cmyk
THE ASIAN AGE
NATION| 3
Raj model healthcare scheme
will be rolled out nationwide
if voted to power in ’24: Rahul
www.asianage.com RNI No. 57290/94, Regd No: DL-SW-05/4189/15-17
WINDOWS
Actress Sanya Malhotra at the
screening of her movie Sam
Bahadur in Mumbai on
Wednesday. — PTI
India’s GDP growth
in Q2 7.6%, higher
than RBI estimates
New Delhi: India’s economy
grew 7.6 per cent, sharply
higher than the RBI’s forecast
of 6.5 per cent, in the
September quarter of this fis-
cal and remained the fastest-
growing large economy,
mainly due to better perfor-
mance by manufacturing,
mining and services sectors,
the government data showed
on Thursday. The GDP
expanded by 6.2 per cent in
the July-September quarter
of 2022-23. India remained
the fastest-growing major
economy, as China posted a
4.9 per cent growth in July-
September 2023. The agri-
culture sector GVA growth
decelerated to 1.2 per cent in
the September 2023 quarter
from 2.5 per cent a year ago.
Full report on Page 7
Govt calls all-party
meeting tomorrow
New Delhi: Ahead of the
Winter Session of Parliament,
the government has con-
vened a meeting of all politi-
cal parties in the Lok Sabha
and Rajya Sabha on Saturday.
The Winter Session begins on
December 4, during which it
is expected to consider key
draft legislations.
Full report on Page 3
2023 is the hottest
year on record: UN
Dubai: The United nations
weather agency said
Thursday that 2023 is all
but certain to be the
hottest year on record, and
a warning of worrying
trends that suggest increas-
ing floods, forest fires, glac-
ier melt, and heat waves in
the future. — AP
Full report on Page 6
COUNTERPOINT
WEATHER
Max : 24OC
Min: 14OC
RH: 71%
Rain: 40
Forecast: Scattered rains
ASTROGUIDE
Shubhakrut: Dakshinayana
Tithi: Karthika Bahula
Chavithi till 3.35 pm
Star: Punarvasu till 4.43pm
Varjyam: 1.27 am to 3.12 am
Durmuhurtam: 8.46 am to
9.31 am; 12.27 pm to 1.11 pm
Rahukalam: 10.30 am to 12pm
SUNSET TODAY 5.24 PM
SUNRISE TOMORROW 6.57 AM
MOONRISE TOMORROW 9.51 PM
MOONSET TODAY 10.33 AM
■ Mizoram may see hung House ■ ‘Semi-final’ before 2024 LS polls
Edge for Cong in T’gana, C’garh;
BJP ahead in Raj; MP fight close
VINEETA PANDEY
NEW DELHI, NOV. 30
It appears two-all for the
Congress and the BJP in
the semi-finals of the elec-
tion match. The exit polls
in the five states have pre-
dicted a close contest
between the Congress and
the BJP in Madhya
Pradesh and an advan-
tage for the Congress in
Chhattisgarh and
Telangana. In Rajasthan,
the exit polls indicate the
continuation of
revolving door phenome-
the
non, with the exit of the
Congress and the BJP
having a strong possibili-
ty of forming a govern-
ment. However, a hung
Assembly
Mizoram,
stares
where
incumbent MNF may
at
the
score well but not well
enough to form a govern-
ment.
The Assembly polls in
Madhya Pradesh,
Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan,
Telangana and Mizoram
are seen as a semi-final to
the big match — the Lok
Sabha elections in 2024.
NDTV’s poll of exit polls
suggested a win for the
BJP in Madhya Pradesh
and Rajasthan. The
Congress, it said, will get
Chhattisgarh and
Telangana while
Mizoram may get a hung
Assembly. In Mizoram,
according to the news
channel, the MNF might
settle with 14 seats, the
ZPM can secure 17 seats
and the Congress can play
a game changer in the
state and is expected to
win 7 seats.
Dismissing the exit poll
predictions, Telangana
chief Minister K.
Chandrashekhar Rao said
his party will be back
with a win on over 70
seats. "I promise you, for
India to push PM: Women, poor, farmers,
for climate
aid deal: PM youth my 4 biggest ‘castes’
off to Dubai ‘After 10 yrs, people have confidence in govt’
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, NOV. 30
India “expects a clear
roadmap to be agreed at
the Conference of
Parties or COP28 on cli-
mate finance, which
will be important for
delivering on the new
collective quantified
goals”, foreign secre-
tary Vinay Kwatra said
at a special briefing on
Thursday as Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi left for Dubai to
attend the World
Climate Action
Summit.
The Prime Minister
will deliver his address
at the opening session
of the World Climate
Action Summit on
Friday. “Besides his
address to the COP28,
the Prime Minister will
also be participating in
three high-level side
events, of which two are
being co-hosted by
India,” the foreign sec-
retary said.
Mr Kwatra said: “The
first high-level event,
which is being co-host-
ed by India and the
UAE, is the launch of
the Green Credits
Initiative. The Green
Credits Initiative is
based on the Green
Credit Programme,
which was notified by
the ministry of environ-
ment in October this
year and basically envi-
sions the issue of green
credits for plantations
on waste and degraded
lands and the river
catchment areas in
order to restore their
vitality.”
NEW DELHI FRIDAY 1 DECEMBER 2023
those of you who are
friends of the BRS and
want KCR to come back...
I promise you that on
December 3, we are com-
ing back. We are coming
back with anywhere
above 70 seats," he said.
In Madhya Pradesh,
where 230 seats are under
contest, five pollsters out
of nine projected the
Congress' win, but the
NDTV’s poll of polls sug-
gested a BJP win.
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, NOV. 30
Asserting that the four
biggest “castes” for him
are the poor, youth,
women and farmers,
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi on Thursday said
that the upliftment of
these sections will make
India a developed nation.
At a virtual interaction
with the beneficiaries of
various Central schemes
as part of the govern-
ment's Viksit Bharat
Sankalp Yatra, Mr Modi
faulted the past dispensa-
tions for acting like "mai-
baap" of citizens and
allowing their develop-
ment initiatives to be guid-
ed by their vote bank con-
Blinken: Gaza truce
working, continue it
Tel Aviv, Nov. 30: Visiting
US secretary of state
Antony Blinken told
Israeli leaders on
Thursday that a tempo-
rary truce in their war
with Hamas was “produc-
ing results” and should
continue.
Mr Blinken, on his third
trip to the region since the
conflict erupted nearly
eight weeks ago, also
stressed it was “impera-
tive” to protect civilians
in the besieged Gaza Strip
should fighting resume.
He made the remarks in
meetings with Israeli
President Isaac Herzog
and PM Benjamin
Netanyahu in Tel Aviv
WORLD| 6
Pakistan Cabinet okays
former PM Imran Khan’s
jail trial in cipher case
India Today-Axis My
Poll and India TV-CNX
said the BJP will be way
above the halfway mark
of 116. While India Today-
Axis My Poll gave the BJP
140–162, saying Shivraj
Singh Chauhan hasn’t
lost his charm and
remains the most pre-
ferred chief minister, it
gave 68–90 seats to the
Congress.
Similarly, India TV-
CNX predicted 140–159 for
Prime Minister Narendra Modi emplanes for Dubai to
attend the World Climate Action Summit of the COP28
in New Delhi on Thursday.
siderations.
In his address, the Prime
Minister said his work in
the last 10 years has led to
people having immense
and Jerusalem, respec-
tively, before travelling to
Ramallah in the occupied
West Bank for a sit-down
with Palestinian
President Mahmoud
Abbas.
As part of the pause, now
in its seventh day, Hamas
has released scores of
hostages taken during its
attack on Israel on
October 7 in exchange for
the release of more than
200 Palestinian prisoners.
“We have seen over the
last week the very positive
development of hostages
coming home, being
reunited with families,”
Mr Blinken said. — AFP
■ More on Page 6
the BJP and 70–89 for the
Congress. However, the
ABP News C-Voter polls
predicted a win for the
Congress, with the party
getting 113–137 seats and
the BJP 88–112.
Jan ki Baat played safe
as it predicted 102-125 for
the Congress and any-
thing between 100-123
seats for the BJP.
Interestingly, MP’s high-
est circulation
■ Turn to Page 4
— PTI
confidence in his govern-
ment.
During the event, the
Prime Minister also
■ Turn to Page 4
Tourists click photographs at the snow-covered Koksar after fresh snowfall in the
Lahaul & Spiti district on Thursday.
DELHI AGE| 9
Bollywood actors expand
their horizons, venture into
realms of entrepreneurship
Voters wait in queues at a polling station to cast their votes for the Telangana
Assembly elections in Kukatpally on Thursday.
63.94% voting
in Telangana;
lowest turnout
seen in 10 yrs
L. VENKAT RAM REDDY
HYDERABAD, NOV. 30
Fewer voters turned up
to exercise their fran-
chise in the state
Assembly polls this
year, with the Election
Commission recording a
turnout of 63.94 per cent
at the end of voting at 5
pm on Thursday, lower
than 73.2 per cent in 2018
and 69.5 per cent in 2014.
The number may rise
further as long queues
were witnessed at sever-
al polling stations after 5
pm. The EC will finalise
the turnout on Friday.
There were 2,290 con-
testants in the fray,
including chief minister
K. Chandrashekhar Rao,
ministers K.T. Rama
Rao, T. Harish Rao,
TPCC chief A. Revanth
Reddy and Bharatiya
Janata Party Lok Sabha
members Bandi Sanjay
and D. Arvind.
The BJP and the
Congress lodged com-
plaints with the EC
against the BRS for poll
code violations.
Except for a few inci-
dents of minor skirmish-
es, the voting exercise
was largely peaceful.
■ More on Page 3
Henry Kissinger, 100,
US icon, passes away
Washington, Nov. 30:
Former US secretary of
state Henry Kissinger,
the diplomat with the
thick glasses and gravel-
ly voice who dominated
foreign policy as the
United States extricated
itself from Vietnam and
broke down barriers
with China, died
Wednesday, his consult-
ing firm said. He was 100.
With his gruff yet com-
manding presence,
Kissinger exerted
uncommon influence on
global affairs under
Presidents Richard
Vol. 30 No. 285 | 16
Charges filed in
US court matter
of concern: Govt
Panel to probe all aspects: MEA
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, NOV. 30
The charges filed in a US
federal court linking the
accused, Indian national
Nikhil Gupta, with an
Indian government offi-
cial in an alleged plot to
murder “Khalistani”
extremist Gurpatwant
Singh Pannun, a US citi-
zen, are a “matter of con-
cern” for India and it was
against government poli-
cy (to carry out such plots
or killings), the Indian
government said on
Thursday.
MEA spokesperson
Arindam Bagchi said:
“As regards the case
against an individual
that has been filed in a US
court, allegedly linking
him to an Indian official,
this is a matter of con-
cern. We have said, and
let me reiterate, that this
is also contrary to gov-
ernment policy.”
He added: “As we have
informed earlier, during
the course of discussions
with the US on bilateral
Henry Kissinger
Nixon and Gerald Ford,
earning both vilification
and the Nobel Peace
Prize. In India, he is
remembered for the infa-
mous US “tilt” towards
Pakistan in the 1971
Bangladesh war. — AP
■ More on Page 3, 6
— PTI
cmyk
PAGES | `5.00
— PTI
◗ IN A sensational turn
of events late on
Wednesday night, the
US had accused an
‘Indian govt employee’
based in India of direct-
ing the alleged plot to
kill ‘Khalistani’ extremist
Gurpatwant Singh
Pannun
security cooperation, the
US side shared some
inputs pertaining to the
nexus between organised
criminals, gun-runners,
terrorists and others. We
take such inputs serious-
ly, and a high-level
inquiry committee has
been constituted to look
into all the relevant
aspects of the matter and
necessary follow-up
action will be taken based
on the findings of the
inquiry committee… We
can’t share any further
information on security
matters.”
The MEA spokesperson
further said: “The nexus
between organised crime,
■ Turn to Page 4
DefMin clears
purchase of 97
Tejas aircraft,
156 helicopters
PAWAN BALI
NEW DELHI, NOV. 30
The Defence
Acquisition Council
(DAC), headed by
defence minister
Rajnath Singh, on
Thursday gave initial
approval to acquisition
proposals worth `2.23-
lakh crores, including
the procurement of 97
Tejas Mark 1A light
combat aircraft (LCA)
and 156 Prachand light
combat helicopters
(LCH), to enhance the
operational capabilities
of the Indian armed
forces.
The Indian Air Force
has already ordered 83
LCA Mark 1A fighter
planes. Their deliveries
are expected to start in
February - March 2024.
The Indian Air Force
is in critical need of
additional fighter air-
craft to replace the age-
ing MiG-21 aircraft.
With the procurement
of the additional 97
Tejas combat aircraft,
the IAF will be operat-
ing 180 of them.
Of the 156 Prachand
combat helicopters
approved, 66 are likely
for the IAF, while the
remaining 90 will be
acquired by the Indian
Army.
These attack heli-
copters can take on the
enemy from the desert
to the icy mountains.
■ More on Page 4
 CITY
THE ASIAN AGE | FRIDAY | 1 DECEMBER 2023 | NEW DELHI
IN BRIEF
Man dies in road
mishap, 1 arrested
New Delhi: A 27-year-old
man died in a road accident
in central Delhi’s Mandir
Marg area, the police said on
Thursday. The person alleged
to have been driving the
offending vehicle was
nabbed, they said. The inci-
dent happened Sunday on
Panchkuian Road near the
Andh Mahavidhalaya on
Mandir Marg. Two people
were rushed to Lady
Hardinge Hospital
with serious wounds. Karan
Gupta, a resident of Vishnu
Garden, was declared dead
at the hospital, while 41-year-
old Omkar Patle, a resident
of Raghuveer Nagar, is still
undergoing treatment, DCP
Pranav Tayal said. In the
wake of the incident, a case
was registered at Mandir
Marg police station and an
investigation taken up, he
said. The police analysed the
accident spot and found no
one saw anything happening.
They then analysed more
than 100 CCTV cameras
installed in the area and
ascertained the route of the
vehicle, Mr Tayal said. The
police identified the owner
of the vehicle as Ganga
Singh Hanspal, who, when
questioned, admitted to have
been driving the vehicle at
the time of the incident.
‘Hysterectomy norms
execution better now’
New Delhi: Leading health
experts on Thursday highlight-
ed better implementation of
hysterectomy guidelines
issued by the health ministry
along with integrated aware-
ness efforts by all stakehold-
ers as the way forward to curb
the growing number of unnec-
essary hysterectomies at 2nd
edition of preserve the uterus
national summit. The expert
said that evidence suggests
that hysterectomy is associat-
ed with major chronic condi-
tions including an increased
risk of cardiovascular events,
cancers, depression, metabol-
ic disorders, and dementia.
Speaking on the occasion,
Deepak Chopra, Bayer Zydus
Pharma said, “Awareness is
the key to initiate informed
decision making when it
comes to women’s health and
hence awareness campaigns
are essential to ensure women
are equipped to make smarter,
timely, informed decisions
about their health.”
Police public school
marks annual day
New Delhi: The Delhi police
Public School at Safdarjung
Enclave celebrated its 28th
annual day. City police com-
missioner Sanjay Arora,
along with president of
police welfare association
(PWFS) Ritu Arora, special
CP Dependra Pathak along
with PFWS Geeta Pathak,
and additional CP (welfare)
A.V. Deshpande, were
among the distinguished
guests. The celebrations
commenced with lamp light-
ning to invoke the blessings
of the almighty. The ease
and finesse of the little
yogis of the primary and
senior school at performing
even the most complex of
asanas left all in the gather-
ing spell-bound.
70 CIGARETTE
SHOPS NEAR
SCHOOLS RAIDED
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, NOV. 30
In a single day operation, the
Delhi police’s crime branch
has raided 70 cigarette shops
operating near the schools
across the city, an official said
on Thursday, adding that total
31 areas were identified all
over Delhi where vendors
were found active and
indulged in selling tobacco
products in the 100 metre
parameter of educational
institutes. According to a sen-
ior police officer as per direc-
tives of the ministry of home
affairs and lieutenant-gover-
nor of Delhi, it was decided to
focus on identifying and
apprehending individuals
involved in the trafficking and
distribution of narcotics near
educational institutes. Special
commissioner of police
(crime) Ravindra Singh Yadav
said that it was also felt that
for curbing the drug menace
among young children, strict
action is not only required
against the drug peddlers, but
also against the violators of
Cigarettes and other Tobacco
Products Act (COPTA). Joint
action was planned simultane-
ously all over Delhi along with
teams from NCB to ensure
comprehensive action with an
element of surprise.
■ ‘Multiplex PCR tests will be started at 2 government hospitals’
China flu: Bharadwaj meets
docs, says no need to panic
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, NOV. 30
Amid a surge in respirato-
ry illness in children in
northern China, Delhi
health minister Saurabh
Bharadwaj on Thursday
said multiplex PCR tests
will be started at two gov-
ernment hospitals to
detect any new pathogens
and asserted that there
was no need to panic.
Mr Bharadwaj held a
meeting earlier in the day
to review the prepared-
ness of hospitals and also
directed that an antiviral
drug for children adminis-
tered in such cases should
be procured.
Talking to the media, he
said, “Following the
Centre’s advisory, we held
a meeting with the Delhi
government experts,
including pulmonologists
and paediatric pulmonolo-
gists who have been over-
seeing the situation. Till
now, no new pathogens
have been detected. But as
a precautionary measure,
paediatric departments
AQI slips to very poor again, Assault of public servant law: Par panel
no immediate relief in sight advises punishment be reduced to 1 yr
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, NOV. 30
Delhi's air quality slipped
into the 'very poor' catego-
ry on Thursday, a day
after it was recorded in
the 'poor' category.
Delhi's 24-hour average
Air Quality Index (AQI)
was recorded in the 'very
poor' category with a read-
ing of 398. Delhi's 24-hour
average AQI was recorded
in the 'poor' category with
a reading of 290 on
Wednesday. The national
capital recorded a maxi-
mum temperature of 25.1
degrees Celsius, a notch
below the season's aver-
age, while the minimum
temperature settled two
notches above normal at
12.6 degrees Celsius.
An AQI between zero
and 50 is considered
'good', 51 and 100 'satisfac-
tory', 101 and 200 'moder-
ate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301
and 400 'very poor', and
401 and 500 'severe'.
The air quality is likely
to remain 'very poor' over
the next six days. The 24-
hour average AQI --
Chemist held
from E. Delhi
for selling
illegal drugs
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, NOV. 30
A 42-year-old man was
arrested from east
Delhi’s Khichripur area
for allegedly selling
drugs in injection and
tablet form to addicts,
the police said on
Thursday.
The accused, Bharat
Bhushan, earlier had a
medical store, but his
license was cancelled by
the drug inspector five
months ago for selling
avil injections without
any prescription, they
said.
“There were reports
that some people are
selling injections and
tablets that are con-
trolled drugs under
Schedule H of the Drug
and Cosmetics Act.
These injections and
tablets are being used as
intravenous (sic) by
drug addicts to intoxi-
cate themselves,” deputy
commissioner of police
(east)
Guguloth said.
Amrutha
After the tip-off, a
police team was asked to
keep a watch on
Bhushan, she said.
“Bhushan was arrest-
ed on November 19, and
the team recovered 190
injections of Avil, 320
tablets of
Buprenorphine and 260
injections from him. An
FIR under relevant pro-
visions of the NDPS Act
was registered against
him,” the DCP said.
At the time of arrest,
Bhushan was running a
plywood store and was
peddling the contraband
using it as a front, she
said.
We held a meeting with doctors on the
infection spreading in China. Broadly
speaking, there is no alarming situation
in Delhi. It is being said that the infec-
tions that are happening are non-
pathogenic and often happen during
this season. Still, we are keeping an
eye on the situation. Hence, we have
made some decisions
— Saurabh Bharadwaj,
Delhi health minister
have been directed to run
broad-spectrum tests on
children admitted with
symptoms to detect any
new pathogens.”
Later in a post on X, he
said that multiplex PCR
tests will be started in
Rajiv Gandhi Super
Speciality Hospital and
Chacha Nehru Bal
Chikitsalaya to detect any
new pathogens.
The minister said that
according to the experts,
there has been no indica-
tion of mortality so far.
“We have directed the
department to procure
antiviral drugs that are
administered to children
Children walk past amid fog on a cold winter morning
in New Delhi on Thursday.
recorded at 4 pm every
day -- was at 395 on
Monday and Sunday, 389
on Saturday, 415 on Friday
and 390 on Thursday
(November 23).
The humidity levels
oscillated between 66 per
cent and 100 per cent. The
India Meteorological
Department (IMD) has
forecast partly cloudy
skies for Friday with the
possibility of shallow fog
in the morning. The maxi-
mum and minimum tem-
peratures are likely to set-
tle around 25 and 13
Atishi pulls up officials for
delay in Okhla STP project
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, NOV. 30
Water minister Atishi on
Thursday pulled up offi-
cials for delay in Okhla’s
sewage treatment plant
project and gave them a
deadline to start the STP
by the end of this year,
Delhi government offi-
cials said.
Emphasising on the sig-
nificance of the project in
clearing the Yamuna,
Atishi said any delay in
the construction of the
treatment plant “will not
be tolerated”.
“Expedite the remaining
project work by making
timelines, and submitting
progress reports every
Monday. Any delay in their
construction would not be
tolerated,” Ms Atishi said.
The Delhi government is
getting Asia’s largest
wastewater treatment
plant built in Okhla, where
564 minimal liquid dis-
Number of fraud cases in SC tends to
increase as elections draw closer: CJI
New Delhi, Nov. 30: The
number of “fraud cases”
in the Supreme Court
tends to increase as elec-
tions draw closer and the
court becomes a site for
political engagement,
Chief Justice of India
D.Y. Chandrachud said
on Thursday. Speaking at
the Constitution Day
function organised by
the Supreme Court Bar
Association (SCBA) in
the apex court, Justice
Chandrachud said we all
exist together and the
Indian Constitution tells
us that “we either sur-
so that in case of an emer-
gency we have those medi-
cines. We have asked hos-
pitals to be alert and all
preparations under Covid
protocols should be done. I
have understood from doc-
tors that in January,
cough and influenza infec-
tions show a rise. Please
don’t think it has any-
thing to do with China.
Please don’t panic,” he
said.
In a statement on
Sunday, the ministry said
it has decided to proactive-
ly review preparatory
measures against respira-
tory illnesses as a matter
of abundant caution.
— PTI
degrees Celsius, respec-
tively. The IMD said shal-
low fog may be expected
over the next four days.
The Delhi government
on Wednesday
ordered strict implemen-
tation of measures under
had
GRAP I and II as a precau-
tionary measure to keep
air pollution levels under
check in the capital. City’s
air quality had improved
to poor from very poor cat-
egory after a spell of rain
and favourable wind
speed under the influence
of a western disturbance.
c h a r g e
sewage can
be treated
daily. The
project is in
its final
p h a s e ,
Atishi according to
officials.
The water minister fur-
ther said cleaning the
Yamuna is the priority of
the Kejriwal government
and that officials are
working round the clock
to ensure the same.
“Once operational, the
Okhla STP will be Asia’s
largest wastewater plant -
capable of single-handed-
ly treating nearly 20 per
cent of Delhi’s sewage!”
Ms Atishi wrote on social
media platform X.
She said the Delhi Jal
Board has been instruct-
ed to submit project sta-
tus reports to her every
week to ensure that no
deadlines are missed to
commission the project.
vive or we perish togeth-
er”.
“But above all, I think it
is important that on a
day where we celebrate
the Constitution, we
learn to discharge our
duties to the cause of jus-
tice. Our duty to the
cause of justice ranks
much higher than the
success or failure in indi-
vidual cases,” he said.
“Just yesterday, I had to
deal with a fraud case.
The Supreme Court deals
with fraud cases every
day. Some courts have
more than their share of
pg 2
Should Kejriwal resign or
stay? AAP to ask Delhiites
In a post on X, the min-
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, NOV. 30
The AAP will run a signa-
ture campaign from
ister said, “We held a December 1 to 20 to get
meeting with doctors on people’s feedback on
the infection spreading whether Arvind Kejriwal
in China. Broadly speak- should resign as Delhi
ing, there is no alarming chief minister if he is
situation in Delhi. It is arrested under a “conspir-
being said that the infec- acy by the BJP,” party city
tions that are happening convener Gopal Rai said
are non-pathogenic and on Thursday.
often happen during this Addressing a press con-
Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai and AAP leader
season. Still, we are keep- ference along with party Raghav Chadha address a press conference in New
ing an eye on the situa- MP Raghav Chadha, Mr
tion. Hence, we have
Delhi on Thursday. — PTI
Rai alleged that the BJP
made some decisions.” has hatched a conspiracy natures of the people at ers have played with the
Recently, information to get Mr Kejriwal arrest- all the 2,600 polling sta- lives of civil defence vol-
shared by the WHO has ed under the “fake” liquor tions across the city, ask- unteers, guest teachers,
indicated an increase in scam case with the hope of ing for their opinion on paramedical staff, other
respiratory illness in finishing the Aam Aadmi whether Mr Kejriwal contractual employees.
northern parts of China. Party (AAP). should step down as the Mr Sachdeva said that
This is predominantly The Delhi BJP, mean- Delhi chief minister if he Mr Kejriwal should edu-
attributed to usual causes while, hitting back said is arrested, Mr Rai said. cate his workers on what
such as influenza, that the AAP should make City BJP chief Virendra they would reply to peo-
mycoplasma pneumonia, the slogan “Kejriwal Sachdeva said that the ple on the AAP govern-
and SARS-CoV-2. Means Corruption” its AAP leaders are free to go ment’s failure in carry-
According to the WHO, tagline. home-to-home to carry ing out development in
the release of Covid-19 AAP workers, when they out a signature campaign Delhi.
restrictions coinciding go amidst the people, but when they go they Mr Rai said Mr Kejriwal
with the onset of the win- should raise the slogan “I should be prepared to had met with AAP MLAs
ter season in addition to am corrupt and AAP is answer people’s questions and councillors seeking
the cyclical trend of res- corrupt too,” it added. on how AAP leaders did their opinion on the issue
piratory illnesses, such Under the ‘Mai Bhi liquor scam, DJB scam, and there was consensus
as mycoplasma pneumo- Kejriwal’ campaign, AAP tanker scam, panic button that he should not resign
nia, have led to this volunteers will carry scam, and schoolroom and run the government
surge. pamphlets to get the sig- scam and why AAP lead- from jail.
AGE CORRESPONDENT posed criminal laws. ◗ THE THREE proposed “Whoever assaults or
NEW DELHI, NOV. 30 In its report, the panel laws seek to replace the uses criminal force to
noted that some members any person being a public
The parliamentary stand- of the committee submit-
Code of Criminal servant in the execution
ing committee on home ted that Section 353 under Procedure Act, 1898, the of his duty as such public
affairs (SCOHA) has rec- the Indian Penal Code Indian Penal Code, 1860, servant, or with intent to
ommended that the two- (IPC), which corresponds and the Indian Evidence prevent or deter that per-
year imprisonment given to Clause 130 of the Act, 1872, respectively son from discharging his
to anyone who assaults or Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita duty as such public ser-
uses criminal force to (BNS), is “widely misused therefore, it was suggested vant, or in consequence
deter a public servant by public servants in the that the punishment of anything done or
from the discharge of his name of deterrence.” under this clause may be attempted to be done by
duty should be reduced to “As political demonstra- reduced. such person in the lawful
one year after taking into tions are the soul of “The committee agrees discharge of his duty as
account the submissions democracy and there are with the submission made such public servant, shall
of some MPs that the law instances in the past when before it and recommends be punished with impris-
is widely “misused.” political leaders were that the punishment pro- onment of either descrip-
Headed by BJP member harassed and falsely con- vided under Clause 130 tion for a term which
Brij Lal, the panel made victed for offences under may be reduced from two may extend to two years,
the recommendation after this section of the IPC years to one year,” it said. or with fine, or with
examining the three pro- while demonstrating, Clause 130 of BNS says, both.”
How deepfake drove
76-yr-old to brink of
suicide in Ghaziabad
Ghaziabad (UP), Nov. an accused in a suicide
30: A 76-year-old man case of the woman,”
faced extortion and was said Kavi Nagar assis-
pushed to the verge of tant commissioner of
suicide by alleged police (ACP) Abhishek
online scammers, who
used a deepfake image
Srivastav on Saturday.
Mr Sharma got scared
of a retired IPS to and deposited `24,000 in
the account given by the
threaten and harass
him. The police has
registered a case
accused. He later bor-
rowed `50,000 and sent it
too.
regarding the matter
and began the investi-
gation.
The extortionist, how-
ever, demanded more
The harassment money from him.
began over a month ago Scared of his name
when 76-year-old being sullied and
Arvind Sharma bought unable to arrange any
more money, the elder-
an Android phone and
made a Facebook pro- ly was pushed to the
file. brink of suicide.
Mr Sharma received a Finally, he confided in
video call on the app on his family, who
October 20 which he approached the police.
answered, the police
said, adding that on the
“We came to know
that a deepfake video of
other side of the call
was a naked woman.
Mr Sharma ended the
a retired IPS officer
from UP, Prem Prakash,
was shown to the elder-
call but his trouble
began from there, the
ly as the senior officer
from Dwarka. A case
police said. regarding the incident
“Sharma was shown has been registered and
some morphed picture investigations are
of him with the naked underway,” said the
woman. He later ACP.
received a video call Deepfakes refer to
from a man, who identi- digitally altered media
fied himself as a senior (audio or video) of a
police officer from person to make him or
Dwarka and alleged her appear to be some-
that he is being made one else. — PTI
the CJI said.
Justice Chandrachud
said after elections get
over, things settle down
and “as the polls come
closer and closer, the
court becomes a site for
political engagement.
That is a truth of our
society. I am not looking
at it with any value
judgement”.
D.Y. Chandrachud Justice Chandrachud,
fraud cases and there are who also addressed the
some times as elections gathering in Hindi for a
come, the number of few minutes, said free-
fraud cases tends to dom and the Constitution
increase in the court and have an unbreakable
we as judges realise it,” relationship. — PTI
 NATION
THE ASIAN AGE | FRIDAY | 1 DECEMBER 2023 | NEW DELHI
pg 3

SHORT
Terrorist killed in
TAKES
Pulwama gunfight
Srinagar: A terrorist has
been killed in a gunfight
with the security forces in
the Kashmir Valley’s south-
ern Pulwama district. At
least, two terrorists are
believed to have been holed
up in Pulwama’s Aarihal vil-
lage following the security
forces moved in to launch a
cordon-and-search-opera-
tion on Thursday. “The
encounter is underway. One
terrorist has been neu-
tralised,” a police official
said, adding that the slain
man’s identity is being
ascertained. The Army and
the CRPF on specific input
about the presence of mili-
tants in the village, 35-km
from capital Srinagar.
Meanwhile, the J&K police
claimed that a module of
proscribed Lashkar-e-
Tayyaba (LeT) and its “off-
shoot” The Resistance Front
(TRF) operating from the
Tutigund forest area in the
Handwara region.
ASI gets 10 days to
file Gyanvapi report
Varanasi: The Varanasi dis-
trict court on Thursday gave
10 more days to the
Archaeological Survey of
India (ASI) to complete and
submit a scientific survey
report of the Gyanvapi com-
plex. Taking up the plea of
the ASI seeking three addi-
tional weeks to submit the
report, district Judge A.K.
Vishvesh said he hoped that
the ASI would complete the
task on time and would not
ask for more time, according
to counsel for the Hindu side
Madan Mohan Yadav. The
court fixed December 11 as
the next date of hearing in
the matter, Mr Yadav said.
The court was hearing the
ASI plea moved on Tuesday
seeking three more weeks
for submitting the survey
report of the Gyanvapi
mosque complex, saying it
needed more time for the
assimilation of information
generated by different
experts. — PTI
SARMA UNVEILS
Govt calls all-party
meet Dec. 2 ahead
of Winter Session
New Delhi, Nov. 30:
Ahead of the Winter
Session of Parliament,
the government has con-
vened a meeting of floor
leaders of political par-
ties in the Lok Sabha and
Rajya Sabha on Saturday.
The Winter session of
Parliament begins on
December 4 and will have
15 sittings till December
22, during which it is
expected to consider key
draft legislations, includ-
ing three bills to replace
the criminal laws.
Parliamentary affairs
minister Pralhad Joshi
will hold the meeting on
Saturday which is expect-
ed to be attended by sen-
ior leaders, including
defence minister Rajnath
Singh and commerce
minister Piyush Goyal.
Currently, 37 bills are
pending in Parliament of
which 12 are listed for
consideration and pass-
ing, and seven bills for
introduction, considera-
tion and passing.
The government also
plans to present the first
batch of supplementary
demands for grants for
the year 2023-24.
The report of the ethics
committee on the “cash-
for-query” allegations
against Trinamul
Congress MP Mahua
Moitra will be tabled in
FIR against 12 BJP MLAs in WB
for ‘insulting’ national anthem
AGE CORRESPONDENT
KOLKATA, NOV. 30
West Bengal Leader of
Opposition Suvendu
Adhikari and 11 other
Bharatiya Janata Party
MLAs have been booked
in an FIR by the police for
allegedly insulting the
national anthem, sung by
chief minister Mamata
Banerjee and other the
Trinamul Congress
◗ THE REPORT of the
ethics committee on the
‘cash-for-query’ allega-
tions against TMC MP
Mahua Moitra will be
tabled in Lok Sabha
Lok Sabha during the ses-
sion. The House will have
to adopt the report before
the expulsion recom-
mended by the panel
comes into effect.
Also, the three key bills
which seek to replace the
Indian Penal Code, Code
of Criminal Procedure
and the Evidence Act are
likely to be taken up for
consideration during the
session as the standing
committee on Home has
already adopted the three
reports recently.
Another key bill pend-
ing in Parliament relates
to the appointment of the
chief election commis-
sioner and election com-
missioners.
Introduced in the
Monsoon Session, the
government had not
pushed for its passage in
the Special Session of
Parliament amid protests
from the Opposition and
former chief election
commissioners as it seeks
to bring on a par the sta-
tus of the CEC and ECs
with that of the Cabinet
secretary. — PTI
MLAs, in the Assembly.
The FIR was initiated at
the Hare Street police sta-
tion in central Kolkata on
Thursday after parlia-
mentary affairs minister
Sovandeb Chattopadhyay,
finance minister
Chandrima Bhattacharya
and TMC deputy chief
whip Tapas Roy lodged a
complaint against the
dozen Bharatiya Janata
Party MLAs.
CBI tightens noose on TMC leaders
Raids premises of TMC MLA, councillors; `35L cash, valuables worth lakhs seized
RAJIB CHOWDHURI and
PRANMOY BRAHMACHARI
KOLKATA/BERHAMPORE, NOV. 30
A day after Union home
minister Amit Shah
attacked the ruling
Trinamul Congress over
corruption in West
Bengal, the CBI raided
Domkol TMC MLA Zafikul
Islam’s house and 10 pri-
vate colleges in
Murshidabad in the teach-
ers’ recruitment scam and
recovered around `35
lakhs in cash and valuable
jewelry worth several
lakhs.
Mr Islam, who is also the
administrator of the TMC-
Rahul: Raj-like health plan
if Cong wins 2024 LS polls
Wayanad, Kerala, Nov.
30: Congress leader
Rahul Gandhi on
Thursday hailed the
healthcare programme
for the poor initiated by
the Rajasthan govern-
ment, saying if the party
secures power at the
Centre post the 2024 Lok
Sabha polls, similar ini-
tiatives will be rolled out
nationwide.
Mr Gandhi highlighted
the disparity in health-
care access, noting that
those with financial
means can access quali-
ty treatment in big hos-
pitals, while those lack-
ing financial resources
face significant chal-
lenges when dealing
with illnesses like can-
cer or heart disease.
Addressing the audi-
ence after the inaugura-
tion of a new block at a
private hospital in
Sulthan Bathery, located
within his Lok Sabha
constituency, Wayanad,
the former Congress
president said that the
biggest victims of med-
ical tragedies are often
poor people and stressed
the need for a reevalua-
ruled Domkal
Municipality, was not at
home during the raid that
began at around 8 am. Till
◗ THE CBI conducted
another raid at tutor
Sajol Ansari’s house in
of them is Debraj
Chakraborty, husband of
folk singer-turned TMC
MLA of Rajarhat-
Mr Chakraborty said,
“Nothing was found in the
search. I shared details of
my income tax returns
reports last came in, the Burwan of Murshidabad Gopalpur Aditi Munshi. (ITR) and bank accounts
raids were still being con- and in Coochbehar He is the councillor of with the CBI.” Mr
ducted. The wads of cash ward number 7 and also a Dasgupta, whose house at
and jewelry were seized is harassing me for my member, mayor-in-council Patuli in Kolkata was also
from his house on proximity to our party of the Bidhannagar searched, said, “CBI asked
Thursday afternoon. MLA Manik Municipal Corporation. me questions about
“I am in Kolkata to Bhattacharya,” he The other is Bappaditya Partha Chatterjee (the for-
attend the winter session claimed. Dasgupta of ward number mer education minister
of the Assembly. But I Mr Bhattacharya, one of 101 of the Kolkata now in jail) and
asked my family to cooper- the main accused in the Municipal Corporation. took my ITR and mobile
ate with the CBI,” Mr scam, has been in jail after Mr Chakraborty, like Mr phone.”
Islam said. his arrest by the ED last Islam, was also not at The CBI conducted
“I am innocent. The cash year. The CBI also raided home in Teghoria when another raid at private
is the proceeds of the sale and searched two TMC the CBI reached there in tutor Sajol Ansari’s house
of my land and properties. councillors’ houses in the morning. He later at Kuli in Burwan of
My colleges have govern- Kolkata in connection came and took the CBI Murshidabad and in
ment affiliation. The CBI with the same scam. One inside the house. Coochbehar.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi poses for a selfie during
a programme in Wayanad, Kerala, on Thursday. — PTI
tion of healthcare at the “...If you have money,
national level.
“I travel around India
you can always get treat-
ment in a good hospital,
quite a lot and I notice
that the biggest victims
of medical tragedies are
you can always go to a
fancy hospital and get
treatment but if you are
poor people. Because if poor and you get cancer
you have money you can or a relative gets cancer
always get treatment in or you get heart disease
a good hospital,” the or your relative gets
Wayanad MP said. heart disease, then you
He said having finan- really basically your life
cial means allows access is over,” Mr Gandhi said.
to quality treatment in He said that the Union
big hospitals, but for government should pri-
those lacking resources, oritise providing
facing illnesses like can- affordable healthcare to
cer or heart disease can the poor as a fundamen-
essentially bring their tal guarantee to its
lives to a halt. people. — PTI

PM SHRI SCHOOL ■ Election peaceful barring minor clashes in few areas Shivraj holds
PLAN IN ASSAM final Cabinet
AGE CORRESPONDENT
GUWAHATI, NOV. 30
T’gana stares at 10-yr low turnout meet before
Assam chief minister
Himanta Biswa Sarma on
Thursday launched the PM
L. VENKAT RAM REDDY
HYDERABAD, NOV. 30 KTR slams exit poll results
Shri School scheme to devel-
op 264 schools, aligning
Fewer voters turned up
to exercise their fran-
polls, says BRS RABINDRA NATH
CHOUDHURY
with the new education poli-
cy. Informing that these
chise in the Telangana
Assembly polls this year, to retain T’gana BHOPAL, NOV. 30

schools will have modern
infrastructure, discovery-ori-
ented teaching, and leader-
ship roles, Mr Sarma said
that the state government
has chosen these schools for
development, marking a sig-
nificant milestone in Assam’s
education sector. He said,
“With the blessings of Prime
Minister Narendra Modi we
have commenced the launch
of these schools which will
be equipped with modern
infrastructure.” Mr Sarma
reiterated, “These schools
will also impart a discovery-
oriented way of teaching
and provide leadership to
nearby schools in encapsu-
lating the full spirit of NEP.”
It is significant that PM Shri
school is a centrally spon-
sored scheme intended to
develop more than 14,500
schools across the country
and more than 20 lakh stu-
dents are expected to be
direct beneficiaries.
with the Election
Commission (EC) record-
ing a turnout of 63.94 per
cent at the end of voting
at 5 pm on Thursday,
lower than 73.2 per cent
in 2018 and 69.5 per cent
in 2014. The number may
rise further as long
queues were witnessed at
several polling stations
after 5 pm. The EC will
finalise the turnout on
Friday.
The counting of votes
will take place on
December 3 and the
results will be declared
on the same day.
There were 2,290 con-
testants in the fray,
including chief minister
K. Chandrashekhar Rao,
ministers K.T. Rama Rao,
T. Harish Rao, TPCC
chief A. Revanth Reddy
and BJP Lok Sabha mem-
bers Bandi Sanjay and D.
Arvind.
Voters show their fingers marked with indelible ink
after casting their votes for the Telangana Assembly
elections in Hyderabad on Thursday. — PTI
The BRS has fielded action to clamp down on
candidates in all 119 such incidents, in coordi-
seats, the Congress con- nation with district
tested 118 seats and left administrations.
one seat to its ally, CPI, Officials said that most
while the BJP contested disturbances were clash-
111 seats and left eight es between the BRS and
seats to Jana Sena. The Congress workers,
AIMIM put up candi- reported from polling
dates from nine seats in booths in Jangaon,
Hyderabad. N a g a rk u r n o o l ,
While the voting exer- K a m a r e d d y ,
cise was largely peaceful, Ibrahimpatnam,
there were some minor M i r y a l g u d a ,
clashes and scuffles Kothagudem and Palair
reported from multiple constituencies. Police
constituencies. Election caned the workers to con-
officials took immediate trol the situation.
Hyderabad, Nov. 30:
Dismissing some exit
poll surveys that suggest-
ed that the ruling BRS is
going to lose in the
Assembly polls, the
party’s working presi-
dent K.T. Rama Rao on
Thursday said the party
led by chief minister K.
Chandrasekhar would
come back to power with
over 70 seats.
Mr Rao said that in 2018
some of the exit polls had
wrongly predicted that
the BRS would lose, but
the results proved
otherwise.
“I promise you, for
those of you who are
friends of the BRS and
want KCR to come
back..., I promise you on
December 3 (counting
day) we are coming back.
We are coming back with
anywhere above 70
seats,” he said. — PTI
Madhya Pradesh chief
minister Shivraj Singh
Chouhan on Thursday
chaired a meeting of his
Cabinet, the last one in
his current tenure, with-
out any agenda, inviting
criticism from the
Congress.
Mr Chouhan detailed
the measures undertak-
en by his government for
the development of the
state and different sec-
tions of the society at
the Cabinet meeting,
state home minister
Narottam Mishra told
reporters here.
“This was the last
Cabinet meeting in the
current tenure of the
state government,” Mr
Mishra said.
Mr Chouhan recounted
how his government had
successfully faced the
health challenges posed
by the Covid-19 pandem-
ic by taking measures to
strengthen medical

Kissinger’s love-hate India ties over decades infrastructure in a short

Washington, Nov. 30:
Henry Kissinger, the veter-
an American diplomat who
died at the age of 100, was
known for his disdain
towards India’s leadership
in the 1970s and even had
used racist and misogynist
language for the then
Prime Minister Indira
Gandhi.
On Wednesday, when the
centurion died in his
Connecticut home, he left
behind a chequered legacy.
From his first visit to India
in October 1974 to the one
in March 2012, Mr
Kissinger, termed as a
statesman by many, had
reconciled to India’s rise
and as many believed, had
become a votary of
stronger US-India ties.
Mr Kissinger’s ties with
India started in the 1970s
when he was in the US
administration both as the
national security adviser
and secretary of state.
In September 2020, the
New York Times carried an
opinion piece based on the
then newly declassified
trove of White House tapes
that provided “startling
evidence of the bigotry?
voiced by then President
Richard Nixon and
Kissinger, his national
security adviser in the
1970s.
Replying to a question by
Mr Nixon, the piece
described how Kissinger
sweepingly explained:
“They (Indians) are superb
flatterers, Mr President.
They are masters at flattery.
They are masters at subtle
flattery. That’s how they
survived 600 years. They
suck up — their great skill
is to suck up to people in
key positions.”
Detailing such insidious
exchanges between the
Nixon-Kissinger duo based
on the declassified tapes,
Gary J. Bass, a professor of
politics and international
affairs, explained how the
full content of these tapes
revealed how “US policy
toward South Asia under
Mr Nixon was influenced
by his hatred of, and sexual
repulsion toward, Indians.”
In this file photo, Prime Minister Narendra Modi with former
US secretary of state Henry Kissinger in New Delhi.
“For decades, Mr Nixon
and Mr Kissinger have por-
trayed themselves as bril-
liant practitioners of
realpolitik, running a for-
eign policy that dispassion-
ately served the interests of
the United States. But these
declassified White House
tapes confirm a starkly dif-
ferent picture: racism and
misogyny at the highest
levels, covered up for
decades under ludicrous
claims of national security.
A fair historical assess-
— PTI
ment of Mr Nixon and Mr
Kissinger must include the
full truth, unbleeped,” Mr
Bass concluded.
The transcripts of the
declassified tapes of the
conversation between
Nixon, Kissinger, and the
President’s chief of staff in
Washington on November
5, 1971, showed that both Mr
Nixon and Mr Kissinger
repeatedly described Indira
Gandhi as a b**ch.
“(But), Mr President, even
though she was a b**ch, we
shouldn’t overlook the fact
that we got what we want-
ed, which was we kept her
from going out of here say-
ing that the United States
kicked her in the teeth,” Mr
Kissinger said in connec-
tion with their discussion
regarding Pakistan, India,
and troubles in East
Pakistan, now Bangladesh.
Speaking about the issue
in India in March 2012 at a
media conclave, Mr
Kissinger defended his use
of unparliamentary lan-
guage while referring to
Prime Minister Indira
Gandhi, said: “I was under
pressure and made those
comments in the heat of the
moment. People took those
remarks out of context.”
He also added that he had
the highest regard for
Indira Gandhi, it was
reported then.
Historians indeed say that
both Mr Kissinger and Mr
Nixon did not have a
healthy relationship with
Indira Gandhi and they
turned their attention to
China. — PTI
span of time.
He also detailed the
welfare programmes
undertaken by his gov-
ernment for the uplift-
ment of the poor in the
state.
The chief minister also
thanked his ministerial
colleagues for the sup-
port they had extended
to him in providing good
governance to the state.
The Opposition
Congress, however, criti-
cised the chief minister
for convening the meet-
ing when the model code
of conduct is in force in
the state.
Congress spokesman
K.K. Mishra alleged that
the ruling BJP was try-
ing to mount pressure
on state government
officers ahead of the
counting of votes, sched-
uled to be held on
December 3.
State urban develop-
ment minister
Bhupendra Singh, how-
ever, rubbished the
charges, saying that the
government has the
right to call the Cabinet
meeting.
 NATION
THE ASIAN AGE | FRIDAY | 1 DECEMBER 2023 | NEW DELHI
pg 4

SHORT
Odia girl becomes
TAKES
1st Aide-De-Camp
Bhubaneswar: Manisha Padhi,
an Odisha girl currently serv-
ing as a Squadron Leader in
the Indian Air Force, has
been appointed as India’s
first woman Aide-De-Camp
(ADC) from the Indian Armed
Forces. Mizoram governor Dr
Hari Babu Kambhampati
appointed Manisha Padhi, a
2015 batch Indian Air Force
officer, as India's first woman
ADC on Wednesday. The
governor has shared a video
of appointing the Lady Air
Force Officer to the key post
on his ‘X’ handle. “Hearty
congratulations to Sqn
Leader Manisha Padhi for
being appointed as ADC to
the governor of Mizoram.
Sqn. Leader Manisha is India’s
first woman IAF officer to be
appointed as ADC to the
governor in the country. My
best wishes to her and may
she excel in the sector with
the expertise she has earned
over the years," the governor
wrote on his ‘X’ handle.
Two die as car falls
from boat into river
Berhampore: A car, about to
be ferried on a boat, fell into
Bhagirathi river leaving a
couple dead in Murshidabad
of West Bengal on Thursday.
The deceased were Subhojit
Sarkar (26) and his wife
Sumana Sarkar (22). They
were inside the car after
driving the vehicle on board
to the boat from the ferry
ghat to cross the river in
Lalbagh. Their one-year-old
daughter and three family
members, who had travelled
in the car with them till the
ferry ghat, were standing on
97 Tejas, 156 copters: Govt Shah-led panel clears `1,658-cr
clears `2.23L-cr arms deal Joshimath reconstruction plan
PAWAN BALI
NEW DELHI, NOV. 30
Defence Acquisition
Council (DAC) headed by
defence minister Rajnath
Singh on Thursday gave
initial approval to acquisi-
tion proposals worth `2.23
lakh crore including pro-
curement of 97 Tejas
Mark 1A light combat air-
craft and 156 Prachand
light combat helicopters
to enhance the opera-
tional capabilities of the
Indian armed forces.
The Indian Air Force
(IAF) has already ordered
83 LCA Mark1A fighter
planes and their deliver-
ies are expected to start in
February-March 2024.
This will take up the
number of LCA Mark 1A
with IAF to 180.
IAF is in critical need
for additional fighter air-
craft to replace the ageing
MiG-21 aircraft.
Of the 156 Prachand
combat helicopters
approved, 66 are likely for
the IAF while the rest 90
would be acquired by the
Indian Army. These attack
helicopters can take on
the enemy from desert of
Thar to the icy mountains
of Himalayas.
To push indigenisation
around 98 per cent (worth
`2.20 lakh crore) of these
ED raids
ex-Punjab
minister in
Navy Day to be celebrated at
Sindhudurg sea fort on Dec. 4
AGE CORRESPONDENT
MUMBAI, NOV. 30
The iconic Sindhudurg
fort in Maharashtra is all
set to host the Navy Day to
be held on December 4.
Twenty warships and 40
aircrafts, including
renowned models like
MiG 29K, LCA Navy and
MARCOS, will be major
attractions of this
event.
This is the first time that
the Indian Navy will be
organising a mega event
capital acquisition propos-
als will be sourced from
the domestic industry.
DAC accored acceptance
of necessity (AoN) for
upgradation of 84 Su-30
MKI Aircraft indigenously
from state owned HAL.
The Su-30 fighter jets are
the mainstay of the IAF
with 260 of them in serv-
ice.
The DAC further AoN or
initial approval for pro-
curement of two types of
anti-tank munitions name-
ly area denial munition
(ADM) type-2 and type-3,
which are capable of neu-
tralising tanks and
Blow to Kerala as SC
quashes extension of
away from any major
naval station. Prime
Minister Narendra Modi,
the chief guest for the
event, will also unveil the
grand statue of
Chhatrapati Shivaji
Maharaj at Rajkot-Malvan
on this occasion.
A 43 feet statue of
Chhatrapati Shivaji has
been erected at Rajkot-
Malvan sea shore of
Sindhudurg. Also an art
gallery depicting Shivaji’s
life and achievements has
been created.
armoured personnel carri-
ers and enemy personnel.
The top body on procure-
ment of military hard-
ware also cleared acquisi-
tion and integration of
automatic target tracker
(ATT) and digital basaltic
computer (DBC) for T-90
tanks besides approving
another proposal to buy
medium range anti-ship
missiles (MRAShM) for
the Indian Navy.
The MRAShM is a light-
weight surface-to-surface
missile which will be a
primary offensive weapon
onboard various Indian
naval ships.
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, NOV. 30
The Centre on Thursday
approved a `1658.17 crores
recovery and reconstruc-
tion plan for Joshimath in
Uttarakhand, which was
affected by landslides and
ground subsidence earlier
this year.
The decision was taken
by a high-level committee,
which was headed by
Union home minister
Amit Shah, according to
an official statement on
Thursday.
The committee approved
the recovery and recon-
struction plan of `1658.17
crores for Joshimath, the
statement further said.
Under this plan, `1079.96
crores of Central assis-
NIT Srinagar
shut for early
winter break
amid unrest
AGE CORRESPONDENT
SRINAGAR, NOV. 30
The NIT Srinagar has
been closed for early
winter vacations in the
aftermath of unrest
among the students trig-
gered by a ‘blasphe-
mous’ social media post.
The management of
the institute located in
Srinagar’s Hazratbal
area has instructed all
tance will be provided
from the recovery and
reconstruction window of
the National Disaster
Response Fund (NDRF).
The Uttarakhand govern-
ment will provide `126.41
crores from its State
Disaster Response Fund
(SDRF) towards relief
assistance and `451.80
crores from its state budg-
et, including land acquisi-
tion costs for resettlement
of `91.82 crores.
Under the leadership of
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, all technical agen-
cies under the guidance of
the National Disaster
Management Authority
(NDMA) were put into
action, and they helped
the state government pre-
pare the recovery plan for
◗ IN JANUARY, cracks and
fissures had appeared on
houses and on the ground
in Joshimath, which
prompted the authorities
to evacuate a people to
relief centres
Joshimath expeditiously,
it said.
The recovery plan for
Joshimath would be
implemented in three
years, following best prac-
tices, Build Back Better
(BBB) principles, and sus-
tainability initiatives.
Thereafter, Joshimath will
emerge as an excellent
example of ecological sus-
tainability, the statement
said.
In January this year,
cracks and fissures had
appeared on houses and
on the ground
Joshimath, which prompt-
in
ed the authorities to evac-
uate a large number of
people especially those liv-
ing in the worst-hit Sunil,
Singdhar and Marwari
areas of the town to tem-
porary relief centres.
Scientific and technical
institutions studying land
subsidence in Joshimath
in a report made public in
September attributed the
crisis to the hill town's
location on a slope over
morainic deposits or loose
sediments, population
pressure, construction of
multi-storey buildings and
the absence of a system
for proper disposal of
water coming from the
upper reaches.

Kannur varsity V-C

the boat. Subhojit however students to vacate hos-
forgot to switch off the car tels with immediate
engine and mistakenly
pressed the accelerator
PMLA case effect. “Pursuant to dec-
laration of winter vaca-
Workers from Andhra Pradesh who were rescued from the Silkyara tunnel leave for
their home state after a health check-up at AIIMS in Rishikesh on Thursday. — PTI
which moved the vehicle AGE CORRESPONDENT ◗ THE BENCH sets aside tion for students w.e.f.
from the boat to the river.
The boat also capsized with
the couple’s daughter and
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI/CHANDIGARH,
NOV. 30
NEW DELHI, NOV 30

The Supreme Court on

three family members but
the four were rescued alive
by the villagers quickly.
Later the car was pulled out.
Teacher held over
harassment of girl
Bhubaneswar: The Odisha
police on Thursday arrested
a teacher of an English medi-
um school in Sambalpur dis-
trict for allegedly sexually
harassing a Class IX girl stu-
dent. According to
Sambalpur Sub Collector,
Puspanjali Panda, a police
complaint was lodged
against the teacher by the
school principal following
which the cops took him into
custody. The accused teacher
was identified as Arun Kumar
Joshi. “Following the com-
plaint, police inspectors of
Khetrajpur and Bareipali
police stations visited the
school on Thursday and
spoke to the victim and
school authorities. I have
spoken to the complainant
and legal action will be taken
against the accused as per
the due procedure,” said
the sub-collector.
The Enforcement
Directorate on Thursday
raided multiple loca-
tions in Punjab of for-
mer state forest minister
and Congress leader
Sadhu Singh Dharamsot
and some contractors in
an alleged forest scam
linked money launder-
ing case.
As per the official
sources, about 14 loca-
tions in the state are
being searched by the
agency under provisions
of the PMLA, they said.
At some places, the
security personnel of
the Central Reserve
Police Force were accom-
panying the agency
sleuths during the raid.
The agency raided the
premises of Mr
Dharamsot, a forest con-
tractor and some others
are being covered, they
said. The five-time MLA
Dharamsot was arrested
earlier this year by
the Punjab Vigilance
bureau as part of a case
linked to alleged posses-
sion of disproportionate
assets.
Thursday quashed the
reappointment of Kannur
university vice-chancel-
lor Gopinath Ravindran,
dubbing it as an “unwar-
ranted interference” by
the state government.
A bench, headed by
Chief Justice
Chandrachud, was criti-
D.Y.
cal of the order of the
chancellor and governor
Arif Mohammad Khan
reappointing Mr
Ravindran to the post
after his retirement.
The bench, also com-
prising Justices J.B.
Pardiwala and Manoj
Misra, sets aside the judg-
ments of the single and
division bench of the
Kerala high court uphold-
ing the reappointment.
“We have reached the
conclusion that although
the notification reap-
pointing the respondent
(Mr Ravindran) to the
post of vice-chancellor
was issued by the chan-
cellor, yet the decision to
reappoint was influenced
by extraneous considera-
tions or to put it in other
words, by the unwarrant-
ed intervention of the
the judgments of the sin-
gle and division bench of
the Kerala high court
upholding the reappoint-
ment.
state,” the bench said.
“The impugned judg-
ment and the order passed
by the high court dated
February 23, 2022 is hereby
set aside and as a conse-
quence, the notification
dated November 23, 2021
reappointing the respon-
dent (Mr Ravindran) as the
vice-chancellor of Kannur
University is hereby set
aside,” the top court ruled.
Pronouncing the judg-
ment, Justice Pardiwala
said the SC addressed sev-
eral questions, including
whether reappointment is
permissible when the
tenure is fixed. “Our final
conclusion is that it is now
well settled that the writ of
quo warranto (by what
authority) lies if any
appointment to a public
office is made in breach of
the statute or the rules,"
the top court noted in its
judgment, adding that in
this particular case, the
bench is not concerned
with the suitability of Mr
Ravindran.
30.11.2023 …all hostel
boarders (boys and girls)
are instructed to vacate
the hostels with immedi-
ate effect”, reads a circu-
lar signed by the Dean
Students Welfare.
The campus had earli-
er this week witnessed
protests by a vast major-
ity of students over the
posting of “blasphe-
mous” material online
by a non-local student.
The protesting students
were demanding the
arrest of the “culprit”
for “hurting the reli-
gious sentiments of 1.8
billion Muslims by post-
ing material online
insulting our beloved
Prophet Muhammad.”
They were angry also
over the authorities,
instead of handing him
over to the police to face
the law, “giving him safe
passage” by sending him
home overnight. The
NIA official had said
that the student had
been sent home on leave.
Local media reports
quoting unnamed NIT
officials said that he has
been rusticated and
barred from appearing
in the next semester
examination.
All workers normal,
can go home: AIIMS
Rishikesh, Nov. 30: The
AIIMS-Rishikesh on
Thursday declared all 41
workers who were evacu-
ated from Silkyara tunnel
fit to return home.
Briefing the media here
on their health condition,
Dr Ravikant said the
workers were thoroughly
examined and their blood
test, X-ray, and ECG
reports were normal.
“They are physically
normal and clinically sta-
ble. We have given them
clearance to return
home,” he said.
The workers were res-
cued from the tunnel
Tuesday night after a
long-drawn operation.
The doctor said as they
have come out of a tunnel
after 17 days, the workers
might need acclimatisa-
tion.
They have been advised
to go to the nearest hospi-
tal after two weeks for a
check-up.
“On the basis of their
major organ screening,
we can say they are fit to
travel. As they were taken
good care of during their
confinement in the tunnel
with regular feeding,
there was no case of star-
vation. They are mostly
quite young or of middle
age. That also helped
them stay fit,” Ravikant
said.
Doctors from AIIMS-
Rishikesh will stay con-
nected with the workers
through tele-medicine to
monitor their mental
health for the next few
weeks, he said in reply to
a question.
About how they will be
taken home, the hospital
authorities said respec-
tive state governments
are working out details of
their departure.
The number of workers
from Jharkhand is the
highest at 15. These 15
and five other workers
from Odisha may be
taken home today as their
nodal officers are here
already. — PTI
U’khand gov
praises Centre,
state’s efforts
Rishikesh, Nov. 30:
Uttarakhand governor
Lt. Gen. Gurmit Singh
(Retd) on Thursday visit-
ed AIIMS-Rishikesh to
meet the workers evacu-
ated from the Silkyara
tunnel. Mr Singh per-
sonally met the workers
and asked them about
their wellbeing.
Speaking to reporters,
the governor said he was
so happy to see them.
“They are all well. I had a
sense of pride while see-
ing them. They are a kind
of warriors who have
taught us how to stay
calm and collected in
adverse circumstances,”
Mr Singh said.
He also praised the
Central and state gov-
ernments for showing
extraordinary political
will during the pro-
longed rescue opera-
tions which finally led to
their safe evacuation.
The workers were res-
cued from the tunnel
late on Tuesday. — PTI

‘Women, poor, farmers my 4 biggest ‘castes’ Edge for Cong in T’gana, C’garh;
■ Continued from Page 1
launched an initiative to
increase the number of Jan
Aushadhi Kendras, which sell
medicines at subsidised rates,
from 10,000 to 25,000 after inau-
gurating the landmark 10,000th
outlet at AIIMS, Deoghar.
Mr Modi also launched the
Drone Didi Yojana, which aims
to provide drones to 15,000
select women self-help groups
between 2024–25 and 2025–2026
for providing rental services to
farmers for agriculture pur-
poses.
During his interaction with
the beneficiaries, Mr Modi said
the Viksit Bharat Sankalp
Yatra for saturation coverage
of various Central government
welfare schemes has generated
huge enthusiasm among peo-
ple. He said some are describ-
ing the government “raths”
(chariots), which are travelling
to all corners of the country, as
"Modi ki guarantee wali gaadi"
(vehicles carrying Modi's guar-
antees), while asserting that
the masses know that he will
fulfil all his promises.
For this, he needs their bless-
ings, Mr Modi said, underscor-
ing that the programme will
identify everyone left out of
welfare schemes aimed for
them and that he will ensure
their saturation coverage in
the coming years.
“A voice is emerging from
people across the country that
Modi's guarantee begins from
where people's expectations
from others end,” he said.
In his remarks after interact-
ing with the beneficiaries, Mr
Modi said Bharat is neither
going to stop, nor tire as the
people have resolved to make
the country a developed
nation.
"In various corners of the
country, there is such enthusi-
asm for the yatra and there is a
reason for it... People have seen
Modi and his work in the last
10 years and therefore, they
have immense confidence in
the government and its
efforts… People have also seen
that period when past govern-
ments used to consider them-
selves mai-baap of the people.
Therefore, even after decades
of Independence, a large sec-
tion of the population was
deprived of basic facilities,"
Mr Modi said.
Claiming that more than half
the population had lost faith in
earlier governments as people
had to depend on middlemen
and had to run around offices
to seek any benefit, Mr Modi
said that contrary to that, his
government is reaching out to
the masses to enrol them for
various welfare measures.
He said that the earlier gov-
ernments were driven by polit-
ical calculations and votebank
considerations.
"Therefore, the people never
used to trust the announce-
ments of such mai-baap gov-
ernments. We have changed
this. The government in place
now considers people as gods
and we work with 'seva bhav'
not 'satta bhav'," Mr Modi said.
Elaborating about the Viksit
Bharat Sankalp Yatra, Mr
Modi said that in just 15 days of
the yatra, people are walking
along and joining it. Until now,
the vehicle of 'Modi ki guaran-
tee' has reached over 12,000
panchayats and more than 30-
lakh people have benefited
from it, the Prime Minister
said, adding, "Mothers and sis-
ters are reaching out to this
vehicle. The initiative has
taken the shape of a people's
movement and people are tak-
ing it forward."
Many panchayats
received saturation coverage
have
without any discrimination,
Mr Modi said, asserting that
the youth are taking the lead in
popularising the exercise and
spearheading the goal of mak-
ing India developed.
Underscoring his commit-
ment, he said he went to a
remote tribal region in Khunti
to launch the yatra instead of
doing it at a place like Vigyan
Bhawan, a venue associated
with the government's official
programmes.
While launching the Drone
Didi Yojana, Mr Modi said he
wanted these women to receive
respect in their villages and
that some people have suggest-
ed the name of "Namo Drone
Didi" for the initiative. Women
trained as drone pilots will be
financially empowered and
receive people's respect.
"My dream is to make 2-crore
women living in villages and
working with self-help groups
lakhpati," he said.
Talking about Jan Aushadhi
Kenras, Mr Modi mentioned
that people have been associat-
ing his name with the flagship
welfare initiative.
"Jan Aushadhi Kendras are
now being called "Modi's medi-
cine shop," he said, noting that
nearly 2,000 types of medicines
are sold at an 80 to 90 per cent
discount at such centres.
Noting that the PM Garib
Kalyan Anna Yojna, which pro-
vides free grains to over 80
crore people, has been extend-
ed for another five years, he
asserted that "Modi's guaran-
tee means the guarantee of ful-
filling all guarantees."
BJP ahead in Raj; MP fight close
newspaper, Dainik Bhaskar,
had a completely different take.
The only print group to conduct
exit polls said the BJP in MP
will not even cross the halfway
mark and will get around 95–115
seats, while it gave the Congress
a better chance with 105–120
seats.
In Rajasthan, where voting
took place for 199 Assembly
seats out of 200 and the target at
present is 100, seven out of ten
exit polls have indicated a BJP
government formation. It
appears that in-fighting between
Congress chief minister Ashok
Gehlot and Sachin Pilot may
cost the party dearly, as Mr
Gehlot may not be able to break
the revolving door phenomenon
in the state.
However, with close contests
here, other parties like the BSP
and the Rashtriya Loktantrik
Party are going to play an
important role in government
formations. The India Today-
Axis My Poll has predicted
86–106 for the Congress and
80–100 for the BJP, while the
other parties will bag 9–10 seats.
Jan ki Baat has predicted
Charges filed in US court worrying: Govt
■ Continued from Page 1
trafficking, gun-running and
extremists at an international
level is also a serious issue for
law enforcement agencies to
consider. It is precisely for this
reason that a high-level inquiry
committee has been constituted.
We will obviously be guided by
100–122 for the BJP, 62–85 for the
Congress and 14–15 for oth-
ers. Dainik Bhaskar has predict-
ed 98–105 for the BJP, 85–95 for
the Congress and 10-15 for oth-
ers.
In Chhattisgarh, where there
are 90 Assembly seats, though
the pollsters have played safe by
terming it a close contest, the
numbers favour the Congress
marginally. The halfway mark in
the state Assembly is 46. All
nine out of nine exit polls plus
the NDTV’s overall average pre-
dict a victory for the Congress.
The India Today-Axis My India
Polls has predicted 40–50 seats
for the Congress here and 36–46
for the BJP. It said incumbent
chief minister Bhupesh Baghel
remains the preferred choice for
the chief minister’s post. Dainik
Bhaskar has given 46-55 to the
Congress and 35-45 to the BJP.
Telangana, with 119 seats, is
witnessing a triangular fight
between the BRS, the Congress
and the BJP. All exit polls pre-
dicted higher chances for the
Congress to form a government
in the state. But for TV9
Bharatvarsh, others claimed
its results.”
In a sensational turn of events
late on Wednesday night, the US
authorities had accused an
“Indian government employee”
based in India of directing the
alleged plot to kill Pannun.
The Indian government
employee is reported to have
that the Congress is expected to
easily cross the halfway mark of
60 seats.
However, it is Mizoram, which
has 40 Assembly seats, where
maximum drama is expected.
Here the exit polls are predict-
ing a hung Assembly but a bet-
ter situation for the six-party
alliance ZPM.
Outgoing chief minister
Zoramthanga’s Mizo National
Front (MNF) had predicted
there will be no hung Assembly
and his party will be back in
power. He even snapped ties
with the BJP prior to the
Assembly elections to neutralise
any negative sentiments due to
the Manipur crisis. The MNF is
in contest with the Zoram
People’s Movement (ZPM) and
the Congress, which is fighting
hard to make a comeback.
The ZPM is looking strong but
will still need support to form a
government. Though Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi had
termed the MNF-ZPM entry
points for the RSS and the BJP
in the state, the Congress may
have to back either of the two
for a seat at the table.
described himself as a “senior
field officer” who claimed to
have served earlier in India’s
CRPF paramilitary force. In the
plot, the Indian government
employee is alleged to have
directed Gupta, who was arrest-
ed by the Czech authorities in
June this year.
India, China hold
‘constructive’
talks on Ladakh
disengagement
New Delhi, Nov. 30: India and
China on Thursday held “con-
structive” diplomatic talks on
proposals to resolve the
remaining issues and achieve
complete disengagement in
eastern Ladakh, but there was
no clear indications of any
major breakthrough.
The ministry of external
affairs (MEA) said both sides
decided to hold the next round
of senior commanders’ meet-
ing at the earliest to achieve the
“objective” and that it was
agreed on the need to ensure a
stable situation on the ground
and avoid any untoward inci-
dent.
It said the two sides reviewed
the situation and engaged in an
“open, constructive and in-
depth” discussion on proposals
to resolve the remaining issues
and achieve complete disen-
gagement in eastern Ladakh.
Gourangalal Das, joint secre-
tary (East Asia) in the MEA, led
the Indian delegation. The
Chinese team was headed by
the director-general, boundary
and oceanic affairs in the
Chinese foreign ministry.
“The two sides reviewed the
situation along the LAC in the
Western Sector of the India-
China border areas, and
engaged in an open, construc-
tive and in-depth discussion of
proposals to resolve the
remaining issues and achieve
complete disengagement in
eastern Ladakh,” the MEA said
in a statement. — PTI
 EDIT
THE ASIAN AGE | FRIDAY | 1 DECEMBER 2023 | NEW DELHI
pg 5

Subhani

1 DECEMBER 2023

After US files ‘plot’ charges,

India needs to come clean
T
he cat is out of the bag now. An indictment in a Manhattan court
says an Indian may have orchestrated a plot to kill a Sikh sepa-
ratist and Khalistan sympathiser that was foiled by an US govern-
ment agency.
The suspicions over involvement in some way of the Indian government
behind a conspiracy to assassinate a foreign citizen, in this case
Gurupatwant Singh Pannun who is a dual US-Canadian citizen on US soil,
puts at risk the close India-US ties that have been built up in the most
recent past.
With an Indian citizen, Nikhil Gupta, extradited out of the Czech
Republic to the US, in the centre of the storm, plausible deniability in a
possible covert operation has also evaporated. With the matter in court,
extensive details like an advance paid in US dollars for the “hit”, with the
plot becoming traceable to a retired central forces police officer, may be
out in the open soon.
The New York It is not as if official India was not aware of this
indictment comes as the issue of attempted extrajudicial killing,
as an acute going back to last June when the Indian was
extradited, may have been brought to the atten-

The Silkyara lesson: Can

embarrassment tion of the highest in the land by the US, which
for a country that had also shared intelligence inputs with Canada LETTERS
may have protest- in the matter of the assassination of Sikh sepa-
ed loudly that it ratist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in a gurdwara car
park in Canada.
DUTCH EARTHQUAKE
does not indulge India was goaded into action as a high-power

we unite to fight crises? The Dutch election result is

in assassination committee had just been set up to go into US con-
of inconvenient cerns over planned extraterritorial killings by no less than a political
people agents acting on behalf of the Indian state. But
the plot thickened with the alleged assignment earthquake for Europe. For
being offered to an undercover officer of the US Drug Enforcement Agency the first time in Dutch his-
and the ensuing indictment. India would have to be at its convincing best The existence of first step towards calamity.
to explain that the action contemplated was not officially sanctioned. The other impediments to tory, a far right political
too many aims is success include dissipation
The New York indictment comes as an acute embarrassment for a coun-
another recipe for party, PVV, the Party for
try that may have protested loudly that it does not indulge in assassination of purpose, a failure to stay
of inconvenient people. Rebels and separatists threatening the sovereign- Indranil Banerjie disaster... In the course and callousness Freedom, won the people’s
ty of a country are not necessarily targets like militants and terrorists who India, one or laaparvahi, as it is known mandate. This result will
leave themselves open to such action by any country’s security forces. fundamental in Hindustani. The latter is certainly encourage other
Until now, India may have had a passing association with covert acts by perhaps this country’s
its intelligence agents and the people they may employ in such handiwork. problem is the worst enemy after corrup- far right parties and groups
But now it appears the country may have more to answer for if, indeed, the multiplicity of tion. Disasters, both natural across the continent to
facts laid out in the charges in the New York court are backed by evidence tasks taken on by and man-made, continue to
march ahead with their

W
to merit a conviction. hen the res-
India was able to brush away similar charges made by Canada as that cuers tun-
country has not gone beyond its Prime Minister airing them on the floor of nelling into
Parliament. But, till now, there have been no charges filed by the Royal the blocked
Canadian Mounted Police against specific persons who may have been Himalayan
involved in the killing of Nijjar, who was another vociferous proponent of tunnel at Silkyara in Uttara-
Khalistan and was, like Pannun, was designated as a terrorist by India. khand’s Uttarkashi region
At stake in what may be protracted rounds of backdoor diplomacy may broke through to the 41
be far more explaining any suspected clandestine action to get rid of Sikh trapped workers on
separatists. India must convince the US that it is a trustworthy ally which Tuesday evening, the pre-
has been receiving much attention from the West regarding commitments dictable nationwide elation
to assistance towards its security in the face of threats from China’s domi- and relief that followed was
nant position in the region and defence acquisitions that must diversify bolstered by the realisation
away from Russian supplies because of current geopolitical scenarios. that the country could still
To come clean on the subject and state its case lucidly on the tensions and get its act together on occa-
threat created by breakaway forces would be in India’s best interests sion and not always floun-
towards securing its strategic ties with the US and the West. der in confusion and incom-
petence as it has so often
done during moments of
crises in the past.
For the millions of citizens
also serve as a guide in con-
fronting the major national
challenges crippling our
democracy such as poverty,
malnutrition, social con-
flicts, insurgencies and so
on.
The foremost in the list is
the need for single-minded-
ness of purpose. Too often
crisis managers fail when
the endgame is not clearly
identified. At Silkyara, it
was simple: the safe extrica-
tion of all trapped workers.
In other situations, the aim
might not be so clear-cut,
and it might require a good
leader to articulate the prob-
lem and knit all available
resources towards solving
governments and
the leadership.
Union could mobilise their
entire populations to con-
tribute to the war effort:
young men went to the
frontlines, while others
manned factories producing
war material, women came
forth to work at the assem-
bly lines and even children
learnt to cope with those
hard times. Every effort was
geared towards feeding and
maintaining the war
machine against Nazi
Germany and Imperial
Japan.
recur with depressing regu-
larity with no solution in
sight. This endless cata-
logue includes the annual
winter haze over North
India, the regular floods in
many parts of the country
that submerge fields and the
fortunes of countless people,
the indifference to corrup-
tion, development projects
that drag on for years, and
much more. There is sadly
no will or single-minded-
ness to confront such
endemic challenges.
The existence of too many
aims is another recipe for
disaster, the best examples
of which come from mili-
tary history. Hitler’s war
respective issues. This elec-
tion has proved that immi-
gration is the issue to
swing support. Though it is
impossible for the party’s
leader Geert Wilders to
make a post-poll coalition
with other liberal and
social democratic parties
unless he scraps his anti-
Islam manifesto, emerging
as the largest party in the
election means a lot.
Arka Goswami

Guidelines for governors vital fixated on the rescue drama

played out on television
news channels moment by
it. The success of legendary
world leaders such as Josef
Stalin, Winston Churchill
In India, the genius of
Mahatma Gandhi succeed-
ed in mobilising the collec-
was doomed the moment he
took on the Soviet Union in
the East as well as the Allied
Durgapur, West Bengal

B
y allowing the government of Kerala to amend its petition against moment for 17 seemingly
the governor holding back bills passed by the Assembly, the unending days, the rescue
Supreme Court has opened the question as to whether it must con- was a gratifying national
sider framing guidelines for a governor to reserve bills for the considera- event. It was also an exam-
tion of the President of India. The court’s decision comes in the wake of the ple of the power of the col-
Kerala governor forwarding to the President seven of the eight bills which lective will, and proof of the
have been pending with him for durations which vary from two years to efficacy of a single-minded,
three months. concerted approach to prob-
Article 200 of the Constitution mandates that the governor “shall reserve lem-solving.
for the consideration of the President, any bill which in the opinion of the While most praise
governor would, if it became law, so derogate from the powers of the high deservedly went to the 24
court as to endanger the position which that court is by this Constitution “rat hole miners” and the
designed to fill”. In practice, state governments would recommend to the National Disaster Response
governor to seek the opinion of the President if the bills are related to top- Force (NDRF) personnel
ics referred to in the Concurrent List of the Constitution. Both these responsible for the final
appear to be have sound constitutional backing but the governors taking breakthrough, no less note-
the Rashtrapati Bhavan as an alibi to delay signing the bills is beyond the worthy was the involve-
scope of the Constitution. ment of a plethora of other
The Supreme Court has recently put paid to the attempts by some gover- agencies, including the
nors to denigrate the spirit of the Constitution by holding back bills for a Prime Minister’s Office
period of their choosing. The court has categorically ruled that the powers (PMO), which was oversee-
vested with the governor of a state “cannot be used to thwart the normal ing the entire operation, the
course of lawmaking by the state legislatures" and reiterated that “in a Army, the Indian Air Force,
parliamentary form of democracy, real power vests in the elected repre-
sentatives of the people”. It is time the Supreme Court removed the very
the State Disaster Response
Force, ONGC, various
scope for covert and overt attempts to diminish the importance of the state experts and an Australian
legislatures and restored their paramountcy with respect to lawmaking. rescue consultant. The most
Framing guidelines for the governors to act on the bills passed by legisla- remarkable aspect of this
tures will be a step in that direction. collective effort was the ab-
sence of crossed wires, pur-
poses or intent. They were
all unified by the single
THE ASIAN AGE objective of rescuing the
trapped tunnel workers, no
KAUSHIK MITTER K. SUDHAKAR matter what it took. In the
Editor Printer & Publisher
end, this approach worked
THE ASIAN AGE office is located at: brilliantly.
New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru National Youth Centre, 219 Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, New Delhi-110002. Phone: There are lessons to be
(011) 23211124. learnt from the success of
Published and Printed on behalf of and for this rescue mission, those
◗ Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited, Jawaharlal Nehru National Youth Centre, 219 Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, New
Delhi 110 002 at BFL Infotech Ltd., C-9, Sector-III, Noida -201301.
that will fortify us against
◗ London: Quickmarsh Ltd, 8th Floor, Block 2, Elizabeth House, 39 York Road, London, SE1 7NQ. and help tackle future disas-
RNI Registration number: 57290/94 ters. These lessons could
and Frankin D. Roosevelt
during World War II is testi-
mony to the importance of
focused resolve. Each of
them clearly identified the
enemy, articulated a goal
and rallied their country-
men towards the fulfilling of
that overwhelming objec-
tive.
In contrast, the American
leadership during the 1960s
failed to identify what exact-
ly the US was fighting for in
Vietnam, why Communism
in a backward Asian coun-
try was a threat to
American citizens and why
young Americans should
die fighting a war they did
not understand. The result
was widespread confusion
within the United States, a
divided polity and a verita-
ble youth revolt.
Predictably, the war was
lost even though military
objectives were being met.
While an enlightened lead-
ership inspired by single-
mindedness of purpose is a
necessary condition for suc-
cess, it is not sufficient. The
effective leader also needs to
combine resources, skills
and the collective will. This
was much in evidence at the
Silkyara operation as it is in
every successful response to
a crisis.
During the Second World
War, the leaders of Britain,
United States and the Soviet
tive will of Indians against
their colonial masters. He
converted a faltering middle
class Independence move-
ment into an enormous, all-
encompassing revolt that
carried with it the middle
class, the workers as well as
peasants from the remotest
parts of the country. This
collective proved unstop-
pable.
Mrs Indira Gandhi in 1971
achieved a similar feat by
uniting the country against
Pakistan’s depredations in
its eastern wing. The coun-
try rallied behind her call to
liberate Bangladesh despite
severe hardships, limited
resources and the threat
from a powerful superpow-
er. Six years later, the coun-
try once again united, this
time against her and the
repressive state of political
“Emergency” she had
imposed on the nation.
Most failed states in recent
history have one thing in
common: the failure to
establish a common unify-
ing national vision. Thus,
countries such as Somalia,
Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria,
Haiti, Pakistan, Myanmar,
South Sudan and others
remain at perpetual boiling
point with frequent out-
breaks of extreme violence
and attendant mass dis-
tress. The failure to main-
tain collective resolve is the
forces in the West. In India,
one fundamental problem is
the multiplicity of tasks
taken on by governments
and the leadership. In this
milieu, there is a tendency
of prematurely ticking off
achievements even when
they are half-completed.
One such example is the
well-intentioned but flag-
ging Swachh Bharat
Abhiyan against civic filth.
The country today stands
divided, fractious, plagued
by conflicting ideas and
objectives. Millions of peo-
ple remain in poverty while
many more are doomed to a
half existence marked by
malnutrition and back-
wardness. The country’s
environment is degrading
at an alarming rate as an
ever-growing population
sucks out every natural
resource in the race to sur-
vive and prosper. Caste, eth-
nic, communal and econom-
ic fault lines have cleaved
communities. These consti-
tute a crisis no less pressing
the one which we managed
to successfully confront at
Silkyara. Will the country
come together to rescue all
those trapped in our dark-
ness?
The writer is an
independent commentator
on political
and security issues
CRIME CAPITAL
DELHI HAS seen an increase of 101
per cent in major crimes reported
from 2021 to 2022, according to
responses obtained under the Right
to Information Act by the Praja
Foundation. The report launched by
the Praja Foundation highlights the
registration of crimes across 156
police stations. Housebreaking cases
have increased by 315 per cent from
2,520 in 2021 to 10,454 in 2022 while
murder, rape, kidnapping, theft and
robbery have increased by 1,186 per
cent though in the West district only.
More than 41 per cent of the reported
rape cases were perpetrated against
female minors.
Bhagwan Thadani
Mumbai
WHOSE FAULT?
THE NATION, especially the families
of those trapped, would breathe a
sigh of relief at the safe rescue of the
41 who finally saw the light of day
after 17 long days. However the ques-
tion of who is responsible for putting
them in such a situation must not be
swept under the carpet and action
against the guilty must be taken. Any
shortcomings in the procedures of
awarding contracts, geological map-
ping, escape routes and such must
come out in a forensic audit. But
given the cozy nexus between the
politicians and contractors, such defi-
ciencies are likely to be glossed over.
Anthony Henriques
Mumbai

T
he surge in respiratory illnesses in China is
once again in the news. Since mid-October
2023, there had been an increase in influen-
za-like illnesses — compared to the same
period in the previous three years. In mid-
Chandrakant November 2023, the Chinese government had offi-
Lahariya cially reported an increase in cases of respiratory
illnesses, mainly in children but also in some other
high-risk age groups. These respiratory illness
cases have been attributed to seasonal influenza
viruses, Mycoplasma pneumoniae — a type of bac-
teria; respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and also to
China have reported that no unusual or novel
pathogens have been detected. Though there has
been a general increase in respiratory illnesses, no
unusual clinical presentation has been reported.
The experts believe that this surge is also due to
the arrival of the winter season, when an increasing
trend in respiratory illnesses is expected. Then, the
co-circulation of respiratory viruses makes chil-
dren and adults with comorbidities prone for clini-
cal disease. Two pathogens which are being report-
ed — Mycoplasma pneumoniae and RSV — are
known to affect children more than adults, which
ed restrictions — the circulation of common and
locally circulating viruses was restricted and popu-
lations were not exposed to those viruses. As people
were not exposed, they had not developed immuni-
ty against all those viruses. Then, when all restric-
tions are removed and mobility increased, people
are being exposed to multiple viruses in one go and
are getting infections. Once a major share of people
get exposed to those pathogens, the transmissions
would slow down.
In the time ahead, this situation may start a dis-
cussion around whether people should get another
ing in India.
Therefore, it is always worthwhile to protect from
all respiratory viruses. Irrespective of which respi-
ratory illness or virus is involved, general preven-
tive measures should be followed in these settings,
where increase in such illnesses is reported. The
preventive measures include getting age-appropri-
ate recommended vaccinations; staying home when
ill; keeping a distance from people who are ill; get-
ting tested and medical care as needed; ensuring
good ventilation in all homes and workplaces.
Winter is a common time for respiratory illnesses

Flu-like illnesses’ SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes Covid-19).

On November 22, WHO had taken note of the situ-
ation and as part of international Health regulation,
outbreak in China
requested additional epidemiologic and clinical
information, as well as laboratory results from
these reported clusters from Chinese authorities.
This is when it received global attention. The Indian
explains why there are more cases in children.
The respiratory illnesses have been a reality since
antiquity but Covid-19 has brought renewed atten-
tion. In fact, since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic
and after the lifting of the related restrictions, the
rise in viral illnesses and change in seasonality has
been seen in many countries across the world. The
shot of the Covid-19 vaccines. The short answer is
no. With current knowledge, there is no scientific
rationale in getting another Covid-19 vaccine shot
for any age group. The current surge is being
caused by other pathogens — different viruses and
bacteria than the SARS-CoV2. Then, current scien-
tific evidence supports that two shots of the Covid-
and more attention should be paid during that peri-
od. Eating healthy, sleeping for six to eight hours in
a day, regular physical activity and getting treat-
ment for pre-existing illnesses are right approaches.
Taking a leaf from the pandemic period — with
such respiratory illnesses, there is a real challenge
of misinformation. Therefore, we as a society must

no real cause for government also held a meeting on November 26,

2023, to conduct risk assessment and analyse the
preparation for any future eventuality. This was a
routine and standard process and not a reason to
concern in India worry or be concerned about.
The reports from China have indicated the cur-
rent surge has been built up on an increase in out-
patient consultations and hospital admissions of
children due to Mycoplasma pneumoniae since
May 2023. The cases of RSV, adenovirus and influen-
za virus have spiked since October 2023. Officials in
flu season has changed in many countries and RSV
related infections are more commonly being
reported. As of now, there is no reason to worry for
India or any other country either. Even before the
current surge of respiratory illnesses in China, in
much of 2023, many children and adults in India
reported episodes of flu-like illnesses, in which the
symptoms had lasted longer than usual.
A broader and scientific explanation for this phe-
nomenon is the concept of “immunity debt”. In the
last three to four years — due to the Covid-19 relat-
19 vaccine in settings with high natural infections
continue to provide protection from severe Covid-
19. There is no need for another Covid-19 vaccine
be more careful and avoid passing on any unveri-
fied information. The government should provide
regular, timely and reliable information.
shot in the foreseeable future. The current surge of respiratory infections in a
Respiratory viruses have always been around us,
and our body mostly fights them off without our
even knowing. However, environmental factors
few cities of China appears to be a seasonal trend
and a localised phenomenon. Considering there is
no novel virus involved, it is unlikely to be a risk for
such as air pollution burden our immune system, other countries.
which makes our body more prone to respiratory
infections. Then, there is a major change in season- Dr Chandrakant Lahariya is a senior physician
ality of respiratory viruses across the world, includ- and health policy expert based in New Delhi
 WORLD
THE ASIAN AGE | FRIDAY | 1 DECEMBER 2023 | NEW DELHI
SHORT
AFTER 50 YEARS,
TAKES
U.S. TO RETURN TO
MOON ON JAN. 25
Washington, Nov. 30: More
than 50 years after the last
Apollo mission, the United
States will try once again to
land a craft on the Moon on
January 25, said the head of
what could be the first private
company to successfully touch
down on the lunar surface.
The lander, named Peregrine,
will have no one on board. It
was developed by American
company Astrobotic, whose
CEO John Thornton said it will
carry Nasa instruments to
study the lunar environment in
anticipation of Nasa’s Artemis
manned missions. Several
years ago, Nasa opted to com-
mission US firms to send scien-
tific experiments and technolo-
gies to the Moon — a pro-
gramme called CLPS.
POPE SUFFERING
FROM ACUTE
BRONCHITIS
Rome, Nov. 30: Pope Francis
said on Thursday that he is suf-
fering from acute, infectious
bronchitis and that doctors rec-
ommended he cancel his
planned visit to Dubai this
weekend to avoid the quick
changes in temperature that
would be involved. As you can
see, I;m alive, Francis quipped
at the start of an audience with
participants of a symposium on
health care ethics.
It was one of nine audiences
Francis had scheduled for
Thursday, suggesting he was
still managing to carry a heavy
workload despite his illness.
Francis, who turns 87 in a few
weeks and had part of one lung
removed as a young man, came
down with the flu last week and
is on antibiotics. On Tuesday,
the Vatican announced he was
cancelling his planned partici-
pation in the UN climate con-
ference on doctors’ orders.
13 KILLED AS FIRE
BREAKS OUT AT
KAZAKH HOSTEL
Almaty, Kazakhstan, Nov. 30:
At least 13 people were killed in
a hostel fire that broke out in
Kazakhstan’s largest city
Almaty before sunrise on Thur-
sday, according to the city's
emergency situations depart-
ment. “In the course of recon-
naissance and extinguishing
the fire, 13 dead were initially
discovered, their identities are
being established,” the depart-
ment said. “Preliminarily, they
died of carbon monoxide poi-
soning. “The fire on Adi
Sharipov Street was reported
just after 5.30 am (2330 GMT
Wednesday). Firefighters
arrived seven minutes later to
find the basement of a three-
storey residential building
burning, according to the state-
ment.
SEVERE FLOODS
DISPLACE MILLIONS
IN SOMALIA
Mogadishu, Nov. 30: More than
a million people have been dis-
placed in Somalia after the
country was hit by severe flood-
ing caused by torrential rains,
the Somali president said.
Somalia and its Horn of Africa
neighbours Kenya and Ethiopia
are battling flash floods caused
by heavy rainfall linked to the
El Nino weather pattern. The
floods are exacerbating the
humanitarian crisis in the
region just as it emerges from
the worst drought in four
decades that left millions of
people hungry. “My brothers,
our country is in a critical state
and our people have been affect-
ed by the flooding everywhere,”
President Hassan Sheikh
Mohamud said on Wednesday
evening.
OPEC+ NATIONS
AGREE TO MORE
OIL OUTPUT CUTS
Dubai, Nov. 30: OPEC+ oil pro-
ducers on Thursday agreed to
output cuts approaching 2 mil-
lion barrels per day (bpd) for
early next year led by Saudi
Arabia rolling over its current
voluntary cut, delegates said.
Saudi Arabia, Russia and other
members of OPEC+, who pump
more than 40 per cent of the
world’s oil, are holding a virtu-
al meeting on Thursday to dis-
cuss 2024 output amid concerns
the market faces a potential
surplus. Their output of some
43 million bpd already reflects
cuts of about 5 million bpd
aimed at supporting prices and
stabilising the market. OPEC+
sources said the latest agree-
ment would involve cuts
approaching 2 million bpd
including Saudi Arabia extend-
ing a voluntary cut of 1 million
bpd it has had in place.
2 Hamas gunmen open fire Henry Kissinger,
at Jerusalem bus stop, kill 3 under Nixon, dies
Condition of two injured critical as fragile ceasefire holds for seventh day
Jerusalem, Nov, 30: At
least three Israelis were
killed and six others
injured when Palestinian
gunmen opened fire at a
bus stop here, breaking an
uneasy peace in the city
since the outbreak of the
current round of violence
in the region.
“At around 7.40 am (local
time) two Palestinian gun-
men got out of a vehicle on
Weizman Street at the
main entrance to the capi-
tal and opened fire at peo-
ple at a bus stop”, the
police here said.
Three persons were
killed and six wounded,
two of them seriously, in a
terror shooting attack at
the entrance to the city,
police and medics said.
Two off-duty soldiers and
an armed civilian in the
area are said to have
returned fire, killing the
two terrorists.
Videos circulating on
social media platforms
show a handful of people
waiting at the bus stop
starting to run away in dif-
ferent directions as the
two gunmen start firing
indiscriminately.
Israel’s internal security
agency, Shin Bet, named
the two attackers as broth-
ers Murad Namr, 38, and
Ibrahim Namr, 30, from
East Jerusalem. “The pair
were Hamas members and
previously jailed for ter-
ror activity”, the agency
said. Footage showed that
the two were armed with
an M-16 assault rifle and a
handgun.
A police search of the
vehicle found large
amounts of ammunition.
Police were searching the
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Colonel
General Oleksandr Syrskyi visiting of Ukraine’s army
command post in Kupiansk, Kharkiv region. — AP
Russian missiles rip
eastern Ukraine
Kyiv, Nov. 30: Russian
missiles tore through
apartment buildings in
eastern Ukraine's Done-
tsk region, local officials
said on Thursday, killing
at least one person and
burying families under
rubble as the Kremlin's
forces continued to pound
the fiercely contested
area with long-range
weapons.
Russian military units
simultaneously launched
six S-300 missiles during
the night, according to
Ukrainian Internal
Affairs Minister Ihor
Klymenko. The missiles
struck three Donetsk
cities Pokrovsk,
Novohrodivka and
Myrnohrad, he said. The
cities lie 25-40 km from
the front line. Emergency
workers pulled the body
of a 62-year-old man from
the wreckage of a ing.
Top Ramaswamy
aide joins Trump
Washington, Nov. 30: A
top aide to Republican
presidential aspirant
Vivek Ramaswamy has
resigned and joined for-
mer president Donald
Trump’s campaign,
according to a media
report which called the
departure the latest indi-
cator of Indian-
American’s stagnating
election campaign.
Brian Swensen formally
resigned from his role as
national political director
for the Ramaswamy cam-
paign over the weekend,
CNN reported.
Swensen has joined the
Trump campaign, the
news network quoted a
source familiar with his
departure, as saying.
Swensen is expected to be
working on the cam-
paign's political opera-
tion in the early-voting
states, specifically in
TWO SOLDIERS INJURED IN WEST BANK CHECKPOINT ATTACK
ISRAEL RECALLS MADRID
ENVOY OVER PM REMARKS
Israel's top diplomat said on
Thursday he was recalling the
country's envoy to Madrid
over "outrageous remarks" by
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro
Sanchez questioning the legali-
ty of Israel's military campaign
in Gaza. "Because of the outra-
geous remarks by the Spanish
prime minister, who again
repeated baseless claims, I
have decided to summon the
Israeli ambassador in Spain for
consultations in Jerusalem,"
foreign minister Eli Cohen
wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
2 SOLDIERS HURT IN WEST
BANK RAMMING ATTACK
Two Israeli soldiers were
slightly injured in a ramming
attack on a checkpoint in the
occupied West Bank Thursday,
the Israeli army said, adding
the assailant had been “shot
and neutralised”.
area to rule out any addi-
tional attackers.
Medics with Magen
David Adom ambulance
service that reached the
site of the attack declared
a 24-year-old woman dead
at the scene, while an eld-
erly man and a woman
among the eight others
injured were declared
dead at the hospital. Two
of the wounded were list-
ed in serious condition.
The bus stop was the
scene of a deadly bomb
attack almost exactly a
year ago. Thursday’s
attack came shortly after
Israel and Hamas agreed
to extend the ceasefire for
a seventh day. — PTI
destroyed multi-story
building in Novohrod-
ivka. Four more people
may be under the rubble,
including a child, author-
ities said. In Pokrovsk,
the strikes destroyed a
multi-story building, nine
houses, a police office and
cars. Emergency crews
helped rescue a man with
a 6-month-old baby, cov-
ered in blood, in his
hands, officials said.
The head of the city
administration, Serhii
Dobriak, said it was
fourth time Pokrovsk
came under attack in the
past month.
They are striking the
city center, the houses, he
said. They are just
destroying the civilian
population.
He urged people to evac-
uate because the intensi-
ty of strikes is increas-
— AP
Vivek Ramaswamy
Nevada, two Trump cam-
paign sources told CNN.
Swensen's departure is
the latest indicator of 38-
year-old Ramaswamy's
stagnating campaign,
which has struggled to
gain momentum even as
the candidate closely
aligns himself with
Trump, the front-runner
for the 2024 Republican
nomination, the report
said. Ramaswamy has
repeatedly praised
Trump, the Republican
front-runner. — PTI
secretary of state
Volunteers from the Zaka rescue service remove a person who was killed in the
shooting attack in Jerusalem on Thursday.
U.S. CONDEMNS ‘UNSAFE’ IRAN DRONE FLIGHT NEAR CARRIER
The United States on Wednesday condemned an Iranian drone flight near the USS Dwight D.
Eisenhower aircraft carrier the previous day as "unsafe" and "unprofessional.” The Eisenhower
is deployed as part of US efforts to deter Iran and its proxy forces in the Middle East from
escalating the Israel-Hamas war into a broader regional conflict. The Iranian drone flew as
close as 1,500 yards to the Eisenhower as the carrier conducted flight operations in the Gulf,
ignoring “multiple hails and warnings” and violating a “Notice to Airmen” to keep away.
Truce extended by
a day at last minute
Jerusalem, Nov. 30: Israel
and Hamas agreed at the
last minute on Thursday
to extend their cease-fire
in Gaza by another day.
But any further renewal
could prove more daunt-
ing since Hamas is expect-
ed to set a higher price for
many of the remaining
captives.
International pressure
has mounted for the truce
to continue as long as pos-
Kim’s sister vows more
satellites, rejects US deal
Seoul, Nov. 30: The power-
ful sister of North Korean
leader Kim Jong Un on
Thursday dismissed US
calls for a return to diplo-
macy and lambasted con-
demnations of the North’s
recent spy satellite
launch, vowing more
launches in violation of
UN bans.
During a UN Security
Council meeting earlier
this week, the US ambas-
sador to the UN, Linda
Thomas-Greenfield, called
the North’s satellite
launch a “reckless, unlaw-
ful” action. But she reiter-
ated the US offer for dia-
7 US Air Force staff still
missing after Japan crash
Tokyo, Nov. 30: Japan’s
coastguard said late on
Thursday that there was
still no sign of seven miss-
ing US Air Force person-
nel whose Osprey crashed
during a training exer-
cise, in the latest incident
involving the tilt-rotor air-
craft. One unconscious
person was found in the
sea and later declared
dead after the aircraft
crashed off the island of
Yakushima on Wednesday
but none of the others
have been found.
“No clues regarding the
missing persons were
obtained,” the coastguard
said in a statement issued
after nightfall on
CLIMATE | CHANGE
2023 is hottest year on record: UN
Dubai, Nov. 30: The UN
weather agency said Thur-
sday that 2023 is all but
certain to be the hottest
year on record, and a war-
ning of worrying trends
that suggest increasing
floods, forest fires, glacier
melt, and heat waves in
the future.
The World Meteorolo-
gical Organisation (WMO)
also warned that the aver-
age temperature for the
year is up some 1.4ºC from
pre-industrial times, a
mere one-tenth of a degree
under a target limit for the
end of the century as laid
out by the Paris climate
BLINKEN: ENSURE
GAZANS SAFETY
BEFORE OPS
sible after nearly eight
weeks of Israeli bombard-
ment and a ground cam-
paign in Gaza that have
killed thousands of
Palestinians, uprooted
more than three-quarters
of the population of 2.3
million and led to a
humanitarian crisis.
Israel has vowed to
resume its offensive once
the cease-fire expires.
— AP
Kim Yo Jong
logue without any precon-
ditions, saying North
Korea “can choose the
timing and topic”.
Kim’s sister Kim Yo
Jong, rejected the US over-
ture and threatened more
satellite and other
U.S. NAVY WARSHIP SHOOTS DOWN
A DRONE LAUNCHED BY HOUTHIS
Washington, Nov. 30: A US
Navy warship sailing near
the Bab el-Mandeb Strait
has shot down a drone
launched from Yemen, the
US military said, the latest
in a string of threats from
Iranian-backed Houthi
rebels.
US Central Command
said the USS Carney, a
Thursday, 24 hours after
the incident. Rescue
teams conducted a dive
search on Thursday after
UN weather agency warns of worrying trends in store for future
accord in 2015. The WMO
secretary-general said the
onset earlier this year of
El Nino, the weather phe-
nomenon marked by heat-
ing in the Pacific Ocean,
could tip the average tem-
perature next year over
the 1.5ºC target cap set in
Paris. It’s practically sure
that during the coming
four years we will hit this
1.5, at least on temporary
basis, Petteri Taalas said
in an interview. And in the
next decade we are more
or less going to be there on
a permanent basis.
WMO issued the findings
for Thursday’s start of the
— AP
Jerusalem, Nov. 30: US
Secretary of State Antony
Blinken told Israel on
Thursday it must ensure
that Palestinian civilians
in southern Gaza are safe
before resuming military
operations there. Blinken
met Prime Minister Benj-
amin Netanyahu in Jerus-
alem before heading to
Ramallah to meet Pale-
stinian President Mah-
moud Abbas. — Reuters
weapons launches.
“The sovereignty of an
independent state can
never be an agenda item
for negotiations, and
therefore, (North Korea)
will never sit face to face
with the US for that pur-
pose,” she said in a state-
ment carried by state
media. “(North Korea)
will continue to make
efforts to develop every-
thing belonging to its sov-
ereign rights and contin-
ue to exercise the sover-
eign rights, enjoyed by all
the member states of the
UN, without being restri-
cted,” she said. — AP
Navy destroyer, downed
the drone an Iranian-made
KAS-04 which was
launched from a Houthi-
controlled area of Yemen
and was heading toward
the warship on Wedn-
esday. The ship was oper-
ating in the the southern
Red Sea and was moving
toward the strait. — AP
sonar detected an under-
water object “but only
rocks were found,” the
statement said. — AFP
UN’s annual climate con-
ference, this year being
held in Dubai.
The UN agency said the
benchmark of key Paris
accord goal will be
whether the 1.5ºC increase
is sustained over a 30-year
span not just a single year
but others say the world
needs more clarity on that.
Clarity on breaching the
Paris agreement guard
rails will be crucial, said
Richard Betts of Britain’s
Met Office, the lead author
of a new paper on the
issue with University of
Exeter published in the
journal Nature. — AP
pg 6
Washington, Nov. 30:
Former Secretary of
State Henry Kissinger,
who dominated foreign
policy as the United
States extricated itself
from Vietnam and broke
down barriers with
China, died on
Wednesday. He was 100.
With his gruff yet com-
manding presence and
behind-the-scenes manip-
ulation of power, Henry Kissinger
Kissinger exerted uncom-
mon influence on global
affairs under Presidents
CHINA HAILS
Richard Nixon
Gerald Ford, earning
and ‘OLD FRIEND’
both vilification and the
Nobel Peace Prize. KISSINGER
Decades later, his name
still provoked impas- Beijing, Nov. 30: China on
sioned debate over for- Thursday hailed the late
eign policy landmarks
long past. Kissinger’s
Henry Kissinger as an
“old friend”, paying trib-
power grew during the
turmoil of Watergate,
ute to a diplomat central
to establishing ties
when the politically att- between Beijing and
uned diplomat assumed a Washington.
role akin to co-president In China, he is granted
to the weakened Nixon. the sobriquet of “old
No doubt my vanity was friend of the Chinese peo-
piqued, Kissinger later
ple” for his part in estab-
wrote of his expanding lishing ties back in the
influence. But the domi- 1970s and helping bring
nant emotion was a pre- the country out of its
monition of catastrophe. Mao-era isolation.
A Jew who fled Nazi
Germany with his family
And as US-China ties
have plummeted in recent
in his teens, Kissinger in years, the elder statesman
his later years cultivated — who visited the country
the reputation of respect- more than 100 times —
ed statesman, giving became seen by many as
speeches, offering advice emblematic of a more
to Republicans and genteel, friendly time in
Democrats alike and man- Washington-Beijing rela-
aging a global consulting tions.
business. He turned up in — AFP
President Donald
Trump’s White House on
multiple occasions. But Latin America. For eight
Nixon-era documents and years first as NSA, later
tapes brought revelations as secretary of state, and
many in Kissinger's own for a time in the middle
words that sometimes holding both titles K i s s i -
cast him in a harsh light.
Never without his
nger ranged across the
breadth of major foreign
detractors, Kissinger
after he left government
was dogged by critics who
argued that he should be
policy issues. He held the
first shuttle diplomacy in
the quest for Middle East
peace. He used secret
called to account for his
policies on Southeast
Asia and support of
repressive regimes in
channels to pursue ties
between the US and
China, ending decades of
hostility. — AP
Cipher case: Nod
for Imran jail trial
Islamabad, Nov. 30:
PAKISTAN EC GETS
Pakistan’s Cabinet on
Thursday approved the
jail trial of former prime
minister Imran Khan in
PLEAS SEEKING
the cipher case after the
special court’s decision to DELAY OF POLLS
conduct in-prison pro-
ceedings due to security Islamabad, Nov. 30: Two
reasons. Following the separate petitions seeking
court order, the report for
the jail trial was moved
the postponement of gen-
eral elections in Pakistan
by the Ministry of Law on February 8 landed
and Justice and it was before the election com-
approved by the Cabinet, mission, citing growing
Geo News quoted officials terror threats and
as saying. inclement weather.
Khan, 71, has been
incarcerated in
Adiala jail Rawalpindi
since September
the
26,
The petitions, filed by
individuals from Baloch-
istan province, cited secu-
rity issues and snowfall in
where his in-prison trial several districts as rea-
had been going until last
week when the Islamabad
sons to seek the postpone-
ment of elections, the
High Court ruled against
the jail trial on procedur-
Dawn newspaper report-
ed. One of the petitions
al grounds while declar- filed by Meena Majeed, a
ing the proceedings held general councillor from
so far as vitiated. Mand tehsil of Kech dis-
After the Islamabad trict, stated Balochistan
High Court ruling, was grappling with
Special Court judge heightened security con-
Abual Hasnat Zulqernain cerns. — PTI
heard the cipher case on
Tuesday at the Federal
Judicial Complex in Shah Mahmood Qureshi,
Islamabad. Khan was not who is also accused in the
presented by authorities cipher case. It has been
due to security reasons informed that the PTI
despite the fact that the chairman faces security
judge last week had asked risks of a serious scale,
to present Khan and for-
mer foreign minister
according to a report by
authorities. — PTI
WEATHER TRENDS
● Increased floods, forest
fires, glacier melt, and
heat waves in the future.
● World to hit 1.5ºC target
on a temporary basis in the next
four years, and on a permanent
basis within the next decade.
● World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) warns
average temperature for 2023 is 1.4ºC higher than
pre-industrial times, just 0.1ºC below the Paris climate
accord target for the end of the century.
● El Nino could push temperatures over the 1.5ºtarget
next year as per WMO secretary-general Petteri Taalas.
 NEW DELHI | FRIDAY | 1 DECEMBER 2023
quick
BITES
INDICATORS % the economy, India’s gross
Sensex 66,988.44 0.13
Nifty 50 20,133.20 0.18
S&P 500* 4,550.58 0.00
Dollar (`) 83.39 -0.07
Pound Sterling (`) 105.63 0.02
Euro (`) 91.17 0.30
Gold (10gm)* (`) 62,534▼71 0.11
Brent crude ($/bbl)* 84.14 1.25
IN 10-Yr bond yield 7.281 0.029
US 10-Yr T-bill yield* 4.297 0.026
* As of 8:30 PM IST
Tata Tele in pact
with Truecaller
for caller ID
Tata Tele Business Services
(TTBS) has collaborated with
Truecaller for a verified busi-
ness caller ID solution for its
enterprise customers. The
partnership aims at providing
an additional layer of identity,
credibility, and spam preven-
tion. “We aim to empower
businesses with a secure com-
munication solution that opti-
mises operations,” said Tata
Teleservices senior vice presi-
dent (product) Vishal Rally.
Dixon Tech’s arm
to make Xiaomi
smartphones
Electronic manufacturing serv-
ices firm Dixon Technologies’
arm Padet Electronics will
manufacture Xiaomi smart-
phones at Noida factory. Padet
Electronics has set up a new
factory at an investment of
`256 crore with annual produc-
tion capacity of 2.5 crore units
per annum. “This association
will leverage our execution and
Xiaomi’s expertise in business
ecosystem,” said Dixon execu-
tive chairman Sunil Vachani.
Bharat Coking
begins washery
at Madhuband
Bharat Coking Coal Ltd
(BCCL), a subsidiary of Coal
India, has announced the initia-
tion of commercial operations
at its 5 million tonnes per
annum Madhuband washery. It
will improve the local supply of
washed coking coal to the steel
sector and cut imports. This
initiative aligns with the goal of
import substitution by aug-
menting the supply of indige-
nous washed coking coal at
competitive prices.
Walmart arm
grants $1.2 mn to
livelihood prog.
Walmart Foundation had
announced a grant of $1.2 mn
(`10 cr) to the Transform Rural
India Foundation to support
livelihoods of 15,000 women
rural farmers in Uttar Pradesh.
The grant will be used in a
two-year project that will focus
on creating ten self-sustainable
women-led farmer producer
organisations and a platform
for women farmers to strength-
en and diversify their liveli-
hoods, the foundation said.
Printed & Published by
K. Sudhakar on behalf of
Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited.
Printed at BFL Infotech Ltd, C-9 Sector
3, Noida-201301. Published at 219, N D
Tiwari Bhawan, Deen Dayal Upadhyay
Marg, New Delhi-110002.
Editor: Kaushik Mitter, RNI
Registration number 30074/09,
Air surcharge Re 1. © All rights
reserved. Reproduction in whole or
in part without written permission of
The Editor,
Financial Chronicle ® is prohibited.
India remains the fastest-growing major economy compared to China
India’s Q2 GDP expands 7.6%
MADHUSUDAN SAHOO
NEW DELHI, NOV. 30
Showing the resilience in
domestic product (GDP)
for the second quarter of
the ongoing financial year
accelerated to 7.6 per cent.
In comparison, the GDP
growth stood at 7.8 per
cent in the first quarter of
FY24 and 6.1 per cent in
the last quarter of the pre-
vious financial year, the
government data showed
on Thursday.
However, India remained
the fastest-growing major
economy as compared to
China as its GDP growth
in the July-September
quarter this year was 4.9
per cent.
Reacting to the growth of
the economy, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi
said that the GDP growth
numbers for Q2 display
the resilience
strength of the Indian
and
economy in the midst of
Output of eight key infra sectors grows 12.1% in Oct.
FC CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, NOV. 30
The output of eight key
infrastructure sectors
rose by 12.1 per cent in
October 2023 against 0.7
per cent expansion in the
year-ago period, accord-
ing to the official data
released on Thursday. All
the sectors except for fer-
tiliser recorded healthy
production growth in the
month under review.
The core sector (coal,
crude oil, natural gas,
refinery products, fer-
tiliser, steel, cement and
electricity) growth in
September was 9.2 per
APPRENTICESHIP
FINDS FAVOUR IN
IT, ITES COMPANIES
SANGEETHA G
CHENNAI, NOV. 30
IT/ITES companies have
seen a 250 per cent annual
increase in apprentice
headcount, which helps
them lower the cost of
their workforce.
The spike in hiring in
the IT/ITES industry has
been steadily growing
month-on-month as the
industry prioritises
apprenticeship engage-
ment for its potential to
lower the cost of its work-
force, create a talented
pool, and cultivate staff
loyalty and retention.
According to Quess
Corp, there has been over
250 per cent annual
increase in apprentice
headcount in the IT/ITES
space. Moreover, about 79
per cent of employers in
IT/ITES industries fore-
see an increase in appren-
tice intake in the coming
months.
Duration of these
apprenticeship
grammes were 6 months
pro-
to 1 year, depending on
complexity of job.
Organisations prefer one
year duration while IT
companies are comfort-
able with six months.
The IT industry priori-
tised apprenticeship
engagement for its poten-
tial to lower the cost of its
workforce, create a talent-
ed pool, and cultivate staff
loyalty and retention.
BFSI and IT/ITES were
the top industries employ-
ing apprentices in the
past year.
Interestingly, 75 per cent
of apprentices engaged in
BFSI and IT sectors com-
plete training and are
considered for full-time
employment.
“The IT space in India
has seen a drop in head-
count and fresher intake
due to global tensions.
However, apprentice hir-
ing has picked up sub-
stantially in the past
year,” Girija S, vice presi-
dent, Quess Corp said.
such testing times global-
ly. “We are committed to
ensuring fast paced
growth to create more
opportunities, rapid eradi-
cation of poverty and
improving ‘ease of living’
for our people,” Modi fur-
ther said.
Commenting on the Q2
GDP numbers, chief eco-
nomic advisor V Anantha
Nageswaran said that the
government is focussing
on capital expenditure,
which is leading to
improve the quality of
spending in the country.
“The fiscal management
cent. Coal, steel, cement
and electricity produc-
tion recorded double-
digit growth. The output
growth of eight sectors
was at 8.6 per cent in
April-Oct. 2023-24 against
8.4 per cent in the year-
ago period.
Meanwhile the central
government’s fiscal defi-
cit widened to `8.04 lakh
crore in April-Oct. from
`7.02 lakh crore in April-
Sept., touching at 45 per
cent of the full-year bud-
get estimate of `17.87
lakh crore. The fiscal
deficit in April-October
2022 was 45.6 per cent of
the target for 2022-23,
Microsoft to be observer on OpenAI board
San Francisco, Nov. 30:
Microsoft will take a non-
voting, observer position
on OpenAI’s board, chief
executive officer Sam
Altman said in his first
official missive after tak-
ing back the reins of the
company on Wednesday.
The observer position
means Microsoft’s repre-
sentative can attend
OpenAI’s board meetings
and access confidential
information, but it does
not have voting rights on
matters including electing
or choosing directors.
Microsoft chief execu-
PVR Inox plans to invest Tata Tech makes stellar debut,
`500 cr for 150 screens m-cap touches `53,315 crore
Mumbai, Nov. 30: The
country’s largest multi-
plex operator PVR Inox
will open 150 screens in
the next fiscal with an
investment of about `500
crore, a top company offi-
cial has said.
The company, which
opened a six-screen luxu-
ry cinema at Maison Inox
here on Thursday, already
runs 118 screens across 23
properties in the megapo-
lis.
Overall, including its
property in Colombo, it
operates 1,711 screens at
359 properties across 114
cities.
NEW | USES
Google uses AI to mimic 2mn materials
London, Nov. 30: Google
DeepMind has used artifi-
cial intelligence (AI) to
predict the structure of
more than 2 million new
materials, a breakthrough
it said could soon be used
to improve real-world
technologies.
In a research paper pub-
lished in science journal
Nature on Wednesday, the
Alphabet-owned AI firm
said almost 4,00,000 of its
hypothetical material
designs could soon be
made in lab conditions.
Potential applications
for the research include
the production of better-
performing batteries,
● PRIME MINISTER
Narendra Modi said
that the GDP growth
numbers for Q2 dis-
play the resilience
and strength of the
economy in the
midst of such test-
ing times globally.
also remains on track,
while tax buoyancy of
close to Q2 underlines
strong revenue perform-
ance in the current finan-
cial year,” he said, adding
that bank credit has been
witnessing double-digit
growth since late 2022,
while headline and core
retail inflation drops fur-
ther.
As per the National
Statistical Office (NSO)
data, the real GDP or GDP
at Constant (2011-12)
Prices in Q2 2023-24 is esti-
mated to attain a level of
`41.7 lakh crore, as
according to data
released by the Contr-
oller General of Accou-
nts (CGA) on Thursday.
For the third month in
a row, the fiscal deficit
was lower compared to
the year-ago period, com-
ing in at `1.02 lakh crore
in October, down 26 per-
tive officer Satya Nadella
had said earlier that gov-
ernance at the ChatGPT
maker needs to change.
OpenAI announced a
new initial board last
week that consists of for-
mer Salesforce co-chief
executive officer Bret
Taylor as chair and Larry
Summers, former US
treasury secretary. Quora
chief executive officer
Adam D’Angelo, who was
part of the board who
fired Altman, also stayed
on for the new one.
Taylor said on X, former-
ly Twitter, that he intend-
We are planning to add
150 more screens at an
investment of around
`500 crore next fiscal,
Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, exec-
utive director, PVR Inox.
On the Maison Inox, he
said normally a screen
required an investment of
` 5 crore but given that it's
a luxury collection and
comes with the first
attached bar (Gastby Bar),
the per screen cost is
about `7 crore.
“Given the response to
our first screen in Sri
Lanka, we are planning to
have more properties
there,” Bijli said. — PTI
Applications include production of batteries, solar panels, chips
solar panels and computer
chips.
The discovery and syn-
thesis of new materials
can be a costly and time-
consuming process. For
example, it took around
two decades of research
before lithium-ion batter-
ies, today used to power
everything from phones
and laptops to electric
vehicles, were made com-
mercially available.
“We’re hoping that big
improvements in experi-
mentation, autonomous
synthesis, and machine
learning models will sig-
nificantly shorten that 10
to 20-year timeline to
against `38.7 lakh crore in
Q2 2022-23, showing a
growth of 7.6 per cent as
compared to 6.2 per cent in
Q2 2022-23. Besides, the
nominal GDP or GDP at
Current Prices in Q2 2023-
24 is estimated at `71.66
lakh crore, as against
`65.6 lakh crore in Q2 2022-
23, showing a growth of
9.1 per cent as compared
to 17.2 per cent in Q2 2022-
23, the NSO data showed.
“The GDP at Constant
(2011-12) Prices in April-
September 2023-24 (H1
2023-24) is estimated at
`82.11 lakh crore as
against `76.22 lakh crore
during the corresponding
period of previous year,
showing a growth of 7.7
per cent in H1 2023-24 as
against 9.5 per cent in H1
2022-23,” it showed.
“The manufacturing sec-
tor grew 13.9 per cent
Q2FY24 after seeing a con-
traction of 3.8 per cent in
Q2FY23, while the con-
struction sector grew 13.3
cent year-on-year (YoY).
In October, the central
government’s total exp-
enditure was down 14 per
cent YoY at `2.75 lakh
crore, with capital expen-
diture down 15 percent at
`56,296 crore. The capex
for April-October at `5.47
lakh crore.
For the first seven
months of 2023-24, the
government’s total spe-
nding stood at `23.94
lakh crore, 12 per cent
higher than the same
period last year. Total
receipts, meanwhile, we-
re up 15 per cent YoY in
April-Oct. at `15.91 lakh
crore.
ed to “step away and leave
the oversight of OpenAI
in the good hands of board
colleagues” when transi-
tional tasks have been
completed.
The new OpenAI board
is on a search for new
members with expertise
in safety, technology, and
policy.
OpenAI investors are
unlikely to get a seat on
the non-profit body’s
board, sources said.
Microsoft has committed
to invest over $10 billion
into OpenAI and owns 49
per cent of the company. It
RAVI RANJAN PRASAD
MUMBAI, NOV. 30
Tata Technologies initial
public offering made a
bumper debut on bourses,
as `500-equity shares list-
ed at 140 per cent premi-
um at `1,200 and gained
further to a high of `1,400
on both NSE and BSE.
The Tata Group’s first
listing after almost two
decades finally closed on
the first day at `1,314 on
BSE gaining a whopping
162.85 per cent and at
`1,313 on NSE.
Tata Technologies mar-
something that's much
more manageable,” said
Ekin Dogus Cubuk, a
research scientist at
DeepMind.
DeepMind’s AI was
trained on data from the
Materials Project, an
per cent in the same peri-
od, up from 5.7 per cent in
Q2FY23. While agricul-
ture, livestock, forestry &
fishing industry grows 1.2
per cent in Q2FY24, down
from 2.5 per cent in
Q2FY23,” the data showed.
Meanwhile, the output of
eight key infrastructure
sectors jumped 12.1 per
cent in October 2023
against 0.7 per cent expan-
sion in the year-ago peri-
od, according to the offi-
cial data.
“Four of the eight core
industries witnessed dou-
ble-digit growth in
October 2023, including
electricity, coal, cement
and steel,” said Aditi
Nayar, chief economist of
ICRA.
“We expect the second-
half growth to moderate.
The full year GDP num-
bers have got a fillip after
today’s figures,” said
Upasna Bhardwaj, chief
economist, Kotak
Mahindra Bank.
The Centre’s gross tax
revenue in April-Oct.
recorded a growth of 14
per cent, while net tax
revenue was up 11 per
cent over the same peri-
od. Divestment, however,
continues to lag, at just
`8,000 crore.
The corporate tax col-
lections was broken in
October as they were
down 13 per cent YoY at
`30,686 crore. Income tax
collections rising 31 per
cent to `69,583 crore. For
April-Oct., growth in cor-
porate and income tax
collections were 17 per
cent and 31 per cent,
respectively.
● THE NEW OpenAI
board is on a search
for new members with
expertise in safety,
technology, and policy.
OpenAI investors are
unlikely to get a seat
on the board.
did not immediately
respond to requests for
comment.
Mira Murati, who had
been OpenAI’s chief tech-
nology officer and was
briefly named interim
chief executive officer
ket cap crossed `50,000
crore on the very first day
of trading and stood at
`53,314.99 crore at the
market close.
Gandhar Oil’s equity
shares of `169 price listed
at `295.40, a premium of
74.79 per cent and touched
● IN A research
paper published in
science journal
Nature, the AI firm
said almost 4,00,000
of its hypothetical
material designs
could soon be made
in lab conditions.
international research
group founded at the
Lawrence Berkeley
National Laboratory in
2011, made up of existing
research of around 50,000
already-known materials.
The company said it
Ultra-luxury
home sales up
250% in 2023
SANGEETHA G
CHENNAI, NOV. 30
Sales value of ultra-luxu-
ry homes surged 247 per
cent in 2023 to date
against the whole of 2022
with over 90 per cent of
the deals happening in
Mumbai. Mumbai also
saw the highest number of
property registrations in
November.
In 2023, the top cities saw
sales of 58 ultra-luxury
homes priced over `40
crore. However, in 2022
only 13 ultra-luxury
homes were sold.
The cumulative value of
the 58 ultra-luxury homes
sold in 2023 was approxi-
mately `4,063 crore
against `1,170 crore worth
of homes in 2022, marking
a growth of 247 per cent,
said Anarock Group.
Mumbai accounted for
53 deals, Delhi-NCR sold
four homes, and
Hyderabad one. Of the 53
deals in Mumbai city, at
least 3 were for price tags
above `200 crore, and 7
deals were closed for
between `100 - 200 crore
each.
At least two ultra-luxury
homes in Delhi-NCR were
sold for above `100 crore
each. In 2022, Mumbai had
seen sales of 11 homes and
Delhi-NCR sold 2 homes.
Apartments remained
the preferred property
type for high net worth
individuals (HNIs) as of
58 deals, 53 were for apart-
ments, and the remaining
five were bungalows.
At least 79 per cent of
the total deals were con-
cluded by businessmen
and 16 per cent by senior
professionals from across
various sectors.
after Altman’s ouster, is
once again the company’s
chief technology officer.
OpenAI’s co-founder
Greg Brockman, who fol-
lowed Altman out of the
company, would return as
president.
OpenAI’s chief scientist
Ilya Sutskever will no
longer be part of the
board. He had joined in
the effort to fire Altman
but later signed an
employee letter demand-
ing his return.
"I harbor zero ill-will
towards him," Altman fur-
ther said. — Reuters
a high of `344. Gandhar
Oil shares finally closed at
`301.50 gaining 78.40 per
cent over the public issue
price. Gandhar Oil’s mar-
ket capitalisation stood at
`2,950.78 crore.
Third IPO of Fedbank
Financial Services made a
lackluster debut as `140
equity shares listed at
`137 and later gained
day’s high of `148 and low
of `133.15 before the final
close at `140, making a flat
debut.
Fedbank Financial’s
market cap stood at
`5,165.40 crore.
would now share its data
with the research commu-
nity, in the hopes of accel-
erating further break-
throughs in material dis-
covery.
New materials typically
take a bit of time before
they become cost-effective,
said Kristin Persson,
director of the Materials
Project. “If we can shrink
that, it would be consid-
ered a real breakthrough.”
Having used AI to pre-
dict stability of these
materials, DeepMind said
it would now focus on pre-
dicting how easily they
can be synthesised in the
lab.
— Reuters
pg 7
● APARTMENTS
REMAINED the pre-
ferred property type
for high net worth indi-
viduals (HNIs) as of 58
deals, 53 were for
apartments, and the
remaining five were
bungalows.
Politicians and Bollywood
celebrities accounted for
the remaining 5 per cent.
“The emerging genera-
tion of young and affluent
individuals are investing
their wealth in ultra-luxu-
ry properties.
and Suhana Khan have
Even
celebrities like Alia Bhatt
invested in flats and farm-
land respectively,” said
Ashwin Chadha, chief
executive officer, India
Sotheby’s International
Realty.
Meanwhile, Knight
Frank India found that
property registrations of
ultra-luxury homes in
Mumbai city went up to
1,14,464 since January
2023.
In the month of
November, the ultra-luxu-
ry homes saw the highest
number of registrations
in 11 years, 9,548 property
registrations were record-
ed and they contributed
`697 crore to the state gov-
ernment revenues.
ULTRATECH TO
BUY KESORAM
CEMENT BIZ FOR
`5,380 CRORE
Bengaluru, Nov. 30:
India’s UltraTech Cement
said on Thursday it will
buy the cement business
of Kesoram Industries in
an all-stock deal valued at
`5,379 crore ($645.41 mil-
lion), in a move to add
heft to its hold in the
southern part of the
country.
As a part of the deal,
UltraTech will issue one
share for every 52 shares
of Kesoram and give
UltraTech ownership of
two integrated cement
units in southern Indian
states of Karnataka and
Telangana.
The deal implies an
offer price of `173.15 per
share, a 24.2 per cent pre-
mium to Kesoram’s last
close.
Market leader UltraTech
is looking to boost its
capacity ambitions in a
highly competitive Indian
cement sector, months
after smaller peer
Ambuja Cements, owned
by billionaire Gautam
Adani, bought a majority
stake in Sanghi
Industries.
“UltraTech already has
one of the best brownfield
potential in industry. This
deal, if it does go through,
would be additive to that
and help cement its capac-
ity to lead over others,
even as other players with
larger ambitions ramp
up,” said Satyadeep Jain,
research analyst at Ambit
Capital.
The transaction, expect-
ed to be completed within
9-12 months, will provide
the company "the oppor-
tunity to extend its foot-
print in the highly frag-
mented, competitive and
fast growing Western and
Southern markets in the
country, UltraTech said.
The proposed transac-
tion will accelerate
UltraTech’s path to
achieving its stated goal
of 200 million tonne per
annum capacity in India,
it added. — Reuters
 GAMES
THE ASIAN AGE | FRIDAY | 1 DECEMBER 2023 | NEW DELHI
SHORT TAKES
Hockey girls rout
Canada in opener
Santiago, Chile: The Indian
team made a resounding start
to its FIH Women’s Junior
Hockey World Cup campaign
by securing a commanding 12-0
victory over Canada here. Annu
(4th, 6th, 39th minute), Dipi
Monika Toppo (21st), Mumtaz
Khan (26th, 41st, 54th, 60th),
Deepika Soreng (34th, 50th,
54th), and Neelam (45th) were
the goal scorers for India on
Wednesday.
India began the match with an
attacking approach, and swiftly
secured an early advantage as
Annu scored two early goals
through penalty corners.
Despite taking a two-goal lead,
India persisted with their
aggressive style, maintaining
pressure on Canada. However,
they were unable to find more
goals in the opening quarter as
it ended 2-0 in their favour.
India will next lock horns with
Germany on Friday. — PTI
Eight jr boxers in
semis at Worlds
New Delhi: As many as eight
boxers secured a medal after
progressing to the semifinals on
day six of the IBA Junior World
Boxing Championships 2023 in
Yerevan, Armenia on Thursday.
Extending their phenomenal
run at the tournament, six out
of the seven junior girls made
their way into the semifinals.
The two gold medallists from
the Asian junior boxing champi-
onships — Pari (50kg) and
Nidhi (66kg) — won their quar-
terfinal bouts with identical
unanimous 5-0 wins against
Muller Micaela of Romania and
Kao Chun Ai of Chinese Taipei
respectively.
Payal (48kg) scored a comfort-
able 5-0 win over Doherty
Lauren of Ireland, while Amisha
(54kg) outperformed Kim Jiae
of South Korea for a unanimous
decision win.
The Asian junior silver medallist
Neha Lunthi (46kg) was tested
by Hizouskaya Anhelina of
Belarus before she emerged
victorious with a 4-1 split deci-
sion win.
Prachi (54kg), on the other
hand, had to work hard against
Kazakhstan’s Seiitkhankyzyc
Panar. She secured a 3-2 split
verdict. — PTI
Panghal, Thapa
sail into Last 4
Shillong: World Championships
runner-up Amit Panghal (51kg)
and 2021 Asian Champion
Sanjeet (92kg) continued their
impressive run as 12 SSCB box-
ers secured semifinal spots at
the Men’s National Boxing
Championships here on
Thursday. Six-time Asian
Championships medallist Shiva
Thapa, representing Assam,
also progressed to the last-four
stage.
Panghal dominated the pro-
ceedings throughout and ulti-
mately won the bout comfort-
ably in a unanimous decision
against Mohammad Aarif of
Jammu and Kashmir.
He will next face Ankit of RSPB
in the semifinals.
Up against 2018
Commonwealth Games bronze
medallist Naman Tanwar of
RSPB, Sanjeet was at the top of
his game as he controlled the
bout and played from a dis-
tance, landing hard punches
throughout to register a win
with a unanimous decision in
the 92kg quarter-final.
Sanjeet will take on All India
Police’s (AIP) Vicky in the semi-
finals. — PTI
Harman to lead in
5-Nations tourney
New Delhi: Ace drag-flicker
Harmanpreet Singh will lead a
24-member Indian hockey
squad in the 5-Nations
Tournament, scheduled to be
held in Valencia, Spain from
December 15 to 22. The squad
is a mix of youth and experi-
ence, with Sumit and Amit
Rohidas being named vice-cap-
tains for the tour.
The tournament, which will
serve as a preparatory event
ahead of the 2023-24 Hockey
Pro League season, will see
India play against Spain,
Germany, France and Belgium.
The goalkeeping department
will see the return of Suraj
Karkera to the squad, with stal-
wart PR Sreejesh and Krishan B
Pathak expected to do bulk of
the work under the bar. — PTI
Squad: Goalkeepers: PR Sreejesh,
Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Suraj
Karkera. Defenders: Jarmanpreet
Singh, Jugraj Singh, Amit Rohidas,
Harmanpreet Singh (c), Varun
Kumar, Sumit, Sanjay, Nilam Sanjeep
Xess. Midfielders: Yashdeep Siwach,
Vivek Sagar Prasad, Nilakanta
Sharma, Rajkumar Pal, Shamsher
Singh, Rabichandra Singh
Moirangthem. Forwards: Mandeep
Singh, Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh,
Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Karthi
Selvam, Dilpreet Singh, Akashdeep
Singh.
FOURFRONT
India look to go one up to seal the series in fourth T20
Raipur, Nov. 30: India’s
young bowling unit,
which has been under
the pump, will look to
better its death overs
performance while util-
ising Glenn Maxwell’s
absence to its advantage
in the fourth T20
International against
Australia here on
Friday.
India’s second-string
attack did not paint a
good picture of itself by
not defending 40-plus
runs in the final two
overs in the third match
which the Australians
won while chasing a
daunting 223-run target.
There is a possibility of
a minor tweak in the
Indian line-up after
Prasidh Krishna gave
away 68 runs in four
overs, including 21 in
the final over.
Deepak Chahar is back
in the T20 mix and his
ability to move the new
ball should be consid-
ered for his inclusion in
the playing XI along
with death overs special-
ist Mukesh Kumar, who
is back after one-match
break.
Both Prasidh and
Avesh Khan lack variety
and innovation as they
keep pitching the ball at
the same length. Both
bowl in late 130s or early
140s but consistently
pitch it back of the
length and the nature of
Indian tracks make it a
cannon fodder for bat-
ters.
Also not being able to
use variations like con-
ventional or wide york-
ers has been the undoing
of these bowlers who
also didn’t execute slow-
er deliveries properly.
In the batting line up,
Shreyas Iyer’s comeback
means only Tilak Varma
looks a candidate who
could be benched as five
others — Yashasvi
Jaiswal, Ruturaj
Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan,
skipper
Yadav
Rinku
and
themselves.
Suryakumar
Singh
finisher
select
India will also look to
exploit the absence of a
marauding Maxwell
who pulled off a heist of
sorts to singlehandedly
bring Australia back
into the five-match
series with a win in a
last-ball finish in
Guwahati.
But the hosts will
fancy their chances with
Maxwell, and other
influential players such
as Steve Smith and
Adam Zampa not figur-
ing in the playing XI
here, having left for
home after a long stay in
the country where they
won their sixth World
Cup title recently.
Cricket Australia (CA)
released many of its top
players including
Maxwell midway into
the series keeping in
mind their workload and
fitness ahead of the T20
World Cup.
The Suryakumar
Yadav-led second-string
India are smarting from
a classic Maxwell
innings, and the home
team bowlers will be
relieved that he will not
walk out to bat at the
Shaheed Veer Narayan
Singh Stadium. Like in
Guwahati, dew could
again have a say on a
December evening in
this part of the world.
— PTI
Rohit, Virat were crying in dressing room: Ash
Chennai, Nov. 30: Skipper
Rohit Sharma and star
batter Virat Kohli were in
tears in the dressing room
following India’s heart-
breaking loss to Australia
in the recent ODI World
Cup final in Ahmedabad,
veteran off-spinner
Ravichandran Ashwin
said.
Australia beat India by
six wickets on November
19 in the final to win a
record sixth ODI World
Cup title.
After the loss, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi
visited the Indian dressing
room and tried to cheer
up Rohit and Kohli.
But Ashwin said the
dressing room witnessed
some heartbreaking
scenes.
“Yes, we were feeling the
Captain Suryakumar Yadav (left) with bowler Mukesh Kumar during the second T20
in Thiruvananthapuram. The onus will be on NextGen bowlers to perform during the
fourth T20 match against Australia in Raipur on Friday.
Rohit skips white-ball leg,
Surya, Rahul are captains
New Delhi, Nov. 30: Rohit
Sharma’s request to the
BCCI for a break from
white-ball cricket in
South Africa despite
being offered T20 captain-
cy has been accepted,
while Jasprit Bumrah has
been named his deputy for
the two Tests starting
December 26. Virat
Kohli’s request for a break
from limited-overs games
too has been accepted as
Suryakumar Yadav and
KL Rahul will lead the
national team in T20Is
and ODIs respectively.
However, it is under-
stood that Hardik Pandya
is no longer an automatic
choice for T20 captaincy
in the T20 World Cup next
year if Rohit decides to
play the shortest format.
“Rohit has been offered
T20 captaincy but he is in
UK on a holiday and
wants an extended break
after four months of gru-
elling season till end of
the World Cup. But as cap-
tain, he has the highest
respect for the dressing
room and if he agrees to
lead India in T20 World
Cup, he will lead,” a BCCI
source said.
After the T20 World Cup
in 2022, Rohit had actually
been reluctant to play the
pain. Rohit and Virat were
in tears, (and) seeing it felt
bad. Anyway, (it was) not
meant to be. This team
was an experienced side,
(and) everyone knew what
to do,” he told former
cricketer Subramaniam
Badrinath on his YouTube
channel.
Although India failed to
emerge successful in the
World Cup, Kohli and
Rohit lit up the event up
with their explosive bat-
ting.
Ashwin heaped praise on
Rohit, both as a batter and
leader. “If you take a look
at Indian cricket, every-
body will be telling you
that MS Dhoni is the best
captain. (But), Rohit
Sharma is an outstanding
person, (and) he under-
stands every single player
SQUADS FOR SOUTH AFRICA TOUR
 Tests: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal,
Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan
(wk), KL Rahul (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra
Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar,
Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Prasidh Krishna.
 T20Is: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad,
Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Rinku Singh, Shreyas
Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wk), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Ravindra
Jadeja (vc), Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep
Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar,
Deepak Chahar.
 ODIs: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sai Sudharsan, Tilak Varma,
Rajat Patidar, Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (c, wk),
Sanju Samson (wk), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar,
Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh
Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Chahar.
shortest format as he
focused on 50-over cricket.
Interestingly, most of
the players selected for
ODIs don’t feature either
in Tests or T20Is.
Only three players have
been selected in all three
squads — Shreyas Iyer,
Mukesh Kumar and
Ruturaj Gaikwad. Axar
Patel has been dropped
from the T20 squad and
Ravindra Jadeja is the
new T20 vice-captain.
KL TO KEEP WICKETS
The national selection
committee, on expected
lines, has not included
India captain Rohit Sharma (left) and Virat Kohli during
the presentation ceremony after the World Cup final
against Australia in Ahmedabad on November 19. — AP
in the team,” he said.
“He knows the likes and
dislikes of each of us and
has a great understanding.
— PTI
Kona Bharat in the Test
squad as KL Rahul will
now don the big gloves in
the Test matches.
Rahul as keeper also
opens two middle-order
slots — for Shreyas Iyer
and Gaikwad — in the
Test lineup. It is under-
stood that Mohammed
Shami has a chance to get
fit before the Test series
starts late in December.
Shami’s injury isn’t very
serious at the moment and
hence he has been kept in
the squad.
Prasidh Krishna has
been kept as his cover just
in case. — PTI
He puts in the effort to
know each player person-
ally,” he reckoned.
Ashwin played just a
UGANDA QUALIFY
FOR T20 CUP AS
ZIM ELIMINATED
Paris, Nov. 30: Uganda
will make their first
appearance at a cricket
World Cup next year
after qualifying on
Thursday for the T20
tournament to be hosted
by the West Indies and
the United States.
A nine-wicket win over
Rwanda secured Uganda
second place in the
African regional quali-
fying event, joining
Namibia at the 2024 T20
World Cup while elimi-
nating Zimbabwe from
contention.
Uganda bowled
Rwanda out for just 65
and knocked off the
runs in 8.1 overs to
record their fifth win in
six matches in
Windhoek.
Qualifying hosts
Namibia sealed their
spot on Tuesday with a
58-run win over
Tanzania, ensuring they
will play at a third con-
secutive T20 World Cup.
Zimbabwe, who lost to
both Namibia and
Uganda, will miss out
for the second time in
three editions.
They did not partici-
pate in the 2021 show-
piece after the ICC sus-
pended Zimbabwe’s
membership because of
government interfer-
ence.
Zimbabwe also failed
to reach the last two 50-
over World Cups. Their
recent absence in India
cost them the chance to
qualify for the 2025
Champions Trophy.
— AFP
BEN UNDERGOES
SURGERY AHEAD
OF INDIA SERIES
London, Nov. 30:
England captain Ben
Stokes has undergone a
successful surgery on
his left knee in a bid to
stay fit for the Test
series in India, begin-
ning January next year.
The 32-year-old star all-
rounder was unable to
bowl in the final three
Ashes Tests against
Australia this year and
only featured as a batter
at the recent World Cup
in India, with his body
unable to cope with the
rigours of bowling.
He had announced ear-
lier this month that he
would undergo surgery
after the World Cup.
“In and out. Under the
(knife emoji) done.
Rehab starts now,”
Stokes wrote on his
social media handles
with a picture of himself
on crutches outside
London’s
Hospital.
Cromwell
The five-match Test
series in India begins on
January
Hyderabad.
25 in
The
England team is expect-
ed to fly out to the UAE
for a warm-up camp two
weeks before reaching
India.Last week, Stokes
announced that he
would not be available
for the 2024 Indian
Premier League to man-
age his workload and fit-
ness. — PTI
game in the entire World
Cup, India’s opener
against Australia in
Chennai, finishing with
figures of one for 34.
Asked why Rohit didn’t
include him in the playing
XI for the final, he backed
the skipper saying it’s not
easy to change the win-
ning combination.
“As far as I playing the
final is concerned, the
team combination and all
is secondary. Firstly, it’s
about empathy, (and) I
keep stressing it a lot.
“It’s like standing in
someone else’s shoes and
looking at things from
his/her perspective. Had I
been in Rohit’s shoes, I
would have thought 100
times about altering the
(winning) combination,”
he said. — PTI
CHAMPIONS | LEAGUE
United on brink of
exit, Arsenal cruise
Paris, Nov. 30:
Manchester United are
facing elimination from
the Champions League in
the group stage after
squandering a two-goal
lead to draw 3-3 with
Galatasaray in Istanbul
on Wednesday, while
Arsenal and
Eindhoven secured quali-
PSV
fication for the last 16.
Three-time European
champions United needed
a win in Turkey, against
opponents who beat them
at Old Trafford last
month, in order to keep
qualification for the
knockout rounds in their
hands.
Erik ten Hag’s side
appeared in control when
Alejandro Garnacho’s
early opener was followed
by a stunning strike by
Bruno Fernandes on 18
minutes.
Hakim Ziyech pulled
one back with a free-kick,
only for Scott McTominay
to restore the visitors’
two-goal advantage early
in the second half.
Yet Galatasaray were
again given hope when
another Ziyech free-kick
was fumbled into the net
by United goalkeeper
Andre Onana, and the
hosts equalised thanks to
a brilliant 71st-minute
strike by Kerem
Akturkoglu.
United have now con-
ceded 14 goals in five
European matches and
this result, combined
with FC Copenhagen’s 0-0
draw away to already-
qualified Bayern Munich,
leaves the Premier
League side bottom of
Group A with one game
remaining.
In order to go through
they must now beat
Bayern at home next
month and hope
Copenhagen and
Galatasaray draw.
GUNNERS HIT SIX
Arsenal’s form in Europe
this season has been in
stark contrast to that of
United, and the Gunners
romped into the last 16
with a 6-0 demolition of
Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard celebrates after scoring
against Lens during the Champions League Group ‘B’
match at the Emirates Stadium in London on
Wednesday. Arsenal won 6-0.
I-LEAGUE | FOOTBALL
PLAYERS APPROACHED FOR
MATCH MANIPULATION: AIFF
New Delhi, Nov. 30: The
All India Football
Federation (AIFF) on
Thursday revealed that
several I-League players
were recently approached
for “match manipulation”
and promised to investi-
gate the matter. AIFF
President Kalyan
Chaubey did not elabo-
rate on how they received
the information, which
players were approached
and who contacted them
but insisted that the fed-
eration is committed to
save the integrity of the
game.
“We have received infor-
mation of multiple
approaches to our play-
ers. We will thoroughly
examine the incidents,
investigate, and take all
necessary action,”
Chaubey said in a state-
ment.
“We are committed to
protecting our players
and our beautiful game
and will not tolerate any
attempts of this nature to
put the players and the
game at risk,” he said.
Published by K. Sudhakar for and on behalf of Deccan Chronicle
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Price in Nepal - Nep.Rs. 20.00 per copy.
pg 8
THE RESULTS
Galatasaray 3
(Ziyech 29, 62, Akturkoglu
71)
Manchester United 3
(Garnacho 11, Fernandes 18,
McTominay 55)
Bayern Munich
FC Copenhagen
0
0
Sevilla 2
(Ramos 24, En-Nesyri 47)
PSV Eindhoven 3
(Saibari 68, Gudelj 81-og,
Pepi 90+2)
Arsenal 6
(Havertz 13, Jesus 21, Saka
23, Martinelli 27, Odegaard
45+1, Jorginho 86-pen)
Lens 0
Real Madrid 4
(Rodrygo 11, Bellingham 22,
Paz 84, Joselu 90+4)
Napoli 2
(Simeone 9, Zambo
Anguissa 47)
Sporting Braga 1
(Djalo 51)
Union Berlin 1
(Gosens 42)
Benfica 3
(Joao Mario 5, 13, 34)
Inter Milan 3
(Arnautovic 51, Frattesi 58,
Sanchez 72-pen)
Real Sociedad 0
Salzburg 0
Lens in London.
Mikel Arteta’s side were
five goals up at the break
with Kai Havertz, Gabriel
Jesus, Bukayo Saka,
Gabriel Martinelli and
Martin Odegaard all net-
ting.
Jorginho completed the
scoring from a late penal-
ty as Arsenal gained
revenge for their 2-1
defeat by Lens in France
last month.
Arsenal have scored 12
goals without reply in
winning their three home
matches in Group B and
have now wrapped up top
spot ahead of PSV, who
are also through.
The Dutch side,
European Cup winners in
1988, produced a superb
comeback to triumph 3-2
away to Sevilla and put
themselves out of sight in
second place. — AFP
— AP
The 2023 I League sea-
son began in October and
more than 40 matches
have already been played
in the 13-team competi-
tion.
“We will also continue
to strengthen our institu-
tional capacities to not
only counter such threats
but also educate our play-
ers and officials on how to
recognise, respond to, and
report incidents of this
nature,” said Chaubey.
The AIFF said it has
taken serious note of the
matter and reiterated its
zero-tolerance policy
towards any activity that
impacts the integrity of
its competitions or other-
wise brings the game of
football into disrepute.
“AIFF is committed to
taking every step within
its power to prevent cor-
rupt practices from
undermining the values
of football,” it said.
Sources in the know of
things said that the play-
ers being approached are
from four clubs.
— PTI