister issued
instructions to MS and MDs
DoE holds mass transfer
order of school teachers
Atishi stated that on 1 July, she clearly directed the Education Secretary to recall clause 16 and ensure that no teacher
is transferred from any school only because she/he has completed more than 10 years in a particular school
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 8 JULY
T
he Directorate of Edu-
cation (DoE) of Delhi
government on Mon-
day put on hold its July
2 order relating to transfer of
around 5,000 teachers who are
continuing for more than 10
years in the same school.
The latest development
came days after Delhi Edu-
cation Minister Atishi asked
Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar
to immediately withdraw the
DoE’s order of mass transfer
of teachers.
The DoE said a Commit-
tee would be constituted to
take a holistic view in the
matter.
“Several representations
have been received in the
matter of the recent transfer
orders issued by the Directorate
of Education, pertaining to
teachers who are continuing
for more than 10 years in the
The meeting discussed
the issues related to
Nyaya Sanhita and 25/27 of
the Arms Act and initiated an
investigation. During the
probe, the police analysed the
footage from over 35 cameras
in the vicinity using techni-
cal surveillance and human
intelligence to nab the
accused persons. They found
that the deceased, identi-
fied as Gaurav Thakur, was
allegedly killed by one Chan-
drapal with his friends as he
did not return Rs 2.5 lakh he
had borrowed from him.
Chandrapal had a faceoff
with Gaurav over the money
a couple of times before
making a plan to eliminate
him with his friends, Omveer
and Vinay. As per the plan,
he arranged two country-
made pistols and invited the
victim for a drinking session
on Thursday evening.
As soon as they got an
opportunity, one of them
opened fire at Thakur. As
to visit hospitals daily, and
keep a check on measures to
prevent mosquito breeding.
"If mosquito breeding is
seen around hospitals, imme-
diately inform the Municipal
Corporation of Delhi,” Bhard-
waj told the officials.
He has directed all the
hospitals to ensure the avail-
ability of mosquito nets in suf-
ficient quantities for the
patients, and also keep the
stock of medicines ready.
The minister also issued
instructions to run awareness
campaigns and broadcast
information on dengue and
measures to prevent the dis-
same school. After going
through the representations
and listening to the delegations,
the Competent Authority has
decided to constitute an appro-
priate Committee, compris-
ing representatives of all stake-
one bullet hit the victim in
his neck they fled the spot,
the police said.
The weapons, two coun-
try-made pistols, used in the
crime were recovered from
the possessions of accused
Chanderpal Bhati and
Omveer along with a car
used in the commission of
crime at the instance of Bhati.
The accused were pro-
duced before a Delhi Court
and were sent to two days of
Police Custodial remand.
As per the CCTV footage,
the deceased was seen in
the evening hours with Chan-
darpal Bhati and his associ-
ates namely Omveer and
Vinay this led the police team
to analyse the call details of
the suspects’ cell phone num-
bers. Finally, the suspects
were nabbed from their hide-
outs in Seemapuri, Delhi,
and Sahibabad, Uttar Pradesh
on Sunday.
SUBRATA DUTTA
ease through social media and
other modes of communi-
cations.
This is the second high level
meeting called by the Health
Minister during the past one
week regarding the important
issue.
In the meeting several
officials of different hospitals
informed that special arrange-
ments have been made for
dengue patients by reserving
some beds only for them,
where only dengue and malar-
ia patients will be admitted.
This will ensure that they
are given proper care, and also
the other patients may not get
Take strong action to curb drunk and drive cases...
DIRECTS THE COMMISSIONER OF POLICE, MUMBAI TO CURB DRUNK AND DRIVE CASES
holders and experts, so as to
take a holistic, sympathetic and
fair view in the matter,” read
the order issued by the DoE,
a copy of which was shared by
Atishi on ‘X’.
It said, “Therefore, till fur-
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 8 JULY
Delhi Mayor Dr. Shelly Oberoi
and leader of the house in the
Municipal Corporation of
Delhi on Monday held a meet-
ing of the officials of the civic
body on Monday to discuss
the city's sanitation and the
garbage vulnerable points
(GVPs).
The meeting discussed
LG Saxena launches ‘Public Amusement Portal’
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 8 JULY
Delhi Lieutenant Governor
Vinai Kumar Saxena on
Monday launched the ‘Pub-
lic Amusement Portal’ at
an event held at NDMC
Convention Centre in the
city.
Speaking on the occa-
sion Saxena said, “This dig-
ital transformation marks a
significant leap forward in
augmenting ‘ease-of-doing-
business’, as envisioned by
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi.”
“By embracing technol-
ogy, we have today launched
this Unified Portal for
Amusement Activities, which
affected, and mosquito nets
will be put around the dengue
and malaria patients so that
no mosquito who bites the
patient can spread the disease
to other patients.
The decision has also been
taken to spread awareness
about the vector borne dis-
eases in schools and public
places by running aware-
ness campaigns with the help
of the education department.
During the last meeting
over the issue, Bharadwaj
had issued directions to
schools to instruct the students
to wear full sleeved clothes
and also ensure routine fog-
ging and maintain cleanliness
in the school premises.
The Minister has also
asked the top officials of the
hospitals to ensure that they
make necessary rules to tack-
le the serious diseases and
ensure that the rules are fol-
lowed.
He has also warned the offi-
cials of action in case the
situation is overlooked and
short comings are found in
this regard.
MAHARASHTRA CHIEF MINISTER EKNATH SHINDE
REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGE
ther orders, the transfer orders
of teachers issued on 2nd
July are kept in abeyance.
Postings of all such teachers
are restored as on 1st July.”
On 4th July, Atishi in a
note to the chief secretary said
the issues related to the GVPs
across the 12 MCD zones of
the city with the officials shar-
ing the details about the pres-
ent condition of the spots
and the actions taken in this
regard.
Addressing a press con-
ference after the meeting,
Oberoi said the officials have
informed that across the 12
zones, many of the GVPs have
been already eliminated and
will overhaul, simplify and
unify the licensing process
for venues including amuse-
ment parks, auditoriums,
IYF stages protest at Jantar Mantar over NEET row
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 8 JULY
Alleging rigging in the NEET-
UG exam 2024, the India Youth
Front (IYF), the umbrella organ-
isation of the youth wings of
the parties of the INDIA bloc,
staged a protest here on Mon-
day and demanded resignation
of Union Education Minister
Dharmendra Pradhan.
Members of the IYF who
held the demonstration at
the Jantar Mantar also
demanded that the Nation-
al Testing Agency (NTA) be
dismissed, and re-NEET con-
ducted at the earliest.
Addressing the members,
national president of Indian
Youth Congress (IYC) Srinivas
BV said, “The Central gov-
ernment and Prime Minister
Narendra Modi are running
away from the issue of rigging
and paper leak in NEET-UG
examination. Prime Minis-
ter Modi has time for Mann
Ki Baat but he does not have
enough time for the youth of
the country to openly dis-
cuss this issue in the House.”
“Leader of Opposition in
the Lok Sabha Rahul Gand-
hi has repeatedly demanded
a discussion on this issue
the DoE issued a circular
dated 11th June regarding
"online requests for transfer
of teaching staff of the DoE".
Under clause 16 of this circular,
all those teachers who have
served for more than 10 years
in the same schools were
directed to compulsorily apply
for transfer, failing which,
they will be transferred to
any school by the DoE.
The Education Minister
stated that on 1 July, she
clearly directed the Education
Secretary to recall clause 16
and ensure that no teacher be
transferred from any school
only because she/he has com-
pleted more than 10 years in
a particular school.
She said, however, on the
night of 2nd July, a transfer
order was issued by the DoE
whereby nearly 5,000 teach-
ers who did not apply for any
transfer were transferred to
other schools invoking this
“contentious” clause.
the garbage vulnerable
points (GVPs) with the
officials sharing the
details about the pres-
ent condition of the
spots and the actions
taken in this regard.
the same spots have under-
gone beautification work.
Oberoi said many such
points still exist and the cor-
poration is working contin-
uously on clearing them. The
officials have been given
instructions to appoint a
nodal officer in every ward to
shoulder the responsibility of
the garbage points.
The nodal officers will not
only get the beautification
work done at the GVPs but will
also put in place big dustbins
at the locations.
With the elimination of
the GVPs the corporation will
and video game parlors in
the Capital,” he said.
The LG shared the trans-
formative strides that had
been made in rationalis-
ing, demystifying and eas-
ing the regulation and licens-
ing procedures and process-
es during the last two years.
The Licensing Unit of Delhi
Police, in collaboration with
Municipal Corporation of
Delhi (MCD) and National
Informatics Centre (NIC) has
developed the Unified Portal
for Amusement Activities, a
transformative platform aimed
at enhancing the efficiency of
licensing processes across
Delhi. This initiative builds
upon the success of the mod-
ified unified portal for Licens-
India Youth Front protests against the Central government over the alleged paper leak scam at
Jantar Mantar, in the Capital on Monday.
from the government but the
Modi government is silent
on this issue. Prime Minister
Modi should take the resig-
nation of the Education min-
ister and cancel the NEET-UG
examination as soon as pos-
sible and conduct a re-NEET.”
Last week the IYF passed
a resolution against the ruling
dispensation over the matter.
‘Transfer of 5,000 teachers
was done to ruin govt schools’
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 8 JULY
Delhi Education Minister
Atishi on Monday said the
transfer of 5,000 teachers
was done to "ruin" govern-
ment schools and the edu-
cation revolution” of the
city as part of a conspiracy.
The statement of the min-
ister comes after the Direc-
torate of Education (DoE) of
Delhi government on Mon-
day put on hold its 2nd July
order relating to transfer of
around 5,000 teachers who
are continuing for more than
10 years in the same school.
Notably, on 4t July, Atishi
had asked Chief Secretary
Naresh Kumar to immedi-
ately withdraw the trans-
fer order of around 5,000
teachers issued on 2nd July
by the DoE.
Addressing a press con-
ference, the Minister said,
“Through an order issued by
the DoE this morning, the
‘unjust’ transfer order issued
on July 2 under which more
than 5,000 teachers were
transferred has been
stopped.”
Pointing out that the
teachers, children and their
parents were worried after
get closer to fulfilling the
dream of a clean and beau-
tiful Delhi, as visualized by
Chief Minister Arvind Kejri-
wal, the mayor added.
She said the aim of the
meeting was also to improve
sanitation across the city.
Some new GVPs have come
up recently which will be
fixed soon and their beauti-
fication work will also be
done, she added.
The primary responsibil-
ity of the civic body, she said
is to maintain cleanliness
across the city.
Dr. Oberoi said several
measures are being under-
taken to resolve monsoon-
related issues in the city and
in the coming days a meet-
ing with the Health Depart-
ment would be held to discuss
all the shortfalls.
She said meetings are also
being held over vector-borne
diseases and steps are being
taken for their prevention on
priority.
ing of Eating and Lodging
establishments, previously
launched by LG in 2023, to now
encompass performances at
licensed/unlicensed prem-
ises, amusement parks, audi-
toriums, and video game par-
lors.
The Unified Portal
streamlines the application
process, significantly reduc-
ing paperwork and simpli-
fying submission require-
ments. By integrating vari-
ous regulatory authorities
such as Municipal Bodies,
Delhi Fire Service, and Delhi
Police onto a single platform,
the portal ensures seam-
less coordination and real-
time processing of applica-
tions.
“The country has seen more
than 70 paper leaks in the last
seven years affecting millions
of students but the BJP-led
regime failed to offer any
respite other than lip sympa-
thy. The government has
adopted an extremely arrogant
approach towards the demands
of the students for re-tests, can-
cellations, and investigation
the 2nd July order, she said,
"On 2nd July, I had promised
the people of Delhi, teach-
ers of Delhi government
schools, children and their
parents that no matter how
many conspiracies the BJP
hatches, we will not let the
Delhi government schools be
ruined, we will not let this edu-
cation revolution stop. I am
happy that due to this strug-
gle of the people of Delhi, the
BJP had to withdraw this
transfer order through its
LG. This is the victory of the
people of Delhi.”
Attacking the BJP, Atishi
said, “No matter how many
conspiracies BJP hatches to
trouble the people of Delhi,
to stop their work, the Arvind
Kejriwal government will
keep fighting for Delhiites.
No matter how much strug-
gle we have to endure, we will
keep fighting for the people
of Delhi.”
“I want to tell the BJP
that no matter how many
conspiracies they hatch to
destroy the schools of the
Delhi government, as long as
Arvind Kejriwal is the Chief
Minister of Delhi, he will
keep fighting for the people
of Delhi, and will keep work-
ing for them,” she said.
AAP govt damaged
school education
system: Sachdeva
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 8 JULY
Delhi BJP President Virendra
Sachdeva on Monday hit out
at Delhi Minister Atishi and for-
mer Deputy Chief Minister
Manish Sisodia, alleging that
they have badly damaged the
school education system of
the national capital.
Sharpening his attack, the
Delhi BJP chief accused the AAP
leaders of diverting the teach-
ers towards non- teaching
duties, and also alleged that they
have not recruited regular
teachers nor guest teachers,
resulting in one of the worst
teacher student ratios in the state
run government schools here.
Sachdeva further said that
the saffron party never want-
ed to do politics on education
department's working, and
added that the present edu-
cation minister forced Delhi BJP
to bring it up before everyone
as to how the Kejriwal gov-
ernment has damaged the
education system of the nation-
al capital. He claimed that the
city at present has 995 normal
schools as compared to 1015
in 2015, when Arvind Kejriw-
al government came to power,
and alleged that during the past
10 years they have not hired any
new teachers. Delhi BJP chief
claimed that the other 32
schools for specialized edu-
cation totally lack facilities,
and some of them are the
worst schools.
Throwing light on the num-
ber of school teachers in Delhi
he claimed,"As per the Right
to Education statistics Delhi gov-
ernment schools need around
62000 teachers while there are
only around 43000 teachers
along with around 13000 guest
teachers. There is a a lack of
around 6000 teachers in Delhi
Government schools."
SUBRATA DUTTA
and tried to put down student
agitation with brute force,” read
the resolution. The resolu-
tion demanded immediate
cancellation of the NEET exam-
ination and a retest, a Supreme
Court-monitored probe into
the alleged irregularities and
paper leak, and the resignation
of the education minister
among others.
THUMBNAILS
J&K SIA identifies man
funding terrorism through
Bitcoin trading: J&K State
Investigation Agency (SIA)
on Monday found a man
involved in terror funding
through Bitcoin trading.
SIA has issued a public
request for identification
of the man behind terror
financing in the region.
Officials said that the SIA
found the involvement of a
man in routing money and
funds via Bitcoin trade to
the conduits of terrorist
organisations for fueling
mass violence and terrorist
activities. “A case was regis-
tered in the SIA in the ter-
ror financing case in the
Kashmir Valley in 2022. The
SIA has come out with a
public notice seeking public
assistance in identifying an
accused whose photograph
has been put out,” an offi-
cial said. He said that the
general public is urged to
provide any information
that may assist in identify-
ing the accused. “All infor-
mation provided that
might assist in identifying
the accused will be kept
confidential. The person
whose information leads to
the identification and
arrest of the accused shall
be suitably rewarded,” offi-
cials said. The SIA is investi-
gating several terror
financing cases in Jammu
and Kashmir and during
one such investigation it
was found that the Bitcoin
channel had been used to
fund terrorists operating in
J&K.
Seizures worth `3.31 cr in
HP after implementation
of MCC for by-polls
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
SHIMLA, 8 JULY
Ahead of bypolls in three
Assembly constituencies,
Himachal Pradesh witnessed
seizures worth Rs 3.31 crore
after the implementation of
the Model Code of Conduct
(MCC).
A spokesman of the State
Election Department said
here on Monday that illicit
liquor, cash, drugs, and jew-
ellery worth around Rs 3.31
crore has been seized since the
MCC came into force in the
state in view of bye-elections
to the three Assembly con-
stituencies Dehra, Hamir-
pur, and Nalagarh on June 10.
He said both the police
and the Excise Department
seized 10,358 liters of illicit
liquor amounting to Rs 14.12
lakh.
Apart from this, the Income
Tax Department seized 3.13
kilograms of precious metals
like gold, silver, etc. worth Rs
2.13 crore. The police and
Income Tax Department have
Kamlesh Thakur, Himachal CM’s wife, looks forward to open Cong account in Dehra by-poll
Born in village Nalsuha,
Dehra-Gopipur tehsil in Kan-
gra district, Kamlesh Thakur
(53) is making her electoral
debut in the by-elections to
be held on July 10. She needs
no introduction,being the wife
of Chief Minister Thakur
Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu,she
has been balancing her duties
aptly as a homemaker, a
social worker and a party
worker.
From supporting her hus-
band since 20 years in his
electoral accomplishments in
the Nadaun Assembly con-
stituency represented by him,
she was also seen actively
campaigning during the recent-
ly held Lok Sabha elections for
the party candidate in Hamir-
pur parliamentary seat.
The Assembly by-poll this
time has brought her to a new
spotlight as she is contesting
from Dehra, considered a
tough seat for Congress that
has never won the seat since
the Dehra Assembly con-
stituency was carved out after
delimitation in 2010.
Intense contest in the off-
ing, she is taking on two-
time independent MLA Hosh-
yar Singh, who won Assem-
bly elections twice consecu-
tively in 2017,2022,and is now
contesting on a BJP ticket.
Both are playing an emo-
tional card, Kamlesh Thakur
as ‘Dehra ki Beti’ and Hosh-
Police,NHRC meet to combat DoT
infrastructure for
drug abuse in Punjab prisons Amarnath Yatra
On Thursday, the E D apprehended an individual for laundering money derived from drug trafficking
AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, 8 JULY
P
unjab police on Mon-
day held a crucial
meeting with the
National Human
Rights Commission (NHRC)
to discuss strategies for com-
bating drug abuse in prisons
and disrupting supply chains.
Taking to social media
platform X, the official account
of DGP Punjab police stated,
"Collaborating for a safer
Punjab! Met with Special
Monitor #NHRC, Rakesh
Asthana, IPS (Rtd), Senior
officers of Punjab & UT
Chandigarh Jails, Police,
Social Security, Health and
other departments to dis-
cuss effective strategies for
combating drug abuse in
prisons & disrupting supply
chains. Committed to prison
reforms & ensuring a safer,
rehabilitative environment
for all."
Earlier on Thursday, the
Enforcement Directorate
apprehended an individual
in Punjab's Tarn-Tarn district
for laundering money derived
from drug trafficking. This
arrest was made under the
Prevention of Money Laun-
dering Act (PMLA), 2002.
ED's Jalandhar-based unit
arrested Skattar Singh alias
seized cash worth Rs 93.66 lakh.
To date, 1.06 kilograms of
charas worth Rs.2.65 lakh, 19
grams of heroin amounting
to Rs. 3.82 lakh, 4.59 grams of
Smack amounting to Rs.
91,800, and 1.32 kilograms of
Poppy husk worth Rs. 19,890
has been impounded by
enforcement agencies, stat-
ed spokesperson of the State
Election Department here on
Monday.
He said the MCC Industries
Department has imposed
fines amounting to Rs. 2.67 lakh
in 74 different cases under the
Mining Act.
yar as ‘Dharti putar’ (Son of
the soil).
In an interview with
Bhawani Negi, she talked
about how important it is for
her to win the elections.
Excerpts:
Q 1.Dehra is a tough seat for
Congress.How did you make
up your mind for contesting?
A.Every election is tough, but
I am contesting this election
following the directions of the
Congress high command.
Initially, I had no intention
of running in the Dehra by-
election, and even my fam-
ily was not in favour. How-
ever, the party selected me
as the candidate based on a
survey. Now, the Congress
party is fully committed to this
election. I am confident that
the Congress party will win
the by-elections on all three
seats, including Dehra, with
a significant majority.
Q 2. How important is it for
you to win? Is it tough chal-
lenge being Chief Minis-
ter’s wife and the pressure
is on you to clinch the elec-
tions.
A.As I mentioned earlier, the
Congress party is contesting
this by-election with full
strength and is poised to
win all three seats, including
Dehra. I am the wife of Chief
Minister Thakur Sukhvin-
Failure of the government....
enhances telecom
Laddi in continuation of its
money laundering probe the
agency had taken up on the
basis of First Information
Reports recorded by Punjab
Police and Narcotics Control
Bureau. Before that, a search
action under the provisions of
Section 17 of the Prevention of
Money Laundering Act, 2002
was conducted at 10 premis-
es located in villages Sheron and
Nausheran Pannuan in Tehsil
Nausheran Pannuan and vil-
lage Bugha in Tehsil Tarn
Taran on February 3 last year.
In addition to incriminating
documents, narcotic sub-
Sandeshkhali cases: SC dismisses WB govt
plea against court-monitored CBI probe
AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, 8 JULY
The Supreme Court on Mon-
day dismissed a plea filed by
the West Bengal government
challenging the court-mon-
itored CBI (Central Bureau of
Investigation) probe into land
grabbing and extortion cases
in Sandeshkhali.
A bench presided over by
Justice BR Gavai declined to
interfere with the order of the
Calcutta High Court direct-
ing the CBI to commence its
probe in the matter after cre-
ating a special investigation
team (SIT) for that purpose.
In an earlier hearing, the
top court had raised eye-
brows on the filing of the
special leave petition (SLP) by
the state government and
questioned it for protecting
the “interests of some private
individuals”.
Explaining the state gov-
ernment's stance, senior advo-
cate Jaideep Gupta said that
the plea was filed against cer-
tain findings and “unfair com-
ments” contained in the
impugned order of the high
der Singh Sukhu and have
been associated with the
Congress party for the past
22 years. Our party is focus-
ing on key issues pertaining
to the general public. The
most significant issue is the
resignation of the inde-
pendent MLA. If Hoshyar
Singh was dissatisfied with
MAHARASHTRA CONGRESS PRESIDENT NANA PATOLE
ON MUMBAI WATERLOGGINGAFTER HEAVY RAINS
stances and arms were recov-
ered during the search.
Investigation revealed that
the entire extended family of
Skattar Singh has been
involved in illicit drug sales
for many years and multiple
FIRs have been registered
against his family members,
said the ED in a statement.
Earlier 3 drug smugglers
were arrested with 5 kg of hero-
in from Ranike village in
Amritsar, said Punjab Direc-
tor General of Police (DGP)
Gaurav Yadav here on Tues-
day.
It is the second consign-
court. At this, the top court had
said, “You can go to the high
court and ask for expunging
of the remarks if you are
aggrieved.”
It had adjourned the hear-
ing till July, clarifying that
the pendency of the petition
before the Supreme Court
will not be used for “any pur-
poses”, including prolong-
ing of proceedings pending
before the Calcutta High
Court.
In an order passed in the
second week of April, a divi-
sion bench of Chief Justice T.
S. Sivagnanam and Justice
Hiranmay Bhattacharyya had
the government, he could
have joined the opposition
benches with the BJP. There
was no need for a by-election
and the public understands
this point. Hoshyar Singh's
resignation from the post of
MLA to contest the election
again is absurd. The people
of Dehra are discerning and
AAP tried to trap Bikram Singh
Majithia in NDPS case: Akali
Dal after court's big relief
AGENCIES
CHANDIGARH, 8 JULY
Shiromani Akali Dal's (SAD)
Chief Legal Advisor, Arshdeep
Singh Kaler alleged that though
the Aam Aadmi Party gov-
ernment tried to trap former
party MLA Bikram Singh
Majithia but finally after the
court heard all the arguments,
the summons were stayed.
"The Aam Aadmi Party
government tried to trap
Majithia and repeatedly
formed SITs. Ultimately the
results are before everyone.
Majithia was harassed by
repeatedly sending summons
after which, arguments were
presented in the court against
the politically motivated sum-
mons and the summons were
stayed," Kaler said speaking
at a press conference.
The SAD leader got a big
relief from the Punjab and
Haryana Hich Court on Mon-
ment of 5 kg of heroin being
recovered from Amritsar in
a single day, while around 27.2
asked the investigative agency
to submit a detailed report to
the high court following which
the latter will decide on the
next course of action.
It had directed the CBI to
open a separate portal and
email through which the vic-
tims in Sandeshkhali can reg-
ister their complaints relat-
ing to illegal land grabbing and
extortion, adding that the
Central agency will maintain
absolute secrecy with regard
to the identity of the com-
plainants. It had ordered the
district administration in
North 24 Parganas including
the district magistrate and the
recognize that former MLA
Hoshyar Singh has betrayed
them. People will not send
him to the Vidhan Sabha to
sit in the opposition. The
public wants development,
and that can only happen by
working in collaboration
with the government.
Q 3 Representation of women
in state politics. How do
you see it?
A.Women are progressing in
every field, so why not in pol-
itics? The Congress party
has always been dedicated to
women empowerment and
has provided many oppor-
tunities for women in poli-
tics. In the last assembly by-
election, Anuradha Rana was
given a ticket from Lahaul-
Spiti by Congress and she won
the election. The influence
of women in politics is steadi-
ly increasing, which is a pos-
itive signal.
Q 4. Do you see Hoshiyar
Singh as strong opponent
who has won elections twice
earlier from the seat.
A. In elections, every candi-
date is strong. In a democracy,
it is the voters who decide who
wins and who loses. Voters
gave Hoshyar Singh a chance
twice as an independent can-
didate, but he failed to meet
their aspirations. Everywhere
I go in Dehra, people share
NEW DELHI, TUESDAY 09 JULY 2024
day in the Narcotic Drugs and
Psychotropic Substances
(NDPS) case and the sum-
mons sent to Majithia by the
SIT have been withdrawn.
Kaler said that the Akali Dal
was targeted by all opposi-
tion parties in Punjab and
attempts were made to
defame them. He pointed
out that though Majithia's
name was brought up in the
drug cases, not a single Akali
Dal leader's name came up
in the final report of the
investigation committee.
Kaler said that not a sin-
gle piece of evidence was
found against Majithia that
linked him to the drugs case.
Slamming the ruling Aam
Aadmi Party (AAP), Kaler
said that Chief Minister Bhag-
want Mann should leave his
post and the government
has to answer who is selling
drugs in Punjab and who is
getting them sold.
kg of heroin has been recov-
ered from Amritsar in less than
a week, he said.
district police superinten-
dent to identify the sensitive
pockets at Sandeshkhali and
install CCTVs. The district
administration was also direct-
ed by the high court to prop-
erly illuminate the streets at
Sandeshkhali.
Several public interest lit-
igations (PILs) were filed
before the Calcutta High
Court in connection with ille-
gal land grabbing and extor-
tion at Sandeshkhali, where
the main accused was a sec-
tion of the local Trinamool
Congress leaders led by the
now-suspended ruling party
leader Sheikh Shahjahan.
Earlier in March, the
Supreme Court had dismissed
the plea filed by the state
government challenging the
CBI probe into the attack on
ED and CAPF teams at
Sandeshkhali in North 24
Parganas District on January
5. However, it had ordered to
expunge the adverse obser-
vations made against the
West Bengal Police and the
state government in the
impugned judgment of the
Calcutta High Court.
their concerns and problems
with me. If he had worked
effectively, Dehra wouldn't be
in its current condition. He
focused more on his per-
sonal development than on
the development of the area.
Now, the people of Dehra have
another chance. As the Chief
Minister's wife and the Con-
gress Party candidate from
Dehra, I have deep emo-
tional ties to this place. Dehra
is my maternal home and my
in-laws' ancestral house. My
husband's ancestral home
is in Baih Dhonta, part of the
Dehra Assembly constituency.
My family and I share a strong
bond with Dehra. In the com-
ing three and a half years, I
will leave no stone unturned
in developing Dehra. Resolv-
ing the area's problems will
be a priority. I assure you that
Dehra will be developed as
a model assembly con-
stituency.
Q 5. BJP is harping on mis-
use of state machinery ?
What do you have to say.
A. What else will the BJP say?
They have nothing to say
and no issues to raise. These
are baseless allegations.
Q 6. Besides, the emo-
tional card of ‘Dehra ki
beti’ what issues are you
focusing on while seeking
votes ?
AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, 8 JULY
The Department of Telecom-
munications (DoT) has
announced significant improve-
ments in telecom infrastruc-
ture to ensure seamless mobile
connectivity for pilgrims par-
ticipating in the Amarnathji
Yatra 2024. In collaboration with
major Telecom Service Providers
(TSPs) including Airtel, BSNL,
and Reliance JIO, the infra-
structure has been upgraded
to provide continuous cover-
age along the Yatra routes.
To ensure coverage, a total
of 82 sites (Airtel, RJIL and
BSNL) shall be active. A total
of 31 new sites have been
installed along the Yatra
routes, increasing the total
number from 51 in 2023 to 82
in 2024. This enhancement
aims to provide seamless
mobile connectivity to the pil-
grims and the public.
The routes from Lakhan-
pur to Qazigund and from
Delhi Minister Hussain chairs
meeting ahead of Muharram
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 8 JULY
As the city prepares for Muhar-
ram, Delhi Food and Civil Sup-
plies Minister and Ballimaran
MLA Imran Hussain on Mon-
day chaired a crucial meeting
with various government
departments and agencies and
instructed them to ensure the
smooth celebration of the
upcoming religious event.
Hussain directed the offi-
cials to make sure adequate
hygiene, sanitation, and clean-
liness on the roads and streets,
particularly in the areas through
which the procession would
pass, particularly from Nabi
Karim Police Chowki, Qutub
Road, Sadar Bazaar, Khari
Bawali, Lal Kuan, Hauz Qazi,
and Jama Masjid area.
The minister also directed
the Municipal Corporation of
Delhi and the Public Works
Department to depute suffi-
cient sanitation manpower to
clean the roads and lanes on
July 16 during late evening, and
early morning of July 17, dur-
ing the festive occasion.
He has instructed PWD
and MCD to fill and level the
potholes on the roads in a
A. I am ‘Dehra ki beti’, and I
am proud of it. This is not an
emotional card but my fam-
ily and I have deep roots in
Dehra. I spent my childhood
here and received my primary
education in this area. As a
public representative of
Dehra, the development of
this region will be my respon-
sibility. When the son of the
household neglects his duties,
the daughter ends up having
to take on those responsi-
bilities. The Superintendent
of Police office and SE PWD
office are set to open in
Dehra, with approval from the
Cabinet. Additionally, an
international-level zoo is
being built in Bankhandi of
Dehra assembly constituency,
at a cost of Rs 650 crore.
This zoo will feature safari
facilities and luxurious hotels,
establishing a new tourist des-
tination on the map of Kan-
gra district. This is just the
beginning.The Chief Minis-
ter has also committed to
making a law for the welfare
of the Pong Dam oustees, if
necessary. The old slogan
was “Dehra koi nahi tera,” but
now it is “Dehra ho gaya
mera.” I will take personal
responsibility for the area's
development and discuss it
with the Chief Minister every
day.
Q 7. How do you see Lok
Sabha results, where Cong
03
Qazigund to Pahalgam and
Baltal are fully covered with
2G, 3G, and 4G, including
5G technology at many places
for pilgrims and the public.
Some key points of SIM dis-
tribution centres have been
opened apart from other loca-
tions to extend telecom facil-
itation to Yatris.
This year, the yatra start-
ed on June 29 and will end on
August 19, lasting 52 days.
The devotees of Lord Shiva
undertake the arduous annu-
al pilgrimage to the holy cave
shrine located in the Kashmir
Himalayas in July-August.
Conducted by the Shri
Amarnathji Shrine Board, the
Amarnath Yatra has two routes
through Pahalgam and via Bal-
tal. Baltal serves as the camp-
ing ground for pilgrims in
the Ganderbal district of
Jammu and Kashmir.
This year, the Yatra is tak-
ing place in the shadow of
recent terror attacks in Jammu
and Kashmir.
proper manner for the smooth
movement of the Tazia pro-
cession, while the concerned
officials have also been asked
to ensure the pruning of tree
branches in coordination with
the forest department along the
procession route.
The Minister pointed out
that during the event, the role
of BSES becomes very impor-
tant amid the procession and
instructed its officials to make
sure that no low-lying wires
should be hanging in the area,
and the procession routes shall
be proactively inspected to
ensure safety. Hussain also
directed Delhi Police and area
SDM to ensure sufficient
deployment of force person-
nel and Civil volunteers in the
area for the smooth obser-
vance of the upcoming event.
Directions have also been
given to the Delhi Traffic Police
to make necessary arrange-
ments to ensure smooth traf-
fic in the area.
Senior officers from the Rev-
enue Department, BSES, Health,
Forest, MCD, Delhi Jal Board,
Horticulture, Fire Services,
PWD, and Delhi Police, along
with members of religious com-
mittees attended the meeting.
has lost all four seats. Even
in Dehra assembly con-
stituency too,Anurag Thakur
had a lead.
A.The issues in Lok Sabha and
assembly elections differ sig-
nificantly as evident in recent
by-election and Lok Sabha
polls in the state . As far as
Dehra bye-election is con-
cerned, there is a clear tilt in
favour of the Congress party
in Dehra. Over recent years,
the Dehra assembly con-
stituency has lagged behind
in terms of developmental
works, but now, there's an
opportunity for Dehra to
reclaim its path to develop-
ment, which I believe the local
community will not miss to
seize. Similar to Nadun, the
Chief Minister will oversee the
development of the Dehra
assembly constituency.
Q 8. Allegations of ‘parivar-
vad’ (dynasty politics) has
surfaced. Even former CM
Shanta Kumar has raised it.
What is your take on it ?
A. The BJP maintains it does
not acknowledge dynasty
politics within its party,
although many of its MLAs
and MPs have familial ties to
politics. In a democratic sys-
tem, the electorate holds the
ultimate power to decide
the outcomes of elections and
they will decide the fate of
every candidate.
04
We will not try to hush up any scam. We are an open book; there
is nothing hidden. CM Siddaramaiah has clarified the matter,
and there is no need to make statements about it repeatedly
G. PARAMESHWARA
NEW DELHI, TUESDAY 09 JULY 2024 KARNATAKA HOME MINISTER

Revanth urges those who left Cong Taking proper steps to reduce dengue cases in state,
says Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao
to return to make Rahul next PM AGENCIES
BENGALURU, 8 JULY

Gandhi was already working hard as LoP and just a step away from the post of Prime Minister Karnataka Health Minister
Dinesh Gundu Rao said that
ANINDITA CHOWDHURY Congress MP was inspired anytime between 2004-2014. they are strictly monitoring and
HYDERABAD, 8 JULY by YSR’s own padayatra to True supporters are those taking proper steps on how
undertake his Bharat Jodo who work hard to make to reduce the proliferation of

T
elangana Chief Min-
ister A Revanth
Reddy on Monday
gave a clarion call to
people who left the Congress
to return to the party while
urging its activists to work
harder to make Leader of the
Opposition Rahul Gandhi the
next prime minister.
The Congress observed
the birth anniversary of its
former chief minister YS
Rajasekhar Reddy and
Revanth Reddy who is also
the PCC chief reminded
party leaders and workers
that Gandhi could have
assumed the post of Prime
Minister during UPA rule,
between 2004-2014 but was
never keen on posts or posi-
tions.
Meanwhile, another BRS
MLC Challa Venkatrami
Reddy met the chief minis-
ter at his residence after six
BRS MLCs joined the ruling
Congress last week.
Since last year, the Con-
gress has been celebrating
the birth anniversary of Y S
Rajasekhar Reddy, fondly
known as YSR with much
fanfare. With the party in
power this time, the cele-
bration of his 75th birth
anniversary was quite grand.
Addressing party work-
ers, Revanth Reddy said, “I
remember YSR’s statement
after coming to power for the
second term in 2009 that
Rahul Gandhi will become
the Prime Minister of India.
YSR left us before Rahul
could ascend to the post. All
Congress workers should
strive hard to make him the
Prime Minister.”
He further said that the
Yatra last year which was Rahul the next Prime Min- dengue mosquitoes amid the
instrumental in the party’s ister” said the chief minis- rise of dengue cases in the state
victory in Karnataka, Telan- ter before adding “I appeal on Monday.
gana and Himachal Pradesh. to all YSR fans to join the The state of Karnakata has
He also said that the six Congress.” been witnessing a rise in
guarantees promised by the He also referred to his dengue cases, with over 7,000 the 31 districts across the on testing, Rao stated that they
Congress during Assembly decision to appoint 35 Con- positive cases recorded so far southern state. have put regulations in place
elections were also inspired gressmen to nominated this year, according to a report Rao said that spraying in terms of testing to control
by the welfare schemes of posts in the government released by the Commission activity is also going on in the the overflow of patients in pri-
YSR who reigned as the chief which was officially of Health and Family Welfare BBMP areas and they are vate hospitals and also men-
minister of unified Andhra announced on YSR’s birth Services on Saturday. carefully monitoring schools tioned that treatments are
Pradesh between 2004 and anniversary as a reward for "We are keeping a strict and contribution areas. They also available in government
2010 before he died in a their loyalty to the party. visual on that...monitoring have also set up a technical hospitals.
helicopter crash leaving the Deputy Chief Minister it. The important part of this committee and will be decid- "We have a regulation in
party rudderless in AP. Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka is source reduction. How we ing on the future protocols terms of testing. We have
He said Gandhi was also gave a similar call to can reduce the proliferation today. "...in BBMP areas fixed the amount for dengue
already working hard as those who have left the Con- of the dengue mosquito. And already spraying activity is testing. If we receive any
LoP and just a step away from gress to back the party once especially with the rainfall going. Especially in con- complaints regarding this,
the post of Prime Minister. more and ensure the welfare in a lot of places, that is also struction areas and schools, we will be taking very strict
He exhorted the Congress programmes reach people. contributing to water stag- we have been monitoring actions against those hospi-
supporters to work to ensure Claiming that the Con- nation," Rao said. carefully. We discussed with tals. Treatments are also avail-
Gandhi becomes the Prime gress will work for the peo- According to the report, the the technical committee, so able in government hospitals
Minister. ple for next two decades, he Bruhat Bengaluru Mahana- we will be deciding on the for anyone who requires IV flu-
“Posts and positions are said people flocking to the gara Palike (BBMP) area alone future protocols and will let ids, or platelets; all are avail-
not important for Rahul party was evidence enough witnessed a total of 1908 pos- you know what will be the able in government hospitals.
Gandhi. He could have that it was functioning itive cases, with the remain- future protocols," Rao said. Hopefully, we can bring the
become the Prime Minister well. ing 5098 cases reported from Speaking of regulations numbers down," he said.

DEVOTION
TENDER
Law will take its course, says CM Vijayan
on PSC membership bribe allegations
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, 8
JULY

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi

Vijayan on Monday dismissed
allegations of wrongdoing
in appointments to the Ker-
ala Public Service Commis-
sion (PSC).
Responding to accusations
involving a CPI-M young
leader in Kozhikode who
allegedly collected bribes from
a person under promises of appointed as a PSC mem- from corruption in its appoint-
securing a position as a in the ber.Out of this, Rs 22 lakh was ments. He also delved into per-
state PSC member, Pinarayi handed over to the leader and sistent efforts to tarnish the
Vijayan said the constitu- the party secretariat is inves- reputation of the recruit-
tional body has been doing its tigating the incident. Simi- ment body with falsehoods.
duty diligently, but there have lar allegations have surfaced The CM did not directly
been efforts to malign it, which before. What action will be mention the controversy sur-
is very unfortunate. taken on this allegation raised rounding the CPI-M‘s young
During Question Hour in from Kozhikode?" leader in Kozhikode related
the Assembly on Monday, Addressing the concerns to the issue . However, CM
Indian Union Muslim League raised by the legislator, the Vijayan highlighted the var-
(IUML) legislator N Sam- Chief Minister said PSC has ious forms of fraud occurring
sudheen raised the issue.” a consistently upheld its Con- in Kerala and assured that
People dressed as Lord Krishna and Goddess Radha take part in the Rath Yatra of Lord ruling party leader asked for stitutional duties and has stringent measures would
Jagannath organized by ISKCON, in Nagpur on Monday. � ANI a bribe of Rs 60 lakh to be maintained a record free be taken against the culprits.

CPM in fresh controversy

LEGAL NOTICES
IN THE COURT OF SH.
RAJESH MALIK, Additional
District Judge-06 (Central),
Room No.33 Tis Hazari Court,
Delhi
CITATION UNDER SECTION
278 OF THE INDIAN SUCCES-
SION ACT
PC-7/2024
HARI CHAND & ANR.
VS
STATE AND ORS.
Whereas an Application
under Section 278 of the Indi-
an Succession Act 1925 for
grant of Probate/Letter of
Administration in respect of
the Estate of LATE SMT. SAN-
TOSH DEVI W/O LATE SHRI
OM PRAKASH, R/O B- 34
INDERLOK INDERLOK B BLOCK
NORTH WEST DELHI INDIA
110035 DIED ON 31.07.2006 in
Delhi has been made by 1.
SHRI HARI CHAND S/O LATE
SHRI BHURI SINGH AND 2.
SHRI RAMESH CHAND S/O
LATE SHRI BHURI SINGH BOTH
R/O HOUSE NO. 7124, GALI
TELIYAN, PAHARI DHEERAJ
SADAR BAZAR, DELHI-110006.
Whereas the 22.08.2024 has
been fixed for hearing of the
case, notice is hereby given
that any person having any
interest in the probate/Letter
of Administration of the estate
of the said deceased if he/she
desire to appear in this court
of the 22.08.2024 and see the
KOLKATA
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DELHI
Statesman House,
148, Barakhamba Road,
New Delhi-110 001
Proceedings before the grant
of letter of Administration.
Given under my hand and
the Seal of this Court, this
05th day of JULY 2024.
Additional District Judge-
06 (Central),
Tis Hazari Court, Delhi
Seal of the Court
J-6591
PROCLAMATION REQUIRING
ATTENDANCE OF
DEFENDANT
(Order 5 Rule 20 of the Code
of Civil Procedure)
In the Court of MS SAVITA
RAO, District judge (com-
mercial court)-1 south
ROOM NO. 12, 3rd FLOOR,
NEW COURT BLOCK-01,
SAKET COURTS, NEW DELHI
Suit No.:-CS (Comm.)
49/2024
UNION BANK OF INDIA
-Plaintiff
V/S
RANJEETA
-Defendant
To
RANJEETA
PROPRIETOR, M/s NAMITA
ELECTRONIC
FLAT No. 4F, 4th FLOOR,
NAKSHATRA APARTMENT,
357, JOHNAPUR, NEW DELHI-
110047
WHEREAS you are inten-
tionally evading service of
summons it is hereby notified
that if you shall not defend the
case on 02.08.2024 the day
fixed for file a written state-
ment within 30 days and
appear in this court, it will
statesmanbbsr@gmail.com
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HYDERABAD
The Statesman Limited,
be heard and determined ex-
partie.
Given under my hand and
the seal of the Court this
02.07.2024.
District judge (commercial
court)-1 south
NEW COURT BLOCK-01,
SAKET COURTS, NEW DELHI
Seal of the Court
J-6592
J. (Civil)-12
PROCLAMATION REQUIRING
ATTENDANCE OF
DEFENDANT
(Order 5, Rule 20 of the
Code of Civil Procedure)
IN THE COURT OF
SH. LAL SINGH, LD. DISTRICT
JUDGE
(COMMERCIAL COURT-01),
SOUTH-EAST DISTRICT,
ROOM NO.18, SAKET
COURTS, NEW DELHI,
Case No.: CS
(COMM)/900/2023
STATE BANK OF INDIA
-Plaintiff
V/S
Sh.AANSHUL RASTOGI
-Defendant
To.
DEF.1. Sh. AANSHUL RAS-
TOGI
S/o SHRI HARI OM RASTOGI
H. NO. 1B-114, GC GRAND,
VAIBHAV KHAND, INDRAPU-
RAM
SHIPRA SUNCITY, GHAZI-
ABAD, UP-201014
WHEREAS you are inten-
tionally evading service of
summons it is hereby notified
that if you shall not defend the
case on the 12th Day of July
560025.
Tel. : 9212192123
Email:
delhistatesman@gmail.com
bangalore@thestatesmangroup.com
MUMBAI
5, Kasturi Buildings, Jamshedji
Tata Road, Mumbai-400 020
M-9212192123
Tel : (022) 35775450,
Email:
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mumbai@thestatesmangroup.com
2024 the day fixed for the
final disposal, it will be heard
and determined ex-parte.
Given under my hand and
the seal of the Court, this 6th
day of May, 2024.
LD. DISTRICT JUDGE, (COM-
MERCIAL COURT-01), SOUTH-
EAST DISTRICT, SAKET
COURTS, NEW DELHI
Seal of the Court
J-6602
COURT NOTICE
(U/o 5 Rule 20 CPC)
IN THE COURT OF
Sh. Vishal-II
Civil Judge (Junior Division)
,Gurugram
VINOD KUMAR
Vs.
ANITA
CNR No. HRGRO2-004456-
2023
Next Date:- 10-07-2024
PUBLICATION ISSUED TO:
GENERAL PUBLIC AT LARGE
In above titled case, the
defendant(s)/respondent(s)
could not be served. It is
ordered that
defendant(s)/respondent(s)
should appear in person or
through counsel on 10-07.2024
at 10:00 a.m
For details logon to
https://highcourtchd.gov.in/?t
rs=district_notice&dis-
trict=Gurugram
Civil Judge ( Junior Divi-
sion)
Gurugram
Dated, This day of 08-07-
2024
Seal of the Court
IN THE HIGH COURT OF
DELHI AT NEW DELHI
Notice under order V Rule
over bribery allegation
20 of CPC
RFA 379/2023 & CM APPL.
No.24256/2023 and
related to PSC membership
24258/2023
Appeal against the Judg-
ment/Decree dated STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE plaint. The complainant
01.07.2022
In CS No. 476368/2014, CNR
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, alleged that the young leader
No. DLNE01-002825-2013 8 JULY had taken the names of
Passed by Ms. Mona Tardi some prominent CPI-M lead-
Kerketta, ADJ (NE)-01, Karkar-
dooma Courts. Delhi Even as the CPI-M in Ker- ers to convince the victim.
MAHE ALAM ala plans to formulate guide- In this connection, it is
APPELLANT
VERSUS
lines for course correction of learnt that the four-member
SHAUKAT ALI & ORS the party committees from commission appointed by the
RESPONDENT
the top level to the branch CPI-M Kozhikode district
Notice to : Respondent No.
2&3 level for rectifying the wrong secretariat had completed the
2. Liaqat Ali trends and behaviours among investigation against the
3. Rizwan, S/o Alik
All R/o: the party functionaries, the young leader and it is learnt
F-220, Gali No.8, left party has landed in a fresh that the Left party will take
Chand Bagh, Shahdara,
Delhi-110094
controversy over a bribery immediate action against
allegation related to PSC the young leader of the CPI-
Whereas the above noted
appellant has presented an membership. M.
appeal u/s 96 of CPC which
was first listed before the It has been alleged that Meanwhile, the Congress
Court on 12.05.2023 & on the a young CPI-M leader from and BJP have demanded a
other subsequent dates. And
whereas it has been proved to
Kozhikode collected bribe comprehensive probe in to
from a person promising the bribery charges. Congress
the satisfaction of the court
that you cannot be served
membership in the state Kozhikode district president
with the RFA 379-2023 in the
ordinary manner. notice by Public Service commis- K Praveen Kumar has sought
way of Publication to you is sion(PSC). a probe by Central agen-
hereby issued. If you wish to
defend RFA 379-2023, you may The young leader was cies on the bribery for PSC
cause an appearance to be accused of offering a post membership charge.
entered on your behalf either
in person or through an Advo-
of the PSC member to a BJP state president K
Kozhikode native in return Surendran said the bribe
cate duly appointed by you for
the purpose before the Court for Rs 60 lakh as a bribe. How- was accepted by saying the
of Worthy Registrar (Appel-
late) on 12.08.2024 (Actual) ever, the promise was not name of PWD minister
at 11.00 am. If no appearance honoured following which Mohammed Riyas, and so a
is made on your behalf, by the victim approached the detailed investigation should
yourself, your pleader or
someone authorized by law to party leadership with a com- be carried out into the issue.
act for you in the said appeal
on the aforementioned date,
no further notice of the sub-
sequent date of hearing of
the said appeal will be given
and the same will be heard
and determined ex-parte in
Jagan, Sharmila pay tributes
to YSR on birth anniversary
your absence.
Given under my hand and
the seal of this court on this
3rd day of July, 2024.
ASSISTANT REGISTRAR
(APP) (CIVIL) AGENCIES District. They participated in
FOR REGISTRAR GENERAL KADAPA , 8 JULY the special prayers conduct-
Seal of the Court
ed on the occasion and sat in
Former Andhra Pradesh chief silence for a few minutes. YSR
minister YS Jagan Mohan Congress MPs, MLAs, MLCs
Reddy on Friday paid tributes and other leaders also paid trib-
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2nd Floor, UNI Building, to his father and former chief utes to YSR, as the late leader
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A.C. Guards, Hyderabad-500004, minister of undivided Andhra was popularly known.
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Accompanied by his moth- birth anniversary was a fes-
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laid a wreath on the late leaders and fans are going
AIR-SURCHARGE; Kathmandu - Re. 2, Eastern Region - Re. 1 leader’s grave at YSR Ghat at ahead with service activities
All other stations in India - Re. 1 Idupulapaya in YSR Kadapa on your birth anniversary.

Worli hit-and-run: Maha CM
assures strictest punishment
On 7 July, a speeding BMW hit a scooter in Mumbai's Worli, leading to a woman's death
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
MUMBAI, 8 JULY
M
aharashtra Chief
Minister and Shiv
Sena leader
Eknath Shinde
on Monday called the July 7
Worli hit-and-run incident
"unfortunate" and assured
strict action against the cul-
prits, asserting that everyone
is equal before law.
Talking to reporters, he
said, “It does not matter
which party he belongs to. The
accused won’t be spared.”
“It is an unfortunate inci-
dent. I spoke with the police
commissioner in the morn-
ing. It does not matter which
party he (accused) belongs to.
Action will be taken. Nobody
will be spared. Everyone is
equal before the law,” he
said.
Later, in a social media
post, the chief minister said,
"It is intolerable that the
powerful and influential mis-
use their status to evade jus-
tice. The lives of ordinary
citizens are precious to us, and
we will ensure that justice is
served. We are implementing
stricter laws and harsher
Goa CM rules out Cabinet reshuffle,
says ‘focusing on assembly session’
AGENCIES
PANAJI, 8 JULY
Goa Chief Minister Pramod
Sawant on Monday ruled out
possibilities of the Cabinet
reshuffle stating he is focusing
on the Assembly session com-
mencing from July 15.
“At present, we are only
focusing on the Assembly ses-
sion. The reshuffle will not take
place at this time," the Chief Min-
ister said. He said that during
the meeting, they discussed the
functioning of the Assembly ses-
sion and tabling various bills.
“This meeting was purely for
preparation of the Assembly ses-
sion,” the Chief Minister said.
He had held a meeting with
ministers, BJP MLAs and other
MLAs supporting his govern-
ment. However, as three min-
Dhankhar takes potshots at Chidambaram over criticism of new criminal justice laws
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 8 JULY
Vice President and Rajya Sabha
ChairmanJagdeepDhankharon
Monday referred to former
Finance Minister and senior
CongressleaderPChidambaram’s
criticism of the three new crim-
inal justice laws and said it was
not proper the Rajya Sabha
member had spoken on the
laws outside Parliament, while
not participating in the debate
in the House.
Interactingwithparticipants
oftheRajyaSabhaInternshipPro-
gramme at Parliament House,
he said after Independence and
for the first time, “we have had
three laws and those three laws
arewithrespecttoworkingofour
system in courts. The “dand vid-
haan,”acoloniallegacy,became
“Nyay Vidhan.”
MrDhankharsaidafewdays
ago, the senior Rajya Sabha
Chhattisgarh CM performs ‘Cherapahara’ ritual, seeks blessings for state at Rath Yatra
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
RAIPUR, 8 JULY
Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra was
celebrated with great fervor
in Raipur, the capital of Chhat-
tisgarh. Chief Minister Vish-
nu Deo Sai graced the event
at the Jagannath Temple in
Gayatri Nagar, where he per-
formed the "Cherapahara"
ritual and sought blessings
from Lord Jagannath for the
people of the state.
The celebration com-
menced with the ceremoni-
al placement of the deity's idol
on the chariot, followed by the
ritual where the path was
swept with a golden broom.
On this occasion, Chief
Minister Sai extended his
greetings to all residents of the
state. He emphasised the
equal significance of this fes-
tival for Chhattisgarh and
Odisha, highlighting the shared
reverence for Lord Jagan-
penalties for hit-and-run
offenders."
"No one, regardless of
wealth, influence, or politi-
cal affiliation, will be immune
from prosecution as long as
I am the chief minister. I
have zero tolerance for injus-
tice,” he added.
On July 7, a speeding BMW
hit a scooter in Mumbai's
Worli, leading to a woman's
death. The luxury vehicle
was being driven by the 24-
year-old son of a senior leader
of the Eknath Shinde-led
Shiv Sena, police said.
isters left the meeting, there were
speculations that they would
be dropped from the cabinet.
Last week many BJP MLAs
and ministers, including the
Chief Minister met central
leaders in Delhi.
Speculations of a cabinet
reshuffle to accommodate Con-
gress turncoats, along with
Goa Legislative Speaker Ramesh
Tawadkar are rife in the state
after the latter had in June said
that he is ready to take on any
new responsibility the party allo-
cates him. Congress turncoat
Digambar Kamat said that only
the Chief Minister can speak
about the Cabinet reshuffle.
There were also speculations
that the Cabinet reshuffle will
take place after Narendra Modi
takes oath as Prime Minister for
the third time.
memberhadcommentedonthe
three laws. He had not spoken
in the House and thereby lost a
goodopportunitytospeak.Itwas
really his constitutional respon-
sibility to give his views in a
forceful manner, and the whole
nation would have come to
know them.
“Speaking in the House cre-
ates an environment, people
nath. He noted that the deity's
blessings are equally bestowed
upon both the regions.
"Lord Jagannath is con-
sidered the protector of farm-
ers," Sai stated. He credited
the deity’s grace for rainfall,
the growth of paddy, and the
prosperity of farmers. He
prayed for a bountiful harvest
in Chhattisgarh and sought the
blessings of Lord Jagannath,
Balabhadra, and Subhadra
for peace, prosperity, and
happiness. Chief Minister
Performs Cherapahara Ritu-
al with Golden Broom
In a tradition mirroring
Puri’s Rath Yatra, Chief Min-
ister Sai performed the Cher-
apahara ritual by sweeping the
path with a golden broom. Fol-
lowing this, he carried the idol
of Lord Jagannath to the char-
iot, marking the commence-
ment of the Rath Yatra.
Rath Yatra in Chhattis-
garh inspired by Odisha's
Just like LS poll of Chhindwara,
we will win Amarwara bypoll too
The police also suspect that
Mihir Shah, who is on the run,
was drunk at the time of the
incident. His blood test report
is awaited. He is the son of
Rajesh Shah, deputy leader
of the Shiv Sena in Maha-
rashtra's Palghar district.
The politician and his
driver, Rajendra Singh Bijawat,
have been arrested, they said.
“A case has been registered
under the new criminal code
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
under sections relating to
culpable homicide not
amounting to murder, rash
In November 2023, Congress
turncoat Aleixo Sequeira was
sworn in as a minister after the
then PWD Minister Nilesh
Cabral resigned to make way
for him. Since then, speculations
of a Cabinet reshuffle to accom-
modate more Congress turn-
coats like former Chief Minis-
ter Digambar Kamat, MLA
Michael Lobo and MLA Sankalp
Amonkar, along with senior BJP
leader Ramesh Tawadkar have
been rife.
Except for Digambar Kamat
and Michael Lobo, the BJP
government has given key posi-
tions to six other defectors in
various corporations, howev-
er, Sankalp Amonkar has not
taken charge of his position as
reportedly he was assured the
Cabinet berth before joining the
BJP.
become aware of the views. It is
not proper a member does not
participate in the House debate
andspeaksoutside,”theVice-Pres-
ident said.
He said “when the matter
came for consideration it was
thought wise that a committee
shouldlookintoit.Soacommittee
dealtwiththeissue. Ithad mem-
bers from both the Houses. That
traditions
Odisha's world famous
Rath Yatra has significantly
influenced the celebrations in
neighboring Chhattisgarh.
During the Rath Yatra cere-
mony, customary rituals were
performed and special prayers
were offered to Lord Jagan-
nath, his brother Balabhadra,
and sister Subhadra. Temple
priests noted that the event
symbolises an unbreakable
bond between the cultures of
Utkal and Dakshin Kosal.
They also highlighted the
belief that Lord Jagannath's
original abode was Shivri-
narayan in Chhattisgarh,
before moving to Jagannath
Puri. Shivrinarayan is histor-
ically significant as the place
where Lord Shri Ram tasted
the sweet berries offered by
Mata Shabari in the Treta
Yuga. Today, the temple of
Nar-Narayan stands at this
sacred location.
MOHAN YADAV
MADHYA PRADESH CHIEF MINISTER
driving and destruction of evi-
dence, among others. Provi-
sions of the Motor Vehicles
Act have also been invoked,”
a senior police official said.
The police's investigation
also revealed attempts to
destroy evidence. The car's
windshield had a Shiv Sena
sticker, which was scratched,
apparently to conceal the
vehicle's link with the Sena
leader. The car’s number
plate was also removed after
the accident but police
scanned the CCTV footage of
the area to zero in on the vehi-
Raj: 3 passengers killed, 20 others
injured as bus rams into trailer
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
JAIPUR, 8 JULY
Three members of a fami-
ly were killed and 20 others
were injured when a road-
ways bus in which they
were travelling rammed
into a trailer on the Delhi-
Jaipur National Highway
near the Alwar triangle cul-
vert on Monday.
The injured were rushed
to NIMS hospital located on
the highway and Jaipur's
SMS hospital where the
condition of passengers
was reportedly serious, the
Shahpura police station
said.
The roadways bus was on
the way from Delhi to Jaipur,
and around 4 am, it went out
of control and rammed into
the trailer going ahead.
committee was chaired by a
very senior member. Everyone
in the committee had one point
ortheother.Theyhadtheoppor-
tunitytogototheissueatthemicro
level.”
“When you meet in a group
orinacommitteeyougetfullfree-
domtoexpressyourpointofview.
You will hear the point of view
of others,” he said. After an
intenseinteractionincool,calm,
composed atmosphere, the
report is submitted and that
report comes before the House.
“Ifamemberispartofthecom-
mittee, makes his point of view
before the committee, and the
committee by majority holds
otherwise, that member still has
great opportunity to participate
in the proceedings before the
House,makehispointknownto
the House, and try to convince
the House by persuasion, logic
and rationality,” Mr Dhankhar
said. Many times it is seen, the
cle, sources said.
The vehicle hit Kaveri
Nakva (45) and her husband
Pradeep Nakva, both resi-
dents of Worli's Koliwada
area. The fish-seller couple
went to Sassoon Dock daily
to fetch fish. They were on their
way back when the BMW
crashed into their two-wheel-
er. The couple was thrown into
the air and they crashed on
the bonnet of the vehicle.
As the car kept speeding,
Kaveri was run over. The car
driver fled the spot and the
woman was taken to a hos-
pital where she was declared
dead. Her husband suffered
minor injuries.
The incident comes
months after a similar case
of drunk driving left two
young engineers dead in
Pune.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader
and MLA Aditya Thackeray
reached the Worli police sta-
tion and met Pradeep Nakha-
va.
He said he did not want to
give the incident a political
colour. “I do not want to make
this political, whoever the
driver is, should be arrested,”
he said.
A woman and her son
died on the spot in the acci-
dent. At the same time, the
woman's husband died
while being taken to the hos-
pital.
Initial investigation has
revealed that this accident
happened due to overtak-
ing. However, the police
are engaged in investigat-
ing the whole matter.
At the time of the
accident, there were about
40 passengers in the bus,
most of whom were sleep-
ing.
After the accident, there
was a long traffic jam on the
Jaipur-Delhi National High-
way. After taking the injured
to the hospital, the police
removed the damaged vehi-
cles from the middle of the
road.
government amends the pro-
posed laws.
“If you do not discharge your
constitutional duty, if you do
not participate in the debate,
if you do not take your point
further, you are in a sense not
performing your duty. And
then if you say something out-
side, you suffer the handicap
that you had valuable oppor-
tunity, constitutional platform,
a rare opportunity that is avail-
able only to members of par-
liament, you fail to avail the
opportunity, in a sense you for-
feit your right. You show your
concurrence by non-partici-
pation, by observing silence,”
the Vice President said.
Mr Dhankhar said the debate
in the House is thus a mean-
ingful exercise and this debate
has lot of significance. Mem-
bers have a golden opportunity
to present their case and seek
its acceptance in the House.
05
NEW DELHI, TUESDAY 09 JULY 2024
Heavy rains hit operations at
Mumbai Airport, 27 flights diverted
AGENCIES
MUMBAI, 8 JULY
As many as 27 flights were
diverted from Mumbai air-
port on Monday, and sever-
al have been delayed due to
heavy rains and low visibil-
ity, according to Chhatrap-
ati Shivaji Maharaj Interna-
tional Airport (CSIA).
The airport management
said flights were diverted to
Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, and
Indore. Priority is being given
to arrivals, delaying depar-
tures, and consequential
changes that were made to
accommodate diverted flights.
The airport also advised pas-
sengers to check their flight confirmed for travel on 8th for their journey to the air-
status before leaving home July with some conditions. For port." Meanwhile, Maha-
for their journey. further assistance, please rashtra Chief Minister Eknath
"Today, heavy rains and connect with our contact Shinde said the state author-
low visibility led to the sus- centre at 011 69329333, 011 ities are working to restore
pension of runway operations 69329999." train and road services, which
from 2:22 am to 3:40 am. 27 Low-cost carrier Spicejet have been disrupted due to
flight diversions reported," has advised passengers to heavy rains and asked Mum-
it said. check their flight status before bai residents to stay at home
"In light of the inclement leaving for the airport. due to the flooding on the
weather and forecast of heavy "Weather Update: Due to roads and railway tracks.
to very heavy rains, Mumbai bad weather (heavy rain) in
Airport advises all the pas- Mumbai (BOM), all depar-
sengers to check their flight tures/arrivals and their con-
status with their respective sequential flights may get
airlines and leave for the air- affected. Passengers are
port a little earlier," CSIA requested to keep a check,"
said in a post on X. it said in a post on X.
Airlines, including IndiGo Domestic carrier Vistara
and Air India, are offering an said, "Travel Update: Heavy
option to seek alternative traffic congestion and slow
flights or claim a full refund. vehicle movement are expect-
"Travel Advisory: Flights
to/from Mumbai are impact-
ed en route to Mumbai Air-
port today due to weather
ed due to heavy rains. To opt conditions. Customers are
for an alternative flight or claim
a full refund feel free to reach
advised to allow more time
out to our on-ground team
for any immediate assistance,"
IndiGo said in a post on X.
Air India said, "Heavy
rains in Mumbai are affect-
ing flight operations and
resulting in the cancellation
of some of our flights. Air India
is offering full refunds or a
one-time complimentary
rescheduling for bookings
06 NEW DELHI, TUESDAY 09 JULY 2024 Vol. CXXXXXVIII 161

Incorporating and directly descended

Of Human Capital A MEMBER
OF THE

from THE FRIEND OF INDIA - Founded 1818
Time for Reform
T he landslide victory for new British Prime Minister
Keir Starmer’s Labour Party in the UK elections has
once again underscored the flaws inherent in
Britain’s first-past-the-post (FPTP) electoral system. With
Labour securing a substantial majority of seats despite
ASIAN VOICES
The underlying cause of man-made disasters – depreciation in human capital over
the years – is hardly mentioned, let alone addressed. Repeated examination paper Preparing
for the
leaks are probably the most frustrating phenomenon for our youth. Many of us, born
in the 1950s and 60s, remember with gratitude our teachers, who gave their best to
us, even while working at subsistence wages. Times have changed – teachers of today monsoon
do not mind indulging in undesirable activities, like not teaching in school but in coaching threats

having only a modest 34 per cent of the popular vote, the
election results have reignited debates about the fairness
and representativeness of the system. In the current polit-
ical landscape, the FPTP system appears increasingly out
of touch with the diverse and multifaceted nature of voter
preferences. Labour’s 412 seats were secured with just
9.7 million votes, while the Conservative Party, despite
receiving 6.8 million votes or 24 per cent of the vote share,
ended up with only 121 seats. Even more strikingly, the
populist right-wing Reform UK party garnered over 4 mil-
lion votes or 15 per cent of the vote share but won a mere
five seats while the centrist Liberal Democrats with 3.5
million votes or 12 per cent of the vote share, secured 71
seats. The stark discrepancy between the number of votes
and the allocation of seats highlights a fundamental issue:
the FPTP system disproportionately benefits larger, estab-
lished parties at the expense of smaller, emerging ones.
This electoral distortion discourages political pluralism
and limits the representation of diverse viewpoints in
Parliament. Comparatively, other democratic nations
have adopted proportional electoral systems that better
reflect the will of the electorate. In France, a two-round
voting system ensures that winning candidates typically
E
classes, and selling question papers. Not surprisingly, with such role models, and no arly warnings indicate that this
moral instruction in schools, we have a generation of youngsters lacking morality year’s monsoon could be par-
ticularly severe, with the poten-
tial for devastating floods, land-
slides, and other catastrophic events.
Recent disasters in the region under-
line the gravity of the situation: Afgha-
nistan has already witnessed deadly
floods, killing more than 300 people
and displacing thousands, while
record-breaking heatwaves have
forced school closures, damaged crops,
and ignited forest fires.
First and foremost, the enhance-
ment of early warning systems is
imperative. These systems are our first
line of defense against natural disas-
ters, providing critical time for prepa-
ration and evacuation.
It is essential to collaborate with
regional and international agencies
like the International Centre for Inte-
grated Mountain Development (ICI-
MOD) to ensure access to the most

T
have the support of an absolute majority of voters in their
he recent airport canopy
constituencies. Germany’s mixed-member proportional collapses at Delhi, Jabal-
representation system allows voters to cast two ballots: pur and Rajkot, and the
one for a constituency representative and another for a series of bridge collaps-
party. This hybrid system balances direct constituency es in Bihar, Jharkhand and
representation with proportional allocation of seats based Manipur, have severely dented
on party votes, leading to a more accurate reflection of the dream of a viksit Bharat. A
voter preferences. slugfest has ensued with author-
The consequences of sticking with the FPTP system ities blaming record rainfall,
shoddy construction during the
are manifold. It perpetuates a political duopoly, where
previous regime, and the Oppo-
two major parties dominate the political landscape, mar- sition alleging contractor-politi-
ginalising smaller parties and their supporters. This lack cian nexus, lack of upkeep, cor-
of representation can breed voter apathy and disillusion- ruption, and the like.
ment. Moreover, the volatility and unpredictability of But basic issues like the co-
election outcomes under FPTP can lead to unstable gov- untry’s need for bullet trains,
ernments. Labour’s current victory, described as a “polit- massive buildings etc., when 80
ical sandcastle,” may be vulnerable to swift shifts in voter crore of the population survive
loyalty, potentially undermining long-term political sta- on heavily subsidised rations,
bility. The call for electoral reform is not new. The 2011 have never been fully discussed.
referendum on changing the UK’s electoral system, The connected issue of having
sufficient local trained man-
though ultimately unsuccessful, highlighted a growing power to design advanced
awareness of the need for a more representative voting infrastructure according to local
mechanism. However, the entrenched interests of major requirements, or even operate
parties, who benefit from the existing system, pose a sig- it, is hardly considered, while
nificant barrier to meaningful change. For a truly demo- going in for mega-projects.
cratic and representative political system, the UK must According to the latest Qua-
reconsider its commitment to FPTP. Adopting a propor- rterly Project Implementation
tional electoral system would not only ensure fairer repre- Report of Ministry of Statistics
sentation of all political voices but also foster a healthier, and Project Implementation,
448 projects had an aggregate
more vibrant democracy. It is time for the UK to embrace
cost overrun of Rs.5.55 lakh cro-
electoral reform and create a system that genuinely refle- re ~ 65.2 per cent of their pro-
cts the diverse and evolving preferences of its electorate. jected cost and 902 projects of
the 1,837 studied were delayed
~ showing our ineptness in exe-
Muted Hope cuting large projects. Also, most
infrastructure projects are finan-
unsavoury court battle between arrested for conducting fake tion, could provide good gover- accurate and timely data.
the Lieutenant Governor and raids, snatching etc. In fact, in a nance to the entire country. The By investing in advanced tech-
Chief Minister over who should viral video, policemen can be present lot of administrators is nologies and establishing robust com-
chair the panel for cleaning the seen running, with the CBI team much better placed in terms of munication networks, we can provide
Yamuna. Yet, when the Yamuna in hot pursuit ~ a case of cops resources ~ financial, infrastruc- our vulnerable communities with the
overflowed, displacing thous- and robbers both being police- tural and technological ~ yet the information they need to stay safe.
ands and causing untold misery, men. One wonders if the police output is definitely poorer, with Infrastructure resilience is another
neither of the two was willing to cannot prevent their own col- good reporting substituting for critical area that demands immediate
take responsibility. The inescap- leagues from engaging in crimi- good governance. With time, the attention. Our roads, bridges, and pub-
able conclusion is that a fight nal activities, can a common public has lost all hope in a sys- lic buildings must be fortified to with-
between politicians is mainly for man hope that the police would tem in which administrators stand the extreme conditions antici-
the fishes and loaves of office; prevent criminals from target- blame politicians, and vice ver- pated this monsoon season. Strength-
this was well summed up by a ing him? sa, and both curse the elements,
Shiv Sena (Shinde) minister, Official figures of crimes are foreign powers, or even Nehru,
when the Ajit Pawar faction of daunting enough ~ with 7,000 when things go wrong,
NCP joined the Government: daily complaints of cyber-crime The reason for the rot is not ening critical infrastructure in vulnera-
“We had a full loaf, from now alone with zero arrests, crimina- difficult to miss; over the years ble areas will not only protect lives but
on, we will have to make do with ls of all hues appear to be having the bureaucratic machinery has also ensure the continuity of essential
half a loaf.” a field day. At the same time, the become increasingly slothful and services during and after a disaster. We
This year, a day’s rain paral- administrative and police mach- corrupt; most Government must allocate resources to reinforce
ysed our capital city inery seems to be schemes fail to deliver desired these structures, prioritising the safety
~ showing that no in deep slumber, results, because they are imple- and stability of our nation’s lifelines.
corrective action waking up only to mented by ill-trained, lethargic Community preparedness cannot
had been taken collect hafta or at bureaucrats, who treat Govern- be overlooked. Empowering our
after last year’s politically oppor- ment employment as a sinecure. citizens with knowledge and skills
debacle. The tune times e.g., to To improve the functioning of the to respond effectively to disasters is
inevitable war of demolish the bureaucracy, the Government crucial.
words between houses of suspect- had launched the National Pro- Comprehensive community aw-
political parties fol- ed criminals. No gramme for Civil Services Capac- areness programs should be conduct-
lowed, starkly simi- wonder, the ity Building (Mission Karmayogi) ed nationwide, educating people on
lar to what ha- Worldwide Go- in September 2020, with a time- the risks they face and the actions they
ppened after last vernance Indica- line of one year. However, so far, can take to mitigate them.
year’s floods when DEVENDRA tors (WGI) that Mission Karmayogi has not taken Training local communities in
SAKSENA
the Central Govern- ranks 215 coun- off; there has been no impetus in emergency response techniques and
ment publicly The writer is a retired tries and territories the training of civil servants, and establishing community-based disas-
blamed the Delhi Principal Chief Commissioner
of Income-Tax on six dimensions in many cases, the right person is ter management committees will cre-
Government for of governance viz. not in the right position. ate a resilient and informed populace,
inaction, and the Voice and Accoun- But a much simpler solu- ready to act swiftly in the face of
Delhi Government came out with tability; Political Stability and
all guns blazing against the Cen- Absence of Violence/ Terrorism;
tion is possible: the Government
can make decision-making tran-
danger.
Developing and regularly updat-

T he election of Masoud Pezeshkian as Iran’s new Pres-

ident has sparked a flurry of discussion about the
potential for change within the Islamic Republic.
However, a closer examination reveals that despite his
ced by debt ~ raising our indebt-
edness to unacceptable levels.
Be that as it may, the
underlying cause of man-made
disasters ~ depreciation in
moderate stance, Mr Pezeshkian’s victory is unlikely to
human capital over the years ~
result in significant shifts in Iran’s entrenched policies or is hardly mentioned, let alone
power structures. Mr Pezeshkian, a former health minister, addressed. Repeated examina-
campaigned on promises of opening Iran to the world and tion paper leaks are probably
increasing freedoms for its people. Yet, the context in which the most frustrating phenome-
he assumes office greatly limits his ability to deliver on non for our youth. Many of us,
these pledges. The true power in Iran lies not with the Pres- born in the 1950s and 60s,
ident but with the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, remember with gratitude our
who holds ultimate authority over all state matters. Aya- teachers, who gave their best to
tollah Khamenei’s influence ensures that any President, us, even while working at sub-
sistence wages. Times have
regardless of political leanings, must operate within the changed ~ teachers of today do
confines of a system designed to maintain the status quo. not mind indulging in un-
The recent election saw a turnout of about 50 per cent, desirable activities, like not
reflecting growing voter apathy and disillusionment. This teaching in school but in coach-
low participation rate underscores a broader legitimacy cri- ing classes, and selling question
sis for the Iranian regime. Many Iranians, especially the papers. Not surprisingly, with
youth, are increasingly frustrated with economic hardships, such role models, and no moral
social restrictions, and the lack of political freedoms. The instruction in schools, we have a
memory of the 2022 crackdown on protests, triggered by the generation of youngsters lacking
morality. Long ago, PM Rajiv
death of Mahsa Amini while in police custody, still looms
Gandhi said that out of every
large. The regime’s harsh response to dissent has left a deep rupee spent by the Government,
scar on the national psyche, contributing to the pervasive 85 paise were eaten away. The
scepticism about the potential for meaningful change current dispensation is fond of
through the ballot box. While Mr Pezeshkian’s moderate saying that things have changed,
stance offers a glimmer of hope for some, it is tempered by and the entire rupee is now be-
his clear reluctance to confront the entrenched clerical and ing spent productively ~ a claim
security elites. His pragmatic approach suggests he will belied by crumbling airports
avoid direct challenges to the power structure that under- and bridges.
pins the Islamic Republic. This pragmatism, while perhaps Even more insidious is the
falling standard of public repre-
ensuring his political survival, significantly limits his capac- sentatives. Last year, just before
ity to implement the reforms he has promised. Moreover, the Delhi floods, there was an
the geopolitical landscape presents additional challenges.
Iran’s foreign policy, particularly its contentious nuclear LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
programme and its support for militant groups across West
Asia, is unlikely to see substantial changes under Mr
Pezeshkian’s administration. These areas are tightly con-
trolled by the Supreme Leader and the Revolutionary March of evolution
Guards, who are committed to maintaining a posture of
SIR, I refer to “The fires of hell”
resistance against Western pressure and regional adver- by Jaydev Jana. Climate change is
saries. Domestically, the economic situation remains dire, largely due to human interven-
exacerbated by years of mismanagement, corruption, and
tion and is happening now. Nine
sanctions. Both Mr Pezeshkian and his hardline rival, Mr of the 10 hottest years on record
Saeed Jalili, vowed to revive the economy, but the structur- have occurred in the past decade.
al issues plaguing Iran’s economy are deeply rooted and This has been accompanied by
cannot be resolved overnight. Without significant shifts in extreme heat waves, droughts,
domestic and international policies, Mr Pezeshkian's wildfires, hurricanes, and severe
administration may struggle to deliver tangible improve- flooding making the lives of many
people precarious. India has been
ments in the livelihoods of ordinary Iranians. So, while Mr
no exception.
Pezeshkian’s election as President may signal a shift Climate change is altering en-
towards moderation, it is unlikely to herald the transfor- vironmental conditions and facili-
mative change that many Iranians yearn for. Instead, it rep- tating proliferation of disease vec-
resents yet another chapter in the on-going struggle tors such as ticks and mosquitoes.
between a populace desperate for reform and a regime Our food system is contributing to
determined to maintain its grip on power. the destruction of more than a
million plant and animal species
tral Government and its own Government Effectiveness; Reg-
bureaucrats, the crowning ulatory Quality; Rule of Law;
ignominy being a press confer- Control of Corruption, placed
ence addressed by bureaucrats India at 68th place with a mea-
against Delhi ministers ~ all at a gre score of 48.9 out of 100.
sparent and make the bureau-
cracy responsible for decisions
taken by them, including deci-
sions for not taking a decision.
A recent example will suffice. All
ing emergency response plans is
essential for effective disaster manage-
ment. These plans must be tailored to
address the specific needs and vulner-
abilities of each region, ensuring that
time when the first priority of WGI rankings have attract- that went wrong in the after- response teams are well-equipped and
everyone should have been miti- ed the attention of the Govern- math of heavy rainfall in Delhi trained to handle any emergency.
gation of human suffering and ment, which raised some valid could have been significantly Sufficient resources ~ financial,
prevention of flooding. Signifi- objections about the methodolo- lessened if certain mundane human, and logistical ~ must be allo-
cantly, after this surfeit of verbosi- gy adopted. Also, in a telling tasks had been completed in cated to maintain and execute these
ty, the Army and Navy were called instance, four years ago, the Prin- time e.g., drains had been clea- plans effectively. Emergency shelters
in for flood control and relief; they cipal Economic Advisor (PEA) in ned before the monsoon, the must be established and stocked with
quickly did the needful. the Ministry of Finance, gave a Yamuna River had been desilt- necessary supplies to support dis-
Several basic questions presentation on ways to improve ed and the functioning of bar- placed individuals and families.
arise: Why do governments not India’s ranking in WGI, but rage gates checked. Long-term climate adaptation
protect floodplains and wet- unfortunately, the PEA’s entire However, devastation dur- strategies are also vital in reducing our
lands from encroachment, stop emphasis was on countering the ing the floods showed that the vulnerability to extreme weather
construction on lakes and pon- “negative commentary on India thousands of employees, super- events. Sustainable agricultural prac-
ds, get drains cleaned annually, by think tanks, survey agencies vised by hundreds of officers, tices can mitigate the impact of
and get rivers desilted, at least and international media” ~ not employed in various Govern- climate-induced crop failures, ensur-
near cities. Last year in a shock- on improving governance. ment departments, for these ing food security even in adverse
ing dereliction of duty, barrage Lack of good governance im- very purposes, totally neglected conditions.
gates of the Yamuna were found pacts citizens in many ways; we their duties. Promoting reforestation and soil
jammed, leading to flooding. have religious festivals where Let alone punishing the conservation will help stabilise our
Also, water pits were left open, stampedes kill hundreds, road guilty, no enquiry has been held environment and reduce the risk of
resulting in drowning of unsus- cave-ins on newly built roads, un- into the circumstances leading landslides and flooding.
pecting people, going about the- derpasses filled with rainwater, to the flood, and the deficient And, finally, coordination and
ir usual business. The fury of the and poorly constructed buildings response thereto. Mayhem communication is key. A unified resp-
rain god can neither be predict- that had cost taxpayers hundreds unleashed by a day’s rain this onse from government agencies, non-
ed nor lessened, but good plan- of crores of rupees. The Govern- year shows that there is little governmental organisations, and inter-
ning and timely action can defi- ment and their apologists want to change on the ground. national partners is essential to ad-
nitely mitigate human suffering. pass off these incidents as isolat- According to Brooks Atkin- dress the multifaceted challenges
Every day, newspapers car- ed and localised, but the underly- son, Pulitzer Prize winning rep- posed by natural disasters.
ry news of corruption at all lev- ing thread of governance failure orter: “The perfect bureaucrat Clear and open communication
els of Government: during the cannot be ignored. everywhere is the man who ma- channels with the public will ensure
year, till now, twelve Delhi The days seem long gone nages to make no decisions and that accurate information and guid-
Police personnel had been when some few upright men of escape all responsibility.” ance are disseminated promptly, fos-
arrested for offences like bribery sterling character, with meagre Perhaps, we have a perfect tering trust and cooperation during
and extortion. More had been resources but full determina- bureaucracy. crises.
editor@thestatesman.com
Earth including ours. Life has works. Nothing is permanent, not human limitations and use tech-
existed on this planet for about 2-
3 billion years and during that
time countless species have come
even us. Only by being smart can
we dodge future global-warming-
induced calamities. As a civiliza-
nology to alleviate and correct
our mistakes and excesses.
Yours, etc., H N Ramakrishna,
that are now threatened with and gone. That is how evolution tion, we need to understand our Bengaluru, 5 July.
extinction as we depend on
monocultures. Nine out ten medi-
LABOUR'S TRIUMPH
cines come from plants and with
that our source of healthcare is SIR, Those who were raising the slogan of crossing 400 could not even come close to it in the Lok
threatened . We now live in a wor- Sabha elections of India. But the Labour Party of Britain has defeated the Conservatives without setting
ld of the un-Darwinian principle any target. Sir Keir Starmer has almost wiped out his opponents by winning 412 seats. Although they
of Survival of the Un-fittest. fell short of the 418 won 27 years ago under Tony Blair, they have worked very hard. When the last elec-
The oceans around us holds tion was held in 2019, Labour had got only 202 seats, which Sir Keir Starmer more than doubled. There
life, and all life comes from the has hardly been any election in the world whose result was declared months in advance. The condition
sea including us. Even this invisi- of the public sector ~ health, education, transport, roads etc. ~ had become so bad that the Tories did
ble umbilical cord between the not have money to pay workers according to inflation. The result was that workers of every department
ocean and humanity is snapping were forced to go on strike. But the policy that has harmed the Tories the most is ‘Brexit’. This was a
as a source of food through clim- nationalist policy that not only separated Britain from the European Union but made it the most iso-
ate change, pollution, and lated in terms of trade. The Conservative Party had exploited this issue with great fanfare and the
overfishing. The vast increase in dreams of a bright future shown to the British proved to be hollow. We Indians will now have to learn
human population has directly to pronounce Sir Keir Starmer's name. He is here to stay for the next few years.
caused massive environmental Yours, etc., Jang Bahadur Singh, Jamshedpur, 6 July.
problems that threaten all life on
08 NEW DELHI, TUESDAY, 09 JULY 2024
THUMBNAILS
Bank of Baroda organises CSR
programme: On the occasion
of Lord Jagannath Rath yatra,
Bank of Baroda distributed
free drinking water bottles,
packed gluco water and caps
to devotees at Bank of Baro-
da, Grand Road Branch Puri on
7 July. Zonal head Swapna Ban-
dopadhaya, DGM (CA) A P Das,
DGM (BD) S P Nayak, regional
head of Cuttack Ranjit Kumar
and other Bank’s staff were
present on the occasion.
‘Samarth Para-Sports Pro-
gramme’: Hyundai Motor
India Foundation (HMIF) has
onboarded 20 para-athletes
for a period of three years
under its ‘Samarth Para-Sports
Programme’. This initiative, in
collaboration with NGO part-
ner GoSports Foundation, is
part of Hyundai Motor India
Limited’s broader 'Samarth by
Hyundai' initiative. The
‘Samarth Para-Sports Pro-
gramme’ is designed to offer
structured support to para-
athletes, including financial
aid, expert sports science
guidance, access to assistive
devices, soft skill development
assistance and mentorship
from renowned coaches and
experts to the selected 20
para-athletes.
Govt reopens application window for
PLI Scheme for White Goods till 12 Oct
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 8 JULY
The Centre has reopened
the application window for
the PLI Scheme for White
Goods (ACs and LED Lights)
for the period from 15th
July, 2024 to 12th October,
2024 (inclusive).
The application window
is being reopened based on
the appetite of the Industry
to invest more under the
Scheme, which is an outcome
of the growing market and
confidence generated due to
manufacturing of key com-
ponents of ACs and LED
Lights in India under the
WIKA India chants ‘think global, act local’
mantra, to double turnover by 2025
RITWIK MUKHERJEE
KOLKATA, 8 JULY
A Mechanical Engineer by
training and a management
graduate (in Operation and
Finance) from IMT, he start-
ed off his career in business
development and profes-
sional sales person skilled in
Quality Management with
the knowledge of Six Sigma
Black Belt.
With career progression,
while manufacturing and
machines has been his expert-
ise, in his journey from Eich-
er to GE to Schneider Electric
and currently to WIKA Group,
he has also transitioned from
operational roles to front-
ending the businesses and
leading the strategy and tac-
tics in his current role of
heading WIKA India.
While precision manufac-
turing still remains the core
of his expertise, he is now
responsible for leadership,
growth and business results
for WIKA India. His aim is to
see WIKA India playing the
most prominent part in WIKA
Group’s future strategies. For
the last 7 years, he has con-
solidated the WIKA India
business under his leadership.
Speaking to The Statesman
exclusively, Gaurav Bawa,
Senior Vice President, WIKA
India, who spearheads the
Indian arm of the Germany-
based global company, nar-
rates the Indian journey of the
company and also explains
how the company has been
on a steady growth path, aptly
emphasising on ‘Think Glob-
al, Act Local’ strategy.
Excerpts:
Q: How and when did the
WIKA India journey begin?
Bawa: WIKA India (WIKA
Instruments India Pvt. Ltd, a
wholly-owned subsidiary of
WIKA Group (WIKA Alexan-
der Wiegand SE & Co. KG, Ger-
many), is a specialist in Pres-
sure, Temperature, Level,
Flow, & Force for critical
industrial applications. WIKA
India was established in 1997,
and it currently operates with
German technology, experi-
ence and expertise to man-
ufacture quality pressure and
temperature measuring instru-
ments serving India’s process
industries.
Benchmark indices end flat,
FMCG clocks healthy gains
Sensex opened at 79,915 against its previous close of 79,996.60 closing 36 points, or 0.05pc
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 8 JULY:
T
he benchmark
indices ended flat
on Monday stepping
back from last week's
record highs. FMCG clocked
healthy gains as ITC, Hin-
dustan Unilever and Nestle
ended as the top three gain-
ers on Sensex.
In terms of index contri-
bution, ITC, Reliance, and
Infosys were the top three
movers of the Sensex index.
On the flip side, shares of
HDFC Bank, Titan, TCS
Mahindra, and Mahindra
were the top drags on the
index.
Sensex opened at 79,915
against its previous close of
79,996.60 closing 36 points,
or 0.05%, lower at 79,960.38.
Nifty 50 opened at
24,329.45 against its previ-
ous close of 24,323.85 and
closed 3 points lower at
24,320.55.
Midcap and smallcap
Scheme, the Ministry of
Commerce & Industry said.
''It is being opened on the
same terms & conditions
stipulated in Production
Linked Incentive Scheme
for White Goods (PLIWG)
S ch e m e n o t i f i e d o n
1 6. 04 . 2 0 2 1 a n d P L I W G
Scheme Guidelines issued on
04.06.2021, as amended from
time to time,'' it added.
Application can be made
on the same on-line portal
having URL as https://pli-
whitegoods.ifciltd.com/. No
application shall be accept-
ed after the closure of the
application window.
The applicant approved
Q: So, what does it do
basically?
Bawa: WIKA India operates
and manufactures with a
stringent quality and envi-
ronment management system
according to requirements
of international standard (ISO
9001, ISO 14001). It has state-
of-the-art manufacturing
facilities, modern machin-
ery, certified calibration and
testing instruments towards
ensuring quality control and
least risk operations. WIKA
India also has NABL accred-
itation and is equipped with
high level primary standard
calibration equipment for
calibrations. It offers a world-
wide network with the cali-
bration and service centres and
promises to be competent
partner. Right from the word
‘go’ we have all along remained
committed to quality and
precision engineering, which
is driving WIKA India's suc-
cess and reputation in the
industry.
Q:Tell us something about
your parent global compa-
ny?
Bawa: WIKA, an inde-
pendent, family-owned com-
pany, is fully backed by pri-
vate capital and has sound
financial management
enabling it to develop at its
own pace and innovate freely.
A large part of the revenue is
invested back in innovation
and remains WIKA’s main
differentiation. This enables
WIKA to secure and claim
pole position as a specialist
in various global markets that
they are present in. As a glob-
al and local group, adapted
to every economy they are
present in, WIKA provides
their customers with solutions
tailored to their needs—pro-
viding advisory services from
indices on the BSE closed
with losses. The BSE Midcap
index fell 0.14%; the Small-
cap index ended 0.22% lower.
Among the sectors, the
losers were Nifty PSU Bank
(1.60%), Consumer Durables
(1.28%), and Metal (0.93%).
Nifty Bank ended with a loss
of 0.45%, while the Private
in the proposed third round
would be eligible for PLI for
maximum three years only
in the case of new applicants
and existing beneficiaries
opting for investment peri-
od upto March 2023 seeking
to move to higher investment
category.
The Ministry of Com-
merce further in a press
note said that for existing
beneficiaries opting for
investment period upto
March 2022 seeking to move
to higher investment cate-
gory in the proposed third
round, would be eligible
for PLI for maximum two
years only.
the design of the solution
through to its commissioning.
WIKA Group boasts of test
platforms equipped with the
latest high-performance
equipment, spread over 10000
sq metre surface area exclu-
sively reserved for test oper-
ations and 100 + test specialists
providing reliability and con-
formity of products and sys-
tems.
Q: Which industry seg-
ments do you operate in and
who all are your major clients
in India?
Bawa: At present, we are
serving various industry seg-
ments like Oil and Gas, Chem-
ical and Petrochemical, Food
and Pharmaceuticals, Trans-
port and Infrastructure, Power
Engineering, Machine and
OEMs.This has helped us gar-
ner a huge clientele that
includes some of the reput-
ed names in the market such
as Mahindra Defence, Hero
MotoCorp, Toyo Engineering,
Tata Power, NTPC, Reliance
Power, Sulzer, Hitachi, Cum-
mins, Essar, Shell, Cairn, Tata
Chemicals Limited, DuPont,
Nestle, Glenmark, Glaxo
SmithKline, to name a few.
Q: How many manufac-
turing facilities do you have
in India at this point in time
and where are they located?
Bawa:At present, we have
four plants inclusive of four
calibration labs, with after-
sales service pan India. WIKA
India started off with WIKA
Pune and then moved on to
WIKA Faridabad, WIKA Chen-
nai and WIKA Ghaziabad.
Apart from four calibration
labs, the company also has a
mobile calibration van.With
the aim to “Double the
turnover by 2025”, WIKA
India is one of the most
important markets and man-
ufacturing centers for WIKA
Group for its cost efficiency
and skilled labour force. WIKA
Group has extensive plans to
strengthen and expand WIKA
India’s operations.
Q: What is your current
headcount in India?
Bawa: WIKA India, at pres-
ent, has more than 1,275
employees across its four
plants and this number is
growing steadily with the
growth and expansion of its
operations across the coun-
try.
Bank index dropped 0.25%.
Defying weak market sen-
timent, the Nifty FMCG index
jumped 1.63% followed by
Nifty Oil & Gas 0.88%.
On Nifty 50, the top gain-
ers were ONGC (4.15%), ITC
(2.34%), and HDFC Life
(2.25%) while the losers were
Titan (3.33%), Divi's Labs
Golden fibre reels under overproduction & drop in demand
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
KOLKATA, 8 JULY
Everything does not seem to
be alright in the country, when
it comes to the golden fibre.
The jute industry faces a cri-
sis due to overproduction and
diminishing demand for jute
bags, particularly in food grains
packaging.
Jute mills in Bengal are
estimating a 30 per cent decline
in demand of jute bags in
2024-25 amid shortfall of
mandatory procurement of jute
bags for packing of foodgrains
and sugar. Lack of demand for
jute bags is resulting in a
demand and supply imbalance
and has forced some jute mills
to lower number of shifts or
cut down the shift hours. Mind
Q:Where does India stand
vis-a-vis the company other
operational bases in other
countries in other parts of the
world?
Bawa: As I mentioned ear-
lier, for Wika Group, India is
the most important and prime
market. And that’s not with-
out a reason. We have got a
skilled workforce and employ-
ees, which is unparalleled in
the world. Besides, the Indi-
an operations have huge cost
advantages and efficiencies.
We have lined up an ambi-
tious plan to double our
turnover in India over the next
one year. That’s not all. The
global company has drawn
up an extensive plan to sig-
nificantly expand and
strengthen its Indian oper-
ations and eventually turn it
into a kind of global hub in
the near future. We are
extremely particular about the
quality of every result that we
deliver and we take pride in
what WIKA India and its
leadership team has been
able to achieve for both India
and WIKA Global. Adher-
ence to quality in every sphere
of our intervention, not only
makes our future goals pre-
cise but also increases the sig-
nificance of WIKA’s expan-
sion plans in India. Our motto
and mission is to think glob-
al and act local. And that’s
exactly what we are doing. We
are moving in the right direc-
tion to achieve our goal.
Q: WIKA India's growth
story assumes great signif-
icance in the context of
India's economic advance-
ment and the company’s
contributions to major
industry segments like Oil
and Gas, Pharmaceuticals,
and Power Engineering.
How do you see Indian econ-
omy growing in the years to
come,because WIKA India’s
growth would also depend
on that?
Bawa: I firmly believe in
the prediction of World Eco-
nomic Forum that India will
climb up the global posi-
tioning on GDP ladder by
2030. What we also envisage
is that WIKA India will con-
tinue to play a powerful role
in the growth process by out-
growing the industrial growth
of the country.
(3.23%), and BPCL (2.49%).
Shares of Paytm parent
One 97 Communications
surged over 9% after CEO
Vijay Shekhar Sharma
announced that his goal is
to make Paytm a "$100 bil-
lion company". Shares of
Bank of Baroda fell 4%,
dragged by weakest deposit
you that the new crop has
already started to come in, but
the orders for jute bags in the
khariff season is at a shortfall
in excess of 3.5 lakh bales. The
situation worsened in June,
Budget to focus India adds 46.7 million jobs in FY24: RBI data
on broad STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
economic
agenda: The Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) on Monday said India
Goldman Sachs added 46.7 million jobs in the government's National strongly rebuts such reports
fiscal year ended March.
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 8 JULY
Leading global investment
banking and securities firm
Goldman Sachs in a note said
the upcoming budget is likely
to stick to the path of fiscal con-
solidation, and will focus on the
broad economic agenda rather
than doling out minor stimu-
lus measures. There is limited
fiscal space, Goldman Sachs said,
to stimulate the economy given
high public debt. That apart,
India’s infrastructure upgrades
have created long-term posi-
tive growth spillovers, which they
believe policymakers may not
be willing to give up.
Goldman Sachs believes
that the government is likely to
stick to the announced fiscal
deficit target of 5.1 per cent of
gross domestic product (GDP)
for FY25 (or even slightly lower)
and announce further consol-
idation to a deficit of below 4.5
per cent of GDP by FY26.
“The government will use the
budget asanopportunity tomake
a big picture statement about
the long-term economic poli-
cy vision over the next several
years, rather than minor stim-
ulus announcements. These
are likely going to align with the
government’s development
agenda for 2047 (coinciding
with centennial of Indian inde-
pendence),” wrote Andrew
Tilton, chief Asia-Pacific econ-
omist and head of EM eco-
nomic research at Goldman
Sachs in a note co-authored with
Santanu Sengupta and Arjun
Varma. The article said that
the job creation through labour-
intensive manufacturing, cred-
it for MSMEs, continued focus
on services exports by expand-
ing GCCs, and a thrust on
domestic food supply chain
and inventory management to
control price volatility are some
of the areas that Finance Min-
ister Nirmala Sitharaman's
Modi 3.0 budget is likely to
focus on.
Economists at Goldman
Sachs said the budget is also like-
ly to lay out a path for the
future of public finance in
India, entailing a roadmap for
public debt sustainability, and
green finance.
and advances growth in 12
quarters.
Global deposits fell 1.6%
on quarter to Rs 13.05 lakh
crore while domestic deposits
were down 2% to Rs 11.05
lakh crore.
Further, the advances
also slipped 1.7% on a
sequential basis to Rs 10.72
lakh crore in Q1 of FY25.
The Indian rupee also
ended flat at 83.50 per dol-
lar versus Friday's close of
83.49.
On the global landscape,
most Asian stocks, led by Chi-
nese markets, fell amid ongo-
ing trade war concerns with
the West and anticipation of
interest rate signals.
Despite positive gains on
Wall Street last Friday, region-
al markets remained cautious
ahead of Federal Reserve
C h a i r J e r o m e Po w e ll ' s
upcoming comments and
key inflation data, including
reports on consumer and
producer prices for June
later in the week.
when order for only 27,000 bales
were received against the plan
of 2.35 lakh bales for the
month.
To be precise, the annual
demand has plummeted from
38-39 lakh bales in 2021-22 to
an anticipated 30 lakh bales
in 2024-25, resulting in surplus
capacity and job reductions.
For the ongoing Kharif Mar-
keting Season 2024-25, the
industry has received orders
for only 3.63 lakh bales, a stark
contrast to the planned indents
of 7.17 lakh bales by June
2024, operating at only 40 to
50 per cent capacity, if indus-
try insiders are to be believed.
In contrast, the raw jute crop
has touched 90 lakh bales
over the last 3 years.
Besides, the sugar indus-
NEW DELHI, 8JULY
Accounts and Ministry of which do not analyse all offi-
Notably, this is far exceed-
ing numbers in private sur-
veys that point to high unem-
ployment rates in the South
Asian nation.
The RBI data on measur-
ing industry level productiv-
ity and employment showed
the employment growth rate
was 6% in 2023/24 versus 3.2
per cent in 2022/23.
Country’s total employ-
ment stood at 643.3 million
in 2023/24 versus 596.7 mil-
lion in FY23, RBI data said.
RBI uses data from the
Centre may target budget
fiscal deficit of less than
5pc of GDP: SBI Report
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 8JULY
As the presentation of Union
Budget by the Finance Minis-
ter Nirmala Sitharaman comes
near, a report by the State Bank
of India said the Union Gov-
ernment may target the budg-
et fiscal deficit of less than 5%
of GDP (may be 4.9%) for FY25.
Notably, in the Interim Bud-
get, government targeted fis-
cal deficit of 5.1% of GDP for
FY25. SBI report’s cut in the esti-
mated fiscal deficit is riding on
the back of stupendous growth
in GST revenues along-with
higher dividends from PSUs and
RBI. Further, capital expendi-
ture which was budgeted at Rs
11.1 lakh crore in the interim
budget is expected to increase
to Rs 11.8 lakh crore in the
upcoming budget, the report
said. Thus, the total capex of the
government – capex through
budget & CPSE and Grants for
creation of capital assets – is like-
ly to increase to Rs 19.1 lakh crore
in FY25 from Rs 18.4 lakh crore
earlier. The report further said
the nominal GDP is expected
to grow at 11% and a tax buoy-
try has not fully complied
with mandatory packaging
directives, with only 7 per
cent of production packed in
jute bags this season, against
the mandated 20 per cent.
The jute mills have an assessed
capacity of around 5 lakh
bales per month, while the cur-
rent capacity utilisation in
only at around 40-50 per cent.
Jute mill unions have
already taken it up with the
labour minister and high-
lighted the concerns over pro-
duction slowdown and the
adverse impact on the indus-
try and its workforce.
The state government, on
its parts, has escalated these
issues to the centre, specifically
with the Union Ministry of Tex-
tiles, to ensure stringent mon-
ficient employment oppor-
tunities even with a 7% growth
rate.
Ministry of Labour and
Employment said that it
Labour to extrapolate the
country's productivity and
employment levels.
The development comes
after the Union Government
refutes a research report by
Citigroup on Employment in
India which forecasts that
India will struggle to create suf-
TENDER
ancy is expected to be between
1.2-1.3 with gross tax revenue
growing over 13%.
As the budgeted fiscal deficit
gets lowered, gross market
borrowing of the government
will also reduce to around Rs
13.5 lakh crore in FY25 com-
pared to Rs 14.1 lakh crore in
the interim budget. Further
net market borrowing might
reduce to Rs 11.1 lakh crore
against Rs 11.8 lakh crore ear-
lier. This along with India’s
inclusion in Global Bond indices
will keep the yield curve move-
ments anchored, said the report.
The report further asserted
that the Government needs
to focus on fiscal prudence
and continue the fiscal con-
solidation path, however, it
may refrain from obsessing
too much over the fiscal stance
as it may come in the way of
long-term sustainable growth
path and strike the right bal-
ance by limiting the consoli-
dation to 20 bps (at max) this
fiscal when compared to the
interim budget. It highlighted
that the share of tax non-tax rev-
enue of the Centre has reduced
over time.
itoring and implementation of
the Jute Packaging Materials
Act and Jute and Textiles Con-
trol Order. The state govern-
ment has also indicated its
intent to draft a comprehen-
sive representation urging
immediate action to mitigate
the crisis and ensure the sus-
tainability of the jute indus-
try.
Earlier, jute farmers in the
state had expressed their con-
cerns over the falling prices of
raw jute, which had, in turn,
prompted an introspection
over the prospects of explor-
ing alternative cash crops to
the golden fibre. Significant-
ly, there are around 40 lakh jute
farmers and 4 lakh workmen
associated with the jute indus-
try in the state.
cial data sources available in
the public domain, and fails
to account for the compre-
hensive and positive employ-
ment data available from offi-
cial sources such as the Peri-
odic Labour Force Survey
(PLFS) and the Reserve Bank
of India's KLEMS data.

An SCO message to
China and Pakistan
HARSHA KAKAR
E
xternal Affairs Minister Dr S
Jaishankar represented India at
the SCO (Shanghai Coopera-
tion Organization) summit
held on 3 and 4 July at Astana, Kaza-
khstan. India headed the organization
last year, when it conducted the sum-
mit in a virtual format. PM Modi, prior
to announcing that the EAM would
participate on his behalf, spoke to
Kazakhstan’s president, Kemeluly
Tokayev and conveyed his unavailabil-
ity. The SCO represents 42 per cent of
the worlds’ population and 25 per cent
of the global GDP. Dr Jaishankar deliv-
ered PM Modi’s address to the organi-
zation.
Multiple reasons guided the PM’s
non-attendance, while officially the
reason was said to be the on-going par-
liament session. While Delhi was aware
that Pakistan’s PM, Shehbaz Sharief,
and China’s President, Xi Jinping,
would be present, this was again not a
reason for PM Modi to miss the event.
He could have easily avoided
meeting them, if he so desired, as also
not planned a bilateral with them. He
did the same with Xi Jinping during
the BRICS summit in Johannesburg
last year, though they did exchange
pleasantries. In Bali, during the 2022
G20 summit, hosted by Indonesia,
Modi and Xi did have a short pull-
aside conversation, details of which
emerged later.
PM Modi had also attended the
SCO summit in 2022 at Samarkand,
where he held a bilateral meeting with
Russian President Vladimir Putin,
amongst others, and made his famous
comment, ‘today’s era is not of war.’
There was no interaction with either
the Pakistani PM or the Chinese pres-
ident, despite both being present.
Tests Pakistan’s government is failing
MALEEHA LODHI
T
he Shehbaz Sharif govern-
ment faces multiple chal-
lenges — from the opposition,
its political allies and from
growing public discontent with a dire
economic situation as people strug-
gle with a cost-of-living crisis and the
punishing burden of taxes. It also con-
fronts a surge in security threats. How
has the government managed so far
to deal with these multiple fronts?
Does it have a firm grip on the politi-
cal, economic and security situation?
Dealing with PTI was never going
to be easy. But it was a test of the gov-
ernment’s political management skills
to engage the opposition’s parliamen-
tary members in a way that min-
imised frequent disruptions of pro-
ceedings. However, with the party
continuing to be the target of coercive
actions by the authorities and their
leader and activists in jail, PTI law-
makers have been in no mood to
cease their protests in parliament and
outside.
Despite a fleeting pause when the
prime minister offered talks to the
opposition — a move that was dead
on arrival in the current fraught cli-
mate — there have been unending,
bitter government-opposition clash-
es in the National Assembly. It has
involved rejection by PTI lawmakers
of the budget — as “anti-people” —
as well as the government’s other pol-
icy measures including its latest coun-
terterrorism plan. Government min-
isters have also been lashing out at
PTI in and out of the House. But nei-
ther has secured the upper hand in
this confrontation. Instead, both have
reached a virtual dead end in trying
to prevail on the other. A tense and
disorderly stalemate persists.
CROSSWORD
1 2 3 4 5 6
9 10
11 12
13 14 15 16
17 18 19
21 22 23
25 26
27 28
It was to avoid an official hand-
shake and a compulsory bilateral as
the chief host that India switched to
virtual mode for the SCO summit last
year. Xi not attending the G20 sum-
mit in Delhi was possibly for the same
reason. Any exchange of pleasantries
with either Xi or Shehbaz, at this junc-
ture, could reverberate in Parliament,
embarrassing the government.
The SCO is dominated by China
as almost all members are part of its
BRI (Belt Road Initiative) and finan-
cially beholden to it. It therefore large-
ly pushes the Chinese agenda, which
India does not endorse. India, in earli-
er SCO summits, had refused to
endorse the BRI.
With Russia and China dominat-
ing this year’s proceedings, comments
and addresses by leaders would be
anti-West, again going against India’s
current strategic perspective of bal-
ancing both camps. The entry of
Belarus this year only added to the
A ‘normalised’ relationship
between the federal government and
the PTI-run provincial government in
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is especially
consequential for national stability.
Issues concerning allocation of finan-
cial resources from the centre, ade-
quate power supply and postings of
officials remain a bone of contention
between them. They need to be
resolved for a proper working rela-
tionship to be established. Smooth
working relations are also necessary
for the robust execution of the federal
government’s counterterrorism cam-
paign as its main theatre of operations
is obviously in KP.
Governments always have more
to lose from confrontational politics.
Certainly, it has distracted the PML-
N-led coalition from greater focus on
governance. It has laid bare a style of
leadership evidenced by the prime
minister’s dealings with allies, in
which political engagement or negoti-
ations are left to others. This rein-
forces his long-standing image as
someone more comfortable being an
7 8
YESTERDAY'S SOLUTION
B L U F F R E E D
I L T WO N
PO T A T O U M
N X NU TMEG
T H M S S
EM O T I ON WH E
A R S OV A L O
20
CO
H
NN E
E R
C T
ON E
TW I
X
DOY E N RH I
V W L S R N D
24 M I L L I ON T H S
P
N EWS
I P
E
U A R
D A Y
R HO RU S E Y EO F
NOTE: Figures in parentheses denote the number of letters in the words required. (By arrangement with The Independent, London)
organization’s anti-West charter. It
should be understood that within
days of being sworn in PM Modi
attended the G7 summit in Italy and
even addressed a session on Artificial
Intelligence.
India was brought into the SCO by
Russia as a counter to China, while Pak-
istan’s entry was pushed by China to
balance India. At one time, it was Russia
and India opposing Chinese proposals.
However, since the commencement of
the Russo-Ukraine conflict, the Beijing-
Moscow proximity has increased, while
India has outgrown Pakistan, changing
the dynamics of SCO.
Russia, which had adopted an
independent approach to the West is
currently beholden to China and both
are facing Western pressures. The
statement issued post the recent
Putin-Xi bilateral in Beijing was evi-
dence enough that the focus of the
summit would be West-bashing. Both
Xi and Putin are pushing the SCO as
administrator rather than a political
leader; more at ease with bureaucrats
than with politicians who he has to
negotiate with. His not-so-frequent
appearances in parliament also testify
to this, which discourages ministers
from showing up. This once prompt-
ed the elder Sharif, president of PML-
N, to say the Shehbaz government
should free itself from “bureaucratic
influence”.
Lack of consultation has emerged
as a major grievance with the govern-
ment by its principal political ally, the
PPP. Although this complaint sur-
faced publicly at budget time, PPP
leaders say it extends to the govern-
ment’s overall functioning and lack of
structured and sustained consulta-
tion. It prompted PPP legislators to
sharply criticise the budget and call it
“directionless”. Initially, the PPP
threatened to boycott the budget ses-
sion. Its lawmakers only agreed to
participate after assurances by senior
government leaders. Even so, PPP
MNAs did not pull any punches in
assailing budget proposals.
ACROSS
1 1000 smack dealers with time 19 Get stuck in toilet with
S F off for good behaviour
(7)
O I L Y
I I 5 Tumbler drunk actor filled
G I NG with Bass and drop of
N G
Armagnac (7)
9 Who cares if princess
E L
punches drunk? (3,2)
I
S T E D
I L
10 One closely involved with
Labour Lord (9)
11 An insubstantial axe?
Z OME
(3,6)
12 6-1 ... right, Hearts must be in
O E the lead! (5)
N I C A
L H
13 Will group of lawyers bow to
DA? (3,4)
15 Academic rejected passes for
dunces (7)
their vision of an alternative world
order, alongside the BRICS.
As expected, Xi spoke on the
West’s ‘cold war mentality,’ while Putin
suggested making the SCO ‘a new
architecture of cooperation, indivisi-
ble security and development in Eura-
sia, designed to replace the outdated
Eurocentric and Euro-Atlantic models,
which gave unilateral advantages only
to certain States.’ With Modi being
absent, India is conveying that it does
not endorse the direction in which the
organization is being currently pushed.
The main intent of PM Modi in
Astana would have been a bilateral
with President Putin of Russia as also
with leaders of Central Asian Republics
(CAR), with whom a meeting has been
long overdue. The heads of CAR were
to have been chief guests for the 2022
Republic Day parade which was can-
celled due to Covid. The commence-
ment of the North-South corridor has
enhanced India’s engagement with
Central Asian nations.
PM Modi is currently in Moscow
and has had a bilateral with President
Putin, undistracted by the SCO. India
has balanced its ties with Russia and
the West and this is visible during Mr
Modi’s short Moscow visit. The world
is observing this visit and expecting
India to once again press for dialogue
as a way to end the conflict with
Ukraine.
However, India would not be will-
ing to be a negotiator as terms and
conditions projected by both sides
leave little room for negotiation. Fur-
ther, support from the West to Ukraine
and from China, Iran and North Korea
to Russia have ensured that peace can
be ignored for the present.
Another reason for non-attendance
of the PM is the collusion of Pakistan and
The Senate Standing Committee
on Finance, chaired by a PPP sena-
tor, went so far as to call the budget
against the national interest and in
its report to the House called for
withdrawal of several proposed
measures. In his speech, PPP chair-
man Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari also took
aim at budget proposals. Significant-
ly he claimed the government had
not fulfilled its commitment under
the PML-N-PPP agreement, forged at
the time of government formation,
to consult his party on the budget
and related decisions.
Despite its misgivings, the PPP
voted for the budget. But not before
some changes to the finance bill,
although this was also in response
to demands by the business com-
munity. In any case, the whole
episode underlined fitful manage-
ment by the government of its rela-
tions with an ally without whose
support it cannot survive in office.
Of course, some of the PPP’s com-
plaints reflect political posturing to
bargain for more from the govern-
ment, such as its power-sharing
demands in the Punjab govern-
ment. Nevertheless, it suggests this
would remain an uneasy and unpre-
dictable relationship, especially as
the government has preferred an ad
hoc approach to managing it rather
than an institutionalised one.
The budget was the first major
test for the Shehbaz government. It
evoked criticism across the board,
from political parties, business
community, media and the public
at large. Having to meet IMF condi-
tionalities to qualify for a new larger
Fund loan programme provided the
government no choice but to take
painful adjustment measures. But
the budget was an example of how
17 Predict death will come after DOWN
strong wine
(7)
1 In haze, bag up, but put in the 16 Unfortunately, ginger dad
individual snorting bit of wrong hams? (7)
Dexedrine 2 A bottom one couldn’t
(3,4) possibly get beneath? (5)
21 Pale ales finally necked by a 3 Topless chap having 45 mins
Scottish woman (5) with mature escort
23 All by myself and, oh, need to (9)
get jiggy! (3-6) 4 Dope mostly found in Stone
25 Really bad seeds spoilt red
olives (9)
shot full of barbiturates
(7)
26 A couple of feet? Hoskins is 5 Trouble at work with Her Maj
bloody sizable primarily! in a flap (7)
(5) 6 Waterway in Phoenix? (5)
27 Celebrity chef who uses loads 7 Red robin lad released close
of sauce? (7)
28 Cads pinching nurse and 8
to gazebo (9)
Old jailers ignoring last of
daughter’s butts warden’s failures
(3-4) (7)
NEW DELHI, TUESDAY 09 JULY 2024
China, though engagement norms of the
SCO prohibit raising of bilateral disputes.
India’s message to curtail cross-border
terrorism, hinting at Pakistan, was con-
veyed by the EAM and included in the
joint declaration.
Further, most members of the
organization are autocracies or quasi-
democracies, enhancing the demo-
cratic-autocratic divide. For the organ-
ization, the presence of democratic
India as also the world’s fastest grow-
ing economy, is a benefit. While the
SCO is China dominated, BRICS is not.
Hence, PM Modi will attend the BRICS
summit in Russia in October this year.
Non-attendance at the SCO also
sends the message to China that all is
not well in the relationship and India is
unwilling to participate in any institu-
tion dominated by it. This message was
conveyed by Dr Jaishankar in the inter-
action with his Chinese counterpart,
Wang Yi. The non-issuance of a joint
statement at the end of their meeting
implied continued disagreement.
The presence of President Putin
at the SCO summit as also PM Modi’s
Moscow visit conveys that the West’s
attempt to isolate Putin has failed,
despite the issuance of an ICC (Inter-
national Criminal Court) warrant.
India’s engagement with the SCO
is likely to witness a further withdraw-
al as the next SCO heads of state
meeting is scheduled in Pakistan in
October this year and the 2025 sum-
mit is in China. This will be the situa-
tion unless thorns in Indo-China and
Indo-Pak relations are removed,
which is unlikely. Whenever India
turns down an invitation, or tones
down its acceptance, it sends a strong
message of disapproval.
(The writer is a retired Major-General of the
Indian Army.)
to reward the elite and punish
everyone else.
The Pakistan Business Council
had this to say: “Sacred cows will
graze freely while the golden geese
will be cooked.” Certainly, placing
the burden of additional taxation on
the salaried middle class marked a
failure to equitably distribute the
pain of adjustment, especially in view
of the budget’s pro-elite measures
including salary increases for civil
servants. This deepened public dis-
content at a time of mounting eco-
nomic hardship, especially as
increasing disruptions in power sup-
ply worsened people’s plight at the
peak of summer.
The government’s lack of a com-
munication strategy to explain budget
measures and how they would extri-
cate the country from the economic
crisis contributed to public frustra-
tion. In fact, the government’s weak
communication on other counts too
has denuded it of the ability to
demonstrate it is running the affairs
of state purposively. Its response to
the deteriorating security situation
came on the heels of the public
expression of concern by a senior Chi-
nese official visiting Pakistan. Its ini-
tial announcement of a new opera-
tion necessitated several later expla-
nations indicating a lack of clarity.
Four months may be too short a
time to judge a government’s per-
formance but it is the initial period
that sets the tone and direction — and
when the moment has to be seized.
So far, the government’s performance
has been underwhelming. How much
the prevailing dyarchical political sys-
tem has contributed to this is another
question.
Dawn/ANN.
NO-292720
14 Worldly-wise Hoskins is one
hot to open shaken-up lager
tin (9)
can be humiliating
(9)
17 Place to secure almost all
hash and E, then start using
gradually (5,2)
18 Couple upset a Scottish
hooligan? That takes guts!
(7)
19 In God’s favour or damned?
(7)
20 We don’t like dressing fruits
around plate endlessly (7)
22 Revolutionary network of
computers downs
commercial server (5)
24 Hill, perhaps, rambler goes up
(5)
07
100 YEARS AGO
OCCASIONAL NOTE
A DISCUSSION of some importance
to Calcutta ratepayers took place at
Wednesday's meeting of the Corpora-
tion upon a suggestion to the effect that
in the purchase of municipal coal sup-
plies the Corporation should give some
special help to Indian contractors. Fig-
ures officially supplied showed that,
since 1919-20, 228,400 tons have been
purchased from Indian firms, and 45,800
tons from European concerns. The idea
of favouritism to European collieries
therefore does not stand a moment's
examination. But, as Mr. George Mor-
gan pointed out, the business of the Cor-
poration is simply to responsible com-
mittee to see that the city gets the best
value for its money from whatever firm
the coal may be bought. This principle
should be jealously maintained. Once
admit that the Corporation is entitled to
show favour for any reasons other than
the plain business questions of cost and
quality, and the door is opened for job-
bery. The Corporation was reminded of
one "awful scandal" about coal two
years ago-an additional reason for vigi-
lance against any chance of another.
NEWS ITEMS
COTTON INDUSTRY
SIR CHARLES
MACARA ON THE
OUTLOOK
IN a speech at Manchester, Sir
Charles Macara said that the position as
regards both American and Egyptian
cotton spinning and manufacturing,
instead of improving was becoming rap-
idly worse. The present short time
movement had proved insufficient to
meet the situation.
PAPER INDUSTRY
BENGAL COMPANY
ASKS FOR
PROTECTION
BEFORE the Tariff Board to-day the
Bengal Paper Mill Company factory
which is situated at Raneegunge,
claimed protection by increasing the
present impqrt duty of fifteen per cent,
on all kinds of paper to twenty-five per
cent. The Upper India Couper Paper
Mills had asked for more but Mr. Carr
who represented the Bengal Paper Mill
Company, in his memorandum, thought
twenty-five per cent, was the minimum.
Examination of witness was not
concluded when the Board adjourned
till to-morrow.
C. P. INDUSTRIES
PROSPECTING AND
MINING WORK
(FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT.)
A STATEMENT issued by the Com-
merce and industries Department shows
that during the half year ending the
December 31, 1923, 137 persons were
granted prospecting licences and min-
ing leases. Of the total only three were
Europeans.
The mineral that attracted the great-
est attention was manganese and
prospecting licences were freely taken
for, it in the districts of Nagpur, Bhan-
dara, Balaghat and Chhindwara. Consid-
erably less attention was given to coal, no
doubt for the reason that the coal bear-
ing area is restricted and prospecting
operations for this mineral are costly.
Compared with the prospecting
licences, the mining leases taken were
few in number, being only 13 as against
124 licences. This is sufficient justifica-
tion for the Government's complaint
that industrial exploitation in the
Province is seriously lacking in energy
and business capacity and that a good
number took out prospecting licences
with no intention of putting them to use,
or in, the hope of speculating with them.
MEMBERS OF
DACOIT GANG
ARRESTED
THE Bhagalpore Town Police, on
receiving information of a projected
dacoity in the Malda District, shadowed
the gang for over twenty hours from
Bhagalpore to Malda where, with the
help of the Malda Police they arrested
most of the members of the gang as they
were about to set out to commit dacoity.
COMPANY REPORT
BURMA
CORPORATION, LTD.
The directors have declared an
interim dividend of five annas per share,
free of Indian income tax, payable on
August 15 to shareholders registered on
July 19, 1924
 NEW DELHI, TUESDAY 09 JULY 2024
09
Biden tells Hill Democrats he ‘declines’ to step aside and says
WEATHER
CITY MAX(°C) MIN(°C)
Israeli forces push deeper into it’s time for party drama ‘to end’: President Joe Biden, in a
letter to congressional Democrats, stood firm against calls
for him to drop his candidacy and called for an “end” to the

Gaza City in pursuit of militants

intraparty drama that has torn apart Democrats since his dis-
SINGAPORE 29 26 H
HONG KONG 32 28 R
mal public debate performance. Biden’s efforts to shore up
TOKYO 29 22 H a deeply anxious Democratic Party came Monday as lawmak-
LONDON 23 12 H ers are returning to Washington and confronting a choice:
DUBAI 39 31 S decide whether to work to revive his campaign or edge out
SAN FRANCISCO 20 11 H The military ordered evacuations ahead of the raids, but Palestinians say nowhere feels safe the party leader, a make-or-break time for his reelection and
NEW YORK 31 18 H their own political futures. Biden wrote in the two-page let-
MOSCOW 27 14 H ASSOCIATED PRESS that Israel commit to ending were not authorized to dis- ter that “the question of how to move forward has been
S= sunny, CL= clear, H=hazy, DEIR AL-BALAH, 8 JULY the war as part of any agree- cuss the sensitive talks with well-aired for over a week now. And it’s time for it to end.”
ment. A key part of that shift, the media.

R= rainy...
THUMBNAILS
6.3-magnitude earthquake
hits off Japan's Ogasawara
Islands: An earthquake with
a preliminary magnitude of
6.3 struck off Japan's west-
ern Ogasawara Islands on
Monday morning, the local
weather agency said. The
temblor occurred at 5:02
a.m. local time, measuring 3
on the Japanese seismic
intensity scale of 7 in Oga-
sawara Village, Xinhua news
agency reported, citing the
Japan Meteorological
Agency (JMA). IANS
Iran arrests 8 suspects
linked to fatal election
attack: Iranian intelligence
forces have reportedly
arrested eight suspects in
connection with a deadly
attack on a vehicle carrying
a ballot box in Sistan and
Baluchestan province. The
incident occurred following
the first round of Iran's
presidential election on
June 29, resulting in the
deaths of two security per-
sonnel and injuries to sever-
al others. IANS
I
sraeli forces advanced
deeper into the Gaza
Strip’s largest city in an
incursion that the mili-
tary said was aimed at mili-
tants who had regrouped
there, sending thousands of
Palestinians fleeing on Mon-
day from an area ravaged in
the early weeks of the nine-
month-long war.
The advance into Gaza City
came as Israel and Hamas
drew closer to bridging gaps
in indirect talks over a cease-
fire and hostage release.
Israeli troops battled mil-
itants in areas that the army
said had been largely cleared
months ago in largely isolated
northern Gaza. The military
ordered evacuations ahead
of the raids, but Palestinians
say nowhere feels safe. Most
of the population of 2.3 mil-
lion has been displaced,
often multiple times, and
hundreds of thousands are
packed into sweltering tent
camps.
Israel ordered the evacu-
ation of northern Gaza,
including Gaza City, in the
opening weeks of the war and
has prevented most people
from returning. But hun-
dreds of thousands of Pales-
tinians remain, living in the
shells of their homes or shel-
ters.
“We fled in the darkness
amid heavy strikes,” said
Sayeda Abdel-Baki, a moth-
er of three who had sheltered
at her relatives’ home in the
Daraj neighborhood. “This
is my fifth displacement.”
Residents reported artillery
and tank fire, as well as
airstrikes. Gaza’s Health Min-
istry, which has limited access
to the north, did not imme-
diately report casualties.
Israel issued additional
evacuation orders Monday
for areas in other neighbor-
hoods of central Gaza City,
calling on residents to head
south to the city of Deir al-
Balah. Israel accuses Hamas
and other militants of hiding
among civilians. In Shijaiyah,
a Gaza City neighborhood
that has seen weeks of heavy
fighting, the military said
troops had raided and
destroyed schools and a clin-
ic that had been converted
into militant compounds.
Israel and Hamas appear
to be the closest they have
been in months to agreeing
to a cease-fire deal that would
pause the war in exchange for
the release of dozens of
Israelis captured by Hamas
in the Oct. 7 attack that trig-
gered the war.
But obstacles remain,
even after Hamas agreed to
relent on its key demand
officials told The Associated
Press, is the level of destruc-
tion caused by Israel’s rolling
offensive.
Hamas still wants medi-
ators to “guarantee” that
negotiations conclude with
a permanent cease-fire,
according to two officials
with knowledge of the talks.
The current draft says the
mediators — the United
States, Qatar and Egypt —
“will do their best” to ensure
that negotiations lead to an
agreement to wind down
the war.
Israel has rejected any
deal that would force it to end
the war with Hamas still
intact — a condition Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu reiterated Sunday.
The officials said there’s
also an impasse around
whether Hamas should be
allowed to choose the high-
profile prisoners held by
Israel that it wants released
in exchange for the hostages.
Some long-serving prisoners
were convicted of killing
Israelis, and Israel does not
want Hamas to determine
who is released. The offi-
cials spoke on condition of
anonymity because they
He stressed that the party has “one job,” which is to defeat
Inside Gaza, residents presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump
saw no end to their suffering. in November.
Maha Mahfouz fled her
home with her two children
and many neighbors in Gaza
City’s Zaytoun neighbor-
hood. She said their area
was not included in the lat-
est evacuation orders but
“we are panicked because the
bombing and gunfire are
very close to us.”
Fadel Naeem, the direc-
tor of the Al-Ahli hospital, said
patients and their compan-
ions fled the facility in panic
even though there was no
evacuation order for the area
around it. He said patients
in critical condition had been
evacuated to other hospitals
in northern Gaza.
The Israeli military said it
had received intelligence
that showed the area was
housing militants from
Hamas and the Islamic Jihad
group.
Mahmoud Bassal, a
spokesman for the Civil
Defense, first responders
who operate under the
Hamas-run government, said
the neighborhoods of Tufah,
Daraj and Shijaiyah had
become inaccessible because
of Israeli bombing.

South Korea not to revoke striking Macron keeps prime

doctors’ licences for breakthrough
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEOUL, 8 JULY
The government is likely to
halt the suspension of
licences and other admin-
istrative steps against strik-
ing trainee doctors in an
effort to seek a breakthrough
in months-long medical
service disruptions, officials
said on Monday.
Health Minister Cho
Kyoo-hong was scheduled to
hold a press briefing after a
meeting of the Central Dis-
aster and Safety Counter-
measures Headquarters,
during which he was to
announce measures that
would help facilitate dia-
logue and resolve the ongo-
ing standoff with the med-
ical community over the
medical school admission
quota hike.
More than 12,000 trainee
doctors, or more than 90
per cent of the total, have left
their worksites since late
February in protest of the gov-
ernment's medical reform
plan, and most of them have
rejected calls for returning
to work, reports Yonhap
news agency.
As a latest, key appease-
ment measure, the govern-
ment is expected to halt
administrative steps even
for those who opt not to
return to hospitals.
"Some trainee doctors
are reluctant to return to
work out of concerns that the
move would lead to pun-
ishment against their defi-
ant colleagues," a ministry
official said.
"If we suspend adminis-
trative measures altogether,
that would help induce more
to go back to hospitals," he
said, adding that it would be
a "last resort" for the gov-
ernment to address the sit-
uation. Doctors have urged
the government to cancel,
rather than suspend, admin-
istrative steps against strik-
ing doctors, but it would
not do that in consideration
of those who already ended
their strike and other legal
issues, officials said.
Despite strong opposi-
tion from doctors, the gov-
ernment finalised an admis-
sions quota hike of some
1,500 students for medical
schools for next year in an
effort to address problems
stemming from the shortage
of doctors.
minister in place for
‘stability of the
country’ after
chaotic election
ASSOCIATED PRESS
PARIS, 8 JULY
French President Emmanuel
Macron refused the resigna-
tion of the country’s prime
minister, asking him on Mon-
day to remain temporarily
as the head of the government
after chaotic election results
left the government in limbo.
French voters split the leg-
islature on the left, center and
far right, leaving no faction even
close to the majority needed
to form a government. The
results from Sunday’s vote
raised the risk of paralysis for
the European Union’s sec-
ond-largest economy.

Beryl makes landfall in Texas as a Category 1 Three Mongolian parties sign

hurricane, knocking out power to 1.5 million
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MATAGORDA, 8 JULY
Hurricane Beryl swept ashore
in Texas as a Category 1 storm
in the dark of the early morn-
ing hours Monday, lashing
Houston with heavy rains and
powerful winds, and knocking
out power to 1.5 million homes
and businesses as fast rising
waters caused street flooding
and prompted rescues.
Beryl had already cut a
deadly path through parts of
Mexico and the Caribbean
before turning toward Texas,
and hit land around 4 a.m. High
waters quickly began to close
streets in storm-weary Hous-
ton, the nation’s fourth-largest
city, which was again under
flood warnings after heavy
storms in recent months
washed out neighborhoods.
One man was killed in the
Houston suburb of Humble
when a tree fell on a house, trap-
ping him beneath debris,
according to Harris County
sheriff’s office senior deputy
Thomas M. Gilliland.
CenterPoint Energy in Hous-
ton reported 1.5 million homes
and businesses were without
power hours after the storm
made landfall. Flood warnings
were in effect across a wide
stretch of the Texas coast,
where a powerful storm surge
pushed water ashore, and fur-
ther inland as heavy rain con-
tinued to fall.
Police in the Houston sub-
urb of Rosenberg urged resi-
dents to stay off the roads,
reporting that one of its high-
water rescue vehicles had been
hit by a falling tree while return-
ing from a rescue. Video footage
showed heavy street flooding
in the barrier island city of Galve-
ston, and Houston was under
a flash flood warning for most
of the morning as heavy rain
continued to soak the city.
The National Weather Ser-
vice expected Beryl to weak-
en to a tropical storm Monday
and a tropical depression Tues-
day, forecasting a turn to the
northeast and increase in
speed Monday night and Tues-
day. The storm’s center is
expected to move over eastern
Texas on Monday and then
through the lower Mississip-
pi Valley into the Ohio Valley
on Tuesday and Wednesday.
MoU to form coalition govt
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ULAN BATOR, 8 JULY
The ruling Mongolian People's
Party (MPP), the main oppo-
sition Democratic Party (DP),
and the Hun Party, meaning
"Person" in Mongolian, signed
a memorandum of under-
standing (MoU) on Monday
to form a coalition government,
following regular parliamen-
tary elections held on June 28.
In the ninth parliamentary
elections, the MPP secured a
narrow margin of victory,
winning 68 of the 126 seats,
while the DP obtained 42
seats. The Hun Party secured
eight seats, with the Civil
Will-Green Party and the
National Coalition each secur-
ing four seats, reported Xin-
hua news agency.
The decision to form a coali-
tion government aims to swift-
ly address Mongolia's devel-
opment challenges, consider
the critical international rela-
tions and geopolitical situation,
and emphasise national unity,
according to the parties. After
signing the MoU, Luvsan-
namsrai Oyun-Erdene, Mon-
golian Prime Minister and
chairman of the MPP said,
"Our country's government
has had an average life expectan-
cy of 1.5 years, and development
policy planning has been unsta-
ble since 1990. Many projects
that have been initiated remain
unfinished and undergo con-
tinuous changes without reach-
ing completion." "The mem-
orandum aims to change this
situation, quickly solve the
problems of development, and
send a message to foreign
investors that Mongolia is a more
stable and trustworthy coun-
try," he said.

Scorched by history: Discriminatory past shapes heat

waves in minority and low-income neighborhoods
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK, 8 JULY
Ruben Berrios knows the
scorching truth: When it
comes to extreme heat, where
you live can be a matter of life
and death.
The 66-year-old lives in
Mott Haven, a low-income
neighborhood in New York’s
South Bronx, where more than
90 percent of residents are
Latino or Black. Every summer,
the South Bronx becomes one
of the hottest parts of the city,
with temperatures 8 degrees
(4.5 degrees Celsius) higher than
on the Upper West and East
sides — lusher, majority-white
neighborhoods less than a
mile away.
The heat isn’t just uncom-
fortable. It’s the top cause of
weather-related fatalities
nationwide, quietly killing an
average of 350 New Yorkers each
year, according to a city mor-
tality report. As he took a break
from his pool game at an apart-
ment complex and older adult
community center that serves
as a designated cooling space,
Berrios recalled a recent heat
wave: “I lost two persons. They
were close to me.”
Tens of millions of Ameri-
cans are facing major heat
waves, with temperatures con-
sistently exceeding 90 degrees
(32 degrees Celsius). But in big
cities, the heat hits hardest for
people of color and low-income
residents. In New York, Black
residents die from heat stress
at double the rate of white res-
idents.
“Only a quarter of New
York City’s population is African
American, but half of the deaths
from heat are African Ameri-
cans,” said Bill Ulfelder, exec-
utive director of the Nature Con-
servancy in New York. “So
there is something wildly dis-
proportionate.”
Mortality records from cities
across the country have shown
that heat kills along socioeco-
nomic and racial lines.
In 1995, a deadly heat wave
killed 739 people in Chicago.
Most of the victims were poor,
elderly and Black. Last year,
Black people made up 11 per-
cent of heat-related fatalities
in Maricopa County, Arizona,
which includes Phoenix, despite
the fact that Black residents are
just 6.8 percent of the county
population.
During heat waves in Mem-
phis, Tennessee, in the 1960s
and 1980s, “there were people
who were too poor to turn on
their air conditioning” and
died, said David Jones, a pro-
fessor and historian of sci-
ence at Harvard University.
Some older adults in housing
projects died at night because
they feared burglars and were
unwilling to open their windows
or go outside to sit on their
porches.
Environmental justice
advocates trace this inequal-
ity back to decades of dis-
criminatory housing policy,
especially redlining — the
1930s government practice
of rating neighborhoods’
investment worthiness using
race as a determining factor
and denying mortgages to
minority buyers. The label-
ing of minority neighbor-
hoods as risky restricted
resources for generations.
It also starved those areas of
parks and trees and affect-
ed how residents experience
heat today. Comparing 1930s
redlining maps with recent
heat vulnerability maps by
New York City’s health depart-
ment reveals stunning cor-
relations between how areas
were categorized and where
residents are most likely to
die from heat.
10 NEW DELHI, TUESDAY 09 JULY 2024
No video evidences found in
Hathras stampede incident
Sources said that people were not allowed to take mobile cameras during Baba's event
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
HATHRAS, 8 JULY
A
three-member
team of the Judicial
Commission, which
is investigating the
case of 121 deaths in a stam-
pede at the satsang of religious
leader Narayan Sakar Vishwa
Hari Bhole Baba in Hathras on
July 2, could not find any video
evidence of the incident dur-
ing its two-day stay here.
The team reached here on
Saturday morning and after
recording statements of local
people and eyewitnesses of the
accident, left for Lucknow on
Sunday late evening.
The Judicial Commission
team includes former Alla-
habad High Court judge Bri-
jesh Kumar Srivastava, former
Nithari killings: SC issues notice on CBI’s
appeal against acquittal of Surendra Koli
AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, 8 JULY
The Supreme Court on Mon-
day issued notice on an
appeal filed by the Central
Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
challenging the Allahabad
High Court's acquittal of
Surendra Koli, accused in the
2005-06 Noida Nithari killings.
A bench of Justices BR
Gavai and KV Viswanathan
issued notice to convict and
others and tagged the matter
along with the other pending
case.
During the brief hearing,
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta,
representing the CBI, argued
that Koli was a serial killer who
used to lure young girls and
kill them.
Severe floods and landslides ravage Arunachal Pradesh
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
ITANAGAR, 8 JULY
In Arunachal Pradesh, heavy
rainfall has caused severe
flooding and landslides, cut-
ting off several areas from the
state capital, Itanagar.
The State Disaster Man-
agement Department reports
that landslips triggered by
incessant rains have severe-
ly disrupted several districts,
isolating communities and
blocking roads, which has
hampered relief efforts and
access to essential services.
In Kurung Kumey dis-
trict, Damin, Parsi Parlo,
and Panyasang administra-
tive circles have been cut off
from the rest of the state due
to continuous heavy rains.
Multiple road blockages
IAS officer Hemant Rao and
former IPS officer Bhavesh
Kumar Singh. They have to sub-
mit the report in two months.
However during the on-spot
inquiry and meeting with the
eyewitnesses, they could not
find any video footage of the
incident . Though some sim-
He said the killings were
"gruesome" and told the bench
that there were accusations of
cannibalism and the trial court
had awarded the death penal-
ty to Koli, but the same had
been reversed by the Alla-
habad High Court.
Earlier, the apex court had
sought a response from the
Uttar Pradesh government
and others on an appeal filed
by Pappu Lal, the father of one
have compounded the iso-
lation of these remote areas,
leaving residents without
access to essential services
and disrupting electricity
supply, further exacerbating
the situation.
Several major roads have
ilar videos are available which
show some people passing
by in vehicles on GT Road, cap-
turing the crowd. Apart from
this, no eyewitness video evi-
dence has been found.
Sources said here on Mon-
day that the main reason for
no video evidence being avail-
of the victim girls, challeng-
ing the High Court acquittal
order of businessman Monin-
der Singh Pandher and Koli.
In October last year, the Alla-
habad High Court acquitted
Pandher and his domestic
help Surendra Koli in some of
the cases concerning the
Nithari killings and overturned
the death penalty imposed on
them by the trial court.
It had acquitted Koli in 12
cases and Pandher in two
cases, where they were earli-
er held guilty of murder and
awarded the death penalty by
the trial court in these cases.
The CBI had registered 16
cases against Koli and Pand-
her over the rape and killing
of girls that had shocked the
nation.
been obstructed due to land-
slides.
The Tezu-Hayuliang road
is blocked at the Mompani
area affecting Lohit and
Anjaw districts.
Similarly, the Dari-Cham-
bang and Palin-Tarakleng-
able was that people were not
allowed to take mobile cam-
eras during Baba's event. For
this reason, even the police
administration was not allowed
to go inside.
Though a video has defi-
nitely surfaced that Baba's
convoy has passed through the
crowd at a fast pace and his
bike-riding security guards
are following him.
But there is no video of
deaths in the stampede.
Sources said a total of 34
people recorded their state-
ments at PWD guest house. A
witness said that Baba told peo-
ple to take 'charan raj' (soil
from Baba's feet) after the
satsang due to which peo-
ple fell on each other to go
near the Baba and a stam-
pede broke out.
BCI directs State Bar Councils to take action against
lawyers advertising, seeking work through online portals
AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, 8 JULY
The Bar Council of India
(BCI) has directed all State
Bar Councils to take strin-
gent disciplinary actions
against advocates found
advertising or seeking work
through online portals,
which is a direct violation
of the Bar Council of India
rules.
The Bar Council of India
has issued directives and
cease and desist notices in
compliance with a judg-
ment pronounced on July 3,
2024 by the Madras High
Court. The judgment under-
scores that the legal pro-
fession is a noble service to
society and not a business
di via Langdang village Prad-
han Mantri Gram Sadak
Yojana (PMGSY) road in Kra
Daadi district have been
impacted.
Additionally, NH-513
remains impassable at Gey-
ing in East Siang district,
Hathras
stampede: 11
arrested so far
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
HATHRAS , 8 JULY
With the arrest of two more
sevadars of Bhole Baba, the
total arrests reached 11,
including the main accused
Madhukar, in the Hathras
stampede incident, which
claimed 121 lives on July 2,
said Superintendent of Police
Nipun Agarwal.
The SP said both the
Sevadars were nabbed from
Hathras railway station late
Sunday night when they
were about to board a train.
driven by profit motives.
In this regard, BCI directs
the online platform to
remove all listings, profiles,
and advertisements related
to legal practices by advo-
cates immediately and no
later than four weeks from
the date of the notice. Cease
and desist any operations
enabling the advertisement
or solicitation of legal prac-
and in Shi-Yomi district,
landslides have claimed a life,
adding to the toll of four fatal-
ities due to natural calami-
ties since April.
Since April, floods and
landslides have affected over
72,900 people and 257 villages
across Arunachal Pradesh.
A high flood alert has
been issued for Namsai dis-
trict and Wakro circle in
Lohit district, where water
levels have exceeded danger
levels.
In Bordumsa, Changlang
district, the overflowing
Burha Dehing river has
caused extensive damage,
affecting bridges, culverts,
crops, and livestock.
Itanagar is facing a severe
water crisis due to pipeline
damage caused by land-
Rahul urges Modi to visit strife-torn
Manipur to boost public morale
ABHIJIT DEB
IMPHAL, 8 JULY
Leader of Opposition Rahul
Gandhi on Monday said there
has been no improvement in
the situation in the conflict-
hit state of Manipur and
requested Prime Minister
Narendra Modi to visit the state
to give confidence to the peo-
ple there.
After becoming the Leader
of Opposition in Parliament,
this was the first visit of Gand-
hi to Manipur as he visited relief
camps in the districts of Chu-
rachandpur, Bishnupur and
Jiribam districts and spoke
to the displaced persons.
Addressing the media,
Gandhi said that he does not
want to politicise the issue and
requested Prime Minister
Modi to come to Manipur
and listen to the people’s
voice.
He also assured that as an
opposition, Congress party
tice by advocates. Submit a
detailed compliance report
outlining the actions taken
to the BCI by August 10, 2024
Failure to comply with
these directives will result
in the BCI initiating legal pro-
ceedings and seeking appro-
priate penalties against the
non-compliant organiza-
tions, stated BCI.
All portals, online plat-
forms, and advocates found
in violation of Rule-36 of the
Bar Council of India Rules
are hereby issued a public
notice to ensure strict com-
pliance with these Rules
immediately. Any adver-
tisements contravening the
aforementioned Rule must
be withdrawn forthwith,
stated BCI.
slides. Restoration efforts
are ongoing, but officials
estimate it will take several
days to fully restore water
supply.
In the interim, the Pub-
lic Health Engineering (PHE)
department has deployed
water tankers to ensure ade-
quate water supply.
Efforts are underway to
mitigate the impact of these
natural disasters. Authorities
are urging caution and pre-
paredness amidst ongoing
relief operations.
The Indian Army and
other agencies have been
actively involved in flood
relief operations, rescuing
stranded individuals and
providing temporary shelters,
food, and medical aid to
affected residents
will do whatever it takes to bring
back peace in the north east-
ern state.
Terming the situation in
Manipur a `tremendous
tragedy’, Gandhi said that the
situation in the state is nowhere
near normal. “I was expecting
some improvement, but I was
disappointed, there hasn’t
been any improvement in the
situation. I came here to lis-
ten to their pain and put pres-
sure on the government as an
opposition to act,” he said.
The unrest in the north-
eastern state has tragically
Practices of online plat-
forms offering lawyer serv-
ices were examined and
found to be in violation of
the BCI Rules. The permis-
sibility of lawyers advertis-
ing and soliciting work was
scrutinized and deemed
inappropriate. The involve-
ment of online intermedi-
aries in facilitating lawyer
services was assessed and
found to be in breach of pro-
fessional conduct standards.
The court ruled that online
platforms cannot seek pro-
tection under Section 79 of
the Information Technolo-
gy Act for activities illegal
under the Advocates Act
and BCI Rules, added Bar
Council of India's state-
ment.
Assam police arrest eight
for lynching of inmate
inside rehabilitation centre
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
GUWAHATI, 8 JULY
Assam police have taken into
custody eight individuals in
connection with the alleged
lynching of a youth from
Meghalaya at a rehabilita-
tion centre in Goalpara.
The deceased was iden-
tified as Niksamseng Marak.
Marak, along with two oth-
ers, was detained by Krishnai
Police on June 2 for possess-
ing drugs. All three were sub-
sequently admitted to the
New Life Foundation rehab
centre in Goalpara district in
Assam. On the night of June
3, Marak was found dead in
the facility.
claimed over 200 lives since
May last year, with many dis-
placed individuals seeking
refuge in these camps.
“I want to tell people of
Manipur I came here as your
brother and I am ready to do
whatever I can to bring peace
here.” Gandhi added.
This was Gandhi’s third
visit to Manipur and the first
after he was elected as the
Leader of Opposition in Par-
liament. Gandhi also met
with Governor Anusuiya
Uikey in the presence of
Chief Secretary Vineet Joshi
and Security Adviser Kuldeip
Singh. The meeting also
included leaders of the Con-
gress party in Manipur, includ-
ing Okram Ibobi Singh,
Keisham Meghachandra, and
Gaikhangam.
Earlier on the day, Gand-
hi arrived at Kumbhirgram air-
port in Silchar and met flood
victims in a relief camp in
Lakhipur area of Assam.
Tripura CM lays
foundation stones
for various projects
in Agartala
AGENCIES
AGARTALA, 8 JULY
Tripura Chief Minister Manik
Saha laid the foundation
stone for various projects of
the Agartala Municipal Cor-
poration at the foundation
stone laying ceremony on
Monday.
The projects involved
the beautification and devel-
opment of Shiv Bari Pond in
the Agartala Municipal Cor-
poration area located at the
Central Road in Agartala.
The projects also involved
the beautification and devel-
opment of the Veterinary
Hospital Lake as well as the
Ujan Abhoynagar Bazar
Pond.
CCTV footage revealed he
was lynched by workers and
fellow inmates in the centre.
Following the discovery of
the video evidence, police
launched an investigation.
Those identified include
Pranjyoti Nath, Hanif Ali,
Jintu Chakraborty, Mohsen
Khan, Kunal Das, and Dhan-
moina Banikya. Meanwhile,
the sister of Marak , who died
in a rehabilitation centre in
Assam, has sought the inter-
vention of Meghalaya Chief
Minister Conrad Sangma.
Achik State People’s Front
(ASPF) said on July 2 that
Marak travelled to Goalpara
to purchase medicines pre-
scribed by his doctor.

Learning how to be a leader Students’
Space
I
n an interview for The Statesman’s
young readers, who are on the thresh-
old of their corporate career, Mr Srini-
vasa Addepalli, founder and CEO of
GlobalGyan Leadership Academy, addresses
how strategic case competitions aid in gain-
ing strategic excellence and problem-solv-
ing skills, easing their journey towards
becoming future leaders.
Q. W hat was the vision behind
launching India's first strategy case com-
petition for professionals?
Last year, we launched India's inaugu-
ral Chief Strategy Officer program, which
achieved remarkable success. The program
featured a distinctive approach, incorporat-
ing case studies from Indian corporates and
including conversations with the leaders
who were directly involved in those cases.
We realised that managers love solving real
cases about familiar businesses – so we
wanted to expand the reach of this method
of learning and engaging. We wanted to
design a competition where any profession-
al could work on such cases and get an
opportunity to pitch their solutions to busi-
ness leaders.
Thus, the idea of India's first case com-
petition for professionals took shape. We
worked with four interesting organisations
to build cases about their ongoing chal-
lenges. These cases cover diverse strategic
themes, whether it is the creation of new
markets or categories, developing a cus-
tomer value proposition, finding growth
avenues in mature markets, or dealing with
commoditisation. We also have a fair mix of
industries, covering automobiles, informa-
tion systems, luxury goods, and media
streaming.
At GlobalGyan Leadership Academy,
we are deeply committed to developing
future leaders and what better way than giv-
ing everyone a platform to tackle real-world
business challenges faced by top Indian
brands.
Q. How can participation in this com-
petition benefit an employee's career
prospects in the long run?
We see two distinct benefits to man-
agers who participate in the Strategy Case
Competition. First, it offers a unique plat-
form to solve strategic business problems
from familiar markets. By dissecting com-
plex scenarios and designing innovative
solutions, participants not only sharpen
their strategic thinking and decision-making
skills but also appreciate the challenges of
running a business. We are supporting all
participants with learning modules so they
will receive the methods and tools to suc-
cessfully solve the cases.
Second, this competition will provide a
tremendous networking opportunity for
those who make progress and get selected
for the future stages. The best entries will
get to present their recommendations to the
case leaders, the protagonists – and engage
in deep strategic conversations. Winning the
competition will also help managers build
their credibility and enhance their profes-
sional visibility. Finally, several shortlisted
managers will be invited to the GlobalGyan
Strategy Conclave, a grand finale event.
Q. How does the competition encour-
age innovative and out-of-the-box think-
ing when tackling the case studies?
We are offering participants a choice of
four case studies – of course, they can solve
more than one if they wish to! Each case
covers complex market scenarios and busi-
ness issues; this will require a deep analysis
of various stakeholders, pushing partici-
pants to think critically and creatively. All
those who have registered for the competi-
tion get free access to our best-selling digital
course on critical thinking and problem-
solving to help them learn even as they solve
the cases.
Those who get shortlisted for the final
NEW DELHI, TUESDAY 09 JULY 2024
stage of the competition will also get coach-
ing from our top faculty to help them stretch
their perspectives, go beyond the obvious
solutions and provide innovative solutions.
Indeed, our esteemed jury of top global
business leaders, investors and consultants
would be looking forward to such differenti-
ated solutions.
Q. Can you briefly explain the role that
the winners of the competition will be
playing at the GlobalGyan Strategy Con-
clave?
Winners of the Strategy Case Competi-
tion would be invited to participate in the
Strategy Conclave, our grand finale event.
Here, winners will get to present their solu-
tions to a wide corporate audience. Not only
will they get to discuss their solutions with a
core group of business strategists, but they
will also receive personalised feedback from
the jury members and leaders of the case
organisations.
There is a real possibility that the com-
panies would actually implement the win-
ners’ solutions! This practical application of
their strategies is a unique chance for the
winners to contribute directly to business
growth and transformation. Of course, the
winners also stand to win several prizes
worth Rs. five lakhs.
Q.What is the long-term vision for this
Strategy Case Competition? Do you plan
to make this an annual competition?
My vision for the Strategy Case Com-
petition is to cultivate a culture of strategic
excellence and problem-solving among pro-
fessionals. Such competitions are customary
for college students, but why not for life-
long learners? Equally, we want this to be a
platform to create interesting case studies
about wonderful Indian businesses, thus
showcasing their work and challenges to the
professional world.
Indeed, we do want to make this an
annual competition, encouraging more
organisations to participate in offering their
cases and a larger group of professionals to
compete to solve these problems. We could
introduce other managerial categories
beyond strategy in future editions.
11
Vivacious Vocabulary
MACULATE
Adjective
Pronunciation: Mac-you-late
Meaning: Morally blemished; stained or impure
Example: The white shirt became maculate with mud
after the fall
Synonyms: Impure, dirty, unclean, soiled
NADIR
Noun
Pronunciation: Nah-dear
Meaning: The lowest or most unsuccessful point in a
situation
Example: At his career's nadir, he felt utterly defeated
Synonyms: Rock bottom, hardships, all time low
ODIOUS
Adjective
Pronunciation: Oh-dee-us
Meaning: Extremely unpleasant
Example: The dictator's odious policies caused wide-
spread suffering
Synonyms: Abominable, detestable, execrable
PLACID
Adjective
Pronunciation: Pla-sid
Meaning: Not easily irritated
Example: Not everyone shared his placid tempera-
ment
Synonyms: Tranquil, unruffled, calm, quiet
Compiled by GRACE ANDREW
If you are a school or college student who has a poem,
essay or other fiction or nonfiction pieces which you
would like to share with The Statesman's readers please
write in with your submission to
readers@thestatesmangroup.com.
Don't forget to mention your name, the name of your
school, your class and your phone number. Please write
"C&C" in the subject field. Publication is at the discre-
tion of the editors.

Career opportunities in hospitality: Navigating international placements

PRAKASH DAS many, the United States, and Australia ity institutes and training centres Quality training – To ensure the pivotal role. opportunities and contribute signifi-
used to hire hospitality professionals directly, providing career opportuni- training programs meet global stan- In conclusion, the global hospital- cantly to the global hospitality land-

I
n the dynamic and ever-expand-
ing world of hospitality, global
mobility and career opportunities
have become increasingly acces-
sible and attractive for Indian youths.
The demand for international
placements is growing steadily, and
India is being looked upon as a
favoured nation for the global work-
force. Indian hospitality professionals
have earned accolades across the
globe, working with leading brands
and demonstrating high-end skills in
diverse service sectors.
Due to low entry barriers to coun-
tries such as UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman,
Qatar, Bahrain, Maldives, Thailand,
Singapore, Mauritius, etc, Indian hos-
pitality professionals over the last
decade have made a significant share
of the international hiring pool.
Initially, only countries such as
the United Kingdom, France, Ger-
from India. However, post-COVID-19
pandemic, due to an immense short-
age of hospitality professionals in the
host countries, great demand has start-
ed to come from countries such as
Poland, Romania, Russia, the
Caribbean Islands, Japan, China, etc.
All of these countries are ready to open
their doors to hospitality talent from
India.
NSDC International is running a
dedicated program for the Japanese
market, with many candidates under-
going Japanese language training after
securing job offers. Post completion of
the language training, candidates will
embark on a journey to Japan for hos-
pitality jobs. THSC is closely working
with NSDCI to source talent for the
Japanese market.
THSC is bridging the gap between
demand and supply by connecting
international employers with hospital-
ties that result in higher earnings for
students. Over 600+ students, in less
than two years, have been offered such
opportunities through this network,
and more than 20+ brands have been
able to hire the right candidates. Addi-
tionally, more than 1000+ students
have been able to go directly through
reputed hiring agencies.
The trends indicate that tourism
seems to be booming post-pandemic.
The current system needs to be more
robust for training and placement in
the international market to help stu-
dents get the right opportunities.
Global training -– Institutes in
India need to revise their curriculums
to meet the needs of global standards.
These can be customised for various
markets with cultural and regional
flavours.
dards, dedicated institutes need to be ity industry presents vast opportuni- scape.
set up to provide students with diverse ties for those willing to explore them.
training environments and focus sole- With the right guidance, training, and The writer is assistant manager- State
Engagement, Tourism and
ly on programs for the international support, Hospitality Skill Council
market. These can be set up in a PPP we can
mode. help our
youth
Eliminating spurious players -– tap
Many students/professionals fall into into
the trap of agencies that are not recog- these
nised or licensed to work in this seg-
ment. The government can focus on
creating a national portal displaying all
licensed hiring organisations, job
requirements, interview schedules,
etc., to ease the process.
By implementing this integrated
model, we can foster greater aspira-
tions among the youth to pursue
careers in hospitality. This will not only
bridge the demand-supply gap but
also position India as the skills capital
of the world, with our sector playing a

Role and significance of AI applications in natural language

processing (NLP) for content creation
or analysis. Concurrently, students of
artificial intelligence international relations and diplomacy
can adopt AI approaches in areas of
strategic issues during bilateral and
multilateral negotiations. Moreover, AI
systems can effectively model poten-
tial political and economic ramifica-
tions of international conflicts,
including tasks like sentiment analy-
sis, language translation, and chatbot
of existing compositions, creating new
melodies and symphonies and gener-
development, can be extremely helpful ating unique musical ideations.
for the analysis of cultural context and
dialectical expressions. This enables
One has to understand that AI’s
increasing versatility, usefulness and

in diverse fields
political consulting, policy analysis,
and predictive analysis on military,
diplomatic, and trade engagements
DEBASIS BHATTACHARYA through data-driven
chain management, improved opera- insights. They can
tional efficiency, designing standard, take advan-
humanitarian crises, trade agreements,
climate change, and other complex
global challenges while assisting diplo-
mats, experts, and stu-
dents of interna-
tional rela-
diplomats, researchers, and students
to navigate the subtleties of cross-cul-
tural communications. AI also allows
diplomacy researchers to sift through
enormous amounts of data to analyse
trends and patterns and predict the
complementarity for streams like man-
agement, commerce, humanities, and
liberal arts have enormously enhanced
its relevance and social acceptance
globally. Students and professionals
from such streams can bring unique

T
he contemporary era of
unprecedented technological
advancements, especially that
of Artificial Intelligence (AI),
has transformed knowledge paradigm
and learning trajectory so profoundly
that it has become imperative for stu-
dents of management, commerce,
humanities, and liberal arts to garner
adequate knowledge and proficiency
of such emerging technologies in order
to have a competitive edge in their
professional pursuits. Dynamic
changes in AI applications have made
students of such streams increasingly
adaptive to new technology tools
through a continuous process of
skilling, reskilling, and upskilling while
embracing an interdisciplinary
approach by combining AI knowledge
with their existing expertise to become
more versatile, efficient, and produc-
tive in workplaces.
Students of management, com-
merce and even humanities can learn
how AI is transforming business oper-
ations, fin-tech, e-commerce, market-
ing strategies, customer experiences,
etc. AI-powered analytics can assist
such students in making data-driven
decisions with efficacy while optimis-
ing business processes. Students pur-
suing e-commerce, operations, mar-
keting, and financial management can
excel in their profession through the
application of AI in achieving better
customer experience, efficient supply
reliable and robust product quality
control methods while determining
new ways of reaching and serving cus-
tomers in a cost-effective manner.
Most of the e-commerce organisation-
al websites are currently using chat-
bots to improve customer satisfaction
and provide enhanced services to cus-
tomers. These chatbots are developed
using artificial intelligence.
In recent years, AI has been
greatly used by management and
commerce students for predictive
analytics, where it processes histor-
ical data to forecast future trends
while assisting in strategic decision-
making and risk management. Stu-
dents can learn how AI models
assist in strategic planning by simu-
lating different business scenarios
and their potential outcomes. This
allows management professionals to
explore various strategies for business
expansion and market penetration. AI
also assists in automating the collec-
tion and analysis of market data from
diverse sources such as social media,
news articles, and customer reviews.
Management students pursuing mar-
ket research can gain valuable insights
on consumer behaviour and prefer-
ences from such AI interventions.
The uniqueness of AI also lies in
its multidisciplinary attributes and sig-
nificant impact on streams of humani-
ties and liberal arts. For instance, a stu-
dent of literature can very well explore
tage of AI- tions future trajectory of geostrategic
enabled assess engagement.
the Switching gears to other areas of
arts and humanities, students of dance
appreciation can use AI-powered tools
to generate creative choreography,
enrich performance analysis, and con-
tribute to the ingenious artistry of
dance. For psychology and behaviour
analysis researchers and students, AI
algorithms can assist them in better
analysing human behaviour pat-
terns and psychometric profiling
and gain insights into people’s
social interactions, perceptions,
and personality traits. In the
domain of interior design and
office/home decor, students and
professionals are increasingly using
AI tools to create detailed 3D ren-
derings of design projects. Amaz-
ingly, AI can also recommend colour
combinations, furniture, and acces-
sories that are personalised to cus-
tomer’s preferences. Moreover, the
dynamic nature of AI tools has opened
new possibilities for innovative
processes. Creative arts professionals
and students commonly use AI tools to
instant inten- analyse vast amounts of data and gen-
language erate unique concepts and unexpect-
translation sity of the ed connections, which might fuel their
to experience the problem and prolific ideas and ultimately end up
efficacy of diplomatic make prudent deci- producing the next creative master-
communications. In contem- sions. Simultaneously, AI- piece. For students pursuing music
porary geopolitics, diplomats often use powered advanced NLP models that appreciation, AI algorithms can com-
AI techniques for robust planning on involve working with textual data, pose music by analysing vast amounts
perspectives and domain-specific
expertise to AI projects to make them
more ethical, inclusive, sustainable,
and socially responsive. The participa-
tion of students in AI internships
belonging to management, commerce,
humanities, and liberal arts is rising
exponentially, thereby propelling
interdisciplinary collaboration and
leading to more innovative and peo-
ple-centric solutions. Students of such
streams often possess skills such as
critical thinking, interpersonal com-
munication, soft skills, etc., that are
valuable for fine-tuning AI approaches.
By participating in AI internships and
live projects, these students can con-
tribute their diverse skills to tasks like
data analysis, user experience design,
market research, business ethics, etc.,
which make AI models more socially
responsive. AI applications have pro-
found implications for societal well-
being through ethical considerations,
bias mitigation, and enhancing acces-
sibility. Students of anthropology, soci-
ology and public policy can contribute
valuable insights to help AI technolo-
gies be more efficient in mitigating
social problems responsibly and ethi-
cally. One needs to grasp these con-
cepts to design and implement AI
models effectively.
The writer is a professor of economics and
international relations at IILM University
Gurugram
 ‘HAVE BEEN LIVING A DREAM’
Ace fast-bowler Jasprit Bumrah said he has been living a dream ever since India won 2024
Men's T20 World Cup on June 29, adding that the aftermath of the triumph has filled him
with gratitude and happiness. In India's triumph at the Kensington Oval on June 29, Bumrah
capped off a remarkable run in the tournament, picking 15 wickets in the 29.4 overs he bowled
at an average of 8.26, and an astonishing economy rate of just 4.17, to pick the Player of the
For more updates
Jaiswal vs Abhishek-the race
for T20 opener’s slot heats up
The youngster got to his hundred with three consecutive sixes, prompting comparisons with Rohit Sharma
TRIDIB BAPARNASH
NEW DELHI, 8 JULY
I
n Abhishek Sharma, India
found a perfect opener to
adapt to the changing
demands of a fickle for-
mat and strip away the con-
servatism that stunted pre-
vious generations. But there’s
always the element of risk
involved in his ultra-aggres-
sive approach.
After a forgettable debut
when he was dismissed for a
duck, the young left-hander
showed his class with a breezy
century to power India to a
series-levelling win in the
second T20I on Sunday. His
47-ball 100 in the second
T20I at the Harare Sports
Club involved an early survival
when he was dropped on 27
by Wellington Masakadza.
The lifeline instilled a
sense of responsibility in the
young Punjab left-hander,
who thanked his father for
allowing him to put those glory
shots out of the park right from
the word go, during his form-
ative years.
“After that (drop) I thought
it was my day. (I felt) I should
take a bit of responsibility. Rutu
(raj Gaikwad) was saying that
it was a bit difficult to hit the
Euro 2024 semifinal: Dominant Spain
look to move past struggling France
AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, 8 JULY
The 2024 European Cham-
pionship has reached its final
legs, as only four teams remain
of the original 24 that entered
the competition. Spain,
France, England, and the
Netherlands are the four con-
tenders remaining in the
race for European glory.
Spain are the favourites
heading into the semifinals.
Luis Da le Fuente’s men have
been the best outlet at the
Euros, which showed in their
recent outing, where they
defeated hosts Germany in
what was a heartbreaking
result for Deuschland.
The side has scored 11
goals at the tournament so far,
despite being one of the best
defensive units at the tour-
nament, conceding only two
PV Sindhu counting on her experience for hat-trick of Olympic medals
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 8 JULY
Two-time Olympic medallist
shuttler Star shuttler PV Sind-
hu is confident of changing the
colour of her medal as she pre-
pares for the forthcoming Paris
Games, distancing herself from
all distractions faraway in Ger-
many.
Sindhu, who is only the sec-
ond Indian and first woman ath-
lete from the country to bag con-
secutive Olympic medals after
seasoned grappler Sushil Kumar,
said she will be banking on her
experience heading into Paris
while asserting that it isn't
impossible to win a hatrick of
medals in the quadrennial
Printed and published by VINEET GUPTA for THE STATESMAN LTD, Statesman House, 148 Barakhamba Road, New Delhi ��Editor: RAVINDRA KUMAR ��Managing Editor: ARYA RUDRA ��Printed at Vibha Publication Pvt Ltd, D-160 B, Sector 7, NOIDA 201301 (UP). ��The Statesman Ltd. RNB REG. No. M-8905,RNI No. 507/57
Tournament award. "I am so thankful for the last few days. I've been living a dream and
it has filled me with happiness and gratitude," Bumrah posted on X, along with a
video of him attending the victory parade in Mumbai last week, where a lot of fans
gathered, as well as of soaking in the adulation from a packed Wankhede Stadium.
www.thestatesman.com
fast bowlers, so we have to be
a bit mindful. I felt that he was
making sense. So, if you see,
I didn't play much shots to
(Jongwe). Just tried to get to
the other end. That helped a
lot,” Abhishek said reflecting
on his knock.
The youngster got to his
hundred with three consec-
utive sixes, prompting com-
parisons with Rohit Sharma
at the post-match press con-
ference but the southpaw is
happy to execute his skills.
“If you look at me, you
wouldn't think I'm one (Sixer
King). Special mention to my
dad. A lot of kids’ coaches don't
allow players to play big shots,
goals (2-1 vs Germany and 4-
1 vs Georgia). However, the
team will be worried as their
strong defensive lineup has
been damaged ahead of their
match against France.
Pedri will miss the game
due to a knee injury he suf-
fered in the quarterfinals.
Along with Pedri, Carvajal and
Normand will miss the game
due to picking up suspensions
in the quarterfinal.
France, on the other hand,
have not been up to the stan-
dards that the side has set over
the past major tournaments.
The side is yet to score a goal
from open play in the tour-
nament. They have only
scored three goals so far in
the campaign, with two being
own goals and one being a
penalty scored by Mbappe in
their final Group Stage game
against Poland.
showpiece event.
“It's not impossible to win
my third medal in the Olympics.
I have learnt a lot from my mis-
takes. I have to give my 100 per-
cent. You need to be smart and
really work hard. (I am) not over-
confident, but definitely wiser
and smarter and hoping to
winanothermedal,”Sindhusaid.
The 28-year-old is present-
ly undergoing training at the Her-
mann-Neuberger Sportschule
located in Saarbrucken, Ger-
many. She is expected to direct-
ly fly to Paris from Saarbruck-
en once the Olympic Games start
from July 26.
Sindhu's road to the quad-
rennial showpiece hasn’t been
a cakewalk as the World No. 12
but he always told me that if
I'm playing a lofted shot, it
should go out of the bound-
ary. So since childhood, I've
felt that if I can execute a con-
firmed shot, then I just want
to go and express myself even
if it's the first or the second
ball.”
“My mindset was like the
one I had in the IPL and
domestic cricket. It was all
about the execution. It was bet-
ter than (Saturday). As a bat-
ter, I thought about all the balls
I played, it wasn't many, and
I was calculating the risk I
should take on the first over
or if I should just play accord-
ing to the ball. I think that exe-
Another cause for con-
cern for the team will be the
reduced impact of Kylian
Mbappe. The captain of the
Les Bleus suffered a broken
nose in their opening game
against Austria and has strug-
gled to find his footing in
games since, with the Real
Madrid forward even admit-
ting that the mask is causing
him trouble playing.
"He might not have been
here at all, so we need to look
at it in a positive light. Kylian
is here, even if he is not at 100
percent, and I know that has
an impact on the opposi-
tion, who are forced to adapt
to him," said Deschamps to
TF1 on Sunday.
France are aiming to win
their first European crown
since 2000, while Spain’s last
victory came at the 2008 edi-
tion.
has struggled to register con-
sistent victories against top-
ranked players. But despite
the challenges, she managed to
finish runner-up in the Malaysia
Masters super 500 tournament.
“It took me some time to
come back (from injury) and I
feel that now I'm doing well.
Coming to the finals is not an
easy thing. And, finishing match-
es, not finishing matches, it
depends on how we play,” she
told select media during an inter-
action jointly hosted by SAI, BAI
and IOA.
“I have learnt to be a lot more
patient, especially from the
Asian circuit before this
Olympics. There would be no
more short duration matches,
cution went really well today,”
he added.
Abhishek raced from 41 off
30 to 100 off 47, the joint
third-fastest hundred for
India in T20Is.
A protege of India’s World
Cup winning star Yuvraj
Singh, Abhishek received
accolades from his mentor,
who felt that the century
marks the beginning of a
promising future for the gift-
ed left-handed batter.
“Rome wasn't built in a day!
Congratulations @IamAb-
hiSharma4 on the journey to
your first International 100!
Many more to come,” Yuvraj
said.
Jayasuriya named Sri Lanka’s
interim coach for India series
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 8 JULY
Former Sri Lanka captain
Santa Jayasuriya has been
appointed interim coach of
the national team for the
upcoming limited-over series
against India at home and
an away Test tour in England,
which ends mid-Septem-
ber.
Jayasuriya, who was ear-
lier the chief selector of the
men’s team as well as crick-
et consultant for Sri Lanka
Cricket, hasn’t previously
held a high-profile coaching
position. His appointment
came days after Chris Sil-
verwood stepped down from
the role after the team’s for-
gettable campaign at the
ICC T20 World Cup, where
it failed to make it to the Super
Eight stage.
SLC chief executive Ash-
ley de Silva had then said that
the board would advertise for
the role and could prefer a
local coach for the role. On
Jayasuriya's appointment, de
no more expectation of easy
points and no match being
considered over, despite hav-
ing a big lead, till the match is
actually won,” she explained.
“Olympics is a different kind
Jaiswal vs Abhishek com-
petition great for the game:
Flower
With the century, Abhishek
has already made a big state-
ment to stake claim for a
place in the T20I set-up, but
he will face tough competi-
tion to retain his opener's slot
once Yashavi Jaiswal joins
the side for the final three T20Is
against Zimbabwe.
Jaiswal was part of the
T20 World Cup-winning squad
in Barbados, but he didn't get
any match to play in the tour-
nament and he will be raring
to get back to the cricket field
in the last three T20Is against
Zimbabwe.
Silva said, “Sanath with his
wealth of international crick-
eting experience is well posi-
tioned to guide the nation-
al team, until we find a per-
manent solution.”
Jayasuriya was with the
men's team during their
World Cup campaign in the
Americas as consultant, his
first official role after return-
ing from the two-year ban
for refusing to co-operate
with investigations related
to corruption, run by the
ICC's anti-corruption
unit.One of the finest all-
rounders during his playing
days, Jayasuriya is credited
for revolutionising white-
ball cricket with his aggres-
sive batting at the top of the
innings. He remains the
fifth-highest ODI run scor-
er of all time, with 13,430 runs.
He also has 323 ODI dis-
missals, making him the
12th-highest wicket-taker
in the format. This is in
addition to considerable
exploits across 110 Tests
and 31 T20I as well.
of challenge, though it gives you
more time to prepare unlike
other major Super Series events.
I am conscious of the fact that
I can do much better. It is not
that I am not able to finish off
Former Zimbabwe crick-
eter and acclaimed coach
Andy Flower asserted that
with India entering the tran-
sition phase, Jaiswal vs
Abhishek for the opening
slot is the competition that
everyone is looking out for.
“Well, we have got Jaisw-
al still coming into the series,
haven't we? So that sort of
competition is exactly what
the Indian selectors and all
the Indian followers are look-
ing for. It makes it really
interesting and it's great for
the Indian game if they have
got lots of options like that,"
Flower said.
Flower was elated with
Abhishek converting his
incredible IPL 2024 form to
international cricket.
“He should be confident
at the moment coming off
such a great IPL and then get-
ting a hundred in his second
international match. So what
a great start. It's really impor-
tant to get those runs as a
young player because confi-
dence and self-belief are so
important to your chance of
doing well. So I am very happy
for him and I am looking for-
ward to seeing more of him
in this series,” Flower elab-
orated.
Euro 2024: England hunting for maiden crown;
Netherlands hoping to end 36-year drought
AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, 8 JULY
England and Netherlands are
two teams that have gen-
uinely struggled during the
course of the past two weeks
but have set up a blockbuster
clash at the Signal Iduna Park
in the second semifinal of
the 2024 Euros.
The English side finished
first in their Group but had won
only one game (1-0 vs Slova-
kia) whilst drawing against
Slovenia and Denmark.
They then went on to face
Slovakia in the Round of 16 and
were almost knocked out of
the tournament if it was not
for a bicycle kick by Jude
Bellingham in the 95th minute
of the game that revived the
English side as they went on
to win 2-1 in extra time.
They then faced a strong
Switzerland side and found
themselves trailing by a goal
heading into the final ten
minutes. Bukayo Saka was
the hero in the quarterfinal for
the Three Lions as the Arse-
nal forward scored a brilliant
curling effort into the bottom
left corner of the goal to tie the
game which they won 5-3 via
penalty shootouts.
Despite the side's struggles
in attack which has seen them
appear clueless and dull whilst
trying to break the opposition’s
defence, England manager
Gareth Southgate hails his
sides chances in the tourna-
ment.
"We continue to give peo-
ple fantastic memories. Now
we want to deliver one more
matches. Yes, you lose match-
es despite what looks like win-
ning leads and sometimes you
end up winning despite trail-
ing. So, my focus will be con-
sistency,” she said on her recent
indifferent form.
Acknowledging the fact that
she will be closely followed by
fans and fellow shuttlers when
she starts her campaign in
Paris, the Hyderabadi feels she
needs to smartly devise her
strategy. She hopes to take the
positives from her previous
Olympic campaigns when she
lands in Paris.
“Obviously, I can’t do what
I did in those two editions. I know
all eyes will be on me. (I) need
to be smarter. I should know
NEW DELHI
TUESDAY, 09 JULY 2024
Postal Reg. No. DL (ND)-II/6088/2022/-23-24
Copa America: Debutant Canada’s
dream run clashes with Argentina's
aim of record setting title
AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, 8 JULY
The semifinals of the Copa
America are set as tied record
winners of the tournament
Argentina (15 with Uruguay)
will be taking on the Cana-
dian side who are making their
first ever appearance at the
competition.
The defending champi-
ons have been on a flying run
at the Copa America 2024
campaign. The side has won
all four games so far scoring
six goals in the process whilst
also maintaining the joint-best
defensive effort in the league
having conceded only one
goal.
The only cause for concern
for the current World Cham-
pions is that their captain,
Lionel Messi is yet to score
at the tournament. The Inter
Miami forward has generat-
ed 0.85 expected goals and
1.3 shots on target per game
whilst providing one assist so
far. Lisandro Martinez the
leading goalscorer at the
tournament with four to his
name.
They struggled in their
quarterfinal outing against
Ecuador and were once again
carried to victory by one of
the best penalty specialists
the game has ever seen, Emil-
iano Martinez.
Argentina are the tied
record-winners along with
other semifinalists. Uruguay
thing - we have never been to
a final outside England, never
won a Euros, so there are two
bits of history we would love
to create," said Southgate to
BBC five.
Netherlands on the other
hand have won only one
major tournament in the
country’s history (1988 Euros)
and find themselves with an
opportunity to recreate his-
tory. The Dutch side, like their
opposition have not been at
their strongest through the
campaign. A dismal outing in
the Group Stages saw them
qualify after finishing third in
their group behind Austria and
France.
Although a strong outing
in the Round of 16 saw them
defeat Romania (3-0) with
comfort, they struggled heav-
ily against Turkey in the quar-
that it is not going to be any easy
matches for sure. But the big
plus is I have the experience on
my side and I am really patient
enough now for the big chal-
lenges,” she said.
“The game has changed a
lot now. (There are) more ral-
lies now with emphasis on
strong defence. So every play-
er is very strong, mentally and
physically prepared for those
long matches,” she added.
On being asked if she has pre-
pared a rough plan on how to
tackle different opponents,
Sindhu said, “Every day might
not be your day. So, I have to
give my best against every
opponent, and not take it easy.
The styles and strategies for each
12
as both nations have 15 to their
name.
The two sides previously
faced each other in the open-
ing game of the tournament,
a fixture that Argentina won
2-0 thanks to goals by Julian
Alvarez and Martinez.
Canada, on the other
hand, are participating at
the tournament for the first
time and have the chance to
script history. The team could
become the second ever non
CONMEBOL team to quali-
fy for the finals of the trophy.
Their trip to the finals
was full of uncertainty and the
1-0 win over Peru followed
by a 0-0 draw against Chile
saw them qualify for the
quarter-finals where they
scraped past Venezuela 4-3
on penalties.
"Argentina will have to be
the best match we’ve ever
played and it still might not
be enough. But, whatever.
We’re going to go for it," said
Canadian head coach Jesse
March after their win over
Venezuela.
terfinal and trailed for a major-
ity of the game before scor-
ing two late goals to secure a
2-1 victory.
Netherlands has scored
nine goals in Euro 2024 so far
with Cody Gakpo being the tied
top scorer at the tournament
with three to his name. The
team has struggled at defense
and have conceded five goals
so far.
"I think for the whole nation
it’s something special, we’re
a small nation and we’re in the
semis with England, France
and Spain, and we’re really
proud. We had a big heart —
sometimes we get criticism
about that, that we don’t have
that compared to other nations,
(but) the players showed a big
heart (against Turkey) ,” said
Ronald Koeman in the post
match conference.
player will be different. Since
we have time, we prepare bet-
ter. I am experienced, mental-
ly and physically stronger now.”
Sindhu also expressed her
gratitude to legendary shuttler
and her current coach Prakash
Padukone for his constructive
feedback and inputs on the tech-
nical aspects of her game.
“Prakash sir has been watch-
ing my matches, and provid-
ed valuable inputs if he spots
any shortcomings. He wants me
to cut down on unforced errors,
keep the shuttle in the court and
play freely,” Sindhu said as she
eyes overall improvement rather
than working on a few areas in
her hunt for a third straight
Olympic medal.