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National

- India refuses to sign on Ukraine meet statement

- Elon Musk, former Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar argue on EVM security

- Riding the water

- Education Minister Pradhan says 2 types of irregularities noticed in conduct of NEET

- Ukraine summit ends with hope for peace

- Centre set to crack down on late-coming in offices

- Row in Maharashtra over ‘unlocking’ of EVM

- Canada and India are committed to working together on some ‘important issues’: Trudeau

- Keeping a tally

- India ready to host its first multinational air exercise ‘Tarang Shakti’ in August

- Bihar police recover 6 post-dated cheques ‘issued for NEET question paper facilitators’

- Gujarat govt. involved in land allotment scam: Cong.

- Rajkot fire: two held for document tampering

- Shah holds high-level meet to assess security situation in J&K

- NDA allies to meet before Lok Sabha session to take a call on Speaker candidate

- Amid opposition, V-P inaugurates Prerna Sthal on Parliament premises

- Celebrating a river

- Governor meets victims of post-poll violence in West Bengal

- PM to release Kisan Samman Nidhi fund

- Nirmala to hold pre-Budget meet with industry chambers

- Upbeat Cong. gears up for Haryana Assembly polls

- Railway panel to ascertain why drivers violate speed curbs

- New criminal laws to become effective on July 1: Meghwal

- Aazad Samaj Party to contest U.P. byelections

- ‘NCERT changed Ayodhya lessons based on SC order’

- Centre warns govt. officials coming late to work

- 14203

- Steps taken so that escalation of violence in Jiribam: officials

- ‘Drugs in parcel’ being used to dupe people, says Centre

- Id, a test of faith

- Salman Khan house attack: new case registered, one held

- Boat capsizes in the Ganga in Patna, four persons missing

Suhasini Haidar

NEW DELHI

Only proposals acceptable to both Russia and Ukraine can lead to peace, says New Delhi ; communique calling for the protection of Ukraine’s ‘territorial integrity’ signed by over 80 nations; Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Thailand and Mexico refuse to sign, Brazil maintains observer status; China declined the invitation, while Russia was not invited

Swiss President Viola Amherd; Pavan Kapoor, Secretary (West), External Affairs Ministry; and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the summit on peace in Ukraine.AFPAlessandro della Valle

Only proposals acceptable to both Russia and Ukraine can lead to peace, said India as New Delhi decided to disassociate itself from the final document issued at the conclusion of a Peace Summit in Switzerland on Sunday.

India was among at least seven countries that refused to endorse the “Joint Communique on a Peace Framework” released in Burgenstock, the venue of the two-day summit. The communique, which called for the protection of Ukraine’s “territorial integrity” and was built on Ukraine’s peace formula and the UN charter and resolutions, was thus far signed by more than 80 countries.

“Our participation in the summit and continued engagement with all stakeholders is with a view to understanding different perspectives, approaches and options to find a way forward for a sustainable resolution of the conflict; in our view, only those options acceptable to both parties can lead to abiding peace,” Pavan Kapoor, Secretary (West), Ministry of External Affairs, said.

Russia ‘could’ join

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the Summit, but Russian President Vladimir Putin was not invited, with Swiss officials saying Russia could join a future conference on the “road map” to peace.

Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Thailand, Indonesia, Mexico and the UAE were among the countries that refused to sign the communique. Brazil maintained an observer status, and China declined the invitation to participate.

Asked about India’s abstention, Swiss Ambassador to India Ralf Heckner said that despite the decision, “it was good that India was present” at a conference where the number of countries represented “half of the world” and a “quarter of the world” was represented by heads of state or government.

In a statement, the Ministry said India had attended the summit, and previous meetings at the NSA level in Jeddah in August 2023 and at the Deputy NSA level in Davos in January 2023, in line with its desire to “facilitate a lasting and peaceful resolution to the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy”.

“Such a resolution requires a sincere and practical engagement between the two parties to the conflict [Russia and Ukraine],” the statement added.

Consistent policy

India’s decision to attend, but distance itself from the joint statement is also in line with the government’s consistent policy of abstention from all resolutions at the UN Security Council, UN General Assembly, International Atomic Energy Agency and Human Rights Council thus far that are critical of Russia for its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Organisers had said the invitation to India, as well as leading countries of the Global South or BICS (referring to Brazil-India-China-South Africa or BRICS minus Russia), was especially important in order to bring about a global consensus and include their concerns on food and energy security.

In a visit to India last month to press the point, Swiss Foreign Secretary Alexandre Fasel said India and fellow BICS countries could act as “go-betweens that have the trust of either side,” referring to Russia and Western countries supporting Ukraine.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been invited to the Summit but he had declined the invitation.

Elon Musk, former Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar argue on EVM security

The Hindu Bureau

New Delhi

Former Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar and Tesla founder Elon Musk had the tiff on social media platform X. File photo

Former Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar got into a brief dispute with Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk over the security of electronic voting machines (EVMs). In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Mr. Musk had commented on the unreliability of EVMs in response to reports of irregularities in EVMs in Puerto Rico.

Mr. Chandrasekhar responded that these concerns did not apply to Indian voting machines.

Mr. Musk was referring to a report on software issues with EVMs supplied by the American firm Dominion Voting Systems, which faced a flood of scrutiny in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential elections in the U.S.

The company settled a multi-million dollar defamation suit brought by it on Fox News, whose anchors had cast doubts on its voting machines’ integrity.

Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, had been holding primary elections for gubernatorial polls due in November. Mr. Musk had said, “We should eliminate electronic voting machines. The risk of being hacked by humans or AI, while small, is still too high.”

“This is a huge sweeping generalization statement that implies no one can build secure digital hardware,” Mr. Chandrasekhar responded, after the post started making the rounds in India. “Wrong. @elonmusk’s view may apply to U.S. and other places where they use regular compute platforms to build Internet connected voting machines … but Indian EVMs are custom designed, secure and isolated from any network or media … Electronic voting machines can be architected and built right as India has done.” “Anything can be hacked,” Mr. Musk responded.

‘Agree to disagree’

Mr. Chandrasekhar then conceded that while “any level of encryption” on a computer system can be broken with sufficient power, EVM integrity was “a different type of conversation,” adding “we can agree to disagree”.

The Supreme Court had, during the elections, refused to mandate the Election Commission (EC) to manually count the voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) slips that were issued when voters used EVMs to cast their preference. The EC has insisted that EVMs are secure due to administrative safeguards in their transport and implementation, as well as due to the pre-programming done on the machines at the factory level.

The EC was not immediately available for comment.

Riding the water

Making a splash: Tourists rafting on the Beas river in Manali, Himachal Pradesh, on Sunday.PTI-

Education Minister Pradhan says 2 types of irregularities noticed in conduct of NEET

The Hindu Bureau

BHUBANESWAR

Dharmendra PradhanMOORTHY RV

The Union government will take the strictest action against functionaries of the National Testing Agency (NTA) if they were found to be involved in irregularities in the conduct of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to undergraduate medical courses, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said in Sambalpur on Sunday.

“With regard to NEET, two types of irregularities have come to light. As per preliminary findings, some students were allotted less time than the designated duration, leading to widespread dissatisfaction. Alternatively, grace marks were awarded, which the government had already disapproved, and [the government] directed re-examination for 1,563 students as per the Supreme Court order,” he said.

“Additional wrongdoings have also come to the fore on two accounts. I assure both students and parents that the government has taken the issue very seriously,” Mr. Pradhan said.

“A lot of reforms are required in the NTA’s functioning though it is an autonomous institution. The government is examining all issues,” the Minister said.

NEET 2024 was conducted by the NTA at 4,750 centres in 571 cities, for over 24 lakhs candidates, on May 5. After the results were declared on June 4, parents and teachers began questioning the grace marks awarded to 1,563 students.The matter reached the Supreme Court, which expressed concern over the integrity of NEET.

Ukraine summit ends with hope for peace

Smita Sharma

BURGENSTOCK

The two-day Summit on Peace in Ukraine concluded in Switzerland on Sunday with participants hoping for an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed the diplomatic “success” of the event, and said the path was open for a second summit, with a view to ending the war with a lasting settlement. But he told a press conference that “Russia and their leadership are not ready for a just peace”.

Centre set to crack down on late-coming in offices

S. Vijay Kumar

CHENNAI

Taking a note of the laxity in implementing the Aadhaar-enabled biometric attendance system and some employees coming late to work regularly, the Union government has urged Ministries, organisations and departments to regularly monitor the attendance reports of their employees.

Row in Maharashtra over ‘unlocking’ of EVM

Snehal Mutha

Mumbai

Mangesh Pandilkar, brother-in-law of Shiv Sena MP-elect from Mumbai North West Ravindra Waikar, and a data operator booked by the police on charges of unauthorised mobile phone use at counting centre; Opposition raises queries on ‘irregularities’; Election Commission dismisses claims that EVMs can be locked by one-time passwords

Standalone machines: EVMs are non-programmable and have no wireless communication capabilities, the Election Commission said. EMMANUAL YOGINIEMMANUAL YOGINI

A political row erupted in Maharashtra on Sunday over allegations that a relative of Mumbai North West MP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena leader Ravindra Waikar used a mobile phone to generate a one-time password (OTP) that “unlocked” an electronic voting machine (EVM) during counting on June 4.

While Opposition leaders, including former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, raised concerns about the conduct of elections and lack of transparency in scrutinising EVMs, the Election Commission (EC) dismissed the claims that EVMs could be accessed through OTPs.

The Vanrai Police in Mumbai booked Mangesh Pandilkar, brother-in-law of Mr. Waikar, on June 13 for allegedly using a mobile phone at the NESCO counting centre in Mumbai North West Lok Sabha constituency, which Mr. Waikar won by a margin of just 48 votes. His rival Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Amol Kirtikar has challenged the result in court.

An ENCORE data operator of the EC too has been booked in the case which was registered based on a complaint from the poll panel on unauthorised use of mobile phone at a counting centre.

While a newspaper report suggested Mr. Pandilkar used a mobile phone to unlock an EVM through OTP, Vanrai Senior Inspector Rampiyare Rajbhar dismissed the claims.

“We have just registered the complaint over disobedience, the rest is just theory. However, after checking the phone, we have decided to send it to the Forensic Science Laboratory [FSL] for more clarity,” he said.

‘Fake news’

The EC too refuted claims that EVMs could be accessed through OTPs. Addressing the media in Bandra, Returning Officer Vandana Suryavanshi said, “The case is about unauthorised use of mobile phone by a candidate’s aide. OTP has nothing to do with EVM. EVMs are standalone machines as they are non-programmable and have no wireless communication capabilities. They [the claims] are being used by a few leaders to create a false narrative. Counting of Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System [ETPBS] happens in physical form. Every counting sheet is signed by all counting agents after due diligence.” He also warned of action against the newspaper that spread “rumours and fake news”.

The EC said the Returning Officer has issued notice to the newspaper for “spreading disinformation about the EVM and creating doubts in the Indian electoral system”.

Meanwhile, Mr. Waikar slammed the Opposition. “The Uddhav Thackeray faction is unable to digest its defeat and making all the noise. I am least bothered. With respect to EVM hacking, can the machines be hacked like that? Besides many had phones at the time of counting,” he said.

Speaking to The Hindu, Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Mr. Kirtikar said, “These are two different matters. One is a criminal case, and the other is a court process, which I am pursuing by filing an election petition. After losing by a narrow margin of 48 votes in the recount, I requested another recount, but my request was denied. The EC officer gave an oral order denying the recount instead of giving it in writing. The EC also denied access to CCTV footage. The revelation in the criminal case will certainly strengthen my position in court.”

The police said three teams have been formed to investigate the matter and they will also scan CCTV footage. The police will access call records on the mobile phone of Mr. Pandilkar, who had allegedly used the phone from the morning to 4.30 p.m., on the day of counting.

All phones used by ENCORE data operators during counting must be submitted to the Returning Officer but reports suggested that this had not happened and the police will be investigating the matter.

The police said Mr. Pandilkar in his statement admitted to making calls from the phone to his driver.

Opposition concerns

The Opposition raised concerns about irregularities at the polling centre and questioned whether the EC will release the CCTV footage, put Mr. Waikar’s victory on hold, and explain the lapses in counting.

Mr. Aaditya Thackeray said in a post on X, “Once a traitor, always a traitor! The case of the Mindhe gang candidate from Northwest Mumbai gets murkier, as the gaddar [traitor] candidate indulges in treachery with democracy now. Surprisingly, or not, the Entirely Compromised-election commission, has refused to share CCTV footage of the counting centre.”

Senior Congress leader and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan demanded the poll result of the Mumbai North West Lok Sabha seat be stayed. He said the EC must call a meeting of all parties and discuss the issue thoroughly.

Responding to the case against Mr. Pandilkar, Congress leader Mr. Gandhi said, “EVMs in India are a ‘black box’, and nobody is allowed to scrutinise them. Serious concerns are being raised about transparency in our electoral process. Democracy ends up becoming a sham and prone to fraud when institutions lack accountability.”

Suhasini Haidar

NEW DELHI

Shaky ties: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the sidelines of the G-7 Summit. PTI-

India and Canada agreed to “work together” to deal with some “very important issues”, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Saturday. Mr. Trudeau’s statement comes after he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G-7 Outreach Summit in Italy.

This is the first time the two have met since the Canadian Prime Minister went public with his allegations that Indian “government agents” planned the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen and Khalistani separatist wanted on terror charges in India.

U.S. NSA visit

On Monday, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan is expected to arrive in Delhi to discuss India-U.S. cooperation — in strategic, technological, and intelligence areas — with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval. The NSAs will meet for the first time since the U.S. released details of a case allegedly involving Indian security officials in a plot to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, another Khalistani separatist wanted in India.

The Modi-Trudeau meeting came just a few days before the one-year mark since Mr. Nijjar was shot dead outside a gurdwara at Surrey in Canada on June 18, which sent bilateral ties into a downward spiral. Neither Mr. Trudeau nor Mr. Modi referred directly to the investigation into the killing and the allegations by Canada, which the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has called “absurd” and “motivated”.

“I’m not going to get into the details of this important, sensitive issue that we need to follow up, but this was a commitment to work together, in the coming times, to deal with some very important issues,” Mr. Trudeau told mediapersons in Fasano, Italy on Saturday.

The MEA did not issue any statement on the exchange that took place just after the group photo for the G-7 Outreach leaders, and was captured in a single photo released on PM Modi’s X account that simply said that he had “met” the Canadian Prime Minister.

Both the U.S. trial on the alleged Pannun plot and the Canadian trial on Nijjar’s death are expected to begin in the next few months.

MEA stand

While the MEA announced a “high-level” inquiry into the U.S. allegations more than six months ago, it has consistently refused to accept the Canadian charges.

“To date, we have never received anything which is specific and worthy of being pursued by our investigative agencies, and I’m not aware anything has changed in the last few days, in that regard,” External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said at an interaction in May this year, reacting to news that Canada had announced a fourth arrest of an Indian for Nijjar’s killing.

He also drew a negative comparison between the U.S. and “another country in the same continent, [a] little bit to the north” (referring to Canada), on the issue of dealing with Khalistani groups.According to officials, India was informed of the arrests, but said that all four Indians arrested have not so far requested consular access.

In an email exchange, Canada’s Foreign Ministry, called Global Affairs Canada, contested Mr. Jaishankar’s contentions. “Since Canada became aware of the credible allegations, we have consistently provided all the information we can to India on the Nijjar case, through multiple channels,” said spokesperson Charlotte MacLeod, in response to a number of questions from The Hindu that Global Affairs Canada did not answer.

Unlike the U.S. justice system, the Canadian system does not reveal evidence in the case prior to the trial in “public indictments”.

Even so, several Canadian media reports indicate a consistent drip of information on leads that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Canadian Department of Justice (DoJ) are following.

Keeping a tally

Anxious moments: An aspirant looks at the question paper as she comes out of an examination centre after the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination in New Delhi on Sunday. Shashi Shekhar KashyapSHASHI SHEKHAR KASHYAP

India ready to host its first multinational air exercise ‘Tarang Shakti’ in August

Dinakar Peri

New Delhi

Two IAF Rafale jets being refuelled mid-air by an IL-78 aircraft on their way to Exercise Red Flag in Alaska.

The Indian Air Force’s first multinational air exercise, Tarang Shakti-2024, will be held in August, and is likely to see the participation of 10 countries, in addition to a few others acting as observers.

“Enriched with the Red Flag exercise experience, the IAF keenly looks forward to hosting the participating contingents from other countries during Tarang Shakti-2024, which is the first ever Indian multinational air exercise to be held later this year,” the IAF said on Sunday in a statement on the just concluded Red Flag exercise hosted by the U.S. Air Force.

The plan is to invite friendly foreign countries with whom the IAF interacts regularly and has a certain degree of interoperability, officials said. Tarang Shakti was earlier planned to be held at the end of 2023, but got deferred. The exercise is now scheduled to be held in two phases.

The first will be held in southern India in the first two weeks of August and the second will be in the western sector from the end of August to mid-September, officials said. Some countries will participate in both phases, while others will join one of the two phases, it has been learnt.

Among the countries sending contingents are Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Germany will deploy fighter jets and also an A-400M transport aircraft, as reported by The Hindu earlier. The A-400M aircraft will be on showcase for the IAF, given that it is a contender for the open tender for medium transport aircraft.

U.S. event

The Red Flag exercise, hosted by the U.S. Air Force (USAF) from June 4 to 14, concluded at the Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. This was the second edition of Red Flag this year; the exercise is hosted four times a year by the USAF. Apart from the IAF, this edition saw the participation of the Singapore Air Force, the U.K.’s Royal Air Force, the Royal Netherlands Air Force, and the German Luftwaffe. The IAF deployed eight Rafale fighters, a first at Red Flag, supported by IL-78 mid-air refuellers for the transatlantic ferry, as well as C-17 Globemaster aircraft.

Bihar Police recover six post-dated cheques issued to NEET paper ‘facilitators’

Press Trust of India

Patna

The Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of the Bihar Police has recovered six post-dated cheques suspected to have been issued in favour of some “facilitators” demanding over ₹30 lakh from each candidate seeking the alleged leaked question paper ahead of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to undergraduate medical courses held last month.

“During the course of investigation, EOU officials recovered six post-dated cheques that were issued in favour of criminals who reportedly facilitated question papers to the aspirants ahead of the examination,” Manavjit Singh Dhillon, Deputy Inspector-General (DIG), EOU, said on Sunday.

Investigators are ascertaining details about account holders from the banks concerned, he added.

The EOU has so far arrested 13 people, including four examinees and their family members, in connection with the case.

The EOU has also issued notices to nine candidates (seven from Bihar and one each from Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra) to join the probe, he added.

Meanwhile, the Congress on Sunday said there are “serious questions” on the integrity of the National Testing Agency and the manner in which NEET is designed and administered.

The Opposition party said it was hopeful that when the new Standing Committees of Parliament get constituted, a deep review of the NEET, NTA and NCERT would be taken up.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said there have been concerns, especially from Tamil Nadu, that NEET would privilege CBSE students. “Is NEET discriminatory?,” he posted on X. There are also serious questions on the integrity of the National Testing Agency itself and the manner in which NEET is designed and administered, he said.

Gujarat govt. involved in land allotment scam: Cong.

The Hindu Bureau

Ahmedabad

Gujarat Congress chief Shaktisinh Gohil on Sunday accused the State BJP government of massive corruption and irregularities in the allotment of land plots by the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) in Dahej and Saykha industrial zones.

In a press conference on Sunday, Mr. Gohil, sharing government documents, said that the GIDC — the nodal agency for the industrial development in the State — is allotting lands at a subsidised rate of ₹2,845 per square metre in Dahej instead of holding auction which can fetch up to ₹10,000 per square metre.

“Dahej is a developed zone with all the infrastructure... Two years ago, Asian Paints had purchased lands at ₹7,000 per square metre plus transfer fees, stamp duty and other expenses. But GIDC is now allotting lands at mere ₹2,845 per square metre, thus causing massive revenue loss to the public treasury,” Mr. Gohil said

Rajkot fire: two held for document tampering

Press Trust of India

Rajkot

Two employees of the Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) have been arrested for allegedly making certain changes in documents pertaining to a game zone after a fire in the city in Gujarat last month claimed 27 lives, police said on Sunday.

With this, 12 persons, including six government employees, have been arrested in the case. The city crime branch on Saturday arrested RMC’s assistant town planning officer Rajesh Makwana and assistant engineer Jaideep Chaudhary for their alleged involvement in making changes in an official register after the fire.

Shah holds high-level meet to assess security situation in J&K

The Hindu Bureau

New Delhi

Centre is committed to setting an example by cracking down on terrorists through ‘innovative means’, he says ; the Union Minister directs all security agencies to work in ‘mission mode’ and ensure quick responses in a coordinated manner

Security check: Union Home Minister Amit Shah at a meeting to review the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday. PTI

In the wake of several terror incidents in Jammu in the past one week, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday reviewed the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir, and took stock of arrangements for the Amarnath Yatra, which commences on June 29.

Mr. Shah directed security agencies to replicate in the Jammu division the successes achieved in the Kashmir Valley with the “area domination plan” and “zero terror plan”. He said the government was committed to setting an example by cracking down on terrorists through “innovative means”. He directed all security agencies to work in “mission mode” and ensure quick responses in a coordinated manner, a statement issued by the Union Home Ministry said.

Since June 9, there have been terror strikes at four places in Reasi, Kathua, and Doda in the Jammu division, in incidents where nine pilgrims and a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawan were killed, and a civilian and at least seven security personnel were injured. Jammu has remained largely free of militant activities in the past two decades when compared with the Kashmir Valley. Since mid-2021, at least 26 major terror strikes have occurred in the Jammu region.

The Home Minister said that the fight against terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir was in its “decisive phase”. He added that recent incidents showed terrorism had been “forced to shrink from highly organised acts of terrorist violence to a mere proxy war”. “We are determined to root it out as well,” he said.

Mr. Shah emphasised seamless coordination among security agencies, identifying vulnerable areas, and addressing the security concerns of such areas.

He stated that government would leave no stone unturned in rooting out terrorism from Jammu and Kashmir.

Mr. Shah said that efforts of the Government of India had yielded positive results in the Kashmir Valley, with significant reduction in terror-related incidents. The improvement in the law and order situation was reflected in the record flow of tourists to the Kashmir Valley, the Ministry said. The Minister appreciated the security agencies and the J&K administration for the successful conduct of the Lok Sabha election, which witnessed a record voter turnout in Jammu and Kashmir.

Reviewing preparations for the Amarnath Yatra, Mr. Shah instructed officials to establish perfect inter-agency coordination for effective security arrangements, including a well-established standard operating response mechanism. Besides adopting eco-friendly measures in the management of the yatra, he said it was the government’s priority to ensure devotees did not face any difficulty.

NDA allies to meet before Lok Sabha session to take a call on Speaker candidate

Nistula Hebbar

NEW DELHI

Making a choice: The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha will be held from June 24 to July 3.File photo

The announcement of the date for the election of a new Speaker for the Lok Sabha has set off speculation over who will occupy the post on June 26.

The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners are likely to meet on June 22 or 23 to decide its candidate.

While the Janata Dal(U) has said it would respect the BJP’s claim on the post, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is speaking of a consensus “NDA candidate”.

Sanjay Raut’s overture

Matters have been complicated by Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, who said the Opposition Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc will support the TDP’s choice if the party decided to field a candidate for the Speaker’s election.

Mr. Raut said the Opposition’s support would be forthcoming, apprehending alleged designs by the BJP to break the parties of its allies to shore up its own numbers.

“I hear the TDP wants to field its candidate. If that happens, INDIA bloc partners will discuss the issue and will try to ensure that all the INDIA alliance partners extend support to the TDP,” he said.

He said the Opposition should get the Deputy Speaker’s post in accordance with the rules. The Lok Sabha did not have a Deputy Speaker for the past five years.

Sources in the TDP told The Hindu that the BJP “had been consultative so far” and it expected this attitude to continue. TDP sources confirmed that the name of Daggubatti Purandareshwari was making the rounds, as was the name of Bhratruhari Mahtab, a multiple-term member earlier with the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and now with the BJP.

“We are yet to formally discuss it, though,” the source said.

The JD(U) did not have any such misgivings. “The position of the Lok Sabha Speaker is the most dignified post of the House. The ruling party has the first right on the seat. The demands and statements of the INDIA bloc are objectionable. We believe that the BJP is the big party of the NDA. I have been in the NDA for 35 years. The BJP never tried to break any party. We will never try to weaken NDA,” JD(U) spokesperson K.C. Tyagi said.

Going by the trend for continuity with Prime Minister Narendra Modi repeating nearly all the Ministers from his previous tenure, there is also talk that the incumbent Speaker, Om Birla, could be repeated. “Birla-ji became the first Speaker in two decades to be voted back into the Lok Sabha” a source in the government said.

The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha will be held from June 24 to July 3.

Amid opposition, V-P inaugurates

The Hindu Bureau

NEW DELHI

Grand launch: Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar inaugurating Prerna Sthal on the Parliament House premises on Sunday.ANI

Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday inaugurated Prerna Sthal on the Parliament House premises which accommodates statues of 15 freedom fighters and icons of Indian history relocated from various parts of the compound.

The Opposition had protested against the move.

Several Ministers were present at the inauguration. However, not a single MP from any Opposition party registered their presence.

Mr. Dhankhar said Prerna Sthal was “inspiring” in that statues of great national icons, including that of former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal, under whose mentorship his own political journey had begun, were in one place for anyone who visited Parliament.

Opposition leaders, however, said the shifting of the statues, especially those of Mahatma Gandhi and B.R. Ambedkar, earlier located at prominent places on the premises, will have an impact on the locations where leaders gathered to protest against the government.

Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, put out a statement explaining why his party opposed the move. Apart from pointing out that the decision had been taken unilaterally by the government, he said it was an attempt to tamper with the symbolism behind the location of the statues.

“The statue of Mahatma Gandhi in a meditative posture located right in front of old Parliament building held immense significance for India’s democratic polity. It is at this place that Members often conducted peaceful and democratic protests, drawing strength from their presence,” Mr. Kharge said.

Om Birla, Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha, responded to the criticism.

“None of the statues have been removed; they have been relocated. There is no need to indulge in politics on this,” he said.

“From time to time, I have been discussing these issues with different stakeholders. People were of the view that having these statues at one place will help disseminate information about their lives and achievements in a better way,” Mr. Birla added.

Celebrating a river

Devotees gathering to take a dip in the Ganga on the occasion of Ganga Dasara at the Har Ki Pauri ghat in Haridwar on Sunday. PTI

Governor meets victims of post-poll violence in West Bengal

The Hindu Bureau

Kolkata

West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose met several Bharatiya Janata Party supporters who were allegedly victims of post-poll violence, at the Raj Bhavan on Sunday.

He said he would not meet Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee while people like them were prevented from meeting him.

Several BJP supporters who said that they were victims of post-poll violence were stopped from meeting the Governor on June 13 by the Kolkata Police who claimed that prohibitory orders under Section 144 had been imposed at the Raj Bhavan.

The BJP supporters were led by Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari. On Sunday, they were allowed inside the Raj Bhavan and they met the Governor.

HC order

Referring to the Calcutta High Court order in which Justice Kaushik Chanda had directed that those affected by post-poll violence can lodge their complaints by email, Mr. Adhikari said that so far 1,025 complaints have been sent to the Director-General of Police.

The Governor said that he would try to implement the Calcutta High Court order in letter and spirit.

Meanwhile, a four-member team of BJP MPs set up to take a stock of post-poll violence arrived in Kolkata on Sunday. The team is led by Biplab Kumar Deb and the members are Ravi Shankar Prasad, Brij Lal and Kavita Patidar.

The team is likely to visit the safe houses of the BJP in Kolkata and adjoining districts of the State and meet victims of the violence.

PM to release Kisan Samman Nidhi fund

The Hindu Bureau

Lucknow

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Varanasi, his Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh, on Tuesday for the first time after taking oath for a third consecutive term.

He is expected to release the 17th instalment of the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi, amounting to over ₹20,000 crore, for 92.6 million beneficiary farmers across the country.

Income support

The scheme, fully funded by the Union government, extends income support of ₹6,000 a year in three equal instalments to all land-holding farmer families, with a family defined as husband, wife, and minor children.

Earlier, on June 14, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath arrived in Varanasi to review preparations for Mr. Modi’s visit. The venue for the programme is Mehndiganj, Sevapuri. Mr. Adityanath reviewed the Prime Minister’s security, parking, public movement, and the routes planned.

During his visit, Mr. Modi will give away certificates to over 30,000 members of self-help groups trained as ‘Krishi Sakhis’ to work as para-extension workers, supporting fellow farmers in farm practices.

Nirmala to hold pre-Budget meet with industry chambers

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to hold pre-Budget consultations with industry chambers on June 20, sources said. The Budget for 2024-25 is likely to be presented in Parliament in the second half of July. Industry sources said the pre-Budget consultation with Ms. Sitharaman would be preceded by a meet with Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra on June 18. The Budget is likely to lay out the Modi government’s economic agenda. The Minister will have to look at measures to boost growth without high inflation and look for resources to meet the coalition government’s compulsions.PTI

Upbeat Cong. gears up for Haryana Assembly polls

The Hindu Bureau

CHANDIGARH

Upbeat after its performance in the Lok Sabha election in Haryana, the Congress has stepped up efforts to take on the BJP government in the State, where Assembly election is due later this year.

The Congress has kicked off a campaign to reach out to the people in the run-up to the polls.

On Sunday, the party launched a month-long, State-wide workers’ conference. Through the campaign, party leaders and workers will talk to people about its poll guarantees. It will rake up issues such as unemployment, inflation, corruption, and “deteriorating law and order” in the State.

Starting the campaign in Karnal, Leader of the Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda said the Lok Sabha results were encouraging and that the party was completely prepared for the Assembly polls.

Mr. Hooda asked the workers to implement a two-point action plan. “First, highlight the failures of the BJP government in 10 years. Second, the work of the previous Congress governments has to be taken to every house and the party’s future guarantees have to be conveyed across the State.”

Railway panel to ascertain why drivers violate speed curbs

The Railway Board has set up a committee to find out the reasons for the violation of speed restrictions by train drivers at various points between originating and destination stations, affecting safety. According to informed sources, the Railway Board acted after recent incidents in which two train drivers violated the speed restriction of 20 kmph on a river bridg under maintenance and drove their trains at a speed of 120 kmph.

The Railways imposes speed restrictions for the safe operation of the trains for various reasons such as track condition, ongoing track repairs, old railway bridges and station yard remodelling.PTI

New criminal laws to become effective on July 1: Meghwal

Emphasising that the new criminal laws have been brought in after widespread consultation, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Sunday said that the new laws will come into force on July 1. The Minister made these remarks on the sidelines of a conference on ‘India’s Progressive Path in the Administration of Criminal Justice System’ in Kolkata. The three new laws — the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, Bharatiya Suraksha Sanhita, and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam — will replace the Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure, and Indian Evidence Act.

Mr. Meghwal also expressed hope about the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the country.

Aazad Samaj Party to contest U.P. byelections

The Hindu Bureau

Lucknow

Chandra Shekhar Aazad, Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) chief and MP, said on Sunday that his party would contest the Assembly bypolls in Uttar Pradesh.

Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Aazad added that there was a political vacuum in representation of the marginalised/deprived sections.

The party was working to establish itself as the voice of such groups with the bypolls to 10 seats being the first step, he said.

‘NCERT changed Ayodhya lessons based on SC order’

The Hindu Bureau

New Delhi

Council Director Dinesh Saklani defends replaced content in Class 12 political science book saying they were done by experts; feels that textbooks should not create ‘violent and depressed’ citizens

Different view: Latest Class 12 political science textbook refers to demolished Babri Masjid only as a ‘three-domed structure’.apRajesh Kumar Singh

Three months after the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) dropped references of the Babri Masjid demolition and gave added emphasis to the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple movement in its Class 12 political science textbook, its Director, Dinesh Saklani, said on Sunday that changes were made by experts as the books did not want to create “violent and depressed” citizens.

Mr. Saklani said he was not directly involved in making the changes and the experts did what they deemed fit as per ‘global practices’, of screening for old text and revising it to new text. He said the Babri Masjid reference removal was in line with the Supreme Court verdict.

Three-domed structure

The latest edition of the textbook that was introduced after the changes were announced three months ago, does not refer to the Babri Masjid by its name and calls it a “three-domed structure”.

“The experts took a call on what to call it or what not to call it,” Mr. Saklani said.

He defended the change by saying that the NCERT book was a “small book”, and if some student or anyone else was interested in researching the topic further they could “read about it from elsewhere”. “We cannot stop people who are curious from reading and researching,” he added.

In Chapter 8, “Recent developments in Indian politics”, of the Class 12 political science textbook, the existing version on Page 136 reads — What is the legacy of the Ram Janambhoomi movement and the Ayodhya demolition for the nature of political mobilisation? This sentence in the revised textbooks will read — What is the legacy of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement?

The NCERT said the change was being made “to bring the initial questions in synchronisation with internal latest changes made in the chapter”.

Central issue

On dropping reference to the Babri Masjid demolition in the same chapter, on Page 139, the existing version reads, “Fourth, a number of events culminated in the demolition of the disputed structure at Ayodhya (known as Babri Masjid) in December 1992. This event symbolised and triggered various changes in the politics of the country and intensified debates about the nature of Indian nationalism and secularism. These developments are associated with the rise of the BJP and the politics of ‘Hindutva’.”

However, the changed version, the NCERT has stated, will read, “Fourth, the centuries-old legal and political dispute over the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple in Ayodhya started influencing the politics of India, which gave birth to various political changes. The Ram Janmabhoomi Temple Movement, becoming the central issue, transformed the direction of the discourse on secularism and democracy. These changes culminated in the construction of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya following the decision of the Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court (which was announced on November 9, 2019).”

“The text on Ayodhya issue has been thoroughly revised because of the latest changes brought by the Supreme Court’s Constitutional Bench verdict and its widespread welcoming reception,” the NCERT had said in its rationale for revising content in textbooks earlier.

In another stark change, Class 11 political science textbook has dropped the reference of Muslims killed in post-Godhra riots.

Centre to crack down on late-coming in offices

S. Vijay Kumar

CHENNAI

Many officials did not register their attendance in Biometric Attendance System.file photoSAMPATH KUMAR GP

Taking a serious note of the laxity in implementing the Aadhaar-enabled biometric attendance system (AEBAS) and some employees coming late to work regularly, the Union government has urged Ministries, organisations and departments to regularly monitor the attendance reports of their employees.

Calling for disciplinary action against those habitually coming late to work or leaving early, the Centre said the data relating to punctuality and attendance of an employee should be taken into account while considering them for important assignments, trainings, deputations, and transfers or postings.

Sources in the Southern Railway say the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Saturday communicated to the Secretaries of Ministries and departments that despite clear instructions, several employees had not registered their attendance in the biometric attendance system and some of them were coming late to work regularly.

Lax implementation

After reviewing the functioning of the AEBAS and taking a serious note of the laxity in implementation of the system, the Centre reiterated that the officials should regularly monitor the attendance reports of their employees after downloading the same from the BAS portal.

Pointing out that the responsibility for ensuring punctuality in respect of the employees rested with the Ministry or department or organisation, the advisory said all employees should mark their attendance using the AEBAS without fail.

In case any employee had not registered on the system, immediate steps should be taken to register their biometric data on the portal. For employees with disabilities, the authorities were told to make appropriate arrangements for providing convenient and easily accessible machines for capturing biometrics.

The heads of departments were told to sensitise their employees to adhere to the instructions relating to office hours, late attendance and so on. “They should download the consolidated report from the portal on a regular basis and identify the defaulters. Habitual late attendance and early leaving of office should be viewed seriously and be essentially discouraged. Strict action against the defaulters may be initiated under the extant Government of India rules.”

Face authentication

The advisory also said the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) had rolled out face-based authentication applications using Android and Apple phones. The face authentication offered robust features such as faster authentication, live location detection and geo-tagging.

Nodal officers in the respective organisations were told to configure personal mobile policy in attendance portal for the employees and get the geo-coordinates fed into the entry locations of the office.

Citing earlier instructions, the DoPT said half-a-day’s casual leave (CL) should be debited for each day of late attendance, but late attendance up to an hour on not more than two occasions in a month and for justifiable reasons may be condoned by the competent authority. “In addition to debiting CL (or Earned Leave, when no CL is available), disciplinary action may also be initiated against government servants coming to office habitually late as it amounts to ‘misconduct’ under the CCS(Conduct) Rules, 1964. Early leaving is also to be treated in the same manner as late coming,” the DoPT said.

(set by Pixie Dust)

1 of 4

2 of 4

3 of 4

4 of 4 Scan to play

Across

1 Jumped when Superintendent of Police called (6)

5 In disguise, Ram went with a boater (8)

9 Neutral peacemaker's stationed around capital of Indonesia (8)

10 Suggestion from religious woman involving a church (6)

11 These are marks of significant pause after processing income loss (10)

12 Some crazy or exciting time long past (4)

13 Small fish and fruit (8)

16 In a graceful manner Bill has a try capturing focus of visitor (6)

17 My ailment discussed in an oppressive atmosphere (6)

19 How Neo could be a Star Wars spin-off? (5,3)

21 In Jerusalem, old man going to and fro (4)

22 Unable to slip away and marry say, one from the Melon family? (10)

25 Kudos! You finally designed puzzle (6)

26 Control large numbers crossing Atlantic basically to reach Edinburgh on 31st December, say (8)

27 One with a strong desire starts to tantalise husband in rather sexy, totally enchanting robe (8)

28 Force told to stand by (6)

Down

2 Queen Nephthys sampling rounded kind of pasta (5)

3 Criminal ability to waste time and last bit of money for a cover story (5)

4 Go out playing, welcoming beginnings of spring! Supremely enjoyable! (7)

5 The Reverend guided tramp to union! (7)

6 Country's embroiled in a suit (7)

7 Dreamy ad about lingeries, essentially bought off the shelf (5-4)

8 Grant gets one working instrument (9)

14 Bihar's unusual urgency to find something keeping locks in place? (9)

15 Four divas freaking out? Shame! (9)

18 Description of a cold judge (7)

19 Cowboy took flight with revolutionary leader at last (7)

20 Girl abandoned goals to work in city (7)

23 West Asian citizen seen in Romania (5)

24 Appropriate way to cook (5)

Steps taken to stop escalation of violence in Jiribam: officials

Dinakar Peri

NEW DELHI

Jiribam will not be allowed to go the same way as the rest of Manipur, officials in the security establishment asserted as an uneasy calm prevailed in the western district after the violence over the past two weeks.

Outsiders from both the Kuki-Zo and Meitei communities — who have been engaged in a conflict for more than a year — are entering Jiribam district in large numbers, which can potentially lead to a flare-up in the violence, according to officials on the ground. They said several measures have been taken to secure communities as well as stop outsiders.

“There is a clear directive that Jiribam will not be allowed to go the rest of Manipur way. No buffer zones will be allowed to be set up and any ethnic violence will not be allowed to happen,” a highly placed official said. Attempts to snatch weapons have been prevented and security forces have been given permission to shoot if needed, though so far that has not been required, the official said.

Jiribam lies along the boundary with Assam and National Highway 37 passes through the district, making it critical to allow essential supplies through to the rest of the State. During the recent violence in Jiribam, a mob tried to storm a police station but was prevented by the Army and Assam Rifles, ensuring that no weapons were snatched, the official said.

An official in the security establishment said the Manipur government’s decision to deploy State police commandos caused apprehensions among the people. The deployment, by air, was done despite objections from the Army and Assam Rifles. Some communication by the State government to the people will help in reassuring them, the official said.

As of now, units from the Assam Rifles have secured all sensitive areas in the district, the official said. However, there are isolated houses and it is neither possible to secure all of them nor is it possible to fully seal the district from all sides, the official added.

Security forces have increased their presence in the district, and are talking to people across all communities to prevent outsiders from coming in, one of the officials said.

Meitei radical armed outfit Arambai Tenggol and women’s collective Meira Paibi are blocking their movements, the official added.

‘Drugs in parcel’ ploy being used to dupe people: Centre

The Hindu Bureau

NEW DELHI

Stepping in to act against the rampant “narcotics drugs in parcel’ extortion scam, the Revenue Department of the Union Finance Ministry on Sunday advised the public to stay vigilant, and stressed that Customs officials never contact individuals over phone or by email to remit Customs duties in private accounts.

“Various incidents have come to light through news portals/social media platforms of fraudulent persons posing as Indian Customs officers cheating the public of their hard-earned money across the country. These frauds are primarily done using digital means like phone calls or SMS, and are focused on extracting money through the purported fear of immediate penal action,” the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) said.

The CBIC has launched a multi-modal campaign to spread awareness of such fraudsters’ modus operandi and urged people to immediately report such cases on www.cybercrime.gov.in or its helpline number 1930. Advising people to disconnect calls from people posing as courier staff or Customs officials, if there is any suspicion of fraud or irregularities, the CBIC also shared some of the common tricks deployed to carry out such scams. “Fraudsters posing as courier officials contact via calls, text messages or emails claiming that Customs have held a package or parcel and requires payment of Customs duties or taxes before it can be released,” a CBIC statement said.

As a pressure tactic, fraudsters impersonate Customs/Police/CBI officials and demand payment of Customs duty/clearance fees for packages/gifts that purportedly have been received from a foreign country and require Customs clearance,” it added. The targeted individuals are asked to make payments for release of their goods, or informed that their package has been seized due to illegal content such as drugs,or violations of Customs regulations.

Id, a test of faith

Id-ul-Azha known as Bakri Id, Id Qurban or Qurban Bayarami is a Muslim festival that commemorates the spirit of sacrifice, said Professor Kumool Abbi. Id falls on the twelfth month of the Islamic lunar calendar and the tenth day of Dhu-al Hijjah and on the last day of Haj.

The festival commemorates the sacrifice by Prophet Ibrahim of his son Ismail to Allah. As the legend goes, The Almighty appeared in the dream of Ibrahim commanding him to pass the test of faith by sacrificing his son. Satan attempted to thwart him but Ismail threw stones and ousted him away. As Ibrahim was about to accomplish the sacrifice, Allah revealed himself and gave him a lamb to sacrifice instead.

This festival constitutes a number of rituals and devotional practices and all these relate to accepting the will of God with forbearance, the spirit of sacrifice and compassion to all. The practice of Udhiyah takes place where Muslims across the world sacrifice some kind of livestock. The meat from the animal sacrificed is divided into three parts, one for family, one for relatives and friends, and one for the needy.

Above all, Id re-emphasises the solidarity of the community. Muslims across the world observe this festival, which highlights the necessity and virtues of compassion. It underscores the importance of sharing, kindness, benevolence, devotion and humanism towards all. It is also a lesson to all to remember that unwavering faith will receive due reward: God will come to the aid of those who adhere to teachings, regardless of temptations.

Salman Khan house attack: new case registered, one held

The Mumbai Police have initiated a fresh case linked to the shooting incident outside Bollywood actor Salman Khan’s house in April. One person has been arrested from Rajasthan on charges of criminal intimidation, Mumbai police said on Sunday. The accused Banwarilal Laturlal Gujar (25) was arrested from Bundi district. According to police, Mr. Gujar allegedly posted a video on his YouTube channel, claiming association with gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi, Goldy Brar, and other gang members. The video discussing the Bishnoi gang’s plan to kill Mr. Khan was recorded on a highway in Rajasthan and later uploaded on his channel.

Boat capsizes in the Ganga in Patna, four persons missing

Four persons, including a woman, are missing after a boat capsized in the Ganga in Patna on Sunday morning. The boat was said to be carrying about 25 people. It overturned mid-stream in the river during the Ganga Dasara festival. Out of the 25 passengers, 17 were from a family belonging to a village in Nalanda district. Rescue efforts began soon after the incident, and 13 persons have been brought to the shore. On the directions of Patna District Magistrate Shrishat Kapil Ashok, 12 members of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and 30 of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are involved in efforts to trace the missing persons. The incident took place at Umanghat in Barh, where a large number of people had gathered to bathe on the banks of the Ganga.

Regional

- Water war spills out on to streets of Delhi; Jal Board office ‘vandalised’

- EPS justifies move to boycott Vikravandi bypoll, says DMK will do anything to win

- T.N.: BJP hopeful of keeping NDA intact till Assembly poll

- Do not touch OBC quota, ex-BJP MLA warns Shinde govt.

- Nagaland civic polls: 3 Congress candidates elected unopposed

- Former AAP MLA joins BJP, says ruling party heading to its decline

- Jharkhand CM says govt. mulling farm loan waiver up to ₹2 lakh

- Five killed as two cars plunge into gorges in Uttarakhand

- Death toll in explosives factory blast rises to nine

- NRI assault case: Punjab police file Zero FIR

- Maharashtra: meat shop sealed for ‘hurting’ religious feelings

- CPI(M) begins post-poll stocktaking exercise

- Veil blows off palatial constructions at Rushikonda

- 3 BJP leaders arrested after communal tensions in Medak

- 4 from Kerala held for robbery attempt on Salem-Kochi Highway

- Rebels reject new circular on synod Mass liturgy in Kerala

- Siddaramaiah defends hike in fuel prices in Karnataka

- Probe activities of TTD during Jagan’s regime: BJP leader

- Suresh Gopi showers more praise on Indira Gandhi

- Police recover clothes, shoes Darshan wore on the night of Renukaswamy’s murder

- Five cows die in Kollam after they were fed porotta

- BJP to lay siege to CM’s residence

The Hindu Bureau

New Delhi

BJP stages protests across Capital over water crisis, says not in support of violence but people are angry

BJP leaders and workers taking part in a protest over the water crisis in New Delhi on Sunday. Shashi Shekhar KashyapSHASHI SHEKHAR KASHYAP

Delhi Water Minister Atishi on Sunday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of vandalising a Delhi Jal Board (DJB) office, and said some people “intentionally” damaged a pipeline to disrupt water supply to parts of south Delhi. The BJP countered the allegations and said people of Chhatarpur grew restless during a protest and threw an earthen pot, resulting in the breaking of a glass door in the DJB office.

While, Ms. Atishi did not specify who damaged the main pipeline supplying water to south Delhi from Sonia Vihar, she told reporters that people associated with the BJP had taken photos of it, and asked if they had any role in it.

The BJP trashed the accusations while claiming that the incident at the DJB office in south Delhi was the result of people’s restlessness over the water shortage caused by the “negligence” of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the Capital.

Both parties sparred over the issue as the BJP held “matka phod” protests across the city, with its workers smashing earthen pots to the ground over the water crisis.

While the BJP has been blaming AAP leaders’ “connivance with the tanker mafia” for the crisis, Ms. Atishi has repeatedly accused the BJP-ruled Haryana of not releasing the city’s share of water in the Yamuna river through the Munak canal.

The Delhi government had on Saturday urged Haryana to release water into the canal on “humanitarian grounds”.

Ms. Atishi rold reporters that the Capital is being kept parched under a conspiracy by the BJP. “The first part of the conspiracy was reducing Delhi’s water through its government in Haryana,” she alleged.

“…and then, the BJP sent its goons to the DJB office to create a ruckus,” the Minister added. The Minister said DJB officials will file a police complaint in this regard. “Will the Delhi Police register an FIR? Will the Delhi Lieutenant-Governor take action?” she asked.

Ms. Atishi also wrote to Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora, requesting the deployment of security personnel to protect major water pipelines for the next 15 days.

‘MLAs evading people’

Reacting to it, Delhi BJP vice-president and Kalkaji councillor Yogita Singh said it’s shameful that Ms. Atishi is labelling people protesting against the water shortage as “goons”.

“The BJP does not approve of any kind of violence but whatever happened today was not a case of violence. Entire south Delhi has been parched for days now,” she said.

EPS justifies move to boycott Vikravandi bypoll, says DMK will do anything to win

The Hindu Bureau

MADURAI

Chidambaram’s remark that AIADMK decided to boycott the bypoll on BJP’s command is baseless, says Edappadi K. Palaniswami.LAKSHMI NARAYANAN E

The AIADMK’s general secretary, Edappadi K Palaniswami, on Sunday justified his party’s decision to boycott the byelection to the Vikravandi Assembly constituency, slated for July 10. “We made the decision due to fears of enormous use of money and muscle power by the ruling DMK to influence voters,” he told journalists here.

He said the people had witnessed how the DMK “manipulated voters” in the byelection to the Erode (East) Assembly constituency last year to ensure victory for the candidate of its ally, the Congress.

“Using Ministers and their power, they will go to any extent to retain the Vikravandi constituency. So, we do not want to field our candidates,” he said.

He dismissed as “baseless” senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram’s remark that the AIADMK decided to boycott the byelection on the BJP’s command.

Answering questions on the AIADMK’s failure to win even a single seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, he said, “People know the difference between Assembly and General elections. For instance, the DMK won 38 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, but failed to cross the 200-seat mark in the 2021 Assembly election. This shows that one election does not influence another.”

In 2021, the AIADMK-led alliance broke the DMK’s confidence by winning 75 Assembly constituencies. This shows that no party can remain in power forever, he added.

Referring to the 1991 Assembly election wherein the DMK won only two seats, he asked, “Did the DMK not perform well after this [1991] election?”.

“We have ample examples to show how parties that had failed miserably rose to power in the subsequent elections,” he said.

He pointed out that in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the AIADMK had performed better than its rivals in Assembly segments such as Vilathikulam and Tirukovilur, which are represented by Ministers. “The people’s decision will be revealed when the AIADMK alliance secures a massive victory in 2026,” he added.

Meanwhile, the AIADMK’s deputy floor leader in the Assembly, R.B. Udhayakumar, told The Hindu that the party’s high-level committee chose not to contest in the byelection after discussing the situation. “This is not the first time. In 2009, Amma [late Jayalalithaa], at a meeting in Kodanad, told us that akin to how a message is conveyed by contesting [in an election], boycotting sends a message to the people too,” he recalled.

Asked if the AIADMK boycotting the byelection would strengthen the BJP’s claim that it was the true Opposition to the DMK in the State, he pointed out that “the BJP was only supporting the PMK candidate” in the bypoll.

Parties have a separate strategy not only for the Parliamentary and the Legislative elections, but also for bypolls, he said.

T.N.: BJP hopeful of keeping NDA intact till Assembly poll

Udhav Naig, N. Sai Charan

CHENNAI

With the BJP deciding to back PMK’s candidate C. Anbumani in the byelection to the Vikravandi Assembly constituency, slated for July 10, the focus is on whether the NDA – which polled about 18% of the votes in the 2024 Lok Sabha election – would remain intact for the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly election.

Recently, PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss had said that his party wanted to form a ‘coalition government’ in Tamil Nadu, without the support of the DMK and the AIADMK. BJP State president K. Annamalai too spoke on the same lines after the Lok Sabha election results were declared. PMK’s senior leaders maintain that the decision to field Mr. Anbumani was a “strategy meant for the bypoll”.

“We have a strong base in Vikravandi. Who will the voters of the AIADMK [which has decided to boycott the byelection] vote for? I don’t think they will vote for the DMK. We expect the AIADMK votes to come to us. We will put up a strong fight,” a PMK leader said. “The PMK continues to be with the NDA and this is our decision for this byelection. As for the future, we will take a call later,” a PMK leader said.

‘People unhaapy’

The BJP, which endeavours to project its alliance as the alternative to the two Dravidian majors, is hopeful of keeping its political formation intact. Its state vice president, Narayanan Thirupathy, said, “The people of Tamil Nadu are unhappy with the ruling DMK government. The deteriorating law and order and rising unemployment are major causes of concern for the people. Besides, despite having over 60 MLAs in the Assembly, the AIADMK failed to perform its duty as the principal Opposition party. The people have forgotten the AIADMK and found the BJP as the alternative.”

Mr. Thirupathy said the NDA had pushed the AIADMK to the third spot in nearly 80 Assembly segments in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. “Our alliance will remain intact, and we will face the 2026 Assembly election together to defeat the Dravidian majors,” he said.

Do not touch OBC quota, ex-BJP MLA warns

Snehal Mutha

Mumbai

Leaders of the Other Backward Classes (OBC) issued a warning to the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Mahayuti government on Sunday, with former BJP MLA Prakash Shendge saying that there would be “repercussions” in the upcoming Assembly election in Maharashtra if the government tampered with reservations for OBCs.

“Only those who champion the cause of OBC welfare shall govern this State. If the government dares to not revoke the Government Resolution that placed Marathas under OBC reservation, then we will bring them down in the upcoming election,” said Mr. Shendge, who is the founder of the OBC Bahujan Party.

“We supported Maratha reservations when they were given 10% quota beyond the 50% limit, and now they seek Kunbi certificates, EWS reservations, and inclusion under OBC category. What about the future of OBC children? Without a written assurance protecting OBC reservations, none of us will participate in discussions. This movement isn’t just local; it will spread throughout Maharashtra,” said Mr. Shendge in Wadigodri village, Jalna, a kilometre away from where Maratha activist Manoj Jarange-Patil staged an indefinite protest on June 8.

Mr. Jarange, who suspended his hunger strike on June 13 following discussions with State Minister Shamburaj Desai and Shiv Sena MP-elect from Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar Sandipan Bhumre, had demanded Maratha reservations under the OBC Kunbi category and the implementation of a draft notification benefiting relatives of Marathas already recognised as Kunbi OBCs.

“Do not provoke the OBCs,” added Mr. Shendge, pointing out that members of the OBC communities are more in number, and with the inclusion of tribal and Muslim populations, hold sway over who is voted to the State Assembly.

Nagaland civic polls: 3 Congress candidates elected unopposed

The Hindu Bureau

GUWAHATI

The tide seems to be turning for the Congress in Nagaland, a State where it had been almost wiped out before the Lok Sabha election on April 19.

Three Congress candidates were elected unopposed in the urban local body polls for Mokokchung district’s Tuli Town Council on June 15. They are Imlionen Longkumer from Ward no. 5, Temsumenba Imsong from Ward no. 6, and K. Imlitemjen Jamir from Ward no. 8.

Their unopposed victory followed that of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Visheli Zhimo (Ward no. 1) and Kakheka Zhimomi (Ward no. 9) in the Niuland Town Council on June 11.

Seyievino Vitsu, a candidate of the ruling Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party, was also declared elected unopposed from Ward no. 7 in the Medziphema Town Council on June 13.

Defying odds

The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee congratulated the three successful candidates, saying that their unopposed win was significant after party candidate S. Supongmeren Jamir defied the odds to win Nagaland’s lone Lok Sabha seat. “We welcome the vote of confidence and anticipate many more such victories throughout the State during the upcoming elections,” the party said in a statement Saturday evening.

Altogether, 669 candidates had filed their nominations for wards in three municipal councils – Dimapur, Kohima, and Mokokchung – and 36 town councils of Nagaland for the civic polls scheduled on June 26.

The Hindu Bureau

New Delhi

Nitin Tyagi-

Former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislator Nitin Tyagi on Sunday joined the BJP, alleging that Delhi’s ruling party is heading towards its political decline as the focus of its leaders has now shifted to “personal gain” from people’s welfare.

The former Laxmi Nagar MLA was inducted into the BJP in the presence of the party’s Delhi unit chief Virendra Sachdeva and Union Minister Harsh Malhotra.

Mr. Tyagi was suspended from AAP following allegations of “anti-party” activities in the just-concluded Lok Sabha poll. He had spoken on social media platforms against the ruling outfit’s several policy decisions.

Mr. Tyagi said even speaking truth is now being considered and “anti-party activity” in AAP. “People are deserting them due to their politics of corruption and plunder,” he said.

The leader said the Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led party, which came into being in 2012 following social activist Anna Hazare’s movement against corruption, had promised to work for people’s welfare.

“But Arvind Kejriwal’s current movement is for personal gain,” he added.

Jharkhand CM says govt. mulling farm loan waiver up to ₹2 lakh

Press Trust of India

Jamshedpur/Seraikela

Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren on Sunday said his coalition government is considering the possibility of waiving farm loans up to ₹2 lakh, building upon a previous waiver of ₹40,000, and raising the free electricity quota from 125 units to 200.

Addressing a meeting at Gandhi Maidan in Jamshedpur to inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of development projects, Mr. Soren emphasised the government’s commitment to supporting unemployed youth by offering loans of ₹25 lakh with a 40% subsidy to initiate businesses for sustainable livelihoods.

‘Hiring under way’

The Chief Minister assured that the recruitment process for 40,000 assistant teachers is under way and will be completed by September, with tribal and regional language teacher recruitment slated to commence next month.

Five killed as two cars plunge into gorges in Uttarakhand

A day after 14 tourists were killed after a van fell into a gorge in Uttarakhand’s Rudraprayag district, five people lost their lives in separate accidents as two cars plunged into gorges in different areas of the State’s Pauri district on Sunday. The dead included three minor girls, officials said. While one accident was reported from Khirsu Chaubatta, the other occurred near Dudhrakhal in the Satpuli area. The officials said in Khirsu Chaubatta, four out of seven people were killed after their car veered off the road and fell into a 200-metre-deep gorge.PTi

Death toll in explosives factory blast rises to nine

Press Trust of India

Nagpur

The death toll in the blast at an explosives factory in Maharashtra’s Nagpur has gone up to nine, with the last surviving person succumbing to his injuries, officials said on Sunday.

Pramod Chavare died of his burn injuries at a private medical facility here on Saturday night, Dande Hospital’s director Dr. Pinak Dande said.

Six injured persons had died during treatment on Thursday, when the blast occurred, while three succumbed to injuries later.

The blast at Chamundi Explosives Pvt Ltd in Dhamna village occurred on Thursday, around 25 km from the city.

While six people died during treatment on Thursday, three others succumbed over the last two days.

The blast took place around 1 pm on Thursday at the Chamundi Explosives Pvt. Ltd. in Dhamna village under Hingna police station limits, around 25 km from the city.

NRI assault case: Punjab police file Zero FIR

Press Trust of India

Chandigarh

The Punjab police on Sunday registered a Zero FIR in connection with an alleged assault on a Punjab-origin non-resident Indian, who claimed he was thrashed by a group of men after a fight over parking space in Himachal Pradesh’s Dalhousie.

Punjab NRI Affairs Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal also wrote to Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, requesting him for a thorough inquiry into the incident.

‘Targeted over identity’

Kawaljit Singh, a resident of Spain who is currently receiving treatment for his injuries at a hospital in Amritsar, had alleged he and his wife were attacked by over a 100 people in Dalhousie following an argument over parking a few days ago due to his “Punjabi identity”. The Himachal Pradesh police, however, said the incident was not linked with any “inter-community” dispute.

Maharashtra: meat shop sealed for ‘hurting’ religious feelings

The Navi Mumbai Police have sealed a meat shop after it was alleged that a religious name had been painted on a goat brought there for slaughter, an official said on Sunday. Acting on a complaint, the police on Saturday sealed the shop at CBD Belapur and registered a case against three persons, including its owners and a worker, he said. The three — Mohammad Shafi Sheikh, Sajid Shafi Sheikh, Kuyyam — have been booked under Section 295 (A) of the IPC for hurting religious sentiments and under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, he said, adding that the police have also taken up the matter with civic authorities for cancellation of the shop’s licence.PTI

CPI(M) begins post-poll stocktaking exercise

G. Anand

Thiruvananthapuram

CPI(M) leaders Sitaram Yechury, M.A. Baby and party MP-elect K. Radhakrishnan during an event in Thrissur. X/@SitaramYechury

Faced with a reversal of fortunes in the Lok Sabha election in Kerala, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] top leadership convened here on Sunday to sift through the reasons of defeat as part of a five-day stocktaking exercise.

The presence of CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury and Polit Bureau member Prakash Karat underscored the significance of the meetings, which will conclude on Wednesday.

The party is reportedly examining reports from 20 Lok Sabha constituency committees and 14 district committees in detail.

The CPI(M) appeared particularly taken aback by a perceived rightward drift in the Backward Class, Dalit, and a section of Christian voters, which some believe had seriously undercut the Left Democratic Front’s political support in large swathes of the State and advantaged the BJP in the Thrissur constituency and gave the latter a clear lead in 11 Assembly segments.

Notably, the CPI(M)’s post-poll analysis meetings unfolded against the backdrop of criticism that the government’s “omissions and commissions” had paved the way for the United Democratic Front’s stunning victory and the BJP’s good showing at the hustings.

Indian Union Muslim League State president Sadikali Shihab Thangal had pointedly accused the CPI(M) of allowing the BJP to gain a toehold in Kerala.

SNDP leader’s criticism

At the other end of the political spectrum, Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam leader Vellappally Natesan said the CPI(M) sway towards minorities had pushed backward classes and Dalit communities to the BJP.

In a grievance-ridden screed published in the social organisation’s mouthpiece Yoganadam, Mr. Natesan cautioned that the CPI(M)’s electoral prospects would lie in tatters if the party continued disregarding its core support base. He also called for a socio-economic survey of the Backward Classes and Scheduled Castes among the Hindus to “have an understanding of the inequalities they face”.

The CPI(M) would also reportedly consider whether the Lok Sabha poll results were an oblique referendum on the Pinarayi Vijayan government. CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan had blamed the party’s poor showing at the hustings on capitalist-bourgeoise drift in the “second Pinarayi Vijayan government” and “misplaced governance priorities”, including non-payment of social welfare pensions.

Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan seized on the statement to allege that Mr. Govindan and the Chief Minister were poles apart on the reasons for the LDF’s defeat.

Veil blows off palatial constructions at Rushikonda

The Hindu Bureau

VISAKHAPATNAM

Stunning extravaganza: The inner view of the constructions at Rushikonda in Visakhapatnam. V. RAJU

Lifting the veil of secrecy over the constructions on top of the iconic Rushikonda Hill adjacent to the sea in Visakhapatnam, the TDP’s Bheemunipatnam MLA-elect, Ganta Srinivasa Rao, along with cadres of the party and the Janasena Party (JSP), barged into the controversial site on Sunday and was “aghast at the sight of the opulent buildings that resembled more of a residence-cum-camp office of the Chief Minister rather than tourism resorts as had been claimed by the previous YSRCP government”.

Mr. Srinivasa Rao and his supporters checked each and every room in all the seven blocks, which were reportedly constructed at a whopping cost of ₹500 crore.

Mr. Srinivasa Rao, who was accompanied by Janasena Bheemunipatnam in-charge Panchakarla Sandeep, first entered the block touted to be the Chief Minister’s residence, where they saw plush living rooms, bedrooms, washrooms, kitchen, furniture, lights, interior decors, landscaping, and elevators.

“These buildings resemble a Chief Minister’s residence and camp office. They do not have living rooms meant for tourists as in three-star or five-star hotels at all. The YSRCP government cheated people by claiming that the constructions are in fact resorts, or a five-star hotel,” the TDP leader said.

The then Opposition leader N. Chandrababu Naidu and Janasena chief Pawan Kalyan were not allowed to enter the site, and a number of cases had been booked against the TDP and Janasena activists, Mr. Srinivasa Rao alleged.

“There will be no objection when a Chief Minister wants to have a camp office at any place in the State. But what former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has done is undemocratic. Initially, the YSRCP government said it was a five-star resort. The previous dispensation destroyed the scenic Rushikonda, where ‘Saptha Rushis’ were believed to have meditated,” the TDP leader said.

There should be transparency in the constructions undertaken by the government, and its estimates should be revealed. “But the YSRCP government maintained secrecy. Moreover, there are a number of violations in the construction of this ‘Raja Mahal’. This may be the most controversial constructions in India,” Mr. Srinivasa Rao said.

“Mr. Naidu, who took over as Chief Minister recently, will be arriving in Visakhapatnam in a few days. He will visit Rushikonda and decide what can be done with these lavish constructions,” he added. “It will be a Herculean task for the government to bring them to public use,” Mr. Srinivasa Rao opined.

3 BJP leaders arrested after communal tensions in Medak

The Hindu Bureau

HYDERABAD

The police say a clash broke out after a madrasa in the town bought cattle ahead of Id-ul-Azha ; members of a local group created a ruckus, injured a few persons, and attacked a hospital

Unease in the air: After the communal violence in Medak town, a bandh was enforced on Sunday. MOHD. ARIFMOHD ARIF

The Medak police arrested BJP district president Gaddam Srinivas, BJP town president M. Nayam Prasad, Yuva Morcha district president and seven others in connection with the communal violence in the town in Telangana on Saturday. The police said there would be more arrests.

The police said the management of a madrasa had bought cattle ahead of Id-ul-Azha. The situation became tense after members of a local group created a ruckus near the madrasa, injuring a number of people from the institution.

After they were shifted to a nearby hospital, the mob went there and caused damage by throwing stones. The police resorted to a lathi-charge to disperse the mob. Night patrolling was intensified on Saturday night.

The police invoked Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure near Ramdas Chowrasta in Medak town.

Superintendent of Police B. Bala Swamy said the restrictions on gathering would be in place till Sunday night.

Raja Singh detained

Following the incident, the Telangana police took into preventive custody the BJP legislator from Goshamahal, T. Raja Singh, at the airport in Hyderabad on Sunday.

Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar on Sunday asked top police officials to investigate the communal incidents in Medak over the past couple of days and told them to act impartially against the culprits. The Minister sought details of the incidents, and said those responsible for breaking the law and vitiating communal amity would have to be dealt with severely. The police should stand by the victims affected by the violence and not hesitate to act against those involved in anti-social activities.

He, however, said the police should not foist cases on the innocent.

4 from Kerala held for robbery attempt on Salem-Kochi Highway

The Hindu Bureau

COIMBATORE

Terror on the road: A screengrab of the assailants trying to attack Siddique’s car on the Salem-Kochi Highway.

The Coimbatore District Police on Sunday arrested four persons, who were part of a gang that waylaid a Kerala-bound car on the Salem–Kochi highway in the early hours of Friday and attempted to attack three passengers with weapons.

Coimbatore Superintendent of Police V. Badrinarayanan said that the police had also identified four other persons who were involved in the incident. The arrested persons are K. Sivadas, 29; Ramesh Babu, 27; and M. Vishnu, 28 from Chittur; and M. Ajay, 24, from Nallepilly. Both the places are in Kerala’s Palakkad district.

According to the police, the assailants had chased the car of the complainant, Aslam Siddique, 27, of Ernakulam, in three vehicles and attacked it with weapons, 200 metres before a toll plaza near Madukkarai. However, Mr. Siddique and two of his friends managed to speed away, knocking down the doors of a vehicle, which the assailants had used to waylay Mr. Siddique’s car. Videos of the assailants chasing and attacking the car, captured by the rear and the dash cameras of Mr. Siddique’s car, were widely circulated on social media.

The police said that when Mr. Siddique managed to reach the toll plaza, the assailants stopped chasing him and fled.

Mr. Siddique and his friends narrated the incident to the highway police after crossing the plaza. “It was found that the accused had received information that the targeted car was carrying unaccounted cash. However, the information seemed to have been wrong,” said Mr. Badrinarayanan.

The police did not find any unaccounted cash in Mr. Siddique’s car. It was learnt that Mr. Siddique, who is into advertising business, was returning from Bengaluru after purchasing computers and peripherals. Besides arresting the four men from their native district, the police seized the three cars used by the gang. Vishnu was serving in the Army, and had come to his native on leave on April 4.

Rebels reject synod’s latest circular on Mass in Kerala

The Hindu Bureau

KOCHI

Burning with ire: A rebel group of the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese burn a circular on Sunday. H. VIBHU

Copies of a circular ordering the clergy of the Syro-Malabar Church to follow the Syrian Catholic synod-prescribed Mass liturgy from July 3 were set on fire, dropped in water, and even thrown into waste bins as a large group of rebel lay community protested against the diktat and reiterated their intention to stick to the full people-facing Mass even after the deadline. The circular was issued by Major Archbishop Raphael Thattil and archdiocesan administrator Bosco Puthur.

It was meant to be read out during the Sunday Mass. Riju Kanjookkaran, spokesman for the rebel group Almaya Munnettam (Lay People to the Fore), said the circular was not read out as ordered in 321 churches in the archdiocese of Ernakulam- Angamaly.

While protesting lay people burnt copies of the circular in front of many churches after the Sunday Mass, members of the historic Udayamperoor synod church dumped copies in the backwaters and members of a church in the heart of Kochi dumped the copies in waste bins as a mark of defiance.

Siddaramaiah defends hike in fuel prices in Karnataka

The Hindu Bureau

Bengaluru

A day after the Karnataka government increased petrol and diesel prices by about ₹3 each, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah defended the hike and blamed the Centre for forcing the State to cut sales tax during the earlier years, while it continued to increase the Central excise duty on petroleum products.

In a note, he said that while under the “double engine BJP government” Karnataka was forced to reduce the tax, the Centre continued to collect higher Central excise duty from the State, and diverted the resources to other States. This had affected Karnataka’s tax collection ability and had betrayed Kannadigas, he alleged.

He explained that the then BJP government imposed a sales tax of 35% on petrol and 24% on diesel in April 2021. “After the Centre reduced taxes, the State also reduced tax on petrol to 25.92% and on diesel to 14.34%. However, neighbouring Kerala, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu did not reduce the tax.”

The current prices of petrol and diesel in Bengaluru are ₹102.86 and ₹88.94, respectively. Annually, the State collects about ₹20,000 crore as tax on petrol and diesel.

Probe activities of TTD during Jagan’s regime: BJP leader

The Hindu Bureau

VIJAYAWADA

BJP spokesman and former member of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Trust Board G. Bhanu Prakash Reddy has demanded a judicial inquiry into the activities of the TTD in the past five years.

Addressing mediapersons here on Sunday, he alleged that the previous Jagan Mohan Reddy government had misused the revenue of the TTD and tried to “capture the properties” of the world famous temple.

He said the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) leaders converted the TTD into their fiefdom, and accused Trust Board former chairman Bhumana Karunakar Reddy of taking commissions in the development works. He alleged that the YSRCP leaders had facilitated various Arjitha sevas at the temple for their near and dear ones through questionable means.

Mr. Bhanu Reddy advised Mr. Jagan Reddy not to make baseless charges against the government formed by the TDP-BJP-JSP alliance, having been taught a befitting lesson in the elections for his “atrocious rule”. The new government would fulfil its commitments in due course, he added.

Suresh Gopi showers more praise on Indira Gandhi

Union Minister of State for Tourism, Petroleum and Natural Gas Suresh Gopi on Sunday reiterated his admiration for former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, clarifying that his earlier comments about the Congress leader had been misinterpreted. “Indira Gandhi is the real and only architect of India, post-Independence and until her demise,” he told mediapersons during a reception accorded to him at the BJP district committee office in Thiruvananthapuram. He went on to add: “Her administrative efforts cannot be ignored. I cannot ignore a leader who had sincerely toiled for the country only because she belonged to a rival party. My Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a similar stance when he had called her an Iron Lady in Parliament.” His remarks came a day after he raised eyebrows by referring to the former PM as “Mother of India” in Thrissur.

Police seize clothes Darshan wore on night of murder

The Bengaluru Police, probing the murder of Renukaswamy, who was allegedly tortured and killed by a gang including Kannada actor Darshan, said they have recovered potentially critical evidence against the actor on Sunday. The police are said to have recovered the clothes and shoes that the actor was wearing when the crime was committed. The police conducted mahazar at the residences of Darshan and his close friend Pavithra Gowda. The police seized the clothes and shoes both were allegedly wearing during the crime from their respective houses, sources said. The police hope that the clothes and the shoes may have some traces of the victim’s blood or tissue, which, if found, will be crucial evidence that Darshan himself assaulted the victim, said sources. Darshan has been claiming that while he did meet the victim at the shed, he warned him not to send obscene messages henceforth.

‘Overfed’ on parottas, five cows die in Kollam

The Hindu Bureau

KOLLAM

Five cows died and nine head of cattle fell ill on a farm at Velinallur after the animals were “fed too many parottas”.

Minister for Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development J. Chinchurani, who visited the farm on Sunday, said that the dairy farmer would be given compensation.

An autopsy conducted by the department found that the cows died due to metabolic toxaemia and dehydration subsequent to lactic acidosis after they consumed too many parottas and jackfruit.

BJP to lay siege to CM’s residence

The Hindu Bureau

Bengaluru

The BJP, which has announced a Statewide protest on Monday against the increase in fuel prices, on Sunday said the hike was part of a series effected by the Congress government in the past one year.

As part of the protest, the BJP plans to lay siege to the official residence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Bengaluru.

Science

- Indirect evidence builds, yet the ‘dark’ universe remains murky

- BIG SHOT

- Electromagnet: driven by current

Indirect evidence builds, yet the ‘dark’ universe remains murky

By mapping the position of thousands of galaxies over many years, we can keep measuring how much the universe’s expansion is accelerating due to dark energy. But for now, we have no choice but to draw all our inferences about dark matter and dark energy from indirect evidence alone

1 of 2 The Bullet Cluster formed after the collision of two large clusters of galaxies. Most of the matter in the clusters (blue) is clearly separate from the normal matter (pink), indicating that nearly all of the matter in the clusters is dark. NASA/CXC/CfA/M. Markevitch NASA/CXC/CfA/M. Markevitch

2 of 2 The general theory of relativity refines Isaac Newton’s laws and provides a unified description of gravity as a geometric property of spacetime

The general theory of relativity has been very successful at explaining gravity and an astonishing array of other related phenomena, such as gravitational waves, gravitational lensing, gravitational red shift, the existence of black holes, and time dilation. This theory refines Isaac Newton’s laws and provides a unified description of gravity as a geometric property of spacetime.

We have observed gravity operating at different scales, from microscopic to macroscopic. But as we zoom out to look at the universe as a whole, it seems as if space is permeated with a mysterious form of gravity-defying energy. This so-called dark energy — which physicists have come to believe is made up 70% of energy that the Big Bang blew out 13.8 billion years ago — creates a sort of negative pressure that stretches the fabric of spacetime and allows celestial objects like stars and galaxies to drift apart. This is in contrast to the Newtonian idea of gravity: as an attractive force that causes objects to come closer together.

In places with lots of matter, gravity has more of an effect than dark energy. But when space is empty of matter, dark energy dominates.

A ‘hidden’ universe

Similarly, based on some cosmological observations, researchers have proposed the presence of an invisible form of matter called dark matter. In fact, 44 years ago this month, astronomer Vera Rubin published her famous paper with indirect evidence about the need for dark matter.

Theories of gravity say the rotation rate is highest near the galaxies’ centre and lowest at the outer rim. Yet scientists like Dr. Rubin found many rotating galaxies in which the velocities of the stars didn’t decrease away from the galactic centre. One way to explain this is if the galaxy had more matter than was visible, exerting more gravitational force that pushed stars at the rim to move faster than they would otherwise. This additional matter is dark matter.

Both dark matter and dark energy are assumptions. They have a very strong hypothetical basis but we haven’t been able to find physical evidence of them. Scientists postulated the existence of these two entities so that they can explain their observations without having to break the general theory of relativity.

Not all scientists agree with this approach. Some have attempted to create an alternate paradigm of gravity — one in which some unknown properties of the force could cause the observed phenomena without invoking dark matter or dark energy.

However, these alternatives suffer from an important problem: they don’t explain away all the disparities, whereas the dark matter and dark energy hypotheses do.

What have we found?

If we need to fully understand the general theory of relativity, we need to figure out what dark matter and dark energy are. Many researchers are working on this around the world, including in India.

Their studies make heavy use of simulations to understand how the universe would look if there were certain kinds of dark matter or dark energy. For example, a study published on April 16 in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society by researchers in the U.S. reported being able to explain the observed behaviour of real galaxies and the motions of their stars and gases in simulations that assumed the galaxies contain dark matter.

We also have telescopes constantly making new observations of space. They have been becoming more sophisticated, allowing scientists to collect more fine-tuned data they can use to improve their theories.

For example, an April 11 paper in The Astrophysical Journal Letters reported that the James Webb Space Telescope had observed indirect evidence of normal regular and dark matter in the ring of an old galaxy named JWST-ER1g.

When looking for something that is really hard to find, it’s also useful if researchers share information about where they couldn’t find dark matter, allowing others to focus on places where it can be. On March 28, for example, scientists published the first results of the Broadband Search for Dark Photon Dark Matter (BREAD) experiment. The preliminary data ruled out dark-matter particles in a certain mass range.

Turning on lambda

Similarly, the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) in Arizona, in the U.S.,is attempting to make the largest 3D map of the universe.

This mountain-top telescope is fitted with 5,000 small robots that help it look 11 billion years into the past with greater precision than before.

So far, data from DESI has agreed at a basic level with the CDM model of the universe, our best mathematical model to explain the Big Bang and the universe today. ‘CDM’ is short for ‘cold dark matter’.

(lambda) is the cosmological constant: it represents the energy density of space and is closely associated with dark energy. It appears in equations of the general theory of relativity. Some studies have found that dark energy might be changing with time, which is at odds with assumptions of the CDM model.

In fact, also makes a surprising appearance in the modified theories of gravity that some researchers have been working on. One of them is MOND, an acronym of ‘modified Newtonian dynamics’. It doesn’t require the existence of dark energy; instead, it proposes that when gravity is weak, such as at the outer rims of large galaxies, it also behaves differently. While it enjoys some popularity, one research group reported on April 5 that data from the Cassini mission (1997-2017) showed no sign that Saturn’s orbit had a slight deviation that MOND says there should be.

By mapping the position of thousands of galaxies over many years, we can keep measuring how much the universe’s expansion is accelerating due to dark energy. But for now, we have no choice but to draw all our inferences about dark matter and dark energy from indirect evidence alone.

(Qudsia Gani is an assistant professor in the Department of Physics, Government Degree College Pattan, Baramulla.)

Paris residentVincent displays a 3D printed rocket wing he made at home on June 1. These parts are meant for the Ukrainian military. A few French people have been making 3D-printed military equipment on a voluntary basis and aiding Ukraine outside of official channels. Items being printed include periscopes, grenade casings, and drone parts. AFP GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT

The Hindu Bureau

The stator of a vacuum cleaner showing two electromagnets. Marrrci (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Invented in 1824 by the British physicist William Sturgeon, electromagnets are a fixture of modern life, appearing in loudspeakers, motors, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines, maglev trains, and particle accelerators.

When an electric current flows through a wire, it creates a magnetic field around the wire. So when the wire is coiled, the magnetic field becomes concentrated in the coil’s hole. This is an electromagnet: a device in which an electric current produces the magnetic field. When the wire is coiled around a magnetic material, the material — called the core — amplifies the strength of the magnetic field.

This is because ferromagnetic metals like iron already contain small magnetic fields inside their bulk produced by its atoms. Because these fields point in random directions, the fields cancel themselves out. When the iron is used as the core in an electromagnet and a current is passed, the magnetic field it produces penetrates the iron’s bulk and forces the tiny fields to align along the external field’s direction. This way, the domains’ fields add to the external field, producing a stronger field overall.

A magnetic field will be produced as long as a current flows through the coil. When the current is switched off, some core materials remain weakly magnetised. In a superconducting electromagnet, such as in an MRI, superconducting wire is coiled around a core to produce magnetic fields of up to 30 tesla (600,000-times as powerful as the earth’s). In Bitter electromagnets, current flows in wires coiled through a helical stack of electromagnets, producing magnetic fields of up to 40 tesla.

Edit

- The general election of 2024, its true verdict

- High Court’s take on Marriage Act, an erosion of rights

- letters to the editor

- Criminalising words

- Two steps back

- data point

- Under Kafala, workers are dispensable

- More than that meets the eye

- fifty years ago Month x, xxxx

- a hundred years ago Month x, xxxx

- On the size of council of ministers

- What is SWM cess and why is it levied on waste generators?

- Is Pakistan using a firewall to censor social media platforms?

- The DAILY QUIZ

- covernote

The general election of 2024, its true verdict

M.K. Narayanan is a former Director, Intelligence Bureau, a former National Security Adviser, and a former Governor of West Bengal

Many iterations of the verdict in the just concluded 2024 general election exist. One thing is, however, obvious — viz., that there were no clear winners. The election threw up a split verdict — the National Democratic Alliance, or NDA, 294, and the INDIA bloc crossing the 230 mark, reversing a trend seen during the 2014 and 2019 general elections, when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as a clear winner and Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the messiah.

Has democracy won?

A lot has again been written again about the nature of the verdict: primarily, that democracy had won and right-wing forces (more specifically the BJP) had been defeated. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Indian voter, essentially the rural voter, did prove discerning, no doubt, and gave a reasonable opportunity to the Opposition to alter the trajectory of the past decade, by forming a ‘coalition of the willing’. This could then have been viewed as a clear message against ‘authoritarianism’. Instead, a disunited Opposition failed to take advantage of the situation. The INDIA bloc which had failed to firm up a coalition prior to the election, failed once again to unite when the time came for ministry formation post the election. In that sense, the Opposition failed the Indian voter.

The BJP-led alliance managed a slim victory, though the BJP’s tally, of 240, fell well short of a simple majority. The party lost 63 seats as compared to its 2019 tally (303 seats), and was compelled to depend on the Telugu Desam Party, or TDP (16 seats), the Janata Dal (United), or JD(U) (12 seats), the Lok Janshakti Party(Ram Vilas) with five seats and a motley set of other allies to cross the magic figure of 272. The Congress, with 99 seats, and the Samajwadi Party, with 37 seats, reflect, in turn, the nature of the churn that has taken place this time. Nevertheless, it is a mistake, as many analysts have been wont to do, to say that extreme right tendencies have been curbed. For democracy to succeed in such a situation, there was every need for deft handling, and a clear understanding of what requires to be done. What the INDIA bloc gained at the hustings, was lost when the combination failed to ‘seize the moment’, and allowed the BJP to inveigle the TDP and the JD(U) to share the spoils of office. The winner has been the Prime Minister. Narendra Modi, through stratagems, rather than an electoral verdict, achieved his ambition of becoming India’s Prime Minister for the third time.

All that can be said for now, is that the election outcome could possibly lower the risk of the country sliding towards autocracy. How long such a situation will prevail is, however, uncertain. In Prime Minister Modi’s thought processes, the verdict is not a repudiation of his doctrine of how to wield power, though an overwhelming mandate could have helped set the seal on his majoritarian outlook. This can well be discerned from a careful reading of the Prime Minister’s post-election statements. In his third term, the Prime Minister appears set to prove yet again, that he is no consensus builder or that he would give up his polarising views.

Reading the signs

Already, the signs are there for all to see. The new Cabinet and Council of Ministers remain essentially the same. This is as good a sign as any that the Prime Minister does not think it necessary to effect a change or even consult anyone in any such exercise. Again, everything points to the Prime Minister dealing with his new Cabinet and his new Council of Ministers in the same fashion as previously. It appears extremely unlikely that any major shifts from past practices, or in terms of future legislation, will occur. The past practice of asserting arbitrary authority to achieve ends that the Prime Minister considers desirable, is hence, likely to continue. This will remain the Prime Minister’s leitmotif this time around as well.

More to the point, there seems to be little hope that the Prime Minister, while pushing for multi-polarity on the global stage and seeking a greater say for the Global South internationally, would apply the same logic to the situation in India. The Prime Minister does not see the election results as a verdict for a change in direction. Rather, he possibly believes that more of the same might have produced better results. Hence, there is little hope that the Prime Minister would moderate the use of central investigative agencies such as the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate against all and sundry. Again, Mr. Modi will be fixated on urban India, which in this election gave him maximum support. He is unlikely to make concessions to working-class voter families, and informal workers, especially those in the rural areas. The announcement of ‘Kisan Nidhi’ should not, hence, be viewed as a nod in favour of rural farm workers.

A hurt, but not wounded, Narendra Modi is likely to be a far greater threat to democracy and democratic traditions, than was the Mr. Modi at the end of March. Nothing could have been more galling for him — that of his own majority in Varanasi shrank from the more than four lakh votes he got in 2019 to 1.5 lakh votes this time. Equally disappointing would have been the fact that in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP suffered a shock defeat at the hands of the Samajwadi Party (SP). Also after having spent so much time and effort on the Ram Temple issue, the BJP lost the Faizabad seat (where Ayodhya is located), to a relatively unknown opponent from the SP. Even lesser mortals would have reason to feel chagrined that fate had dealt such a cruel blow. Being Modi, he would seek avenues to overcome this insult. Hence, the worst is yet to come.

The Prime Minister was at the G-7 in Italy as an invitee. While accepting the invitation he, no doubt, believed that as India’s third-time Prime Minister, he would have another opportunity to strut on the international stage, as had been the case when the G-20 was held in Delhi in 2023. But knowing the Prime Minister, he will try to convert what in effect was a defeat into victory.

The road ahead

India must be prepared, as there is not much hope, given the disjointed nature of the Opposition. Whether the Opposition and the country can withstand the battering that the Prime Minister is likely to unleash is yet to be seen. Together with announcing a whole new package of programmes aimed at enhancing his stature, the Prime Minister can be expected to be even more intolerant of the Opposition. He is unlikely to tolerate any attempt to moderate some of the actions that he had taken during his previous tenures. The misuse of investigative and other agencies can be expected to continue.

For Mr. Modi, the 2024 Lok Sabha elections were his project, and his project alone. He had invoked god himself to achieve his objective. He is, hence, unlikely to allow mere mortals to checkmate and prevent him from achieving his desired objective. The rural poor may cavil at several of Mr. Modi’s policies, but India Inc. is bound to act as cheerleaders. The United States and the West, in the meantime, can be expected to continue to provide the Prime Minister the kind of international acclaim that he craves.

India’s hopes lie less with a pusillanimous Opposition, than of a division in the NDA, and more so in the BJP itself. In regard to the BJP, the Prime Minister’s refusal to consult with the ‘high priests’ of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has reportedly angered them. This has been the case for some time. If divisions get exacerbated, this could have a material impact on the BJP and its future, but it is uncertain as of now whether, or how, this could happen. Again, with the denting of the Prime Minister’s image as a winner having taken a beating, there is reason to believe that voices are beginning to be raised within the BJP against the Prime Minister’s autocratic attitude and behaviour. The big question mark, nevertheless, is how and whether the Prime Minister can adjust to the reality that he is no god, given that the mandate proved he is not invincible.

High Court’s take on Marriage Act, an erosion of rights

1 of 2 Manuraj Shunmuga- sundaram is a media spokesperson for the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and advocate practising before the High Court of Madras. He appeared for the petitioners in the case where the Madras High Court granted protection to a same-sex couple

2 of 2 Haripriya Venkatakrishnan is an advocate practising before the High Court of Madras

A problematic order from the Madhya Pradesh High Court has given rise to the likelihood of a misinterpretation of the law around inter-faith marriages and a calling into question the scope of the Special Marriage Act, 1954. If unresolved, this could potentially lead to consequences contrary to the objectives of the Act, which sought to provide a viable legal avenue for inter-religious marriages.

The issue has risen out of a petition that sought protection for an inter-faith marriage, jointly filed by an unmarried Hindu-Muslim couple before the Madhya Pradesh High Court. While hearing the arguments, the High Court went into the question of whether such a marriage of “a Muslim boy with a Hindu girl” under the Act would constitute a “valid marriage or not”. The High Court then proceeded to not grant police protection to the unmarried couple on the grounds that theirs would amount to an invalid marriage. By doing so, the High Court has reversed the gains in the jurisprudence on the right to choice of partner and has rewritten the well-settled objectives of the Special Marriage Act.

Erroneous considerations

It is common practice that when a petition seeking police protection is filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the High Court looks into the violation of rights of the petitioners and the extent of threat faced by them. Such petitions are usually filed by couples in inter-faith and inter-caste marriages. However, it is now seen that even in cases of unmarried persons, High Courts have extended them protection after considering the various threats emanating from society. In similar circumstances, Justice N. Anand Venkatesh of the High Court of Madras recognised the precarious situation encountered by same-sex couples and granted police protection to a lesbian couple.

Similarly, the Punjab and Haryana High Court granted police protection to a live-in couple holding that “the key issue at hand is not the legality of the petitioners” relationship, qua which they may be liable for civil as well as criminal consequences in accordance with law, but whether they are entitled to protection of their fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution”.

In contrast, the Madhya Pradesh High Court, without weighing in on the real and apparent dangers faced by an inter-faith couple and adjudicating on the prayer for protection based on a threat assessment, has gone into the merits of an impending marriage itself. Even if the couple does not get their marriage registered, their claim for protection ought to have been decided in accordance with Article 21 of the Constitution, which provides for the protection of the right to life and liberty of an individual.

Dilution of the Special Marriage Act

Another serious concern is that the order passed by the Madhya Pradesh High Court goes against the very basis and objects of the Special Marriage Act. The order refers to a precedent from the Supreme Court of India in Mohammed Salim vs Shamsudeen (2019), a case which dealt with the issue of property succession arising out of a marriage between a Muslim man and Hindu woman under the Mohammedan Laws. This judgment should never have been considered as a precedent in either deciding the validity of an inter-faith marriage or for police protection.

The order also goes into Section 4 of the Special Marriage Act which excludes marriages between persons within the “prohibited degrees of relationship”. The reliance of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on this prohibition is entirely untenable and factually flawed as this provision only bars marriages between those who are related. By doing so, the High Court failed to recognise that the objective of the Act is to facilitate marriage between any two Indian nationals “irrespective of the faith with either party to the marriage may profess”.

The India of today and special marriages

The Madhya Pradesh High Court order assumes importance in the current social and political climate, where there is a real threat of vigilantism against inter-faith and inter-caste marriages, which do not have the sanction of the parents. The love jihad conspiracy, right-wing propaganda and consequent vigilantism have directly challenged our constitutional morality. While these are yet to be resolved, there is also a batch of petitions challenging unconstitutional provisions within the Special Marriage Act, such as prior notice which are pending before the Supreme Court. Tying these together is a common thread of individual autonomy, liberty, and equality. The Supreme Court in Shafin Jahan vs Asokan K.M. (2018), held that “intimacies of marriage lie within a core zone of privacy, which is inviolable”. Dealing with a case of inter-faith marriage, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, as he was then, wrote that “social approval for intimate personal decisions is not the basis for recognising them” and further, that “the Constitution protects personal liberty from disapproving audiences”.

The ratio decidendi of the Shafin Jahan case has the effect of prioritising the absolute right of an individual to choose a life partner over any consideration of faith or caste-based diktats. With the spirit of this judgment having been lost sight of in recent years, it is wholly necessary for constitutional courts across the country to keep in mind that the arc of jurisprudence bends towards autonomy, privacy and liberty.

No to ‘love thy neighbour’

The report, “Residents oppose allotment of flat under CM scheme to a Muslim woman in Gujarat” (Inside pages, June 15), was shocking. There appears to be a weakening of secularity in present-day Indian society. Such a scenario threatens the amicable co-existence of many.

Chetan Datta Poduri,

Hyderabad

It was painful to read that several residents were against the allotment of the flat to the woman. Is Indian society getting balkanised on the basis of caste and religion? Where are we headed? One hopes that the Vadodara Municipal Corporation and saner representatives will prevail upon the residents and convince them that we are all Indians and need to co-exist peacefully.

C.S. Ravikumar,

Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh

State of welfare schemes

A prominent leader of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, while campaigning in Attur, Salem, recently, said that “Telangana and Karnataka have adopted the Chief Minister’s free breakfast scheme for students”. The leader added, “Besides other States, Canada President Justin Trudeau had hailed it as the best scheme and declared its implementation in their country.” One wonders whether the leader knew that the meal scheme was introduced by the leaders, K. Kamaraj and M.G. Ramachandran, who expanded it. The report, “Everyone loves a hot, cheap meal” (Tamil Nadu, June 16), on the state of the Amma Canteens under the DMK regime, was an eye-opener. It is clear that the poor have been affected. If this is the state of the Amma canteens — a scheme by the DMK’s political rival — one wonders what state the DMK’s schemes are in.

N. Mahadevan,

Chennai

Travel notes

The same and embarrassing situation arose when I travelled with my son on a direct flight from Mumbai to San Francisco to meet my granddaughter. It was a short trip.

Being a senior citizen, my seat had been booked in premium economy class, while my son was in economy. Two young lady students, who were pursuing an educational course in the United States, were seated next to me. One of the girls asked me whether I could sit in the middle section so that they could sit together. Given my age — I am 87 years old — and being a very long flight, I politely said, “Very sorry, a window seat will be very comfortable for me.” After reaching San Francisco, I was surprised to know that the two girls were close friends of my granddaughter! An “unexpected connection amid the clouds” (‘Open page – Magazine’, June 16).

D. Sethuraman,

Chennai

Criminalising words

Speeches that do not instigate violence should not be deemed unlawful activity

The grant of sanction to prosecute writer-activist Arundhati Roy and academician Sheikh Showkat Hussain for alleged “unlawful activity” in a case dating back to 2010 is unwarranted. Delhi Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena, who had accorded sanction in October 2023 to prosecute the Booker Prize-winning writer and the former Kashmir University professor, respectively, for allegedly divisive speeches and imputations against national unity, has now given his nod for invoking Section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for the same set of speeches. The earlier sanction order was in his capacity as the appropriate authority on behalf of the Delhi government under Section 196 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The recent one is, presumably, on behalf of the Central government, the appropriate authority to sanction prosecution for offences under Chapter III of the UAPA, under which Section 13 falls. The resurrection of this old case is an unfortunate instance of ill-motivated prosecution. The only possible explanation for the revival of this case, registered on a magistrate court’s order in 2010, is that the present regime has found it expedient only now to do so, as part of its continuing crackdown on dissenters and outspoken critics. The eight-month gap between the two sanction orders is inexplicable, as the same material would have been placed before the sanctioning authority.

The regime at the Centre then did not deem it appropriate to prosecute the speakers at the conference held in Delhi in October 2010. Even though the Bharatiya Janata Party, then in the opposition, pressed for it, the Delhi police did not consider the speeches seditious. Its reluctance was possibly because the Centre did not want to jeopardise efforts to find a solution to the Kashmir problem through designated interlocutors. When a complaint was filed before a Magistrate, the court asked for a police report, but the Delhi police did not think the speeches warranted prosecution for sedition. However, on November 27, 2010, the Metropolitan Magistrate rejected the police stand and directed registration of a First Information Report. The FIR included Section 13 of UAPA, which seeks to punish “unlawful activities”. Speeches made at the conference may have contained imputations about the status of Kashmir, but it is doubtful if a mere speech, in the absence of a call to arms or instigation of violence, would amount to “unlawful activity” under UAPA. In any case, much has changed in the ground situation, especially in the aftermath of the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status in 2019 and its division into two Union Territories. The new coalition regime should move away from the earlier era’s obsession with stamping out dissenting views and put an end to its propensity to criminalise speeches.

Two steps back

India needs to close the gender gap in education and politics

Gender parity may be climbing upwards worldwide with the global gender gap standing at 68.5% closed in 2024, but the glacial pace of change — it was 68.4% in 2023 — is a grim statistic. At this rate, it will take 134 years to reach full parity, the Global Gender Gap report released by the World Economic Forum (WEF) last week pointed out, “roughly five generations beyond the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target”. Iceland maintains its number 1 rank (93.5%), and is also the only economy to have closed over 90% of its gender gap. India has slipped two places to 129 out of 146 countries. Last year, it was ranked 127, after having jumped eight places from 135 in 2022. India has closed 64.1% of its gender gap in 2024, the report noted, leaving policy-makers with a huge window of opportunity to do better. The “slight regression,” according to the report, is mainly due to “small declines” in the spheres of education and political empowerment. With a population of over 140 crore, even two steps back mean staggering numbers. Though India, it pointed out, had shown a slight improvement in economic participation and opportunity for the last few years, it would need 6.2 percentage points more to match its 2012 score of 46%.

One way of achieving the objective will be through bridging gender gaps in, say, the labour force participation rate (45.9%). To do that, a slew of measures must be in place, from ensuring that girls do not drop out of higher education, providing them job skills, ensuring safety at the workplace, and helping them keep a job after marriage by sharing responsibility for chores at home. In education, the gap between men and women’s literacy rate is 17.2 percentage points wide, leaving India ranked 124th on this indicator. India has fared better in the political empowerment index, but women’s representation in Parliament continues to be low. For confirmation, look no further than the newly elected Lok Sabha. Close to 800 women contestants were in the fray, but the number of women Members of Parliament has dipped to 74 from 78 (2019) of 543 members, which is 13.6% of the total. These numbers are not a good sign in the backdrop of the Women’s Reservation Bill, 2023, yet to come into effect, which aims to reserve one-third of the seats in the Lok Sabha and State legislative Assemblies for women. All under-performing countries, including India, must heed WEF Managing Director Saadia Zahidi’s words, calling for “Governments to strengthen the framework conditions needed for business and civil society to work together to make gender parity an economic imperative”.

Rising cases under PoSH Act point to better reporting

Khadija H. Colombowala, Vignesh Radhakrishnan

However, the taboo around reporting sexual harassment in workplaces, which still exists, meant that the figures may be just the tip of an iceberg

More and more women are getting into STEM — Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths — courses in India, resulting in them landing jobs in corporate houses, especially in the IT sector. Hence, the proportion of women in leading corporate firms has increased considerably over time. Yet, attrition rate — the percentage of employees who leave an organisation — is also, in general, higher among women than men. Women leave organisations for many reasons, including societal pressure after marriage, pregnancy, and post-pregnancy work-life balance, reasons that rarely apply to men.

Adding to the list, workplace harassment — verbal, sexual or otherwise — may also play a role in such exits. If the number of cases reported under the PoSH Act is anything to go by, a look at just the figures from the top four IT firms shows that instances are rising again after a brief pause during the pandemic. The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (PoSH Act) was introduced over a decade ago to protect women against workplace sexual harassment.

In Tata Consultancy Services, 110 cases were filed under the PoSH Act in FY24, about eight times more than what it was ten years back. In Infosys, 98 cases were filed in FY24, 3.3 times more compared with FY14. In Wipro, 141 cases were filed in FY23, peaking post the pandemic. In HCL, 55 cases were filed in FY23, while between FY18 and FY22, there were only 58 such cases. Chart 1 shows the number of PoSH complaints filed in select IT companies and the number of complaints upheld. These companies were chosen as a representative sample and also because PoSH data is properly maintained in big organisations.

While the numbers have increased over time, only a few such cases get reported officially. To understand why women, in general, especially those who are married, avoid raising such complaints, it is important to study the environment around them.

For instance, only 57% of men in India think that wives should have an equal or greater say in these decisions — making household purchases, visits to their family/relatives, how to spend the money they earn and how many children to have (Chart 2). Only 42% of women in India are allowed to go alone to specific places such as the market, health facility and places outside community/village (Chart 3). In urban India, the share is higher at 48.6%, compared with 39.2% in rural areas. Close to 23% of men agree that a husband is justified in beating his wife if he suspects that she is “unfaithful”. About 26% of women say their husbands are jealous if they talk to other men.

Taking cues from the above data, it is important to question what share of women — who come to work amid lack of freedom to travel and lack power to make major decisions on their own — will accuse a man of sexually harassing them at their job, especially those with a jealous and suspicious husband willing to punish them. In this context, the increase in the numbers should be seen as a positive development as women now have a better avenue, awareness and courage to report, but the figures should be taken with a pinch of salt as they hide more than what they reveal.

Also, in May last year, the Supreme Court flagged lapses in the way the PoSH Act was implemented. It said many firms have not even constituted Internal Complaints Committees and in places which have one, members were inadequate or lacked representatives from outside the company.

Under Kafala, workers are dispensable

Vani Saraswathi is the director of projects and editor-at-large of Migrant-Rights.Org, a GCC-based research and advocacy organisation

Within hours of the fatal fire that killed 49 migrant workers — a majority of whom are Indians — in Mangaf area of Al Ahmadi municipality, Kuwait, several actions were taken immediately. Kuwait’s Interior Minister Fahad Al-Yousuf Al-Sabah said the fatalities were due to the greed of the employer and building owner — in this instance, both parties being the same, NBTC; he announced the company officials would be held criminally liable; and officials of the municipality were suspended for their failure to maintain building codes.

In the coming days, more announcements will be made and a few heads will roll. The names of the 49 dead are unlikely to be shared officially by Kuwait but will appear in the media in India and the Philippines. It is easy to replace a number, recruit anew and bring in more workers to fill the gap left behind by those who perished. To humanise them would mean to acknowledge their presence as more than just labour and entail safeguarding all of the rights of the migrant population, and that would only be possible by dismantling the all-pervasive Kafala system — a complex of laws and practices that ensure state and citizens hold all the power, while individual migrants are treated as temporary even if the dependency on their labour is near-permanent. This is why any announcement by Kuwait promising action must be scrutinised minutely.

Kuwait (foreigners comprise 70% of its 4.3 million) and the rest of the GCC states (Saudi, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman), in essence, follow the same practice with varying degrees of control over migration and migrants. These six states are home to roughly 35 million migrant workers, accounting for 10% of all international migrants, and Indians constitute the single largest group amongst them.

Let us look at the immediate concern — crowded, unsafe and unhygienic labour accommodation that makes its residents most vulnerable to any exigencies that may arise in a country. Just a few years ago, when the world came to a standstill due to the COVID-19 pandemic, GCC states struggled to contain the spread of the virus in these labour accommodations. Kuwait had some of the most discriminatory lockdown practices, particularly in areas densely populated by migrant workers and announced an amnesty, deporting tens of thousands of workers at the height of the pandemic in April 2020. No lessons were learned then, and tragedies recur in different forms.

Kuwait does have some kind of code on standards for workers’ accommodation but its focus has been more on evicting ‘bachelors’ from family zones and moving them to subpar living spaces than to actually ensure employers provide suitable accommodation. As per Kuwait’s labour law, employers engaged in government contracts (such as NBTC) must provide suitable housing or an allowance — 25% of wages if they earn the minimum wage (KD75) or 15% if paid above the minimum wage. The cost of decent living is roughly KD200 per person, not including rent. The extremely low value placed on their labour determines their place in the economic hierarchy.

This huge discrepancy between the cost of living and minimum wage is one of the critical control factors of the Kafala system. Work and residence visas are tied to the employer, ensuring they have a stranglehold over their employees’ lives. For the nearly three million migrants in Kuwait’s low-income belt, this means absolute dependency on the employer for accommodation, food and transportation. The minimum salary requirement to sponsor a family in Kuwait is KD800, so the majority of migrants are unable to bring their families. By keeping wages so low, Kuwait and the other Gulf states ensure that workers are perpetually vulnerable. They have no choice but to live in the poor housing provided, struggle with the quality of food, and occupy as little socio-cultural space as possible in the countries they help build.

The Mangaf tragedy has been technically attributed to an electric short circuit. But the root cause clearly is the systemic indifference of the state towards the rights and well-being of low-income workers and the gross negligence of the employer.

There are many ‘IFs’ as to how this tragedy could have been averted. If the employer had better safety checks, if the state had deemed them important enough to earn better and live better, but most importantly, if the workers could organise themselves, then they would have had a collective voice to air their grievances and demand better treatment.

But GCC states do not take kindly to any form of labour organising or unionisation. To allow workers to have a voice is to allow them to challenge the status quo. The easiest way to prevent this is to keep wages low enough that the workers are in a constant state of financial insecurity, and then to deport them with ease at the first sign of protest or discontent. In the heat of the aftermath, Kuwaiti officials will make promises of better safety standards and more stringent penalties but will depend on policing of employers and workers to implement this, and shy away from systemic changes that would best enforce the law. That would be to empower workers, the ‘beneficiary’ of these reforms, to raise their voices against the injustices they may face.

Footnote: Domestic Workers, who constitute 27% of the entire labour force in Kuwait, are excluded from the labour law, and are amongst the most marginalised of the migrant population. This opinion piece does not have the scope to address the aggravated vulnerabilities they face.

More than that meets the eye

Parimal Maya Sudhakar

Maharashtra’s factional politics promise a tough Assembly fight

Lok Sabha election results sprung two surprises in Maharashtra’s politics, casting shadows on the upcoming Assembly polls.

The first was an impressive show by Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. It not only scored a much better strike rate than its allies but also defeated Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) in seven seats out of the 13 contests between them. A silver lining for the latter was the three seats it won in Mumbai and a narrow controversial defeat in Mumbai North-West.

Three inferences can be drawn from this result. One, Hindutva votes of Shiv Sena considerably remained with BJP and Shinde’s Sena. Two, the issue of Marathi Asmita (pride) provided an edge for Mr. Thackeray in Mumbai but did not work well in the rest of Maharashtra. In Mumbai, he was able to forge a better combination of voters having faith in secular, democratic and federal (emphasis on linguistic and regional pride) polity. Three, his party lagged in proper election campaigns, including microscopic booth management, compared to strong local candidates from BJP and Shinde’s Sena.

Over the years, Shiv Sena had grown with the consolidation of positions by local satraps in respective constituencies. Mr. Shinde from Thane is a prime example of this and many such Sena leaders sided with him. Many MLAs with Mr. Shinde can deliver victory in the Assembly election with the combination of their own cultivated influence in the constituency and the BJP’s loyal Hindutva votes. This has worked for Shinde’s Shiv Sena in the Lok Sabha election.

Overall, Mr. Shinde has consolidated his position as the Chief Minister and the two ambitious Deputy Chief Ministers – Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar – now have to deal with him. Ironically, Mr. Fadnavis can no longer afford to be seen hand in glove with Mr. Ajit Pawar in trying to clip Mr. Shinde’s wings. His association with Mr. Ajit Pawar is being pointed out as one of the main reasons for the BJP’s drubbing in the election.

On the other hand, Mr. Ajit Pawar must be realising how much ideology matters in politics. A large number of minorities, Dalit and women voters, who have been voting for him in his Assembly constituency of Baramati, turned their back on him in the Lok Sabha election. While he would not mind returning to Sharad Pawar’s fold and the latter’s supporters are eager to welcome him back, it is unlikely to happen before the Assembly election. The octogenarian Pawar knows well that a sympathy wave for him will cease to exist if he shakes hands with Mr. Ajit Pawar. Even then, in the long term, he and his party will need Mr. Ajit Pawar to tackle a rejuvenated Congress in Maharashtra.

It is significant that Congress contested 15 seats against BJP and won 11 seats, which has reduced BJP to the miserable tally of nine seats in the State. An exceptional Congress performance can be attributed to Rahul Gandhi’s credibility and local cadre in the State. Congress has two different types of cadres. One, grassroots leaders who can mobilise voters based on caste affiliations and kinships. Two, conscious individuals who help in creating narrative at the grassroots level. When these individuals succeed in creating a narrative on the ground, the caste and kin mobilisation do not become blatant. At the same time, not having a dominant State leader provided space for sub-regional and district-level leaders to work for the Congress candidate in their own constituency or a constituency of their choice. These combinations of factors have placed Congress in a commanding position vis-a-vis the Nationalist Congress Party (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT).

This has created an awkward situation for Mr. Thackeray. Since 2019, he has been consciously attempting to fill in the vacuum created by the retreat of Congress in the State’s politics. Now, Congress is back with a bang and Mr. Thackeray cannot return to the saffron fold due to Mr. Shinde’s strengthened position. He must continue with the chosen politics of inclusive nationalism, federalism and democratic values. Even when he has steered a mega victory for the anti-Modi alliance in the State, his own fate is still hanging in balance.

Also, uncertainty about Mr. Ajit Pawar in the post-Lok Sabha election scene has complicated the State’s politics. The only certainty is that there is much more to come in Maharashtra’s politics.

The writer is an Associate Professor at MIT School of Government, Pune.

Sinking of INS Khukri: Limaye’s Charge Rejected

FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI. June 16.

The Minister of Defence, Mr. Jagjivan Ram, has rejected the allegation made by Mr. Madhu Limaye, MP, that the sinking of the Indian Navy’s INS Khukri by the Pakistan Navy during the 1971 war was facilitated by the supply of defective fuel by the Indian Oil Corporation.

Mr. Jagjivan Ram, who has written to Mr. Madhu Limaye, has stated in his letter that after his investigation into the allegations, he had found that “there is no evidence that sub-standard oil was supplied”. He has further said that the machinery of INS Khukri and the fuel supplied to it “were in excellent condition. No difficulty was experienced in the operation of its machinery prior to its sinking by an enemy torpedo”. There was thus no cause for any apprehension that the unfortunate sinking of the ship was caused by the supply of defective fuel.

Mr. Limaye, however, in his reply to the Defence Minister, has expressed surprise “that you have dealt with the serious question of the supply of defective and inferior oil to our naval forces, ordnance factories, etc., in a casual manner. Supply of sub-standard oil can by no means be called an inadvertent action. It is a deliberate, vicious and treacherous act”. He has, therefore, urged Mr. Jagjivan Ram to put this question on the agenda of the next meeting of the Defence Consultative Committee. He has also demanded a thorough enquiry into this matter and the suspension of senior officers.

American World Tourists.

(ASSOCIATED PRESS OF INDIA.)

ALLAHABAD, June 16.

Captain Vanderwell and Miss Vanderwell, the American world Ford tourists, arrived in Allahabad this morning with a letter of introduction from Mr. Henry Ford to Mr. J. E. Gilbert, the Ford Agent here, whose guests they are. They will leave this evening on their way to Calcutta. They spoke well of the Indian roads generally and did not feel the heat as much as in Africa. Starting in 1919, they have passed through 39 countries and traversed 153,000 geographical miles. Miss Vanderwell is the first lady to do the world tour in a car.

On the size of council of ministers

Rangarajan R

What has been the composition of the Council of Ministers at the Centre and in States since India became a democracy? What were the instances when the council became too large and unwieldy? How were the laws brought in to rein in this trend?

Number game: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, with his Council of Ministers at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on June 9.AFPMONEY SHARMA

The story so far:

The Union Council of Ministers (COM) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was sworn in on June 9, 2024. The present COM consists of the Prime Minister, 30 Cabinet Ministers, 5 Ministers of State (MoS) with independent charge and 36 MoS.

Who constitutes the Council of Ministers?

India is a parliamentary democracy with the President as its nominal head. Article 74 of the Constitution provides that there shall be a COM headed by the Prime Minister (PM) to aid and advise the President. The real executive powers lie with the COM. A Minister should be a member of either the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha and if not, should become one within six months of his/her appointment. A similar setup prevails in States with a COM headed by the Chief Minister (CM).

The COM consists of a Cabinet minister, MoS with independent charge, MoS and a Deputy Minister. The Constitution does not classify the members of the COM into different ranks. All this has been done informally, following the British practice. Cabinet Ministers are higher in rank and handle large portfolios while MoS assist the Cabinet Ministers and work under them. MoS with independent charge directly reports to the Prime Minister for their respective ministries.

What is the constitutional limit?

The first COM at the time of independence had only 15 Ministers headed by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. After the first general elections in 1952, Nehru inducted around 30 Ministers into his COM. Over the years, the size of the COM had gradually increased to around 50-60. Interestingly, it is the United Front governments led by Deve Gowda (June 1996) and I.K. Gujral (April 1997) that were sworn in with just 21 and 34 Ministers respectively. In 1999, when Atal Bihari Vajpayee became Prime Minister, his COM had 74 Ministers. However, the size of COM was becoming unwieldy in some of the larger States. For instance, in 2002 when Mayawati was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, she had 79 Ministers.

The National Commission to review the working of the Constitution under the Chairmanship of Justice Venkatachaliah set up in February 2000, had suggested a ceiling of 10% of the total strength of Lok Sabha/Legislative Assembly for the number of Ministers at the Centre/State level. Finally, through the 91st Constitutional Amendment in 2003, the total number of Ministers including PM/CM in the COM was limited to 15% of the total strength of the Lok Sabha/State Legislative Assembly. There is no minimum requirement at the Central level whereas even the smaller States should have a minimum of 12 Ministers. For Union Territories of NCT of Delhi and Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), the maximum limit is 10% of the total strength of its Assembly.

What are the issues?

A thorny issue even after the limit on the number of Ministers is the appointment of Parliamentary Secretaries in various States. The office of Parliamentary Secretary (PS) also has its origin in the British system. In India, the post of PS was first created in 1951. They have not been a regular feature in the Central governments thereafter and the last PS at the Centre was appointed in 1990. However, various States have continued with their appointment to circumvent the limit on COM placed by the 91st Amendment. High Courts of Punjab & Haryana, Rajasthan, Bombay, Calcutta, Telangana, Karnataka etc. have quashed or questioned the appointment of PS in the States under their jurisdiction for indirectly violating the maximum limit on COM. The Supreme Court in July 2017 had also declared a law passed by Assam in 2004 for the appointment of PS as unconstitutional. The most recent instance is the order of the Himachal Pradesh High Court in January 2024 that restrained six PS appointed in the State from functioning as Ministers or availing facilities provided to Ministers. Appointing MLAs to the position of Ministers under the guise of PS to circumvent constitutional limits should be strictly prohibited and discontinued.

It is also pertinent to note that States like Sikkim, Goa and smaller States in the northeastern region with a current estimated population ranging from seven to forty lakhs have a minimum of twelve Ministers. However, Union Territories of Delhi and J&K with estimated population of over 2 crore and 1.5 crore, can have only a maximum of seven and nine Ministers respectively. The administration of public order, police and land in Delhi is not with the Delhi government. Similarly, public order and the police of Jammu and Kashmir will not be with its government. Nevertheless, considering the population of these Union Territories, the 10% limit for their COM may be reconsidered.

Rangarajan R is a former IAS officer. He currently trains civil-service aspirants. Views expressed are personal.

What is SWM cess and why is it levied on waste generators?

Pushkara S.V.

How has the SWM cess fared so far and why has it hit the headlines suddenly? How has Bengaluru been handling its solid waste management and what is about to change going forward?

The story so far:

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahangara Palike (BBMP) has proposed a Solid Waste Management (SWM) Cess of ₹100 per month for each household. While the proposal has sparked debate and criticism among residents and stakeholders, it is important to understand the rationale behind SWM cess, its intended use, and the broader context of solid waste management challenges faced by Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in India.

Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) levy user fees or SWM cess as per the provisions of Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016. According to these guidelines, ULBs must collect user fees/cess for SWM services provisions provided. ULBs typically charge about ₹30-50 per month as SWM cess, which is collected along with property tax. ULBs are now considering revising these rates and imposing higher charges on bulk waste generators to meet a portion of the costs incurred in providing SWM services.

What are the costs?

Offering SWM services is complex and resource-intensive. ULBs typically deploy about 80% of their manpower and up to 50% of their annual budgets to provide SWM services to city residents.

In a city like Bangalore, an urban resident generates about 0.6 kg of waste per day, totalling 0.2 tonnes per person per year. Overall, Bangalore generates about 5,000 tonnes of solid waste per day. Managing this volume of waste requires around 5,000 door-to-door waste collection vehicles, 600 compactors, and about 20,000 Paurakarmikas.

SWM services comprise four components: collection, transportation, processing and disposal. ULBs package collection and transportation together, and processing and disposal together. Collection and transportation are resource and labour-intensive and come up to 85-90% of the SWM budget, whereas only about 10-15% is spent on processing and disposal of waste.

What are the challenges?

Solid waste generated in Indian cities consists of about 55-60% wet biodegradable material and 40-45% non-biodegradable material. The portion of recyclable material in the dry waste is minimal, only about 1-2%, with the rest being mostly non-recyclable and non-biodegradable waste. Although 55% of the wet waste can be converted into organic compost or biogas, the yield is as low as 10-12%, making both composting and biogas generation from solid waste financially unviable. Typically, operational revenue from waste processing facilities covers only about 35-40% of operational expenses, with the rest subsidised by the ULB.

Apart from financial challenges, ULBs face other challenges associated with SWM services, such as extra work of clearing open points and drains, preventing open littering, seasonal changes in waste generation, and sweeping operations. Additionally, the disposal of non-compostable and non-recyclable dry waste, such as single-use plastic, textile waste and inert materials, is expensive since the material needs to be shipped to cement factories or waste-to-energy projects located about 400-500 km from cities.

Large cities like Bangalore spend about 15% of their budget—about ₹1,643 crore out of ₹11,163 crore — whereas the revenue from SWM services is almost negligible at ₹20 lakh per year. Smaller cities tend to spend up to 50% of their budget but also end up with almost negligible revenue. Hence, ULBs charge SWM cess to cover a portion of the costs.

What is the solution?

Although collection and transportation of waste generate no revenue, several strategies can reduce overall expenditure on SWM and lower user charges. These are segregation of waste at source, reducing single-use plastic, decentralised composting initiatives, Information, Education and Awareness (IEC) to prevent open littering, and asking bulk waste generators to process their own waste.

A balanced approach, combining marginal user charges with efficient operations, could help make our cities cleaner.

Pushkara S.V. works with the Indian Institute for Human Settlements, Bengaluru.

Is Pakistan using a firewall to censor social media platforms?

Sahana Venugopal

Pakistani media outlets reported that the country is deploying a Chinese-style firewall to block access to social media platforms; even those using Virtual Private Networks (VPN) to access the Internet are likely to be hit by this firewall; however, Pakistan Information Minister denies reports

According to estimates from the digital privacy research group Top10VPN, Pakistan has shut down the Internet for 1,752 hours so far in 2024. AFP

Pakistani media outlets reported in the past week that the country plans to implement a Chinese-style firewall to block users from accessing social media platforms.

Newspapers Pakistan Observer and Daily Ausaf claim the government is ready to set up a ‘National Firewall’ to stop people from accessing X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and YouTube. These outlets also noted that there are plans for filtering keywords to enforce the policy and block unwanted content. Other media reports claim even those using virtual private networks (VPNs) to access the Internet would be hit by this digital firewall.

However, media outlet Samaa on June 10 quoted Pakistan’s Information Minister Atta Tarar as saying that no ‘Chinese-style firewall’ was being set up, though he did speak about the need to crack down on hate speech and misinformation.

Such conflicting reports reveal the lack of clarity regarding the current status of Pakistan’s potential firewall and its implementation. But, it must be noted that Pakistan does have a history of curtailing people’s access to the Internet, either through website or social media blocks. Some examples include a Twitter block in 2017 that was flagged by the company itself, and Internet disruptions earlier this year around the time of the country’s elections.

How does a digital firewall work?

Simply put, firewalls are security tools that stop online traffic from reaching certain sites. They can prevent malicious actors from targeting individual users’ computer systems or home networks, and even thwart cyber threats on specific websites.

Though in recent times they are associated with censorship by oppressive governments, firewalls were meant to be a security tool. In fact, if you look at the settings of your personal computer, you will likely see options to set up firewalls of your own with varying restriction levels. A firewall can be a physical device, or a software-based tool. It depends on a specific user’s needs.

At the other end of the spectrum, large firewalls like the Great Firewall of China, for example, are highly complex cybersecurity tools maintained at scale to prevent people from accessing large sections of the Internet. That means nation states can entirely stop citizens from accessing the most commonly used websites on the Internet — say social media sites or information gathering platforms.

While VPNs or privacy browsers can help disguise a user’s location, the amount of friction in the process of trying to bypass a firewall puts off most people and repels those who lack technical skills and knowledge.

How are people’s lives affected?

When used by nation-states, a firewall impedes activists, journalists, dissidents, and regime critics from obtaining information critical of the government. Internet shutdowns and social media blocks also prevent governments or military authorities from being held accountable during periods of civil unrest and violence.

Whenever an Internet shutdown or block is suddenly implemented, the country’s citizens suffer a huge setback, education is disrupted, and healthcare institutions struggle to provide quality care.

According to estimates from the digital privacy research group Top10VPN, Pakistan has shut down the Internet for 1,752 hours so far in 2024.

“Pakistan’s restrictions have been by far the costliest election-related shutdown, costing $351 million,” noted the group in its report, adding that the economic cost of Internet shutdowns worldwide last year was $9.13 billion.

A firewall might look like a viable alternative to authoritarian nation states who wish to replace a larger, free Internet with a controlled intra-net. However, setting up and maintaining a firewall is no easy task. Even for a small company, firewall implementation and maintenance are expensive. The firewalls require constant monitoring to thwart bad actors and patch security vulnerabilities as soon as they are detected. At a national level, this expenditure is much higher as a far greater number of people are looking to bypass the restrictions.

Firewalls also bring up antitrust concerns because they hurt competition. Well-performing companies and businesses that would normally gain more users may be blocked and replaced by government-approved alternatives with lower privacy and service standards, degrading the Internet user’s experience even further.

Adding to this, apps and services may be combined for the authorities’ convenience instead of encouraging users to try out new and independent alternatives. The Great Firewall of China is a major example of this phenomenon.

Both India and Pakistan have a record of censoring the Internet or shutting it down. India blocked access to the Internet 116 times in 2023, per a report released by the Keep It On coalition.

Has Pakistan blocked the Internet or social media before?

Pakistan has frequently obstructed people from accessing the Internet or specific social media platforms over the course of more than a decade. Talks of a Chinese-style national firewall in Pakistan have been making rounds since around 2012, though not much verified data is available regarding the status of this project.

In 2012, the country’s government blocked around 20,000 websites, including YouTube, as per a Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) official. In 2017, Jack Dorsey-led Twitter posted on its Global Government Affairs account that it was aware of reports that the “Pakistani government has taken action to block Twitter service, as well as other social media services.”

In the first two months of 2024 as Pakistan prepared for its elections, the government throttled access to Elon Musk-owned X for days on end. Internet service was also largely affected during this time period. Activists protested the move, but government authorities attributed it to system upgrades.

“Pakistani authorities have already imposed multiple shutdowns that disrupted opposition activities during this election cycle. At least 11 Internet shutdowns were imposed during the last election year of 2018, and the authoritarian use of shutdowns has only emboldened through 2022, 2023, and now 2024,” said digital rights advocacy group Access Now, in a statement in February.

A quiz on the 80th anniversary of the foundation of the Republic of Iceland

V. V. Ramanan

1 of 2 Visual question: If the colours white and blue in the Icelandic flag represent the snow and ocean, what does red represent?

2 of 2

Question #1

June 17 marks the end of Iceland’s centuries old ties with which country?

Question #2

What is the Capital of Iceland and what distinction does it hold as regards its location?

Question #3

Name the Icelandic parliament which is one of oldest surviving parliaments in the world, having been founded in 930 at Pingvellir (’assembly fields’) and situated approximately 45 km close to its modern capital.

Question #4

Name the Icelandic saga that is considered one of the greatest prose works of medieval literature?

Question #5

The ‘Hakarl’, an Icelandic national dish, is made using the rotten meat of which marine animal that has been cured with a fermentation process and hung to dry in an open air shed.

Question #6

Which late American sporting legend, who won the World championship in his sport at Reykjavik in 1972 but became a recluse, was granted an Icelandic citizenship in 2005?

Answers to the previous day’s quiz:

1. White colour said to be achromatic because it has no ___ Ans:-Hue

2. When red, green, and blue are mixed on electronic screens, you get white. This process is called ___ Ans:- Additive mixing

3. Name the carbonate mineral (or rock) with the use of which paintings from the Palaeolithic ear were able to obtain white colour Ans:- Calcite or chalk.

4. Ancient Rome had two words to describe the colour white: _____ and candidus. Ans:- Albus

5. Jainism has two branches. The names of the two branches are __________ and Digamber, which in Sanskrit mean “white clad” and “sky clad”, respectively. Ans:- Shwetamber

6. Visual question: This man created Russia’s flag by reordering the colours of the Dutch flag, which was the first national flag to feature white Ans:- Peter the Great

Early Birds

Rajmohan V – C Saravanan – Jyot Prakash Gulati – Bharath Viswanathan – Abhinav Raj Satwat

‘Is prepone the opposite of postpone?’

“I’ve seen that unhappy look before. Did you have another silly argument with Sujatha?”

“Is it that obvious? I tell you, that woman just drives me crazy.”

“What did the two of you argue about this time? Was it about the recent elections or was it…”

“It had nothing to do with politics. It was about the word ‘prepone’. I argued that the opposite of ‘postpone’ is ‘prepone’. She said that native speakers of English do not use ‘prepone’. Tell me, is she right or am I right?”

“Well, for a change, both of you are right! You see, we Indians coined the word ‘prepone’. We use it quite a bit in our country. It’s quite common to hear a sentence like, the meeting was preponed by a couple of hours.”

“We need to prepone the launch date of our new product. It needs to be launched at least a week before our rival’s.”

“That’s a good example! But the word is mostly used by us. Native speakers…”

“Why don’t native speakers use it? After all, ‘prepone’ has been listed in most standard dictionaries.”

“That’s true. But the dictionaries make it very clear that it’s an example of Indian English!”

“You are right! Many dictionaries have ‘Indian’ or ‘Indian English’ within brackets next to the word. So, what word do native speakers of English use instead of ‘prepone’?”

“They use quite a few actually. One is ‘advance’. The meeting was advanced to Monday.”

“Would it be possible to advance my appointment to Friday?”

“That’s a good example. Native speakers also use the expression ‘move forward’. Tomorrow’s meeting has been moved forward. We’ll be meeting at 10:00 a.m. instead of 3:00 p.m.”

“I think Sneha is planning to move her wedding date forward.”

“Good for her. Who is this Sneha that you’re talking about? Do I know her?”

“She was my classmate. I don’t know if you ever met her. She was tall…”

“I don’t think I’ve met her. But for some reason, her name rings a bell.”

“Rings a bell? What does the expression mean?”

“When somebody says something, and you respond by saying that it rings a bell, what you are suggesting is that it sounds familiar. What the person has said…”

“What the person has said reminds you of something. It jogs your memory.”

S. Upendran

upendrankye@gmail.com

Business

- Why equity derivatives are not for the uninitiated

- IRDAI improves health cover experience

- Creating an emergency reserve

- Orchid blossoms with new drug to treat anti-microbial resistance

- IndiGo weathers supply-chain turbulence, pushes growth

- Passing phase?

- When organisation leaders are cut to size in an unexpected fashion

- ‘U.S. May home sales crumble’

Why equity derivatives are not for the uninitiated

Joydeep Sen

Derivatives market is primarily a means of hedging; if you are participating in the derivatives market only, then you are indulging in short-term speculation and not being a long-term investor

1 of 2 The average daily turnover (ADT) in equity derivatives, rose from ₹1.62 lakh crore in May 2023 to ₹2.54 lakh crore in April 2024

2 of 2 In May 2023, the share of individual investors in equity derivatives turnover at NSE was 26.8% of total; in April 2024, it was 25.5%

In May 2023, SEBI came out with a circular that should have alerted individual traders in equity derivatives. It said four things: (a) 9 out of 10 individual traders in equity Futures and Options segment incurred net losses (b) On an average, loss makers registered net trading loss close to ₹50,000 (c) loss makers expended an additional 28% of net trading losses as transaction costs and (d) Those making net trading profit, incurred between 15-50% of such profit as transaction cost.

It was also mentioned, “Upon login into their trading accounts with brokers, the clients may be prompted to read the risk disclosures and shall be allowed to proceed ahead only after acknowledging the same” and “the risk disclosures shall be displayed prominently, covering at least 50% of the screen”.

More than a year since, it is time to take stock. Our source of data is NSE Market Pulse. In May 2023, average daily turnover (ADT) in equity derivatives, including stock futures, stock options, index futures and index options, was ₹1.62 lakh crore. In April 2024, the ADT was ₹2.54 lakh crore.

Here are the details. In May 2023, the share of individual investors in equity derivatives turnover at NSE was 26.8% of total. In April 2024, it was 25.5%.

A similar percentage on a higher traded volume means individuals are participating more in equity derivatives. Number of individual investors participating in NSE Futures & Options rose from about 10 lakh in 2018-19 to about 96 lakh in 2023-24.

‘Did not pay heed’

When we juxtapose the message from SEBI and this data, we may conclude in spite of the alert, individual derivative traders have not paid heed. You would be wondering what the issue with that is.

The biggest participant in equity derivatives segment is ‘prop’ which means proprietary book or trading with own funds. In April 2024, ‘prop’ share of equity derivatives was 58.5% of total. These are typically brokerages or NBFCs with own funds to play this market. Some of the ‘prop books’ would be individual brokers, who have not become as big as to corporatise and are running as a one-man show. These individuals are professionals in the equity market, they know what they are doing. If you are a first-time participant, you may not have as much awareness as someone doing it for, say, 20 years. If you are lured by the thrill of it, you run not only the usual market risks but an additional risk, emanating from lack of awareness. That is, your risk is higher.

There is another aspect. There are courses run by influencers or ‘finfluencers’. These are short courses with a nominal fee, say ₹10,000 and advertised on social media, with the lure after the course, you will become an expert in equity derivatives and can earn crores of rupees.

Greed, fear

Markets run on greed and fear. The influencers play on your greed, that you will be able to earn in crores. The joke going around in market circles is those who make losses in equity derivatives trading, run these courses to make money. If one is a successful derivative trader and is earning crores for himself / herself, would not have the time or inclination to run courses. They make money from these courses by dint of volume i.e. a large number of ‘students’, in spite of low fees. And large number of ‘students’ flock to it, driven by greed.

To be noted, (a) these courses are not approved by Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) or any other competent authority and (b) the people running these do not have any license or permission from SEBI or any other competent authority. The bigger aspect to note is you get 20 years of experience in trading equity derivatives by being there for 20 years, and not by doing a two-week course.

Let’s come to the fundamental aspect. Why would you, as an individual who is not an investment professional, want to invest in equity derivatives? Your objective is, or should be, creation of wealth over the long term. That you can do by purchasing equity stocks or through managed portfolios (mutual funds, PMS, AIF) and remaining invested for long.

The purpose of the equity derivatives market is primarily as a means of hedging where you continue with stocks portfolio but take short-term contra views or positions by paying a margin. If you are participating in the derivatives market only, then you are indulging in short term speculation and not being a long-term investor.

Conclusion

There are known and unknown risks. When a trapeze artiste is doing his / her stuff, s/he knows the risks involved and has been doing it for say 10 years. If you try doing that for the thrill of it by taking one-month training, you are taking unknown risks. One approach could be keep exposure to derivatives limited to a small percentage of portfolio. You should not increase the exposure, for years. Then you would learn the ropes.

(The writer is a corporate trainer (financial markets) and author)

IRDAI improves health cover experience

Siddharth Singhal

The insurance landscape in India has seen a major transformation over the last few years, thanks to the consistent efforts of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) which has been efficiently aided by insurers turning it into a concerted effort by all stakeholders. In another landmark move, the regulator came out with a master circular with several consumer-centric reforms in health insurance.

The latest reform is no claim can be rejected due to the lack of documents. To simplify claim process, IRDAI mandated the necessary documents be sought by the insurer at the time of underwriting. Besides, the customers of general insurers are allowed to cancel policy anytime and be refunded for the unexpired policy period, while insurers can only cancel the policy on the grounds of fraud.

Hassle-free claims

The IRDAI had earlier directed while cashless claim must be cleared within a three-hour limit, the decision on cashless authorisation by the insurer has to be made within one hour of the claim request. The Master Circular, which shall be reviewed every year, also lists a number of other initiatives taken by the regulator recently.

The IRDAI circular also mandated all insurers should strive to achieve 100% cashless claim settlement in a time-bound manner and ensure claim settlement through reimbursement mode is done only in exceptional circumstances. It added the ratio of reimbursement claims should be kept to the bare minimum. This directive is in line with IRDAI’s recent ‘Cashless Anywhere’ directive which asked insurers to settle claims in cashless mode even in those hospitals not in their list of network hospitals.

The IRDAI has asked insurers to immediately put in place necessary systems and procedures, by July 31. It said if required, the insurers could put in place dedicated help desks at hospitals to deal with cashless claim requests within stipulated time-frame. Moreover, they should provide digital pre-authorisation to policyholders to facilitate the claims. To address this, the IRDAI said in case the claim is not settled in three hours, any additional costs charged by the hospital would be borne by the insurer from shareholder’s fund.

Impact on sector

The only way this directive can be implemented is through better coordination between insurers and hospitals. Not only operational processes would have to be improved, haring of medical records between different stakeholders would have to be more streamlined to help insurer to take a decision on the claim.

Medical record digitisation is already happening via the National Health Claims Exchange, which is facilitating a more transparent and smooth exchange of information.

Standalone efforts won’t be able to achieve this. It requires a concerted effort on the part of the entire healthcare ecosystem.

The good news is insurers have been showing positive intent to support the regulator in all its efforts to improve the insurance experience for customers. And, hospitals would surely get on board considering it would ensure faster payouts for them too. Timely settlement will eliminate most glitches and go a long way to better healthcare experience of patients and caregivers.

The IRDAI added if policyholder dies during treatment, the insurer must immediately process the request for claim settlement and get the mortal remains released from the hospital immediately. This will surely offer the grieving family some semblance as they deal with a tragic loss. The norms are consumer-centric and prioritise policyholders’ welfare above everything else.

This commendable move is poised to revolutionise the health insurance landscape, ensuring timely and hassle-free claim settlements, enhancing customer satisfaction, and providing inclusive and affordable health insurance solutions for all.

(The writer is Business Head, Health Insurance, Policybazaar.com)

Creating an emergency reserve

Venkatesh Bangaruswamy

Think of contingency reserve, including the cash at home as self-insurance to protect family’s well-being during crisis; that may help in you appreciating the need for creating such a fund

Contingency reserve is set up to meet expenses during uncertain times and unexpected expenses during normal times. Previously, we discussed where to park contingency reserve. To recap, it is preferable to keep contingency reserve in investments that are liquid with no downside risk. That means investing in interest-bearing instruments. Also, it is best if you can protect the inflation-adjusted value of contingency reserve. If not, you must strive to protect at least the nominal value of the reserve. Here, we discuss why credit cards cannot always act as contingency reserve and why having some cash at home is optimal.

Natural factors

Like many, you probably use electronic money — UPI payments and credit cards — to meet expenses. Some argue credit cards can act as contingency reserve. But what if your credit limit is full or not enough to meet a contingency payment because you use them for lifestyle expenses? If you have multiple credit cards, you may argue about keeping one credit card exclusively for meeting such expenses. But such expenses are not frequent. So, if you do not use credit card often, chances are the credit card issuing company may reduce credit limit on that card. Maintaining a separate contingency reserve is optimal to meet unexpected expenses, especially if income stream is volatile.

This brings us to the next argument. In modern world where electronic money is preferred, why maintain some cash at home? The answer depends on where you live. Is your city prone to natural disasters such as flash floods and tsunami? If so, keeping some cash at home may help. The reason is simple. When natural calamities happen (uncertain times), expect the electricity, Internet service and phone connections to be down for a while. How then would you pay for essentials, including food?

Conclusion

For many, the feeling money does not earn optimal returns is the primary issue associated with maintaining a contingency reserve. This is called saliency bias. You focus on idle money at home or the contingency reserve in your savings account, compared with, say, the loss-making stocks you hold in your trading account for a long time. Instead, think of contingency reserve including the cash at home as a self-insurance to protect your family’s well-being during crisis. That may help in you appreciating the need for such a fund.

(The author offers training programmes for individuals to manage their personal investments)

Orchid blossoms with new drug to treat anti-microbial resistance

M. Ramesh

Chennai

The pharmaceutical company’s India-discovered drug Enmetazobactum, the first to receive U.S. FDA approval, will help it flower with strength; for 2023-24, Orchid achieved a turnover of ₹819 crore, net of ₹94 crore; following a ₹400-crore QIP last year, its debt has come down to ₹120 crore

1 of 2 Huge potential: Dhanuka sees companies shifting base to India. Special ARrangementYash Gupta

2 of 2 Orchid’s share price has had a remarkable journey — increasing from ₹18 in November 2020 to about ₹2,500 in April 2021

On June 6, Orchid Pharma made a significant announcement in the stock exchanges that went largely unnoticed in the post-election din.

The company said it had received approval from the Drugs Controller General of India to make and sell Enmetozobactum. Normally, a pharma firm getting approval to make a drug should not be an occasion for any excitement but this was different.

Enmetozobactum is not only among the few drugs discovered in India by an Indian company — there are less than 20 of them — but it is the first India-discovered drug to get U.S. FDA approval. And there is more. Disease-causing bacteria are getting cleverer by the day, developing resistance to many antibiotics doctors prescribe.

Anti-microbial resistance (AMR) is estimated to kill about five million people every year (the same as the population of Norway or Denmark). Any drug that overpowers these superbugs is a godsend. Enmetazobactum is an AMR drug. It will be given to patients together with Cefepime, a medicine that falls under the Cephalosporin category of antibiotics.

This development, along with a few others — such as the firm’s backward integration moves and getting into a new drug under a licence — underscores the growth phase of Orchid Pharma that has only recently stabilised after a financial wobble.

Orchid’s origins

Orchid Pharma was established in 1992 by Kailasam Raghavendra Rao, an IIM-A alumnus, with the money he had earned working in West Asia, to manufacture the Cephalosporin class of drugs, as and when they came out of the patent-protected period. For some years it was successful but fell into a financial distress, due largely to overseas acquisitions. EBIDTA fell from ₹320 crore in the 18-month year 2013-15 (margin 18%) to ₹14 crore (2%) in 2017-18, as stressed working capital delayed order execution leading to cancellations.

In 2019, Lakshmi Vilas Bank, a financial creditor, hauled Orchid to the National Company Law Tribunal. In March 2020, Dhanuka Laboratories stepped in with an offer of ₹1,116 crore against the ₹3,200 crore debt the company had and the liquidation value of ₹1,300 crore. Orchid Pharma came to Dhanuka after the Supreme Court ruled the offer did not have to be equal to or more than the liquidation value.

Things stabilised under the Dhanuka management. For 2023-24, Orchid achieved a turnover of ₹819 crore and made a net profit of ₹94 crore. Its share price has had a remarkable journey — rising from ₹18 in November 2020 to about ₹2,500 in April 2021. On June 14, it was quoting around ₹1,050.

Enmetazobactum was discovered by Orchid in 2008, but financial difficulties forced the company to license the molecule to Allecra of Germany, which would have the right to manufacture and sell the drug anywhere in the world except India, paying (6-9%) royalty to Orchid. Indeed, it is Allecra’s application that has been approved by the U.S. FDA.

“Enmetazobactum would be another weapon in a clinician’s arsenal,” says Mridul Dhanuka, Director, Orchid Pharma. In a conversation with businessline, Mr. Dhanuka said in clinical trials, the drug had recorded an efficacy of 79% compared with 59% of a comparable drug, Piperacillin Tazobactum. The latter commands a market revenue of about ₹1,000 crore, but Mr. Dhanuka stressed Enmetazobactum cannot just replace Piperacillin Tazobactum in the market, as considerations such as costs and doctors’ cautious approach to new drugs come into play.

The firm recently said Enmetazobactum could be worth ₹75-100 crore a year, but Mr. Dhanuka said the level would be reached after about 2-3 years.

Backward integration

Even as Orchid Pharma is making plans for manufacturing the drug at its Chennai plant, it is busy buying land in Jammu. Its wholly-owned subsidiary, Orchid Bio Pharma, is on to a ₹750-crore project to make 7ACA, a drug intermediate not produced in India, with PLI assistance from the Government of India. When completed, the project is expected to be beneficial to Orchid, as 7ACA “is the raw material for 75% of Orchid’s products.”

While the production of 7ACA is a backward integration for Orchid Pharma, it also means entry into ‘fermentation’. China is the ‘big daddy’ in fermentation, but Mr. Dhanuka expects due to certain recent regulations in the U.S., Chinese companies could shift base to India. Orchid wants to get into fermentation.

And then, the company is preparing for the manufacture of Cefiderocol, another Cephalosporin discovered by Shionogi of Japan. The licencee Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP) has sub-licenced the drug to Orchid under a ‘fixed margin, no royalty’ deal, meant to make low-cost drugs available to everyone. Cefiderocol is a “reserve category” drug that will be used if the first two lines of treatment fail.

Financially, Orchid appears to have put itself on an even keel. Thanks to a ₹400-crore QIP last year, its debt has come down to ₹120 crore, while its current liabilities are easy against its current assets — ₹260 crore versus ₹790 crore. The promoter, the ₹500-crore Dhanuka Laboratories, is to be merged with Orchid, which should make the balance sheet look prettier. The merger is pending NCLT approval.

(The writer is with The Hindu businessline)

IndiGo weathers supply-chain turbulence, pushes growth

Aneesh Phadnis

Mumbai

Flying higher: IndiGo reported record annual revenue of ₹71,200 crore in FY24. REUTERSVIVEK PRAKASH

Last summer IndiGo unveiled its most ambitious overseas expansion yet connecting cities in Central Asia and East Africa. India’s largest airline was finally stepping out of its comfort zones of the sub-continent and West Asia.

It posted a record ₹3,090 crore net profit for the first quarter FY24. It looked like the rest of the year would be smooth sailing for IndiGo, with rival GoFirst suspending operations in May and SpiceJet beset with problems.

But then came a spoiler as Pratt & Whitney called for accelerated inspections of the engines that power IndiGo’s Airbus A320Neo fleet. Between the second and third quarter, the number of grounded IndiGo aircraft doubled to over 70. Yet, despite all the challenges, the airline has managed to fly high. It flew over a 100 million passengers, reported highest-ever annual revenue of ₹71,200 crore and a net profit of ₹8,172 crore in FY24 reversing the negative result of the previous year.

“We have not changed our capacity guidance at any point in the last year. We said it (capacity growth) will be north of mid-teens and we delivered that. We have now said it will be in the early double digits and I am confident we will deliver that,” CEO Pieter Elbers said.

Mr. Elbers said IndiGo was able to deliver good financial performance because it was able to stick to capacity guidance. Lower fuel costs and compensation received from the engine maker also helped in shoring up the net profit.

On its part, IndiGo took a host of mitigating measures to overcome the bottlenecks such as lease extensions and inducting extra aircraft on dry/damp lease from foreign operators. In the last fiscal, IndiGo inducted 65 aircraft. Its total fleet count stood at 367 as of March-end. With an order book of almost 1,000 planes, the airline also expects to receive one aircraft every week for the next few years.

Having negotiated supply-chain challenges, the airline has added 22 destinations since September 2022, taking the total number of cities served to 121.

More destinations

It plans to add 10 more domestic and foreign destinations in the current financial year and is also raising flight frequency to Almaty (Kazakhstan), Tashkent (Uzbekistan) and Tbilisi (Georgia) from August, driven by strong demand for leisure travel.

While the international traffic market is growing faster than domestic, Indian travellers are also exploring newer destinations, Mr.Elbers said.

Rajeev Kale, president and country head of holidays at Thomas Cook (India), concurs. “Short-haul destinations with easy visa regimes are not just powering India’s travel story but are now serving to extend the traditional season into a year-round opportunity. Our consumer data for Central-Asian destinations reflects an unprecedented demand uptick of 300-600% on y-o-y basis.”

On the domestic side too, there has been growth. “IndiGo saw a drop of 95 domestic departures per day in January, on a month-on-month basis due to an increase in the number of grounded aircraft. However, it was a momentary blip. In March, the airline even surpassed its December figure and with over 1,780 daily flights April saw even higher domestic deployment,” said Ameya Joshi, founder of aviation blog Network Thoughts.

IndiGo is also forging partnerships with foreign airlines for which it has code-share alliances with eight of them.

It is also creating brand awareness for IndiGo in international markets.

Analysts at Emkay Global Financial Services believe IndiGo could gain an edge over rival Air India or Akasa Air because of its reliance on Airbus for fleet growth.

“IndiGo’s order book provides better supply visibility for the next few years, given that it has exposure solely to Airbus aircraft (versus competitors’ exposure to the crises-facing B737 Max),” the brokerage said in a report.

(The writer is with The Hindu businessline)

Passing phase?

Green shoots: An aerial view of smoke from the LyondellBasell Houston refinery in Houston, Texas. The International Energy Agency is predicting a major surplus of oil by the end of the decade as production continues rising and demand declines. The decline is in part due to the switch from gasoline to electric vehicles and renewable energy. The agency has reported that the world’s oil production is expected to increase to approximately 114 million barrels per day by 2030. getty Images via AFPBrandon Bell

When organisation leaders are cut to size in an unexpected fashion

Kamal Karanth

Enterprises can humble leaders just like democracies cut politicians to size. Boards can take CEOs to the zeniths of organisation glory when they appoint them and humble them by curtailing their powers when they want to dethrone them!

“It’s a parking role. The writing is on the wall. I know the title says ‘Vice President-Public Sector’, but I can hear everyone in the office laughing at me, we know PSUs never buy our services” cried my former colleague, who eventually resigned.

Many leaders who want to leave are mostly frustrated that their current role lacks a strong mandate. The mandates keep changing based on the organisation’s performance and leadership context; in many cases, leaders create a mandate.

Family-owned Firms

Depending on the employer they choose to work with, leaders are well aware of the boundaries they work with, and many of them are quite accustomed to them.

About 73%of the top 500 companies listed on BSE are family-owned.

Family-owned firms want competent leaders who give them returns, but they have their own unique ways of keeping kith and kin on the board or in some quasi-C-Suite roles to ensure the professionals don’t exceed the brief.

If you work in a multinational corporation, the country heads need to balance equations with each of the power centres even if they don’t report to any of them directly

The famous way MNCs disempower leaders is by transferring them into new roles that have no influence or impact or to new regions in the name of promotions where the scope is almost cut to nothing. Some are even asked to perform individual roles to keep their jobs.

Leaders who reach the totem pole need to keep aspirations fluid as boards will react fast affecting the carefully-built empire and self-image of CXOs. If your talent, grit and let’s say, timing took you to an empowering leadership role; please budget for some unknown headwinds or luck that can sometimes cut you cruelly to size!

(Kamal Karanth is co-founder of Xpheno, a specialist staffing firm)

‘U.S. May home sales crumble’

Reuters

Expensive proposition: Housing affordability in the U.S. is at an all-time low, according to a Redfin report. REUTERSKAREN DUCEY

U.S. home sales in May fell to among the lowest levels in the past decade, real estate brokerage Redfin said in a report, as both demand and supply remained sluggish in a high-mortgage rate environment.

Housing affordability in the U.S. is at an all-time low. Median home prices have scaled record highs and the 30-year fixed-mortgage rate is hovering at around 7%. This has depressed both demand and supply.

The number of homes for sale remains roughly 25% below pre-pandemic levels, according to Redfin. Home sellers are holding onto lower fixed mortage rates secured on properties during an era of cheap debt in the face of higher rates currently.

In May, 4,07,959 homes were sold. Only October 2023 (3,98,537) and May 2020 (3,69,300) in the past decade have recorded fewer home sales than last month, as per Redfin data.

Home sales fell 1.7% month-over-month in May on a seasonally adjusted basis and dropped 2.9% from a year earlier, while median home sale price rose to a record high of $439,716, up 1.6% month-over-month and 5.1% year-over-year, as per Redfin.

Seasonally-adjusted new listings rose 0.3% month-over-month in May and 8.8% from a year earlier. Still, they were roughly 20% below pre-pandemic (May 2019) levels.

“Sales are sluggish because high homebuying costs are making both house hunters and prospective sellers skittish. And with so few homes for sale, buyers in some markets are getting into bidding wars, which is helping push home prices to record highs,” said Redfin Senior Economist Elijah de la Campa.

Foreign

- Ukraine peace summit ends with hope

- Life at risk

- Jacob Zuma’s party to join Opposition in South Africa

- Feasibility study on land connectivity with India in final stages, says Wickremesinghe

- 19 Haj pilgrims killed in Saudi Arabia as extreme heatwave ravages the kingdom

- Daily Gaza 'pause' for aid deliveries, says Israel Army

- Russia claims capture of village in southern Ukraine: ministry

- Russian special forces kill IS-linked hostage takers at detention centre

- Taiwan President says China’s ‘strong rise’ is greatest challenge

- Hamburg police shoot person wielding axe at soccer fan parade

- Al Qaeda affiliate claims responsibility for Burkina attack this month, SITE Intelligence Group says

- German Opportunity Card opens job market to skilled non-EU migrants

- Young U.K. voters feel left out as they lament their options in coming polls

- Japanese author Haruki Murakami happy with first animated adaptation of his short stories

- Panda diplomacy

- LGBTQIA+ soldiers in Ukraine rally for partnership rights

- Opposition leader killed ahead of polls in Mongolia

Ukraine peace summit ends with hope

Smita Sharma

Burgenstock

Participants stress the need to get Russia to the talks table ; Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed the diplomatic ‘success’ of the event, adding that the path was open for a second peace summit; many leaders are also worried about China aligning with Russia and staying out of the Swiss conference

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, along with other world leaders, at the summit in Burgenstock on Sunday. AFPDIMITAR DILKOFF

The two-day Summit on Peace in Ukraine at the Bürgenstock resort in Switzerland ended on Sunday with participants hoping for an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine. Eighty countries and four organisations of the 100 attending delegations supported the final joint communiqué that emerged out of the Path To Peace Summit looking at ways to end the Russia-Ukraine war raging on since February 2022.

“The ongoing war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine continues to cause large-scale human suffering and destruction, and to create risks and crises with global repercussions,” said the declaration that focused on the three agendas of nuclear safety, global food security and humanitarian issues.

“All prisoners of war must be released by complete exchange. All deported and unlawfully displaced Ukrainian children, and all other Ukrainian civilians who were unlawfully detained, must be returned to Ukraine,” the declaration emphasised.

‘Diplomatic success’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed the diplomatic “success” of the event, and said the path was open for a second peace summit, with a view to ending the war with a just and lasting settlement.

But he told a closing press conference that “Russia and their leadership are not ready for a just peace”.

Swiss President Viola Amherd claimed that the communique is “a strong signal from the international community for peace based on international law and the UN Charter”.

In their deliberations during the opening ceremony and plenary sessions, most of the Western bloc leaders struck a similar note in underlining that Ukraine was the victim here, and peace cannot mean surrender, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s latest conditions to begin negotiations for peace.

Russia’s absence

The elephant in the room though remained Russia’s absence with Mr. Putin not invited by host Switzerland, leading to questions about the effectiveness of the Path to Peace Summit. It is important to note that Switzerland, unlike China, India or the United States, is also a signatory to the Rome Statute and upholds decisions of the International Criminal Court in the Hague, which has indicted Mr. Putin for alleged war crimes.

Mr. Putin’s presence on Swiss soil could have paved the path for his arrest. But the conference did recognise the need to get Moscow to the dialogue table to end the war.

China’s stance

A day earlier, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in his opening remarks, had insisted that the Summit could have been more result-oriented if the other party to the conflict – Russia – had been there in the room as he offered Turkiye’s willingness to facilitate the process of mediation talks.

Many leaders are also worried about China aligning with Russia and staying out of the Swiss summit instead of pulling its leverage on Kremlin to end the conflict. President Alexander Stubb of Finland, in an interview with the Finnish Broadcasting Company, made it amply clear.

Meanwhile speaking to The Hindu, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer hoped that the Summit for peace would find new friends and partners in the future, including India. He welcomed India’s diplomatic participation in the Burgenstock Summit as a beginning and important first step.

(With Agence France-Presse inputs)

Smita Sharma is an independent journalist based in Delhi.

Life at risk

Activists from the environmental organisation Greenpeace drawing a message in the sand to raise awareness of caring for turtles and the oceans as part of a campaign called ‘Oceans without Plastics’ at Pie de la Cuesta beach in Acapulco, Guerrero State, Mexico.AFPFRANCISCO ROBLES

Jacob Zuma’s party to join Opposition in South Africa

Reuters

JOHANNESBURG

Former South African President Jacob Zuma speaks during the launch of the election manifesto in May.REUTERS

South Africa’s uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party will join an alliance of smaller Opposition parties in Parliament in a bid to take on the African National Congress and Democratic Alliance-led coalition government, it said on Sunday.

The ANC and its largest rival, the white-led, pro-business Democratic Alliance, agreed on Friday to work together in a coalition it called “government of national unity”, a step change after 30 years of ANC rule.

Two smaller parties, the socially conservative Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and the right-wing Patriotic Alliance, will also take part in the unity government.

Former President Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto we Sizwe party came in a surprisingly strong third in the May 29 election which saw the ANC lose its majority. MK won 14.6% of the vote which translated into 58 seats in the 400-seat National Assembly.

However, MK lawmakers boycotted the first sitting of the National Assembly on Friday after filing a complaint at the country’s top court alleging vote-rigging, which the court dismissed as without merit.

Spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela told presspersons that the MK party will join the alliance called the “Progressive Caucus”, which includes the Marxist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the centre-left United Democratic Movement.

Feasibility study on land connectivity with India in final stages, says Wickremesinghe

Press Trust of India

Colombo

Ranil Wickremesinghe AP

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Sunday that the feasibility study on a proposal to establish land connectivity with India is in its final stages.

Mr. Wickremesinghe, who was travelling in the northeastern district of Mannar to inspect the development work in the region, said that the preliminary work of the feasibility study was over and the final phase would be completed soon.

This proposal and the prospect of a power grid connection between the two nations are likely to be discussed during the visit of External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to Lanka this week.

Mr. Wickremesinghe said a commercial venture to sell the excess renewable energy to India would also be discussed during the Minister’s visit.

On Saturday, the Lankan Foreign Ministry here announced that Mr. Jaishankar would arrive in Colombo on June 20.

However, there was no official announcement on Mr. Jaishankar’s visit from India’s Ministry of External Affairs.

If confirmed, this could be Mr. Jaishankar’s first official standalone visit abroad after he was appointed India’s External Affairs Minister in the new government early this month.

Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda has been quoted as saying in the local media that Sri Lanka would raise the contentious issue of illegal fishing in Sri Lankan waters by Indian fishermen.

19 Haj pilgrims killed in Saudi Arabia as extreme heatwave ravages the kingdom

Agence France-Presse

Amman

At least 19 Jordanian and Iranian pilgrims have died while on the Haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, authorities from their countries said on Sunday, as temperatures soar in the kingdom.

“Fourteen Jordanian pilgrims died and 17 others were missing” during the performance of Haj rituals, Jordan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The Ministry later confirmed the 14 had died “after suffering sun stroke due to the extreme heatwave”.

Iranian Red Crescent chief Pirhossein Koolivand separately said “five Iranian pilgrims have lost their lives so far in Mecca and Medina during the Haj this year”, without saying how they died.

The Haj, one of the world’s biggest religious gatherings, is one of the five pillars of Islam and all Muslims with the means must perform it at least once.

Temperatures have pushed well past 40 degrees Celsius during the annual pilgrimage that around 1.8 million Muslims are taking part in this year.

Many of the rituals are performed outdoors and on foot, creating challenges especially among the elderly.

Saudi Arabia has not provided any information on fatalities.

But the kingdom has implemented heat mitigation measures, including climate-controlled areas. It distributes water, and offers advice to pilgrims on protecting themselves from the sun.

During last year’s Haj at least 240 people — many from Indonesia — died, according to figures announced by various countries which also did not specify causes of death.

Daily Gaza ‘pause’ for aid deliveries: Israel

Agence France-Presse

Gaza Strip

Israel’s military said on Sunday it would “pause” fighting around a south Gaza route daily to facilitate aid deliveries, following months of warnings of famine in the besieged Palestinian territory.

The announcement of a “local, tactical pause of military activity” during daylight hours in an area of Rafah came a day after eight Israeli soldiers were killed in a blast near the far-southern city and three more troops died elsewhere, in one of the heaviest losses for the Army in its war against Hamas militants.

UN agencies and aid groups have repeatedly sounded the alarm of dire shortages of food and other essentials in the Gaza Strip, exacerbated by overland access restrictions and the closure of the key Rafah crossing with Egypt.

Israel has long defended its efforts to let aid into Gaza including via its Kerem Shalom border near Rafah, blaming militants for looting supplies and humanitarian workers for failing to distribute them to civilians.

“A local, tactical pause of military activity for humanitarian purposes will take place from 8.00 a.m. until 7.00 p.m. every day until further notice along the road that leads from the Kerem Shalom crossing to the Salah al-Din road and then northwards,” a military statement said.

A map released by the Army showed the declared humanitarian route extending until Rafah’s European Hospital, about 10 km from Kerem Shalom.

The U.S. on Friday imposed sanctions on an extremist Israeli group for blocking and attacking Gaza-bound aid convoys.

Russia claims capture of village in southern Ukraine, says Ministry

REUTERS

Russia on Sunday claimed its troops had captured a village in southern Ukraine, continuing its progress on the front line against a Ukrainian Army lacking troops and ammunition. “Units of the Eastern forces have liberated the settlement of Zagrine in the Zaporizhzhia region,” the Russian Defence Ministry said. AFP

Russian special forces kill IS-linked hostage takers at detention centre

AP

Russian special forces freed two prison guards and shot dead six inmates linked to the Islamic State militant group who had taken them hostage at a detention centre in the southern city of Rostov on Sunday, Russian media said. According to media, the hostage takers were from Russia’s southern republic of Ingushetia. Reuters

Taiwan President says China’s ‘strong rise’ is greatest challenge

REUTERS

President Lai Ching-te warned cadets of Taiwan’s military academy on Sunday that their biggest challenge was “the strong rise of China”, which he said regards the “elimination” of the self-ruled island as a national cause. Chinese leaders have escalated their rhetoric recently to suggest “unification” is an “inevitability”. AFP

Hamburg police shoot person wielding axe at soccer fan parade

AP

German police fired shots at a person who threatened officers with a pickaxe and an incendiary device on the sidelines of a Euro-2024 soccer fan parade in the St Pauli district in central Hamburg on Sunday. A police operation is now under way and the attacker is currently receiving medical care for injuries, the police said. Reuters

Al Qaeda affiliate claims attack in Burkina Faso

Reuters

DAKAR

Al Qaeda affiliate Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) group has claimed responsibility for what it said was attack on June 11 that killed over 100 Burkina Faso soldiers in Mansila area near the border with Niger, the SITE Intelligence Group said on Sunday.

The reported attack was one of the deadliest suffered by the West African Sahel nation’s army as it, alongside neighbours Niger and Mali, struggle to contain insurgencies linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State.

Over more than a decade, the insurgencies have killed thousands and displaced over two million in Burkina Faso.

German Opportunity Card opens job market to skilled non-EU migrants

Nimish Sawant

BERLIN

The third stage of Germany’s Skilled Immigration Act, passed in 2020, includes the provision of or Opportunity Card , a system that allows skilled professionals from non-European Union countries to search for work in the European country while legally living there for up to a year

New horizons: The new regulations will make the path easier for skilled migrants who can leverage their professional experience in Germany.AFPKIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV

On June 1, 2024, the German government released the third stage of its Skilled Immigration Act — passed in 2020 but started coming into effect only in 2023 — with the Chancenkarte or Opportunity Card. This allows skilled professionals from non-EU countries to search for work while legally living in Germany for up to a year. The Opportunity Card adopts a point system followed by Canada and Australia for many years.

Swapnil Naik, 39, is the head of operations at a financial company in Mumbai. Having worked in India for over a decade, he wanted to expand his horizons and has been eyeing European shores. After being unsuccessful with a job visa for France earlier this year, Mr. Naik started the process to apply for Germany’s job-search visa.

The new regulations will make the path easier for applicants like Mr. Naik, who can leverage their professional experience in Germany.

“The Opportunity Card has come at the right time for me. I have already completed my police verification for this. I will be enrolling in a German language course soon as I continue my search for jobs in Germany,” Mr. Naik said.

“The Chancenkarte is an interesting addition to the German labour migration system, which has evolved over the last 20 years. It is becoming more liberal but also more complex. In principle, it sends a good message to potential migrants,” noted migration analyst Dr. Marcus Engler.

The major requirements when applying for the Opportunity Card are a minimum of two years of vocational training or a university degree or work experience, entry-level German knowledge or fluency in English , and a blocked account of €12,324 per person per year.

An applicant will be awarded points based on German language proficiency, professional experience, age, experience in regulated professions in Germany (such as teacher, nurse, or engineer), and more. A prospective candidate must acquire at least six points to qualify for the Opportunity Card.

Unlike the job search visa (which would let one look for a job for six months in Germany without any option to work part time in this duration), the Opportunity Card allows an applicant to work part-time (20 hours per week) during the job search. The job search period can be extended by another two years (only once), in exceptional circumstances.

“With the Opportunity Card, we are creating a new innovative and points-based residence permit that will contribute to the overall success of the reform of the Skilled Immigration Act. Following the Canadian model, we are focusing on an unbureaucratic, comprehensible and digital solution that companies and associations in Germany have long wanted,” said Misbah Khan, a member of the German Parliament from the Green party, in a statement.

Worker shortage

Germany has been reeling from a skilled worker shortage as its population aged rapidly. According to German Labour Minister Hubertus Heil, Germany would need 7 million skilled workers by 2035, with sectors such as nursing, the food and beverage industry, and information technology experiencing the greatest shortage. As of April 2024, the Federal Employment Agency reported 7,01,000 vacant jobs.

Sonali Chowdhry, a trade economist at DIW Berlin believes the Opportunity Card is a step in the right direction as it relaxed several constraints faced by foreign workers.

“Prospective applicants should be prepared for entering a labour market facing sluggish economic recovery, subdued business investment and relatively high costs of housing in major German cities like Munich, Frankfurt and Berlin,” Ms. Chowdhry said highlighting the major challenges facing job seekers in Germany.

“One of the challenges is what happens if you get a lot of applications for the Opportunity Card. Then, you need to have a system of prioritisation for selection, but there is no clarity on that. We will have to wait for more evidence-based discussion,” Mr. Engler said.

According to many experts, German bureaucratic processes can get tedious.

“The Opportunity Card could more readily attract skilled workers in high-demand industries with labour shortages by removing bureaucratic obstacles,” Ms. Chowdhry noted.

The German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) sees little positive effect from the Opportunity Card. In a statement to local media, DGB stated that one of the obstacles in the process is the lack of state-approved vocational training in many non-EU countries.

The anti-immigrant right-wing party Alternative for Germany has said the Opportunity Card will lead to “wage dumping and more welfare state burden.” But some of the objections raised such as there being no minimum level of earnings, are patently false as the government has mandated Opportunity Card holders to find a job with a minimum gross salary of €40,770

The point system in Canada offers the chance of permanent residency, whereas the Opportunity Card system in Germany does not. In Germany, permanent residency involves many more steps in addition to securing the Opportunity Card.

“Potentials instead of populism — that must be our motto. Only as a pragmatic country of immigration will we ultimately prevent a situation in which we simply lack the staff to care for our grandparents, teach our children or master the energy transition,” Ms. Khan noted in her statement.

(Nimish Sawant is an independent journalist based in Berlin)

Young U.K. voters feel left out as they lament their options in coming polls

Agence France-Presse

LONDON

Voters born after 1997 only made up 9% of the electorate in the general election in 2019, but are up to 15% this time. AFPJUSTIN TALLIS

Many young voters in next month’s U.K. general election have lived under a Conservative government for most of their lives, with the ruling party having been in power since 2010.

Gen Z voters — those born after 1997 — only made up 9% of the electorate for the last polls in 2019.

But they make up around 15% this year, according to the National Centre for Social Research, and want to hold the government to account for their economic hardships.

Kevin Patel, 26, has been hit by soaring rental prices in London, where he is a postgraduate student, and still lives with his parents. “With the way it’s looking like, I genuinely don’t know how long I’ll have to wait before I can actually afford my own place”, he said.

In the past few years, a housing shortage and landlords passing on increased costs such as higher energy prices and mortgages have hiked up rent. Government data last year showed that renters and young people were among the worst-affected by the cost-of-living crisis.

Mr. Patel, historically a Labour voter, said he will likely be voting Labour again, because the party has “better plans” to deal with the rental crisis.

But he was still afraid that neither of the main parties will address the issues. Asked how he feels about his vote, he said: “Cynical, but with a layer of hope underneath.”

Holly Cobb, a first-time voter from Cambridgeshire, said she was considering voting for the Liberal Democrats because of its leader Ed Davey’s promise to make carers a political priority.

Top of her wish-list was an increase in allowances for carers like her and fixing the social care system, which lawmakers have warned is enduring “chronic underfunding”.

Josh Saunders, 24, a student at the Guildhall School of Music in London, worked at a bar four nights a week to pay for university.

Earlier this year, the government announced cuts in funding for creative courses at universities.

‘Not represented’

Mr. Saunders said students not on scholarships at Guildhall were struggling to get by with minimum wage jobs. He said he did not feel represented by either Labour, who he voted for in 2019, or the Tories but would back Labour this time round because of its leader Keir Starmer’s promise to boost the minimum wage.

Sawen Ali, 24, also voted Labour in 2019 but will not be repeating it this year.

She cited the party’s stance on Israel’s war in Gaza, including suspending some members who voted for a ceasefire in Gaza last November. “It makes me feel sick that Labour takes a vote like mine for granted, purely because I’m young, or I’m a person of colour”, said Ms. Ali, who was a masters student at Cambridge University.

Amie Kirby, a recent graduate from a working-class background, said her vote was based on policies on Gaza and other issues including immigration and gender identity. “Culture wars” attacks on migrants or trans people feel “completely out of touch with my generation”, said Ms. Kirby, who was raised as a Labour voter but is now “torn”. “I think part of me wants to vote Green, part of me wants to spoil my ballot,” she confessed.

Japanese author Haruki Murakami happy with first animated adaptation of his short stories

Associated Press

TOKYO

Haruki Murakami, left, with filmmaker Pierre Foldes at the screening of Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman in Tokyo on Saturday.APMARI YAMAGUCHI

Renowned Japanese author Haruki Murakami expressed joy with how several of his short stories were adapted in American director Pierre Földes’s animated film Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman, adding that he wanted to see future interpretations of his work with filmmakers’ own spin.

The Japanese language version of the 2022 film will be released for the first time in Japan on July 26. It is the first animated adaptation of Murakami’s work.

After screening the film on Saturday at his alma mater Waseda University in Tokyo, Murakami — joining Földes at a talk session — admitted that while he wasn’t a fan of animated films, he watched it twice.

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman was set in Tokyo in the aftermath of the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami and the Fukushima meltdowns. The filmmaker was inspired by six of Murakami’s short stories: Super-Frog Saves Tokyo and U.F.O. in Kushiro — from After the Quake collection, written after the fatal 1995 Kobe earthquake — and Birthday Girl, Dabchick and The Windup Bird and Tuesday’s Women.

Murakami praised the animated version of the intelligent green Frog, voiced by Földes, saying it matched how he imagined the character to be.

“What I would like to see is not a mere film version of what I wrote, but something added to it and becoming something new,” Murakami said during a talk with the filmmaker.

Földes said his approach “is to be faithful to my interpretation of things of my inspiration,” which obviously worked for Murakami. The American filmmaker said he didn’t have a definitive plan when he picked six stories that “I just love.” But things started to build “like different crops growing together,” he told Murakami. “Little by little all these links appeared and this is how I combined all your stories into one story with other stories inside.”

“Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman” received a nomination for best-animated film at the 2024 Lumieres Awards.

Panda diplomacy

A Giant panda nurses its cub at the China Conservation and Research Centre for the Giant Panda in Sichuan province. China will loan Australia new giant pandas to replace a pair that failed to produce offspring, visiting Premier Li Qiang announced in Sydney on Sunday.AFPPEDRO PARDO

LGBTQIA+ soldiers in Ukraine rally for partnership rights

Associated Press

KYIV

Proud soldiers: Ukrainian service members take part in the pride march in Kyiv on Sunday.AFP SERGEI SUPINSKY

Several hundred LGBTQIA+ Ukrainian servicemembers and their supporters marched in central Kyiv on Sunday to demand more rights and highlight their service to their country in its war with Russia.

The service members — many wearing rainbow and unicorn patches on their uniforms — called upon the government to grant them official partnership rights. They described the event as a pride march but it did not have the celebratory atmosphere of peacetime events and took place in the rain and under a heavy police guard amid threats from counterprotesters.

The role of LGBTQIA+ members in the military has been credited with shifting public attitudes toward same-sex partnerships in the socially conservative country. “We are ordinary people who are fighting on an equal footing with everyone else, but deprived of the rights that other people have,” Dmitriy Pavlov, an army soldier who used a cane to walk, said.

Campaigners were seeking legal reforms to allow people in same-sex partnerships to take medical decisions for wounded soldiers and bury victims of the war that extended across Ukraine more than two years ago. They argued that an improvement in homosexual rights would create a further distinction between Ukraine and Russia, where LGBTQIA+ rights are severely restricted.

Organisers had faced difficulties in organising the rally with city authorities turning down a petition to allow it to be held at a metro station, and it was condemned by one of the main branches of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Opposition leader killed ahead of polls in Mongolia

Agence France-Presse

Ulaanbaatar

A Mongolian Opposition candidate was beaten to death, authorities said on Sunday, ahead of parliamentary elections due on June 28.

The victim was a member of the Democratic Party (DP) and a Governor of Sant Sum in central Mongolia, the police said in a statement without revealing his identity.

The man was killed on Saturday, the police said, adding that the circumstances surrounding the attack have yet to be clarified. Local media named the man as B. Bayanmunkh, while a statement by his party identified him as “BB”.

Sports

- India takes flight to the Caribbean after a stellar show in the Land of Opportunity

- Smriti’s century powers India to a massive win

- Italy and the Netherlands fightback for opening wins

- Shaheen and Babar win it for Pakistan

- scoreboard

- England downs Namibia in a rain-curtailed encounter

- Stoinis and Head in fine form as Australia knocks out Scotland

- Wiese announces retirement from international cricket

- It’s brilliant to see Asha’s journey, says teammate Smriti

- Will France find the missing piece to complete Deschamps’ cabinet at last?

- Slovenia looks to fellow athletes for inspiration

- Ukraine will want to start strong against Romania

- Bhajan wins gold, helps earn recurve women’s individual quota in the Antalya qualifier

- DeChambeau leads by three strokes after a birdie spree

- de Minaur clinches ’s-Hertogenbosch title

- Zii Jia and Ohori crowned Australian Open champions

- Gretchen Walsh sets 100m butterfly World record

- Ferrari wins second straight Le Mans 24 Hours race

- Indian women finish fifth, men sixth in Asian squash

- If all three of us can play really well, we can definitely reach the quarterfinal and even semifinal at the Paris Olympics

India takes flight to the Caribbean after a stellar show in the Land of Opportunity

Ashwin Achal

Lauderhill

A game against Canada would’ve been ideal for the side to get some match practice ; Kohli’s form will be crucial in the Super 8 stage

1 of 2 Rallying his troops: Rohit knows that India’s real test lies ahead.K.R. DEEPAK

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India did exceptionally well to successfully navigate a tricky Group-A campaign in the United States of America.

The opener against Ireland went along expected lines. The big one against Pakistan saw India use clever tact — promoting Axar Patel up the order, bringing Jasprit Bumrah back into the attack when Pakistan started to get comfortable — to negate the disadvantage of batting first on a dicey New York pitch.

Rohit Sharma’s men had to dig their heels in to overcome a gritty USA. A wash out in the last match here, however, left the side unhappy.

Unfit outfield

The Central Broward Park & Broward County Stadium here should have witnessed at least a shortened game between India and Canada on Saturday. The sun was out, rain stayed away, and yet the outfield was unfit for play.

India was denied match practice which could have been useful ahead of the Super 8 stage in the West Indies. For Virat Kohli — who has made only five runs in three outings — a good knock against Canada would have given a sense of relief and confidence.

India batting coach Vikram Rathour expressed his disappointment at not getting play.

“We were really looking forward to playing a game here, especially as we were expecting better batting conditions than what we got in New York. It was important for us to get a game, but this is something that we cannot control,” Rathour said.

The ground was not fully covered when it rained — a lapse which led to the wet outfield. Asked if this was acceptable practice at a World Cup, Rathour said: “This question should be asked to the ICC. I won’t be able to answer.

“I don’t know the reason why it was not covered, and why they didn’t have enough covers for the whole ground. If they would have covered it fully, it definitely would have helped.”

Concern

Kohli’s poor form is another concern that must be addressed. The batter went hard at deliveries and tried to force the pace on an up-and-down New York surface, when it would have been more prudent to play late and close to the body.

Kohli will believe that his timing will return in the West Indies, where pitches will not be as seamer-friendly. Rathour stated that Kohli is now hungrier than ever to get it right.

“We have no concern at all (about Kohli’s form). He had been batting superbly in the earlier tournament (IPL 2024). A couple of dismissals here doesn’t change anything.

“Actually, it is good that he is a little hungrier. He is really keen to do well, and really switched on. It’s a good space to be as a batter.”

Smriti’s century powers India to a massive win

N. Sudarshan

BENGALURU

Smart batting: Smriti eschewed gushy shot-making and waited to execute her strokes.K. MURALI KUMAR

Smriti Mandhana’s splendid 117 (127b, 12x4, 1x6) — her sixth ODI century and first at home — carried India to a thumping 143-run victory over South Africa in the first of three 50-over Internationals at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Sunday.

Opting to bat, India made 265, a fine recovery after being 99 for five at one stage. South Africa never looked like chasing the total, folding for 122 as debutant leggie Asha Sobhana, 33, finished with four wickets (8.4-2-21-4).

Skipper Laura Wolvaardt was dismissed in the very first over, with Renuka Singh getting one to nip back and clip the top of off-stump. Pooja Vastrakar trapped Anneke Bosch in front before offie Deepti Sharma forced Tazmin Brits to slice to point.

Marizanne Kapp resisted (24, 39b, 1x4, 1x6), but Asha floated one wide and had her caught by Harmanpreet Kaur at cover. Annerie Dercksen and Sune Luus (33, 58b, 4x4) soon followed Kapp and the contest was as good as over.

The lone bit of worry for India was the injury to Pooja, who went off the field in the 18th over after seemingly hurting her left knee. Smriti, in the post-match press conference however, said it could just be a case of cramps.

Earlier, during an afternoon when the sun played hide and seek, the visiting bowlers found some swing in the air and some purchase off the wicket. And the trio of Shafali Verma, D. Hemalatha and Harmanpreet was duly out trying the expansive.

Smriti, though, eschewed gushy shot-making and waited to execute some exquisite cover-drives, pitch-perfect pulls and a couple of smart lofted strokes. The 27-year-old put on 37 runs with Jemimah Rodrigues (17, 28b, 1x4), 81 with Deepti Sharma (37, 48b, 3x4) and 58 with Pooja (31 n.o., 42b, 3x4). The half-century took 61 balls and the hundred 116, with the six over mid-on off medium-pacer Masabata Klaas to move from 93 to 99 her best shot.

South Africa didn’t help itself with some below par ground fielding. It also conceded 17 extras to just one from India.

Italy and the Netherlands fightback for opening wins

Associated Press

Dortmund

1 of 2 Super sub: Weghorst, left, scores moments after coming on for the Dutch against Poland. APPETR JOSEK

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Italy recovered from conceding the quickest goal in European Championship history — after just 23 seconds — to open its title defence with a 2-1 win over Albania on Saturday.

Nedim Bajrami pounced on a throw-in by Italy left back Federico Dimarco that failed to reach teammate Alessandro Bastoni, before taking a touch and smashing a rising shot inside the near post.

Within 16 minutes, the Italians were ahead as Bastoni headed in Lorenzo Pellegrini’s cross in the 11th and then Nicolo Barella struck home a first-time shot from the edge of the area.

On Sunday, substitute Wout Weghorst snatched an 83rd-minute winner as the Netherlands fought its way back to beat Poland 2-1 in the Group D opener.

Weghorst had barely been on the field when he finished an expert pass from Nathan Ake to secure a deserved three points.

Poland shocked with a 16th-minute header from striker Adam Buksa.

A deserved Dutch equaliser came 13 minutes later as Cody Gakpo’s shot took a deflection off Bartosz Salamon.

The results: Group B: Italy 2 (Bastoni 11, Barella 16) bt Albania 1 (Bajrami 1).

Group C: Slovenia 1 (Janza 77) drew with Denmark 1 (Eriksen 17).

Group D: Poland 1 (Buksa 16) lost to Netherlands 2 (Gakpo 29, Weghorst 83).

Shaheen and Babar do it for Pakistan

Agence France-Presse

Lauderhill

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2 of 2 Nervy chase: Shaheen’s sixes eased the pressure.K.R. DEEPAKDEEPAK KR

Shaheen Afridi took three wickets and then hit two sixes to win the game as Pakistan ended a disappointing T20 World Cup with a three-wicket win over Ireland on Sunday.

Ireland recovered from a poor start to make 106 for nine with Gareth Delany making a 19-ball 31 and although Pakistan wobbled, captain Babar Azam’s unbeaten 32 off 34 balls steadied the ship and took the side home.

The scores:

Ireland 106/9 in 20 overs (Delany 31, Shaheen 3/22, Amir 2/11, Imad 3/8) lost to Pakistan 111/7 in 18.5 overs (Babar 32 n.o., McCarthy 3/15, Campher 2/24).

Toss: Pakistan.

PoM: Shaheen.

INDIA

Shafali Verma c Jafta b Klaas 7 (12b, 1x4), Smriti Mandhana c Luus b Klaas 117 (127b, 12x4, 1x6), D. Hemalatha c Shangase b Mlaba 12 (16b, 1x4), Harmanpreet Kaur c Wolvaardt b Dercksen 10 (11b, 1x4), Jemimah Rodrigues c Kapp b Shangase 17 (28b, 1x4), Richa Ghosh c Jafta b Khaka 3 (5b), Deepti Sharma b Khaka 37 (48b, 3x4), Pooja Vastrakar (not out) 31 (42b, 3x4), Radha Yadav c Mlaba b Khaka 6 (7b), Asha Sobhana (not out) 8 (5b, 1x4); Extras (b-3, lb-1, nb-1, w-12): 17; Total (for eight wkts. in 50 overs): 265.

FALL OF WICKETS

1-15 (Shafali, 3.2 overs), 2-32 (Hemalatha 8.2), 3-55 (Harmanpreet, 11.2), 4-92 (Jemimah, 20.2), 5-99 (Richa, 21.5), 6-180 (Deepti, 37.1), 7-238 (Smriti, 46.1), 8-252 (Radha, 48.5).

SOUTH AFRICA BOWLING

Khaka 10-0-47-3, Klaas 10-0-51-2, Dercksen 10-0-60-1, Mlaba 8-0-38-1, Shangase 10-0-54-1, Bosch 2-0-11-0.

SOUTH AFRICA

Laura Wolvaardt b Renuka 4 (4b, 1x4), Tazmin Brits c Radha b Deepti 18 (31b, 3x4), Anneke Bosch lbw b Pooja 5 (13b, 1x4), Sune Luus lbw b Deepti 33 (58b, 4x4), Marizanne Kapp c Harmanpreet b Asha 24 (39b, 1x4, 1x6), Annerie Dercksen run out 1 (12b), Nondumiso Shangase lbw b Radha 8 (24b, 1x4), Sinalo Jafta (not out) 27 (30b, 4x4), Masabata Klaas c Radha b Asha 1 (5b), Nonkululeko Mlaba b Asha 0 (3b), Ayabonga Khaka c Richa b Asha 0 (7b); Extras (lb-1): 1; Total (in 37.4 overs): 122.

FALL OF WICKETS

1-4 (Wolvaardt, 0.4 overs), 2-21 (Bosch, 5.2), 3-33 (Brits, 10.1), 4-72 (Kapp, 21.3), 5-74 (Dercksen, 23.4), 6-92 (Luus, 28.3), 7-103 (Shangase, 32.5), 8-120 (Klaas, 35.3), 9-120 (Mlaba, 35.6).

INDIA BOWLING

Renuka 7-0-30-1, Pooja 4-1-11-1, Deepti 6-0-10-2, Radha 10-0-32-1, Asha 8.4-2-21-4, Harmanpreet 2-0-17-0.

Toss: India; PoM: Smriti.

India won by 143 runs.

England downs Namibia in a rain-curtailed encounter

Getty ImagesGareth Copley

England defeated Namibia by 41 runs (DLS method) in a rain-interrupted Group-B match in Antigua.

The scores: England 122/5 in 10 overs (Bairstow 31, Brook 47 n.o., Trumpelmann 2/31) bt Namibia 84/3 in 10 overs (van Lingen 33, Wiese 27); Toss: Namibia; PoM: Brook.

Stoinis and Head in fine form as Australia knocks out Scotland

AFPTIMOTHY A. CLARY

Australia beat Scotland by five wickets, a result that pushed the latter out of contention for a Super 8 berth from Group B.

The scores: Scotland 180/5 in 20 overs (Munsey 35, McMullen 60, Berrington 42 n.o., Maxwell 2/44) lost to Australia 186/5 in 19.4 overs (Head 68, Stoinis 59, Watt 2/34, Sharif 2/42); Toss: Aus; PoM: Stoinis.

Wiese announces retirement from international cricket

Getty ImagesGareth Copley

Namibia all-rounder David Wiese announced his retirement from international cricket. “In terms of international cricket, I don’t know if there’s much left in me. I’ve had a lot of good times with Namibia and to play my last game for them possibly at a World Cup against a world-class team like England, it just seemed like the right time.”

It’s brilliant to see Asha’s journey, says teammate Smriti

K. MURALI KUMARMURALI KUMAR K

Smriti Mandhana heaped praise on Asha Sobhana after the spinner’s terrific four-for against SA. “The kind of experience she has, I don’t know what nerves will be there. It’s brilliant to see her journey. I am happy that she was in my team,” Smriti said after helping script India’s second-biggest ODI win at home [by runs].

Will France find the missing piece to complete Deschamps’ cabinet at last?

Agence France-Presse

DUSSELDORF

Whatever happens, he has left an indelible mark on the French national team; Now if he wants to make a bit more history we need to do something this summer , because the Euros is the only thing he is missing as a coach, says Mbappe

1 of 5 Leading by example: Newly-named captain Mbappe will hope to recreate his multiple World Cup heroics to take France to its third triumph.AP HASSAN AMMAR

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The European championship is the one title that has evaded the French since Didier Deschamps became coach in 2012. France and Kylian Mbappe are on a mission to round off their trophy cabinet as they begin their Euro 2024 campaign against Austria on Monday.

Runner-up as host in 2016, when it agonisingly lost the final in extra time to Portugal. Deschamps's side went out of the delayed Euro 2020 in the last 16, squandering a 3-1 lead before losing on penalties to Switzerland.

"Whatever happens, he has left an indelible mark on the French national team," Mbappe said of Deschamps in an interview with regional daily Ouest-France.

"Now if he wants to make a bit more history we need to do something this summer, because the Euros is the only thing he is missing as a coach."

France is arguably the standout candidate to lift the trophy on July 14 in Berlin.

The French have not fully convinced in recent outings, including a goalless draw with Canada last weekend.

Nevertheless, there are explanations for that and there is hope Les Bleus will find their best form in Germany. Deschamps has been making tactical adjustments which always require time to be assimilated.

Different look

There is something of a different look to France's left side, with Theo Hernandez likely to play in an advanced full-back role behind Marcus Thuram.

The Inter Milan forward is set to start on the flank with Mbappe through the middle, with Olivier Giroud no longer a starter.

Then there is the return of N'Golo Kante, now aged 33 and playing in Saudi Arabia. He missed the 2022 World Cup with injury but was recalled by Deschamps after two years out of the fold and is set to start against Austria.

His experience, and that of Giroud, could prove crucial in a young squad featuring 11 players aged 25 or under.

"I am full of excitement, nostalgia and desire. The main objective is to have the best competition possible," said Giroud as he prepares for his last major tournament.

There are questions about their central defence, but William Saliba is aiming to cement himself in the eleven on the back of a stellar club season.

"We are all relaxed. Our ambitions have not changed. Just because we are calm it doesn't mean we are going to win the Euros, but we'll do everything we can," said winger Kingsley Coman.

Slovenia looks to fellow athletes for inspiration

Agence France-Presse

STUTTGART

Means business: Elsnik insists that Slovenia is not there just to make up the numbers. Getty ImagesJurij Kodrun

Slovenias Timi Max Elsnik said the success of other sporting compatriots like two-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar and NBA star Luka Doncic gives the team plenty of motivation going into Euro 2024.

Olimpija Ljubljana midfielder Elsnik is one of three home-based players in the squad as Slovenia return to the European Championship for the first time since making their debut at the tournament 24 years ago.

“Slovenia is a phenomenon when it comes to sports,” said Elsnik. “Football maybe wasn’t the most important sport the last couple of years, but we have reached the Euros and maybe it will rejoin other sports in Slovenia again.”

Slovenia have also played at two World Cups -- in 2002 and 2010 -- and are aiming to spring a surprise over Denmark in their opening game in Stuttgart on Sunday.

“The number of messages you get, the faces of people in the street show everything, the Euros mean a lot to the people,” said Elsnik. “Slovenia is a small country and every sporting success is important for the country.”

They will also face Serbia and England in a challenging Group C, but Elsnik insists they are not in Germany just to make up the numbers.

Ukraine will want to start strong against Romania

Associated Press

MUNICH

Beacon of hope: War-torn Ukraine will want to give fans back home something to cheer about.AFP Lea PERNELLE

Ukraine will look to back up its most successful campaign to date, having reached the quarterfinals at Euro 2020, by beating Romania in its group opener in Munich on Monday.

Ukraine earned a reputation as comeback kings in the playoffs as a late goal saw it come from behind to beat both Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-1 in the semifinal, and then Iceland

Romania impressed in qualifying, sailing through unbeaten to top a group that also contained Switzerland and Israel. Edward Iordanescu will become the first coach to lead a Romania team at a European Championship since his father Anghel in 2016.

Ukraine left-back Vitaliy Mykolenko injured his ankle in the last warm-up match before the tournament but coach Serhiy Rebrov is hopeful it is not serious. Should Mykolenko not recover in time he will likely be replaced by Oleksandr Zinchenko, who plays as left back for Arsenal but more often in midfield for the national side.

Romania has not reached the knockout stages in 24 years, since losing 2-0 to eventual runner-up Italy in the quarterfinals at Euro 2000. Romania surprised England at that tournament, beating it 3-2 in the group stage. That is Romania's only win at a European championship, having drawn five matches and lost its other 10.

The teams have met six times before, but never at a major tournament. Romania has a slight edge with three wins to Ukraine's two, but the last of those was more than 20 years ago.

Bhajan wins gold, helps earn recurve women’s individual quota in the Antalya qualifier

Sports Bureau

Asian Games team bronze medallist archer Bhajan Kaur claimed a gold medal to help India earn a recurve women’s individual quota place in the Final Olympic Qualifier in Antalya, Turkey, on Sunday.

Even as the seasoned second-ranked archer Deepika Kumari, who received two byes, lost her first match to Azerbaijan’s Yaylagul Ramazanova 6-4, the third-ranked Bhajan and the ninth-placed Ankita Bhakat reached the quarterfinals to ensure a women’s berth in Paris 2024.

As the event offers only one individual quota place to a country, India secured the slot through the higher-ranked Bhajan’s fine performance.

The 18-year-old Bhajan got two byes and beat Mongolia’s Urantungalag Bishindee 6-2, Slovakia’s Ursa Cavic 7-3 and Poland’s Wioleta Myszor 6-0 to achieve the first target of entering the quarterfinals. Then she continued her good touch to get past Moldova’s Alexandra Mirca 6-2 in the semifinals and Iran’s Mobina Fallah 6-2 in the final.

Ankita, who also got two byes, defeated Israel’s Shelley Hilton 6-4 and Mikaella Moshe 7-3 and Philippines’ Gabrielle Monica Bidaure 6-0 to enter the quarterfinals before coming up short against Mobina 6-4.

Indian men and women’s teams had lost early to miss out on team quotas, which would have allowed the country to field three men and as many women in the Olympics.

However, both teams have another chance to qualify through the world rankings as they are placed at the top among the countries which have not secured team quotas yet.

DeChambeau leads by three strokes after a birdie spree

Agence France-Presse

PINEHURST

DeChambeau.AP

Bryson DeChambeau reeled off five birdies in 10 holes to seize command of the US Open, grabbing a three-stroke lead after Saturday’s third round at a punishing Pinehurst.

Only eight players were under par after 54 holes as the perils of the 7,548-yard layout took a toll, dome-shaped elevated greens with dirt and weeds waste areas crushing many hopes.

DeChambeau, the 2020 US Open winner and last month’s PGA Championship runner-up, made bogey at the fourth, then unleashed his birdie blitz. After a double-bogey at 16, he sank a birdie putt from just inside 12 feet at the par-3 17th and parred 18.

“Amazing. Made a lot of great putts,” DeChambeau said. “Pleased with how I struck it for the most part. Got to work on that just a little bit, but I feel pretty confident over the tee shots.”

Four-time Major winner Rory McIlroy, trying to snap a 10-year Major win drought, and Matthieu Pavon, trying to become the first Frenchman to win a Major since 1907, each shot 69 to share second on 206 along with ninth-ranked American Patrick Cantlay, who fired a 70, aided by a 19-foot birdie putt at 17.

Leading scores (after three rounds): 203: Bryson DeChambeau 67-69-67.

206: Matthieu Pavon 67-70-69, Rory McIlroy 65-72-69, Patrick Cantlay (USA) 65-71-70.

208: Hideki Matsuyama 72-66-70, Ludvig Aberg 66-69-73.

209: Tyrrell Hatton 68-71-70, Tony Finau 68-69-72.

de Minaur clinches ’s-Hertogenbosch title

Australian top seed Alex De Minaur defeated American Sebastian Korda 6-2, 6-4 to win the ’s-Hertogenbosch grass-court Wimbledon warm-up on Sunday. The straight-sets win in the Netherlands ensured the 25-year-old will reach a career-high world ranking of seven. It was de Minaur’s second title of the season after winning in Acapulco, Mexico, in March, and the ninth of his career. Russia’s Liudmila Samsonova came from a set down to defeat Bianca Andreescu in the women’s final to claim her fifth career title. The second seed won 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 after having started the day completing a semifinal win over Ekaterina Alexandrova.

Zii Jia and Ohori crowned Australian Open champions

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Malaysian Lee Zii Jia outlasted Japan’s Kodai Naraoka in the men’s singles final to be crowned Australian Open badminton champion, while Aya Ohori of Japan clinched the women’s title, in Sydney on Sunday. World No. 8 Zii Jia took advantage to upset his sixth-ranked opponent 21-19, 11-21, 21-18, while Ohori triumphed with a gutsy 17-21, 21-19, 21-16 come-from-behind win over Indonesian teenager Ester Nurumi Tri Wardoyo.

Gretchen Walsh sets 100m butterfly World record

Gretchen Walsh shattered the 100m butterfly world record on Saturday, clocking 55.18 seconds in the semifinals at the US Olympic swimming trials in Indianapolis. The US collegiate standout gunning for a Paris Olympics berth broke the record of 55.48 set by Sweden’s Sarah Sjoestroem at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Meanwhile, Katie Ledecky qualified for her fourth Olympics with a victory in the 400m freestyle.

Ferrari wins second straight Le Mans 24 Hours race

Ferrari won a wild and wet 92nd edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours race on Sunday. Nicklas Nielsen took the chequered flag after a vintage and gruelling race, the Dane sharing driving duties in the Italian constructor’s No. 50 car with Italian Antonio Fuoco and Spaniard Miguel Molina. Toyota took second with Ferrari’s No. 51, which triumphed last year, completing the podium.

Indian women finish fifth, men sixth in Asian squash

The Indian women’s team finished fifth and the men’s outfit took the sixth place in the Asian team squash championships, which concluded at Dalian (China) on Sunday. The women defeated Iran 2-0 in the match to decide the fifth and sixth positions while the men lost to South Korea 1-2.

The results: 5-6 positions: Men: India lost to South Korea 1-2 (Velavan Senthilkumar bt Jeongmin Ryu 11-5, 11-1, 11-4; Suraj Kumar Chand lost to Minwoo Lee 11-7, 11-13, 9-11, 8-11; Om Semwal lost to Jooyoung Na 9-11, 6-11, 9-11).

Women: India bt Iran 2-0 (Rathika Suthanthira Seelan bt Fereshteh Eghtedari 11-5, 11-9, 11-7; Pooja Arthi Raghu bt Parmin Nekopayantak 11-5, 11-7, 12-10).

If Sharath, Manav and I play really well, we can definitely reach the quarterfinal and even semifinal at the Paris Olympics

K. Keerthivasan

Chennai

I just want to go out there, play freely and play my best game in the best manner possible; I want to go far in the main singles event and if I can do that, it will give me a lot of confidence for the team event; we want to set a benchmark for the next Games

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Harmeet Desai is a big fan of tennis legend Rafael Nadal, who will be competing in his last Olympics in Paris.

The 30-year-old, a Commonwealth Games and Asian Games medallist, hopes to meet the 14-time French Open champion and former World No. 1 during the Olympics. “If I get a chance, I would definitely like to get a picture with him,” said Harmeet, ranked 64 in the world.

A key member of the Indian table tennis team at Paris Olympics along with Sharath Kamal, Harmeet’s performance will be watched with a lot of interest. As one who will be part of the men's team, singles, and maybe doubles, Harmeet knows the weight of expectations and burden on his shoulders.

“Making it to quarters of the team event will be great for the sport and am keen to make quite a few upsets in singles as well,” Harmeet said.

In an exclusive interview, Harmeet speaks about India’s maiden qualification as a team in Olympics, Massimo Costantini's influence, and his singles goals at Paris, amongst other things.

The team has been training for more than a week at Bengaluru. How has it been with coach Massimo Costantini?

Yeah. It has been quite good. I trained under him for the first time in 2009. And this time also, the experience has been good. The intensity he brings into the training camp is good and we’ve had some matches and we are practicing doubles, too. So it's been quite good to train under him again.

Massimo is known for his man-management. What have you learned from the camp?

Max (Massimo) already has the plan and in his mind he’s clear. He has just started with us at the camp, but he has followed everyone’s recent past, read and watched our performances on YouTube.

He has his plans for the Olympics and we have been getting good support here with the video and match analysis, too. His plan is to give us the chance to practice doubles and singles because lately I haven't played a lot of doubles with Manav Thakkar.

Doubles is very important in Olympics as it is the first match of the tie in the team event. Any special preparations?

Yeah. So, keeping that in mind, we are trying different partners. Max has planned a good roadmap till the Paris Olympics. There is huge emphasis on the roadmap.

We are focusing on tactical things because it's difficult to change something and we don't have much time, but we are working a lot on the strategic and tactical part which is helping us a lot. I last played doubles with Manav Thakkar in 2022. But I have had good results with him in the past. We won a medal in the Asian championship in 2021, but since 2022 we haven't played much. It's almost two years. Of late, Manav is partnering Manush Shah on the WTT (World Table Tennis) Tour. And I have been focusing on singles.

Manav has improved a lot in singles and doubles. And it will take a bit of time to get used to each other again. But we are practicing doubles. We are trying with different pairs because we have a healthy amount of sparing partners in the camp, and we will also get to play a couple of tournaments before Paris and get to know each other. We will have sufficient match practice going into the Olympics.

How does it feel competing in the Olympics in singles as well as the team event?

It's really a special feeling, definitely, and every athlete wants to represent their country in the Olympics. It's already been 24-25 years since I started playing table tennis. So, definitely I want to represent my country, and playing singles this time will be a cherry on the top.

The last one or two years have been really good for me, be it domestic or International. I would like to continue my form and aim to make a couple of upsets in the tournament.

What are your expectations from the team in Paris? How is the team environment?

It's the very first time that the Indian team (men & women) has qualified for the Olympics. We have beaten many top teams. For example, we beat Japan in the 2018 Asian Games for the bronze medal. If all three of us (Sharath, Manav & I) can play really good table tennis — Manav has been quite consistent in the recent past — we can definitely reach the quarterfinals, and if our form is really good, we can also make it to semifinals.

Now tell me about your singles form. You had some good victories over top 20 players, especially in the WTT Contender in Lagos in 2023 and the World team championships in February 2024. What are the aspects you're focusing on in the camp?

I am trying to make my strengths even sharper and make it inconvenient for my opponent to play. My goal will be to try and create a few upsets. The bigger aim is to focus more and more on my confidence and on my tactics going into the Olympics.

Can you shed some more light on the camp?

We are working on doubles, as I said. Individually I'm working a lot on my service return and first-ball return. That will be the main thing in the high pressure matches at Paris.

How do you see Sathiyan’s absence in the team since he is the fourth member?

Sathiyan will be with us. As you know, he’s going to Paris as the fourth player, but we won't have the option of playing him. We definitely will miss Sathiyan. But like I said earlier, Manav has been doing quite well. He has been constantly beating top 100 players in the recent past. He played really well in Lebanon, and also many other WTT contender and Feeder tournaments. I'm very optimistic that we can make an impact in Paris.

Earlier, there had been controversies regarding personal and official coaches during National camps. What is your take on it?

I think it has been managed quite well because there are personal coaches in the camp now. Aman Balgu (personal coach of Manika Batra) and Somnath Ghosh (personal coach of Sreeja Akula) are there in the camp. So, there are personal coaches and the balance has been set quite well. Ultimately, it is Max who calls the shots.

The Indian team is making its debut at Paris. What does this mean for players of your generation and next?

It’s the first time ever that there are two Indian athletes almost ranked in the Top 40 in the women’s section. For the first time in the history, we have four male players almost in the top 60 (fourth player Sathiyan is 70 now) of the world rankings. This kind of achievement will help the sport to grow and attract more youngsters. There are so many good things happening: there is the UTT league and the support we are getting from the State Governments, the Khelo India, and TOPS scheme. Many corporates are coming to the sport. I think there is scope to grow.

Sharath Kamal has been the team’s leader for more than a decade. He will be competing in his fifth Olympics. Do you see him more as a competitor or as a mentor. How is your relationship with the veteran paddler?

When we are in the team, I don't look at him as a competitor. It's quite inspiring and also there are so many things to learn from him even when we are practising. It's really good that he can share his experience. It's important to support and help each other, and learn from each other. That's my point of view.

This is your debut Olympics. Are you feeling the pressure?

No. Playing the Olympics is very special for every sportsperson as they are representing their country. But I have played three Commonwealth Games, one Asian Games, and three Asian championships. So, this is not new to me. Representing the country in the Olympics has been my dream. I just want to go there and play my best and bring laurels for the country.

What are your immediate thoughts on Olympics?

I just want to go out there, play freely and play my best game in the best manner possible. If I can make couple of upsets in the singles event because our matches start with singles followed by the team events. I want to go far in the main singles event and if, if I can do that, it will give me a lot of confidence for the team event, and I hope that we can make it to the men’s team quarterfinals. This would set a benchmark for the next Olympics.

Table of Contents

The Hindu Jun 17, 2024

National

India refuses to sign on Ukraine meet statement

Elon Musk, former Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar argue on EVM security

Riding the water

Education Minister Pradhan says 2 types of irregularities noticed in conduct of NEET

Ukraine summit ends with hope for peace

Centre set to crack down on late-coming in offices

Row in Maharashtra over ‘unlocking’ of EVM

Canada and India are committed to working together on some ‘important issues’: Trudeau

Keeping a tally

India ready to host its first multinational air exercise ‘Tarang Shakti’ in August

Bihar police recover 6 post-dated cheques ‘issued for NEET question paper facilitators’

Gujarat govt. involved in land allotment scam: Cong.

Rajkot fire: two held for document tampering

Shah holds high-level meet to assess security situation in J&K

NDA allies to meet before Lok Sabha session to take a call on Speaker candidate

Amid opposition, V-P inaugurates Prerna Sthal on Parliament premises

Celebrating a river

Governor meets victims of post-poll violence in West Bengal

PM to release Kisan Samman Nidhi fund

Nirmala to hold pre-Budget meet with industry chambers

Upbeat Cong. gears up for Haryana Assembly polls

Railway panel to ascertain why drivers violate speed curbs

New criminal laws to become effective on July 1: Meghwal

Aazad Samaj Party to contest U.P. byelections

‘NCERT changed Ayodhya lessons based on SC order’

Centre warns govt. officials coming late to work

14203

Steps taken so that escalation of violence in Jiribam: officials

‘Drugs in parcel’ being used to dupe people, says Centre

Id, a test of faith

Salman Khan house attack: new case registered, one held

Boat capsizes in the Ganga in Patna, four persons missing

Regional

Water war spills out on to streets of Delhi; Jal Board office ‘vandalised’

EPS justifies move to boycott Vikravandi bypoll, says DMK will do anything to win

T.N.: BJP hopeful of keeping NDA intact till Assembly poll

Do not touch OBC quota, ex-BJP MLA warns Shinde govt.

Nagaland civic polls: 3 Congress candidates elected unopposed

Former AAP MLA joins BJP, says ruling party heading to its decline

Jharkhand CM says govt. mulling farm loan waiver up to ₹2 lakh

Five killed as two cars plunge into gorges in Uttarakhand

Death toll in explosives factory blast rises to nine

NRI assault case: Punjab police file Zero FIR

Maharashtra: meat shop sealed for ‘hurting’ religious feelings

CPI(M) begins post-poll stocktaking exercise

Veil blows off palatial constructions at Rushikonda

3 BJP leaders arrested after communal tensions in Medak

4 from Kerala held for robbery attempt on Salem-Kochi Highway

Rebels reject new circular on synod Mass liturgy in Kerala

Siddaramaiah defends hike in fuel prices in Karnataka

Probe activities of TTD during Jagan’s regime: BJP leader

Suresh Gopi showers more praise on Indira Gandhi

Police recover clothes, shoes Darshan wore on the night of Renukaswamy’s murder

Five cows die in Kollam after they were fed porotta

BJP to lay siege to CM’s residence

Science

Indirect evidence builds, yet the ‘dark’ universe remains murky

BIG SHOT

Electromagnet: driven by current

Edit

The general election of 2024, its true verdict

High Court’s take on Marriage Act, an erosion of rights

letters to the editor

Criminalising words

Two steps back

data point

Under Kafala, workers are dispensable

More than that meets the eye

fifty years ago Month x, xxxx

a hundred years ago Month x, xxxx

On the size of council of ministers

What is SWM cess and why is it levied on waste generators?

Is Pakistan using a firewall to censor social media platforms?

The DAILY QUIZ

covernote

Business

Why equity derivatives are not for the uninitiated

IRDAI improves health cover experience

Creating an emergency reserve

Orchid blossoms with new drug to treat anti-microbial resistance

IndiGo weathers supply-chain turbulence, pushes growth

Passing phase?

When organisation leaders are cut to size in an unexpected fashion

‘U.S. May home sales crumble’

Foreign

Ukraine peace summit ends with hope

Life at risk

Jacob Zuma’s party to join Opposition in South Africa

Feasibility study on land connectivity with India in final stages, says Wickremesinghe

19 Haj pilgrims killed in Saudi Arabia as extreme heatwave ravages the kingdom

Daily Gaza 'pause' for aid deliveries, says Israel Army

Russia claims capture of village in southern Ukraine: ministry

Russian special forces kill IS-linked hostage takers at detention centre

Taiwan President says China’s ‘strong rise’ is greatest challenge

Hamburg police shoot person wielding axe at soccer fan parade

Al Qaeda affiliate claims responsibility for Burkina attack this month, SITE Intelligence Group says

German Opportunity Card opens job market to skilled non-EU migrants

Young U.K. voters feel left out as they lament their options in coming polls

Japanese author Haruki Murakami happy with first animated adaptation of his short stories

Panda diplomacy

LGBTQIA+ soldiers in Ukraine rally for partnership rights

Opposition leader killed ahead of polls in Mongolia

Sports

India takes flight to the Caribbean after a stellar show in the Land of Opportunity

Smriti’s century powers India to a massive win

Italy and the Netherlands fightback for opening wins

Shaheen and Babar win it for Pakistan

scoreboard

England downs Namibia in a rain-curtailed encounter

Stoinis and Head in fine form as Australia knocks out Scotland

Wiese announces retirement from international cricket

It’s brilliant to see Asha’s journey, says teammate Smriti

Will France find the missing piece to complete Deschamps’ cabinet at last?

Slovenia looks to fellow athletes for inspiration

Ukraine will want to start strong against Romania

Bhajan wins gold, helps earn recurve women’s individual quota in the Antalya qualifier

DeChambeau leads by three strokes after a birdie spree

de Minaur clinches ’s-Hertogenbosch title

Zii Jia and Ohori crowned Australian Open champions

Gretchen Walsh sets 100m butterfly World record

Ferrari wins second straight Le Mans 24 Hours race

Indian women finish fifth, men sixth in Asian squash

If all three of us can play really well, we can definitely reach the quarterfinal and even semifinal at the Paris Olympics