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WEATHER
Eknath Shinde to remain Have always taken
serious action against
Maha CM: Shiv Sena, BJP
GENERALLY CLOUDY SKY. LIGHT

terrorism: Trudeau
RAIN/THUNDERSHOWERS. THE MAXIMUM AND
MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND
30 AND 26 DEGREES CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY.
RAINFALL: 005.3 Mm
Mr Shinde has 'outlived his utility' and the state will get a new CM soon: Sena (UBT) MP Raut SNS & AGENCIES
RELATIVE HUMIDITY OTTAWA/NEW DELHI, 6 JULY
Max.97 % Min.79 %
TEMPERATURE
Max: 36.3 °C (0)
SUN RISES
Min: 27.8 °C (0)
SUN SETS
I am NCP president, let others Reacting to allegations that
the Canadian government is

say anything: Sharad Pawar

soft and reluctant to act
05:30 hrs 19:23 hrs against pro-Khalistan gath-
MOON RISES MOON SETS erings and terrorists in the
22:49 hrs 10:37 hrs country, Prime Minister Justin
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Trudeau said Canada has
NEW DELHI, 6 JULY "always taken serious action
THUMBNAILS against terrorism and we
Nationalist Congress Party always will."
(NCP) president Sharad In the past couple of The MEA said that
Pawar on Thursday assert- months, three major anti- apart from Canada, it
ed he is the real president India incidents involving has raised with Aus-
Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde speaks to the of the party, and his party’s Khalistani separatists have tralia, the USA and the
media regarding the State political situation, in Mumbai Working Committee rat- been reported in Canada.
on Thursday. ANI ified his decision to expel Calling Canada an UK the activities of
MPs Praful Patel and Sunil "extremely diverse country," ‘Khalistan’ elements.
SNS & AGENCIES (UBT), and other leaders Tatkare from the party, he said his country will make
MUMBAI, 6 JULY have also contended that along with nine MLAs, sure that violence and extrem- “We have an extremely
many of those who had including his nephew Ajit ism are pushed back in all its diverse country and freedom

R
uling Maharash-
tra allies Shiv Sena
and the BJP have
rubbished claims
by Shiv Sena (UBT) lead-
ers and asserted that chief
minister Eknath Shinde
will remain in his post
Indian Youth Congress members protest against
the Centre over rising prices of vegetables. In the
till the next elections.
Capital on Thursday. SUBRATA DUTTA
The Sena (UBT) MP
Sanjay Raut said that with
the entry of the breakaway
All-party meet convened ahead of Monsoon Nationalist Congress Party
Session: The government has convened an all- into the Shiv Sena-
party meeting on 19 July, ahead of the Mon- Bharatiya Janata Party
soon Session of Parliament. The session will government, Mr Shinde
commence on 20 July and continue till 11th has 'outlived his utility' and
August. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad the state will get a new CM
Joshi on Thursday urged all parties to con- soon.
tribute towards productive discussions on leg- Simultaneously, anoth-
islative business and other items during the er MP Vinayak Raut had
Monsoon Session. In a tweet, Mr Joshi said, claimed that around 10 rul-
there will be a total of 17 sittings in this ses- ing Shiv Sena MLAs are in
sion lasting 23 days. touch with the Shiv Sena
deserted the party in 2022
reportedly want to stage
a 'ghar-wapsi'.
"There is absolutely
no resentment among
our MLAs… We have full
faith in the leadership of
the CM. His position is not
threatened in any manner
and these are only
rumours that he is quit-
ting," said Industry min-
ister Uday Samant.
Other Sena leaders also
dismissed the Sena (UBT)
claims that many MLAs are
feeling restless with the
entry of the new and sec-
ond Deputy CM Ajit Pawar
and his group in the gov-
ernment and want to leave
the Sena. Mr Samant said
that the Shiv Sena will
contest the 2024 Lok Sabha
Pawar, who had joined the
Eknath Shinde govern-
ment in the State.
“What someone has
said is not important, I am
the president of the party,”
Mr Sharad Pawar said
after the meeting. He said
the working committee
meeting at his residence
was as per the party con-
stitution and what others
said about it was not rel-
evant. He said the work-
and Assembly elections
under the leadership of Mr
Shinde. To a query, he said:
"The CM Shinde, the
Deputy CMs Devendra
Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar
are 'experienced and
mature' leaders and they
will take the alliance
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi meets with Nationalist
Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar in New Delhi. � ANI
ing committee meeting
had boosted the morale
of the party leaders to
take it ahead.
“We will rebuild the
party,” he said. Answer-
ing questions, he said
“Whether I am 82 or 92,
I am the effective presi-
dent of the NCP.”
On Ajit Pawar’s desire
ahead." Dismissing all
speculation on this count,
Bharatiya Janata Party's
Maharashtra president
Chandrashekhar
Bawankule asserted that
Mr Shinde will continue
as the state Chief Minis-
ter for his full term till 2024.
to be Chief Minister, Mr
Sharad Pawar said: “I
have no quarrel with what
people want to be, Chief
Minister or Prime Minis-
ter.” He had faith in the
Election Commission and
only if there are legal
issues left, the party will
consider exploring other
options, he said.
“All these talks of
change of guard in the state
are baseless and false. He
will lead the three-party
coalition of BJP-Shiv Sena-
Nationalist Congress Party
(Ajit Pawar) for the Lok
Sabha and the Assembly
polls next year,” he said.
forms.
Mr Trudeau refuted alle-
gations that he is soft on ter-
rorist elements. His state-
ment comes after India sum-
moned the Canadian High
Commissioner in New Delhi
over propaganda material,
including posters, containing
threats to Indian diplomats
being circulated in Canada and
served a demarche to the
Justin Trudeau government.
In response to a question
regarding the parade in Cana-
da depicting the assassination
of former Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi, Trudeau said,
"They are wrong. Canada has
always taken extremely seri-
ously violence and threats of
violence. We have always
taken serious action against
terrorism and we always will."
of expression is something that
we have. But, we will also make
sure that we are pushing back
against violence and extrem-
ism in all its forms," he added.
In New Delhi, the Ministry
of External Affairs said that the
actions of “Khalistani” ele-
ments abroad putting up
posters targeting Indian diplo-
mats were “unacceptable”.
The MEA said that apart
from Canada, it has raised with
Australia, the USA and the UK
the activities of “Khalistan”
elements.
At a media briefing here,
Ministry of External Affairs
spokesperson Arindam Bagchi
said: “The issue is not about
freedom of expression but its
misuse for advocating violence
and propagating separatism
and legitimising terrorism.”

PM meets French
President’s advisor
ahead of visit to
Paris next week
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 6 JULY
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi today met Diplomat-
ic Advisor to the President
of France Emmanuel Bonne
and said he looked forward
to continuing his conversa-
tion with President
Emmanuel Macron during
his visit to Paris next week
to further strengthen strate-
gic partnership between the
two countries.
Mr Bonne briefed the
PM on the progress in var-
ious areas of bilateral coop-
eration in the context of the
PM's forthcoming visit to
France.
“PM Modi conveyed his
gratitude to President
Macron for his invitation
to participate in the Bastille
Day celebrations as Guest of
Honour on 14 July,” an offi-
cial Press note said.
Earlier, Mr Bonne held in-
depth talks with National
Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit
Doval to prepare for PM
Modi's visit to France.
Sharing details regarding
the meeting between Mr
Bonne and Mr Doval, the
French Embassy in India
tweeted: "E. Bonne, Diplo-
matic Advisor to Prez
@EmmanuelMacron, held
in-depth talks with NSA Ajit
Doval to prepare for PM
@NarendraModi's visit to
France next week. Defence,
energy, space, new tech-
nologies & more: we're work-
ing on an ambitious agen-
da for the India-France
strategic partnership!"
At the invitation of France
President Emmanuel
Macron, Prime Minister
Modi will be the Guest of
Honour on France's Nation-
al Day on 14 July.
Mr Modi has been invit-
ed by Mr Macron to attend
the Bastille Day Parade in
Paris.
PM Modi's visit will coin-
cide with the 25th anniver-
sary of the "strategic part-
nership" between France
and India.
SC Collegium recommends appointment
of chief justices for seven High Courts
SNS & AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, 6 JULY
The Supreme Court Collegium
headed by CJI D.Y. Chandra-
chud has recommended the
appointments of Chief Justices
to the High Courts of Kerala,
Orissa, Manipur, Andhra
Pradesh, Bombay, Telangana
and Gujarat.
Apart from the Chief Jus-
tice of India (CJI), the Col-
legium in the top court
includes Justices Sanjay Kis-
han Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, B.R.
Gavai and Surya Kant.
Justice Ashish J. Desai,
Acting Chief Justice of the
Gujarat High Court, has been
recommended for appoint-
ment as the Chief Justice of
the Kerala High Court. A
vacancy in the office of the
Chief Justice of the High Court
of Kerala would arise conse-
quent upon elevation of Jus-
tice S. Venkatanarayana Bhat-
ti to the Supreme Court.
Justice Subhasis Talapatra,
judge of the Orissa High Court,
First IIT campus outside India will
be set up in Tanzania’s Zanzibar
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 6 JULY
India will set up the first IIT
campus outside the country
in Tanzania’s Zanzibar.
A Memorandum of Under-
standing (MoU) for setting
up of a campus of IIT Madras
in Zanzibar was signed today
between the Ministry of Edu-
cation (MoE), IIT Madras and
Zanzibar’s Ministry of Educa-
tion and Vocational Training
in the presence of External
Affairs Minister S Jaishankar,
who is on a visit to Tanzania.
Union Minister for Educa-
tion and Skill development &
Entrepreneurship Dharmen-
dra Pradhan said the MoU sign-
ing for setting up IIT Madras’
Zanzibar campus marks a his-
toric beginning towards inter-
nationalisation of higher edu-
has been recommended for
appointment as Chief Jus-
tice of Orissa High Court. A
vacancy in the office of the
Chief Justice of the High Court
of Orissa would arise in August
2023 consequent upon retire-
ment of Dr Justice S. Muralid-
har.
The Collegium recom-
mended the name of Justice
Subhasis Talapatra, the senior-
most Judge from the
Tripura High Court,
for appointment as
Chief Justice of
the Orissa High
Court.
“He has been
functioning, on
transfer, in the
High Court of
Orissa since June 10,
2022. He has acquired
considerable experience
of dispensing justice in two
High Courts," the statement
issued by the Collegium said.
Justice Siddharth Mridul,
judge of the Delhi High Court,
has been recommended for
The academic pro-
grammes, curricula,
student selection
aspects and peda-
gogical details will be
by IIT Madras, where-
as the capital and
operating expendi-
ture will be met by
the govt of Zanzibar
cation. The document provides
the framework for the parties
to detail out the setting up of
the proposed campus of IIT
Madras in Zanzibar, with plans
to launch programmes in
October 2023.
This partnership will bring
the top-ranked educational
expertise of IITM to a prime
destination in Africa and serve
appointment as the Chief
Justice of the Manipur High
Court. The office of the Chief
Justice of the High Court of
Manipur fell vacant in Feb-
ruary 2023 upon the elevation
of Justice P. V. Sanjay Kumar
to the Supreme Court of India.
The statement of the Col-
legium noted that its earlier
recommendation for elevation
of Justice Dhiraj Singh
Thakur as the Chief
Justice of the
High Court of
Manipur has
been pend-
ing with the
govern-
ment. Now,
Justice Dhi-
raj Singh
Thakur has
been recom-
mended for
appointment as the Chief
Justice of the Andhra Pradesh
High Court.
Justice Dhiraj Singh
Thakur, a judge of the Bom-
bay High Court, has been
the needs of the region.
The academic pro-
grammes, curricula, student
selection aspects and peda-
gogical details will be by IIT
Madras, whereas the capital
and operating expenditure will
be met by the government of
Zanzibar. IIT Madras degrees
will be awarded to the students
enrolled in this campus. The
state-of-the-art interdiscipli-
nary degrees are expected to
attract a diverse student com-
munity from Tanzania and
other countries as well. Indi-
an students are also eligible
to apply to these programmes.
The setting up of the IIT cam-
pus is also expected to
enhance India’s reputation
globally and its diplomatic rela-
tionships and expand the
international footprint of IIT
Madras.
recommended for appoint-
ment as the Chief Justice of
the Andhra Pradesh High
Court. The office of the Chief
Justice of the High Court of
Andhra Pradesh fell vacant on
May 19 consequent upon the
elevation of Justice Prashant
Kumar Mishra to the Supreme
Court.
The earlier recommenda-
tion made by the Collegium
in February 2023 for elevation
of Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur
as Chief Justice of the High
Court of Manipur has been
pending with the govern-
ment and was not acted upon
by it.
Justice Devendra Kumar
Upadhyaya, a judge of the Alla-
habad High Court, has been
recommended for appoint-
ment as Chief Justice of the
Bombay High Court.
A vacancy in the office of
the Chief Justice of the High
Court of Bombay has arisen
recently consequent upon
retirement of Justice Ramesh
D. Dhanuka.
‘Was deeply disturbed, pained...’: MP
CM washes feet of urination case victim
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
BHOPAL, 6 JULY
Madhya Pradesh chief minis-
ter Shivraj Singh Chouhan on
Thursday washed the feet of a
tribal man on whose face a local
leader of the BJP had publicly
urinated in the Sidhi district of
the state and apologised to
him for the shameful incident
which had provoked massive
outrage (photo).
On the directives of the chief
minister, the Sidhi district
administration authorities
brought the victim, Dashmat
Rawat, to Mr Chouhan’s offi-
cial residence in Bhopal this
morning. Mr Chouhan sat on
the floor and then with his
hands washed Mr Rawat’s feet
and then rubbed the water on
his own forehead. He also apol-
1996 Lajpat Nagar blast: SC awards life
sentence without remission to 4 accused
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 6 JULY
The Supreme Court on Thurs-
day sentenced to life impris-
onment without remission
to four convicts in 1996 Laj-
pat Nagar blast case and said
that expeditious trial of such
cases is the need of the hour,
especially when it concerns
national security and the com-
mon man.
Sentencing the four to life
imprisonment without remis-
sion, a Bench of Justices B.R.
Gavai, Vikram Nath, and San-
jay Karol noted that Lajpat
Nagar market, a prominent
market in the heart of the
capital city, was attacked and
said, “we may point out that
it has not been dealt with the
required degree of prompti-
tude and attention.”
The top court said: “In
view of the severity of the
offence resulting in deaths of
innocent persons and the
role played by each accused
person, all these accused per-
sons are sentenced to impris-
ogized to the victim and said that
he was deeply disturbed and
pained by the inhuman incident.
The CM also ate breakfast
with Mr Rawat. He put a tilak
on the tribal man's forehead and
also garlanded him. He present-
On 21 May 1996, a
bomb blast took place
in the CentralMarket,
Lajpat Nagar, Delhi, in
the evening. This inci-
dent resulted in 13
deaths and 38 injuries
onment for life, without remis-
sion, extending to natural
life.”
Expressing concern over the
time taken in the trial of the
case and stressing on the
expeditious conclusion of
trial in such cases, the top court
said: “The record reveals it is
only on the prodding on the
part of the judiciary that the
trial could be completed after
more than a decade. The
delay, be it for whatever rea-
son, attributable to the judge
incharge or the prosecution,
has certainly compromised
national interest.”
Noting that the prosecu-
tion has proved the guilt of the
accused in the commission of
the crime, the top court said
ed Mr Rawat with a shawl and
coconut (shreefal) along with
an idol of Lord Ganesha. “You
are now my friend Sudama and
will never face any more prob-
lems,” the CM assured Mr
Rawat. Two days ago, a disturb-
that: “It is evident that Mohd.
Naushad (A3), Mirza Nissar
Hussain @ Naza (A5), Mohd.
Ali Bhatt @ Killey (A6) and Javed
Ahmed Khan @ Javed Junior
@ Chhota Javed (A9) were
part of a criminal conspiracy
to cause the blast in the cap-
ital city.”On 21 May 1996, a
bomb blast took place in the
CentralMarket, Lajpat Nagar,
Delhi, in the evening. This inci-
dent resulted in 13 deaths
and 38 injuries.
Delhi Police had named 17
people as accused in the case.
One of the accused expired and
six were declared as pro-
claimed offenders and never
faced any trial. Rest of the
accused were put on trial.
The trial court had award-
ed Mohd. Naushad, Mirza
Nissar Hussain and Mohd. Ali
Bhatt the death penalty. Javed
Ahmed Khan was sentenced
to life imprisonment One
accused Farooq Ahmed award-
ed seven-year jail, another
accused was sentenced to
imprisonment for a period
already undergone.
ing video had gone viral in
which a local BJP leader of
Sidhi district, Pravesh Shukla
(30), was seen smoking a cig-
arette and publicly urinating on
the face of the hapless Dash-
mat Rawat who was sitting on
a pavement.
The incident had caused
nation-wide outrage and severe
embarrassment to the ruling BJP,
which faced brickbats and crit-
icism from the Opposition
Congress. Taking action against
the accused Pravesh Shukla, the
police arrested him later that
night. He has been booked
under various provisions of
the IPC along with the SC/ST
Act. Mr Chouhan had direct-
ed the police and administra-
tion authorities to slap the
National Security Act too on
Shukla and demolish his house.
02
NEW DELHI, FRIDAY 07 JULY 2023
THUMBNAILS
LG approves setting up of
more MP/MLA courts to
deal with CPCR/POCSO
cases: Delhi Lieutenant Gov-
ernor V.K. Saxena has
approved the setting up of
three special courts to deal
with cases against MPs and
MLAs under the Commis-
sion for Protection of Child
Rights (CPCR) Act and the
Protection of Children
from Sexual Offences
(POCSO) Act at the Rouse
Avenue Courts Complex.
The L-G office alleged that
the proposal had been
pending with the Delhi gov-
ernment for more than
two-and-a-half years,
despite Delhi High Court’s
direction. These courts will
be in addition to the eight
courts notified already to
deal with cases relating to
trial of offences against
children, violation of child
rights and offences under
the POCSO Act. The propos-
al to this effect, seeking L-
G’s approval for the cre-
ation of these designated
courts under Section 25 of
the CPCR Act and Section
28 of the POCSO Act, was
moved by the Women and
Child Development Depart-
ment after vetting by the
Law Department.
Under construction building collapses, 5 feared trapped DU announces 3 new B.Tech courses
SNS & AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, 6 JULY
At least four to five people are
feared to be buried under the
debris of an under construc-
tion building, which collapsed
in South Delhi’s Dakshinpuri
area on Thursday, a fire depart-
ment official said, adding that
rescue operation is under-
way. According to Atul Garg,
the Director of Delhi Fire Ser-
vice (DFS), a call regarding a
building collapsed near the
Nanki Public School in Dak-
shinpuri was received at 5 p.m.
after which five fire tenders
were rushed to the spot.
“The lintel of the fourth floor
CM inaugurates Delhi Robotics League Rain lashes parts of Delhi-NCR; more showers likely
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 6 JULY
Chief Minister Arvind Kejri-
wal on Thursday inaugurat-
ed the Delhi Robotics League
(DRL) and HE21 Exhibition at
Thyagaraj Stadium.
A total of 68 teams from 38
schools are participating in the
two-day Delhi Robotics
League. Students presented
models on the 'Robo-Kan-
cha' theme, 90 students from
seven HE-21 schools pre-
sented 26 projects in the exhi-
bition.
The league is India’s first
statewide robotics competi-
tion conceived to enhance
skills and competencies among
school students.
Speaking at the inaugura-
tion, Kejriwal congratulated
all the participants who were
taking part in the league. Prior
to his address, he also went
around and visited the stalls
that had been set up by the
students. He said that it is per-
haps the first time in India that
a robotics competition has
been held at the school-level
and today it is being con-
ducted at the state-level.
"A high end competition
Delhi region FCI organises awareness programme for school students
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 6 JULY
The Food Corporation of
India (FCI), Delhi Region,
organised an awareness pro-
gramme for school students
on Thursday where students
were explained about the
role of the Corporation and
how it is serving the country
by providing food security to
the nation.
The FCI, Delhi Region,
organised the programme at
its office situated at Mayapuri
under the aegis of Shraddha
Sharma, General Manager
(R), and Sanjay Sharma,
Deputy General Manager (R).
Shraddha and Sanjay inter-
Delhi sees 15% rise
in Q1 GST collection
‘If the intentions are right, the govts will never face any shortage of funds’
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 6 JULY
he Delhi government
T
has achieved a record
increase of 15 per cent
in GST collection. As
compared to the GST collection
of Rs 6985.05 crore in the first
quarter of the fiscal year 2022-
23, this time Delhi has collect-
ed Rs 8028.91 crore in the first
quarter of this fiscal year.
Lauding this achievement,
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriw-
al tweeted, "Govts often say
that they don’t have money for
making good schools and hos-
pitals. But our Govt in Delhi has
shown that honest governance
leads to increased revenue.
Delhi’sfirstquarterGSTcollection
has increased at an impressive
15 per cent from last year. This
is how we will have money to
build more schools, more hos-
pitals, more infrastructure for
the people of Delhi."
Sharing this information
through a press conference on
Thursday, Delhi Finance Min-
ister Atishi said, "The Kejriwal
government has set an exam-
ple of honesty for the entire coun-
try. With the record growth in
GST collection, we have proven
that if the intentions are right,
the governments will never
face any shortage of funds." She
mentioned that in the govern-
ment led by CM Arvind Kejri-
wal in Delhi, the budget has been
‘The lintel of the
fourth floor of an
under construction
building collapsed. 4 to
4 persons are buried
under the debris’
of an under construction
building collapsed. Four to five
persons are buried under the
debris,” said Garg.
Meanwhile, the police said
that a PCR call was received
at 4.24 p.m. at the Ambedkar
Nagar police station inform-
ing about the incident. Present-
ly, a joint rescue operation is
being conducted by DFS staff
and police teams.
like this has not been held any-
where in India before. Today
there are government schools
as well as private schools who
are participating in this com-
petition. But the maximum
number of students partici-
pating in it is from SoSE. We
can say that the level of edu-
cation in the government
schools of Delhi is much
above that in other states," the
chief minister said.
Kejriwal pointed out that
the students in the exhibition
have tried to find solutions to
real-world problems and this
is the best aspect of such an
initiative. He gave an exam-
ple from his personal life that
made him realise how our edu-
cation in the past was dis-
acted with students of Mahat-
ma Jyotiba Phule Canton-
ment Board Senior Secondary
School, Delhi Cantt, during
the programme.
Shraddha explained to the
students about the FCI and
its work. She also described
how the FCI is serving the
country by providing food
security to the nation and exe-
cuting various government
schemes (i.e., NFSA, PMGKAY,
PM-POSHAN, ICDS, OMSS
(D), etc.) in the public inter-
est.
To strengthen the provi-
sions of NFSA in terms of
accessibility, affordability,
and availability of entitled food
grains for the poor and to
increased consistently for the
past 8 years without imposing
any new taxes on the public. The
economy and budget growth
of Delhi has made it clear that
if the government is honest, the
funds in the government trea-
sury will increase. Therefore, for
those governments who claim
to have a shortage of funds, the
Kejriwal government is an
example that an honest gov-
ernment not only increases its
revenue but also provides good
schools, Mohalla clinics, and
quality hospitals to the people
of Delhi.
Atishi added that often when
it comes to the discussion of good
schools and hospitals, public
infrastructure, governments
claim that they cannot build
them due to a lack of funds. How-
ever, in the past 8 years, the gov-
ernment led by CM Shri Arvind
Kejriwal in Delhi has shown that
if the intentions are right, gov-
connected from real-world
problems.
Delhi Education Minister
Atishi was also present at the
event.
The theme of DRL 2023 is
"Robo Kancha". Most people
in the city would have played
"Kancha", a traditional game,
mostly played by children
but cherished by people of all
ages. The initiative has been
taken to facilitate the devel-
opment of a collaborative
mindset in students. The aim
is to enable students to learn
problem-solving by concep-
tualising game solutions,
designing and building robots,
testing, debugging, and ulti-
mately creating a winning
strategy.
ensure effective and uniform
implementation of the NFSA
Act 2013, the Union govern-
ment has decided to provide
free of cost food grains (rice,
wheat, and coarse grain)
In Delhi, where the green cover was 20 per cent in 2013,
due to the efforts of the Kejriwal government, it has
increased to 23.06 per cent in 2021 ...
ernments will never face a
shortage of funds. The fact that
governments claim to lack
funds is an indicator that some-
thing fishy is going on. The
money that should have gone
into the government treasury
is ending up in someone else's
pocket.
She said, "Since the gov-
ernment of CM Arvind Kejriwal
came into power in Delhi, the
budget of the Delhi government
has consistently increased. In
the year 2014-15, Delhi's total
budget was Rs 30,000 crore.
Within just 5 years, without
imposing any new taxes, the gov-
ernment doubled this budget
to Rs 60,000 crore in 2020. Fur-
thermore, this year, the budget
of Delhi has increased to Rs
75,000 crore. It is evident from
this that if the government is
honest, there will be no short-
age of funds in any government.
This trend can also be seen in
SNS & AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, 6 JULY
Heavy rain lashed several parts
of the Delhi-National Capital
Region on Thursday morning,
with the India Meteorological
Department (IMD) predicting
light to moderate rains accom-
panied by gusty winds over the
next few hours.
As per the weather bulletin,
a thunderstorm with light to
moderate intensity rain and
gusty winds with speeds of 30-
40 Km/h would occur over and
adjoining areas of many places
of Delhi including Narela,
Bawana, Alipur, Burari, Rohi-
ni, Badili, Model Town, Karaw-
al Nagar, Azadpur, Pitampu-
ra, Delhi University, Civil
Lines, Dilshad Garden, Seema-
puri, Punjabi Bagh, Kashmiri
Gate, Seelampur, Shahadra,
Vivek Vihar, Patel Nagar, Red
fort, Preet Vihar, President
House, Rajeev Chowk, ITO),
NCR( Loni Dehat, Hindon
AF Station, Ghaziabad, Indi-
rapuram, Chhapraula, Noida,
Dadri) Sonipat, Kharkhoda
(Haryana) Baraut, Bagpat,
Meerut, Khekra, Modinagar,
Kithor, Pilakhua, Hapur
(UP).https://twitter.com/i/sta-
under PMGKAY to NFSA ben-
eficiaries with effect from
January 1 this year, said
Shradhha.
She explained how the
introduction of Fortified Rice
Delhi's GST collection." She
mentioned that Delhi is a state
where GST collection has con-
sistently increased. Looking at
the figures of GST, in the first
quarter when GST was intro-
duced in 2018-19, the GST col-
lection was Rs 4,419.71 crore.
It increased to Rs 4,668.23 crore
in 2019-20. Due to the lockdown
in the first quarter of 2020-21,
businesses were closed, and the
collection dropped to Rs 2,474.78
crore. However, as soon as the
lockdown was lifted, the GST
collection increased, and in
the first quarter of 2021-22, it
reached Rs 4,014.98 crore. In the
previous year (2022-23), the
GST collection in the first quar-
ter was Rs 6,985.05 crore.
"I am pleased to inform you
that in the current fiscal year
2023-24, the GST collection in
the first quarter has increased
by 15 per cent and reached Rs
8,028.91 crore," she said.
Atishi said, "If we look at the
economy and budget growth,
one thing becomes clear, if the
government is honest, funds in
the government treasury
increase. Therefore, for those
governments who claim that
they don't have money, CM
Arvind Kejriwal presents an
example that an honest gov-
ernment not only increases its
revenue but also provides good
schools, Mohalla clinics, and
quality hospitals to the people
of Delhi."
SNS & AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, 6 JULY
The University of Delhi has
announced the opening of
registration process for admis-
sions to its Bachelor of Tech-
nology (B.Tech) programmes
for the academic session 2023-
24. From this session DU is
introducing three newly
designed B.Tech courses.
The three B.Tech pro-
grammes offered by DU are
Computer Science and Engi-
neering, Electronics and Com-
munication Engineering, and
Electrical Engineering.
All three courses will be con-
ducted by the Faculty of Tech-
Delhi’ites experience rain on Thursday.
tus/1676763453783179264
It further stated that light
to moderate intensity rain
would occur over and adjoin-
ing areas of Gannaur (Haryana)
Gangoh, Deoband, Nazibabad,
(FR) has helped in increasing
the nutritional quotient of the
country as FR has micronu-
trients like iron, folic acid, vit-
amin B12, etc. and also helps
in fighting the hidden hunger
GOPAL RAI
DELHI ENVIRONMENT MINISTER
Excise case: Court directs to produce
Manish Sisodia physically for hearing
SNS & AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, 6 JULY
Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court on
Thursday directed Delhi police
to produce former Deputy CM
Manish Sisodia physically from
the next date of hearing in an
alleged excise policy case.
Special judge M K Nagpal
passed the direction while dis-
posing of the application of Delhi
police seeking production of
Manish Sisodia through video
conferencing for hearing. Delhi
police had stated the security
concern in producing him
physically in the courtroom.
"Now accused Manish Siso-
dia will be produced physical-
ly before the court," the judge
ordered, directing that no pub-
lic persons or Aam Aadmi Party
(AAP) supporters be allowed in
the courtroom. Media persons
are also directed to maintain a
safe distance from the accused,
the court said. In case of any vio-
lations of this direction lock-up
inchargeshallbringittothenotice
of the court, the judge directed.
During the CBI case hear-
ing was produced through
video conferencing. Sisodia
also told the court that he has
no issue with video confer-
encing but he wished to be pro-
duced physically.
The court asked the coun-
sel appearing for Sisodia, "What
is the difficulty for police to pro-
duce Sisodia physically in the
court."
Court asked who will be
responsible if any untoward inci-
dent happens, the Judge asked.
Advocate Vivek Jain, Counsel
for Sisodia said, "It is the duty
of the police to protect him.
nology. The DU administra-
tion said that for admission to
these courses, the Universi-
ty will consider the All India
Common Rank List (CRL) of
the Joint Entrance Examina-
tion (JEE Main) - 2023.
According to the registrar
of the Delhi University, the
desirous candidates must
apply on the official portal of
the university. The registration
process started on Wednes-
Shamli, Muzaffarnagar,
Kandhla, Bijnaur, Khatauli,
Sakoti Tanda, Hastinapur,
Chandpur, Daurala, Amroha,
Moradabad, Garhmuktesh-
war, Rampur, Gulaoti, Siyana,
of the nation.
She said the role of the FCI
has become more important
as "we are celebrating 2023
as the International Year of
Millets".
The Government of India
had proposed to the United
Nations (UN) that 2023 be
declared the International
Year of Millets (IYOM).
The proposal of India was
supported by 72 countries, and
the United Nations General
Assembly (UNGA) declared
2023 as the IYOM. Most of the
millets are native to India
and are popularly known as
nutri-cereals, as they pro-
vide most of the nutrients
required for normal func-
There is only a distance of ten
meters and 25 police person-
nel are there. He has been
brought from a distance of 15
kilometers. What is the secu-
rity concern in producing him
physically in the courtroom."
"What prejudice is being caused
if he is produced through video
conferencing?" the court added.
Video conferencing is as
good as physical production,
the judge added.
After hearing the submission
of the counsel and interacting
with Sisodia the judges, "I will
not allow the meeting with
party workers in the court-
room. From the next date you
will be produced physically in
the courtroom."
Manish Sisodia is to be pro-
duced physically in the court
from the next date, the judge
ordered. Delhi police had
moved an application seeking
production of Manish Sisodia
through video conferencing
stating security concerns.
The court noted that an
application was moved citing
some incidents of first June 2023
when the production of the said
accused in ED case, some alle-
day. The registration process
for the B.Tech programme
will close on July 25 at 11:59
p.m.
During the registration
process, candidates are
required to pay a one-time
non-refundable registration-
cum-allocation fee.
According to the universi-
ty, all the candidates will have
to pay the fee for the regis-
tration. The fee for candi-
dates belonging to unreserved
OBC-NCL and EWS is Rs 1,500
and Rs 1200 for SC/ST/PwBD
candidates.
For registering, the candi-
dates must provide their JEE
(Main)-2023 application num-
SUBRATA DUTTA
Sambhal, Billari, Milak, Sikan-
drabad, Chandausi, Buland-
shahar, Jahangirabad, Anup-
shahar, Bahajoi, Bareilly,
Shikarpur, Pahasu, Debai,
Narora (UP).
tioning of the human body.
Millets are gluten-free,
highly nutritious, and rich in
dietary fibre, making them
easy for the body to absorb.
Rich in micronutrients (Cal-
cium, Iron, and phospho-
rus).
All millets show high
antioxidant activity, and some
of the millets are associated
with the prevention of dia-
betes. She also emphasised
the usefulness of the OMSS
(D) scheme currently going
on in the Delhi region for price
stabilisation.
At the programme, Sanjay
explained to the students the
different operations of the FCI,
such as the procurement of
gations of mand handling of
accused by security personnel
were raised.
On that day some support-
ers and media persons were pre-
sent there. Police said that
they tried to be too close to the
accused, the court noted.
Counsel for Sisodia said
that he has a right to be pro-
duced physically for an effec-
tive hearing. The rights of the
accused to be produced in
court should not be curtailed.
This case has been fixed for
July 31. The Court also direct-
ed CBI to supply copies of the
main charge sheet to the accused
who are named in the supple-
mentary charge sheet and
copies of the supplementary
charge sheet along with docu-
ments to the accused who were
named in the main charge
sheet and have not received the
same. The court also directed
the agency to supply copies of
legible documents to the
accused. On the Court on May
27 took cognizance of the sup-
plementary charge sheet filed
against former Deputy CM
Manish Sisodia and 3 others in
the Delhi Excise policy case.
ber, name (as it appears in JEE
(Main)-2023) and date of birth.
Upon successful registration,
candidates will login to their
dashboard to submit person-
al details, academic details, and
programme preferences. The
allocation of seats will be based
on the submitted preference
order. The administration
informed that there are 120 seats
in each B.Tech programme.
The University of Delhi
said that for further details relat-
ed to admission policies, can-
didates must refer to the bul-
letin of information, B.Tech
2023-24 published on the
admission website of the Uni-
versity (admission.uod.ac.in).
Van Mahotsav
to commence
from July 9
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 6 JULY
Delhi Environment Minister
Gopal Rai on Thursday informed
that 'Van Mahotsav' will com-
mence in Delhi from July 9 at
the Indian Agricultural Research
Institute (IARI) in Pusa to pro-
mote tree plantation in the
city.
This decision was taken in
a meeting which was chaired
by the Delhi Environment Min-
ister Gopal Rai.
Rai chaired the meeting
with officials of the Forest
Department at the Delhi Sec-
retariat to boost tree plantation
in the National Capital.
The Delhi Environment
Minister said, "In Delhi, where
the green cover was 20 per cent
in 2013, due to the efforts of the
Kejriwal government, it has
increased to 23.06 per cent in
2021. Additionally, in terms of
forest cover in cities, Delhi has
become the number one city in
the entire country." During this
programme, members of the
RWAs (Resident Welfare Asso-
ciations) and Eco Clubs in Delhi
will also be present.
food grains from farmers at
MSP, the storage of the food
grains, the movement of the
food grains, and their distri-
bution. He also spoke about
the introduction and imple-
mentation of technologies
such as DOS, HRMS, FAP, E-
Office, etc. in the daily oper-
ations of the FCI.
Students also interacted
with the dignitaries during the
programme. After that, they
visited the FSD Mayapuri
and saw the various opera-
tions of the FCI. Other offi-
cers, Guruprasad Pasupuleti,
DM (Mayapuri), Kamna Gyan,
DM (Shaktinagar), and PK
Negi, AGM (Sales), were also
present at the programme.
 03
Maharashtra situation will not happen in
Himachal Pradesh...
VIKRAMADITYA SINGH
HIMACHAL PUBLIC WORKS AND SPORTS MINISTER NEW DELHI, FRIDAY 07 JULY 2023

SAD forms sub-committee to take views on UCC

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE part of a systematic attack which the voice of the fourth practice free and fair journalism
CHANDIGARH, 6 JULY on the unique identity of the pillar of democracy was being or else the SAD would be con-
Khalsa panth. throttled in the State. strained to boycott them,”
he Shiromani Akali The meeting also rejected It also noted that some the SAD said.

T Dal (SAD) on Thurs-

day formed a sub-
committee to take all
views on the proposed uniform
civil code (UCC) into consid-
eration and prepare a case for
submission to the Law Com-
mission.
A decision to this effect was
taken at a meeting of the
party’s constituency in-
charges’ and district presidents
which was presided over by
SAD president Sukhbir Singh
Badal.
The four-member sub-
committee comprises Prof
Prem Singh Chandumajra,
Maheshinder Singh Grewal,
Sikandar Singh Maluka and Dr
Daljit Singh Cheema. The
committee has been tasked to
hold talks with constitution-
al experts, intellectuals and Sikh
community leaders.
Meanwhile, the meeting
also passed a resolution con-
demning Chief Minister Bhag-
want Mann for humiliating and
ridiculing a Gursikhs beard in
Assembly which it asserted was
the Sikh Gurdwara (Amend-
ment) Bill, 2023 while assert-
ing that it was a direct inter-
ference in Sikh religious affairs.
It termed the amendment
made in the Bill as illegal and
unconstitutional and warned
the government not to inflame
the passions of the commu-
nity by such transgressions.
The meeting also took note
of the manner in which the
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was
browbeating the media and
condemned the manner in
media houses had however
willingly sold themselves to the
AAP government in exchange
for crores of rupees in adver-
tisements. “Such media hous-
es are doing a great disservice
to the pious profession of
journalism as well as disre-
specting Punjab and Pun-
jabis”. Stating that enough
was enough, the party said
“channels and newspapers
that have become propagan-
da tools of Bhagwant Mann
should reform their ways and
The SAD president also
unveiled a mass contact pro-
gramme under which all halqa
incharges will visit all villages
in their constituencies. Badal
said “The AAP government has
betrayed all sections of soci-
ety. It is our duty to reach out
to the people and assure them
that we will fight for their
rights and force this corrupt
government and puppet chief
minister Bhagwant Mann to
implement all promises made
to them”.

Land for houseless scheme: J&K

Oppn raises issue of demography
SP SHARMA
JAMMU, 6 JULY
The decision of the government
to allot five marlas (126 sq
metres) of land to each of the
landless in Jammu and Kash-
mir has triggered a controver-
sy with Opposition parties call-
ing it a move to alter the demog-
raphy of the Union territory (UT).
The administrative council
headed by Lieutenant Gover-
nor Manoj Sinha had earlier this
week announced the scheme
of land to the landless.
Former chief ministers,
Omar Abdullah and Mehboo-
ba Mufti, have cast doubts on
the move. Peoples’ Confer-
ence chief Sajad Lone, who was
a BJP nominee in the PDP-BJP
Ministry, has also raised ques-
tions on the scheme.
Omar Abdullah asked LG
Manoj Sinha to first make it clear
who are the homeless and how
they are being categorised. Are
those being counted homeless
came here just a week ago? The
government should also not
include those in this category
who came here after abroga-
tion of Article370 in August
2019. Only those should be
included in the list of benefi-
ciaries who settled here before
2019, he added.
Lone tweeted; "Now that
questions are being raised. It
will be prudent for the state
administration to make it clear
whether providing land to the
landless and homeless, com-
prises only the erstwhile domi-
cile holders pre 5 August 2019.
Per se if lists have been framed
prior to 2019, as asserted by the
rural development depart-
ment, the list will not comprise
any newcomers. Clarification
is a must". Mehbooba Mufti,
who was earlier chief minister
with the support of BJP, alleged
that the BJP government was
planning to settle 10 lakh
migrants in J&K as its vote
bank.
The PDP chief said that J&K
is a green belt but the govern-
ment is pushing policies to
“convert it into a slum”. “Instead
of striving to improve the lives
of citizens of J&K and getting
investment, the government is
importing poverty and slums
into Jammu and Kashmir. We
will not allow this to happen,”
she told media-persons in Sri-
nagar.
The UT administration has
described the opposition's
claim as "factually incorrect".
BJP National General Sec-
retary Tarun Chugh on Thurs-
day came down heavily on
Mehbooba Mufti over her
remarks on the move of land
allotment to the homeless in
J&K which, he said, were signs
of panic and frustration.
Chugh said the J&K admin-
istration has decided to provide
relief to homeless people by giv-
ing them 5 marla land each but
Mehbooba Mufti was playing
her "cheap politics" on it.
Instead of appreciating the
initiative of the J&K adminis-
tration she is spreading fear and
uncertainty among the poor and
homeless people of the Union
territory.
He alleged "Muftis and
Abdullahs have never worked
for the poor in J&K and have
always taken directions from
the Pakistan ISI to keep J&K
under-developed and pover-
ty-stricken".
Chugh praised the efforts of
PM Narendra Modi for rolling
out people-friendly schemesthat
have brought reformation in the
country.
Reacting to the allegations
of Mehbooba Mufti, the UT
administration issued a state-
ment saying that the PMAY
(Grameen) phase -1 started
on 1 April 2016 by Ministry of
Rural Development, Govern-
ment of India, under the over-
all commitment of Prime Min-
ister for “Housing for all by 2022”
inwhich2,57,349houselesscases
were identified in J&K in SECC
data 2011 and after due verifi-
cation by Gram sabhas, 136152
cases were sanctioned for J&K,
Per unit assistance of 1.30
lakhs is provided per house by
Govt of India under the scheme.
The minimum size of the house
prescribed is 1 marla.
The government conduct-
ed Awaas+ survey during Jan-
uary, 2018 to March, 2019 to
identify those beneficiaries
which claimed to have been left
out under the 2011 SECC. The
data of beneficiaries captured
through Awaas+ was utilized to
fill the gaps between overall tar-
get and eligible beneficiaries
made available from SECC
Permanent Wait List (PWL)
PMAY PHASE-II(AWAS Plus)
Grameen started from 2019
onwards based on survey of
2018-19, (done pan India), in
which 2.65 Lakhs houseless
cases were recorded in J&K and
only target of 63426 houses was
given to J&K. These houses
have been sanctioned in 2022
only. This phase of the scheme
is getting over on 31.3.24
Based on good performance
of J&K in sanction and com-
pletion of houses, on 30th
May2023, 199550 more PMAY
AWAS PLUS houses have been
sanctioned as a special dis-
pensation, in order to ensure
housing for all for all 2.65 lakh
houseless persons, who were
part of PWL2019.
Survey is based on clear
guidelines on the basis of the
prescribed criteria.
Based on the field level sur-
vey, 2711 cases were identified
who don’t have a clear title of
land. As the government can-
not sanction the house to
someone who doesn’t have
land, therefore in order to
ensure housing for all, the gov-
ernment has taken a policy deci-
sion to allot 5 marlas of land to
these 2711 cases so that they
can get houses.
Therefore the statement of
Mehbooba Mufti that govern-
ment is allotting land to 2 lakh
odd persons is factually incor-
rect and all statements made
by her are without having any
understanding of the PMAY
scheme, the official statement
added.

Himachal CM greets Dalai

Lama on his 88th birthday
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE honoured the spiritual leader
SHIMLA, 6 JULY on the occasion.
Sukhu said that the peo-
Himachal Pradesh Chief Min- ple of the Tibetan community
ister, Thakur and Himachal
Sukhvinder Singh Pradesh have a
Sukhu extended deep-rooted rela-
warm greetings to tionship, spanning
the Tibetan spiri- a remarkable 75
tual leader, the years. He high-
Dalai Lama, on the lighted the har-
occasion of his 88th monious co-exis-
birthday and par- tence between the
ticipated in the celebrations two communities and assured
held at Dalai Lama's temple that the State Government
McLeodganj in Dharamsha- would extend a helping hand
la on Thursday. towards the welfare of the
The chief minister also Tibetan community.
04
THUMBNAILS
Kanwariyas wait at Patna
railway station to board
the train for their pilgrim-
age during the Sawan
month, in Patna on
Thursday. � ANI
Working woman can't stake
claim for heavy compensa-
tion from husband: In a
major decision, the Karnata-
ka High Court has ruled that
when a married woman is
capable of working, she can-
not expect heavy compensa-
tion from her husband.
LEGAL NOTICES
PROCLAMATION REQUIRING
ATTENDANCE OF
DEFENDANT
(Order 5, Rule 20 of the
Code of Civil Procedure)
IN THE COURT OF
Sh. Sanjeev Aggarwal,
District Judge (Commer-
cial)-03, South, Room No. 17,
3rd Floor, Block-I, Saket
Court Complex, New Delhi
Suit No. :
CS (Comm.)250/2019
WRANGLER APPAREL CORP.
-Plaintiff
Vs
ASHOK KUMAR
-Defendant
To,
AKASH
BUILDING NO. 5419-21, THIRD
FLOOR, RIGHT SIDE, ARYA
SAMAJ ROAD, REGHAR PURA,
OPP. ICICI BANK KAROL BAGH,
NEW DELHI-110005.
-Defendant No.1
RAJESH KUMAR
BUILDING NO. 5419-21,
FOURTH FLOOR, RIGHT SIDE,
ARYA SAMAJ ROAD, REGHAR
PURA, OPP. ICICI BANK KAROL
BAGH, NEW DELHI-110005.
-Defendant No. 3
WHEREAS you are inten-
tionally evading service of
summons issued by this court
and it is hereby notified that
if you shall not defend the
case on the 09-08-2023 the
day fixed for file a written
statement within 30 days and
appear in this court, it will
be heard and determined
ex-parte.
Given under my hand
and the seal of the Court this
23-05-2023
District Judge (Commer-
cial)-03, South, Block-I,
Saket Court Complex,
New Delhi
Seal of the Court
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
SUIT NO :
CS/COMM/907/2022.
M/S REACH INTERNATIONAL
-Plaintiff
Vs
ZAMIL AIR CONDITIONERS
INDIA PVT. LTD.
-Defendant
To,
ZAMIL AIR CONDITIONERS
INDIA PVT. LTD.
AT H-9, FIRST FLOOR, BLOCK-
B1, MOHAN CO-OPERATIVE
INDUSTRIAL ESTATE MATHU-
RA ROAD, NEW DELHI-110044
ALSO AT : ROOM NO.
310/311, 3RD FLOOR, JANPATH
TOWERS, UNIT-II BAPUJI
NAGAR, BHUBANESHWAR-
751001
ALSO AT : VILLAGE DADHI
KANIAN ADJOINING HP CEN-
TRE, TEHSIL- NALAGARH, DIS-
TRICT-SOLAN, HIMACHAL
PRADESH- 174101
WHEREAS you are inten-
tionally evading service of
summons it is hereby noti-
fied that if you shall not
defend the case on the 07th
day of August 2023 the day
fixed for the final disposal,
it will be heard and deter-
mined ex-parte.
Given under my hand and
the seal of the Court, this
01st day of July, 2023.
Ld. District Judge (Com-
mercial Court-01), South-
East District, Saket Courts,
New Delhi
Seal of the Court
KOLKATA
Statesman House,
4, Chowringhee Square
Kolkata-700 001
M- 7980388433, 9830045650
Email:
Delhistatesman@gmailcom
statesmandisplay@gmail.com
thestatesmanclassified@gmail.com
DELHI
Statesman House,
148, Barakhamba Road,
New Delhi-110 001
Tel: (011) 2331 5911, 43043793
Delhistatesman@gmailcom
Hiten Rathore
hiten.statesman@gmail.com
Mob: 9212192123
BHUBANESWAR
Plot 3A, Zone B, Sector A,
Mancheswar Industrial Estate,
Bhubaneswar-751010.
M- 09438838880
AIR-SURCHARGE; Kathmandu - Re. 2, Eastern Region - Re. 1
NEW DELHI, FRIDAY 07 JULY 2023
Cong challenges new BJP
chief to expose BRS graft
Congress Telangana chief made serious allegations of corruption & irregularities in land records
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
HYDERABAD, 6 JULY
elangana Congress
T
chief A Revanth Reddy
has thrown a chal-
lenge to the BJP gov-
ernment at the Centre to
investigate the investors
behind Dharani portal con-
taining digital land records and
asked the newly appointed Saf-
fron party chief in the state G
Kishan Reddy to take initia-
tive in this matter.
Mr Reddy made serious
allegations of corruption,
irregularities in land records
as well as foreign involve-
ment and announced that
(U/o 5 Rule 20 CPC)
IN THE COURT OF
Shri Sunil Kumar-V,
Judge (Junior Division),
Gurugram
CNR No. :
HRGR02-005936-2022
Next Date : 18-07-2023
CS/5850/2022
USHA VISHWANATH SHARMA
Vs
GENERAL PUBLIC
PUBLICATION ISSUED TO :
GENERAL PUBLIC : GGM, HR
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 coun-
sel on 18-07-2023 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 06-07-
2023
Seal of the Court
PROCLAMATION REQUIRING
ATTENDANCE OF
DEFENDANT
(Order 5, Rule 20 of the
Code of Civil Procedure)
IN THE COURT OF
Ms. Nivedita Anil Sharma,
Principal Judge (North),
Family Courts, Rohini,
New Delhi
Case No. M. Crl. 44/2019
PRIYA SHARMA
Vs
AMIT SHARMA
To
Mr. Amit Sharma
S/o Sh. Sudesh Chandra
Sharma, R/o 74-A, Baba
Makhan Shah, Lubana Nagar,
Jalandhar, Punjab
WHEREAS you are inten-
tionally evading service of
summons it is hereby noti-
fied that it you shall not
defend the case on the
17 day of August, 2023 the
day fixed for the final dis-
posal, it will he heard and
determined ex-parte.
Given under my hand and
the seal of the court, this 04th
day of July, 2023.
Principal Judge (North),
Family Courts, Rohini,
New Delhi
Seal of the Court
IN THE HIGH COURT OF
DELHI AT NEW DELHI
Notice under Order V Rule
20 of Code of Civil
Procedure)
Case No. LAA 6/2019 &
C.M. 5642/2023 & 14393/2022
Appeal against the
Judgment/Decree dated
17-07-2018
In LAC Ref. 11A/12
(New No. 26/16)
Passed by Sh. Sanjay
Kumar, ADJ-02, (West Dis-
trict), Tis Hazari, Delhi
KARAN SINGH
-Appellant
Versus
UNION OF INDIA & ORS.
-Respondent
Notice to : Respondent No.
3:
Sh. Yash Pal Jindal
S/o Sh. Om Prakash Jindal,
R/o C-7, 143, Sector-08, Rohini,
Delhi
Whereas the above noted
appellant has presented an
appeal u/s 54 of Land Acqui-
sition Act, 1894 alongwith the
above mentioned applica-
tions, which are listed before
the Court on 25-01-2019 & on
the other subsequent dates,
the Court ordered issuance of
notice to you.
And whereas it has been
proved to the satisfaction of
the court that you cannot be
served in the ordinary manner,
notice by way of Publication
to you is hereby issued. If
you wish to defend the above
mentioned appeal and the
statesmanbbsr@gmail.com
Delhistatesman@gmailcom
SILIGURI
Spencer Plaza, 18/19, 1st
Floor
Burdwan Road
Above Vishal Mega Mart
Siliguri-734005, West Bengal
Ph.: 9832082429
sil_statesman@yahoo.co.in
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HYDERABAD
The Statesman Limited,
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Mob: 9866323009, 9212192123
Email:
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hyderabad@thestatesmangroup.com
BANGALORE
No. 68, First Floor, Gold Tower,
50 Residency Road, Bangalore-
All other stations in India - Re. 1
he will release evidence to sup-
port his allegations through
“Dharani Files.”
The PCC chief further
applications, you may cause
an appearance to be entered
on your behalf, either in per-
son or through an Advocate,
duly appointed by you for the
purpose before the Court of
Registrar (Appellate) on 12-07-
2023 (Actual) at 11:00 am.
If no appearance is made on
your behalf, by yourself, your
pleader or someone by law
authorized to act for you in the
said appeal & applications
on the aforementioned date,
no further notice of the
subsequent date of hearing of
the said appeal & applica-
tions will be given and the
same will be heard and deter-
mined ex-parte in your
absence.
Given under my hand and
the seal of this Court, this
the 5th day of April, 2023.
DEPUTY REGISTRAR
(APPLT.)
FOR REGISTRAR GENERAL
Seal of the Court
PROCLAMATION REQUIRING
ATTENDANCE OF
DEFENDANT
(Order 5, Rule 20 of the
Code of Civil Procedure)
IN THE COURT OF
Ms. Nivedita Anil Sharma,
Principal Judge (North),
Family Courts, Rohini,
New Delhi
Case No. : HMA 101/2022
PRIYA SHARMA
Vs
AMIT SHARMA
To
Mr. Amit Sharma
S/o Sh. Sudesh Chandra
Sharma, R/o 74-A, Baba
Makhan Shah, Lubana Nagar,
Jalandhar, Punjab
WHEREAS you are inten-
tionally evading service of
summons it is hereby noti-
fied that it you shall not
defend the case on the 17th
day of August, 2023 the day
fixed for the final disposal,
it will he heard and deter-
mined ex-parte.
Given under my hand and
the seal of the court, this 04th
day of July, 2023.
Principal Judge (North),
Family Courts, Rohini,
New Delhi
Seal of the Court
PROCLAMATION REQUIRING
ATTENDANCE OF
DEFENDANT
(Order 5, Rule 20 of the
Code of Civil Procedure)
IN THE COURT OF
Ms. Nivedita Anil Sharma,
Principal Judge (North),
Family Courts, Rohini,
New Delhi
Case No. Contempt Petition
29/2019
PRIYA SHARMA
Vs
AMIT SHARMA
To
Mr. Amit Sharma
S/o Sh. Sudesh Chandra
Sharma, R/o 74-A, Baba
Makhan Shah, Lubana Nagar,
Jalandhar, Punjab
WHEREAS you are inten-
tionally evading service of
summons it is hereby noti-
fied that it you shall not
defend the case on the 17th
day of August, 2023 the day
fixed for the final disposal,
it will he heard and deter-
mined ex-parte.
Given under my hand and
the seal of the court, this 04th
day of July, 2023.
Principal Judge (North),
Family Courts, Rohini,
New Delhi
Seal of the Court
Actual Dated : 18-07-2023
IN THE HIGH COURT OF
DELHI AT NEW DELHI
Notice Under Order V Rule
20 Code of Civil Procedure
Case No. Crl. Rev. P. No.
509/2019 &
CrI.M.A. 5040/2023
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:
delhistatesman@gmail.com
mumbai@thestatesmangroup.com
LUCKNOW
2/2, Butler Palace (Near Jopling
Road), Lucknow-226 001,
M-9212192123 Email:
delhistatesman@gmail.com
RANCHI
11/C, Road#1, Ashoknagar,
Ranchi - 834 002
M-9212192123 Email:
delhistatesman@gmail.com
ranchi@thestatesmangroup.com
alleged that the entire digital
land records of Telangana
was being controlled by Gade
Sridhar Raju, a friend of indus-
Complaint No. : 626626/2016
Passed by
Sh. Harun Pratap, MM-04
South-East District, Saket
Courts, New Delhi
SATI BHATTACHARYA
-Petitioner
Versus
ASHOK BISWAL & ORS.
-Respondents
Notice To : Resp. No. 2 :
Smt. Nirjharini Biswal W/o
Shri Ashok Biswal, R/o E-72-A,
Ground Floor, Gangotri
Enclave, Alaknanda, New
Delhi-110019.
Whereas the above noted
petitioner has presented an
Petition Under Section 401 of
Cr.P.C. 1973 which was list-
ed before the Court on 09-
05-2023 and the Court ordered
issuance of notice to you to
show cause why the petition
be not admitted and Notice of
the petition was also ordered
to be issued to you. And
whereas it has been proved to
the satisfaction of the Court
that you cannot be served
on the ordinary manner.
Notice is hereby issued that if
you wish to defend the above
mentioned petition & appli-
cation you may cause an
appearance to be entered on
your behalf either in person or
through an advocate duly
appointed by you for the
purpose before the Court on
18-07-2023.
If no appearance is made on
your behalf, by yourself, your
pleader or someone by law
authorized to act for you in the
said petition & application
on the aforementioned date,
no further notice of the sub-
sequent date of hearing of
the said revision & application
will be given and the same will
be heard and determined ex-
parte your absence.
Given under my hand and
the seal of this Court, this
the 16th day of May, 2023
Assistant Registrar (Crl)
For Registrar General
Seal of the Court
J-4258
PROCLAMATION REQUIRING
ATTENDANCE OF
DEFENDANT
(Order 5, Rule 20 of the
Code of Civil Procedure)
IN THE COURT OF
Ms. Charu Asiwal, Civil
Judge-03, South-East,
Room No. 11, Saket Courts,
New Delhi
CS SCJ/1641/2022
NEXT DATE : 17-08-2023
STATE BANK OF INDIA
-Plaintiff
Vs
JAGANNATH BEJ
-Defendant
WHEREAS you are inten-
tionally evading service of
summons it is hereby noti-
fied that if you shall not
defend the case on the
17-08-2023 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
31-05-2023
Civil Judge-03, South-East,
Saket Courts, New Delhi
Seal of the Court
J-4257
IN THE COURT OF
Sh. Ajay Gulati-II, Additional
District Judge-01 (Central),
Room No. 123, Tis Hazari
Court, Delhi
PROCLAMATION REQUIRING
ATTENDANCE OF
DEFENDANT
(U/o 5 Rule 20 CPC)
MCA NO. : 60278/2016
V. K. BAHL & ORS.
-Plaintiff
Vs
ENGINEERING & INDUSTRIAL
CORP PVT. LTD.
-Defendant
To
1) ENGINEERING INDUSTRI-
It also gives me pain to learn that mothers, who have been sep-
arated from their families have given birth to 40 babies in the
relief camps amid the violence in the north eastern state
CONGRESS LEADER DIGVIJAYA SINGH
IN A LETTER TO THE CHAIRMAN OF THE PARLIAMENTARY STANDING COMMITTEE ON HOME AFFAIRS
Assam rebels lay down
arms, Sarma appeals
to Ulfa (I) for talks
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE itary of Assam and its faction-
GUWAHATI, 6 JULY al group, All Adivasi National Lib-
eration Army and its factional
try and IT minister KT Rama mittee to election committee,” Members of five Adivasi armed group, the Bircha Commando
Rao. He accused the BRS gov- said the Congress leader tak- groups along with three factions, Force and its factional group,
ernment of giving away ing a dig at the recent organ- numbering over a thousand, laid Adivasi People’s Army and San-
endowed land to pharma isational change in Telan- down their arms before Assam thal Tiger Force participated in
companies in violation of gana BJP. chief minister Himanta Biswa the ceremony, surrendering
High Court’s directive and Meanwhile, the current Sarma at a programme held at 304 sophisticated arms and
even government land is being BJP chief G Kishan Reddy Srimanta Sankardev Kalak- 1460 rounds of ammunition.
registered in the name of indi- today held a meeting on the shetra on Thursday in the city. These Adivasi extremist
viduals and then are being sold arrangements of the Prime Mr Sarma, speaking at the organisations had earlier sur-
away. Reddy went on to add Minister’s rally to be held at event, reiterated his appeal to rendered to the government
that the chief minister and his Warangal on 8 July. the Ulfa (Independent) lead- on 24 January 2012 and later
son (KT Rama Rao) are scared Later he addressed a Press ers to come forward for peace on signed an agreement for
of abolishing Dharani due to conference with his prede- talks in the interest of all sec- suspension of operation (SoO)
such irrregularities. cessor Bandi Sanjay Kumar by tions of Assamese society. on 4 October 2016. Several
“KCR is afraid of abolish- his side. Earlier, yesterday late Altogether 1,182 cadres rounds of peace talks fol-
ing Dharani portal. The chief evening, when Kishan Reddy belonging to Adivasi Cobra Mil- lowed thereafter.
minister is misleading people arrived from Delhi he received
in this matter. We will abol- a tumultuous welcome at the
ish Dharani and bring in a bet-
ter portal,” said Revanth
airport from BJP workers and
leaders. It was Etela Rajender
TENDER
Reddy. He went on to allege who was at the forefront to greet
that KT Rama Rao’s recent Kishan Reddy while Bandi
Delhi tour was linked to the Sanjay was conspicuous in
strengthening of the bond his absence.
between the BJP and BRS. Both leaders are however
AL CORP. LTD. AND ORS. He further stated that BJP determined to put up a good
SERVICE THROUGH ITS MAN-
AGER/DIRECTOR SHRI RAJIV
has cheated Etela Rajender show for the Prime Minister’s
DUTT, 29, SOUTH PATEL who had left BRS for the Saf- programme where he will lay
NAGAR, NEW P. T. COLLEGE, fron party. “Etela Rajender foundation stones for devel-
NEW DELHI-110008 Anna (brother) was trans- opment works worth Rs 6100
Whereas you are inten-
tionally evading service of ferred from defection com- crores.
summon, it is hereby noti-
fied that if you shall not
defend the case on the 15-
07-2023 AT 10:00 AM, the day
fixed for the final disposal, Assembly ruckus case: Court grants
it will be heard and deter-
mined ex-parte.
Given under my hand
conditional permission to Crime
and the seal of the Court on
01-07-2023
Additional District Judge-
Branch to conduct further probe
01 (Central), Tis Hazari
Court, Delhi
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE the date of trial was to be fixed
Seal of the Court THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, 6 in the case in which the charge
J-4255
JULY sheet was filed. Granting per-
mission to conduct a further
PUBLIC The Chief Judicial Magistrate investigation, the court direct-
NOTIFICATIONS court, Thiruvananthapuram ed the Crime Branch to wrap
on Thursday granted condi- up the investigation within two
(V.D. (VARUN DHAKA) tional permission to the months. The court also direct-
INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Crime Branch’s plea for con- ed the agency to inform the
Recognzed by : National
ducting a further probe into court about the progress of the
Council for Teacher Educa-
tion (NCTE) the 2015 Assembly ruckus probe every three weeks.
Affiliated to : GURU GOB-
case involving left leaders, The court also accepted the
IND SINGH INDRAPRASTHA
UNIVERSITY, DWARKA, NEW including state General Edu- plea of the Crime Branch to
DELHI
Krishan Vihar, New Delhi -
cation Minister V Sivankutty. commence the trial in the
The Crime Branch wing of case only after the follow-up
110086
Tel : 8882523711, 9818059568, the Kerala police requested probe is completed.
9818623620
the court to grant them per- Apart from Sivankutty, left
E-mail : vditrd@yahoo.com,
Website : www.vdit.org mission to conduct further leaders E P Jayarajan, K T
Applications are invited in
prescribed format for probe in the case, stating that Jaleel, K Ajith, K Kunham-
Admission in B.Ed. Course it is necessary to record the mad, and C K Sadasivan are
(2023-2024) statements of all the MLAs who the other accused in the
(UNDER 10% MANAGEMENT
were injured during the chaos case. The case pertains to the
QUOTA SEATS)
The Candidates who have in the Assembly. The agency destruction of Assembly prop-
applied for the B.Ed (regular
also sought to stay the trial until erties while protesting the
course) as per the directions
of Guru Gobind Singh further investigation in the case presentation of the budget by
Indraprastha University, Delhi
(C.G.S.I.P.U.) as per norms,
is conducted. The Crime then Finance Minister K M
may apply for management Branch made the move when Mani in 2015.
quota seats (10) to the chair-
man of the Institute till date
05-07-2023 to 31-07-2023
Admission forms can be
obtained from the Chairman's
Office between 10:00 a.m. to
Indian contingent, Rafale jets
to take part in Bastille Day
04:30 p.m. date of counsel-
ing will be intimated tele-
phonically.
parade of France
S.C./S.T./O.B.C. Seats would
be allotted as per GGSIP Uni-
versity Delhi (Norms)
CHAIRMAN
(V.D. (VARUN DHAKA) STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
KRISHAN VIHAR, NEW
NEW DELHI, 6 JULY
DELHI-110086
J-4256
The Bastille Day parade of
I, Ramphal Singh S/o Late France will witness a 269-
Sh. Jage Ram R/o Plot No. 39,
member tri-services contin-
I.T.I. Road, Jaffurpur Kalan
N.D, due to bad behaviour gent of the Indian Armed
and bad conduct of my son
Subhash and his wife Smt.
Forces marching alongside
their French counterparts on
Babita towards me and my
wife through this public notice July 14 in Paris.
hereby severed all his relation
The Indian contingent
with my son Subhash and
Smt. Babita. Through this pub- left for France on Thursday.
lic notice I also disowned
This year Prime Minister
them from my entire immov-
able and movable properties. Narendra Modi has been
Ramphal invited as the Guest of Hon-
our at the Bastille Day Parade Over the years, India and
in France. France have been reliable
The Rafale fighter jets of defence partners.
the Indian Air Force will also The Indian Army contin-
form a part of the flypast dur- gent of 77 marching person-
ing the parade. nel and 38 members of the
14 July is celebrated as Band is being led by Captain
the 'Fete Nationale Fran- Aman Jagtap.
caise', or the National Day in
France. It is also known as the
'Bastille Day' as this day is the
anniversary of the storming
of the Bastille in 1789 during
the French Revolution.
The Ministry of Defence
said that the association of the
Indian and the French Armies
dates back to World War 1.
Over 1.3 million Indian
soldiers participated in the war,
including on French soil, of
whom almost 74,000 never
returned home, while anoth-
er 67,000 were wounded.
Later World War 2 wit-
nessed 2.5 million Indian
soldiers making significant
contributions in various the-
atres of the war from Asia to
Africa and Europe. This also
included the battlefields of
France.
https://epaper.thestatesman.com
ALL CLASSIFIED ARE CARRIED
The Indian troops estab-
lished their valour in these wars
which was well recognised in
ON OUR WEBSITE
the form of several gallantry
FREE OF COST
awards being bestowed on the
Indian soldiers, Defence Min-
istry officials added.
This year, both countries
are celebrating 25 years of their
Strategic Partnership. The
armies of both the countries
have been participating in
joint exercises and sharing
their experiences.
 05
BJP is worried since I returned to Bihar’s political scene. I am fully fit and preparing
for the farewell of PM Modi from the Centre. They will not return to power in 2024.
RJD PRESIDENT LALU PRASAD
TALKING TO MEDIAPERSONS AT THE PATNA AIRPORT NEW DELHI, FRIDAY 07 JULY 2023

‘Congress will fight Rajasthan

Assembly elections unitedly’
The party added that it will launch its election campaign in the state from Friday
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE isters all will work together and ment in Rajasthan." Mr Kharge,
NEW DELHI, 6 JULY as I have always been saying in his video posted on Twitter,
our goal is to form Congress said: “Every section of Rajasthan
fter a four-hour-long government again in

A
meeting on Rajasthan,
the Congress said that
it will fight the Assem-
bly elections unitedly and
that it will launch its election
campaign in the state from Fri-
day.
Congress president
Mallikarjun Kharge, senior
party chief Rahul Gandhi,
AICC general secretary organ-
isation K C Venugopal, AICC
in-charge of the state Sukhjin-
der Randhawa, state unit chief
Govind Singh Dotasra, Sachin
Pilot and other senior leaders
attended the meeting held at
the AICC headquarters.
State Chief Minister Ashok
Gehlot, who is recovering
from fractures in both his
toes, attended the meeting vir-
tually.
The meeting is understood
to have discussed ways to
unite various party groups
amidst the tussle between
Mr Gehlot and Mr Pilot.
Mr Kharge posted a video
of the meeting from his Twit-
ter handle and said Rajasthan
was on the path of progress
due to the Congress govern-
ment's schemes of inclusive
development and public wel-
fare “which reached every
household”.
Emerging from the meet-
ing, Mr Pilot and Mr Venugopal
said the party will unitedly fight
the elections and exuded con-
fidence that it would retain
power in the state.
Mr Pilot said that the party's
goal is to return to power in
the state, and the party will col-
lectively work together to
achieve the objective.
“It was a very meaningful,
extensive and important dis-
cussion. We discussed all the
issues...Our organisation, our
leaders, our MLAs, and min-
Rajasthan,” Mr Pilot told the
media. Mr Venugopal said: “29
leaders from Rajasthan Con-
gress including the CM and
PCC chief participated in this
meeting today. All the lead-
ers unanimously decided that
Congress can win the
Rajasthan elections provided
there is unity among Rajasthan
Congress. Today, all leaders
decided to fight the elections
unitedly. On the basis of win-
ning ability, the candidates will
be selected. The list of candi-
dates will be announced in the
first week of September.”
"A house-to-house cam-
paign in Rajasthan will start
tomorrow (Friday). Our minis-
ters, MLAs, leaders and ground
workers will engage with all
communities and social groups
during the next 90 days. Dis-
cussions will be held on the party
manifesto as well as the achieve-
ments of the Congress govern-
~ farmers, labourers, youth,
women ~ is expressing faith in
the Congress party." “We will
take care of everyone's aspira-
tions. Both the present and
future of Rajasthan are safe in
the hands of Congress. Histo-
ry will change this time,” he said,
referring to the revolving door
trend of the incumbent party
being voted out of power in the
state.
Assembly polls are sched-
uled to be held in Rajasthan
later this year.
Congress has been in
power in Rajasthan for the
past four-and-half-years,
but most of chief minister
Ashok Gehlot’s tenure has
been marred by a long-run-
ning tussle between him and
his erstwhile deputy, Sachin
Pilot. Mr Pilot led a revolt
against Mr Gehlot in 2020 and
subsequently lost his posi-
tions as Deputy Chief Min-
ister and state party chief.

SC to hear on 10 July challenge to Ordinance Delhi court summons

stripping Kejriwal govt of control over services Gehlot in defamation case
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE SNS & AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, 6 JULY NEW DELHI, 6 JULY

The Supreme Court on Thurs- A Delhi court on Thursday

day agreed to hear on July 10,
Kejriwal government’s chal-
lenge to the National Capi-
tal Territory of Delhi (Amend-
ment) Ordinance, 2023, strip-
ping it of control over the
services and entrusting the
Lieutenant Governor with
overriding powers in the trans-
fer and posting of bureaucrats
serving under the Delhi gov-
ernment.
Upon a mentioning by
senior advocate Abhishek
Manu Singhvi for an early
listing of the Delhi government
petition challenging the con-
stitutional validity of the ordi-
nance, Chief Justice D.Y.
Chandrachud, heading a
bench also comprising Justice
Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha
and Justice Manoj Misra
ordered the listing of the mat-
ter on 10 July.
This comes days after the
court had had deferred the
administering of oath to for-
mer Allahabad High Court
judge, Justice Umesh Kumar,
after his appointment as the
Chairperson of Delhi Electricity
Regulatory Commission
(DERC) was notified by the
Union Home Ministry on 21
June, taking recourse of Sec-
tion 45D of the Ordinance.
The ordinance under chal-
lenge was promulgated on 19
May to overcome the Supreme
Court’s five-judge Constitu-
tion Bench’s 11 May judgment
that had ruled that the Delhi
government would have con-
trol over all services and offi-
cers serving under it, barring
those dealing with public
order, police and land, and Lt.
Governor does not have an all-
encompassing supervision
over the administration of
the national capita and has to
act on the aid and advice of
the Council of Ministers.
The Section 45A of the
Ordinance under challenge
that provides for the setting
up of the National Capital
Civil Service Authority for the
transfer, posting and other mat-
ters relating to senior civil
servants, is recommendato-
ry in nature and would make
recommendations to the Lieu-
tenant Governor, whose deci-
sion would be final.
issued summons to Rajasthan
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot
in a criminal defamation com-
plaint filed by Union Jal Shak-
ti Minister Gajendra Singh
Shekhawat over the former's
"misleading statements"
against him in connection
with the Sanjivani Credit
Cooperative Society scam.
Additional Chief Metro-
politan Magistrate Harjeet
Singh Jaspal of the Rouse
Avenue Court has ordered
Gehlot to appear before it on
August 7.
Earlier, the court had direct-
ed the police to investigate
Shekhawat's complaint.
Judge Jaspal had said that
the investigation should be
such that the answers to these
three questions — whether
complainant Shekhawat was
addressed as “an accused”
in the Sanjivani scam by
accused Gehlot, whether
Gehlot stated that the allega-
tions against Shekhawat stand
proved in the Sanjivani scam
and whether Shekhawat or his
family members have been
arrayed as “an accused" in the
investigation of the scam -- are
answered.
Shekhawat filed a defama-
tion case against Gehlot in
March this year and had said
that an investigation was ini-
tiated in the case but his name
was not mentioned anywhere
and demanded prosecution
against Gehlot for criminal
defamation under the Indian
Penal Code (IPC).
Earlier, the war of words
between Gehlot and
Shekhawat had intensified
over the Sanjivani Credit
Cooperative Society scam
with the Rajasthan Chief Min-
ister openly declaring the
Union Minister "a culprit like
the others".

World acknowledges India’s capabilities &

potential in space technology: Jitendra Singh
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 6 JULY
With over 140 Space StartUps within a short
span of time, India has gained a sound foot-
ing and the entire world has begun to
acknowledge this country's
capabilities and its poten-
tial in space technology,
Union Minister for Science
& Technology Jitendra
Singh said today.
Addressing the inau-
gural session of the G20
4th edition of Space Econ-
omy Leaders meeting
(SELM) here, he said the
credit goes to Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi who
opened up India’s space
sector to private players
enabling a quantum jump
in the last few years. Even though the coun-
try began its space journey several years
later compared to some other countries,
it is India today which is offering vital clues
and inputs for the benefit of world’s lead-
ing Space agencies, he said.
The minister pointed out that the very
fact that during PM Modi’s recent visit to
the US, space related agreements comprised
a major component of the agenda is an indi-
cation that even the countries which claim
to be pioneers in space technology are today
looking up to India for value addition in
their Space related activities.
Lauding the private sector, Jitendra Singh
termed their emerging role as “pivotal” to
the space economy. He said global coop-
eration and alliances are vital in the light
of growing ambition of humans to explore
outer space. An alliance of responsible space
faring nations for enhancing the share of
space economy in the global economy is
the need of the hour, he said. “The future
development of humanity lies in our col-
lective ability to responsibly harness, pool
resources and utilise space technology
towards achieving sustainable development
goals and improving the lives of common
man,” said Jitendra Singh.
Welcoming private partners and think
tanks from across the globe, S&T Minis-
ter hoped the Space Economy Leaders Meet-
ing of G20 countries will lead to conver-
gence on use of space technologies to have
a real and positive impact on the planet.

Nitish calls separate meetings of

minister, top secy amid ongoing rift
SNS & AGENCIES
PATNA, 6 JULY
Amid rift between Bihar
education Minister Prof
Chandrashekhar and addi-
tional Chief Secretary K.K.
Pathak, Chief Minister Nitish
Kumar on Thursday called
them separately for a meet-
ing.
Prof Chandrashekhar along
with energy Minister Bijen-
dra Yadav went to the chief
minister's residence and had
a meeting with him in pres-
ence of JD(U) national pres-
ident Lalan Singh.
After the meeting, Chan-
drashekhar claimed that the
chief minister had taken a
review of the education
department.
"It was a review meeting
taken by the chief minister.
We have informed him that
the works are underway in the
department," Chan-
drashekhar said after the
meeting. When asked about
the discussion over the ongo-
ing tension between him and
Pathak, Chandrashekhar said
that it was not a point of dis-
cussion.
The minister also denied
the presence of K.K. Pathak
at the CM's residence. "I have
no knowledge about whether
he has met the chief minis-
ter or not," Chandrashekhar
said. The tension between
Chandrashekhar and K.K.
Pathak has increased after the
former's personal secretary
wrote a letter to K.K. Pathak
for taking a decision without
consulting the minister.
The RJD leaders like Bhai
Virendra also came in support
of Chandrashekhar.
Bhai Virendra alleged that
Pathak was acting on the
directions of BJP and was
maligning the image of state
government.
"He should be pulled by
his ear and thrown out of the
department," said Bhai Viren-
dra. In retaliation, Subodh
Kumar, the director of edu-
cation department, issued a
letter and banned the entry
of Chandrashekhar's per-
sonal secretary Krishnanand
Yadav in the office.
Earlier, Chandrashekhar
met with RJD chief Lalu Prasad
in the morning as well.
06 NEW DELHI, FRIDAY 07 JULY 2023 Vol. CXXXXXVII 158

Incorporating and directly descended

from THE FRIEND OF INDIA - Founded 1818
Uniformity, Diversity A MEMBER
OF THE

Hindu, Christian and Parsi communities have moved ahead and accepted the first stage ASIAN VOICES
Cat among pigeons of reforms. Let the Muslim community come forward and accept the first stage of reforms
China and
which have been embraced by other Islamic countries long ago. In this context, the
T
he Law Commission of India last month invit-
ed individuals, civil society organisations
(CsOs), and religious outfits to submit their
constitutional promise of a Uniform Civil Code could be conceived around the principles the World
of equality, liberty and fraternity committed to constitutional and gender justice without
views on the Uniform Civil Code proposed to be
enacted by the Centre as promised in the ruling upsetting cultural sensibilities associated with religion and culture Roundtable:
party’s election manifesto. The Prime Minister too
has spoken on the desirability of such a code in Experts'
keeping with the Directive Principles of State Policy,
even as the government of Uttarakhand appears take on SCO
well on its way to introducing a draft UCC at the

T
he Shanghai Cooperation
state level as the process of consultations and invit- Organization will be held in
ing suggestions is complete. While many faith-ba- India via video link on July 4 at
sed organisations, in the main but not limited to a critical time. Since the SCO
minority religious bodies, have expressed their res- member states, rather the whole
ervations, their arguments are entirely bogus in a world, are facing increasing challenges
secular country. Even the argument of last resort, such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict
that a uniform civil code should not be “rushed and the Russia-US geopolitical con-
through” as it may lead to “social strife” in the frontation, and the United States has
been instigating bloc confrontation in
country has been exposed for exactly what it is ~
the region, there have been specula-
both a delaying tactic given it has been 73 years tions that the SCO might end up
since establishment of the Indian Republic, and a becoming an organization without
not-so-veiled threat to the sovereign right of Parlia- substantial influence.
ment to pass legislation based on a Constitutional The SCO was established in 2001
mandate. The Centre would do well to treat these for combating extremism, terrorism
threats with the contempt they deserve. and separatism, drug trafficking and
Now, a new angle is being sought to be given to other transnational crimes and tack-
the debate to stymie the UCC. To wit, it's not just ling other non-traditional security
challenges in Asia, especially Central
the minority communities’ clergy-dominated religi-
Asia. With the Regional Anti-Terrorist
ous organisations which are opposing the move, Structure headquartered in Tashkent,
but many tribal communities are against it. It is in- Uzbekistan, multi-level mechanisms,
deed true that some tribal groups and the govern- joint anti-terrorism exercises, and
ments of a few Northeastern states have objected to deepening cooperation in law enforce-
the UCC. According to Meghalaya Chief Minister ment and security, the SCO has helped
Conrad Sangma, “The UCC will encroach on our improve regional security.
customary laws and practices.” A neighbouring The organization has had a posi-

state lawmaker from the ruling Mizo National Front
(MNF) said: “In Mizoram, implementing a Uniform
Civil Code will be difficult and could potentially
lead to instability.” In Sikkim, meanwhile, an influ-
ential CSO, Joint Action Council (JAC), has issued a
statement that the UCC is “not necessary, nor
desirable” in the state. There are other public state-
ments from various Naga, Khasi, and other tribes on
the same lines. The context is that many tribes and
even sub-tribes have their own distinct customary
practices in civil matters including inheritance,
maintenance, divorce, marriage, and the like, which
they feel must be sacrosanct. That’s a slippery slope.
No exception must be made, as some are arguing,
for tribal communities to be kept out of the UCC;
except in cases where tribes follow a matrilineal
system wherein the daughters are the custodians
of all properties and males are not entitled to inher-
it any immovable assets such as land and proper-
ties. These traditions as applicable must be pro-
tected in the proposed UCC. For, both the funda-
mental principle and overriding logic of the UCC is
one of gender justice. If that approach is jettisoned
in the face of religious, caste, ethnic, or class oppo-
sition, the government might as well scrap the pro-
posal and revert to the lost decades of chalta hai.
Not my King
A
ny debate on the ‘uni-
form civil code’ must
inevitably be within the
constitutional framework
of secularism and freedom of
religion and culture on which
this country was founded and
exists as one nation.
There were three diverse sets
of opinions on secularism in the
Constituent Assembly: first; no-
concern theory of secularism,
which parted state and religion,
second; no link theory between
the state and religion which pre-
vented the demeaning of religion
and third; the equal-respect the-
ory of ‘secularism’ which cher-
ished all religions alike and grant-
ed religious freedom to all.
Post-constitutional develop-
ments endorse three constituents
of Indian secularism: first; the
principle of religious freedom
which expansively protects all
aspects of a religion including its
beliefs, rituals, practices, thou-
ghts, ideas and philosophies, and
injuncts discrimination on grou-
nds of religion, race, caste, place
of birth or gender; second; the
principle of de-politicization and
celebratory neutrality which pre-
code mean? We already had a The government therefore can- acceptance of the illuminating tive influence on regional economic
uniform criminal code ~ one that not be absolved of the charge of present. cooperation and cultural exchanges as
applied to all in the territory of having neglected the welfare of Therefore, when we have well, and helped member states to
India. We also had a number of the minority communities espe- started discourse on uniform civil
civil laws which were uniform, cially Muslims. code (UCC), the word 'uniform'
like the Contract Act, the Transfer What was shoddier was that must be given a wider meaning.
of Property Act, the Civil Proce- whenever reformatory efforts Let all communities be governed make greater efforts to further ease the
dure Code, etc. were taken by the courts as it by uniform principles of consti- flow of trade, investment and trans-
So, this uniform civil code happened in the Shah Bano case, tutional and gender justice. portation, and create platforms for
essentially referred to personal the vote-seeking government Each personal law therefore interaction between nongovernmen-
laws dealing with marriage, made all efforts to annul the jud- needs to be critiqued and filtered tal organizations.
divorce, maintenance, adoption, gment and appease the orthodox from the perspective of social Among the biggest contributions
guardianship and community. Argu- and gender justice so as to weed the SCO has made to the region and
succession-related ments were adv- out gender injustice and out- the member states is the Shanghai
matters. The Muslim anced that one moded traditions or practices. Spirit which stresses equality and con-
members of the Con- community might Thus, Article 44 of' the sultation, opposes hegemonism and
stituent Assembly be prepared to ac- Constitution must be interpret- Cold War mentality, promotes multi-
who spoke on the cept social reform; ed in combination with article 14 lateral cooperation, and pursues a new
uniform civil code another may not of the Constitution which guar- cooperation model of seeking partners
were all men and be. The State may antees equality before the law without building alliances. This has
except Tajmul Hus- rightly decide to and equal protection of the law helped extend the SCO’s influence far
sain from Bihar, all of bring about social but permits reasonable classifi- beyond the region, across the world.
them wrestled rel- reform in stages cation. In recent years, the SCO has been
entlessly to exclude and the stages We must also celebrate the facing increasing internal and exter-
YOGESH PRATAP nal challenges, especially after new
the Muslim commu- may be territory- salad bowl theory of multicultur-
nity from this Article. SINGH wise or communi- alism where all cultures, religions members joined it as full members,
But the three The writer is Professor of ty-wise. But the and practices which are in tune expanding the geographical space for
exponents of social Law and Vice-Chancellor,
National Law University larger question with the Constitution and gender cooperation. While heightening inter-
change and equality of Tripura. remains as it is. justice are given due respect. national tensions have created securi-
The views are personal
for women namely When will minori- Such uniformity can sustain the ty threats for the region, increasing dif-
Minoo Masani, Raj ty communities diversity of the laws. ferences and interests among SCO
Kumari Amrit Kaur, and Hansa be ready? Is seventy-five years
Mehta, wanted it to be part of not sufficient? Was the Hindu
Having distinct identities is
not against national integration
member states have further compli-
cated the problem. In particular, the
US’ efforts to co-opt India as a “loyal

K
ing Charles III must know that many Scots
favour independence. This week he was told
by several of them that they do not fancy the
institution he presides over either. While protests
at the ceremony where he was presented Scotland’s
crown jewels were expected, their intensity and the
fact they were led by a serving Minister must have
caused even the royal eyebrow to twitch. Posters
saying “Not my King” greeted him as he made the
short drive from the royal residence to St. Giles’
Cathedral, and republicans protested within ear-
shot, to complain about the extravagant rigmarole
being thrust down their throats. Minister Patrick
Harvie told reporters that having a monarch enrich-
ed by untaxed, inherited health did not fit in with
Scotland’s desire for a modern democracy. “What
we’ve seen over the last few months is a genuinely
extraordinary attempt to lavish your money, our
money, on some of the wealthiest people, not just in
this country, but some of the wealthiest people in
the world, so that they can do some sort of overpri-
ced Game of Thrones cosplay exercise,” he said. Fat-
igue with the monarchy has grown and many char-
acterise it as an anachronism that has no place in
the modern world. While 60 per cent of the people in
the United Kingdom still support the institution, the
numbers are dropping. At the time of Charles’ co-
ronation a few weeks ago, that number was 62. And
only 45 per cent of Scots support the institution.
Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousuf participated
in the ceremonial events. But he is a declared repub-
vents the state from being taken
over by any one community but
permits it to assist all faiths in
their endeavors and celebrate
their existence as part of the
pageantry of India; and third; the
principle of social welfare and
reform which requires religions
to yield to a regulatory and refor-
mative regime and cleanse their
in-egalitarian, gender-unjust,
and other constitutionally unac-
ceptable prescriptions.
Article 25(2) and Article 246
read with Entry 5 of the Concur-
rent List make it abundantly clear
that the State is competent to
bring social reform even if it goes
against some religious and cul-
tural beliefs. But, vote-seeking
governments seldom venture
reforms in personal laws.
Article 44 of the Constitution
conceded the distinctive person-
al laws in India and gave a direc-
tive that the state shall achieve a
Uniform Civil Code applicable to
all its citizens irrespective of race
or religion.
What does uniform civil
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
fundamental rights. In fact, Dr B community ready when the and they do not necessarily lead
R Ambedkar was also in favour of Shastric Hindu laws were radical- to separatism. Different ethnic, partner”, if not an ally, to further its
a uniform civil code and he was ly transformed? religious and linguistic groups “Indo-Pacific” strategy, whose aim is
to contain China and weaken Russia,
of the view that personal laws Ever since the inception of have different traditions and cul-
based on religion were unaccept- the Constitution, the higher judi- tures and these should not be are not conducive to the SCO making
ably discriminatory in nature ciary in India has faced the obliterated just for the sake of coordinated, cohesive decisions.
where women were given little to dilemma of dealing with compat- uniformity. Other prominent challenges
no rights. Neither of the perspec- ibility of personal laws via-a-vis Preserving one’s tradition include the situation in Afghanistan,
tives was accepted and it was fundamental rights. and culture is an integral part of which demands immediate attention
placed under directive principles This dilemma was started the right to life enshrined in Arti- but has mostly been ignored due to
of state policy, deferring the by a 1951 judgment of the cle 21 of the Constitution (Sa- the Ukraine crisis, and border disputes
problem to be fixed by the future Bombay High Court i.e. Narasu matha v. State of Andhra Pradesh between member states such as that
governments. Appa Mali (AIR 1952 Bom. 84) AIR 1997 SC 3297). between India and Pakistan have
Hindu personal laws were which inappropriately held that Hindu, Christian and Parsi impeded SCO cooperation. Also, the
profoundly reformed in 1955-56 personal laws until codified communities have moved ahead US-led media war to stigmatize China,
despite the violent opposition of cannot be subjected to funda- and accepted the first stage of Russia and Iran has turned some peo-
an orthodox President and Hindu mental rights. reforms. Let the Muslim commu- ple against these countries, making it
religious leaders. A judgment given in defence nity come forward and accept the difficult for the SCO to deepen cooper-
However, Muslim personal of gender justice became the first stage of reforms which have ation among its member states. The
law was allowed to be obsolete. biggest impediment to reform been embraced by other Islamic US has also triggered or incited “color
Government took no steps to personal laws crammed with countries long ago. revolutions” in some SCO member
modernize the law of marriage archaic and discriminatory prac- In this context, the constitu- states, destabilizing the socioeconom-
and divorce pertaining to the tices. Narasu Appa Mali was duti- tional promise of a Uniform Civil ic and political systems in those coun-
Christians in spite of several fully followed until recently by Code could be conceived around tries, which has affected decision-
making within the SCO.
requests from that community. the Supreme Court. the principles of equality, liberty
The Law Commission in its However, recent progressive and fraternity committed to con- But the challenges do not mean
80th Report, 1980 along with the judicial trends in the Sharaya stitutional and gender justice the SCO will fail in its mission. In fact,
Supreme Court and several High Bano and Sabrimala cases epito- without upsetting cultural sensi- the organization has been making
Courts voiced concern on this mizes the breakage of tradition bilities associated with religion efforts to adapt to the changing situa-
governmental procrastination. from the ambiguous past and and culture. tion and overcome the challenges.
editor@thestatesman.com

lican, and the King must have been aware of the dis-
dain with which he has in the past spoken of the
monarchy. Mr. Yousuf is on record as saying he will
want Scotland to have a referendum on becoming a
republic within five years of independence.
As the working classes in the Kingdom strug-
gle to make ends meet in the face of high inflation,
and are forced to strike work to seek wage increases
that at least cover inflationary trends, the expense
lavished on the Palace galls many. The shenanigans
of some members of the King’s family do not help
the royal cause either. While the British reverence
for tradition, and of course a propensity for eccen-
tricity, has given the institution legs, a limp is now
beginning to show. Indeed, a suggestion from the
government that Britons would be called upon to
swear an oath of allegiance during his coronation in
May, was met with derision, many calling it half-
cocked and tone-deaf.
The government back-pedalled furiously to say
it was an invitation to participate, not an expecta-
tion. Charles does not command either the love or
the admiration his mother did, with many Britons
finding him a controversial figure. His muddled
personal life has not helped, and while the revulsion
he drew in the aftermath of Princess Diana’s death
may have subsided, the scars remain.
West Bank
SIR, This is with reference to the
news “Israel ends West bank raids,
calling it a blow to the militants” A
major question has come up about
the success of the 48-hour long
raid in the city of Jenin, West
Bank, traditionally a stronghold of
Hamas and other militias. The
Israelis have conducted many
short raids in this city earlier to
neutralize Palestinian armed
groups.
This deadly attack was rare;
thus the new level of threats to the
assumption of Israeli authority
can be apprehended. Israeli ana-
lysts are saying that Jenin has
become a hub of anti-Israel
activities in recent days and had
already become a no-go zone for
the Palestinian authority including
its military.
This short Israeli attack may
incur public support for Palestine
to fight against Israeli authority in
the long run.
It may also increase revenge
attacks on civilians, as shown in a
video recorded in Tel Aviv where a
man drove a vehicle into Israeli
civilians injuring at least eight peo-
ple. In another incident five rock-
ets have been fired at southern
Israel from the Hamas-controlled
coastal area of Gaza.
The Arab nations having
diplomatic relations with Israel
have condemned the military
action and asked for solutions
through talks and international
intervention. The Israeli authorities
have cleared their views as it was a
strategic raid to sanitize potential
threat-mongering camps.
Yours, etc., Arka Goswami,
Durgapur, 6 July.
DAMAGED ROADS
SIR, Please refer to today’s report “KMC lens on health of city roads”.
After a few spells of rains, several stretches of E M Bypass have devel-
oped craters and pose a threat to motorists, especially bikers, as
they find it difficult to locate storm water-filled holes in poorly lit
stretches of the arterial road.
Against this backdrop, a meeting held at the city’s civic head-
quarters between the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), Kolkata
Police and some state government agencies took stock of the
condition of roads across the city and decided that a bi-weekly
inspection of roads by a joint team of KMC and KP will take place
from next week.
Importantly between Highland Park and Satyajit Ray Film and
Television Institute there are at least a couple of stretches that have
developed craters which need to be repaired as accidents are taking
place frequently. And a section of Patuli residents have expressed
concern over a stretch of E M Bypass near the Patuli crossing that has
developed potholes.
Apart from these two places, some other stretches of E M Bypass
need immediate patchwork to avoid fatal accidents. The stretches in
Chowbagha and Panchannagram have broken after spells of recent
rains. This would eventually make E M Bypass vulnerable for
motorists and bikers as the patchwork couldn’t guarantee the
motorists’ safety.
Yours, etc., Khokan Das,
Kolkata, 6 July.

India’s cities need
a renewed thrust
SOUMYADIP CHATTOPADHYAY
I
ndia is at the cusp of rapid urban-
ization and by 2035, 43.2 per cent
of its population will be living in
cities. As urbanization has
advanced, there has been discussion
and concern over its challenges and
how these might possibly be
approached and responded to. India’s
G20 presidency provides a unique
opportunity to spearhead policy
changes required to make the cities
engines of economic growth. Reaping
benefits of their economic potential
crucially relates to the G20’s sustain-
able development agenda of deliver-
ing a good quality of life for citizens.
Urban policy makers agree on
two aspects – first, we need cities that
are inclusive, safe, resilient and sus-
tainable. This is SDG goal 11. Second,
we are failing to plan, build and man-
age our cities. In fact, cities across the
world are facing similar challenges.
So, persistent policy focuses on SDGs
offer significant potential to guide
urbanisation processes towards more
equitable outcomes, particularly for
the urban poor.
Within much of the urban devel-
opment discourse, cities are framed
as sites of deficit - characterised by
weak governance, huge infrastructure
backlogs, and limited access to
finance. Indian cities are no exception.
Lack of housing and urban basic ser-
vices coupled with increasing threats
of climate change seriously constrain
Indian cities’ prospects of achieving
SDG by 2030. There is an urgent need
to explore the pathways for better
preparing Indian cities.
Since the 1990s, Indian cities have
been experiencing a remarkable shift
from public investment to private
financing of urban infrastructure. Suc-
cessive governments have reduced
their budgetary allocations and
encouraged private sector participa-
tion in urban development. Official
documents of all the central urban
flagship programmes during 2005-14
and afterwards (JNNURM, Smart
Cities Mission, AMRUT etc.) share
Systemic excess, not just an individual’s fault
MAHIR ALI
A
lmost 80 years ago, after the
tide had turned against Ger-
many in World War II, the
dictator in Berlin wanted the
Nazi-occupied capital of France to be
destroyed before it fell to the Allies.
Hitler reputedly asked his generals, “Is
Paris burning?”
It wasn’t in 1944, but Paris has fre-
quently been seared by flames,
metaphorically or otherwise, in the
ensuing decades. It is an intriguing
coincidence that the epicentre of the
latest bout of mass rioting was also the
cradle of the student revolt that, in
1968, rocked the foundations of the
Fifth Republic just a decade after it had
been founded by Charles de Gaulle.
Back then, de Gaulle actually fled
to West Germany, driven by the fear
that the uprising, in which the work-
ing class eventually joined the stu-
dents, might actually succeed.
Emmanuel Macron, 55 years later,
cancelled a visit to Germany after last
week’s protests spread across France,
even reaching the remaining French
colonies in the Caribbean and beyond.
Macron was quick to describe last
week’s murder of 17-year-old Nahel
Merzouk by Parisian traffic police as
“inexplicable and inexcusable”.
Macron was only half right, though.
The killing was undoubtedly inexcus-
able, and the police officer who pulled
the trigger faces the charge of “volun-
tary homicide”. But it certainly wasn’t
inexplicable. Since 2017, police offi-
CROSSWORD
1 2 3 4
8
10
9
11
12 13
14 15 16
18
19 20
22
23 24 25
27
29
substantial commonalities in terms of
narratives of ‘promoting self-financed
urban growth’, ‘sustainable infra-
structure development’ and ‘efficiency
enhancement’, and emphasis on
financialization of urban services
through private investment, infra-
structure debt funds, municipal
bonds, taxes and surcharges, and full
cost recovery.
However, these are in direct con-
flict with the objective of ‘universal
and equitable’ access to urban basic
services. For example, emphasis on
cost-recovery are more likely to
exclude the residents in lower-income
areas of cities simply because their
ability to pay is poor. So, poorer resi-
dents continue to experience service
deficits that eventually reinforce
socio-spatial inequalities.
Indian cities face serious revenue
shortfalls even to operate and main-
tain the existing urban services, let
alone make investment for urban
infrastructure and services. Poor
financial health of the cities makes
them unattractive for private
investors. This is clearly evident from
the unsatisfactory progress of munici-
pal bond and public-private partner-
ships in Indian cities. The irony is that
cers have been authorised to use lethal
violence at traffic stops. The death toll
last year was 13. The victims were
mainly of North African origin.
Macron and his acolytes are keen
to emphasise that Nahel’s misfortune
lay in being confronted by a ‘bad
apple’, and that systemic racism in the
police force is not an issue. That’s sim-
ilar to the authorities’ response in
countries like the UK and US, where
instances of racial targeting often tend
to be treated as individual excesses.
What has occurred in cities across
France over the past week has been
described as the equivalent of the
‘George Floyd moment’ that reinvigo-
rated the Black Lives Matter move-
ment in America and found its echoes
across the West.
5 6 7
YESTERDAY'S SOLUTION
C E N T R E E L D
R A E O
COA U T H OR WO
S T O E C M
OSM I UM E X H A
17 L E N E
B R A I ND R A I N
A C
21 M I L L S E T T L E
N U H M E
Y A RD A GE A N
26 D C M N K
C A RHOP T R A C
Y E O G
28 B ROO K P E P
NOTE: Figures in parentheses denote the number of letters in the words required. (By arrangement with The Independent, London)
such policy rhetoric is likely to favour
only financially stronger cities and
that too only for the commercially
viable projects. So, inter and intra city
disparities in access to basic services is
likely to deepen further.
Importantly, the 74th Constitu-
tional Amendment Act (CAA) in India
has provision for devolution of 18
functions to city governments and cit-
izen participation in city governance.
SDG goals related to urban basic ser-
vices, slum upgradation and partici-
patory and integrated urban planning
fall within the ambit of constitutional-
ly mandated functional domain of the
cities. An analysis by PRAJA founda-
tion reveals that, even after three
decades of the CAA, not a single city
government among 21 Indian cities
has control over all 18 functions.
Parastatal agencies and Special Pur-
pose Vehicles (SPVs) have been creat-
ed to perform some of the municipal
functions. Out of these 21 cities, nine
experience involvement of multiple
agencies in more than 10 of 18 func-
tions. Lack of coordination among the
agencies leads to duplication of work
and poor service delivery.
Creation of Ward Committee
(WC) in cities with a population of
The parallel is not absurd. The
rage in both the US and France was
not sudden, but cumulative. The dif-
ference, perhaps, lies in the fact that
France does not officially recognise
differences of race, ethnicity or reli-
gion. That sounds wonderful — and
such a system would be ideal if it
worked. It has long been obvious,
though, that it doesn’t.
One needn’t go back to 1961,
when a Paris police chief, eventually
acknowledged as a former Nazi col-
laborator, supervised a massacre of
peaceful Algerian demonstrators. It
wasn’t until 1998 that the French state
admitted 40 deaths. Nobody appears
to have counted the corpses dumped
in the River Seine — up to 300, by
some estimates.
ACROSS 16 7 21 at Dido’s place
1 Glamour industry
(8)
19 Successfully 7d 21d
model whose sins
(8)
E R 20 Arcane criticism of
A S include bush, but
setter is a little
R T H Y
no tail (4,8)
excessive (6)
10 Protection against
U 23 Most dodgy half-time
kids worn by a
U S T big chicken (5)
snacks full of rubbish?
F D 11 Rank noises made
On the contrary
F ROM (7)
W
by pub ghost (9)
25 Greek establishment’s
12 Downfall for Scots
ME N T among others,
near broke after tax is
A wanting European
misdirected (7)
I MA L 27 Terrible suffering of
state (7)
N M hero that shed light
13 Tea bags butter bread
on the Somme? (4,5)
T I ON (7)
O U 28 Good to put an end
14 Herewith, a poem to
P E R make nonsense of (6)
to slight obsession
(5)
three lakhs or more is meant to serve
as a principal mechanism for trans-
parency and accountability at the
municipal level. The PRAJA study
reveals that WCs have been constitut-
ed in only nine out of 29 cities with
the same being active only in six cities.
Participatory potential of the WCs
have been compromised by the prac-
tices of politicisation of member selec-
tion, unelected members dominating
the decision-making processes, delib-
erations centering mostly on individ-
ual benefits and peoples’ lack of
capacity to participate in the WC
meetings. WCs further have lost their
participatory appeal as the city gov-
ernments lack autonomy and capacity
to work on the decisions taken in the
meeting, disincentivizing the people
from participating in WC meetings.
Another defining challenge of our
cities is the lack of reliable data. Cities
are not fully aware of the needs and
priorities of their citizens. In India,
Census data are used to take policy
decisions on provisioning of basic
urban services. For example, several
supply side decisions relating to bud-
getary and staffing requirements
across various government depart-
ments at the municipal level are based
A great deal has changed since
then, but much remains the same. The
reprehensible Islamist terrorist attacks
of 2015 are often cited as a reason for
the subsequent reinforcement of
racism — which is precisely what the
perpetrators would have wished — but
the Seine-Saint-Denis electrocution of
two teenagers being chased by police,
and the consequent eruption of popu-
lar rage, preceded the atrocities in Bat-
aclan and elsewhere by a decade. The
murder of Nahel was the reinforce-
ment of a long-standing trend rather
than an unusual occurrence.
The days of rage over the past
week were, even in the context of this
year, not so much an aberration as a
return to business as usual for a seg-
ment of the public — albeit to some
29 A disastrous blunder,
telling these men
in 7 21! (5,7)
DOWN
2 After forgetting
English, Swiss girl
adopts new language
(5)
3 I drink bottles – he
might benefit from
higher 7 21 (6)
4 Is loan arranged with
credit union initially
bad for company?
(8)
5 One, ten and a
hundred divide
precisely into three
NEW DELHI, FRIDAY 07 JULY 2023
on Census population data and their
subsequent projections. However,
census, being a stock exercise, is
unable to account for the dynamic
migration flows that we see today in
Indian cities. Significant majority of
them find their places in informal set-
tlements and informal workforce,
experiencing persistent instability in
their work and living arrangements.
Many informal settlements are left out
of this national level enumeration
processes. Such lack of information
results in misinformed and incom-
plete policy responses.
Collectively, these challenges
stymie the Indian cities’ stride towards
prioritization of equitable access to
core urban services and attainment of
SDGs. No strategy can ever serve as a
substitute to getting the basics right.
Empowering the city governments in
terms of functions, funds and func-
tionaries is crucial in developing and
implementing locally feasible and
effective strategies through which the
transformative aims of the SDG agen-
da might be achieved and scaled.
Redesigning of urban policies must
start with greater and more effective
citizen participation and inclusion of
local knowledge in city planning.
Moreover, any good policy needs
accurate data. Issues of urban service
deficiency are very complex and can
change rapidly. Citizens know these
realities best. This means ‘citizen-led’
data – data that is generated, owned,
and used by citizens to advocate their
own needs – is the key to guide deci-
sion-making, planning and policy
towards the SDGs.
The G 20 initiatives set the stage
for policy makers and other city stake-
holders to make practical decisions
about enacting the 2030 Agenda.
India, using her own experiences,
needs to seize the opportunity for
espousing a comprehensive change in
the course of urban policy formula-
tions necessary for achieving the SDGs
and building pathways to urban
equality.
(The writer is Associate Professor, Visva-Bharati
University.)
extent a different section of the citizen-
ry than the gilets-jaunes of yesteryears
and those militating more recently in
response to the Macron regime’s
det-ermination to shift the retirement
age up by two years, from 62 to 64.
A reasonable case could possibly
be made for that change, but within
the neoliberal context it obviously
comes across as yet another way of
shafting the working class and enrich-
ing the bourgeoisie — a conflict that
stretches back to the 1789 French Rev-
olution. At the same time, the aspira-
tion to liberty, equality, fraternity
excludes all too many French citizens
in the 21st century, and the concept
of turning a blind eye to ethnicity, reli-
gion and skin colour has repeatedly
been exposed as a farce. And then
there’s the broader European context
of a far-right resurgence a century
after Hitler, accompanied by the fear
that France could go the same way
under someone like Marine Le Pen or
Eric Zemmour after the next election.
Some years ago, staying at a hotel
in La Defense towards the north of
Paris, we found ourselves in proximity
to Nanterre. It deserved a stroll. And
although it did not offer up the archi-
tectural or culinary delights common
in many other arrondisements, the
place and street names were charm-
ing, from Mandela, Picasso and Neru-
da to Gorky, redolent of the suburb’s
recent history — as well as the wider
world’s shattered dreams.
Dawn/ANN.
NO-292485
or so (9) 18 Cast off clothing
6
7
Run over (5)
Priest’s work: lecture
(8)
19 Erecting a little cupola
on sin, Monday off sure provides a view
sinning (7) (7)
8 About a third of 21 Case of gangrene
customers missed 7 found by lady who
21 (6) cleans ward
9 Caesar’s foot pokes (6)
through new special 22 Upset girls hiding at
hole in abdomen German camp full of
(8) belligerent men
15 7 21 racket arranged (6)
with Tyneside 24 Hit film the kids saw
restaurateurs at its with mum smuggled
heart (6,3) inside (5)
17 Cold rock concert 26 What Tories did for
finally brought inside Thatcher’s victory
by shivering roadies over Heath?
(8) (5)
07
100 YEARS AGO
OCCASIONAL NOTE
The telegrams from China are grow-
ing ominous. Hitherto, the President has
himself refused to take sides, adopting
the attitude of a constitutional monarch
towards the contending parties. As a
result, though civil war has raged else-
where, Pekin has been free from internal
commotion, and the foreign legations,
merchants, and missionaries, have thus
been left undisturbed. The intrigues of
the faction of Wu Pei-fu, however, have at
last driven Li-Yuan-Chang from Pekin,
and from his place of safety in the foreign
concession at Tientsin he is now calling
upon Chang Tso-lin to come over from
Mukden and help him. Wu is himself
away in the south, attempting to get to
Canton, and the moment, therefore,
might seem opportune for Chang, who
has still a large and well equipped army,
to make a descent upon Pekin. Simulta-
neously with events which may involve
fighting in the capital is to be noticed a
disregard by roving bands of ex-soldiers
and brigands for the life and property of
foreigners, including the Japanese. In
some respects therefore the situation is
beginning to resemble that which existed
in Northern China in 1900, and which
ended, as we know, in a general attack
upon all foreigners and the despatch of
an Allied expedition to preserve the lives
of those who had sought refuge in the
Legations. In the present state of world
politics this policy work would more or
less have to be left to Japan.
NEWS ITEMS
CLERGY ORDAINED
ABROAD
LONDON, JULY 6
Presiding at the House of Bishops,
the Archbishop of Canterbury drew atten-
tion to the existing restrictions of clergy
ordained by bishops overseas when they
came to England and said that the Lam-
beth Conference wanted to facilitate the
ministry of men in Home appointments
for which they were adequately equipped.
His Grace moved that legislation be pro-
moted to replace the Colonial Clergy Act
of 1874, which governed the subject, and
he and the Archbishop of York had been
authorised to prepare the necessary mea-
sure. The Bishop of St. Albans, speaking in
support, pointed out that there should be
no restrictions to men ordained in Scot-
land, Ireland and Wales when they come
to England. The Church was anxious to
remove the impression that a person
ordained overseas was intellectually infe-
rior.
TROUBLE IN
ISPAHAN
ALLAHABAD, JULY 6
Martial law has been proclaimed in
Ispahan owing to the continued refusal of
the opium merchants to conform to the
Government regulations ordering that all
dealings in the drug shall be transacted
under the supervision of excise officials. As
a protest against the regulations, the mer-
chants have for the past fortnight been
assembled at the telegraph office, the
bazars have been closed, and business is
completely at a standstill. The Govern-
ment, however, have taken a firm stand,
says the Teheran correspondent of the
Pioneer, and many of the principal
resisters have been arrested. The ultimate
collapse of the opposition, which appears
immediate, would mean a distinct success
for the new financial administration under
the American advisers, and should have an
excellent effect on other opium-producing
centres and throughout the country.
DIGGLE RAILWAY
DISASTER
LONDON, JULY 6
The express train which was wrecked
at Diggle junction yesterday had just
emerged from the long tunnel through
the Pennine Range at full speed when it
crashed sideways against a light engine
which had not yet cleared the junction,
hurling the latter thirty yards. Its driver
was killed and the fireman was found
lying unconscious and injured on the
line. The funnel of the first express loco-
motive flew off, and the locomotive was
derailed, its fireman killed and the driver
injured. The second express locomotive
was forced back over the tender, tele-
scoping into the first two coaches. Its dri-
ver and fireman escaped with a shaking.
There was no panic among the uninjured
passengers, who were forwarded to their
destinations by special train.
DISTRESS IN PERSIA
TEHERAN, JULY 6
A telegram from Turbat states that
severe floods have completely destroyed
Chenar, also gardens crops and cattle,
rendering 200 people homeless. Another
severe earthquake shock at Turbat has
created panic amongst the already home-
less people. Subscription lists for a relief
fund have been opened all over Persia
under the patronage of the Shah, by His
Majesty heading the list with a donation
of pound 1,000. The American adviser to
the municipality has left for Turbat in
order to distribute relief, which includes a
sum of 5,000 dollars contributed by the
American Red Cross Society, and also to
plan the rebuilding of the town.
08
THUMBNAILS
Open Market Sale Scheme
(Domestic): Govt of India
has reintroduced the
Open Market Sales Scheme
(Domestic) starting from
June 2023 for price stabi-
lization and increasing the
affordability of the
wheat/rice. The first e-
auction has already been
conducted on 28.06.2023
for which the e-auction
notice was floated on
23.06.2023 by FCI West
Bengal Region. The next
auction is to be conducted
on 05.07.2023 for which
the tender has been float-
ed today i.e. 30.06.2023. In
this scheduled e-auction
on 05.07.2023 approxi-
mately 40500 Metric
Tonnes Wheat & 2300
Metric Tonnes Rice has
been offered throughout
the state of West Bengal.
Talent search examina-
tion: The T.I.M.E. institute
has announced the Schol-
arship Test ~ T.I.M.E. Tal-
ent Search Examination
(TTSE) for aspiring stu-
dents of CAT 2023/24.
The test will be conducted
in two slots ~ 10 a.m. and
6 p.m., test takers will be
able to write from any-
where on 9 July, 2023.
Dollar gain takes shine off gold No evidence suggesting slowdown in
AGENCIES
CHENNAI, 6 JULY
The strengthening of the US
dollar and the slight reduc-
tion in global recession concerns
have resulted in a decline in gold
prices, said an analyst with
Geojit Financial Services.
"The recent decline in gold
prices (5.4 per cent from an all-
time high) can be attributed to
a slight reduction in global
recession concerns and the
‘High growth of
8 to 9 per cent to
be driven by
manufacturing,
urbanisation’
NEW DELHI, 6 JULY
High growth of 8-9 per cent
could be driven by focus on
manufacturing and urbani-
sation, said G20 Sherpa
Amitabh Kant said.
About 5,500 census towns
need to have master planning,
and sustainable urbanisation
is the way forward, which is
a huge opportunity to drive
growth in India, he said speak-
ing at an event for release of
report titled 'The Rise of India's
Middle Class'.
The bulging middle class
holds immense power to drive
sustained economic, political
and social growth in India, he
said.
As the number of middle
class rises, he said, this will drive
demand for quality healthcare,
education, housing, consumer
goods and many other things.
The government increas-
ingly will have to focus on edu-
cation and health as well as
creating job opportunities.
The vision of India becom-
ing a fully developed country
by 2047 really implies that the
middle class needs to be the
key driver of India's growth
story, he said.
"Rise of the Indian middle
class is also indicative of eco-
nomic transformation that
the country has undergone
over the decades. Since the
1991 reforms, millions have
been propelled into the mid-
dle class. Technological
advancements and sustained
growth have also led to a
growing and expanding mid-
dle class," he said. AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, FRIDAY 07 JULY 2023
Stock market: Wall St drops after hot
jobs data raises threat of high rates
High interest rates work by slowing the entire economy, and unanticipated cracks often appear in areas of the economy under the pressure
AGENCIES
NEW YORK, 06 JULY
S
tocks are falling Thurs-
day after reports sug-
gested the U.S. job mar-
ket remains much more
resilient than expected.
The S&P 500 was 1% lower
in early trading. The Dow
Jones Industrial Average was
down 354 points, or 1%, at
33,934, as of 9:43 a.m. East-
ern time, and the Nasdaq
composite was 1.1% lower.
While a sturdy labor mar-
ket keeps the economy out of
a long-expected recession, it
could also push the Federal
Reserve to keep interest rates
higher for longer in its cam-
paign to defeat high inflation.
That in turn could mean more
pressure down the line on the
economy and financial mar-
kets.
A report from ADP
Research Institute suggested
hiring by private employers
was much stronger last month
than economists expected,
with nearly twice as many jobs
strengthening of the US dollar.
Additionally, with the possibility
of an interest rate hike in the
US, this trend may persist," Anil
R, a Research Analyst, said.
According to the data from
the World Gold Council, Indi-
an gold demand in CY2023
declined by 17 per cent in
terms of volume, primarily due
to higher prices.
"Consequently, we antici-
pate muted retail demand in
the short term. It is challeng-
India gears up to reach scale in making
original electronic products: MoS IT
AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, 6 JULY
India aims to reach volumes and
scale in making original elec-
tronic products and the goal is
to catalyse partnerships between
the government, academia
and startups to enable manu-
facturing of IT hardware like that
includes laptops, servers and
tablets, Union Minister of State
for Electronics and IT, Rajeev
Chandrasekhar, said on Thurs-
day.
Addressing a 'Digital India
Dialogues' session on the
recently-revised production-
linked incentive (PLI) scheme
for IT hardware in Bengaluru,
the minister said that our ambi-
tions are very clear -- a $300 bil-
lion Electronics industry and
Strength of domestic demand works for economy, India poised to sustain growth momentum: Experts
AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, 6 JULY
The country’s impressive
growth experienced in 2022-
23, when the world economy
was rocked by inflation and
restrained by monetary tight-
ening, is a narrative on what
works for the Indian economy,
and what clearly works is the
strength of its domestic
demand.
This is the assessment of the
annual Economic Review for
2022-23, released by the Finance
Ministry on Thursday.
"Strong balance sheets and
digital advancements could
lead to better credit decisions
allowing India’s financial cycle
to sustain for longer periods
before encountering the chal-
lenge of bad debts. Thus, India
appears poised to sustain its
created than forecast.
The ADP report can be
volatile and “isn’t necessar-
ily a good predictor of the
monthly jobs report” that is
more comprehensive and
due from the U.S. government
on Friday, said Mike Loewen-
gart, head of model portfo-
lio construction at Morgan
Stanley Global Investment
Office.
But it also paired with a sep-
arate report showing that the
number of U.S. workers apply-
ing for unemployment last
week remains low relative to
history, even if it was a bit high-
er than expected.
More reports on the econ-
omy will arrive later in the
morning, including one show-
ing how many job openings
employers advertised in May
and the latest monthly update
on the health of the services
sector.
Thursday’s pullback for
Wall Street follows a big rally
through the first half of the year
built amid relief that the econ-
omy has remained surprisingly
ing to determine the day-to-day
impact of these factors on stock
prices. However, we expect
the demand to pick-up in India
as the festive season com-
mences," Anil added.
At Comex, gold prices con-
solidated within a range on
Thursday, trading down by
0.09 per cent at $1,924 per
ounce. Gold August future con-
tract at MCX is trading marginally
up by 0.05 per cent at Rs 58,495
per 10 gm, said Saumil Gand-
hi, Senior Analyst - Com-
modities, HDFC Securities.
Comex gold prices came
under pressure following
strength in US Treasury yields
and the dollar index on the back
of hawkish commentary from
Federal Reserve officials' last
meeting minutes, Gandhi said.
"The minutes showed that
a large majority of policymak-
ers agreed that more tighten-
ing would likely be needed this
year," he added.
In the domestic market,
bullion is trading slightly high-
er as prices get support from a
weaker Rupee, which has depre-
ciated almost 0.60 per cent
against the US dollar so far this
week, he said.
the $1 trillion digital economy
by 2026.
“Aligned with Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi’s vision,
we want to be enablers in
deepening India’s compo-
nents and semiconductor
ecosystem. The IT hardware PLI
scheme has been carefully
designed this time with inputs
from the industry,” he told the
growth in a more durable way
than before," the Review stat-
ed.
The provisional GDP esti-
mates for 2022-23 released in
May were higher than the con-
sensus estimate, it said.
"A strong final quarter per-
formance pushed the GDP
growth for the full year to 7.2
per cent, higher than the 7 per
cent estimated in February. This
upside to the growth estimate
takes the growth momentum
deep into the current year," the
Review noted.
It further emphasised that
several forecasting agencies also
share optimism about India's
growth story as they have
revised their growth estimates
for the current fiscal upwards.
"The latest evidence also
does not indicate any slowing
of activity in the first two
resilient despite much high-
er interest rates.
The Federal Reserve has
raised its federal funds rate by
a mammoth 5 percentage
points from virtually zero
early last year in order to
smother the worst inflation in
decades. High interest rates
work by slowing the entire
economy, and unanticipated
cracks often appear in areas
of the economy under the pres-
sure.
Indian economy: Finance ministry
AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, 6 JULY
The Indian economy has car-
ried the momentum from the
past year into the current fis-
cal year and there has been no
evidence by far that suggests
a slowdown in the current
financial year 2023-24, said the
Department of Economic
Affairs under Ministry of
Finance in its monthly review
report.
According to the provi-
sional estimates released by
the National Statistical Office
(NSO) recently, real GDP
growth for 2022-23 stood at 7.2
per cent, higher than the 7 per
cent as was projected earlier.
An upward revision in the
2022-23 GDP numbers is
expected going forward. For
2023-24, the central govern-
ment sees growth at about 6.5
per cent.
"A strong final quarter per-
formance pushed the GDP
growth for the full year to 7.2
per cent, higher than the 7 per
cent estimated in February.
This upside to the growth
gathering. In May, the gov-
ernment cleared the PLI 2.0
scheme for IT hardware with
an outlay of Rs 17,000 crore,
more than doubling the bud-
get for the scheme that was first
cleared in 2021 to incentivise
and promote domestic man-
ufacturing by attracting large
investments in the value chain.
After implementation, it
months of the current year.
India is the fastest-growing
major economy, is now no
longer only a statistical fact,"
the document informed.
The Review said that infla-
tion emerged as the major
challenge in 2022-23 for India
as it did for the rest of the world
following the emergence of the
geopolitical conflict and the
impact of El Nino.
The Fed’s breakneck pace
over the last 16 months has
already helped caused several
failures in the U.S. banking sys-
tem, as well as hits to the hous-
ing market and other cor-
ners of the economy.
But inflation has also
slowed since peaking last
summer. The hope on Wall
Street had been that just one
or two more rate hikes would
be on the way this year before
the Fed could begin cutting
estimate takes the growth
momentum deep into the
current year," said the finance
ministry report.
Several forecasting agen-
cies also share optimism as they
have upwardly revised their
growth estimates for India
for 2023-24.
"The latest evidence also
does not indicate any slowing
will be with a cap on maximum
incentives available to partic-
ipating companies.
With an anticipated incre-
mental investment of Rs 2,430
crore, the scheme aims to gen-
erate an incremental produc-
tion amounting to Rs 3,35,000
crore. Moreover, the PLI 2.0 is
expected to create 75,000 direct
jobs along with over 2 lakh indi-
rect jobs, significantly increas-
ing employment opportunities
in the sector.
Through the provision of
financial incentives, the gov-
ernment seeks to encourage
localisation of IT hardware
components and sub-assem-
blies. The scheme covers lap-
tops, tablets, all-in-one PCs,
servers and ultra small form fac-
tor devices.
"The world over, policy
measures to mitigate infla-
tion were broadly similar-
monetary tightening by the cen-
tral banks and supply easing
by the governments. What,
however, worked for India
was the country’s inflation
breaching the target to a less-
er extent as compared to the
groups of emerging market
economies (EMEs) and
rates in the first part of next
year. But Thursday’s sur-
prisingly hot data on the job
market could keep the Fed
inclined to keep rates high for
even longer than expected.
Yields jumped in the bond
market on such expectations.
The yield on the 10-year Trea-
sury rose to 4.02% from 3.94%
late Wednesday. It helps set
rates for mortgages and other
important loans.
The two-year Treasury
of activity in the first two
months of the current year.
India is the fastest-growing
major economy, is now no
longer only a statistical fact,"
it added.
The finance ministry stat-
ed that what has been clear-
ly working for India's econo-
my is the strength of its domes-
tic demand.
Industry needs to work closely with govt
on new data protection bill: Experts
AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, 6 JULY
The approval of the Digital Per-
sonal Data Protection (DPDP)
Bill by the Cabinet presents
a positive step towards insti-
tuting a data protection regime
in the country and industry
will need to work closely with
the government so that the
rules are simple and imple-
mentable, especially for the
startup ecosystem, experts
said on Thursday.
The clearance paves the
way for the DPDP Bill to be
introduced in Parliament in
the upcoming Monsoon ses-
sion, scheduled to begin on
July 20.
“Parliamentary approval
will likely be sought during the
Monsoon session, and could
further invite dialogue/resis-
advanced economies (AEs).
This happened as the average
inflation in 2022-23 was lower
in India than in the groups of
EMEs and AEs, possibly owing
to greater supply easing in the
country," it explained.
As a result of this, the RBI
did not have to increase the pol-
icy rates as much as the cen-
tral banks of other countries
did.
"As the year-end
approached, the declining
international prices of com-
modities led to a steep decline
in India’s wholesale price infla-
tion. The pass-through to the
retail level took some time, but
before the year-end, headline
inflation in India entered the
target range. Core inflation,
however, remained sticky but
started to decline from March
2023 onwards," the Review
yield, which moves more on
expectations for the Fed,
leaped to 5.06% from 4.95%.
It’s back to where it was in early
March, before the failures of
Silicon Valley Bank and other
banks rattled confidence
across financial markets.
On Wall Street, bank stocks
were sliding to some of the
sharpest losses amid worries
about higher interest rates.
Zions Bancorp fell 4.4%, and
Comerca dropped 4.4%.
PacWest Bancorp slid 6.2%
Big Tech stocks also tend
to be some of the hardest hit
by high interest rates, along
with other high-growth stocks.
A 1.6% drop for Amazon and
1.5% fall for Nvidia were two
of the heaviest weights on the
S&P 500.
Both remain comfortably
up for the year so far, though,
with Nvidia still up 185%.
Meta Platforms, the par-
ent company of Facebook,
Instagram and WhatsApp,
was an outlier. It added 0.5%
after unveiling its new app
Threads, a rival to Twitter,
"High-frequency indica-
tors paint a healthy picture of
the state of the economy.
Urban demand conditions
remain resilient, with higher
growth in auto sales, fuel con-
sumption and UPI transac-
tions. Rural demand is also on
its path to recovery, with
robust growth in two and
three wheelers sales."
tance during discussions with
stakeholders, which may ren-
der this exercise moot,”
Abhishek Malhotra, Manag-
ing Partner, TMT Law Prac-
tice, told IANS.
The Cabinet had earlier
approved a version of the
Data protection Bill as well,
which met with similar resis-
said. The pandemic had struck
at its roots to cause an unprece-
dented contraction of output
in 2020-21. "The domestic
demand has, however, recov-
ered since then and moved from
strength to strength in 2022-
23. In the process, it enabled
a near convergence of the pre-
and post-pandemic quarter-
ly growth trajectories," the
assessment report said.
Stated simply, 2022-23 has
brought the economy to a
touching distance of the quar-
terly output it would have
otherwise achieved in the
absence of the pandemic.
Post-pandemic quarterly tra-
jectories of consumption and
investment have already
crossed their pre-pandemic
paths. However the report
said that net exports need to
cover some more ground as
which has had a bumpy ride
under new owner Elon Musk.
Stock markets fell sharply
abroad. China’s market has
been under particular pres-
sure recently as the recovery
for the world’s second-largest
economy sputters following
the removal of anti-COVID
restrictions. Tensions between
China and the United States
have also weighed on the
market, and U.S. Treasury
Secretary Janet Yellen visited
China Thursday attempting
to improve relations.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng
index dropped 3%, partly due
to heavy selling of Chinese
banks shares after Goldman
Sachs downgraded them, cit-
ing concerns about the slow-
ing economy and lenders’
exposures to debt. Stocks in
Shanghai fell 0.5%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped
1.7% after being one of the
world’s stars through the first
half of the year.
In Europe, France’s CAC
40 tumbled 2.6% and Ger-
many’s DAX lost 1.9%.
Goods and Services tax
collection, Purchasing Man-
agers' Index (PMI) for the
manufacturing and services
sector continues to expand,
it noted.
Further, for the agricul-
tural sector, it said the fore-
cast of a normal monsoon
despite the prevalence of El
Nino, adequate availability
of seeds and fertilisers and suf-
ficient water in key reservoirs
augur well for a healthy kharif
season. India has three crop-
ping seasons -- summer,
kharif, and rabi.
Crops sown during June-
July and harvested in October-
November are kharif. Crops
that are sown during October-
November and the produce
harvested from January-March
depending on maturity is
Rabi. Crops produced after rabi
but ahead of kharif are sum-
mer crops.
Farmers have meanwhile
started sowing their Kharif
crops. Paddy, moong, bajra,
maize, groundnut, soybean,
and cotton are some of the
major Kharif crops.
tance.
“However, primarily, the
DPDP Bill has received con-
siderable endorsement from
academicians, policymakers
and industry players, and will
enable India to safeguard cit-
izen data with a light touch
approach,” Malhotra added.
The data protection bill
specifies norms on manage-
ment of personal data of res-
idents in India and requires
explicit consent from people
whose data is collected and
used.
According to Malhotra,
the penalty provisions will
ensure that security consid-
erations, data safety are para-
mount considerations for
entities that have been at the
receiving end of several data
breaches during the post pan-
demic years.
external demand did not work
for India’s economy in the
second half of 2022-23 as well
as it did in the first half.
"When external demand
starts to work, the pre-and
post-pandemic trajectories of
real GDP will also converge. The
supply side served well the
demand side in 2022-23," it said.
The agriculture sector registered
a twelve-quarter record high
growth rate in the last quarter.
It rebounded in the fourth
quarter, driven by manufac-
turing. "The year-end saw the
contact-intensive services
sector fully recovering to its
pre-pandemic expanse and
depth. Rising employment
levels further worked for
India as it increased inclu-
sivity and strengthened
domestic demand," the
report added.

Vulnerable communities in Afghanistan are experiencing record levels of food insecuri-
ty and are in desperate need of health services, clean water, and education
Hong Kong changes law to slash directly elected council seats,
undermining democratic challenges: Hong Kong lawmakers on
Thursday passed an amendment to a law to eliminate most
directly elected seats on local district councils, the last major
political representative bodies chosen by the public, shutting
down further democratic challenges in the city. The changes
UAE pledges $15 million to
include slashing the proportion of directly elected seats in the
municipal-level organization being from some 90% currently to
just about 20% — even lower than the level when these bodies
were first set up in the 1980s, when Hong Kong was ruled by
help rebuild West Bank camp
Britain.The rest of the 470 seats will be filled by members
appointed by the chief executive, rural committee chairper-
Israel withdrew its troops on Wednesday, revealing a trail of wreckage
sons and others elected by local committees that are packed ASSOCIATED PRESS
with pro-establishment figures. TEL AVIV, 6 JULY
he United Arab Emi-
TENDER
T rates pledged Thurs-
day to give $15 million
to help rebuild the
Jenin refugee camp after the
most intense Israeli military
operation in the occupied
West Bank in nearly two
decades. The funding promise
comes after the two-day offen-
sive destroyed the camp’s
narrow roads and alleyways.
The operation, meant to crack
down on Palestinian mili-
tants after a series of recent
attacks on Israelis, sent thou-
sands of people fleeing their
homes.
Twelve Palestinians and
one Israeli soldier were killed
in the fighting. The UAE’s
state-run WAM news agency
reported that the money
would be granted to UNRWA,
the U.N. agency that assists
Palestinian refugees, to
rebuild damaged homes and
businesses and for the
agency’s services. UNRWA has
struggled recently to raise the
funding it needs to keep its
Imran Khan booked
for attack on Pak
Army’s GHQ
AGENCIES
ISLAMABAD, 6 JULY
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
(PTI) chairman Imran Khan
has been nominated in six
cases, including the attacks
on the General Headquarters
(GHQ), military installations,
and the incident of arson at
Metro Station, in a major
development in the probe of
May 9 violence.
Sources said three of these
cases had been registered on
9 May and the other three on
10 May, under the Anti-Ter-
rorism Act (ATA), The News
reported. The joint investi-
gation teams (JITs) are carrying
out a probe into all the cases,
Thousands party in Spain’s Pamplona city as firework
blast begins San Fermin bull-running festival
ASSOCIATED PRESS
PAMPLONA, SPAIN, 6 JULY
Tens of thousands of people
packed the town hall square
in the northern Spanish city of
Pamplona on Thursday to cel-
ebrate the traditional “chupina-
zo” firework blast that starts
the San Fermín bull-running
festival. Nearly everyone,
including many tourists, was
dressed in the traditional garb
of white trousers and shirt
with red sash and neckerchief
as they sang and shouted.
As the rocket was fired,
AS NEW ZEALAND PROVIDES FUNDING TO SUPPORT AFGHANISTAN
Palestinian residents emerge to scenes of vast destruction
ASSOCIATED PRESS
JENIN REFUGEE CAMP, 6 JULY
Palestinian residents of the
Jenin refugee camp encoun-
tered scenes of widespread
destruction Wednesday as
they emerged from their
homes and returned from
nearby shelters following the
most intense Israeli military
operation in the occupied
West Bank in nearly two
decades.
The two-day offensive,
meant to crack down on
Palestinian militants after a
series of recent attacks,
destroyed the camp’s narrow
roads and alleyways, sent
thousands of people fleeing
day-to-day operations help-
ing millions of people across
the Middle East.
Israel’s fierce incursion this
week saw bulldozers tearing
through streets to clear a
path for the hundreds of sol-
diers deployed. Israel with-
they added.
Sources further stated that
the cases had been registered
at Civil Lines in Faisalabad,
Samanabad, RA Bazar, and
New Town police stations in
Rawalpindi, City Police Sta-
tion in Mianwali and Police
Station Cantt in Gujranwala,
on behalf of their respective
police officials.
The former Prime Minis-
ter had not been nominated
in any of the 28 cases regis-
tered earlier in Rawalpindi.
The decision to include
his name came in light of
statements provided by the
suspects under investigation
and in consultation with legal
experts, the sources added.
many doused each other with
red or sparkling wine. The high-
NEW ZEALAND FOREIGN MINISTER NANAIA MAHUTA
their homes and killed 12
Palestinians. One Israeli sol-
dier also was killed.
While Israel claimed the
operation had inflicted a
tough blow on the militants,
it remained unclear whether
there would be any lasting
effect on reducing more than
a year of Israeli-Palestinian
drew its troops on Wednes-
day, revealing a scene of
destruction. Roads in the
densely populated area of
some 24,000 people were
chewed up, with piles of bro-
ken asphalt, stones and rocks
lying on the sides. Cars, some
Politician assassinated in Yemen
SANAA, 6 JULY
A group of unidentfied assailants
gunned down a prominent
politician in Yemen's south-
western province of Taiz, a
local security official said.
The assassination took place
in the port city of Mocha when
Al-Haisi, a leading member of
the Muslim Brotherhood-affil-
Thousands of Israelis
cripple Tel Aviv highway
TEL AVIV, 6 JULY
Thousands of protesters on
Wednesday blocked Tel Aviv’s
main highway and major
roads and intersections across
Israel in a spontaneous out-
burst of anger following the
forced resignation of the city’s
popular police chief. Ami
Eshed announced late
light of the nine-day festival
is the early morning “encier-
09
NEW DELHI, FRIDAY 07 JULY 2023
violence. The offensive also
further weakened the Pales-
tinian Authority, Israel’s erst-
while partner in battling mil-
itants, which already had lit-
tle control in the camp to begin
with.
Israel launched the inva-
sion in the camp, long known
as a bastion of Palestinian mil-
itants, on Monday, saying
its goal was to destroy and con-
fiscate weapons.
It carried out airstrikes and
sent in hundreds of troops in
an operation that was remi-
niscent of the bloody period
two decades ago known as the
second intifada, or Palestin-
ian uprising against Israel’s
open-ended occupation.
overturned on the sides of
roads, were smashed and
scorched. UNRWA said some
of its own facilities, includ-
ing the windows and walls of
a health center and the road
leading up its school, sus-
tained damage.
iated Islah party, was ambushed
by the masked gunmen armed
with assault rifles, the official said
on condition of anonymity.
The assailants opened fire on
Al-Haisi's vehicle, killing him on
the spot, the official added. The
attackers managedtoescapeafter
the drive-by shooting, the offi-
cial said.
Wednesday that he was leav-
ing the Israeli police force
under what he said was polit-
ical pressure. Eshed has reg-
ularly clashed with the coun-
try’s hard-line national secu-
rity minister, Itamar Ben-
Gvir, who has demanded that
police take a tougher stance
against months of anti-gov-
ernment protests.
ros,” or bull runs, starting on
Friday, when thousands of
daredevils race to avoid six bulls
charging along a winding
cobblestoned route to the
city’s bullring. Spectators
watch from balconies and
wooden barricades set up
along the course. The spec-
tacle is televised nationally.
The rest of each day is for
eating, drinking, dancing and
cultural entertainment.
The festival was made
famous by Ernest Heming-
way’s 1926 novel “The Sun Also
Rises.”
10 NEW DELHI, FRIDAY 07 JULY 2023
If adventure has a name,
it must be Indiana Jones
ANWESHA SANTRA
n the annals of popular culture,
I few characters have captured the
collective imagination quite like
Indiana Jones. With his
iconic fedora hat, leather
jacket and bullwhip,
this intrepid adven-
turer-archaeologist
has become an
enduring symbol
of exploration,
danger and the
pursuit of ancient
treasures.
Steeped in
the mystique of
archaeology and
imbued with an
insatiable thirst for
adventure, Indiana Jones
aka Indy has transcended
the silver screen, becoming an
indelible part of our cultural fabric. As
we delve into the enigmatic world of
this iconic character, we discover a
multidimensional figure who embod-
ies bravery, intellect, vulnerability and
a relentless desire to uncover the
secrets of the past.
From the moment we first
encounter Jones in Raiders of the Lost
Ark, we are introduced to a man who
straddles the realms of academia and
high-stakes adventure. As an esteemed
archaeology professor, his vast knowl-
edge and scholarly pursuits provide the
foundation for his exhilarating
escapades. Yet, it is his insatiable
curiosity and unwavering determina-
tion that propel him into treacherous
expeditions across the globe.
Indiana Jones’ character is defined
by his unwavering moral compass.
Faced with the malevolent forces of
Nazi antagonists or unscrupulous arte-
fact hunters, Jones embodies the spirit
of a hero who strives to protect histori-
cal treasures from falling into the
wrong hands. He is not merely driven
by personal gain or fame but by a deep
sense of justice and reverence for the
past. While Indiana Jones possesses
extraordinary skills, he is not immune
to the vulnerabilities that make him
human. His flaws, fears and imperfec-
tions remind us that even heroes have
their limits. It is through his vulnera-
bility that we connect with him on a
deeper level, understanding that
courage is not the absence of fear but
the ability to confront it head-on.
Beyond his physical prowess and intel-
lect, Indiana Jones possesses an
unmatched wit and charm. With his
dry sense of humour and quick quips,
he navigates perilous situations with a
touch of levity, endearing himself to
audiences as a captivating and relat-
able protagonist.
As we embark on this exploration
of Indiana Jones, we will delve into the
heart-pounding adventures that have
captivated generations, unravel the lay-
ers of his character, and examine the
enduring appeal of his timeless legacy.
Be it the thrilling pursuit of the Ark of
the Covenant or the quest for the Holy
Grail, Indiana Jones remains an unpar-
alleled figure in the realm of adventure
cinema, leaving an indelible mark on
the hearts and minds of those who dare
to join him on his perilous journeys.
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raiders of the Lost Ark embarks on
an enthralling expedition that
intertwines the realms of
archaeology, mytholo-
gy and Nazi villainy.
Set against the
backdrop of
World War II, the
film introduces
us to the auda-
cious and
charismatic
Indiana Jones
(portrayed flaw-
lessly by Harrison
Ford), an archaeol-
ogy professor with a knack for
unearthing ancient treasures. When the
United States government enlists his
expertise in retrieving the mystical Ark
of the Covenant before it falls into the
hands of Adolf Hitler’s forces, Jones
embarks on a perilous adventure that
takes him from the jungles of Peru to
the deserts of Egypt.
At its core, the film is a masterclass
in pacing, blending high-octane action
sequences with moments of suspense
and levity. Spielberg's deft directorial
touch is evident as he seamlessly
weaves together breathtaking set
pieces, such as the iconic boulder
chase and the fiery climax.
The film’s exploration of themes
such as heroism, morality and the
power of ancient artefacts adds depth
to the narrative. The Ark of the
Covenant, a biblical relic imbued with
immense power, becomes a catalyst for
moral dilemmas and showcases the
fine line between historical significance
and dangerous obsession.
Indiana Jones and the
Temple of Doom
Indiana Jones and the Temple of
Doom takes a distinct tonal shift from
its predecessor, delving into darker
themes and a more grotesque depic-
tion of violence.
Set in 1935, the film follows the
intrepid archaeologist as he finds him-
self entangled in a treacherous quest to
retrieve a stolen precious stone and
rescue enslaved children from the
clutches of an ancient cult. From the
heart-pounding opening sequence in
a Shanghai nightclub to the harrowing
finale inside a booby-trapped temple
in India, the film delivers a relentless
onslaught of action and suspense.
The film drew criticism upon its
release for its portrayal of Indian cul-
ture, with some arguing that it relied
on stereotypes and perpetuated cultur-
al insensitivities. Despite the contro-
versy, the film’s exploration of mysti-
cal elements and its depiction of a
shadowy, otherworldly cult adds a layer
of supernatural intrigue to the fran-
chise. It explores the consequences of
unchecked greed and the redemptive
power of choosing the right path.
Indiana Jones and the
Last Crusade
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
is a triumphant adventure that exem-
plifies the best qualities of the Indiana
Jones franchise. The film introduces us
to Indiana Jones once again, this time
in a race against time to find the Holy
Grail, the legendary artefact said to
possess eternal life. Joined by his
estranged father, Henry Jones, the duo
embarks on a perilous adventure that
takes them from Venice to the deserts
of Jordan and deep into the treacher-
ous corridors of a hidden temple.
At the core of the film is the
dynamic relationship between Indiana
Jones and his father, brilliantly por-
trayed by Harrison Ford and Sean Con-
nery, respectively. Their chemistry and
banter inject humour and warmth into
the narrative, giving the film a deeper
emotional resonance. The exploration
of their strained yet endearing father-
son dynamic adds a layer of depth to
their characters and enhances the over-
all storytelling. From the thrilling
motorcycle chase on the streets of
Venice to the heart-stopping trials
inside the Grail Temple, each sequence
is meticulously crafted, showcasing
Spielberg’s mastery of pacing, sus-
pense and spectacle. The film
seamlessly combines practical
effects, breathtaking stunts and
seamless visual effects, creating
an immersive cinematic experi-
ence.
The film not only serves as a
thrilling adventure but also explores
themes of faith, sacrifice and the relent-
less pursuit of knowledge. The quest
for the Holy Grail becomes a
metaphorical journey of self-discovery
and redemption for Indiana Jones, as
he confronts his past and learns valu-
able lessons about the true meaning of
treasures and the importance of choos-
ing wisely.
Indiana Jones and the
Kingdom of the Crystal
Skull
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of
the Crystal Skull thrusts audiences into
the 1950s Cold War era, where Jones
finds himself entangled in a quest to
uncover the secrets of the mysterious
crystal skull. The action sequences,
while over-the-top at times, deliver the
trademark Indiana Jones excitement,
from the thrilling chase through the
Amazonian jungle to the explosive
finale set in a secret city. Despite these
positives, the film received criticism for
certain narrative choices. The intro-
duction of elements such as extrater-
restrial themes and the crystal skull
itself divided audiences, with some
feeling that it departed too far from the
archaeological and historical roots that
defined the franchise.
Indiana Jones and the Dial
of Destiny
In a race against time, Indiana
Jones seeks after a fabled dial that has
the power to alter the course of history.
Accompanied by his goddaughter,
Jones soon finds himself facing off
against Jürgen Voller, a former Nazi
who works for National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA).
Indiana Jones and The Dial of Des-
tiny features Phoebe Waller-Bridge,
known for her role in Fleabag, as Indy's
goddaughter. Mads Mikkelsen portrays
the role of an ex-Nazi.
The film has already hit the Indian
theatres and spectators are anxious to
watch the adrenaline-fueled set pieces.
on the big screen.

WEATHER
CITY MAX(°C) MIN(°C)
SINGAPORE 31 25 R
HONG KONG
TOKYO
LONDON
DUBAI
21
10
13
27
18 H
2 CL
7 H
19 H
SAN FRANCISCO 13
NEW YORK 12
8 R
7 H
MOSCOW -4 -22 H
S= sunny, CL= clear,
H=hazy, R= rainy...
THUMBNAILS
Tubers float the cool Comal
River in New Braunfels,
Texas. � AP
Aus state registers 'con-
cerning' rise in influenza
rates: The health authority
in the Australian state of
NSW on Thursday warned
of rising influenza rates
and hospitalizations among
children and teenagers,
urging parents to have
their kids aged five to 16
years vaccinated. Children
aged under 16 years repre-
sented 54 per cent of all ED
presentations for influenza-
like illness, and over a third
of all influenza-like illness
hospital admissions in the
past week. IANS
Shark patrols ramped up in
NY's Long Island: Authori-
ties have ramped up shark
patrols at beaches in New
York's Long Island after five
people were bitten in just
two days by marine animals.
Officials in Long Island’s
eastern Suffolk County,
where three of the attacks
occurred, have increased
beach patrols and are using
drones to scour the water
for potential threats. IANS
US House control could hinge on district battles in famously liberal state California
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES, 6 JULY
In 2024, control of the U.S.
House could hinge on con-
gressional districts in one
famously liberal state: Cali-
fornia.
Command of the narrow-
ly divided chamber will again
be in play next year, and lead-
ers in both parties agree on this
much: The outcome in a string
of contested California dis-
tricts will be critical in deter-
mining the balance of power,
after the state played a pivotal
role in securing the gavel for
Republicans in 2022 and
installing Rep. Kevin McCarthy
of Bakersfield as speaker.
The decisive fight for the
House “will run through Cal-
ifornia,” predicts Rep. Pete
Aguilar, the third-ranking
Democrat in the chamber,
Meta takes aim at Twitter with the launch of rival app Threads
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON, 6 JULY
Meta has unveiled an app
called Threads to rival Twit-
ter, targeting users looking for
an alternative to the social
media platform owned —
and frequently changed — by
Elon Musk.
Threads is billed as a text-
based version of Meta’s photo-
sharing app Instagram that the
company says provides “a
new, separate space for real-
time updates and public con-
versations.”
It went live late Wednes-
day in Apple and Google
Android app stores, with CEO
Mark Zuckerberg saying 10 mil-
lion people had signed up in
the first seven hours.
There were some early
glitches, including Zucker-
berg’s posts — or Threads as
they’re dubbed — not load-
ing in several places includ-
ing the United Kingdom, India
and Lebanon. But his replies
to other users did appear.
Threads launched in more
than 100 countries — includ-
Belarusian President claims
Wagner chief is in Russia
Kremlin refused to comment on Yevgeny Prigozhin’s whereabouts
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MINSK, 6 JULY
he mercenary leader
T who led a short-lived
mutiny against the
Kremlin is in Russia
and his Wagner troops are in
their field camps, the president
of Belarus said Thursday, rais-
ing new questions about the
deal that ended the extraor-
dinary challenge to President
Vladimir Putin’s rule. Belaru-
sian President Alexander
Lukashenko’s claim could not
be independently verified, and
the Kremlin refused to com-
ment on Yevgeny Prigozhin’s
whereabouts. It was not clear
if traveling to Russia would vio-
late the deal, which allowed the
Wagner chief to move to Belarus
in exchange for ending the
rebellion and a promise of
amnesty for him and his troops.
Few details of the agree-
ment brokered by Lukashenko
have emerged. Last week,
Lukashenko said the merce-
nary leader was in Belarus.
French justice working overtime and the
mood is stern after thousands of teen arrests
AGENCIES
CRETEIL, 6 JULY
At 19, he was the oldest of the
group of teens accused of
lobbing Molotov cocktails at
the police station of their
suburban hometown.
“Why?” the judge asked
Riad, who was taken into cus-
tody after he was identified in
video surveillance images of
the group from June 29, the
second night of nationwide
unrest following the police
shooting of another suburban
teenager outside Paris.
“For justice for Nahel,”
Riad said. Slumped and slight-
ly disheveled after five nights
in jail, he said he didn’t know
about the peaceful march
organized by Nahel Mer-
zouk’s family. He explained
the cellphone photo of him
holding a Molotov cocktail was
“for social media. To give an
image.”
In all, more than 3,600
who lives in Redlands, east of
Los Angeles. North Carolina Rep.
Richard Hudson, who heads the
House Republican campaign
arm, is bullish about gaining
ground, even in a state known
as a Democratic monolith.
“I think we can actually
pick up seats in California,” said
Hudson, chair of the Nation-
al Republican Congressional
Committee.
The 10 competitive House
districts belie California’s rep-
utation as a liberal protec-
torate — Democrats hold every
statewide office, dominate the
Legislature and congression-
al delegation and outnumber
registered Republicans
statewide by a staggering 2-1
ratio.
Still, Republicans retain
pockets of political clout in the
Southern California suburbs
and the state’s vast rural stretch-
ing the U.S., Britain, Aus-
tralia, Canada and Japan — and
has already drawn celebrity
users like chef Gordon Ram-
say, pop star Shakira and
actor Jack Black as well as
accounts from Airbnb, Guin-
ness World Records, Netflix,
Vogue magazine and other
media outlets.
The Twitter-like microblog-
ging experience suggests that
Meta Platforms has been
gearing up to directly challenge
the platform after Musk’s
Things are out of control. Serbian people have been cornered.
Russian media later reported
he was seen at his offices in
St. Petersburg, a sign that the
deal may have allowed him to
finalize his affairs in Russia.
On Thursday, Lukashenko
told international reporters that
the mercenary leader was in
St. Petersburg and Wagner’s
troops were in their camps. He
did not specify the location of
the camps, but Prigozhin’s
mercenaries fought along-
side Russian forces in eastern
Ukraine before their revolt
and also have bases on the
Russian territory. Asked about
people have been detained in
the unrest across France since
the death of Nahel on June 27,
with an average age of 17,
according to the Interior Min-
istry. The violence, which left
more than 800 law enforce-
ment officers injured, has
largely subsided in recent
days.
French courts are working
overtime to process the arrests,
including opening their doors
through the weekend, with
fast-track hearings around
an hour long and same-day
es, including the Central Val-
ley farm belt, sometimes called
America’s salad bowl for its
bountiful agricultural pro-
duction.
With the chamber divided
222-212, with one vacancy,
only a handful of seats sepa-
rate the two parties.
Though the state’s March
primary election is months
away, the narrative from both
parties has taken shape. Democ-
tumultuous ownership has
resulted in a series of unpop-
ular changes that have turned
off users and advertisers.
Zuckerberg said in some
early replies on Threads that
he’s focused on making the
app “a friendly place,” which
will “ultimately be the key to
its success.”
“That’s one reason why
Twitter never succeeded as
much as I think it should
have, and we want to do it dif-
ferently,” he wrote.
ACCUSING KOSOVO OF CARRYING OUT ‘SILENT ETHNIC CLEANSING’ OF SERBS
where Prigozhin is, Kremlin
spokesman Dmitry Peskov
refused to comment, but reaf-
firmed that the deal that
ended the mutiny envisaged
his move to Belarus.
Lukashenko said his gov-
ernment offered Wagner, a pri-
vate military contractor that
has sent troops around the
world to fight for Russia’s
interests, the use of Belarusian
military camps but the com-
pany had not made a final deci-
sion. He also said that Prigozhin
has been given back the cash
and weapons that were con-
sentencing.
The prosecutor noted that
Riad had learned where to
acquire incendiary devices
on Snapchat, the social net-
work which the French gov-
ernment has singled out along
with TikTok as fueling the
unrest. Riad’s lawyer noted his
record was clean, and he was
blamed for no significant
damage or any injuries.
By the end of Tuesday,
Riad’s sentence was fixed:
three years, with a minimum
of 18 months behind bars,
rats are warning about threats
to abortion rights, immigration
and unchecked gun violence,
while Republicans are faulting
the party that dominates state
politics for high taxes, inflation,
vexing crime rates and an out-
of-control homeless crisis.
Also on the ballot will be Cal-
ifornia itself.
A national debate is under-
way — fanned by Democrat-
ic Gov. Gavin Newsom in Cal-
ifornia and Republican Gov. Ron
DeSantis in Florida — in which
the state is alternately depict-
ed as an ascendant progressive
nation-state or a testament to
the ravages of liberal excess.
Recent polling has found that
two out of three voters foresee
bad economic times over the
next year, and its once-boom-
ing population that neared 40
million is now in decline.
“A lot will depend on the
On Threads, there are but-
tons to like, repost, reply to
or quote a thread, and users
see the number of likes and
replies that a post has received.
Posts are limited to 500
characters, which is more
than Twitter’s 280-charac-
ter threshold, and can include
links, photos and videos up
to five minutes long.
Despite that, Meta said
its “vision is that Threads
will be a new app more focused
on text and dialogue, modeled
SERBIAN PRESIDENT ALEKSANDAR VUCIC
NEW DELHI, FRIDAY 07 JULY 2023 11
fiscated by Russian authorities.
Russian online newspaper
Fontanka posted videos and
photos of Prigozhin’s opu-
lent mansion in Russia’s sec-
ond-largest city and some
personal items. It also published
a collection of selfies that
showed him posing in various
wigs and foreign uniforms,
an apparent reflection of Wag-
ner’s deployments to Syria
and several African countries.
Asked if Prigozhin and his
mercenaries would eventu-
ally move to Belarus,
Lukashenko answered eva-
sively that it would depend
on the decisions of the Wag-
ner chief and the Russian
government. The Belarusian
leader said he doesn’t think
the mercenaries’ presence
in Belarus would lead to the
destabilization of his coun-
try and said any Wagner
troops there would be required
to sign a contract with Belaru-
sian authorities that would
outline conditions and lim-
itations of their actions.
barred from his hometown of
Alfortville for the duration of
the term.
He collapsed on the stand:
“I’m not ready to go to prison.
I’m really not ready.” He
threw a furtive kiss at his
mother as he was led away.
Outside the packed court-
room, a pair of girls asked
someone exiting what sen-
tence he’d received. “Three
years? That’s insane!” one
exclaimed. But the mood in
France is stern after unrest that
officials estimate caused 1
billion euros (more than $1 bil-
lion) in damage. The killing
of 17-year-old Nahel came dur-
ing a June 27 traffic stop. The
shooting, which was cap-
tured on video, immediately
stirred up long-simmering
tensions between police and
young people — nearly all
minorities, and overwhelm-
ingly French-born — in hous-
ing projects and disadvan-
taged suburbs.
economy. The problem for
Democrats is wages did not keep
up with inflation. That may be
changing, but if people have
less money to spend next year,
that will be a big problem up
and down the Democratic
ticket,” said Claremont McKen-
na College political scientist Jack
Pitney. A string of California
House districts has proved
volatile in recent elections,
spotlighting their importance
to both parties as they look to
control the chamber. Democ-
rats snatched seven seats from
Republicans in 2018, then
Republicans seized four from
Democrats in 2020.
In the 2022 elections,
Republicans gained one seat,
from 11 to 12, while Democ-
rats dropped to 40 seats from
42, after California lost a
House seat in reapportionment
after the 2020 census.
after what Instagram has
done for photo and video.”
Instagram users will be
able to log in with their exist-
ing usernames and follow the
same accounts on the new app.
New users will have to set up
an Instagram account.
Meta emphasized mea-
sures to keep users safe, includ-
ing enforcing Instagram’s
community guidelines and
providing tools to control
who can mention or reply to
users.
Meta’s new offering, how-
ever, has raised data privacy
concerns. Threads could col-
lect a wide range of personal
information, including health,
financial, contacts, browsing
and search history, location
data, purchases and “sensi-
tive info,” according to its
data privacy disclosure on
the App Store.
Twitter co-founder Jack
Dorsey pointed it out in a
snarky tweet saying, “All your
Threads are belong to us”
that included a screenshot
of the disclosure. Musk replied
“yeah.”
 LUIS ENRIQUE IS NEW MANAGER OF PSG
Paris Saint Germain signed Luis Enrique as their new manager on a two-year deal.
53-year-old Luis Enrique has previously managed Football Club Barcelona, Roma, Celta Vigo
and also managed the Spanish Football team. According to the official website of Paris Saint
Germain it states, "Paris Saint-Germain is delighted to announce that Luis Enrique has
been named as its first team's new head coach, with the Spanish manager signing
For more updates
THUMBNAILS
Tamim Iqbal announces
shock int'l retirement: A
day after Bangladesh lost
the first ODI to Afghanistan
by 17 runs, ODI captain
Tamim Iqbal shocked every-
one by announcing his
retirement from interna-
tional cricket with immedi-
ate effect. Iqbal’s decision
to abruptly end his 16-year
international career comes
just three months before
Bangladesh play in the ODI
World Cup, to be held in
India from October 5 to
November 19. "This is the
end for me. I have given my
best. I have tried my best. I
am retiring from interna-
tional cricket from this
moment. Yesterday against
Afghanistan was my last
international game." "It was
not a sudden decision. I was
thinking about this for dif-
ferent reasons. I don't want
to mention here. I have spo-
ken to my family members
about it. I thought this is
the right time for me to
retire from international
cricket," Iqbal was quoted
as saying by ESPNCricinfo in
a tearful press conference
in Chattogram.
Mumbai City FC sign Tiri:
Mumbai City FC have bol-
stered their defence by
roping in Spanish centre-
back Jose Luis Espinosa
Arroyo, who is fondly
known as Tiri, on a one-year
contract that will see him
don the sky blue until the
end of the 2023-24 season.
"Mumbai City FC are
delighted to confirm the
signing of José Luis
Espinosa Arroyo," the club
announced on Thursday.
Born in Los Barrios, Spain,
the 31-year-old started his
professional career at his
hometown club Cádiz CF.
He made 49 appearances
for their ‘B’ team from
2009 to 2012, even making
two appearances for the
Cádiz first team in 2010. In
2012, Tiri moved on to play
for Atlético Madrid, where
he became a core member
of Atlético Madrid ‘B’ side,
representing them on 85
occasions between 2012 to
2015, Mumbai City FC
informed in a release.
Zaka Ashraf appointed
chairman of new PCB man-
agement committee: For-
mer Pakistan Cricket Board
(PCB) chairman Zaka Ashraf
is back at the helm as the
chairman of the newly-
formed 10-member PCB
management committee
by the country's federal
government. The manage-
ment committee, which has
been established through
the circulation of a summa-
ry for a duration of four
months on Wednesday, is
set to convene its inaugural
meeting on Thursday in
Lahore, local media report-
ed. The management com-
mittee consists of ten
members, namely Kalim
Ullah Khan, Ashafaq Akhtar,
Mussadiq Islam, Azmat
Parvez, Zaheer Abbas, Khur-
ram Soomro, Khawaja
Nadeem, Mustafa Ramday,
and Zulfiqar Malik.
HI distributes equipment worth over
Rs 8 cr to state member units, academies
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 6 JULY
Hockey India, on Thursday
announced that it has so dis-
tributed over 11,000 hockey
sticks, over 3,300 hockey balls,
and various playing safety
equipment, worth Rs eight
Crore to State Member Units
and Hockey Academies across
the country. The initiative by
Hockey India aligns with its
'Hockey India ka Abhiyan
Har Ghar Ho Hockey Ki
Pehchan’ program which not
only aims to develop hockey
at the grassroots level but
also encourage underprivileged
children to take up hockey as
a sport.
Apart from State Units,
hockey academies like Round-
glass Punjab Club, Dhyan
Chand Academy, Republi-
can Sports Club, Naval Tata
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
a two-year contract." Luis Enrique Martinez Garcia, 53, joins Paris Saint-Germain
with a solid honours list and a magnificent international reputation behind him.
After beginning his playing career at Sporting Gijon (1989-1992) and continu-
ing it at Real Madrid (1992-1996), the highly versatile ex-player took it to the
next level before bringing it to an end at FC Barcelona (1996-2004).
www.thestatesman.com
Ashes: Eng bowlers dominate,
Oz in trouble after first session
After 26 overs, Australia 91-4, on the crease are Mitchell Marsh batting on 5* and Travis Head on 10*
AGENCIES
LEEDS, 6 JULY
E
ngland bowlers dom-
inated the first session
in the 3rd Ashes Test
at Headingley on
Canada Open: PV Sindhu, Lakshya
Sen advance to next round
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 6 JULY
Two-time Olympic medalist
PV Sindhu and Common-
wealth Games champion
Lakshya Sen chalked out
contrasting victories to move
into the second round of
the Canada Badminton Open
in Calgary.
Former World Champion
Sindhu recorded a domi-
nating 21-16, 21-9 win over
world No. 62 Talia Ng of
Canada in the opening round
Academy Jamshedpur, Him
Academy, Mata Sahib Kaur
Academy are among the
beneficiaries of the distribu-
tion drive. The State and
Member Units distributed
the gear in their respective dis-
tricts. Hockey India President
Dilip Tirkey said "We are
delighted to provide these
essential resources to our
State Member Units and Hock-
ey Academies.
This distribution drive
aligns with our vision of build-
ing a strong foundation for
hockey development in India.
By equipping young players
with quality hockey sticks,
balls, and playing safety equip-
ment, we aim to create an
enabling environment that will
enable them to thrive and
reach their full potential."
According to , Hockey Maha-
rashtra’s Senior VPManoj
Thursday as they took four
wickets and kept Australia at
a score of 91-4.
After 26 overs, Australia
were 91-4. On the crease is
Mitchell Marsh batting on 5*
and Travis Head on 10*. Steve
while Lakshya Sen, upset
world No. 4 Kunlavut Vitid-
sarn of Thailand 21-18, 21-
15 in a hard-fought clash .
Playing on the badminton
courts of the Markin-
MacPhail Centre, Sindhu
and Talia went toe-to-toe in
the early stages. With the
scores tied at 13-all, the Indi-
an unleashed a series of
smashes to gain the upper
hand and claimed the open-
ing game. Sindhu continued
with the momentum into
the second game as she led
Bhore, “It is one of the best
initiatives by Hockey India. It
has helped numerous under-
privileged players in junior and
sub-junior categories as they
are now able to play with
proper and quality equip-
ment, which is a dream come
true for them. The distribu-
tion drive is a big boost for
those hockey aspirants who
want to play the sport but can’t
afford proper gear. "Also, this
move by Hockey India will def-
initely help in the promotion
of the sport in all parts of the
country and encourage more
and more children to take up
hockey as a sport.” Hockey
Kerala President V Sunil
Kumar also applauded the dis-
tribution drive, “It is a brilliant
move by Hockey India as it has
motivated numerous chil-
dren in the state to play hock-
ey.
Smith and Marnus
Labuschagne were the only
Australian batter to cross the
20-run mark. England's Stu-
art Broad took two wickets and
gave away just 20 runs in
five overs.
Talia Ng 4-0 early on. The
Canadian offered a brief
resistance to reduce the gap
to 6-5. However, the local
favourite failed to match the
Indian’s intensity who bagged
seven consecutive points
and wrapped up the match
with ease.
World no 15 Sindhu will
take on Japan’s world No. 27
Natsuki Nidaira in the round
of 16.
Later in the day, Lakshya
Sen and second seed
Kunlavut Vitidsarn were
involved in a intense
encounter but the Indian
held his nerves to take the
lead. The second game, too,
was a closely-fought affair.
Sen ,however, raised his
game in the final exchanges
and sealed the encounter in
38 minutes. In the other sin-
gles matches, B Sai Praneeth
crashed out after losing 21-
12, 21-17 to Brazil’s Ygor
Coelho, who will be Lak-
shya Sen’s opponent in the
second round. Another Indi-
an Gadde Ruthvika Shivani
lost 21-12, 21-3 to Thailand’s
Supanida Katethong in the
first round of the women’s
singles.
The Canada Open is the
fourth Super 500 tourna-
ment of the 2023 BWF World
Tour calendar after Indone-
sia Masters, Malaysia Mas-
ters and the Thailand Open.
FIH Pro League: India finishes fourth as Netherlands retain title
HARPAL SINGH BEDI
NEW DELHI, 6 JULY
India with 30 points from 16
matches finished fourth in the
FIH Pro League 2022-23 which
was won by the defending The
Netherlands((35 points).
Britain (32 points) ended as
the runners up while Bel-
gium, with 30 points, were
placed above India in the
table ,having more wins (10
vs India’s eight).
Ace drag flicker and India
captain Harmanpreet Singh
had the distinction of being
the top-scorer of the league
with 18 goals. The penalty cor-
ner specialist had also topped
the goal-scoring charts last sea-
son with the same number of
strikes.
The men in blue had a
podium finish in the last edi-
tion of the league as they
were placed third .However
England's skipper Ben
Stokes won the toss and opted
to field first.
In the 1st over, with the new
ball, Stuart Broad took the
wicket of David Warner. A big
edge led the ball into the safe
National 2W Racing C’ship: New
generation of riders likely to
push seniors hard in Round 2
AGENCIES
CHENNAI, 6 JULY
The possibility of a new gen-
eration of riders continuing
to push the seniors, as they
did in the season-opener at
Coimbatore last month,
looks like a possibility in
the second round of the
MMSC fmsci Indian Nation-
al Motorcycle Racing Cham-
pionship 2023 to be held from
Friday.
With over 150 entries in
the fray has heightened
expectations of stirring duels
in the event which gets
underway at the Madras
International Circuit here.
The three-day event with
15 races besides practice
and qualifying sessions,
brings together the country’s
top riders and bike manu-
facturers to contest in four
National championship cat-
egories – Pro-Stock 301-
400cc, Pro-Stock 165cc,
Novice (Stock 165cc) and
Girls (Stock 165cc), apart
from a support race in the
301-400cc (Novice) class,
informed a release by the
Madras Motor Sports Club
(MMSC).
The card also includes the
Petronas TVS One-Make
Championship comprising
three categories, the Open
(Apache RR 310), Rookie
in their debut season in 2020-
21 they were fourth
It turned out to be a tale
hands of Zak Crawley in the
slip. David Warner scored
four runs off five balls.
In the 12.6 over, Mark
Wood cleaned all ends up of
Usman Khawaja's wicket.
Wood bowled a blistering
ball with a pace of 95mph,
knocking the leg stump off the
ground.
Usman Khawaja had no
chance as the ball swung in
and hit the leg stump. Usman
Khawaja scored 13 runs off 37
balls while hitting four bound-
aries.
In the 19.3 over, Chris
Woakes got the wicket of
Marnus Labuschagne. A slight
edge of the bats of Marnus
took the ball into the safe hand
of Joe Root who was stand-
ing at first slip. Marnus
Labuschagne scored 21 runs
off 58 balls while hitting four
boundaries.
In the 24.2 over, Stuart
Broad struck again this time
he took the wicket of the
man in form Steve Smith.
A little inside edge on the
bat led the ball to fall into the
hands of the wicketkeeper
Jonny Bairstow.
Steve Smith made 22 runs
off 31 balls while smashing one
boundary and one maxi-
mum.
Brief Score: Australia (
Steve Smith 22, Marnus
Labuschagne 21 & Stuart
Broad 2/20)
(RTR 200) and Girls (RTR 200),
while Idemitsu Honda India
Talent Cup will have a dou-
ble-header in the NSF 250
class.
At the tight and twisty Kari
Motor Speedway in Coim-
batore last month, estab-
lished stars had to con-
stantly look over their shoul-
ders as a new generation of
racers announced its arrival
with podium and top-10
finishes. However, the very
technical MIC would be a dif-
ferent challenge for young
guns when they go up against
their experienced peers. In
this context, there is much
to look forward to in the races
this weekend.
Rajiv Sethu (RACR Cas-
trol Power1 Ultimate) and
Mathana Kumar (Pacer
Yamaha) started the sea-
son with a double apiece in
the two premium Pro-Stock
categories, 310-400cc and
165cc, respectively, in Coim-
batore, but both were test-
ed by a pair of Petronas TVS
Racing’s new recruits, Sarthak
Chavan from Pune and Ben-
galuru’s Chiranth Vish-
wanath. Another teenager,
Shreyas Hareesh (Rockers
Racing) from Bengaluru
impressed with two top-10
finishes in the Pro-Stock
165cc category, the release
informed.
of two halves for the Har-
manpreet led side in this sea-
son .In the first leg of the
NEW DELHI
FRIDAY 07 JULY 2023
Postal Reg. No. DL (ND)-II/6088/2022/-23-24
You’re only as old as
you feel: Djokovic
AGENCIES
LONDON, 6 JULY
At age 36,Novak Djokovic, the
23-time Grand Slam cham-
pion, continues to defy age
stereotypes by extending his
winning streak at Grand
Slam events to 23.
The World No. 2 pro-
duced a clean performance
to defeat Australian Jordan
Thompson in the second
round of Wimbledon.
Djokovic will next face 29th
seed Tomas Martin Etchev-
erry or three-time major
champion Stan Wawrinka in
the third round at Wimble-
don.
The victory earned
Djokovic his 350th match win
at the Majors, becoming just
the third player to reach that
milestone, joining Roger
Federer (369) and Serena
Williams (365). Djokovic is
showing no signs of slowing
down.
"You're only as young or
as old as you feel. I feel young
in my own body, in my own
head, in my heart," Djokovic
said in his post-match press
conference as stated by
ATP.com.
"My children remind me
of that, the time that I spend
with them. The innocence,
incredible curiosity, pure
love and energy that I get to
experience with them is
something that really
strengthens that inner child
in you," he added.
"Also the fact that I'm still
playing the sport that I fell
in love with when I was very
young. I think that is some-
thing that is very refreshing.
I have to say that I'm really
fortunate and blessed to
have a healthy body. Still at
this stage, after 20 years of
professional tennis, I'm able
to compete at the highest
level," said the 23-time Grand
Slam champion. If Djokovic
continues his current level,
he may be able to add to the
Wimbledon record books
this year. If he wins, he would
equal Roger Federer's record
of eight Wimbledon titles
and become the Open Era's
oldest men's victor at SW19.
The fact that the 94-time
tour-level titlist has won 11
majors after turning 30 is due
in part to his steady improve-
ment of even the tiniest
season played at home, India
was a dominating side win-
ning five, drawing two and los-
ing a single match. The soli-
tary defeat in their home leg
was a 3-2 loss against Spain
in Bhubaneswar.
The results included some
impressive victories, includ-
ing a double (3-2 and 6-3) over
reigning world champions
Germany. Against Com-
monwealth Games champi-
ons Australia, the hosts won
the first match 5-4 before
drawing the second 2-2. before
winning the shootout 4-3.
The away leg, played in
Europe, however, didn’t prove
as fruitful. India was leading
the League points table going
into the European leg of their
fixtures played in London
and Eindhoven.
However, the Men-in- blue
team lost ground after man-
aging just three wins, four
12
The World No. 2
produced a clean
performance to
defeat Australian
Jordan Thompson
in the second
round of Wimble-
don. Djokovic will
next face 29th
seed Tomas Martin
Etcheverry or
three-time major
champion Stan
Wawrinka in the
third round at
Wimbledon.
nuances of his game.
"I never want to stop
growing, learning, trying to
improve, trying to understand
the nuances, the details.
Whether it's with my game,
with my body, with my nutri-
tion, recovery, whatever it is
that can take me a small
step further," Djokovic said.
"I feel very hungry for
knowledge, for experiences.
Life is a great journey that can
offer a lot if one is open to
experience. I can only speak
on my own behalf. I've been
through a lot of things in life
for these 36 years. Very, very
grateful for all that I have expe-
rienced," the Serbian said.
Djokovic, who is chas-
ing a record-extending 24th
major this fortnight, is soak-
ing up any type of pressure
and using it as fire to pursue
his third Grand Slam cham-
pionship crown this season.
"Every time I walk out on
the court, particularly in
Grand Slams and centre
courts, I feel tremendous
pressure and expectations
from myself, from people
around that are watching live
or on TV, the whole tennis
world. It's a feeling that I'm
used to by now, and it's
something that I also
embrace because it's giving
me further motivation to
strive to make more histo-
ry," Djokovic said.
"I don't think it's ever
going to change as long as I'm
playing really. Regardless of
the Grand Slam count fact,
I still want to make my own
results and my own journey.
I think that's what drives
me most nowadays,"
Djokovic added.
defeats and one draw from the
eight away games.
India’s wins came against
Argentina (2) and Belgium (1).
However, they lost both their
matches against eventual
champions Netherlands.
Harmanpreet led side beat
Argentina 2-0 to end their cam-
paign placed at the top of the
points table with 30 points
from 16 outings but it was not
enough to win them their
maiden title. Other teams
later won their games in hand
to overtake India in the stand-
ings.
New Zealand, with just
three points, finished last
and were relegated to the
Nations Cup for next sea-
son.
Interestingly, India won all
three of their shootouts in this
season's league, 3-1 against
Spain, 4-3 against Australia and
4-2 againstt Britain.