cmyk
THE ASIAN AGE
www.asianage.com RNI No. 57290/94, Regd No: DL-SW-05/4189/15-17
WINDOWS
AAP candidate Swati Maliwal
flashes the victory sign as she
arrives to file her nomination
papers for the upcoming Rajya
Sabha elections in New Delhi
on Monday. — PTI
Bad weather forces
Amit Shah to defer
Jammu tour today
New Delhi: Union home
minister Amit Shah’s visit
to Jammu and Kashmir on
Tuesday has been deferred
in view of the prevailing
inclement weather condi-
tions and forecast, officials
said on Monday. Mr Shah
was scheduled to visit the
Union territory to attend
the “Viksit Bharat Sankalpa
Yatra”, a Central govern-
ment programme, in
Jammu and inaugurate
projects worth `1,379
crores, including E-buses
and lay the foundation
stone of projects worth
`2,348 crores. The home
minister was also sched-
uled to undertake a review
of the security and
development of J&K.
■ Full report on Page 4
Delhi shivers at 5°C;
fog delays 20 trains
New Delhi: Twenty Delhi-
bound trains were delayed
on Monday due to weather-
related conditions in the
national capital, which
recorded a minimum tem-
perature of 5.3 degrees
Celsius, two notches below
the season’s average.
According to the India
Meteorological Department
(IMD), the relative humidity
at 8.30 am was recorded at
95 per cent.
■ Full report on Page 2
COUNTERPOINT
WEATHER
Max : 18OC
Min: 8OC
RH: 87%
Rain: 0%
Forecast: Clear
ASTROGUIDE
Shubhakrut: Dakshinayana
Tithi: Margasira Bahula
Triyodasi till 10.19 pm
Star: Jyeshta till 9.05 pm
Varjyam: Nil
Durmuhurtam: 9.04 am to 9.49
am; 11.05 pm to 11.57 pm
Rahukalam: 3 pm to 4.30 pm
SUNSET TODAY 5.41 PM
SUNRISE TOMORROW 7.15 AM
MOONRISE TOMORROW 6.11 AM
MOONSET TODAY 3.19 PM
NEW DELHI TUESDAY 9 JANUARY 2024
■ Huge blow to Gujarat govt ■ Directs them to surrender in 2 weeks
SC quashes 11 Bilkis convicts’
release, orders return to jail
RAKESH K. SINGH
NEW DELHI, JAN. 8
Delivering a massive
blow to the Gujarat gov-
ernment, the Supreme
Court on Monday
quashed the remission
order granted by the state
government to 11 men
convicted of the gangrape
of Bilkis Bano and mur-
dering seven of her family
members during the 2002
riots, and ordered that
they be sent back to jail
within two weeks.
The Gujarat government
was “complicit and acted
in tandem with one of the
convicts” who
approached the Supreme
had
Court with his plea for
premature release in the
Bilkis Bano case, the apex
court said while setting
aside the remission order.
The Opposition parties,
on their part, hailed the
apex court decision.
Accusing the Gujarat
government of abusing its
Cong, AAP in
talks; Sonia &
Pawar to meet
over weekend
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, JAN. 8
Senior Congress and
AAP leaders met in
Delhi on Monday on
seat-sharing. From AAP,
Rajya Sabha
Sandeep Pathak and
MP
Delhi Cabinet ministers
Atishi and Saurabh
Bharadwaj took part,
while the Congress was
represented by Mukul
Wasnik, convenor of its
National Alliance
Commiitee, as well as
Ashok Gehlot, Salman
Khurshid, Delhi
Congress chief Arvinder
Singh Lovely and
Mohan Prakash.
The leaders discussed
seat-sharing possibili-
ties but gave no details.
“We had a very good
meeting. We have had
in-depth
final
discussions,
and after a few days, we
will meet again, and give
shape to
seat-sharing plans
later,” Mr Wasnik told
reporters.
Also, to ensure smooth
seat-sharing
Maharashtra,
in
senior
INDIA leaders Sonia
Gandhi, Sharad Pawar
and Uddhav Thackarey
will meet in Delhi on
Janury 14 and 15.
Congress president
Mallikarjun Kharge will
be present.
■ More on Page 2
In this photograph released by the Bangladesh PM’s office, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
arrives to address a press conference after her election victory in Dhaka on Monday. — AP
An undated video grab provided by a family member
shows Bilkis Bano, who was gangraped during the 2002
riots in Gujarat, at her residence.
power, the Supreme Court
said that the remission
order was without “appli-
cation of mind”.
A bench of Justices B.V.
Nagarathna and Ujjal
Bhuyan asked whether
“heinous crimes against
women permit remission”
whatever faith she may
follow or creed she may
belong to.
Ties worsen with Maldives;
both sides summon envoys
Social media storm on; travel site cancels bookings
SRIDHAR
KUMARASWAMI
NEW DELHI, JAN. 8
As Maldives President
Mohamed Muizzu, widely
seen as an anti-India and
pro-China leader, left for
Beijing on an official
visit, the diplomatic row
between his country and
India escalated on
Monday, with India sum-
moning Maldivian high
commissioner Ibrahim
Shaheeb in New Delhi
and conveying its serious
concern over the develop-
ments that was followed,
according to Maldives
media reports, by Male
summoning Indian high
Militants, forces in fresh Manipur gunbattle
MANOJ ANAND
GUWAHATI, JAN. 8
In a fresh bout of violence,
a heavy gunbattle broke
out between the security
forces and militants in
Manipur's Moreh area,
along the India-Myanmar
border, on Monday.
Saying that heavily-
armed militants had
opened fire on a joint team
of the security forces,
security sources said that
the forces have launched
— PTI
Bilkis Bano was 21 years
old and five months preg-
nant when she was raped
while fleeing the horror of
the communal riots that
took place after the
Godhra train burning
incident in February 2002.
Ms Bano’s three-year-old
daughter was among the
seven family members
lynched.
Maldives Prez
Muizzu in China
Beijing, Jan. 8: Maldivian
President Mohamed
Muizzu arrived in China
on Monday on a five-day
state visit during which
he is due to hold talks with
his Chinese counterpart
Xi Jinping and sign sever-
al agreements. — PTI
commissioner Munu
Mahawar in an alleged tit-
for-tat response.
However, the Indian high
commission in Male
issued a statement that
Mr Mahawar had a “pre-
an operation to flush out
militants who tried to
ambush a patrolling team
of the Manipur police on
Sunday night in Ward No.
9 of Moreh.
The security sources
said that heavily-armed
militants on Monday
opened fire on a joint team
of the security forces,
comprising the Assam
Rifles and BSF, which has
launched an operation to
flush out militants. The
security forces also retali-
◗ THE GUJARAT govern-
ment was ‘complicit and
acted in tandem with
one of the convicts’ who
had approached the
Supreme Court with his
plea for premature
release in the Bilkis
case, the apex court said
After the remission of
the sentence of all the 11
convicts by the Gujarat
government, they were
released on August 15,
2022.
“We strike down the
remission orders on the
ground of usurpation of
power by the Gujarat gov-
ernment,” the bench said.
In its 251-page judgment,
the apex court noted the
Gujarat government was
not the appropriate gov-
ernment to pass the remis-
sion order. It clarified that
the state in which an
offender is tried and sen-
tenced is competent
■ Turn to Page 4
arranged meeting” with
the Maldivian foreign
ministry’s ambassador at
large Ali
Mohamed “to discuss
Naseer
bilateral issues”.
But clearly all is not
well between India and its
tiny south-western mar-
itime neighbour, which
had earlier on Sunday
suspended three deputy
ministers for making
derogatory and slander-
ous remarks targeting
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi after he visited the
Lakshadweep islands sit-
uated not far from the
Maldives.
But the damage was
■ Turn to Page 2
◗ THE SECURITY
sources said that heavi-
ly-armed militants on
Monday opened fire on
a joint team of the secu-
rity forces, comprising
the Assam Rifles & BSF
ated against the militants
firing from the hilltops,
the sources said, adding
that the militants are well
armed with sophisticated
weapons.
It is significant that the
Hasina hails ‘great friend’ India
as PM congratulates her on win
AGE CORRESPONDENT
with agency inputs
NEW DELHI/DHAKA, JAN. 8
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi on Monday evening
spoke to Bangladesh
Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina and “congratulat-
ed her on her victory for a
historic fourth consecu-
tive term in the
Parliamentary elections”.
The Prime Minister reit-
erated India’s commit-
ment to further strength-
en the “enduring and peo-
ple-centric partnership”
with its neighbour.
In a post on X, Mr Modi
cmyk
Vol. 30 No. 324 | 16 PAGES | `5.00
The Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal V.R. Chaudhari, interacts with NCC cadets
ahead of Republic Day in New Delhi on Monday. — PTI
Empowering poor
DGCA orders
more rest for
crews to fight makes India more
powerful, says PM
pilot fatigue
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, JAN. 8
The DGCA has made
‘Govt making all-out efforts to
significant changes in
flight duty time limita-
ease farmers’ every difficulty’
tions for flight crews, AGE CORRESPONDENT
in line with interna- NEW DELHI, JAN. 8
tional best practices.
The new regulations
will address pilot
fatigue and enhance
overall flight safety,
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, declaring that the
“Viksit Bharat Sankalp
Yatra” has not only
officials said. All air-
lines are required to
comply with the new
rules by June 1, 2024.
become the journey of a
government but of the
country as well, said on
Monday that when the
Narendra Modi
“After in-depth poor, farmers, women Vikas Bharat
analysis of pilot ros-
ters, fatigue-related
and youth are empow-
ered, the nation will
Sankalp Yatra has
reports and direct become more powerful.
become not only
feedback from pilots,
we have introduced
Addressing the yatra in
various parts of the coun-
the journey of the
government but
revised regulations
that include increased
try via video conferenc-
ing, the PM said that
also the journey of
the country
rest periods, redefin-
ing night duty, and
under earlier govern-
ments, the scope of dis- — Narendra
regular fatigue reports
to be shared by air-
cussions on agricultural
policy was only limited to
Modi
lines,” civil aviation production and sale,
Prime Minister
minister Jyotiraditya neglecting the various
Scindia said. issues faced by farmers In his remarks, Mr
These mandate daily. Modi also talked of the
increased weekly rest “Our government has transfer of at least `30,000
periods from 36 hours made all-out efforts to to every farmer through
to 48 hours for flight ease every difficulty of the PM Kisan Samman
crew, ensuring suffi- the farmers,” Mr Modi Nidhi, promotion of coop-
cient time for recov- said. He added that the eration in agriculture
ery from cumulative yatra had completed 50 with organisations like
fatigue. days recently and con- PACS (Primary
■ More on Page 4 nected with about 11 Agricultural Credit
crore people. ■ Turn to Page 4
gunbattle started on counter-insurgency oper-
Poll setback
to BJP in Raj
ation launched by a
Sunday night after an
ambush by militants who
hurled four to five bombs
combined team was still
going on.
as minister
followed by intermittent
gunfire on the security
forces.
Meanwhile, a spokesper-
son for the Kuki Inpi
Tengnoupal Kaikholal
loses to Cong
The security forces on Haokip, an umbrella Jaipur, Jan. 8: Rajasthan
Sunday also retaliated group for Kukis in the dis- state minister Surendra
and there were casualties trict, told reporters that Pal Singh lost the
on both sides, but state the gunfight on Sunday Assembly election in
home department officials began at 9 pm and no Karanpur constituency
were reluctant to confirm casualties have been by a margin of 11,283
any deaths or injuries on reported. votes to his Congress
either side. The security It is significant that in rival on Monday, an
sources said that a ■ Turn to Page 4 embarrassing defeat for
the BJP days after it
assumed office in the
state.
The BJP nominee was
inducted into the Bhajan
Lal Sharma ministry on
December 30, ahead of
the polling on January 5.
The minister of state
(independent charge)
India is a great friend Bangladesh, Ms Hasina, was later allocated agri-
meanwhile, said the two culture marketing
of Bangladesh. They neighbours have resolved board, Indira Gandhi
have supported us in many problems bilateral- canal department and
1971 and also in ly, a day after she won an minority affairs depart-
1975. They gave overwhelming majority ment. Under the rules,
in the general elections. he has to get elected as
shelter to me and my “India is a great friend an MLA within six
family members of Bangladesh. They have months of his appoint-
— Sheikh supported us in 1971 and ment as a minister.
also in 1975. They gave According to the chief
Hasina shelter to me and my sis- electoral officer,
Bangladesh PM ter and my other family Congress candidate
members,” Ms Hasina Rupinder Singh Koonar
also “congratulated the was quoted by news agen- won 94,950 votes as
people of Bangladesh for cies as saying, referring against Mr Singh’s
to her period in exile 83,667. There were 18
the successful conduct of
elections”. when she stayed in India rounds of counting.
Describing India as a for six years. — PTI
“great friend” of ■ More on Pages 4, 6 ■ More on Page 3
 CITY
THE ASIAN AGE | TUESDAY | 9 JANUARY 2024 | NEW DELHI
SHORT TAKES
Woman found dead at
home, hubby missing
New Delhi: A 35-year-old
woman was found dead at
her house in Southwest
Delhi’s Vasant Kunj area on
Monday, the police said.
The deceased has been
identified as Rekha Roy.
She lived at a rented
accommodation in
Masoodpur with her hus-
band, Bishvanath Roy, who
is missing, they said. “We
received a call around 8:10
am about a woman lying
unconscious at her house.
When a team reached the
house and it found that the
woman was dead,” a police
officer said. The police said
the mobile of her husband,
who works at a petrol
pump, is switched off. On
enquiring, it was found that
the couple had a heated
argument on Sunday night,
they said and added that a
team has been formed to
apprehend the suspect.
Indirapuram: 2 cops
die in road accident
Ghaziabad: A head constable
of the Delhi police and a con-
stable of the Uttar Pradesh
police were killed in a road
accident near Kanawani cul-
vert of Indirapuram area last
night, an official said on
Monday. They were deputed
in the security of a builder
named Nikhil Chowdhary, who
was on the way to his house
located in Delhi’s Vivek Vihar
in a SUV with his driver and
the two gunmen. Deputy
commissioner of police
(DCP), Trans Hindon, Nimish
Patil, said the driver lost his
balance on the steering due
to which the vehicle hit the
road divider and owing to its
heavy speed, the vehicle
jumped the divider and hit
two cars which were parked
on the other side of the road.
The builder was provided two
gunmen by the government
because his father was mur-
dered two years ago, the
police said. — PTI
Drunk man climbs up
electric pole, injured
Noida: A Greater Noida man
was hospitalised with severe
injuries after he climbed up
a power pole in an intoxicat-
ed condition and then fell
from it following an electric
shock, the police officials
said on Monday. The 35-
year-old man survived the
near-fatal electrocution and
is currently recuperating
after the incident which took
place on Sunday in the
Jewar area, they said.
“Noshad, a native of adjoin-
ing Bulandshahr district,
climbed an electric pole
under the influence of alco-
hol near Dauji Mandir in
Jewar and grabbed the elec-
tric wire, due to which he
got electrocuted,” a police
spokesperson said.
EWS CERTIFICATES
IN JOBS: L-G NOD
TO PANEL’s ADVICE
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, JAN. 8
In a move to standardise the
non-creamy layer and eco-
nomically weaker section
(EWS) certificates for the
purpose of recruitment by
different departments of the
Delhi government, lieu-
tenant-governor V.K. Saxena
has approved the recom-
mendations of a
high-level commit-
tee. The committee,
which was set up
by the Delhi gov-
ernment’s chief
secretary, has rec-
ommended the
adoption of the V.K.
prescribed format Saxena
of the certificate of
the revenue department in
consonance with the format
of the department of per-
sonnel and training (DoPT)
of the Central government.
Mr Saxena has also asked the
director (education) and the
vice-chairman of the
Directorate of Agriculture to
explain within a week about
the pending 415 and 13
dossiers, respectively, sent
by the Delhi Subordinate
Services Selection Board
(DSSSB) for appointments,
said a Raj Niwas official. The
official said the new stan-
dardised and uniform certifi-
cates now issued by the rev-
enue department will be
applicable to all user depart-
ments for recruitment pur-
poses. The revenue officials
were earlier issuing these
certificates in different for-
mats creating confusion for
the user departments lead-
ing to delays in the recruit-
ment process and giving rise
to unwanted litigations, the
Raj Niwas official added.
Cong, AAP hold seat-sharing talks
Sonia, Pawar, Uddhav to meet Jan. 14-15 to discuss arrangements in Maha
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, JAN. 8
The Congress and the
AAP discussed seat-shar-
ing prospects for the Lok
Sabha polls in Punjab,
Delhi and other states on
Monday, and decided to
meet again to give a final
shape to the arrange-
ments between the two
key constituents of the
INDIA bloc. Top Congress
leaders and members of
the party’s seat-sharing
committee Mukul Wasnik
and Ashok Gehlot were
present at the meeting
here while those from the
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)
included Rajya Sabha MP
Sandeep Pathak and
Delhi ministers Atishi
and Saurabh Bharadwaj.
“We had a very good
meeting. Senior AAP
leaders attended the
meeting for holding dis-
cussions with us on
behalf of Arvind
Kejriwal. The National
Alliance Committee
(NAC) formed by the
Congress president held
discussions with the AAP
‘CM used to talk big
on corruption, now
AAP leaders in jail’
Hamirpur, HP, Jan. 8:
Union minister Anurag
Thakur on Monday
attacked Aam Aadmi
Party chief Arvind
Kejriwal, saying he talked
big on corruption before
entering politics but now
several leaders of his
party are in prison for
graft. Speaking to
reporters here after a
meeting of BJP func-
tionaries of the
Hamirpur Lok Sabha
seat, he also targeted the
Mamata Banerjee-led
Trinamool Congress over
the recent attack on
Enforcement Directorate
(ED) staff in West Bengal.
The Union information
and broadcasting minis-
ter said it has become a
habit of the Trinamul
Congress to question con-
stitutional institutions
and sometimes, even
attack independent inves-
tigative agencies.
Attacking the Delhi
chief minister, Mr
Thakur said Arvind
Kejriwal used to talk big
on corruption before
entering politics but
today, he is embracing
Congress leaders. The
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)
and the Congress are
“brothers in corruption”,
he claimed.
Several AAP leaders,
including the former
deputy chief minister of
■ Steals her belongings ■ Crime caught on CCTV
Man tries to strangle woman
on isolated street in Dwarka
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, JAN. 8
A woman fell victim to a
robber who brutally
attacked and strangled her
before making off with her
belongings in Dwarka
area.
The incident occurred on
January 6 at 6: 30 a.m. on
isolated streets of Uttam
Nagar area and the entire
episode was caught in the
CCTV installed nearby.
The shocking video, circu-
lating widely on social
media, revealed the
Ties worsen with Maldives; both sides summon envoys
■ Continued From Page 1
already done by the deputy
ministerial trio — Ms
Mariyam Shiuna, Ms
Malsha Shareef and
Abdulla Mahzoom Majid —
who all worked for the min-
istry of youth empower-
ment, information and
arts, with Ms Shiuna
allegedly using words like
“clown” and “Israeli pup-
pet” in a shrill rant after
another Maldivian MP,
Zahid Rameez, had made
racist and xenophobic com-
ments targeting Indians.
The row also continues to
take the social media by
storm, with one travel por-
tal also reportedly refusing
bookings for the Maldives
and vowing to promote
Congress National Alliance Committee chief Mukul
Wasnik, party leader Ashok Gehlot, DPCC president
Arvinder Singh Lovely with AAP leaders Atishi, Saurabh
Bhardwaj and Sandeep Pathak after a meeting on seat-
sharing in New Delhi on Monday.
leaders and a final deci-
sion will be taken later,”
Mr Wasnik told reporters
after the meeting.
“In this meeting, we
have had in-depth discus-
sions with senior leaders
regarding seat-sharing
and various topics. After
a few days, we will meet
again and the final dis-
cussion on seat sharing
will take place. We will
give a final shape to the
Anurag Thakur
Delhi, are in jail on
charges of corruption
and Mr Kejriwal has been
summoned by the ED, the
minister further said.
Referring to
Centre’s Viksit Bharat
Sankalp Yatra,
the
Mr
Thakur said it is an ini-
tiative aimed at benefit-
ing the poor and the
downtrodden.
The Narendra Modi gov-
ernment wants every
deprived class to get full
rights, but the govern-
ments of some states
were not following the
guidelines, he alleged.
Earlier, taking part in
the meeting of BJP lead-
ers, Mr Thakur urged
them to work unitedly to
strengthen the party
ahead of the coming Lok
Sabha elections.
He said the Bharatiya
Janata Party would win
all four Lok Sabha seats
in Himachal and more
than 400 seats in the
entire country. — PTI
◗ THE ACCUSED was
arrested and robbed bag
and mobile has been
recovered from him and
has been sent to judicial
custody, cops said
assailant sneaking up on
the unsuspecting woman
as she walks alone in the
deserted street. The man,
later identified as Shiv
Kumar, a.k.a Vikky (38), a
native of Rajasthan,
grabbed the woman by her
neck, strangling her while
she cried out for help.
Lakshadweep as a better
alternative instead.
Another travel portal
reportedly claimed there
had been a huge 3,400 per
cent increase in online
searches that reflect grow-
ing interest among Indian
tourists for the
Lakshadweep islands fol-
lowing Mr Modi’s visit
there and the scandalous
remarks made by the
Maldivian politicians. The
highest number of foreign
tourists visiting the
Maldives are from India,
and judging by a reported
spate of cancellations by
Indian tourists to the archi-
pelago nation after the con-
troversy, it remains to be
seen how much the
— PTI
seat-sharing plans later.
Together we will contest
the elections with vigor-
ous preparation and
defeat the BJP,” Mr
Wasnik, who is the con-
venor of Congress’ NAC,
said.
Delhi Congress chief
Arvinder Singh Lovely,
and senior party leaders
Salman Khurshid and
Mohan Prakash were also
present at the meeting.
Air Force personnel rehearse for the Beating Retreat ceremony at Vijay Chowk in
New Delhi on Monday.
Delhi reports 605
new Covid cases,
4 death in 24 hrs
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, JAN. 8
India on Monday logged
605 fresh Covid cases,
while the number of
active cases of the infec-
tion stands at 4,002. Of
the total active cases, a
large majority of these
are recovering under
home isolation.
Meanwhile, four deaths
— two from Kerala and
one each from Karnataka
and Tripura — have been
reported in a span of 24
hours.
Meanwhile, the number
of cases of sub-variant
JN.1 reported from 12
states till January 7 has
risen to 682 in the coun-
try.
When the woman falls
unconscious on the
ground, the accused flees
away with her belongings,
as per video. The DCP
(Dwarka) M. Harsha
Vardhan said that the
accused was nabbed the
same day.
“Kumar a.k.a Vikky (38)
was arrested and robbed
bag and mobile has been
recovered from him and he
has been sent to judicial
custody,” said the DCP. As
per the police, the accused
is found previously
involved in six cases.
tourism-dependent
Maldivian economy is
affected. It may be recalled
India had financially bailed
out the Maldivian economy
during the Covid-19 pan-
demic when the global
tourism industry had virtu-
ally ground to a halt. In
another development, the
Israeli embassy in New
Delhi also put out a post
praising the “majestic
underwater beauty and
enchanting allure” of
India’s Lakshadweep
islands and declared that it
is ready to commence work
on a desalination project
there at New Delhi’s earlier
request.
Mr Muizzu -- who won the
presidential polls in his
Also, to ensure smooth
seat-sharing
Maharashtra,
in
senior
INDIA leaders Sonia
Gandhi, Sharad Pawar
and Uddhav Thackarey
will meet in Delhi on
Janury 14 and 15.
Congress president
Mallikarjun Kharge will
be present. On Tuesday,
the Maharashtra leaders
of the Congress, NCP and
Shiv Sena (UBT) will also
meet in the national capi-
tal.
Also, to ensure the
smooth seat-sharing in
Maharashtra, senior lead-
ers of the alliance Sonia
Gandhi, Sharad Pawar
and Uddhav Thackarey
will meet on Janury 14
and 15 in Delhi. Congress
President Mallikarjun
Kharge will also be part
of the meeting.
Maharashtra leaders of
the all three parties,
Congress, NCP and Shiv
Sena UBT, will also meet
on Tuesday in the nation-
al capital. Shiv Sena UBT
leader Sanjay Raut, NCP
leaders Jayant Patil,
Supriya Sule and state
— PRITAM BANDYOPADHYAY
No fingerprints found on
threat letter, says police
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, JAN. 8
In the ongoing probe
regarding the low-inten-
sity blast near the Israeli
embassy in Delhi, the
investigators said that no
fingerprints have been
found on the threat letter
that was recovered from
the site.
The blast took place in
the area between the
boundary walls of a
house on plot number 4 —
Nanda’s House — and the
Central Hindi Training
Institute on plot number
2A on Prithviraj Road. It
is behind the Israeli
embassy on Dr A.P.J.
Abdul Kalam Road, run-
Missing from duty
points, 28 cops
in Noida shunted
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, JAN. 8
Twenty eight traffic
police personnel were
shunted from their posts
after they were not
found on their duty
points during a surprise
inspection by Gautam
Buddh Nagar police
commissioner Laxmi
Singh on Monday.
An explanation has
also been sought from
deputy commissioner of
police (Traffic) Anil
Kumar Yadav, assistant
commissioners Pawan
Kumar and Rajeev
Kumar Gupta who were
not found in their areas.
country last year by defeat-
ing his pro-India predeces-
sor Ibrahim Mohamed
Solih in a keenly-fought
election -- had pledged to
evict a reportedly small
number of Indian troops
operating two helicopters
and a Dornier aircraft for
medical evacuations and
contingency operations in
the tiny nation. He had also
visited Turkey first after
taking over as President
instead of India, which was
seen earlier as a convention
for new Maldivian
Presidents. This was seen
by some observers as a
stern message to New
Delhi. But the ongoing visit
to China of President
Muizzu is the strongest
Congress leaders Varsha
Gaikwad, Nana Patole
will also meet the alliance
committee of the
Congress headed
Mukul Wasnik. Insiders
by
say that there is a lot of
confrontation between
the three alliance part-
ners.
To ensure that the seat-
sharing is finalised soon,
the senior leaders of all
the parties are stepping
in for a smooth transi-
tion. Insiders claim that
in Delhi, the Congress
and AAP are discussing a
three and four formula in
which the three seats of
northeast, east and
Chandni Chowk will be
contested by the Congress
but the discussions are
still in progress. The
alliance partners of the
INDIA bloc alliance are
keen to wrap up the seat-
sharing process as soon
as possible.
The Aam Admi Party is
in power in Delhi and
Punjab. The Congress
units in both the states
are opposed to any truck
with the AAP.
ISRAEL EMBASSY BLAST
◗ THE POLICE had found
the threat letter, which
was ‘abusive’ in nature
and addressed to the
Israeli ambassador, near
the blast site
ning parallel to Prithviraj
Road.
The police had found
the threat letter, which
was “abusive” in nature
and addressed to the
Israeli ambassador, near
the blast site. The one-
page letter was purport-
edly from a group called
‘Sir Allah Resistance’ and
mentioned words like
“Zionists”, “Palestine”
Main accused’s woman friend
held for Divya Pahuja murder
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, JAN. 8
The Gurgaon police on
Monday arrested a 20-
year-old woman, the sec-
ond partner of the main
accused and hotel owner
Abhijit Singh, in the mur-
der case of ex-model
Divya Pahuja.
Officials said the arrest-
ed woman, identified as
Megha of Mitraon
Extension in Delhi’s
Najafgarh, allegedly
helped Abhijit in hiding
the crime weapon, docu-
ments, and Divya’s person-
al belongings after the
murder.
A special investigation
team (SIT) looking into the
message to New Delhi that
the Maldives under him no
longer follows an India
First policy. Clearly, Beijing
now has the upper hand in
the archipelago nation.
Nevertheless, even the
new Maldivian govern-
ment is under enormous
pressure and clearly in
damage control mode. It
put out a statement earlier
Sunday, saying: “The
Maldives government is
aware of derogatory
remarks on social media
platforms against foreign
leaders and high-ranking
individuals. These opin-
ions are personal and do
not represent the views of
the Government of the
Maldives. The government
Sanjay Singh, N.D.
Gupta, Maliwal file
papers for RS polls
BHASKAR HARI
SHARMA
NEW DELHI, JAN. 8
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)
MPs Sanjay Singh and
N.D. Gupta and former
Delhi Commission for
Women (DCW) chief
Swati Maliwal filed their
nominations for the
January 19 Rajya Sabha
elections on Monday.
The AAP had on Friday
nominated Ms Maliwal
as its Rajya Sabha candi-
date and renominated
Mr Singh and Mr N.D.
Gupta for a second term
in the Upper House of
Parliament.
The six-year term of
Mr Singh, Mr N.D.
Gupta, and Sushil
Kumar Gupta ends on
January 27.
Ms Maliwal’s name has
been nominated by the
party to replace Mr
Sushil Gupta.
Ms Maliwal, Mr N.D.
Gupta, and Mr Singh
filed their nominations
at the Delhi transport
department’s office in
Civil Lines, the officials
said.
Mr Singh, who is in jail
in connection with a
money laundering case
linked to the now-
scrapped Delhi excise
policy, arrived at the
transport department
office amid tight security
to file his nomination
papers.
After filing her nomi-
nation, Mr Maliwal
thanked chief minister
and AAP national con-
vener Arvind Kejriwal
for the opportunity.
On bidding adieu to the
DCW, she said she has
not been able to sleep
since Friday.
“The DCW is an impor-
and “Gaza”.
Soon after the letter was
recovered from the spot,
it was sent to experts to
check for fingerprints,
the sources said.
“According to initial find-
ings, no fingerprints
have been found on the
letter. It is likely that the
suspect used gloves or
planted the letter in such
a way that no finger-
prints were left,” a
source said, adding that
natural factors cannot be
ruled out.
The Delhi police special
cell has scanned footage
from multiple CCTV cam-
eras to track the suspect’s
route but is yet to get a
clear view, officials said.
case has taken Megha to a
two-day police remand
after she was produced in
a city court, they said.
On January 2, Divya
was taken to Hotel City
Point by five people and
allegedly shot dead inside
room number 111, the
police said.
The body of the ex-
model could not be traced
even after six days. The
SIT interrogated Abhijit
and his second partner
Megha for about two
hours.
A senior investigator
said the police has doubts
that the accused who took
away the body in a BMW
car might have thrown it
in the Ghaggar River.
believes that the freedom of
expression should be exer-
cised in a democratic and
responsible manner, and in
ways that do not spread
hatred, negativity, and hin-
der close relationships
between the Maldives and
its international part-
ners… The relevant author-
ities of the government
will not hesitate to take
action against those who
make such derogatory
remarks.”
In fact, President Muizzu
also met Mr Modi on the
sidelines of the COP28
summit in Dubai last
month, after which the
Maldivian President had
claimed India has agreed to
remove its soldiers from
pg 2
HC seeks ED’s
reply to bail plea
of Sanjay Singh
in liquor scam
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, JAN 8
The Delhi high court on
Monday sought response
of the Enforcement
Directorate on a bail plea
by AAP MP Sanjay Singh,
arrested in a money laun-
dering case related to the
Delhi excise policy
‘scam’. Justice Swarana
Kanta Sharma issued
notice to the investigat-
ing agency and listed the
matter for further hear-
ing on January 29.
The Rajya Sabha mem-
ber, arrested by the ED on
October 4 last year, has
challenged a trial court’s
December 22 order dis-
missing his bail plea in
the money laundering
case.
Senior lawyer Mohit
Mathur, appearing for Mr
Singh, submitted that the
senior AAP leader has
been in custody for the
last three months and no
role has been attributed
to him in the predicate
offence. He said Mr Singh
was arrested after the
ED's “star witness” made
a statement.
tant part of my life.
Wherever I am, I can
never separate myself
from the DCW,” she said.
Ms Maliwal resigned as
the DCW chairperson
soon after the AAP
named her as its Rajya
Sabha candidate on
Friday.
At 5.3°C, capital
sees coldest day
of month so far,
20 trains delayed
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, JAN. 8
Twenty Delhi-bound
trains were delayed on
Monday due to weather-
related conditions in the
national capital, which
recorded a minimum
temperature of 5.3° C,
two notches below the
season’s average.
Delhi, on Monday,
recorded its coldest day
of the month so far,
almost the same as the
hill station of Nainital,
according to the India
meteorological depart-
ment (IMD).
Nainital recorded a
low of 5.4°, the IMD web-
site showed.
On December 15 last
year, the national capital
recorded its lowest mini-
mum temperature of the
season so far at 4.9°C,
four notches below the
season’s average.
According to the IMD,
the relative humidity at
8.30 am was recorded at
95 per cent.
The IMD has forecast
shallow fog for the day
with the maximum tem-
perature likely to settle
at 17° C.
According to the
Indian Railways, 20
Delhi-bound trains were
delayed due to weather-
related conditions.
Delhi recorded a maxi-
mum temperature of
17.5 degrees Celsius, a
notch below the season’s
average, on Monday.
The humidity levels
oscillated between 84 per
cent and 100 per cent.
the tiny archipelago nation.
Following that, Indian gov-
ernment sources had said
“discussions are on” on
how to keep Indian human-
itarian assistance and dis-
aster relief assistance to
the Maldives “operational”
using “Indian platforms”,
an obvious reference to the
two helicopters and a
Dornier aircraft reportedly
operated by Indian armed
forces personnel there till
now. Sources had acknowl-
edged that the issue had
been “briefly discussed” at
the meeting between the
two leaders, but had added
that the “core group that
both sides have agreed to
set up will look at details of
how to take this forward”.
 NATION
THE ASIAN AGE | TUESDAY | 9 JANUARY 2024 | NEW DELHI
pg 3

■ I object to abuses hurled at state to attack me, says CM

SHORT TAKES
ED arrests ex-INLD
MLA in mining case
New Delhi: The ED on
Monday arrested former
Haryana MLA Dilbag Singh
and his aide Kulwinder Singh
in an ongoing probe in an
alleged illegal mining-linked
money laundering case. Mr
Singh is a former legislator
of the Indian National Lok
Dal (INLD) from the Yamuna
Nagar Assembly seat. The
agency raided him and
Congress MLA from Sonipat
Surender Panwar on January
4 and the searches ended
after five days on Monday.
Dilbag and Kulwinder have
been taken into custody
under the Prevention of
Money Laundering Act
(PMLA) and the two will be
produced before a local
court, where the agency will
seek their further custody. At
least five “illegal” rifles, 300
bullets and cartridges, more
than 100 liquor bottles, and
`5 crores in cash were recov-
ered by the ED from the
premises of Dilbag Singh
and other linked persons.
SC stays Pune LS
Setback to BJP in Raj,
Didi praises law & order in Bengal
mantri loses to Cong
Suffers defeat in Karanpur by margin of 11,283 votes
Jaipur, Jan. 8: Rajasthan
state minister Surendra
Pal Singh lost the
Assembly election in
Karanpur constituency by
a margin of 11,283 votes to
his Congress rival on
Monday, an embarrassing
defeat for the BJP, days
after it assumed office in
the state.
The BJP nominee was
inducted into the
Bhajanlal Sharma min-
istry on December 30,
ahead of the polling on
January 5. The minister of
state (Independent
charge) was later allocat-
ed agriculture marketing
board, Indira Gandhi
canal department and
minority affairs
Department.
Under the rules, he has
to get elected as an MLA
within six months of his
appointment as a minis-
ter.
RAJIB CHOWDHURI
KOLKATA, JAN. 8
West Bengal chief minis-
ter and Trinamul
Congress supremo
Mamata Banerjee on
Monday gave a clean chit
to the law and order situa-
tion in the state, in wake
of the violent mob attacks
on the Enforcement
Directorate (ED) teams
during its raid on his
party leaders in the ration
scam.
She said at an event in
the city, “Many vilify us
on law and order. They
spread canards and lies.
Anyone can hurl abuses in
my name. It does not affect
Congress supporters celebrate after party’s leader
Rupinder Singh Koonar won the Karanpur Assembly elec-
tion in Bikaner on Monday. — PTI
tions. Former chief minister
The election for Ashok Gehlot said the
Karanpur Assembly seat
was postponed this time
people of Karanpur have
defeated the pride of the
due to the death of
Congress candidate
BJP.“Hearty congratula-
tions and best wishes to
Gurmeet Singh. The
Congress then fielded his
Congress candidate Shri
Rupinder Singh Koonar
me. I have been hearing
verbal abuse since child-
hood. But I have objec-
tions if anyone abuses or
defames Bengal to attack
me.”
Referring to the Centre’s
recognitions, Ms Banerjee
added, “Do you know
Seerampore police station
has been adjudged as the
best police station in the
country? How can it hap-
pen if law and order is not
good? Kolkata has been
entitled as the safest city.
How did it happen?”
Her certificate coincided
with her party training
guns on the BJP with a
copy of an FIR in which
the injured ED assistant
◗ TMC TRAINED guns on
the BJP with a copy of
an FIR in which the
injured ED assistant
director Raj Kumar Ram
has been accused of cor-
ruption by the CBI dur-
ing his previous postings
in Bengaluru, Bihar and
Guwahati
director Raj Kumar Ram
has been accused of cor-
ruption by the Central
Bureau of Investigation
during his previous post-
ing in Bengaluru, Bihar
and Guwahati.
According to FIR filed on
March 3 2022, the anti-cor-
ruption unit of the CBI
headquarters booked Mr
Ram for criminal conspir-
acy,
assets,
disproportionate
abetment of
offence under the Preven-
tion of Corruption Act.
Section 109 and 120B of
the Indian Penal Code and
13(2) of the PC Act were
slapped against the ED
officer. Seeking a reply
from Union home minis-
ter Amit Shah, the TMC
alleged, “It is unfortunate
that the ED officer, who
went to investigate a case
against an AITC member
and who broke open
locked doors, is involved
in a corruption case him-
self.”
Will attend Ram
Mandir event
on Jan. 22,
says HP mantri
Shimla, Jan.
Himachal Pradesh min-
8:

byboll decision by HC According to the chief

New Delhi: The Supreme
Court on Monday stayed the
Bombay high court order
asking the Election
Commission to immediately
hold the bypoll for the Pune
Lok Sabha seat, which is
vacant since March 29, 2023
after the death of MP Girish
Bapat. While staying the
high court order, the
Supreme Court bench, led
by CJI D.Y. Chandrachud,
noted that the top court will
lay down the guidelines on
electoral office, Congress
candidate Rupinder Singh
Koonar won 94,950 votes
as against Mr Singh’s
83,667. There were 18
rounds of counting.
This is the second time
that Mr Singh has faced
defeat in Karanpur con-
stituency.
He was defeated by Mr
Koonar’s father Gurmeet
Singh in the 2018
Rajasthan Assembly elec-
son from the seat.
“I am thankful to the
people of Karanpur who
voted for me... Even
Central ministers had
come for campaigning
(but) people rejected them
and made democracy
win,” Mr Koonar told
reporters after winning
the election.
Congress leaders con-
gratulated Mr Koonar
even before the final
results came in.
for his victory
Srikaranpur. This victory
in
is dedicated to the public
service works done by the
late Gurmeet Singh
Koonar,” Mr Gehlot said.
In a post on X, Rajasthan
Congress chief Govind
Singh Dotasra said, “The
public has taught a lesson
to the BJP, which flouted
the code of conduct and
morality by making its
candidate a minister dur-
ing the elections.” — PTI
ister Vikramaditya
Singh on Monday said
he would attend the con-
secration ceremony at
the Ram Temple in
Ayodhya, making his
stand clear, even as top
Congress leaders are yet
to take a call on the
January-22 event.
The public works
department minister,
who is the son of former
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee with the head priest Gyandas Mohanto Himachal Pradesh chief
at Kapil Muni Temple in South 24 Parganas district on Monday. — PTI minister Virbhadra
Singh and state party
chief Pratibha Singh,

Centre will invest ■ Stakes claim on 16 seats ■ Leaves 24 seats for RJD, Cong, Left
conducting the byelections. thanked the Rashtriya
The apex court also rapped Swayamsevak Sangh
the poll panel for not hold- (RSS) and Vishva Hindu

`60,000cr in river JD-U won’t compromise on seats

ing the byelection for the Parishad (VHP) for the
seat for such a long period invitation to attend Ram
despite the law mandating Lalla’s pran pratishtha
conducting polls expedi- ceremony.
tiously. “The seat became NAYYAR AZAD Patna on Monday, senior ◗ RJD INSIDERS said the is willing to contest an “This is not a political
vacant on March 29, 2023.
What was the Election
Commission doing since
then?” asked the
tourism: Sonowal PATNA, JAN. 8

Amid the ongoing deliber-

CJI-led bench.
‘Jallikattu’ law: SC to
consider listing pleas
New Delhi: The Supreme
Court on Monday agreed to
consider listing pleas seek-
ing review of its 2023 judg-
ment upholding the validity
of amendments made in a
law in Tamil Nadu to allow
“Jallikattu” in the state.
Jallikattu refers to a bull-
taming sport popular in
Tamil Nadu. A bench com-
prising CJI D.Y. Chandrachud
RAJIB CHOWDHURI
KOLKATA, JAN. 8
Union ports, shipping and
waterways minister
Sarbananda Sonowal on
Monday announced that
the Centre would invest
around `60,000 crores in
river cruise tourism and
green vessels’ develop-
ment in the public-pri-
vate-partnership (PPP)
model by 2047 to increase
passengers capacity over
seven times.
He said, “Out of `60,000
crores, `45,000 crores will
be invested in river cruise
Union waterways minis-
ter Sarbananda Sonowal
speaks to media at the
Indenture Memorial in
Garden Reach of Kolkata
on Monday.
Development Council
ations regarding seat allo-
cation within the INDIA
bloc, the JD-U on Monday
created a stir by staking
claim to the 16 seats it
secured in the 2019 Lok
Sabha elections.
Many senior JD-U lead-
ers believe that the party
should retain its sixteen
seats and secure the one
where the party holds a
second position, without
engaging in any talks with
the Congress.
Talking to reporters in
■ Victim’s mother seeks arrest of BJP leaders & SDM, urges CM to take action
JD-U leader and minister
Vijendra Yadav said, “The
JD-U is prepared to leave
24 seats for the RJD,
Congress and the left par-
ties to negotiate among
themselves.”
In the 2019 Lok Sabha
elections, JD-U in alliance
with the BJP had contest-
ed 17 seats each. The BJP
won 17 seats, while its
partners JD-U got 16 fol-
lowed by the LJP that won
six seats.
The Congress, which
contested 9 seats, man-
aged to secure one seat in
Muslim-dominated
seat allocation among
alliance partners would
likely to be finalised
after the Makar
Sankranti
Kishanganj. The RJD was
defeated on all seats in the
previous Lok Sabha elec-
tions.
The JD-U’s statement is
likely to raise the political
temperature in the state.
Sources said that RJD
chief Lalu Yadav, who is
reportedly keeping a close
watch on the develop-
ments in the INDIA bloc,
equal number of seats
with the JD-U.
RJD insiders said the
seat allocation among
alliance partners would
likely to be finalised after
the Makar Sankranti.
According to RJD leaders
here, the party focuses on
fielding winning candi-
dates in the forthcoming
Lok Sabha elections.
According to sources
here, the RJD wants the
alliance partner JD-U to
contest sixteen seats each
and offer around eight
seats to the Congress and
left parties in the state.
issue and I consider
myself fortunate to be
among the few invitees
from Himachal Pradesh
and thank the RSS and
VHP for giving this hon-
our to me and my fami-
ly,” Mr Singh told
reporters.
“This is a once-in-a-
lifetime opportunity to
be a part of this historic
day. As a Hindu having
faith in the dev samaj, it
is my responsibility to
be present on the occa-
sion and witness the
pran pratishtha of Lord
Ram,” he added. — PTI

Sensational twist in 2022 U’khand murder case

and Justices J.B. Pardiwala
and Manoj Misra took note
of the submissions of senior
advocate Abhishek Singhvi
that the review pleas needed
to be listed and considered.
“I will see the email today
(on listing of pleas),” the CJI
said. Usually, the review
pleas are considered in
chambers by way of circula-
tion by the apex court
judges. A SC Constitution
Bench, headed by Justice
K.M. Joseph (Retd), had
delivered a unanimous ver-
dict on May 18 last year.
tourism, which will
increase the present pas-
senger capacity from 2
lakhs to 15 lakhs. Another
`15,000 crores will be
invested in green vessel
transport in the next 10
years to build 1,000 ves-
sels and ferries.”
Mr Sonowal, accompa-
nied by his deputy minis-
ters Shantanu Thakur
and Shripad Naik and
senior ministry officials,
was speaking to the
media at the Indenture
Memorial in Garden
Reach off the Hooghly
river after chairing the
first Inland Waterways
(IWDC) meeting on board
to MV Ganges Queen.
The Union minister also
spoke about the potential-
ity of Kolkata to become a
“river cruise tourism
hub” in future. He
explained, “Kolkata is
going to be the river
cruise tourism hub. Many
cruises are coming here
and getting them sta-
tioned here because they
can navigate from here to
any destination.”
At the maiden IWDC
meeting, a roadmap was
chalked to enable capaci-
ty in an additional 26
waterways.
PRITHVIRAJ SINGH
DEHRADUN, JAN. 8
Sensational Ankita
Bhandari murder case in
2022 on Sunday took twist
after a year as victim’s
mother demanded arrest
of the state BJP general
secretary Ajay Kumar,
alleging he was the hunted
VIP whose name surfaced
in the probe.
She also demanded
arrest of local BJP MLA
Renu Bisht for the legisla-
tor ordered demolition of
Victim’s room at Vanantra
Resort where Ankita
worked as a receptionist.
Ankita Bhandari’s wail-
ing mother Soni Devi
alleged that name of the
state BJP general secre-
tary Ajay Kumar surfaced
in the statements recorded
by the witnesses during
investigation and chief
minister Pushkar Singh
Dhami must take action.
Ms Devi in a video state-
ment on Sunday said
“Arrest Ajay Kumar for
it’s clear that his name
surfaced as VIP, who visit-
ed the resort, in the probe.
Also arrest Pramod
Kumar — the then SDM —
along with MLA Renu
Bisht, on whose order
Ankita’s room was erased
by a JCB driver” said Ms
Devi in the video. She also
felt betrayed by the state
government for its inac-
tion in the Ankita
Bhandari case.
“Dhami has not done
anything to give justice to
Ankita and us. Dhami
made false promises. He
said he will do this, he will
do that but he has done
nothing. Why has Dhami
government not taken
action against Renu Bisht
and Pramod Kumar when
the JCB driver has made
his statement that he
erased the room on their
order,” said Ms Devi, as
she cried for justice to her
19-year old daughter who
was killed in September
2022, allegedly by the
resort owner Pulkit Arya
and his two other resort
employees Saurabh
Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta.
Arya is the son of a sen-
ior RSS leader in
Haridwar. All three were
arrested by the police and
the probe was handed out
to the SIT. Accused
allegedly enticed the vic-
tim for an outing and
pushed her into Chilla
Barrage on Ganga River
Canal near Rishikesh.

CM: 25K SHOPS IN

MP SELLING MEAT
IN OPEN CLOSED
AGE CORRESPONDENT
BHOPAL, JAN. 8
Madhya Pradesh chief minis-
ter Mohan Yadav has said
that around 25,000 shops
selling meat and fish in the
open in the state have been
shut down in the last 25
days. Mr Yadav informed this
while laying foundation
stones for projects worth
`187 crores in Ujjain late on
Sunday. In his first order
after assuming office on
December 13, Mr Yadav had
issued directions to close
down all shops selling meat
and fish in the open in the
state. Mr Yadav also
announced that the upcom-
ing “Makar Sankranti” festi-
val will be observed as
“Women Empowerment
Day” in Madhya Pradesh. He
said that Ujjain has rich his-
torical and mythological
legacies. Lord Krishna had
learnt 64 arts related to
music and dance in Ujjain
and acquired the knowledge
in just 64 days. Similarly,
Emperor Ashok had sent his
daughter Sanghamitra and
son Mahendra from Ujjain to
Sri Lanka to propagate
Buddhism, he said. Mr Yadav
also unveiled the country's
first healthy and clean food
street, “Prasadam”, at
Mahakal Mahalok, close to
the famous Mahakaleshwar
temple in Ujjain late
on Sunday.
Britain eyes investment
opportunities in TN, Guj
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, JAN. 8
Britain is eyeing more
trade and investment
opportunities in Tamil
Nadu and Gujarat states.
British minister of state
Lord Tariq Ahmad will
visit Chennai and
Ahmedabad on a three-
day visit to India begin-
ning on Monday.
The British high com-
mission announced that
he would attend the Tamil
Nadu global investors
meet where he would
announce two new UK-
Bilkis kin hail SC verdict; Cong slams BJP regime
Ahmedabad/Dahod, Jan.
8: Relatives of Bilkis
Bano, who was gang-
raped and whose family
members were killed dur-
ing the post-Godhra riots
in Gujarat, burst fire-
crackers on Monday after
the Supreme Court
quashed the state govern-
ment’s decision to grant
remission to 11 convicts,
while the Congress
slammed the BJP regime
over the relief provided
to the culprits.
funded sustainability
projects and that he would
also later attend the
vibrant Gujarat summit.
Lord Tariq Ahmad is the
British minister of state
for the Middle East, South
Asia, UN and the Prime
Minister’s special repre-
sentative on preventing
sexual violence in con-
flict.
“Whilst in Chennai, the
minister will launch a
heat mitigation project
alongside Tamil Nadu’s
State Planning
Commission. The project
will provide recommenda-
A witness in the Bilkis
Bano case, who is also Ms
Bano’s uncle, hailed the
SC verdict quashing the
Gujarat government’s
decision to grant remis-
sion to the 11 convicts in
the gang-rape-cum-mur-
der case.
“I am one of the wit-
nesses in the case. These
11 convicts were handed
the punishment by a
Maharashtra court (the
trail took place in
Mumbai). The Gujarat
tions to the government of
Tamil Nadu to address
extreme heat related
deaths and the loss of
vital ecosystems.
With the Tamil Nadu
department of environ-
ment and climate change,
he will also launch an
electronic and battery
waste management proj-
ect.
As the states of Tamil
Nadu and Gujarat are two
of India’s largest
economies, the minister
will use his trip to high-
light the strong UK-India
trade partnership.
◗ SUPREME COURT
quashed the state gov-
ernment’s decision to
grant remission to 11
convicts in the gang rape
and murder case
government’s decision to
release them was wrong.
That is why we chal-
lenged it in court. “I am
happy the SC has
quashed the Gujarat gov-
ernment’s decision and
asked the convicts to sur-
After Cong debacle
in MP, Nath says he
won’t shift to Delhi
‘Will continue to serve people of state’
RABINDRA NATH
CHOUDHURY
BHOPAL, JAN. 8
Former chief minister and
Congress veteran Kamal
Nath on Monday ruled out
the possibility of his shift-
ing to Delhi in the wake of
his party’s debacle in the
November-17 state polls in
Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami par- Kamal Nath
Madhya Pradesh.
ticipates in “Didi Bhuli Mahotsav” in Uttarkashi on “Why should I shift to high command to return to
Monday. — PTI Delhi,” Mr Nath shot back central politics following
while replying to a query by the party’s drubbing in the
reporters in Bhopal. recently-held Assembly
Mr Nath, who took oath as
a member of the MP
Assembly on Monday after-
noon nearly five weeks after
polls in Madhya Pradesh.
Much to his chagrin, Mr
Nath was reportedly asked
by the party high command
render. I feel we have Bilkis Bano and murder- he was elected from to step down as the state
received justice today,” ing seven of her family Chhindwara, iterated, “I got Congress president to pave
Ms Bano’s uncle Abdul members during the 2002 another opportunity to for a second generation
Razaq Mansuri said. riots and ordered that serve the people of Madhya leader to take over the
Some distant relatives they be sent back to jail Pradesh (after being elected party’s rein in MP soon
of Ms Bano are settled in within two weeks. as MLA). It is a matter of after the poll results were
Devgadh Baria. As the Former Jammu and happiness for me.” declared last year.
news of the SC verdict Kashmir chief minister “I am not going anywhere. Sources said that Mr Nath
flashed on television and National Conference I will stay in Madhya was quite upset over the
screens, some of them president Farooq Ab- Pradesh and continue to development.
burst firecrackers to wel- dullah said the SC quash- serve the people of the Mr Nath sought to parry
come the decision. ing the Gujarat govern- state,” he added. the question as to if the
Earlier in the day, the ment’s decision to grant Mr Nath’s clarification on party high command was
SC quashed the remission remission to 11 convicts his future plan comes amid unhappy with him over the
granted to the 11 men con- in the case will do justice speculation that he might debacle of the Congress in
victed of gang-raping to the victim. — PTI be asked by the Congress the Assembly elections.
 NATION
THE ASIAN AGE | TUESDAY | 9 JANUARY 2024 | NEW DELHI
pg 4

SHORT TAKES
Dalit man beaten to
death over ‘affair’
Muzaffarnagar (UP): A 21-
year-old Dalit man was
allegedly beaten to death by
some people after keeping
him hostage in a house over
his “love affair” in Khatauli
police station area of this dis-
trict. The incident took place
in Jasola village on Sunday
night, police said on Monday,
adding the victim was identi-
fied as Ankit. Khatauli Circle
Officer Ravi Shanker told PTI
that after getting the informa-
tion, police rushed to the spot
and shifted injured Ankit
to a hospital, where doctors
Woman pushed off
roof in rape attempt
Hardoi, UP: An 18-year-old
woman suffered severe
injuries after she was alleged-
ly pushed off the roof of a
house here during a rape
attempt, police said on
Monday. SP Keshav Chandra
Goswami said the incident
occurred in the Harpalpur
area on Saturday and
accused Vishal was booked
on charges of kidnapping and
attempt to rape. Goswami
also said that according to
the woman's brother, Vishal
tried to rape her but she
jumped to save herself and
suffered serious injuries, but
the victim told police that she
was abducted and pushed
off the roof. — PTI
4 more NCC units
to be raised in UTs
New Delhi: Defence minister
Rajnath Singh has approved
a proposal to raise four more
units of the National Cadet
Corps in the Union territories
of J&K and Ladakh, officials
said on Monday. The approval
includes “one mixed (boys
and girls) army battalion
each” at Udhampur and
Kupwara in Jammu and
Kashmir, and at Kargil
in Ladakh, and one air
squadron at Udhampur in
Jammu and Kashmir, the
defence ministry said in a
statement. — PTI
Manipur gunfight
■ Continued from Page 1
an earlier incident on January
2, seven security personnel --
including four Manipur police
commandos and three BSF per-
sonnel -- were injured during a
search operation. On December
30, militants had attacked
Manipur police commandos
inside their barracks, by firing
rocket-propelled grenades.
While Imphal-based media
outlets had implicated the Kuki
National Army (KNA), the Kuki
National Army Burma (KNA-B)
and the United Kuki Liberation
Front (UKLF) in the December
30 incident, a body called the
“Village Volunteers,
Tengnoupal District (Eastern
Zone)” later issued its own
“clarification” on such reports
denying these groups were
involved in the gunfight.
Amid diplomatic row, Indians Hasina hails ‘great friend’ India
remain Maldives’ top tourists as PM congratulates her on win
New Delhi, Jan. 8: Amid a
diplomatic row between
India and the Maldives
over disparaging remarks
made by Maldivian minis-
ters after Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s visit to
Lakshadweep, data shows
Indians top the island
nation’s tourist arrival fig-
ures, with more than two
lakh of them visiting it
every year after the Covid-
19 pandemic. According to
the Maldives tourism min-
istry statistics, more than
2.09 lakh Indians visited
the island nation in 2023.
The number was more
than 2.4 lakh in 2022 while
over 2.11 lakh Indians flew
to the Maldives in 2021.
The Maldives was also one
of the few countries open
for international tourists
during the pandemic and
nearly 63,000 Indians visit-
ed country in that period.
In 2018, India was the
fifth-largest source of
tourist arrivals in the
Maldives with 90,474 visi-
tors. In 2019, India
PM, UAE Prez to
lead Vibrant Guj
roadshow today
Ahmedabad, Jan.
Prime Minister Narendra
8:
Modi and UAE President
Sheikh Mohamed bin
Zayed Al Nahyan will lead
a roadshow on Tuesday
from outside the Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel
International Airport
here a day ahead of the
inauguration of Vibrant
Gujarat Global summit,
officials said. The 3-km-
long roadshow will start
in the evening after the
PM receives the UAE
President at the airport,
said deputy commission-
er of police (traffic-east),
Ahmedabad city Safin
Hasan.
“The roadshow will cul-
minate at Indira Bridge,
which
Ahmedabad
connects
with
Gandhinagar. From the
bridge circle, both digni-
taries will head to their
respective destinations in
Gandhinagar,” Mr Hasan
told reporters on Monday.
Mr Modi is scheduled to
inaugurate the 10th edi-
tion of VGGS at Mahatma
Mandir Convention
Centre in Gandhinagar on
Wednesday. Mr Modi will
also hold bilateral meet-
ings with world leaders,
and CEOs of top global
corporations during his
three-day visit to Gujarat
from January 8 to 10, the
PMO had said in a release.
On January 9, at around
9.30 am, Mr Modi will
arrive at Mahatma
Mandir in Gandhinagar
where he will hold bilat-
◗ THE MALDIVES was
also one of the few
countries open for inter-
national tourists during
the pandemic and nearly
63,000 Indians visited
the country in that
period
reached the second spot
with nearly double the
number (1,66,030) of
arrivals compared to the
previous year.
However, this travel
hotspot for Indians is now
facing a backlash after
three ministers from the
Maldives cabinet made
derogatory comments
against PM. There were
posts on social media
claiming that some
Indians are cancelling
their scheduled trips to
the Maldives in view of
the row. Hashtag “Boycott
Maldives” was also trend-
ing on social media.
EaseMyTrip on Monday
said it has suspended all
flight bookings to the
◗ AFTER INAUGURAT-
ING the summit, the
PM will hold a meeting
with CEOs of top global
corporations
eral meetings with world
leaders, followed by a
meeting with CEOs of top
global corporations.
At around 3 pm, he will
inaugurate the Vibrant
Gujarat Global Trade
Show, the PMO said.
After inaugurating the
summit on Wednesday,
Modi will hold a meeting
with CEOs of top global
corporations. He will
then travel to GIFT City
where, at around 5.15 pm,
he will interact with
prominent business lead-
ers in the Global FinTech
Leadership Forum. The
10th edition of VGGS is
being held from January
10 to 12 in Gandhinagar.
Its theme is “Gateway to
the Future”. This edition
will celebrate “20 Years of
Vibrant Gujarat as the
Summit of Success”.
There are 34 partner
countries and 16 partner
organisations for this
year’s summit. It will host
various events, including
seminars and conferences
on globally relevant topics
such as Industry 4.0, tech-
nology and innovation,
sustainable manufactur-
ing, green hydrogen, elec-
tric mobility and renew-
able energy and transition
towards sustainability
. — PTI
island nation on its web-
site “in solidarity” with
India. The government of
the Maldives suspended
three of its deputy minis-
ters on Sunday after they
criticised Modi for his
post on X following his
visit to Lakshadweep,
inferring that it was an
attempt to project the
Union Territory as an
alternative tourist desti-
nation to the Maldives.
The Maldivian foreign
ministry said the govern-
ment is aware of “deroga-
tory remarks” made on
social media platforms
against foreign leaders
and that the personal
views do not represent the
country’s position. Amid
the row, many prominent
personalities, such as cine
stars Amitabh Bachchan,
Salman Khan and Akshay
Kumar and cricket icon
Sachin Tendulkar,
appealed to people on
Sunday to explore "Indian
islands” and coastal desti-
nations. — PTI
Ambulance delay:
Woman delivers
baby on rickshaw
AGE CORRESPONDENT
BHUBANESWAR, JAN. 8
A woman delivered a
baby on a rickshaw trol-
ley after an ambulance
reportedly failed to
reach her home on time
at Sandhakuda in
Odisha’s Jagatsinghpur
district, nearly 100 km
from here.
As per reports, the
woman developed
labour pain on Monday
morning. Though an
ambulance was called, it
made an inordinate
delay in reaching her
home.
With her labour pain
getting worse every
minute, she decided to
go to the hospital in a
rickshaw trolley.
However, she delivered
a baby girl on the way to
the hospital in the trol-
ley near Nuabazaar.
DGCA revises pilots’ duty-hour norms
AGE CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, JAN. 8
The Directorate General of
Civil Aviation (DGCA) has
made significant changes
in the regulations pertain-
ing to Flight Duty Time
Limitations (FDTL) for
flight crew, in line with the
international best prac-
tices. The changes will
address pilot fatigue and
enhance overall flight safe-
ty and balance growth in
the aviation sector, said
officials. All airline opera-
tors are required to comply
with the revised regula-
I really appreciate that we have wonderful relationship with India: Hasina
AGE CORRESPONDENT
with agency inputs
NEW DELHI/DHAKA, JAN. 8
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi on Monday evening
spoke to Bangladesh
Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina and “congratulat-
ed her on her victory for a
historic fourth consecu-
tive term in the
Parliamentary elections”.
The Prime Minister reit-
erated India’s commit-
ment to further strength-
en the “enduring and peo-
ple-centric partnership”
with its neighbour.
In a post on social media
platform X, Mr Modi also
“congratulated the people
of Bangladesh for the suc-
cessful conduct of elec-
tions”.
Describing India as a
“great friend” of
Bangladesh, Ms Hasina,
meanwhile, said the two
Night curfew along IB to
foil infiltration from Pak
AGE CORRESPONDENT
SRINAGAR, JAN. 8
The authorities have
imposed night curfew
along the international
border (IB) with Pakistan
in Jammu and Kashmir’s
Samba district to ensure
a better area dominance
by the Border Security
Force (BSF) and to foil
possible infiltration bids
from across the border
and other clandestine
unlawful activities in the
sensitive frontier region.
The BSF is tasked to
guard the 198-km stretch
of the India-Pakistan bor-
der in Jammu region.
Being part of the 2,912 km
India-Pakistan border
from Gujarat to J&K, it
starts at Paharpur in
Kathua district and ends
tions latest by June 1, 2024.
The DGCA has mandated
that all airline operators
shall submit quarterly
fatigue reports after analy-
sis, including the Action
Taken on such reports.
“A bunch of much-await-
ed reforms in Flight Duty
Time Limitations for our
pilots has come through.
After in-depth analysis of
pilot rosters, fatigue-relat-
ed reports and direct feed-
back from pilots, we have
introduced revised `FDTL
Regulations’ that include
increased rest periods,
redefining night duty, and
neighbours have resolved
many problems bilateral-
ly, a day after she won an
overwhelming majority in
the general elections.
“India is a great friend of
Bangladesh. They have
supported us in 1971 and
also in 1975. They gave
shelter to me and my sis-
ter and my other family
members,” Ms Hasina was
quoted by news agencies
as saying, referring to her
period in exile when she
stayed in India for six
years after the killing of
her father and founder of
Bangladesh Sheikh
Mujibur Rehman and
other family members
way back in 1975.
“We consider India as
our next-door neighbour.
We had many problems
but we resolved it bilater-
ally. So, I really appreciate
that we have a wonderful
relationship with India,”
◗ NO PERSON or group
of persons shall move in
the area up to one kilo-
metre along the IB in the
district during the night
from 9 pm to 6 am, says
Samba district admin
at Chicken’s Neck corri-
dor in Akhnoor sector
(Jammu district) where
the LoC begins. In India,
this 198-km stretch of the
borderline is called IB but
is known as ‘working
boundary’ in Pakistan as
it passes through a “dis-
puted region”.
An order issued by
Samba’s district magis-
trate Abhishek Sharma
says that no person or
group of persons shall
move in the area up to one
kilometre along the IB in
◗ THE CHANGES will
address pilot fatigue and
enhance overall flight
safety and balance
growth in the aviation
sector, said officials
regular fatigue reports to
be shared by airlines. In
addition, we will soon
transition towards a new
regime of fatigue manage-
ment i.e. Fatigue Risk
Management System
(FRMS), which will be a
data-driven approach to
enhance monitoring of
flight crew fatigue. These
◗ WE CONSIDER India as
our next-door neighbour.
We had many problems
but we resolved it bilat-
erally. So, I really appre-
ciate that we have a
wonderful relationship
with India, Ms Hasina
said while responding to
a question from
reporters in Dhaka
Ms Hasina said while
responding to a question
from reporters in Dhaka.
She hoped that the two
sides would resolve the
remaining issues as well.
“With motherly affec-
tion, I look after my people
who gave me this opportu-
nity. Time and again peo-
ple have voted for me, and
that is why I am here,” she
added. When asked about
comparisons to other
women leaders in South
the district during the
night from 9 pm to 6 am.
Invoking Section 144 of
the CrPC, the official said
that the order has been
issued following a meeting
of the district-level stand-
ing committee where the
BSF representatives had
suggested the imposition
of a daily night curfew to
enable the paramilitary
force to perform their
duties more effectively.
The order further reads,
“It is felt by the district
administration that it is
expedient that the move-
ment of people in border
areas is regulated so that
there is better area domi-
nation by BSF in border
areas and nefarious
designs of forces inimical
to Indian security are sub-
verted.”
changes — that are very
much in line with interna-
tional best practices —
will ensure India has the
necessary arsenal, as it
prepares to clinch the
largest domestic aviation
market title in the future,”
Union Civil Aviation
Minister Mr Jyotiraditya
Scinda said.
The revised FDTL regu-
lations have been formu-
lated after extensive data
analysis and feedback
from various stakeholders
which includes airline
operators, pilot associa-
tions and individuals.
Asia like former Indian
Prime Minister Indira
Gandhi and Sri Lanka's
former Prime Minister
Sirimavo Bandaranaike,
Ms Hasina said, “They are
very great ladies. I am not.
I am very simple, just a
common person.”
“When you run the coun-
try you should not consid-
er yourself as a man or
woman. But I am a mother
and I consider the people
as my children,” she
added. Congress president
Mallikarjun Kharge con-
gratulated the Awami
League and Ms Hasina for
her victory.
In a message on X, Mr
Kharge said India and
Bangladesh are linked
civilisationally, culturally
and socio-economically,
and the ties of the two
countries are bonded by
the fight for the liberation
of Bangladesh in 1971.
Bad weather
forces Shah
to defer his
trip to J&K
AMRESH SRIVASTAVA
NEW DELHI, JAN. 8
Union home minister
Amit Shah’s visit to
Jammu and Kashmir on
Tuesday has been
deferred in view of the
prevailing inclement
weather conditions and
forecast.
Mr Shah was set to
visit the Union territory
to attend the “Viksit
Bharat Sankalpa Yatra”
— a Central government
programme — in
Jammu, and to inaugu-
rate projects worth
`1,379 crores including
e-buses and lay the foun-
dation stone of projects
worth `2,348 crores.
The home minister
was also scheduled to
undertake a review of
the security and devel-
opment of Jammu and
Kashmir, and travel to
“Dera Ki Gali” in
Poonch sector and meet
the families of the civil-
ians killed recently in
this area, the officials
said. He was also to dis-
tribute appointment let-
ters to several youths on
compassionate ground
in Jammu, they
said.
“However, the visit is
deferred in view of
the prevailing incl
ement weather condi-
tions and forecast,” they
added. The J&K BJP
chief Ravinder Raina
also confirmed the
same.

SC quashes 11 Bilkis convicts’ release Empowering poor makes
■ Continued from Page 1
to decide the remission plea of
convicts. The convicts were
tried in Maharashtra.
“We need not have gone into
the other issues. But for sake
of completion, we have. The
rule of law is breached
because the Gujarat govern-
ment usurped power not vest-
ed in it and abused its power.
On that ground also, the
remission orders deserve to
be quashed,” the bench said.
The top court also nullified
its May 13, 2022 order of
another bench asking the
Gujarat government to con-
sider a remission plea of one
of the convicts as the order
was obtained by “playing a
fraud on the court”, and by
the suppressing of material
facts. The bench further said
that this was a classic case
where the order of this court
was used to violate the rule of
law by granting remission.
Attacking the Gujarat gov-
ernment for not filing a
review plea against the May
2022 judgment, the Supreme
Court said that only the State
of Maharashtra could have
passed the remission orders.
“Taking advantage of May
13, 2022 order of this court,
other convicts also filed
remission applications…
Gujarat was complicit and
acted in tandem with respon-
dent No. 3 (one of the con-
victs) in this case. This court
was misled by suppressing
facts,” the bench said.
The top court also held that
the PIL contesting the remis-
sion filed by Bilkis Bano
under Article 32 of the
Constitution was maintain-
able. According to Article 32:
“It is a fundamental right,
India more powerful: PM
which states that individuals
have the right to approach the
Supreme Court seeking
enforcement of other funda-
mental rights recognised by
the Constitution.”
Quoting Greek philosopher
Plato extensively, Justice
Nagarathna said:
“Punishment is to be inflicted
not for the sake of vengeance
for what is done cannot be
undone but for the sake of pre-
vention and reformation.”
“In his treatise, Plato rea-
sons that the lawgiver, as far
as he can, ought to imitate the
doctor who does not apply his
drug with a view to pain only,
but to do the patient good.
This curative theory of pun-
ishment likens the penalty to
medicine administered for the
sake of the good of one being
chastised,” Justice
Nagarathna said, quoting
Plato. Thus, if a criminal is
curable, he ought to be
improved by education and
other suitable arts, and then
set free as a better citizen and
less of a burden to the state,
she said. “This postulate lies
at the heart of the policy of
remission.”
In addition, there are also
competing interests involved -
- the rights of the victim and
the victim’s family to justice
vis-à-vis a convict’s claim to a
second chance by way of
remission or reduction of his
sentence for reformation, she
said. Observing that the vic-
tim’s rights are also impor-
tant, Justice Nagarathna said
a “woman deserves respect,
howsoever high or low she
may be considered in society
or to whatever faith she may
follow or any creed she may
belong to. Can heinous
crimes, inter alia, against
women permit remission of
the convicts by a reduction in
their sentence and by granti-
ng them liberty? These are
issues which arise in these
petitions,” Justice
Nagarathna said.
“Can heinous crimes
against women permit remis-
sion? These are the issues
which arise,” she said.
On October 12 last year, the
apex court reserved its verdict
after an 11-day hearing on the
petitions, including the one
filed by Bilkis Bano.
While reserving judgment,
the apex court had directed
the Centre and the Gujarat
government to submit by
October 16 the original
records related to the remis-
sion of sentence of the 11 con-
victs. Besides the petition
filed by Bilkis Bano, several
other PILs, including one by
CPI(M) leader Subhashini Ali,
independent journalist Revati
Laul and former vice-chancel-
lor of Lucknow University
Roop Rekha Verma and anoth-
er by Trinamul Congress
leader Mahua Moitra, chal-
lenged the remission of the
convicts and their premature
release from jail.
Reacting to the apex court
order, Congress leader Rahul
Gandhi attacked the BJP, say-
ing the verdict has shown
once again who the “protector
of criminals” is.
In a post in Hindi on X, Mr
Gandhi said: “The tendency to
‘murder justice’ for electoral
gains is dangerous for a demo-
cratic system. Today, the
Supreme Court's decision
once again showed the coun-
try who gives ‘patronage to
criminals’.”
“Bilkis Bano's tireless strug-
gle symbolises the victory of
justice against the arrogant
BJP government,” the former
Congress chief added.
The CPI(M) welcomed the
Supreme Court judgment,
dubbing it a “hard slap” on the
face of the state government.
The politburo of the Left party
welcomed the court verdict
“nailing down the Gujarat
government's illegal action” of
granting remission to the 11
convicts who were sentenced
to life for raping pregnant
Bilkis Bano and killing seven
of her family members during
the 2002 Gujarat “communal
carnage”. “The court has cate-
gorically asked the convicts to
surrender back to prison with-
in two weeks,” it pointed out.
In a post on X, CPI(M) gener-
al secretary Sitaram Yechury
said: “It appears that justice is
being delivered to Bilkis Bano
finally after two long decades.
The brutality of gangrapes
and mass murders cannot be
brushed aside and the perpe-
trators remain unpunished.”
The Congress on Monday
hailed the Supreme Court
order quashing the Gujarat
government's decision to
grant remission to 11 convicts
in the Bilkis Bano case, saying
it has removed the veil over
the BJP’s anti-women poli-
cies. “With this order, the veil
over the anti-women policies
of the Bharatiya Janata Party
has been removed. After this,
public confidence in the jus-
tice system will be further
s t r e n g t h e n e d .
Congratulations to Bilkis
Bano for continuing her fight
bravely,” AICC general secre-
tary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra
said in a post in Hindi on X.
■ Continued from Page 1
Society) and Farmers
Producer Organisation
(FPO), increase in storage
facilities and the “boost” to
the food processing indus-
try. The PM said that toor
or arhar dal farmers can
sell their produce directly
to the government online,
ensuring purchase at MSP
and better prices in the
market. The scope of this
scheme will be extended to
other pulses too, he added.
“Our effort is that money
we send abroad to buy
pulses should be available
to farmers of the country,”
he said. He reiterated that
the main goal of the yatra
was to ensure that “no
deserving beneficiary of
government schemes is
left out”. Referring to the
buzz about the “Modi ki
guarantee”, the PM
dwelled on the rationale of
covering beneficiaries in a
mission mode and also
underlined the link
between resolution of
“Viksit Bharat” and the
saturation of schemes cov-
erage. Earlier, the PM also
interacted with beneficiar-
ies of Viksit Bharat
Sankalp Yatra via video
conferencing as they
hailed the government ini-
tiatives. Thousands of ben-
eficiaries from across the
country along with Union
ministers, MPs, MLAs and
local-level representatives
joined the event.
“Vikas Bharat Sankalp
Yatra has become not only
the journey of the govern-
ment but also the journey
of the country,” he said.
“’Modi ki guarantee wali
gaadi’ is reaching every
nook and corner of the
country. The poor people
who spent their lives wait-
ing to get the benefits of
government schemes are
seeing a meaningful change
today. The government is
reaching the doorsteps of
the beneficiaries and proac-
tively providing the bene-
fits,” the PM said. Along
with the vehicle of “Modi
ki guarantee”, government
officers and people's repre-
sentatives are reaching the
people, he added.
Mr Modi highlighted the
struggle of the poor, youth,
women and farmers over
many generations. “Our
government wants the pres-
ent and future generations
to not have to live the life
that earlier generations
lived. We want to get a large
population of the country
out of the struggle for small
daily needs,” Mr Modi said.
“Therefore, we are focus-
ing on the future of the
poor, farmers, women and
youth. For us, these are the
four biggest castes of the
country. When the poor,
farmers, women and youth
are empowered, the coun-
try will become powerful,”
he said. Since the yatra
began, 12 lakh new applica-
tions for Ujjwala connec-
tions were received along
with lakhs of applications
for Suraksha Bima Yojana,
Jeevan Jyoti Yojana, PM
SVANidhi, Mr Modi said.
Underlining the impact of
the yatra, the PM said that
health checkups for more
than two crore people have
been carried out so far,
including one crore TB
checkups and 22 lakh sickle
cell checkups.
The doctors are reaching
the doorsteps of the poor,
Dalits, the deprived and
tribals, which was consid-
ered a challenge by the
previous governments,
Mr Modi said.
Highlighting the
Ayushman Yojna which
provides health insurance
worth `5 lakhs, Mr Modi
said: “Ayushman Aarogya
Mandirs built across the
country have become
huge health centres for
villages and the poor.”
He also highlighted the
government’s impact on
women’s empowerment,
and mentioned the avail-
ability of loans through the
Mudra Yojna, women play-
ing the roles of Bank
Mitras, Pashu Sakhis and
Asha workers.
He pointed out that 10
crore women have joined
women’s self-help groups
in the last 10 years, where
more than `7.5 lakh crores
have been provided to
them. Due to this, Mr Modi
said many sisters have
become “Lakhpati Didis”
over the years.
Touching upon its suc-
cess, the PM talked about
the government’s cam-
paign to further increase
the number of “Lakhpati
Didis” by two crores.
N-E states
may launch
major assult
against ultras
New Delhi, Jan. 8: Prime
Minister Narendra Modi
is believed to have sug-
gested to the northeast-
ern states to jointly carry
out operations wherever
required against insur-
gent groups in line with
the Naxal-affected states,
sources said on Monday.
The suggestion is
understood to have been
given at the just conclud-
ed three-day DGPs and
IGPs conference held in
Jaipur. The conference
deliberated on critical
components of national
security, including the
newly-enacted criminal
laws, counter-terrorism
strategies, Left-wing
extremism, emerging
cyber threats, and world-
wide counter-radicalisa-
tion initiatives among
others, officials said.
During the conference,
the PM suggested that
like the Naxal-affected
states where concerned
governments carry out
joint operations against
the ultras, the northeast-
ern states should also
take similar initiatives
while dealing with insur-
gents, they said.
He had also said that
the new laws were enact-
ed with the spirit of “cit-
izen first, dignity first
and justice first” and
that the police should
now give more emphasis
on data rather than
“danda” (stick). — PTI
 EDIT
THE ASIAN AGE | TUESDAY | 9 JANUARY 2024 | NEW DELHI
pg 5

Subhani

9 DECEMBER 2024

Hasina faces challenges;

but win is good for India
D
emocracy, whose basic premise is free and fair polls, may have got
off on the wrong foot in the significant election year of 2024 in
which more than half the global population will be eligible to exer-
cise their franchise.
The polls in Bangladesh, the first of the year in which major democracies
like India and the United States as well as tiny ones like Bhutan, besides
autocratic regimes like Russia, will be holding elections, were free but boy-
cotted by the major Opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party,
allowing Sheikh Hasina to continue for a fourth consecutive term out of
the five terms that she has been in power.
Bangladesh may be in danger of being reduced to a one-party state as the
main Opposition chose to boycott the poll, along with 15 other parties,
rather than participate in the process that endorsed the Awami League’s
popular rule, with just over 40 per cent of the electorate turning up, lead-
ing to the second lowest turnout since the restoration of democracy in 1991.
Sheikh Hasina’s balancing act between India and China has never failed
the test of diplomacy and relations with India are expected to remain har-
monious as her rule extends. India has heartily welcomed her re-election
as it sees in her a trustworthy friend who will sustain the goodwill in rela-

Punitive laws alone can’t LETTERS

tions that are important in an otherwise prickly neighbourhood.
Hailed as the architect of transformation in the
Sheikh Hasina’s Bangladesh economy even as she fought off mil-
balancing act itary coups and Islamist militancy, Sheikh GURUKULS OBSOLETE
between India and Hasina may face greater challenges on the econ-
omy front as the heavy reliance on the ready- There is much that needs to

de-risk India’s highways

China has never made garments trade leaves it vulnerable to
failed the test of external shocks, besides bearing the cost of US be changed in the present
diplomacy and action like visa embargoes in response to the educational system. But bring-
relations with India suppression of the Opposition and labour lead- ing back gurukuls is not the
are expected to ers. Debt sustainability and pressures on currency protected by pelf and privi- answer. BJP leaders on multi-
12% of the 1.1
remain harmonious may pose challenges too. What may trigger leges. This set of errant dri- ple occasions have spoken
million unnatural vers are best disciplined by
as her rule stiffer reaction from the defenders of democracy
extends. like the United States is that the latest round of
deaths in 2021 are unbiased investigation, about it as it fits in with their
elections may have dented Bangladesh’s credi- due to road acci- aided by enhanced digital ideology. Much water has
bility somewhat, even as the main Opposition leader remains under house dents of which policing and determined
arrest (in a hospital) after a conviction for corruption. Sanjeev Ahluwalia one third are “hit prosecution — none of whi- flown under the bridge and
The Jatiya Party, an ally of the Awami League, won 11 seats after a tight ch are at present universal. the gurukul system of educa-
seat-sharing arrangement with the ruling party while several Opposition and run” cases. Those likely to suffer the
consequences of harsher
tion is now obsolete. If Rajnath
parties won a seat each. The fact that Independents, mainly ruling party
members, won more than 60 seats suggests that the intent of the ruling punishments under Section Singh thinks this is the way to

C
party may have been to not invest any Opposition party with prominence. hristmas Day,
Long before the votes were cast on Sunday in populous Bangladesh, the December 25, is
country had been pushed towards an assertion of the Awami League’s also Good Gov-
political dominance though critics saw the jailing opponents and the use of ernance Day in
force by law enforcement agencies to disband demonstrations as negative India, as it has
indicators. been since 2014, to coincide
Sheikh Hasina’s political identity may be shaped by how she manages to with the birth anniversary
carry all the people, including those with different views, in her new term of the late Atal Behari
that will see her established as the longest reigning Prime Minister of the Vajpayee, India’s hugely
country. loved and respected Prime
Minister. On Good Govern-
ance Day last year, the
Maldives: India shows soft power Centre notified
Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita
the
standstill on January 1 and
2 followed by sporadic
strikes by taxi unions,
causing widespread disrup-
tion to the supply of goods
and public transportation.
Their ire was directed at
the new sub-section 2 of
Section 106 which provides
for up to 10 years’ imprison-
ment (a five-fold hike) and
fine for accidentally killing
causing an unintentional
death, by “any rash or neg-
ligent act” is imprisonment
up to five years with a fine.
Why doctors are privileged
with a lower punishment is
unclear. By these stan-
dards, proportionate pun-
ishment for rash and negli-
gent driving resulting in an
accidental death com-
pounded by the failure to
106 (2) BNS are the less
privileged drivers who
cause a fatal accident.
There are 362 million regis-
tered vehicles versus the
adult (18 years plus) popula-
tion of around 793 million.
The number of licensed
women drivers is increas-
ing. With growing incomes
and better road infrastruc-
ture, personal vehicles are
go forward, why not begin
such schools in their con-
stituencies and, what is more
important, see that their
grandchildren study there?
Most children of the political
class are often found studying
in the best universities abroad.
They want the best for their

(BNS) to replace the Indian

Penal Code 1860 (IPC).
E
very country has a choice of its values, of what it wants to be and how The pressure to present
it wants to be perceived but no nation, which is sovereign, and the BNS as a home-grown
intends to remain so, can afford to be weak. Quite aptly, given its substitute for a 163-year-old
strength and equally potent soft power, India escalated the row against
neighbouring Maldives, both diplomatically, and through other means.
colonial law on Good
Governance Day seems to
Taking a cue from the photo shoot shared by Prime Minister Narendra explain the rushed process-
Modi against the scenic beauty of the little explored Lakshadweep, Indians ing. The BNS was tabled in
in huge numbers took to boycotting their possible future plans of a visit to the Lok Sabha on August
the Island nation, at least on social media. 11, 2023, examined by the
Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu, perceived as “anti-India” and parliamentary standing
“pro-Chinese”, did some damage control by firing three of his ministerial committee on home affairs,
colleagues, Mariyam Shiuna, Malsha Shareef and Abdulla Mahzoom and subsequently with-
Majid, who had used unacceptable words and launched tirades against drawn by the government
both India’s PM as well as Indian people. and re-tabled as Bhartiya
Even as Muizzu departed for an official visit to Beijing, India summoned Nyaya (Second) Sanhita
Maldivian High Commissioner Ibrahim Shaheeb in Delhi, leading to a Bill in Parliament on
quid pro quo summons being issued to Indian High Commission Munu December 12, 2023. Both the
Mahawar by Male. Lok Sabha and the Rajya
Showcasing both Indian PM Modi’s influence and the power of net- Sabha approved it within
worked Indian netizens, a travel app stopped taking any further tours two weeks, as 146
booking for Maldives, and its CEO shared a video message saying that as Opposition party members
an Indian app, they would instead use their energy and following to pro-
moting Lakshadweep as a “better alternative”.
(out of a total membership
of 793 in both Houses)
As Google confirmed, the entire issue led to a reportedly humungous aug- remained suspended for
mentation of over 3,400 per cent online searches about tourism options in protesting in the Well of the
Lakshadweep by Indian tourists. Not surprisingly, given the physical House. Whilst their
proximity, most of the international tourists to Maldives are Indians, and absence does not under-
tourism is the mainstay of their economy. It would, however, take some mine the legality of the
time to ascertain the real economic impact on tourism on the archipelago BNS, it does illustrate the
nation because of a soft Indian boycott. sharpening of, hopefully
However, India has been a good neighbour, who stood by the small coun- temporarily, the pre-elec-
try in the past, having helped it with a financial package during and after tion political discord.
the Covid pandemic. Interestingly, Israel also supported India over the The rule of law is a basic
matter, albeit indirectly, hailing the “majestic underwater beauty and good governance principle
enchanting allure” of Lakshadweep islands. and laws, like BNS, reflect-
ing contemporary needs,
are critical to legitimise
judicial rulings. The earlier
IPC and the new BNS list
THE ASIAN AGE and describe the over 300
types of punishable crimes
KAUSHIK MITTER K. SUDHAKAR
and define punishments for
Editor Printer & Publisher each crime.
Within days of the BNS
THE ASIAN AGE office is located at: becoming public, after
New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru National Youth Centre, 219 Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, New Delhi-110002. Phone:
approval by the President
(011) 23211124.
Published and Printed on behalf of and for of India, it provoked unan-
◗ Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited, Jawaharlal Nehru National Youth Centre, 219 Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, New ticipated outrage and civic
Delhi 110 002 at BFL Infotech Ltd., C-9, Sector-III, Noida -201301. action from unions affiliat-
◗ London: Quickmarsh Ltd, 8th Floor, Block 2, Elizabeth House, 39 York Road, London, SE1 7NQ. ed with vehicle drivers.
RNI Registration number: 57290/94
Buses and trucks came to a
someone whi-lst driving a
vehicle “rashly or negli-
gently” and ther-eafter
“escaping” from the scene
without informing the
police. In colloquial terms,
a “hit and run” incident.
The urgency to curb “hit
and run” cases is unam-
biguous. Twelve per cent of
the 1.1 million unnatural
deaths in 2021 (the latest
year for which the National
Crimes Bureau data is pub-
licly available) are due to
road accidents of which one
third are “hit and run”
cases. Timely medical care
can save the victim. Why
then the surge of disaffec-
tion with the BNS?
Disproportionately puni-
tive punishment proposed
in the new sub-section is to
blame.
The principle of propor-
tionality dictates that pun-
ishment for crimes should
be related to their severity.
Imprisonment up to 10
years is a punishment for
offences against the State
or for dacoity, both of
which are voluntary and
intentional breaches of law.
Intent matters in law.
Unintentionally causing
death during robbery —
although an intentional
breach of the law — is pun-
ishable only up to seven
years’ imprisonment since
the death is unintentional.
The specific crime of rash
and negligent driving
attracts imprisonment of
up to six months and a fine.
Sub-section 1 of Section 106
prescribes imprisonment
up to two years for a doctor
rashly or negligently caus-
ing the unintentional death
of a patient. The existing
provision under Section 106
for the generic offence of
report
deserves
the incident,
imprisonment
between two years (as for
doctors) and five years (for
others).
Sadly, BNS sought to
incentivise compliance
with the law by maximis-
ing the punishment. This
“Hobbesian” approach
reflects a “medieval” mind-
set which India has aban-
doned long ago. Research,
including at the National
Institute of Justice in the
US, shows that enhancing
the scale of punishment
alone does not enhance
compliance with the law.
To motivate vehicle dri-
vers, to be more socially
responsible and report any
tragic mishaps, an alterna-
tive is to reward socially
appropriate behaviour by
limiting imprisonment to
two years (like doctors) if
the offender reports the
incident, with the longer
sentence of up to five years
reserved for those both
“rash and negligent” and
socially irresponsible
enough to escape after com-
mitting the crime.
Truck, bus, or taxi dri-
vers are usually not locals.
It is the threat of loss of
limb or even life, at the
hands of locals enraged by
the accident which might
persuade the driver to
escape.
Not being from the privi-
leged classes (unlike
owner-drivers of private
vehicles), they are at the
mercy of the crowd which
gathers around an acci-
dent, often bent upon deliv-
ering swift, vigilante jus-
tice. Nor does a longer
potential imprisonment
pose a threat to habitual
offenders or individuals
expected to increase faster
than safer transportation
infrastructure, like con-
trolled access to highways,
road segregation via pro-
tected walkways, conve-
niently spaced pedestrian
underpasses and overpass-
es, accident management
services, including a SOME BOLLYWOOD movies like Pad
national police portal for
reporting accidents, getting
a digital token as evidence
of an accident report and
better public awareness
about police station juris-
dictions along highways to
enable recourse to the
police.
The government recog-
nises this conundrum. It
speedily assured the agita-
tors of more consultation
before implementing
Section 106, sub-section 2 of
BNS, resulting in with-
drawal of the agitation
within three days. This was
in sharp contrast to the
extended farm laws’ agita-
tion in 2020-2021 against the
well-intentioned but poorly
marketed laws, before they
were finally repealed by the
government a year later.
With the pressure of Good
Governance Day 2023 now
waning, and a year in hand
to rectify errors, the next
iteration of the BNS should
contextualise the propor-
tionality of punishment
with the severity of the
crime. Unless all segments
of the rule of law machin-
ery become more efficient,
punitive punishments
alone will worsen the life of
all vehicle drivers caught
in an unintended, tragic,
road accident.
The writer is adviser,
Observer Research
Foundation
own children. The rest do not
seem to matter.
Anthony Henriques
Mumbai
LIVES OF HEROES
Man are based on real stories. If a
movie is made on the successful tun-
nel rescue operation in Uttarkashi,
the actors would definitely charge
crores of rupees. But each member of
the rescue team of 12 rat-hole miners
was given only Rs 50,000 for saving 41
real lives. While entertaining people
with cinema deserves patronage, sav-
ing human lives cannot be rewarded
so cheaply. I feel sad to see how the
heroes in real life are being treated.
Sujit De
Kolkata
BE FAIR TO FARMERS
JAGBEER, A 53-year-old farmer, suc-
cumbed to his injuries a day after he set
himself on fire in front of a sub-divi-
sional magistrate’s office in the
Mawana area of UP’s Meerut district.
He had been evicted from his land by
the state forest department. Elsewhere,
farmers are still struggling, waiting for
the MSP and other measures that the
government had promised at the end of
their agitation that led to the rollback of
the farm laws. The Samyukt Kisan
Morcha and 18 other farmers’ unions
on Saturday organised a “mahapan-
chayat” in Barnala demanding the
enactment of a law guaranteeing MSP
for crops and implementation of the
Swaminathan Commission report.
Farmers from across North India too
have announced a “Delhi Chalo”
march on February 13.
Bhagwan Thadani
Mumbai
Every Monday the best letter of
the week wins `500. Email:
asianage.letters@gmail.com.

I
t’s sometimes necessary to remind ourselves
of the past in order to understand the present.
Four years ago, in 2020, evangelical Muslim
organisation Tablighi Jamaat held a meeting
in Delhi from March 10 to 13. This was scheduled
long before the onset of Covid-19 and at a time
Aakar Patel when the Narendra Modi government was itself
dismissive of the threat of a pandemic. A March 13,
2020 PTI report had claimed: “Covid-19 is not
health emergency, no need to panic”.
The Tablighi meeting was held before India
issued guidelines on public gatherings. But as
cases in India began to rise towards the end of
March, the government determined it would
Scapegoating of scapegoat Muslims and enlisted the media to do
this.
The Centre made much of evacuating the area
the anti-terror National Security Act.
On April 5, Lav Agarwal said: ‘The doubling rate
in India is 4.1 days, had the congregation at
Nizamuddin not happened and additional cases
not come, this would have been about 7.14 days.”
As later events proved, this was nonsense, but it
was par for the course for this government.
On April 18, Mr Agarwal made another claim,
that the group was the dominant single cause of
the pandemic. Thus, the poisonous lie was spread
and its effect began to take place in the citizenry as
fast as the Covid-19 itself. A Hindi daily reported
that Tablighi Jamaat members quarantined in a
facility in western Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur
had “demanded” non-vegetarian food and were
defecating in the open inside the hospital. The
Saharanpur police tweeted no such thing had hap-
Muslims and it was reported: “It was already dan-
gerous to be Muslim in India. Then came the coro-
navirus” (Time); “Coronavirus: Islamophobia con-
cerns after India mosque outbreak” (BBC); “In
India, coronavirus fans religious hatred” (New
York Times). Without being convicted and even
without any evidence, Jamaat members were
“blacklisted” from receiving visas in the future. In
June, the Modi government amended the policy
for visa applications to India to introduce a
Tabligh-specific clause: “Restriction on engaging
in Tabligh activities — Foreign nationals granted
any type of visa and OCI cardholders shall not be
permitted to engage themselves in Tabligh work.
There will be no restriction in visiting religious
places and attending normal religious activities
like attending religious discourses. However,
enon which had spread through multiple ways
that the “Tablighi conspiracy” story faded. On
May 19, the foreign members of the Jamaat moved
court to be released from institutional quarantine,
where they had been held for over a month and a
half, despite repeatedly testing negative for Covid-
19. The government told the court that none of the
visitors had been “detained”, they were merely
“asked to join the investigation”. But the passports
of over 700 Jamaat members had been seized, and
they were not in fact free.
On July 6, before the chief metropolitan magis-
trate at Delhi’s Saket court, 44 Tablighi Jamaat
members refused to pay fines of between Rs 4,000
to Rs 10,000 in exchange for closing of cases and
bravely chose to face trial. By December, eight
months after 11 states had filed 20 FIRs against

Tablighi Jamaat where the congregation was being held (The PM

sent NSA Ajit Doval to “reason” with the organis-
ers, who had been asking for safe evacuation for
days). The virus’ novelty and the first deaths coin-
in 2020: Lessons cided with the Tablighi Jamaat gathering and
open season was declared on it.
“The main reason for increased number of cases
pened and the story was taken down.
During the months of active persecution, the
group’s members, including foreigners, were
jailed, charged with attempted murder and provi-
sions of Section 269 (“whoever wilfully or negli-
gently does any act which is likely to spread the
infection of any disease dangerous to life”) were
preaching religious ideologies, making speeches
in religious places, distribution of audio or visual
display/pamphlets pertaining to religious ideolo-
more than 2,500 Tablighi Jamaat members,
nobody was convicted. And the courts fiercely crit-
icised the government’s actions.
gies, spreading conversion, etc will not be Judges called the cases “malicious”, “a virtual
allowed.”
This was the first time in India that a particular
religious group had been mentioned in the list of
persecution”, “abuse of process”, “abuse of
power”, and said the Tablighi Jamaat members
were “scapegoats of a political government” who

for today’s India is that members of the Tablighi Jamaat have trav-
elled across the country,” said Lav Agarwal,
health ministry joint secretary. On April 1, BJP IT
cell head Amit Malviya tweeted that the Tablighi
gathering was like an “Islamic insurrection”. On
April 4, MNS chief Raj Thackeray suggested the
group’s members be shot. In Uttar Pradesh, the
group’s members were jailed and booked under
invoked.
The theories being promoted were that they
were deliberately spreading the virus around
India by getting themselves infected, spitting on
fruit, refusing to wear masks, running around
naked in their wards, harassing nurses, and so on.
None of this was true.
The world noticed India’s malice against
visa guidelines. This was purely to fuel the fire
that was already raging in the media, blaming the
group for the deliberate spread of Covid-19 in India
and absolving the government from its responsi-
bility, especially for the fallout of the disastrous
and unplanned 2020 lockdown.
It was only after it became generally accepted
that the virus was an unstoppable global phenom-
had acted against the group though having “not an
iota of evidence”.
That such a vicious falsehood was allowed to be
spread deliberately should tell us much of what we
need to understand about where we are today.
The writer is the chair of Amnesty
International India. Twitter: @aakar__patel
 WORLD
THE ASIAN AGE | TUESDAY | 9 JANUARY 2024 | NEW DELHI
SHORT
MILITARY AIR
TAKES
ATTACK KILLS 17
IN MYANMAR
Bangkok, Jan. 8: Airstrikes by
Myanmar’s military on a vil-
lage under the control of the
pro-democracy resistance in
the northwest have killed at
least 17 civilians, including
nine children, local residents
and a human rights group said.
The attacks on Kanan village
in Sagaing region’s Khampat
town also wounded 20 people.
Myanmar is wracked by vi-
olence that began after the
Army ousted the elected gov-
ernment of Aung San Suu Kyi
in February 2021.
RUSSIAN MISSILE
ATTACKS POUND
UKRAINIAN AREAS
Kyiv, Jan. 8: Russia launched
its latest barrage of hypersonic
and cruise missiles against Uk-
rainian targets early Monday,
striking near the front lines of
fighting in the east as well as in
central and western parts of
the country, officials said. At
least four civilians were report-
ed killed and at least 30 injured.
Western officials and analys-
ts had previously warned that
Russia was stockpiling its
cruise missiles in preparation
for a strategy of winter bom-
bardment, as bad weather
keeps the 1,500-kilometre (930-
mile) front line largely static
after 22 months of war.
KIM TURNS 40
BUT NO PUBLIC
CELEBRATION
Seoul, Jan. 8: North Korean
leader Kim Jong Un turned 40
on Monday with no announced
public celebrations at home,
after he entered the new year
with artillery barrages into the
sea and vows to expand his
nuclear arsenal.
Since taking power in late
2011, Kim, the third generation
of his family to rule North
Korea, is believed to have estab-
lished an absolute leadership
similar to his predecessors. But
his birthday has yet to be offi-
cially celebrated, unlike his
late father Kim Jong Il and
grandfather Kim Il Sung.
MALDIVES PREZ TO
SIGN DEALS FOR
TIES WITH CHINA
Beijing, Jan. 8: Maldivian Pr-
esident Mohamed Muizzu arri-
ved in China on Monday on a
five-day state visit during whi-
ch he is due to hold talks with
his Chinese counterpart Xi
Jinping and sign several agree-
ments to bolster the bilateral
ties. Muizzu, who is regarded
as “pro-China”, is accompanied
by his wife Sajidha Mohamed
and a high-level delegation.
“Through this visit, the two
heads of state will provide
strategic guidance for the ties
to reach a new height,” Chinese
foreign ministry spokesperson
Wang Wenbin said.
BRAZIL TRUCK,
BUS CRASH KILLS
25: FIREFIGHTERS
Brasilia, Jan. 8: At least 25 peo-
ple have been killed after a
tourist bus collided with a tru-
ck in Bahia state in northeast-
ern Brazil, state firefighters
said on Monday.
“Military firefighters respon-
ded to an incident that left 25
dead” near the municipality of
Gaviao, about 155 miles (250 kil-
ometres) from the capital of
Bahia state, Salvador.
Five people were also injured
in the accident Sunday night,
according to Brazilian press
reports, which also published
images of the twisted fuselage
of the truck.
The cause of the accident is
still unknown.
CHINA: UK FOREIGN
CONSULTANCY
HEAD WAS A SPY
Beijing, Jan. 8: China’s spy ag-
ency said on Monday a foreign
consultancy head was found to
be spying for Britain’s MI6
intelligence service.
The ministry of state security
said in a WeChat post that
Britain’s Secret Intelligence
Service — also known as MI6 —
used a foreign national with
the surname Huang to establi-
sh an “intelligence cooperation
relationship”.
Huang, who headed a foreign
consulting agency, “entered Ch-
ina several times under orders
to use their public profile as a
cover to collect China-related
intel for Britain... and seek
other personnel whom MI6
could turn”, the MSS said.
Israel kills top Hezbollah
commander in Lebanon
Gaza officials report highest toll after 247 killed overnight
Beirut, Jan. 8: Israel killed
a top commander of the
Iran-backed Hezbollah
group in a strike on south
Lebanon, a security sour-
ce told AFP on Monday,
adding to fears the conflict
in Gaza could spread.
Gaza health officials
reported the highest daily
death toll so far this year
on Monday with 247 peo-
ple had been killed over-
night. The Israeli offensi-
ve in Gaza has so far killed
23,084 Palestinians.
Hezbollah later announ-
ced the killing of a “com-
mander” for the first time,
naming him as Wissam
Hassan Tawil. It said he
died “on the road to Jerus-
alem” — the phrase used
for fighters killed by Isr-
ael. Tawil “had a leading
role in managing Hezboll-
ah’s operations in the sou-
th”, the security official
said, requesting anonymi-
ty for security reasons.
The official added that
the commander, who held
several other top positions
in the group, “was killed
in an Israeli strike target-
ing his car in the south”.
Tawil was the highest-
ranking Hezbollah mem-
ber to be killed since the
group and Israel began
exchanging fire after the
Israel-Hamas war broke
out on October 7.
The killing of Hamas’s
deputy leader in Beirut
last week has raised fears
of a wider conflagration.
Saleh al-Aruri, killed in
a missile strike widely at-
tributed to Israel, was the
most high-profile Hamas
figure to die during the
war, in the first attack on
Beirut since the fighting
began. — AFP
ISOLATION IN
JAIL: KILLER
SUES NORWAY
Tyristrand, Jan. 8:
Anders Behring Breivik,
the far-right fanatic who
killed 77 people in a bo-
mbing and shooting ra-
mpage in Norway in
2011, walked into court
flanked by three securi-
ty guards on Monday to
argue his years of pris-
on isolation had violated
his rights.
Wearing a black suit,
white shirt and brown
tie, Breivik said nothing
and made no gesture as
he entered the hearing,
set up in the gym of his
high-security jail 70km
northwest of Oslo.
The 44-year-old then
sat impassively while
his lawyer told the judge
the isolation had left Br-
eivik in a “deep depres-
sion”. “He does not wish
to be alive anymore,”
lawyer Oeystein Storr-
vik said. — Reuters
French PM’s job at risk in rejig
Paris, Jan. 8: French mi-
nisters on Monday await-
ed a Cabinet reshuffle exp-
ected this week from by
President Emmanuel Mac-
ron, with the job of the
PM herself at risk.
Commentators see the
reshuffle as essential to
relaunch Macron’s centri-
st presidency for the final
three years of his term
and prevent him becomi-
ng a “lame duck” leader.
Since he defeated the far-
right to win a second term
of office in 2022, Macron
SPACE | SOJOURN
US lunar lander runs into technical problem
Washington, Jan. 8: The
first US lunar lander
launched in more than five
decades has experienced
an anomaly preventing it
from pointing its solar
panels towards the Sun,
the company that built the
robot said Monday.
Astrobotic’s Peregrine
lunar lander separated
successfully from United
Launch Alliance’s new
Vulcan rocket overnight
from the Cape Canaveral
Space Force Base, and
quickly established com-
munications with Natio-
nal Aeronautics and Space
Administration’s (Nasa’s)
Deep Space Network of
Palestinian onlookers gather around a car wreck following reported Israeli bombard-
ment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Monday.
HAMAS ‘SEXUAL
TORTURE’: UN
SEEKS JUSTICE
Geneva, Jan. 8: Two Uni-
ted Nations rights experts
called on Monday for jus-
tice for a multitude of all-
eged crimes during Ham-
as’s unprecedented attac-
ks in Israel on October 7.
“These may even amou-
nt to crimes against hum-
anity,” they said, pointing
to individuals burnt alive
and bodies found decapi-
tated, mutilated or with
trauma consistent with
executions. “The evidence
is harrowing,” UN special
rapporteur on torture, Al-
ice Jill Edwards, and spec-
ial rapporteur on extraju-
dicial executions, Morris
Tidball-Binz, said. — AFP
Investigators retrieve
panel of 737 MAX jet
Seoul, London, Washing-
ton, Jan. 8: US officials
have recovered a panel
that blew off an Alaska
Airlines ALK.N airliner
triggering a partial groun-
ding of Boeing’s 737 MAX
9 and sending shares in
the planemaker tumbling
on Monday.
A door plug tore off on
Friday ALK.N following
takeoff from Portland, Or-
egon, en route to Ontario,
California, depressuris-
ing the plane and forcing
pilots to turn back.
The plane, with 171 pas-
sengers and six crew on
board, landed safely.
The US Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) on
Saturday ordered the tem-
porary grounding of 171
Boeing MAX 9 jets inst-
alled with the same panel,
CYPRUS PREZ REPLACES 4 MINISTERS
Nicosia, Jan. 8: The presi-
dent of Cyprus on Mond-
ay moved ahead with a
considerable shakeup of
his Cabinet, replacing his
ministers of defence, hea-
lth, justice and environm-
ent as well as the deputy
has faced protests over un-
popular pension reforms,
the loss of his overall ma-
jority in parliamentary
Anomaly preventing it from pointing its solar panels towards the Sun
● PEREGRINE IS on its
way to the Moon and is
supposed to hold its orbit
before finally landing on a
mid-latitude region called
Sinus Viscositatis, or Bay
of Stickiness, on Feb. 23.
ground-based radio anten-
nas.
All its systems powered
on as expected, and it
“entered a fully opera-
tional state,” Astrobotic
said in a tweet.
But “unfortunately, an
anomaly occurred which
prevented Astrobotic from
achieving a stable sun-
Blinken holds talks
with Arab leaders
Abu Dhabi, Jan. 8: US sec-
retary of state Antony
Blinken was holding more
talks with Arab leaders on
Monday as part of a diplo-
matic push to stop the war
in Gaza spreading further.
Blinken met Abu Dhabi’s
ruler, Sheikh Mohammed
Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in
the United Arab Emirates
and was due later on Mo-
nday to hold talks in Saudi
Arabia with Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman in
the oasis town of Al Ula
before heading to Israel.
Blinken stressed to Shei-
kh Mohammed Washingt-
on’s commitment to “sec-
uring lasting regional pe-
BLOWOUT-HIT JET WAS RESTRICTED
AS ITS WARNING LIGHT WAS DEFUNCT
Portland, Jan. 8: The
Boeing jetliner that suffe-
red an inflight blowout
over Oregon was not bei-
ng used for flights to
Hawaii after a warning
light that could have indi-
cated a pressurisation
problem lit up on three
different flights, a federal
official said on Sunday.
which weighs about 60
pounds (27 kg) and covers
an optional exit door.
It was recovered on Su-
nday by a Portland school
teacher identified only as
“Bob” in the Cedar Hills
neighbourhood who found
ministers responsible for
digital policy and Europ-
ean affairs in one swoop
after 10 months in power.
Move comes after specu-
lation about which of the
16 Cabinet posts would see
new faces. — AP
polls and controversy over
immigration legislation.
PM Elisabeth Borne, the
second woman to lead the
pointing orientation.
“The team is responding
in real time as the situa-
tion unfolds and will be
providing updates as data
is obtained and analysed.”
The lander’s documenta-
tion, available online, says
that while in orbit,
Peregrine's top mounted
solar panel stays pointed
at the Sun to enable maxi-
mum power generation.
“The solar panel is
utilised to provide battery
charge and maintain lan-
der and payload opera-
tions. After descent to the
lunar surface the power
system continues to pro-
vide reliable power servic-
— AFP
ace that ensures Israel’s
security and advances the
establishment of an inde-
pendent Palestinian sta-
te,” state department spo-
kesperson Matthew Miller
said in a statement.
The two also discussed
the importance of ending
the conflict in Sudan, Mil-
ler said. Blinken visited
Jordan and Qatar on Sun-
day, and sought to reass-
ure Arab officials that the
US opposes the displacem-
ent of Palestinians outsi-
de Gaza, and instead wan-
ts Israel’s Muslim majori-
ty neighbours to play a
role in the Strip’s future
governance. — Reuters
Alaska Airlines decided
to restrict the aircraft
from long flights over
water so the plane could
return very quickly to an
airport if the warning
light reappeared, said
Jennifer Homendy, chair
of the National Trans-
portation Safety Board
(NTSB). — AP
it in his backyard, US Na-
tional Transportation Saf-
ety Board (NTSB) chair
Jennifer Homendy said
and added was “relieved”
it had been found having
called it a “key missing
component”. — Reuters
French government has
weathered these problems
but never dispelled doubts
about her future.
Under the French syst-
em, the President sets gen-
eral policies and the prime
minister is responsible for
day-to-day government
management, meaning
the latter often pays the
price when an administra-
tion runs into turbulence.
There was speculation
the reshuffle would be an-
nounced last week. But no
news emerged. — AFP
es to payloads through the
end of mission,” it says.
Peregrine is on its way to
the Moon and is supposed
to hold its orbit before fin-
ally landing on a mid-lati-
tude region called Sinus
Viscositatis, or Bay of St-
ickiness, on February 23.
Until now, a soft landing
on Earth’s nearest celes-
tial neighbour has only
been accomplished by a
handful of nations. But
the United States and oth-
ers are increasingly turn-
ing to the commercial sec-
tor to carry out routine
missions and ship hard-
ware at a fraction of the
cost. — AFP
SHEIKH
HASINA:
‘IRON LADY’,
‘AUTOCRATIC’
LEADER
1960s: Hasina
became active in pol-
itics while studying
at the University of Dhaka.
1971: Bangladesh gained
independence from
Pakistan.
1975: Her father Mujibur
Rahman, his wife and three
sons assassinated. Hasina
and her younger sister
Sheikh Rehana survived the
purge as they were abroad.
Hasina spent six years in
exile in India.
1981: Hasina returned
home and became vocal
about democracy in the
country ruled by the mili-
tary.
1991: Hasina-led Awami
League failed to secure a
majority.
1996: Hasina was elected
PM for first time.
2001: She was voted
out of office.
After win, Hasina’s aim is
to boost B’desh economy
Dhaka, Jan. 8: Bangladesh
Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina swept to a fourth
straight term in power,
with her party winning
almost 75% of the seats in
Sunday’s general election
that was boycotted by the
main opposition and drew
a low turnout.
India’s Prime Minister
Narendra Modi congratu-
lated Sheikh Hasina on
Monday for securing a
record fourth straight
term in office and said
India is committed to fur-
ther strengthening its
enduring and people-cen-
tric partnership with the
neighbouring country.
The main opposition Ba-
ngladesh Nationalist Par-
ty (BNP), which participa-
ted in the 2018 vote but
Pakistan scraps
Nawaz’s life ban
Islamabad, Jan. 8: Pakis-
tan’s Supreme Court on
Monday scrapped lifetime
bans on contesting electi-
ons for people with crimi-
nal convictions, paving
the way for Nawaz Sharif
to run for prime minister
for a fourth time.
Sharif ’s party, Pakistan
Muslim League-Nawaz
(PML-N), is considered a
front runner to win elect-
ions scheduled for Feb. 8,
with his main rival, form-
er PM Imran Khan, in jail
and barred from contest-
ing for five years.
In his ruling, Chief Jus-
tice Qazi Faez Isa, who he-
aded a seven-member pa-
nel of judges, said the life
bans “abridge the funda-
mental right of citizens to
contest elections and vote
for a candidate of their
choice”. The court’s deci-
sion was six to one in
favour of overruling a
previous 2018 decision
that imposed life bans on
politicians convicted und-
er certain provisions of
the constitution.
Sharif, 74, was found
guilty in 2017 of dishon-
est practices.
While Sharif was not an
A United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket lifts off from
Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, on Monday. — AP
SHEIKH HASINA, ADMIRED BY HER SUPPORT-
ERS AS “IRON LADY” FOR DEVELOPMENT
WORKS AND PROVIDING STABILITY TO THE
ONCE MILITARY-RULED BANGLADESH BUT
CRITICISED AS AN “AUTOCRATIC” LEADER BY
OPPONENTS, IS AMONG THE WORLD’S
LONGEST-SERVING FEMALE HEADS OF
GOVERNMENT.
4th
consecutive
term and fifth
overall term
secured by her
following
Sunday’s poll
victory.
2004: Hasina escaped
an assassination bid.
2008: Returned to
power with a thump-
ing victory.
2009: Hasina set
up a tribunal to
try 1971 war
crimes cases.
India is a great friend of Bangladesh. They
have supported us in 1971 and also in 1975.
They gave shelter to me and my sister and my
other family members.
— SHEIKH HASINA, BANGLADESH PM
kept away in 2014, boycot-
ted the polls after Hasina
refused its demands to
resign and allow a neutral
authority to run the gen-
eral election.
Hasina played down the
boycott and said her aim
for the next five years was
to boost the economy.
“Each political party has
right to take decision, ab-
sence of one party in elec-
tion does not mean democ-
racy is absent,” she told
reporters at her official
residence in Dhaka.
The daughter of Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman, found-
ing father of Bangladesh,
killed in an Army coup in
1975 along with most me-
mbers of the family, Hasi-
na, 76, first became prime
minister in 1996. This will
BLAST KILLS 5 PAK
COPS GUARDING
POLIO VAX TEAM
Peshawar, Jan. 8: A bomb
explosion targeted police-
men who were going to
provide security for polio
vaccination workers in
Pakistan’s restive Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa province
on Monday, killing six of
them and injuring 22 oth-
ers.
The incident occurred in
the Mamund tehsil of
Bajaur district in the
province bordering
Afghanistan.
The police personnel
had just boarded a van to
join security duty with
polio vaccination teams
when the explosion
occurred. — PTI
applicant in the latest
case, which was filed by
other politicians, the rul-
ing makes him eligible to
contest the polls as more
than five years have elap-
sed since 2017. — Reuters
pg 6
1947:
Year of birth in
erstwhile East Pakistan.
be her fifth term overall.
In her past 15 years in
power she has been credit-
ed with turning around
the economy and the mas-
sive garments industry,
while winning internatio-
nal praise for sheltering
Rohingya Muslims fleeing
persecution in neighbour-
ing Myanmar.
Critics accuse Hasina of
authoritarianism, human
rights violations, crackdo-
wns on free speech and
suppression of dissent.
The economy has also
slowed sharply since the
Russia-Ukraine war push-
ed up prices of fuel and
food imports, forcing Ban-
gladesh to turn last year
to the International Mon-
etary Fund for a $4.7 bil-
lion bailout. — Agencies
Pope Francis
POPE CALLS FOR
GLOBAL BAN ON
SURROGACY
Rome, Jan. 8: Pope Fr-
ancis called on Monday
for a universal ban on
the despicable practice
of surrogate motherho-
od, as he included the co-
mmercialisation of pre-
gnancy in an annual sp-
eech listing threats to
global peace and human
dignity.
In a foreign policy add-
ress to ambassadors ac-
credited to the Holy See,
Francis lamented that
2024 had dawned at a
time in history in which
peace is increasingly th-
reatened, weakened and
in some part lost.
Citing Russia’s war in
Ukraine, the Israel-Ham-
as war, migration, clima-
te crises and the immo-
ral production of nucle-
ar and conventional we-
apons, Francis delivered
a lengthy laundry list of
the ills afflicting human-
ity and the increasing
violation of internation-
al humanitarian law
that allows them.
But Francis also listed
smaller-scale issues that
he said were threats to
peace and human digni-
ty, including surrogacy.
Francis said the life of
the unborn child must
be protected and not sup-
pressed or turned into
an object of trafficking.
“I consider despicable
the practice of so-called
surrogate motherhood,
which represents a gra-
ve violation of the digni-
ty of the woman and the
child, based on the exp-
loitation of situations of
the mother’s material
needs,” he said.
He called for a global
ban on surrogacy “to
prohibit this practice
universally. — AP
 NEW DELHI | TUESDAY | 9 JANUARY 2024
quick Mutual funds AUM hits
BITES `50 lakh crore in Dec.
INDICATORS % RAVI RANJAN PRASAD
Sensex 71,355.22 0.93
Nifty 50 21,513.00 0.91
S&P 500* 4,709.15 0.25
Dollar (`) 83.13 0.04
Pound Sterling (`) 105.61 -0.31
Euro (`) 90.93 0.19
Gold (10gm)* (`) 61,967▼590 0.94
Brent crude ($/bbl)* 75.46 -4.19
IN 10-Yr bond yield 7.203 -0.032
US 10-Yr T-bill yield* 4.063 0.021
* As of 8:30 PM IST
DLF sells 1,113
luxury units in
Gurugram
Realty major DLF on Monday
said it has sold 1,113 luxury
apartments in Gurugram for
`7,200 crore within three days
of pre-launch amid strong
demand for residential proper-
ties. Aakash Ohri, joint manag-
ing director and chief business
officer, DLF Home Developers
Ltd, said, “The swift pre-launch
sellout serves as a testament
to the increasing demand for
high-rise luxury developments
by DLF.”
Asian Concretes
stake acquired
by Adani arm
Adani Group firm ACC, a sub-
sidiary of Ambuja Cements, has
acquired the remaining 55 per
cent stake in Asian Concretes
and Cements Pvt Ltd (ACCPL)
from its existing promoter at
an enterprise value of `775 cr.
Earlier, ACC held a 45 per cent
stake in ACCPL. “The acquisi-
tion is funded through internal
accruals and will help ACC and
Ambuja to further bolster mar-
ket leadership in the lucrative
North India market,” it said.
Skipper board
approves plan to
raise `199 crore
Power transmission and distri-
bution player Skipper on
Monday said its board has
approved a proposal to raise
about `199 crore through equi-
ty rights issue on a partly-paid
basis. The company said the
board has approved the rights
issue to eligible shareholders
on a partly-paid basis for an
amount aggregating to `199.18
crore. The issue price of `194
apiece includes a premium of
`193 per share.
ReNew inks pact
to sell 300 MW
solar power
Decarbonisation solutions firm
ReNew said it has inked an
agreement to sell a 300 MW
solar project to India Grid Trust
for $199 mn. The transaction is
likely to close in accordance
with power purchase agree-
ment conditions, the company
said. Approximately $8 mn is
expected to be additionally
received as an earn-out on
account of change-in-law pro-
ceeds after the first payment is
released by ReNew Solar Urja.
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.
Monthly gross SIP inflows scaled new high of `17,610 crore ONGC BEGINS
MUMBAI, JAN. 8
Mutual fund (MF) indus-
try assets crossed `50 lakh
crore mark for the first in
December 2023 as per lat-
est monthly data from
over `49 lakh crore report-
ed in November, 2023, as
per latest monthly data
released by association of
mutual funds in India
(AMFI).
The total assets under
management stood at over
`50.77 lakh crore as on
December 31. 2023 while
average AUM for the
month of December stood
at over `51.09 lakh crore.
Navneet Munot, chair-
man, AMFI, and, manag-
ing director and chief
executive officer, HDFC
Mutual Fund said, “The
mutual fund Industry is
geared up for ten crore
investors, which we are
sure will be achieved
sooner than expected as
the industry has shifted
gears to accelerate distri-
241 PACS opened Jan Aushadi Kendras: Shah
New Delhi, Jan. 8:
Cooperation minister
Amit Shah on Monday
said around 241 primary
agricultural credit soci-
eties (PACS) have opened
jan aushadi kendras
across the country that
will ensure rural poor and
farmers too avail the bene-
fit of generic medicines at
affordable rates.
So far, the government’s
jan aushadi kendras were
largely opened in cities
MOLD-TEK ADDS
CAPACITY WITH
THREE UNITS
Hyderabad, Jan. 8:
Hyderabad-based Mold-
Tek Packaging (MTPL)
said it has inaugurated
three manufacturing
plants in Telangana,
Haryana, and Tamil Nadu
at an outlay of `100 crore,
with capacity expansion
of 5,500 MTA.
Mold-Tek also acquired
land at Mahad in
Maharashtra to set up
another manufacturing
plant with a production
capacity of 1,500 MTA by
October, a release said.
MTPL chairman and
managing director J
Lakshmana Rao said that
these plants will enhance
growth pros-pects in
pharma packaging.
The company further
expects volume grow-th to
ramp up to 15-18 per cent
from FY 24-25 with all
expansions becoming
operative. — PTI
MORE | SAFETY
DGCA revises rest time for pilots new assembly unit
SANGEETHA G
CHENNAI, JAN. 8
Keeping aviation safety
risks in mind, the direc-
torate general of civil avi-
ation (DGCA) has
increased the weekly rest
period and night rest peri-
od, while revising the
maximum flight time,
flight duty period, and
number of landings of
flight crew.
The revised flight duty
time limitations (FDTL)
regulations mandate
increased weekly rest
periods from 36 hours to
48 hours for flight crew,
thus ensuring sufficient
time for recovery from
cumulative fatigue.
The definition of night
has been amended cover-
ing the period of 0000-0600
hours in the revised regu-
OIL PRODUCTION
FROM KG BASIN
PROJECT
bution outreach leverag-
ing technology across the
value chain.”
“While the MF industry
took almost 50 years to
build the first `10 lakh
crore of AUM, the last `10
lakh crore, from `40 lakh
crore to `50 lakh crore
was amassed in just over a
year,” said Venkat
Chalasani, chief execu-
tive, AMFI.
The monthly gross SIP
inflows scaled up to an all-
time high of `17,610 crore
in December 2023.
Equity funds saw higher
inflows at aggregated
`16,977 crore compared to
`15,536 crore in Nov. 2023.
benefiting the urban poor.
Now this benefit is being
extended to the rural poor,
he said addressing an
event here.
Shah, who also gave
away the jan aushadi
kendra ‘store code’ certifi-
cates to five eligible PACS,
said the PACS could expa-
nd their business activi-
ties to open jan aushadi
kendras due to changes
made in their byelaws.
Pradhan mantri bhara-
Action on energy demand Auto biz to grow on new launches
to save $2 trn a year: WEF
New Delhi, Jan. 8: A set of
business actions aimed at
reducing the intensity of
energy demand can
unlock annual savings of
at least $2 trillion a year
for the global economy if
measures are taken by the
end of this decade, a world
economic forum (WEF)
study showed on Monday.
These targeted practical
actions can also boost
growth and cut green-
house gas emissions.
Releasing the report
ahead of its annual meet-
ing in Davos from Jan. 15-
19, the WEF said the right
policy frameworks would
unlock growth and pro-
ductivity, save companies
cash, deliver competitive
advantage and reduce
emissions.
The report was launched
in collaboration with PwC
and is supported by over
120 global CEOs who are
members of the WEF’s
international business
council (IBC), a group rep-
resenting 3 per cent of
global energy use.
In one of the most wide-
ly supported initiatives at
UN climate change confer-
ence COP28, governments
pledged to triple the
world’s renewable energy
Ensures sufficient time for recovery from fatigue
HMSI commissions
● THE MAXIMUM flight
time and maximum flight
duty period for flight
operations encr-oaching
night have been restricted
to 8 hours flight time and
10 hours flight duty.
lations against 0000-0500
hours earlier. This
enhancement of one hour
during the early morning
will ensure adequate rest
and also align the night
duty period which encom-
passes the window of cir-
cadian low (WOCL) from
0200-0600 hours or the
time during which the cir-
cadian body clock cycle is
at its lowest in terms of
alertness.
The maximum flight
time and maximum flight
duty period for flight oper-
● INCOME ORIENTED
schemes saw com-
bined outflow of
`75,559 crore led by
`39,675 crore from
liquid funds largely
on account of quar-
ter end withdrawals
from the corporates.
The sectoral/thematic
funds category received
the highest inflow of
`6,005 crore followed by
small-cap funds at `3,857
crore.
Even hybrid fund com-
bined inflows stood at
`15,009.30 crore, higher
than `13,538 crore in the
previous month. In the
hybrid category arbitrage
fund received bumper
inflows of `10,645.16 crore.
Income oriented
schemes saw combined
outflow of `75,559 crore
led by `39,675 crore from
liquid funds largely on
account of quarter end
withdrawals from the cor-
tiya jan aushadi kendras
(PMBJKs) provide quality
generic medicines to the
general public, which cost
50-90 per cent less than the
branded medicines avail-
able in the open market.
More than 2,000 types of
generic medicines and
around 300 surgical items
are made available thro-
ugh these kendras to citi-
zens at affordable prices.
“In the last six months,
4,470 applications from
● COUNTRIES NEED to
cut their energy inten-
sity at least twice as
fast between 2023
and 2030 as they did
in previous years,
which calls for
substantial changes
from private sector.
capacity by 2030 and dou-
ble the rate of energy effi-
ciency improvement over
the same period.
Countries need to cut
their energy intensity at
least twice as fast between
2023 and 2030 as they did
in previous years, which
calls for substantial chan-
ges from private sector.
Underlining the practi-
cal actions that business-
es can take to act on ener-
gy demand, the WEF said
these would be driven by
energy-intensity reduc-
tions in buildings, indus-
try and transport.
Examples include ener-
gy-saving measures such
as using artificial intelli-
gence to optimise factory
line design, energy effi-
ciency, value chain collab-
oration, industrial clus-
tering to share clean ener-
gy initiatives, retrofitting
buildings. — PTI
ations encroaching night
have been restricted to 8
hours flight time and 10
hours flight duty period
respectively and the num-
ber of landings has been
limited to only two land-
ings as compared to the
maximum permissible 6
landings under previous
regulations during night
operations.
All operators should sub-
mit quarterly fatigue
reports. It has been stipu-
lated that the fatigue
reports shall follow a non-
porates.
Gold ETFs saw inflows of
over `88.31 crore while
flows in other categories
were muted with Index
funds inflows at `703.2 cr
and other ETFs inflows at
`200.29 cr while fund of
funds investing overseas
saw outflows of `419 cr.
“The net flows into equi-
ty funds have increased in
December indicating sus-
tained investor interest in
equity mutual funds. SIP
numbers also remained
robust at more than
`17,000 cr for the second
consecutive month. With
the expectations of high
economic growth and
political continuity, inve-
stors appear to be confi-
dent about the prospects
of the Indian equity mar-
ket,” said G. Pradee-pku-
mar, chief executive offi-
cer, Union Asset Manage-
ment Company.
“The tighter liquidity
conditions probably led to
outflows from the short
term debt funds,” he said.
PACS were received. Out
of these, in-principle appr-
oval has been given to
2,373 PACS. Around 241 of
them have started operat-
ing the kendras,” he said.
With these outlets being
opened in rural areas, peo-
ple there can now buy
generic medicines at affor-
dable rates.
Shah said about 40 field
officers have been deputed
to help PACS in running
these kendras. — PTI
MICHAEL GONSALVES
PUNE, JAN. 8
Automobile retail sales in
the country rose 21 per
cent in December, led by
strong demand for two-
wheelers and high dis-
counts on passenger cars,
the federation of automo-
bile dealers association
(FADA) said on Monday.
It noted that the sector
is positioned for growth
this year on new product
launches and stable mar-
ket sentiments.
Sales of motorcycles and
Hyundai to invest `6,180 cr
New Delhi, Jan. 8:
Hyundai Motor India Ltd
on Monday said it will
invest `6,180 crore on var-
ious initiatives, including
establishing a hydrogen
resource centre, in Tamil
Nadu.
The company inked an
MoU with the state gov-
ernment regarding the
new investment during
the Tamil Nadu Global
Investors Meet 2024.
“This substantial invest-
ment of Rs 6,180 crore is a
testament to our enduring
commitment to fortifying
punitive and confidential-
ity policy.
The revised FDTL regu-
lation is a stepping stone
towards the adoption of
the new fatigue risk man-
agement system (FRMS)
implementation in India.
FRMS is a data-driven
approach to enhance the
monitoring and reporting
of flight crew fatigue. The
collaboration of various
aviation stakeholders
such as the regulator, air-
line operators, and flight
crew will be required to
implement stringent mon-
itoring, record keeping,
and reporting to ensure
adherence to a FRMS
regime in the future once
the readiness to transition
to the FRMS framework
has been diligently
demonstrated by all stake-
holders.
FC CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI, JAN. 8
State-owned Oil and
Natural Gas Corporat-
ion (ONGC) on Monday
said it started oil pro-
duction from its much-
delayed flagship deep-
sea project in Krishna
Godavari basin in Bay
of Bengal, which will
help reverse years of
decline in output. “The
first oil from the deep-
water KG-DWN-98/2
block in Bay of Bengal
has flowed on January
7,” the firm said in a
statement.
Announcing the devel-
opment, oil minister
Hardeep Singh Puri
also said in a post on X
the production has
started in Krishna
Godavari basin but he
did not give out the
amount of oil being pro-
duced. “This 98/2 proj-
ect is likely to increase
ONGC’s total oil and
gas production by 11
per cent and 15 per cent
respectively,” ONGC
said in the statement.
As far as capacity is
concerned, the ONGC
produced 18.4 million
tonnes of crude oil and
about 20 billion cubic
metres per day of gas in
the 2022-23 fiscal year
(April 2022 to March
2023).
“The ‘production is
expected to be 45,000
barrels per day and
over 10 million stan-
dard cubic metres per
day of gas’ from the
Cluster-2 discoveries in
the block,” Puri said.
The minister however
did not give the time
lines for reaching those
levels of output.
scooters rose 28 per cent
year-on-year to 14.49 lakh
units last month. Overall
retail sales had fallen 5.4
per cent in December 2022
on weak two-wheeler
demand.
● THE COMPANY will
establish a dedicated
‘Hydrogen Valley
Innovation Hub,’ with
an investment of `180
crore, in association
with IIT-Madras.
the state’s pursuit to boost
the socio-economic devel-
opment in the state and
make the country self-
reliant,” Hyundai Motor
India managing director
and chief executive offi-
cer Unsoo Kim said in a
New Delhi, Jan. 8: Honda
Motorcycle & Scooter
India (HMSI) on Monday
said it has commissioned
a third assembly line at its
Vithalapur (Gujarat)-
based manufacturing
plant.
The third line will add
an additional production
capacity of 6.5 lakh scoot-
er units, taking the total
capacity of the facility to
19.7 lakh units per annum.
“To serve customers
more efficiently, under-
taking this capacity expa-
nsion plan will increase
HMSI’s total annual pro-
duction volumes signifi-
cantly,” HMSI president,
managing dire-ctor and
chief executive officer
Tsutsumu Otani said.
The Vithalpur plant pro-
duces scooter models for
India targeting
$2-trillion exports
of goods, services
Greater Noida, Jan. 8 :
India’s agriculture expo-
rts, which stood at over
$50 billion at present, are
expected to double by 2030
and reach $100 bn, com-
merce secretary Sunil
Barthwal said on Monday.
He said that the country is
targeting $2 trillion worth
of exports of goods and
services by 2030.
“I am very sure that this
$50 billion exports of
India today will see a dou-
bling of our exports by
2030 to almost $100 bil-
lion,” he said at the
IndusFood Show 2024
here.
The secretary said that
areas like the ready-to-eat
food segment have huge
potential to grow. He also
urged the industry to
focus on the technical
standard requirements of
importing countries.
Inaugurating the show,
commerce and industry
minister Piyush Goyal
said that this fiscal year,
the country’s agri exports
will be more than last
year’s level of $53 billion,
despite restrictions impo-
sed on shipments of cer-
tain commodities, includ-
ing rice, wheat and sugar.
Earlier, an official said
that the export ban and
restrictions on these com-
modities may hit exports
of about $4-5 bn this fiscal.
The government has
prohibited exports of
wheat and non-basmati
white rice and has also
imposed curbs on sugar
exports.
Speaking at the event,
trade promotion council
of India chairman Mohit
Singla said that over 1,200
exhibitors and more than
7,500 buyers from across
Sales of passenger vehi-
cles grew just 3 per cent in
December, driven mostly
by demand for SUVs as
high discounts only
helped clear a small
amount of excess invento-
ry, said FADA.
High discounts on small-
er cars - which formed a
bulk of dealers' excess
inventory in the fiscal
year helped bring down
PV inventory slightly to
55-58 days from 61-64 days
in November.
While 21 days is the rec-
ommended level for PVs,
statement.
This collaboration with
the state government goes
beyond mere investment;
it is a catalyst for cultivat-
ing a robust hydrogen
technology ecosystem that
mirrors the company's
commitment to sustain-
ability and a green future,
he added.
As part of the MoU, the
company will establish a
dedicated ‘Hydrogen
Valley Innovation Hub,’
with an investment of
`180 crore, in association
with IIT-Madras. — PTI
domestic as well as export
markets, which will help
the company to continue
leading the trend of
scooterisation not just in
India but across the globe,
he added.
The plant also has a ded-
icated engine line that
serves as a base to manu-
facture global engines
(250cc and above category
of two-wheelers) to serve
markets like Thailand,
US, Europe, and Japan.
— PTI
pg 7
the world representing
about 90 countries are
participating in the three-
day show.
Over 80 retail chains,
such as Choithrams,
Carrefour, Grand Hype-
rmarket, Nesto, Mustafa,
X5, Lulu, Almaya Group,
and Spar, are also partici-
pating, he added.
Goyal also said there is a
need for large-scale food
processing, product bran-
ding, and export focus to
provide better value to
farmers, generate employ-
ment, and enhance the
country’s earnings.
He added that as many
as 158 food and agri prod-
ucts have been granted
geographical indications
tags, and 708 food items
have been identified und-
er the one district one
product initiative for their
promotion.
He urged the industry to
focus on frozen, packaged,
and ready-to-eat foods,
encouraging skill develop-
ment, university exchan-
ge programmes, and start-
ups in the sector. The
industry should also pri-
oritise quality, organic
ingredients, and eco-
friendly packaging, unde-
rscoring the significance
of promoting food nutri-
tion and sustainability,
the minister said.
— PTI
any inventory level above
30 days is loss-making for
dealers, said FADA
President Manish Raj
Singhania.
New launches will help
the auto industry grow in
2024, said FADA, but
added it was "cautiously
optimistic" for January
due to high PV inventory
levels.
Total automobile retail
sales in India soared 21
per cent in December 2023
to 19.90 lakh units, as com-
pared to 16.43 lakh units
in December 2022.
MERCEDES BENZ
PLANS TO SPEND
`200 CRORE
MICHAEL GONSALVES
PUNE, JAN. 8
Mercedes Benz, German
luxury car maker, on
Monday said it will invest
over `200 crore in India
this year and launch over
a dozen new cars, said
Santosh Iyer, managing
director at Mercedes Benz
India.
“In India there is an
evolving customer profile,
the demographics are
changing today and there
is a lot of aspiration from
the young achievers to
straight away get into the
top end segment of luxu-
ry cars,” Iyer pointed out.
In the calendar year
2023, retail sales at
Mercedes jumped 10 per
cent to a record 17,408
cars in the country over
2022 on strong demand for
its top-end cars and sport
utility vehicles (SUVs).
Iyer said “mini metro”
cities are “future growth
engines” and the compa-
ny plans to open new
service workshops in
some of these places such
as Udaipur, Amritsar and
Agra.
Mercedes launched its
new GLS 450 SUV on
Monday, with the petrol
variant priced from `1.32
crore - `1.5 crore.
 GAMES
THE ASIAN AGE | TUESDAY | 9 JANUARY 2024 | NEW DELHI
SHORT TAKES
Klaasen retires
from Test cricket
Pretoria, South Africa: South
African wicketkeeper-batter
Heinrich Klaasen has
announced his retirement from
red-ball cricket, bringing cur-
tains to his brief stint in the for-
Having made his debut against
mat.
India in Ranchi in 2019, the 32-
year-old played four matches in
his brief Test career with his
final outing against the West
Indies in Johannesburg last
year.
He has scored 104 runs at an
average of 13.00, while his top
score was 35 against Australia
in Sydney.
Klaassen will continue to be
available for the Proteas in
white-ball cricket.
“After a few sleepless nights
wondering if I am making the
right decision, I have decided
to retire from red ball cricket,”
he said in a statement.
“It’s a difficult decision that I
have made because it is by far
my favourite format of the
game.”
“My baggy Test cap is the most
precious cap I have ever been
handed.” — PTI
Anahat runner-up
at British Jr Open
Birmingham, England: Rising
Indian star Anahat Singh signed
off with a runner-up finish in
the girls’ under-17 category at
the British Junior Open squash
tournament here. The Indian
top-seed Anahat went down 2-
3 to Egyptian second seed
Nadien Elhammamy in a tense
68-minute cliffhanger at the
University of Birmingham on
Sunday. The 15-year-old won
the opening game 11-7, before
Elhammamy fought back to
claim the next two on tiebreak
13-11 & 12-10. The Delhi girl won
the fourth game 11-5 to force a
decider, and not much separat-
ed the pair in the fifth, which
the Egyptian clinched 11-9.
Late last month, Anahat won
the Under-19 crown at the
Scottish Junior Open to cap a
spectacular 2023. — PTI
Brazil pays its last
respects to Zagallo
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Fans,
players and coaches paid their
last respects in Brazil to Mario
Zagallo on Sunday, as the first
person to win the World Cup
both as a player and a manager
was buried at a Rio de Janeiro
cemetery.
Zagallo was seen by many as
the embodiment of the
Brazilian national team, whose
flair and skills gained a global
following, with a large banner
reading ‘Zagallo eternal’ at the
Brazilian soccer confederation
(CBF) headquarters. Tributes on
Sunday began with a public
wake and then a private funeral,
attended by friends and family,
at the CBF museum.
His casket was later transported
on top of a firetruck through
Rio on a sunny Sunday after-
noon. It was covered in the
flags of world soccer governing
body FIFA, South American
soccer body CONMEBOL, and
the CBF.
Upon arrival at the Sao Joao
Batista cemetery, only Brazil’s
national flag was on the casket
as dozens of fans silently joined
family members and former
players like football great Cafu
to bid Zagallo farewell. — AP
Krejcikova, Beatriz
out in first round
Adelaide, Australia: Former
French Open champion Barbora
Krejcikova and fifth seed
Beatriz Haddad Maia were high-
profile casualties on day one of
the ATP-WTA Adelaide
International on Monday, both
crashing out to qualifiers.
Czech fourth seed Krejcikova
was beaten by Russia’s Anna
Kalinskaya 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 while
Brazil’s Haddad Maia met the
same fate at the hands of
another Russian, Anastasia
Pavlyuchenkova, losing 6-3, 6-
4.
Kalinskaya, who needed nearly
three hours to see off her
opponent, now awaits the win-
ner between American Claire
Liu and Russian world number
15 Daria Kasatkina.
The 59th-ranked
Pavlyuchenkova, who lost to
Krejcikova in the 2021 French
Open final, advanced with 29
winners, breaking Haddad Maia
three times. She will next play
either big-serving Karolina
Pliskova or 49th-ranked
Katerina Siniakova. — AFP
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Youth Centre, 219 Deen Dayal
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Price in Nepal - Nep.Rs. 20.00 per copy.
STICKY WICKET
Selectors’ safe choice of Rohit, Kohli could cost India another WC
New Delhi, Jan. 8: The
selectors have clearly
gone for the status quo
rather than addressing
the elephant in the room
by picking Rohit
Sharma and Virat Kohli
for their first T20 series
in 14 months. Will it
have a bearing on India’s
chances in another T20
World Cup?
Only time can tell.
Having endured a
heartbreak in the previ-
ous two editions of the
T20 World Cup, the two
greats of the game can’t
be faulted for wanting a
final shot at glory in the
format. But the same
can’t be said about the
selectors, who picked a
fresh bunch of players to
take the team forward
since the crushing semi-
final loss to England in
November 2022.
Now that Rohit and
Kohli have been picked
for the home series
against Afghanistan
beginning on January
11, it is a given that the
famed duo will be a part
of India’s squad for the
ICC showpiece in the US
and Caribbean in June.
It also means that
India, who have been
guilty of playing conser-
vative cricket at the top
of the order, are also
back to square one as far
as their planning for the
T20 mega event is con-
cerned.
The two superstars
played a massive role in
taking India to the ODI
World Cup final but can
they step up to the
demands of the shortest
format where one needs
to go after the bowlers
from ball one?
Rohit, who did not
score tons of runs in the
recently held ODI show-
piece but yet managed to
make a compelling
impact with his high
risk game, will most
likely carry on in the
same vein when the
Afghanistan series
begins in Mohali.
On the other hand,
Kohli’s game is tailor-
made for the 50-over for-
mat but he has also man-
aged to maintain more
than a decent strike rate
of 137.96 over 148 T20s.
Rohit strikes at almost
140 in T20s but he too
will need to bat at a high-
er clip to keep up with
the fast changing
demands of the modern
game.
In contrast, their team-
mate and world’s best
T20 batter, Suryakumar
Yadav, bats at a 170 plus
strike rate. The likes of
Yashasvi Jaiswal and
Ruturaj Gaikwad
showed promise in the
opportunities they got in
the absence of senior
players but there is no
substitute to experience
at an ICC event. It’s a
sentiment that has been
unanimously voiced by
former players includ-
ing Sunil Gavaskar and
Sourav Ganguly, who
have backed the inclu-
sion of Rohit and Kohli
in the T20 squad.~— PTI
Liverpool late show stuns Arsenal
London, Jan. 8: Liverpool
survived an Arsenal bar-
rage to claim a place in the
FA Cup fourth round in
dramatic fashion as a pair
of late goals sealed a 2-0
win on Sunday.
While Kevin De Bruyne’s
long-awaited return for
Manchester City in the
holders’ 5-0 rout of
Huddersfield was a memo-
rable moment on Sunday,
it was Liverpool’s victory
in the blockbuster third
round clash at the
Emirates Stadium that
stole the spotlight.
Jurgen Klopp’s side rode
their luck for long spells
as Arsenal wasted a series
of chances before Polish
defender Jakub Kiwior
headed Trent Alexander-
Arnold’s free-kick into his
own net with 10 minutes
left.
Luis Diaz wrapped up
the smash and grab raid
in stoppage-time.
Liverpool’s first FA Cup
win over Arsenal since the
2001 final was a significant
moment as the Premier
League leaders inflicted a
psychological blow on one
of their main title rivals.
Arsenal have now won
only once in their last six
INDIA WOMEN
EYE T20 SERIES
WIN OVER OZ
Virat Kohli interacts with India head coach Rahul Dravid in this file photo.
Karnataka score big win over Punjab
Hubballi, Jan. 8:
Karnataka cruised to a
seven-wicket victory over
Punjab in a one-sided
Group C match here on
Monday to begin their
Ranji Trophy campaign
on a rousing note.Rohit
Kumar (3/101) and
Shubhang Hegde (3/89)
toiled hard but kept chip-
ping away at the wickets
as Punjab, who resumed
the fourth and final day’s
play at 238 for 3 with
another 124 runs in
arrears, were bundled out
for 413.
Karnataka were in the
driver’s seat for major
part of the match. Having
bowled out Punjab for a
modest 152 in the first
innings, Karnataka
replied with a massive 514
for 8 declared.
Punjab got their act
together and replied with
413 in their second
innings, having conceded
a lead of 362.
A 146-ball 100 from
Prabhsimran Singh was
the highlight of Punjab’s
second innings
Karnataka were kept on
and
the field for almost 115
overs. But in the end,
Punjab could only manage
Liverpool’s Luis Diaz (right) scores a goal against Arsenal during their English FA Cup
match at the Emirates Stadium in London on Sunday.
games in all competitions,
an unexpected stumble
that leaves them out of the
FA Cup and League Cup
and five points behind
Liverpool in the title race.
No wonder Klopp cele-
brated with such gusto at
the final whistle, pumping
his fists in acknowledge-
Navi Mumbai, Jan. 8:
The culmination of a
long and mixed home
season brings the Indian
women’s cricket team
one last opportunity to
register a maiden T20I
series triumph over
Australia at home when
the two sides square off
in the series-decider
here on Tuesday.
With the three-match
affair
Harmanpreet
levelled 1-1,
Kaur’s
India have a chance to
beat the reigning world
champions Australia in
their own den and kick
off the 2024 T20I World
Cup year in style.
India have only one
series win to show
against Australia’s four
in their five-series bilat-
eral T20I history. Their
triumph in an away
affair in 2015-16 sits atop
in the list of achieve-
ments for this side.
However, having regis-
tered historic wins in
one-off Tests earlier this
season against both
Australia and England,
India would want to
make this one last
opportunity count.
India were on a roll in
the first game and
thrashed Australia by a
record margin of nine
wickets but their batters
cut a sorry figure in the
second. A tricky pitch
here at the DY Patil
Stadium on Sunday did
not allow batters to
— PTI flourish. — PTI
and Pradosh Ranjan Paul
BRIEF SCORES (39 not out off 104) were
only able to delay the
■ At Hubballi: Punjab 152 & 413 in 114.4 overs (Prabhsimran inevitable.
Singh 100, Abhishek Sharma 91) lost to Karnataka 514/8 decl &
52/3 (Ravikumar Samarth 21, Srinivas Sharath 21 not out; Prerit PUDUCHERRY WIN
Dutta 2/10) by 7 wickets. EASY AGAINST DELHI
■ At Valsad: Gujarat 236 & 312 beat Tamil Nadu 250 & 187 (Sai Medium-pacer Abin
Kishore 48, Baba Indrajith 39, Pradosh Ranjan Paul 39 not out; Matthew hogged the lime-
Arzan Nagwaswalla 4/34, Chintan Gaja 3/34, Priyajitsing Jadeja light with a maiden five-
2/37, Ravi Bishnoi 1/57) by 111 runs. wicket haul as
■ At Patna: Mumbai 251 beat Bihar 100 & 100 (Sharman Nigrodh
Puducherry bowlers came
40; Shivam Dube 4/10, Royston Dias 3/35) by an innings and 51
runs.
up with an exceptional
■ At Visakhapatnam: Bengal 409 & 82/1 (Sourav Paul 30*; show to orchestrate a com-
Shoaib Md Khan 1/16) d/w Andhra 445 (Hanuma Vihari 51, Ricky manding nine-wicket win
Bhui 175, Shoaib Khan 56; Mohammed Kaif 3/62). over hosts Delhi in their
■ At Alappuzha: Uttar Pradesh 302 & 323/3 decl (Aryan Juyal Ranji Trophy opener.
115, Priyam Garg 106; Basil Thampi 1/30) d/w Kerala 243 & 72/2 Resuming on 126/8 in
(Rohan Kunnummal 42; Kuldeep Yadav 1/19). their second innings,
■ At Delhi: Delhi 148 & 145 in 46.4 overs (Abin Mathew 5/39, Delhi managed to add 19
Gaurav Yadav 3/49, Saurabh Yadav 2/43) lost to Puducherry more runs before being
244 and 51/1; 13.4 overs by nine wickets. bowled out for 145.
■ At Vadodara: Baroda 351 & 258/4 decl bt Odisha 178 & 284 in Mathew claimed a career
101.5 overs (Shantanu Mishra 78, Anurag Sarangi 56, Sandeep best 5/39 to dismantle the
Pattnaik 51, Suryakant Pradhan 46; Mahesh Pithiya 5/61) by 147 Delhi batting order.
runs. Gaurav Yadav (3/49) and
Saurabh Yadav (2/43) also
a slender 51-run overall their daunting chase of contributed to Delhi’s
lead. Karnataka then 299, were shot out for a downfall to give them an
made 52/3 to win by a big mere 187. easy 51-run chase.
margin. Arzan Nagwaswalla In reply, Puducherry lost
In another Group C (4/34) was the pick of the opener Akash Kargave
game at Valsad, Gujarat Gujarat bowlers while (23) with seven runs shy
trounced Tamil Nadu by
111 runs to add six points
to their kitty.
Tamil Nadu, who
resumed the fourth day’s
India
Bishnoi
spinner
chipped in.
(1/57)
Ravi
also
Tamil Nadu skipper Sai
Kishore (48 off 108 balls),
from the target.
Jay Pande (21 not out)
and Marimuthu
Vikneshwaran (7 not out)
then sealed the chase in
proceedings at 32 for 2 in Baba Indrajith (39 from 89) the very next over. — PTI
BARCA EDGE
BARBASTRO, IN
COPA LAST 16
Barcelona (Spain), Jan.
8: Barcelona reached the
last 16 of the Copa del
Rey but were given a
scare by fourth-tier
Barbastro in an enter-
taining 3-2 win on
Sunday.
The record 31-time
winners took a two-goal
lead through Fermin
Lopez and Raphinha,
before Adria de Mesa
pulled one back for the
hard-working hosts.
Substitute Robert
Lewandowski netted
from the spot for the
Spanish champions but
Marc Prat smashed in a
late penalty for the
hosts, who refused to
give up. “It seemed like
the match was over, (but)
— AP these games always get
complicated,” Barca
ment of a victory that boys,” Klopp said. coach Xavi said.
could springboard The Reds, who drew 1-1 Barcelona took the
Liverpool’s bid to win four with Arsenal in the lead early on when
trophies. “In the end we Premier League in Frenkie de Jong chipped
came through. I’m really December, face Fulham in a ball over the top for
happy we could win this the League Cup semifinal Raphinha and Lopez
game. Arsenal could have first leg in midweek and arrived in the box at the
won it without a doubt. We are also through to the perfect moment to tuck
finished it off and it spoke Europa League last 16. away the Brazilian’s low
for the character of the — AFP cut-back. — AFP
SHOOTING | ASIAN QUALIFIER
Indian shooters Rhythm Sangwan (from left), Esha
Singh and Surbhi Rao pose after winning gold in the
women’s 10m air pistol team event at the Asian
Olympic Qualifiers in Jakarta on Monday.
Varun, Esha seal
Oly quota places
Jakarta, Jan. 8: Young
Indian shooters Varun
Tomar and Esha Singh on
Monday secured two
Olympic quota places for
the country with gold
medals in the men’s and
women’s 10m Air Pistol
events of the Asian
Qualifiers here.
The duo’s qualification
took the total number of
Indian shooters bound for
Paris to 15, equalling the
highest-ever tally that
was achieved in the
Tokyo Games.
India can add more to
the group headed for the
Games in July-August
this year when the
remaining qualifiers are
held.
India secured six
medals on Monday,
including two team golds,
at the continental event.
The 20-year-old Tomar
shot 239.6 in the final to
claim the top position,
while Arjun Cheema won
the silver medal with a
score of 237.3. Mongolia’s
Davaakhuu Enkhtaivan
(217.2) won the bronze
medal.
Earlier, Tomar (586),
Cheema (579) and Ujjawal
Malik (575) shot a total of
Franz Beckenbauer
Football great
‘Kaiser’ dead
Paris, Jan. 8: Franz
Beckenbauer, an iconic
German player and later
coach with a knack for
leading his teams to
greatness, has died at the
age of 78.
Beckenbauer, one of
only three men to win the
World Cup as player and
as a coach, was known as
the Kaiser, a title that fit-
ted both his stylish and
assured playing style and
his natural leadership.
“He was so elegant he
wasn’t really German,”
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge,
a team-mate and later fel-
low administrator at
Bayern Munich, said in a
profile on the
Bundesliga’s official web-
site. “He just oozed class
and quality.”
Beckenbauer helped
establish Bayern as
Germany’s strongest
club. At international
level, he played a key role
as Germany became a
football powerhouse. Yet
his final triumph, leading
Germany’s successful
organisation of the 2006
World Cup, ultimately
cast a shadow over his
legacy, when he was
implicated in possible
corruption in securing
the hosting rights.
Beckenbauer was born
in derelict Munich in
1945, four months after
the end of the Second
World War.
“When I look at my life, I
must have been born
pg 8
— PTI
1740 to win the 10m air
pistol team gold, while
Iran and Korea claimed
the silver and bronze
medals respectively.
Tomar, a former junior
world champion, is the
cousin of Tokyo
Olympian Saurabh
Chaudhary, who won a
gold medal in the 2018
Asian Games.
“It helped that I had
someone like Saurabh to
take guidance from as I
don’t have anyone in the
family who is a shooter,”
Tomar, who comes from a
farming family, told PTI.
The 18-year-old Esha
then grabbed the gold in
the women’s event with a
score of 243.1. The silver
went to Pakistan’s
Kishmala Talat (236.3),
while the bronze was
grabbed by Esha’s compa-
triot Rhythm Sangwan
(214.5). The 21-year-old
Talat also earned a quota
for the Paris Games,
becoming the
Pakistani shooter to
third
achieve the feat.
Esha, Rhythm and
Surbhi Rao also won the
team gold medal with a
combined score of 1736.
— PTI
FACTFILE
● Name: Franz Beckenbauer
● Nickname: The Kaiser
● Date of birth: September
11, 1945 (78 years old)
● Place of birth: Munich
● Nationality: West
German/German
PLAYING CAREER
■ Clubs: Bayern Munich
(1964-1977), New York
Cosmos (1977-1980),
Hamburg (1980-1982), New
York Cosmos (1982-1983)
■ Internationals: 103 caps for
West Germany, with 50 as
captain
■ World Cup squads: 1966,
1970, 1974
■ World Cup winner: 1974
■ World Cup runner-up:
1966
MANAGERIAL CAREER
■ Clubs: Marseille (1990-
1991), Bayern Munich (1993-
1994, 1996)
■ World Cup winners: 1990
■ World Cup runners-up:
1986
INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
■ Ballon d'or (2): 1972, 1976
■ German Player of the Year
(4): 1966, 1968, 1974, 1976
■ FIFA Order of Merit: 1984
■ Laureus Lifetime
Achievement Award: 2007
■ FIFA Presidential Award:
2012
under a lucky star,” he
said looking back.
He was a childhood fan
of Bayern’s local rivals,
but after an 1860 Munich
player slapped him in a
youth tournament, he
made the fateful decision
to switch loyalties. — AFP