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‘YOGA NOW A ZELENSKYY ORDERS SAFF MEET: INDIA

TN GOVT ‘REJECTS’
MASS MOVES TO STRENGTHEN TO FACE
GOVERNOR’S SACKING
MOVEMENT’ MILITARY SECTOR LEBANON IN SEMIS
OF SENTHIL BALAJI
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WEATHER
World of opportunity Ukraine crisis: PM
modi asks Putin for
Ordinance
row: Delhi
govt moves SC
for Indian youth: Modi
GENERALLY CLOUDY SKY. LIGHT RAIN/
THUNDERSHOWERS. THE MAXIMUM AND
MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE
AROUND 34 AND 22 DEGREES CELSIUS
dialogue & diplomacy STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 30 JUNE
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
RESPECTIVELY.
PM addresses Valedictory Ceremony of Centenary Celebrations of DU NEW DELHI, 30 JUNE The Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi
RAINFALL: 26.9 Mm
tunities for the Indian said. There is attraction government has moved the
RELATIVE HUMIDITY youth, from earth to Space for them and they are in Prime Minister Narendra Supreme Court challenging
Max.100 % Min. 74 % and from semi-conduc- demand. So, there is a ris- Modi today had a tele- the Government of Nation-
TEMPERATURE tors to AI (Artificial Intel- ing demand for youth who phone conversation with al Capital Territory of Delhi
Max: 34.5 °C (-3) Min: 25.0 °C (-3) ligence), he said. can convey to the world Russian President Vladimir (Amendment) Ordinance
SUN RISES SUN SETS The Indian youth would India’s varied capacities, he Putin during which he 2023, which wrested control
05:28 hrs 19:23 hrs get access to technology said. renewed his appeal for over transfer and posting of
MOON RISES MOON SETS which was once beyond the Indian values like dialogue and diplomacy to the senior ranking bureau-
17:27 hrs 03:47 hrs country’s reach, he said, and democracy, equality and resolve the conflict in crats serving in the Delhi gov-
the youth would improve mutual respect are setting Ukraine. In a statement, ernment from an elected
their skills. US companies standards for human val- New Delhi said the two government and entrusting
like Micron, Google and ues for the rest of the world, leaders reviewed progress sive actions of the Russian it in the Lieutenant Gover-
Applied Materials have creating new opportunities in bilateral cooperation leadership to protect law nor (LG). The Government
THUMBNAILS decided to make large for Indian youth in forums and exchanged views on and order, and ensure sta- of National Capital Territo-
investments in the coun- like government and diplo- regional and global issues bility in the country and the ry of Delhi (Amendment)
try. All this indicated the macy. Unlimited new pos- of mutual interest. security of its citizens.” Ordinance 2023, promul-
future India was headed for sibilities are visible in fields President Putin The situation around gated by the Centre on 19 May
Prime Minister Narendra Modi being presented with a
and what kind of oppor- of history, culture and her- informed PM Modi about Ukraine was touched upon 2023, denuded the Delhi
memento by Delhi University Vice Chancellor Yogesh Singh
at the Valedictory Ceremony of the Centenary Celebrations
tunities would be avail- itage, he said. In the same the recent developments as well. The Russian Pres- governm- ent of its author-
of DU, in New Delhi on Friday. � ANI able to the Indian youth. way, he said, there is grow- in Russia, including the ident gave his assessment ity to post and transfer the
Not just technology, ing recognition for Indian armed mercenary mutiny. of the current situation in senior ranking bureaucrats
the Prime Minister noted teachers. “This soft power Both leaders agreed to what Russia calls the “spe- serving under it and vested
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE versity of Delhi at the Mul- how India’s rising inter- of India can be a success remain in touch and con- cial military operation” the same in the LG. Describ-
NEW DELHI, 30 JUNE tipurpose Hall of Delhi national role was open- story for the Indian youth,” tinue to make efforts to fur- zone and accused Ukraine ing it as unconstitutional, the
University Sports Com- ing new doors for work in he said. The Indian uni- ther strengthen the Special of refusing to undertake Delhi government in its peti-

P
rime Minister
The first batch of Amarnath Yatra pilgrims Narendra Modi on
reaches Pahalgam, in Anantnag on Friday. � ANI Friday said India
today enjoyed high-
er respect and admiration
Parl standing committee to discuss UCC issue on in the world due to its
3 July: The Parliamentary Standing Committee demonstrated capacity
on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice and this was opening a
has called a meeting on the Uniform Civil Code flood of opportunities for
(UCC) to hear the views of stakeholders on 3 Indian youth and students
July. According to an official communique, the in technology as well as in
committee led by BJP Rajya Sabha MP Sushil humanities. He was
Modi informed all the 30 MPs and members of addressing the Valedicto-
the committee that their views on UCC would ry Ceremony of Centenary
be sought and considered at the meeting. Celebrations of the Uni-
plex, attended by a large
strength of senior acade-
micians, students and
alumni.
The Prime Minister said
his recent US trip showed
the world now trusted the
Indian youth and had taken
note of Indian capacity. One
of its outcomes was India
and the US had conclud-
ed the Initiative on Criti-
cal and Emerging Tech-
nology (iCET) deal. This
would open endless oppor-
the humanities. Struck by
India’s development strides,
there is growing curiosity
and interest in India’s cul-
ture, he said. This is creating
opportunities for Indian
humanities students who
can do research on the
Indian way of life and edu-
cate the world about it, he
said. There is Yoga sci-
ence, culture, festivals, lit-
erature, history, heritage,
systems, cuisine, all are in
discussion today, Mr Modi
versities and educational
institutions have to create
a mindset for this and pre-
pare a roadmap.
The Prime Minister said
Delhi University has com-
pleted its centenary when
the nation is celebrating the
Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav
after completing 75 years
of its Independence. Uni-
versities and educational
institutions reflect the
achievements of any nation,
he said.
and Privileged Strategic
Partnership between the
two countries.
The Kremlin, in a state-
ment, said: “Today, at the
initiative of the Indian
Side, Russian President
Vladimir Putin had a tele-
phone conversation with
Prime Minister of India
Narendra Modi. In con-
nection with the events of
June 24 in Russia, Modi
expressed understanding
and support for the deci-
political and diplomatic
steps to resolve the conflict.
The statement said that
when discussing topical
issues of bilateral cooper-
ation, the two leaders
underscored the impor-
tance of further consis-
tent implementation of
the major joint projects in
various areas and noted
with satisfaction substantial
growth in trade through-
out 2022 and in the first
quarter of this year.
tion has said that the ordi-
nance takes away the power
from an elected government
and vests it in an unelected
LG. The government has
also urged the top court to
issue directions to quash
and declare Sec 3A of the Gov-
ernment of National Capi-
tal Territory of Delhi Act,
1991 as introduced by the
Government of National
Capital Territory of Delhi
(Amendment) Ordinance
2023, as unconstitutional.(P3)

Xi, Sharif to attend Amidst drama, Manipur

SCO Summit to be CM says he won’t resign
hosted by PM virtually
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 30 JUNE
Chinese President Xi Jinping
and Pakistan Prime Minister
Shehbaz Sharif will attend the
Shanghai Cooperation Organ-
isation (SCO) summit to be
hosted by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi in virtual for-
mat next week.
“At the invitation of Indi-
an Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, Chinese President Xi
Jinping will attend via video
conference in Beijing the
23rd meeting of the Council
of Heads of State of the Shang-
hai Cooperation Organization
(SCO) and deliver important
remarks on July 4,” Chinese
news agency Xinhua quoted
the foreign ministry as say-
ing.
The Pakistan foreign min-
istry in Islamabad also con-
firmed today that Mr Sharif
will participate in the sum-
mit at the invitation of PM
Modi. “The Prime Minister's
participation illustrates the
high importance Pakistan
attaches to the SCO as an
important for regional secu-
rity and prosperity and
enhanced engagement with
the region,” Pakistan said.
India hosted the SCO for-
eign ministers meeting in
Manipur needs
peace, relief camps
Goa in May. All SCO member
states ~ China, Russia, Kaza-
khstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan,
Tajikistan and Uzbekistan ~
have been invited for the
summit. In addition, Iran,
Belarus and Mongolia have
been invited as observer
states. As per the SCO tradi-
tion, Turkmenistan has also
been invited as the guest of
the chair.
The heads of six interna-
tional and regional organi-
sations have also been invit-
ed to the summit. These
organisations are the UN,
the ASEAN (Association of
Southeast Asian Nations),
CIS (Commonwealth of Inde-
pendent States), CSTO (Col-
lective Security Treaty Orga-
nization), EAEU (Eurasian
Economic Union) and CICA
(Conference on Interaction
and Confidence Building
Measures in Asia). The heads
of the two SCO bodies ~ the
secretariat and the SCO RATS
(Regional Anti-Terrorist Struc-
ture) ~ will also be present.
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
IMPHAL, 30 JUNE
In high voltage drama in
Manipur’s capital Imphal on
Friday afternoon, over 2,000
women converged before the
Raj Bhavan and prevented
Manipur chief minister N
Biren Singh from tendering his
resignation. The chief minis-
ter then handed over his res-
ignation letter to two women
leaders who tore it up in pub-
lic view.
Mr Singh then returned to
his bungalow and tweeted that
there is no question of him quit-
ting his office in the near future.
“At this crucial juncture, I wish
to clarify that I will not be
resigning from the post of chief
minister,” he tweeted.
Hundreds of women from
his Heignang Assembly Con-
stituency in Imphal East dis-
trict were seen being ferried by
buses and taxis to the Raj Bha-
van area to take part in today's
‘drama’. At Khurai, meanwhile,
a woman threatened to immo-
late herself should Mr Singh
resign as CM. Raj Bhavan
sources confirmed that Mr
have shortages of
essentials: Rahul
SNS & AGENCIES
IMPHAL, 30 JUNE
Congress leader Rahul Gand-
hi on Friday said that
Manipur needs peace and
there is scarcity of medicines
and other essentials in the
relief camps. The govern-
ment must take immediate
actions to overcome these
crisis, he said. The Con-
gress leader who is on a
two day visit to violence hit
Manipur, met the Governor
Anusuiya Uikey at the Raj
Bhavan on Friday. He was
accompanied by Congress
General Secretary K.C. Venu-
gopal and AICC in-charge
of several northeastern states
Ajoy Kumar.
Singh was originally sched-
uled to meet the Governor
first at 1.30 p.m and then had
deferred it to 3.00 p.m, when
he was stopped barely 500 feet
from the Raj Bhavan.
Sources have pointed that
Mr Singh had come under
tremendous pressure yester-
day from New Delhi to throw
in the towel on his own or face
President's Rule.

Tejas completes 7 yrs of service in IAF today

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 30 JUNE
Tejas, the indigenous Light
Combat Aircraft (LCA) will
complete seven years of ser-
vice in the Indian Air Force on
Saturday.
Christened Tejas in 2003,
the aircraft is a multi-role
platform that ranks amongst
the best in its class. It has been
designed to undertake Air
Defence, Maritime Recon-
naissance and Strike roles. The
Tejas offers carefree handling
and enhanced manoeuvra-
bility. This capability is fur-
ther enhanced with its Multi-
Mode Airborne radar, Helmet
Mounted Display, Self-pro-
tection suite and Laser Des-
ignation Pod.
The first IAF Squadron to
induct the Tejas was No 45
Squadron, the 'Flying Daggers'.
Over the years, the squadron
progressed from Vampires
to Gnats and then onto the
MiG-21 Bis, before being
equipped with its current
steed. Each of the aircraft
flown by the Flying Daggers
has been manufactured in
India ~either under license
production or having been
designed and developed in
India. In May 2020, No 18
Squadron became the second
IAF unit to operate the Tejas.
The IAF has showcased
India's indigenous aerospace
capabilities by displaying the
aircraft at various interna-
tional events, including LIMA-
2019 at Malaysia, Dubai Air
Show 2021, Sri Lanka Air
Force anniversary celebra-
tions in 2021, Singapore Air
Show 2022 and Aero India
Shows from 2017 to 2023.
Whilst it had already partic-
ipated in exercises with for-
eign air forces domestically,
Ex-Desert Flag in the United
Arab Emirates in March 2023
was the Tejas' maiden exer-
cise on foreign soil.
The IAF has also ordered
83 LCA Mk-1A which will
have updated avionics, as
well as an Active Electronically
Steered Radar, updated Elec-
tronic Warfare suite and a
Beyond Visual Range missile
capability.
The new variant will be
capable of firing a variety of
weapons from increased
stand-off ranges. Many of
these weapons will be of
indigenous origin. The LCA
MK-1A will see a substantial
increase in the overall indige-
nous content of the aircraft.
Contracted deliveries of the
aircraft are expected to com-
mence in February 2024. In
the years to come, the LCA and
its future variants will form the
mainstay of the Indian Air
Force.
02 NEW DELHI, SATURDAY 01 JULY 2023
THUMBNAILS
Delhi's law and order situa-
tion has never been so bad,
says AAP minister Saurabh
Bharadwaj: Delhi Minister and
AAP leader Saurabh Bhard-
waj on Friday remarked that
Delhi's law and order situa-
tion has never been so bad.
He lamented that people of
Delhi do not have a "police
that is accountable to them"
"Delhi's law and order situa-
tion has never been so bad.
The people of Delhi work
hard, run their households.
But the people of Delhi do
not have the police that is
accountable to them,"
Saurabh Bhardwaj tweeted
tagging an ANI news report
that a body of a 25-year-old
member of the transgender
community was found near
Japanese Park in Delhi's Rohi-
ni district around 4:00 am on
Thursday. AAP leaders have
been criticising Delhi Lieu-
tenant Governor V K Saxena
and the Central government
for the deteriorating law and
order situation in the nation-
al capital since many drastic
crime incidents have been
reported consecutively in
recent times.
Metro launches 'DMRC TRAVEL' app to buy mobile QR tickets
SNS & AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, 30 JUNE
The Delhi Metro Rail Corpo-
ration (DMRC) on Friday
launched a dedicated mobile
app for its passengers with the
name 'DMRC TRAVEL' for
generating convenient and
hassle-free mobile QR tickets
for travelling across its network.
The app was formally
launched today by Dr Vikas
Kumar, Managing Director,
DMRC from the headquarters
at Metro Bhawan in the pres-
ence of senior officials. With this
new mobile App, passengers
can now purchase tickets direct-
ly from their smartphones,
eliminating the need to go to
ticket counters/vending
machines or stand in queues.
The passengers can now
experience a quick and effi-
cient ticketing process, sav-
ing valuable time during their
LG distributes 849 appointment letters
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 30 JUNE
Delhi Lieutenant Governor V
K Saxena on Friday handed
over appointment letters to
849 newly selected appointees
in various departments, local
bodies, autonomous bodies
of Government of NCT of
Delhi at a function held here.
Today’s function was
organised by the Services
Department of Government
of NCT of Delhi at Vigyan
Bhawan here.
Directorate of Education
and Municipal Corporation of
Delhi accounted for more than
500 new appointments and
rest of the new appointments
have been made in other depart-
ments and organisations like
I &FC, TTE, Prosecution, DUSIB
and DJB. A number of select-
ed candidates are women,
Education revolution: ECA offers staggered
degree courses & completion in installments
In an interview with The Statesman, the ECA founder Rupesh Singh said the introduction of OpenLearning
Bharat, an e-learning platform will address the issue of students who aspire to study abroad but lack means
SUDHANSHU MISHRA
NEW DELHI, 30 JUNE
By introducing the concept of
micro-credentialing and the
facility of credit transfer, the Edu-
cation Centre of Australia (ECA)
Group is all set for a landmark
in the education sector in India.
It is also all set to introduce
OpenLearning Bharat, an e-
learning platform.
This e-learning platform
has already made a name for
itself in countries like Singapore,
Australia, Malaysia, and Indone-
sia with over five million stu-
dents worldwide. ECA, found-
ed by Rupesh Singh, aims to
bring the same model of inter-
national university programmes
to India and provide access to
career-building programmes,
skill enhancement courses,
professional training certifi-
Delhi registers best ever Rain relief for many parts of
air quality in eight years Delhi-NCR, IMD issues alerts
The improvement signifies a substantial reduction in air pollutants in the Capital
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 30 JUNE
T
he Ministry of Environ-
ment, Forest and Climate
Change on Friday said
during the first half of 2023, for
theperiodbetweenJanuary–June,
Delhiregisteredbesteverairqual-
ity during the eight years, from
2016 to 2023, barring the Covid
affected year 2020.
"As of June 30, the average
air quality of Delhi is in the 'Mod-
erate' Category i.e. below 200
Air Quality Index (AQI).
Favourable
meteorological/weather con-
ditions coupled with consistent,
comprehensive and concerted
efforts by Commission for Air
Quality Management in NCR
and Adjoining Areas (CAQM)
and various stakeholders to
control air pollution in the
National Capital Region (NCR)
helped in achieving better over-
all air quality in Delhi during
the first half of the current
year," the Ministry said.
During the first six months
of the current year, Delhi expe-
rienced a remarkable increase
in the number of days cate-
gorised as 'Good to Moderate'
on the AQI. During the eight
commute. The app supports
a variety of payment meth-
ods, including UPI,
credit/debit cards, and wal-
lets, ensuring flexibility and
convenience for users. Pas-
sengers can choose their pre-
ferred payment option and
easily complete the transac-
tion within the app itself.
In addition, this app also
has other passenger-centric
features like a travel planner,
fare calculator, station infor-
Divyangs and from other
reserved categories.
Today’s function was the
third in succession of the
similar functions held earli-
er on February 24 and April
19, when the Lieutenant Gov-
ernor had distributed about
Education Centre of Australia founder Rupesh Singh
cations, and other qualifications.
Rupesh Singh, a co-founder
of ECA, emphasised the larg-
er agenda behind the project.
He said it will address the issue
faced by the students who
years, from 2016 to 2023, for the
period January to June, Delhi
registered its best air quality dur-
ing the current year, barring the
time of the Covid-19 Lock-
down.
The duration of the Covid-
19 lockdown is not included in
the above data when there
were very low anthropogenic,
industrial and commercial
activities with the highest num-
ber of 'Good to Moderate' Air
Quality Days.
As per the Ministry of Envi-
ronment, Forest and Climate
Change, "The number of 'Good
to Moderate' Air Quality Days
for the first half-year period was
30 in the year 2016, 57 in 2017,
65 in 2018, 78 in 2019, 126 in
2020, 84 in 2021, 54 in 2022, and
101 in the current year 2023."
mation, and smart card
recharge. The app also shows
route information from ori-
gin to destination including
interchange stations. One
can view transaction histo-
ry, and rebook tickets for the
same origin-destination and
return journey.
The 'DMRC TRAVEL' App
will be available for download
on the android platform
which will be followed by
the IOS platform soon, allow-
2600 appointment letters.
Delhi chief secretary, heads
of various departments, local
bodies and autonomous bod-
ies of Government of NCT of
Delhi and other dignitaries
were also present on the
occasion.
PIC BY SUBRATA DUTTA
aspire to study abroad but lack
the financial means. It offers cur-
ricula and degrees from univer-
sity partners abroad at a frac-
tion of the cost.
The OpenLearning Bharat
Gehlot Ji's government is on
number-1 in corruption...
"During this period, Delhi has
also experienced the least num-
ber of days with 'Poor to Severe'
Air Quality in 2023, as compared
to the corresponding period of
last eight years since 2016 (bar-
ring 2020 - the year of lockdown
due to Covid). The number of
'Poor to Severe' Air Quality
Days for the first half-year peri-
od (January to June) have also
been progressively reducing
from 147 in the year 2016 to 80
in the current year 2023." the
Ministry added.
The average AQI for Delhi
during this period also remained
in the Moderate AQI category
i.e. below 200.
Delhi has reported its low-
est Average AQI during the
current year, January to June,
compared to the correspond-
Metro commuters can carry two
sealed alcohol bottles on all routes
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 30 JUNE
Two sealed bottles of alcohol
per person are now allowed
to be carried inside Delhi
Metro on all routes, as per
revised guidelines, a senior offi-
cial said on Friday.
However, drinking of alco-
hol inside the metro premis-
es will remain prohibited, the
official said. According to the
Delhi Metro Rail Corpora-
tion (DMRC) official, the trans-
portation of alcohol
on the Delhi Metro was pre-
viously prohibited, except on
ing a wide range of users to
experience the convenience
of mobile QR ticketing.
Passengers are encour-
Atishi gets lion’s share in major cabinet reshuffle
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 30 JUNE
Lieutenant Governor VK Sax-
ena has approved a major
cabinet reshuffle proposal in
the Delhi government with
Minister Atishi getting the
additional charge of Revenue,
Planning and Finance depart-
ments, the AAP government
sources said on Friday.
Earlier, these three depart-
ments were held by Delhi
Cabinet Minister Kailash
Gahlot.
"Lieutenant Governor has
approved the proposal and the
file reached the Delhi govern-
ment," the sources said.
With the additional charge,
Atishi now commands a total
of 12 departments, making her
the second-in-command, only
next to Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal.
While Delhi Health Minis-
platform offers a cost-effective
solution by providing access to
a wide range of curricula, lec-
tures, and professors. Addition-
ally, ECA is focused on train-
ing trainers and has success-
fully trained over 5,000 lectur-
ers in Malaysia, implementing
a national platform adopted by
public universities.
The Australian School of
Global Studies, a brand run by
ECA, allows students to begin
their educational journey in
India and then transfer cred-
its to universities worldwide,
providing a cost-effective alter-
native.
ECA platform aligns with the
Indian government's push
towards making education
global. The concept of micro-
credentialing (completing a
degree in a staggered manner
by dividing the entire course
AMIT SHAH
UNION HOME MINISTER
ing period for the last eight years.
Considering the daily aver-
age PM10 and PM2.5 concen-
tration levels, during the first
half-year period of 2023, Delhi
has witnessed the lowest lev-
els of daily average PM10 and
PM2.5 concentration, as com-
pared to the corresponding
period for the last eight years.
The Ministry further said that
this improvement signifies a sub-
stantial reduction in air pollu-
tants, with lower levels of par-
ticulate matter, PM2.5 and
PM10, and other harmful emis-
sions. This declining trend has
been sustained over a consid-
erable period and is a testament
to the commitment and action
taken by CAQM and various
stakeholders to improve the
overall air quality of Delhi-
NCR.
The Commission reiter-
ates that it is essential to main-
tain the momentum and con-
tinue to strive for better air
quality in Delhi-NCR in the days
to come. CAQM is working
closely with various stakehold-
ers concerned to take ade-
quate measures to prevent,
control and abatement of air pol-
lution and improve the over-
all air quality in the region.
the Airport Express Line.
A committee consisting of
officials from the Central
Industrial Security Force (CISF)
and DMRC had recently
reviewed the regulations.
As per a Delhi Metro Rail
Corporation (DMRC) release,
two sealed bottles of alcohol
per person are now allowed
to be carried on the Delhi
Metro. This decision comes
after a committee comprising
officials from the Central
Industrial Security Force (the
force responsible for guard-
ing metro facilities) and DMRC
reviewed the earlier order.
aged to download the app
from their respective app
stores and explore the features
and benefits it offers.
ter Saurabh Bhardwaj and
Delhi Social Welfare Minister
Raaj Kumar Anand hold seven
portfolios, Kailash Gahlot
holds five portfolios includ-
ing Transport, Delhi Envi-
ronment Minister Gopal Rai
holds three and Delhi Food and
Supplies Minister Imran Hus-
sain holds two.
into smaller bits and complet-
ing it when you wish to) and
the facility of credit transfer
(completing degree in time-
installments and across differ-
ent instutions) is also offered
by OpenLearning Bharat. ECA
has successfully implemented
a national framework in Aus-
tralia and Malaysia, which can
be adopted by the Indian gov-
ernment and universities to facil-
itate credit mapping and trans-
fer.
Differentiating itself from
other players in the market,
ECA's platform goes beyond a
traditional learning manage-
ment system. The partnership
with Microsoft allows access to
powerful APIs. The platform also
offers a marketplace for students
across the globe to study in 165
countries and provides a flex-
ible payment gateway.
People wait for a bus on a rainy day at Barakhamba Road in the Capital on Friday.
SNS & AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, 30 JUNE
Numerous areas in Delhi-
NCR on Friday experienced a
pleasant bout of rainfall, which
also resulted in water logged
roads and traffic snarls, affect-
ing normal life. Meanwhile, the
IMD said that conditions are
favourable for further advance
of Southwest Monsoon into
remaining parts of the coun-
try (i.e. remaining parts of
Rajasthan and Haryana and
Punjab) during the next two
days.
For the next five days, IMD
has said that a cyclonic circu-
lation lies over central parts
of south Uttar Pradesh and
neighbourhoods in lower and
middle levels. “An east-west
trough runs from northwest
Rajasthan to Nagaland and
another from the cyclonic
circulation over central parts
of south Uttar Pradesh to
Northeast Arabian Sea in
lower levels. The off-shore
trough at mean sea level runs
from Maharashtra coast to
Kerala coast. A cyclonic circu-
lation lies over Southeast Bay
of Bengal in middle levels,” it
said.
With low-lying areas of
Delhi and adjoining areas
expected to experience water
logging, occasional reduction
in visibility, partial harm to plan-
tations, horticulture, standing
crops and vulnerable structures,
Atishi was serving as the
Minister of Education, Pub-
lic Works Department, Culture
and Tourism prior to this lat-
est appointment. She had
played a key role as an Advi-
sor to former Deputy Chief
Minister Manish Sisodia in the
field of education.
Earlier, on Thursday, a row
Kapil Sangwan gang member
nabbed for BJP leader's murder
SNS & AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, 30 JUNE
A former Haryana state-level
basketball player, who became
a member of the Kapil Sang-
wan alias Nandu-Lawrence
Bishnoi syndicate, has been
arrested in connection with the
killing of Delhi BJP leader
Surender Matiala in April,
police said on Friday.
On April 14, two uniden-
tified men had entered the
office of Matiala, the district
President, Najafgarh, of the
BJP's Kisan Morcha, and
opened fire upon him, lead-
ing to his death.
The accused was identified
as Sunil, 30, resident of
Haryana's Jhajjar and his fur-
ther plan was to settle a per-
sonal score by murdering a per-
son of his village, however, he
was apprehended by the Delhi
Police's Special Cell.
Special Commissioner of
Police, Special Cell, H.G.S.
With low-lying areas of
Delhi and adjoining
areas expected to
experience water log-
ging, occasional reduc-
tion in visibility, partial
harm to plantations,
horticulture, standing
crops and vulnerable
structures, the IMD
has issued a 'Be Pre-
pared' alert for several
states till July 2
the IMD has issued a 'Be Pre-
pared' alert for several states
till July 2. In northwest India,
light/moderate scattered to fair-
ly widespread rainfall is very
likely to continue during the
next two days.
“Isolated heavy rainfall is
very likely over Uttarakhand
on June 30, July 3 and 4; west
Rajasthan, west Uttar Pradesh
on June 30, east Uttar Pradesh
and east Rajasthan on June 30
and July 1. Isolated heavy to
very heavy rainfall is very like-
ly over east Uttar Pradesh
and east Rajasthan on June 30,”
an IMD’ press release read.
In eest India, light/moder-
ate fairly widespread to wide-
spread rainfall with isolated
heavy to very heavy rainfall is
very likely over Konkan and
Goa and Ghat areas of central
Maharashtra during the next
five days and Gujarat during
had erupted over the matter
related to the Delhi cabinet
reshuffle issue as the sources
had suggested that the file
appointing Atishi to the three
key departments did not reach
the Chief Minister's office.
However, the sources in the
Lieutenant Governor's (LG)
office had said that the file had
been sent back to the Chief
Minister following the LG's
approval.
Atishi along with her col-
league Saurabh Bharadwaj
were sworn in as cabinet min-
isters in the Delhi govern-
ment following the resignations
of Manish Sisodia and Satyen-
dar Jain.
While Sisodia has been
jailed in connection with the
probe on the now-scrapped
Delhi excise policy, Satyendar
Jain has been lodged in Tihar
Jail since last year on charges
of money laundering.
Dhaliwal said that on June 28
morning, a specific input was
received regarding presence
of Sunil in Rohini area.
“Acting on the inputs, a trap
was laid at Bhagwan Mahavir
Marg, Rohini and when Sunil
reached near the place, he was
surrounded by the police
team. However, on finding
himself surrounded, he tried
to escape, but was overpow-
ered and apprehended,” he
said.
On being searched, he was
found in possession of a
sophisticated pistol loaded
with three bullets of 7.65 cal-
ibre. On interrogation, Sunil
disclosed that accused Rohit
was his schoolmate and he was
in touch with him for the last
one year. “It was Rohit, who
introduced him to gangster
Kapil Sangwan telephonical-
ly. After that Rohit told him that
Sangwan had asked him to
eliminate Surender Matiala of
Dwarka.
SUBRATA DUTTA
the next two days.
For east and adjoining
northeast India, the IMD said
that fairly widespread to wide-
spread light/moderate rain-
fall with isolated heavy to
very heavy falls very likely
over Sub-Himalayan West
Bengal & Sikkim, Bihar, Assam
& Meghalaya, and Arunachal
Pradesh during the next five
days. Isolated heavy rainfall
is also likely over Gangetic West
Bengal on June 30 and July 3;
Jharkhand on July 3 and Odisha
on 3 and 4. For south India,
the IMD has predicted
light/moderate scattered to
widespread rainfall very like-
ly over Kerala and Mahe, and
coastal and south interior
Karnataka during the next
five days.
“Isolated heavy rainfall is
also likely over coastal Karnata-
ka and Kerala during the next
five days; south interior Kar-
nataka and Tamil Nadu dur-
ing July 2 to 4; coastal Andhra
Pradesh and Rayalaseema on
July 3 and 4; Telangana on July
4. Isolated very heavy rainfall
is also likely over coastal Kar-
nataka, Kerala and Tamil
Nadu on July 3 and 4." For the
impacts rain may have in the
cities, the IMD has suggest-
ed to follow any traffic advi-
sories that are issued in this
regard, avoiding staying in
vulnerable structures and
staying indoors and avoiding
travel, if possible.
Gurugram: 3 held
for killing man
over old enmity
SNS & AGENCIES
GURUGRAM, 30 JUNE
Three men have been arrest-
ed for allegedly killing a 30-year-
old man in Sohna town in
Gurugram district over an old
enmity, the police said on
Friday. The arrested accused
have been identified as Lalit,
Ashok and Dinesh, all residents
of Sohna.
The deceased was identi-
fied as Jaystri a.k.a Tony.
According to the police, the
deceased's brother Brijesh
stated in his complaint that two
years ago, his brother had
developed an enmity with
the accused persons.
Based on the complaint,
Santosh
Kumar, SHO
of Sohna
The arrest-
Sadar police ed have
station, been identi-
along with fied as Lalit,
his team Ashok and
arrested the
three
Dinesh, all
accused residents of
from Khed- Sohna
la village on
Friday.
"On
questioning, the suspects
revealed that on the inter-
vening night of Thursday and
Friday, they were all drinking
at a farm house in Damdama
village, during which they
had an altercation with the vic-
tim over an old enmity. They
killed the victim by hitting him
on the head with stones and
liquor bottles and left the
spot on their bike," said Naveen
Sandu, ACP (Sohna).
During probe, it was also
found that criminal cases
were registered against Lalit,
Ashok and Dinesh before also,
the officer said.

THUMBNAILS
24 deaths in a week due
to rain-related incidents
or road accidents in
Himachal, says IMD: Inces-
sant showers in Himachal
Pradesh over the last
week claimed the lives of
more than 24 people --
either in rain-related or
road accidents, according
to the State Disaster
Management Authority.
Further, according to
data available with the
State Disaster Manage-
ment Authority, a total
of 43 people were injured
in rain-related incidents
while 352 cattle and live-
stock died across the
state. It stated further
that the loss of property
from rain-related inci-
dents in the state has
been estimated at
Rs.242.40 crore, with 6
houses, 2 shops and 21
cow sheds damaged and
another 40 houses par-
tially damaged. Mean-
while, the Indian Meteo-
rology Department (IMD)
forecast more rainfall in
the state over the next
24 hours but did not
issue an alert. The mon-
soon will advance further
in the state after July 5,
resulting in more rainfall,
the Met office stated.
SP set to make Akhilesh Yadav's Kejriwal govt moves apex court challenging
birthday a mega event today Centre’s ordinance vesting services in LG
AGENCIES
LUCKNOW, 30 JUNE
Samajwadi Party leaders and
workers have made arrange-
ments for celebration of party
president Akhilesh Yadav’s
51st birthday on a large scale
in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday.
Roads near the residence
of Akhilesh Yadav and state
party headquarters at Vikra-
maditya Marg have been cov-
ered with big hoardings and
posters wishing the leader a
happy birthday.
Similar hoardings were
also being put up in other parts
of the state too.
A small function is also
scheduled at the state party
headquarters tomorrow morn-
ing where Akhilesh Yadav will
cut his birthday cake and
leaders and supporters will
convey their wishes to him.
Meanwhile, state SP pres-
ident Naresh Uttam Patel, in
a circular issued to all the
4,121 metric tonnes of NIA & police forces of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh
seeds distributed in Kharif to work jointly against organised gangsters
season in Himachal
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
SHIMLA, 30 JUNE
Under the contingent crop
plan being implemented in
Himachal Pradesh, so far
4121 metric tonnes of seeds
of food crops, 30 metric
tonnes of pesticides, and
10607 metric tonnes of chem-
ical fertilizers have been
made available for the Kharif
season-2023.
This was disclosed by
Himachal Pradesh Agricul-
ture Secretary, Rakesh Kan-
war who along with Pradhan
Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana
(PMFBY), Joint Secretary
(CR & CEO) Ritesh Chauhan
co-chaired a meeting to
review the preparation of
monsoon, sowing of Kharif
crops and implementation
of various center sponsored
schemes in agriculture.
Climate resilient agri-
culture and the production
of millets are being pro-
moted through Krishi Vigyan
Kendra and agricultural
extension officers in the
state, he added.
Haryana to use satellite imagery for mining monitoring in state
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
CHANDIGARH, 30 JUNE
Haryana government will now
use satellite imagery for the reg-
ular monitoring of mining
activities in the state. All vehi-
cles transporting mining mate-
rials from any mining contract
area will be equipped with
Global Positioning System
(GPS),a satellite-based radio
navigation system.
This decision was taken at
a meeting, chaired by chief sec-
retary Sanjeev Kaushal, of the
state level task force com-
Amarnath yatra: LG flags off first
batch of pilgrims from Jammu
The 62-day long pilgrimage will begin simultaneously from the Pahalgam and Baltal
base camps in Kashmir on 1 July and end on 31 August
leaders, asked them to cele-
brate the occasion in a sim-
ple manner.
The circular said, "Coming
on July 1, 2023, the birthday
of Samajwadi Party's Nation-
al President and Chief Min-
ister Akhilesh Yadav will be
celebrated with simplicity in
all the districts of the state
including the capital Luc-
know as 'Public Welfare Day'."
On this occasion, along
During the meeting, a
detailed review of center-
sponsored schemes and cen-
ter-sector schemes was also
done with all concerned
scheme nodal officers of the
state.
Ritesh Chauhan empha-
sized on efficient publicity of
center-sponsored schemes,
especially the crop insurance
scheme to benefit the maxi-
mum number of farmers.
He said that an auto-
matic weather station would
be set up at the panchayat
level in the state under the
scheme.
He also assured prompt
action to release funds for the
year 2023-24 in various sub-
schemes under the Rashtriya
Krishi Vikas Yojana and
Krishi Unnati Yojana for
timely benefits to the farm-
ers.
Agriculture, Director
Rajesh Kaushik made a
detailed presentation high-
lighting the measures taken
for monsoon preparedness
and implementation of var-
ious schemes.
mittee. Kaushal emphasised
the need to increase the num-
ber of check posts in sensitive
PM should apologise for not honouring commit-
ments to Telangana...
with giving information about
the development work and
achievements of the Sama-
jwadi government, Yadav will
be wished for a long life in this
programme, it said.
Comprehensive 'Lok
Jagran Abhiyan' will be dis-
cussed in the functions to save
Constitution and democra-
cy by Samajwadi Party on the
auspicious occasion of Con-
stitution and democracy by
Samajwadi Party on the aus-
picious occasion of birth-
day.
The circular added that on
this occasion, a resolution will
be taken to follow the poli-
cies and ideology of the Sama-
jwadi Party by making the 2024
Lok Sabha elections the tar-
get of victory. It is the respon-
sibility of all the leaders of the
Samajwadi Party, including
the supporters, workers and
legislators that the program
should be implemented with
full devotion.
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
CHANDIGARH, 30 JUNE
The National Investigation
Agency (NIA), in collaboration
with the police forces of Haryana,
Punjab and Union Territory (UT)
of Chandigarh on Friday
announced the establishment
of a collective institutionalised
mechanism against organised
crimes and criminals in the
northern region.
After a high-level inter-state
coordination meeting held in
Panchkula, Haryana under the
chairmanship of NIA Director
General, Dinkar Gupta, a deci-
sion was also take to set up a
‘Joint Listing Committee’, with
representative officers from
the NIA and the three police
forces, to list out and map the
entire network of the various
criminal syndicates active in the
northern states and UT.
The meeting discussed the
activities of leaders and mem-
bers of organised criminal syn-
dicates operating in the north-
ern states, and also the ongo-
ing investigations in the vari-
ous criminal cases connected
with them. This was the second
such meeting steered by the NIA
areas where illegal mining
poses a significant problem.
He said the installation of
TELANGANA INDUSTRY AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MINISTER
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 30 JUNE
The Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi
government has moved the
Supreme Court challenging the
Government of National Cap-
ital Territory of Delhi (Amend-
ment) Ordinance 2023, which
wrested control over transfer and
posting of the senior ranking
bureaucrats serving in the Delhi
government from an elected gov-
ernment and entrusting it in the
Lieutenant Governor.
The Government of Nation-
al Capital Territory of Delhi
(Amendment) Ordinance 2023,
promulgated by the Centre on
19 May 2023, denuded the Delhi
government of its authority to
post and transfer the senior
ranking bureaucrats serving
under it and vested the same in
the Lieutenant Governor.
Describing it as unconsti-
tutional, the Delhi government
in its petition has said that the
ordinance takes away the power
from an elected government and
DG for tackling the menace of
the organised criminal terror syn-
dicates. The DG had initiated
these meetings to collectively
deal with such syndicates
through sharing of findings
and inputs among the various
police agencies and forces.
Underscoring the need for
collaborative action in com-
bating organised crime, Gupta
called for enhanced coopera-
tion and information sharing
among the NIA, Punjab Police,
Chandigarh Police, and Haryana
Police to effectively address
the growing threat posed by
these criminal syndicates, par-
ticularly in the northern region.
CCTV cameras should be
installed at designated loca-
tions for parking the impound-
ed vehicles involved in illegal
mining.
The chief secretary said a
special team of officers should
be formed at the district level
to conduct regular checks
and ensure the prevention of
any form of illegal mining. In
addition to tackling illegal
mining, mining officials must
also issue challans for over-
loaded vehicles, he said.
Kaushal emphasised the
need for strict monitoring
K. T. RAMA RAO
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
JAMMU, 30 JUNE
L
ieutenant Governor
Manoj Sinha on Friday
morning flagged off
the first batch of 3488
Shri Amarnath Ji pilgrims
from the Yatri Niwas, Bhag-
wati Nagar, here.
Amidst chanting of Vedic
Mantras, the first convoy of
164 light and heavy vehicles
under an elaborate security
cover left for the two base
camps in Kashmir early in the
morning.
The Lt Governor wished all
the devotees a safe and spir-
itually-fulfilling journey and
prayed for peace, prosperity
and happiness to all.
The UT Administration
has made elaborate arrange-
ments for the safe and hassle-
free pilgrimage of the devo-
tees of Shri Amarnath Ji,” the
Lt Governor said.
Eminent spiritual leaders;
members of PRIs and ULBs;
heads of religious organiza-
vests it in an unelected Lieutenant
Governor ~ a appointee of the
Central government.
The Delhi government has
stated that the ordinance does
it “... without seeking to amend
the Constitution of India, in par-
ticular Article 239AA of the Con-
stitution, from which flows the
substantive requirement that
power and control in respect of
Services be vested in the elect-
ed government.”
Seeking the quashing of the
ordinance under challenge, the
Delhi government has said that
the ordinance destroys the
scheme of federal, Westminster-
style democratic governance that
NIA, which is investigating
three such cases against crim-
inal terror syndicates, shared
its findings and observations on
the methodology adopted by
the syndicates operating from
jails.
It emphasised the need for
fast tracking of trials against these
gangsters as an effective tool to
tackle the problem, along with
the need for a witness protec-
tion plan. Interventions required
at both the structural level, as
well as the operational level to
dismantle the terror-syndi-
cate’s ecosystem, were dis-
cussed in the meeting. It was
decided to formulate an insti-
and supervision of illegal min-
ing in the districts. When
apprehending illegal vehi-
cles, it is crucial to ensure the
immediate removal of any
mined material being trans-
ported. Care should be taken
in handling vehicles involved
in illegal mining, he added.
The chief secretary said
consistent and stringent mea-
sures are being implemented
to combat illegal mining in the
state. In the first quarter of the
year 2023-24, 120 first infor-
mation reports (FIRs) were filed
for illegal mining, resulting in
NEW DELHI, SATURDAY 01 JULY 2023
tions, senior officers of civil
administration, Police, secu-
rity forces and SASB officials,
prominent citizens, and devo-
tees in large number were
present on the occasion.
The pilgrims were accord-
ed a warm reception by the
deputy commissioner and
civilians when they crossed
Udhampur and Ramban.
The 62-day long pilgrim-
age will begin simultaneous-
ly from the Pahalgam and
Baltal base camps in Kashmir
on 1 July and end on 31 August.
Four security forces per-
sonnel, including a DSP, were
injured when their vehicle
escorting the pilgrims met
with an accident in the
Udhampur district.
The injured were shifted to
the hospital for treatment.
Meanwhile, unidentified
UK based radicals transmit-
ted on telephones of some
media-persons pre-record-
ed threatening messages
against participation in the
Amarnath yatra.
is constitutionally guaranteed
for national capital territory of
Delhi under Article 239AA.
The Delhi government has
also urged the top court to issue
directions to quash and declare
Section 3A of the Government
of National Capital Territory of
Delhi Act, 1991 as introduced
by the Government of Nation-
al Capital Territory of Delhi
(Amendment) Ordinance 2023,
as unconstitutional.
It has further sought direc-
tion to quash Section 41 of the
Government of National Cap-
ital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991
as amended by the Government
of National Capital Territory of
tutionalised mechanism for
timely sharing of actionable
inputs with all the stakehold-
ers.
An officer said the growing
nexus between criminals and
gangsters, with their inter-state
linkages and conflicts, has
become a cause for concern for
the northern states.
The foot soldiers, recruits,
harbourers etc of these crimi-
nal gangster-syndicates are
spread across the states of
north India, requiring a coor-
dinated and synergised effort
by the police of different states
to deal with them effectively, he
added.
the impounding of 343 vehi-
cles. A fine of over Rs 2.35 Crore
has been collected from these
offenders.
During the previous year,
1349 vehicles involved in ille-
gal mining were seized, and
fines amounting to over Rs
14.89 Crore were recovered.
In Nuh district 68 vehicles
engaged in illegal mining were
seized, and 23 FIRs were reg-
istered during 2022-23,. The
installation of CCTV cameras
at stone crushers and screen-
ing plants has been made
mandatory.
HP govt eases learner's
license process
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
SHIMLA, 30 JUNE
In a move to enhance the con-
venience and minimize footfall
at the Regional Transport Offices
(RTO) and in the offices of the
Regional and Licensing Author-
ities (RLA's), the Himachal
Pradesh state government has
eased the learner’s license
process.
This was stated by Chief
Minister Thakur Sukhvinder
Singh Sukhu here on Friday.
He said that the state gov-
ernment has launched a new ini-
tiative allowing citizens to obtain
their learner's licenses smooth-
ly and hassle-free from their
homes by themselves.
The individuals can now
acquiretheirlearner'slicensefrom
anylocationthroughacompletely
online process, leveraging Aad-
haar-based authentication, he
said.
The Aadhaar-based learner's
license process eliminates the
need for physical verification,
scrutiny, and approval, stream-
lining the application procedure.
Applicants can now submit
their learner's license applica-
tions, upload necessary docu-
ments and signatures, and make
Delhi (Amendment) Ordinance
2023 and to quash Sections
45B, 45C, 45D, 45E, 45F, 45G,
45H, 45I, 45J, and 45K of the
GNCT Act introduced by the
Ordinance under challenge as
unconstitutional.
The petition says that it is not
in contention that the Article
239AA confers legislative com-
petence over ‘Services’ con-
currently on the Delhi Assem-
bly as also the Parliament.
However, it is a fundamen-
tal precept of the Constitution
that the question of competence
is distinct from the validity of
legislation passed in exercise of
such competence,” says the
petition asserting that the Ordi-
nance is in violation of the sub-
stantive requirements of Arti-
cle 239AA of the Constitution as
interpreted by two constitu-
tion benches of the top court,
and is not a valid exercise of com-
petence.
Delhi government has said
that the ordinance under chal-
lenge is an unconstitutional
Resolve grievances of
ex-servicemen:
Harsimrat to Rajnath
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
CHANDIGARH, 30 JUNE
Former Union minister Har-
simrat Kaur Badal on Friday
made an appeal ti Union Defence
Minister Rajnath Singh to sym-
pathetically resolve all grievances
of ex-servicemen, including
those involving pension, fam-
ily pension and disability pen-
sion.
In a letter to the defence min-
ister, the Member of Parlia-
ment from Bathinda said she had
received memorandums from
the Sainik Welfare Ekta Society
and the Ex-Servicemen Welfare
Organization who had been
protesting continuously in sup-
port of their demands since 20
February and appealed to the
Defence minister to resolve
them at the earliest.
“Our ex-servicemen are our
pride. The sacrifices made by
them for our motherland are
beyond comparison. It is our duty
as a society to take care of them
in the twilight of their lives,” she
added.
Badal said ex-servicemen
had highlighted the need to
resolve anomalies in pension,
familypensionanddisabilitypen-
sion. She said junior commis-
TENDER
03
the required fee payment online.
This will not only save time
and resources but also reduce
theun-necessarilyburdenonRLA
and RTO offices, he added.
After a successful imple-
mentation at RLA Dharamsha-
la on a pilot basis, the system is
now functional in all the districts,
said the Chief Minister.
“The main objective of this
system is to provide ease of ser-
vicedelivery,inlinewiththevision
of the state government and to
enhance efficiency in the system,
reduce paperwork, and make the
license acquisition procedure
more streamlined for the peo-
ple,” said Sukhu.
However, for the driving
license test, individuals still
needtoscheduleanappointment
and physically visit the RLA as
per their slot booking, he added.
The online faceless service
for learner's licenses ensures 24x7
availability and offers many
conveniences for the appli-
cants.
By eliminating the need for
physical authentication, docu-
ment verification, and con-
ducting learner's tests at the RLA
offices, the system promotes effi-
ciency in the license acquisition
process.
exercise of executive fiat that it
violates the scheme of federal,
democratic governance
entrenched for the NCTD in Arti-
cle 239AA, and is manifestly arbi-
trary, legislatively
overrules/reviews the 11 May
2023 judgment of a Constitu-
tion Bench of the top Court.
A five-judge Constitution
Bench headed by Chief Justice
D Y Chandrachud had on 11 May
ruled that the Delhi government
would have control over all ser-
vices and officers serving under
it barring except those dealing
withpublicorder,policeandland,
and Lt. Governor does not have
an all-encompassing supervi-
sion over the administration of
the national capital.
The Constitution bench had
said: “Democratically elected
governments should have con-
trol over its officers. If a demo-
cratically elected govt is not
allowed to control its officers and
hold them to account then its
responsibility towards … the
public is diluted….”
sioned officers (JCOs) and
jawans who retired early were
not getting the full benefit of One
Rank One Pension (OROP)
because their pension had been
wrongly fixed on average basis
instead of being fixed at the max-
imum scale.
The SAD leader said there was
also a need to increase family
pension from the present sixty
per cent limit. “Ex-servicemen
have also detailed anomalies in
fixing of disability pensions for
JCO’s and jawans which needs
to be addressed,” she added.
Speaking about the other
issues highlighted before her,
Badal said JCO’s and jawans were
also being given less military ser-
vice pay on account of hardship
and risks of military service vis
a vis officers and that this anom-
aly should be removed. She
said similarly allowance for
hazardous operations should be
uniform across all ranks.
Calling for an early resolu-
tion of the demands of ex-ser-
vicemen who have been protest-
ing under the banner of the Fed-
eration of Veterans Associa-
tion, Badal said “It is in the coun-
try’s interest that ex-servicemen
end their ‘dharna’ at the earli-
est”.
04
The BJP would definitely have members in the next
Lok Sabha from Kerala. We are expecting to win at
least five Lok Sabha seats from Kerala
PRAKASH JAVADEKAR
NEW DELHI, SATURDAY 01 JULY 2023 FORMER UNION MINISTER AND BJP KERALA PRABHARI

KTR seeks apology from PM

TN govt ‘rejects’ Governor’s STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE drasekhar Rao attacked the

sacking of Senthil Balaji

HYDERABAD, 30 JUNE Congress for opposing the
digitisation of land records
Ahead of the Prime Minister through the portal Dharani.
Narendra Modi’s visit to He warned that if Dharani por-
Warangal on 8 July BRS leader tal was shut down then farm-
Appointment of ministers chief minister’s sole prerogative, says DMK and state industry minister KT ers will be left at the mercy
SNS & AGENCIES ernor should “apply his mind” Rama Rao demanded that of middlemen and money
CHENNAI, 30 JUNE before taking a decision, and
reiterated that Mr Ravi acted
Now he calls this he must apologise to the peo-
ple of Telangana for failing to
were set up in the past nine
years of Modi regime.
lenders and the funds they get
under the incentive scheme
he ruling DMK in in haste in this matter. a constitutional fulfil the commitments made Meanwhile in Asifabad and life insurance would

T Tamil Nadu on Fri-

day asserted that
appointment and dis-
missal of ministers is the sole
prerogative of the chief min-
Therefore, “this govern-
ment rejects (the Governor’s
action) completely. The Tamil
Nadu government makes it
clear the Governor has no
crisis: Annamalai
CHENNAI, 30 JUNE
during bifurcation of the uni-
fied state of Andhra Pradesh.
The Prime Minister will lay
the foundation stone for a
wagon overhauling service
chief minister K Chan-

TENDER
stop.

ister and lashed out at Gov-
ernor R N Ravi for his move
last night to dismiss V Senthil
Balaji from the state Cabinet,
which was subsequently
retracted on the advice of the
Union Home Ministry on the
matter.
Stating that the Tamil Nadu
government was “disregard-
ing” the Governor’s action of
sacking Mr Balaji, Finance
Minister Thangam Then-
narasu said chief minister M
K Stalin will write a detailed
letter to Mr Ravi on the mat-
ter.
The party also said it may
weigh all options and legal fac-
tors related to Mr Ravi’s action,
which came in for criticism
from allies of the ruling party
as well as other quarters.
Addressing the Press here
along with Law Minister S
Reghupathy and Rajya Sabha
member P Wilson, Mr Then-
narasu recalled Mr Stalin ear-
lier saying the Governor has
no right to sack Balaji and that
the issue will be faced legal-
ly.
He alleged that Mr Ravi
acted “unilaterally” and “in
haste” over the matter and
decided to dismiss Mr Balaji
without getting proper coun-
sel, only for the Union Home
Ministry to point out that he
should speak to the Attorney
General on the matter.
“After that, he wrote to the
chief minister saying he was
keeping in abeyance the let-
ter informing of the dismissal
of Senthil Balaji,” the minis-
ter said.
“In this matter, the CM is
going to send a detailed let-
ter to the Governor. The Gov-
ernor has no legal authority
to dismiss Senthil Balaji nor
is there any Constitutional
basis to do so.” “It is the sole
prerogative of the CM to
appoint and dismiss minis-
ters…this has been made clear
by CM to Governor and that
his action is not valid,” he
added.
Mr Thennarasu said a gov-
authority to do so,” he assert- Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Anna- centre at Kazipet and a mega
ed. malai on Friday hit out at textile hub in Warangal apart GOVERNMENT OF RAJASTHAN
“We disregard the letter,” Tamil Nadu Chief Minister from addressing a public OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDING ENGINEER
he said, adding that all legal MK Stalin and said that Stal- meeting. AND PROJECT MANAGER
options will be explored as part in as an opposition leader On a visit to Mahabubabad Watershed Cell-cum-Data Centre Jodhpur
of future course of action. wanted the Governor to dis- to distribute pattas of forest S.No. F( )/WDSC/PMKSY 2.0/Bids/2023-24 Date:
Earlier, the CM went into miss a leader from AIADMK land to tribals the KT Rama NIB No. - JODHPUR/02/2023-24
a huddle with legal experts on and now he calls (dismissal Rao said Telangana wants Bids for the execution of “Construction of various watershed development structures
the matter. order of Minister V Senthil Bal- rail coach factory at Kazipet under PMKSY 2.0 Projects of estimated value as mentioned below are invited from
interested bidders up to 03-07-2023, 6-00 p.m. Other particulars of the bid may be vis-
The party brass may con- aji) a constitutional crisis. as promised in the bifurca- ited on the procurement portal (https://eproc.rajasthan.gov.in or https://
sult its leaders and office- This comes after Stalin hit tion act and not just a repair sppp.rajasthan.gov.in) of the state, and (https://watershed.rajasthan.gov.in)
departmental website.
bearers to devise a strategy ~ out at Governor RN Ravi shop. Citing the establishment
Bid No. Block Cost UBN No. E-PROC Tender ID
both legal and political ~ on over the dismissal of jailed of a rail coach factory in
1 RB/BAP/02/01 BAPINI Rs. 276.49 lakh WSC2324WSOB00154 2023_WDSC_344776_1
the matter, sources said. minister Senthil Balaji, say- Gujarat at an estimated cost
“The Governor has back- ing he does not have the of Rs21,000 while Telangana Bhagirath Bishnoi
tracked and he has been right to do so and his gov- was denied Rao also remind- Superintending Engineer and Project Manager
DIPR/C/9353/2023 Watershed Cell-cum-Data Centre Jodhpur
exposed thoroughly,” a DMK ernment will proceed legal- ed Mr Modi that he was not
office-bearer said, adding that ly in the matter. the Prime Minister of Gujarat
all the “political maneuvering” Speaking to reporters in but of the entire country.
of the BJP to target the DMK the wake of the arrest of the “Applying different stan-
has been backfiring in Tamil fellow DMK leader, CM Stal- dards for different regions is
Nadu. in said, "Governor doesn't unfair. The Prime Minister
On Thursday, hours after have the right (to dismiss a should not represent
dismissing Mr Balaji from the sitting minister) and we will only Gujarat, he should rep-
Cabinet, Mr Ravi later kept the face this legally." AGENCIES resent the entire nation,”
Rao said.
He also listed out the
promises that were fulfilled

Telangana BJP leaders react to tweet of fellow party leader
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
HYDERABAD, 30 JUNE
A tweet by former MP and BJP
leader AP Jithender Reddy con-
taining a Tik Tok video of a yak
being kicked on the backside to
get it moving and suggesting that
this was treatment that should
be meted out to the party’s
local leadership has left the BJP
red faced. Although Reddy sub-
sequently clarified that his tweet
was aimed at the detractors of
BJP party president Bandi San-
jay within the party many of his
party colleagues were not
amused. This came at a time
when speculations are rife that
Telangana BJP chief Bandi San-
jay Kumar might be replaced in
view of infighting and leader-
ship issues.
Following the tug of war
over leadership Telangana BJP,
usually a cohesive unit has
been found to be floundering.
Many of the lateral entrants to
the party have vented their
frustration in the public or have
met with the central leadership
to voice their objections to the
way the Telangana unit is being
run by Bandi Sanjay Kumar
who has a strong RSS back-
ground. However, former BRS
MP and current BJP leader AP
Jithender Reddy posted a Tik Tok
video of a yak being kicked on
its backside to get it on a truck
and titled it as “This treatment
is what’s required for BJP Telan-
gana leadership.” He deleted and
reposted it again and even
tagged union home minister
Amit Shah, and party’s senior
functionaries BL Santosh and
Sunil Bansal. He in a separate
tweet clarified it was aimed at
the detractors of Bandi Sanjay
Kumar.
pointing out that neither the
steel factory at Bayyaram nor
the Tribal university at Mulugu
Party veterans embarrassed by some leaders in our party.
by the turn of events took to social They are forgetting the party they
media. N Ramchander former are representing. BJP is not
BJP MLC tweeted, “Dissent in Congress or TRS (BRS).”
democracy is the beauty and dif- Etela Rajender, the BRS
ferences can be sorted. We turned BJP MLA also did not
don’t wash our D... linen in mince his words. Saying that he
public. Dissent with discipline has no clue why Jithender Reddy
is decent. Let’s not cross the Lax- tweeted the video he said, “Such
man Reskha,” and tagged the experienced leaders should
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, avoid loose talks and disre-
BJP national president JP Nadda spect others in the party. One
and BL Santhosh along with oth- should not hurt the self respect
ers. Telangana BJP’s chief of others.” He also denied that
spokesperson K Krishna Sagar he was looking to jump ship say-
Rao also reacted saying “I strong- ing “Don’t ask me repeatedly
ly condemn the random, dam- about changing party. Chang-
aging and unwarranted state- ing parties is not like changing
ments and tweets being made clothes.”

LEGAL NOTICES
IN THE COURT OF
Sh. Deepak Dabas,
Additional District Judge-01
(North), Room No. 305,
3rd Floor, District Court,
Rohini Delhi
PETITION U/S 8 OF
GUARDIAN AND WARDS ACT
R/W SECTION 29 OF THE
HINDU MINORITY AND
GUARDIANSHIP ACT 1890
Case No. : GP -14/23
AJAY MANN
-Petitioner
Vs
STATE & ORS.
-Defendants
The Petitioner(s) above
named having applied to be
adoption/appointed the
guardian of the person and
property of minor(s)/
Lunacy BABY HANNAN MANN
D/O ANAY MANN R/O H. NO.
20/7, GALI NO. 5, BADA SHIV
MANDIR, ALIPUR NORTH-WEST
DELHI 36.
The 06 DAY OF JULY, 2023
have been fixed for hearing of
the application and notice is
hereby given to general pub-
lic that if any other relatives /
friends, kinsman or well wish-
er of the aforesaid minor /
desire to adopt be appointed
/ declare as guardian of the
person and property of the
said Minor / Lunacy of desire
to oppose the application of
the petitioner aforesaid he/she
should enter appearance in
persons in this court on the
aforesaid date and be
prepared to adduce on that
day and documentary or oral
evidence which he may desire
to adduce in support of
his/her claim to such adoption
appointment of declaration
of in support his/her opposi-
tion to the application of the
petitioner aforesaid.
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
Given under my hand seal
of this court on this the
19-06-2023.
Additional District Judge-
01 (North), District Court,
Rohini Delhi
Seal of the Court
IN THE COURT OF
Sh. Rakesh Syal, District
Judge (Commerical Court)-
03, South-West Dwarka,
Room No. 614, 6th Floor,
D-Wing, District Courts,
Dwarka, New Delhi
(Order 5, Rule 20 of the
Code of Civil Procedure)
Suit No. :
CS (COMM) NO. 20/2023
PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK
Vs
SELFIE DESTINATIONS
To,
1. SELFIE DESTINATIONS,
Office at Shop No. 212, Sec-
ond Floor, Agarwal Plaza, Plot
No. 11, Sector-10, Dwarka,
New Delhi-110075.
2. SUNIL KUMAR,
Prop. Selfie Destinations,
Office at Shop No. 212, Second
Floor, Agarwal Plaza, Plot No.
11, Sector-10, Dwarka, New
Delhi-110075.
Also At : A-32, M.E.A Housing
Complex, Sector-02, Dwarka,
Jhajjar.
House No. 225/4, Shankar
Garden, Bahadurgarh, Jhaj-
jar, Haryana-124507.
Whereas you are inten-
tionally avoiding services of
summons. It is hereby notified
that if you shall not defend the
case on the day of 18th day
July, 2023 at 10:00 A.M i.e.
the day fixed in the matter, it
will be heard and determind
ex-parte.
Given under my hand
and seal of the Court on this
29th day May, 2023
NOTE : The defendants are
informed to file WS within a
period of 30 days from the
date of receipt of summons
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
Delhistatesman@gmailcom
HYDERABAD
The Statesman Limited,
2nd Floor, UNI Building,
with advance copy to the
plaintiff and that filing of WS
in commercial suit in 120 days
period is mandatory and no
extension can be granted.
District Judge (Commeri-
cal Court)-03, South-West
Dwarka, D-Wing, District
Courts, Dwarka, New Delhi
Seal of the Court
IN THE COURT OF
Sh. Dinesh Bhatt,
District Judge (Commercial
Court-01), West, Room No.
115, 1st Floor, Tis Hazari
Courts, Delhi
PROCLAMATION REQUIRING
ATTENDANCE OF
DEFENDANT
(Order 5, Rule 20 of the
Code of Civil Procedure)
Suit No. :
CS (COMM) 692/2022
ABHISHEK GARG SOLE
PROPRIETOR OF M/S ALLURA
INTERNATIONAL
-Plaintiff
Vs
KIRAN MANCHANDA SOLE
PROPRIETOR OF D N SYETEMS
-Defendant
To,
Defendant
KIRAN MANCHANDA, SOLE
PROPRIETOR OF D.N. SYSTEMS
E-26, D.N. SYSTEMS, NEHRU
GROUND, NIT, FARIDABAD,
HARYANA-121001
THE DEFENDANT ABOVE
NAMED
WHEREAS you are inten-
tionally evading service of
summons it is hereby noti-
fied that if you shall not
defend the case on the
18-07-2023 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
09-06-2023.
District Judge (Commer-
cial Court-01), West, Tis
Hazari Courts, Delhi
Seal of the Court
560025.
Tel. : 9212192123
Email:
delhistatesman@gmail.com
bangalore@thestatesmangroup.com
MUMBAI
5, Kasturi Buildings, Jamshedji
Tata Road, Mumbai-400 020
M-9212192123
Tel : (022) 35775450,
Email:
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mumbai@thestatesmangroup.com
LUCKNOW
J-4232
IN THE COURT OF
Sh. Dinesh Bhatt,
District Judge (Commercial
Court-01), West, Room No.
115, 1st Floor, Tis Hazari
Courts, Delhi
PROCLAMATION REQUIRING
ATTENDANCE OF
DEFENDANT
(Order 5, Rule 20 of the
Code of Civil Procedure)
Suit No. :
CS (COMM) 62/2022
CENTRAL BANK -E- SYNDI-
CATE
-Plaintiff
Vs
SWARN LATA JAIN
-Defendant
To,
Defendants
SMT. SWARN LATA JAIN, W/O
LATE SH. VINOD JAIN, R/O
H. NO. 37-A, SWARN PARK,
MUNDAKA, NEW DELHI-110041
THE DEFENDANT ABOVE
NAMED
WHEREAS you are inten-
tionally evading service of
summons it is hereby noti-
fied that if you shall not
defend the case on the
24-08-2023 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
09-06-2023.
District Judge (Commer-
cial Court-01), West, Tis
Hazari Courts, Delhi
Seal of the Court
J-4233
IN THE COURT OF
Sh. Dinesh Bhatt,
District Judge (Commercial
Court-01), West, Room No.
115, 1st Floor, Tis Hazari
Courts, Delhi
PROCLAMATION REQUIRING
ATTENDANCE OF
DEFENDANT
(Order 5, Rule 20 of the
Code of Civil Procedure)
IMA opposes
female medicos’
Suit No. : request to wear
CS (COMM) 518/2021
CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA long-sleeve
-Plaintiff
Vs
GAURAV MUDGIL AND ORS jackets in OTs
-Defendant
To, STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Defendants
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, 30
1. GAURAV MUDGIL, R/O
JAINA APARTMENT, FLAT NO. JUNE
18, SECTOR-13, ROHINI, DELHI-
110085
The Indian Medical Associa-
2. URVASHI SHARMA, R/O
JAINA APARTMENT, FLAT NO. tion (IMA), Kerala unit has
18, SECTOR-13, ROHINI, DELHI-
opposed the recent request of
110085
3. RAJIV JINDAL, S/O SUB- a group of female Muslim
HASH JINDAL, R/O H. NO. 22,
MBBS students of the Thiru-
PHASE-1, BUDH VIHAR, DELHI
THE DEFENDANT ABOVE vananthapuram Government
NAMED Medical College seeking per-
WHEREAS you are inten-
mission to wear long-sleeve
tionally evading service of
summons it is hereby noti- scrub jackets and surgical
fied that if you shall not
hoods in operation theatres. The
defend the case on the
28-08-2023 the day fixed for the IMA Kerala president Dr Sul-
final disposal, it will be heard phi Noohu on Thursday said
and determined ex-parte.
that international standards
Given under my hand
and the seal of the court, this should be followed in the oper-
09-06-2023.
ation theatres and priority
District Judge (Commer-
cial Court-01), West, Tis should be given to the safety
Hazari Courts, Delhi of the patients. An infection-
Seal of the Court
free environment should be cre-
J-4234
ated in operation theatres, he
IN THE COURT OF
Sh. Arun Kumar Garg, added “In hospitals, top priority
Additional District Judge-05,
is given to the safety of patients.
Central, Room No. 317,
Tis Hazari Courts, Delhi There is a globally accepted dress
PROCLAMATION REQUIRING code for medicos who conduct
ATTENDANCE OF
RESPONDENT surgeries. IMA will continue to
(Order 5, Rule 20 of the stick with the protocols and is
Code of Civil Procedure)
C.S. No : 365/2022 not ready to compromise on
RICKY SABHARWAL patient safety,” said Dr Noohu.
Vs Seven MBBS students of the
SEEMA AGGARWAL
To, Thiruvananthapuram Gov-
MRS. SEEMA AGGARWAL ernment Medical College have
W/O SH. LOVELISH RAJ AGGAR-
WAL, R/0 H. NO. D-1, GALI NO. sought permission for wearing
3, D-BLOCK, SHER PUR, DAY- attire covering their heads
ALPUR, DELHI-110094
2nd Address : C/O M/S J. I.
while in operation theatre.
AUTO Stating that Islamic religious
1480, PVT. SHOP NO. 1, belief mandates them to wear
GROUND FLOOR, GALI NO. 24,
WARD NO. XVI, KHASRA NO. hijab all the time, the students
2091/861, BLOCK-E, NAIWALA, demanded that the college
KAROL BAGH, NEW DELHI-
110005 principal allow them to wear
WHEREAS you are inten- long sleeve scrub jackets and
tionally evading service of surgical hoods inside the oper-
summons. It is hereby notified
that if you shall not defend the ation theatre. The students
case on the 24-08-2023 the
claimed that the Operation
day fixed for the final dis-
posal, it will be heard and Theatre (OT) dress code
determined ex-parte. required as part of hospital reg-
Given under my hand and
seal of the court this, dated :
ulations makes it difficult for
02-06-2023. comply withtheattiremandated
Additional District Judge- by their religious belief.
05, Central, Tis Hazari
Courts, Delhi Permitting long sleeve scrub
Seal of the Court jackets and surgical hoods
J-4235
would allow them to maintain
sterile precautions as well as
https://epaper.thestatesman.com

religious attire, the students said

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BHUBANESWAR hyderabad@thestatesmangroup.com 11/C, Road#1, Ashoknagar, wear long-sleeve jackets, as they
Plot 3A, Zone B, Sector A, Ranchi - 834 002 demand, inside the theatres as
BANGALORE
Mancheswar Industrial Estate, M-9212192123 Email: several rounds of scrub-up
No. 68, First Floor, Gold Tower,
Bhubaneswar-751010. delhistatesman@gmail.com (washing up to the elbow in run-
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AIR-SURCHARGE; Kathmandu - Re. 2, Eastern Region - Re. 1 doing a surgical procedure or
All other stations in India - Re. 1 assisting in it.

THUMBNAILS
Three killed by lightning in
Nawada: Three persons
were killed and four others
seriously injured due to a
lightning strike in Bihar’s
Nawada district on Friday
morning, officials said. The
incident occurred during
farming in Azampur village
under Warsaliganj police
station in the district. The
injured persons were taken
to Warsaliganj hospital and
later referred to Pawapuri
for treatment. The met
department has appealed
to people, specially living in
villages, to stay away from
agricultural fields, trees,
electric poles, and mobile
towers, especially during
the rains. IANS
Four children killed in wall
collapse in Gujarat: Four
children under the age of
five lost their lives when
the wall of an abandoned
factory collapsed onto
their makeshift tents. The
incident happened on
Thursday in Halol taluka in
Gujarat after heavy rainfall.
Five other individuals,
including two children, sus-
tained injuries in the unfor-
tunate incident. They were
immediately rushed to a
hospital in Halol. IANS
India recorded third-highest heatwave
conditions in last 23 years this summer: IMD
SNS & AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, 30 JUNE
India, this year, experienced
the third-highest instances of
heatwave and severe heatwave
conditions in the last 23 years,
after 2019 and 2022, the India
Meteorological Department
(IMD) has said.
The Met agency said heat-
wave and severe heatwave
conditions this summer were
the third-highest after 578
MSD (mean standard devia-
tion) in 2019 and 455 MSD in
2022.
Further, according to the
IMD, above-normal heat-
wave days were observed in
the country's eastern parts,
including West Bengal, Odisha,
coastal Andhra Pradesh, Bihar,
Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and
the adjoining central parts
including eastern Madhya
Pradesh, Vidarbha and Telan-
gana.
Apart from this, heavy
rainfall activity occurred in
three to four zones in the
Nadda all praise for PM Modi
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
BHOPAL, 30 JUNE
BJP president Jagat Prakash
Nadda today hailed Prime
Minister Narendra Modi, say-
ing the Union government is
dedicated towards public wel-
fare and it proactively takes care
of people even before they
face any problems.
Addressing a huge gather-
ing at the Navagraha mela
ground in Khargone city of
Madhya Pradesh today, Mr
Nadda lauded the various wel-
fare schemes being run by the
Modi government.
“The central schemes like
Ayushman Bharat and PM
Kisan Samman Nidhi yojana
are aimed at protecting the peo-
ple’s health and the welfare of
farmers respectively,” he said,
appreciating the works done
in the nine years of the Naren-
dra Modi government.
“PM Narendra Modi’s gov-
Development agencies should build houses for the underprivileged on land freed from mafia: Yogi
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
PRAYAGRAJ, 30 JUNE
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath on Friday
stated that prior to 2017, not
a single poor person could get
a house in the state under the
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana
while after the formation of the
double engine government in
UP, more than 54 lakh poor
people have got a house of their
own.
While handing over the
keys of houses to as many as
76 low income group people
under the Pradhan Mantri
Awas Yojana (Urban) in Lukar-
ganj area of Sangam city in the
presence of public represen-
tatives, the Chief Minister
said that all the development
authorities of the state should
build houses for the poor on
the land freed from the mafia.
He said that this is in line
with the spirit of good gover-
nance, which was started by
2024 polls: BJP strategises
brainstorming session
This comes ahead of the party’s strings of meetings scheduled for July
SNS & AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, 30 JUNE
T
he Bharatiya Janata
Party national gen-
eral secretaries and
presidents of all fronts
will hold a meeting on Satur-
day to brainstorm and prepare
the roadmap for the crucial
meetings with the party's
regional leaders scheduled
on July 6, 7 and 8, sources from
the party said.
Saturday's meeting to be
held at the BJP headquarters
here will be chaired by BJP
national president JP Nadda.
While a meeting of general sec-
retaries will be held in the
morning, a meeting of the mor-
cha is scheduled in the evening.
In the meeting, discus-
sions will be held on which top-
ics to talk about and how to
make the next line of meet-
ings successful, a source from
the party told ANI. The BJP will
also review the month-long
mass public relations cam-
paign from May 30 to June 30,
month of June, including
Assam, south Uttar Pradesh,
Himachal Pradesh and
Uttarakhand, the IMD said,
adding that Gujarat also expe-
rienced heavy rainfall but
that was largely on account
of severe cyclonic storm
'Biparjoy'.
Meanwhile, the IMD on Fri-
day said Mumbai, Thane and
Palghar in Maharashtra are
expected to receive moderate
to intense spells of rainfall over
the next 3-4 hours.
Earlier, an official statement
from the IMD stated, "Due to
active monsoon conditions
enhanced rainfall activity
with heavy to very heavy rain-
fall is expected at a few places
over parts of Konkan and
ernment is proactive. It takes
care of people even before
they face any problems,” the
BJP chief maintained.
Mr Nadda said PM Modi is
concerned about farmers and
therefore he announced a
yearly assistance of Rs 6000 for
them under the PM Kisan
Samman Nidhi yojana.
“Madhya Pradesh Chief
Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan
is equally concerned about
farmers and he has also
announced Rs 6000 annual
assistance for the cultivators,”
Mr Nadda added.
Before addressing the rally,
Mr Nadda arrived at the venue
by conducting a road show from
the city’s Sardar Vallabhbhai
Patel Square of Khargone town,
which comes under the Nimar
region of the state. Elections
to the 230-member Madhya
Pradesh Assembly are sched-
uled to take place most like-
ly in November this year.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
nine years ago.
The land where the hous-
es were built was confiscated
from mafia leader-turned-
politician Atiq Ahmed.
Mr Adityanath said that the
government has built hous-
ing for the poor at a cost of Rs
6.6548 crore on the land freed
from the gangster’s possession.
Mr Adityanath also inau-
gurated and laid the founda-
tion stone of 226 develop-
ment projects worth Rs 768
crore during the programme.
He said: “Earlier governments
used to stand with the mafia
because of which Uttar Pradesh
was not able to develop. The
poor were forced to erect huts
here and there to earn their
living. And today, the state gov-
ernment is standing with the
poor, providing them hous-
es.”
Emphasising on Prayagraj
being the city of pilgrimage
since ancient times, the Chief
the source said.
In the meeting scheduled
on Saturday morning, all the
General Secretaries will pre-
sent their progress report of
their respective areas or where
they are in charge of. There
will also be a discussion on the
feedback from the Maha pub-
lic relations campaign.
In the evening, all the BJP
fronts will present their cases
and hold discussions on the
adjoining ghat areas of Mad-
hya Maharashtra during the
next 2-3 days."
Heavy rainfall in the Panna
district of Madhya Pradesh
over the last three days hit road
connectivity while throwing
traffic out of gear. Heavy
waterlogging was also report-
ed at several government
offices, including that of the
Home Guard and the Depart-
ment of Horticulture and
Food Processing.
A boat was spotted sailing
at a government office after
rainwater entered the premis-
es in the Panna district of MP
on Thursday.
Meanwhile, parts of the
national capital and adjoin-
ing areas experienced sharp
showers in the wee hours of
Friday, with extensive water-
logging reported in some
areas.
The IMD forecast more
moderate to heavy rainfall in
parts of Delhi, UP, Rajasthan
and Madhya Pradesh in the
next couple of days.
MP HC requests Centre to lower age limit from 18 to 16 under POCSO Act
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
BHOPAL, 30 JUNE
The Gwalior bench of Mad-
hya Pradesh High Court has
recommended to the Cen-
tre to consider lowering the
age from the current 18
years to 16 years under the
Protection of Children from
Sexual Offences Act.
The HC made this obser-
vation while hearing a peti-
tion of a 17-year-old boy, who
was booked under the
POCSO Act on the basis of
a complaint of a 14-year-old
girl in Gwalior.
The accused was arrest-
ed in 2020 for rape charges.
The girl, who was a student,
had got pregnant and abor-
tion was done with prior
permission of the court in
2020.
On Friday, the defence
Minister said: “It is the land
of religion, spirituality and
culture. Prayagraj is the moth-
er of education and justice. The
double engine government is
taking forward the programs
of development and good
governance in the state with
double speed. The BJP govern-
ment is committed to devel-
opment for you.”
feedback from the public rela-
tions campaign and other
programs.
The BJP, for the first time,
will hold region-wise meetings
of the three zones- the east-
ern, northern and southern,
of all the general secretaries
and presidents of the Morcha
on July 6, 7, and 8.
The eastern region includes
the states of West Bengal,
Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim,
SC seeks Yogi govt’s response on
premature release of 15 convicts
who spent 15 to 23 yrs in jail
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 30 JUNE
The Supreme Court on Friday
sought the Uttar Pradesh gov-
ernment’s response on a plea
seeking to consider the pre-
mature release of the 15 con-
victs who are languishing in
Fatehgarh central jail in the
State for 15 to 23 years in
connection with various
crimes.
Seeking response from the
Uttar Pradesh government
on a plea by 15 convicts, a vaca-
tion bench of justice Abhay S.
Oka and Justice K.V.
Viswanathan posted the mat-
ter for further hearing in Sep-
tember, as per reports.
Seeking their premature
release/ remission of sen-
tence, the petitioner convicts
have sought direction to the
State government to consid-
er their premature release/
remission of sentence as per
counsel argued that the
physical relation was devel-
oped with the consent of both
(victim and accused). After
Mr Adityanath said that
today there is rule of law in the
state. “For, had there still
been mafias operating in the
state, it would not have been
possible for us to attract invest-
ment proposals worth 36,000
crores to the state during the
Global Investor Summit held
in February this year, ” he
remarked.
Nagaland, Manipur, Mizo-
ram, Meghalaya, Tripura and
Assam, apart from Bihar,
Jharkhand and Odisha. The
Eastern Zone meeting will
be held in Guwahati on July
6. The northern regions include
states like Himachal Pradesh,
Punjab, Chandigarh,
Rajasthan, Jammu and Kash-
mir, Ladakh, Gujarat, Daman
Diu-Dadar Nagar Haveli,
Madhya Pradesh, Chhattis-
The petitioner con-
victs have sought the
consideration of their
plea for the remission
of sentence in the
“interest of justice and
balance of equity.”
the August 2018 policy govern-
ing the grant of the remission
of sentence, as per reports.
The petitioner convicts
have sought the consideration
of their plea for the remission
of sentence in the “interest of
justice and balance of equi-
ty.”
Stating that most of the peti-
tioners have already com-
pleted their sentence, the
petitioners have told the top
court that the other similar-
ly situated accused persons
have already been released
based on the remission poli-
cy.
hearing the arguments from
both sides, the bench
quashed the FIR against the
accused person and request-
He said that Kumbh 2025
of Prayagraj will be “grand and
divine”. “We have to be men-
tally prepared for this from now
onwards. We must elect a
government led by PM Modi
in 2024 once again to estab-
lish India as the biggest power
in the world. If the Indian
economy continues to grow
at the current pace, it will
surely become the third largest
economy of the world by 2027
and will emerge as a great
power globally.”
During the programme,
the Chief Minister took stock
of the houses built under
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana
and met the beneficiaries of
the scheme. He also distrib-
uted chocolates and biscuits
to the small children. Apart
from this, Mr Adityanath also
planted trees at the colony.
The people of Lukerganj
said they had never imag-
ined that houses would come
up so fast on the land freed
NEW DELHI, SATURDAY 01 JULY 2023
garh, Uttarakhand, Delhi,
Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
This is scheduled on July 7 in
Delhi.
Lastly, the meeting with the
leaders of the southern region
is scheduled in Hyderabad on
July 8. The region includes Ker-
ala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka,
Telangana, Andhra Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Mumbai, Goa,
Andaman and Nicobar,
Puducherry and Lakshad-
weep.
While the meeting with
the leaders of the eastern
region will be held on July 6,
for the northern region the
meeting is scheduled on July
7 and for the southern region,
it is scheduled on July 8. These
will be headed by the party's
national president JP Nadda.
The BJP is gearing up ahead
of the five upcoming state
assembly elections in Madhya
Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattis-
garh, Telangana and Mizoram
to be held later this year as well
as the 2024 Lok Sabha elec-
tions.
Yet another wasted opportunity:
India over delay in UNSC reforms
SNS & AGENCIES
NEW YORK, 30 JUNE
Terming the UN General
Assembly's decision to roll over
the Inter-Governmental Nego-
tiations on Security Council
reform to its next session as
"yet another wasted oppor-
tunity," India on Thursday
(local time) said that the state
of affairs is clearly in the
interest of those who seek a
status quo to keep this process
frozen in repetitive cycles.
India's permanent repre-
sentative to the UN, Ruchi-
ra Kamboj at the 77th session
of the UN General Assembly
said that the rollover decision
of the intergovernmental
negotiations simply cannot
be reduced to a mindless
technical exercise. The UN
General Assembly on Thurs-
day adopted a draft oral deci-
sion to continue the intergov-
ernmental negotiations on
Security Council reform at the
78th session of the UN Gen-
eral Assembly that will com-
ed the Centre to consider
lowering the age from 18 to
16.
"In the era of the Inter-
from the illegal possession
of criminals. So, when the
keys were handed over to
them, they were delighted
and thanked the Chief Min-
ister wholeheartedly. It is
worth mentioning here that
there were some voices of
protest against the bulldozer
action at that time, but that
died down as time passed.
Zahida Fatima, a resident
of Prayagraj, Daryabad, said:
“My father Shakeel Abbas dri-
ves an e-rickshaw.
We have faced many dif-
ficulties in our life while liv-
ing in a rented house. Today
his dream has come true. I can-
not believe that we have got
a roof of our own over our
heads. My mother had a dream
of having her own house, but
she passed away 6 years back.
We are very thankful to CM
Yogi for the happiness he has
given us today. May he con-
tinue to help all of us in the
future as well.”
Manipur needs peace, relief
camps have shortages of
essentials, says Rahul Gandhi
SNS & AGENCIES
IMPHAL, 30 JUNE
Congress leader Rahul Gand-
hi on Friday said that Manipur
needs peace and there is
scarcity of medicines and
other essentials in the relief
camps.
The government must take
immediate actions to over-
come these crisis, he said.
The Congress leader who
is on a two day visit to violence-
hit Manipur, met the Gover-
nor Anusuiya Uikey at the Raj
Bhavan on Friday. He was
accompanied by Congress
General Secretary K.C. Venu-
gopal and AICC in-charge of
several northeastern states
Ajoy Kumar.
After meeting the Gover-
nor, Mr Gandhi said that he
and his party would do what-
ever possible to restore peace
and normalcy in the state.
“I want peace to be restored
first. I visited some relief
camps and met the affected
people. There are shortages
of medicines and other essen-
tials in these relief camps, the
government should take
steps,” Mr Gandhi told the
media in front of the Raj Bha-
mence in September. The
rollover decision marked the
end of the IGN for the cur-
rent 77th session.
"We have been consis-
tent in our position that the
rollover decision of the inter-
governmental negotiations
simply cannot be reduced to
a mindless technical exer-
cise... We were therefore
encouraged by your efforts
to introduce in the decision
a small reflection of this evo-
lution based on your wide-
ranging consultations and the
recommendation of the
"In the era of the Internet, youths are getting
mature much earlier. Many youths develop
physical relationship before completing 18 year
of age limit, and some times, they are booked
for rape and their future get destroyed," Mad-
hya Pradesh High Court observed.
net, youths are getting
mature much earlier. Many
youths develop physical
relationship before com-
pleting 18 year of age limit,
and some times, they are
booked for rape and their
future get destroyed," Mad-
hya Pradesh High Court
observed. Notably, in the past
few years, the High Courts
of several states have recom-
mended the same at differ-
ent times.
In 2022, Chief Justice of
India D.Y. Chandrachud had
also appealed to Parliament,
Veer Savarkar lessons in MP schools : Madhya Pradesh BJP gov-
ernment has decided to include lessons on the life of Hindutva
ideologue, late Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (Veer Savarkar) in
the syllabus of schools.
05
van. “I appealed to all people,
all communities and leaders
to restore peace and nor-
malcy in Manipur,” he said.
He later tweeted: “I share
the pain of the people of
Manipur. It is a horrible
tragedy. It is extremely sad and
painful for all the people of
Manipur and the people of
India as well. I went to the
camps and met people from
all communities. One of the
things I would say to the gov-
ernment is that the basic
amenities at the camps need
to be improved. Food needs
to be improved. Medicines
need to be supplied. Such
complaints have come from
the camps.”
“I would appeal to every-
body in Manipur that we
need peace. My strong appeal
to everyone is that violence
will not get anything for any-
body. Peace is the way forward
and everybody should now
talk about peace and start
moving towards it. I am here
and will help in any way I can
to bring peace to this state. I
love all the people of Manipur,
and once again, this is a ter-
rible tragedy, and we need to
bring peace here.”
Cochairs with regard to Web-
casting and the beginning of
a digital repository. I must say,
though, that even with these
so-called changes there has
been no breakthrough what-
soever that may be described
as progress," Kamboj said.
"This state of affairs is
clearly in the interest of those
who seek a status quo to
keep this process frozen in
repetitive cycles. Thirdly,
and finally, President, we
see this technical rollover
decision as yet another wast-
ed opportunity to instil a
breath of life into a process
that has shown no signs of
life or growth in over four
decades," she added.
Referring to the roll-over
decision, Kamboj said that as
the only formal General
Assembly outcome that
emerges from this process
each year, it must also evolve
and reflect the progress
achieved during Member
States' deliberations during
the year.
to have a relook at the issue
of age of consent, as cases
involving consensual sexu-
al relationships among ado-
lescents posed "difficult
questions for judges across
the spectrum".
The reports suggested
that CJI D. Y. Chandrachud
had also pointed out that the
peculiar challenge posed
by POCSO was that it crim-
inalises all sexual activities
for those under the age of 18
years even if consent was fac-
tually present between two
minors.
06 NEW DELHI, SATURDAY 01 JULY 2023
Incorporating and directly descended
from THE FRIEND OF INDIA - Founded 1818
Not normal?
T
hat justice can sometimes be as much about
the judge, or judges, as it is about the law or
the intent behind it, becomes abundantly
clear once again with the ruling of the US Supreme
Court that effectively blocks the use of affirmative
action policies in the country’s universities. The
Court this week ruled to outlaw race-based admis-
sions to Harvard University and the University of
North Carolina, saying these policies violate the
Constitution’s equal protection clause. Affirmative
action policies followed by these universities had
helped to raise the number of students from Black,
Hispanic and other underrepresented minorities
on campus. The court has now held that the policy
of using race as a way to improve diversity failed “to
articulate a meaningful connection between the
means they employ and the goals they pursue.”
Writing the majority opinion, Chief Justice John
Roberts observed: “College admissions are zero-
sum, and a benefit provided to some applicants but
not to others necessarily advantages the former at
the expense of the latter.” While the principles of
law enunciated by the Court are one aspect of the
ruling, the preponderance of responses have focus-
sed not so much on what was said but on who said
it. For the ruling against affirmative action policies
in university admissions came on the back of a 6:3
majority, with conservative judges, including three
appointed by former President Donald Trump,
holding they were unconstitutional, while the three
deemed liberals, including the last judge appointed
to the Court (by the Biden administration), finding
nothing wrong with them. With judicial positions
being determined in this manner, and confirma-
tion of nominees to the Court being predicated on
the executive and legislative strength of political
parties, it is not surprising that President Joe Biden
should have summed up his response to the ruling
by saying “this is not a normal court”. From the
perspective of the Democratic party, which claims
to espouse liberal thinking, this certainly is not a
normal court, being one that ruled against a con-
stitutional right to abortion exactly twelve months
ago. Mr. Biden was forthright in his rejection of the
ruling, saying that the court had walked away from
decades of precedent to end affirmative action. “I
strongly, strongly disagree with the court’s deci-
sion”, the President said while announcing he
would ask the Department of Education to find
ways to ensure student diversity on campuses. “We
cannot let this decision be the last word. The court
can render a decision, it cannot change what Amer-
ica stands for,” he said.
This brings us back to the universally valid
maxim about the identity ~ and ideology ~ of a
judge being as important to the justice delivery sys-
tem as the law itself. While a hair’s breadth can
sometimes determine how a law is interpreted by
two equally eminent jurists, a predilection to rule a
particular way is fatal to the cause of justice, for it
introduces bias into a process that depends for its
survival on the trust its users have in it.
Missing link
A
ll of us have had the experience of the mo-
mentarily most essential thing turning out to
be elusive precisely when we need it. But the
problem which confronted England a day ahead of
the second Ashes Test, which began at Lord’s on
Wednesday with Australia 1-0 ahead, was of greater
significance, considering it was a national, rather
than individual, headache. You got, first, stray
whiffs, and then fuller accounts if you were inter-
ested, the whole piling up into a concoction you
could scarcely believe was possible in a country
that had given us the game. Apparently, it had
come home to England that they missed a spinner
of any description whatsoever with the crucial Test
upon them. Amazingly, there was no one they
could name after Moin Ali's finger blisters. They
knew that they could do with one, given that
Nathan Lyon was going great guns and, imponder-
ables not blocking his path, would strike again at
the Holy of Holies, and make things difficult for the
Bazball-obsessed hosts. Life is like that. Fashion-
ably fond of whatever is new, England seemed sud-
denly to re-discover the virtues of a variety of bowl-
ing which had for ages taken some mastering and
then yielded only to the truly great. They, alas, were,
all and sundry, somewhere else now, just like the
unconsidered trifles of everyday existence, with
instant online journalistic research revealing that
there was simply no one that England could fall
back on, though a mothballed Ali being taken off
the shelf and having to be pressed into service at
Edgbaston had hinted at that.
As names were reeled off and track records
pored unavailingly over, the one point which
appeared to strike only a handful of the pundits
was how the country, inclusive of its domestic
game, had kept edging spin bowling to the margin
for so long, not letting the bowlers grow and fitting
them into, if at all, a general scheme of tight control
and not allowing experiments aimed at taking wick-
ets. It had begun long before Twenty20 rebooted
cricket and never let up, with ceremonially appoint-
ed committees of global experts looking on. They
bunged in Josh Tongue, which was not a like-for-
like switch, though the Press alluded to Lord’s pacy
pitch. Blighty has always had the authoritative voice
which can explain why, say, Abdul Qadir was as
good as he was but it clammed up the moment you
wanted to know when England was going to
unleash the Lethal One. Graeme Swann and Monty
Panesar won them a series in India, without making
a long-term home impact and now, this. If Joe Root
is a serious five-day spin option, it is not a story
that will inspire generations; it is making do with a
substitute, as we sometimes do. A pencil stub for a
fountain-pen, perhaps, but will the writing be
worth reading?
The cruel campus
Withdrawal from studies midway by promising students belonging to these marginalised
categories needs serious introspection. This trend is not only a shame for our nation
but also a great national loss by way of missing out the contribution of many brilliant
young minds who could have contributed to progress in science and technology. This
is an attack on our constitutional values and principles of social justice
I
ndia’s higher education
campuses are increasingly
becoming repulsive sites for
students hailing from mar-
ginalised communities. Reserva-
tion for them in higher educa-
tion, as provided in our Consti-
tution, seems to be just in letter
but not in spirit.
SC, ST and OBC students are
receiving unfair treatment in
campuses of centrally funded
institutions like IIT, IIM and cen-
tral universities. Caste-based oral
abuse and expressed unwilling-
ness of a section of higher caste
students not to accept them as
their mates in the campus are
driving them away from these
premier campuses.
The dropout rate among
these marginalized categories of
students have increased in recent
times. The Central government is
aware of this situation, of this
toxicity permeated in the air of
the campuses.
The Union Minister of Edu-
cation stated recently in the
upper house that 19,000 students
of marginalised categories have
dropped out during a short
period from 2018 to the early part
of 2023.
Withdrawal from studies
midway by promising students
belonging to these marginalised
categories needs serious intro-
spection.
This trend is not only a
shame for our nation but also a
great national loss by way of
missing out the contribution of
many brilliant young minds who
could have contributed to prog-
ress in science and technology.
So, something is obviously wrong
in the system. This is an attack
on our constitutional values and
principles of social justice.
Students from the margin-
alised communities are mostly
first generation learners. Thou-
sands of years of social repres-
sion by the upper castes pushed
them to the brink of mere sur-
vival like animals.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Asking questions
SIR, The White House reporter for
the Wall Street Journal must be
commended for asking a relevant
question to the Indian Prime Min-
Vol. CXXXXXVII 153
A MEMBER
OF THE
ASIAN VOICES
Canada blindly
following US
into a trap
T
he recent resignation of Bob
Pickard from the Asian Infra-
structure Investment Bank has
triggered what appears to be a
storm in a tea cup. A Canadian nation-
al, Pickard, who was the director-gen-
eral of the AIIB's Department of Com-
munication, alleged that the bank is
"dominated by the Communist Party
of China" in his resignation letter, forc-
ing the AIIB to respond to his baseless
charge. Like most multilateral devel-
opment banks, the AIIB has main-
tained a low profile since its inception.
Without any song or dance, the AIIB
has focused on providing funds for
countries in the region to help them
build or improve their infrastructure.
But Pickard's resignation and alle-
gation have prompted the bank to
make it clear that it had supported
Pickard since he assumed his post in
March 2022, and acted in a profes-
sional manner by ordering an investi-
gation into Pickard's claim.
That there is more to Pickard's
resignation and allegation was made
clear when the Canadian Security
Intelligence Service, in a Twitter
thread, claimed that "Chinese intelli-
gence officers were targeting Canadi-
ans both domestically and abroad in
a bid to gain access to 'confidential
Lower caste and outcaste to understand the ‘push factors’. dertaken in 2007 by the Centre privileged' information".
Indians were treated in society as But this attempt is not in sight as under the UPA regime revealed Also, earlier this month, Zhuang
sub-human species for a long of now. the realities of caste-based mal- Wenhao, a member of the Canadian
period in history. These students are not leav- treatment in AIIMS at New Delhi. parliament, was informed by the
Independent India’s Consti- ing general degree colleges. They The study noted that two-
tution acknowledges this histori- are leaving such premier institu- thirds of SC, ST and OBC stu-
cal deprivation and social dis- tions where admission is the dre- dents said they had received
crimination that kept them in the am of the youth of India. Com- unfair treatment from upper country's Security Intelligence Service
dark hell of ignorance and pover- pletion of courses could land caste teachers. that an official in the Chinese con-
ty for centuries. them in high-paying jobs with fat Many teachers in AIIMS sulate in Toronto has been expelled
Dalits were not allowed to salaries and fabulous perks. were of the unshakable belief because of his China-related remarks.
step into the portals of educa- In today’s world what could that lower caste students are The Canadian side used the pre-
tion. They were not be the cherished intellectually inferior. Prejudiced text of national security, alleging that
allowed to enter the dream of youths minds of teachers and unfair China has been interfering in Cana-
precincts of Hindu other than getting treatment targeting their caste da's internal affairs, to expel the Chi-
temples. The makers admission to IITs status drove many budding doc- nese diplomat. All this makes it impor-
of modern India laid and IIMs. But they tors out of the AIIMS campus. tant to make it clear that the Chinese
out a blueprint to give up that path Another study, at IIT Bom- government has always strictly
stop, once and for in the middle of bay, conducted in 2022, recorded adhered to diplomatic and interna-
all, this social the course, a path the ‘tagging’ of SC/ ST students. tional relations norms. And the Chi-
discrimination and that could lead They are tagged as ‘reservation nese consulate general in Toronto
neglect of our fellow them to a life of students’ from day one in the refuted Canada's accusations, saying
citizens in free India. material comforts, campus. they are baseless.
Reservation was security and pres- Reservation for marginalised The Canadian government
SUDIP
mooted for giving tige. Is there any students does not end with declared the Chinese consular official
them back the social CHAKRABORTY other reason for admission only. In that case the in Toronto persona non grata based
justice that was de- The writer, a former these massive underlying spirit of reservation on rumors of China interfering in
nied to them during Fulbright scholar, is Associate
Professor, Ananda Chandra drop outs? Is the as provided in our Constitution Canada's internal affairs spread by
long years of pre- College, Jalpaiguri cost too high? It would be undermined and half- some politicians and media outlets,
independent India. does not seem so hearted. whose mission now, it seems, is to
Reservation in because stipends, This is similar to a case smear China.
the Constitution is provisioned fee waiver, subsidized education where a father put his minor boy China and Canada have neither
for positive discrimination, as a loans along with many other
means to achieve equality. They forms of financial assistance
inside a waiting bus at the bus
stop. He told the young lad to get
historical nor strategic disputes. For
years, they enjoyed stable relations and
will be given the opportunity to come their way. off at a particular bus stop to benefited from economic and trade
grow and to flourish in life. Dr. B They left because the cam- reach his destination. Father bid cooperation. In fact, Sino-Canadian ties
R Ambedkar got little opportuni- pus ambience turned their life goodbye and left. The boy was became a model for China's relations
ty and he himself proved that lit- miserable. The thought of rosy almost squeezed and felt suffo- with Western countries. The mutually
tle opportunity made him one of prospects cannot heal the wou- cated in the crowded bus. Things beneficial bilateral relationship could
the leading stars in the galaxy of nds of disrespect, indignity and were so uncomfortable that the and should have been further strength-
architects of modern India. unfair treatment on campuses. boy decided to get off midway. ened. But previous US president Don-
He gave us our Constitution Oral humiliation is no less lethal Unbearable ambience in the bus ald Trump used sanctions and coercive
and was the visionary pathfinder than physical harm. stopped him from reaching his means to curb China's technology
for independent India’s journey On campus, their ears cap- final destination. development, and dragged Canada into
to modernity. There are laws to ture ridiculing remarks and caus- Reservation, like this story, the disputes that were manufactured
prevent atrocities on SC/ST. But tic comments passed by upper is not meant to get someone in the White House and the Capitol.
the law has failed to stop ‘oral’ caste students. They have to hear admitted to an educational insti- However, the potential of China-Cana-
atrocity on them on education that they landed on the campus tution and end there. Reservation da economic and trade relations is
campuses. because of their low caste status, means that these students finally much greater than US-Canada trade
Discontinuation is specific and not by merit. reach their destination of com- and economic ties. By releasing Meng
to a particular community. Why To them, a life of dignity and pleting the course successfully. Wanzhou in October 2021 after unjusti-
did they drop out in such a large self-respect at the present mo- Barriers to that completion fiably detaining the Huawei chief finan-
number? The reasons could have ment is better than bearing with must be removed by the state cial officer for three years, Ottawa cre-
been found if authority was really indignity in the hope of lucrative immediately. This is for the sake ated conditions for improving China-
concerned about the exodus. An jobs on completion. The caste of our democracy, for humanity Canada relations. But the expulsion of a
independent research team cou- abuse on campus has been borne and for the sake of our nation’s Chinese diplomat will sour China-
ld read the minds of the leavers out by facts. A research study un- prosperity. Canada relations again.
editor@thestatesman.com
Democratic Alliance government
are getting increasingly intolerant WORRISOME
towards the key questions on the
erosion of democracy, protection SIR, It is very difficult to forget the
ister, something in which the and rights of the minorities and memories of the recent Howrah-
mainstream electronic media of declining press freedom in India. Chennai Coromandel Express acci-
India has failed miserably. A few days ago, Union dent at Balasore in Odisha.
The ministers of the National Finance Minister Nirmala Sithara- Immediately after the incident,
the railway minister assured that he
will take all necessary steps so that
no such untoward accident takes
place in future.
On 20 June, five rear-end coaches of the Jammu-Tawi bound
Lohia Express Train separated from the coupling and were left on
the railway tracks near Dalkhola in North Dinajpur district at about
4:30 PM. Fortunately, no one was injured but passengers got down
from the train in panic. Travelling by train has now become an anx-
ious exercise for passengers as well as their family members but the
railway authority does not pay any heed.
Yours, etc., Debaprasad Bhattacharyya,
Kolkata, 21 June.
man and Defence Minister Raj- democracy and the media persons
nath Singh lashed out at the for- sincerely discharging their duties
mer US President Barack Obama must be considered as the build-
for his statements on the protec- ing blocks of this pillar.
tion and importance of the ethnic Therefore, such an attack as
minorities of India. faced by the WSJ reporter Sabrina
Such an immediate overreac- Siddiqui needs to be condemned
tion from both the ministers is a harshly. The worrying trend
manifestation of the fact that Mr. also signifies that she is not the
Obama unintentionally touched a only victim of this.
raw nerve. Yours, etc., Tushar Anand,
Media is the fourth pillar of Patna, 28 June.
 NEW DELHI, SATURDAY 01 JULY 2023 07
SATURDAY INTERVIEW 100 YEARS AGO

‘Yoga now a mass movement’

OCCASIONAL NOTE
Calcutta seems to be cursed by an evil
fortune so far as her bridges are concerned.
Perennial warnings regarding the unsound
condition of the Howrah Bridge and the
arbananda Sonowal is Union Ayurveda (AIIA) has set up an Incuba- es, and meditation. The physical necessity for a new one have so far not led

S Minister of Ayush and Ports,

Shipping & Waterways and is a
member of the Rajya Sabha
representing Assam since 2021. He
was the 14th Chief Minister of Assam
tion and Innovation Centre in its cam-
pus to nucleate a cluster of new age
ventures.

Q: Envisioning the future, both

from 2016 to 2021. Sonowal, born on
October 31, 1962, is a prominent
politician of the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP). He is also a member of the cabi-
net committee on political affairs
since 2021. In an interview with Nikhil
Vyas, Sonowal talks about the Ministry
of Ayush and the role of Yoga in
healthcare.
Excerpts:
Q:What has Ayush achieved in the
last nine years, since it became a full-
fledged functional Ministry of the Gov-
ernment of India?
A: The transformation that has hap-
pened in the Ayush sector is due to the
strong support of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and it is driven by his
far sighted vision. WHO-GCTM is
being established at Jamnagar,
Gujarat. It would emerge as a centre of
global wellness which will promote
the development of medicines and
research related to traditional medi-
cine. Efforts and guidance from the
Prime Minister resulted in June 21
being declared as International Day of
Yoga by the United Nations General
Assembly. This has transformed into a
mass movement across the globe.
One of the important achieve-
ments in the last nine years has been
on growing research, which seems to
have changed since the formation of
the Ministry of Ayush. If we compare
research and clinical trials published
per year before 2014, it reveals that the
publication of research studies
increased by about six times and clin-
ical trials by about 11 times. We have
undertaken several R&D initiatives to
harness the potential of Ayush sys-
tems during the Covid-19 pandemic
and are continuing with it.
Establishment of Pharmacopoeia
Commission for Indian Medicine &
Homoeopathy (PCIM&H) in 2020 is
aimed at optimising the use of infra-
structural facilities, technical man-
power and financial resources of the
three organisations for enhancing the
standardisation outcomes of Ayurve-
da, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathy
drugs towards their effective regula-
tion and quality control. To promote
entrepreneurship leveraging academ-
ic knowledge, the All India Institute of
within India and globally, what are
your insights on the role of Yoga in
healthcare?
A: Prime Minister Modi has been
instrumental in the growth of tradi-
tional medicine systems globally.
This has also helped in growth of
Medical Value Travel (MVT) in India,
which is now aligned to the "Heal in
India and Heal by India" initiative of
the government. Yoga's integration
into MVT offerings will enhance
India's attractiveness as a destination
for MVT and provide patients with a
comprehensive and enriching health-
care experience. This approach will
be further strengthened as scientific
research enables researchers to
explore the physiological, psycholog-
ical, and therapeutic mechanisms
underlying the benefits of yoga.
Q: What is the role of Yoga in
combating specific mental health
issues, such as anxiety and depres-
sion?
A: Yoga incorporates various tech-
niques, including deep breathing
exercises (pranayama), meditation,
and gentle movements, which help
activate the body's relaxation
response. These practices can calm
the nervous system, reduce the pro-
duction of stress hormones like corti-
sol, and decrease anxiety symptoms.
Chronic stress often contributes
to anxiety and depression. Yoga
offers a comprehensive approach to
stress management by combining
physical postures, breathing exercis-
aspect of yoga helps release muscle
tension and accumulated stress in
the body, while the breathing tech-
niques and meditation promote
mental relaxation and a sense of
calm.
It is important to note that while
yoga can be a valuable adjunctive
therapy for anxiety and depression,
it should be used along with profes-
sional mental health consultations or
a qualified yoga instructor who has
experience working with individuals
with mental health concerns to
develop a personalised practice that
suits your needs.
Q: There is a lot of emphasis on
mainstreaming integrated medi-
cine, what steps have been taken?
A: Under the Prime Minister’s vision,
the Ministry has taken various policy
initiatives aimed to promote the inte-
gration of yoga into mainstream
healthcare, raise awareness about its
benefits, ensure quality standards,
and facilitate research and collabo-
ration between traditional and mod-
ern medical systems. The central
government is planning to set up a
separate wing for integrative medi-
cine, an approach that combines
conventional medicine with tradi-
tional treatments, in all the medical
colleges and hospitals across India.
Exploration of promising leads in
Ayush research can indeed play a sig-
nificant role in addressing various
healthcare needs and challenges.
This can be done only by fostering
collaboration and adopting a multi-
disciplinary approach leading to the
development of cost-effective, safe,
and holistic healthcare solutions that
contribute to achieving Universal
Health Coverage.
to any practical steps, and now the public is
wondering what has happened to hold up
the completion of the new Kidderpore
Bridge. Great inconvenience is being
caused, and it is felt that if the delay is
unavoidable, the public should at least be
told the reason why. After being led to
believe that a tram-car service over the
bridge would be in operation so long ago as
last March, July is here and the public sees
no prospect of getting this important ser-
vice for at least another three months. It is
understood, unofficially, that one of the
chief reasons for the delay is the question of
finance. It will be remembered that a
revised estimate, including the cost of the
approaches, had to be submitted, and this
is now before the Calcutta Corporation.
After approval by that body, the estimate
has to be submitted to the Calcutta
Improvement Trust for the same purpose.
As both these bodies are interested in the
work, nothing can be done of course until
the revised estimate has received their
sanction. They might be reminded that
there is an end even to the patience of that
long-suffering person, the man in the street.
NEWS ITEMS
SCHEMES TO AID
UNEMPLOYED
It is the duty of every European to
help these fellows in their hour of misfor-
tune and some concerted action should
be taken without further delay. In these
words a man very well known in Calcutta
summed up the situation regarding the
unemployed ex-soldiers during a conver-
sation with a Statesman representative
yesterday. There are signs of rapidly
increasing interest in this difficult ques-
tion and many practical steps have
already been taken. About Rs. 300 has
been received at the Chartered Bank for
the "Variety Entertainments Fund" and
the details of the scheme, by which the

Applauding the stupidity of billionaires

Salvation Army offered to accommodate
ten men in their Industrial Home and a
similar number in the Naval and Military
Home have now been adjusted.

RAFIA ZAKARIA SPEEDING UP MAILS

s the tragic story of the deep
A submersible Titan unfolded
on Twitter and Instagram,
people were introduced to a
universe in which spending a quarter
of a million dollars to be able to see
the wreck of the Titanic was not con-
sidered out of the ordinary. The ulti-
mate tragic end of the Titan show-
cased with no small irony the faith
that the very wealthy can put in
progress.
However, the story of the sub-
mersible and its occupants was soon
replaced by another, when Elon Musk
— the most frequently talked about
bad boy billionaire — made headlines.
Over the weekend, news broke that
Mark Zuckerberg of Meta had accept-
ed the Tesla founder and Twitter
owner Elon Musk’s offer to participate
in a cage fight.
A ‘cage fight’, for those who may
not be familiar with the term, refers to
the octagon-shaped fenced-in area in
Las Vegas where the UFC (Ultimate
Fighting Championship) is held.
Elon Musk, who turned 52 this
week, boasted that he had a signature
move where he lays down on top of
his opponents and does not move.
Musk also boasted of never working
out other than throwing his children
up in the air.
The BBC report on the whole
issue noted that Zuckerberg has been
training assiduously and is a jiu-jitsu
expert who has won competitions.
Those, of course, are the details. The
central issue is why two men who
command two of the largest fortunes
in the world would even want to do
something like this.
After all, when one can have any-
thing at all in the whole world, would
someone want to pursue something
like this? Moreover, why would men
known for their brains want to test
each other’s physical abilities before
an audience?
CROSSWORD
1 2 3 4 5
Going into space on a private
mission is one thing and somewhat
justifiable in terms of the technology
having been researched by scientists
and astronauts for decades, but
wrestling another rich man and
exposing oneself to harm and injury
makes very little sense for men whose
empires are built on their brain power.
That, at least, is the way an ordi-
nary person thinks. So many billion-
aires, at least those of our generation,
are not quite so easy to reason with.
In an article that was published
some years ago in the Guardian, a
journalist sat down with the wealth
managers of some of the world’s bil-
lionaires only to discover that bad and
even stupid behaviour by billionaires
is all kept under wraps by wealth man-
agement firms that often have staff
members devoted to making sure that
the insane tales of so many billionaires
never reach public ears.
There are plenty of examples of
widespread collusion on this point —
the entire Jeffrey Epstein scandal and
the fact that Epstein supplied under-
age young women to wealthy men is
evidence of this, as are the mysterious
circumstances of Epstein’s death.
Sadly, even if the deeds and gen-
eral lack of sense in the very wealthy
was easily accessible, most ordinary
people would not believe it anyway.
By and large (and contrary to the anti-
billionaire rhetoric of recent days),
ordinary people love billionaires.
The number one reason is that
the fantasy of being a billionaire
speaks to the ordinary person’s deep-
est anxieties. How lovely life would be
if one did not have to worry about
pleasing the boss, making a profit on
the business, paying for healthcare or
any of the vast array of money-related
worries that poison the average per-
son’s everyday existence.
This is also why some people get
very upset if anyone criticises them.
Even while poor people who are born
into poverty are accused of being lazy
and stupid all around the world and
raise a finger at billionaires, many
people will jump to shut you up.
Criticising the very wealthy is like
ACROSS
raining on the fantasy parade of mil-
lions of people who are somehow
incredibly encouraged by the fantasy
of making it so big that they outdo
their worst enemies.
That and the fact that billionaires
employ public relations firms that
deploy trained professionals to defend
them on social media as well as con-
ventional media.
You can say whatever you want
about the desperately poor, but a lot of
people are taking note of what you say
about a billionaire no matter how stu-
pidly they have behaved or how callous
their display of arrogance has been.
Naturally, if it was reason rather
than fantasy that informed our views
on billionaires, there would be more
consideration of why one individual
or one family even needs more than
$100 million and whether the very
existence of such wealth is a guarantee
that the majority of the world’s poor
will, in fact, remain poor.
This is because when capital is
concentrated in the hands of a few it
means that they are controlling a dis-
16 High priests
proportionate share of the world’s
resources. The deployment of these
resources is, thus, up to the whim and
fancy of whatever philanthropic
endeavour they choose to fund at any
given time.
It is no surprise then that a bunch
of billionaires — Jeff Bezos among
them — have funded initiatives that
look into immortality or at least into
living for several hundred years. When
everyone loves you and no one thinks
anything you do is immoral, then why
not plan on living far, far longer than
the ordinary person? Several scientists
are promising to come up with just
such a lifespan.
For the rest of us, life is likely to
remain, per the Hobbesian truism,
nasty, brutish and short. Not to worry
though, there is the cage fight between
Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk to
look forward to. We can’t all be bil-
lionaires but we can all watch billion-
aires be stupid and applaud them any-
way.
Dawn/ANN.
NO-292479
greedy (10)
TO COLOMBO
COLOMBO, JUNE 30
Something in the nature of a post-war
record has been created by the steamer
Kashmir which is due with the English
mails this evening. She is due at 8 P.M. and
carries the Home mails of June 14. As the
mails will thus have been only 17 days in
transit, it will constitute a record time
since the discontinuance of the overland
route via Italy. The arrival of the mails
today is primarily due to the fact that they
were transferred from the Narkunda to the
Kashmir at Aden. It is only because the lat-
ter vessel happened to be leaving Aden for
Colombo at approximately the same time
as the mail steamer for Bombay arrived
that this record trip was made possible.
SMALLPOX DANGER
IN ENGLAND
In the House of Commons today the
Minister of Health uttered a serious warn-
ing concerning the danger of an epidemic
of smallpox, which was likely to inflict
injury on the commerce of the country.
Nine hundred and seventy-three cases
were notified last year, whereas 955 have so
far been notified this year, but there were
no fatalities. He deplored the fact that only
38 per cent of children were vaccinated,
and strongly urged universal vaccination
for people of all ages as a sure protection.
He regretted that cancer statistics showed
an increase, but remarked that this could
be attributed to better diagnosis.
HEAVY SENTENCES
FOR EMBEZZLEMENT
The Additional District Magistrate of
Rawalpindi delivered judgment on June
21, in the Alliance Bank of Simla embez-
zlement and arson cases and convicted
all the accused. Two of them were sen-
tenced to five years' rigorous imprison-
ment and a fine of Rs. 10,000 each, three
to three years' rigorous imprisonment
and a fine of Rs. 1,000 each and one to a
year's rigorous imprisonment and a fine
of Rs. 1,000.

8
6

9
7

1 Are exhibitionists
perhaps, and others,
act appallingly (9)
DOWN
1 Greatly upset dinner
13 Bogart raged
endlessly about THE PUBLIC
10
YESTERDAY'S SOLUTION SOLUTION TO NO. 292471 disheartened after
dropping trousers
19 Overexposure can
lead to this star
partner – forget to
go back inside (8)
leading actress (5,5)
14 Topless French girls SERVICES
E O A L V A M S
COMMISSION
11
getting shot (9) 2 Sister protected by supporting Planet Earth
and more? (9)
T I ME P I E C E S H A R P 8 Release Papa’s
20 Joined dance, on European Union (3) in French port (10)
12 13 N E P A N I C A retirement, in 3 The majority of Native 17 Man gets drunk around
brother – like Papa,
14 15 A T R I A GOD F A T H E R lacking energy (7)
church (7) American nurses one – very drunk (8) SIMLA, JUNE 30
T R U E E 22 Harry possesses master procedure (8) 18 Small mountain is the The Associated Press understands
10 Pens, say – silver, oddly (6) most difficult to
16 CH A L I C E T A C I T U S 4 Always cut Sweden
surprisingly integral 23 These patches of out (4) conquer (8) that it was originally intended to hold a
L T T O E L part of communication
17 18
OK A P I P E A S U S H I ground aid fliers (9) 5 Unexpected resistance 20 Firm buttocks of short session of the Royal Commission on
network (7)
19 T D O A A M 11 Degenerate salesman
25 Good-natured crushed by leader of low quality (6) Public Services in London as soon as the
H A V E NO T B E N T L E Y question showing Spanish revolution (10) 21 Plate up for gannet? (6) Indian members could arrive there and
20 21 worried about rifle (9) self-doubt (7) 24 Start to spin-dry
I H R O U 6 Succeeded in keeping
12 Host’s possible 27 Set out to pinch gold hospital department (6) daughter’s going then to break up and reassemble in India
22 BOS S A NOV A S UMA C answer to “Do you in the cold weather. Owing, however to
and silver for stash 7 Attraction of Happy away outfit (4)
E O R G N T M O use hairspray to hold
23 24
V E RD I E I D E R D OWN your hair back?” (6)
(7) Meals without 26 Bust-up possibly the difficulties in securing the attendance in
28 Asking RAF trainee to dressing (6) result of this badly- England of all the Indian members, it is
25 26 Y S D N O A X K 15 Repeatedly sick cover operation behaved kid
9 A surrogate I caught
27
over women, creating (4,5) heading south, being scratching bottom (3) understood that the sittings of the com-
resentment (3,4) mission will be postponed until its arrival
28
in India. The delay is to be regretted but
NOTE: Figures in parentheses denote the number of letters in the words required. (By arrangement with The Independent, London)
was clearly unavoidable.
08
THUMBNAILS
Kolkata Debts Recovery Tri-
bunal organized a Lok
Adalat: Kolkata Debts Recov-
ery Tribunal organized a Lok
Adalat on 24.06.2023 in the
7th floor of Jeevan Sudha
Building from 10:30 AM
onwards. There was a small
inauguration programme,
which was presided by the
Hon'ble Presiding Officer,
Shri Rakesh Pati Tiwari. Shri
Mahendra, General Manager,
Shri Dilip Patnaik, DGM, Shri
Samarendra Samal, DGM,
Shri M. Gandhi, AGM, Shri
Arun Prakash Ghosh, Retired
AGM were present in the
Adalat Manch. At the start-
ing of the programme, Shri
R.P. Tiwari, Presiding Officer,
Shri A.P. Ghosh and borrow-
ers lighting the lamp.
Hon'ble Presiding Officer
was the speaker and he
explained the importance of
Lok Adalat in public life for
both the parties. The com-
position of Lok Adalat Bench
was as under Hon'ble Presid-
ing Officer-in-charge-Judicial
Member, Shri A.K. Panda,
Recovery Officer-1 Member,
Shri A. P. Ghosh, Asstt. Gen-
eral Manager (Retd.) Mem-
ber. Total 85 numbers of
DRT cases were in the Cause
List involving Rs.120 crores.
In the Lok Adalat 18 num-
bers of Accounts have been
settled, in which the
involved amount was Rs.
89.26 crores and settlement
amount was 10.22 crores.
The next Lok Adalat will be
held on 9th September,
2023. Vote of thanks was
given by Shri P. P. Da Bakshi,
Registrar and the anchor
was Shri Sudeep Kundu,
Assistant Registrar.
SpiceJet delays 2022-23
financial results: SpiceJet
has informed stock
exchanges that it will delay
the announcement of its
financial results for fiscal
2022-23, citing that a key
member of its audit com-
mittee is medically incapaci-
tated. "The company could
not hold the meeting of
Audit Committee and Board
Members in the past for
approval of financial results
for the financial year ended
March 31, 2023 due to ongo-
ing medical incapacitation of
a key member of its Audit
Committee," SpiceJet said in
a notice to the stock
exchanges on Thursday. The
airline's stock filing said it
will declare financial results
"in the coming weeks". The
airline has been struggling
over financial constraints in
a competitive aviation indus-
try, but it was confident
about its growth potential.
Guidelines to curb dark pattern malpractices on e-commerce
platforms within 2 months, jail term for offenders in offing
AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, 30 JUNE
Concerned about rising com-
plaints of malpractices across
several e-commerce plat-
forms like Zomato, Amazon,
Ola, Google and many oth-
ers, the government is all set
to frame guidelines within the
next two months to curb
what is known as "dark pat-
terns" in online purchases,
and is likely to introduce jail
term as a penal provision to
stop the menace.
"Dark pattern" refers to
misleading offers which are
given to consumers during
online shopping, that tend to
trap them into fraudulent or
loss making deals.
The Consumer Affairs Min-
Apple only company ever to
reach $ 3 trillion in market cap
AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, 30 JUNE
Apple is once again worth $3
trillion, the only company
ever to reach the milestone, a
media report said.
Its shares rose 1 per cent on
Friday to hit a record $191.34.
With 15.7 billion shares out-
standing, the stock price pushed
Apple to its historic market
value, CNN reported.
Apple has been here once
before: On January 3, 2022,
when it hit the $ 3 trillion
mark during intraday trad-
ing, but failed to close there.
If Apple closes above the $3 tril-
lion mark, it will become the
only company ever to achieve
that feat, CNN reported.
NEW DELHI, SATURDAY 01 JULY 2023
Sensex hits new record highs
Nifty opened gap up and strengthened throughout the day to close near the day’s high with gains of 213 points at 19,186 levels
AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, 30 JUNE
uoyancy in global
B
markets and the
advance of monsoon
lifted Indian stock
markets to new highs with the
BSE Sensex surging by more
than 800 points on Friday.
Domestic equities con-
tinued their northbound jour-
ney after a day’s break, sup-
ported by positive global
data, healthy FII buying and
strong progress in monsoon.
Nifty opened gap up and
strengthened throughout the
day to close near the day’s high
with gains of 213 points (+1.1
per cent) at 19,186 levels.
The broader market too par-
ticipated in the rally with the
Nifty midcap 100 at a fresh
record high. All sectors ended
in the green, except metals,
said Siddhartha Khemka,
Head-Retail Research, Moti-
lal Oswal Financial Services.
Auto and IT stocks are in
the limelight as the BSE Sen-
sex closed at a record 64,718
points. The Sensex is well
past the 64,000 mark and
Government keeps interest
rates for popular small
saving schemes unchanged
AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, 30 JUNE
The government has kept the
interest rates for popular
small savings schemes like
national saving certificate,
public provident fund (PPF),
Kisan Vikas Patra and Sukanya
Samriddhi Yojana, unchanged
for the next three months, i.e
from July 1 till September 30,
2023.
According to a Finance
Ministry notification, only
the interest rate of one year
time deposit has been hiked
to 6.9 per cent from 6.8 per
cent.
istry has, in fact, started
helpline number 1915, where
consumers are being encour-
aged to complain about such
instances.
This facility began on June
28 and the ministry is confi-
dent that it would be able to
get to some "solid numbers"
on such instances by July 31.
Earlier this month, Con-
sumer Affairs Secretary Rohit
Kumar Singh had held a meet-
ing with leading e-commerce
platforms in Mumbai, where
they were asked to refrain from
indulging in dark pattern
practices and were advised to
practice self-restraint.
Sources said that during
that meeting, the stakehold-
ers had given a blanket assur-
ance that they would look into
The company’s stock closed
Thursday at a record high
share price for the third-straight
day, but it merely budged
0.2% higher. Apple easily sur-
passed the $190.73 level it
needed to break $3 trillion
Friday. The sky-high valuation
for the tech giant comes on the
heels of its risky launch of the
Apple Vision Pro earlier this
month and a stronger-than-
expected quarterly earnings
report in May – even though
sales and profit slumped.
The Vision Pro, which will
go on sale next year, impressed
tech journalists who got an early
preview of the augmented
reality device. But it is enter-
ing a nascent market with lit-
tle mainstream consumer
breaching new highs on strong
global cues.
Among the Sensex stocks,
M&M was the top performer
gaining 4.1 per cent. Infosys
jumped 3.2 per cent while
Indusind Bank was up 3 per
cent. Sun Pharma gained 2.8
per cent, TCS up 2.6 per cent,
Maruti up 2.5 per cent and L&T
was up 2.2 per cent.
Indian indices are on a
record-breaking spree, end-
ing the month of June with
gains of 3.5 per cent (Nifty)
on the back of strong FIIs flow
of Rs 20,900 crore MTD and
the advance of the south-
west monsoon that boosted
investor sentiments.
“We expect the uptrend in
Indian equities to continue
in the near term," Khemka
added.
Next week, the market
will take cues from econom-
ic data to be released local-
ly as well as globally. Investors
would also watch out for
FOMC minutes to get insights
into the US Central Bank’s
future course of direction. The
auto sector is expected to be
in the limelight, as companies
Also the interest rates for
2 years time deposit scheme
has been hiked from 6.9 per
cent to 7 per cent, while for
five-year recurring deposit, the
interest rate has been increased
from 6.2 per cent to 6.5 per
cent.
However, the rates for PPF
(7.1 per cent), national sav-
ing certificate (7.7 per cent),
Kisan Vikas Patra (7.5 per
cent), Sukanya Samriddhi
Yojana (8 per cent), month-
ly income scheme (7.4 per
cent) and senior citizen sav-
ing scheme (8.2 per cent)
have been kept unchanged for
the next three months.
the matter. However after
15 days, when the instances
of consumers getting lured by
such practices did not show
any sign of abating, the
helpline number was start-
ed on June 28.
The stakeholders have
been informed by the gov-
ernment that complaints are
adoption. Apple plans to charge
a hefty $3,499 for its headset,
which currently has limited
apps and experiences, and
requires users to stay teth-
ered to a battery pack the size
of an iPhone.
Apple’s stock has skyrock-
eted nearly 46% this year,
boosted by a broader surge in
Big Tech stocks as investors
have jumped onto the AI band-
wagon. Nvidia leads the S&P
500 with a 181% jump this year,
followed by Meta at 137%,
CNN reported.
This year’s stock market suc-
cess for Apple comes in sharp
contrast to 2022. At the start
of 2023, Apple’s market cap fell
below $2 trillion in trading
for the first time since early 2021.
would release monthly sales
data.
Vinod Nair, Head of
Research at Geojit Financial
Services, said the lack of glob-
al support had restrained the
Indian indices from pursuing
their record highs earlier,
despite the presence of a
resilient domestic macro-
economic background.
With positive surprises
assisting buoyancy in the
All platforms have to comply with
Indian law: MoS IT on Twitter ruling
AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, 30 JUNE
Union Minister of State for
Electronics and IT Rajeev
Chandrasekhar on Friday reit-
erated that all social media plat-
forms have to comply with the
law of the land, after the Kar-
nataka High Court dismissed
a petition filed by Twitter
challenging blocking orders
issued by the government.
The court ruled that Twit-
ter's petition was devoid of
merit, and also imposed a
cost of Rs 50 lakh on the
microblogging platform.
“All platforms have to be
in compliance with the Indi-
an law and Twitter under Jack
Dorsey repeatedly refused to
do so,” the Minister said in a
tweet.
In response to the gov-
ernment's notice for non-
compliance, the micro-blog-
ging platform approached
Karnataka High Court.
“Your client (Twitter) was
given notices and your client
now being registered regard-
ing such malpractices, and
once the specific guidelines
are prepared within the next
two months, then there is a
likelihood of a jail term for
offenders and their services
could even be discontinued,
official sources said.
There are several cate-
gories of dark pattern prac-
tices on e-commerce plat-
forms which the government
has identified. Some exam-
ples of these are false urgency,
wherein the consumer is
induced to purchase some-
thing under the pressure of
being given a limited time offer
on a particular product.
Another example is that of
"confirm shaming", where the
consumer is lured by ques-
World Bank okays $1.5 bn financing for India's low carbon transmission
AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, 30 JUNE
The World Bank has cleared
$1.5 billion financing to
accelerate India's low car-
bon transition.
In a statement issued on
Friday, the global lender
said the funding will incen-
tivise India's transition
towards low-carbon energy
by scaling up renewable
energy, developing green
hydrogen and stimulating cli-
mate finance for low-carbon
energy investments.
"The programme will sup-
port the successful imple-
mentation of the National
Green Hydrogen Mission
that aims to stimulate $100
billion in private sector
investment by 2030," said
Auguste Tano Kouame,
global market and the advance
of the southwest monsoon,
the domestic market suc-
ceeded in marching to new
highs with renewed strength.
Global investor sentiments
were uplifted by a favourable
revision in Q1 GDP, a fall in
jobless claims, and the pos-
itive outcome of the Fed’s US
bank stress test, he added.
Wall Street is rallying again
Friday after reports suggest-
did not comply. Punishment
for non-compliance is 7 years
imprisonment and unlimited
fine. That also did not deter
your client,” the Minister
tions like "are you sure you
don't want to buy?"
Hidden cost is one of the
common forms of such mal-
practice, where an online
ticket is offered at a reduced
rate but when it is purchased,
the price is much more than
it was offered earlier.
The ministry plans to take
action on several influencers
on social media, especially in
the field of finance and health
to begin with, mainly those
who promote specific finan-
cial products or medicines.
Their veracity needs to be ver-
ified and therefore their cre-
dentials would be checked,
and if found to be false, then
action would be taken as per
the guidelines, ministry offi-
cials said.
World Bank Country Direc-
tor for India.
ed pressure on inflation may
be easing. The stock market
is rolling toward the close of
a winning week, month and
first half of the year.
The S&P 500 was 1.1%
higher in morning trading. The
Dow Jones Industrial Average
was up 261 points, or 0.8%,
at 34,383, as of 10:15 a.m. East-
ern time, while the Nasdaq
composite was 1.5% higher.
The market has cruised
posted, citing the court ruling.
“You are not a farmer but
a billon dollar company," the
bench said while pronounc-
ing the verdict.
Regulator DGCA to conduct special
audit of crisis-hit Go First next week
AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, 30 JUNE
The Directorate General of Civil
Aviation (DGCA) has planned
to conduct a special audit of the
Go First facilities in Mumbai and
Delhi.
A senior DGCA official
informed that after a prelimi-
The programme plans to
push renewable energy sup-
through 2023 in part because
the economy has been able
to defy many predictions for
it to fall into a recession, at
least so far. The job market
in particular has remained
resilient despite high inter-
est rates that slow the econ-
omy in hopes of dragging
down inflation. Not only that,
Wall Street hopes inflation is
cooling enough for the Fed-
eral Reserve to soon halt its
hikes to rates.
A report on Friday showed
the measure of inflation that
the Fed prefers to use eased
in May. It also said growth in
spending by consumers
slowed by more than expect-
ed. If fewer dollars are chas-
ing after purchases, that could
remove more pressure on
inflation.
“There’s lots of noise
around the edges, but tepid
consumption growth and a
downward trend for infla-
tion means the end is near for
rate hikes,” said Brian Jacob-
sen, chief economist at Annex
Wealth Management.
The Fed has already hiked
rates by a mammoth 5 per-
Earlier this month, Chan-
drasekhar hit out at the "fic-
tion" put out by former Twit-
ter CEO Dorsey who had
claimed on a YouTube pod-
nary review of the resumption
plan submitted by the Resolu-
tion Professional (RP) for Go First
on June 28, 2023, the regulator
has planned to conduct a spe-
cial audit of the Go First facili-
ties at these two locations. "The
special audit to be conducted
from 4th to 6th July 2023 shall
be focused on the safety-relat-
ply by reducing costs and
improving power grid inte-
centage points from virtual-
ly zero early last year. Traders
on Wall Street pared back bets
that the Fed may hike inter-
est rates twice again this year,
with the majority betting on
only one more increase,
according to data from CME
Group.
Yields in the bond market
turned lower after the release
of the economic data. The 10-
year Treasury yield fell to
3.83% from nearly 3.87% just
before the report’s release. It
helps set rates for mortgages
and other important loans.
The two-year Treasury
yield, which moves more on
expectations for the Fed,
slipped to 4.87% from 4.90%
just before the report’s release.
In stock markets abroad,
indexes rallied across Europe
with France’s CAC 40 up 1.4%
and Germany’s DAX return-
ing 1.4%. In Asia, one of the
world’s biggest-gaining stock
markets this year took a
breather after Japan’s Nikkei
225 slipped 0.1%. It still rose
27.2% in the first six months
of 2023. Stocks in Shanghai
and South Korea rose 0.6%.
cast that the Centre had threat-
ened to shut down the plat-
form in the country.
He lashed out at Dorsey for
claiming that the Central gov-
ernment conducted raids on
employees' homes, saying it
was an attempt to "brush out
that very dubious period of
Twitter's history".
"This is an outright lie by
@jack -- perhaps an attempt
to brush out that very dubi-
ous period of Twitter's histo-
ry. Twitter under Dorsey and
his team were in repeated
and continuous violations of
the India law," Chandrasekhar
had said in a tweet.
The Minister said that as
a matter of fact, Twitter was
in non-compliance with law
repeatedly from 2020 to 2022
"and it was only June 2022
when they finally complied".
"All social media inter-
mediaries operating in India
have to comply with laws to
ensure that the internet is
safe, trusted and account-
able," he added.
ed aspects and continued com-
pliance of the requirements to
hold an Air Operator Certificate,
as well as on physical verifica-
tion of the arrangements made
for the resumption of flight
operations," said the official.
Go First intends to restart
flights with 22 aircraft in the fleet
as soon as possible.
The cash-starved airline
extended its flight suspension
until July 6, 2023, citing "oper-
ational reasons".
The airline operator filed
for voluntary bankruptcy in
early May before the National
Company Law Tribunal (NCLT),
alleging delays on the part of a
US-based engine maker for its
inability to promptly meet
obligations - leading to the
grounding of a portion of its fleet.
gration, while helping India
reach its committed 500
gigawatts (GW) of renewable
energy capacity by 2030.
The World Bank reiterated
that it will support India in
developing green hydrogen.
The low-carbon hydrogen
energy is produced by elec-
trolysis of water powered by
renewable energy.
The lender further said
that while India's per capi-
ta energy consumption was
only one-third of the glob-
al average, demand was
expected to grow rapidly
with the expansion of the
economy.
This calls for phasing
down of fossil-based ener-
gy sources in line with India's
goal of achieving net-zero by
2070, the statement added.

Demand to open Ratna Bhandar of
Jagannath Temple grows louder
PIL filed for opening the treasure house for repair & inventory
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
BHUBANESWAR, 30 JUNE:
pposition BJP and
the Orissa High Court by
former BJP state unit pres-
ident Samir Mohanty seek-
ing the constitution of a
ed out inaction and negli-
gence of the government
agencies in not opening
had entered the 'Ratna Bhan-
dar' on April 4, 2018 for a
scrutiny of its physical con-
I had tried but failed. A lot
of pressure was put on me
at that time”. It should be
NEW DELHI, SATURDAY 01 JULY 2023
Agro subsidy embezzlement: EOW
arrests fraud mastermind
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
BHUBANESWAR, 30 JUNE:
The Economic Offences Wing
(EOW) of Odisha police on Fri-
day arrested one Bidyadhara
Behera, former Regional Man-
ager of M/s Varushapriya
to farmers across the country
and also delivering services and
supplies to the Odisha gov-
ernment under various sub-
sidised schemes to promote
agriculture.
The accused Behera was
09
the accused entered into a
criminal conspiracy with other
accused and fraudulently
uploaded the details of more
than 556 paddy trans-planters
with fake engine and chassis

O
Congress joined
the senior servitors
in demanding the
opening of the ‘Ratna bhan-
dar’ ( treasure house) of the
Jagannath Temple, Puri for
repair and inventory on Fri-
day.
Yesterday, servitors
lamented that the deities
were being decked with gold
ornaments which are very
old, and a brass plate is used
to serve the Lord instead of
a gold plate. There is a lot of
gold ornaments in the ratna
bhandar , it should be opened
and new sets of ornaments
made, they said.
The demand was voiced
during the 'Suna Besha' of
the deities on the chariots.
Today, a PIL was filed in
high power committee
headed either by the Gov-
ernor or a sitting high court
Judge to supervise the prepa-
ration of the inventory of the
ornaments and jewelry kept
in the Ratna Bhandar (trea-
sury) of the 12th century
Shree Jagannath Temple,
Puri.
The State authorities and
the Shri Jagannath Temple
Administration have per-
petrated acts of illegalities
and improprieties in not
making the inventory of the
valuables like ornaments
and gold jewelry of Lord
Jagannath and other deities
kept inside the inner Ratna
Bhandar, alleged the peti-
tioner.
Besides the petition point-
the Ratna Bhandar to enable
the Archaeological survey
of India to take up the
repair work of the Ratna
Bhandar .
In spite of the recom-
mendation of the Technical
committee for immediate
repair of Ratna Bhandar,
the recommendation is yet
to be implemented.
It may be recalled here
that the Naveen Patnaik
government had ordered a
judicial inquiry into the non-
availability of keys to the
Ratna Bhandar (treasury)
of the 12th century Shree
Jagannath Temple, Puri on
June 5, 2018 as the mysteri-
ous disappearance of trea-
sure keys had triggered a
furore.
A 16-member team that
ditions had to inspect its
inner chambers from outside
an iron grill with search
lights as the keys were miss-
ing.
Subsequently, the Puri
district administration
claimed that it had found a
set of 'dublicate keys'.
Priceless gold jewelry,
gems, pearls and rare dia-
monds apart from silver and
other decorative items of
the temple's three presiding
deities- Lord Jagannath,
Lord Balabhadra and God-
dess Subhadra – are report-
ed to have been treasured in
the Ratna Bhandar.
Meanwhile, former law
minister and Congress leader
Narasingha Mishra on Fri-
day made a revelation say-
ing “ when I was a minister,
opened and an inventory
must be conducted, he
added.
disclosed that as a Min-
ister he had failed to order
the opening of the treasure
house as he was under pres-
sure .
Last month Gajapti
Maharaja of Puri had told
media persons that the ratna
bhandar was in bad shape
calling for repair. As per the
endowment laws, the inven-
tory of ornaments should be
done , he added.
OPCC president Sarat
Patnaik questioned the gov-
ernment’s reluctance and
noted the Gajapati Mahara-
ja, the Sankaracharya and
servitors want it to be opened.
Why is the government not
responding, he asked.
Agrotech Pvt Limited, from
Bhadrak for fraudulently using
the company’s login ID and
misappropriating a subsidy
amount of Rs 5 crore extend-
ed by the government.
The arrest was made fol-
lowing an FIR lodged by KG
Sree Charan, Director of M/s
Varushapriya Agrotech Pvt
Ltd . The EOW has registered
against Behera at the Bharat-
pur police station under Sec-
tions 409/420/468/471//120-
B IPC and Sec.66 (C) & 66 (D)
of IT Act, 2000, EOW officials
said.
M/s Varushapriya Agrotech
Pvt. Ltd. is a Bangalore-based
company having its branch
office at Baramunda,
Bhubaneswar, and was sup-
plying paddy trans-planters
earlier working as Regional
Manager in the said compa-
ny was authorised to register
the sale of machinery in Odisha
and facilitate subsidies to the
beneficiaries/farmers by
accessing the Government of
Odisha (Agriculture Depart-
ment) website ww.agrisne-
todisha.ori.nic.in. He was
using the login id and pass-
word meant exclusively for M/s
Varusapriya Agrotech Pvt Ltd.
During the period 2017-21,
numbers of machinery and
names and photos of an equal
number of beneficiaries in
18 districts of Odisha, pur-
portedly showing supply of
those trans-planters to the
said farmers.
Soon after the release of
subsidy amounts in the
accounts of beneficiary farm-
ers, the accused persons used
to lure the beneficiaries by giv-
ing them some token amount
and grabbing the subsidy
amount.

TENDER Gadkari lays foundation Hirakud inflow rises after

for Bolangir bypass road Kalma barrage opens all gates
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
BOLANGIR, 30 JUNE:
The foundation stone for the
much delayed Bolangir bypass
road was laid by Union Minis-
ter Nitin Gadkari on virtual
mode on Friday. He laid
the function at a function
organised at Bijakhaman
near the under con-
struction truck termi-
nal.Bolangir MP Sangee-
ta Kumari Singh Deo,
Niranjan Bisi ( RS MP), local MLA
Narasingha Mishra and Dr
Mukesh Mahaling were present
as were senior officials of the NH
division here.
As per the project report the
Rs 430 crore project will
include construction of two
flyovers, three road over
bridges and seven under
pass.The land acquisition has
been completed and cur-
rently soil filling work is on.
Over the years the demand
for the bypass road had led to
several protests, dharana and
bandh in the town as the heavy
flow of traffic due to
the NH passing
through the town had
often led to accidents.
This had prompted
the administration
to ban movement of
heavy vehicles through the
town during day time.
The project report and
estimates had also run into
trouble as the initial propos-
al send to the centre was
flawed. The centre had
returned it seeking several
clarifications causing further
delay in approval.
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
SAMBALPUR, 30 JUNE -
Hirakud is getting nearly one
lakh cusec of water as inflow
now since Kalma barrage has
opened all its 64 gates after
heavy rainfall in Chhattis-
garh.
At present the water level
in Hirakud dam reservoir
stands at 604 feet as informed
by control room sources. But
water from Kalma barrage
and that from the upper catch-
ment is sure to increase the
level where the maximum
water holding capacity is 630
feet. The Hirakud dam author-
ities are, however, not in
hurry to open gates as they
have sufficient storage space
in hand.
"Since the maximum water
level (MWL) of the reservoir
is 630 feet, there is nothing to
be worried now. Hence, release
first flood water will be around
10 July," said Anand Chandra
Sahu, the chief engineer of
Hirakud Dam Project (HDP).
"But we are keeping watch
on the water quantity from
At present the water
level in Hirakud dam
reservoir stands at
604 feet as informed
by control room
sources. But water
from Kalma barrage
and that from the
upper catchment is
sure to increase the
level where the maxi-
mum water holding
capacity is 630 feet.
Kalma barrage and rain in
Chhattisgarh and upper catch-
ments," Sahu added.
However, according to
another senior officer of
Hirakud Dam "Our present
concern is more about errat-
ic water management of
Chhattisgarh than anything
else."
According to the dam con-
trol room sources, the out flow
from the reservoir is highest
for power production at 29,000
cusec followed by 600 cusec
for irrigation purpose and
268 for industries.
10
NEW DELHI, SATURDAY 01 JULY 2023
WEATHER
CITY MAX(°C) MIN(°C)
SINGAPORE 31 25 R
HONG KONG 26 22 CL
TOKYO 18 9 CL
LONDON 11 3 H
DUBAI 33 22 H
SAN FRANCISCO 18
NEW YORK 7
7 H
-1 S
MOSCOW -3 -4 R
S= sunny, CL= clear,
H=hazy, R= rainy...
THUMBNAILS
Fisherwomen and men
navigate to their net off
the coat of Chuao,
Venezuela. � AP
Teen charged with danger-
ous driving after fatal colli-
sion: Police in Australia's
Victoria state said that a
teenage girl has been
charged following a fatal
collision in Locksley town.
At about 8:30 a.m. on
Wednesday, a grey Holden
Captiva was traveling along
the Hume Highway when it
collided with a truck near
Alexandersons Road. A 15-
year-old girl died at the
scene, while the 14-year-old
sustained non-life-threaten-
ing injuries. IANS
Over 120 mn Americans
under air quality alerts: More
than 120 million people
across more than a dozen US
states from the Midwest to
the East Coast are under air
quality alerts, as smoke
from Canadian wildfires con-
tinues to sweep across the
country. Canada is seeing its
worst fire season on record
as hundreds of blazes rage
across the country, with
more than 250 burning "out
of control.” IANS
French president urges Finland's economics minister steps down from
parents to keep teens at home govt over alleged ties to extreme right wing
as govt orders buses to stop
ASSOCIATED PRESS
PARIS, 30 JUNE
France’s interior ministry says
it has issued instructions for
the complete shutdown of all
public bus and tram services
before sunset as the govern-
ment combats rioting trig-
gered by the deadly police
shooting of a 17-year-old.
The ministry said Interior
Minister Gerald Darmanin
issued the order after attend-
ing a crisis meeting Friday
led by French President
Emmanuel Macron.
Darmanin instructed
regional prefects who are
under his command to shut
down bus and tram services
at 9 p.m., before it gets dark,
everywhere across France,
the ministry said. The Paris
region had already announced
such a shutdown to protect
transport workers and pas-
sengers.
Darmanin also ordered a
ban on the sale and carrying
of powerful fireworks, which
rioters have launched at police
officers and buildings, as well
as on the sale of canisters of
gasoline, acids and other
chemicals and flammable
TENDER
Zelenskyy orders moves to
strengthen military sector
He did not mention Wagner Group boss Prigozhin in the brief post on Telegram
AGENCIES
KYIV , 30 JUNE
P
resident Volodymyr
Zelenskyy ordered top
military commanders
on Friday to strength-
en Ukraine's northern mili-
tary sector following the arrival
of Russian mercenary leader
Yevgeny Prigozhin in Belarus.
He said a meeting with gov-
ernment and military leaders
had also heard a report from
Ukrainian intelligence and
security forces about the situ-
ation in Belarus, Ukraine's
northern neighbour.
"The decision...is for Com-
mander-in-Chief (Valeriy)
Zaluzhnyi and 'North' com-
mander (Serhiy) Naev to imple-
ment a set of measures to
strengthen this direction,"
Zelenskyy said on the Telegram
messaging app.
He did not mention Wag-
ner Group boss Prigozhin in the
brief post on Telegram.
Prigozhin flew from Russia
into exile in Belarus on Tues-
Boris Johnson ally quits UK govt with a blast at Sunak
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LONDON, 30 JUNE
A British environment min-
ister who is close to former
Prime Minister Boris Johnson
quit on Friday, accusing the
current government of apa-
thy toward climate issues.
While Zac Goldsmith cited
environmental policies as his
reason for resigning, it came
after he was asked to apolo-
gize for trying to undermine
a group of lawmakers who
were investigating govern-
ment rule-breaking.
Goldsmith, a long-time
conservationist, said he was
quitting the government
because Prime Minister Rishi
Sunak was “simply uninter-
ested” in the environment.
“This government’s apa-
thy in the face of the greatest
challenge we have faced makes
continuing in my current role
untenable,” he wrote in a res-
ignation letter released on
social media.
He said Britain has “visi-
vote, Prime Minister Petteri
Orpo said he had given Jun-
liquids, the ministry said.
French President
Emmanuel Macron urged
parents Friday to keep
teenagers at home and pro-
posed restrictions on social
media to quell rioting spread-
ing across France over the fatal
police shooting of a 17-year-
old driver that has resulted so
far in the arrests of 875 peo-
ple. After a second crisis meet-
ing with senior ministers,
Macron maintained that social
media platforms such as
Snapchat and TikTok played
a “considerable role” in fuel-
ing copycat acts of violence
during this week’s unrest.
Macron said his govern-
ment would work with tech-
nology companies to estab-
lish procedures for “the
removal of the most sensitive
content.”
day under a deal negotiated by
President Alexander Lukashenko
that ended his mercenaries'
mutiny in Russia on Saturday.
Media have reported that
Wagner could set up a new base
at a vacant military facility near
the town of Asipovichi, about
90 km (50 miles) from the
Belarusian capital, Minsk.
Zelenskyy said the situa-
tion in other frontline areas, sup-
plies of artillery and shells, and
advances by Ukrainian troops
bly stepped off the world
stage and withdrawn our lead-
ership on climate and nature.”
Goldsmith, Sunak and
Johnson are all members of
the governing Conservative
Party. Goldsmith, 48, was
appointed to Parliament’s
unelected House of Lords by
Johnson before Johnson
resigned as prime minister
almost a year ago amid ethics
scandals.
Goldsmith’s resignation
comes the day after he was
among eight allies of the for-
mer prime minister criticized
by lawmakers for trying to
New Zealand to ban plastic
produce bags from today
ASSOCIATED PRESS
COPENHAGEN, 30 JUNE
The economic affairs minis-
ter in Finland’s new four-
party center-right governing
coalition, resigned Friday
after 10 days in the job for his
alleged ties to the extreme right
wing, Finnish media said.
A member of the pop-
ulist, anti-immigration Finns
Party, Vilhelm Junnila stepped
down in part for a speech in
connection with a far-right
memorial in the western city
of Turku in 2019, Finland
broadcaster YLE said.
He also reportedly has
made a reference to Adolf
Hitler. He has allegedly joked
about his candidate number
in the 2019 parliamentary
elections — which was ran-
Deadly germ behind infant formula shortage joins CDC watchlist of bad bugs
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON, 30 JUNE
U.S. health officials will start
formally tracking infections
caused by the rare but poten-
tially deadly germ that sickened
babies and triggered a nation-
wide shortage of infant formula
last year.
A group that advises the Cen-
ters for Disease Control and Pre-
vention agreed Thursday to add
infections caused by cronobac-
ter to the list of serious condi-
tions reported to the agency.
There are about 120 infec-
tions and diseases on the
national watchlist.
States will be asked, but not
required, to notify the CDC
about cronobacter infections,
although they usually comply.
Such infections are required to
be reported now in only two
states, Minnesota and Michi-
gan. The change will take effect
next year, though states may
begin reporting earlier.
The action by the Council
of State and Territorial Epi-
demiologists, a nonprofit group,
caps months of demands from
experts and food safety advo-
The Swedish Migration Agency registered 11,580 return cases last year, but only 39
per cent of those who received a decision that they must leave Sweden did so vol-
untarily.
against Russia's occupying
forces were also discussed at the
meeting.
After pushing Russian out
of northern regions last year,
Ukraine implemented mea-
sures to tighten the defence of
its border with Belarus, a close
ally of Russia.
Ukrainian troops are
advancing in all directions of
their counteroffensive against
occupying Russian forces, a
senior defence official said on
undermine a committee inves-
tigating whether Johnson lied
to Parliament over rule-break-
ing government parties dur-
ing the coronavirus pandemic.
The Privileges Commit-
tee found that Johnson —
who had remained a back-
bench legislator after stepping
down as prime minister — mis-
led lawmakers, and recom-
mended a 90-day suspen-
sion from Parliament. John-
son avoided that ignominy by
resigning as a lawmaker after
the committee gave him
advance notice of its findings.
The panel also said that
lion produce bags from end-
ing up in landfills each year,
domly assigned as 88 — jok-
ingly saying it represented two
H’s. The eighth letter in the
alphabet is H, and 88 is a
numerical code for “Heil
Hitler.”
Junnila has apologized
and distanced himself for
his remarks and jokes, say-
ing in a Facebook post that
he never had any ties or affil-
cates who called for better
surveillance of the deadly infec-
tions that typically strike the
most vulnerable babies. The
move establishes standard cri-
teria for identifying and count-
ing probable and confirmed
cronobacter cases and rec-
ommends that states require
them to be reported.
NEW ZEALAND’S MIGRATION MINISTER MARIA MALMER STENERGARD
ANNOUNCING TO SET UP REPATRIATION CENTRES FOR MIGRANTS DENIED ASYLUM
Friday.
Since the start of the coun-
teroffensive this month, Ukraine
says it has reasserted control
over clusters of villages in the
southeast although Russia still
holds swathes of territory in the
east, south and southeast.
"If we talk about the entire
frontline, both east and south,
we have seized the strategic ini-
tiative and are advancing in all
directions," Deputy Defence
Minister Hanna Maliar told
Goldsmith and the other John-
son allies put “improper pres-
sure” on committee members
and mounted “vociferous
attacks” on the committee on
social media, radio and tele-
vision.
Sunak said he had asked
Goldsmith “to apologize for
his comments about the Priv-
ileges Committee because I
felt they were incompatible
with his position as a minis-
ter.” “He obviously has cho-
sen to take a different course,”
Sunak said.
Despite the spat over the
reason for his resignation,
environmental groups said
Goldsmith’s comments reflect-
ed growing concern about
the government’s approach
to the environment.
The British government’s
climate advisers said this
week that the country was
becoming tardy in meeting its
“net zero” greenhouse gas
emissions and has “lost its clear
global leadership position on
climate action.”
iation with extreme elements.
On Friday, he resigned.
“I see that it is impossible
for me to continue as a min-
ister in a satisfactory way,” he
said.
Two days earlier, he sur-
vived a confidence vote in the
Finnish parliament, the
Eduskunta, put forward by the
opposition. Following the
Cronobacter is a type of bac-
teria found widely in the envi-
ronment. When the bug gets
into a food such as powdered
formula, it can cause life-
threatening bloodstream infec-
tions and meningitis in very
young or ill infants.
Dr. Julia Haston, who has
studied cronobacter infec-
Ukrainian television.
Russia, which began its full-
scale invasion in February
2022, has not acknowledged the
Ukrainian gains and has said
Ukraine's military are suffer-
ing heavy casualties.
Maliar said Ukrainian troops
were moving "confidently" on
the flanks around the devas-
tated eastern city of Bakhmut,
which is held by Russian forces,
and the main fighting was
going on around the city.
In the south, Kyiv's forces
were moving with mixed suc-
cess and mainly levelling the
frontline, she said.
"In the south, we are mov-
ing with varying success, some-
times there are days when it is
more than a kilometre, some-
times less than a kilometre,
sometimes up to 2 kilome-
tres," she said.
She noted that the effec-
tiveness of the counteroffen-
sive should be evaluated by "a
lot of different military tasks"
and not just by advances and
the liberation of settlements.
Russian Gen Surovikin was secret
Wagner VIP member: Report
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MOSCOW, 30 JUNE
Documents have suggested
that Russian General Sergei
Surovikin, the deputy com-
mander of Russian military
operations in Ukraine whose
whereabouts are currently
unknown, was a secret VIP
member of the Wagner mer-
cenary group, a media report
said.
The documents, obtained
by the Russian investigative
Dossier Center, showed that
Surovikin had a personal reg-
istration number with Wag-
ner, CNN reported.
Surovikin is listed along
with at least 30 other senior
Russian military and intelli-
gence officials, who the Dossier
Center said are also VIP Wag-
ner members.
Surovikin has not been
seen in public since June 24,
when he released a video
pleading for Wagner boss
nila a warning before the
vote that he “can’t act” like
that in a ministerial role, YLE
said, as per reports.
On June 16, Orpo, who
leads Finland’s center-right
National Coalition Party,
announced an agreement
with three other parties for
a governing coalition, saying
that the new NATO member
country needs budget cuts and
curbs on immigration.
The four parties – Orpo’s
NCP, the Finns Party, which
came in second in April elec-
tions vowing to curb immi-
gration, the Christian Democ-
rats and the Swedish People’s
Party of Finland -- hold 108
seats out of 200 in Eduskun-
ta.
tions at the CDC, said earlier
this year that the agency has
typically received reports of two
to four of the invasive infections
a year, rather than the 18 that
are estimated to actually occur.
“Because we don’t rou-
tinely perform surveillance,
we don’t know the true inci-
dence of infection or the num-
Russia’s top diplomat Lavrov sees
no reason to extend grain deal
AGENCIES
MOSCOW, 30 JUNE
Russia said on Friday it saw no
reason to extend the Black Sea
grain deal beyond July 17
because the West had acted
in such an "outrageous" way
over the agreement, but
assured poor countries that
Russian grain exports would
continue.
The United Nations and
Turkey brokered the Black
Sea Grain Initiative last July to
help tackle a global food cri-
sis worsened by Moscow's
invasion of Ukraine - some-
thing it calls "a special mili-
tary operation" - and its block-
ade of Ukrainian Black Sea
ports.
The deal allows food and
fertiliser to be exported from
three Ukrainian ports -
Chornomorsk, Odesa and Piv-
dennyi (Yuzhny). The agree-
ment has been extended three
times, most recently until July
17. "The attitude of the West
towards this deal is outra-
geous," Lavrov told reporters,
pointing specifically to the
positions of the United States
and Britain.
Lavrov said one of the last
straws for Russia was an attack
Yevgeny Prigozhin to stop
his short-lived mutiny.
Surovikin is a decorated
commander of the Russian Air
Force and became nicknamed
“General Armageddon” for his
ruthless tactics bombing cities
in Syria, CNN reported.
It is unclear what Wagn-
er’s VIP membership entails,
including whether there is a
financial benefit.
Surovikin was known to
INDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE
WELLINGTON, 30 JUNE
New Zealand's major super-
markets have been preparing
for the second phase of the
national plastics ban starting
from Saturday, which will see
the phase-out of more single-
use plastics.
The second round will ban
plastic produce bags and stick-
ers, plates, bowls, cutlery, and
straws, the Ministry for Envi-
ronment said on Friday.
Those plastics will be taken
off the shelves from Saturday,
with businesses to be possibly
fined up to NZ$100,000
($60,853) if they do not com-
ply. This round of the nation-
al ban targets single-use and
hard-to-recycle items, which
was expected to stop 150 mil-
ber of deaths per year,” she said.
Though the infections are
rare, up to 40% of babies who
fall ill will die, Haston added.
An outbreak of cronobac-
ter infections that started in 2021
sickened four infants fed for-
mula from Abbott Nutrition’s
Sturgis, Michigan, plant. Two
of the babies died. No direct
link was found between the
Abbott products and the infec-
tions, but FDA officials shut-
tered the plant after contam-
ination and other problems
were detected. Abbott recalled
top brands of infant formula,
triggering a massive nationwide
shortage that lasted for months.
So far this year, one case of
cronobacter infection in an
infant has been reported to the
CDC, an agency spokesman
said. An investigation found the
bacteria in an open can of
powdered formula in the child’s
home. Cronobacter was not
found in an unopened can of
formula. The location and
brand of formula wasn’t dis-
closed.
Most parents don’t realize
that powdered formula isn’t
sterile or that they must be
on the Togliatti-Odesa ammo-
nia pipeline, an attack he
blamed on Ukraine which
has in turn accused Russia of
damaging it. "I don't see what
arguments there can be by
those who would like to con-
tinue the Black Sea initia-
tive," Lavrov said.
Russia and Ukraine are
two of the world's top agri-
cultural producers, and major
players in the wheat, barley,
maize, rapeseed, rapeseed
oil, sunflower seed and sun-
flower oil markets. Russia is
also dominant in the fertilis-
er market. If the grain deal col-
lapses, Lavrov said, Russia
would provide grain to the
poorest countries of the world
at Moscow's own expense.
"If the Black Sea Initiative
ceases to operates, we will pro-
vide grain deliveries of a com-
parable or larger size to the
poorest countries at our own
expense, free of charge," Lavrov
said.
Between 2018–2020, Africa
imported $3.7 billion in wheat
(32% of total African wheat
imports) from Russia and
another $1.4 billion from
Ukraine (12% of total African
wheat imports), according to
the United Nations.
have links with the mercenary
group, but the documents
raise questions about the
closeness of senior members
of the Russian military and
Wagner, CNN reported.
The Kremlin has remained
silent on the topic, embark-
ing instead on an aggressive
campaign to reassert the
authority of President Vladimir
Putin.
On Wednesday, the Russ-
ian-language version of the
independent Moscow Times
cited two anonymous defense
sources as saying that
Surovikin had been arrested
in relation to the failed mutiny,
CNN reported.
Rybar, a popular blogger,
noted on Wednesday that
“Surovikin has not been seen
since Saturday” and said
nobody knew for certain
where he was.
“There is a version that he
is under interrogation,” he
added.
according to the Ministry for
Environment.
Last October, single-use
plastic cotton buds, drink stir-
rers and most plastic meat
trays were banned from sale
or manufacture in the first
phase-out.
"Stopping the sale of these
plastic products will reduce
waste to landfill, improve our
recycling systems and encour-
age reusable or environmen-
tally responsible alternatives,"
Environment Minister David
Parker said last September.
On average, every year each
New Zealander sends about 750
kg of waste to landfill. Some
products can't be recycled
and are unnecessary, Parker
said.
scrupulous about how they han-
dle the product, the bottles —
even the sinks and countertops
where formula is prepared,
said Mitzi Baum, chief execu-
tive of Stop Foodborne Ill-
ness, a nonprofit group that
advocates for food safety.
An outbreak of cronobac-
ter infections that started in 2021
sickened four infants fed for-
mula from Abbott Nutrition’s
Sturgis, Michigan, plant. Two
of the babies died. No direct
link was found between the
Abbott products and the infec-
tions, but FDA officials shut-
tered the plant after contam-
ination and other problems
were detected. Abbott recalled
top brands of infant formula,
triggering a massive nationwide
shortage that lasted for months.
In March, the CDC warned
parents to sterilize equipment
used for both bottle- and
breastfeeding after a baby died
from a cronobacter infection
traced to a contaminated breast
pump.
“It is abundantly clear that
consumers do not know the
risks associated with use of pow-
dered formula,” Baum said.

Cambodian
PM quits FB
after video
deemed violent
PHNOM PENH, 30 JUNE
Cambodian Prime Hun
Sen quit Facebook on Fri-
day after the platform's
Oversight Board recom-
mended his temporary
suspension over a video
where he called for violence
against his political oppo-
nents which was viewed
600,000 times.
The latest development
comes ahead of the July 23
general election in which
the 69-year-old leader is
seeing re-election to fur-
ther extend his 38-year-old
rule, the BBC reported.
He is the world's longest-
serving political leader.
The Prime Minister who
had14 million followers
on his Facebook page, has
now moved to Telegram
and TikTok.
In a statement on Thurs-
day, the Board recom-
mended his suspension
for six months over the
video, which was posted in
January.
It overturned an earli-
er decision by Facebook to
keep the video live, citing
"newsworthiness".
AGENCIES
More than 50 MPs resign from
Iraqi Kurdish region’s
parliament to protest court ruling
AGENCIES
IRBIL, 30 JUNE
More than 50 members of the
local parliament in Iraq’s
semi-autonomous Kurdish
region in the north have sub-
mitted their resignations to
protest a court decision that
deemed as unconstitutional
the legislature’s postponement
of elections by a year.
Jihad Hassan, an MP with
the Kurdistan Democratic
Party, which holds the largest
number of seats in the
autonomous region’s par-
liament, said Tuesday that all
45 members of its bloc had
resigned the day before from
the 111-member parliament,
along with nine MPs from
other parties.
The Federal Supreme
Court in Baghdad last month
ruled against the regional
Pak, IMF reach $3bn deal after 8 months of delay
AGENCIES
ISLAMABAD, 30 JUNE
After an eight-month delay,
the Pakistan government and
the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) have finally
reached a staff-level pact on
a $3 billion stand-by arrange-
ment as the cash-strapped
nation is teetering on the
brink of default, media reports
said on Friday.
The deal however, is sub-
ject to approval by the IMF's
Executive Board in July, reports
Dawn news.
The $3 billion funding,
spread over nine months, is
higher than expected for Pak-
istan.
The country was await-
ing the release of the remain-
ing $2.5 billion from a $6.5 bil-
lion bailout package agreed
in 2019, which expired on
Friday.
To help secure the deal, the
State Bank of Pakistan had
raised its main interest rate
to a record high of 22 per cent
on Monday.
This year’s Haj was held in sweltering heat, and for those serving pilgrims there was little relief
AGENCIES
MINA, 30 JUNE
As hundreds of thousands of
Muslim pilgrims walked in the
footsteps of the prophets
beneath a sweltering sun,
contracted cleaners in lime-
green jumpsuits held out
matching plastic bags to col-
lect their empty water bottles.
It takes tens of thousands
of cleaners, security person-
nel, medics and others to
make the annual Hajj pil-
grimage possible for 1.8 mil-
lion faithful from around the
world. As the Hajj concludes
on Friday, the workers will
begin a massive, weeklong
cleanup effort.
For the cleaners, who are
migrant workers, it’s a much-
needed source of income.
But this year it was particu-
larly trying, as temperatures
Sri Lanka's Cabinet approves
domestic debt restructuring
The restructuring programme was approved at a special Cabinet meeting on Wednesday
AGENCIES
COLOMBO, 30 JUNE
S
ri Lanka’s Cabinet on
Wednesday approved
a program to restruc-
ture the country’s stag-
gering domestic debt as the
island nation struggles to
emerge from an economic
crisis that has engulfed it
since last year.
The domestic debt restruc-
turing is required as part of a
bailout package obtained
from the International Mon-
terey Fund, under which near-
ly $3 billion in government
budgetary support will be
disbursed in stages. Sri Lanka’s
total debt exceeds $83 billion,
of which $41.5 billion is for-
eign and $42.1 billion is domes-
tic.
The restructuring program
was approved at a special
Cabinet meeting on Wednes-
day, the president’s office
said in a statement. It did not
provide details of the pro-
gram, which is to be submit-
ted to Parliament for approval
at a special session on Satur-
day.
parliament’s decision in Octo-
ber to extend its legislative
term, delaying the regional
election by a year. The deci-
sion came in response to a law-
suit filed by opposition polit-
ical figures challenging the
legality of the extension.
Since its inception in 1992,
the Kurdish region has con-
ducted five parliamentary
elections, with the most recent
one taking place in 2018.
The wave of resignations
comes at a time when polit-
ical tensions among Kurdish
parties have reached a peak.
During a regional parliament
session in May, a dispute
between members of the
KDP and the rival Patriotic
Union of Kurdistan party
escalated into physical alter-
cations involving the throw-
ing of punches and plastic
water bottles.
"The economy has faced
several external shocks such
as the catastrophic floods in
2022 that impacted the lives
of millions of Pakistanis and
an international commodity
price spike in the wake of
Russia's war in Ukraine," the
BBC quoted Nathan Porter,
IMF's mission chief for Pak-
istan, as saying in a statement
issued on Friday.
"As a result of these shocks
as well as some policy mis-
steps... economic growth has
stalled," he added.
On Thursday night, Finance
Minister Ishaq Dar had said
regularly hovered around 45
degrees Celsius (113 degrees
Farhrenheit) during the five-
day pilgrimage, most of which
is held outdoors with little if
any shade.
“This job is not easy,” said
a 26-year-old trash collector
as he took a quick break to
splash water on his face
before rushing back to his
position as another wave of
pilgrims approached. “The
heat is too much.”
He was among six clean-
ers, all from Bangladesh, who
spoke to The Associated Press
on condition of anonymity,
fearing reprisal. They said
they are paid 600 Saudi riyals
(about $160) a month. They
work 12-hour shifts for a few
weeks surrounding the Hajj,
with no days off, before return-
ing to other cleaning jobs
around the kingdom.
The rounds of military conflict in recent years teach
that in a fight against those who seek our lives, there
can be neither respite nor weakness
Sri Lankan President Ranil
Wickremesinghe said on Tues-
day that restructuring of both
foreign and domestic debt is
necessary for the country to
come out of the crisis. He
said the program would not
affect the stability of state-
China's new law on foreign
relations to take effect today
AGENCIES
BEIJING, 30 JUNE
China's new Law on Foreign
Relations, adopted by the
country's top legislature on
Wednesday, will take effect on
Saturday asserting Beijing's
interests on the world stage.
Of the 297 laws currently
in effect in China, there are
52 foreign-affairs laws and
more than 150 laws contain-
ing foreign-affairs clauses,
reports Xinhua news agency.
But the legal system con-
cerning foreign affairs still
has some shortcomings, said
an official of the Legislative
Affairs Commission, adding
that in particular, gaps exist
in laws concerning safe-
guarding national sovereignty,
security and development
interests.
"Speeding up the building
that a staff-level agreement for
a crucial bailout deal with the
IMF was “very close” and
expected in the next 24 hours,
Dawn news reported.
Dar had earlier told media
that the government was
working on a mechanism to
try to unlock the full $2.5 bil-
lion pending under the IMF
programme. Amid the ongo-
ing economic crisis, Pak-
istan's annual inflation rate
hit a fresh record high in May
of almost 38 per cent. Over the
last year the Pakistan rupee
also fell by around 40 per
cent against the US dollar.
The Hajj pilgrimage to
Mecca is one of the five pil-
lars of Islam, and all Muslims
are required to undertake it
at least once in their lives if
they are able. This was the first
time in three years it was
held without coronavirus
restrictions.
The Hajj concludes on
Friday, as pilgrims circle the
cube-shaped Kaaba for a
final time and then depart
from the holy city. Men often
shave their heads after com-
pleting the ritual stoning of
pillars representing the devil,
and women cut a lock of hair
as a sign of renewal.
Pilgrims insisted the jour-
ney was worth it despite the
heat. For many Muslims it is
the highlight of their spiritual
life, a journey that wipes
away sin and brings them clos-
er to God. Some spend years
owned and commercial banks
or the deposits in about 50 mil-
lion accounts.
Sri Lanka announced last
year that it was suspending
repayment of foreign loans
because of a severe foreign cur-
rency crisis triggered by the
of the legal system concern-
ing foreign affairs will help
China more effectively deal
with risks and challenges," the
official said.
According to the Legisla-
tive Affairs Commission, the
new law "expounds China's
stance in international
exchanges, improves the insti-
tutions related to the coun-
Thai court acquits 5 who were accused of blocking
the queen's motorcade during 2020 protests
AGENCIES
BANGKOK, 30 JUNE
A court in Thailand on
Wednesday acquitted a stu-
dent activist and four other
people of impeding the motor-
cade of the country’s queen
during pro-democracy
demonstrations in 2020, an
offense that could have seen
them sentenced to 16 years in
prison or even the death
penalty.
The Bangkok Criminal
Court verdict was rendered in
a case brought under a little-
used law that targets actions
intended “to harm the liber-
ty of the queen, the heir appar-
ent and the regent.” Legal
experts were unable to recall
any previous prosecutions
under the law.
The verdict represented a
rare legal victory for Thai-
land’s pro-democracy move-
ment, which has often faced
an uphill battle in the con-
saving up money and await-
ing a permit in order to go.
The Hajj is also a huge
source of pride and legitimacy
for the Saudi royal family,
which serves as the custodi-
an of the Islam’s holiest sites
and invests billions of dollars
in organizing the annual pil-
grimage, one of the largest reli-
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU
ISRAEL PRIME MINISTER
COVID-19 pandemic, exces-
sive borrowing by the gov-
ernment and efforts by the cen-
tral bank to stabilize the Sri
Lankan rupee with scarce
foreign reserves.
Sri Lanka sought the sup-
port of the IMF, which
try's foreign relations, and pre-
sents China's image as a
responsible major country
that champions peace, devel-
opment, cooperation and
mutual benefit via a law-
based approach".
The legislation also threat-
ens to punish entities that act
in ways "detrimental" to
China's interests but does
servative courts, which are
widely seen as representing
a bulwark against political
and social change.
After the verdict was read,
people in the courtroom
clapped and cheered, as the
smiling defendants hugged
each other, and the judge
had to call for order.
The defendants thanked the
court, with one, Ekachai
Hongkangwan, saying he
always had confidence the
gious gatherings on earth.
For the cleaners, it is also
a job, and this year it was an
especially tough one.
The sun beat down on
the open spaces and roads,
and reflected a blinding light
off the white marble of the holy
sites. On some days there
was hardly a breeze, while on
NEW DELHI, SATURDAY 01 JULY 2023
approved a bailout package
in March.
The government previ-
ously said it is seeking to
reduce the country’s foreign
debt by $17 billion through
restructuring. It has already
begun talks with foreign cred-
itors including groups such as
Paris Club and countries
including India and China to
restructure the debt.
Debt restructuring can
take various forms, including
bailouts, renegotiating terms
of loans and writing off or
reducing the amount owed for
some loans. Sri Lanka’s eco-
nomic crisis, the worst in its
history, caused severe short-
ages of food, medicine, fuel,
cooking gas and electricity last
year. That led to massive
street protests that forced
then-President Gotabaya
Rajapaksa to flee the country
and resign. The economy has
shown signs of improvement
since Wickremesinghe took
over as president last July.
Shortages have been alleviated,
power cuts have ended and
the rupee has begun to
strengthen.
not specify which lines should
not be crossed, the BBC report-
ed.
"The People's Republic of
China conducts foreign rela-
tions to uphold its system of
socialism with Chinese char-
acteristics, safeguard its sov-
ereignty, unification and ter-
ritorial integrity, and pro-
mote its economic and social
development," the law states.
It adds that China conducts
foreign relations "under the
guidance of" the political ide-
ologies of Xi Jinping, Mao
Zedong, Deng Xiaoping and
Marxism-Leninism, among
others.
China's top diplomat Wang
Yi has called the law "an
important measure to
strengthen the Communist
Party Central Committee's
centralised and unified lead-
ership over foreign affairs".
courts would be just, and that
the judges showed that peo-
ple can still rely on the justice
system.
The case stemmed from an
incident on October 14, 2020,
on the fringes of a rally in
Bangkok that was calling for
democratic reforms, includ-
ing over the privileges of the
country’s powerful monarchy.
One of the defendants, 23-year-
old international relations
student Bunkueanun
others a hot wind whipped up
gusts of sand. Cellphones
overheated and died within
minutes.
The Saudi Health Min-
istry said more than 8,400 pil-
grims were treated for heat
exhaustion or heat stroke,
with nearly half of them hos-
pitalized. Mehwish Batool, a
29-year-old from Pakistan
who was on his first pilgrim-
age, said he had to use a
spray bottle to keep from
getting dizzy, and that often
the only shade to be found
came from the umbrella hat
he was wearing. “There is
nothing here, there is only the
sun right above us,” he said.
“I love the experience, but the
worst part is the heat. And
there is nothing to protect us.”
Saudi authorities have set
up canopies and industrial
misters in some places. The
Finance ministers of Japan
and South Korea agree to
resume currency swap
agreement as ties warm
AGENCIES
TOKYO, 30 JUNE
Japan and South Korea agreed
Thursday to revive a curren-
cy swap agreement for times
of crisis, in the latest sign of
warming ties as the coun-
tries work to smooth over
historical antagonisms.
Japanese Finance Minis-
ter Shunichi Suzuki announced
the agreement after meeting
with his South Korean coun-
terpart, Choo Kyungho. It
was the first time the two
countries have held annual
financial talks in seven years,
though Suzuki and Choo also
met in South Korea in May.
Suzuki told reporters that
the 3-year currency swap
agreement would help rein-
force trust in the financial
stability of the two countries
as a fallback in an emergency.
But he emphasized that Japan
is fully prepared to deal with
fluctuations in the Japanese
yen, which has weakened
sharply against the U.S. dol-
lar in the past year.
The $10 billion swap
arrangement expired in 2015
and had not been renewed.
Largely symbolic, it allows the
South Korean and Japanese
central banks to exchange cur-
rencies for each country’s
reserves of U.S. dollars to
provide extra liquidity, or
cash supplies, in case of a cri-
sis. The two major Asian
economies, both U.S. allies,
have recently mended ties as
they contend with challenges
posed by China and North
Korea, despite tensions over
issues left over from Japan’s
35-year occupation of the
Korean Peninsula before and
during World War II. From July
21, Japan plans to reinstate
South Korea as a preferred
nation with fast-track trade
status. That will essentially end
a four-year trade dispute that
began in July 2019 when
Paothong ~ widely known by
his nickname Francis ~ had
insisted all along the case
was misguided.
He had denied knowing a
royal motorcade was due to
pass by, and said that when
he saw it he urged people to
move away. Prosecutors had
alleged that he knew the royal
motorcade, with a limousine
carrying Queen Suthida, wife
of King Maha Vajiralongkorn,
and his son, Prince Dipangko-
rn Rasmijoti, then 15, was
due to pass the area and that
he and his fellow defendants
had broken away to block its
route.
They also charged that
they tussled with police offi-
cers who were securing the
path, then urged other pro-
testors to sit in the road to stop
its passage. The court ruled
that an examination of the evi-
dence showed there was no
clear announcement to the
public that there would be a
pilgrims carried umbrellas and
spray bottles, dousing them-
selves with water and grate-
fully accepting free drinks
handed out along the routes
between the holy sites. Then
they tossed the bottles into
the bags held by workers, or
onto the ground to be col-
lected later. Usama Zaytoun,
a spokesman for the Mecca
municipality, said a total of
14,000 workers are contract-
ed from private companies to
clean up during and after
the Hajj. He declined to com-
ment on their salaries or
working conditions, but said
there were no reports of
health problems among the
workers this year.
He said it takes about a
week to clean up after the pil-
grimage. Muncipal workers
collect the waste and feed it
into 1,200 industrial com-
11
Japan removed South Korea
from its “white list” of coun-
tries given fast-track approvals
in trade as ties deteriorated
over compensation for Japan-
ese wartime actions.
Japan’s tightening of trade
controls against Seoul was in
apparent retaliation for South
Korean court rulings in 2018
that ordered Japanese com-
panies to compensate Kore-
an workers for abusive treat-
ment and forced labor dur-
ing World War II.
Japan also tightened export
controls on key chemicals
used by South Korean com-
panies to make semicon-
ductors and displays, prompt-
ing South Korea to file a com-
plaint with the World Trade
Organization and remove
Japan from its own list of coun-
tries with preferred trade
status. South Korean Presi-
dent Yoon Suk Yeol and
Japanese Prime Minister
Fumio Kishida met in March
in the first formal summit
between the two countries
since 2015. Japan colonized
the Korean Peninsula between
1910 and 1945, imposing
Japanese names and lan-
guage on Koreans and con-
scripting many into forced
labor or prostitution in mil-
itary brothels before and
during World War II. Japan
gave $800 million to South
Korea’s then-military-backed
government under a 1965
accord to normalize rela-
tions which was mainly used
on economic development
projects driven by major
South Korean companies. A
semi-government fund set up
by Tokyo offered compen-
sation to former “comfort
women” when the govern-
ment apologized in 1995,
but many South Koreans
believe the Japanese gov-
ernment should take more
direct responsibility for the
occupation.
motorcade in the area and that
the defendants were likely
unable to see the motorcade
approaching because there
were layers of police sur-
rounding the cars.
It said police officers at the
scene told the protesters to
make way for a royal motor-
cade and didn’t say it was the
queen’s. The protesters briefly
blocked the way because
they mistakenly believed the
police were trying to dis-
perse their rally, but they
quickly backed off once they
realized the motorcade was
there, the court said. The
court concluded the inci-
dent was likely caused by
miscommunication, not an
intentional attempt to impede
the motorcade. The court
acquitted the five on all
charges, even a minor one of
blocking traffic, an offense
often brought against those
arrested for involvement in
street protests.
pactors before sending it off
to be processed. They spray
the streets, campsites and
bridges in and around Mecca
with disinfectants and pes-
ticides, which Zaytoun says
are designed to protect the
environment and prevent
the spread of disease.
Their efforts do not go
unnoticed. Sheikh Dawood,
a 40-year-old first-time pil-
grim from India, was one of
several pilgrims who could be
seen giving money to the
workers in honor of Eid al-
Adha, a charity-focused hol-
iday coinciding with the last
three days of Hajj. Other pil-
grims offered the cleaners
water or a refreshing spray
from their handheld misters.
“They are doing great job,”
Dawood said. “Their service
is excellent. We cannot say it
with words.

For more updates
THUMBNAILS
Iga Swiatek withdraws from
Bad Homburg Open with ill-
ness: Top seed Iga Swiatek
was on Friday forced to
withdraw from her Bad
Homburg Open semifinal
against Lucia Bronzetti due
to GI illness. "I'm so sorry but
I have to pull out of my
match today," Swiatek said
in a statement on Twitter.
"I had a restless night
because of some fever and
possible food poisoning. I'm
not able to perform today
and I need to take care of
myself. I hope I'll be fine
soon. Your support in Bad
Homburg was amazing,
thank you," she added.
Swiatek had defeated oppo-
nents including Wimbledon
semifinalist Tatjana Maria
and No.9 seed Anna Blinkova
to reach her first grass-
court semifinal in Bad Hom-
burg. Having captured her
fourth Grand Slam title at
Roland Garros last month,
she will carry a 10-match
winning streak into Wimble-
don next week, where she
opens up against Zhu Lin.
Meanwhile, No.65-ranked
Bronzetti gets a walkover
and advances to her second
final of 2023, and first of
her career on grass. The Ital-
ian won her first WTA Tour
trophy in Rabat last month,
in the week preceding
Roland Garros. Bronzetti's
opponent in the final will be
either No.2 seed Liudmila
Samsonova, Katerina Sini-
akova or Emma Navarro.
Samsonova and Siniakova's
quarterfinal match was
delayed overnight because
of darkness at one set all.
WI announce squad for preparatory Durand Cup: Service
camp ahead of Tests against India Chiefs, AIFF president
AGENCIES
ST. JOHN'S, 30 JUNE
Cricket West Indies (CWI)
on Friday announced the
Kraigg Brathwaite led 18-
member squad for the prepa-
ration camp, set to be held at
Coolidge Cricket Ground,
ahead of Tests against India.
CWI added that the team
will travel to Dominica for the
first Test, starting from July
12.
Apart from Brathwaite,
Jermaine Blackwood,
Nkrumah Bonner, Tagenar-
ine Chanderpaul, Rahkeem
Cornwall, Joshua Da Silva,
Shannon Gabriel, Raymon
Reifer, Kemar Roach and Jay-
den Seales have too been
named for the preparatory
camp.
The 21-year old Seales
last played for West Indies in
the first Test against Aus-
tralia at the Perth Stadium last
Ashes: England’s ‘Bazball’ crumbles, Australia secure 100-plus run lead
AGENCIES
LONDON, 30 JUNE
Outstanding bowlers by Aus-
tralian pacers saw England col-
lapse from a commanding
position and trail the visitors
by over 100 runs at the end
of the first session during
day three of the second Ashes
Test at Lord's on Friday.
At the end of the first ses-
sion, Australia was 12/0, with
Usman Khawaja (6*) and
David Warner (5*) unbeaten.
England started the first ses-
sion of day three at 278/4, with
Harry Brook (45*) and skip-
per Ben Stokes (17*).
The hosts did not have a
good start as they lost their
skipper for 17 on the second
ball of the day. He was caught
by Cameron Green at the
gully and gave Starc his sec-
ond wicket. England was
279/5 at that point.
Jonny Bairstow was next
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
CLIFFORD MIRANDA LEAVES ODISHA FC
Odisha FC announced the departure of their Super Cup-winning coach Clif-
ford Miranda on Friday. Miranda who took over as the interim head coach
at the end of the season after the departure of Josep Gombau, led the
Kalinga Warriors to Super Cup glory and also helped them qualify for
the AFC Cup with a win over Gokulam Kerala in the Club Playoff. The
40-year-old has left the club to pursue a fresh challenge, the club said
in its statement.
www.thestatesman.com
SAFF C'ship: India to
face Lebanon in semis
Indian football team captain Sunil Chhetri seeks home support at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium
AGENCIES
BENGALURU, 30 JUNE
T
he Indian senior men's
team will face Lebanon
for the third time in lit-
tle over a fortnight in
the semi-final of the Banga-
bandhu SAFF Championship
2023 at the Sree Kanteerava Sta-
dium, here on Saturday.
After playing out a goalless
draw in the group stage, the
Blue Tigers secured a con-
vincing 2-0 win over the Cedars
to claim the Intercontinental
Cup title in Bhubaneswar.
Igor Stimac's men then trav-
elled to the south of India to
take part in the 14th edition
of the SAFF Championship,
which is also the first to fea-
ture guest teams like Lebanon
and Kuwait.
India finished Group A in
second spot, only trailing
Kuwait on goals scored, with
wins over Pakistan (4-0) and
Nepal (2-0). The top spot was
within the hosts' grasp as they
led 1-0 against Kuwait just six
minutes before the full-time
whistle on Tuesday until Anwar
Ali's own goal restored pari-
ty, leaving India to remain con-
tent with second place.
The day after, Lebanon
edged Maldives 1-0 to end their
Group B campaign with a
December. He then under-
went a knee surgery in the
same month and has been
under a rehabilitation pro-
gramme to get back to com-
petitive cricket.
Recently, some videos of
him practising his bowling
came on social media, indi-
cating that he could return to
Test cricket through Tests
against India.
With the likes of Jason
Holder, Kyle Mayers, Alzarri
Joseph participating in the
Men's ODI World Cup Qual-
ifiers in Zimbabwe, uncapped
players like Kirk McKenzie,
Kavem Hodge, Alick Athanaze
Akeem Jordan, and Jair McAl-
lister are the new names in
the preparatory camp for the
Test series.
Athanaze and McKenzie
toured Bangladesh last month
for three red-ball games as
members of West Indies 'A'
team, with the duo hitting two
up on the crease and made
his intentions clear with a
boundary. Harry Brook also
reached his fourth Test fifty
in 63 balls.
Starc once again struck
for Australia. This time, he
trapped Brook for 50 runs off
perfect nine points, adding to
their wins over Bangladesh (2-
0) and Bhutan (4-1).
Stimac was shown his sec-
ond red card of the tournament
against Kuwait, leading to his
suspension from the dugout
for the crucial semi-final clash.
However, captain Sunil Chhetri
assured the team will do just
fine under assistant coach
Mahesh Gawali.
"A lot of preparation is
done before the game day,
where he (Stimac) will be
involved. Of course, you want
your leader to be on the side-
lines. But whatever little we'll
miss during the match, his
main man (Gawali) will make
fifties each. Earlier this month,
Athanaze raced to his half-cen-
tury in only 26 balls, the joint-
fastest fifty by a batter on ODI
debut against the UAE at
Sharjah, while making 65 off
45 balls.
India's tour of West Indies
starts with two Tests, which
will kickstart the 2023-2025
ICC World Test Champi-
onship cycle. Windsor Park
in Dominica will host the
first Test match from July
12-16, followed by the second
Test to be played from July
20-24 at Queen's Park Oval
in Trinidad.
The second Test will also
mark the 100th Test match
played between India and
West Indies.
India last toured West
Indies for an all-format tour
in 2019, winning series in all
formats. They also made a
white-ball only trip last year,
emerging victorious in both
series. West Indies prepara-
tory squad: Kraigg Brath-
waite (captain), Alick
Athanaze, Jermaine Black-
wood, Nkrumah Bonner,
Tagenarine Chanderpaul,
Rahkeem Cornwall, Joshua Da
Silva, Shannon Gabriel, Kavem
Hodge, Akeem Jordan, Jair
McAllister, Kirk McKenzie,
Marquino Mindley, Anderson
Phillip, Raymon Reifer, Kemar
Roach, Jayden Seales, Jomel
Warrican.
68 balls. He was caught by skip-
per Pat Cummins at deep
extra cover. England was
293/6 at that point.
England crossed the 300
runs in 70.2 overs.
England needed Bairstow
to stick around if they want-
sure we miss him less," said
Chhetri in the pre-match press
conferene on Friday.
Gawali, who also took the
reins during the 2-0 win against
Nepal, is determined to repeat
what the Blue Tigers did
against Lebanon in Odisha.
"Our boys are motivated,
committed, and focused on the
fight against Lebanon. We'll
continue with the same atti-
tude we've shown so far in the
tournament," said the for-
mer India international.
"They had issues with the
weather in Bhubaneswar, but
they're playing better here. It
will be a different match. They
are a strong attacking side.
flags-off trophy tour
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
DELHI, 30 JUNE
Chief of the Army Staff Gen-
eral Manoj Pande, Air Chief
Marshal VR Chaudhari, and
President All India Football
Federation (AIFF) Kalyan
Chaubey flagged off the “Tro-
phy Tour” of the 132nd edi-
tion of Durand Cup, India's
oldest football tournament
at a ceremony organised at
Manekshaw Centre, Delhi
Cantt on Friday.
The tournament is sched-
uled to commence at Kolkata
from 03 August to 03 Sep-
tember. Durand Cup is Asia’s
oldest and the world’s third
oldest football tournament,
in which top football clubs
from across the country par-
ticipate. Organised by the
Indian Armed Forces, the
Durand Cup has been the
breeding ground for coun-
try's best footballing talent
over the years. The inau-
gural edition took place in
Shimla in 1888, when it start-
ed off as an Army Cup, open
only to the British Indian
Army troops in India, but soon
opened up to civilian teams
as well.
The Durand Cup tour-
nament is unique where in
the winning team walks away
with three trophies, i.e the
ed a chance at getting a lead.
But he was dismissed for 16
off 36 balls by Josh Hazlewood.
England was 311/7 at that
point.
The lower-order consist-
ing of Ollie Robinson, Stuart
Broad tried to cut the deficit
Their number seven (captain
Hassan Maatouk) is a very tal-
ented player," shared Gawali
when asked for his thoughts
on Lebanon.
Adding to his former team-
mate's words, Chhetri said, "We
know quite a lot about Lebanon
as we've already played them
twice. I'm sure they have the
same feeling about us. They
would also want a piece of us
back because of what hap-
pened in the last two games."
Sandesh Jhingan's second
yellow card of the tourna-
ment against Kuwait meant
that the sturdy central defend-
er would also be unavailable
for the semi-final. While
acknowledging what a big
blow it will be for India to not
have the Hero of the Tourna-
ment from the Interconti-
nental Cup in tomorrow's
line-up, Chhetri assured that
his boots will be duly filled.
"Personally, I always want
to play with Jhingan, whether
in the national team, club or
training ground. The number
one reason for that is that he
does not like to lose. I hope,
after the game, I can tell you
that we didn't miss him
because whoever comes in his
place will do justice and give
his best, and I know that for
a fact," said the skipper.
Durand Cup (a rolling trophy
and the original prize), the
Shimla Trophy (also a rolling
trophy and first given by the
residents of Shimla in 1904)
and the President's Cup (for
permanent keep and first
presented by President .
Rajendra Prasad, in 1956).
Over the next one month,
the three trophies as part of
a Trophy Tour will traverse
the length and breadth of the
country with appearance at
some major cities like Shim-
la, Udhampur, Jaipur, Mum-
bai, Pune, Bengaluru,
Bhubaneshwar, Kokrajhar,
Guwahati and Shillong before
reaching Kolkata for the
mega event.
The 132nd edition of the
tournament will witness par-
ticipation of 24 teams includ-
ing teams from Nepal, Bhutan
and Bangladesh, the foreign
teams are taking part in the
tournament after a gap of 27
years. The tournament is
open to all club teams and
conducted by the Durand
Football Tournament Soci-
ety (DFTS) under the aegis
of All India Football Feder-
ation (AIFF). The tourna-
ment in essence has always
symbolized the high point of
excellence, sportsmanship
and competitiveness in the
field of sports.
with some solid hits. But they
could not last long either as
they fell to Travis Head's
part-time spin for nine and
12 respectively. England was
bundled out for 325 in 76.2
overs. England trailed Australia
by 91 runs. Starc was the pick
of the bowlers for Australia,
taking 3/88. Head (2/17) and
Hazlewood (2/71) also earned
Australia success in the open-
ing session. Cummins, Nathan
Lyon, Cameron Green finished
with a wicket each.
Australia came out to bat
in their second innings.
The duo of Usman Khawa-
ja and David Warner struck
a boundary each to take Aus-
tralia's lead over 100 runs at
the end of the first session.
Brief Scores: England: 325
(Ben Duckett 98, Harry Brook
50, Mitchell Starc 3/88) and
Australia: 416 and 12/0
(Usman Khawaja 6*, David
Warner 5*).
Always fond of playing in
front of his home fans at the
Kanteerava, Chhetri cannot
wait for more unconditional
support from the stands on Sat-
urday.
"Me and a lot of boys are
quite greedy when it comes to
playing in Bengaluru. We've
been treated to some out-
standing support in the last
three games. I'm pretty sure
you will also turn up for the
semi-finals because you all love
football and it's a big game for
us," he said.
Lebanon head coach Alek-
sandar Ilic is hoping to learn
from their mistakes in
Bhubaneswar and give the
hosts a run for their money this
time. The cooler weather in
Bengaluru will work in their
favour, according to the Ser-
bian coach.
"Both teams know what
they've got in front of them.
There are no secrets between
the teams anymore. We will
try to build the best team with
the choices we have for tomor-
row. We are very motivated.
It's psychologically impor-
tant that we believe that we
can succeed. The weather is
more pleasant here. We will
use those two games to build
ourselves in a better way for
tomorrow," said Ilic.
AIFF League Committee
reviews bids for I-League clubs
AGENICES
NEW DELHI, 30 JUNE
The League Committee of the
All India Football Federa-
tion (AIFF) met over video
conferencing on Friday to
decide on the bids of the five
applicants for corporate
entries into the I-League,
after being examined and
evaluated by an indepen-
dent financial expert.
The Committee found all
five bids, which were exam-
ined and evaluated by the
independent financial expert,
have the requisite financial
capabilities to operate in the
I-League. After reviewing the
bid documents of all the can-
didates, the League Com-
mittee found it prudent to refer
the final decision on the
inclusion of the clubs to the
Executive Committee, which
meets in Bengaluru on July
3.
The meeting was chaired
by Lalnghinglova Hmar and
was attended by Secretary
General Dr Shaji Prabhakaran,
and Committee Members
Amit Chaudhuri, Dr. Kiran
Chougule, Arif Ali, Caitanno
Jose Fernandes, KI Niza-
muddin, KP Singh, and Saty-
narayan M.
The AIFF had earlier
received bids from YMS
Finance Pvt Ltd (Varanasi, UP),
Asian Kabaddi C’ship: India beat Iran in the final to reclaim title : India reclaimed the Asian Kabaddi
Championship title after beating Iran 42-32 in the final here at the Dong-Eui Institute of Technolo-
gy Seokdang Cultural Center on Friday.This was India's eighth title in the last nine editions played
so far while Iran won the title once, in 2003. India trailed Iran in the first five minutes of the
game. However, a couple of tackle points by the defenders and successful raids from Pawan
Sehrawat and Aslam Inamdar handed Iran their first All-Out of the match in the 10th minute.
NEW DELHI
SATURDAY 01 JULY 2023
Postal Reg. No. DL (ND)-II/6088/2022/-23-24
Wimbledon: Alcaraz could
meet Rune in quarters,
Djokovic opens against Cachin
AGENCIES
LONDON, 30 JUNE
Top seed Carlos Alcaraz of
Spain will begin his Wimble-
don campaign against French-
man Jeremy Chardy and could
meet 20-year-old Dane Hol-
ger Rune in a blockbuster
quarterfinal clash as the draw
for the grass-court major was
announced here on Friday.
The Spaniard defeated Alex
de Minaur to lift his first grass-
court trophy at the Queen's
Championships last week and
could play the Australian again
in the fourth round.
Second seed Serbian Novak
Djokovic will start his quest for
a record-equalling eighth Wim-
bledon crown against Pedro
Cachin and could face Andrey
Rublev, Nick Kyrgios or Felix
Auger-Aliassime in the quar-
terfinals.
Australian Kyrgios, who
reached the title match last year,
opens against wild card David
Goffin, while Rublev plays
Max Purcell.
Germany's Alexander
Zverev is also in the top quar-
Namdhari Seeds Pvt Ltd
(Bhaini Sahib Village, Punjab),
Nimida United Sports Devel-
opment Pvt Ltd (Bengaluru,
Karnataka), Concatenate
Advest Advisory Pvt Ltd
(Delhi), and Bunkerhill Pvt Ltd
(Ambala, Haryana) for direct
entry into the I-League 2023-
24. After the League Com-
mittee meeting, Secretary
General Dr Shaji Prabhakaran
said, “The current AIFF man-
agement will have its first AGM
(Annual General Meeting)
in Bengaluru next week (July
4), and I am sure we are all
looking forward to it. Even
more than that, we are all look-
ing ahead to India’s campaign
in the SAFF Championship.
"Having two teams from
outside come and take part
in the championship makes
it all the more competitive.
We also moved up one spot
in the FIFA Men’s Rankings
yesterday to 100, and that
shows the steady progress that
we are making, going ahead
one step at a time. Hopeful-
ly, we will hit double digits
soon.”
Speaking about the bids
received from five different
entities for corporate entries
into the I-League, the Secre-
tary-General said, “It is
extremely encouraging to
see that so many parties are
interested in investing their
12
ter and is seeded to meet De
Minaur in the third round.
Former finalist Matteo Berret-
tini starts against countryman
Lorenzo Sonego.
In the top half, Stefanos Tsit-
sipas will play against Dominic
Thiem in a first-round match,
with the winner facing two-time
champion Andy Murray or
British wild card Ryan Penis-
ton. American Ben Shelton, who
is making his debut, is seed-
ed to meet Tsitsipas in the third
round.
Daniil Medvedev, who has
struggled to find his top level
on the lawns in London, opens
against British wild card Arthur
Fery.
British No.1 Cameron Nor-
rie achieved his best Grand Slam
result at Wimbledon last year
when he reached the semifi-
nals. The 12th seed starts
against Czech qualifier Tomas
Machac and might play
Queen’s Club semifinalist
Sebastian Korda in the third
round. Italian Jannik Sinner led
Djokovic by two sets to love in
the quarterfinals last year
before losing. The eighth seed
opens against Juan Manuel
Cerundolo and is seeded to
meet Taylor Fritz in the fourth
round.
Fourth seed Casper Ruud,
who is in the same half as
Djokovic, opens against French
qualifier Laurent Lokoli. The
Norwegian could play Sinner
in the quarterfinals. The Wim-
bledon main draw begins on
July 3.
money in Indian Football.
They even plan to have their
own infrastructure like sta-
diums, which is not an easy
task in India. It shows that they
have the resources and the
bandwidth. The new clubs get-
ting into the top league shows
that there is interest and pos-
itivity and that money is
going into football.”
League Committee chair-
man Hmar said, “We are at
a crucial juncture in Indian
football. The SAFF Champi-
onship is ongoing, and the all-
important AGM in Bengalu-
ru is also coming up in a few
days, the first one under the
current Federation man-
agement. The future of Indi-
an Football rests on what is
decided in the next few days,
and we need to see which
clubs are welcomed into the
system.”
“I would like to thank all
the bidders for showing their
trust in the Indian Football
system. All the bidders have
shown that they have the
bandwidth and finances to run
and operate clubs at the I-
League level. This is an
achievement for the AIFF to
receive so many bids. They
will only help to add more
value to Indian Football,”
the AIFF quoted him as say-
ing in a release on Friday.