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Regional

- Roof collapse at Delhi airport kills driver

- Soren gets bail in land scam case

- T.N. seeks Centre’s nod to NEET exemption Bill

- NEET-UG issue sparks uproar in Parliament

- History-sheeter shot in the leg, arrested

- Woman dies after man sets her on fire for snapping relationship

- Meeting on liver care to be held today

- Work on 19 waterbodies slated for restoraion yet to begin

- 116 tonnes of single-use plastic items seized from across all districts: TNPCB

- ‘Many companies that signed MoUs at GIM 2024 have started production’

- Assembly amends law on sewer connections

- UIIC’s new Chairman assumes office

- Kallakurichi hooch tragedy: CB-CID seeks custody of 11 accused as toll rises to 65

- HC extends e-pass system for Ooty, Kodaikanal till September 30

- Reject drugs, learn to fact-check news, Vijay urges youth

- Eminent personalities feted with Carnatic Awards 2024

- Nominations invited for Governor’s Awards 2024

- Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act to be amended to make punishment stringent, says Stalin

- Give assent to NEET exemption Bill, T.N. Assembly urges Centre

- Institutions under IT Department to be reorganised, says IT Minister

- Chief Minister to visit U.S. to invite investors, says Industries Minister

- ‘Start-ups run by the disabled, transpersons to get special funding’

- CM urged to oppose the implementation of new criminal laws

- Govt. should give ₹30,000 per acre as drought relief, says EPS

- ‘Over 28,000 TNUHDB housing units to be rebuilt’

Roof collapse at Delhi airport claims one life

Jagriti Chandra, Samridhi Tewari

NEW DELHI

Canopy over Terminal 1’s forecourt falls on cars ; six persons injured in incident; several flights cancelled; police file case for criminal negligence

Crash impact: Vehicles crushed after a portion of the roof at the Delhi airport’s Terminal-1 collapsed amid heavy rain on Friday.PTI-

One person was killed and six were injured when the canopy over the forecourt at Terminal 1 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport collapsed on cars following heavy rain in New Delhi on Friday. At least four cars were damaged. Flights arriving and departing from the terminal were cancelled and the police registered a case of criminal negligence.

The deceased was a cab driver, the police said. The airport is operated by a GMR Group-led consortium.

As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD), parts of Delhi near the airport recorded a massive 228.1 mm of rainfall in the previous 24 hours, making it one of the wettest days in June for Delhi.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has assigned a team from the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi to examine the cause of the collapse, and has also asked all airports to conduct a thorough inspection of the structural strength of their buildings within two to five days.

As a result of the incident, IndiGo cancelled 115 flights and SpiceJet cancelled eight flights. The airlines announced free refunds for affected passengers.

Amit Bhelari

PATNA

Hemant Soren-

The Jharkhand High Court granted bail to Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader and former Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Friday in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam.

In the court order, Justice Rongon Mukhopadhyay said that “there is reason to believe that petitioner is not guilty of the offence as alleged”, thus satisfying a condition for bail under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The court had reserved its order on June 13, after hearing arguments from Mr. Soren’s advocate and Additional Solicitor-General (ASG) S.V. Raju appearing for the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Mr. Soren stepped out of the Birsa Munda Central Jail around 4 p.m. Accompanied by his wife Kalpana Murmu Soren, he went directly to the residence of his father Shibu Soren, where he was met by supporters shouting slogans in his support, saying, “Jail ka tala tut gaya, Hemant Soren chut gaya (The jail lock is broken and Hemant Soren is released)”.

“I am out of jail after five months. The five months’ time for the people of Jharkhand and tribals must be worrying. The entire nation knows for what reason I was sent to jail... I respect the court, but sometimes it troubles me the way attempts are being made to suppress the voices of politicians, writers, journalists, social workers in a systematic way,” Mr. Soren told the media in Ranchi.

T.N. seeks Centre’s nod to NEET exemption Bill

The Hindu Bureau

CHENNAI

With widespread irregularities in the conduct of the NEET coming to the fore recently, the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Friday unanimously passed a resolution urging the Centre to immediately grant assent to the State’s NEET exemption Bill and make necessary amendments to the National Medical Commission Act to abolish the test at the national level.

The Hindu Bureau

NEW DELHI

The row over alleged irregularities in the conduct of the NEET examination rocked both Houses of Parliament on Friday, with the Lok Sabha getting adjourned for the day after Speaker Om Birla disallowed adjournment motions on the issue.

In Rajya Sabha, the Opposition MPs protested for a discussion on the examination under Rule 267.

History-sheeter shot in the leg, arrested

The Hindu Bureau

CHENNAI

R. Sathya allegedly attacked police personnel and tried to escape; he was arrested and admitted to the Government Chengalpattu Hospital

R. Sathya

A 45-year-old history-sheeter was shot in the leg by the Chengalpattu district police on Friday after he allegedly attacked them with a machete in a bid to escape. He was subsequently admitted to hospital for treatment.

The history-sheeter was identified as R. Sathya, alias Sirkazhi Sathya.

On Thursday night, the district police received information that Sathya was attending a birthday party at a resort off the East Coast Road (ECR) near Mamallapuram. A special team was formed and surveillance was mounted.

On Friday morning, as Sathya and his three associates were proceeding towards Chennai in a car after the birthday party, a team of police personnel intercepted them on the pretext of a vehicle check.

Realising that it was an attempt to arrest him, Sathya jumped out of the car and tried to escape.

The personnel gave chase, during the course of which Sathya allegedly attacked police officer Ranjith with a machete when he tried to catch him.

In retaliation, another police personnel shot Sathya in the leg, below the knee. Subsequently, Sathya and his associates were arrested. Both Sathya and the injured police officer were taken to the Government Chengalpattu Hospital for treatment.

The police recovered a pistol and other weapons from Sathya. A heavy bandobust has been deployed in the Thirukazhukundram court complex, where the arrested persons are to be produced.

Woman dies after man sets her on fire for snapping relationship

The Hindu Bureau

CHENNAI

A 45-year-old woman died of the burns she suffered after the man with whom she was in a relationship with set her on fire near Otteri on Thursday.

The victim has been identified as Selvi, 45, of Vyasarpadi. Following separation from her husband, she developed a relationship with Subramani, 60, of Pulianthope, a few years ago. As her children grew up and got married, Selvi tried to end the relationship. However, Subramani refused to do it, resulting in frequent arguments between them.

Against this backdrop, Subramani, on Thursday, followed Selvi to her daughter’s residence in Otteri.

An argument ensued between them, as a result of which Subramani poured petrol on her, setting her on fire. He accidentally spilled petrol on himself, causing the fire to spread to him too.

Son-in-law injured

Selvi’s son-in-law, Dinesh, who tried to rescue them, suffered burns. The three of them were rushed to the Government Kilpauk Medical College and Hospital for treatment.

On Friday afternoon, Selvi succumbed to the burns. Dinesh and Subramani are under treatment. An investigation is under way.

Meeting on liver care to be held today

The Hindu Bureau

Chennai

The Chennai Liver Foundation will hold a patient support group meeting at THANC Hospital, Poonamallee High Road, Kilpauk, at 3.30 p.m. on Saturday.

The meeting aims to raise awareness on liver-related diseases and detail early symptoms so that the patients can manage their condition effectively.

For more information, contact 95000 64283.

Work on 19 waterbodies chosen for restoration yet to begin

The Hindu Bureau

Chennai

Work is under way on only 20 of the waterbodies identified for restoration this year; three have been completed. Officials attribute the delay to the prolonged process of dewatering the ponds

A review meeting headed by Mayor R. Priya and GCC Commissioner J. Radhakrishnan was held at Amma Malaigai in the Ripon Buildings on Wednesday. Special Arrangement Special Arrangement

The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) is yet to commence the cleaning of 19 of the 42 waterbodies identified for restoration under various schemes this year. While work is under way on 20 of these waterbodies, only three have been completed as of June 10.

An engineer from the Stormwater Drain (SWD) Department of the GCC attributed the delay to the prolonged process of dewatering the ponds before cleaning and deepening them. Dewatering is carried out by draining the water from the waterbodies to the nearest SWD or canal, he said.

Jayshree Vencatesan, Managing Trustee at Care Earth Trust, said that dewatering is an effective method of cleaning. However, she highlighted the importance of local bodies conducting surveys of waterbodies and following the survey recommendations for dewatering.

This approach would prevent excessive removal of earth and help waterbodies retain rainwater, preventing them from being inundated during heavy showers, she added.

As per data shared by GCC, the Singara Chennai 2.0 scheme includes the restoration of 12 ponds spanning 32,424 square metres, with an estimated cost of ₹9.07 crore.

Of them, three ponds covering 3,211 square metres have been completed (on a budget of ₹1.12 crore). Work on nine ponds covering 29,213 square metres, with an estimated cost of ₹7.95 crore, is on. However, other ponds are yet to be taken up for restoration work. Under the Asia Development Bank - Global Environment Facility Grant, a pond covering an area of 603,700 square metres with an estimated budget of ₹55.34 crore has been commissioned, but work is yet to begin.

The Singara Chennai 2.0 Mission (Phase II) accounts for 24 ponds with a total area of 319,975 square metres and an estimated cost of ₹13.56 crore. Of these, work is in progress on seven ponds covering 225,657 square metres with a budget of ₹5.80 crore, while 17 ponds covering 94,318 square meters with an estimated cost of ₹7.76 crore are yet to be cleaned.

116 tonnes of single-use plastic items seized from across all districts: TNPCB

The Hindu Bureau

Chennai

Special drive: Since January 2022, the TNPCB officials have seized a total of 691 tonnes of banned single-use plastics. FILE PHOTO SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

A total of 116.178 tonnes of banned single-use plastic items were seized in the special enforcement drives undertaken by local bodies between October 2022 and March 2024, said Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB).

Enforcing the ban on single-use plastics, officials carried out inspections to regulate its use among street vendors, flower and fruit sellers, and in local markets, wholesale markets, industrial areas, and inter-State borders across all the districts.

During the special enforcement drives, the local bodies inspected 57,126 entities and identified 13,753 violators. A total of 116.178 tonnes of plastic items were seized and sent for recycling, and a total of ₹64.5 lakh was collected as fine amount, the TNPCB said.

From January 2019 to April 2024, the TNPCB issued directions to close down or disconnect the power supply to 235 industries involved in the manufacturing of banned plastic items, including non-woven carry bags, plastic carry bags, and water pouches, among others.

As per the TNPCB, urban local bodies regularly conduct raids and impose fine on the users of single-use plastics. Since January 2022, a total of 691 tonnes of banned single-use plastics were seized, and ₹8.75 crore of fine amount have been collected.

In an effort to encourage the public to switch to cloth bags, the TNPCB installed manjappai-vending machines at 174 locations with high footfall, including the Koyambedu Market.

‘Many companies that signed MoUs at GIM 2024 have started production’

The Hindu Bureau

CHENNAI

Tamil Nadu’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Department signed a slew of memoranda of understanding at the Global Investors Meet (GIM) 2024, which was organised by the DMK government in January this year. And, within five months, many of these units have started production, Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises T.M. Anbarasan said in the Assembly on Friday.

“MoUs were signed for a cumulative investment of ₹63,573.11 crore by 5,068 MSMEs and for generation of jobs for 2.5 lakh persons. In the last five months, 1,277 MoU signatories invested ₹13,003.16 crore and commenced production, creating employment for about 46,000 persons,” he said.

The Minister said a committee of higher officials would be formed to follow up on the implementation of the MoUs.

It was proposed to extend the payroll subsidy to all new manufacturing units that filled over 25% of their workforce with persons with disabilities, subject to a ceiling of ₹24,000 per person with disabilities per annum, for the first three years.

A Kalaignar Credit Assistance Scheme would be launched for micro manufacturers to have an easy access to a credit of up to ₹20 lakh through the Tamil Nadu Industrial Co-operative Bank at a rate of 7% as against the existing 10% per annum. The outlay for the scheme would be ₹100 crore. He said the units running on an investment of ₹5 crore and above and making sustainable products would be placed in the thrust sector category to make them eligible for capital subsidy, irrespective of their location.

The Minister said the Chennai region of the Micro and Small Enterprise Facilitation Council would be bifurcated into Chennai and Vellore regional councils and the Madurai region of the council would be bifurcated into the Madurai and Thoothukudi regional councils. He said 1,000 battery-operated tea harvesting machines would be procured for all 16 ICTFs in the Nilgiris district, at a cost of ₹1.60 crore, under the Special Area Development Programme.

Assembly amends law on sewer connections

The Hindu Bureau

CHENNAI

The Tamil Nadu Assembly on Friday passed a Bill to amend the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Act, 1978 (Tamil Nadu Act 28 of 1978), tabled by Minister for Municipal Administration K.N. Nehru, to decriminalise minor offences, as recommended by Guidance Tamil Nadu.

The law makes getting a sewer connection mandatory for the owner or occupier of any premises on a private street where there is a sewer of the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board within 30 metres.

Urban Local Bodies Act

The House adopted another Bill, tabled by Mr. Nehru, to make a provision to the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Act, 1998 (Tamil Nadu Act 9 of 1999) to declare a local area as a town panchayat, municipal council, or municipal corporation, even if it does not meet the population and income criteria.

Further, since local areas, comprising the Karaikudi, Tiruvannamalai, Pudukkottai, and Namakkal municipal councils, have historical importance and attract pilgrims, they were declared as municipal corporations under Clause (c) of Sub-section (1) of Section (3) of the Tamil Nadu Act 9 of 1999 through a notification dated March 15 this year.

UIIC’s new Chairman assumes office

The Hindu Bureau

Chennai

Bhupesh Sushil Rahul has assumed office as the Chairman-cum-Managing Director of United India Insurance Company (UIIC) Limited, a public sector general insurance firm.

Under his leadership, the company targets an 18% growth to achieve a premium of ₹23,456 crore this fiscal year, focusing on digital expansion, customer satisfaction, and profitability, said a press release.

With a career spanning over three decades in the insurance sector, Mr. Rahul has pioneered initiatives such as the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, the release said.

Kallakurichi hooch tragedy: CB-CID seeks custody of 11 accused as toll rises to 65

The Hindu Bureau

KALLAKURICHI

Agency files petition before the Principal District and Sessions Court in Kallakurichi. Another victim dies at Jipmer in Puducherry. A total of 144 patients have been discharged so far

Twenty persons are undergoing treatment in hospitals. File photo KUMAR SS

The Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) filed a petition before a local court in Kallakurichi on Friday, seeking custody of 11 of the 21 accused who have been arrested so far in connection with the hooch tragedy in the district.

The agency filed the petition before the Principal District and Sessions Court. The petition is likely to come up for hearing on July 1.

The Kallakurichi town police, who initially probed the case, handed over the case diary and related files to the CB-CID team, led by Additional Deputy Superintendent of Police Gomathi, who has been appointed as the investigating officer.

A preliminary investigation revealed that the deaths were caused by methanol poisoning, and the brew was supplied by bootlegger Govindaraj, alias Kannukutty, in Karunapuram, the epicentre of the tragedy.

The CB-CID has arrested 21 persons so far, including Govindaraj; his wife Vijaya; Chinnadurai; Joseph, alias Raj; Madesh; Gowtham Chand; Sivakumar; Bhansil Lal; Kathiravan; Kannan; and Sakthivel.

Meanwhile, the toll rose to 65 with the death of one more person at the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (Jipmer) in Puducherry on Friday. So far, 32 persons have died at the Government Kallakurichi Medical College and Hospital; 22 at the Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College and Hospital in Salem; four at the Government Villupuram Medical College and Hospital; and seven at Jipmer in Puducherry.

A total of 20 persons are undergoing treatment at hospitals. As many as 144 patients have been discharged so far.

HC extends e-pass system for Ooty, Kodaikanal till September 30

The Hindu Bureau

CHENNAI

The Madras High Court on Friday extended till September 30 an order passed by it on April 29 making the e-pass mandatory for tourists visiting Kodaikanal and the Nilgiris. The date was extended to collect data on tourist movement to the two hill stations even during the off-season.

A Division Bench of Justices N. Sathish Kumar and D. Bharatha Chakravarthy said that the data would be of help to Professor Amar Sapra of the Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore (IIM-B) and Professor Sachin Gunte of the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) in fixing the carrying capacity for the ghat roads.

On being nudged by the High Court to carry out scientific studies for fixing the carrying capacity for the ghat roads, since the hill stations were witnessing excessive tourist footfall, the State government had chosen to hand over the job of fixing the carrying capacity to the two reputed institutes.

Thereafter, in order to help the institutes collect data on tourist movement, the court had ordered the introduction of the e-pass system during the summer season, when most tourists visit the hill stations. Now, it has ordered the extension of the system to the off-season, too.

Vertical cutting of rocks

While passing orders in another case, the judges made it clear that the State Highways Department should not indulge in vertical cutting of rocks on the ghat roads, and warned them of contempt proceedings if it was proved that they were indulging in such acts despite court orders to the contrary.

The judges called for a report from forest officials by July 5, following a complaint of vertical cutting of rocks in at least three places on the ghat roads leading to the Nilgiris.

Reject drugs, learn to fact-check news, Vijay urges youth

The Hindu Bureau

Chennai

Actor and the leader of the Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), Vijay, on Friday hosted a special meet-and-greet to honour students who topped the Class X and XII exams.

Speaking at the event held at the Ramachandra Convention Center in Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai, Mr. Vijay advised students to be mindful of the career path they were about to choose.

He asked the students to train a skill that can help them get indirectly involved in politics — fact-checking news. “All you need to do is read newspapers regularly, and you will realise how the same news story gets reported in different ways in different newspapers. Reporting on facts is different from reporting an opinion. At the same time, you can also see how news portals on social media can create an opinion about somebody, and how they can project a good as a bad or a bad as a good,” said Mr. Vijay. He added that such a skill would help the youth understand the issues that plague society.

While advising students not to let negative influences from their friends lead them astray, Mr. Vijay urged youngsters to refrain from indulging in drugs or other vices and unethical activities. This comes a week after the TVK president visited families affected by the Kallakurichi hooch tragedy.

“Don’t lose your identity at any cost. Of late in Tamil Nadu, there’s been a big spike in the use of drugs among youngsters. As a father and as a leader of a political party, I am scared of this situation. I am not here to accuse the government of being unable to protect youngsters from drug abuse. Develop self-control and self-discipline. Say no to temporary pleasures; say no to drugs,” he said.

Eminent personalities feted with Carnatic Awards 2024

Five eminent personalities were honoured with Carnatic Awards 2024 for their services and exemplary achievements in their respective professions, at an event organised by Rotary Club of Chennai Carnatic. The eighth edition of the awards honoured Indra Narayan, chef and author; Meenakshi Bajaj, author, columnist, and dietician; Priya Bhargav, Chief Executive Officer, Callidai Motor Works; Jaya Devi, Founder of Jullaaha; and R.K. Raghavan, former CBI Director and High Commissioner of India to Cyprus.

Nominations invited for Governor’s Awards 2024

The Raj Bhavan has invited applications for the Governor’s Awards 2024 that recognise exemplary contributions in two categories - Social Service and Environmental Protection. The application format is available at https://tnrajbhavan.gov.in/ and could be submitted to awardsrajbhavan- tamilnadu@gmail.com.

Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act to be amended to make punishment stringent, says Stalin

The Hindu Bureau

CHENNAI

He was replying to queries raised by MLAs on the Kallakurichi spurious liquor tragedy, which had claimed the lives of 65 people . Legislators also appealed to the Chief Minister to bring the police force under the old pension scheme and implement orders to give time-bound promotions

Tough stand: Chief Minister M.K. Stalin responding to queries on the Kallakurichi spurious liquor tragedy, in the Assembly on Friday. Special arrangement Special arrangement

Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Friday informed the Legislative Assembly that the Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act, 1937, will be amended to make punishments stringent. He was replying to queries raised by the MLAs on the Kallakurichi spurious liquor tragedy, which had claimed the lives of 65 people.

K. Marimuthu of the CPI said Collectors and Superintendents of Police should be held accountable for illicit arrack tragedies. A law should be enacted making them responsible with punishments like transfer or suspension. He appreciated the swift action taken by Mr. Stalin in arresting the prime accused in the case and extending ex-gratia to the affected families.

G.K. Mani of the Pattali Makkal Katchi said the accused persons arrested on charges of drug peddling or illicit arrack brewing were released from prisons and returned to the illegal activities. He said sale of drugs and spurious liquor packets was on in the vicinity of Tasmac liquor shops, and the business could not thrive without the knowledge of the police.

Nainar Nagenthran of the Bharatiya Janata Party said the Kallakurichi tragedy could have been avoided had the intelligence machinery been strong. He said tough laws should be brought in force to prevent candidates seeking votes in the name of caste or religion.

The Tamil Nadu government should take steps to crack down on cyber crime. With technologies like artificial intelligence, offences involving video morphing and other frauds were rampant on social media.

Besides stringent laws, awareness should be created among people regarding the many threats in cyber space, Mr. Nagenthran said.

K. Selvaperunthagai of the Congress said while the country had achieved political democracy, there was an urgent need to strive for social democracy. M. Chinnathurai of the CPI(M) said all cases registered against protestors of hydrocarbon extraction should be withdrawn.

Many MLAs who spoke appealed to the Chief Minister to bring the police force under the old pension scheme and implement orders to give time-bound promotions, better salaries, enhanced allowances, regularisation of sanitary workers engaged by the department, weekly off for all personnel, abolition of the orderly system, and separate rest room facilities for women police personnel in police stations and other establishments.

‘4,968 cases booked’

A total of 4,968 cases were booked and 4,959 persons arrested for indulging in distillation, and 1,48,094 litres of illicit arrack was destroyed this year till May 31, Mr. Stalin informed the Assembly. A total of 95 notorious prohibition offenders were detained under the Goondas Act till May this year.

In 2023, 12,868 cases were booked, 12,856 distillers arrested, and 5,54,618 litres of illicit arrack destroyed, he said, while listing the steps taken for elimination of illicit distillation. A total of 306 notorious prohibition offenders were also detained under the Goondas Act in 2023, the Police Department’s policy note tabled in the House said.

As for the drive against drugs, Mr. Stalin said the police had registered 1,068 cases, arrested 1,651 accused, and seized 129 vehicles and over 2,700 kg of ganja in 2023. “During 2023-2024, 1,330 accused persons were detained under the Goondas Act.”

Give assent to NEET exemption Bill, T.N. Assembly urges Centre

The NEET exemption Bill, which was initially returned by the Governor, was readopted by the House in February 2022. It is pending the President’s assent.

While the BJP MLAs walked out, the members of the Congress, the VCK, the CPI, the CPI(M), and the MDMK — all allies of the DMK — supported the resolution. MLAs T. Velmurugan, M.H. Jawahirullah, Manoj P. Pandian, and those of the PMK also supported the resolution.

Proposing the resolution, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said that while the admission system based on Class XII marks had ensured social justice and equal opportunities to students of various sections, the NEET was marred by irregularities, including an unprecedented number of students scoring full marks, exams being delayed and grace marks being awarded in a manner not outlined in the rules, and reports of question paper leaks at various places.

“Allegations of corruption, including invigilators filling in the answer sheets at the exam centres, have shocked students and their families who have worked hard and spent a lot over years to prepare for the exam. The Union government, which had initially denied these allegations, replaced the head of the National Testing Agency (NTA) that conducts the exam, only after being reprimanded by the Supreme Court. A CBI inquiry has been ordered into the allegations of malpractices. The entrance exam for postgraduate medical courses has also been cancelled,” he said.

Mr. Stalin pointed out that while Tamil Nadu and its people had been “fighting alone against the NEET” for many years, the opposition to the test gained momentum now in various States that had realised the problems caused by it.

“West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to the Prime Minister that the old system in which the State governments decided on admission to medical courses should be reinstated. Many leaders — including the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi; former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav; and Leader of the Opposition in Bihar, Tejashwi Yadav — have demanded the cancellation of the NEET,” he said. The Chief Minister said Tamil Nadu was a pioneer in medicine and various indicators of public health, thanks to its admission system. “Based on the recommendations of the committee headed by Dr. M. Ananthakrishnan, the entrance exams for all professional courses, including medicine, were abolished by ‘Kalaignar’ [former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi], who laid the foundation for these achievements,” he said.

Mr. Stalin added, “However, after the Union government made the NEET mandatory for admission to medical courses in 2017, this situation has changed, making medical education an unattainable dream for poor and rural students, who cannot succeed in this exam as they cannot afford coaching. Moreover, the NEET will affect the medical services in rural and backward areas in the future.”

Stalin writes to PM

Mr. Stalin on Friday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking exemption for Tamil Nadu from medical college admissions based on the NEET and advocating for the abolition of the exam at the national level. He highlighted the stress caused by the exam and pointed to recent irregularities as further justification for its removal.

The Chief Minister said: “I write this letter to once again reiterate our consistent demand to exempt Tamil Nadu from NEET for admissions to medical colleges and also to do away with this system at the national level.”

Protest on July 3

The DMK Student Wing on Friday announced that it would organise an agitation against the NEET in Chennai on July 3. Student wing secretary C.V.M.P. Ezhilarasan said the agitation would be held near Valluvar Kottam from 9 a.m. to condemn the Centre for insisting on the test, despite the deaths it had allegedly caused and the irregularities in its conduct. He said the agitation was also to demand that the Union government implement the resolution adopted by the Assembly.

Institutions under IT Department to be reorganised, says IT Minister

The Hindu Bureau

CHENNAI

P.T.R. Palanivel Thiaga Rajan R. RAGU

Minister for Information Technology and Digital Services P.T.R. Palanivel Thiaga Rajan on Friday said in the Tamil Nadu Assembly that the Electronic Corporation of Tamil Nadu Limited (ELCOT) will develop an information technology (IT) park/office space on a 3.60-acre land parcel at the Perungudi Industrial Estate. In order to drive utilisation of advanced research-based deep tech inventions and to support deep tech start-ups, the government will release a Tamil Nadu Deep Tech Policy this year, he said.

He also noted that institutions such as the ELCOT, Tamil Nadu e-Governance Agency (TneGA), Tamil Nadu Fibrenet Corporation (TANFINET), Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV Corporation (TACTV), ICT Academy of Tamil Nadu (ICTACT), TVA, and the iTNT Hub. These institutions, setup over the last four decades, have various overlapping functions and roles. Hence, a reorganisation of the institutions on principles of specialisation and complementarity has been proposed to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery. Each of these institutions will be governed as Section 8 companies to ensure transparency and accountability. ICTACT will establish an Applied Research Centre in Information and Communication Technology. It will serve as a bridge between academic research and industry applications, ensuring that cutting-edge findings are translated into practical solutions. The centre will also offer advanced training programmes and hands-on experiences, equipping the next generation of scientists, engineers, and technologists with the skills needed to thrive in a rapidly changing technological landscape.

Mr. Thiaga Rajan said over the last two years, Tamil Nadu is the leader in patent filing in India, with 12,948 patents, mainly being driven by deep tech innovations. To establish the State as an intellectual property (IP) capital, and to promote IP commercialisation by facilitating technology transfers between academia, researchers, innovators, and start-ups and industry, the government will organise an annual “Innovate in Tamil Nadu (IN2 TN) conclave”.

He said given the increasing reliance on e-Governance and a data-driven approach, it has become imperative to create and enforce standards in the areas of application development, data hosting, data sharing, and cyber security through a dedicated, independent organisation that is at an arms distance from the implementing agencies such as TNeGA and ELCOT. Hence, it has been proposed to repurpose and segregate the Directorate of e-Governance with standard setting and enforcement wings to ensure a secure transition of governance to a digital, paperless era.

Chief Minister to visit U.S. to invite investors, says Industries Minister

The Hindu Bureau

CHENNAI

T.R.B. RajaaBIJOY GHOSH

Chief Minister M.K Stalin will soon visit the United States for attracting investment to Tamil Nadu.

Speaking in the Assembly on Friday, Minister for Industries, Investment Promotion and Commerce T.R.B. Rajaa said, “We will bring in companies that don’t have any presence here.”

He said that nearly 60% of the memoranda of understanding (MoUs) signed at the Global Investors Meet held in January this year were in advanced stages of implementation. As many as 631 MoUs were signed, with a commitment of ₹6.64 lakh crore in investment. Mr. Stalin always enquired about the number of jobs that each of these MoUs would help to create, he said, adding that the Godrej manufacturing facility at Thiruporur would be inaugurated in December this year.

Mr. Rajaa said the government would soon roll out a space tech industrial policy. Tamil Nadu is betting big on the space sector and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) is establishing two space parks adjacent to the upcoming space port at Kulasekarapattinam. The government would also release a circular economy investment promotion policy and a toy manufacturing policy, besides the road map for a creative economy. He said Coimbatore would get a regional office of Guidance Tamil Nadu, the nodal agency for bringing investment to the State. A desk of Guidance Tamil Nadu would be opened in Tokyo, Japan. Tamil Nadu is home to over 200 Japanese companies manufacturing automobiles, transport equipment, machinery, electric machines and chemicals. A tourism investment promotion and facilitation cell would be opened at Guidance Tamil Nadu.

The Minister said the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu Limited (SIPCOT) would establish industrial parks at Gummidipoondi in Tiruvallur on 1,500 acres; at Ottapidaram in Thoothukudi on 1,000 acres; at Udayarpalayam in Ariyalur on 175 acres; at Mannargudi and Koothanallur in Tiruvarur on 150 acres; at Thiruverumbur in Tiruchi on 150 acres; at Sriperumbudur in Kancheepuram on 750 acres; and at other locations.

He said the SIPCOT would also establish joint venture industrial parks with the participation of the private sector.

He detailed the investment going to southern Tamil Nadu, especially Thoothukudi. As for the Nanguneri Special Economic Zone, he said, “We have recovered most of the land there.”

‘Start-ups run by the disabled, transpersons to get special funding’

The Hindu Bureau

CHENNAI

The Tamil Nadu government will introduce a special seed fund to support start-ups run by persons with disabilities and transgender persons, Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises T.M. Anbarasan said in the Assembly on Friday.

“A special seed fund, in the form of a grant, will be introduced for start-ups run by these people to achieve inclusive growth in new-age entrepreneurship development, and ₹50 lakh will be earmarked for this scheme,” he said during the debate on the demand for grants for his department. The Tamil Nadu Startup and Innovation Mission (StartupTN) would identify beneficiaries.

The Minister said new regional start-up hubs would be established in Coimbatore and Tiruchi at a cost of ₹1.5 crore. In the last two years, regional start-up hubs had been established in Madurai, Tirunelveli, Erode, Salem, Hosur, Cuddalore, and Thanjavur. The Chennai Metro Startup Hub, equipped with all the required facilities, was also established.

Mr. Anbarasan announced that Global Startup Coordination Centres would be established in Singapore and the U.S. at a cost of ₹1 crore. These centres would help start-ups registered in Tamil Nadu expand their business to global markets. A design studio, called Thozhil Nayam, would be established, at a cost of ₹1 crore, at StartupTN’s Chennai office to cater to the design needs of the start-ups.

The second edition of Tamil Nadu Startup Thiruvizha will be held in Madurai, at a cost of ₹1 crore, to foster positive thoughts about new-age entrepreneurship and raise awareness of start-ups among younger generations. The event will also aim to generate market access and networking opportunities for the start-ups.

CM urged to oppose the implementation of new criminal laws

The Hindu Bureau

CHENNAI

The need for consultations and debates before the implementation of the three new criminal laws was emphasised in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Friday.

MLAs of different parties that are in alliance with the ruling DMK said the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, which would replace the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, were being implemented in haste without any discussion in Parliament or consultations with the States.

“The Chief Minister should move a resolution in the Assembly seeking withdrawal of the new laws as they have certain draconian provisions. We need to debate the various provisions before they come into force,” VCK MLA M. Sinthanai Selvan said.

M.H. Jawahirullah of the Manithaneya Makkal Katchi urged Mr. Stalin to prevail upon the Centre to review the new laws as they were being implemented without discussions with the States. The new laws, if implemented from July 1, will lead to a lot of confusion, he said. In his reply, Mr. Stalin said he had already written to the Union Home Minister expressing concern. However, since they were coming into effect, the Tamil Nadu police were being trained in the new provisions. The MLAs were speaking during the demand for grants for the Police, Fire and Rescue Services, Prohibition and Excise Departments.

Govt. should give ₹30,000 per acre as drought relief, says EPS

AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Friday demanded that a “drought relief” of ₹30,000 per acre be paid to farmers in the Cauvery delta where the kuruvai cultivation could not be taken up for want of water. In a statement, he said that in the event of crop failure or loss, farmers should be covered by the crop insurance scheme. Agricultural workers, hit by unemployment, should be paid ₹5,000 a month during the cultivation season, taking into account their ration cards as the basic unit.

‘Over 28,000 TNUHDB housing units to be rebuilt’

The Hindu Bureau

CHENNAI

The Tamil Nadu government will reconstruct 28,643 Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHDB) units in dilapidated tenements over the next three years, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin announced in the Assembly on Friday.

In the first phase, 6,746 TNUHDB housing units on East Cemetry Road, Kodungaiyur, and V.O.C. Nagar in Chennai, A.V. Pathi Nagar in Thanjavur, and Kottakkollai in Tiruchi will be reconstructed at a cost of ₹1,146 crore during 2024-25, Mr. Stalin said in a suo motu statement in the House.

Expert committee

Of the 1,93,891 housing units in tenements maintained by the TNUHDB, 28,643 had been identified as dilapidated by a technical expert committee. “All of these will be reconstructed in the next three years,” Mr. Stalin said.

National

- Somanathapur to be the focus of Mysuru tourism circuit

- 13, including 2 children, killed in road accident in Karnataka

- Cancer drugs to be cheaper in Kerala

- Prajwal case: HC refuses to stay probe against former BJP MLA for allegedly circulating videos

- Polavaram project in limbo, says A.P. CM

- ED to name CPI(M) as accused in bank fraud case in Kerala

- Five killed, 10 injured in blast at glass factory in Telangana

- If there is a change, next CM should be a Lingayat, says seer

- Relief for producers of Manjummal Boys: relief for producers till July 10

- Jharkhand school principal held in NEET paper leak case

- NTA reform committee calls for suggestions from students, parents

- Minister urges U.P. CM to look into ‘caste bias’ in govt. posts

- Modi is matchless, cannot be compared with Nehru: Trivedi

- Cong. MP Phulo Devi faints during protest in the Well of House

- Uproar in Parliament over NEET-UG issue

- 1 dead as Delhi airport roof collapses after rain

- Soren freed from jail as High Court grants bail

- Fresh dates announced for UGC-NET, 2 other tests

- Unfortunate that govt. does not want a debate: Rahul

- Have full faith in Centre, Manipur figures in NDA’s 100-day plan: Biren

- 4 killed as monsoon brings record rainfall to Delhi

- Corruption and negligence behind collapse of shoddy infrastructure, says Kharge

- 52-day Amarnath Yatra begins today, security tightened in Kashmir Valley

- Northern States brace for heavy rain till July 2

- M.P. Police arrest 24 for killing cattle

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Somanathapur to be the focus of Mysuru tourism circuit

The Hindu Bureau

MYSURU

Smart move: The Tourism Department in Karnataka is planning to promote the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Somanathapur as part of Mysuru tourism circuit before Dasara this year. M.A. SRIRAM

The Tourism Department in Karnataka has plans to promote the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Somanathapur as part of Mysuru tourism circuit in a big way before Dasara this year.

This will be through cross-promotion of the 13th-century heritage site at popular places of tourist interest like the Mysruru Palace, zoo or the Chamundi Hills so that visitors can get an idea of the temple and plan a visit to Keshava temple at Somanathapur.

This was stated by M.K. Savitha, Joint Director, Department of Tourism, here on Friday.

Speaking to mediapersons after inaugurating a domestic travel mart organised by India Travel Market Exhibition, Ms. Savitha said though Mysuru is popular among tourists, a majority visit only the palace and the zoo and a few other places before heading towards Bandipur. Not many are even aware of the beautiful sculptures of the Keshava temple at Somanathapur, she said.

The Tourism Department will also discuss the feasibility of operating buses to ferry tourists to Somanathapur.

A discussion will be held with the stakeholders and the district administration while at the government level, the imperatives of providing bus facilities will be brought to the attention of the Tourism Ministry and the District in charge Minister, Ms. Savitha added.

Ms. Savitha said the Tourism Department will also explore the possibility of conducting cultural programmes at Somanathapur during Dasara.

13, including 2 children, killed in road accident in Karnataka

The Hindu Bureau

HUBBALLI

A minibus rammed a stationary truck on Pune-Bengaluru NH ; Manasa, who led the Karnataka team in the national blind women’s football tournament in 2021 and won, was among the dead

Fatal clash: The vehicles that were involved in the accident near Byadgi in Haveri district of Karnataka on Friday. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

As many as 13 persons, including two children — a three-month-old and a five-month-old — were killed in a road accident in Haveri district of Karnataka when a minibus they were travelling rammed a stationary truck on Pune-Bengaluru National Highway on Friday.

They were part of a group of 17 people who were returning from a pilgrimage. The tragic accident occurred at 4 a.m.

Due to the impact of the accident, the bodies remained stuck in the minibus. Fire and Emergency Services personnel and the police had a difficult time in extricating them.

Expressing shock over the accident, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has announced a compensation of ₹2 lakh each to the families of the deceased.

Meanwhile, action is being taken against the driver and cleaner of the truck.

Among the 13 victims is Manasa S., 20, who led the Karnataka team in the national blind women’s football tournament and won the championship for the State in 2021. She played for the Indian team in the Asia Cup in 2022. Her mother, Bhagyamma, 45, also died in the accident.

Waseem Akram, coach at Karnataka Blind Football Association, said, “Manasa represented India in 2022 IBSA Women’s Asia-Oceania Blind Football Championship held at Kochi and played one international match against Japan.”

Cancer drugs to be cheaper in Kerala

The Hindu Bureau

Thiruvananthapuram

Lifeline: A Karunya pharmacy in Kochi. Already, some 7,000 drugs are sold at lower rates through Karunya outlets.file photo

The Kerala government has announced a key intervention in the pharma market to make expensive cancer drugs and immunosuppressants available at zero-profit price to consumers, to bring down the out-of-pocket expenditure on health in the State.

Kerala has the highest per capita out-of-pocket expenditure on health in the country at ₹7,206, according to the last National Health Accounts (2019-20).

800 drugs in list

The State intends to make available 800 drugs, including cancer drugs and immunosuppressants, at the original prices fixed by drug firms. The medicines will be purchased in bulk by the government-run Kerala Medical Services Corporation and sold through the network of 74 Karunya fair price stores across the State through special “profit-free” counters. The new initiative is expected to kick off in July.

Already, some 7,000 drugs are sold at rates much lower than the market price through Karunya outlets.

Additional staff would be deployed to handle the new “profit-free” counters, a statement issued by Health Minister Veena George said.

Multiple steps

The statement said the new initiative was part of the several interventions taken up by the State government to provide affordable and quality cancer care to people.

Steps have been taken to run cancer screening clinics as well as cancer preventive clinics at least one day a week in all hospitals; cancer treatment facilities have been augmented at the Regional Cancer Centre and Malabar Cancer Centre; and plans are afoot to introduce HPV vaccination against cervical cancer amongst Plus One and Plus Two-level girls, the statement said.

Prajwal case: HC refuses to stay probe against former BJP MLA for allegedly circulating videos

The Hindu Bureau

Bengaluru

Observing that the issue involved is about the image of a woman and her right to privacy, the High Court of Karnataka on Friday refused to stay the investigation against former BJP MLA Preetham Gowda in a criminal case registered against him for allegedly recording and circulating explicit images and clips of Prajwal Revanna’s video calls with a woman.

The court, however, restrained the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which is probing all three rape cases registered against Mr. Prajwal, from arresting Mr. Gowda for now but allowed it to interrogate him from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Also, the court permitted the SIT to conduct search and seizure for discovering the materials related to the alleged offences.

Justice Krishna S. Dixit passed the interim order on a petition filed by Mr. Gowda, who has challenged the legality of the registration of a first information report (FIR), in which he has been arraigned as suspect number four based on a complaint lodged by the woman.

While Mr. Prajwal is arraigned as an accused, Kiran and Sharath, both associates of Mr. Gowda, have been arraigned as suspects number two and three, respectively.

The CID’s Cyber Crime police station had on June 10 registered the FIR based on the complaint lodged by the 42-year-old victim.

It was argued on behalf of Mr. Gowda that the complainant had not directly alleged that the petitioner had committed the offence as she was acting merely on hearsay.

Polavaram project in limbo, says A.P. CM

Sambasiva Rao M.

AMARAVATI

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu making a PowerPoint presentation on the Polavaram Irrigation Project.

The ignorance and inefficiency of the former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, in taking policy decisions and in abruptly changing the contractor of the multi-purpose Polavaram Irrigation Project (PIP) had resulted in causing severe damage to the project, said Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.

He released a White Paper on PIP at the Secretariat on Friday.

Mr. Naidu said, “It will cost more than ₹12,157 crore to complete the remaining works under Phase-I of the project.”

Changing the project’s contractor at a critical stage, ignoring the advice of the Polavaram Project Authority and the Ministry of Jal Sakhti, delay in mobilisation of the required men and machinery by the new agency, and not realising the importance of plugging the two gaps in the cofferdam upstream resulted in severe damage to the diaphragm wall, Mr. Naidu explained.

The previous government had also failed to complete the Relief & Rehabilitation work in villages likely to be affected due to the completion of the upstream cofferdam, he said.

ED to name CPI(M) as accused in bank fraud case in Kerala

The Hindu Bureau

KOCHI

The CPI(M) will be arraigned as an accused in the Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank loan fraud case, which is being probed by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED).

The bank in Thrissur district of Kerala is under the control of the CPI(M), which heads the ruling Left Democratic Front.

The investigation agency on Friday provisionally attached a 10-cent holding at Porathussery which was purchased in the name of M.M. Varghese, Thrissur district secretary of the party, and cash deposits to the tune of ₹60 lakh in eight bank accounts as a prelude to the process. These are believed to have been procured using the proceeds of crime.

The CPI(M) will be listed as an accused in the case records when the final complaint is filed in the Special Court probing the case, sources said.

Incidentally, it is for the first time in the State that a political party would be made an accused in a money-laundering case. Earlier, the ED had arraigned the Aam Aadmi Party as an accused in the Delhi liquor policy case. The ED argues that the CPI(M) purchased the property in Porathussery using the proceeds of the money laundering carried out by the accused in the Karuvannur case.

The prosecution case is that the accused, in connivance with bank officials, siphoned off the money of depositors by generating fake loans from the bank.

Five killed, 10 injured in blast at glass factory in Telangana

Lavpreet Kaur

HYDERABAD

Five workers were killed and 10 others injured in an explosion in a glass factory at Shadnagar in Telangana on Friday evening. All the dead are natives of Bihar.

The incident occurred at the South Glass Factory, which manufactures toughened glass and laminated glass, among others.

The deceased have been identified as Ratikant, Roshan Kumar, Ram Prakash, Chitaranjan and Nikhat Kumar. Of the 10 injured, three sustained major injuries.

‘Safety valve issue’

“The blast occurred in the autoclave on the premises due to high pressure, crossing the tolerance limit. The safety valve, which generally has a set tolerance, did not work properly and blew up. Due to this, the metal door of the autoclave gave away and flew along with the glass shards, which fell on the workers and killed them on the spot,” Deputy Chief Inspector of Factories Manohar Reddy said after visiting the factory in Ranga Reddy district.

Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy instructed the authorities to speed up relief measures.

Siricilla MLA K.T. Rama Rao sought an immediate safety audit in industries. “Appeal to Telangana Government to immediately conduct a thorough safety audit & review disaster management plans in all industrial areas so as to prevent any recurrence,” the former Minister said in a post on X.

If there is a change, next CM should be a Lingayat, says seer

The Hindu Bureau

belagavi

If there is a change in the leadership in Karnataka, then the new Chief Minister should belong to the Veerashaiva Lingayat community, said Sri Channa Siddharama Panditaradhya Shivacharya swami of Srishaila on Friday.

“Veerashaiva Lingayats voted for the Congress in the last Assembly election. It is natural that leaders of the community should become the Chief Minister,” he said.

“If the Congress leaders had come to an agreement about power sharing after the polls in Karnataka, then all the leaders should follow the agreement,” he said.

till July 10

The Hindu Bureau

KOCHI

The Kerala High Court on Friday extended till July 10 its interim directive to the police not to arrest Soubin Shahir and Shawn Antony, actor-producer and producer respectively of the film Manjummel Boys in a cheating and forgery case.

The court passed the order when their anticipatory bail petition came up for hearing. The petitioner said the allegation of cheating was raised only to pressurise the petitioners to settle dispute. The police had earlier opposed the petition and said they did not pay the profit from the film to Siraj Valiyathara, who had contributed ₹7 crore for the production.

Jharkhand school principal held in NEET paper leak case

Amit Bhelari

Patna

CBI arrests Oasis School head Ahsanul Haque and vice-principal Imtiaz Alam ; agency detains six more from the State; Haque had admitted that the question paper envelope was tampered with

CBI officials at the Oasis School for investigation into the NEET-UG paper leak case, in Hazaribagh district of Jharkhand on Friday. PTI

A day after arresting two from Patna in the NEET-UG paper leak case, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested a school principal and vice-principal in Jharkhand on Friday.

CBI officials took Oasis School principal Ahsanul Haque and vice-principal Imtiaz Alam, who was the exam centre coordinator, into custody and rushed to Patna late at night.

The agency also detained six others from Jharkhand for questioning.

From day one, the school in Hazaribagh was at the centre of the paper leak controversy. The Bihar police had earlier said that a partially burnt question paper recovered from a play school in Patna matched with the question paper received from the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the medical entrance exam. The series of that question paper had then been sent to the NEET-UG examination centre at the Oasis School, they said.

On Wednesday, the CBI questioned the SBI officials and the courier company that transported the NEET question papers.

Four days ago, in a conversation with The Hindu, Mr. Haque had admitted that the box and envelope containing the NEET question papers had been cut open. He said the digital lock was supposed to open by itself at 1.15 p.m. on May 5, the day of the test. However, when it did not open, it was seen that the outer box had been opened using a cutter. He admitted that the envelope within the box had also been tampered with, and showed a precise cut.

Sources said the vice-principal too had a role in the case. It was found that the question papers were brought from the SBI to the school in the SUV belonging to Mr. Alam. On Thursday, electronic devices, including the printer from the principal’s office, were seized from the Oasis School, CBI sources said.

Questioned for 3 hours

On Friday morning, an eight-member CBI team took Mr. Haque and Mr. Alam to the school where they were questioned after three hours.

The NEET question papers were delivered to the bank by the Blue Dart courier company using an e-rickshaw on May 3. The same was delivered from the bank to the school on May 5. Sources in the CBI said the agency also questioned the e-rickshaw driver who delivered the question papers to the bank.

NTA reform panel calls for suggestions from students, parents; time till July 7

Maitri Porecha

New Delhi

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said the strictest action would be taken against those responsible for exam irregularities. PTI-

The high-level committee appointed by the Centre to review conduct of examinations and functioning of the beleaguered National Testing Agency (NTA) has invited suggestions from stakeholders, particularly parents and students.

The committee chaired by former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman K. Radhakrishnan is looking into examination processes, enhancing data security protocols, and structure as well as operations of the NTA.

The panel has sought feedback from stakeholders between June 27 and July 7 on innovateindia.mygov.in.

The seven-member committee formed on June 22 met for the first time earlier this week on June 24 at the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi to kickstart the reform process.

While the reform committee will accept suggestions till July 7, aspirants who sat for the medical entrance test NEET-UG, will have to undergo counselling process for allocation of seats from July 6 onwards.

Despite continuous protests by students over alleged irregularities in the conduct of NEET, first information reports (FIRs) being filed across multiple States and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) launching a nationwide investigation, the Supreme Court has refused to stay the counselling process. The NTA is expected to file a detailed response in the top court on July 8.

While the students had raised suspicion over the increase in high scores in NEET, sources in the Ministry of Education said that the high scores was due to the question paper being simpler when compared to previous years.

“With many students getting similar high scores and inflated ranks, a tie-breaker formula will be applied in counselling and allocation of seats, where those who got higher marks in biology and so on will be given preference,” the source told The Hindu.

Meanwhile, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Friday that the government is ready to discuss the issue in Parliament. He also said that new dates for cancelled exams (such as UGC-NET and NEET-PG) will be announced soon.

“When the President herself spoke about the exam in her speech on Thursday, it shows the government’s intention that we are ready to face the issue… our responsibility is towards the youth, the students of the country. We are going to take the strictest action and the CBI is going to arrest everyone. We are hoping to discuss this issue in both Houses on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday,” he said.

Minister urges U.P. CM to look into ‘caste bias’ in govt. posts

Ishita Mishra

New Delhi

Anupriya Patel PTI

Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel has written to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, alleging bias in appointments of Other Backward Class (OBC), Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribe candidates in government jobs in the State. Ms. Patel heads the Apna Dal (S), a member of the National Democratic Alliance.

Ms. Patel’s letter, written on her party’s letterhead, comes weeks after the BJP’s poor performance in the Lok Sabha election and is being seen as part of a tussle within the party and its allies in Uttar Pradesh.

In her letter, written on Friday, Ms. Patel said the NDA government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken steps to provide reservation for students of Backward Classes in the entrance examination of Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navodaya Vidyalayas, Sainik Schools and medical courses to ensure their bright future. “The candidates from OBC and SC/ST communities are contacting me and saying that they are often declared “Not Found Suitable” for the posts reserved for them in various competitive examinations conducted by the State government that have an interview-based recruitment process. Later, these posts are declared unreserved,” she wrote.

The Minister said that Mr. Adityanath would agree that candidates from OBC and SC/ST communities fulfil the minimum eligibility criteria for these examinations and reach the interview on the basis of their merit. “Hence it is beyond comprehension that candidates from OBC and SC/ST communities are being repeatedly declared as ‘Not Found Suitable’ and that this should be stopped by taking effective action to stop the anger arising among the candidates from these communities,” she said.

Ms. Patel urged the Chief Minister to organise multiple rounds of interviews to fill the posts and not declare them unreserved.

BJP’s response

Reacting to Ms. Patel’s letter, a senior BJP office-bearer from Uttar Pradesh said: “At a time when the BJP is trying to overcome its loss in the polls, majorly due to the Opposition’s pitch in which it almost convinced the backward sections of voters that the party will change the Constitution if given 400 seats, this letter by the party’s ally may further dent the ruling party.”

Modi is matchless, cannot be compared with Nehru: Trivedi

Press Trust of India

New Delhi

No comparison: BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi speaks in the Rajya Sabha during the Parliament session in New Delhi on Friday. PTI-

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is “matchless” and cannot be compared with Jawaharlal Nehru as he was elected unanimously to lead his party, unlike the Congress leader who got zero votes despite Mahatma Gandhi’s support, BJP leader Sudhanshu Trivedi said in the Rajya Sabha on Friday.

Mr. Trivedi sought to counter Opposition assertions that Mr. Modi cannot equal the achievement of Nehru, saying Modi is atulniya (matchless) and there a vast difference in his approach to dealing with issues facing the nation and the one adopted by the first Prime Minister.

“The Opposition keeps asserting that Nehru cannot be compared with Mr. Modi. I also believe that there can be no comparison,” he said.

“Modi ji Nehru ji kay tulna me ek atulniya PM hain aur unhone yeah atulniya uplabdhi haasil ki hai (Mr. Modi is matchless and cannot be compared with Mr. Nehru. Mr. Modi has also had matchless achievements),” he said.

Nehru, he said, came from an affluent background while Modi came from a very humble family.

Mr. Trivedi said while Nehru jailed people for criticism, the Modi government has not taken any action against his critics.

He further said Nehru awarded the Bharat Ratna to himself, while Mr. Modi has conferred the highest civilian award to people across party lines, including three leaders associated with the Congress.

On the Congress’ stand that it was working to save the Constitution of India, he said the Constitution was always under threat when the grand old party was in power. He said the Congress government changed the Preamble of the Constitution and misused provisions of the Constitution to dismiss elected state governments.

Referring to the Shah Bano case, when Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister, Mr. Trivedi said the Congress party placed ‘Sharia’ above the Constitution.

Cong. MP Phulo Devi faints during protest in Rajya Sabha Well

The Hindu Bureau

New Delhi

Phulo Devi Netam Shiv Kumar Pushpakar 5331

There was high drama in the Rajya Sabha on Friday when Congress MP Phulo Devi Netam fainted while protesting in the Well of the House.

Ms. Netam and other Opposition members were protesting against Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar’s decision not to allow a discussion on NEET paper leaks. She said they had been demanding a discussion on the issue for four to five hours. Hence, when the Upper House reassembled after recess, Opposition MPs trooped into the Well and shouted slogans.

That was when Ms. Netam fell. Seeing this, Mr. Dhankhar asked her fellow MPs to help her and adjourned the House till 2.30 p.m. She was rushed to the RML hospital.

She told the media later that she had felt dizzy and her blood pressure shot up. After this episode, the Rajya Sabha reconvened to discuss the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address and BJP member Kavita Patidar seconded the motion moved by another BJP MP Sudanshu Trivedi.

Opposition MPs criticised the Chairperson for continuing with House proceedings despite the incident. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who visited Ms. Netam in the hospital, said she was awaiting a CT scan and more medical tests over the next few days.

Uproar in Parliament over NEET-UG issue

Though the Rajya Sabha started the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President for her address to Parliament, there were dramatic moments as Congress MP Phulo Devi Netam fainted in the House while protesting with other Opposition MPs.

In a rare instance, the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Rajya Sabha and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge was seen walking into the well of the House. Expressing his anguish over this, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said this was the first time in history that the LoP had come into the well of the House, a charge promptly refuted by Congress chief whip Jairam Ramesh.

In the Lok Sabha, LoP Rahul Gandhi also raised the issue of NEET, soon after Mr. Birla read out the obituaries of 13 former MPs. “We wanted to send a joint message to the students of India from the Opposition and the government side that we consider this important and to respect the students, we will have a dedicated discussion on NEET,” Mr. Gandhi said. The chair did not permit him to make a long speech, urging him to speak about NEET during the Motion of Thanks. Congress MPs then alleged that Mr. Gandhi’s microphone was turned off.

“I have told you before that I don’t have a button here to turn off the microphone,” Mr. Birla told the House.

Mr. Birla and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju told Opposition members that they could raise the issue of NEET during the debate on the Motion of Thanks. As members from the Congress, Trinamool Congress and the DMK stormed into the well, Mr. Rijiju said that this was the first time the Opposition was seen demanding a discussion on an issue even before the House took up the Motion of Thanks.

Roof collapse at Delhi airport claims one life

IndiGo will move its T1 flights to T2 and T3, while SpiceJet will move them to Terminal 2 until the team from IIT-Delhi examines the cause of the collapse and T1 is reopened.

“Since it was raining, it was difficult to understand what had happened. People, mostly cab drivers, started running around while the cabs were on the road. I too was running when a piece of the roof fell on my head. When I checked, I saw blood and panicked,” said Santosh Kumar Yadav, a private cab driver, who sustained head injuries in the incident.

The incident happened around 5 a.m. outside the departure section of T1, which is a two-storey building with arrivals on the ground floor and departures on the first floor. The departure section of T1 was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March 2024. However, Minister of Civil Aviation Rammohan Naidu said that the forecourt area was not part of the renovated building, but was constructed in 2008-09.

The airport has extended an ex-gratia of ₹20 lakh for the family of the deceased and ₹3 lakh for those injured. The government has also asked airlines to ensure there is no abnormal surge in airfares for Delhi flights due to Friday’s cancellations.

Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) is a joint venture led by GMR Airports Limited, which owns a 64% stake.

The Delhi Police registered a case under Sections 304A (causing death by negligence) and 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against unknown persons.

Soren freed from jail as High Court grants bail

He asserted that he had been put behind bars on the basis of false and concocted stories.

“Many people like me are in jail. Even the Delhi CM is in jail, and to get justice, it takes a long time. People who are working in their field with honesty are being troubled. I will keep fighting for the cause of the people and the tribals. My release is a message not only for the State but for the country that a conspiracy was hatched against me,” he said.

During the hearing, Mr. Soren’s lawyer Kapil Sibal had argued that the case was civil in nature. The land was described as Bhuinhari (non-saleable under the Chota Nagpur Tenancy Act) and cannot be transferred, so there was no possibility of money laundering in the case, he said.

The court order, which is in the possession of The Hindu, says, “The overall conspectus of the case based on the broad probabilities does not specifically or indirectly assign the petitioner to be involved in the acquisition and possession as well as concealment of 8.86 acre of land connected to the ‘proceeds of crime’. None of the register/revenue records bear imprint of the direct involvement of the petitioner in the acquisition and possession of the said land.”

The court order further says, “The consequences of the findings recorded by this Court satisfies the condition as at Section 45 PMLA, 2002 to the effect that there is reason to believe that petitioner is not guilty of the offence as alleged.”

The ED arrested Mr. Soren on January 31 after questioning him for over seven hours in the case, which is related to forging the land documents for 8.86 acres in the Badgai area of Ranchi.

Fresh dates announced for UGC-NET, 2 other tests

Press Trust of India

New Delhi

The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Friday night announced the new dates of cancelled and postponed examinations, including the UGC-NET, amid a raging row over alleged irregularities in their conduct.

The UGC-NET, which was cancelled a day after being conducted on June 18, will now be held from August 21 to September 4.

The rescheduled exam will now be conducted according to the earlier pattern of computer-based test (CBT) spread across a fortnight.

The CSIR UGC-NET will be conducted from July 25 to July 27.

The National Common Entrance Test (NCET) for admission to the four-year Integrated Teacher Education Programme (ITEP) in select Central and State universities or institutions will now be conducted on July 10.

Unfortunate that govt. does not want a debate: Rahul

The Hindu Bureau

New Delhi

Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, in a video addressed to candidates of NEET and other competitive exams, said on Friday that it was unfortunate that the Narendra Modi government did not want a discussion on the paper leak issue in Parliament.

“The idea behind the discussion was to get a resolution to this issue. It is unfortunate the government didn’t want it. It seemed to me the direction was directly from the Prime Minister,” Mr. Gandhi said in the video posted on X.

“It is sad the Prime Minister of India, who should be leading the discussion and should be telling us about his opinion and what he is going to do, simply doesn’t want a debate. We don’t want to fight the government, we want to place our views on the table,” he added.

Have full faith in Centre, Manipur figures in NDA’s 100-day plan: Biren

Abhinay Lakshman

Imphal

Women take part in the ‘Save Manipur Walk’ from the Thau Ground to Khumanlampak Stadium in Imphal on Friday.PTI

The Union government has started having “positive discussions” on the conflict in Manipur and it is a “great achievement” that resolution of the crisis is part of the 100-day plan of the new National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, Chief Minister N. Biren Singh told The Hindu during an interaction on Friday. He added he has “full confidence” that the Centre understands the issues in Manipur.

This comes on a day when the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), one of the most influential civil society organisations (CSOs) in the Imphal Valley, took out a mass rally where thousands of people, including several Meira Paibi groups, protested against the Centre’s handling of the conflict, accused it of being involved in the “extermination of indigenous peoples of Manipur”, and raised slogans against any compromise on the integrity of Manipur’s borders.

Mr. Singh said of the protests earlier in the day, “I am listening to the people. We cannot reveal what the Centre is planning at the moment. The public’s anger will subside once these plans reveal themselves. The public is angry and wants a quick solution. Everyone does. But this issue is so complex that you cannot rush it.”

The Chief Minister added he is confident that the Centre will not succumb to any demands that threaten the territorial integrity of Manipur.

Ever since the conflict broke out on May 3, 2023, the Kuki-Zo community had been insisting that the only way to bring peace back was to carve out a separate administration for their people in the form of a Union Territory.

Soon after the violence broke out, a Unified Command was set up in the State to take security-related decisions, which reported to the Centre. This command has been headed by Security Adviser Kuldiep Singh.

However, since this apparatus had begun functioning, the people of Manipur, and newly elected Congress MP of Inner Manipur, A. Bimol Akoijam, have routinely asked whether the State government or Centre is in-charge of the law and order situation in the State, and who should be held accountable.

Mr. Singh told The Hindu, “This centralisation of the command for the last one year has been done for the good [of people]. But the effectiveness of this structure has to be seen on the ground, then people will be happy. The people in the field here have to start dealing with the ground realities here from time to time. Some excesses, legally, if needed, might be necessary.”

He added that the border-fencing work along the Indo-Myanmar border in Manipur had started and that the State government was already in the process of identifying and clearing land for the said work.

On rumours that some MLAs from Manipur were now calling for his resignation, the Chief Minister categorically denied it. He said, “Almost 35 MLAs had met with me on Thursday and the decision was taken to seek an appointment for a meeting with the Prime Minister and Home Minister. That is all.”

Earlier in the day, at the mass rally attended by thousands from across Imphal, Moirang and Bishnupur districts, among others, the COCOMI and allied Meitei organisations raised calls for an end to the “divide and rule policy of India”, and also demanded that all combing operations and weapon recovery be suspended till the armed conflict is brought to an end.

The rally was also attended by hundreds of students from schools and colleges of the city who marched in their uniforms. Their slogans included calls to “eliminate all Kukis, uproot Kukis from Manipur”.

Responding to the sloganeering, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum, a Kuki-Zo CSO in Churachandpur, issued a statement, calling these calls “horrifying”, adding that these “reflected the views and attitude of the majority of the Meitei”. “Total separation is the only solution,” the ITLF said.

Imphal West Independent MLA Nishikanta Singh Sapam, who also attended the rally, said, “The people are clearly feeling that the need is to be able to protect themselves because the administration has failed them.”

After the rally, COCOMI coordinator Th. Somorendro put out a “People’s Resolution” which called for expediting the process of implementing the National Register of Citizens so that “foreign illegal immigrants” including the “Narco-terrorist sections among the Chin-Kukis” can be deported.

4 killed as monsoon brings record rainfall to capital city

The Hindu Bureau

NEW DELHI

Delhi receives 228 mm rain, the highest in a 24-hour period in June since 1936; the downpour left several arterial roads waterlogged, causing traffic jams and affecting several low-lying areas

Vehicles pass through a waterlogged road in New Delhi on Friday. R. V. MoorthyMOORTHY RV

Four people died and several were injured as the southwest monsoon arrived in the national capital, bringing with it 228 mm of rainfall in a span of 24 hours, mostly concentrated between 3 a.m. and 8.30 a.m. on Friday. This is the highest rainfall recorded in a 24-hour period in Delhi in June since 1936.

The deluge left several arterial roads waterlogged causing traffic jams and affecting several low-lying areas. It led to the closure of several underpasses, including the recently constructed Pragati Maidan tunnel, the road under Minto Bridge, the ITO railway crossing, and the Moolchand underpass. Several colony roads were also inundated, with water filling the basements and flowing into the ground floor. As a precautionary measure, power was disconnected in large parts of the capital to prevent incidents of electrocution.

Two children — aged 8 and 10, both residents of New Usmanpur in northeast Delhi — drowned in a rainwater pool in the Khadar area, the police said. They went swimming, but they drowned as the water was deep, they added.

According to DCP (Southwest) Rohit Meena, three labourers in Vasant Vihar were trapped in the muddy waters and are yet to be rescued. “The men are feared dead but it cannot be confirmed,” he said. Another person in northwest Delhi died after being electrocuted.

“Water started draining immediately after the rain stopped. We had an emergency meeting to take stock of the situation and a 24x7 control room has been set up at the PWD headquarters to monitor the situation and deploy pumps wherever required,” Delhi Water Minister Atishi said.

Corruption and negligence behind collapse of shoddy infrastructure, says Kharge

The Hindu Bureau

NEW DELHI

Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu at the IGI airport in Delhi on Friday.ANI

The roof collapse at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport in Delhi on Friday prompted Opposition leaders to hit out at the government for the poor quality of infrastructure, for which they also blamed “corruption” as well as “ribbon-cutting ceremonies” before elections.

“Corruption and criminal negligence are responsible for the collapse of shoddy infrastructure falling like a deck of cards, in the past 10 years of Modi govt.,” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge wrote on X.

He cited various incidents, including the roof collapse at the Jabalpur airport this week, water leakage at the Ram Mandir and potholes on the roads leading up to it following rains, cracks on the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link road, collapse of 13 new bridges in Bihar in 2023 and 2024, submergence of the newly built tunnel near Pragati Maidan in the national capital, and the Morbi bridge collapse in Gujarat in 2022.

‘Corrupt and inept’

The canopy of the forecourt that collapsed is outside the Terminal 1 building at the IGI. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Terminal 1 in March after it underwent renovation work from 2019 to bring both arrivals and departures under one roof.

Referring to this inauguration, Mr. Kharge said the government was indulging in “ribbon-cutting ceremonies before elections” and called it “corrupt and inept”.

Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu as well as the GMR-owned airport explained that the canopy itself was constructed in 2008-2009.

Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi said “the common man is helpless because the government is working for big industrialists and contractors”, resulting in flaws across road, rail and airport infrastructure.

Communist Party of India leader D. Raja said on X, “Infrastructure development has to be people-centric and sustainable but Modi made it photo-centric. BJP and PM Modi’s obsession with inauguration and claiming credit is creating hardships for the people. Poor quality infrastructure has also exposed rampant corruption.”

52-day Amarnath Yatra begins today, security tightened in Kashmir Valley

Peerzada Ashiq

SRINAGAR

With elaborate and multiple security rings in place, the first batch of pilgrims arrived in the Kashmir Valley on Friday for the annual Amarnath Yatra, which will begin from the twin base camps in the Valley on Saturday.

Earlier in the day, J&K Lieutenant-Governor Manoj Sinha flagged off the first batch of 4,603 pilgrims from the Yatri Niwas at Bhagwati Nagar in Jammu, with devotees raising slogans and singing hymns.

“Elaborate security arrangements have been put in place for the smooth conduct of the pilgrimage,” Mr. Sinha said.

This year, the Amarnath Yatra will be held for 52 days. Pilgrims are expected to trek from the twin base camps located in south and central Kashmir’s tourist places of Pahalgam and Sonmarg.

This year’s pilgrimage is taking place under the shadow of militant threat after nine pilgrims were killed and 33 injured in Reasi on June 9 when militants attacked a bus carrying pilgrims from Shiv Khori to Katra.

J&K Director-General of Police R.R. Swain stressed the need to follow the cut-off timings for vehicles carrying pilgrims to the Valley. He directed the security agencies to remain vigilant, adhere to standard operating procedures, and conduct regular training and drills.

A three-tier security set-up is in place at the base camp in the Bhagwati Nagar area in Jammu. Special Quick Reaction Teams have also been constituted.

Northern States brace for heavy rain till July 2

The Hindu Bureau

CHANDIGARH

As the monsoon continues to advance, rain is expected to intensify across the northern States, including Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Chandigarh over the weekend.

Shimla, the capital of Himachal Pradesh, witnessed heavy rain on Friday, while other parts of the State also experienced moderate rain.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) at Shimla, the rain activity is likely to intensify from Saturday. Light to moderate intensity rain is expected in low and mid-hill districts of the State between June 28 and July 1.

As per the IMD, very heavy rainfall is expected at isolated places over Haryana between June 29 and July 1 and over Punjab between June 30 and July 1.

A spell of heavy rainfall is expected at isolated places in Chandigarh between June 28 till July 2, it said.

M.P. Police arrest 24 for killing bovine animals

The Madhya Pradesh Police arrested 24 persons in connection with the killing of more than 60 bovine animals, in Seoni district. Eight of the arrested accused are from Nagpur, where the conspiracy to kill these animals was hatched to whip up communal frenzy, the police said.

“The persons were assigned the job of killing the animals in return for money and local residents [of Seoni] were also found to be involved in the crime,” an official said.PTI

India slams ‘deeply biased’ U.S. report on religious freedom

Kallol Bhattacherjee

NEW DELHI

The report reflects ‘one-sided projection of issues’ and has selectively picked incidents to advance a pre-conceived narrative, says government while questioning the law and order situation in U.S

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2 of 2 The exercise itself is a mix of imputations, misrepresentations, selective usage of facts, reliance on biased sources and a one-sided projection of issues Randhir Jaiswal MEA spokesperson

India on Friday slammed the U.S. State Department’s report on International Religious Freedom for 2023 as “deeply biased” and said it reflected “one-sided projection of issues”.

During the weekly press briefing, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the report questioned the “integrity” of certain legal judgments of the Indian courts and highlighted the United States’s own record in handling domestic hate crimes.

“The exercise itself is a mix of imputations, misrepresentations, selective usage of facts, reliance on biased sources and a one-sided projection of issues. This extends even to the depiction of our Constitutional provisions and duly enacted laws of India. It has selectively picked incidents to advance a pre-conceived narrative as well,” Mr. Jaiswal said.

On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken unveiled the annual report on international religious freedom and pointed at a number of countries for failing to protect religious rights of minority groups and basic human rights. He noted that a wide array of violence against religious minorities were taking place in India and said, “In India, we see a concerning increase in anti-conversion laws, hate speech, demolitions of homes and places of worship for members of minority faith communities. At the same time, people around the world are also working hard to protect religious freedom.”

In nearly 69 pages dedicated to the state of religious freedom in India, the report elaborated on apparent complicity between the law enforcement agencies and the majoritarian groups and flagged a number of factors like the campaign for Uniform Civil Code (UCC) as well as the campaign for creating a “Hindu Rashtra” in India.

Responding to the criticism, Mr. Jaiswal raised the law and order situation in the U.S. and highlighted the crimes committed by racially motivated individuals against Indians and other coloured communities. “In 2023, India has officially taken up numerous cases in the U.S. of hate crimes, racial attacks on Indian nationals and other minorities, vandalisation and targeting of places of worship, violence and mistreatment by law enforcement authorities, as well as the according of political space to advocates of extremism and terrorism abroad,” he said.

Mr. Blinken had focused on Pakistan, India, and other countries that also included the U.S. for growing threat against religious minorities and said, “In India, for example, Christian communities reported that local police aided mobs that disrupted worship services over accusations of conversion activities or stood by while mobs attacked them and then arrested the victims on conversion charges.”

The U.S. report also referred to the drive for the UCC and observed that “ various personal laws, instead of a uniform civil code, apply to members of different religious communities in matters of marriage, divorce, adoption, and inheritance based on religion, faith, and culture”.

Referring to the remarks regarding Indian legal provisions, Mr. Jaiswal said the report appeared to intrude into the legislative affairs of India. “In some cases, the very validity of laws and regulations are questioned by the report, as are the right of legislatures to enact them,” he said.

Screen all pregnant women for gestational diabetes with point-of-care test, say experts

Ramya Kannan

CHENNAI

More than 90% of gestational diabetes cases are estimated to occur in low-income and middle-income countries. AFPARUN SANKAR

Researchers from India, London, and Africa have proposed that the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) used to determine if a pregnant woman has developed gestational diabetes be replaced by an HbA1c test that can also be used at the point of care. They have recommended that this be administered in early pregnancy, during the first trimester itself.

In a paper published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, authors argued that HbA1c offers a simple screening test for gestational diabetes, allowing those at highest risk to receive early intervention and greatly reduces the need for OGTTs. Researchers used the results from STRiDE, a prospective cohort study, set up in seven centres in south India and seven in western Kenya. Participants were also included from the PRiDE cohort in the U.K.

The proposal is significant for India. More than 90% of gestational diabetes cases are estimated to occur in low-income and middle-income countries. Currently, guidelines recommend that mothers take an OGTT, which is a concentrated 75 g oral solution at fasting, and then wait two to three hours to do a follow-up, at the 24 to 28-week stage. This throws up a lot of challenges, particularly in screening women who are in far-flung rural areas and in hard-to-reach areas. In such situations, a trained health care worker can instead be given a point-of-care testing kit and, with just a drop of blood, test the woman for HbA1c at her own home.

The study concluded that in India, an HbA1c result of 4.9 rules out diabetes, while women who have a score of 5.4 or above can be ‘ruled in’ for gestational diabetes. If the risk score classifies them in the lowest risk group, they would not have to take an OGTT; only those in the intermediate group between these two values would have to do the more complicated test. “We roughly estimated this will be around 25% of all pregnant women,” explained P. Saravanan, professor at the Warwick Medical School in the U.K.’s University of Warwick, and one of the authors of the study.

For rural, remote areas

“This would be particularly useful for women living in rural areas and hard-to-reach terrains where OGTT will be impossible to do. Although the direct cost of this is roughly double that of OGTT, if you include the cost of travel, lost wages, etc, it will be cost neutral. Moreover, HbA1c is currently more expensive partly because it is not used routinely. However, more usage will also bring the costs down,” he added.

V. Mohan of the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation, another author of the paper, said the big advantage is this could help avoid 50% to 64% of all the OGTTs being done currently. “While we believe that the OGTT is a gold standard test and still do it in our labs, using point of care HbA1c test would really make a difference in a public health setting, by being able to reach more women who might otherwise be left out of the net.”

Another of the authors, Uma Ram, senior obstetrician at Chennai’s Seethapathy Clinic, pointed to two advantages of HbA1c test: it confers the ability to identify a high-risk group earlier on in pregnancy, and an opportunity to intervene with diet and exercise. There is data that early intervention helps prevent development of gestational diabetes.

(set by Gussalufz)

1 of 4

2 of 4

3 of 4

4 of 4 Scan to play

Across

9 Old, old relics repurposed as packing material (9)

10 Holding maybe a chunk of western venture capital (5)

11 Crack a ton; draw (7)

12 Is in Barcelona, absorbing encounters in retreat with counts (7)

13 Senior member of party getting foreign money (5)

14 Vampire's soup recipe: some type of blood with fresh veggies (9)

16 Seek carbon quota reforms at the earliest stage (4,2,6,3)

19 Unexpected exits from dodgy road sport (9)

22 Log 10 miscalculated? Well! (5)

24 Wholesome meal unwrapped on desk (7)

26 "Trailer," per simmering wife describing fight (7)

27 Bar featured in bible verse (5)

28 Coffee and cigarettes essentially carried by French sycophant (9)

Down

1 Settled up a bill involving Gussalufz (6)

2 Hic! City parties, drinking hard like a fish (8)

3 Happy to tour, I'm in and out (10)

4 Excellent weed, mine to roll up (6)

5 Devotee's bench in church, with "I DIE PURE" scribbled (4-4)

6 Pickle of squash? Maybe not right (4)

7 Dropping regulars!? Team's ethicist rejected proposal (6)

8 Sees drag racing as an Olympic sport (8)

15 Deals with rowdy male teenagers (10)

16 In Berlin, please rely on English getting ignored with resentment (8)

17 Get away from the woman defending boundless love of force (5,3)

18 Exceptional points in set — result: 1-0 (8)

20 Lively, uplifting musical showcasing Cuba (6)

21 Sea's full of unlimited epic colours (6)

23 Embarrassed about combat payment (6)

25 Poet excluded in recitation (4)

India achieves ‘outstanding outcome’ in FATF evaluation

Devesh K. Pandey

NEW DELHI

The report was adopted at the FATF plenary held in Singapore. AP

India has achieved an outstanding outcome in the mutual evaluation conducted during 2023-24 by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the government said on Friday.

The Mutual Evaluation Report of India, which was adopted at the FATF plenary held in Singapore from June 26 to 28, places India in the “regular follow-up” category, a distinction shared by only four other G-20 countries.

“This marks a significant milestone in the nation’s efforts to combat money laundering (ML) and terrorist financing (TF),” read a Press Information Bureau release.

In a statement, the FATF said the plenary concluded that India had reached a high level of technical compliance with its requirements. The country’s anti-money laundering (AML), countering the financing of terrorism (CFT), and counter-proliferation financing (CPF) regime was achieving good results, including international cooperation, access to basic and beneficial ownership information, use of financial intelligence, and depriving criminals of their assets.

However, the FATF observed that improvements were needed to strengthen the supervision and implementation of preventive measures in some non-financial sectors. “India also needs to address delays relating to concluding ML and TF prosecutions, and to ensure that CFT measures aimed at preventing the non-profit sector from being abused for TF are implemented in line with the risk-based approach, including by conducting outreach to NPOs [Non-Profit Organisations] on their TF risks,” it said.

Among other things, the FATF has recognised the efforts made by India on the issue of mitigating the risks arising from ML/TF, including the laundering of proceeds from corruption, fraud, and organised crime, and the effective measures implemented by India to transition from a cash-based to a digital economy to reduce ML/TF risks.

“This recognition is a testament to the rigorous measures implemented over the last 10 years to safeguard the financial system from ML/TF threats,” the government said.

Lord saves Gajendra

The elephant Gajendra fought for several years to get liberated from the crocodile’s clutches, but in vain. After getting exhausted and all its faculties debilitated, it called Lord Narayana for help, who rushed to the elephant’s rescue, shed tears, and told the elephant why he had not called Him earlier. When the Lord asked the elephant what boon he wanted, the latter pleaded that all those who worship Him should be protected (Lokah samasthah sukhino bhavanthu).

Trichy Sri Kalyanaraman said in a discourse how the Tamil saint-poet Kambar had metaphorically handled the doctrine of ‘Gajendra Moksha’ in his work Kamba Ramayanam. In the Ayodhya Kanda, when Kaikeyi wanted to see Rama, the speed at which Rama was going was like the Lord transcending to save Gajendra. Dasaratha was like the elephant, and Kaikeyi, the crocodile. In the Aranya Kanda, when the demon Viraada was kicked by Rama, the demon, realising his true nature, said his body was like the crocodile and soul that of the elephant. In the Yuddha Kanda, Kambar recalls Prahlada. When Prahlada’s father tried to get his son killed by an elephant, Prahlada told the elephant to remember that the Paramatma residing in his heart had saved the elephant’s ancestor, Gajendra. The elephant had withdrawn, unharming Prahlada.

Petrol, diesel to be cheaper in Mumbai after VAT slashed

Petrol prices will come down by 65 paise a litre and diesel by ₹2.60 a litre from July 1 in the Mumbai metropolitan region as the Maharashtra government has decided a reduction in value-added tax on fuel, according to the State government’s additional budget for 2024-25 that was presented on Friday. This crucial move, with the State going to polls this year, will cost the exchequer ₹200 crore, Finance Minister Ajit Pawar said. A monthly allowance of ₹1,500 for women aged 21 to 60, three free LPG cylinders a year for a family of five, free electricity for agriculture pumps, and a few other schemes were also announced.

Deputy NSA Vikram Misri is next Foreign Secretary

The Hindu Bureau

NEW DELHI

Vikram Misri

Deputy National Security Adviser Vikram Misri will take charge as the Foreign Secretary on July 15, the government announced on Friday. Mr. Misri, a former Ambassador to China, will succeed current Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra.

“Appointment of Vikram Misri, IFS (1989), Deputy National Security Advisor in the National Security Council Secretariat to the post of Foreign Secretary w.e.f. 15th July 2024 vice Shri Vinay Kwatra,” the Personnel Ministry said in an announcement.

Mr. Misri, known for being a specialist in India-China relations, is expected to bring a special focus on the ongoing tension between New Delhi and Beijing.

German Chancellor to visit India in October

Dinakar Peri

NEW DELHI

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is scheduled to visit India in the second half of October for inter-governmental consultations during which ease of doing business, migration, geopolitics, and climate change will be high on the agenda, German Ambassador to India Philipp Ackermann said on Friday.

In addition, the 18th Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business 2024 (APK 2024) is also scheduled to be held in the national capital from October 24 to 26. The Indian Navy’s multi-billion deal for six conventional submarines under P-75I in which TKMS of Germany and Navantia of Spain are competing is expected to figure prominently in talks during the visit.

“This is the best moment in history for India and German businesses. German companies have never been more optimistic about India. They want to be part of ‘Make in India’, invest in India, localise and produce in India,” said Stefan Halusa, Director General of the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce India (AHK India).

Fifth bridge collapses in Bihar in just over a week

Another bridge has collapsed in Bihar, making it the fifth such incident to have been reported in the State in just over a week. The latest cave-in has been reported from the Bheja police station area of Madhubani district. Officials were tight-lipped about the incident, though sources in the Rural Works Department, which was entrusted with the construction of the 75-metre-long bridge, confirmed that one of its pillars got washed away a few days ago. They said the bridge was being built at a cost of ₹3 crore over the Bhutahi river that has been in spate after heavy rains in the catchment areas of Nepal. PTI

Edit

- Preaching consensus, provoking confrontation

- Tuning into the narratives in the American election

- letters to the editor

- Debt trap

- A fresh start

- The promised land

Preaching consensus, provoking confrontation

Sonia Gandhi Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), is Chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party

On June 4, 2024, the verdict of our country’s electorate was delivered clearly and resoundingly. It signalled a personal, political, and moral defeat for a Prime Minister who had awarded himself a divine status during the campaign. The verdict negated not only such pretensions, but it was also an unequivocal rejection of the politics of divisiveness, discord and hatred, a repudiation of both the substance and style of governance of Mr. Narendra Modi.

The fading of accommodation

Yet, the Prime Minister continues as if nothing has changed. He preaches the value of consensus but continues to value confrontation. There is not the slightest evidence that he has come to terms with the electoral outcome, or understood the verdict and has reflected on the message sent to him by millions of voters. The first few days of the 18th Lok Sabha have, sadly, been far from encouraging. Any hope that we might see a changed attitude has been dashed. Any hope that a new spirit of mutual respect and accommodation, let alone camaraderie would be fostered, has been belied.

I would like to remind readers what the INDIA bloc parties told the Prime Minister when his emissaries sought unanimity for the post of Speaker. The response was simple and straightforward: we said that we would support the government — but in keeping with convention and tradition, it was only fair and to be expected that the post of Deputy Speaker would be given to a member from the ranks of the Opposition. This perfectly reasonable request was found unacceptable by a regime that, it bears recall, had not filled the Constitutional position of Deputy Speaker in the 17th Lok Sabha.

And then, the Emergency was dredged up by the Prime Minister and his party — astonishingly, even by the Speaker whose position is incompatible with any public political stance other than one of strict impartiality. This attempt to divert attention away from the assault on the Constitution, on its foundational principles and values, on the institutions it has created and empowered, does not augur well for the smooth functioning of Parliament.

It is a fact of history that in March 1977 the people of our country gave a categorical verdict on the Emergency, which was accepted unhesitatingly and unequivocally. That less than three years later the party that was humbled in March 1977 was returned to power, with a majority never achieved by Mr. Modi and his party, is also very much part of that history.

Issues that need extensive debate

We need to look ahead. The bizarre and unprecedented suspension of 146 Members of Parliament, who were legitimately demanding a discussion on a deplorable breach of Parliament’s security, was clearly a way of ensuring that three far-reaching criminal justice laws could be passed without any discussion. Several legal experts and many others have expressed grave concerns about these laws. Should these laws not be kept in abeyance till they have undergone fuller Parliamentary scrutiny in keeping with accepted parliamentary practice and especially since the electoral verdict of 2024?

Similarly, amendments to forest conservation and biological diversity protection forest laws were pushed through last year when there was uproar and chaos in Parliament. An ecological and humanitarian disaster is awaiting us as the Great Nicobar project is pushed through. Should they also not be revisited to give meaning to the Prime Minister’s stated desire for consensus and for passage of laws after full debate and discussion?

On the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) scandal that has wreaked havoc on the lives of lakhs of our youth, the immediate response of the Education Minister was to deny the magnitude of what has happened. The Prime Minister who does his ‘Pariksha pe Charcha’ has been conspicuously silent on the leaks that have devastated so many families across the country. The inevitable ‘high power committees’ have been constituted, but the real issue is how the professionalism of educational institutions such as the National Council of Educational Research and Training, the University Grants Commission and universities themselves have been so deeply damaged in the last 10 years.

Meanwhile, the campaign of violence and intimidation against India’s minorities has once again intensified. In Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled States, bulldozers are again demolishing the homes of minorities based on mere allegations, violating due process, and inflicting collective punishment. None of this is surprising given the communal invective and blatant falsehoods that the Prime Minister inflicted on the people during the election campaign. He provocatively escalated the rhetoric out of fear that the election was slipping away from him, showing complete disregard for the dignity and maryada of his position.

In February 2022, the BJP and its allies got a convincing majority in the Assembly elections in Manipur. Yet, within 15 months, Manipur began to burn — or should it be said was allowed to begin to burn. Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands dislocated. Social harmony in this most sensitive State has been shattered. Yet, the Prime Minister has not found either the time or the inclination to visit the State nor to meet with its political leaders.

It is no wonder that his party has lost both the Lok Sabha seats there, but this does not seem to have had any impact on his most insensitive handling of the crisis that has engulfed Manipur’s variegated society.

The Prime Minister diminished himself by the campaign he ran for over 40 days. His words did untold damage to our social fabric and to the dignity of the office he is privileged to hold. It is for him to reflect and introspect and recognise that in rejecting his call for 400-plus parliamentary seats, crores of our people — to whom he promises sabka saath, sabka vikas — sent a powerful message, that they had had enough.

The Opposition will reflect India’s voice

The INDIA bloc parties have made it clear that they do not seek a confrontationist attitude. The Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, has offered cooperation. The leaders of the constituents of the alliance have made clear that they are looking to being productive in Parliament and to impartiality in the conduct of its proceedings. It is our hope that the Prime Minister and his government will respond positively. The initial evidence does not augur well, but we in the Opposition are committed to restoring balance and productivity in Parliament, to ensure that the voice of the millions who have sent us there as their representatives is heard and their concerns are raised and addressed. We live in hope that the Treasury benches will step forward so that we can fulfil our democratic duties.

Tuning into the narratives in the American election

Krishnan Srinivasan a former Foreign Secretary

In this year of successive world-wide elections, the issues in the United States presidential election, to be held in November, have not yet aroused considerable scrutiny. Yet, 1892 was the last time an immediately former President was contesting with his successor incumbent. The election’s main issues will cover immigration, democracy, foreign policy, abortion and Donald Trump’s indictments. In the current deeply polarised setting, opinion polls show that supporters of the former Republican President, Donald Trump, will do so again; and the same applies to the current Democrat President, Joe Biden’s followers.

The economy, the perception

The economy has become an important issue in the November presidential elections; normally, the economy should be decisive since history shows that a sitting President with a strong economy gets re-elected. But different economic indicators are travelling in different directions; some are positive, with low unemployment and a rising stock market, but negatives also appear in the high interest rate which affects everyone using credit. The rate of inflation has not come down, nor have prices even after the COVID-19 pandemic, though incomes have gone up.

The good aspects of the economy take time to impact the public, unlike the negatives. Mr. Biden is considered a better economic manager than Mr. Trump, and 65% of the electorate appears to think that the economy is in good or very good shape. But whether this will be a steady trend or only a momentary reaction cannot be anticipated, remembering that Mr. Trump’s pre-pandemic economy was quite strong. Most voters are not focusing on the economy — at least for now.

Polarisation in American society covers social issues as well as the urban versus rural/semi-urban divide. The latter since the 1990s are Republican, the former Democrat and the two are sharply divided. De-industrialisation, deregulation since the 1990s, job losses, and agribusiness suffering have affected the rural areas deeply and magnified these differences. President Biden has tried to rectify this but has not received any credit for his initiatives because the rural and semi-urban areas remain feeling discriminated against. Mr. Biden knows very well that the rural vote needs more attention, but it will take decades for such a divide to be properly rectified.

In industry, employment levels are good but inequality is still grave. A great deal of current investment goes into hi-tech, high-skilled, high-salaried jobs, but many of these projects are long term in gestation. Republicans tend to avoid involvement in the economy, but, here too, Republican opinion seems to be changing. Mr. Trump has been talking of a 10% across-the-board tariff but this will add to inflation and increase each family’s expenditure by $1,500-$2,500 every year.

The approaches to trade

In trade policy, there are clear differences between the Biden and Trump approaches. Mr. Trump is no believer in multilateralism, and during his tenure used tariffs to leverage better bilateral trade deals. Mr. Biden retained some of these tariffs but lowered others for Europeans, for example, to block Chinese steel and aluminium in order to limit the high carbon used to make these in China. The age of neo-liberal fundamentalist Democratic policies seems to be over, while on the Republican side, the debate continues; the libertarians are very powerful but there are nascent signs of rebellion against them.

Regarding the unions, in some regions blue-collar workers have become newly unionised at a time when the recent trend has seen the union movement decreasing. Unions have been helpful socially and assisted the Democrats, but with de-industrialisation, their place in society has been taken over by evangelical movements and gun lobbies, which attract strong support among rural communities. Support for unions appears still high among the American public, and Mr. Biden was the first U.S. President ever to join a picket line, but this factor is not likely to help his campaign for a second term.

Factors now present

Four danger signals seem key to the future of American democracy: extreme partisan polarisation; social questions of ‘belonging’, such as anti-immigration and racism; high economic inequality and executive aggrandisement, namely, when a leader expands his/her power beyond the customary checks and balances. Some experts feel that all four factors are now present in the United States.

Mr. Trump was unwelcoming to immigrants, and by the end of his term, public support for immigration had risen. Mr. Trump’s policies on immigration will prove inflationary since he wishes to deport thousands of low-wage earners. Mr. Biden is more welcoming, but perhaps more so than the American public at large wanted, and he mismanaged border issues.

This is now a contentious issue even among Democrats and will be another factor going into the elections. Mr. Biden tried to outflank the Republicans with a bipartisan bill that the Democrats would not normally have agreed to, but Mr. Trump gave Mr. Biden a lifeline by opposing it; Mr. Biden will now lose fewer votes as a result.

Opinion polls suggest that Democrat support among minorities such as African-Americans, Latinos and Asian-Americans is slipping. But all these polls have a small sample size and the shifts could be small, and more marked among men than women. Nevertheless, they give cause for the Democratic candidate in a few key States to be worried.

Talking about Emergency

The President of India mentioning the Emergency that was imposed by the Congress-led government in 1975, in her first address to Parliament after the 2024 general election, was unusual (Page 1, June 28). There is no doubt that the Emergency episode was a nightmare but most people in India have forgotten about it. Though the speech had the line, “My Government is continuously working for lasting peace in the North-East”, there has been no mention of the burning strife in Manipur. It is a pity that the ruling party and its government at the Centre talk about history instead of debating contemporary issues.

Kshirasagara Balaji Rao,

Hyderabad

I am 85 years old and have worked in the central government. The attempt to harp on the Emergency is unwarranted. That Mrs Gandhi was re-elected after the Emergency must not be forgotten. The leader also expressed her regrets over the events. The people of the country understood what had happened and acted. I do wish the people of this nation now recognise the wolves and the power mongers of today, who, tactfully and with political ingenuity, are clandestinely engaged in cutting the roots of democracy.

Pulipaka Moorthy Kumar,

Nazerpet, Tenali, Andhra Pradesh

It is not necessary for the BJP to illuminate the Congress’s dark past. The party has faced the consequences of its actions. The ruling party seems to be unable to digest the changed composition of the Lok Sabha. The way parliamentary conduct has changed from day two is evidence of this.

P. Paramasivan,

Chennai

On the anniversary of the dark event in the evolution of democracy in India, there was certainly a need to keep India’s memory alive to an event that highlights the downside to the temptations of power. That the Congress, the claimant to India’s oldest political tradition, chose to go on the defensive, is a reminder that remorse is a rare emotion in politics.

Jayanthy Subramaniam,

Mumbai

NEET MDS, counselling

I had appeared for the NEET MDS 2024 which was conducted despite protests from aspirants of there being inadequate time between notification and examination. It was conducted in March, instead of February, with the notification in late January. The authorities went ahead with the exam despite a court ruling that the exams of NEET MDS and NEET PG should be conducted around the same time as the counselling process. The recent developments of paper leaks, the NTA’s deeds and indefinite postponement of NEET PG 2024 lead one to question the decision to declare that the counselling for NEET MDS will begin from July 1.

Unlike NEET PG which is attempted by around two lakh people, the MDS exam has around 25,000 aspirants every year, in the backdrop of there being less than 1,000 government seats available across India. Our cause always goes unnoticed as we are not considered to be an important part of the medical fraternity.

Gayathri,

Thiruvananthapuram

Fourth bridge collapse

Reports of bridges collapsing in Bihar are proof of the extent of corruption. When loot is the norm, there is more in store for us (Inside pages, June 27).

V. Lakshmanan,

Tirupur, Tamil Nadu

Debt trap

Kenya must find ways to service its debt without punishing its people

The Kenyan President’s decision to rush through Parliament an IMF-backed finance Bill that sought to increase taxes on everything from imported sanitary pads and tyres to bread and fuel backfired, with protesters storming a section of the Parliament on Tuesday. After the protests, which rights groups said had left at least 23 people killed and 200 injured, President William Ruto announced that he would not sign the Bill. The Kenyan government could have avoided this bloody confrontation had it paid more attention to the public mood. The government’s plan was to raise an extra 200 billion Kenyan shilling (some $1.55 billion) in taxes. Earlier this year, the country had reached a deal with the IMF to secure $941 million in additional lending. In subsequent talks in Nairobi, they agreed to reforms, including tax increases, to stabilise the country’s debt-battered financial situation. The IMF deal triggered street protests. But the government still went ahead with the plan to impose additional taxes on the country of 54 million people, a third of whom still live in poverty.

The government argues that its hands were tied as the country struggles to repay its huge debt burden — domestic and foreign debt was a staggering $80 billion last year, accounting for nearly three-fourths of its GDP. The government spent more than half of its revenue servicing debts last year. The crisis is an indictment of the development model Kenya and several other countries in the continent follow. Kenya, one of the fastest growing countries in Africa, has borrowed heavily from multinational lenders such as the World Bank and the IMF as well as bilateral partners such as China, to finance its infrastructure projects. But growth tanked and expenses rocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic years. The Ukraine war has led to a spike in global food and energy prices, hitting African economies. When the advanced countries increased interest rates to fight inflation, the payment burden of debt-ridden countries ballooned. In Africa, Zambia and Ghana defaulted on their payments, and then reached agreements with their creditors to restructure debt. Mr. Ruto, who came to power in 2022, has promised to address the debt problem. But he has been unimaginative and conventional, letting the unpopular IMF dictate one-sided policy measures. Now that the Bill has been withdrawn, he will have to tread carefully. He has yet to spell out his next measures, besides saying that austerity measures would be rolled out. He will have to strike a balance between his people’s needs and Kenya’s creditors. Multinational and bilateral lenders should help the debt-laden countries in Africa come out of this trap without punishing their poor populace.

A fresh start

The GST Council must not lose sight of broader reforms

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council was convened last week for the first time in nearly nine months. With 11 new State Ministers on board and a recalibrated NDA government at the Centre, the Council began afresh with a loaded agenda of clarifications, tweaks, forbearances, and other procedural changes, based on industry feedback and vetted by officials, that awaited its nod. Acknowledging that it could not conclude deliberations on all that had accumulated on its plate, the Council has resolved to meet again in August to take up the rest of the items. Yet, it is quite creditable that the Council could, over an afternoon preceded by Union Budget consultations with States, arrive at a consensus on a flurry of issues aimed at easing the lot of taxpayers, reducing litigation, and even providing tax relief on some items. To help students, hostel accommodation costing up to ₹20,000 a month has been exempted from GST altogether, along with railway services availed by passengers. A uniform 12% rate has been approved for packing cartons, milk cans, and solar cookers, doing away with confusing classification differences based on material or technologies.

Apart from several industry-specific measures, a few of which will kick in with retrospective effect, the Council also opted to waive interest and penalty on tax dues for the first three years of GST, provided they are paid by March 2025. Moreover, it lowered the stipulated pre-deposits for filing appeals, including those that will be filed with the upcoming GST Appellate Tribunals, and approved a new form for taxpayers to correct errors or oversights in previous returns. Beyond nitty-gritties, the Council also signed off on ending the anti-profiteering clause that required firms to pass on any tax cut gains to customers, and mandating biometric-based Aadhaar authentication for all GST registrations in a phased manner across India. The former will quell a difficult-to-implement industry irritant, and one hopes the latter will effectively ease the registration process that some say has become cumbersome in recent times, while curbing fraud perpetrated through fake invoicing. The ground-level impact of these moves may depend on the fine print that may follow, but the intent to simplify and declutter the seven-year old indirect tax regime is clear. It is refreshing that the Council also plans to take stock of the 2021 plan to rationalise the multiple-rate GST structure, that has been in cold storage for a while, when it meets next. The apex GST body must not only revive and expedite GST rate reforms but also incorporate a road map to bring excluded items such as petroleum and electricity into the GST net while rejigging tax rates.

The promised land

The victory of Chandrababu Naidu has breathed life into Amaravati, his dream project that had turned to dust under the previous regime. However, it has also led to decreasing land prices in Visakhapatnam, which was touted by Jagan Mohan Reddy to be the administrative capital, and caused resentment in Kurnool, which was proposed as the judicial capital. V. Raghavendra reports on public sentiment in Andhra Pradesh

1 of 5

2 of 5 Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu inspects the Amaravati capital region. G.N. Rao G.N. Rao

3 of 5 A view of the Haritha Resorts on Rushikonda Hill in Bheemunipatnam Assembly constituency. V. RAJU V. RAJU

4 of 5 We never imagined that Reddy would try and shift the capital. Regardless of who the Chief Minister is, they should ensure continuity of governance. Gadde Tirupati Rao Managing trustee of Amaravati Parirakshana Samithi

5 of 5 Not a single day would pass without the police cracking down on farmers who spearheaded the agitation. A. Rajani Farmer

In Thullur in Guntur district of coastal Andhra Pradesh (AP), people still wince when they remember the sound of armed police personnel marching through the narrow lanes of the village about four years ago.

Aluri Pavani, a farmer in her 50s, remembers the time vividly. In early 2015, she had given 2.75 acres of land to the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government, headed by Chandrababu Naidu, which had announced its plan to build a new capital, Amaravati, for AP.

The previous year, the combined State of AP had been bifurcated into two, AP and Telangana, and Hyderabad was stipulated to be the joint capital for 10 years. From 2024, according to the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, AP would have its own capital. Amaravati, an important centre of Hinduism and Buddhism in India, was Naidu’s dream project. He said in 2015 that he envisioned a “smart, green, and sustainable city” that would be a “symbol of pride for the people of Andhra Pradesh and India”.

The project went on smoothly until early 2019. However, in May that year, the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) assumed power and Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy proposed three capitals instead — Visakhapatnam as the executive capital, Amaravati as the administrative capital, and Kurnool as the judicial capital.

The 28,736 farmers who had parted with a combined 33,000 acres of land, as part of a Land Pooling Scheme in which they would be given a developed plot of land in return, for the capital of Amaravati were furious.

“Trying to stage protests on the streets became the ‘new normal’ for us,” recalls Pavani. The police imposed Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which prohibits the assembly of four or more people in an area. “They made our lives miserable,” she continues. “We had to confront the police all the time. The situation was so bad that we had to show our Aadhaar cards to step out of our homes.”

A. Rajani, a farmer from Thullur, says, “Not a single day would pass without the police cracking down on farmers who spearheaded the agitation that went on for more than 1,600 days.”

The people of Thullur, one of the 29 villages that constitute the capital region of the State, are today hopeful because Naidu has come back to power, but the cases booked against some of them for violating the police curbs have not yet been closed, they say.

Naidu’s dream capital

AP has been grappling with the question of a capital ever since bifurcation. In 2014, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs set up the Sivaramakrishnan Committee to study possibilities for a new capital for the State. The Committee said there was no need for a “single super capital city” and favoured decentralisation. It opposed a greenfield capital as it believed that the costs of building it were too high. However, the Committee added that if the government still wished to construct a greenfield capital, it should search for locations where large parcels of government land were available.

Notwithstanding the recommendations of the Committee, in September 2014, Naidu finalised Amaravati as the capital on the basis of recommendations of a panel headed by the Minister for Municipal Administration, P. Narayana. The next year, on October 22, the Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for Amaravati at Uddandarayunipalem village in Thullur Mandal.

A petition questioned the role of the Centre in the State’s capital decision. The Supreme Court said the setting up of the capital city was within the State government’s discretionary powers. Naidu was thrilled. He involved the Governments of Singapore and Japan and renowned architects such as Foster + Partners to lend their expertise in designing and building the capital city, which was to be spread over 217 sq km and span the erstwhile Guntur and Krishna districts.

“The TDP government had invited tenders worth ₹48,000 crore for Phase-I of the capital city project and even made payments amounting to nearly ₹9,000 crore for works that had been completed,” recalls Narayana.

Several villas and high-rise buildings were constructed to house judges, bureaucrats, elected representatives of the State, and gazetted and non-gazetted officers in Amaravati. An interim government complex came up at Velagapudi, about 20 kilometres from Vijayawada.

A ghost city

However, in 2019, all this came to a grinding halt when the YSCRP government rode to power. Reddy believed in decentralisation. His government passed the Andhra Pradesh Capital Development Authority Repeal Act, 2020. Promptly, all the new buildings constructed by the previous TDP government were abandoned except the interim government complex. Amaravati turned into a ghost city overnight. Until June this year, pipes, cables, and other construction material could be seen everywhere, gathering dust. Roads were lined with weeds. Dense vegetation had grown around high-rise buildings.

Many people in the region say they lost a great deal due to the agony of the changing circumstances. P. Bharat, a farmer who gave 2.5 acres of land for the capital to the TDP government, alleges that his wife, a computer operator working on contract in the Thullur Mandal Revenue Office, lost her job because of the YSRCP. “Our child had dressed up as Lord Venkateswara during the protests against the capital shift. They fired her on finding that out,” he says.

Hundreds of farmers describe January 10, 2020, as “an unforgettable day”. This was when they embarked on a journey to the Kanaka Durga temple in Vijayawada on foot to pray that Amaravati be retained as the capital of Andhra Pradesh and were stopped by the police. “Several women were injured in the clashes,” recalls Gottipati Lakshmi, a farmer who was part of the protest.

Besides affecting the people, the AP Capital Development Authority Repeal Act, 2020, and the AP Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Act, 2020, which were intended to split the capital into three parts, sparked a major legal battle.

The Rajadhani Rythu Parirakshana Samithi, an association of aggrieved farmers from the capital villages, along with other entities challenged the YSRCP government’s decision in court soon after Reddy proposed the idea of three capitals.

On March 3, 2022, the YSRCP government was forced to beat a hasty retreat after the High Court ruled that the government had no legislative competence to shift or even split the capital. The Court issued an order saying the government should develop Amaravati as the capital within six months.

However, during its hearing of a Special Leave Petition filed by the YSRCP government against the High Court order dated March 3, 2022, the Supreme Court observed that the High Court was “not a town planner or engineer” to say that Amaravati should be developed in a particular time frame. The Special Leave Petition is pending final adjudication by the apex court.

All eyes on Visakhapatnam

Meanwhile, with Reddy announcing Visakhapatnam as the executive capital, hectic political activity and infrastructure development began in the coastal city in 2019. While TDP and Jana Sena Party (JSP) leaders from other parts of the State questioned his decision, local TDP and JSP leaders welcomed it given the public sentiment in Visakhapatnam.

There were several debates over where the executive capital should be located. After a series of inspections, the YSRCP zeroed in on the Bheemunipatnam region, located in south Visakhapatnam district, which is also considered the gateway to Visakhapatnam.

The decision led to an increase in land prices. Construction activity boomed in many parts of the city, especially Hanumanthuwaka, Arilova, Marikavalasa, Madhurawada, Kommadi, PM Palem, and Rushikonda.

“People wanted to purchase flats or sites when the capital announcement was made, assuming that the prices would see a drastic increase when the capital work began,” says Koteswara Rao, a realtor from the city.

The government formed a committee to select suitable places for the offices of various departments, head offices, and the camp office of the Chief Minister. It recommended using existing structures as temporary offices. Some engineering colleges were also proposed to be used as government buildings.

The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation and Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority developed roads in the wards of the Bheemunipatnam Assembly Constituency, which had been neglected for years.

Residents say there were regular inspections by government officials, YSRCP ministers, and MLAs in the region. “They used to check the development of roads and the feasibility of constructing some government blocks in the surrounding areas of Rushikonda and Bheemunipatnam,” says one resident. The YSRCP government reportedly planned to make the existing IT Towers and Special Economic Zone region temporary office blocks.

“The present Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation office was to be used as a Municipal Administration and Urban Development Department office. In contrast, a new office for the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation was being allotted at the outskirts,” says a senior roads and buildings department official.

Government officials and ministers began looking for apartments in Madhurawada and Yendada, which are located close to Bheemunipatnam. The YSRCP government organised several meetings, including an Investors Summit, to attract investments to Visakhapatnam.

In 2021, a major controversy erupted when the YSRCP government demolished the government-owned Haritha Resorts on Rushikonda Hill in Bheemunipatnam Assembly Constituency, claiming that the space would be developed as a five-star resort for tourism. The TDP, JSP, and BJP alleged that the YSRCP government was constructing the Chief Minister’s residence by destroying a hill.

Last October, a committee appointed by the YSRCP government said that the construction on Rushikonda would be suitable for the Chief Minister’s camp office. When the YSRCP lost the elections in June this year, TDP and JSP leaders barged into the site and alleged that the YSRCP government was constructing the Chief Minister’s residence-cum-camp office at a staggering ₹500 crore.

Optimism once again

Now, with the TDP back in power, Amaravati has come alive again. The sounds of more than 100 earth-movers clearing the jungles and doing civil repair work have broken the eerie calm that has prevailed for the last five years. Farmers have gone by foot to Tirumala to express gratitude to Lord Venkateswara for TDP’s return to power.

Naidu says he intends to rebuild the capital as soon as possible on the basis of the old master plan. “At a high-level review meeting, the government will arrive at the estimated cost of reconstruction,” says Narayana.

Gadde Tirupati Rao, managing trustee of Amaravati Parirakshana Samithi, a group of farmers affected by the proposed capital shift, points out that the lands were given not to Naidu, but to the government. “We never imagined that Reddy would try and shift the capital. Regardless of who the Chief Minister is, they should ensure continuity of governance,” he says.

The fact that the original Capital Region Development Authority Act of 2014 was restored by the YSRCP government as a consequence of the High Court order has offered no solace to farmers as the dispute has still not been solved in the Supreme Court.

With the YSRCP reduced to just 11 MLAs in the 175-member Legislative Assembly, Naidu is likely to face little resistance to his ambitious plan. In the 2024 Assembly elections, the YSRCP was defeated in both the Mangalagiri and Tadikonda Assembly constituencies in which Amaravati falls. It also did not win a single seat in the three urban constituencies of Visakhapatnam, and Kurnool.

One major challenge Naidu faces is the financial crunch in the State. However, the Centre may come to his aid as it is obliged under the AP Reorganisation Act to extend financial support for capital development.

Resentment in Kurnool

While Amaravati has begun to spring back to life, there is disappointment in Kurnool, which will not become the judicial capital in the changed circumstances.

Lawyers say Naidu should fulfil his election promise of creating a High Court Bench in Kurnool, now that their hopes of having the principal seat of the High Court in Kurnool are dashed given the government’s plan of establishing a single capital city, Amaravati. The Reddy government had established “quasi-judicial institutions” such as Lokayukta and Human Rights Commission in Kurnool as a prelude to its much-publicised slogan of making Kurnool the judicial capital. The lawyers hope that the two institutions will be allowed to continue in Kurnool. “This is all we ask now,” they say.

With inputs from Harish Gilai in Visakhapatnam

and K. Uma Shankar in Kurnool

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Coal, electricity buoy core output

Vikas Dhoot

NEW DELHI

May’s heatwave likely spurred output at the two energy sectors , Index of Core Industries (ICI) data show; production of cement contracted for the second consecutive month to hit the lowest level since November; ICI growth eased to 6.3%

Output growth in India’s eight core infrastructure sectors eased to 6.3% in May, from April’s 6.7%, with a double-digit rise in coal and electricity production offsetting contractions in three sectors, including cement and fertilisers.

Sequentially, the Index of Core Industries (ICI) rose 3.7% from April.

Electricity generation rose year-on-year at a seven-month high pace of 12.8%, while coal production grew 10.2%, both likely triggered by higher demand amid the heatwave in most parts of the country through May.

Natural gas output rose 7.5% while steel production increased 7.6%.

However, refinery products saw a mere 0.5% uptick in May, the slowest rise in four months.

Cement output contracted for the second successive month, dipping 0.8% following a 0.5% fall in April. However, in absolute terms, cement production levels were the lowest since November.

‘Upward revision’

The Commerce and Industry Ministry revised April’s ICI, reflecting a 6.7% rise, higher than 6.2% estimated earlier.

The revision was driven by upgrades to electricity and steel, which are now reckoned to have grown 10.2% and 8.8%, respectively, compared with 9.4% and 7.1% estimated earlier.

The eight core sectors constitute just over 40% of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP). IIP growth had slowed to a three-month low of 5% in April, and ICRA chief economist Aditi Nayar said she expects May’s IIP to rise in the range of 4% to 5%.

“A combination of factors including the heatwave over parts of the country and the phased Parliamentary elections could have curtailed activity and execution in some sectors, even as the heatwave boosted demand for coal and electricity,” noted Ms. Nayar.

U.S. inflation ebbed in May as prices of goods declined

Reuters

WASHINGTON

U.S. monthly inflation was unchanged in May as a modest increase in the cost of services was offset by the largest drop in goods prices in six months, drawing the Federal Reserve closer to start cutting interest rates later this year.

The report from the Commerce Department on Friday also showed consumer spending rose marginally last month. It raised optimism the U.S. central bank could engineer a much-desired “soft landing” for the economy in which inflation falls without triggering a recession and a sharp rise in unemployment. Traders raised bets for a Fed rate cut in September.

‘Better behaved’

“It helps the argument inflation is looking better-behaved, which may well open the door to interest rate cuts later in the year,” said James Knightley, chief international economist, ING. The flat reading in the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index last month followed an unrevised 0.3% gain in April, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis said.

Goods prices dropped 0.4%, the most since November. There were big declines in prices of recreational goods and vehicles as well as furnishings and durable household equipment. The price of gasoline and other energy goods dropped 3.4%. Clothing and footwear were also cheaper last month.

The cost of services rose 0.2%, lifted by higher prices for housing and utilities as well as healthcare.

Need to eliminate biases in algorithms as AI on the rise: Das

Press Trust of India

Mumbai

Shaktikanta Das

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das on Friday emphasised on the need to eliminate biases in algorithms as the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) is on the rise.

Delivering the inaugural address at the 18th Statistics Day Conference organised by the RBI, he said the use of statistics had been ever growing as a preferred tool for drawing inferences in diverse fields and the discipline had moved beyond collection of facts to focus more on interpretation and drawing inferences, taking into account levels of uncertainty.

RBI has ventured into AI/ML analytics in multiple areas. Under the RBI’s aspirational goals for ‘RBI@100’, Mr. Das said the central bank was aiming to develop cutting edge systems for high frequency and real-time data monitoring and analysis.

‘Tariff hikes signal better profitability for telecom industry’

Press Trust of India

New Delhi

The latest telecom tariff hikes announced by telcos could yield additional profits of ₹20,000 crore for the industry once they are fully absorbed, ICRA reckoned on Friday.

With an improved financial metrics, the industry will have the headroom to undertake deleveraging, fund capex for technology upgrade, and network expansion, Ankit Jain, VP and Sector Head of Corporate Ratings, ICRA said.

The rating agency’s view comes after Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel announced they would roll out tariff hikes between 10-27%, marking the first major telecom tariff increase in the industry in a span of two-and-a-half years.

“The latest round of tariff hikes, as telcos increased prepaid tariffs by around 15-20% will provide traction in the (Average Revenue Per User) ARPU levels,” ICRA said.

It expects revenues to grow 12-14% in FY25, which is likely to translate into healthy expansion in operating profits by 14-16%.

Strike call: Tata Steel may shut Port Talbot blast furnaces early

The Hindu Bureau

MUMBAI

Tata Steel Ltd. said it may go for early closure of blast furnaces at Port Talbot owing to the impending strike by Unite Union.

“Following the announcement by Unite Union to unilaterally call strike action from 8 July, Tata Steel is unfortunately forced to commence legal action to challenge the validity of Unite’s ballot,” a company spokesperson said.

“In the coming days, if we cannot be certain that we are able to continue to safely and stably operate our assets through the period of strike action, we will not have any choice but to pause or stop heavy-end operations (including both blast furnaces) on the Port Talbot site.”

“The company again calls for Unite to withdraw its industrial strike action and join Community and GMB unions in giving consideration to the company’s proposed Memorandum of Understanding, which puts forward a wide-ranging proposal including generous employee support packages, training, and skills development,” Tata Steel added.

Fiscal deficit at 3% of target by May end

The Hindu Bureau

NEW DELHI

In the first two months of FY25, the Centre’s fiscal deficit was ₹50,000 crore, or just 3% of the full-year figure penned into the Interim Budget, with receipts at 18.6% of the target aided by the ₹2.1 lakh crore dividend transfer from the central bank in May.

In contrast, expenditure was just 13.1% of the projection, as capital expenditure slowed to 12.9% of the annual target compared with 16.8% by end May 2023. Of the ₹6.23 lakh crore expenditure by May 2024, ₹1.43 lakh crore was on the capital account, Finance Ministry said.

Economists reckoned these numbers create space for the Centre to pursue greater fiscal consolidation this year than the 5.1% of GDP target set in the Interim Budget. “The revenue upside seen from non-tax revenue... suggests headroom to boost expenditure and target a faster fiscal consolidation,” ICRA chief economist Aditi Nayar said.

Ashok Leyland, Bajaj Finance to offer vehicle financing

Ashok Leyland has entered into a strategic pact with Bajaj Finance to provide customised vehicle financing solutions to its customers across India. The MoU would enable both Ashok Leyland and Bajaj Finance to offer customised and seamless financial solutions to their customers, the commercial vehicle manufacturer said in a statement. “This strategic partnership will strengthen Ashok Leyland’s market position,” said Ashok Leyland CFO K.M. Balaji.

Small savings rates kept unchanged

The Hindu Bureau

New Delhi

The Centre on Friday decided to maintain the same rate of return on small savings schemes for the July to September quarter, the second quarter in a row that the rates are unchanged.

The interest rates on small savings schemes such as Public Provident Fund (PPF) and National Savings Certificate (NSC) are reset each quarter as per a formula.

The PPF rate has been frozen at 7.1% since April 2020. The return on Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme, which is tax-free like PPF, was raised to 8.2% earlier this year.

RBI raises bar for States/UTs’ WMA by 28% to ₹60,118 cr.

The Hindu Bureau

MUMBAI

The Reserve Bank of India increased the Ways and Means Advances (WMA) limits of State governments and Union territories to ₹60,118 crore from ₹47,010 crore effective July 1.

State/UT-wise break-up of the limits is available on the RBI’s website. It said Special Drawing Facility (SDF) availed by States/ UTs will continue to be linked to the quantum of investments in marketable securities issued by the government, including Auction Treasury Bills (ATBs).

Bansal Wire Industries unveils ₹745-crore IPO

Bansal Wire Industries has announced to open bids for its initial public offering (IPO) of equity shares on July 3 in the price band of ₹243 to ₹256 per share with a face value of ₹5 each. Bids can be made for a minimum of 58 shares and in multiples of 58 shares thereafter. Total issue size comprises fresh issue up to ₹745 crore. The IPO will close on July 5. Funds will be used for repayment of debt, working capital requirements, and general corporate purposes.

Emcure Pharma fixes IPO price band at ₹960-₹1,008 a share

Emcure Pharmaceuticals has announced an IPO of equity shares on July 2 in the price band of ₹960 to ₹1,008 per share. Bids can be made for a minimum of 14 shares and multiples of 14 shares thereafter. The IPO will close on July 5. The IPO comprises a fresh issue of ₹800 crore and an offer for sale of up to 1,14,28,839 equity shares by selling shareholders. The firm proposes to utilise the proceeds towards repayment or prepayment of borrowings and general corporate purposes.

Foreign

- Biden, Trump clash in presidential debate

- Make world governance more effective and balanced, China’s Xi Jinping tells Global South

- U.S. Supreme Court order curbs power of federal agencies

- Japan firm probing 76 deaths in latest supplement tablets scare

- Argentina Parliament approves Milei’s pro-business reform plan

- Philippine troops kill ten communist rebels in a clash

- Indonesia detains 103 Taiwanese in a raid in Bali involving suspected cybercrime

- Iran votes in snap poll for new President

- Bolivia’s Arce lambasts accusations of ‘self-coup’

Biden, Trump clash in presidential debate

Agence France-Presse

Atlanta

In the first debate ever between a President and a former President, each traded personal insults and accused the other of being history’s worst; while Biden, speaking rapidly in a soft, trailing-off voice, stumbled on his words often, Trump spoke loudly as he rushed through a list of complaints

Face to face: Joe Biden and Donald Trump participate in the first presidential debate of the 2024 elections in Atlanta on Thursday.AFPANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS

A halting Joe Biden struggled on Thursday to hold off a forceful offensive from Donald Trump as the two traded personal insults in the fiery first debate of a razor-close presidential race.

A bombastic Trump lashed out at his successor, calling him a failure on the economy and the world stage. Mr. Biden looked to hit back, but his delivery was hesitant as he spoke rapidly in a soft, trailing-off voice and stumbled on his words several times.

It was the first debate ever between a President and former President — and each accused the other of being history’s worst. Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden, who were each the oldest President when first elected, even accused each other of being childlike as they argued over their golf swings.

Mr. Biden, 81, and Mr. Trump, 78, did not shake hands as they walked to their podiums at the CNN headquarters in Atlanta. There was no live audience and their microphones muted as the other spoke — rules agreed as they open a campaign in a deeply polarised country.

Mr. Biden, who was reported to have a cold, hit Mr. Trump with clearly rehearsed lines as he sought to remind millions of television viewers that Mr. Trump would be the first convicted felon in the White House.

“Think of all the civil penalties you have. How many billions of dollars do you owe in civil penalties for, for molesting a woman in public,” Mr. Biden said, and “for having sex with a porn star on the night, while your wife was pregnant?”

“You have the morals of an alley cat,” Mr. Biden said.

Mr. Trump, a veteran of rallies and reality television, spoke loudly as he rushed through a long list of complaints about Mr. Biden’s record.

“It’s a shame what’s happened to our country in the last four years,” Mr. Trump said. “I’m friends with a lot of people. They cannot believe what happened to the United States of America. We’re no longer respected.”

Mr. Trump sought to seize on Mr. Biden’s delivery, saying at one point, “I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don’t think he knows what he said either.”

Kate Bedingfield, a former Biden communications director, acknowledged that “it was a really disappointing debate performance” from the President.

“I don’t think there is any other way to slice it,” she told CNN after the debate.

Economic record

Mr. Biden immediately attacked Mr. Trump when he was asked about stubborn inflation, saying he inherited an economy in “freefall”.

Mr. Trump said he led “the greatest economy in the history of our country”.

Mr. Biden shot back: “Well, look, the greatest economy in the world? He’s the only one who thinks that.”

In one of the most personal attacks, Mr. Biden cited accounts that Mr. Trump had described soldiers who died in the Normandy landing as “suckers” and noted his own son Beau, who served in Iraq and later died of cancer.

“My son was not a loser, was not a sucker. You’re the sucker. You’re the loser,” Mr. Biden said.

Mr. Trump denied the remarks and repeatedly accused Mr. Biden of not being coherent.

On the world stage, Mr. Trump accused Mr. Biden — who faces a backlash from parts of his Democratic base over his support for Israel — of not helping Israel “finish the job” against Hamas.

Mr. Trump described Mr. Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan as the “most embarrassing moment in the history of our country”.

Make world governance more effective and balanced, China’s Xi Jinping tells Global South

Nikhil M. Babu

Beijing

Xi Jinping during a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of People on Thursday in Beijing, China. Getty ImagesPOOL

TheGlobal South should actively participate in reforming and developing the global governance system and make it more balanced and effective, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Friday.

“China’s resolve to stay on the path of peaceful development will not change.We will never take the trodden path of colonial plundering, or the wrong path of seeking hegemony when one becomes strong. We will stay on the right path of peaceful development,” Mr. Xi said, in a thinly veiled attack at the West.

He made the comments at an event marking the 70th anniversary of the “Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence”.

Mr. Xi said that during the Cold War, newly independent countries aspired to safeguard their sovereignty and grow their national economy and the five principles were included in the China-India and China-Myanmar joint statements, which jointly called for making them basic norms for state-to-state relations.

The Five Principles are mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, mutual non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence.

“The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence were born in Asia, but quickly ascended to the world stage... The Non-Aligned Movement that rose in the 1960s adopted the Five Principles as its guiding principles. Over the past 70 years, the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence have transcended time and space and overcome estrangement, showing robust resilience and everlasting relevance. They have become open, inclusive, and universally applicable basic norms for international relations and fundamental principles of international law,” he added.

Mr. Xi said that of all the forces in the world, the Global South stands out with a strong momentum, playing a vital role in promoting human progress. Standing at a new historical starting point, the Global South should be more open and more inclusive, and join hands together to take the lead in building a community with a shared future for mankind, he said.

Force for peace

“Together, we should be the staunch force for peace.We should promote peaceful settlement of international disputes, and participate constructively in the political settlement of international and regional hotspot issues. Together, we should be the core driving force for open development.We should restore development as the central international agenda item, reinvigorate global partnerships for development, and deepen South-South cooperation as well as North-South dialogue,” he added.

Countries should jointly uphold the “golden rule” of non-interference, and jointly oppose acts of imposing one’s will on others, stoking bloc confrontation, creating small circles, and forcing others to pick sides, he said.

The Chinese President added that in the face of new challenges, the authority and central role of the UN can only be strengthened rather than weakened. “The purposes and principles of the UN Charter are never outdated, and they are getting ever more important. China advocates the vision of global governance featuring extensive consultation and joint contribution for shared benefit, and China believes in true multilateralism,” he said.

(The correspondent is in China at the invitation of the China Public Diplomacy Association)

U.S. Supreme Court order curbs power of federal agencies

Agence France-Presse

Washington

The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington DC. AFPCHIP SOMODEVILLA

The conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court struck down 40 years of legal precedent on Friday, curbing the power of federal agencies to regulate critical issues affecting Americans’ daily lives, from air quality to drug safety and more.

In a 6-3 vote, judges overruled the landmark 1984 ruling in Chevron v Natural Resources Defence Council, which said judges should defer to government experts in determining a “reasonable” interpretation of the law if the language is ambiguous.

But that had proved to be “fundamentally misguided,” and defied the command of a statute asking courts to exercise their independent judgment on whether federal agencies have overreached, said the majority opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts.

“Courts may not defer to an agency interpretation of the law simply because a statute is ambiguous,” Chief Roberts wrote.

The decision divided the court along its conservative-liberal fault line, with the three judges appointed by Democrats — Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson — voting against.

In a scathing dissent, Ms. Kagan criticised what she said was an unwarranted expansion of judicial power.

“In one fell swoop, the majority today gives itself exclusive power over every open issue — no matter how expertise-driven or policy-laden — involving the meaning of regulatory law,” she said.

Backlash was swift among lawmakers and non-profits.

Environmental group Earthjustice said the ruling “has granted their request carving out a path for multiple industries to take advantage of the changed landscape to challenge regulations they don’t like before judges who will be empowered and emboldened to second-guess federal agencies”.

Japan firm probing 76 deaths in latest supplement tablets scare

AP

Japanese health supplement maker Kobayashi Pharmaceutical said on Friday it was probing 76 deaths possibly linked to its tablets containing red yeast rice, meant to lower cholesterol. It deepens a scandal that erupted earlier this year when the company said it was probing OTC products after complaints of kidney problems.AFP

Argentina Parliament approves Milei’s pro-business reform plan

AFP

Argentina’s Parliament handed populist President Javier Milei his first legislative triumph on Friday, approving his business-friendly economic reform package after months of debate. Mr. Milei hailed it as “the greatest fiscal adjustment not only in Argentina history, but in the history of humanity”.AFP

Philippine troops kill ten communist rebels in a clash

AP

Philippine troops killed at least 10 suspected communist guerrillas in a clash in a remote northern area in the latest blow to a decades-old insurgency that has weakened considerably, with only about a thousand guerrillas remaining, military and security officials said on Friday.AP

Indonesia detains 103 Taiwanese involving suspected cybercrime

AP

Indonesian immigration authorities have detained 103 Taiwanese people after a search at a villa on the resort island of Bali, officials said on Friday. They were accused of misusing their visas and residence permits and are suspected of possible cybercrimes, director of immigration supervision and enforcement said. AP

Iran votes in snap poll for new President

Associated Press

DUBAI

Iranians voted on Friday in a snap election to replace the late hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi, with the race’s sole reformist candidate vowing to seek “friendly relations” with the West in an effort to energise supporters in a vote beset by apathy.

Voters face a choice between hard-line candidates and the little-known reformist Masoud Pezeshkian. As has been the case since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, women and those calling for radical change have been barred from running, while the vote itself will have no oversight from internationally recognised monitors.

Bolivia’s Arce lambasts accusations of ‘self-coup’

Associated Press

LA PAZ

Bolivian President Luis Arce on Thursday angrily called accusations that he was behind an attempted coup against his government “lies,” saying the general who apparently led it acted on his own.

He also vowed that the former general would face justice.

Sports

- A jinx will be broken as two powerhouses clash for title

- A World Cup final has its own pressures and hard to predict who will rise to the occasion

- Dravid’s chance to bow out with ICC title in last game

- Kohli will bank on his big match credentials

- Don’t want to jinx it but there’s a big one coming up for Kohli: Rohit

- Men in Blue dethrone Buttler’s England in emphatic style

- ‘It is down to the squad that has been on a journey to its first final’

- ‘To make them proud and to have their support means a lot to us’

- Shafali and Smriti send South Africa on a leather hunt

- From uncertain future to winning gold, Gurindervir Singh comes a full circle

- I wanted to play through the day, says Shafali

- Manu under dope cloud, Paris chances hit

- It was really hot out there and tough, says Delmi Tucker

- SCOREBOARD

- Slow-starting defending champ Italy faces Switzerland in first knockout

- BFI signs seven-year deal with ACG Sports for basketball league

- Verstappen gets pole position in Austrian GP

- India’s Nagal gets tough main draw at Wimbledon

- TNCA U-14

- USA battling for Copa America survival

- Los Angeles Lakers drafts LeBron’s son Bronny James

- Aadya to face Goushika in girls’ under-13 final

- LiVE TELECAST

- Engagements

- Can Matteo Berrettini ride his monstrous serve to Wimbledon’s summit?

- stacking up

- ‘Crossing a legend like Tendulkar gives you the assurance you are on the right track’

- Pitch invasion

History and heartbreak beckon as the T20 extravaganza reaches much-awaited climax

Ashwin Achal

Bridgetown (Barbados)

There is little to choose between India and South Africa ; Rohit’s men will rely on their experience in finals while Markram’s side will be buoyant after winning close games

1 of 3 Cliffhanger: Few teams understand the agony of not winning ICC tournaments the way India and South Africa do. While the Indians seek to end their 11-year drought, the Proteas eye their maiden World crown. K.R. DEEPAK & X@PROTEASMENCSADEEPAK KR

2 of 3

3 of 3

India has not won an ICC title since 2013. South Africa has reached the final of a men’s World Cup for the first time, after seven semifinal defeats.

Come Saturday, at the grand finale of the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup at the Kensington Oval, a jinx will be broken. This is a battle between the two unbeaten teams in the tournament.

India, having overcome all challenges posed by varying conditions and quality opposition, will believe that a second T20 World Cup trophy is within arm’s reach.

The side has breezed past stiff competition posed by Pakistan, Australia and England. From the low scoring games at New York to the wind-affected outing at St. Lucia, India has found a way to get the job done.

As the campaign progressed, new heroes have emerged. In the Super 8 stage against Bangladesh, Hardik Pandya hit top gear with the bat to stand tall as an ace finisher. Skipper Rohit Sharma came to life by blasting Australia all over the park, and followed it up with a fine 57 against England in the semifinal.

Kuldeep Yadav, drafted into the eleven when the side moved from USA to the West Indies, has been among the wickets. And then there is Jasprit Bumrah, who has remained unplayable from start to finish.

Suryakumar Yadav and Rishabh Pant are the other proven performers, giving the unit an air of invincibility.

Rohit’s diktat to not take a step back, to attack even when on the back foot, has brought the players to the right mindset.

India also has the added advantage of having played one game at this venue — a 47-run win over Afghanistan. This will be South Africa’s first match in the island.

The Proteas have had a few close shaves in this journey. Not least the must-win West Indies outing in the Super 8, which went down to the wire.

South Africa has the goods to tackle India’s three-man spin attack. Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Aiden Markram and Tristan Stubbs can let loose when the slow bowlers come on — a strength which most other teams lacked.

Like India, South Africa boasts of gun players in most spots. Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje offer pure pace, while Marco Jansen can trouble the Indian batters with extra bounce. Quinton de Kock has fired at the top of the order, while Tabraiz Shamsi has come good with his left-arm wrist spin.

On paper, there is little to choose between the teams. It could come down to mental preparedness and staying calm under the pump.

There is a chance that rain could cause an interruption. The final has a reserve day, to go with an additional 190 minutes available on Saturday to extend playing hours. The millions watching will pray for a full and cracking contest.

The teams (from):

India: Rohit Sharma (Capt.), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Siraj.

South Africa: Aiden Markram (Capt.), Ottniel Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tabraiz Shamsi, and Tristan Stubbs.

Umpires: Christopher Gaffaney and Richard Illingworth; TV umpire: Richard Kettleborough; Fourth umpire: Rod Tucker; Match referee: Richie Richardson.

A World Cup summit clash has its pressures and it’s hard to predict who will rule the day

Sunil Gavaskar

Saturday's ICC Men's T20 World Cup final will see two teams who have travelled unbeaten. One among India and South Africa will taste defeat and, with it, endure their first and hardest heartbreak.

India replicated its dominant run in the 50-over World Cup in this campaign too. Rohit Sharma’s men are through to their second successive ICC final after making the summit clash in the ODI format last time, losing the title decider to Australia. India made amends this time around. Australia was beaten comprehensively in the Super 8 stage, eventually contributing to the team’s ouster. India also swept past England in the semifinal fixture.

Waiting for India is a South African side that knows the pain of defeat better than anyone else and will be hungry to clinch its first-ever ICC World trophy.

The Proteas brushed aside Afghanistan in the semifinal on a pitch that kicked up a storm in the cricketing world. On the other hand, India has also traversed arduous surfaces but managed to play some eye-popping cricket along the way. Rohit’s half-century in the campaign opener against Ireland and Suryakumar Yadav's knock against USA came on wickets which not only tested the batters’ technique but also their temperament. These star players have been ably supported by vice-captain Hardik Pandya, whose cameos have often been the difference between victory and defeat for the outfit.

India bats deep and that’s a huge advantage against a testing new ball attack that the Proteas have. The competitive edge for the 2007 T20 World champion comes from its superior spin arsenal. Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav have been almost unplayable in the Americas thus far.

The South Africans do have spin-immune resources in the likes of Heinrich Klaasen, Quinton de Kock and Aiden Markram. Their pace trident features Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen and Anrich Nortje, but Rohit's PowerPlay fluency means the seamers have to bowl their best to shake the Indian skipper. The Indians have a pace trump card of their own in Jasprit Bumrah whose presence has elevated the side’s showing in this edition compared to the 2022 chapter.

Big finals come with their own pressures and it’s hard to predict who will emerge triumphant. However, this South African unit looks a different beast that’s determined to bury the 'choke' word once and for all.

(Professional Management Group)

Dravid gets ready for last dance with elusive ICC crown at stake

Ashwin Achal

Bridgetown (Barbados)

Final push: Kohli and Dravid will hope to finish on a high. ICCAlex Davidson-ICC

Rahul Dravid was the eternal team man as a player. Not much has changed in his reign as the India head coach. Dravid is not one to hog the limelight.

But on Saturday, the cameras are bound to turn to Dravid. Now in his last assignment as head coach, Dravid has the chance to script a fairytale ending with a ICC Men’s T20 World Cup title.

Dravid’s men have come close to glory before — having reached the final of World Test Championship and the 2023 Cricket ODI World Cup.

On both occasions, the team fell short. His primary goal — to guide India to a long-awaited ICC title — has remained unfulfilled. A victory over South Africa here will allow Dravid to walk into the sunset.

To stay relaxed in a pressure game is the key, Dravid said. “We have just have one day (between the semifinal and final). It is about ensuring that we are physically, mentally and tactically ready.

“We need to be fresh, mentally relaxed and looking forward to the game. We will try to get the players into the right frame of mind,” Dravid said at the press conference.

This is a clash between the two top sides in the tournament. “Everyone will agree that this is the top two teams in this tournament. South Africa and India have played the best cricket. They are deserving finalists. Hopefully it is great game and we end up on the right side,” Dravid said. To reach three world event finals in the space of one year is no mean feat.

“It is a good thing that we are consistent. It shows that we have been playing good cricket for a few years now.

“To get into the world finals in three formats is credit to all our players. As for Saturday’s final, if we play well, and if we have the rub of the green, then we can definitely win,” Dravid said.

Kohli will bank on his big match credentials

Ashwin Achal

Bridgetown (Barbados)

Kohli.K.R. DEEPAKDEEPAK KR

Virat Kohli cut a forlorn figure on Thursday after yet another failure in the tournament. With five single digit scores in seven outings, he has had a poor run.

Kohli, accustomed to dominating all and sundry, will be desperate to make it count in the final on Saturday.

Opening the innings, he has struggled to adapt to the bowler-friendly conditions in USA and West Indies. The opener has gone hard at the ball, when the sticky surfaces demand playing late. Rather uncharacteristically, Kohli has resorted to wild swings, too. His dismissal against England, knocked over after walking down the track and heaving across the line, was a sign that Kohli was on edge.

Kohli will do well to revert to his old self, where timing and neat batsmanship did the trick. Only a repeat can silence critics.

Don’t want to jinx it but there’s a big one coming up for Kohli: Rohit

K.R. DEEpAKDEEPAK KR

India skipper Rohit Sharma has backed his opening partner Virat Kohli to come good in the summit clash against South Africa. “I don’t want to jinx it but I think there’s a big one coming up. I’m just loving his attitude and that he’s committing himself on the field — I think he deserves it,” Rohit said after the semifinal win.

Men in Blue dethrone Buttler’s England in emphatic style

ICC@XANI

England wilted under Indian might in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup semifinal at Georgetown on Thursday.

The scores: India 171/7 in 20 overs (Rohit 57, Suryakumar 47, Jordan 3/37) bt England 103 in 16.4 overs (Brook 25, Bumrah 2/12, Axar 3/23, Kuldeep 3/19). PoM: Axar.

‘It is down to the squad that has been on a journey to its first final’

Getty ImagesMatthew Lewis-ICC

Skipper Aiden Markram credited the whole team for South Africa’s entry into the World Cup final. “We’ve been together for a few years now and we have a good understanding between us. This will help us with the small margins. It was not me who got us here. It is down to the squad that has been on a journey to its first final.”

‘To make them proud and to have their support means a lot to us’

K.R. DEEPAKDEEPAK KR

Aiden Markram is happy that former South Africa players and captains have wished the team well ahead of the T20 World Cup Final. “There has been a lot of support from our past players. These are guys who inspired us when we were younger. To make them proud and to have their support means a lot to us,” he said.

Shafali and Smriti send South Africa on a leather hunt

S. Dipak Ragav

Chennai

Openers add a world record 292-run stand for the first wicket ; former becomes the second Indian woman after Mithali to score a double century; visitors struggle on a pitch that offers no help

1 of 2 Smashing away: Shafali hammered a double hundred and Smriti a century that took India to a mammoth score at the end of the first day against an inexperienced South Africa side.B. Jothi Ramalingam

2 of 2

Openers Shafali Verma (205, 197b, 23x4, 8x6) and Smriti Mandhana (149, 161b, 27x4, 1x6) hammered the South African bowling attack into submission as they powered India to a mammoth 525 for four on a record-breaking opening day of the one-off Test at the MAC Stadium here on Friday.

The duo stitched a world record 292-run stand for the first wicket and also set the highest partnership for India in Tests, while Shafali became the second Indian woman after Mithali Raj to score a double-century.

Opting to bat, the openers got off to a watchful start before Smriti broke the shackles, hitting pacer Nadine de Klerk for a flurry of boundaries through the off-side.

The Indian vice-captain played in her inimitable style in a knock filled with crisply timed cover-drives and elegant back-foot punches through the square. Shafali then signalled her intentions when she stepped down to left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba and lofted her over the ropes.

The visitors had a chance when Smirti’s short-arm jab off Annerie Dercksen fell a few centimetres in front of Marizanne Kapp at mid-wicket when the left-hander was on 33.

A better effort from the fielder could have given her side a breakthrough.

However, the floodgates opened in the second session as the openers raced each other to their three-figure mark and helped the hosts collect 202 runs in 32 overs.

Smriti set the ball rolling, collecting five quick boundaries by giving the charge to Mlaba, while Shafali smashed off-spinner Delmi Tucker for three boundaries and a six.

Shafali reached her maiden century in style by flicking Mlaba to the fine-leg boundary, and Smriti crossed her milestone a ball later.

The South African bowlers struggled to exert control and bowl to a field on a pitch that did not offer much help, showing their lack of experience in the format.

After Smirti fell one run short of 150, edging Tucker to first slip, Shafali displayed her big-hitting capabilities with clean strikes down the ground. She marched to her milestone in style by depositing Tucker for two consecutive sixes over long-on from 187 and then took a single through the off-side to score the fastest double-century off just 194 balls.

With a huge total on board, it will be interesting to see if India opts for an overnight declaration and begins its pursuit of victory early on day two.

From uncertain future to winning gold, Gurindervir Singh comes a full circle

Uthra Ganesan

Panchkula

Doing it in style: Gurindervir emerged the fastest man on Indian tracks with a 10.32s sprint to win the 100m.Ritu Raj Konwar

Gurindervir Singh had a point to prove. He did it in style to emerge as the fastest man on Indian tracks with a 10.32s sprint to win the 100m on day two of the 63rd Inter-State athletics championships here on Friday, then let out a loud roar, egged on by a crowd of vocal supporters.

The other two fastest men in the country at the moment — Animesh Kujur and Amlan Borgohain — duly completed the top-three in the event.

“There were quite a few who said I was finished in the last two years. The celebration was for those doubters,” Gurindervir said after the race.

“I have been training on my own for a while now in Jalandhar. I have my coach Sarabjit Singh Happy but no training partners.

“A competition like this is good because it pushes you to do better, but getting such competitors in training is even more important. That is what actually helps get better and that is what I need now,” Gurindervir said.

In the 400m, Mohd. Anas Yahiya and Mohd. Ajmal had to be separated through photo finish after both clocked 45.93 seconds, Anas edging ahead 45.926 to Ajmal’s 45.939. Haryana’s Mohit Kumar continued his impressive performance, clocking a personal best of 46.15s to finish third.

Among the women, S.S. Sneha won the 100m while Kiran Pahal ran another scorching race, equalling her Thursday’s time of 50.92s to win by a comfortable margin.

Separate trial

The AFI also held a separate trial of national campers to possibly select athletes for the women’s 4x400m relay team with an eye on the Paris Olympics late on Friday night, consisting of those who had failed to advance in competition. The five quartermilers — R. Vithya Ramraj, who was disqualified for a foul start, Prachi, M.R. Poovamma, Rupal and Aishwarya Mishra — were given a chance to prove their timings.

While Vithya finished on top in 53.16 seconds, Prachi took the second spot in 53.79. The remaining three were unable to go below 54s.

The results (only finals):

Men: 100m: 1. Gurindervir Singh (Pun, 10.32s), 2. Animesh Kujur (Odi, 10.46s), 3. Amlan Borgohain (Asm, 10.49s); 400m: 1. Mohd. Anas Yahiya (45.93s), 2. Mohd. Ajmal (45.93s), 3. Mohit Kumar (Har, 46.15); 1500m: 1. Parvej Khan (Har, 3:42.95), 2. Yoonus Shah (UP, 3:43.88), 3. Mehedi Hassan (Asm, 3:44.40); 20km walk: Sanjay Kumar (Raj, 1:26:13.00), Amit (Har, 1:26:20.00), Vikash Singh (Del, 1:27:21.00).

4x100m: 1. Odisha (40.02s), 2. Punjab (40.50s), 3. Tamil Nadu (40.88s); 4x400m: 1. Haryana (3:08.00), 2. TN (3:08.62), 3. Punjab (3:09.07); discus: 1. Nirbhay Singh (Har, 55.44m), 2. Gagandeep Singh (Pun, 53.33m), 3. Oinam Singh (Man, 52.09m).

Women: 100m: 1. Sneha (Kar, 11.62s), 2. Giridharani Ravikumar (TN, 11.77s), 3. Nithya Gandhe (Tel, 11.79s); 400m: 1. Kiran Pahal (Har, 50.92s), 2. Deepanshi (Har, 52.01s), 3. Jyotika Sri Dandi (AP, 52.11s); 1500m: 1. Lili Das (WB, 4:13.87), 2. Chanda (Del, 4:14.85), 3. K.M. Deeksha (MP, 4:18.38).

Pole vault: 1. Rosy Paulraj (TN, 4m), 2. Pavithra Venkatesh (TN, 4m), 3. Mariya Jaison (Ker, 3.90m); shot put: 1. Abha Khatua (Mah, 17.63m), 2. Kachnar Chaudhary (Raj, 16.76m), 3. Srishti Vig (Del, 15.11m); 4x100m: 1. Karnataka (45.38s), 2. TN (45.40s), 3. Odisha (46.65s).

4x400m: 1. Andhra Pradesh (3:41.84), 2. TN (3:42.55), 3. Punjab (3:44.23); triple jump: 1. Sheena (Ker, 13.44m), 2. Pavithra (Kar, 13.20m), 3. Anusha Mallala (AP, 13.09m); javelin: 1. Annu Rani (UP, 57.70m), 2. Ramyashree Jain (Kar, 53.14m), 3. Rashmi (AP, 52.39m).

I wanted to play through the day, says Shafali

S. Prasanna Venkatesan

CHENNAI

Resounding knock: Shafali broke multiple records en route to her double century.B. JOTHI RAMALINGAMJOTHI RAMALINGAM B

After scoring the fastest women's Test double century versus South Africa, 20-year-old opener Shafali Verma said that she felt like she had to focus on staying in when the pacers were getting the ball to swing and bowling well at the start.

"The last three ODIs (vs. South Africa), I was getting starts, but not able to convert into big scores. My plan was to take my time at the start as there was movement early on and they were bowling well in that period. So, the idea was to back my strengths, take some time, and find a way to stay at the wicket," she said after the first day of the one-off Test.

"Today, the ball was coming on well and my scores in the ODIs pushed me to just think one thing - that I shouldn't get out and I should play through the day," Shefali added.

When asked if she was reminded of getting out on 96 on her Test debut versus England as she was closing in on her maiden Test ton, the record-breaker said: "Who forgets getting out for 96? Today, when I was on 96, it took me back to Bristol 2021.

“All I thought about was somehow scoring those four runs and getting past 100. Nearing my double century, thank god the offie (Delmi Tucker) came on.

It was fantastic as I thought I could get my 200 in a few balls!"

Shafali hit back-to-back sixes and a single off Tucker to get to her maiden Test double ton.

Saying that her opening partner Smriti Mandhana backs her and keeps talking with her for her to play calmly at the crease, the Indian opener added that the batters' camp held in Bengaluru ahead of the ODI series was very helpful.

When asked if she values this milestone as much as winning the u-19 T20 World Cup as captain, she exclaimed: "World Cup is World Cup yaar!

“But after that, this innings is very close to my heart."

Manu under dope cloud, Paris chances hit

Uthra Ganesan

Panchkula

Embarassing: Coach Kashinath Naik and Manu. File photo

Indian sports has been hit by what is likely to be its biggest doping embarrassment of the year. Javelin thrower D.P. Manu — national champion, Olympic hopeful and currently 12th in the world — is under a dope cloud after his name was conspicuously absent from the entry list for the 63rd inter-State athletics championships.

Manu, who has struggled to repeat his personal best of 84.35m (2022), has been the biggest hope for completing a historic javelin trio — besides Neeraj Chopra and Kishore Jena — at Paris for India.

While there has been no official confirmation so far of his testing positive or a provisional suspension from the National Dope Testing Agency (NADA), it is learnt that the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) had been advised to not allow him to participate.

Sources in the know admitted he had tested positive for an anabolic steroid earlier this year, most likely during the Indian Grand Prix 1 in Bengaluru, but there is no official communique so far. Federation officials expressed disappointment at the news.

“I can only say I was also surprised at the news when I got it in the morning.

“It is even more surprising because he has been tested around 14 times in the last one year, so there is no chance of not being aware or alert.

“It’s disappointing, that’s all I can say,” AFI president Adille Sumariwalla told The Hindu.

The disappointment is even more baffling given that Manu, despite not managing the qualifying mark of 85.50m, is placed comfortably high to make the cut through his world rankings and had no need for drastic measures.

Interestingly, Manu will be the third thrower trained by former Commonwealth Games medallist Kashinath Naik to be in the dope net if he is suspended for doping.

Davinder Singh Kang, the first Indian javelin thrower to make the World Championships final in 2017 and 2019 Asian Championships silver medallist Shivpal Singh, both training under Naik, too were earlier sanctioned for prohibited substances.

With the AFI now deciding to penalise coaches as well for dope offenses, Naik too will be under close scrutiny.

It was really hot out there and tough, says Delmi Tucker

S. Prasanna Venkatesan

CHENNAI

South Africa was sloppy on the field on the first day of the one-off Test versus India on Friday.

There were inexcusable misfields, an unnecessary overthrow to the boundary, and a couple of wayward deliveries down the leg side for four byes each. The overthrow was from Masabata Klaas.

After Smriti Mandhana knocked a full delivery back to her, she picked it up and threw at the striker’s end that the keeper couldn’t get hold of. Asked if the hot and humid weather played its part, Delmi Tucker said after the day’s play: “It was really hot out there and tough. Definitely, we could be better on the field.

“Seeing an overthrow in most fields is not the best. But it’s happening”.

INDIA

Shafali Verma run out 205 (197b, 23x4, 8x6), Smriti Mandhana c Dercksen b Tucker 149 (161b, 27x4, 1x6), Shubha Satheesh c Jafta b de Klerk 15 (27b, 2x4), Jemimah Rodrigues c de Klerk b Tucker 55 (94b, 8x4), Harmanpreet Kaur (batting) 42 (76b, 2x4), Richa Ghosh (batting) 43 (33b, 9x4); Extras (b-11, lb-5): 16; Total (for four wkts. in 98 overs): 525.

FALL OF WICKETS

1-292 (Smriti, 51.6 overs), 2-325 (Shubha, 58.6), 3-411 (Shafali, 74.1), 4-450 (Jemimah, 86.6).

SOUTH AFRICA BOWLING

Klaas 14-2-63-0, Dercksen 11-0-60-0, de Klerk 10-1-62-1, Sekhukhune 10-0-55-0, Mlaba 24-1-113-0, Tucker 26-1-141-2, Luus 3-0-15-0.

Toss: India.

Slow-starting defending champ Italy faces Switzerland in first knockout

Associated Press

Berlin

The second game of the day will feature the only two unbeaten teams in the tournament so far when host Germany welcomes Denmark

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2 of 2 Prepping the players: Italy coach Spalletti will hope that his team finally shrugs off its lethargy . AFP

Defending champion Italy will aim to continue its dominance over Switzerland to reach the quarterfinals of the European Championship on Saturday.

Switzerland hasn’t beaten Italy for 31 years and has only eight wins from their previous 61 meetings. But the Swiss are unbeaten so far this year and their only loss in 2023 came in the last game of qualifying.

So far, Euro 2024 has been a difficult experience for the Azzuri, conceding after just 23 seconds in its opening win over Albania, then being thoroughly outclassed by Spain, before a last-second strike salvaged a draw against Croatia.

Switzerland, meanwhile, opened with a win over Hungary before draws against Scotland and Germany. The winner will face England or Slovakia in the quarterfinals on July 6. Neither team had any major injury worries before Friday’s pre-match news conferences.

Later in the day, host Germany will have to make changes in defence as it takes on Denmark. This is the only game in the round of 16 that features two unbeaten teams.

Germany finished top of Group A with wins over Scotland and Hungary and a draw with Switzerland. Denmark drew all of its games against Slovenia, England and Serbia.

Germany was eliminated by eventual runner-up England in the round of 16 at Euro 2020 and hasn’t won a knockout game at a major tournament since Euro 2016. Three games into its Euro 2024 campaign, Germany hasn’t yet ignited quite the same kind of patriotic fervour that it had at the 2006 World Cup.

Flags have been popping up across the country and crowds in the stadiums are vocal, though, so a win over Denmark for a quarterfinal spot could build momentum.

Germany will have to rethink the centre of defence following a one-game suspension for Jonathan Tah and a hamstring injury for Antonio Rudiger.

Nico Schlotterbeck is set to replace Tah, while Waldemar Anton could make his first Euro 2024 appearance if Rudiger can’t play.

Danish midfielder Morten Hjulmand is suspended after picking up two yellow cards. Thomas Delaney could replace him.

With six days between its last group game and the clash with Denmark, Germany has the benefit of extra rest. Denmark has had two days fewer to rest.

BFI signs seven-year deal with ACG Sports for basketball league

Sports Bureau

NEW DELHI

New start: BFI president Arjuna, right, and secretary general Gill, left, flank overseer Justice Bhat and CEO Jha of ACG Sports, after inking the deal. Special Arrangement Special Arrangement

The Basketball Federation of India (BFI) has signed a seven-year deal with ACG Sports Limited, with a guarantee of Rs.216.30 crore for hosting the National Star Basketball League for men and women.

Addressing the media here on Friday, the president of BFI, Aadhav Arjuna said that for each year, the amount would be Rs. 20.6 crore rupees for the 5x5 format and Rs. 10.3 crore for the 3x3 format.

“It was a transparent system, and we gave it to the highest bidder. It is a medical group of companies, and has already been associated with supporting basketball through many events,” said the BFI president.

“It is a new beginning for Indian basketball. We hope to pay substantial money to our players. We call all the big corporate companies and sponsors to invest in the league and make it a success,” Arjuna said.

“We will host both the men’s and women’s leagues. The BFI would hold 100% ownership of the league so that we put the revenue generated back into the game for our developmental projects,” he said.

It was stated that about 100 Indian players would stand to benefit from the league, which would also feature about four foreign players in each team.

The league is expected to feature 10 men’s teams, and eight women’s teams.

While the 5x5 format is expected to be played in stadiums, the 3x3 format could be staged on the beach, parks and malls so as to take the game to the people.

The BFI president also said that he had an extensive tour of the USA to collaborate with the NBA for the betterment of Indian basketball.

The secretary general of BFI, Kulvinder Gill said, “Now Indian players can take up basketball as a career. We have enough talent in the country to nurture and build.”

The details of the teams, structure, venues and fixtures are expected to be announced in a few weeks time.

Verstappen gets pole position in Austrian GP

Reuters

SPIELBERG

Dutch delight: Verstappen put in a best lap of 1m 04.686s around his team’s home circuit.AFPJOE KLAMAR

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen seized pole position for the Austrian Grand Prix sprint race on Friday ahead of the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

The triple Formula One world champion put in a best lap of 1m 04.686s around his team’s home circuit, as the crowd roared in response, with Norris 0.093s slower.

“It’s great to be first here in front of, basically, my home fans and my home Grand Prix,” said the Dutch driver, whose travelling army of fans turn the stands orange at the Red Bull Ring. “It’s been a good day so far.” Mercedes’ George Russell joined Piastri on the second row with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton together on the third.

Sergio Perez starts in seventh place with Alpine’s Esteban Ocon eighth and Pierre Gasly ninth. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc starts 10th after failing to set a time in the final phase.

India’s Nagal gets tough main draw at Wimbledon

Press Trust of India

London

India's top singles player Sumit Nagal is set to make his maiden appearance in the men's singles main draw at Wimbledon and he will be up against higher-ranked Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia in the first round here.

The World No. 72 has a tough road ahead as he is placed in the same section of the draw as top seed and World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and could face the Italian in the third round if he makes it that far.

Even crossing the first hurdle will not be easy for Nagal as he is pitted against world No. 53 Kecmanovic.

The Serbian had beaten Nagal in their lone match so far at the ATP 250 event in Cologne, Germany, four years ago.

Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden, seeded second, will take on French pair Adrian Mannarino and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the first round.

N. Sriram Balaji and his British partner Luke Johnson will play fourth-seeded Croatian-Salvadorian combination of Mate Pavic and Marcelo Arevalo.

Yuki Bhambri and his French partner Albano Olivetti will meet Kazakh duo of Bublik and Alexander Shevchenko, while Nagal and Serbia's Dusan Lajovic will take on Spain's Pedro Martinez and Jaume Munar in the opening round.

KANCHEEPURAM:

Jayanth (C’pattu, 5/22).

Mylesh Kumar bowls well for Krishnagiri

KANCHEEPURAM: S. Mylesh Kumar claimed seven for 41 as Krishnagiri dismissed Kancheepuram for 120 on the opening day of the two-day pre-quarterfinals of the TNCA under-14 inter-district cricket tournament on Friday. At stumps, Krishnagiri was 106 for eight.

The scores (pre-quarterfinals, day one): At Thiruvallur: Thiruvallur 228 in 83.4 overs (V. Dharshan 78, R. Vishwa 38, M.S. Prajwol Nath 4/61) vs Kanyakumari 5/5 in 12.4 overs (S. Sachin 3/2).

At Kancheepuram: Kancheepuram 120 in 65.1 overs (K. Vishwanth 33, S. Mylesh Kumar 7/41, Atharva Santosh Musale 3/21) vs Krishnagiri 106/8 in 39 overs (K. Trivikram 47, M.S. Deajeshwaran 3/34, Hajeesh Nirmal Prabhu 4/26).

At Dharmapuri: Dharmapuri 116 in 62.3 overs (S. Sabari 48, A. Jayanth 5/22) vs Chengalpattu 115/0 in 37 overs (R. Rishi 60 batting, R. Krithik Sai 51 batting).

USA battling for Copa America survival

A moment of madness from Timothy Weah left the USA’s Copa America campaign hanging by a thread on Thursday as the host crashed to a shock 2-1 defeat to Panama.

The results: Uruguay 5 (Pellistri 8, Nunez 21, Araujo 77, Valverde 81, Bentancur 89) bt Bolivia 0; Panama 2 (Blackman 26, Fajardo 83) bt USA 1 (Balogun 22).

Los Angeles Lakers drafts LeBron’s son Bronny James

Bronny James, the 19-year-old son of Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, was selected 55th overall by the Lakers in Thursday’s second round of the NBA Draft, setting up the first father-son combination in NBA history. It’s a dream come true for four-time NBA Most Valuable Player James.

Aadya to face Goushika in girls’ under-13 final

Aadya Budhia will take on compatriot M. Goushika in the girls’ under-13 final of the 31st Asian junior individual squash championships in Islamabad on Saturday. Shiven Agarwal entered the boys’ u-15 final putting it past local challenger Nouman Khan 5-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-0 in the semifinals on Friday. Aadya defeated Chiu Hau Ching of Hong Kong 11-4, 11-7, 4-11, 12-10 in the last-four stage, while Goushika beat Malaysia’s Maisarah Binti Mohd Khairul Nizam 11-6, 6-11, 5-11, 11-7, 11-6.

India vs South Africa: One-off Test, day 2, Sports 18-1 & JioCinema, 9.30 a.m.

Formula One: Austrian GP (Qualifying), F1 TV, F1 TV Pro App & FanCode, 7.30 p.m.

Hockey: Pro League, Sports 18-1 & JioCinema, 8 & 10.30 p.m.

T20 World Cup: (final), Star Sports 1 & Hotstar, 8 p.m.

Badminton: US Open, Sports 18-1 & JioCinema, 10.30 p.m.

Football: Euro 2024, Sony Sports Ten 2, 3, 5 & LIV, 9.30 p.m. & 12.30 a.m. (Sunday)

Cricket: India vs South Africa one-off Test, second day, MAC, 9.30 a.m.; TNCA inter-district u-14 tournament, pre-quarterfinals, Tiruvallur vs Kanyakumari, OCF, Avadi, 9.30 a.m.; G.R. Kuppuswamy memorial tournament, YSCA vs RR Donnelley (8 a.m.); Apollo Tyres vs VW HVAC Projects (1 p.m.), GE T &D ‘A’ .

TNCA-Freyer Trophy T20 league, Green Invaders vs Blue Avengers (V. B. Nest); Yellow Challengers vs Purple Warriors (CPT-IP (Turf)); 8.30 a.m.; Silver Strikers vs Pink Blazers (V. B. Nest); Red Rangers vs Orange Dragons (CPT-IP, turf), 1 p.m.; 19th Lucas TVS-Tiruvallur DCA Trophy, Group-B, Samsung India vs OCF, Hindu ‘A’, 1 p.m.

Can Matteo Berrettini ride his monstrous serve to Wimbledon’s summit?

N. Sudarshan

The Italian’s mammoth first delivery and hissing, rearing second have helped him win four titles on grass and make deep runs at the Championships. But in the golden age of returners on modern-day lawns, which are slower and bouncier than before, can he go all the way?

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In tennis, there has always been the stereotypical image of the traditional grass-court player: moderately tall and lanky, with a big booming first serve, an intelligent second serve, a sound volley, a good slice and a decent overall game.

Since the turn of the millennium, though, a distorting distance has developed between this image and the reality. As the lawns at Wimbledon — the place where grass-court tennis finds its greatest exposition — changed hue and racquet-and-string technology improved, consummate all-courters have ruled the roost.

In the 21 editions from 2002 to 2023, Novak Djokovic has won seven times, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal twice each, and Lleyton Hewitt and Carlos Alcaraz once. Even the great Roger Federer, who appeared every bit the quintessential grass genius when he won the first of his eight titles in 2003, moved away and held on to only a few of the basic tenets.

Reclaiming space

In the last five years however, there has been one man who has tried — and been fairly successful at — upsetting the apple cart and reclaiming the place for his ilk — Matteo Berrettini.

The 6’5” Italian possesses a monstrous first serve, a second serve that hisses and rears, a crushing forehand, a reasonable volley, an effective slice and a solid backhand. And with these tools, he has won four of the 11 grass-court events he has entered starting Stuttgart 2019, finished a finalist twice — including 2021 Wimbledon — and semifinalist once. Four is half the number of titles he has won all career.

Berrettini has made at least one grass final in four of the five seasons since 2019 (with Covid washing out 2020). With the grass swing lasting just three weeks between the end of the French Open and the start of Wimbledon, replicating success year on year is remarkably tough. What also makes the 28-year-old’s achievement noteworthy is the fact that no other man, other than Djokovic, has won more than two grass titles in this period.

Through his career, one of the biggest points of difference between Berrettini and the rest has been his serve. Most times, when he lands his first serve, it’s either an unreturnable or it sets up a second shot that is an easy putaway. On the second serve, he imparts so much spin that it locks the returner into awkward positions, making it harder to find angles.

On grass, such traits have outsized consequences, for the ball, on average, travels faster than elsewhere. In May 2018, in an article in the International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport, five researchers, Frantisek Vaverka, Jan Hendl, Jiri Nykodym, Zhanel Jiri and David Zahradnik, compared data sets from 2008, 2012 and 2016 and concluded that players at Wimbledon “mostly strive to obtain a higher speed of the first serve during the match relative to playing at the other Grand Slam tournaments”.

It wouldn’t be a stretch to extrapolate this to the 2020s, for it is now fairly established that players in the current era are hitting with unseen levels of power and Berrettini is one of the best practitioners of that. On grass, where the ball bounces lower and manages to retain more of its speed than on other surfaces, it is doubly difficult to play someone like Berrettini, for it shortens the time a returner has and often hurries them into shots.

A comparison between his overall career statistics vis-a-vis grass lays bare this fact. On grass, he serves more aces (15.4% vs. 11.6%), wins a bigger percentage of first-serve (80.6% vs. 77.7%) and second-serve points (54.7% vs. 53.6%) and holds better (91% vs. 87.7%). His Dominance Ratio — % of return points won divided by % of serve points lost — is also higher (1.2 vs. 1.13).

More egalitarian grass

Why then has Berrettini not been able to crack the code at Wimbledon? He did hold his own for a set and a half against Djokovic in the 2021 final before withering away. The reason could well be — as seen from the number of titles the likes of Djokovic, Nadal and Murray have won — that the grass court of today — slower and bouncier than before — offers a wider variety of players chances at excelling.

This is also the golden age of returners, and on the slick lawns, Djokovic, Murray and more recently Alcaraz have counted on bespoke skills to blunt murderous power. They have used an abbreviated forehand technique so as to not feel rushed. They also use a mixture of blocked and sliced returns to either send the ball deep or reset the point. Though they may not be ace masters, spot-serving is now a necessary skill and no one is as proficient at this as Djokovic.

Another aspect in which players are getting better is movement. Among the hardest things to accomplish when the tennis caravan shifts from clay to grass is the transition that happens “under the feet”, according to Vijay Amritraj. When pushed wide on clay or a hard court, modern-day players invariably slide. The stance is open and they plant their leg in one big leap, make contact with the ball while stopping their slide and quickly recover to the centre.

This is not an option on grass during the first week of Wimbledon when the courts are still slippery. Once the shot is executed, the player has to decelerate with smaller steps, turn and accelerate again. The more efficient the player is at this facet, the quicker he or she will be in getting to the next ball.

Last year, American Christopher Eubanks, who won the Wimbledon tune-up in Mallorca and made a rousing run to the quarterfinals at SW19, revealed on social media an interesting exchange he had had with Belgian Kim Clijsters wherein he said that he needed 17 steps to change direction out of the corners.

In fact, Pete Sampras expanded this grass-court technique to his play across surfaces. However, in what is perhaps an indication of how play on grass has evolved, Djokovic and the rest have now found a way to slide and stretch on the hallowed green fields, more so in the second week when the area around the baseline is bone dry.

When Wimbledon starts on Monday, one of the questions will be whether Berrettini can refine his adept grass-court game and successfully quell the challenge from the maverick all-courters. But he is unseeded and ranked 60 in the world, and has suffered debilitating wrist and ankle injuries over the past two seasons.

Thinner draw

He did, however, show glimpses of his best form by reaching the final in Stuttgart two weeks ago. It helps that there is no Federer and Nadal, and that the 37-year-olds, Djokovic and Murray, are just about recovering from knee and back surgeries respectively.

There is defending champion Alcaraz and Italian top seed Jannik Sinner, fresh off his title in Halle. Sinner has reached the semifinals and quarterfinals the last two years and only lost to Djokovic both times. The 22-year-old is drawn to meet Berrettini in the second round.

But there is still an unmistakable feeling that this is one of the most open draws at Wimbledon in recent times. Can Berrettini make it count?

S. Dipak Ragav

In this conversation, 22-year-old Sai Sudharsan discusses his dazzling rise from breaking through in the TNPL to breaking a record in the IPL, his endeavour to constantly improve and add to his game, and the challenge of stepping up from domestic to international cricket

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2 of 3 I played the under-19 Challenger and got dropped. But it was the best thing to happen to me

3 of 3 Exposure to difficult conditions and better opponents has helped my game awareness, and my judgement has gotten better because of that

Over the last three years, B. Sai Sudharsan has quietly but rapidly risen through the ranks. From bursting onto the scene in the TNPL in 2021 to debuting for India in One-Day Internationals in December 2023, it has been a remarkable journey for the 22-year-old. He came into the limelight with a brilliant 96 in the 2023 IPL final for Gujarat Titans against Chennai Super Kings. He went on to have an impressive tour of Sri Lanka with India-A in the Emerging Teams Asia Cup, a short but fruitful county stint with Surrey and an eye-catching performance in the Irani Cup, which fast-tracked him into the Indian set-up. This year, the Tamil Nadu left-hander went one better in the IPL, topping the run-charts for GT (527 in 12 games) and, in the process, becoming the fastest Indian batter to 1,000 runs (25 innings), beating Sachin Tendulkar and Ruturaj Gaikwad’s record (31 innings). He spoke to The Hindu about his growth as a cricketer. Excerpts:

You have had a terrific run in the last three years. How do you look at it?

It’s been a great experience, for sure. There were so many learnings, and I think I have good things to take forward. It’s definitely been a dream. Sometimes, when I feel we are playing so many matches together, it is what we dreamt of. From that first TNPL game in 2021, three years, it’s been a great journey. I’m really grateful because wherever I went, I have got an opportunity, starting with the IPL in 2022. In the first year, I got five games… that was a great opportunity for any youngster to get exposed to the conditions so that they know what they can get better at and what it takes to be there or how to improve as a batter.

Before COVID, you missed the under-19 bus, and there was no cricket for a year. But from your first TNPL, you have never looked back. Talk us through the work you put in during that time.

I played the under-19 Challenger and got dropped. But it was the best thing to happen to me. The experience teaches you a lot. What could have happened later, happened earlier to me, and made me aware that I should get better. The one good thing was I had one-and-a-half years of work behind me. There was completely undistracted work or complete, deliberate practice each and every day, waking up, getting fitter, getting better as a batsman, as a person. There was more focused practice because we couldn’t do much else. I had all the time to focus on myself.

How do you prepare when you move from one level to another to bridge that gap from domestic to IPL or international cricket?

I feel there is not much difference as you go up. Yes, there is definitely a slight difference in quality. Just the consistency of the people or the bowlers executing is better. But it’s more about external things. You get more pressure with 100,000 people watching you. Cricket, I feel, is the same wherever we play. So, it is better not to get affected by external factors. I visualise and meditate a lot. I try to keep everything similar and not try something different when I go to the next level. I have the same processes and volumes during practice. When you are under pressure, your second nature comes out, and that has to be your best belief.

Where do you feel you have improved as a batter?

Game awareness. Sometimes, you practise a lot, even some particular shots. But you don’t know where to use it. I think that has gotten better in three years. Exposure to difficult conditions and better opponents has helped my game awareness, and my judgement has gotten better because of that. As a batter in my first year [in IPL], I had a few things to work on after playing five games. Last year, I played eight games, and again, I had a few things to work on. After every game, I try to analyse what’s happened and what I can do better if I find myself in that position again. That gives some clarity on where I can get better. After IPL 2022, I felt my shot-making ability had to improve because I didn’t have many options. I worked on that.

Last year, it seemed you added more shots, like the uppercut and lap.

In the first year, I couldn’t hit through the lines or challenge the speed and hit. In the second year, I was able to manage that or use the pace. In 2022, I was trying to go after [the ball], but the next year, I was calmer and let the ball come to me because it was a better option. That clarity has gotten better. This year, I felt I had improved in risk-taking and opened up a bit more. In 2023, we all played around Shubman Gill because he was having such a great season. This year, since no one had a big season, I was forced into a situation to step up and increase the intensity or pace. I have some learnings and also areas to improve for next year.

How would you rate your 2024 season?

I felt my approach could have been better in the first half and that I could have taken more risks. I got that understanding after a few games of experience. Now, I want to get better at it so that I can do that from the first game of the season, which can directly help the team. I am not a person who generally sees a lot of stats, but sometimes, when you see yourself cross a legend like that [Tendulkar], it definitely gives you a sense of happiness. It gives you an assurance that you are on the right track and you are working in the right way so that you can get even better as a batter.

How do you balance the demands of the shorter formats with long-form cricket? And is Test cricket a goal for you?

I think Test cricket is the dream. It’s the purest form. I believe red-ball cricket complements my white-ball game. Yes, I am also finding it a little difficult, but I’m trying to understand what it takes to get better and adapt as early as possible from one format to another. I feel it’s about decision-making and risk-taking. That is the crucial difference.

What are the goals for the new season?

There were many improvements and lessons from the last season. I went to Ranji, India-A, and played in different conditions. I want to adapt quickly when switching between white- and red-ball formats. Sometimes, it is difficult because the requirements change and your basics change. It will always be difficult, but I want to see how quickly I can do it.

Pitch invasion

An unidentified fan is tased by an officer as he runs on the field during the baseball game between the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Guardians earlier this month in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Fans have rushed playing fields right through sport’s history — as a celebration, a protest, a prank or a publicity stunt. Not all of them suffer as much pain as the punter in this photograph, but the consequences for unauthorised entry can often be severe.

Fans have faced criminal charges, fines, even prison time; some have even encountered physical force from athletes irate with the disruption. On rare occasions, fans storming the field have created ‘a moment’ — especially after an epic triumph — but even these cases endanger the safety of everyone involved.

The intruders in modern baseball tend to be attention-seekers and pranksters, who are ejected from the ballpark and potentially banned from it.

Typically, the broadcast of the game cuts to another camera shot to avoid encouraging such behaviour by giving it airtime or, in the case of streakers, to avoid showing nudity.

Weekend

- Good cop, bad cop

- Run for your life

- Cheap thrills

- Reimagining Jane

- Decoding Diljit’s global desi style

- A bun maska in London

- Himalayan high

- A manta on the line

- To the valley of wines

- The big blue world

- In line with the local

- What are you listening to, now?

- A generic thriller

- Urvashi’s powerhouse performance carries this haunting drama

- This cosmetic rom-com struggles

- Hit the road

- Desperate demonic déjà vu

Gautam Sunder

The stars of Netflix’s upcoming action-comedy, Eddie Murphy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Kevin Bacon, discuss the fourth instalment of the legendary Beverly Hills Cop franchise and tell us why Axel F is an ‘everyman’

1 of 4 Eddie Murphy in a still from the film. special arrangement

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3 of 4 (From left) Bronson Pinchot, Judge Reinhold, Eddie Murphy, John Ashton and Paul Reiser attend the world premiere of Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. reuters

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Fourteen years after the unfortunate death of his brother Dan, Joseph Gordon-Levitt found a wonderful way to pay tribute to him — by starring in Eddie Murphy’s upcoming Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F.

The late Daniel Gordon-Levitt was a huge fan of Murphy’s work in SNL and movies such as Coming to America and the first Beverly Hills Cop, and introduced the flamboyant comedian’s work to the young Joseph. “I had a very sweet conversation with Eddie about how Dan showed me a lot of his work, and it was great to connect with him on that level. Eddie also has a nice big family, and we are both dads... so he resonated with me.”

In the new film from Netflix, Eddie Murphy reprises his famed role of Axel Foley for the fourth time, and returns to the beat in Beverly Hills after his daughter’s life is threatened, teaming up with a new partner in detective Bobby Abbott (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) to solve the mystery.

One more thing that the two on-screen cops bonded over off-camera was their shared love for music; Murphy has released three studio albums and several hit singles (who still jams to ‘Party All the Time’?) while Gordon-Levitt is known for his singing and live performances as well, even recently playing a guitarist in last year’s charming romance Flora and Son.

“We actually talked about music probably more than anything else on set!” exclaims the 500 Days of Summer actor, adding, “Unfortunately, we didn’t get a chance to jam or play music together though... which would have been cool. One day, I’ve got to do a full-on musical, maybe Eddie and I can star in it together.”

Gordon-Levitt playing the sidekick to a legendary movie character in Axel F does remind one of the last time he teamed up with another iconic fictional hero; in Christopher Nolan’s 2012 superhero outing The Dark Knight Rises.

As John Blake/Robin, the actor was introduced as a young police officer who helps Batman (Christian Bale) save Gotham from Bane and Talia al Ghul.

“Ah... of course, and they are both cops! Now I’ve got my Beverly Hills PD badge to go with my Gotham City PD badge, that I still treasure safely. It’s a fun commonality for sure, even though they are two very different movies and characters.”

It has been 11 years since his directorial debut with Don Jon; does he have plans to helm a film again soon?

“I do love making stuff and I hope to direct a feature soon. But just a couple of years ago, I made a television series titled Mr Corman on Apple TV+ that I’m very proud of; it’s an odd little beautiful show where I got to do everything I wanted to do artistically, in my own weird taste,” he smiles.

Back to the basics

It has been 40 years since the first film and 30 years since the third one, but Eddie Murphy is confident that the buddy cop-action-comedy genre that Beverly Hills Cop so successfully pioneered can still create the magic.

“If you do it right, the Beverly Hills Cop movies work for any generation! The last 10-15 years have seen several action films with lots of visual effects and superheroes. But the Beverly Hills Cop is a cape-less hero; he’s not Superman, he’s an ‘everyman’ who rises to the occasion and doesn’t play by the rules. People relate to him, and he’s the kind of guy you want to have a beer with,” he grins.

Another reason why the earlier films worked so well was that Murphy was still a relatively unknown entity then waiting for his big breakthrough, before the likes of Dr. Dolittle, The Nutty Professor, Daddy Day Care and other comedic roles catapulted him to global stardom.

“Of course I’m not the same person anymore! When I did the first movie, I had just turned a legal adult at 21. I wasn’t married, didn’t have any kids, and hadn’t travelled the world. So much has happened since then; now I’m in my 60s and have 10 kids, I’m even a grandfather. Whenever I see pictures or a scene from the first movie, it’s literally like reminiscing about high school for me... I was a baby!”

But one thing that has stayed the same is the camaraderie between Murphy and his earlier Beverly Hill Cop co-stars — Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Paul Reiser, and Bronson Pinchot — who all return now for this fourth outing.

“We just got old (laughs)... But the cool thing is, all that stuff is reflected in the movie and script as well. Us getting older, having age-appropriate relationships, how we have changed now and are not the same anymore.”

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F premieres July 3 on Netflix

Deepa Alexander

Actor-fitness enthusiast Milind Soman, his wife Ankita Konwar, and mother Usha discuss fitness for all ages in their book

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2 of 4 (From far left) The book; Milind and Usha Soman and Ankita Konwar; Milind raises his arm after winning the men’s 200m breaststroke in the 41st National Aquatic Championship in Bombay in 1984. Special Arrangement and The Hindu Archives Thomas Rocha / The Hindu Archives

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This past spring, Milind Soman and wife Ankita Konwar matched step-for-step running the breadth of Europe. They are back now in Lower Parel, Mumbai, dialling in for a video call along with Usha Soman, Milind’s 84-year-old mother, a retired Biochemistry lecturer, to discuss Keep Moving (published by Juggernaut). The book written with well-known author Roopa Pai (The Gita for Children and Milind Soman’s memoir Made in India are by her) is a part-biography, part-fitness journey of the trio that arguably makes up India’s first family of fitness.

“The book explores three different perspectives on how to be holistically healthy through people in three different age groups,” says Milind, 58, who has stayed in the spotlight for decades, finding fame as a supermodel, actor, TV presenter and fitness evangelist. Ankita, a 32-year-old yoga practitioner, introduces readers to her idea of fitness garnered from a childhood spent in the great, wide spaces of North-East India, while Usha, grew up at a time when exercise was not a concept and found fitness only post-retirement. “In my case it was the pursuit of sport from a young age,” says Milind. “We have arrived at our own idea of fitness at a time when it is easier to build it with the help of trainers and coaches.”

The book begins with the existential questions ‘How do you count your age? What is good health anyway? What does fitness look like from the perches of 84, 58 and 32?’ And in exploring the lives of the Somans it is as much a memoir as it is a self-help book on the nature of fitness and health.

Usha’s story leads the book, discussing how metabolism and balance wind down with advancing age and harks back to a halcyon childhood in the early years of India’s independence. The child of a well-to-do doctor in Bombay, Usha grew up with five siblings, with education and household chores at the core of their existence. “Eating fresh and local were part of our lives even then,” says Usha, adding that parents and children had far more time to bond over chores that kept them fit. “Post-retirement, walking and trekking turned on the fitness switch for me,” says Usha, who can do push-ups and skip rope.

Milind, who has been on the nation’s mind since his lithe frame stepped out of a box in Alisha Chinai’s music video ‘Made in India’, was born in Glasgow and moved to Bombay to find fame as a national-level swimmer. In the book, he says he loved swimming so much that he spent an inordinate number of hours in the pool.

“I’ve been the same weight since I was 19, 80-81 kilograms. That’s 40 years. I follow no diet; most people eat way too much. What helped was being active,” says Milind. Even in the years that he gave up swimming to take up modelling and a lifestyle that involved hard drinking and smoking, Milind managed to keep his body as strong as steel wire.

In 2004, when Milind heard of a marathon in Mumbai, his sportsman heart began to beat again. “At 37, I decided to kick out what was holding me back and run. At 50, I did my first Ironman Triathlon,” he says.

Ankita cycled miles from her boarding school to the banks of the Subansiri in Assam in an attempt to get over a childhood trauma. Later, when life served her another blow, it was exercise that saved her. “Exercise, especially if you need to address your mental health,” says Ankita. “You need to prioritise what is important to you, even with the full-time job, children and chores.”

Milind concurs. “You need to find it in your head,” he says, when asked how he runs mid-day in a city as humid as Mumbai. “The reason you want it should resonate emotionally with you. If you find it, you will continue. I start exercising while still in bed; it helps me wake up energetic.”

Milind launched Pinkathon to promote women’s fitness and breast cancer awareness. “India has the fastest-growing running population in the world and they are mostly in Mumbai,” says Milind, known for running barefoot often. “I don’t run barefoot in the dark or when it is wet, and prefer to choose my road when running so. Roads are generally clean; it’s the footpaths that are dirty,” he adds.

The book closes each chapter with thoughts from the three on how they perceive each other’s fitness goals. Milind believes that hip mobility is what we should address as we age, while for Ankita it is about moving your body when your mind is noisy. Usha believes that finding your balance is also important.

But it is Milind who has the last word. “Exercise is a very intimidating term. If you want to be healthy, you need to be active. I recommend running a marathon at least once in your life. Endurance sport is a life-changing experience, emotionally and spiritually.”

The book is available both online and in stores.

Cyrus Broacha

In Bali, surrounded by heat, bills, and humans in cheap footwear

Satheesh Vellinezhi

There is no escape; I have to be brutally honest. No, I’m not talking about taxes here, or death. In both those cases, there are loopholes, meaning the odd chance of escape. I’m talking about the one thing a family man cannot escape. (By the way Manoj Bajpayee is not the only Family Man. In fact, there are many types of a family man, but all have this one thing in common, which they cannot escape). This thing, this phenomenon, is known in Latin as ‘sheer anxiety’, but you may be more familiar with the modern Gallic phrase ‘family holiday’.

Let’s face it, a family man forgets anniversaries, birthdays, doctor’s appointments, but never ever the looming figure of that grand abominable snowman-like family holiday! In fact, in the past, using my cunning, Kautilya-like mind (I also dress like him on weekends, rest assured), I’ve tried to plan the holiday around my wife’s birthday. You know the famous Chinese saying, which I heard in Paris on my honeymoon, “Your enemy’s enemy is your friend”. I thought I’d use the birthday to scuttle the holiday, my exact words were “How can we be in Dubai on your birthday?” However, checkmate. She loved the idea, and not only did we carry on with the holiday on those dates, but the birthday was celebrated with even more gusto, pomp and splendour, and please bear in mind, it was ₹18 to a dirham.

I have countless stories like this where holidays have teased and taunted me. Luckily, I don’t remember them, or this column would never end. Now, let us return, like good children, to the present. Trying to nip the situation in the bud, I called up my friendly neighbourhood travel agent, and asked him four essential, fundamental and thoroughly necessary questions. I won’t write down all four questions here for two reasons. Firstly, I can’t remember the questions. Secondly, all four questions contained the same word or extension of that said same word. The word being ‘cheap’.

As an exercise in futility, I beg you to take out a pen and paper and write down four questions about a holiday destination. In each, use one of these four words, ‘cheap, cheaper, cheapest, and even cheaper’. As enjoyable as this exercise is, it generally won’t have the desired results. This is mainly because of the tribunal. No, no, let me correct that. This is because of the appellate system set up in many families. Where the plaintiff, the husband, in this case, me, approaches the small-causes court, which is the younger child, gets rebuked, then approaches the older child, more rebuke. The older child is like the High Court. Finally, to the Supreme Court, the wife, which naturally is rebuke personified.

Long story, little less long, my views and ideas, are discarded on the roadside. The Holiday Committee takes over. The committee consists of a privileged group, known as everybody, anywhere including Facebook, but not me. By the time you read this, I’ll be in Bali, lock, stock and barrel. (The last being me in a towel on the beach). I should not complain, I’ll be surrounded by my three favourite things — heat, bills, and humans in cheap footwear. See how the word cheap always turns up to tease me? If anyone has a method to dodge these holidays, please write to hashtag cheap family man, c/o The Hindu newspaper.

The writer has dedicated his life to communism. Though only on weekends.

Mini Anthikad Chhibber

British actor Anna Chancellor on essaying the role of Lady Frances Grey, and what it takes to play a domineering, scheming mother

Henry Ashton as Stan Dudley and Anna Chancellor as Frances Grey in a still from My Lady Jane. Prime Video Jonathan Prime

Anna Chancellor says she did not do any research for her role as Lady Frances Grey in My Lady Jane. The eight-episode series, starring Dominic Cooper and Jim Broadbent among others, is based on Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand and Jodi Meadows’ bestselling YA novels, and re-imagines the life of the ‘Nine Days’ Queen’, Lady Jane Grey. Anna plays Lady Frances, the controlling, power-hungry mother of Jane (Emily Bader).

“I knew a little bit about Tudor England,” Anna says over a video call. “I knew about Henry VIII and Hampton Court, and that they beheaded many young women and queens.”

Tudor England, the actor says, had a strange dichotomy. “They were incredibly sophisticated, wore fantastic clothes, were big traders and had this love of art, and yet were extremely violent.” The script, Anna says, was not historically accurate. “The main thing was to understand the tone the makers wanted.”

Though the show does not err particularly on the side of authenticity, Anna says the historical Lady Frances and the one in My Lady Jane align with Lady Frances even pinching her daughter.

“From the diary that Lady Jane Grey wrote, it seemed like her mother could have been a little mean, and that’s how she has been viewed in history. In many versions of the story, she is the domineering, scheming, power-crazed mother. And that is what the makers have stuck to in this version.”

A veteran of many costume dramas including Pride and Prejudice, Downton Abbey and The Crown, Anna says historicals come with perks and problems. “It is incredible to have these costumes made for you by some of the top dressmakers. I had a lot of say, and could discuss my costume with the designer. You can bring in paintings, to show what you would like, and they even make your shoes and underwear — corsets that fit you. It gives you an insight into what it would have been like for people living then.”

Costume challenges

That, Anna says, is the good part. “The difficult bit is being in your corset, your dress and trying to go to the toilet! You’ve got your mike underneath your costume and then you realise you have dropped it in the tiny little porter cabin. There are times when your skirts with their hoops are so wide that you cannot go through the door. You’d have to ask your mate to stand at the door, so you can leave the cubicle door open when using the toilet. The grander you are, the posher your character is, the more stuff you’ve got on.”

Anna says her favourite costume in My Lady Jane is one she wears towards the end of the show. “It is red and gold brocade. Incidentally, a lot of fabric for costume dramas comes from India because they are still making beautiful, handmade, embroidered material. There’s still a very intense interest in colour in India.”

My Lady Jane is now streaming on Prime Video

Amarjot Kaur

Designer Raghavendra Rathore takes us behind the singer-actor’s traditional-contemporary look at The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

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2 of 5 (Clockwise from left) Diljit on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon; Raghavendra Rathore; and Diljit with Jimmy Fallon. Special Arrangement Special arrangement

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When Punjabi musician-actor Diljit Dosanjh made his debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, he engineered a look rooted in tradition, but garnished with a luxurious blend of ultra-chic brands that spoke to a global audience.

The Audemars Piguet watch — customised with diamond-studded dial, straps and bezel by Jain The Jeweler — and a pair of high-ankle Air Jordan were as conspicuous as the turlay wali pagg (a pleated-fan turban) and kurta-chaadra (the Punjabi version of a dhoti or lungi) designed by ace couturier Raghavendra Rathore. The ivory, sequined traditional folk dress was one of 18 pairs that had been tailored for Diljit’s Dil-luminati North America tour.

“Our teams connected over a long-distance Zoom call in March this year, so we had nearly a month to execute the project as Diljit’s tour began in April,” shares Rathore while underlining the precarious play of proportions, colours and textures, which are crucial but often susceptible to error during virtual dealings. “But we managed to get the proportions, colours, and textures in one easy lot of sketches we did with swatches and fabrics. It was a priority project, and we had to ensure that shipping the clothes etc. was done on time,” he adds.

Of course, there was a mandate that determined the edit: Everything had to go with the turlay wali pagg, Diljit shared with the designer. “I was so impressed to see how humble he is, and he had the values that excite a brand like ours. He emphasised on the idea of the clothes being simple, stylish, but at the same time, rooted in heritage,” says Rathore. He adds that Diljit wanted the clothes to have shimmer and were designed keeping in mind the cities he would perform in.

The kurta and tehmat, tamba or chaadra is the quintessential folk dress often sported by men in Punjab’s hinterland and has been worn by doyens of Punjabi music — from Lal Chand Yamla Jatt and Kuldeep Manak to Gurdaas Maan and Surjit Bindrakhia — which lends a certain recall value to the attire. It forms the base of Diljit’s on-stage style grammar.

However, he also embraces the western arch of the NRIs who defined fashion in Punjabi music during the late ‘90s and early Noughties, with musicians like Sukhbir, Jazzy B, Dr. Zeus and Bally Sagoo.

Needless to say, the embroidered vest that completes the kurta-chaadra look finds new expression in Diljit’s fashion vocabulary; it has been replaced with a harness (sported by actors like Timothée Chalamet, Michael B Jordan and the late Chadwick Boseman). The Punjabi jutti too has been substituted with modern-day sneakers, which actually became the reference point for Rathore to decipher the colours for Diljit’s outfits.

“Our focus was on looking at the colours of the shoes he likes and also when you take a kurta, which is traditionally worn with full sleeves, to a very short length, you tighten up that area and the whole look becomes super contemporary,” he adds.

One of the biggest challenges for the designer was to create an embroidered kurta that could weather three-four hours of performance, which includes dancing, and was comfortable and itch-free. “When you embroider something on a thin kurta fabric, you have to be careful because you are leaving a possibility of irritation inside the kurta — the thread goes in and then comes back on the face of the outfit. We did a coat of embroidery which was of a lighter texture and then the sequins and shimmer was added on that layer. So it was not so pokey on the inside. That was an important part,” explains Rathore.

Fabrics such as cotton blends, silks, and satins were used for creating the bespoke looks for Diljit, he shares. “Embroideries were carefully thought through, taking inspiration from kantha, phulkari, zardosi and many other traditional techniques to create contemporary motifs and patterns that appeal to a global stage. Handcrafted textures provided unique fabric bases for a timeless look and feel of the overall outfits. We do cotton blends and textures and embroidery and some were just tailored,” he says.

This is, in fact, Rathore’s first-of-its-kind experiment with designing clothes for an on-stage performer. “Having designed for films like Eklavya and Khoobsurat, one understands that a movie is pegged for a particular segment, unlike a musician of his stature, who cuts across every segment of society. The whole concept has to be about him and the brand needs to just do the job of a provider,” he adds.

Debatably, Diljit may not have an army of stylists, but he is orchestrating a sartorial symphony that strikes a chord of originality — a style statement that defines the quintessential global desi rockstar!

Shonali Muthalaly

The Chai Guys bakehouse in the city’s posh Notting Hill serves samosa croissants, dhokla and a now viral bun-maska to be dipped in masala chai

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3 of 4 (Clockwise from left) The viral bun maska; Abhilash Jobanputra and Gabriel Unger; and the samosant. special arrangement

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Romance in Notting Hill used to conjure up Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts: now it is kadak chai and bun maska.

In 2018, straight out of university, Gabriel Unger and Abhilash Jobanputra started to travel around India in search of a masala chai recipe to introduce to London, where they live. Both have a sentimental connection to India: Gabriel lived in Delhi as a child and Abhilash’s grandparents who were from Gujarat, migrated to Tanzania.After trying numerous ‘chai lattes’, both agreed on one thing, Abhilash says, “No one in London does chai proper.”

Now, they do. The duo launched the Chai Guys as a weekend market stall in London’s Brick Lane in May 2019, with masala chai, kadak chai, and a Kashmiri chai. They were so successful, they started a full-time location in Spitalfields three months later, and then opened in trendy Covent Garden in 2021. Their final, and most recent launch is Chai Guys Bakehouse on iconic Portabello Road, Notting Hill, which has recently gone viral for its freshly-introduced bun maska, hitting more than a million views on Instagram.

Discussing their research trips to India, Abhilash says, “Chai is a special drink. We understood that it was only right to go back to the source. So we went to Delhi and immersed ourselves in the culture.” While they were there, they also found tea suppliers from whom they sourced Assam black tea and Darjeeling green tea. Then, the duo started putting their recipes together, determined to give London a taste of authentic Indian chai.

“Chai lattes are a really poor representation of the real thing,” says Gabriel, adding “Nothing in central London focussed on chai in the way you have hundreds of coffee shops. There was clearly a gap in the market.”

He says they wanted to create a “masala chai that knocks your socks off with spice — we wanted something that has a depth of flavour, and packs a punch. We put together cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves, fennel...and found a perfect balance.”

The Chai Guys also decided to do everything from scratch, every single time. “When we started we would go to the weekend market with whole spices, a pestle and mortar. We would chop the ginger right there, and then start brewing the chai...” says Abhilash, adding “the scent would waft all around the market, and people started coming and ordering chai.”

Gabriel adds that the chai is always brewed slowly. “This gives the spices time to steep — for us it was about doing it correctly so we maximise the flavour from the spices. We do it in batches of 30 cups, and it takes 30 minutes each time.”

When they launched their Bakehouse in Notting Hill, creating food that paired well with tea, they decided to follow the same principle, baking all the bread and pastry on site, and cloaking the street with that freshly-baked scent. Says Abhilash, “It was a place we could finally call our home.”The cafe offers some Indian-inspired food of course, including a flaky ‘samosant’, which is a spicy samosa croissant dusted with sesame seeds and powdered sugar.

Inspired by the Irani cafes of Mumbai, they decided to pay homage to India’s well-loved bun maska, traditionally a soft bun with a generous lashing of creamy butter inside. “When we first tried it, we thought we must give people a chance to try this in London,” says Abhilash. The result is a fluffy bun made with Japanese milk dough and soft honey butter. The instant popularity seems to have even taken the founders by surprise. “It’s so simple,” says Abhilash, “But I suppose even the British can relate to bread and butter.”

And now they are learning the Indian joys of dunking it in sweet, steamy chai.

Himalayan

Deepali Singh

Rooted in Indian culture, Idaaya, the homegrown dark sipping rum is created in Jammu following age-old Indian processes to impart complex flavours, including jaggery, tropical fruits and oak

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2 of 2 (Above) The rum variant; (right) Karishma Manga Bedi. special arrangement

It was while sipping on what she calls “a really nice rum” sometime during the lockdown, that Delhi-based Karishma Manga Bedi and her husband Samrath Bedi arrived at the unfortunate conclusion that there is no rum from India in the prestige segment which has managed to create a mark for itself. Karishma, with a background in branding and luxury goods, turned that observation into a business plan.

The premium dark sipping rum, Idaaya from Those Good Distillerss, was launched in the beginning of June this year. It has already managed to shake things up by winning a couple of prestigious awards including a Double Gold at the International SIP Awards 2024, a silver award for Rums made in Asia at The Asian Spirit Master 2024 chaired by The Spirits Business and a Bronze at the International Wine and Spirits Competition 2024 in the aged category. “The wonderful feedback which the liquor has received has been reaffirming for us and for our beliefs in what we are doing,” says the 40-year-old founder and “chief everything” officer.

Creating the blend

Karishma’s vision for Master Blender Christopher Armes (UK) was a premium rum that embodied modern, sophisticated India. ”I wanted a balanced liquid, neither overtly masculine nor feminine, avoiding excessive smoke or sweetness,” she explains.

Together, they sampled more than 60 different rums from across the globe before zeroing in on one from Panama, Latin America. “Our rum is made using this exceptional 12-year-old rum, which is then blended with Indian rum and married using a Solera process — where some part of the liquid from the original batch is retained in the casks allowing for a continuity in taste profile, before bottling. We use age-old Indian processes like dhoopan (smoking) and lepam (anointing) to the casks to cleanse and seal them before the liquid is introduced. This process, like the different casks in Scotch, has imparted a complex taste and profile to the liquid. It is heavily nuanced in its process which is evident in the eventual taste of the rum,” says Christopher.

The use of water from the snow-capped Himalayas, known for its purity, blended with the rum in sal wood casks using the Solera system — a practice native to the Himalayan region of India, contributes to the rum’s smooth and well-rounded characterand also lends it its name which means mystic energy from the Himalayas. To the nose, it reveals notes of jaggery, vanilla and all-spice and on the first sip, slowly unravels caramel notes followed by delicious notes of dark chocolate, jaggery, tropical fruits, dried fruits, all-spice toasted vanilla and oak.

The mountain influence

Created and bottled at their distillery in Jammu, the amber liquid is housed in a heavy-bottomed glass bottle with etchings of the Himalayan Mountain range wrapped all around it.The cap and lettering are in copper with the former’s design inspired by a compass. “Our tagline is ‘Keep Seeking’, which is to say that there should always be space for discovery and curiosity, which is what the journey of this product has been for us,” says Karishma.

Currently available at duty-free at Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru airports, with Kochi and Hyderabad following soon, they plan to introduce the rum in the Indian market in the next couple of months as well as in the United Kingdom.

A 750ml bottle of Idaaya rum costs ₹7,500 to ₹11,700 depending on excise taxes and other regulations.

Nidhi Adlakha

This year when the phone rings, a speedboat will take you to spot manta rays as they congregate in the Maldives

1 of 3 The Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru; (above) manta rays. Special Arrangement and Elspeth Strike Special Arrangement

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Every June, the Eastern Baa Atoll in the Maldives attracts the world’s largest known population of manta rays, a sight that people across the world travel to witness. The Manta Trust, a charity set up in 2005 at the Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru, has been working towards making these sightings better courtesy of their founding research project, Maldives Manta Conservation Programme (MMCP).

If you are looking at planning a trip to the Maldives this year, it might be ideal as “the manta magic starts when the Southwest Monsoon (Hulhangu) season begins in the Maldives”, says Elspeth Strike, project manager at Baa Atoll, The Manta Trust.

“During this season, hundreds of reef manta rays (a type of cold-blooded fish) return to the area to exploit the rich, productive waters of Baa, making the most of the abundance of their zooplankton prey which concentrates within sites like Hanifaru Bay. The best time to plan a manta spotting visit to Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru is between the months of June and November,” she says.

Detailing the immersive experiences in store for travellers, Elspeth says Landaa Giraavaru has a Manta-on-Call service, which provides a “manta phone” that rings when mantas are sighted and guests are then taken in speedboats to experience the sighting. Private manta-spotting cruises are also available, and the Trainee Manta Biologist programme “engages environmentally-minded teens (aged 13 to 18) who learn about what it takes to be a manta biologist, from photo identification to monitoring manta sizes, behaviour, and even pregnancy”.

The experiences, however, are possible due to the in-depth research undertaken — including analysis of monsoon currents and other predicting factors — by MMCP. Elspeth explains thatMMCP has been conducting research in Baa Atoll and across the Maldives archipelago for the last two decades. “They have been collecting data to monitor the country’s manta ray population, its movements, and how the environment and human (ie tourism) interactions affect them. Since its inception, the MMCP has identified almost 6,000 different individual reef manta rays from more than 90,000 photo-identification sightings, making the Maldives manta ray population the largest known, and one of the most intensively studied, in the world,” she says referring to the data that is used by researchers to record and identify key patterns of the manta rays.

As well as studying the animals themselves, the MMCP is also conducting research to identify the ideal environmental and oceanographic conditions for zooplankton concentration within Hanifaru Bay, and how this influences the aggregating behaviour of manta rays there. “This cutting-edge science is enabling our MMCP researchers at Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru to better predict the ideal dates and times for mass manta ray feeding events,” she adds.

But what makes manta rays so exclusive?

Elspeth says they grow very slowly, mature relatively late in life, and give birth infrequently. Which makes them vulnerable to certain threats as they cannot easily recover from depletion. “The main global threat to manta and devil rays (smaller cousins of the manta ray) is overexploitation by fisheries and incidental bycatch. In recent years, manta rays have become increasingly sought after for their gill plates for use in traditional Asian medicine,” she says, adding, that although manta rays in the Maldives are protected by law, they are still impacted by human activities, becoming entangled in fishing line, nets, or rope, and being hit by speeding boats. “These impacts can result in serious injuries which are expected to increase as tourism, human development, and demand for seafood increases around coastal regions globally. Impacts of a changing climate also have the potential to affect manta rays’ suitable habitat and food supply,” she concludes.

Rishad Saam Mehta

California’s oldest wine-growing region, Livermore, is home to dozens of wineries

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2 of 4 (Clockwise from far left) Live music at a vineyard in Livermore; a bird’s eyeview of a vineyard; Rhonda Wood of Wood Family Vineyards; wine samples. Special Arrangement

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Imagine there is a rapid-fire round and you are asked about Wine in California, the odds are that your instant reply would be Napa or Sonoma. But there is a chance that those in the know would quip Livermore — California’s oldest wine-growing region.

Just 40 miles East of San Francisco, Livermore is home to 55 wineries. Most of these have been family-owned and operated for generations. Spread over 3,000 acres, Livermore Valley’s wine heritage goes back to the 1840s when Robert Livermore planted the region’s first commercial vines.

At the 1889 Paris Exposition, a world fair attended by nearly 32 million visitors at the Eiffel Tower, Livermore Valley’s Cresta Blanca Winery’s 1884 vintage — a dry white wine—upset French offerings and lifted the Grand Prix crown. A feat that assured the future of the Californian wine industry, which was previously mired down. Today the winery is a historical landmark.

The cities of Livermore, Pleasanton, Dublin, and the town of Danville, make up a region called the Tri-Valley area, which is worth a long weekend trip from San Francisco.

We arrived in Livermore early in the evening and hopped on to the Livermore Wine Trolley at Stockmen’s Park in the vibrant centre of the city. The trolley is a jolly party bus where the guide streams music to its hi-fidelity speakers after gauging the preferred genre according to the age group on board. We were all Gen X, so we had Barry Manilow’s ‘Copa Cabana’ being belted out with everyone singing ‘Her name was Lola…’ as we drove along country roads to Las Positas Vineyards.

The first stop — Las Positas — is owned by Lisa and Lothar Maier, who bought this 20-acre vineyard in the southwest corner of the Livermore Valley in January 2006. Referring to local history books and maps, they learned that Robert Livermore named his original 40,000-acre property Rancho Las Positas because of the many streams that coursed through the land.

They started afresh by planting different clones of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Tempranillo, Barbera, Petite Sirah and Chardonnay.

Today, under the masterful eye of winemaker Brent Amos, this vineyard produces small lots of estate-grown wines, some of which have won awards at competitions and fairs, including the 2022 Estate Verdelho (West Coast Wine Competition), 2022 Garnacha Rosado (California State Fair) and2021 Estate Rose (2023 San Francisco Chronicle).

We sat on their patio, sampling their wines and nibbling on pitted olives, fresh focaccia, grapes and local cheese, while the vineyardwas washed orange by the setting sun. The wine that I really enjoyed, thanks to its luscious sweetness with dark cherry and boysenberry characteristics, was the Casimira Red Dessert Wine.

The next day, continuing our ongoing gastronomic quest in Livermore, we visited the Wood Family Vineyard. Rhonda Woods was behind the bar, pouring tasting measures for customers who seemed more like old friends. She chatted with us about her journey of becoming a winemaker from a commercial airline pilot. She and her husband Michael started off by planting 18 vines at their then residence in Fremont. Eventually, winemaking became such a passion that Rhonda turned in her wings and the couple moved to Livermore because of its terroir.

Today, Wood Family Vineyard has grown in size and scale. Rhonda and Michael’s oldest son, Harrison, who recently returned wonder-eyed from a holiday in India, has taken on the role of the executive vice-president. We were there on a Friday and at about 5pm the tasting room started filling up since there was a live band performing. Wood Family Vineyards are known for their Pet-Nat sparkling wine and their award-winning(Wine Enthusiast)Para Mas Amigas chardonnay.

Around the block from Wood Vineyard is The Singing Winemaker — a vineyard owned by Karen and Steve Powell. Steve, often with other musicians, puts on a live singing performance as patrons enjoy wines, views and art. We visited the Tri-Valley region for just two days and realised that it was a woefully short time for a full experience of the region. The little city centres are quaint affairs with galleries and cafes and turn into farmers’ markets during some weekends. There are 118 varietals from the Livermore valley and Wente Vineyards, since 1883, is the oldest, continuously operated and family-owned winery in the USA.

Tri-Valley maybe the country cousin of Napa or Sonoma, but it scores top points for its culinary scene, outdoors and the affability of the winemakers, brewers and the local populace in general. This is a part of California that is all heart.

Gowri S

Disney Cruise Line’s new vessel will house seven experience zones with Disney, Pixar, and Marvel themes

A rendering of the Disney Adventure ship. Special Arrangement special arrangement

It is not often (read: never) that one gets to sail with Captain Mickey Mouse and his entourage of entertainers, all from the fantastical worlds of Disney, Pixar and Marvel on the high seas. Disney Cruise Line’s newest vessel, Disney Adventure, is set to embark on three and four-night voyages from Singapore’s Marina Bay Cruise Centre in 2025 for the next five years, making it their first vessel to homeport in Asia. At a media event held in Singapore, the cruise line gave a sneak peek into the ship, which is still under construction in Germany.

“At the centre of this experience will be beloved Disney characters with stories of imagination, fantasy and discovery,” says Sarah Fox, vice president and regional general manager, Asia at Disney Cruise Line. The cruise line marks 25 years of existence this year — they first launched in 1998.

Disney Adventure is estimated to be approximately 6,700 with around 2,500 crew members. In what seems to be a seamless marriage of design, entertainment, and technology, the ship will be divided into seven immersive experience zones. “The ship is laid out like a treasure map with experiences, where magic meets the sea,” says Laura Cabo, portfolio executive creative director, Walt Disney Imagineering. All seven areas are inspired by Disney storytelling.

“Our team has hidden Easter eggs through the ship that may interest Asian audiences,” adds Laura. Details about booking options will come at a later date, concludes Sarah.

Gowri S

Indian Modernism’s last vestiges lie in the Madras Art Movement, which takes centrestage at DAG’s current exhibition in New Delhi

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2 of 6 (Clockwise from below) A view inside the gallery; works by L Munuswamy; DP Roy Chowdhury; C Douglas and RB Bhaskaran. special arrangement

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To condense an art movement that spanned decades and ideologies, and gave Modernism a new visual language in India, into the confines of a gallery is a mammoth task. In the second edition of Madras Modern: Regionalism and Identity, at Delhi’s DAG, canvases lend a birds-eye view into a practice that took pride in its Indianness. They speak volumes of a late modernist movement that originated in South India, more specifically then-Madras. The Madras Art Movement of the 1960s, fading traces of which are still seen in the isolated, and now-changed Cholamandal Artists’ Village in Chennai, was a pivotal moment in the art history of South India, its roots firmly planted within the picturesque campus of the Government College of Fine Arts, Egmore.

Under the watchful and guiding eyes of artist-teacher KCS Paniker, the movement sought to decry the omnipresent colonial gaze, and find a new language that was unapologetically Indian, deriving largely from the region’s cultural heritage.

From DP Roy Chowdhury’s unparalleled command over shadows and light, and his student Paniker’s innovative use of text, lines and striking colours, to a more modern language of abstraction by L Munuswamy, and intricate sculptures of Dakshinamoorthy, Madras Modern attempts to show facets of a movement through a two-part exhibit.

“The first iteration was in Bombay in 2019. Typically, we take historical perspectives of such movements, whether it is the Bengal school, Shantiniketan or the Bombay Progressives. It was instinctive for us to try and cover all parts of central history to get into the Madras Art Movement,” says Ashok Singh, senior vice president, DAG. Though slightly more edited than the first, the artists on display remain the same. “The bulk of it comes out of DAG’s own inventory, and where we were not able to fill a void, was in the women’s voice,” says Ashok.The book, published alongside the first edition, was written by Ashrafi S Bhagat and is a comprehensive explainer of the Movement and how it influenced contemporary art in India, replete with a peek into some of the exceptional works born out of this school.

Setting context

Locating a movement as vast as this one historically is important for the curation, says Ashok.

“We had initially begun with Paniker, but that would not have provided a clear sense of history of how the Madras school of art received this huge boost when Roy Chowdhury reinvigorated the Visuals Arts Department of the Government College of Fine Arts. His pedagogy led to the excellence of someone like artist-teacher Paniker.” And a later exhibition in London where a critic exclaimed, ‘while the work was excellent, where was India in it?’, proved as a trigger point for this shift in perspective.

“This set him off on a search,” he continues. Having found that pivot, he encouraged fellow artists to create art around the new direction. “This led to a clear sense of regionalisation and a focus on the written word and letter, and the line,” says Ashok adding that they walked through the movement with artists from various paradigms.

The curation also looks at figuration, and how the immediate environments of the Cholamandal Artists Village and its surroundings, shaped the bodies of work, making it more local. “Then there are the abstractionists like C Douglas,” says Ashok. Later artists, (some are descendents of the pioneers, like Paniker’s son S Nandagopal) who have taken this legacy forward through a language more contemporary, have also marked their presence in the collection.

“The foundation of the movement was so strong that each artist was able to find something to take forward. And that is the best form of legacy,” says Ashok.

Madras Modern: Regionalism and Identity is on show till July 6 at DAG, New Delhi.

Gowri S

Independent music across genres and languages is steadily seeing takers among Gen Z listeners. What are the new trends in listening?

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2 of 3 (Left) OAFF x Savera with Bollywood actor Siddhant Chaturvedi; (right) Punjabi pop artiste Burrah. Special Arrangement

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The snaking queue at the brick-laden, gabled, Snowball Studios in Worli, Mumbai, is inviting some curious questions. “What’s happening here? Is it an audition?” a passer-by asks. No. It is in fact a young (mostly Gen Z) audience waiting to be let into an indie music showcase.

Hours later, on stage, an enthused Siddhant Chaturvedi sings bits of the latest single ‘Itefaaq’, produced together with musicians OAFF x Savera, to hoots, cries and synchronised foot taps. His surprise appearance was preceded by independent acts by alternate musicians from different parts of the country.

It is no news that Mumbai is home to a dedicated audience for homegrown, indie music. At Spotify’s recent showcase, which celebrated four years of their global emerging artistes programme RADAR, indie music that spans genres and languages took centrestage. The line-up featured Boys from Marsss (Himachal Pradesh), Burrah (Delhi), Marshall Robinson (Chennai), Hansika Pareek (Ajmer), Swastik the Band (Chandigarh), Ranj x Clifr (Chennai/Bengaluru) and Samad Khan.

“RADAR is a global programme across multiple countries and four years back, we brought it to India as well. It is essentially there to support emerging artistes. While everyone knows the big stars, emerging artistes find it difficult to break out. Supporting them is very critical to the growth of the music industry as well,” says Dhruvank Vaidya, head of music and podcasts, Spotify India.

From 2020 till now, RADAR India has featured over 40 emerging artistes. Apart from being a playlist, the programme also features an ‘artist of the month’ who appears on the playlist cover, and goes on to become a part of their live performances, increasing their visibility.

Visible trends

When Spotify launched in India, 70% of the music that was streamed was international music. Today more than 70% of the streamed music is local.

Within this gamut, as indie music sees steady growth across genres and languages, the listenership for non-film music has also catapulted. Millennial and Gen Z listeners are keen to experiment and explore, says Dhruvank. In the last year alone, RADAR India created 2.4 million new user-artist discoveries.

“There are a lot more artistes now who are more confident to put out music now. There is democratisation of access. Now, an emerging artiste does not have to depend on creating a music video. Even if they just have an audio track, they can upload it and build an audience. From an economic point of view, that works for them. Another big trend we are seeing is that short video platforms create visibility and then the consumption happens on Spotify,” says Dhruvank.

Having performed at over 300 colleges, classical and alternative rock collective Swastik the Band, formed in 2011, is in the thick of a changing music ecosystem.

Rohit Joshi, lead guitarist says that while the audiences are evolving, artistes should be honest about the music they produce. He adds, “I feel that music is a cycle, it is going to repeat itself after a few years and making music that is only relatable to that particular period of time, does not do justice to the sound.”

Dhruvank observes that Indian listeners typically tend to listen to music in two languages.

When RADAR India was launched, the primary focus was on Hindi and English. “But we saw that there are a large number of non-film artistes in other languages as well,” says Dhruvank. Last year, a chapter in Tamil was launched while this year, Punjabi is under the spotlight.

Punjabi pop artiste Burrah’s music trumps the hypermasculinity often associated with Punjabi music to reveal a softer, relatable side that addresses mental health. “I have always been thinking of how I can bring a switch to Punjabi music. That’s a journey I am still on,” says Jasdeep Singh aka Burrah.

He adds that while he initially believed that language could be a barrier to making it in the mainstream, his track ‘Sochi Jaavan’ hit No.1 in Guwahati, trumping the misconception. Burrah adds, “A song about depression in Punjabi getting this kind of reception was really special. People understand energy yaar, otherwise how would a song like ‘Despacito’ become such a huge hit globally.”

A generic thriller

Shilajit Mitra

This Hindi crime drama adapted from a German series is unambitious and, for the most part, unengaging

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On a recent podcast, Sudip Sharma, creator-screenwriter of acclaimed shows like Kohrra and Paatal Lok, lamented the dire state of Indian streaming as it currently stands. He pointed out how, in a bid to churn out shows faster and cheaper, platforms are adopting what he called the ‘BPO model’ of storytelling. “It’s the lack of ambition which is the most disheartening part of it all,” Sharma rued.

You can watch a bit of Bad Cop — two episodes of which are currently streaming on Disney+ Hotstar (six were available for review) — to successfully ascertain what Sharma is getting at. This isn’t a terrible show; it’s got a pulpy premise and intermittent bursts of frantic action. Yet it all feels — true to the ethos of a BPO call centre — dispiritingly phoned in. The ambition is missing.

When Mumbai cop Karan is fatally injured in a hitjob, his estranged twin, Arjun — this is that kind of a show — winds up taking his place. Both brothers are played by Gulshan Devaiah, the actor continuing his waggish two-facery from the 2022 series Duranga. Arjun is a conman on the run, an accidental suspect in a murder case. Until the switch-up, he is presented as a lowlife criminal running minor schemes with his girlfriend (Aishwarya Sushmita). In a blink, however, he’s a near-immaculate facsimile of Karan, a faster transformation than the one Amitabh Bachchan undergoes in Don (1978).

The wide-ranging plot takes in slain journalists, a nefarious poaching racket, betting scams and corruption in the Mumbai force. Written by Rensil D’Silva, Bad Cop is adapted from the German television series of a similar name. I haven’t watched the original, yet can confidently wager that Wolfgang Becker or Werner Herzog do not turn up in it as a pugnacious crimelord pulling the strings from jail. Yet something of the sort happens in this Indianisation, with filmmaker Anurag Kashyap as the rotund, rowdy Kazbe. Kashyap has fun chewing scenery in outlandish scenes: a bit where he sits on the pot while yelling manically at his underlings appears to reverse the fortunes of his own Bunty Bhaiyaa, who sat pleading in similarly indisposed fashion in Shagird (2011).

This is such a second-hand series even the songs are second-hand. The performances, likewise, feel second-guessed. Gulshan Devaiah had demonstrated, in his previous outing with director Aditya Datt, Commando 3 (2019), that he can do twirly, fast-paced action. There are a couple of chases and firefights in Bad Cop where Devaiah more than holds his own. Less involving (certainly less plausible) are his domestic scenes with Devika (Harleen Sethi), Karan’s wife and boss —especially after the switch-up. It is too much of a narrative convenience that someone as sharp as Devika wouldn’t sniff out major or minor changes in her husband’s behaviour. Even after it’s established that Karan was in contact with his twin brother, who’s got the central agencies on his heels — Saurabh Sachdeva nurses a headache as ‘CIB’ officer Arif — she’s unable to put two and two together. Look, I don’t mean to play logic police here, but then Bad Cop flashes the handcuffs.

Two episodes of Bad Cop are currently streaming on Disney+Hotstar

Urvashi’s powerhouse performance carries this haunting drama

SR Praveen

Everyone in Ullozhukku is stranded, in one way or the other. Even a dead body remains unburied for days, as flood waters have submerged the burial grounds. The less said of the living, the better. Anju (Parvathy Thiruvothu) and her mother-in-law Leelamma (Urvashi) are in a life not of their choosing. One has come to terms with it, tempered by the struggles of family life, and even yearns to protect that way of living, while the other still has some spirit left to fight her way out of it.

They are literally stranded too; at their house on an island in the backwaters, in which the flood waters are rising and the country boat is the only connection to the outside world. At the hands of a writer of lesser sensitivity, this is a situation from which a villain can be unearthed, and fingers pointed at, for both Anju and Leelamma have their grey areas.

The situation at the centre of Ullozhukku is the kind that voyeuristic YouTube channels would jump at, to milk it for views and comments condemning those involved, on both sides. But a little bit of sensitivity and open-mindedness for the other side brought to the table by debutant writer and director Christo Tomy makes all the difference. Even as a judgemental viewer takes one side or the other, Tomy slips in a bit of information to upset such calculations.

Like the scene where Leelamma opens up to Anju about her own younger days as an unwilling bride, with her dreams buried. It would almost seem she had wilfully buried it all and made herself believe in the illusory happiness, until years later she encountered Anju, who is caught in a dilemma of a different nature. This understanding on her part plays a key role in the evolving relationship between the two women, which is marked by bruising secrets that they withhold from each other. Ullozhukku (Undercurrent) is quite an apt title for a film that compassionately dips its feet into the unseen, mysterious mindscapes of its characters.

Initially, Tomy appears to be in a hurry to take us to the middle of this situation, as in a few intelligently edited moments he rushes through Anju’s furtive romance with aimless struggler Rajeev (Arjun Radhakrishnan), her wedding to Thomaskutty (Prasant Murali) and Thomaskutty’s debilitating illness. Then the film takes on the comfortable pace of a wall clock, making us feel the uncertainty and pain that simmers beneath.

No one else conveys these myriad emotions as much as Urvashi who, in a masterclass of controlled acting, with her use of subtle gestures, brings in a devastating effect. At times it would even make us root for her, even when we disagree with her. Parvathy too pulls off an effective performance in her comeback to Malayalam cinema after a while. Prashant gets some scope for performance while Arjun Radhakrishnan, a capable actor, gets a limited one. Shehnad Jalal captures the mood of the film in all its melancholic glory.

The script does take a few convenient turns, especially Leelamma’s turnaround and a character’s illogical demand for land and some uncharacteristically rash lines, to arrive at the pre-ordained climax, but the craft with which the right emotions are evoked at the right time makes one look beyond such niggles. With Ullozhukku, Christo Tomy announces his arrival as a filmmaker to watch out for.

Ullozhukku is currently running in theatres

This cosmetic rom-com struggles

Anuj Kumar

Two decades after Shahid Kapoor and Amrita Rao made young hearts go aflutter with their unalloyed innocence and Alisha Chinai gave voice to their chemistry with “Chot Dil Pe Lagi, Pyaar Hone Laga”, Tips has mounted a spiritual sequel ofIshq Vishq. Unfortunately, thechotis only on the pocket this time as the film brings to light the sorry state of young romance in Bollywood. The only spirited thing is adesiHalloween sequence to inject energy into a phony three-plus-one love story that refuses to take off.

When a film producer (Kusha Kapila) shows faith in a young screenwriter Raghav (Rohit Saraf), he draws from his love story to write his first script. He is attracted to Riya (Naila Grewal) while his friend Sahir (Jibraan Khan) is dating Sanya (Pashmina Roshan). However, their bonds turn out to be fragile as Raghav and Sanya start gravitating towards each other.

If the Ken Ghosh-directed original felt like the stretched story behind a music video, the sequel for the most pans out like a long episode ofSplitsvillawhere the confused and courageous youngsters keep indulging in vishk and vyar in the search for ishq and pyar. There is plenty of posturing and preening but hardly any heartfelt conversations; the twists feel perfunctory and the romantic energy is cosmetic.

Director Nipun Dharmadikhari employs the usual justifications to explain the behaviour of the protagonists. Sanya is insecure because she is a product of a broken marriage, Sahir is indecisive because of a regimental dad, and Raghav is big-hearted because his parents are perceptive.But none of the layers come through cogently on-screen and remains on paper. It is a story of four characters but the producer in the film keeps reminding us Sanya is central to the story; actor Pashmina happens to be the cousin of Hrithik Roshan.

Rohit has the charm to make a TV commercial or a music video work, while newcomer Pashmina faces the camera without inhibition but lacks the charisma to hold our attention. Strangely, the director seems more keen on capturing her physical attributes than the emotional output. Naila, who was impressive inMamla Legal Hai,carries its confidence here but she is tasked with nurturing a half-baked character. Late in the film, the director had to make Sheeba Chaddha, in a cameo, explain his intentions before the audience steps out!

Ishq Vishk Rebound is currently running in theatres

Hit the road

Mini Anthikad Chhibber

Based on an iconic photographic book, this Jeff Nichols’ paean to Ben and the art of motorcycle maintenance, is a many-headed love storyand a gritty, nostalgic look at the motorcycle sub-culture in America with a touch of homoerotic sub-text

There is something about motorcycles that calls to our primeval roots. That thrum of the engine, the leathers worn soft with use, the flash of chrome and the roar of exhaust, all start this answering beat in the darkest, deepest spaces of our souls.

And then there is the whole nostalgia thing going on, with the movies, the black-and-white photographs, the curling cigarette smoke, and the sullen stare all bringing to mind rebels without a pause. From Marlon Brando’s The Wild One to Easy Rider, the motorcycle has been fetishised in Hollywood. In Hindi cinema too, a motorcycle is often used for the hero’s introduction scene. Remember Amitabh Bachchan on the Yamaha in Muqaddar ka Sikandar, or Aamir Khan and Rani Mukherjee burning up the tires and screen in Ghulam?

While the movies glamourise all kinds of motor vehicles, there is a knowingness to Jeff Nichols The Bikeriders. Starting with Kathy (Jodie Comer) saying Johnny (Tom Hardy) created the Vandals, a motorcycle club in Chicago, after watching Marlon Brando’s Johnny reply to Mildred’s “what are you rebelling against” with “What you got?” in The Wild One.

Based on photographer and documentarian Danny Lyon’s eponymous book, The Bikeriders tells of how the Vandals started off as a club of misfits who liked to ride in the ‘60s in America, and as it grew bigger, moved away from Johnny’s ideals to become a criminal enterprise.

The movie is told from Kathy’s perspective in a series of interviews to Lyon (Mike Faist). She went from outsider to biker babe and out again as the Vandals morphed into an unrecognisable beast. Apart from being the story of the Vandals, The Bikeriders is also the story of America from the Flower Power of the ‘60s, to the disillusion of the ‘70s. As the traumatised soldiers returned from Vietnam, pot gave way to the harder stuff, just as knives and fists were replaced by guns.

Kathy’s entry into the Vandals, is with her first sight of the beautiful Benny (Austin Butler) and the two are married five weeks later. After a point, when Kathy wants to give up living on the road, Benny must choose between the motorcycle, Kathy and Johnny.

The homoerotic sub-text is very much there, in the almost-kiss between Johnny and Benny, and Kathy’s acknowledgement of both her and Johnny loving Benny. Nicols’ gritty, grungy approach makes for a fascinating study of the lives and times of a sub-culture. Some of Lyons breathtakingly beautiful original photographs are used with the end-credits and one can see Nichols has recreated the photographs in some of his frames.

Butler is luminescent, while Hardy plays against type as the elder statesman and Comer with the wings at the corner of her eyes, makes for a lovely chronicler. The Bikeriders is a wonderful trip down memory lane (where you can tell yourself you could have been a contender). Now all that comes to mind when you think of the two-wheeled tempters is food delivery, which while not being as romantic as Brando or Jack Nicholson, still gets you piping hot samosa in the rain!

The Bikeriders is currently running in theatres

Desperate demonic déjà vu

Ayaan Paul Chowdhury

Joshua John Miller’s The Exorcism sets out to conjure the same dread and depth as William Friedkin’s 1973 classic The Exorcist. But instead of resurrecting the devilish brilliance of its predecessor, it stumbles into a hellishly parodic misstep, saved from total damnation only by the over-the-top desperation of Russell Crowe.

The premise of The Exorcism is an irresistible concoction of meta-textual musings and genre tropes, attempting to exorcise its own demons by referencing The Exorcist at every turn. The story follows Anthony Miller (Crowe), a washed-up actor trying to claw his way back to relevance by playing a priest in a film-within-a-film, artlessly dubbed, “The Georgetown Project” (a not-so-subtle homage to the town in which The Exorcist was set).

It is the very same creative choice that indulges in self-referential nods without establishing its own identity. The opening scenes are steeped in iconic imagery, from the fog-covered Georgetown townhouse to the infamous “cold room” where actors’ breath condenses in the frigid air. These elements, intended as clever homages, came across as heavy-handed winks as if the film is constantly nudging you in the ribs, whispering, “Remember this? Wasn’t this scary?”. Miller’s connection to the material, as the son of Jason Miller (Father Karras in The Exorcist), makes things intriguing but fails to translate into his work and quite honestly feels like an exercise in nepotism gone awry

In a frustrating case of déjà vu, Crowe’s exaggerated performance in the film mirrors his equally baffling turn as a demon-exorcising priest in last year’s The Pope’s Exorcist. His portrayal of Anthony is the film’s most potent asset, albeit one that struggles to lift the weight of a directionless script. The film’s beleaguered anchor gives a performance that’s both committed and campy, teetering between genuine pathos and unintended hilarity, managing to keep the film from completely unravelling into farce.

Visually, The Exorcism is a study in horror movie clichés. Shadowy corners, flickering lights, and jump scares abound, but they do little to elevate the film above mediocrity. In its attempt to honour The Exorcist, the film inadvertently shines a spotlight on its own inadequacies. Obsidian eyes, contorting appendages, obscene demonic jibes, we’ve already seen it all. It is recycled, uninspired and eager to tick off every item in a demonic-possession movie checklist.

The Exorcism is caught in the liminal space between homage and parody, reverence and irreverence. The result is a pastiche of ideas that neither serves as a compelling possession picture nor a poignant exploration of a crumbling star. It is cinematic purgatory, where the potential for something truly inspired seems eternally just out of reach (and maybe for the best).

The Exorcism is currently running in theatres

Table of Contents

The Hindu Jun 29, 2024

Regional

Roof collapse at Delhi airport kills driver

Soren gets bail in land scam case

T.N. seeks Centre’s nod to NEET exemption Bill

NEET-UG issue sparks uproar in Parliament

History-sheeter shot in the leg, arrested

Woman dies after man sets her on fire for snapping relationship

Meeting on liver care to be held today

Work on 19 waterbodies slated for restoraion yet to begin

116 tonnes of single-use plastic items seized from across all districts: TNPCB

‘Many companies that signed MoUs at GIM 2024 have started production’

Assembly amends law on sewer connections

UIIC’s new Chairman assumes office

Kallakurichi hooch tragedy: CB-CID seeks custody of 11 accused as toll rises to 65

HC extends e-pass system for Ooty, Kodaikanal till September 30

Reject drugs, learn to fact-check news, Vijay urges youth

Eminent personalities feted with Carnatic Awards 2024

Nominations invited for Governor’s Awards 2024

Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act to be amended to make punishment stringent, says Stalin

Give assent to NEET exemption Bill, T.N. Assembly urges Centre

Institutions under IT Department to be reorganised, says IT Minister

Chief Minister to visit U.S. to invite investors, says Industries Minister

‘Start-ups run by the disabled, transpersons to get special funding’

CM urged to oppose the implementation of new criminal laws

Govt. should give ₹30,000 per acre as drought relief, says EPS

‘Over 28,000 TNUHDB housing units to be rebuilt’

National

Somanathapur to be the focus of Mysuru tourism circuit

13, including 2 children, killed in road accident in Karnataka

Cancer drugs to be cheaper in Kerala

Prajwal case: HC refuses to stay probe against former BJP MLA for allegedly circulating videos

Polavaram project in limbo, says A.P. CM

ED to name CPI(M) as accused in bank fraud case in Kerala

Five killed, 10 injured in blast at glass factory in Telangana

If there is a change, next CM should be a Lingayat, says seer

Relief for producers of Manjummal Boys: relief for producers till July 10

Jharkhand school principal held in NEET paper leak case

NTA reform committee calls for suggestions from students, parents

Minister urges U.P. CM to look into ‘caste bias’ in govt. posts

Modi is matchless, cannot be compared with Nehru: Trivedi

Cong. MP Phulo Devi faints during protest in the Well of House

Uproar in Parliament over NEET-UG issue

1 dead as Delhi airport roof collapses after rain

Soren freed from jail as High Court grants bail

Fresh dates announced for UGC-NET, 2 other tests

Unfortunate that govt. does not want a debate: Rahul

Have full faith in Centre, Manipur figures in NDA’s 100-day plan: Biren

4 killed as monsoon brings record rainfall to Delhi

Corruption and negligence behind collapse of shoddy infrastructure, says Kharge

52-day Amarnath Yatra begins today, security tightened in Kashmir Valley

Northern States brace for heavy rain till July 2

M.P. Police arrest 24 for killing cattle

India slams ‘deeply biased’ U.S. report on religious freedom

Screen all pregnant women for gestational diabetes with point-of-care test, say experts

14214

India achieves ‘outstanding outcome’ in evaluation conducted by FATF

Lord saves Gajendra

Petrol, diesel to be cheaper in Mumbai after VAT reduction

Deputy NSA Vikram Misri is next Foreign Secretary

German Chancellor to visit India in October

Fifth bridge collapses in Bihar in just over a week

Edit

Preaching consensus, provoking confrontation

Tuning into the narratives in the American election

letters to the editor

Debt trap

A fresh start

The promised land

Business

Coal, electricity buoy core output

U.S. inflation ebbed in May as prices of goods declined

Need to eliminate biases in algorithms as AI on the rise: Das

‘Tariff hikes signal better profitability for telecom industry’

Strike call: Tata Steel may shut Port Talbot blast furnaces early

Fiscal deficit at 3% of target by May end

Ashok Leyland, Bajaj Finance to offer vehicle financing

Small savings schemes’ rates unchanged

RBI raises bar for States/UTs’ WMA by 28% to ₹60,118 cr.

Bansal Wire Industries unveils ₹745-crore IPO

Emcure Pharma fixes IPO price band at ₹960-₹1,008 a share

Foreign

Biden, Trump clash in presidential debate

Make world governance more effective and balanced, China’s Xi Jinping tells Global South

U.S. Supreme Court order curbs power of federal agencies

Japan firm probing 76 deaths in latest supplement tablets scare

Argentina Parliament approves Milei’s pro-business reform plan

Philippine troops kill ten communist rebels in a clash

Indonesia detains 103 Taiwanese in a raid in Bali involving suspected cybercrime

Iran votes in snap poll for new President

Bolivia’s Arce lambasts accusations of ‘self-coup’

Sports

A jinx will be broken as two powerhouses clash for title

A World Cup final has its own pressures and hard to predict who will rise to the occasion

Dravid’s chance to bow out with ICC title in last game

Kohli will bank on his big match credentials

Don’t want to jinx it but there’s a big one coming up for Kohli: Rohit

Men in Blue dethrone Buttler’s England in emphatic style

‘It is down to the squad that has been on a journey to its first final’

‘To make them proud and to have their support means a lot to us’

Shafali and Smriti send South Africa on a leather hunt

From uncertain future to winning gold, Gurindervir Singh comes a full circle

I wanted to play through the day, says Shafali

Manu under dope cloud, Paris chances hit

It was really hot out there and tough, says Delmi Tucker

SCOREBOARD

Slow-starting defending champ Italy faces Switzerland in first knockout

BFI signs seven-year deal with ACG Sports for basketball league

Verstappen gets pole position in Austrian GP

India’s Nagal gets tough main draw at Wimbledon

TNCA U-14

USA battling for Copa America survival

Los Angeles Lakers drafts LeBron’s son Bronny James

Aadya to face Goushika in girls’ under-13 final

LiVE TELECAST

Engagements

Can Matteo Berrettini ride his monstrous serve to Wimbledon’s summit?

stacking up

‘Crossing a legend like Tendulkar gives you the assurance you are on the right track’

Pitch invasion

Weekend

Good cop, bad cop

Run for your life

Cheap thrills

Reimagining Jane

Decoding Diljit’s global desi style

A bun maska in London

Himalayan high

A manta on the line

To the valley of wines

The big blue world

In line with the local

What are you listening to, now?

A generic thriller

Urvashi’s powerhouse performance carries this haunting drama

This cosmetic rom-com struggles

Hit the road

Desperate demonic déjà vu