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National

- ‘States have unlimited right to tax mineral-rich lands’

- At least six persons dead, and 12 injured after heavy rain lashes Maharashtra

- I-T portal fixed; July 31 deadline to file returns unlikely to be extended

- Standing tall

- In U.S., Israel PM calls for global alliance against Iran

- Jaishankar pushes for urgency in resolving stand-off at LAC

- India rejects U.S. criticism of Modi’s Russia visit

- Shock bills

- Getting DNA report a tall order for widow of man killed in Russian war

- Panel will look into issues stalling Bill, NE tribal councils told

- Govt. plans databank on trends in jobs, unemployment

- Tri-services on threshold of major reforms: CDS

- Manipur CM to meet Modi for first time since violence

- HC notice to Assam govt., DGP in Cachar ‘encounter’

- A notable life of a scholar-economist of distinction and social conscience

- Opposition highlights inflation, unemployment

- Lok Sabha adjourned twice over verbal duel between Punjab leaders

- Maintain dignity of House, says Birla after row over MP’s speech

- Modi government has usurped autonomy of UGC, says Kharge

- Opposition intent on abusing PM, not debating Budget: Rijiju

- BJP MP highlights fall in tribal population in Jharkhand

- Govt. sleeping at wheel: Cong. on ‘fall’ in garment exports

- Cong. to launch campaign for implementing women’s quota

- 2 arrested for ‘supporting’ terrorists in Kathua attack

- Two halls in Rashtrapati Bhavan get names reflecting republican ethos

- 14237

- Minister launches revamped Model Skill Loan Scheme

- Lord Siva blesses child

- Doval, Rajnath pay tribute to Vietnamese leader

- HC refuses interim stay on web series on Netflix

- CBI continues probe in Hazaribagh in NEET paper leak case

- Centre took long to realise its ‘mistake’ on RSS-govt. ban: HC

- CUET-UG: Final answer keys released, result to be out soon

- Shekhar Kapur appointed IFFI film festival director

Krishnadas Rajagopal

NEW DELHI

Constitution Bench, in an 8:1 verdict , holds that Parliament, through Mines and Minerals Act, cannot restrict States from legislating on the taxation of mining lands, quarries; any dilution will impact their ability to raise revenues; the verdict came in a batch of 86 appeals filed by different State govts., mining firms, and public sector undertakings

A nine-judge Constitution Bench, headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, on Thursday held by an 8:1 majority that Parliament cannot limit the power of State legislatures to tax mineral-bearing lands and quarries. The judgment, freeing States from the restrictions imposed by the Centre, is in tune with the federalist principles of governance.

“Any dilution in the taxing powers of the State legislatures will necessarily impact their ability to raise revenues, which in turn will impede their ability to deliver welfare schemes and services to the people. The ability of the State governments to invest in physical infrastructure, health, education, human capacity, and research and development is directly correlated to the raising of government revenues… Fiscal federalism entails that the power of the States to levy taxes within the legislative domain carved out to them and subject to the limitations laid down by the Constitution must be secured from unconstitutional interference by Parliament,” the Chief Justice said.

The verdict noted how mineral-rich States such as Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha continue to have per capita income below the national average.

The judgment said Parliament, through the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act of 1957 cannot restrict the States from legislating on the taxation of mining lands and quarries.

‘Royalty not a tax’

The court further held that royalty paid to the States by mining lease holders is not a tax.

“Royalty is not a tax. Royalty is a contractual consideration paid by the mining lessee to the lessor for enjoyment of mineral rights,” the Chief Justice Chandrachud said.

The judgment came in a batch of 86 appeals filed by different State governments, mining companies and public sector undertakings.

The case has its roots in a dispute between India Cements Ltd. and the Tamil Nadu government.

Chief Justice Chandrachud said State legislatures derive their power to tax mines and quarries under Article 246 read with Entry 49 (tax on lands and buildings) in the State List of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.

“Mineral-bearing lands fall within the description of ‘lands’ in Entry 49,” Chief Justice Chandrachud held.

In the sole dissenting opinion on the Constitution Bench, Justice B.V. Nagarathna said the States’ power to tax under Entry 49 of List II did not include “mineral-bearing lands”. However, Justice Nagarathna agreed with the majority on the Bench that royalty was not a tax.

The Centre had argued that Entry 50 in the State List had allowed the Parliament to impose “any limitations” on taxes on mineral rights through laws relating to mineral development, in this case, the MMDR Act.

However, the Chief Justice responded in the judgment to the argument by noting that Entries 50 and 49 of the State List “deal with distinct subject matters and operate in different fields”.

The limitations imposed by Parliament in a law like the MMDR Act, which related to mineral development, did not operate on or influence State taxation of mining lands under Entry 49 in the State List for the sole reason that “there is no specific stipulation in the Constitution to that effect”.

“Entry 50 of List II does not constitute an exception... The power to tax mineral rights vests in the State Legislatures. The Parliament does not have the legislative competence to tax mineral rights, with Entry 54 of the Union List (Regulation of mines and minerals development declared by parliamentary law to be expedient in the public interest) being only a general entry. Power to tax mineral rights is enumerated in List II. The Parliament cannot use its residuary powers with respect to that subject matter,” Chief Justice Chandrachud held.

Justice Nagarathna, however, agreed that the MMDR Act, especially the provision which allows the Centre to take “control of the regulation of mines and the development of minerals” on expediency in public interest, denuded or limited the scope of a State’s right to tax.

Purnima Sah

MUMBAI

Monsoon mayhem: Officials and volunteers wade through a waterlogged locality in Pune during a rescue operation amid heavy rain on Thursday.PTI-

Incessant rain wreaked havoc in several parts of Maharashtra on Thursday, leaving at least six persons dead and 12 injured, and inundating houses in low-lying areas. Three persons are feared trapped after a landslip in Lavasa, as officials evacuated hundreds of people to safety zones across the State.

As per the State Disaster Situation report, two persons were killed in a lightning strike in Chandrapur, three died from electrocution in Pune’s Deccan Gymkhana area, and one died after a landslip in Pune’s Maval tehsil. According to Pune district administration authorities, the Maval landslip victim was a restaurant staffer.

From May 15 to July 25, at least 94 people died in different parts of Maharashtra due to monsoon-related incidents such as lightning strikes, landslip, tree falls, and building collapses.

Across the State, four persons are missing and 145 have been injured. Around 241 people have been evacuated and at least 306 animals are dead.

In Pune, fire and rescue personnel moved nearly 160 people marooned in houses and buildings inlow-lying areasto safety zones, with over 200 personnel deployed in these operations. Authorities said they had responded to 16 incidents where water had flooded residential and commercial buildings since Wednesday midnight.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said if the need arises, rain-hit people will be airlifted. In Pune, the incessant downpour claimed four lives and inundated residential colonies and houses in low-lying areas on Thursday. Mr. Shinde said he has spoken to the Pune Collector and civic officials and authorities of its neighbouring Pimpri Chinchwad, an industrial township. He has also spoken to Army and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) officials to seek their help in the evacuation.

In Mumbai, flight operations saw significant disruptions at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. Due to poor visibility, there was brief suspension of flight operations from 10.36 a.m. to 10.55 a.m.

Airlines issued travel advisories while Air India announced full refund or a one-time complimentary rescheduling for bookings confirmed for travel on Thursday.

Senior Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar said the Shinde government must immediately announce a financial package for farmers who have suffered crop losses due to heavy rains lashing the State.

Schools, colleges shut

The Department of Education declared holiday for schools and colleges in Thane, Raigad, Pune, Palghar, Navi Mumbai and Mumbai. A public advisory was issued by civic officials urging people to stay indoors.

The local trains in Mumbai also suffered delay and speed due to low visibility. Railway tracks in Kurla and Ghatkopar were seen flooded.

I-T portal fixed; July 31 deadline to file returns unlikely to be extended

Vikas Dhoot

NEW DELHI

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2 of 2 There was a report of slowness on the website... measures have been taken in terms of ramping up the hardware Ravi Agarwal CBDT Chairperson

The July 31 deadline for filing income tax (I-T) returns is unlikely to be extended.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has intervened to fix recent glitches and downtimes reported on the I-T portal by ramping up its back-end capacity to manage the higher workload this year.

CBDT Chairperson Ravi Agarwal told The Hindu that 28 lakh tax returns were filed on Wednesday with no downtime reported.

Acknowledging taxpayers’ concerns about the delayed generation of TDS (Tax Deduction at Source) and Form 16 certificates, and the “slowness” of the I-T portal, Mr. Agarwal said these issues had now been resolved.

“Even per-hour filings are now at an all-time high. So therefore, I think we can say with confidence that over the next six days, we should be able to take care of it.

Most of the problems have been addressed and sorted out, and yesterday, there was no apparent reporting of any of these problems like downtime, and even today, there is no issue so far,” he said late Thursday afternoon.

Rise in transactions

The I-T department has seen a substantial rise in number of transactions reported this year, Mr. Agarwal said, and some of the government officials in charge of issuing such deduction certificates were also occupied with election duty, delaying some issuances.

“Then there was a report of slowness on the website and people were finding it difficult. So now, some corrective measures have been taken in terms of ramping up the hardware, and also putting those solutions in place,” the CBDT chief assured.

“There has been a 15% growth in TDS transactions and about 30% growth in third-party transactions, and that has to get populated in the pre-filled I-T forms and the corresponding TDS certificates also have to be issued. Now, what happened was that because of elections, the deductors from the government side were engaged in the election duty... so all that got delayed, and then all of a sudden, we got that filing in bulk as far as TDS statements are concerned.”

“To process those statements and convert them into TDS certificates, was taking time, and involved a lot of data. But we have been able to resolve that, and we are up to date on the issue of TDS certificates not being downloaded or not being made available,” Mr. Agarwal said.

Standing tall

A soldier on Lamochan mountain overlooking Drass in Kargil district on Thursday on the eve of Kargil Vijay Diwas. The nation, on Friday, marks 25 years since the major armed conflict with Pakistan at a high-altitude battle in the Himalayas. AFPTAUSEEF MUSTAFA

In U.S., Israel PM calls for global alliance against Iran

Agence France-Presse

WASHINGTON

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed Gaza cease-fire demonstrators on Wednesday and called for a global alliance against the Iranian regime he accuses of funding them, as he addressed a U.S. Congress divided by the war.

All countries that are in peace with Israel, and all those countries who will make peace with Israel, should be invited to join this alliance.” Iran, he said, was the “axis of terror” behind almost all sectarian killing in the West Asia. “Our enemies are your enemies. Our fight is your fight. And our victory will be your victory.”

Jaishankar pushes for urgency in resolving stand-off at LAC

Suhasini Haidar

New Delhi

In meeting with Wang, Jaishankar stresses significance of India and China as key economies of the world; both Ministers call for stronger guidance to officials to complete LAC disengagement

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Vientiane on Thursday. Dr. S. Jaishankar-XANI

For the second time this month, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, with the two leaders highlighting the need to resolve the four-year-old military stand-off at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with “purpose and urgency”.

The meeting was among the first few bilateral meetings the External Affairs Minister had after landing in Vientiane, Laos for a number of ASEAN-related meetings (July 25-27), and comes three weeks after the two Ministers held talks on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in Kazakhstan, in a signal that New Delhi and Beijing are fast-tracking their efforts to resolve the LAC issue.

“Their talks focused on finding an early resolution of the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to stabilise and rebuild bilateral relations,” the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement. Stressing the “exceptional significance” of India and China as the “two most populous nations and among the two key economies of the world”, Mr. Jaishankar said stable bilateral ties were necessary between them.

“Our ability to ensure that they are stable and forward-looking is essential both for the prospects of Asia and that of the multipolar world. There are also issues on which our interests converge,” Mr. Jaishankar told Mr. Wang in preliminary comments before their talks.

Both sides decided that an “early meeting” of the Working Mechanism on Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) that includes External Affairs Ministry, border, and military officials would take discussions forward, the External Affairs Ministry said in its statement.

The two Ministers met for the fourth time in the past 12 months, and have been making a concerted push for complete disengagement of troops.

‘Respect the LAC’

While the two sides had earlier achieved disengagement on several flashpoints from 2020-22, several rounds of WMCC and border commander talks have yielded no further breakthrough, which hinges on the PLA withdrawing from positions at the Demchok and Depsang sectors. In March, the WMCC grouping held its 29th meeting in Beijing.

Mr. Jaishankar said he hoped the meeting on Thursday would allow them to “give stronger guidance” to officials to complete the disengagement process which had “cast a shadow” over India-China ties. He also said that both sides must ensure respect for the LAC and for past agreements, indicating that agreements from the 1990s on managing the boundaries are still relevant for India in resolving the military stand-off that began in April 2020, when the Chinese PLA transgressed along the LAC, leading to deadly clashes in Galwan.

The talks came amid speculation that the government is considering relaxing some of its restrictions on Chinese companies, fuelled by the Economic Survey released before the Budget this week that specifically favoured encouraging more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from China.

On Thursday, the Chinese Embassy in Delhi also posted a video on its social media handles calling for India to take steps towards easing economic and business ties, citing falling FDI numbers, tourist footfall, as well as the lack of direct flights between the two countries.

India rejects U.S. criticism of Modi’s Russia visit

Suhasini Haidar

NEW DELHI

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2 of 2 In a multipolar world, all countries have freedom of choice. It is essential for everybody to be mindful of and appreciate such realities Randhir Jaiswal MEA spokesperson

Defending India’s “freedom of choice” in foreign relations, the government on Thursday reacted sharply to a U.S. official who told the U.S. Congress that Washington was “disappointed” about the “symbolism and timing” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Moscow earlier this month.

The exchange of statements came just as External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar began a visit to Laos and Japan, where he is expected to interact with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the ASEAN and Quad meetings.

The U.S. official, Under Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Donald Lu, had referred to “tough conversations” that the U.S. government is having with Indian counterparts, indicating that the issue of India-Russia ties continues to impact ties between Delhi and Washington, despite efforts to smooth over the cracks, including during a call between National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and his U.S. counterpart Jake Sullivan.

‘Long-standing ties’

“You must understand that India has a long-standing relationship with Russia that is based on the mutuality of interests,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in response to questions during the Ministry’s weekly briefing.

“In a multipolar world, all countries have freedom of choice. It is essential for everybody to be mindful of and appreciate such realities,” Mr. Jaiswal added.

In a congressional hearing on Budget Request for South and Central Asian Affairs, Mr. Lu was asked about Mr. Modi’s embrace of President Vladimir Putin on the same day Russia launched missiles on Ukraine, including a children’s hospital.

“I could not agree with you more about our disappointment about the symbolism and the timing of Prime Minister Modi’s trip to Moscow. We are having those tough conversations with our Indian friends, I assure you,” Mr. Lu told lawmakers at the joint subcommittee hearing.

Mr. Lu even sought to defend the visit, explaining that Mr. Modi had also met Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a few weeks prior to travelling to Russia, and had spoken to Mr. Putin about the missile attacks, particularly on children in Ukraine.He also pointed out that there were no new major defence deals or major discussions on technology cooperation in the outcomes.

In addition, Mr. Lu made an unverified claim, stating that India had cancelled “billions of dollars in defence purchases over these last two-and-a-half years because the Russians can’t deliver any more”, and added that the U.S. was “working very hard on that”.

“I share your concern about this visit, and we are trying very hard to communicate those concerns directly to the Indians,” Mr. Lu said in response to questions from U.S. Representative Joe Wilson, who also expressed concern about Indian purchases of Russian energy, “the funding of which is going to kill Ukrainians”.

When asked, the External Affairs Ministry spokesperson sidestepped Mr. Lu’s assertion, but said that India-Russia joint statements released during Mr. Modi’s visit included a special “thrust on economic aspects of the relationship”, which indicated the future course of ties.

Shock bills

Congress workers burn electricity bills in front of Victoria House in Kolkata on Thursday during a protest against the hike in power tariffs.ANI

Getting DNA report a tall order for widow of man killed in Russian war

Vijaita Singh

New Delhi

Tejpal Singh

The widow of a 30-year-old man from Punjab, who was killed on the Russian war front, has been running from pillar to post to get a DNA report of her husband’s mother, sought by the Russian authorities to identify and release the body.

Tejpal Singh of Amritsar was hired as a “security helper” by the Russian Army but was forced to fight alongside the country’s soldiers on the Ukraine border. He last spoke with his wife, Parminder Kaur, 30, on March 3 and the family came to know about his death on June 9.

Ms. Kaur, mother of a six-year-old boy and three-year-old girl, told The Hindu that none of the authorities in Amritsar or the Indian Embassy in Moscow were cooperating and she had no idea how to get the DNA report. She said despite reports of assurances given by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding early discharge of Indians, the men were being sent to the frontlines.

“After the embassy confirmed his death on June 9, I have written several times to them to arrange for the return of his body. Recently, we got an email from the Indian embassy in Moscow asking for a DNA report,” Ms. Kaur said.

According to the email, “The Russian authorities have said that as the body of Tejpal Singh is not identified, DNA testing needs to be done. The Russian side has conveyed that DNA test of close relatives, preferably from mother, is to be done and report may be shared with the Russian side.” Ms. Kaur said she has visited the local police station and government hospital and even a private clinic, but has not been able to get the test report.

“I am exhausted, no one is helping us. The Embassy told us that we need to stamp the email and attach the DNA report. They even got the date of birth of my late husband wrong in the official records. Instead of 2.10.1994, they have mentioned 12.10.1994 in all the correspondence. Our repeated requests to change the date has been of no avail,” Ms. Kaur said.

A Ministry official said the embassy is in touch with the family and extending all help.

At least four Indians, including Singh, have so far been killed in the ongoing war while two others are said to be missing. The Hindu reported first on February 20 that Indians who travelled to Russia on tourist visas were offered jobs as security helpers but were forced to fight in the Russian military.

Panel will look into issues stalling Bill, NE tribal councils told

Abhinay Lakshman

New Delhi

Nityanand RaiRANJEET KUMAR

The Union government will form a committee headed by Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai to resolve the issues that have been holding up the Constitution (125th Amendment) Bill, 2019, intended to grant more financial, executive, and administrative powers to tribal autonomous councils under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.

The assurance was made to the chiefs of 10 tribal autonomous councils in Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura, during a meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday, multiple council chiefs said.

The chiefs of the 10 councils had been camping in New Delhi over the past week in a bid to present a united front to push for the amendments. They submitted a joint memorandum to Mr. Shah, asking that the Bill be passed as soon as possible.

“We have been assured that this committee will be formed within one month and that it will resolve all issues that have so far held back the passage of the Constitution (125th Amendment) Bill,” Pramod Boro, chief executive member of the Bodoland Territorial Council, told The Hindu.

The development comes as the Khasi and Jaintia autonomous district councils are set to go to polls later this year and elections to the Bodoland Territorial Council are due next year.

Mr. Boro said before the meeting that unless the amendments to the Sixth Schedule were passed to grant more autonomy, the people of these regions would “always think we are isolated, neglected, and lagging behind”. He added that the amendments were imperative to implement several of theterms agreed upon in the 2020 Bodo Peace Accord, which promised greater autonomy for the Bodo Territorial Region.

“All of us are satisfied with the outcome of the meeting. It was a historic moment that all 10 councils came together for this,” Mr. Boro added, expressing confidence in the Centre’s will to resolve the issues.

Govt. plans databank on trends in jobs, unemployment

The Hindu Bureau

New Delhi

Amid complaints that the country does not have a comprehensive databank on the trends in employment, unemployment, wage loss and job loss, the Union government has decided to create an Employment Data Collection Mechanism (EDCM) in collaboration with departments of all Ministries. Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya will chair the first meeting in this regard here on Friday.

Sources in the Ministry of Labour and Employment said the inter-ministerial meeting will have senior officials from all departments and Ministries, and a workshop will be held to focus on enhancing employment generation and data tracking methods.

Questioning delays

The Opposition, both in and outside Parliament, has been questioning the delays and inaccuracies in the periodic labour force surveys, National Sample Survey Organisation reports, Reserve Bank of India reports and data from the Census.

The Centre, on the other hand, had questioned data from private agencies, such as the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy that brought out employment and unemployment data which was used widely among the political and academic circles.

Tri-services on threshold of major reforms: CDS

The Hindu Bureau

NEW DELHI

Stating that the right lessons of the Kargil War must be reinforced, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan said on Thursday that the armed forces must be prepared to “shed obsolete practices and adopt new ones”. He said the tri-services were on the threshold of major reforms, encompassing organisational, structural, conceptual, and cultural aspects.

“The underlying aim of these reforms is to improve fighting efficiency and keep the armed forces battle-ready at all times...The shape and contour of reforms must reflect the uniqueness of the Indian environment and challenges,” General Chauhan said in a message on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Kargil conflict.

Stating that the supreme sacrifices made by the bravehearts during the Kargil conflict would not go in vain, the CDS said the actions would continue to inspire and motivate future generations of not only soldiers, but also the youth of the nation.

He said the lessons learnt by shedding blood must not be forgotten, the mistakes must not be repeated, and the right lessons must be reinforced.

Manipur CM to meet Modi for first time since violence

The Hindu Bureau

GUWAHATI

Manipur Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren Singh is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the first time since the ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities broke out in the State on May 3, 2023.

The Chief Minister, who left Imphal for New Delhi on Thursday, said some time with the Prime Minister could be carved out during two major events he is scheduled to attend. The first is a meeting of the NITI Aayog and the second is a conclave of the Chief Ministers. “The Prime Minister will chair the NITI Aayog meeting and the Chief Ministers’ conclave will be in his presence. I will have the privilege to discuss the prevailing situation [in Manipur]. I will make a request seeking an immediate solution to the present crisis,” he said.

More than 20 legislators of the National Democratic Alliance from Manipur had camped in New Delhi for a few days in June to seek an audience with the Mr. Modi.

The Opposition parties have been criticising Mr. Modi for not visiting Manipur even once in 14 months since the clashes broke out, leaving at least 220 people dead and more than 70,000 displaced.

HC notice to Assam govt., DGP in Cachar ‘encounter’

The Hindu Bureau

New Delhi

The Gauhati High Court has issued notice to the Assam government and the Director General of Police on a writ petition seeking an independent investigation into the alleged “extra-judicial execution” of three Hmar men in Cachar district last week.

On July 17, the Assam police identified the three Hmar men as “militants” and said they were first apprehended and then killed in an encounter. However, the families of the three men have alleged that it was a “staged encounter”.

They approached the court with a petition seeking an independent probe into the incident.

A notable life of a scholar-economist of distinction and social conscience

V.K. Ramachandran

Christopher Thomas Kurien, known as CTK to those whose lives and minds he touched, was one of South India’s finest and most influential teachers of economics. CTK’s entry into economics was inspired by the vision of the ‘Tryst with Destiny’ speech, and in particular Jawaharlal Nehru’s exhortation that “the service of India means…the ending of poverty and ignorance and disease and inequality of opportunity”. As he explained in a 2012 interview published in the newsletter of the World Economics Association, when he decided in his final high school year to take up the study of economics, it was in the hope “I would be able to understand the causes of poverty and contribute to its eradication.”

It was this quest that spurred CTK’s scholarly efforts for the next seven decades. Amartya Sen, reflecting on the general dissatisfaction with economics, once remarked that this was experienced in India with probably even better reason, “because in some ways, economic problems are more serious, more nasty in India than they were in many other parts of the world”.

So it was with CTK. It was the 1950s and he was now a lecturer at the Madras Christian College, Tambaram. His restlessness over the “disjunction between theory and real-life issues” made him want to equip himself in economic theory. He decided to study for a Ph.D. and enrolled in the doctoral programme at Stanford University in 1958.

Stanford was then a special kind of hub of debate in the discipline of economics. There, CTK took the first major steps in what would be a lifelong endeavour: to test theory by confronting it with the economic problems of India. He set himself the task of testing the claims to universality of neoclassical economics by applying it to probe the literature on surplus labour. At the end of this endeavour, the scales had fallen from his eyes. What he wanted now was “a conceptualisation of the economy other than what neo-classical theory provided and what ‘dual economy’ models assuming subsistence wages implied was necessary for a proper understanding of the…problems of the Indian economy”.

He had developed an alternative: he was able to show that “the distribution of non-labour resources was the essence of understanding India’s economy and its problems”. In teaching undergraduate courses, he maintained that three related questions were required to understand an economy: “Who owns what?”, “Who does what?”, and “Who gets what?”

And so, in the 1960s, back to the Madras Christian College, where CTK designed and taught a course titled Indian Economic Problems (IEP). I had the good fortune of being a student in CTK’s IEP class in 1969-72. He was a demanding taskmaster and one of the first things his course did was to teach us to use economic theory to build a toolbox with which to examine and analyse specific problems of the Indian economy. He then helped us study a wide range of sectors of the economy — agriculture, livestock, industry, the informal sector, banking, major services, marketing and trade, Plan models, the public sector, and much more — using these conceptual tools.

The years from 1968 to 1978, his last decade at the Madras Christian College, were not only years of teaching but also of productive research and writing. In this period, CTK published, among other writings, Indian Economic Crisis (1968), A Theoretical Approach to the Indian Economy (1969), and, in 1978, his more widely known book of the period, Poverty, Planning and Social Transformation (the last book in the list being dedicated to “my teachers, many of them my students, who asked questions).”

In 1974, CTK proposed a rural employment guarantee scheme (in the form of a “land army”) for India; the first person, as far as I know, to have done so. In 2021, on the occasion of CTK’s 90th birthday, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, paying tribute to a “consistent supporter of policies that benefit the vast majority of people”, drew particular attention to the fact that CTK had been an early advocate of a rural employment guarantee.

MIDS term

In 1978, CTK took the major decision to leave the Madras Christian College to become the founder Director of the Madras Institute of Development Studies. MIDS, which had been established by CTK’s teacher Malcolm Adiseshiah some years earlier, had been made a National Institute of the Indian Council of Social Science Research. Under CTK’s distinguished and democratic leadership, MIDS became the first and foremost Centre for the study of the Tamil Nadu economy. This concentration on regional economics was reflected also in the books CTK wrote over the period, including Dynamics of Rural Transformation (1979) and Economic Change in Tamil Nadu (with Josef James, 1979).

After he retired from the directorship of MIDS, CTK was a National Professor of the University Grants Commission and a National Fellow of the ICSSR. The books of his early retirement years, including On Markets in Economic Theory and Policy (1993) and Rethinking Economics: Reflections Based on a Study of the Indian Economy (1996), were the product of many years of thinking about India’s economy. In his last two books, Wealth and Illfare: An Expedition into Real Life Economics (2012) and Economics of Real-Life: A New Exposition (2018), CTK sought to reconnect with the young, to reach out to new students of economics who were struggling, as he had done in the 1950s, with the “disjunction between theory and real-life issues”.

Another feature of his retirement years was a new interest in writing book reviews, mainly in Frontline magazine. This was his way of keeping touch with current thinking, particularly in economics.

When CTK taught his Indian economy course, a question he asked when we began and ended was “What is the major problem of the Indian economy today?” And he was in no doubt about the answer. The world is a poorer place for the death of people like CTK, those who help us identify poverty and its social and economic characteristics and inspire us to come together to fight for a just society.

(V.K. Ramachandran, an economist, is Vice-Chairperson of the Kerala State Planning Board. A longer text of this article can be read at www.thehindu.com.)

Opposition highlights inflation, unemployment

The Hindu Bureau

New Delhi

Removal of indexation will lead to fall in investments in real estate, the parties say in Rajya Sabha demanding its restoration; members from T.N. allege ‘unequal distribution’ of allocation in Budget

War of words: Congress MP Randeep Singh Surjewala speaking in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. PTI

The war of words between the Opposition and Treasury benches in the Rajya Sabha on the state of the economy — particularly inflation, unemployment and the condition of farmers — continued on the second day of the debate on the Union Budget.

Alleging corruption, the Opposition demanded that the Centre provide details of the beneficiaries of schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Fazal Bima Yojana and the PM Kisan Nidhi, which was resisted by the BJP members.

The Opposition members also questioned the decision to remove indexation benefit on sale of old property, and said it would lead to a fall in investments in the sector.

AAP MP Raghav Chadha said the removal of indexation benefit would create hurdles in people’s plans to purchase their “dream homes”. “Restore indexation on long-term capital gains. Throughout the world, to woo investors to invest they are incentivised. In this country, by removing indexation we are disincentivising the investor class,” he said. “If you do not bring back indexation, three things will happen. First, investment in real estate will go down and people will never be able to buy their dream homes,” he said, adding that there would be a huge inflow of black money if the Centre does not roll back the decision to withdraw indexation.

C.V. Shanmugham of the AIADMK demanded more Central allocation for Tamil Nadu’s infrastructure, healthcare, social justice and education. “The government has mentioned 76 projects in Tamil Nadu, but most of them are pre-existing ones getting a facelift. Moreover, in the Budget, no help in flood mitigation was provided, despite the State being prone to cyclones. There is no mention of a linkage of Cauvery and Godavari in the Budget,” he said.

M. Mohamed Abdulla of the DMK said Tamil Nadu expected support in the budgetary allocations, but received nothing. “The government is supposed to represent the people of the country as a whole. However, it is very unfortunate and unfair to see unequal distribution to the States, especially for the non-BJP ruled States such as Tamil Nadu, which provides the highest tax to the government,” he said.

Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said the Budget is only an attempt to save the government. He said there was nothing for farmers, youth and the poor though the Budget speech started by saying that the government works for the three groups.

He asked Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to implement the C2 (production cost) plus 50% formula of fixing the minimum support price as suggested by the M.S. Swaminathan Commission. His remarks that ₹3 lakh crore remained unspent under six major schemes of the Centre led to brief disruption of the proceedings as BJP members questioned the claim.

Commenting on senior AAP MP Sanjay Singh’s remarks about the arrests of Opposition politicians, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said the executive cannot send anyone to jail without court approval.

Lok Sabha adjourned twice over verbal duel between Punjab leaders

The Hindu Bureau

NEW DELHI

Charanjit Singh Channi

A spat between Congress MP and former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Minister of State for Railways and Food Processing Industries Ravneet Singh Bittu led to a war of words between the Treasury and Opposition benches, disrupting the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

The House was adjourned twice during the afternoon session.

While taking part in the discussion on the Budget, Mr. Channi made a reference to the assassination of Mr. Bittu’s grandfather, former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh. Mr. Bittu countered by making certain personal remarks against senior Congress leaders. The specific comments were later expunged by the Speaker.

At this point, Congress MP Amrinder Singh Raja Warring tried to enter the Well of the House. He was, however, stopped by Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi. From the Treasury side, Mr. Bittu also tried to enter the Well, at which point BJP member Sandhya Ray, who was officiating as the Speaker, adjourned the proceedings for 30 minutes.

When the House reassembled, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh requested Speaker Om Birla to remove all unparliamentary references from the records.

Resuming his speech, Mr. Channi accused the Centre of not keeping its promises to farmers. Claiming that there was an “undeclared emergency” in the country, he listed as evidence the lack of progress in the Sidhu Moosewala murder case, actions taken against Opposition leaders by Central agencies, and the alleged mistreatment of farmers and women athletes.

Union Minister Piyush Goyal accused the MP of misleading the House. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju urged the Speaker to move a privilege motion against Mr. Channi. As the ruckus continued, the House was adjourned till 3 p.m.

Participating in the debate in the Lok Sabha, Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy said that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was not a “trained economist” and had “no original ideas”.

Hibi Eden, Congress MP, said that though Kerala was facing a financial crisis, the Union government has failed to announce any package for the State.

Maintain dignity of House, says Birla after row over MP’s speech

The Hindu Bureau

NEW DELHI

Om Birla

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday asked members to refrain from making remarks that would hurt the dignity of the House. His remark comes a day after a BJP MP and former judge in the Calcutta High Court, Abhijit Gangopadhyay, used objectionable words in an exchange with Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi.

The words were subsequently expunged, but Opposition MPs raised the issue when the Lok Sabha reconvened on Thursday.

The exchange occurred on Wednesday when Dilip Saikia, who was in the Chair, urged Mr. Gangopadhyay to conclude his speech during the debate on the Budget.

Mr. Gangopadhyay told the restive Opposition benches that he had not asked them to stay to hear him. Mr. Gogoi responded by asking Mr. Gangopadhyay his views on Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi. Mr. Gogoi made the comment in an apparent reference to an interview of Mr. Gangopadhyay in which he had said that till he understood the motivation behind Godse’s action in killing Mahatma Gandhi, he could not choose between the two. Mr. Gangopadhyay retorted with a pejorative reference to Mr. Gogoi (which was subsequently expunged) adding that Mr. Gogoi “knew neither about Gandhi nor Godse”.

As soon as the Lok Sabha met on Thursday, some Opposition members sought to raise the issue, at which point Mr. Birla said there was a lot of respect for the House and Parliamentary tradition.

‘Ensure respect’

“Members can express their views, participate in discussions but should also ensure the respect and dignity of the House,” he said.

“Everyone should work towards increasing the dignity of the House and the member concerned has been cautioned against making such remarks in the future,” he added.

Modi government has usurped autonomy of UGC, says Kharge

The Hindu Bureau

New Delhi

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday slammed the Narendra Modi government for interfering with the autonomy of the University Grants Commission (UGC) by “usurping” its power to sanction funds for higher education.

“UGC’s functioning of ‘Granting’ funds has been usurped by Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) — a venture between Canara Bank and the Ministry of Education. This will not only compel colleges and universities to introduce more self-financing courses but also increase the financial woes of SC, ST, OBC and EWS students,” the Congress chief said in a post on X.

“BJP-RSS wants to destroy India’s Education Sector by a thousand Cuts!” he said.

Budget cuts

He alleged that the budget for higher education has been slashed by ₹9,600 crore. Similarly, the budget for IITs and IIMs have been cut for the second consecutive year, he added.

“Budget cut for UGC by a massive 61%. The UGC is a statutory body, and was supposed to be the only grant-giving agency in the country, but Modi Govt has snatched its power, thereby trampling upon its autonomy!” Mr. Kharge said.

Opposition intent on abusing PM, not debating Budget: Rijiju

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday accused the Opposition of being more intent on “abusing” Prime Minister Narendra Modi rather than making substantive points during the debate on the Budget. The manner in which some leaders made their speeches amounted to insulting the House and lowering the dignity of the Budget session, he said. His remarks came a day after the Opposition claimed that the Budget was “discriminatory” against non-NDA-ruled States.

“They have insulted the mandate of the people,” Mr. Rijiju said.

BJP MP highlights fall in tribal population in Jharkhand

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey on Thursday demanded that parts of Jharkhand, along with Murshidabad and Malda districts in West Bengal, and Kishanganj and Katihar in Bihar be declared a Union Territory to deal with the challenge posed by the increasing number of “illegal immigrants from Bangladesh” in the region, which, he said, has led to a significant reduction of tribal populations. Mr. Dubey raised the issue during Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha.

His statement comes days after Union Minister Amit Shah’s declaration that the BJP would publish a White Paper on Bangladeshi infiltration if voted to power in the upcoming Assembly poll.

Govt. sleeping at wheel: Cong. on ‘fall’ in garment exports

The Congress on Thursday attacked the Centre over Bangladesh and Vietnam reportedly overtaking India’s garment exports in the past decade, alleging that the Centre was “sleeping at the wheel”. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh shared a news report that cited Global Trade Research Initiative data to claim that India’s garment exports in 2023-24 stood at $14.5 billion against $15 billion in 2013-14. “Vietnam’s garment exports are more than double, and Bangladesh’s more than three times that of India’s,” he said. “It is clearly and entirely a case of self-strangulation” he alleged.pTI

Cong. to launch campaign for implementing women’s quota

The All India Mahila Congress will launch a nationwide campaign from Delhi on July 29, demanding immediate implementation of the women’s reservation law, financial independence for women by providing them monthly cash assistance and steps to ensure safety and security of women. At a press conference on Thursday, Mahila Congress chief Alka Lamba said the campaign will be launched from Jantar Mantar and will reach every State, district, city and village until the demands of women are met and they are given their rights and security.

2 arrested for ‘supporting’ terrorists in Kathua attack

The Hindu Bureau

SRINAGAR

The two residents were supporting terror-related activities, claim J&K police ; preventive measures have been taken against more than 40 individuals to mitigate further risks, they add

Losing a braveheart: Chief of the Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi lays a wreath on the mortal remains of Naik Dilwar Khan, who laid down his life in the line of duty. PTI-

The Jammu and Kashmir police on Thursday claimed a breakthrough in the Kathua terrorist attack that left five soldiers dead on July 8, with the arrest of two residents who allegedly provided support to the attackers.

A police spokesperson said the names of the two persons emerged during “a meticulous investigation”.

The police described them as “overground workers” of the terrorists. They were identified as Layaqat Ali, alias Pawu, and Mool Raj, alias Jenju, both residents of Kathua district.

Further investigation is going on, the police said.

‘Withheld information’

Five Army personnel were killed and five injured when terrorists ambushed an Army convoy in the Badnota area of Kathua.

The police said the arrest of the duo was a “significant breakthrough” in the ongoing efforts to counter terrorist activities. “The two overground workers were supporting terror-related activities,” the spokesperson said.

The police said the two were also found “to have purposefully withheld crucial information by not disclosing it to police in time”. “Both individuals deliberately chose not to disclose vital information to the police, thereby obstructing efforts to prevent terrorist actions,” the spokesperson said.

Over 100 individuals have been questioned in connection with the case. “Preventive measures have been taken against more than 40 individuals to mitigate further risks and disrupt any potential support systems for terrorist activities,” the spokesperson said.

“The arrest of these locals is a testament to our resolve. We urge the public to remain alert and report any suspicious activities to their nearest police station,” the spokesperson added.

Army chief in Kupwara

Chief of the Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi on Thursday visited Kupwara in north Kashmir.

A spokesperson saidGeneralDwivedipaid homage to Naik Dilwar Khan, who died on Wednesday after sustaining injuries in an encounter in the Kowut area of Kupwara district.

“The COAS and all ranks of the Indian Army salute his immense valour and sacrifice and stand firm with the bereaved family in this hour of grief,” the spokesperson said.

Two halls in Rashtrapati Bhavan get names reflecting republican ethos

The Hindu Bureau

NEW DELHI

In these combination pictures, Rashtrapati Bhavan's iconic ‘Durbar Hall' (left) and 'Ashok Hall' (right) has been renamed as 'Ganatantra Mandap' and 'Ashok Mandap' respectively, on Thursday. PTI-

President Droupadi Murmu has renamed two important halls at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, with the Durbar Hall now set to be called Ganatantra Mandap — which translates to Republic Hall — and Ashok Hall to be called Ashok Mandap.

The Durbar Hall is the venue of key ceremonies and celebrations such as the presentation of national awards.

“The term ‘Durbar’ refers to courts and assemblies of Indian rulers and the British. It lost relevance after India became a Republic, that is ‘Ganatantra’. The concept of ‘Ganatantra’ is deeply rooted in Indian society since the ancient times, making ‘Ganatantra Mandap’ an apt name for the venue,” said a Rashtrapati Bhavan statement.

Commenting on the move, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said: “There is no concept of ‘Durbar’, but that of ‘Shahenshah’.” Ms. Vadra has previously targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi by referring to him as a Shahenshah, which translates to ‘king of kings’, and it has been used as a title by emperors.

Removed anglicisation

The Rashtrapati Bhavan statement noted that Ashok Hall was originally a ballroom. “The word ‘Ashok’ connotes someone who is ‘free from all sufferings’ or is ‘bereft of any sorrow’. Also, ‘Ashoka’ refers to Emperor Ashok, a symbol of unity and peaceful co-existence. The National Emblem of the Republic of India is the lion capital of Ashok from Sarnath.,” it said.

Renaming both the halls will bring uniformity in language and remove traces of anglicisation while still upholding the key values associated with the word ‘Ashok’, it added.

(set by Avtaar)

1 of 4

2 of 4

3 of 4

4 of 4 Scan to play

Across

1 Fancy vehicle studded with diamonds to welcome prince (7)

5 Conference of banks in Seattle Tower (7)

10 Worry about featuring in British daily (4)

11 Pirate spoils pauper, according to Spooner (10)

12 Vegetables in skimmed curd fed to deities (6)

13 Perhaps, Avtaar can mean 'Reincarnated'? (8)

14 Doctor is late - heard you are heading out, having nothing to do (2,7)

16 Bar acquired by chief in expanding East Tamil Nadu town (5)

17 Completely pointless, insincere greeting (5)

19 Couple rents jewellery (9)

23 Case of lieutenant avoiding casual relaxation leading to lack of appetite (8)

24 A sign describing Presidential couple, pointing to Middle Eastern City (6)

26 4th of April - soldiers taking part in professional test (10)

27 They are charged by current applied to terminal in series (4)

28 Poem about climax of journey by ship, ending in victory (7)

29 Intricate paperwork? (7)

Down

2 Where one lands in state carriage (7)

3 It goes round and round, to and fro, from Cairo to Rabat (5)

4 Group of artists start to sculpt, slicing copper fragments (7)

6 A clean, scrubbed cover with a mesh (6)

7 Cool blue-green aluminium, basically (2,7)

8 Won over by a journalist, judge cancelled a bequest (7)

9 The Reverend released pressure on crooked realtor, eventually (6,2,5)

15 Suppliers of big shots? (9)

18 A note with demand covering location of treasure is seized (7)

20 Piano removed from stage, replaced by nationalist who recites in a singing manner (7)

21 Maybe Egyptian mummy, no potentate holds up ? (7)

22 Old cloak inset with unknown animal's skin (6)

25 Drug lord is managing with difficulty (5)

Minister launches revamped Model Skill Loan Scheme

Maitri Porecha

NEW DELHI

Skill Development Minister Jayant Chaudhary launched the revamped Model Skill Loan Scheme on Thursday, two days after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced hiking the eligible size of loans for high-end skilling courses under the scheme to ₹7.5 lakh from ₹1.5 lakh.

Low fund uptake

The earlier Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for Skill Development, notified in November 2015 to create a credit guarantee fund for courses aligned to the National Skills Qualification Framework, faced multiple challenges. As on March 31, loans amounting to ₹115.75 crore had been extended to just 10,077 borrowers.

Skill Development Ministry officials said the low fund utilisation over the past decade under the scheme was due to low ticket size of loans (up to ₹1.5 lakh), even as course costs and fees rose due to inflation, leaving many high-cost courses out of the scheme.

“Only member lending institutes of the Indian Banking Association (IBA) were allowed to lend earlier, and there was low uptake by both private and public sector banks due to their limited reach,” a Ministry official added.

Under the new scheme, the lending network has been broadened from only IBA banks to include Non Banking Financial Companies and small finance banks, with access to more skill courses and higher loan limits.

Lord Siva blesses child

Lord Siva is ever present to help His devotees. He is the boatman who journeys with the devotee and helps him cross the stream of life. He also delivers all that a true devotee seeks, said Va Ve Su in a discourse on the history of Thirugnanasambandar’s gnana pal. Hailed as Isvarakoti (divine messenger), Thirugnanasambandar was born to Sivapadahrudayar and Bhagavathiyar. The father, a staunch devotee of Siva, who lived during a time of religious strife, undertook a penance for a child. He did not pray for a healthy, strong child. Instead he prayed for a son who would ensure that Saivism and Vedantism might flourish and “that the southern region might surpass the glory of all other regions and progress further.” The child would whimper like a lost soul often, but was raised well. At three years, when Sivapadahrudayar was stepping out to carry out his daily rituals at the temple tank, the child refused to let him go, until the father had no choice but to take him along.

Leaving the child on the steps to the tank, the father immersed himself in the water. Not seeing his father for long the child began to weep, remembering his association with Lord Siva in Kailasam. Siva instructed His divine consort Umaiyal to give the child in a gold cup, a feed of the milk which gushed from Her breast.

In his Periya Puranam, Sekkizhar sums it up thus: The goddess, blended into her milk the sweet ambrosia of inconceivable gnosis of Siva and placed the cup in the weeping child’s hand and bestowed Her grace upon him. The child came to be known as Thirugnanasambandar.

Doval, Rajnath pay tribute to departed Vietnamese leader

National Security Adviser Ajit Doval represented India at the state funeral of Nguyen Phu Trong, general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, in Hanoi on Thursday. In New Delhi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited the Vietnamese Embassy to pay tributes on behalf of the government and people of India. Trong, 80, passed away on July 19 at the 108 Central Military hospital due to old age and serious illness, according to local media.

Mr. Singh extended condolences to Ambassador of Vietnam Nguyen Thanh Hai, the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

HC refuses interim stay on web series on Netflix

Press Trust of India

New Delhi

The Delhi High Court has refused to impose an interim stay on the release of Netflix series Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper, saying it appeared to be in the genre of comedy and cannot be perceived as derogatory to the profession of chartered accountancy.

The High Court issued notice to Netflix and others on a plea by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and four Chartered Accountants (CA) contending that depiction of the profession in such a “scandalous” manner is bound to defame the profession and the toppers in the examination which is conducted by the institute.

After watching the trailer of the web series, Justice Navin Chawla said he did not find any prima facie case in favour of the plaintiffs for grant of an ad-interim injunction in their favour at this stage. “In my prima facie view, I do not find the trailer to be referring to the profession of Chartered Accountancy in any manner. It is a series which appears to be more in the genre of comedy, and merely describes the main character as a topper in Chartered Accountancy examination.

CBI continues its probe in NEET paper leak case

Amit Bhelari

Patna

The Central Bureau of Investigation team probing the NEET-UG paper leak case has been camping at Hazaribagh in Jharkhand for the past two days to collect more evidence. On Thursday, the team along with three suspects visited a few places in the area.

Sources said Pankaj Kumar alias Aditya, a resident of Bokaro and a civil engineer, arrested on charges of stealing the NEET-UG paper from National Testing Agency’s trunk in Hazaribagh, and Raju Singh, who helped him in the theft, were present with the team along with one member of the so-called “solver gang”.

The CBI team has been investigating two suspected locations in Hazaribagh — Oasis School and Raj Guest House. The Central agency has arrested the principal of Oasis School, Ahsanul Haque, and vice-principal Imtiaz Alam.

On July 16, the CBI had sealed Raj Guest House when Kumar and Singh were arrested. On Thursday, the CBI team entered the premises after opening the seal.

Before leaving, the CBI once again sealed the guest house.

Centre took long to realise its ‘mistake’ on RSS-govt. ban: HC

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Thursday said it had taken the Union government “five decades to realise its mistake” in banning government employees from joining the “internationally renowned” Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). “It took almost five decades for the Central government to realise its mistake; to acknowledge that an internationally renowned organisation like RSS was wrongly placed amongst the banned organisations of the country...,” said the High Court, while disposing of the writ petition of Purushottam Gupta, a retired Central government employee who had approached the court in September 2023 against the ban.

CUET-UG: final answer keys released, result to be out soon

The National Testing Agency (NTA) released the final answer keys of the Common University Entrance Test (CUET)-UG on Thursday, paving the way for declaring the delayed results for the undergraduate admission exam. The NTA had on July 7 released the provisional answer keys of the CUET-UG. A retest for over 1,000 candidates whose grievances were found genuine by the agency was conducted on July 19. “The final answer key has been released and the result will be declared soon,” a senior agency official said. The delay in the CUET-UG results comes amid a row over alleged irregularities in competitive exams, including in NEET-UG and UGC-NET. PTI

Shekhar Kapur appointed IFFI film festival director

Veteran filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, known for films such as Mr. India, Bandit Queen and Elizabeth, has been appointed festival director for the International Film Festival of India (IFFI). Mr. Kapur will head the festival, held annually in Goa, for the 55th and 56th editions, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said in a notification. "It's an honour. It's a commitment. It's a responsibility. Thank you for considering me worthy of your trust," he posted on X, tagging the Ministry. Mr. Kapur, 78, is an influential name in Indian cinema and one of the earliest directors to establish a name for himself in Hollywood. PTI

Regional

- U.P. CM seeks feedback from MLAs, amid talk of ‘rift’ after LS poll results

- First budget of Majhi govt. pegged at ₹2.65 lakh cr.; names of BJD regime’s flagship schemes changed

- Lalu accuses Bihar CM of ‘completely surrendering’ to BJP on special status

- Anti-defection law: two Jharkhand MLAs disqualified

- ED arrests one more in Rajasthan teacher exam paper leak case

- Intercaste marriage: T.N. girl’s brothers hack youth to death

- BJP ex-MLA serving life term released after Governor’s nod

- U.P. constable recruitment re-exam dates announced

- Cong. worker killed by mob in Jalpaiguri; five arrested

- Maliwal assault case: Delhi CM’s aide moves SC for bail

- Happiness committee to hear the case of Kerala judicial officers

- Kerala’s diaspora-oriented posting draws MEA’s flak

- Over one lakh cusecs likely to be released from KRS dam; flood warning issued

- Telangana presents Budget with total outlay of ₹2.91 lakh crore

- Raj Thackeray to field up to 250 candidates in Maharashtra Assembly election

- ‘Fraudsters using dating apps, matrimonial sites for cheating’

- Search for missing Kerala truck, driver enters 10th day

- Karnataka wants to change names for four airports: Centre

- Maoist killed in exchange of fire with police in Telangana

U.P. CM seeks feedback from MLAs, amid talk of ‘rift’ after LS poll results

Mayank Kumar

Lucknow

The meetings, described as regular discussions on various projects, are believed to be aimed at pacifying leaders who have questioned the functioning of the State government andbureaucracy

U.P. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has held meetings with elected representatives from Meerut, Prayagraj and Azamgarh.File PhotoANI

Amid reported rumblings of discontent within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh after the Lok Sabha election results, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has started holding division-wise meetings with his MLAs across the State.

On Thursday, Mr. Adityanath met elected representatives from Meerut and Prayagraj divisions. The meetings, officially described as “normal feedback” exercise to discuss development projects and to collect inputs on different issues, are believed to be aimed at pacifying the MLAs and party leaders who, in recent weeks, have questioned the functioning of the State government andbureaucracy.

Uttar Pradesh consists of 18 administrative divisions. On Wednesday, Mr. Adityanath held meetings with elected representatives of Bareilly and Moradabad divisions. Lok Sabha MP from Meerut Arun Govil was present in Thursday’s meeting.

“We had a discussion on the development projects and gave suggestions to the Chief Minister on the overall progress in our Assembly constituencies and the Meerut division. We discussed the need for a central university, elevated road and All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Meerut,” Somendra Tomar, the MLA from Meerut South, told The Hindu.

Asked if there were discussions about the Lok Sabha election results, Mr. Tomar said, “When elections have concluded recently, it is natural that discussions and consultation over this will take place.”

On July 22, during his visit to Azamgarh, the Chief Minister had held a meeting with elected representatives of Azamgarh division along with senior officials. A statement released after the meeting said, “The Chief Minister emphasised the need for timely and high-quality implementation of public interest and welfare schemes. He directed that development projects be monitored consistently.”

In the past weeks, several elected BJP representatives have questioned the functioning of the bureaucracy in the State after the BJP-led NDA won only 33 Lok Sabha seats in the recent general election, a good 29 seats less than those won in 2019. Former Minister Rajendra Pratap Singh last week alleged “unimaginable corruption” at the lower level leading to exploitation of the common people. “I have no hesitation in saying that in the 42 years of my political life, I could not imagine or see such kind of corruption at the tehsil and police station level,” he had said at a BJP meeting in Pratapgarh.

There are speculations of rift at the higher levels too with Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya reiterating on multiple occasions in the last two weeks that the organisation is bigger than the government. “The pain of the workers is my pain,” he had said.

First budget of Majhi govt. pegged at ₹2.65 lakh cr.; names of BJD regime’s flagship schemes changed

Satyasundar Barik

BHUBANESWAR

Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi presenting the annual budget at the Assembly in Bhubaneswar on Thursday. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTBISWARANJAN ROUT

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Majhi, who also holds the finance portfolio, on Thursday presented his maiden budget with total outlay ₹2.65 lakh crore, a jump by 15% from last year’s ₹2.30 lakh crore.

While the new Bharatiya Janata Party Government went for changing names of major flagship schemes implemented by the previous Naveen Patnaik Government, it gave priority to health and agriculture sectors in its first budget. The budget for 2024-25 also reflects implementation of major promises made by BJP in its election manifesto. The BJP government rechristened Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY) as Gopabandhu Jana Arogya Yojana with a budgetary allocation of ₹3,056 crore while it earmarked ₹500 crore for Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY). The major health assurance schemes will be implemented in the convergence mode.

The State government made budgetary allocation of ₹10,000 crore for launching Subhadra Yojana, its major poll promise. “The scheme reinforces the government’s commitment to women entrepreneurship, empowerment and financial independence. An amount of ₹10,000 crore is proposed in the budget for implementation of the scheme,” Mr. Majhi said.

The Subhadra scheme helped the allocation for Women and Child Development department increase by almost three fold from ₹ 6,224 crore in 2023-24 to ₹17,942 crore in 2024-25.

The State government substantially increased the outlay for agriculture sector by allocating ₹33,919 crore in 2024-25 in comparison to ₹24,829 crore in 2023-24 – up by 36.61%. It also came up with a CM-KISAN scheme under which it would give additional top-up for farmers getting agricultural assistance under the Central scheme of PM-KISAN. The much hyped Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme is all set to be terminated. The government has allocated ₹1,935 crore for CM-KISAN scheme. The budget focused on millet development and farm insurance scheme with budget provision of ₹649 crore and ₹600 crore respectively.

Higher MSP for paddy

Mr. Majhi declared that paddy will be purchased from farmers at ₹3,100 per quintal, at a rate higher than the Minimum Support Price of ₹2,300 per quintal. Giving thrust on tribal and scheduled caste sub-component, the Chief Minister proposed to spend ₹63,457 crore in the current fiscal.

Lalu accuses Bihar CM of ‘completely surrendering’ to BJP on special status

Amit Bhelari

Patna

RJD chief Lalu Prasad said Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was cheating the people of Bihar. PTI PTI

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad on Thursday came down heavily on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, alleging that he has surrendered before the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the issue of granting Special Category Status (SCS) to Bihar.

‘Nitish cheating people’

“It was a disappointing budget. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has failed and surrendered before BJP. He is cheating the people of Bihar on the issue of SCS. Whatever he is saying, the Union government is also saying the same thing. It is clear that without SCS, Bihar cannot develop,” Mr. Prasad said at Patna airport on Thursday, after returning from a medical checkup at the AIIMS in New Delhi.

Earlier, the RJD supremo had demanded the resignation of Mr. Kumar after Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, in a written response to Janata Dal (United) MP Ramprit Mandal on July 22 in Parliament, said that the case for providing SCS for Bihar is not made out.

On July 23, when the budget was presented, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced a host of developmental projects. She had proposed a total outlay of ₹58,900 crore for various projects in Bihar, where Assembly polls are due next year.

BJP MLC Naval Kishore Yadav slammed Mr. Prasad’s for the latter’s statement claiming that the media should not pay any attention to his remarks. “Laluji is not well, he has grown old and keeps speaking anything. We do not pay attention to his statement and will urge the media to do the same. He is already suffering from many diseases. He cannot think beyond the development of his own family,” Mr. Kishore said.

Comments flayed

JD(U) MLC Neeraj Kumar said: “Laluji has become used to surrendering himself because several times, he has surrendered himself before the court in corruption cases. Bihar has received a special package from Centre. When Laluji was part of UPA government, he could not come up with any such package for Bihar.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Prasad’s wife and former Chief Minister Rabri Devi on Thursday hit back at Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh over his statement in which the JD(U) leader had taken a jibe on her budget statement.

Anti-defection law: two Jharkhand MLAs disqualified

Amit Bhelari

Patna

On the eve of the six-day monsoon session, the Jharkhand Assembly Speaker’s Tribunal on Thursday disqualified two legislators under the anti-defection law with effect from July 26, 2024.

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MLA Lobin Hembrom represents the Borio seat in Sahibganj district whereas BJP MLA J.P. Patel represents the Mandu Assembly seat in Ramgarh district.

Both have been found guilty of defection under the 10thSchedule of the Constitution. Speaker Rabindr Nath Mahato gave the verdict and disqualified both legislators from the Assembly.

Defection hearing

The hearing on the defection has been going on for the past many days in the tribunal of the Speaker and the order was reserved on July 24.

Both the MLAs had unsuccessfully contested this year’s Lok Sabha election against the wishes of their parties.

Mr. Hembrom contested the Lok Sabha election from the Rajmahal seat against his party candidate Vijay Kumar Hansdak following which JMM president Shibu Soren had suspended him from the party for six years and sought action for defection.

Ahead of the Lok Sabha election, BJP’s Mr. Patel had joined the Congress and contested from the Hazaribagh seat on a Congress ticket against BJP candidate Manish Jaiswal.

LoP’s complaint

Leader of the Opposition Amar Kumar Bauri had complained against him of defection. After hearing the arguments of both sides, the Speaker Tribunal issued the order.

In Mr. Hembrom case, it was said in the Speaker’s tribunal that he contested the election as an independent in 1995 against the party but no action was taken that time and neither he was expelled from the party.

The argument on behalf of Mr. Hembrom said he had been expelled from the party but no notice had been received regarding this, and despite that he had voted in favour of Hemant Soren in the Assembly during the trust vote.

ED arrests one more in Rajasthan teacher exam paper leak case

The Hindu Bureau

Jaipur

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has arrested one more person after finding money laundering links in the leak of paper of the second-grade senior teachers’ competitive examination of 2022 in Rajasthan. The arrest of Anita Meena is the ninth in the case during the investigation, which has found that she had assisted others in the crime and received a huge amount of cash.

An ED spokesperson said here on Thursday that the arrest was made on Wednesday under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and the accused was produced in the PMLA Special Court, which sent her to the ED custody for two days. The money laundering probe was launched on the basis of first information reports and chargesheets filed by the Rajasthan police against former Rajasthan Public Service Commission member Babulal Katara, Anil Kumar Meena and some other persons. Mr. Katara, Mr. Meena and six others were earlier arrested by the Central agency.

The ED’s investigation revealed that Mr. Meena, in connivance with other accused persons, had leaked the question paper of the exam and supplied it to various aspirants in exchange for money.

Ms. Meena, a close friend of Mr. Meena, was allegedly in regular touch with him during the crime.She assisted him in generating the proceeds of crime and received huge cash from him, according to the ED.

Immovable property

Ms. Meena is alleged to have purchased an immovable property in her name using this money. The ED had earlier conducted two searches at 22 premises of the accused in June and October last year, leading to the recovery of incriminating documents and digital records. The agency also attached movable and immovable properties worth ₹3.11 crore in the case.

Besides Mr. Katara and Mr. Meena, other accused in the case are Bhupendra Saran, Suresh Kumar, Vijay Damore, Peera Ram, Pukhraj and Arun Sharma.

Intercaste marriage: T.N. girl’s brothers hack youth to death

The Hindu Bureau

SIVAKASI

A 26-year-old man, who had married a woman from a different community, was hacked to death by her brothers in Reserve Line, near Sivakasi in Virudhunagar district, on Wednesday night.

The police have arrested the brothers – P. Dhanabalamurugan, 26, and P. Balamurugan, 27, of Mahatma Gandhi Nagar – and their friend S. Siva of Kamarajapuram Colony.

The police said that the victim, M. Karthik Pandian, an automobile mechanic, had fallen in love with Nandhini Kumari.They got married eight months ago against the will of the girl’s family.

The couple was living about a kilometre away from Nandhini Kumari’s family. Her brothers had been threatening Pandian over phone with dire consequences.

On Wednesday night, Pandian had gone to pick up Nandhini from the supermarket where she was working.While he was waiting on his bike for her to come out, the trio came to the spot on two motorbikes.

Rammed with bike

After ramming one of the bikes on Karthik Pandian, the assailants pulled out sharp-edged weapons and attacked him indiscriminately.

Though Nandhini and others tried to prevent them, the accused continued to inflict injuries on Pandian, who was killed on the spot.

Virudhunagar Superintendent of Police K. Ferozekhan Abdullah inspected the scene of crime. Later the accused surrendered before the police.

BJP ex-MLA serving life term released after Governor’s nod

Former Uttar Pradesh BJP MLA Udaybhan Karwariya, sentenced to life in prison for the 1996 murder of a Samajwadi Party legislator, was released from prison on Thursday following his pardon by Governor Anandiben Patel. Naini Central Jail Superintendent Rang Bahadur Patel said, “The release orders of Udaybhan Karwariya were received on Wednesday evening and he was released on Thursday.” The Governor, using powers conferred on her under Article 161 of the Constitution, had passed an order to release Karwariya after accepting the State government's recommendation for his premature release. PTI

U.P. constable recruitment re-exam dates announced

The Hindu Bureau

Lucknow

The Uttar Pradesh Police Recruitment and Promotion Board on Thursday announced fresh dates for the constable recruitment examination.

The constable recruitment exam, earlier held on February 17 and 18, 2024, was cancelled over paper leak allegations. The State government had directed to conduct the exam again within six months.

The Uttar Pradesh government in the last week of December 2023 had notified for 60,244 posts of police constables, the lowest category under the State police force. The registration process which began on December 27, saw 48.17 lakh aspirants filling the form to appear for the written test, which took place at 2,385 centres across 75 districts.

Cong. worker killed by mob in Jalpaiguri; five arrested

Shiv Sahay Singh

Kolkata

A Congress worker was killed at Maynaguri in West Bengal Jalpaiguri district by a mob in the early hours of Thursday. Manik Roy, the Congress worker, had left his home and taken refuge with his family in Siliguri for the last five years.

The family had returned to the village in Khagrabari panchayat a few days ago.Rekha Roy, the wife of the deceased, said the mob which included supporters of both Trinamool and BJP tied him to a tree and beat him up mercilessly .

“My husband had stopped them from taking sand from the river. They also try to occupy our land. When they attacked my husband I ran to the police station but could not return in time,” she said. Five arrests have been made so far in the case.

Maliwal assault case: Delhi CM’s aide moves SC for bail

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s aide Bibhav Kumar has moved the Supreme Court for grant of bail in the AAP Rajya Sabha member Swati Maliwal assault case. As per the apex court website, Mr. Kumar moved the bail plea on July 19 and it was registered on July 24. He has challenged the July 12 order of the Delhi High Court denying him bail in the case and claimed the allegations against him are false. Mr. Kumar has also said his custody was no longer required as the probe was over. The personal secretary to Mr. Kejriwal is currently in judicial custody. He allegedly assaulted Ms. Maliwal on May 13 at Mr. Kejriwal’s official residence. PTI

Happiness committee to hear the case of Kerala judicial officers

K.S. Sudhi

KOCHI

First meeting to be held today ; High Court judge to head the committee; announcement comes amid widespread resentment among judicial officers of the State over a recent decision of the Kerala HC to seek explanation from 100 officers who took 30 days of leave last year and 10 days this year

Judicial officers of Kerala harbouring professional grievances can bring them before a happiness committee, which will start functioning shortly.

The ‘Welfare, Happiness and Grievances of Judicial Officers of District Judiciary’ will be headed by C.S. Dias, a judge of the Kerala High Court.

The decision regarding the formation of the committee was announced at an online meeting of all judicial officers of Kerala, convened by Acting Chief Justice Mohammed Mushtaq, on Tuesday. It was for the first time that a meeting of all judicial officers of Kerala was convened by the High Court.

Reason for leave

The announcement came at a time when widespread resentment is reportedly brewing among the judicial officers of the State over a recent decision of the Kerala High Court to seek explanation from around 100 officers who took leave during the last year as well as this year. The court registry had asked the officers, who had taken over 30 days of leave last year and 10 days this year, reasons for taking leave.

The court had also asked the Principal District Judges and Chief Judicial Magistrates of each district to personally meet the officers who had taken the leave and apprise them of the level of commitment and dedication expected from them.

The Judicial Officers Association had taken up the issue with the High Court as the decision had evoked sharp criticism from its member officers. There are around 600 officers in Kerala of which around 60% are women.

The judicial officers can bring their grievances to the committee through the Registrar (Judicial) of the High Court. The first meeting of the committee will be held on July 26, sources said.

The Principal District Judge, Ernakulam, the president of the Kerala Judicial Officers’ Association, the Registrar (Computerisation)-cum- Director (IT) and the Deputy Registrar (IT) will be special invitees to the committee.

Meanwhile, the High Court has decided to introduce a mentor system for officers on a zonal basis. Bechu Kurian Thomas will be the mentor judge for the south zone, T.R. Ravi will head the north zone and N. Nagaresh the central zone, sources said.

Kerala’s diaspora-oriented posting draws MEA’s flak

Kallol Bhattacherjee

NEW DELHI

On appointment of external cooperation officer, Ministry cautions against ‘intrusion’ into domains beyond State jurisdiction; BJP has also criticised the move of the LDF government in the State

1 of 2

2 of 2 Our position is that State governments should not intrude into matters that are beyond their Constitutional jurisdiction Randhir Jaiswal Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs

Days after the Kerala government appointed senior IAS officer K. Vasuki as an officer in charge of “external cooperation”, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday reminded the State governments that they should not “intrude” into domains that are beyond the “Constitutional jurisdiction” of the States.

“The Constitution of India under the 7th Schedule list 1 - Union list, item 10, clearly specifies that foreign affairs and all matters which bring the Union into relation with any foreign country, are the sole prerogative of the Union Government,” said Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs Randhir Jaiswal in response to a question.

The Kerala government had on July 15 appointed Ms. Vasuki as “secretary in charge of matters concerning external cooperation”.

The appointment had drawn attention as the foreign or external affairs are traditionally the responsibility of the Centre.

The States are important stakeholders in foreign and security affairs but the ultimate foreign policy formulation takes place at the Central level.

The BJP in Kerala had criticised the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government after the appointment of the IAS officer.

Kerala’s decision to have an officer to deal with “external cooperation” was evidently focused on the diaspora of Kerala, foreign investment and other issues that are relevant to the State.

‘Not State subject’

However, the Ministry clarified that the domain of foreign policy formulation is beyond the reach of the State administrations.

“It is not a Concurrent subject and definitely not a State subject. Our position is that State governments should not intrude into matters that are beyond their Constitutional jurisdiction,” said Mr. Jaiswal.

Over one lakh cusecs likely to be released from KRS dam; flood warning issued

The Hindu Bureau

MYSURU

Monsoon tour: Heavy rain and water release from dams have increased the flow in the Bharachukki falls in Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka. K. MURALI KUMARMURALI KUMAR K

In the wake of heavy rain in the catchment areas, the water release from the Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) dam across the Cauvery will be stepped up to over one lakh cusecs from the 70,000 cusecs at present.

A release from Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Ltd. (CNNL) and the Mandya district administration on Thursday evening said the outflow from the KRS dam would be stepped up to one lakh cusecs to 1.5 lakh cusecs in due course.

This will be the highest in terms of outflow from the dam in the last two years and is due to the dam attaining the full level of 124.8 ft with no let-up in the rate of inflow into the reservoir.

Issuing a flood warning, authorities directed people in low-lying areas and those living on the banks downstream to move to safer locations. The Mandya district administration has already identified 92 villages as vulnerable to flooding. Places of tourist interest along the banks are out of bounds for public due to surge in the water levels. The Forest Department ordered the closure of the Ranganathittu Bird sanctuary to public with effect from Thursday.

Telangana Budget lays focus on agriculture, rural development

M. Rajeev

HYDERABAD

Telangana Finance Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka with Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, before presenting the State Budget. Special arrangement

The Telangana government has presented the State Budget with an outlay of ₹2.91 lakh crore for the financial year 2024-25 with emphasis on welfare and development of agriculture and allied sectors.

Finance Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka introduced the Budget in the Assembly on Thursday with an estimated revenue expenditure of ₹2.2 lakh crore and capital expenditure of ₹33,487 crore. The State’s economy continued to depend on borrowings, as could be seen from the public debt estimates placed at ₹62,112 crore for the fiscal and the debt repayment component amounting to ₹17,101 crore.

Major share

The Budget has special focus on a few sectors, the major being agriculture, which secured major portion of the overall allocations.

Agriculture, for instance, was allocated the lion’s share of ₹72,569 crore, one-fourth of the total outlay, followed by Scheduled Caste development (₹33,124 crore) and Scheduled Tribe development (₹17,056 crore) contributing little more than ₹50,000 crore taking the total allocations to the three sectors to ₹1.22 lakh crore.

As expected, the Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Department was given ₹29,816 crore, indicating the government’s focus on the development of rural areas. The Irrigation Department was allocated ₹22,301 crore indicating the government’s priority of taking up projects that could be completed with lesser expenditure and education too was given equal priority with allocation of ₹21,292 crore. The Energy Department with ₹16,410 crore and Medical and Health Department with ₹11,468 crore are other major departments which secured huge allocations.

The Finance Minister presented the Budget, the first full Budget of the Congress government after a decade, with a revenue surplus of ₹297 crore and fiscal deficit of ₹49,255 crore. The primary deficit estimated in the Budget is ₹31,525 crore.

Raj Thackeray to field up to 250 candidates in

Ateeq Shaikh

Mumbai

Raj Thackeray

Mumbai

While announcing Maharashtra Navnirman Sena’s (MNS) Assembly election plans in Mumbai on Thursday to go solo, party Chief Raj Thackeray took an indirect jibe on Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Chief and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar stating had the “ladki behen and “ladki bhau” (adorable sister and adorable brother) come together, the party would not have split.

Mr. Thackeray had lent unconditional support to the ruling Mahayuti coalition during the Lok Sabha election held earlier this year. MNS had fielded filmmaker Abhijit Panse from the Konkan Graduates constituency last month for a berth in the Maharashtra Legislative Council but withdrew the candidature after meeting Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and sitting Member of Legislative Council representing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Niranjan Davkhare.

“We are going to contest 225 to 250 seats in Maharashtra. Tickets will be issued only to those who are elect worthy and ready to contest... In the upcoming election, I want our party members to somehow get elected in this Assembly election. Many people will laugh at this. Let them, I don’t have any problem with that. But this is going to happen. Don’t think if there will be an alliance later and what portfolios we will get. I can tell you that we are going to contest on 225-250 seats,” Mr. Thackeray announced while addressing his party’s functionaries. In the current State Assembly, the MNS has only one MLA – Pramod (Raju) Patil from Kalyan Rural.

He will be touring Maharashtra starting August 1 to strengthen the party and motivate the workers. A team of five people has been formed who will visit different areas of the State. The names of these team members will be kept confidential; they are expected to verify ground reports regarding the candidates’ performance.

Without naming Mr. Pawar and NCP (SP) working president Supriya Sule, Mr. Thackeray drew parallels between the recently introduced “ladki behen” and “ladki bhau” schemes by the Maharashtra government. According to him, had Mr. Pawar and Ms. Sule come together, both the parties would have survived the split.

“The other day I met someone. I had to ask him which party he belongs to now. These days, can’t un

‘Fraudsters using dating apps, matrimonial sites for cheating’

Harish Gilai

VISAKHAPATNAM

Recently, a software employee from Visakhapatnam received a ‘friend request’ from an unknown young women on Instagram. After accepting the request, they started chatting and exchanged their contact numbers. Gradually as their friendship grew, the woman started asking him for money, in a phased manner, citing personal reasons. After lending her around ₹22 lakh, the techie realised that he was getting conned by the woman and lodged a police complaint.

It was later found that the woman faked her identity by using an unknown person’s photo as the display picture. The police found that the accused was a 32-year-old woman from Hyderabad. She was arrested by the team of the cybercrime police.

Though the accused in this case has turned out to be a woman, in most of these honey-trapping cases, the accused are men. As per the cybercrime police, at least five such cases are reported from the city every month.

Modus operandi

Cybercrime Police Station Inspector K. Bhavani Prasad said that cyber fraudsters browse matrimonial sites and dating applications to identify their targets. Then they approach the targets through social media platforms to befriend them with fake identities. The fraudsters use pictures of unidentified women as their display picture.

“Some fraudsters befriend the victims while some others lure the victims in the name of marriage. They make emotional appeals seeking money from the victims who end up realising that they were cheated only after the fraudsters stop responding to their messages. In some cases, the fraudsters also threaten to circulate the morphed pictures of the victims on the Internet,” he said.

Mostly software employees, businessmen and college students have been the prime targets, the police said. They have urged people not to accept requests from unknown persons on social media and to keep their accounts private. They have also asked victims to report at www.cybercrime.gov.in

Search for missing Kerala driver and lorry intensified

The Hindu Bureau

HUBBALLI

On the 10th day of search for a lorry driver, Arjun, from Kerala and his vehicle in the Gangavali river near Shirur in Uttara Kannada on Thursday, experts zeroed in on spots of devastation from the landslip that swept him away.

Major General Indra Balan (retd) and his team from a private agency in Delhi spent the day searching for spots where the truck could have been buried.

While they identified two spots on Wednesday, they zeroed in on the third on Thursday after a day-long reconnaissance done using a deep-penetrating radar- and Sonar-mounted drone.

To a query, Mr. Balan clarified that it is difficult to say whether the body of the driver is still in the cabin or not as thermal scanning has not shown any positive results. However, they will be conducting thermal scanning again at night at the identified spot, he added.

Deputy Commissioner of Uttara Kannada Lakshmi Priya said that they are yet to receive the final data on location coordinates of the spot where the truck seems to be buried.

Ankola MLA Satish Sail told presspersons that all possible efforts are being made to trace the driver from Kerala who is reportedly buried along with his truck in the river. The indications are that the operations can see some result by Friday.

Karnataka wants to change names of four airports: Centre

The Hindu Bureau

Bengaluru

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has received a request from the State government to name four airports in Karnataka after eminent personalities.

The airports are in Vijayapura, Hubballi, Belagavi and Shivamogga, and the proposed names by the State government are Jagajyothi Basaveshwara airport, Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna airport, Kittur Rani Chennamma airport, and Rashtrakavi Dr. K.V. Puttappa (Kuvempu) airport, respectively.

Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol, replying to an unstarred question on the proposed naming of airports, in the Lok Sabha, gave details of 10 States that had proposed names for existing and upcoming airports.

“Airports are known by the name of the city where they are located, unless another specific name is proposed by the respective State government, which is then considered in consultation with other Ministries and then sent to the Union Cabinet for final approval,” the Minister said in his reply.

Maoist ‘killed in gunfight’ with police in Telangana

The Hindu Bureau

BHADRADRI KOTHAGUDEM

A Maoist was reportedly killed in an exchange of fire with police personnel in the forest area along the Bhadradri Kothagudem-Mulugu inter-district boundary in Telangana on Thursday.

The police are yet to confirm the incident. According to sources, the incident occurred when a joint police team was combing the Gundala forest area.

Following the incident, tension prevailed in villages on the forest fringes of Gundala mandal and Tadvai mandal. The Martyrs Week of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) begins on July 28.

Science

- Addressing risk factors could reduce dementia cases by 40%: report

- ‘Teaching mental well being will reduce suicides’

- BIG SHOT

Sunil K. Khokhar

The steady decline in India’s Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has led to an increase in the proportion of older adults. As of 2019, India is home to over 139 million people aged 60 and above, accounting for more than 10% of the population. By 2050, the percentage of elderly people is projected to double to 19.5%, with 319 million individuals over 60

1 of 2 The country is confronting a growing challenge to manage age-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, vascular dementia, and other neurodegenerative disorders. File Photo MURALI KUMAR K

2 of 2 Dementia, or neurodegenerative disorder, a major cause of cognitive disability and dependency among the elderly, is expected to affect millions of Indian families over the next two decades

The rapid growth of India’s aging population, coupled with a rise in modifiable risk factorssuch as air pollution, hypertension, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and obesity, presents a significant challenge for the nation’s public health and social care systems. Dementia, or neurodegenerative disorder, a major cause of cognitive disability and dependency among the elderly, is expected to affect millions of Indian families over the next two decades.

The steady decline in India’s Total Fertility Rate (TFR) over the past several decades has led to an increase in the proportion of older adults in the population. As of 2019, India is home to over 139 million people aged 60 and above, accounting for more than 10% of the nation’s entire population. By 2050, the percentage of elderly people is projected to nearly double to 19.5%, with 319 million individuals over the age of 60. Consequently, it is anticipated that one in every five Indians will be a senior citizen. The TFR in India has witnessed a significant decline, dropping from 5.2 in 1971 to 2.0 in 2020, and it is now lower than 2.1, the replacement level.

TFR, which is the average number of children per woman, has further declined from 2.2 to 2.0 at the national level between National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 4 and 5. There are only five States in India that are above the replacement level of fertility which is 2.1. These are Bihar (3.0), Meghalaya (2.9), Uttar Pradesh (2.4), Jharkhand (2.3), and Manipur (2.2), according to NFHS-5, released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. This shift has contributed to an aging population, as people are living longer and having fewer children.

Need for policy reforms

The Lancet Commission’s 2020 report on dementia prevention, intervention, and care, combined with findings from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 2020, highlights the urgent need for policy reforms and targeted interventions to tackle the growing dementia crisis in India. The country is confronting a growing challenge to manage age-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, vascular dementia, and other neurodegenerative disorders. The demographic shift stands to exacerbate several risk factors for dementia identified in the Lancet Commission report, including hypertension, obesity, smoking, depression, social isolation, and physical inactivity.

Compared to NFHS-4, the prevalence of obesity has increased in most States in NFHS-5. At the national level, it increased from 21% to 24% among women and 19% to 23% among men. More than a third of women in Kerala, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Sikkim, Manipur, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Punjab, Chandigarh, and Lakshadweep (34–46%)are overweight or obese. With an aging population, the number of individuals at risk of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia will increase substantially in India. A research study conducted in India discovered that older individuals with disabilities were more prone to living alone, exacerbating their sense of social isolation and deprivation (Ugargol et al., 2016). A failure to address this growing health concern could result in significant social and economic consequences.

One of the key strategies to address the dementia challenge is to invest in early detection and timely intervention. The Lancet Commission report suggests that up to 40% of dementia cases may be preventable by addressing modifiable risk factors. Public health initiatives aimed at promoting healthier lifestyles, such as regular exercise, a balanced diet, and smoking cessation, can reduce the prevalence of these risk factors and curb the rise of Alzheimer’s disease. The Government of India must prioritise the development of a robust and comprehensive healthcare infrastructure to cater to its aging population. This includes training healthcare professionals in geriatric care, establishing specialised dementia care facilities, and promoting research to better understand the disease’s epidemiology and develop effective treatments.

Addressing risk factors

To confront the impending dementia crisis over the next two decades, India must take a proactive approach to addressing risk factors.

Firstly there is air pollution, which is a pervasive issue in India, with many cities experiencing hazardous levels of pollutants that pose severe health risks. Research suggests that long-term exposure to air pollution can lead to chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, and neuroinflammation, contributing to cognitive decline and an increased risk of dementia. As India’s population continues to age, the detrimental effects of air pollution on cognitive health cannot be ignored.

Essential to managing these risks will be the adoption of stringent air quality regulations and sustainable urban planning strategies to reduce air pollution levels. Also essential are the adoption of cleaner transportation alternatives, the promotion of renewable energy, and investments in the monitoring and reporting of air quality data.

Secondly, addressing hypertension and obesity is critical. Governments must develop and implement nationwide campaigns to raise awareness about the importance of a healthy lifestyle, emphasising regular exercise, a balanced diet, and weight management. Strengthening primary healthcare services to facilitate early detection and treatment of hypertension, obesity, and related health issues is recommended.

Thirdly, in relation to traumatic brain injury, the state must implement public safety measures and regulations to reduce the incidence of TBI, focusing on road safety, occupational safety, and sports safety. Also critical is enhancing awareness about TBI and its potential long-term consequences, including the increased risk of dementia,.

There is no doubt that the underlying message is to greatly expand investment in healthcare infrastructure.

The government must establish specialised dementia care facilities and train healthcare professionals in geriatric care, with a focus on early detection, intervention, and management of dementia and associated risk factors. Investments in research to understand the links between risk factors and dementia, paving the way for development of effective interventions and treatments are also important. Alongside, it is necessary to raise public awareness, and to increase public understanding of dementia and its risk factors, apart from encouraging individuals to take proactive measures to maintain cognitive health as they age and of course, fostering a supportive environment for those affected by dementia and their families.

Comprehensive response

The intersection of India’s growing elderly population and the increasing prevalence of modifiable dementia risk factors calls for an immediate and comprehensive response.

To effectively address the impending dementia crisis and secure a healthier future for its aging population, India must adopt a multifaceted strategy focused on addressing risk factors, enhancing healthcare infrastructure, and raising public awareness. The National Programme for Health Care of the Elderly (NPHCE), Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs), under the Ayushman Bharat program, and the National Policy for Senior Citizens 2011 represent essential initiatives undertaken by the Indian Government to support the well-being of its aging citizens.

These initiatives highlight the government’s commitment to meeting the evolving needs of the elderly and ensuring their welfare and social inclusion. To cultivate an environment where senior citizens can lead healthy, dignified, and rewarding lives, the government must diligently implement and monitor these programs and policies.

(Dr. Sunil K. Khokhar is a postdoctoralresearcher at University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, specialising in neurodegenerative disorders. khokharsunil1@gmail.com)

‘Teaching mental well being will reduce suicides’

R. Sujatha

In India, more than 1 lakh lives are lost annually to suicide, and it is the top killer in the 15-29 age group. Getty Images narvikk

A recent article in the Lancet has once again turned the spotlight on suicide. Psychiatrists have been talking about ways to reduce suicides but rue the fact that governments, state and central, have shown little interest.

A blueprint to stem suicides, the National Suicide Prevention Strategy, was launched in November 2022. The aim was to establish effective surveillance mechanisms for suicide within three years and establish psychiatric outpatient departments to provide suicide prevention services through the District Mental Health Programmes in all districts within the next five years. It called for integrating a mental well-being curriculum into all educational institutions within eight years. It also sought to develop guidelines for responsible media reporting of suicides and restrict access to the means for suicide.

Top killer

In India, more than 1 lakh lives are lost annually to suicide, and it is the top killer in the 15-29 years category. From 2019 to 2022, the suicide rate increased from 10.2 to 11.3 per 1,00,000.

The NSSP envisages a specific strategy for every state and district. “We have explained the strategy, who should implement it, and the cascading effect. The ministry of health, education, and agriculture in each state must have a task force. We have provided short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals. But two years later, nothing has happened,” said Lakshmi Vijayakumar, who has been running a suicide prevention programme, Sneha, for four decades. The health department should take the lead, but other departments like fertilisers, chemicals, information and broadcasting should also be represented in the task force, she said. The education department should be included to promote emotional wellbeing.

Soumitra Pathare, Director for Centre for Mental Health Law and Policy, one of the framers blames lack of political will.

‘Sense of fatality’

“There is a sense of fatality when we start talking about suicide prevention. ‘We cannot completely eliminate suicides’, is what we hear. Instead of saying prevention we must say reduction. Even a 20% drop in suicides would save 40,000 lives annually,” he remarked.He also blamed the lack of will in the media to make conscientious efforts to educate themselves on reporting suicides. By talking about suicides we would be acknowledging the problem and try to find solutions, he reasoned.

Dr. Pathare and Dr. Lakshmi pointed out that it is likely the only health condition which claims 1.27 lakh lives but there is no government programme to prevent it. Dr. Pathare cited Tamil Nadu as an example where suicides had reduced thanks to supplementary examinations for school students. Yet the government has done nothing to implement NSPS . “The present approach is piecemeal. We need a district wise programme that can bring about consistent results,” Dr. Pathare said. Dr. Lakshmi calls for several editions of competitive exams so youngsters gain confidence that they can appear whenever they want.

“The National Education Policy is good, but it has not been implemented. The vocational guidance programme and multiple exits, grade system, and the flexibility to make course changes are all good. But it has not been implemented,” she said.

Policy changes work

“I would like to emphasise that policy changes do make a difference and these policies are there and need to be implemented. Once implemented, we see results. And the example is Tamil Nadu. “Tie up NEP and NSPS, and by implementing the strategies deaths can be reduced,” she said.

Dheeraj Singh, an alumnus of the IIT Kanpur who mentors students from IITs, said: “Suicides can be prevented with timely supportive action. Citizens must learn the skills of identifying someone with suicidal thoughts, asking them openly about their thoughts, talking to them without fear, and referring them to a caregiver who can complete a safety plan and provide suicide prevention counselling. These steps, if taken with care person, can save many lives at risk.”

(sujatha.r@thehindu.co.in)

(Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the State’s health helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416. and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050)

Bengaluru municipality workers fumigate residential localities to control dengue. PTI

Edit

- The ‘geo-calculus’ of the Moscow visit

- The Karnataka Bill is a symptom of a larger problem

- More for more

- Sporting extravaganza

- letters to the editor

- Is the Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill draconian?

- The beginning of festivities

- Covering the Budget

- World Bank plans more aid to developing areas

- Govt. communiques

- India’s illegal coal mining problem

- What is behind Rwanda’s election outcome?

- Is there a right way to portray sexual violence on-screen?

- The DAILY QUIZ

- covernote

The ‘geo-calculus’ of the Moscow visit

Suhasini Haidar

Two weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visit to Russia, his first bilateral trip in the third tenure of the government, the dust from the storm it kicked up in the United States and Europe is only just beginning to settle. The evident warmth between Mr. Modi and the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, drew sharp criticism from the Ukraine President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and also a series of statements from the U.S. State Department, the National Security Adviser and the U.S. Ambassador to India, expressing disappointment. New Delhi has asserted its “freedom of choice” but has moved to allay concerns that anything fundamental has changed in India’s worldview as a result of the Russia visit. It would be a mistake, however, to assume that nothing has indeed changed, purely by examining formal outcomes. In many ways, Mr. Modi’s visit was the message itself.

Assessment of the conflict in Ukraine

To begin with, the fact that the Prime Minister decided to travel to Russia two years after the war began, and not earlier, is significant. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he had decided not to go for an annual India-Russia summit in 2022 and 2023, and the only public messaging revolved around Mr. Modi’s “this era is not of war” statement that he made to Mr. Putin at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan in September 2022. While the war in Ukraine continues, the nature of the conflict has changed, and Mr. Modi’s Moscow visit must be read in the context of how New Delhi sees the progress of the conflict. The Russian army suffered a great toll in the first two years — there was a botched offensive on Kyiv; a gross miscalculation of the resilience of Mr. Zelenskyy and Ukrainian defences; the desperate attempt at a draft for Russian youth that led many Moscow elites to leave the country; massive military casualties, and questions over the efficacy of Russian military hardware against the new equipment Ukraine was being supplied by North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries. However, today, Russia seems to be in a far better place for holding the status quo line over the area in Ukraine’s east that it occupies, and has subsequently folded into its own territory with constitutional amendments.

As western countries now push for a “peace process”, that began with the conference in Switzerland (June 2024), New Delhi seems to have concluded that a frozen conflict is the most likely outcome. Any change to that status quo could only come from a massive escalation by Ukraine, requiring major new commitments of men and also military ground and airpower from its western partners. New Delhi also wagered, even before U.S. President Joe Biden announced that he would bow out of the U.S. Presidential race, that there is going to be a change in Washington in November — with Mr. Biden’s challenger. the former U.S. President Donald Trump, indicating a reduced commitment to Kyiv in the war, and less antagonism towards Moscow.

If so, Mr. Modi’s visit was an acknowledgement that Russia has already weathered the worst, and that it would be pointless for India to continue its rupture of the annual summit to the detriment of bilateral ties. The reference in the India-Russia joint statement, of the conflict “around Ukraine” as opposed to “in Ukraine”, even seems to be a subtle acceptance of Russian claims. Another reference, showing “appreciation” for peace proposals “in accordance with international law and on the basis of the UN Charter”, suggests common ground between the two countries. India has refused to criticise Russia for the war so far, with more than 20 abstentions at the United Nations, including during the latest vote, on July 11 at the UN General Assembly, over a resolution calling on Russia to cease fire after deadly missile attacks that targeted a children’s hospital among other buildings. Despite meetings with Mr. Zelenskyy and a visit to India by Ukraine Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, in March this year, New Delhi has hesitated on other requests from Kyiv as well — such as allowing Indian companies to provide construction, medical devices and telecom infrastructure to the Ukrainian government, or move beyond its aid of humanitarian items, thereby indicating its unwillingness to invoke Russian ire.

Keeping Russia from China

The geopolitical signalling of the visit extends to other spheres: by going to Moscow, days after cancelling his visit to Astana, Kazakhstan, for the SCO Summit, Mr. Modi showed that he was willing to forego a joint appearance with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but not with Mr. Putin. This is the reverse of western messaging, that has been calling on China to reduce its support to Russia, rather than the other way around. India’s concerns about keeping Russia on-side in the face of continuing tensions with China at the Line of Actual Control remain a priority, regardless of its partnerships with western countries in the Indo-Pacific. The U.S.’s actions in the past few years have also given many in New Delhi cause for pause — the Biden administration has forged AUKUS (Australia-U.K.-U.S.) for nuclear submarines, engaged “Quad Plus”-countries such as New Zealand, South Korea, Vietnam and the Philippines intensely, and during the NATO summit in Washington that was held at the same time as the Modi-Putin summit, the U.S. hosted the “AP-4” or leaders of Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Japan. With its refusal to make the Quad (India, Japan, Australia, U.S.) a strategic concept, New Delhi stands in danger of limiting its utility to Indo-Pacific partners compared to these other groups. It remains to be seen whether the Modi government is able to convince them to infuse new energy into the Quad on other fronts, with a Quad Foreign Ministers’ meeting around the corner, and plans for a possible Quad summit later this year in New Delhi. In that sense, the Russia visit was not just an assertion of India’s strategic autonomy but also a reminder that India still has other options.

Geo-economics thrust

Finally, Mr. Modi’s Russian journey must be considered in its ‘geo-economic’ rather than just its ‘geopolitical’ context. Regardless of the outcomes on the battlefield in Ukraine, it is clear that western sanctions against Russia will remain, and, consequently, so will India’s supply of discounted Russian oil as well. These imports have meant that India-Russia trade ties, that have hovered in the $5 billion-$10 billion range for decades, grew by 66% to a whopping $65 billion last year; this has grown a further 20% in the first quarter of 2024. The spurt is unsustainable unless India develops payment mechanisms for the oil imports. The Modi-Putin summit took many steps to address that issue, listing action-items in nine specific areas in a Joint Vision statement on trade by 2030 that appeared to make circumventing western sanctions a priority.

In addition, the joint statement on furthering cooperation in Russia’s Far East focuses on increasing energy (oil and LNG) supplies from Russia, as well as much-needed commodities exports from India, using the yet-to-be-operationalised Chennai-Vladivostok maritime corridor. While these will help rationalise the trade imbalance, both sides will also seek mutual investments, of the kind seen when Rosneft acquired a controlling stake in the Gujarat-based Vadinar refinery (Nayara Energy), the largest foreign direct investment of its kind in India, at more than $23 billion, according to Mr. Putin. In turn, Indian public sector units have bought stakes in Russian oil fields to the tune of $15 billion. Despite the financial implications, the U.S. and Europe have steered clear of sanctioning any of these transactions, as they accept Vadinar-processed Russian oil products as “Indian-products”, and New Delhi is surmising that more such deals could be a safe proposition in the future as well. Russian access to the North Sea trade route around the Arctic region is invaluable as India seeks new connectivity possibilities to its east — a Trump administration is likely to double down on strictures against Iran-led connectivity routes such as the International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and the Chabahar project to India’s west. At a time when military hardware imports, that have been the mainstay of India-Russia ties, are being reduced due to India’s decade-long diversification and Russia’s preoccupation with the Ukraine war, such geo-economic strategies give New Delhi new levers in the bilateral relationship.

While all such calculations could still go awry, depending on how the Ukraine war proceeds, the Russian economy struggles with sanctions, and the U.S. sets a new course post-elections, the enduring message from the Moscow visit is the solid bet the Modi government has placed on India-Russia ties.

suhasini.h@thehindu.co.in

The Karnataka Bill is a symptom of a larger problem

Ruchi Gupta Executive Director of the Future of India Foundation

The Karnataka Reservation Bill has been panned almost universally and also generated so much controversy that the State government was forced to pause it and issue assurances. The Karnataka State Employment of Local Candidates in the Industries, Factories and Other Establishments Bill, 2024, as it is called, mandates 50% and 70% reservation in management categories and non-management categories, respectively.

The Bill, as currently drafted, may be too heavy-handed and some provisions may need a rethink. However, a deeper conversation about the underlying issues — namely, India’s exploding jobs crisis and regional socio-economic disparities — is required before knee-jerk dismissal.

The downside of inequitable growth

India has the distinction of being the fastest growing large economy in the world and also has the largest youth population. This would be a happy circumstance if its growth model created large numbers of jobs to productively employ its youth. Instead, the high-end services-led growth model has delinked growth and employment. This situation is long in the making: globalisation, financialisation, and technological advances have allowed capital and a small set of highly-skilled individuals to reap extraordinary benefits, while the working class, globally, has seen an erosion in their ability to earn.

The political repercussions of this trend are reverberating around the world. In developed countries, it manifests, inter alia, as a backlash against immigration; in India, it is showing up in part as regionalism and a reaction against inter-State migration. While an argument for immigration has been made in the developed world by liberal parties, it has largely been in utilitarian terms for the host country — in addressing labour shortage for unpleasant jobs, and offsetting aging populations.

While these global trends are significant, the situation in India is different and more complicated. The Constitution guarantees freedom of movement and the right to work anywhere in India; domicile requirements of this nature seem to evoke parochialism and militate against national unity.

At the same time, the impetus for local reservations is an attempt by the State political leadership to be responsive to its own electorate. This tension between local aspirations and national unity is, increasingly, a recurring theme in Indian politics, visible in questions of devolution of funds, delimitation, and State domicile requirements.

Issue of accountability

At the crux of this debate is the question of federalism and political accountability. The politics of such initiatives come not from reservation for high-skill positions, but, instead, mass unskilled jobs. It is notable that all local reservation initiatives adopt a graded scale, with near universal reservation for unskilled jobs and at lower levels for higher skill tiers. This raises two critical questions: what impels large-scale migration for unskilled jobs that could easily be done locally? And why is not industry opposition to local reservation limited to high-skill jobs, indicating a preference for migrant workers for unskilled jobs even when locals are willing and able? The answer to the first question is evident: large-scale unskilled migration is not migration by choice but distress migration, resulting from the inability of some State governments to adequately develop their regions. We can, and should, apply a national unity and constitutional lens to citizen migration but it would be intellectually dishonest if it is done to sidestep the question of political accountability for a chronic lack of development.

The response to the second is equally revealing. Industries often prefer migrant workers for unskilled jobs because they are less likely to form unions and thus more easily exploited. This dynamic not only takes away jobs from local workers but also depresses local wages.

In perspective

There is no question that all States benefit economically and culturally from being part of the larger Indian Union and thus have a responsibility to the entirety of the country and its people. However, the issue at hand is too serious for simplistic rhetoric, political expediency or mere outrage. Instead, the way forward requires a more expansive exercise.

First, there must be a real national debate involving our political class, corporate sector, civil society on urgently addressing India’s job crisis. The long-term response cannot be data chicanery, unemployment allowances, or knee-jerk regionalism. Nationally, it is evident that the current skilling and production linked incentive interventions are inadequate to meet the challenge at hand. Similarly, at the State level, the fact that political responsiveness shows up in domicile quotas is indicative of an anxiety about adequately growing the employment pie. Second, we must foreground political accountability for large-scale distress migration and the endemic lack of development in some States. This political accountability must extend to both the State and national leadership. Third, questions of federalism and national unity need both an institutional response and greater political maturity. At a minimum, the atrophied National Development Council needs to be resurrected. Finally, the corporate sector must be held to account for the working standards for unskilled labour instead of allowing it to arbitrage worker precarity for its own profit.

The Karnataka Reservation Bill is a symptom of a much larger problem. While the Bill can be kept in abeyance or rewritten, the underlying issues need to be at the forefront of our discourse and politics. Our response to this challenge will shape the future of India’s economic growth, social cohesion, and political stability.

More for more

Budget allocations have not helped States ruled by parties opposed to BJP

Budgets of the Union or the States, as much as they are revenue and expenditure statements for the upcoming fiscal year, are also an exercise in political economy, and the recently tabled Union Budget for 2024-25 is no different. Aside from the “nine priorities”, beginning with provisions for the farm sector and attempts to boost employment, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman delved at some length on the special provisions made for the States of Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. Both are headed by parties providing crucial support to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after its underwhelming performance in the 2024 general election. The Janata Dal (United) headed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, and the Telugu Desam Party headed by his Andhra Pradesh counterpart N. Chandrababu Naidu are parties associated with the convenership of the National Democratic Alliance in the past. These are also parties that severed long-standing ties with the BJP over issues that ranged from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s alleged non-secular credentials to ignoring demands for increased central aid. Bihar has now received the largest chunk with outlays worth almost ₹59,000 crore. These include road infrastructure outlays for ₹26,000 crore, ₹21,400 crore for a 2,400 MW power plant, and ₹11,500 crore to address irrigation and flood mitigation. While Mr. Naidu had been more vociferous than Mr. Kumar with his demands for assistance worth ₹1 lakh crore, the cornerstone outlay in the Budget was a facilitation of ‘special financial support’ of ₹15,000 crore for the development of the State’s new capital, Amaravati. While Ms. Sitharaman promised to hasten the completion of the Polavaram irrigation project ‘to ensure food security of the nation’, Budget documents do not mention concrete outlays.

Both States have unsustainable public debts of about one-third, that is the debt to Gross State Domestic Product ratio, and both deserve the special attention they have received. But by making piecemeal allocations for projects in the rest of the country, as for the Mumbai Metro rail, and by ignoring other similar critical infrastructure spends in Opposition-ruled States (Chennai’s Metro rail in Tamil Nadu and Kerala’s Vizhinjam port project are examples), Ms. Sitharaman has failed to provide a fair and equitable distribution of the Union’s finances. While the debt-ridden and poorer regions of the country rightly deserve greater attention, ignoring States that generate the most revenue for the Union runs the risk of slowing down development that has acquired critical mass to enable these States to become global economic powerhouses. As they have begun attracting cutting-edge technology, corporates, talent and creating the required research and development base to house next-generation industries on energy transition, automobiles, artificial intelligence, mobile and semi-conductors, the industrially and socio-economically advanced States too need a helping hand.

Sporting extravaganza

The Olympics will keep the world occupied over the next fortnight

The quadrennial confluence of the world’s finest athletes, the Olympics, is beginning in Paris from Friday. The latest edition does not have the constricting environment that preceded ‘Tokyo 2020’, held in 2021 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, this arrives at a time of global churn. While Russia remains banned from the Games due to its war moves, Israel will be present despite some dissenting voices over the manner in which it has dealt with the Palestinian issue. Some individual Russians will compete under a neutral banner but the nation will miss team events. The Olympics, with its competitive spirit, will offer a level playing field featuring countries like the United States and China at one end and an island-country like Fiji at the other. Being part of the event bequeaths the title Olympian to athletes fortunate to qualify for this big bash, and winning a medal only further enhances that halo. Paris, and France at large, will be tested over the next fortnight as the Olympics, even if it vests the host with soft power, often affects the economy; indeed, there was some resistance emanating from the banks of the Seine.

The U.S., China, Japan, Great Britain, Australia, Germany and France are the behemoths chasing glory. However, the Games is also about the lone athlete dishing out magic and garnering attention, as Usain Bolt did in the past. Veteran Rafael Nadal and the latest tennis prince, Carlos Alcaraz, getting excited to represent Spain in tennis is another glimpse of the eternal allure of the Olympics. That the Games has even incorporated breakdancing is a pointer to the entertainment industry finding a larger imprint while lines between sport and art constantly blur. With 204 countries, including India, besides neutral athletes and a refugee team, jostling for a place on the victor’s podium, the Olympics provides a space for smaller units to carve a niche and stun bigger opponents. Morocco defeating Argentina in a tempestuous football game has already added zest to the Games. Above all, the Olympics grants hope and redemption, and for a strife-ridden country like Afghanistan, the event also serves as a diversion. The 1972 Munich edition marred by a terror strike on the Israeli contingent remains a harrowing memory and in a world on the boil, security will be a concern for the organising committee. That some members of the Australian women’s water polo squad tested positive for COVID-19 is also a reality check while all eyes are on Paris.

The Budget

The Finance Minister may issue rebuttals, but the facts stare at your face. It is not a people-friendly Budget but a Budget for the Bharatiya Janata Party’s friends. Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, coalition partners of the ruling BJP-led government have got the most allocations.

While Bihar received almost ₹59,000 crore, Andhra Pradesh got ₹15,000 crore for developing its capital Amaravati. What is it that the other States got? Therefore, the protests by the Opposition are more than justified. They are looked at not as the Opposition but as opponents. This kind of lopsided dispensation and development is not conducive to the federal character of India. It is a poor Budget and not a poor man’s budget.

N.G.R. Prasad,

Chennai

C.T. Kurien

As a student in Madras Christian College in the 1970s, I remember Professor C.T. Kurien as a great scholar and humble being.

He was seen riding a bicycle on campus. Prof. Kurien went out of his way to help many a needy student. He judged a learner not by marks alone but also by his economic status.

S. Swaminathan,

Mysuru

Is the Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill draconian?

1 of 5 Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai. PTI PTI

2 of 5 Yashovardhan Azad retired Indian Police Service officer who has served in the Intelligence Bureau

3 of 5 Brinda Adige human rights activist and founder of Global Concerns India

4 of 5

5 of 5

On July 11, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Maha Yuti government tabled the Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill, 2024, in the Assembly. While presenting the Bill, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that it is aimed at curbing the menace of Naxalism in urban areas. He said that Naxalism is not limited to rural areas and is increasing in urban areas through frontal organisations. The unlawful activities of such organisations need to be controlled through effective legal means, he added. The provisions of the proposed Bill, which allows the State to declare any organisation as ‘unlawful’ with offences categorised as cognisable and non-bailable, has raised concerns. Is the Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill draconian? Yashovardhan Azad and Brinda Adige discuss the question in a conversation moderated by Vijaita Singh. Edited excerpts:

What is your opinion about this Bill?

Yashovardhan Azad: First, I would like to know what is the “menace” that Devendra Fadnavis is talking about. We keep being told by the Home Ministry that Naxalism is on the wane and will disappear in a few years, so what is the need for the Bill? Second, is this law about frontal organisations, pamphlets, or about literature? Third, the Supreme Court had said (in 2011) that mere membership of a banned organisation does not constitute a crime (unless the person resorts or incites people to violence). Fourth, it is very difficult to define the terms in the law. Finally, the State already has laws such as MCOCA (Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, 1999), UAPA (Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967) and BNS (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023) [to combat all that the government is talking about], so why complicate the lives of the people? There is just no need for this Bill.

Brinda Adige: What does the Maharashtra government mean by ‘urban Naxalism’? Naxalism is a communist insurgency. Extremists resort to violence using weapons, so there is trafficking in arms and ammunition. (There are laws to combat that.) The Bill talks about criminalising unlawful activity by individuals. But does it define what is unlawful? It only talks of dissent against the government, which could be any question that anyone raises holding the government and the bureaucracy accountable. The Bill also gives unilateral power to the police. The government is basically trying to control the people so that there are no questions asked of it.

Does the Bill have the potential to be misused against the most vulnerable sections of society? Let us say someone participates in a protest and that protest is later termed an unlawful activity by the police. What will be the remedy available for that person?

YA: Any law is liable to being misused. The nature of police functioning is such that it sometimes becomes very political, and that is unfortunate. The police can proceed under existing laws, but if you start making laws for everything, then even a common man can be picked up for dissenting against the government or the powers that be. For example, in Chhattisgarh, a similar law exists. Journalists protested saying even when they were reporting, for example, about the statements of Naxal organisations, they were being arrested. These are the kinds of frivolous things which can happen.

Can the Bill also be used against political opponents?

BA: They (government) will never use it against political opponents. This Bill has primarily been tabled to target civilians, activists, and environmentalists. Let us say a group of people go on a hunger strike. This Bill mentions activities which “constitute a danger or a menace to public order, peace and tranquility”. What that means has been left to the police to decide. So, the police can consider this activity unlawful. But when politicians take out a rally on the streets and stop traffic, does that not interfere with public order? The whole world once looked up to at India as the nation that gained Independence through non-violent means, or Satyagraha. Now, even that (peaceful resistance) could be seen as an unlawful activity under this Bill.

Who is an ‘urban Naxal’? Is it anyone who expresses dissent or disagrees with the government or with the police?

YA: There are Naxal overground organisations which do exist. But terror funding, harbouring someone... all of this is already covered under the existing laws. It is confusing. The Bill does not strengthen any kind of legal framework. It is weak. It is, in fact, redundant.

The Bill was tabled on the penultimate day of the Assembly. Maharashtra goes to the polls in two months. The Bill will not be a reality until the Maha Yuti government is re-elected. So, what do you think could be the motive for introducing this Bill in the last days of the government and when it knows well that the Bill cannot be implemented right away?

BA: I think the present government is trying to scare people by saying if there has been any kind of dissent against the establishment, then we are going to crack down on it if we win the elections. We (the people) have seen this happen with a lot of activists. They (government) have used words like ‘toolkits’ to describe how people come together. They have even planted evidence in people’s computers and phones and presented that in court saying, these people were involved in this and this is the evidence that we have. So right now, it is merely to scare people.

The people elect governments, elect politicians, to work for us. We cannot allow them to become our masters with such feudal laws. This Bill is unconstitutional and is clearly against the people of this land. I hope that the people of Maharashtra understand this. When politicians have money stashed in their house as well as arms and ammunition, is that not a threat? The Bill just finds an excuse for the government to say they have found an ‘urban Naxal’. Also, how will they decide who is an ‘urban Naxal’ and who is a ‘rural Naxal’? Is it per police jurisdiction?

In the Bhima Koregaon case, suspects have been in jail for years now and the trial is yet to commence. Where does police accountability lie in all this?

YA: Our judicial system is plagued by delayed trials and delayed investigations. There should be a provision for bail. The process itself should not become the punishment. The Court should be liberal in giving bail for trials that stretch on for years.

Do you think a judicial oversight is required when such legislation is passed?

BA: Even before judicial oversight, I would like the elected representatives to follow procedures before tabling a bill. They should consult citizens. Why was there no public consultation? That is our constitutional right. We have a right to discuss the laws that we want for ourselves. After all, we all want our lives to become better. We are all seeking justice.

Mr. Fadnavis, while tabling the Bill in the Assembly, said similar laws exist in other left-wing extremism-affected States, such as Chhattisgarh and Telangana. Have these laws helped these States in curbing such activities?

YA: No, not really. In Telangana, Naxalism was controlled due to pointed action by the Greyhounds (an elite anti-Maoist force formed in 1989). The government has admitted (in Parliament) that left-wing extremism is now restricted to only 191 police stations in about 46 districts in 2021. It said incidents of left-wing extremism violence have reduced by 77% between 2010 and 2021. It is anachronistic to say that you are bringing in a Bill because other States have similar laws and that the problem of Naxalism will spillover into urban areas now. Have you consulted the people? Who has told you that this menace is increasing? Is it the police, the bureaucrats, the people, or the media? Other States are moving ahead but Maharashtra is going backwards.

The beginning of festivities

Oarsmen launching the newly constructed Mallappuzhassery palliyodom (snake boat) into the Pampa River, one of the 52 snake boats participating in the 72-day Onam festivities at the Sree Parthasarathy Temple in Aranmula, Kerala. The celebrations, which attract many toursists and visitors, include a ritualistic feast for the oarsmen, a grand procession, and a thrilling regatta. During the period, snake boats from all the villages along the Pampa River, from Idakkulam in Pathanamthitta to Chennithala in Alappuzha, will converge at the temple. The festivities will conclude on October 2. LEJU KAMAL

Covering the Budget

Kunal Shankar

While excitement around the day remains the same as before, both the Budget and the media have undergone changes

In India’s media timeline, one of the main annual highlights has generally been covering the Budget session of Parliament. As a reporter based in New Delhi between 2010 and 2013, my primary beat while working for a TV news channel was covering the Supreme Court. Almost as default, most beat reporters from “the south”, as we were all referred to, were given a secondary beat, which was to cover the representatives of southern India’s political parties in New Delhi. Today, it is more common to see New Delhi-based journalists from the south do a lot more than just cover the southern region of the country.

What was most anticipated back then was perhaps the Railways Budget, which was presented by the Union Railways Minister. People would eagerly wait to see whether fares would be reduced and new trains introduced. The Railways Budget was presented a few days before what was popularly referred to as the General Budget until 2017, when the 92-year-old practice of presenting the railway expenses of the following fiscal year, separate from those of the rest of the various arms of the government, was discontinued.

I remember covering the presentation of the Railways Budget in March 2012, when Trinamool Congress leader Dinesh Trivedi was the Union Railways Minister. Trinamool party chief Mamata Banerjee, who held the portfolio until a year earlier, had won a historic mandate in West Bengal in 2011 and had returned to Kolkata to form the first non-Left government in over three decades. There was speculation for weeks about whether rail fares would be raised as Ms. Banerjee had held them down for three years, despite the larger alliance partner, the Congress, and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself suggesting pragmatism over populism.

The very marginal raise in fares was given wall-to-wall coverage. On a rain-soaked day, Mr. Trivedi had to face a volley of questions from the media on the lawns outside old Parliament House. Mr. Trivedi appeared defensive, and almost helpless. Within minutes of the Railways Budget being tabled, Ms. Banerjee had threatened to withdraw support to the United Progressive Alliance into the middle of its second term in office if the hikes were not halted, and indicated that she wished to replace her Cabinet-ranked colleague, who was considered her trusted lieutenant.

Speculations were rife on who would replace Mr. Trivedi. I remember being rather direct, and almost ruthless in hindsight, with my questions on who his replacement would be, even before Mr. Trivedi could explain why the passenger fares had been hiked. By then, politics had taken over, and whether the proposed hike would be shelved or not had taken a backseat. Sure enough, in four days, the Trinamool’s Mukul Roy replaced Mr. Trivedi as Railways Minister.

What struck me while covering the latest Budget was how the Railways have been relegated to the background. Today, the media reports the sudden hikes in fares, but few political parties seem to scrutinise the fares or question the increases, which pinch the pockets of the middle class and poor. There also seems little likelihood of the Railways Minister being replaced or stepping down, as Lal Bahadur Shastri did after the 1956 Ariyalur train accident, owning “moral responsibility”, despite train derailments and tragedies, let alone hikes in fares.

While the excitement around the Budget remains as it did back in the day, what has strikingly changed within the media itself is the sheer number of platforms that journalists report on, which has made the coverage more breathless and challenging. Print journalists also do video interviews and podcasts now.

There is also a lack of greater interactions with Ministers and bureaucrats, who prefer to make announcements through their social media handles. This has reduced media scrutiny to an extent. While press conferences are still held, jazzy power point presentations and “key highlight” documents are prioritised over answering journalist questions.

kunal.shankar@thehindu.co.in

World Bank plans more aid to developing areas

Washington, July 24: A major overhaul of the World Bank’s lending and borrowing programme for the next four years is being planned by the Bank President, Mr. Robert McNamara, to help meet the pressing needs of the developing countries. His proposals, which in essence aim at enlarging the lending programmes by at least five per cent in real terms, will be discussed by the Board of the Bank on July 30. The proposals also seek to reduce the Bank’s liquid reserves. The lending rate may rise from 7.25 per cent to eight per cent. Under the proposals, the Bank’s lending programme for the next four years will aggregate $22.1 billions (Rs. 16,500 crores) as against $14 billions (Rs. 10,500 crores) planned earlier.

Govt. communiques

Mysore, July 24 (4 p.m.): A Press Communique has been issued by Government regarding the floods, and the damages consequent on the floods, and the measures taken to relieve suffering. The communique says that during the 2nd week and part of the 3rd week of this month, information was received by Government of unusually heavy rainfall in the Malnad districts and in the adjoining British territory of Coorg and Wayanad.

Priyali Prakash

How prevalent is illegal coal mining in India? What are the legal frameworks governing coal mining in India? Why is the responsibility for addressing illegal mining placed on State governments? What factors contribute to the persistence of illegal coal mining? What safety risks do workers face?

Mining perils: Labourers carry baskets of coal from an open-cast mine in Jharkhand. APKevin Frayer

The story so far:

On July 13, three workers died of asphyxiation inside an illegal coal mine in Gujarat’s Surendranagar district. The officials said that the workers were working in a mine near Bhet village in Thangadh taluka without helmets, masks, or other safety equipment. The first information report (FIR) indicated that the accused failed to provide essential safety gear to the labourers, who died after inhaling toxic gas in the mine. The police have registered a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against four people.

What is the issue?

The Surendranagar incident is not an isolated case.

In June 2023, three people, including a ten-year-old child, were reportedly killed after an illegal mine collapsed in the Dhanbad district of Jharkhand. Similarly, at least three people were killed in October 2023 after a coal mine collapsed during illegal extraction in West Bengal’s Paschim Bardhaman district.

These are just a few examples of how illegal coal mining has led to worker fatalities in India.

Coal in India was nationalised in two phases: first with the coking coal (used for the production of coke in the steel industry) in 1971-72; and then with the non-coking coal mines in 1973. The Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1973 is the central legislation that determines eligibility for coal mining in India. Illegal mining constitutes a law and order problem, which is a State list subject. Hence, the onus of dealing with it falls on State governments rather than the Union government.

Why is illegal coal mining rampant in India?

According to the Ministry of Coal, illegal mining in India is mostly carried out in abandoned mines or shallow coal seams in remote or isolated places. Several factors contribute to illegal coal mining in India.

Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel in India, accounting for 55% of the country’s energy needs. The high demand for power in India translates into a high demand for coal, which often outstrips the legal supply, prompting illegal supply. Many areas that are rich in coal are also situated close to homes for populations struggling with poverty and unemployment, which contributes to illegal mining in these areas.

In remote areas, mining regulations can be weak due to inadequate monitoring and lack of resources, leading to weaker enforcement. This can result in the rise of “coal mafias,” as has been alleged in multiple cases of illegal coal mining in India. For example, in 2018, activist Marshall Biam of the North East Indigenous People’s Federation registered a complaint accusing a “police-backed” coal gang of threatening him. Mining tragedies are not uncommon in coal-rich Meghalaya.

Illegal coal mining also allegedly receives tacit support from political leaders in areas where it is prevalent, making it difficult to curb. In 2023, the Assam-based political party Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) submitted a petition each to the President, Vice-President, Prime Minister, Chief Justice of India, the National Green Tribunal (NGT), the National Human Rights Commission and the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, alleging that some BJP leaders are behind illegal coal mining in the State. AJP president Lurinjyoti Gogoi and general secretary Jagadish Bhuyan said that illegal rat-hole coal mining has continued in Assam, as well as in Meghalaya and other north-eastern States, with the alleged patronage of BJP leaders and in collusion with officials despite a blanket ban on such mining by the NGT in 2014.

Illegal mining is often carried out using rudimentary techniques like surface mining and rat-hole mining, rather than the scientific methods required for legal operations on a larger scale. In areas where coal seams are closer to the surface, illegal miners access them with limited safety equipment. Minimal operational costs can also turn into significant profits, making illegal mining lucrative.

Why do so many workers die in illegal coal mines?

The lack of safety equipment and protocols is the primary reason for deaths during illegal coal mining. Miners face increased respiratory risks due to inhaling coal dust, and the lack of safety equipment significantly increases this risk. The miners in the Surendranagar incident also died of carbon monoxide poisoning. According to District Collector K.C. Sampat, 2,100 wells had been filled in recent times, but some of them might have been illegally reopened, where the incident happened.

Illegal mines lack proper structural support to carry out the extraction of coal, making working conditions hazardous and vulnerable to cave-ins, landslides, and explosions. Workers may also be exposed to high levels of toxic substances like lead and mercury, which can cause acute poisoning or long-term chronic medical conditions.

Several people who work in illegal coal mines are untrained for the job and for the risks it poses. There is a lack of proper training, quick response facilities, and knowledge in case of emergencies.

Operator negligence and worker exploitation are also rampant in illegal coal mining.

Why do governments struggle to cut down illegal coal mining in India?

Questions regarding illegal coal mining have been raised in the Parliament, but since it is a law and order issue, the Union government often shifts the blame to State authorities. A mix of economic, social, political, and regulatory factors makes it difficult for governments to shut down illegal coal mining in India.

Illegal coal mining, by any means, is not a novelty. It has existed since before coal was nationalised and continues to exist in pockets in coal-rich areas or near abandoned mines. The high demand for coal as a fuel makes illegal mining rampant and challenging to control. Local economies in many areas depend on mining, and once official operations run their course, illegal mining takes its place to support the local community.

The legal framework governing mining is complex, which can possibly lead to bureaucratic hurdles and inefficiency in governance, allowing illegal mining to exist.

What is behind Rwanda’s election outcome?

Ayan Datta

How did President Paul Kagame secure such overwhelming support?

The story so far:

On July 15, Rwanda held its fourth presidential election since the 1994 Tutsi genocide. Partial results released by Rwanda’s National Electoral Commission (NEC) reveal overwhelming support for President Paul Kagame. With 79% of the votes counted, Kagame has secured over 99% of the votes. Opposition leaders Habineza Frank of the Democratic Green Party and Independent candidate Mpayimana Phillippe secured less than one per cent of the votes each.

How did Rwanda politically progress?

On 6 April, 1994, Rwanda’s Hutu President Juvenal Habyarimana was killed in a plane crash, allegedly by the Tutsi-led armed group, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). Between April 7 and July 15, 1994, the state-sponsored Hutu armed group massacred over 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in revenge attacks.

In 1994, the RPF defeated Rwanda’s government, ended the genocide and restored law and order. The RPF took control of Rwanda and established a transitional government of both Hutus and Tutsis, which ruled from 1994 to 1995. Between 1996 and 2002, Rwanda’s leadership was preoccupied with fighting Hutu armed groups in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and could not prioritise nation building.

In 2003, Rwanda adopted a new Constitution and became a semi-presidential republic. The same year, multi-party elections were held for the first time. Kagame was elected as Rwanda’s President. Under his leadership, the RPF rapidly consolidated power, winning landslide majorities since 2003. In 2015, the government amended the constitution through a referendum, enabling Kagame to rule till 2034 and strengthening the RPF’s dominance.

What has been the role of Kagame?

A U.S.-trained military officer of Tutsi ethnicity, Kagame joined the RPF in 1990. As the RPF’s leader, Kagame led the armed group to end the genocide. Between 1994 and 2000, he was Rwanda’s de facto leader, first as Vice President and then as Acting President.

According to Rwanda’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, the economy grew by over eight per cent annually under Kagame’s leadership. Between 2000 and 2017, his targeted social welfare schemes lifted over one million people out of poverty, while life expectancy rose from 29 to 67 years. However, Western observers criticised his government as authoritarian for suppressing opposition forces and civil liberties. In 2024, Freedom House accused his government of surveillance, torture, arbitrary detentions, and assassinations of dissents.

What do the election results convey?

Kagame’s victory conveys wide-ranging support for his programmes of economic progress and political stability. Given that Rwanda is still a developing country, Kagame’s campaign resonated with the electorate’s aspirations for economic freedom and reaffirmed his successful record of providing the stability needed for development.

Kagame’s victory demonstrates the effectiveness of his party machinery, with opposition candidates struggling to draw crowds. However, Kagame was virtually unchallenged, with opposition candidates receiving one per cent of votes combined, reflecting the RPF’s efforts to suppress genuine political competition. The suppression of the candidates also reflected Kagame’s authoritarian tendencies. The pro-government decisions of the National Election Commission reflected the absence of robust democratic institutions.

Does the Rwanda election hold any significance for Africa’s democratic process?

South Africa, Senegal, Chad, and Rwanda have completed their general elections, others are heading to the polls. While South Africa and Senegal had free and fair elections, polls in Chad and Rwanda saw incumbents controlling opposition forces.

While Rwanda enjoys an impressive developmental record, its authoritarian tendencies and democratic deficits reflect the larger African trends of democratic backsliding and electoral malpractices. Since the RPF was initially an armed group that became the country’s ruling party, its political dominance reflects the persistent issue of militarisation of civilian politics that affects African states like Gabon and Guinea. Kagame’s victory will mark continued political stability, but its military involvement in the DRC will contribute to regional instability.

Ayan Datta is a research intern in the Africa Studies programme at the NIAS

Is there a right way to portray sexual violence on-screen?

Ramya Kannan

The portrayal of violence in films, including extreme depictions such as rape, raises questions about its impact and necessity; while some films use violence to drive their plots, studies show that such depictions can contribute to real-life aggression and desensitisation among viewers

A still from Maharaja. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

There is no doubt today, with a war and a horrific occupation in place, it is clear that we, as a race, are essentially ensconced in violence. Aggression over pacifism and bloodthirst over compassion seem to be the guiding forces of our times. As the world loses patience and continues to aggress, art that imitates life, or speculates on it, naturally needs to reflect a part of that. Is it okay to show violence on screen then, to show rape that is probably the most brutal of violations, physical and emotional, on-screen? The debate has raged and crude and cruder forms of the depiction of violence have dominated screen time and mind space since man figured out how to shoot films and run them on a spool for public viewing. The question always is how much is too much? And, a little more philosophically, does this portrayal have to make a point?

‘Casual approach to violence’

More recently, Vijay Sethupathy’s flick Maharaja set the cash registers ringing with a rather contrived revenge drama, gimmicky and replete with non-linear time zones. While redeemed much by the protagonist’s fine essay of a broken father, the brutal violence in the film prompts a visceral physical flinch many a time.

The blood, gore, and casual approach to violence makes one wonder if an assault is actually a living, bile-belching character in the movie. Not to spoil the story for you, but if you shrivel at the portrayal of physical violence on screen, then be warned that there is also more than one rape in the movie, not even as a revenge play, but just as mentioned before, nearly casual, flick of the wrist; we-can-do-this, therefore-we-will level of numbing.

As a cinematic ploy, it is meant to drive the plot in this film, and as such, stressed upon in entropic flashbacks, suggestive and lascivious facial expressions, post-coital adjustment of clothes, struggles, partial nudity, screams and violence. There is one particularly brutal scene, in another flashback, where the abuser spits on the child victim with such violence, it is definitely a bilious moment in the film. Of course, it further deteriorates into a spiral of more violence, bloodshed and a climatic ending that by then the audience is hoping for, has predicted, or has whispered as a prayer to let the movie end as a relief.

Big influence

It has been adequately established with studies that violent behaviour on screen further spurs violence, particularly among kids. Psychologist Albert Bandura established this way back in the sixties, showing that the more aggressive a film is, the more aggressive children watching it behave.

Other studies have also shown that violence has another way of allowing the practice of it in society, by desensitising the viewer. Desensitisation ensures that response to violence in real life is dulled or dead, allowing it to continue, or worse still, aggrandising it. Violence on-screen has seldom been the agent of change that filmmakers are sometimes deluded into thinking it is.

That very emperor of violence on screen, Quentin Tarantino, packs in a comical element and works in an element of theatrical distance between the screen and the audience in his movies. In a press conference in 1994, he said: “Violence is just one of many things you can do in movies. People ask me, ‘Where does all this violence come from in your movies?’ I say, ‘Where does all this dancing come from in Stanley Donen movies?’ If you ask me how I feel about violence in real life, well, I have a lot of feelings about it. It’s one of the worst aspects of America. In movies, violence is cool. I like it.”

While violence as an aspect of life has an undeniable place on screen, we don’t want to watch just romcoms on the big screen or small. It is violence sans stylisation in movies, without the opportunity for redemption, that is problematic. One of the finest scenes of rape on screen is from the Netflix series Sandman, in the episode Calliope.

In the season finale episode, an out-of-inspiration author on a deadline is bequeathed a mythical Muse, by another author, and he pleads with her to inspire him. She has been imprisoned for decades against her will, and his pleas turn insistent and into demands. In one scene we realise, as he is furiously typing away on his manuscript, a small bleeding scratch on his face, that he has had his way with her. Unusual for a rape scene, and with none of its usual trappings, but powerful nonetheless and conveys the message forcefully.

In another recent streaming series, I May Destroy You, there are multiple ways, subtle and gross, in which sexual violation is portrayed, and the response to it by the system, putting out the message that consent is key in any sexual relationship, and that it may be withdrawn at any time.

Educate, not glorify

Show violence on screen, since we must, to keep our movies real and earthy, but adding mindless violence under the garb of advancing the plot, serves no purpose, even eroding plausibility. You could always adapt a more sensitive, rights approach, and stylise the portrayal in a way that will not glorify violence, but rather serve to enlighten and educate the audience.

The silver jubilee celebrations of the victory at Kargil is being celebrated as Kargil Vijay Divas Rajat Jayanthi. A quiz on Operation Vijay (Kargil)

Colonel Vembu Shankar, SC

1 of 2 Visual Question: The monument of which ‘Batalik Hero’, was established in the Vir Chakra’s awardee’s hometown of Trichy in 2007 ?FILE PHOTO

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Question 1

The Tiger of Drass is a biography of which Mahavir Chakra Awardee of the Kargil War?

Question 2

The sub-sector west of the Siachen glacier was renamed after which Vir Chakra awardee’s gallant sacrifice?

Question 3

What was the codename of the Indian Air Force operations during the Kargil War in 1999?

Question 4

The science block of the National Defence Academy is named after which Param Vir Chakra awardee of Kargil?

Question 5

Bikram Saluja portrayed which Vir Chakra awardee’s role in the movie LOC based on the Kargil war?

Question 6

Which PVC awardee’s code name was Shershah?

Question 7

What was the name of the Indian Navy operation launched in conjunction with Op Vijay in 1999?

Question 8

Who was the Chief of Army Staff of India during the Kargil War?

Questions and Answers to the previous day’s daily quiz: Identify the husband-and-wife duo. Ans: Nikolai Andrianov and Lyubov Burda in Gymnastics

2. This father and son duo holds the record of winning the most medals. Ans: Oscar Swahn and Alfred Swahn from Sweden have 15 medals in Shooting.

3. Which Indian family has an overall haul of 6 Olympic medals? Ans: Dhyan Chand, his brother Roop Singh and his son Ashok Kumar - all in Men’s Hockey competition

4. Which father and son duo from India won one bronze medal each? Ans: Father Vece Paes in Hockey and son Leander Paes in Men’s Singles Tennis

5. In Athletics, which family had three of its members win an overall haul of 12 medals. Ans: Al Joyner, his wife Florence Griffith Joyner and his sister Jackie Joyner-Kersee

6. Identify the couple who have achieved the feat of Golden Slam in Tennis? Ans: Andre Agassi and his wife Steffi Graf

7. Identify this family which had three generations winning 9 Olympic medals? Ans: Erwin Keller, Carsten Keller, Andreas Keller & Florian Keller, Natascha Keller, Louisa Walter, and Navina Omilade

8. Thris 3 sisters from Ethiopia had winning Olympic medals. Ans: The Dibaba Sisters

Visual: Connect the two Indian Olympic Medalists? Ans: Cousins Simranjit Singh & Gujrant Singh – both won bronze in Men’s Hockey for India in 2021.

Early Birds: Animesh Mohan | Abhay Krishnan | Arvind Tillway

(Colonel Vembu Shankar is Indian Army Veteran)

K. Subrahmanian

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Meaning of ‘cook one’s goose’ (E. V. Ramana, Kurnool).

The meaning of this idiom is to “spoil or ruin one’s own or another’s chances of success either in general or in a particular way.”

Raman cooked his goose when he informed the interview committee that he had been to jail twice.

Sharmila cooked her goose when she started smoking in front of her prospective mother-in-law.

Like many expressions, this too has a story behind it. When King Eric of Sweden went to capture a certain town, the townspeople hung a goose from one of the towers. They did this because the king had very few soldiers with him, and the people thought there was no way the King could capture the town. King Eric and his men were extremely angry when they saw the goose hanging from the tower because the goose was and is considered a symbol of stupidity. They quickly grouped together and got ready to attack the town. When the people of the town realised they were going to be attacked, they sent a few men to ask King Eric what he wanted. The King replied: “To cook your goose.” And that is what Eric and his men did. They burnt the entire town and in the process, the goose which was hanging from the tower got cooked.

Difference between ‘congenial’ and ‘conducive’ (G. Sambasivam, Madras).

Congenial is often used as “persons or things that are in such harmony with the taste of the person that they afford him pleasure or delight.” You find a person congenial because both of you share the same interests or have a similar temperament. Likewise, you find a job “congenial” because it suits your nature, your taste.

Brij Mohan is not a congenial person to work with.

I find Hyderabad a congenial place to live in.

“Conducive” means “allowing or helping something to happen.” While “congenial” can be used with both people and things, “conducive” is generally used with things. “Conduce” is used as a verb occasionally and that too in formal contexts. It means “to help to cause or produce something.”

Regular walking conduces to physical fitness.

Quiet surroundings are conducive to meditation.

Smoking and drinking are not conducive to good health.

Goodish (S. Snehalata, Bombay).

“Goodish” means “fairly good.”

It is a goodish novel.

It also means “rather large or great.”

It is a goodish distance from here to my house.

Chagrin (S. Bhatnagar, New Delhi).

“Chagrin” means “ an acute feeling of annoyance and embarrassment or disappointment.”

Much to his chagrin, he failed in the interview.

Chagrin is also used as a noun. It is generally used in the passive.

He was chagrined by his failure in the examination.

The “ch” in “chagrin” is pronounced like the “sh” in “ship”; the “a” is pronounced like the “a” in “man”; the “i” is pronounced like the “i” in “sit.” The stress on the first syllable.

Published in The Hindu on December 13, 1992

Business

- ‘Focus is on raising the employment intensity of growth’

- Govt. likely to defer wastage norm tweak for jewellery exports

- Data Protection Bill: Firms must send users consent notices

- India drone tech sector set to soar, says Reliance firm Asteria

- Apollo Tyres plans to become net zero by 2050, says chairman

- ‘Ashok Leyland logs record Q1 revenue’

- TechM reports 23% rise in Q1 net profit

- BMW Group India unveils 4 new products including 2 EVs

- CG Power to acquire 55% stake in G.G. Tronics

- Ramco Cements Q1 net halves as prices slide 8%

- Adani Green Energy Q1 net rises 95% to ₹629 crore

- Laurus Labs Q1 net slumps to ₹13 crore on lower revenue

- U.S. FDA issues 2 observations for Gland Pharma facility

- Taiwanese rocket start-up may be early test of Japan’s space hub plans

- Megacap stock selloff shows investor worries about tech trade

- Yen surges as traders brace for possible interest rate shift

- On a roll

- ‘Mankind bags Bharat Serums for ₹14,000 cr.’

‘Focus is on raising the employment intensity of growth’

Vikas Dhoot

NEW DELHI

Finance Secretary says Budget includes a direct thrust for job creation rather than an indirect one; the focus is on aiding first-time job seekers

Fiscal incentives: The aim is to help first-timers break the Catch-22 of ‘no experience, no jobs’, says T.V. Somanathan. file photo

Employment has always been an important element of recent Budgets, but the difference in Budget 2024-25 is a direct thrust for job creation rather than an indirect one through economic growth, with the focus being on helping first-time job seekers break the Catch-22 quandary of ‘no experience, no jobs’ in the labour market, Finance Secretary T.V. Somanathan asserted on Thursday.

“The growth thrust continues and the attempt this time is to increase the employment intensity of that growth. I would see it as an economic imperative, not a political imperative… India needs employment intensity growth which is a factor of what technologies you use and which industries grow faster,” Mr. Somanathan told The Hindu.

‘A nudge’

“We do believe that fiscal incentives have a role at the margin, in what kinds of technological choices are made and what kind of hiring choices are made,” he said, adding that economic theory and empirical international evidence indicate that such incentives generally work as an encouragement or ‘nudge’.

“How much they work and how fast is a different matter. For instance, industry constantly asks for fiscal incentives on research and development, or to buy plant and equipment. Now, what we are saying is, if you do more employment, you will get more fiscal benefits… We are hopeful that this will increase the rate at which employment grows for a given level of GDP growth,” the Finance Secretary said.

This does not mean a high-tech industry will suddenly become labour-intensive because of fiscal incentives or a labour-intensive sector will mechanise more in their absence, he explained.

“But at the margin, every industry has choices to make on further automation, or lesser automation, and fiscal incentives matter there,” Mr. Somanathan pointed out.

The attempt through the employment-linked scheme of incentives announced in this Budget, is to make it easier for firms to hire those who don’t have any previous experience, the Finance Secretary underlined.

‘Breaking barriers’

“There is an entry barrier for somebody who doesn’t have experience and we are trying to help penetrate that barrier through a fiscal incentive, so that the period for which a new entrant is perhaps on a learning curve and less productive, we subsidise that and make it more attractive for companies to hire such first timers,” he said.

“So there’s a definite thrust on first-timers breaking into the employment market, overcoming that barrier, and thereby widening the pool of people who are selected,” Mr. Somanathan observed.

Govt. likely to defer wastage norm tweak for jewellery exports

Amiti Sen

New Delhi

In a move that could provide extended relief to jewellery exporters, the Government is considering further deferment of its decision to reduce permissible wastage in export of gold, silver and platinum items beyond July 31 as it is “diligently” examining a deluge of industry inputs and pleas on the need to maintain the higher limits, sources said.

“The DGFT may need another month to diligently go through all the data provided by various industry groups trying to prove that the wastage in their particular sectors is higher than the reduced limits that were notified in May this year (but were put on hold). Details have been submitted on the whole process including valuation and cost. The norms committee is looking at it,” an official tracking the matter told businessline.

On May 27, the DGFT amended the export policy (wastage permissible and Standard Input Output Norms) reducing the wastage limit on gold and platinum jewellery to 0.5% from 2.5% and on silver jewellery to 0.75% from 3.2%. For medallions and coins (excluding coins of nature of legal tender), the permissible percentage was lowered to 0.1% from 0.2%.

Industry protests

However, the policy was subsequently put on hold till July 31 following industry protests. The DGFT then called for inputs from the industry to support its argument against reduction of the permissible wastage.

The Standard Input Output Norm (SION) fixed by the DGFT specifies the required amount of inputs needed to produce a unit of output for exporting and is important as various benefits availed by exporters, including duty-free import of inputs, are tied to these.

Following the May 27 notification, the Gems & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) met DGFT officials and expressed concern over the possibility of the revised norms having a disproportionate impact on the small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), which represent 85% of all exporters.

Detailed study

After the DGFT put the notification on hold till July 31 seeking industry inputs on it, the GJEPC said it would conduct a detailed study on wastage norms on different categories of jewellery, including plain, studded, machine-made and hand-made.

In 2023-24, exports of gold and other precious metal jewellery was valued at $13.31 billion which was 7.74% higher than exports in the previous year.

(The writer is with The Hindu businessline)

Data Protection Bill: Firms must send users consent notices

Ayushi Kar

Mumbai

Mobile application developers, e-commerce players and social media companies can expect compliance costs to rise with the rules under the new Digital Personal Data Protection law likely to prescribe a consent notice to every user explaining the nature of data being collected and the purpose for which it will be used.

The rules, currently being drafted, will make it mandatory for firms to issue such a notice to users to explain how the user can withdraw consent. At present, most mobile application developers seek access to user data such as phone contact list, camera and location without explaining why they need such data.

According to a draft of the model notice seen by businessline,tech companies (data fiduciaries) are supposed to take informed consent of customers for every itemised personal data point which they collect from customers (data principals).

An industry expert said while this is good for the consumers, compliance cost for firms may rise drastically. For example, if a data fiduciary is collecting the name, email address, credit card details and residential address from data principal, they will have to give stated purposes for every data item.

Informed users

“This means that with the implementation of the DPDP Bill, the unmitigated collection of personal data of customers, including unrelated requests to essentially mine customer data (accessing customer contact list, location for unrelated reasons) could end. Customers will be better informed about risks and benefits of giving consent, while this will create a slew of compliances for data fiduciaries operating in India,” said an expert.

According to the draft model, the companies also have to clearly state that they will only collect as much personal data necessary for the stated purposes. Customers also have the choice to inform data fiduciaries that the data only be retained till the purpose is served.

Customers will also be given due process to erase the personal data shared, unless there is some legal requirement to retain it.

Even though the DPDP Act was passed in August last year, almost a year on, customers are still devoid of a proper framework to preserve the sanctity of personal data. While the IT Ministry completed the draft process of rules, certain modifications on processing children’s data and the exact reporting time for data breaches continue to be made.

(The writer is with The Hindu businessline)

India drone tech sector set to soar, says Reliance firm Asteria

Mini Tejaswi

Bengaluru

Neel Mehta Special Arrangement

Asteria Aerospace, a full-stack drone technology firm, said India’s drone tech sector has been growing at 40% CAGR in the last three years and in future, it was set to soar higher with the government liberalising the space and enterprises increasingly finding drone applications in newer industry verticals.

With the government liberating drone operations, the technology has been finding a wide variety of applications in the civilian market, Neel Mehta, Director & Co-Founder of Asteria Aerospace.

‘’Industries such as GIS (Geographic Information System), construction, oil and gas, agriculture, infrastructure etc. are increasingly embracing drone tech and capturing aerial data for actionable intelligence and decision making,” he explained.

Reliance Industries invested ₹120 crore in 2019 to pick up 75% equity in Asteria Aerospace. The firm currently has a drone deployment base of 650 and holds 42 patents.

Surveying, mapping

Some of the drones carry out surveying and mapping to generate digital surface and terrain models for topography and land use analysis while certain drones are deployed in crop health assessment and digitisation of farm boundaries.

“Customers are seeing huge time and cost reduction with drone deployments. In terms of crop- health assessment, we are able to deliver in plant stand counting with a 95% accuracy,” he added.

Apollo Tyres plans to become net zero by 2050, says chairman

The Hindu Bureau

CHENNAI

Onkar Kanwar

Apollo Tyres Ltd. has set an “ambitious” goal to become net zero by 2050, said Chairman Onkar Kanwar. “We are aiming to be net zero by 2050, use more sustainable materials, and cut back on emissions,” he said, addressing shareholders at the 51st Annual General Meeting.

“It’s a big challenge, but we are committed. And we are working with experts to make sure that the company is on the right track,” he said. “Importantly, this is just not good for the planet, it is good for our business,” Mr. Kanwar added.

“By being sustainable, we are building a stronger future for all of us,” he said.

Mr. Kanwar said the firm deeply valued sustainable growth and strived to ensure that Apollo Tyres’ progress was not just immediate, but also enduring.

The initiatives reflected the company’s dedication to maintaining a healthy balance between growth and profitability, the chairman added.

‘Ashok Leyland logs record Q1 revenue’

The Hindu Bureau

CHENNAI

Dheeraj Hinduja

Ashok Leyland Ltd. reported the ‘highest-ever’ Q1 FY25 commercial-vehicle volume resulting in a ‘record’ revenue, EBITDA margins and profit before tax, a top official said.

“Q1 industry volumes were at comparable levels of the previous peak of Q1 FY19,” Executive Chairman Dheeraj Hinduja said.

“You will be seeing a host of new product launches this year. It will help strengthen market and price position.”

“In Q1 FY24, we had to restate deferred tax liability from 35% to 25%. This meant we had a one-time gain of ₹172 crore in deferred tax liability.”

“If we take that effect away from Q1 FY25 results, it would have resulted in a 30% growth in Q1 FY25 PAT of ₹526 crore,” he added.

Revenue from operations increased by 5% to ₹8,561 crore.

TechM reports 23% rise in Q1 net profit

The Hindu Bureau

Bengaluru

Tech Mahindra’s Q1 FY25 net profit rose 23% to ₹851.5 crore from ₹692.5 crore in the year-earlier period. But revenue declined 1.2% to ₹13,006 crore compared with ₹13,159 crore.

The tech firm saw a 28% sequential rise in net profit and a 1% rise in revenue.

Mohit Joshi, CEO and MD, Tech Mahindra said, “It is encouraging to see positive momentum in most industry verticals, which has led to revenue growth and margin expansion in an otherwise seasonally weak quarter. We continue to focus on execution and are on track to achieve our stated goals for FY27,” he said.

“Q1 results are a positive start for the current turnaround year and for our medium-term strategy. As we mentioned in our strategic priorities, our focus continues to be on investing in the business for long-term sustainable performance,” said Rohit Anand, CFO, Tech Mahindra.

About employees, the firm reported a low attrition of 10.1% in the past ten months, down 270 basis points sequentially.

Total utilisation, including trainees improved to 86.1% in the Q1, the firm said.

BMW Group India unveils 4 new products including 2 EVs

BMW Group India has introduced four products to build its electric mobility and premium luxury car portfolio. These include the 8th generation all-new BMW 5 Series Long Wheelbase at ₹72.90 lakh (ex-showroom), the latest version of MINI Cooper S at ₹44.90 lakh (ex-showroom), the all-electric MINI Countryman starting at ₹54.90 lakh (ex-showroom), and BMW CE 04 – India’s first premium electric scooter by BMW Motorrad India – from ₹14.90 lakh (ex-showroom).

CG Power to acquire 55% stake in G.G. Tronics

The Hindu Bureau

CHENNAI

CG Power & Industrial Solutions Ltd. (CG Power) has entered into an agreement to acquire 55% stake in Bengaluru-based G.G. Tronics India Pvt. Ltd. (GGT), for ₹319.38 crore.

This acquisition aligns with CG’s strategy to expand its rail products portfolio by diversifying into related or adjacent areas poised for growth, said the Murugappa group firm in a statement.

Established in 2003, GGT specialises in design, manufacture, supply and installation of electronic safety embedded signalling systems for the rail transport segment.

Ramco Cements Q1 net halves as prices slide 8%

The Hindu Bureau

CHENNAI

The Ramco Cements Ltd. reported standalone net profit for the June quarter slid 55% from the year-earlier period to ₹36 crore.

Revenue from operations decreased by 7% to ₹2,088 crore as cement prices dipped by 8%. Sales rose 1% to 4.36 million tonne on account of tepid demand amid general elections. Capacity utilisation stood at 77%, the firm said.

Input cost rose 9% to ₹990 a tonne on inflationary impact in procurement cost. The firm decided to monetise non-core assets worth ₹1,000 crore in the next 12 months to meet expansion costs.

Adani Green Energy Q1 net rises 95% to ₹629 crore

Press Trust of India

New Delhi

Adani Green Energy on Thursday posted a nearly 95% rise in consolidated net profit to ₹629 crore for the June quarter, on the back of higher revenues.

The company reported ₹323 crore consolidated net profit for the quarter ended on June 30, a BSE filing showed.

Total income rose to ₹3,122 crore in the quarter from ₹2,550 crore in the same period a year ago.

The energy sales increased 22% to 7,356 million units from 6,023 MU in the year-earlier period.

Laurus Labs Q1 net slumps to ₹13 crore on lower revenue

Drugmaker Laurus Labs reported consolidated net profit for the quarter ended June declined almost 53% year on year to ₹12.68 crore on lower revenue from business segments barring API. Total income rose 1% to ₹1,197.42 crore. “Q1 results are on expected lines, supported from strong growth in Oncology API and firm demand in ARV offset by slightly subdued performance in other divisions,” founder and CEO Satyanarayana Chava said in a release.

U.S. FDA issues 2 observations for Gland Pharma facility

Gland Pharma’s facility in Dundigal, near Hyderabad, has been issued a Form 483 with two observations on conclusion of a surprise inspection by the United States Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA). These are procedural in nature and neither repeat observations nor related to data integrity, the company said. The inspection of the facility for Good Manufacturing Practices was conducted between July 22 and July 25, the company said in a filing on Thursday.

Taiwanese rocket start-up may be early test of Japan’s space hub plans

Reuters

TOKYO

TiSpace’s attempt to launch a rocket from Japan has won support among Japanese space businesses ; Japan wants its private space industry to be worth more than $50 billion by the early 2030s, launch 30 rockets a year and become Asia’s space transportation hub, according to govt. plans

1 of 2 Closer look: Foreign firms require close government scrutiny and high regulatory hurdles. REUTERStiSPACE/AtSpace

2 of 2 We don’t ask if the company is domestic or foreign, as long as they can launch Shota Hirai Co-founder, Letara

A Taiwanese startup aims to become the first foreign firm to launch a rocket from Japan by early next year, part of a plan industry advocates say will aid Tokyo’s ambitions of becoming a space hub in Asia.

The planned suborbital launch by TiSpace has faced regulatory hurdles and delays amid questions over whether Japan should embrace overseas business as part of its effort to double the size of its 4 trillion yen ($26 billion) space industry over the next decade.

The private firm, co-founded in 2016 by current and former officials from Taiwan’s space agency, has not had a successful launch. Its most recent attempt to fly a rocket, via its sister company AtSpace in Australia in 2022, failed because of an oxidizer leak. The rocket to be tested in Japan is a different design.

“This (planned launch) should be a very good case for the Japanese government,” TiSpace chairman Yen-sen Chen told Reuters in an interview. “If that goes smoothly, then you will attract more customers from other countries.”

He said the firm is waiting on one last regulatory approval, a radio permit that will enable the launch of the company’s 12-metre (39 ft) sounding rocket, which he hopes will occur by early 2025. A sounding rocket can reach space but does not achieve orbit.

Some analysts have said launching a Taiwanese rocket in Japan might draw the attention of China, which claims Taiwan as its own over the strong objections of the government in Taipei, and monitors the island’s advancements in missile-related technologies. But so far, Mr. Chen said, he had not heard any concerns.

China’s foreign ministry said it was “not aware of the relevant circumstances” of the launch.

Japan’s Cabinet Office said “free economic and research activities are guaranteed in Japan within the scope of laws and regulations”. An official from Taiwan’s de facto embassy in Japan met with TiSpace in March 2023 in what the embassy called a “courtesy visit” but the embassy declined to comment further, saying the launch was a private-sector matter.

TiSpace is the only Taiwanese company attempting launches. One of the company’s other co-founders, Wu Jong-shinn, is now the head of Taiwan’s space agency. The agency declined to comment on its relationship with TiSpace and said all its launch services are conducted through public tender.

The company’s endeavour has won support among Japanese space businesses, especially in the remote agricultural town of Taiki, on the northern island of Hokkaido, which will host the launch. Officials and experts cite the benefits of inviting foreign companies.

Yuko Nakagawa, a ruling-party lawmaker representing Taiki and neighbouring communities, said TiSpace’s project was “a symbol of Taiwan-Japan friendship” and a tailwind for an international business complex that local officials call a “space Silicon Valley”.

Japan wants its private space industry to be worth more than $50 billion by the early 2030s, launch 30 rockets a year and become Asia’s space transportation hub, according to the latest government plans.

Jun Kazeki, the top official overseeing Japan’s space strategy in the Cabinet Office, declined to comment on TiSpace’s plans. There may be “future possibilities to utilise overseas transportation technologies”, but Japanese rockets are the government’s priority, he said.

Government launches are typically carried out by Japanese-built boosters such as the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries H3. Private satellite operators often use foreign launch companies such as SpaceX and ArianeGroup outside Japan.

A senior Japanese official involved in the space sector cautioned that a foreign company launching orbital payloads from Japan would require close government scrutiny and high regulatory hurdles.

Because Japan’s Space Activities Act does not govern sub-orbital launches such as TiSpace’s, the central government does not need to give final approval for the launch. Tokyo plans to change that law to encompass suborbital flights and reusable rockets, but revisions are expected to take years.

Local industry

Motoko Mizuno, an opposition lawmaker and former official at JAXA, the country’s space agency, said she was cautious about Japan opening up to foreign companies, with which local launchers might not be able to compete on price.

Japan is negotiating a space technology safeguards agreement with the U.S. that could also pave the way for U.S. commercial launches in Japan.

Globally, more than 50 spaceports are being built, but “they may end up with maybe five to 10 which can be truly successful and self sustaining in the long term”, said Boston Consulting Group principal Alessio Bonucci.

If TiSpace’s test launch is successful, the company said it plans to expand its manufacturing capacity in Japan to serve Japanese customers.

One such potential client, Hokkaido-based Letara, has already inquired about whether TiSpace can carry its satellite propulsion system to space for testing.

“We don’t ask if the company is domestic or foreign, as long as they can launch,” said Letara co-founder Shota Hirai.

Megacap stock selloff shows investor worries about tech trade

Reuters

NEW YORK

Rising fear: Signs of nervousness around tech stocks have begun to creep up.REUTERSANDREW KELLY

A tumble in the heavyweight stocks that have powered markets higher this year is highlighting Wall Street’s vulnerability to any weakness in the Big Tech trade and causing concerns that over-stretched stocks are in for more turbulence.

Disappointing quarterly reports from Tesla and Google-parent Alphabet sparked a crushing market selloff on Wednesday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite falling 3.6% in its worst day since October 2022. The benchmark S&P 500 slumped 2.3%.

“This was the hair trigger for people saying, ‘Wow, I’ve got way too much exposure to information technology and growthier type companies,’” said Thomas Martin, senior portfolio manager at GLOBALT, about Tesla’s results.

The rout comes after optimism about artificial intelligence technology fueled a months-long rally in a handful of massive technology and growth companies including chipmaker Nvidia, Microsoft and Amazon, pushing the S&P 500 to record highs this year.

The megacap stocks—dubbed, with Meta Platforms and Apple, the Magnificent Seven—have accounted for around a third of the S&P 500’s 14% gain in 2024, making their trajectories a key factor in how broader markets will perform.

As share prices soared, concerns grew over companies’ stretched valuations and comparisons to the dotcom bubble of more than two decades ago became more frequent. The S&P 500 is trading near 22 times expected earnings, its highest in over two years, and well above its 10-year average of 18, according to LSEG data.

Signs of nervousness around tech stocks began to creep up in recent weeks, as the blistering rally in many of the market leaders seemed to run out of gas. One signal came from the rise in the Cboe Volatility Index, known as Wall Street’s fear gauge because it measures demand for portfolio protection. The measure shot to its highest level in three months on Wednesday.

Hedge funds have been reducing their exposure to markets for the last two weeks, prime brokers at both Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley said in notes last week, amid fears that gains from earlier this year could evaporate if sentiment around tech stocks changed.

Andrew Volz, COO at prime broker Clear Street, said hedge funds continued to deleverage their portfolios on Wednesday, selling long positions and covering bearish bets.

“There were definitely general liquidations of things like Nvidia, Tesla, all the big seven tech companies,” said Mr. Volz.

Over-optimism?

Though the S&P 500 is still just 4% below an all-time high hit earlier this month, some investors worry that Wall Street may have become too optimistic about earnings growth, leaving stocks vulnerable if companies are unable to meet expectations in coming months.

One example could be seen on Wednesday, when Alphabet’s shares fell more than 5%. While the company reported better-than-expected revenues, investors grew wary that rising investments in AI infrastructure would squeeze margins and YouTube was facing tough competition for ad dollars.

“We set the bar too high on earnings,” said Jake Dollarhide, CEO of Longbow Asset Management. “Even Alphabet’s earnings beat, but the market obviously wasn’t impressed and they didn’t beat by enough.”

Many other Magnificent Seven stocks saw sharp declines on Wednesday. Tesla shares fell more than 12% while Nvidia’s lost 6.8%. Microsoft shares fell 3.6% and Apple lost 2.9%.

“We’re in a little bit of a pullback. But to me, it’s really just a short-term thing,” said Tim Ghriskey, senior portfolio strategist at Ingalls & Snyder in New York. “If we see some good numbers in the coming days, it could reverse just as quickly.”

Yen surges as traders brace for possible interest rate shift

Reuters

LONDON/SINGAPORE

Policy change: The Japanese central bank is likely to debate whether to raise interest rates next week.REUTERSFLORENCE LO

The yen rallied for a fourth day running on Thursday, reaching a a six-week high, as traders ditched their long-running bets against the currency and a plunge in global stocks drove investors towards traditionally safe assets.

The U.S. dollar slipped against other currencies as traders raised their bets on Federal Reserve rate cuts this year.

“This is a case of so many people all trying to find the door all at the same time,” said Jane Foley, head of FX strategy at lender Rabobank. “It seemed like everybody and his dog was shorting the yen, it was the funding currency for the carry trade.”

Investors had been heavily shorting—or betting against—the yen, seeing little chance of the yawning interest rate gap between Japan and the U.S. closing meaningfully. That gap has made U.S bonds and the dollar look attractive and pushed the yen to a 38-year low earlier this month, prompting intervention from authorities.

Those assumptions have suddenly been questioned this week. Sources told Reuters that the central bank is likely to debate whether to raise interest rates next week, while traders increasingly expect Fed cuts.

The yen was also supported on Thursday by its traditional role as a safe-haven currency, as a tech-led sell-off in global stocks continued.

Investors have been rapidly backing out of so-called carry trades, in which they had been borrowing low-yielding currencies to buy higher yielders like the dollar. As investors undo those trades they have been buying back the yen, catapulting it higher.

On a roll

Packing a punch: Shoppers walk through the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City, a shopping mall in Arlington, Virginia. US economic growth blew past expectations in the second quarter, boosted by consumer spending and inventory building despite high interest rates, government data showed, after a slow start to the year. The world’s biggest economy grew 2.8% in the April to June period, up from 1.4% in the first three months this year, said the Commerce Department. AFPSAUL LOEB

‘Mankind bags Bharat Serums for ₹14,000 cr.’

Janaki Krishnan

Mumbai

Done deal: Advent, which acquired BSV in 2019, put the company on the block late last year. Bijoy GhoshBIJOY GHOSH

Mankind Pharma has clinched the deal to acquire Bharat Serums and Vaccines from private equity firm Advent International at a little more than ₹14,000 crore, said sources with knowledge of the deal. The Delhi-based pharma company pipped the combine of Baring Private Equity and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority that had bid ₹13,000-14,000 crore.

Advent International, which had acquired BSV in 2019 in two transactions, had put the company on the block late last year and the process has been going on since with several PE firms as well as pharmaceutical companies showing interest and submitting non-binding bids.

The Hindu businessline reported earlier this month it was a front runner in the race for BSV. Mankind did not respond to an email sent seeking clarification on the deal. Advent declined comment.

Shares surge

On Thursday, Mankind shares rose 2.2% to an intraday high of ₹2,149.95 before ending 1.8% higher at ₹2,142 on the NSE. The stock had fallen 10.6% over the last three months. In the OTC (over-the-counter) segment, it has expanded to consumer wellness while bolstering pregnancy care and sexual wellness. This is where the BSV acquisition would give it a boost. For FY24, Mankind reported a net profit of ₹1,942 crore on a revenue of ₹10,335 crore.

(The writer is with The Hindu businessline)

Foreign

- Israeli PM urges global alliance against Iranian 'axis of terror'

- Myanmar junta, ethnic armed group claim control of military regional HQ

- Upping the game

- It is time to pass torch to ‘younger voices’, says Biden

- Hasina surveys destruction as unrest recedes

- UK, US, S.Korea warn of N.Korea cyber op to steal military, nuclear secrets

- Israel army recovers from Gaza bodies of 5 killed on October 7

- Death toll from Ethiopia landslip hits 257, could reach 500, says UN

- Putin vows 'retribution' against those trying to 'divide' Russia

- More than 100 flights cancelled in Germany as environmental activists target airports across Europe

- Humanity suffering from 'extreme heat epidemic,' UN chief warns

- Trump attacks Kamala Harris, calls her ‘lunatic’

- ‘Kamala Harris can perform better among the Indian American voters who are dissatisfied with Trump and Biden’

- Post-coup, Niger struggles with security, economic crises

- Flooded streets

- Russian, Chinese bombers stage joint patrol near Alaska

- UN experts urge Pak. to halt discrimination against Ahmadis

In U.S., Netanyahu calls for global alliance against Iran

Agence France-Presse

Washington

The U.S. and Israel must stand together, said the Prime Minister in his address to a joint session of Congress, adding that Iran was the ‘axis of terror’ behind almost all sectarian killings in West Asia

Show of support: Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to a joint meeting of Congress at the Capitol on Wednesday, in Washington DC. AFPDrew Angerer

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed Gaza ceasefire demonstrators on Wednesday and called for a global alliance against the Iranian regime he accuses of funding them, as he addressed a U.S. Congress divided by the war.

Washington has become increasingly alarmed by the humanitarian toll of Israel’s nine-month campaign in the narrow coastal territory, and protests in Israel and the U.S. have been ratcheting up pressure on Mr. Netanyahu.

The Prime Minister hit back at his critics in a speech at the United States Capitol, accusing Tehran of funding and promoting U.S.-based anti-Israel protest — and called Gaza peace activists “Iran’s useful idiots”.

“America and Israel today can forge a security alliance in the West Asia to counter the growing Iranian threat,” he told lawmakers as demonstrators burned his effigy in the streets beyond the historic Capitol complex.

“All countries that are in peace with Israel, and all those countries who will make peace with Israel, should be invited to join this alliance.”

Iran, he said, was the “axis of terror” behind almost all sectarian killing in the West Asia. He argued that the United States and Israel “must stand together” against Tehran and its proxies.

“Our enemies are your enemies. Our fight is your fight. And our victory will be your victory,” Mr. Netanyahu said to a standing ovation in the House chamber.

Deep divisions

But Americans are deeply divided over Israel’s actions in Gaza as the death toll climbs, and the demonstration outside the Capitol swelled to thousands ahead of Mr. Netanyahu’s appearance.

Activists were kept at least a block away by police who fired pepper spray, and they eventually dispersed.

Inside the House of Representatives — one-half of the main Capitol building — six protesters were arrested before Mr. Netanyahu began.

Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American lawmaker, waved signs from the floor calling Mr. Netanyahu a “war criminal” and accusing him of genocide.

The Israeli leader’s visit came in the wake of a gunman targeting Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, and President Joe Biden bowing out of the election and endorsing his deputy, Kamala Harris.

Mr. Netanyahu singled out both Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump for praise for their efforts towards West Asia peace.

Mr. Biden and Mr. Netanyahu held White House talks on Thursday on ceasefire in Gaza, with Vice President Kamala Harris due to meet the Israeli leader later in the day. Republicans nevertheless criticised Ms. Harris for skipping Wednesday’s address.

Vice Presidents typically preside over such occasions, and Senate leadership hopeful John Cornyn was one of a number of Republicans who called her no-show “disgraceful”.

Mr. Netanyahu will also meet Mr. Trump — with whose administration he had a much less fraught relationship than Mr. Biden’s — in Florida on Friday.

Wednesday’s address made Israel’s longest-serving premier the first foreign leader to address a joint meeting of Congress four times — pulling ahead of Britain’s Winston Churchill.

Mr. Netanyahu says only military pressure can free the hostages and defeat Hamas.

Myanmar junta, rebel group claim control of regional military headquarters

Agence France-Presse

Yangon

A rebel soldier of the MNDAA near a military base. ReutersSTRINGER .

Myanmar’s junta and an ethnic minority armed group both claimed on Thursday they were in control of a town and regional military command in northern Shan state following days of clashes.

Fighting has rocked the town of Lashio, home to the military’s northeastern command, since July 3 when an alliance of ethnic armed groups renewed an offensive against junta troops.

Local media run by the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) reported the group “fully captured the headquarters of the Northeast Military command in Lashio” on Thursday morning and also captured Lashio town, home to around 1,50,000 people.

MNDAA spokesperson Li Jiawen said the group’s fighters had captured Lashio, without giving further details.

But junta spokesperson Zaw Min Tun told reporters the claim was “not true”. “The insurgents infiltrated the outskirts of Lashio so [the security forces] have been following and clearing them,” he said, without giving details.

The northeastern command is located in the north of Lashio.

A video uploaded to social media with a caption saying it was shot in Lashio on Thursday morning showed deserted streets with no soldiers in sight.

The video was geolocated to a site in the town around two kilometres from the command.

Northern Shan state has been rocked by fighting since late last month when an alliance of ethnic armed groups renewed an offensive against the military along the highway to China’s Yunnan province.

The clashes have shredded a Beijing-brokered truce that in January halted a campaign by the alliance of the Arakan Army (AA), the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the MNDAA.

Dozens killed

The military has carried out several air strikes around the town during the fighting, according to residents.

Dozens of civilians have been killed or wounded in the recent fighting, according to the junta and local rescue groups.

Neither the junta nor the ethnic alliance have released figures on their own casualties.

Indonesia’s Foreign Minister on Thursday slammed the junta’s unwillingness to engage with a regional peace plan to resolve the conflict, speaking after meeting her Singaporean counterpart on the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations foreign ministers meeting in Laos.

Upping the game

Grand gala: Hot air balloons take off from College Green and Queen Square to mark the countdown to the 46th Bristol International Balloon Fiesta, on Wednesday in Bristol, England. This year, Europe’s largest hot air balloon festival takes off on August 9. Getty ImagesFINNBARR WEBSTER

It is time to pass torch to ‘younger voices’, says Biden

Agence France-Presse

Washington

Joe Biden Evan Vucci

U.S. President Joe Biden told Americans on Wednesday he quit the 2024 election to unite the country, saying in a historic Oval Office speech that it was time to pass the torch to “younger voices”.

“I revere this office. But I love my country more,” the 81-year-old said in an elegiac prime-time address to the nation urging his divided country to embrace democracy and shun hatred.

“The defence of democracy, which is at stake, is more important than any title,” Mr. Biden said. “I have decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. That is the best way to unite our nation.”

In his first televised address since his stunning decision, Mr. Biden also hailed his Vice President Kamala Harris, 59, who is set to be the new Democratic presidential nominee.

“She’s experienced. She’s tough. She’s capable,” Mr. Biden said in just the fourth address of his presidency from behind the Resolute Desk — and likely his last.

Mr. Biden bowed out of the race later than any other president in U.S. history, giving in to weeks of pressure from Democrats after a disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump raised concerns about his age.

Mr. Biden’s withdrawal has upended Mr. Trump’s campaign, which had previously focused on the President’s age and mental acuity. Now it is Mr. Trump, 78, who is the oldest candidate in U.S. history.

Earlier, the White House denied there was any “cover up” over Mr. Biden’s condition.

Ms. Harris was also on the campaign trail Wednesday, telling a Black college sorority in Indianapolis that “I am fighting for our nation’s future”.

Hasina surveys destruction as unrest recedes

Agence France-Presse

Dhaka

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina wept on Thursday as she surveyed the destruction wrought by days of deadly unrest, as student leaders weighed the future of the protests that sparked the disorder.

Last week’s violence killed at least 193 people, including several police officers, in one of the biggest upheavals of Ms. Hasina’s 15-year tenure.

The unrest was precipitated by protests against a public jobs quota scheme that critics say gives preference to allies of Ms. Hasina’s ruling party.

Thousands of troops are still patrolling cities and a nationwide Internet shutdown remains largely in effect, although clashes have subsided since protest leaders announced a temporary halt to new demonstrations.

Ms. Hasina, 76, spent the morning surveying destruction in the capital Dhaka, where the commuter rail network connecting the sprawling megacity of 20 million people was shut down after mob attacks.

The station was among several government buildings and dozens of police posts torched or vandalised during the unrest.

Students Against Discrimination, the group responsible for organising this month’s rallies, said it expected the government to make some concessions.

U.S. warns of cyber op to steal state secrets

Agence France-Presse

London

Britain, the United States and South Korea on Thursday issued a warning over a North Korea-backed global cyber espionage campaign to further the country’s nuclear ambitions.

Law enforcement and intelligence agencies said that a group known as Andariel “has been compromising organisations around the world to steal sensitive and classified technical information and intellectual property data”.

Andariel has been identified as an arm of Pyongyang’s spy agency, and working “to further the regime’s military and nuclear ambitions”, the U.K. National Cyber Security Centre said.

Defence, aerospace, nuclear and engineering organisations have mainly been targeted, as well as medical and energy providers, some of which have been hit by ransomware attacks.

“The global cyber espionage operation that we have exposed today shows the lengths that DPRK-state-sponsored actors are willing to go to pursue their military and nuclear programmes,” said NCSC director of operations Paul Chichester, referring to the secretive communist state.

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation urged companies involved “to remain vigilant in defending their networks”.

Bodies of 5 Israelis killed on Oct. 7 recovered from Gaza, says Army

AFP

Israeli forces retrieved the remains of five Israelis who were killed during Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel, the military said on Thursday. It said the five had previously been announced dead and the bodies taken to the Gaza Strip had been returned to Israel following a rescue operation. AFP

Death toll from Ethiopia landslip hits 257, could reach 500, says UN

AFP

The death toll from landslips in a remote region of southern Ethiopia has risen to 257, the United Nations said on Thursday, warning that the number of victims could soar to up to 500. Rescuers continue to press on with the grim search for bodies and survivors in the stricken locality of Kencho Shacha Gozdi. AFP

Putin vows ‘retribution’ against those trying to ‘divide’ Russia

AP

Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed on Thursday to crush anybody who tries to divide Russian society. Mr. Putin has recently escalated crackdown on civil society, media and Opposition, with dissent and criticism of the Kremlin outlawed and punishable by years-long prison sentences. AFP

More than 100 flights cancelled in Germany due to climate protests

AP

The Frankfurt airport, Germany’s busiest, cancelled more than 100 flights on Thursday as environmental activists launched a coordinated effort to disrupt air travel across Europe. Activists said they planned to target airports around Europe to remind people about the link between fossil fuels and climate change. AP

Humanity suffering from ‘extreme heat epidemic’: UN

Agence France-Presse

United Nations

Humanity is suffering from an “extreme heat epidemic,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Thursday, calling for action to limit the impacts of heat waves intensified by climate change.

“Billions of people are facing an extreme heat epidemic — wilting under increasingly deadly heat waves, with temperatures topping 50 degrees Celsius around the world,” he said. “That’s halfway to boiling.”

Mr. Guterres repeated his call for humanity to fight its “addiction” to fossil fuels.

“Today, our focus is on the impact of extreme heat. But let’s not forget that there are many other devastating symptoms of the climate crisis: ever-more fierce hurricanes. Floods. Droughts. Wildfires. Rising sea levels. And the list goes on,” he said.

While 2023 was the hottest year on record, and 2024 could set a new record, temperatures well above 40 degrees Celsius are increasingly common.

Trump attacks Kamala Harris, calls her ‘lunatic’

Agence France-Presse

Charlotte

Donald Trump launched a volley of attacks against U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday, calling her a “radical left lunatic” in his first rally since she became the de facto Democratic Party nominee for November’s election.

In a speech where he also claimed that Ms. Harris was in favour of the “execution” of babies due to her position on abortions, the former president and Republican nominee said: “She is a radical left lunatic who will destroy our country.”

Mr. Trump’s address comes as Ms. Harris, 59, hits the campaign trail armed with President Joe Biden’s endorsement.

‘Kamala Harris can perform better among the Indian American voters who are dissatisfied with Trump and Biden’

Sriram Lakshman

One issue that will roar to the front now is abortion and reproductive rights. And on that issue, Indian Americans and Asian Americans are among the strongest supporters of abortion rights; Harris brings credibility to that issue and prominence to that issue in ways that Joe Biden could never have brought to the table, says the founder and executive director of AAPI Data

Karthick Ramakrishnan, founder and executive director of AAPI Data, an organisation that studies the political attitudes of Asian American communities in the U.S., spoke to The Hindu on Kamala Harris’s run for the White House. In this conversation, he discusses Ms. Harris’s prospects including with Indian Americans. He also discusses the impact of another Indian American — Usha Vance, wife of Republican vice-presidential candidate J.D. Vance — on the peripheries of the race.

On the 8% drop in support for Joe Biden in the 2024 Asian American Survey, a survey run by AAPI Data, APIAVOTE and other organisations.

…What we saw was a drop in support for Joe Biden among Asian Americans — that’s the eight percentage point drop.

Among Indian Americans, it’s a 19-point drop. So it’s even more dramatic among Indian Americans. What is important to note, though, is that Donald Trump doesn’t gain much from that decline. How is that possible?

The way I interpret it, as a political scientist , is [these are] people who are very dissatisfied with their choice between Biden and Trump. So will we expect Harris to perform the same? I think she’ll perform better. I think a fair number those who are saying I’m going to vote for some of other candidate, she can probably win some of those votes, and the high proportion that say don’t know or refuse to answer, she’ll probably grab most of those votes, as well.

There are examples we can look at from 2019 and 2020 that give us some clues as to how Kamala Harris will perform. She did not perform as well when she was running for President, because she was not well-known outside of California. And so even though there was a fair amount of curiosity — and even pride — among Indian Americans, the people who were dominating the news headlines in 2019 were people like Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg and then Joe Biden.

So, it was really difficult for Harris to break through. But once she got chosen for the vice presidential nomination, you saw this big spike in interest among Asian Americans, but particularly Indian Americans.

The impact of the Kamala Harris candidacy on Indian Americans who have moved towards Trump.

I think it’s important to note that Harris’s entering into the fray introduces a new dynamic that will create its own set of disruptions in terms of the vote choice and political allegiances of Indian Americans. What we saw in October 2023 (AAPI Data -AP- NORC Survey) was that Harris’s favourability was on par with Biden’s. It makes sense; she is seen as part of the Biden-Harris administration. And so she did not perform that much better among Indian Americans or among Asian Americans more generally than Biden did. That said, she performed a lot better than Donald Trump and a lot better than Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy.

People were saying how much ethnic pride may influence where Indian Americans go this year. When it comes to people who identify as Democrat or Republican, it’s really hard to vote across party lines, even when it’s your compatriot running on the other side. And so that’s what that evidence shows: even if there might have been some curiosity, Haley did well among Indian Republicans, she did not do well among Indian independents, or among Indian Democrats. And the same was true for Ramaswamy. He did even worse among Indian Americans in general, and certainly among Indian American Democrats and independents. So, without all of that in play, it’ll be interesting to watch how much Harris will try to project a new direction, and how much she will run on the record of the Biden-Harris administration.

She can pick and choose the progressive side for those audiences that care about that. But she can pick the more centrist sides from her time as Attorney General [ of California] from her time as a district attorney [of San Franciso].

One issue that will roar to the front now is abortion and reproductive rights. And on that issue, Indian Americans and Asian Americans are among the strongest supporters of abortion rights.

She brings credibility to that issue and prominence to that issue in ways that Joe Biden could never have brought to the table.

The economy is the major reason why they [Indian Americans] soured on Biden; Harris inherits a good amount of that. But I think she has the chance to say I would do things differently.

But she also has the ability to raise the visibility of issues like abortion, like climate change, and gun control. These are all issues in which Indian Americans are much closer to her than they are to Trump and [his running mate ] Vance.

Immigration is another potential reset opportunity. Everyone is going to try to portray her role in terms of the border issue and, you know, trying to address the root causes of migration from Central America. I think she has the ability to recast the issue as one that also involves family visas, long visa wait times, and the Republican Party’s plans, especially if you look at Project 2025 to dramatically scale back migration. So these are all issues that I think she could bring to the table that scrambled the calculations of the Trump campaign and of Indian American voters as well.

How are Republicans going to compete for Indian American and Asian American votes given their hardline positions on immigration?

This is a big challenge the Republican Party has faced over the last two decades, and it’s gotten worse under Trump. So even if Indian Americans might give the Republican Party credit on issues like the economy and maybe even on some foreign policy issues, [there are] two major issues that prevent them from going over to the Republican side. One is the rise of Christian conservatism and, now, Christian nationalism. Indian Americans are majority Hindu, and very religiously diverse, even looking beyond Hindus. So that prevents a lot of Indian Americans from feeling welcome, or at home, within the party.

The other major issue is immigration. Indian Americans are the largest group of Asian undocumented or illegal immigrants in the country.

To the extent that the community is more and more aware of the complicated nature of immigration, they might have less hard and fast attitudes...

More and more people might know friends of friends who have overstayed their visas. In some of those [cases] illegal immigrants might not just be border crossers, they may be visa overseers, including elders who are taking care of their grandchildren, for example.

…[ Donald Trump] has to manage a lot of mixed opinion and a lot of strong anti-immigrant opinion within the party. And it becomes more challenging for him to do something independently that could increase legal immigration. There’s a lot of opposition even to legal immigration.

On the impact that Usha Vance, the Indian-origin spouse of Republican Vice Presidential candidate, will have on Indian American votes.

It’s remarkable that Indian Americans, who are among the various large immigrant groups most recently arrived in the United States, are doing as well as they are politically. The Japanese American population, the Chinese American population, and even the Latino population, which has been here for centuries, if not decades, do not have representation on the two major party tickets the way Indian Americans do. And so why is that?

Immigrants who come from robust democracies are more likely to be engaged in politics than immigrants who come from Communist countries or other repressive regimes. High English proficiency, is a factor too. So, while it might be surprising for a lot of people, it is not unusual to see Indian Americans getting into leadership positions as quickly as they do. Now Usha’s story is a different story. That’s another part of the Indian American story — people doing very well, when it comes to elite education in the U.S., and also in terms of elite professionals in the U.S.

Now, she [ Usha] has largely not been political herself. And so that, I think, will be a big question in terms of how much will she actually convert Indian Americans over to the Republican side. She was a registered Democrat until less than a decade ago.

I think what she did, and will continue to do, is to humanise and soften the image of J.D. Vance and maybe try to soften the policies of the Republican Party when it comes to issues like immigration [and] abortion. But there’s not much that the spouses of vice-presidential candidates do.

It’s a big question of how much vice presidential candidates themselves do. When you get to talking about the spouse of a vice presidential candidate, the effects are marginal at best.

Post-coup, Niger struggles with security, economic crises

Associated Press

ABUJA

In misery: On the streets, where thousands of people cheered the coup in its early dramatic days, there is growing frustration.APOmar Hama

When a group of military officers appeared on state television in Niger one year ago to announce a dramatic coup, they said they deposed the West African nation’s elected government for two key reasons: its security and economic crises.

But those challenges have persisted, even worsened. The country’s 26 million people — among the world’s youngest and poorest — are struggling after the junta severed ties with key international partners, who have imposed sanctions and suspended security and development support affecting close to half of Niger’s budget.

The coup was the latest and perhaps most significant of the recent military takeovers in Africa’s Sahel, the vast, arid expanse south of the Sahara Desert that has become a global hot spot for extremist violence. Niger had been the West’s last reliable partner in the region in battling jihadists linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group.

Now, a crucial U.S. drone base is gone, along with the U.S. forces vacating ahead of a September deadline. More than 1,000 French troops also pulled out after being told to leave. A key China-backed pipeline once meant to turn Niger into an oil exporter has stalled with the insecurity and uncertainty.

Support from international partners, notably the European Union, had made up close to 40% of Niger’s budget. With that gone, “we are only looking for something to live on,” said one resident in the capital, Niamey, Ibrahim Amani. .

On the streets, where thousands cheered the coup in its early dramatic days, there is growing frustration. But there are no public protests amid concerns about possible retaliation by the junta, which still holds deposed President Mohamed Bazoum in detention. The junta has said he will be charged with treason, to widespread criticism abroad.

As Niger’s military leaders consolidated their grip on power, they promised a three-year transition period to civilian rule. Analysts now say that is unlikely to happen on time.

The junta, along with those in neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso, is breaking away even from longtime West African allies.

The three countries, after expelling the forces of former colonizer France, have “completely changed the geopolitical dynamics” of the region and are forming their own anti-Western, pro-Russian alliance, said Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

Russia is a new force in the Sahel, but its ability to make up for Niger’s lost security support is limited.

Target for extremists

On the ground, insecurity has worsened. Niger has quickly become the new target for extremists. Violent killings by rebels and militia groups more than doubled, from 770 people killed in the year before the coup to 1,599 in the year that followed, according to the U.S.-based Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, or ACLED.

The aftermath

Cleaning up: Residents clean their muddied homes after they were flooded by Typhoon Gaemi on Thursday in Marikina, Metro Manila, Philippines. Monsoon rain has caused flooding and landslips throughout the Philippines, resulting in at least 22 deaths. Getty ImagesEZRA ACAYAN

Russian, Chinese bombers stage joint patrol near Alaska

Agence France-Presse

Moscow

Eye in the sky: U.S. and Canadian jet fighters are seen near the U.S. State of Alaska. REUTERS

Russian and Chinese jets staged a joint patrol over far eastern Russia and the Bering Sea near Alaska but Moscow and Beijing stressed it was not aimed at any “third party”.

Wednesday’s flights, with nuclear-capable bombers, came days after Moscow said the United States sent its own strategic bombers close to Russian airspace.

Russia said its “Tu-95MS strategic missile carriers and the Chinese air force’s Xian H-6 strategic bombers carried out an aerial patrol over the Chukchi and Bering Seas and the north Pacific Ocean”.

The joint U.S.-Canadian North American Aerospace Defence Command earlier said American and Canadian warplanes had intercepted two Russian and two Chinese bombers in international airspace near Alaska on Wednesday. It said the bombers “remained in international airspace” and were “not seen as a threat”.

Moscow said the patrol observed international law and did not breach foreign airspace, adding that “at certain stages of the route, the aviation group was accompanied by fighter jets of foreign countries”.

The patrol was part of “a plan of military cooperation for 2024 and not directed against third countries,” Moscow said.

China’s Defence Ministry also said that the patrol was “not aimed at a third party” and “has nothing to do with the current international and regional situation”.

Russia’s Defence Ministry posted images of planes taking off and landing as well as footage from the air.

The TU-95MS planes were developed in the Soviet era to carry long-range cruise missiles and are part of Russia’s nuclear triad. The Xian H-6 planes are also nuclear-capable.

UN experts urge Pak. to halt discrimination against Ahmadis

Associated Press

LAHORE

A panel of U.N.-backed independent experts expressed grave concern on Thursday about increased discrimination and violence against the minority Ahmadi community in Pakistan and urged authorities to ensure their protection.

The experts, who work under a Human Rights Council mandate but do not speak for the United Nations, said in a statement that they were alarmed by reports of violence and discrimination against Ahmadis. Ahmadis are adherents of Ahmadiyya, an Islamic messianic movement that originated in the late 19th century.

“We urge Pakistani authorities to take immediate action to address this situation,” they said.

The experts highlighted two incidents earlier this month in which two Ahmadis were killed. Police at the time said they arrested the attackers.

In their statement, the experts also expressed concern over allegations of arbitrary arrests and detentions of Ahmadi worshippers to prevent or obstruct their participation in religious holidays. “Ahmadis’s right to peacefully manifest their beliefs must be respected,” they said.

Sports

- Time for another ‘Belle Epoque’ as the World reels under a troubled backdrop

- Archers overcome wobbly start, enter the last eight

- Two-time gold medallist Murray withdraws from singles event

- Kerber to hang up her racquet after the Paris journey

- Korean archer Lim shoots a World record to signal her intentions

- Biles nails signature vault, gets ready for a golden campaign

- The radical transformation of the Games Villages over a century

- POSTCARD from Paris

- Palestine contingent welcomed with open arms

- Djokovic, Nadal in potential second-round clash

- Sports science back-up provided is unprecedented, says Narang

- What a feeling!

- Avengers Assemble! A look at Gambhir’s right-hand men

Time for another ‘Belle Epoque’ as the World reels under a troubled backdrop

Y.B. Sarangi

PARIS

All set: The majestic Seine, with spectator stands to the left, is prepped to host the opening ceremony.RITU RAJ KONWAR

The river Seine is ready. So is Paris.

France, and the whole world, needs another ‘Belle Epoque’ — French for beautiful age — at a time when Paris hosts the Olympics, a symbol of peace and unity, against a troubled backdrop of international wars and simmering domestic discontent.

Staging the Games for a third time — and a century after the 1924 edition — the organisers have decided to put up a show that is bold, original, and unique.

Much anticipated

Designed by theatre director Thomas Jolly, Friday’s much-anticipated opening ceremony will be held outside a stadium on the Seine, with boats carrying the athletes over a six-km stretch. From Pont d’Austerlitz to Pont d’lena, with the final spectacle to be staged at Trocadero, the event will cover all the eye-catching monuments of this historic city with arrangements to accommodate 3,00,000 spectators.

Lukewarm response

The spectators’ response, though, has been lukewarm. Initially criticised for being highly priced, tickets reportedly remained unsold just a few days before the opening.

With a heavy police deployment, the emphasis on security is clear.

The Ukraine war, the Israel-Gaza conflict, and the current political scenario in France are additional headaches for the organisers.

Paris has opted to marry the old and new, converting centuries-old historic buildings to sporting venues for the mega event.

After Athens hosted two editions in a gap of 108 years, the French capital became the second to host after a century and the second after London to do it thrice. Paris falls in a unique series of repeat Olympic hosts, sandwiched between the Tokyo and Los Angeles Games. As the Games’ mascot, the Phrygian cap, a traditional symbol of rebellion speaking of the free-spirited French, is another novel aspect.

Breaking, a dance form which will make its debut at this Games, signals the winds of change and an apparent attempt to woo the younger generation towards the 128-year-old sporting extravaganza.

India, buoyant after its best-ever show of seven medals in the Tokyo Olympics and excited at the prospect of bidding for the 2036 Games, has fielded 117 athletes with a never-before sports science backup.

With World and Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra and two-time medallist shuttler P.V. Sindhu leading the country’s hope, India would love to record a double-digit on the medals tally.

Well documented

The current edition of the Olympics — which has taken an unimaginable leap, symbolised by a few grainy black-and-white pics from 1924 to the digital world in use now — could likely be the most well documented one.

Only a time travel to the early 20th century can tell us of the other changes that humanity and the Olympics have made over a century.

It’s time to welcome the ‘Games Wide Open!’

Archers overcome wobbly start, enter the last eight

Jonathan Selvaraj

PARIS

Both the women’s and men’s teams take time to find their rhythm, earn historic quarterfinal berth ; Dhiraj places fourth in individual rankings with an improved showing in the second half

1 of 3 Never say die: Inspired by Tarundeep, Dhiraj pulled off a dramatic comeback. RITU RAJ KONWARRITU RAJ KONWAR

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3 of 3 Deepika... experience counts.PTIRavi Choudhary

The first world record of the 2024 Paris Olympics fell in the archery range set up against Paris’ iconic 17th century Invalides complex. South Korea’s Lim Si-hyeon raced away to a mammoth score of 694 out of a possible 720.

The Indian trio of Deepika Kumari, Ankita Bhakat and Bhajan Kaur – the first athletes from the country in action at the Paris Games – wore smiles at the end of the archery line-up. Their individual scores weren’t nearly as impressive as the South Korean’s but there was a lot to celebrate as a team.

Ankita finished 11th in the 64-strong field with a total of 666, while Bhajan and Deepika finished 22nd and 23rd with scores of 659 and 658 respectively. The combined team total stood at 1983 – the best total ever shot by an Indian women’s team at any competition, placed them fourth at the end of qualification. This was India’s best-ever finish in team rankings at the Olympics and earned them a direct berth into the quarterfinal – just two team wins away from a historic first medal.

Later in the day, the men’s team – powered by a stirring second-half comeback from Dhiraj Bommadevara – finished in third place place in the men’s team competition with a Olympic-best total of 2013 points. Bommadevara himself finished fourth in the individual rankings with a score of 681 while Tarundeep Rai, featuring in his final Olympic Games, shot a solid 674. While Pravin Jadhav had an off day scoring 658, India still finished 16 points clear of fourth-placed China.

More significantly, by finishing in third place, the team isn’t drawn to face South Korea – the juggernaut of men’s team archery – until the final of the competition.

India’s runs to the quarterfinals weren’t without their hiccups.

Deepika – competing at her fourth Olympics – couldn’t have started worse, entering the red and then the blue rings with a score of 8 and then a six in her first series of six arrows. Archers are given a 15-minute break at the halfway stage -- after shooting 36 arrows- in qualifying and Deepika, languishing in 37th place, clearly needed it. Deepika admits being nervous at that point. “Seniors can’t get nervous or what?”

Deepika was able to gather herself in the second half of the competition. Despite another stumble – she went into the black rings this time – shooting a 5 in the tail end of her third series after the break. She bounced back with a ten in the very next series. With Ankita and Bhajan shooting steadily on their Olympic debuts, it was more than enough to see India through to a historic finish.

Dhiraj too, struggled at the start. Individually ranked 24th with a modest score of 335/360 after 36 arrows, he was badly troubled by winds blowing through the range, with five shots into the red ‘8’ point ring in the first half.

Tarundeep’s pep talk proved invaluable. “Fauji hain Fauji jaise lad ke rahenge (We are soldiers and we will fight like soldiers),” Dhiraj remembered. In the second half, he shot 346/360 – better than anyone else in the field.

Two-time gold medallist Murray withdraws from singles event

APAndy Wong

Andy Murray has withdrawn from the tennis singles at the Paris Olympics but will take part in doubles, the two-time gold medallist said on Thursday. The British former World No. 1, not fully recovered from a back surgery, believes the doubles, where he is playing with Dan Evans, offers his best chance of another medal.

Kerber to hang up her racquet after the Paris journey

REUTERS

Three-time Grand Slam champion and 2016 Rio Olympics silver medallist Angelique Kerber will retire after the Paris Games, the German said on Thursday. “Before the Olympics begin, I can already say that I will never forget Paris 2024 because it will be my last professional tournament as a tennis player,” said Kerber.

Korean archer Lim shoots a World record to signal her intentions

AFPPUNIT PARANJPE

South Korean archer Lim Si-hyeon delivered an emphatic statement on Thursday that she is the one to beat at the Olympics with a World and Olympic record 694 in the individual ranking round at the Esplanade des Invalides venue, breaking the previous mark of 692 held by compatriot and 2020 champion Sang Chae-young.

Biles nails signature vault, gets ready for a golden campaign

Getty ImagesELSA

US gymnastics superstar Simone Biles got her first taste of Bercy Arena on Thursday, opening podium training on balance beam ahead of the start of the Olympic women’s competition at the weekend. Biles is strongly tipped to add to her cache of four Olympic golds at the Paris Games.

The radical transformation of the Games Villages over a century

Y.B. Sarangi

PARIS

If the first ever in Paris was a cluster of temporary wooden huts the latest will be transformed into a sustainable city district

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2 of 2 Picturesque: A general view of the plaza inside the Village with the Seine in the background. Getty Images

From making its first appearance here as a novel concept in 1924, the Olympic Games Village has come a long way to be an environmentally friendly legacy project for Paris 2024.

If the first ever Games Village — a cluster of temporary wooden huts near the Colombes Stadium catered to the athletes with some basic facilities, including a post-office, a restaurant, a hairdresser, a newspaper kiosk, a laundry and a foreign exchange outlet — the latest one is promoted not only as a home away from home but also aims at benefitting the locals post the Games.

Built on a former industrial wasteland bordering the communes of Saint-Denis, Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine and L’île-Saint-Denis, the now-buzzing and heavily guarded Olympic Village will be transformed into a sustainable city district, with housing, offices and shops, where almost 12,000 people will live and work by 2025.

The Village, built on the banks of the Seine and consisting of 40 modern towers (including 2800 apartments) and plenty of plantation, has been designed keeping in mind Paris 2024’s target of lowering carbon emissions significantly and living up to environmental challenges even after two-and-a-half decades.

Solutions for low-carbon construction and a site adapted to the climatic conditions of 2050 include triple glazing, cooling floors, green spaces and geothermal energy, according to the Games website.

For now, it will accommodate more than 14,000 athletes and support staff during the Olympics and another 8000 during the Paralympics.

To achieve sustainability goals, modular partitions will be re-used and furniture will have a second life after the Games. Beds made of cardboards, like the Tokyo Olympics, and mattresses made of recycled fishing nets are some of the steps taken in this regard.

Running on 100 per cent renewable energy and designed without air-conditioners was a conscious decision taken to align with the Games’ go-green philosophy.

“The atmosphere in the Village is good, the weather is nice. Living and eating in the Village is very good,” said five-time Olympian Sharath Kamal.

Getting into the mood: People gathered on a bridge over the Seine where the opening ceremony will be held. RITU RAJ KONWAR

Parisians manage to find their own way to relax near the Seine

Amid heavy security on both banks of River Seine for the Olympic Games opening ceremony on Friday, Parisians manage to find their own way to relax near the river which is an integral part of their City.

A walk around the closely fenced and barricaded Invalides area would give a nice view of the banks of Seine decorated with the Olympic themes and colours and temporary stands erected for the non-traditional opening.

Still, the crowd thronged Passerelle Leopold Sedar Senghor, the only bridge open for the public, to relax and spend some time with their near and dear ones.

A lady playing a beautiful tune on violin drew some admirers and built the mood for the Games with just a day to go.

Cycles and non-electric scooters gain popularity

The general inclination of the Parisians towards fitness aligns with the objectives of the Olympic Games, which aims at promoting a fit and healthy lifestyle among people. When you step out onto the streets of Paris, people, across age groups, cycling to their destinations is a common sight.

Not just cycles, but one witnesses many youth preferring non-electric scooters. These have gained popularity because of being portable, the flexibility of using them on roads and inside metro stations apart from being stylish and inexpensive. The use of non-energy reliant conveyance also makes an impact as a sustainable practice

Police and pay raise

In the run-up to Paris 2024, a few protests hit the headlines. One of the most prominent was the threat of a strike by Paris City police officials, who demanded a pay hike keeping in view the possibility of long working hours.

The presence of Paris police, dressed in their smart navy-blue uniform, at various Games venues is unmissable. A conversation with one of them tells that a police personnel has to be on duty for 12 hours a day during the Olympics. Probe a little further, through app-enabled translation, you get to know that they succeeded to get a pay raise.

“It was very difficult to manage with the pay we used to get,” said a policeman. Now, they are a happier lot, ensuring a smooth delivery of the Olympics.

— Y.B. Sarangi

Palestine contingent welcomed with open arms

Associated Press

PARIS

For their heroes: The Palestine athletes were greeted with a roar and gifts.AFPAHMAD GHARABLI

Palestinian Olympic athletes were greeted with a roar of a crowd and gifts of food and roses as they arrived in Paris on Thursday, ready to represent war-torn Gaza and the rest of its territories on a global stage.

As the beaming athletes walked through a sea of Palestinian flags at the main Paris airport, they said they hoped their presence would serve as a symbol amid the Israel-Hamas war that has claimed more than 39,000 Palestinian lives.

Athletes, French supporters and politicians in the crowd urged the European nation to recognise a Palestinian state, while others expressed outrage at Israel’s presence at the Games after U.N.-backed human rights experts said Israeli authorities were responsible for “war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

“France doesn’t recognise Palestine as a country, so I am here to raise the flag,” said Yazan Al-Bawwab, a 24-year-old Palestinian swimmer born in Saudi Arabia.

“We’re not treated like human beings, so when we come play sports, people realise we are equal to them.

“We’re 50 million people without a country.”

Al-Bawwab, one of eight athletes on the Palestinian team, signed autographs for supporters and plucked dates from a plate offered by a child in the crowd.

The chants of “free Palestine” echoing through the Paris Charles de Gaulle airport show how conflict and the political tension are rippling through the Olympic Games.

The world is coming together in Paris at a moment of global political upheaval, multiple wars, historic migration and a deepening climate crisis, all issues that have risen to the forefront of conversation in the Olympics.

In May, French President Emmanuel Macron said he is prepared to officially recognise a Palestinian state but that the step should “come at a useful moment” when emotions aren’t running as high.

Djokovic, Nadal in potential second-round clash

Agence France-Presse

PARIS

Bonding: Djokovic and Alcaraz exchanged pleasantries during practice on Thursday.REUTERS

Grand Slam record-breakers Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal were placed on an Olympics second-round collision course in the draw for the Paris Games on Thursday.

Nadal, a singles gold medallist at the 2008 Olympics, is playing in his final Games having also won doubles gold in Rio in 2016 while Djokovic was a bronze medallist in singles in 2008.

Djokovic, a 24-time Major winner and top seed in Paris following the withdrawal of World No. 1 Jannik Sinner, begins his campaign against Australia’s Matthew Ebden.

Nadal, who has won 14 of his 22 Grand Slams on the clay of Roland Garros, faces Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics in his opener.

French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz, the second seed, faces 275th-ranked Hady Habib of Lebanon.

Angelique Kerber, who won three Grand Slam titles and was a silver medallist in singles at the 2016 Rio Olympics, faces four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka of Japan in her opening round.

Women’s World No. 1 Iga Swiatek, returning to the scene of her fourth French Open title last month, begins against Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu.

Second-ranked US Open champion Coco Gauff, who missed the Tokyo Olympics three years ago with Covid, takes on Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic.

Sports science back-up provided is unprecedented, says Narang

Y.B. Sarangi

PARIS

Gagan Narang.File PhotoNAGARA GOPAL

Gagan Narang, Olympic bronze medal-winning shooter and chef-de-mission of the Indian contingent at Paris 2024, said the sports science back-up provided to the country’s athletes in this Games is unprecedented.

Narang said the sports science team, under the leadership of renowned sports injury expert Dr. Dinshaw Pardiwala, is a never-before support for the Indian athletes.

“Dr. Pardiwala has worked with a lot of elite athletes previously, so he understands what is required from their perspective. We have physiotherapists, masseurs and a sleep expert. We’ve just installed our sleep pods for someone who is not able to sleep properly or comfortably. We have a nutritionist. So, this is unprecedented and I’m very happy that we’re able to provide these to our athletes,” Narang told reporters here on Thursday.

“Athletes have been using the medical unit quite frequently and are quite satisfied with it. The good part about this is that they can just come down from their building and go to the medical room and get things done instead of going to the main polyclinic.”

Narang pointed out a change in mindset of the Indian athletes. “Earlier, people wanted to participate, but now they’re here to win. They want to come here and perform. That’s the change in mindset of the athletes. I’m happy that in terms of strength we are equal to that of China with the same number of athletes.”

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) is working to sort out some issues, said Narang.

“There are a few leading issues that we are trying to mitigate with the organising committee and they promised that these issues will be sorted out very soon. I would not like to discuss (those) to keep the environment positive for all of us and the team because everyone reads what we write,” he said.

What a feeling!

Great honour: Ace shooter Abhinav Bindra, India’s first individual Olympic gold medallist, who took part in the torch relay in Paris on Wednesday wrote on X: ‘the spirit of the Games lives in each of us, and I am humbled to be part of this incredible journey. Let’s continue to inspire, dream, and achieve together.’X@Abhinav_Bindra

Avengers Assemble! A look at Gambhir’s right-hand men

R. Kaushik

Pallekele

The 42-year-old is well aware that winning is the only measure of success; towards that end, he will believe that he has chosen his comrades in arms well and wisely, that he has taken the first steps in what he hopes will be a journey of fulfilment and silverware galore

1 of 2 Prize catch(es): Nayar and ten Doeschate, who were vital cogs in Gambhir’s scheme of things at Kolkata Knight Riders, will be a valuable presence in the Indian team dugout.PTIKUNAL PATIL

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Strange, but true: India’s World Cup-winning squad of 1983 had precisely one individual for support. P.R. Man Singh beat back the challenge of Niranjan Shah through an election to earn the right to be the team manager, rounding off the contingent of 15 that would officially represent the country at the last of the 60-over World Cups.

Single-handedly, Man Singh had to manage travel and training arrangements, dole out allowances, ensure that all official commitments were honoured, facilitate the immediate treatment of injured players, the works… Get it, right?

The mushrooming of the cricketing ecosystem has brought us to such a pass that today, on average, there is one member of the support staff for each player in the squad. That’s no longer an excess; with cricket leaving behind its amateur days and stepping into a bold, new professional world where there is no place for excuses or laggards, this has become a necessity, not a luxury.

To each their own

Cricket head coaches, like their counterparts in other team sports, tend to bring their own coaching staff when they take charge. More than anything else, it’s because they know what these individuals bring to the table, they trust them implicitly and they know that everyone is on the same page, pulling in the same direction. It’s not that they don’t have confidence in the existing personnel; a fresh start is sometimes not just welcome but imperative because in today’s world, remaining static is often a retrograde step.

Support personnel of late have tended to follow the head coach out of the scheme of things. When Ravi Shastri’s tenure ended in November 2021, bowling coach B Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar, who had been with the Indian team since the second half of 2014 — except for one year in Arun’s case when Anil Kumble was the head coach — wrote to the Board of Control for Cricket in India expressing their desire to move on.

When Rahul Dravid succeeded Shastri, he brought Paras Mhambrey and T. Dilip on board as bowling and fielding coaches respectively while retaining the services of Vikram Rathour, who had succeeded Sanjay Bangar as the batting coach after the 2019 50-over World Cup.

Mhambrey and Rathour’s terms ended alongside Dravid’s extended tenure last month, ushering in a new chapter in Indian cricket under the stewardship of Gautam Gambhir, the spunky former opener. It is the fitness of things that Gambhir should pick and choose his own support staff; while Dilip remains the fielding coach, Abhishek Nayar and former Dutch international Ryan ten Doeschate have been recruited as assistant coaches, with former South African paceman Morne Morkel almost certain to join the team in the near future as the bowling coach.

Old friends

Gambhir is extremely familiar with this trio that will assist him over the next three and a half years as India seek to retain their pre-eminence in the cricketing stratosphere. By his own admission, Gambhir has inherited a very successful outfit from Dravid – India were runners-up in the World Test Championship and the 50-World Cup, losing both finals to Australia in 2023, and recently ended a long trophyless run by clinching the T20 World Cup crown in Bridgetown. Gambhir faces the daunting task of emulating, if not bettering, his former captain; in that endeavour, he must be allowed all the resources he feels are necessary to take the team to the next level.

There is more to assistant/specialised coaches than meets the eye. On the limited platform visible to those intimately invested in the game, they run training sessions, keep an eye on batting techniques or bowling disciplines depending on their job description, suggest minor tweaks that can go a long way and generally are businesslike. But what transpires behind the scenes is just as significant, if not more.

One of the keys to being a successful coach — head or assistant — is man-management, the ability to work out what brings the best out of different individuals. There can’t be a one-size-fits-all approach; every player is wired differently and therefore what might spur a Jasprit Bumrah on might not work with Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj. Or vice versa.

Arun was a master at understanding individuals and speaking a language, both literally and otherwise, that found resonance with his wards. He wasn’t averse to cracking the whip and letting loose when it came to Shami, Siraj, Umesh Yadav or even Ishant Sharma, but he was intelligent enough to understand that Bumrah, more sensitive than he might appear, needed to be handled differently.

No ‘I’ in team

Good coaching revolves around empowering players, asking them to take responsibility for their actions and getting them to understand that ultimately individual ambitions must fall in line behind the collective goal.

Gary Kirsten was an instant hit with the Indian team when he took charge in early 2008; disillusioned and somewhat dispirited in the Greg Chappell days, the players began to view Kirsten as a benevolent older brother rather than the headmaster they felt his Australian predecessor had been.

During his playing days, Kirsten craved a few ‘luxuries’ that weren’t forthcoming. Such as being allowed to come a little late to the ground during a Test match on a batting day for his team if he had already been dismissed the previous day.

With freedom comes responsibility

Finding himself in a position to bestow that gift on his charges, the former South African opener gave them the freedom they craved. Kirsten was a big fan of optional training sessions where players had the choice of turning up or not, but he left no one in any doubt that if they didn’t embrace commitment and discipline, there would be a price to pay.

By allowing the players to dictate their routines and commitment, he subtly but emphatically shifted the onus on them. It’s no coincidence that some of India’s best results, including the climb to the No. 1 ranking in Test cricket for the first time in December 2009 and the title run at the 2011 home World Cup, came during that golden period.

A certain continuity in messaging, if not the actual style of coaching, is essential for the players to not have to flit from one tack to another.

It can be confusing and somewhat unsettling if there is a dynamic and drastic shift in approaches to training and practice, as well as planning, when the coaching structure undergoes a shake-up, no matter how experienced and professional the players might be.

Gambhir is no product of an organised coaching structure in that he doesn’t have the qualifications that numerous other coaches have, but he is contemporary, has been associated in a loose coaching capacity as a successful mentor of more than one IPL franchise and brings with him unmatched experience as well as the reputation of being a hard-nosed competitor who knows not what it is to take a backward step.

His retinue of assistant coaches is famed and celebrated. Nayar, who had a short international career, has made a name for himself as a hugely influential personal coach whose ‘clients’ include Robin Uthappa and Dinesh Karthik, among others. He has been a strong No.2 to head coach Chandrakant Pandit at Kolkata Knight Riders, the defending IPL champions, and his knowledge of the game as well as evolving trends are second to none.

Ten Doeschate, the only player from the Netherlands to play in the IPL (for KKR from 2011 to 2015), has a World Cup hundred to his name, rejoined KKR as their fielding coach in 2023, has mentored the Dutch national team, been involved with English county side Kent and was a part of the coaching set-up at KKR’s sister franchise, LA Knight Riders, in the United States’ Major League Cricket.

He has played more than 200 matches each in first-class and List A (domestic 50-over) cricket and boasts nearly 400 representative T20 appearances. Tendo, as he is often referred to, is held in high esteem by Gambhir, who called him ‘the greatest team man I have ever played with’. It is unlikely that his celebrated traits won’t rub off on the Indian players.

Been there, done that

Morkel is no stranger to fame and limelight, even if he was largely forced to operate in the shadow of the luminous Dale Steyn. The strapping right-arm paceman was the bowling coach at Lucknow Super Giants when Gambhir was the mentor, as well as with the Pakistan national team.

At LSG, he worked closely with several promising young Indian pacers who have been nothing but glowing in his praise. It is expected that Morkel will join the Indian set-up after the white-ball tour of Sri Lanka, where former leg-spinner Sairaj Bahutule has slotted in as the bowling coach. Once Gambhir’s full complement of assistants is in place, he can take forward his plans to maintain India’s dominance in world cricket.

A slew of high-profile, high-pressure series/tournaments are imminent, not least a five-Test tour of Australia and the 50-over Champions Trophy in the next seven months.

Despite their growing maturity and the realisation that their heroes can’t end up on the winning side every single time, India’s millions of fans will expect Gambhir to build on the Dravid legacy.

The 42-year-old is well aware that winning is the only measure of success; towards that end, he will believe that he has chosen his comrades in arms well and wisely, that he has taken the first steps in what he hopes will be a journey of fulfilment and silverware galore.

FR

- Angst and the artiste

- Triumph of the voice

- A whirl of glamour

- Songs of the minstrels

Angst and the

Sudipto Mullick

Dancers and musicians in strife-torn Manipur long to be back on stage

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3 of 5 On a hopeful note (Clockwise from right) Bidyananda with Vanna Waheng; Akhu Chingangbam; a Pung Cholam artiste; Surjit Nongmeikapam with his students. Photos: Special Arrangement Sana’s FB page

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Travelling for pleasure or work is one thing, but travelling just to access the Internet is unheard of. Filmmaker Longjam Meena Devi had scheduled the post-production of her documentary Andro Dreams (2023), on the sexagenarian Laibi Devi, who helms an all-girls soccer team in a remote Manipuri village, a week before the submission-deadline for the International Film Festival of Kerala. Within four days of the breakout of the conflict in Manipur, even private Wi-Fi was snuffed. Initially, Meena, the first woman filmmaker from Manipur to receive a National Award, tried to make do with DIPR’s (Directorate of Information and Public Relations) facilities but the waning net-speed was not conducive to heavy uploads. Though Meena somehow managed, many others, including artistes, have suffered immensely due to lack of connectivity.

At Manipuri Nartanalaya, dancer-scholar Yumlembam Bidyananda Singh, a resident of Keishamthong in Imphal, rues that he couldn’t participate in a Kolkata youth dance festival only because he couldn’t receive any mail. Later, when the organisers called Bidyananda, he couldn’t travel because of the exorbitant air fare.

“I had to forego at least five shows. But the one I missed the most was the 2023 Sangai Kumhei festival, organised each year from November 21 to 30 by the Manipur Tourism Department,” says Bidyananda, who is an assistant professor at Manipur International University

Acclaimed contemporary choreographer-dancer Surjit Nongmeikapam (Bonbon) had to shelve the staging of his pet project ‘Soul Strings’, which aims to knit together all Manipuri communities. After shows at Churachandpur and Phayeng, close to Kuki valley, the next one had been planned at Haipi, a Thadou-Kuki village,” says Surjit speaking from his Imphal-based Nachom Arts Foundation’s studio.

Though there is no blanket embargo, the locals are in no mood for recreation. Bidyananda, who was in the organising committee of the Viksit Bharat series presented by his teacher Thounaojam Haridas’s institute Guru Sanaton Apunba Hari Sankirtan Neinashang on February 21 this year, said, “I cannot even explain how it felt when doing the event. We had deliberately booked a small-auditorium near the institute since we wanted fewer people to attend. We also avoided a commercial sound system and professional videographers. Nowadays, we do only daytime shows because it becomes risky after dark.”

Fear factor

Rumours of organisers and artistes being attacked that initially emerged from Keishamthong have instilled fear in people’s minds. The abduction of Akhu Chingangbam, singer-lyricist and founder of alternate folk-rock group Imphal Talkies, from his Khurai residence and release were widely reported.

Despite grave risks, practitioners are braving it out for sustenance. Without performances, learning and rehearsal have become redundant. “I used to previously conduct classes for students of Manipur University (central) and Manipur University Of Culture (state) in my courtyard but since the place is visible from the street, I decided to shift indoors for the safety of the students and my family,” says Bidyananda.

In contrast, Surjit, in keeping with his desire to “build a movement culture” is rethinking his approach to the art during these trying times. “I am planning to conduct lessons in the open so that people can either observe or join. The purpose is to soothe minds and souls.”

Bidyananda is lucky to have a job; though his last month’s salary has still not been paid. Some of his colleagues have taken up sundry jobs.Income for Surjit, who shuns grants, comes chiefly from renting out his mini-truck while his recently inaugurated multi-disciplinary Yumpham Arts Space has been converted into a makeshift boarding school for students of the burnt-down Moreh school, where his uncle was the teacher.

Then, there are the Shumaang Leela (Meitei courtyard theatre) artistes, who have also borne the brunt of the violence. This traditional theatre is popular for its ‘Nupi Shabis’ — male actors performing female roles.

With no platform to perform, these artistes have turned to construction work or are driving taxis and autorickshaws for a living. A few like Sagolsem Sana are trying to earn through online performances. “We also been making appeals for donations.”

Sana, an award-winning actor, who lives in Paonabazar in Imphal, used to do 100 shows a month, almost three to fours shows a day, earning around Rs 1,200 per show. “The stage is my world and I cannot survive without it,” says Sana, with anguish in her voice.

Triumph of the voice

N.C. Srinivasaraghavan

Every little nuance was clearly heard at T.M. Krishna’s mikeless concert

The unpredictability is what makes a T.M. Krishna concert special and his recent performance at the Asian College of Journalism’s M. S. Subbulakshmi auditorium did not disappoint the audience in this respect.

Till today, Krishna is the only Carnatic musician who has the ability to elicit contrasting opinions from two music lovers who may even identify as his die-hard fans. His experiments with the format and manodharma could annoy one, while the other could squeal with joy at the attempt. Such is Krishna’s spontaneity that even a padam, quite often sung by him, sounds different each time one hears it.

Tagore’s poem

The auditorium, which is acoustically designed for performances without any form of electrical amplification, enabled the audience to hear even the micro sangatis that Krishna generously improvised in the pallavi of ‘Yaarukagilum’, a sringara padam, symbolic of rebellion. His demonstration of about half a dozen ways to end the phrase ‘Penne’ exhilarated the listeners.

One of Arun Prakash’s significant contributions to the arrangement is no doubt his no-fuss arudis; here it rounded up the anupallavi and carefully connected it to the charanam. The charanam ended with the phrase ‘Kasugusena’ at the upper gandharam. A round of swaras was rendered by Krishna at this point with a set of whirlwind phrases that touched the lower and upper gandharams. Just when one thought this was not enough of a deviation, Krishna next chose to explore the mandra sthayi with a round of swaras at ‘Enna’ in the pallavi. One must say this was an astute choice to use the setting effectively as the auditorium facilitated even the lowest mandra sthayi phrases to be heard clearly.

One of the pieces that Krishna chose to present was ‘Shubh sukh chain’, a Hindustani translation of Rabindranath Tagore’s poem ‘Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata’ whose first stanza is used as the national anthem. Rewritten by Subhas Chandra Bose with the help of writer Mumtaz Hussain and Colonel Abid Hasan Safrani, the song is a reimagination of the national anthem and makes significant departures from the original text and melody.

Krishna mentioned that he chose this piece as certain verses in it echoed his thoughts on nationalism.

Possibility is what Krishna has shown the Carnatic music world from the beginning. Take for instance his dissecting of the Surutti nishadam. Without going into many of its standard phrases, he chose to exhibit how much the madhyama to upper nishadam section can be exploited to get the best out of the raga. Next, he added the shadjam to panchamam layer, later moving on to approaching the nishadam from the upper rishabham.

H.N. Bhaskar set out on a similar expedition to unearth the potential of ‘Ni’ in Surutti when Krishna interjected to infuse the kakali nishadam into the alapana to make it into a soulful Desh. Ultimately, however, the kaishiki nishadam reigned supreme and wrestled itself back to become Brindavana Saranga. Muthuswami Dikshitar’s ‘Soundararajam’ was rendered at a breezy pace leading up to the thani.

The bird song

Arun Prakash provided a seamless stream of soft strokes throughout the composition and his thani was a direct extension of this sophisticated approach. Some would even be bold enough to ask if what they heard was a ‘Soundararajam’ in the middle of that incessant mridangam flow — such was Arun’s melodic presence that evening.

Eminent poet Perumal Murugan’s poems on birds are filled with beautiful imageries and employ tasteful alliterations. His fascination with the Indian Roller known as ‘panangaadai’ in Tamil resulted in him going through the works of M. Krishnan, a world-renowned ornithologist. Tuned and presented by Krishna in Khamas, the composition uses some characteristic phrases involving the kakali nishadam to highlight the unique features of the bird in the lines ‘neela nira rakkaiyai serkka virithu sellumbodhu’ and ‘porambaai padakkendru paayum’. They talk about the bright blue markings on its wings, which are prominent in flight, and its tendency to display aerobatic twists and turns.

Asking Bhaskar to take up an alapana, Krishna observed as the violinist played a clear Mayamalavagowla alapana. During his turn, Krishna tactfully removed the daivatam to turn it into Jaganmohini topping up the segment with superfast one-avartana swaras for ‘Sobillu Saptaswara’.

Many in the audience were happy to hear him sing ‘Bhare Panduranga’ and felt that it was apt post Ashadi Ekadashi. When rendering ‘Koluvamaregada’ in Thodi, Krishna’s niraval at ‘Tambura jekoni’ was punctuated by meaningful pauses where the harmonic drone of the two tamburas on stage accentuated the mood of the sahitya.

Krishna is a musician who has shown us how to unshackle art from orthodoxy. The only pledge we all must take is to allow diverse forms of artistic expression to co-exist in harmony, without one overpowering the other.

A whirl of

Shailaja Tripathi

Dancer-teacher Siddhi Goel’s research project looks at Kathak’s bond with cinema

1 of 4 The best of both worlds (From top left) Madhubala in Mughal-E-Azam; Gopi Krishna with actor Sandhya in Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje; Meena Kumari in Pakeezah; and Siddhi Goel. Photos: The Hindu Archives & special arrangement The Hindu Archives

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Remember the number of times you have watched the iconic song ‘Chalte chalte’ from the Hindi film Pakeezah. Apart from the dreamy eyes of Meena Kumari, you would have noticed the two dancers in the background, dressed in pearly white Anarkalis, cutting a picture of grace and poise. The song is unimaginable without the two dancers, yet they remain unsung. Kathak dancer Siddhi Goel took it upon herself to find the identities of the two. She looked through IMDB data, spoke to actors of the time and watched the credits of several films from the period. Her research didn’t yield confirmed answers but indicated that the two could be Leela and Sujata.

Siddhi’s biggest source of information was Anjana Mumtaz, a disciple of Pt. Gauri Shanker, who choreographed the song. Anjana was on the sets of Pakeezah, especially during the shooting of the song.

Siddhi embarked on a research journey (supported by an arts research grant from India Foundation for the Arts) to trace the presence of Kathak in Hindi cinema over a period of 100 years. “It’s a work in progress. People can support my research by sharing information(https://www.

instagram.com/allthings

kathak/).”

Focus on choreographers

“ I have focussed not just on the dance songs in films but also on choreographers such as B. Sohanlal, B. Hiralal and Gopi Kishan. They were exponents in Kathak. Even some of the well-known actors of the time including Jeevankala, Rani, Padma Khanna, Jayshree T and Bela Bose had learnt the dance form. Then there were dance assistants and background dancers, who were basically classical dancers. My research extended up to the arrival of Madhuri Dixit and includes creations of Sanjay Leela Bhansali. I have also explored the contemporary trends in Kathak as far as cinema is concerned,” says the Delhi-based artiste.

Creating a dance piece

Choreographies such as ‘Piya tose naina lage re’ from Guide (1965), ‘Hothon pe aisi baat from Jewel Thief (1967), ‘Thade rahiyo o banke yaar’ and ‘Chalte Chalte’ from Pakeezah (1972) by Sohanlal, Hiralal, Pt. Lacchu Maharaj and Gauri Shanker respectively impacted the aesthetics of dance in films. Siddhi’s research focussed on the process of creating a dance piece and how song and dance took the movie’s narrative forward.

Siddhi wanted to understand the reason behind why these artistes made a shift from classical to cinema. Was it because patronage for the art was on the decline? Kathak’s repertoire was also largely impacted by the tawaifs, whose lives inspired many films of the time. Songs such as ‘Lagat karajwa main chot’, ‘Thaade rahiyo o baanke yaar’ and ‘Mohe panghat pe nandlal’ are proof of dadra, thumri and kajri finding a place in kathak.

According to Siddhi, who holds a Masters in Arts and Aesthetics from Jawaharlal Nehru University, the close interaction between classical legends and artistes of the film world resulted in classics such as Mughal-E-Azam and Pakeezah. These movies are still considered works of art. “I was keen to highlight how dancers were an integral part in the making of these films. For instance, in ‘Teere nazar dekhenge’ from Pakeezah, choreographed by Pt. Gauri Shanker, the entire dance sequence supports storytelling. So my study was not just about its aesthetics but also about a method of choreography that enhanced the emotional impact of the story.”

Siddhi has tried to go beyond the big three magnum opuses: Mughal-e-Azam, Pakeezah and Umrao Jaan. “One of my favourite mujra songs is ‘Ye raat phir na aayegi’ from Mahal (1949), choreographed by Pt. Lacchu Maharaj. The dance sequence stands out for its impeccable choreography and the way it has been shot.”

Heeramandi’s success is a testimony to Kathak’s continuing bond with celluloid. In its journey from royal courts and celluloid to the proscenium, Kathak has been deeply impacted by changing historical, social and cultural milieus.

Songs of the minstrels

Vaishali K.S.

Saint-poets enriched Marathi literature with abhangs that are making a big presence on the concert stage

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2 of 2 Lyrical ode (Left) Jayateerth Mevundi. (Below) Devaki Pandit. Photos Courtesy: Pancham Nishad

‘Bolava Vitthal’, an evening of abhangs(songs sung in praise ofVitthal ofPandharpur) was organised by Pancham Nishadon the occasion of Ashadi Ekadashi at Chowdaiah Memorial Hall in Bengaluru recently. It showcased the inexhaustible wealth of poetry of saints and mystics such as Gyaneshwar, Tukaram, Eknath, Namdev and Chokha Mela.

The 14th edition of the festival featured two renowned Hindustani vocalists — Devaki Pandit and Jayateerth Mevundi.Both the vocalists gave a fine start to the festival with a lyrical enunciation of ‘Madhura Bhakti’ through the familiar gajar — ‘Jai jai ramakrishna hari’in the evening raag Yaman, embellishing the incantatory chant with creative improvisations.

Nikhil Phatak on the tabla, Sukhad Munde on the pakhawaj, Shadj Godkhindi on the bansuri, Vyasmurthy Katti on the samvadini and Suryakant Munde on the manjira enhanced the appeal.

During her solo rendition, Devaki Pandit paid glowing tributes to her two gurus Pt. Jitendra Abhisheki and Kishori Amonkar by choosing to render the abhangs they had popularised. She commenced with sant Eknath’s ‘Ya pandariche sukh pahat dola’ in raag Yaman. It describes the feeling experienced by the devotee when he beholdsVitthal in Pandharpur. Devaki’s voice traversed through the higher octaves of Yaman in this abhang set to Deepchandi taal of 14 beats. Nikhil Phatak and Sukhad Munde were at their ebullient best.

Rich musical tapestry

Devaki’s prowess on raagdari sangeet was discernible in her rendition of the abhang ‘Amha nakale jnana’ composed by the Mahar saint of the 14th century, Chokha Mela. In her delineation, Devaki effortlessly touched upon raag Desh, Tilak Kamod, Brundavani Sarang and Miyan ki Malhar, weaving a rich musical tapestry for this abhang, sung often by Pt. Jitendra Abhisheki. Improvisations of Shadj Godkhindi on the bansuri stood out.

Devaki surprised the audience by taking up a Purandaradasa composition ‘Murutiyane nilliso madhava’, which was one of the signature pieces of Pt. Bhimsen Joshi. Vyasmurthy Katti’s samvadini accompaniment in raag Kaafi had an alluring expressivity. In her singing of another Chokha Mela abhang ‘Abir gulal udhalita rang natha ghari naache majjha sakha Panduranga’, where the sant has a vision of his deity Vitthal dancing and laments about his inability to enter the temple as he is from a lower caste. Devaki’s exploration of the emotions of bhakti and exultation through raags Deshkar and Bhoop made it a sublime experience for the listeners.

Devaki’s next took up the rare abhang by Muktabai, the younger sister of Sant Jnaneshwar, ‘Mazhavari daya kara taati ugada Jnaneshwara’. She essayed raag Lalit Pancham interspersed with raag Marwa.

Devaki concluded with the popular ‘Bolava Vitthala, Pahawa Vitthala , Karava Vitthala, Jeeva Bhava’ set to raag Marwa thaat ka vibhas.

Jayateerth Mevundi began with the Sant Namdev abhang ‘Pandaricha vaasa chandrabhage snan’ in raag Abhogi Kanada, recreating its grand rendition by Pt Bhimsen Joshi. Aditya Oak on the samvadini enhancedthe lyrical appeal of the composition. Acquiescing graciously to audience farmayish, Jayateerth sang the Kannada composition ‘Vittala pidi enna kaiyya, Vittala Pandhariraya’.

Popular song

With his evocative delineation of raags Bhimpalasi and Dhani, Jayateerth mesmerised the audience with complex gamaks.His rendition of ‘Hari vittala aparampara, akar, makaar, kariti ha vichar’ with flashes of Pahadi was a spirited presentation. This was followed by the immensely popular ‘Tatitkodi nibhakaya jagannatha vittalayya vittalayya’, a tongue twister rendered flawlessly with finesse, in hues of Shuddh Kalyan.

The piece de resistance was Purandaradasa’s ‘Bhagyada Lakshmi Baramma’. Jayateerth began with a alaap inraag Shree and plunged into the expanse of Marwa Thaat Ka Vibhas raag and the famous composition on Lakshmi, the consort of Vitthal. He was ably supported by a vocal chorus and a tani avartan by Nikhil and Sukhad with the audience joining to sing ‘Bhagyada Lakshmi Baramma’.

Table of Contents

The Hindu

National

‘States have unlimited right to tax mineral-rich lands’

At least six persons dead, and 12 injured after heavy rain lashes Maharashtra

I-T portal fixed; July 31 deadline to file returns unlikely to be extended

Standing tall

In U.S., Israel PM calls for global alliance against Iran

Jaishankar pushes for urgency in resolving stand-off at LAC

India rejects U.S. criticism of Modi’s Russia visit

Shock bills

Getting DNA report a tall order for widow of man killed in Russian war

Panel will look into issues stalling Bill, NE tribal councils told

Govt. plans databank on trends in jobs, unemployment

Tri-services on threshold of major reforms: CDS

Manipur CM to meet Modi for first time since violence

HC notice to Assam govt., DGP in Cachar ‘encounter’

A notable life of a scholar-economist of distinction and social conscience

Opposition highlights inflation, unemployment

Lok Sabha adjourned twice over verbal duel between Punjab leaders

Maintain dignity of House, says Birla after row over MP’s speech

Modi government has usurped autonomy of UGC, says Kharge

Opposition intent on abusing PM, not debating Budget: Rijiju

BJP MP highlights fall in tribal population in Jharkhand

Govt. sleeping at wheel: Cong. on ‘fall’ in garment exports

Cong. to launch campaign for implementing women’s quota

2 arrested for ‘supporting’ terrorists in Kathua attack

Two halls in Rashtrapati Bhavan get names reflecting republican ethos

14237

Minister launches revamped Model Skill Loan Scheme

Lord Siva blesses child

Doval, Rajnath pay tribute to Vietnamese leader

HC refuses interim stay on web series on Netflix

CBI continues probe in Hazaribagh in NEET paper leak case

Centre took long to realise its ‘mistake’ on RSS-govt. ban: HC

CUET-UG: Final answer keys released, result to be out soon

Shekhar Kapur appointed IFFI film festival director

Regional

U.P. CM seeks feedback from MLAs, amid talk of ‘rift’ after LS poll results

First budget of Majhi govt. pegged at ₹2.65 lakh cr.; names of BJD regime’s flagship schemes changed

Lalu accuses Bihar CM of ‘completely surrendering’ to BJP on special status

Anti-defection law: two Jharkhand MLAs disqualified

ED arrests one more in Rajasthan teacher exam paper leak case

Intercaste marriage: T.N. girl’s brothers hack youth to death

BJP ex-MLA serving life term released after Governor’s nod

U.P. constable recruitment re-exam dates announced

Cong. worker killed by mob in Jalpaiguri; five arrested

Maliwal assault case: Delhi CM’s aide moves SC for bail

Happiness committee to hear the case of Kerala judicial officers

Kerala’s diaspora-oriented posting draws MEA’s flak

Over one lakh cusecs likely to be released from KRS dam; flood warning issued

Telangana presents Budget with total outlay of ₹2.91 lakh crore

Raj Thackeray to field up to 250 candidates in Maharashtra Assembly election

‘Fraudsters using dating apps, matrimonial sites for cheating’

Search for missing Kerala truck, driver enters 10th day

Karnataka wants to change names for four airports: Centre

Maoist killed in exchange of fire with police in Telangana

Science

Addressing risk factors could reduce dementia cases by 40%: report

‘Teaching mental well being will reduce suicides’

BIG SHOT

Edit

The ‘geo-calculus’ of the Moscow visit

The Karnataka Bill is a symptom of a larger problem

More for more

Sporting extravaganza

letters to the editor

Is the Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill draconian?

The beginning of festivities

Covering the Budget

World Bank plans more aid to developing areas

Govt. communiques

India’s illegal coal mining problem

What is behind Rwanda’s election outcome?

Is there a right way to portray sexual violence on-screen?

The DAILY QUIZ

covernote

Business

‘Focus is on raising the employment intensity of growth’

Govt. likely to defer wastage norm tweak for jewellery exports

Data Protection Bill: Firms must send users consent notices

India drone tech sector set to soar, says Reliance firm Asteria

Apollo Tyres plans to become net zero by 2050, says chairman

‘Ashok Leyland logs record Q1 revenue’

TechM reports 23% rise in Q1 net profit

BMW Group India unveils 4 new products including 2 EVs

CG Power to acquire 55% stake in G.G. Tronics

Ramco Cements Q1 net halves as prices slide 8%

Adani Green Energy Q1 net rises 95% to ₹629 crore

Laurus Labs Q1 net slumps to ₹13 crore on lower revenue

U.S. FDA issues 2 observations for Gland Pharma facility

Taiwanese rocket start-up may be early test of Japan’s space hub plans

Megacap stock selloff shows investor worries about tech trade

Yen surges as traders brace for possible interest rate shift

On a roll

‘Mankind bags Bharat Serums for ₹14,000 cr.’

Foreign

Israeli PM urges global alliance against Iranian 'axis of terror'

Myanmar junta, ethnic armed group claim control of military regional HQ

Upping the game

It is time to pass torch to ‘younger voices’, says Biden

Hasina surveys destruction as unrest recedes

UK, US, S.Korea warn of N.Korea cyber op to steal military, nuclear secrets

Israel army recovers from Gaza bodies of 5 killed on October 7

Death toll from Ethiopia landslip hits 257, could reach 500, says UN

Putin vows 'retribution' against those trying to 'divide' Russia

More than 100 flights cancelled in Germany as environmental activists target airports across Europe

Humanity suffering from 'extreme heat epidemic,' UN chief warns

Trump attacks Kamala Harris, calls her ‘lunatic’

‘Kamala Harris can perform better among the Indian American voters who are dissatisfied with Trump and Biden’

Post-coup, Niger struggles with security, economic crises

Flooded streets

Russian, Chinese bombers stage joint patrol near Alaska

UN experts urge Pak. to halt discrimination against Ahmadis

Sports

Time for another ‘Belle Epoque’ as the World reels under a troubled backdrop

Archers overcome wobbly start, enter the last eight

Two-time gold medallist Murray withdraws from singles event

Kerber to hang up her racquet after the Paris journey

Korean archer Lim shoots a World record to signal her intentions

Biles nails signature vault, gets ready for a golden campaign

The radical transformation of the Games Villages over a century

POSTCARD from Paris

Palestine contingent welcomed with open arms

Djokovic, Nadal in potential second-round clash

Sports science back-up provided is unprecedented, says Narang

What a feeling!

Avengers Assemble! A look at Gambhir’s right-hand men

FR

Angst and the artiste

Triumph of the voice

A whirl of glamour

Songs of the minstrels