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Front Page

- As nation moves to new laws, Delhi Police files 300 cases

- NEET retest: 60% improve scores, but can’t match what they got with grace marks

- Aus doubles visa fees for int’l students; Indians to be hit

- PhD scholar held for abortion, wife’s death

- 9 ill after Rourkela Steel Plant gas leak

- Share of women directors up over 3x

- Yoga all set to become Asiad sport as early as 2026

- Christian gets death in Pak for ‘blasphemy’

- Case on UK-based prof for ‘provoking’ groups in Manipur

- NHRC notice over Foxconn ‘bias’

- 9 devotees killed in Boler o-truck collision

- Car hits truck on KMP, 4 of family die

- INDIA BEATS SOUTH AFRICA AGAIN

- First time in 3yrs, monthly GST rise <10%

- Rahul’s ‘Hindu’ remarks spark fiery face-off with PM in Parl

- IN THE COURTS

- Patkar gets 5-month jail in LG defamation case

- July monsoon rain likely to be ‘above normal’, says IMD

- ‘Tweets defamatory’: HC asks TMC MP to pay `50L

As nation moves to new laws, Delhi Police files 300 cases

1st FIR Against Street Vendor, Later Cancelled

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: A shooting incident and a fatal accident were among a dozen-odd FIRs registered under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) in the early hours of Monday. From midnight to noon, police had filed over 100 FIRs under the new laws, sources said.

While Delhi Police brass didn't release an official figure of the total number of FIRs registered on Day 1, sources pegged the number at around 300, including e-FIRs. Several senior police officers confirmed that it was business as usual in terms of FIR registration. While the shooting incident that left a man wounded took place in northeast Delhi’s Seelampur, the crash was reported from Nihal Vihar area.

An FIR was registered for the offence of encroachment against a street vendor at Kamla Market police station in the early hours but later Delhi Police moved court for its cancellation, sources said.

The cops denied claims made on social media that it was the first FIR registered under BNS. Speaking to re- porters, Union home minister Amit Shah also clarified that the first case was registered in Gwalior. “The case registered at Kamla Market PS was one of the first cases registered in Delhi under the new laws. There were provisions for the offence in the earlier law too... It is not a new provision. Police used the provision to review it and dismissed that case,” he said.

Without major glitches, P 2

EDIT: Lawful, Liberal; New Codes vs Old Ways

Remand period still 15 days, says Shah

Home minister Amit Shah clarified Monday that the maximum 15-day police remand period will remain the same as CrPC. “The new law provides for 15-day police remand, but the detention can be in the whole, or in parts, at any time during the initial 40 days or 60 days out of the detention period of 60 days or 90 days,” he said.

FLAP INSIDE

Ggn’s 1st case against a juvenile for murder

A 16-year-old boy allegedly strangled to death a nine year-old girl, his neighbour in a housing society in Gurgaon, on Monday after she walked in on him trying to steal from the flat. He tried to set her body on fire with camphor and cloth. The case was the first to be registered in the city under the new law.

P 6

NEET retest: 60% improve scores, but can’t match what they got with grace marks

Manash.Gohain@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: 60% of the 813 NEET applicants who took the re-test after the grace marks awarded to them were rescinded have improved upon their original score, excluding the grace marks. They include 4 of 5 whose score after the addition of grace marks totalled 720, the maximum possible in the test. Marks of another member of the 720 club came down by just 4. However, none of them could match the scores they had with the addition of grace marks.

The increases over what they had scored minus the grace marks range between 10 and 40 marks. Although the NTA, unlike in the case of the general NEET, has not released scores, 11 candidates are learnt to have scored 670 or above.

 No change in toppers, P 20

CBI summons two Hazaribag teachers

CBI summoned to Patna for interrogation Monday two more teachers of Oasis school in Hazaribag whose principal & vice-principal were held last week in the NEETUG case. It is also preparing dossiers on “three well-known residents” suspected to be involved in the paper leak.

P16

Ex-BJP MP: Leak key reason for UP loss

Paper leak was “the most important” reason for BJP’s poor show in UP in the LS elections, said the party’s ex-MP from Kannauj, Subrat Pathak, who lost to SP chief Akhilesh Yadav this time. In a series of posts on X, Pathak accepted that paper leaks had become endemic in India.

P16

Aus doubles visa fees for int’l students; Indians to be hit

Melbourne: Australia has more than doubled the cost of student visa fees for international students from $710 to $1,600, a move that will impact lakhs of Indians planning to study in this country.

The move has triggered outrage among student representatives, who say the hike will drive potential students to competitors, ABC News reported. The federal govt said additional revenue will help fund initiatives in education, including cuts to graduate debt, financial support for apprentices and implementation of its migration strategy. According to the Indian mission in Canberra, the number of Indian students enrolled in Australia is estimated at 1.2 lakh as of Aug 2023, making Indian students the second largest cohort of foreign students.

PTI

 ‘Drive pupils to UK’, P 17

PhD scholar held for abortion, wife’s death

Ratnavath Harisingh, a PhD scholar, was arrested in Telangana’s Suryapet Monday for forcing his wife to undergo an abortion after finding out she was carrying a girl. The botched process resulted in the woman’s death. Five others, including doctors and technicians, were also arrested. The man who conducted the sex determination test is absconding.

P16

9 ill after Rourkela Steel Plant gas leak

Nine people, including three Rourkela Steel Plant staffers, fell ill after inhaling noxious gas leaking from a blast furnace on Monday. Eight of them were admitted to ICU and are stable; another was discharged. Repair work was going on when the incident took place.

TNN

Share of women directors up over 3x

Govt’s mandate to have women on corporate boards pushed up their share to 15.7% and helped big firms report healthier finances, according to a paper by three NCAER economists. Since the mandate kicked in from 2015, the share of women directors rose over 3x.

P19

Yoga all set to become Asiad sport as early as 2026

New Delhi: The ancient practice of yoga was on Monday included in the future Asian Games programme at an executive board meeting of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), headed by acting president Randhir Singh, reports Sabi Hussain. The OCA general assembly, scheduled in Delhi on Sept 8, is expected to ratify yoga’s inclusion in the Games as a competitive sport.

Indian Olympic Association president PT Usha, who had written to the OCA chief on June 26 for inclusion of yoga in Asiad, confirmed the development.

Sources said yoga is set to be included as a demonstration sport at the 2026 Games to be held in Nagoya, Japan. It is likely to become a competitive sport with medal rounds at Doha in 2030.

Delighted, P 22

Christian gets death in Pak for ‘blasphemy’

An anti-terrorism court in Pakistani has sentenced a Christian man to death for sharing what it said was a “blasphemous” social media post containing hateful content against Muslims that allegedly sparked riots in Faisalabad district’s Jaranwala last August. P17

P17

Case on UK-based prof for ‘provoking’ groups in Manipur

A police complaint has been filed in Imphal against UK-based computer science professor of Indian descent Uday Reddy, alleging that his social media activity provoked ethnic tensions in violence-stricken Manipur. The FIR against Reddy of University of Birmingham was lodged by a local resident at Imphal police station, citing his posts on X.

P 16

NHRC notice over Foxconn ‘bias’

NHRC has taken suo motu cognisance of reported discrimination by Foxconn for allegedly “systematically excluding” married women from jobs at its iPhone assembly plant in TN. It issued notices to the Union labour ministry and Tamil Nadu govt.

P 14

9 devotees killed in Boler o-truck collision

Nine people, including six women and two children, were killed and four others injured in a head-on collision between a Bolero and a truck in Karauli district Monday. The Bolero, filled with devotees, was returning from Kaila Devi Mata temple in the district.

TNN

Car hits truck on KMP, 4 of family die

Four people died, and two others suffered severe injuries when a Maruti Ertiga collided with a canter-truck on KMP e way in Farrukhnagar on Monday. The impact of the collision was so severe that the car was completely shattered. The truck driver is on the run.

P7

INDIA BEATS SOUTH AFRICA AGAIN

The Indian women’s cricket team celebrates after inflicting a crushing 10-wicket defeat on South Africa in the one-off Test in Chennai on Monday. ‘Player of the Match’ Sneh Rana became the first Indian female spinner to claim 10 wickets in Test cricket. Shafali Verma, who had scored the fastest double-century on Friday, also claimed her maiden Test wicket. This is India’s second 10-wicket triumph in Tests after a similar win over Proteas at Paarl in 2002. Men’s team stranded in Barbados due to hurricane

P22

First time in 3yrs, monthly GST rise <10%

Goods and services tax (GST) collections grew 7.7% in June to Rs 1,74,000 crore, the first time in three years when monthly mopup rose at single-digit rate. The collection in May 2024 was Rs 1.73 lakh crore.

Central GST and state GST (combined) show an 8% rise to Rs 73,134 crore, indicating a slower increase in integrated GST levied on imports and inter-state sales and cesses. IGST and compensation cess data we- re not released by govt.

Foreign trade has remained weak due to depressed prices for several commodities. During the first quarter, the kitty is estimated to have swollen by 10.2% to Rs 5,57,006 crore. Since Dec, monthly collections have risen by 10-12%.

P 19

 Avg daily UPI nos touch 46cr peak in June, P 19

 RBI to link UPI, Asean payment systems, P 19

Rahul’s ‘Hindu’ remarks spark fiery face-off with PM in Parl

As Treasury Benches Protest, He Says, ‘Aap Hindu Ho Hi Nahi’

Subodh Ghildiyal & Akhilesh Singh

New Delhi: The much-awaited showdown between Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi unfolded in dramatic fashion in Lok Sabha on Monday with the newly-appointed leader of opposition saying, “those who call themselves Hindus indulge in hatred, violence and untruths 24x7”, drawing a strong rebuttal from the PM.

Rahul’s remarks, during the debate on the motion of thanks on the President’s address, inflamed what was already building up as an intense duel. Modi immediately got up to protest, saying, “Calling the entire Hindu community violent is a serious issue.”

Rahul shot back, “Modiji, BJP, RSS are not the entire Hindu community... A Hindu can never spread violence or fear or hatred.” As treasury benches protested, he said, “Aap Hindu ho hi nahi”.

 First speech as LOP, P 20

 Rajnath corrects Rahul on Agniveer compensation, P 10

 NIA consents to Rashid taking oath on July 25, P 10

RS chair scraps Kharge remarks on RSS, BJP

Congress president and leader of opposition Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday made allegations against RSS and BJP and their roles in various spheres, including education, prompting chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar to expunge the remarks.

“Is it a crime to be a member of any organisation? You are saying that an organisation took over. This is absolutely wrong. Suppose a person is a member of RSS, is it a crime in itself? What is communal about this?” Dhankhar said. Kharge was speaking during the debate on the motion of thanks on the President’s address.

P 14

IN THE COURTS

➤ Delhi high court will today take up Arvind Kejriwal’s plea against his arrest by CBI in a graft case linked to a wider excise policy probe

P 5

➤ Political interference in service matters undesirable, observes K’taka HC in a case involving a govt employee who failed to comply with her transfer order

PG OPP

➤ Badri Vishal, deity of Badrinath temple, sole owner of devotees’ offerings, rules U’khand court, junks claim of priest outfit

PG OPP

➤ Telangana HC dismisses former CM K Chandrashekar Rao’s plea of bias against a panel looking into alleged irregularities in buying power from Chhattisgarh

P 15

Patkar gets 5-month jail in LG defamation case

New Delhi: A city court on Monday sentenced activist Medha Patkar (70) to five months of simple imprisonment in a criminal defamation case filed by Delhi LG VK Saxena.

The court of metropolitan magistrate Raghav Sharma took note of the activist’s age and medical condition but observed these factors “do not absolve her of the serious nature of her offence”, reports Vineet Upadhyay.

The court directed Patkar to pay Rs 10 lakh as compensation to LG Saxena, saying the imposition of the substantial fine recognises the “extensive harm and prolonged suffe- ring that the complainant had endured over the 23-24 years of legal battle” and was a tangible acknowledgement of his distress.

False charges, P 5

July monsoon rain likely to be ‘above normal’, says IMD

Prospects For Aug-Sept Also Look ‘Good’

Vishwa.Mohan@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: After deficit rains in June, monsoon in July is most likely to be ‘above normal’ in India except in parts of northeast, east UP, west Bihar and south peninsula, IMD said on Monday. It also said that northwest India recorded its warmest June this year, reporting the highest maximum (day) and mean temperatures for the month in records since 1901.

The forecast of above-normal rains (over 106% of long period average) in July could mean beginning of brisk kharif (summer sown crops) sowing operations in the month, which may eventually lead to overall normal acreage in the season — a key to better prospects for foodgrain output. IMD also expects fairly good rains in monsoon’s second half (Aug-Sept) due to emergence of La Nina conditions.

Good rainfall, P 20

‘Tweets defamatory’: HC asks TMC MP to pay `50L

Abhinav.Garg@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: The Delhi high court directed Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale on Monday to apologise and pay Rs 50 lakh in damages to former diplomat Lakshmi Murdeshwar Puri, the wife of Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri, for his defamatory tweets against her over the purchase of a property in Switzerland.

Upholding the charges of defamation filed by the former assistant secretary general of United Nations as valid, Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani also restrained Gokhale from publishing any more content on any social media or electronic platform on this matter.

 TMP MP’s claims, P 20

Times Nation

- Shah counters oppn, says new laws duly debated in House

- Remand time still remains 15 days: Min

- Pol interference in service issue undesirable: HC

- Terror clearly defined under BNS, says Shah

- Badrinath deity sole owner of offerings: Court

- MAHA STOPS DEEKSHABHOOMI WORK AFTER AMBEDKARITE STIR

- FIRST DAY FIRST SHOW

- Sleepwalking youth falls 3 floors, dies

- Lover bobbitised for marriage refusal

- Rahul lying, kin of Agniveer KIA get `1cr, says Rajnath

- NIA gives nod for Rashid’s oath-taking

- SL nabs 25 Indian fishermen as ties hit choppy waters after navy sailor’s death

- Bishnoi gang planned Moose Wala-like hit on Salman: Chargesheet

- Woman head constable aiding bootlegger in dry Guj nabbed

- Rahul’s ‘not Hindus’ jibe at BJP draws angry reaction

- Rahul enjoyed power without responsibility, says Thakur

- Parl pays tribute to ’85 ‘Kanishka’ bombing victims

- Oppn clashes with govt in RS over new laws, agencies’ ‘misuse’

- ‘Deeply regrettable,’ says RSS of Rahul comment; an ‘injustice’, adds VHP

- Birla, Dhankhar tick off Cong for ‘mic off’ charge

- People remain committed to motherland despite adverse circumstances: Bhagwat

- Acerbic Rahul spares none, attacks even Speaker Birla

- You throttled my voice, lost 63 MPs, Moitra taunts BJP

- Dhankhar expunges Kharge remarks attacking PM, RSS

- NHRC seeks Bengal report on thrashing of couple by group ‘linked to TMC’

- SAD rebels apologise before Akal Takht for ‘religious transgressions’ during Akali rule

- Blow for KCR as HC junks plea against probe into power purchase ‘irregularities’

- Case against UK-based Indian-origin prof for ‘provoking’ Manipur groups

- PhD scholar held as wife dies after forced abortion op

- CBI summons 2 more Oasis teachers in NEET leak case

- Two-wheeler rider dies in Varanasi:

Shah counters oppn, says new laws duly debated in House

Oppn: 146 MPs Were Under Suspension

Desist from giving a political colour to criminal justice reforms, said Shah

Bharti.Jain@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: As the new criminal laws came into force on Monday, home minister Amit Shah dismissed the opposition’s charge that they were “forcibly” pushed through Parliament amid the suspension of 146 Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs, saying that discussions on the laws had involved all stakeholders and lasted four years, making it possibly the longest consultation exercise in post-Independence India.

Shah, however, said he was open to suggestions from members of the opposition on how to further improve criminal justice delivery. “My doors are always open and I am ready to meet anyone who wants and also review (the laws). But please desist from giving a political colour to the criminal justice reforms,” he appealed to the opposition while addressing a presser here.

Stating that discussions on the law had started in 2020 with the govt seeking suggestions from members of Parliament, chief ministers, Chief Justice of India and Chief Justices of high courts, IPS officers and collectors, Shah shared that “several meetings were held to draft the bills based on their suggestions”.

“...I myself presided over 158 such meetings,” Shah said hours after the first FIR under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered at a police station in Gwalior, MP. The FIR, lodged at 12.10 am, re- lates to a motorcycle theft.

The first FIR registered in Delhi under BNS against a street vendor was, however, withdrawn after a review by the Delhi Police, according to the home minister.

On the opposition’s charge that the bills were bulldozed through Parliament after suspending 146 MPs — Shah said the parties knew in advance that the bills would be brought in Parliament and their MPs possibly indulged in unruly behaviour to elicit their suspension and skip the debate. The opposition, however, was part of the parliamentary standing committee meetings that examined the bills over 2.5 months. “The govt accepted 95% suggestions made by the opposition members and the bills were brought before Parliament after incorporating 93 changes,” said Shah.

Shah said the laws, by incorporating technological upgrades relevant for the next 50 years, would make the Indian criminal justice system one of the most modern in the world. With timelines prescribed for investigation and trial, “the complete process from filing of FIR till the final disposal of case by the courts should not take more than three years,” noted Shah.

On the DMK’s reservations to Hindi nomenclature of the new laws, the home minister said even these could be discussed. “But the Tamil Nadu CM or any MP from the state has not approached me yet,” he underlined.

Full rollout of new laws in UTs by Aug 15

Home minister Amit Shah on Monday said all the UTs are expected to fully roll out the three criminal laws — Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam — by August 15, though a countrywide 100% implementation may take 3-4 years as the entire criminal justice infrastructure gets an upgrade as per requirements of the new laws, reports Bharti Jain.

Shah said that the states will have flexibility to start by notifying a police station for full rollout of the new criminal laws, followed by a tehsil, a district and, ultimately, the entire state. This will require upgrade of the courts, which is in the works since 2020 in consultation with the Supreme Court and the necessary software having been readied.

Remand time still remains 15 days: Min

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Union home minister Amit Shah on Monday clarified that the maximum 15-day police remand period under Bharatiya Nagaraik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) will remain the same as was provided for in Section 167 of the erstwhile Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

Addressing a press conference hours after the three new criminal laws came into force, Shah said unnecessary confusion was being created to give the impression that the time period for police remand had been extended under BNSS.

“I want to clarify that in BNSS also the remand period is 15 days. Earlier if an accused was sent to police remand and he would get himself admitted in a hospital for 15 days... there could be no interrogation as his remand period would expire. Also, sometimes two accused are arrested and need to be interrogated together. The new law now provides for the same 15-day police remand, but the detention can be in the whole, or in parts, at any time during the initial 40 days or 60 days out of the detention period of 60 days or 90 days,” said Shah.

Former law minister Kapil Sibal had last year raised concerns regarding Section 187 of BNSS dealing with police remand, while alleging that then proposed criminal laws would promote use of draconian police powers for political ends.

Pol interference in service issue undesirable: HC

Bengaluru: Political interference in service matters is undesirable as much as irrelevant factors that impact public administration and the interest of the employer, the Karnataka high court observed recently.

A division bench, while allowing a writ appeal filed by the KFCSCL, observed, “Nowadays, this court has been observing that employees are invoking political influence in matters of transfer and posting, which essentially belong to the exclusive domain of the employer/competent authority.”

On July 12, 2002 M Veena, a junior assistant at KFCSCL, was transferred from Bengaluru to Mangaluru. Without reporting for duty at Mangaluru, Veena applied for leave on medical grounds and produced a medical certificate. KFCSCL doubted its genuineness and consequently she was examined by a medical board. After the board certified that her claim for leave was not justified, Veena was handed compulsory retirement in July 2004. TNN

Terror clearly defined under BNS, says Shah

New Delhi: Home minister Amit Shah said terrorism was included as an offence in BNS to ensure that no terror accused escaped punishment for the lack of a clear definition of ‘terrorist act’ in the criminal laws, particularly as most terror conspiracies were hatched on foreign soil.

“Our govt follows a zero-tolerance policy against terror. There are many terror inci- dents for which the conspiracy is hatched outside the country. If terrorism is not defined to include such conspiracies, then the conspirators cannot be brought to justice,” Shah said.

“It should be our aim to make the country terror-free and hand out the harshest punishment to terrorists,” said Shah. The BNS has revised the provisions dealing with terrorism to bring it in line with the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 by altering the definition of a ‘terrorist act’.

TNN

On Day 1, big drop in Odisha FIRs

All 676 police stations in Odisha used to register at least 520 cases daily until June 30. Number under BNS dropped to 55 on Monday and only 5 arrests made across state, compared to at least 600 daily in the past.

TNN

Badrinath deity sole owner of offerings: Court

Dehradun: Badri Vishal, the deity of the Badrinath temple, “exclusively holds the rights to all offerings, gifts, and donations made by devotees”, a court in Chamoli ruled while hearing a case that arose from a dispute involving claims from priests’ outfit Nepali Lal Mohariya Panda Samaj (NLMPS) over donations received at the Nepali Ashram, reports Pankul Sharma.

The verdict said, “Solely, Badri Vishal possesses the absolute prerogative over all such articles...Given that the idol in the mandir is a legal entity, the mandir retains exclusive authority over the offerings and no other individual can assert entitlement over it.”

The litigation began when two brothers, Hari Prasad Dimari and Ballabh Prasad, from NLMPS, claimed their right to donations received by the Nepali Ashram in 2017, asserting it as a long-standing tradition. In 2018, the brothers filed a suit against NLMPS and the Nepali Ashram, arguing that their share from lakhs in donations were being withheld.

MAHA STOPS DEEKSHABHOOMI WORK AFTER AMBEDKARITE STIR

Maharashtra govt swiftly froze on Monday ongoing development works at Deekshabhoomi, hours after Ambedkarite organisations held mammoth protests outside the iconic Buddhist stupa, considered the largest in Asia, reports Vaibhav Ganjapure. While announcing an immediate stay on the project, deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said the Rs 200cr Deekshabhoomi beautification and development plan was prepared in consultation with Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Smarak Samiti, which monitored the works. “Samiti members finalised its blueprint and the govt provided funds. The protests are specifically against the underground parking, which protesters claim poses a threat to the adjacent stupa,” he said.

Leader of opposition Vijay Wadettiwar warned the Mahayuti govt of a law-and-order crisis if the works were not halted. “Govt’s inaction has triggered distress among Dr Ambedkar’s followers. Disregarding public sentiment and going ahead with the project could escalate into a serious situation,” he stated. Responding to a query, Fadnavis said, “A meeting will be held between representatives of protesters and the Samiti. A final decision will be taken after considering everyone’s opinion.”

FIRST DAY FIRST SHOW

TOI takes a look at the first FIRs registered under the new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which kicked in across India on July 1

Sleepwalking youth falls 3 floors, dies

A 19-year-old youth died on Sunday after he fell from his sixth-floor residence to the building’s third-floor podium in Mumbai’s Mazgaon. The victim was suffering from a sleepwalking condition, said police. Family members mentioned that he had a sleepwalking (somnambulism) condition. Police have registered an accidental death case and an investigation is underway.

TNN

Lover bobbitised for marriage refusal

Angered by her lover’s repeated refusal to enter into wedlock, a woman allegedly “sedated and bobbitised him and flushed the body part down the toilet” in Bihar’s Saran on Monday, police said, reports HK Verma. Ved Prakash Singh (28), alias Vikas, writhing in pain, sought help from locals. Police arrested Abhilasha (32), while Vikas is undergoing treatment in a hospital here.

Rahul lying, kin of Agniveer KIA get `1cr, says Rajnath

Rahul Must Apologise To House, Nation & Agniveers: Shah

Rahul must understand the scheme first, Rajnath said and demanded that the leader of oppn’s references to Agniveers be expunged

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Defence minister Rajnath Singh was joined by home minister Amit Shah to assert that leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi was making “fabricated and motivated” remarks on ‘Agniveers’ as the two leaders asserted that families of recruits under the ‘Agnipath’ scheme get a compensation of Rs 1 crore in case they are “killed in action” just like normal recruits.

Addressing the House, Rahul said, “A few days ago, I met a family of an Agniveer in Punjab who attained martyrdom in a landmine blast. I am calling him a martyr, but govt doesn’t acknowledge him as a martyr. The family won’t receive a pension or compensation, nor will their son be rec- ognised as a martyr.”

Rajnath Singh reacted promptly, saying that the Congress leader was speaking a blatant lie.

Rahul also claimed that the Agnipath scheme was imposed on the Army by the PMO and it didn’t have enough acceptance in the armed forces. The defence minister, in a strong rebuttal to LoP’s charges, informed the House that govt held direct consultations with at least 158 organisations before rolling out the project and added that their views and suggestions were factored in.

“LoP must understand the scheme first,” Singh said and demanded that Rahul’s references to Agniveers be expunged from the House proceedings.

Later, Shah urged Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla that the statements made by Rahul and the defence minister should be scrutinised and the country must be told the truth. “This House is not for spreading lies. Rahul should apologise to the House, to the country and to Agniveers,” he said.

The former Congress chief also slammed govt over farmers’ issues, saying it did not want to give a legal guarantee to the minimum support price (MSP) for crops. Agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan objected to Rahul’s remarks and accused him of “misleading” the House.

NIA gives nod for Rashid’s oath-taking

New Delhi: NIA on Monday gave its consent for jailed Kashmiri leader Sheikh Abdul Rashid, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, to take oath as a Lok Sabha member.

The consent came a day before a Delhi court is set to pronounce its order on Rashid’s plea on Tuesday, paving the way for the newly elected Independent MP from Baramulla in north Kashmir to take oath, likely on July 5.

Rashid, who defeated former J&K CM Omar Abdullah, had moved court seeking interim bail or custody parole, to take oath as an MP and perform his parliamentary functions.

The court had on June 22 deferred the matter, asking NIA to file its response.

TNN

SL nabs 25 Indian fishermen as ties hit choppy waters after navy sailor’s death

ARRESTS SPARK PROTESTS IN TAMIL NADU: On Monday, more than 200 people, including families of the arrested fishermen, protested at Pamban and blocked the Rameswaram highway

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Madurai: Sri Lankan navy apprehended 25 country boat fishermen from Ramanathapuram and four of their crafton charges of poaching in their territorial waters on Monday. Following the arrests, fishermen’s families blocked a road at Pamban demanding their release.

Sri Lankan navy said the seizures were made off Delft Island. The dhows and the fishermen were taken to Kankesanthurai harbour and handed over to Mailadi fisheries department. Navy said it has so far seized 32 Indian fishing boats and arrested 239 fishermen poaching in Sri Lankan waters.

Though Sri Lankan navy regularly detains mecha- nised trawlers, they are not usually aggressive towards country boats since they don’t use trawl nets banned in the island nation. Trawling has been the cause of a stalemate in repeated talks between Sri Lankan and Tamil Nadu fishermen. The sudden change in Lanka’s attitude could be due to re- cent death of a Sri Lankan sailor during an operation to detain a trawler and 10 fishermen from Nagapattinam, said M Karunamoorthi, district secretary of CITU’s fish workers association. He said Union govt has not taken measures to salvage country boats detained by Lanka in 2017.

TNN

Bishnoi gang planned Moose Wala-like hit on Salman: Chargesheet

The attack was allegedly planned to be carried out either during a movie shoot or while the actor was leaving his Panvel farmhouse

Ahmed.Ali@timesgroup.com

Mumbai:A detailed analysis of intelligence gathered, including technical examination of suspects’ mobile phones, formation of a WhatsApp group, tower locations, and eyewitness audio and video calls, suggest that members of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang were planning to kill actor Salman Khan with sophisticated weapons from Pakistan, including AK-47s, a chargesheet filed by Panvel police said.

The attack was allegedly planned to be carried out either during a movie shoot or while the actor was leaving his Panvel farmhouse, in a manner similar to Sidhu Musewala’s murder, according to the chargesheet. The police submitted the 350-page chargesheet against five Bishnoi gang members to the Panvel magistrate court last week, detailing the plot, planned attack and escape routes. The five named in the chargesheet are Dhananjay Tapsingh alias Ajay Kashyap (28), Gautam Vinod Bhatia (29), Vaspi Mehmood Khan alias China (36), Rizwan Hassan alias Javed Khan (25), and Deepak Hawasingh alias John Walmiki (30). Police have invoked IPC Sections 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 115 (abetment), and 506 (2) (criminal intimidation).

In early April, Panvel police inspector Nitin Thackeray received intelligence about Bishnoi gang members planning an attack on Khan. Investigations revealed that Bishnoi had given a Rs 25 lakh supari (contract) to gang members to attack Khan. The gang used a WhatsApp group with 15-16 members, including Bishnoi’s Canada-based cousin Anmol Bishnoi, Goldy Brar, Ajay Kashyap, Vinod Bhatia, Vaspi Mehmood Khan alias China and Rizwan Hassan Khan to communicate and execute the attack.

The police have identified Sukha Shooter and Dogar from Pakistan, who were supposed to supply sophisticated weapons like AK-47, M16, or M5. Kashyap rented a house near Khan’s Panvel farmhouse to understand the area’s topography. Kashyap and Javed China had already conducted recce of Khan’s farmhouse in Panvel, Film City in Goregaon, and his Bandra residence.

Woman head constable aiding bootlegger in dry Guj nabbed

Rajkot: Cops often encounter trigger-happy criminals at the end of dramatic chases to nab culprits. But Gujarat police was in for surprise on Sunday evening when a 34-year-old woman cop fell into their net along with a notorious bootlegger they were chasing.

In a thrilling chase, police arrested bootlegger Yuvrajsinh Jadeja, but were astounded to find that accompanying him in the liquor-laden SUV was Neeta Chaudhary, a head constable posted in Gandhidham CID (crime). Chaudhary has been serving in Gandhidham CID (crime) for the last two-and-a-half years.

During preliminary interrogation, she said she got in touch with Jadeja through Facebook two-and-a-half months ago.

TNN

Rahul’s ‘not Hindus’ jibe at BJP draws angry reaction

Insult To Crores Of Hindus, Says Party, Demands Apology

PM Modi said it is a serious matter that Rahul Gandhi is ‘calling the entire Hindu society’ violent. Nirmala Sitharaman said appeasement politics of Congress and Gandhi ‘starts and ends with Hindu hate’

New Delhi: BJP on Monday protested inside and outside Parliament after leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi said in Lok Sabha that the saffron party’s members are “not Hindus” as they promote division and violence.

While PM Narendra Modi said it is a serious matter that Gandhi is “calling the entire Hindu society” violent, Union home minister Amit Shah and other ministers demanded an apology from the Congress functionary.

Rahul Gandhi took a swipe at BJP in the Lok Sabha, saying those who call themselves Hindus are engaged in “violence and hate” round the clock. As the remarks sparked protests by the treasury benches, Gandhi was heard saying, “BJP and RSS do not represent all the Hindus... We are also Hindus.”

Shah claimed Gandhi “insulted” crores of Hindus by saying that they commit violence, spread hatred and lies. “He should apologise for this.”

Union health minister and BJP president J P Nadda also lambasted Gandhi. “First day, worst show! Lies + Hindu hatred = Rahul Gandhi Ji in Parliament. Third Time Fail LoP has a knack for agitated, flawed logic. His speech today has shown that neither has he understood the mandate of 2024 (his third successive loss) nor does he have any humility,” he posted on X.

Nadda said Gandhi “lied” on many counts including matters that concern the coun- try’s “hardworking farmers and brave armed forces”.

But he was “duly factchecked” by Union ministers for making “false claims” on the MSP and the Agniveer scheme, he said. “For his own cheap politics, he won’t even spare our farmers and security forces.”

Nadda said discussion on the Prez’s speech is about a “healthy debate” but the opposition, in its “misplaced triumphalism”, continues to be destructive, not constructive.

“Never in the last 60 years has an opposition been rejected 3 times consecutively. The way they are going, they will beat their own record in the coming times, he said.

“Rahul Gandhi Ji must immediately apologise to all Hindus for terming them as violent. This is the same person who was telling foreign diplomats that Hindus are terrorists. This intrinsic hate towards Hindus must stop,” he added. Nadda also demanded Gandhi to apologise to Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla, alleging that his “utterances” towards the Chair were in “very poor taste”.

Flaying Gandhi for his remarks, Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman alleged the appeasement politics of the Congress and Gandhi “starts and ends with Hindu hate”.

Union minister Chirag Paswan said, “...Making personal comments against someone and hurting the faith of the people will not be tolerated.”

PTI

Rahul enjoyed power without responsibility, says Thakur

New Delhi: BJP MP Anurag Thakur on Monday listed several economic achievements of the NDA govt in the past 10 years and took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi, saying he was enjoying power without responsibility till he became leader of opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha.

Initiating the discussion on the motion of thanks on the Prez’s address, Thakur said the Lok Sabha elections have kept those against the Constitution in the opposition benches for the third time.

While congratulating Rahul on becoming LoP, Thakur said the Congress functionary now has power with responsibility and “absentee landlordism will not work”.

Thakur asserted this in an “agni-pariksha” for the Congress functionary now. “Will he sit in Lok Sabha all day?... He is not there (even) now,” he added.

Rahul was not in the House when Thakur made the remarks and there were protests from opposition members.

He threw a challenge at opposition MPs asking them how many pages are there in the Indian Constitution and saying that they did not even bother to read it but waved it around.

TNN

Parl pays tribute to ’85 ‘Kanishka’ bombing victims

New Delhi: Both Houses of Parliament observed a moment of silence on Monday in memory of the victims of the AI 182 ‘Kanishka’ bombing, a week after another anniversary of the terrorist attack.

RS Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said June 23, 2024, marked the anniversary of one of the darkest days in the fight against terrorism, as two Air India aircraft flying out of Canada were targeted by terrorists. Regrettably, justice was never fully served in these cases and such acts can never be justified, he added. The horrific terrorist attack, that took place on June 23, 1985, had claimed 329lives.

Dhankhar also underlined the importance of vowing zero tolerance towards terrorism and violent extremism.

TNN

Oppn clashes with govt in RS over new laws, agencies’ ‘misuse’

T IMESN EWSNETWORK

New Delhi: The discussion on the Prez’s address in the afternoon saw the treasury benches and the opposition clash numerous times as allegations were hurled by speakers. From demands for a speedy investigation to punish the guilty in the paper leaks and irregularities in NEET and issues like special status for Andhra Pradesh to the opposition attacking govt for misuing central agencies, bulldozing bills like the new criminal laws in the past and making a mockery of the federal structure — members from TMC, DMK, CPI (M), CPI, YSRCP, RJD and AAP among others raised a wide range of issues.

DMK’s Tiruchi Siva said that the Prez had in her address said that her govt has a clear majority, however, people only gave a verdict in the recently concluded Lok Sabha election and not a majority. “One thing I am sure is that after this election results and govt has taken over, they cannot bulldoze the bills as they were doing earlier. The opposition is very strong in the Lok Sabha,” he said while speaking over the Motion of Thanks to the Prez’s speech.

Meda Raghunadha Reddy (YSRCP) among other issues demanded special category status for Andhra Pradesh. TMC functionary Jawhar Sircar lashed out at govt saying that inequality has reached “insane proportions” under this govt.

On a day the INDIA bloc parties held a protest in Parliament complex on the misuse of agencies like ED, CBI and income tax, AAP functionary Sanjay Singh during the discussion accused the NDA govt of indulging in politics of vendetta by using agencies to put functionaries of opposition parties in jail.

NCP functionary Praful Patel launched a scathing attack on the opposition saying that the NDA govt has not used Article 356 (which gives Centre power to dissolve state assemblies ) in the past 10 years. He praised govt for push to infrastructure development.

‘Deeply regrettable,’ says RSS of Rahul comment; an ‘injustice’, adds VHP

Yogi Adityanath was among those who hit out at Rahul. BJP’s Sudhanshu Trivedi said P Chidambaram and Sushil Shinde had maligned Hindus by associating them with terrorism

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi’s remarks onHindus in Lok Sabha on Monday sparked sharp reactions from the saffron organisations as the fountainhead Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its affiliate VHP joined BJP in accusing the Congress functionaryof inflicting “grave insult” on Hindus.

“It is extremely unfortunate that people holding responsible and important positions in Parliament are linking Hindutva with violence. Whether Hindutva is of Vivekananda or Gandhi, it is a symbol of harmony and brotherhood. Such reaction about Hindutva is deeply regrettable,” said RSS national media head Sunil Ambekar.

President of Vishwa Hindu Parishad Alok Kumar said Rahul Gandhi’s comments “linking Hindus to violence” was an injustice to a community which never used violence to convert others but in line with the the policy Congress followed since Independence where it allowed other communities to practise their faith but advised the majority community to become “secular”.

He also recalled Rahul Gandhi’s conversation with US diplomats, as per disclosures made by Wikileaks, where he said that he was more concerned about Hindu radicalism than jehadi terrorism.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and BJP’s spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi also hit out at Rahul over for allegedly equating Hindus with violence and falsehoods. Trivedi said that former home ministers belonging to Congress , P Chidambaram and Sushil Shinde, had maligned Hindus by associating them with terrorism.

It was a concerted push back by the Sangh Parivar and appeared significant in view of the claims in certain quarters about differences between BJP and RSS, the assertion getting strengthened by the remarks of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat against “arrogance” which were seen by many as aimed against BJP.

Birla, Dhankhar tick off Cong for ‘mic off’ charge

Jagdeep Dhankhar with Rajya Sabha MP Jaya Bachchan after administering her oath at Parliament House in New Delhi on Monday

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar took exception to allegations that microphones were turned off when opposition functionaries were speaking and said presiding officers did not have any switch or remote control to turn off the mikes.

Birla said, “The chair only gives ruling/directives. The member whose name is called gets to speak in the House. The mike is controlled as per the directives of the chair. The person sitting in the chair does not have a remote control or a switch for the microphones.”

He said members of all parties had representation on the panel of chairpersons who preside over proceedings in the absence of the speaker. “This is a matter of the dignity of the chair. At least those who occupy the chair should not raise such objections. (K) Suresh also occupies the chair. Does the chair have control of the mike?” he asked, addressing the Congress veteran.

In Rajya Sabha, responding to allegations of Congress MP Pramod Tiwari that LoP Mallikarjun Kharge’s mike was turned off when he was speaking, Dhankhar said, “Do you believe the mics are switched off? You only want to do these optics... this is automatic. Can’t we under- stand a simple technology? None has the authority to switch off the mics. Such talk is only to create illusion, taint, tarnish and diminish our institutions. You know it Kharge ji, it’s mechanically controlled. When I speak, mic of no one works. This is the concept.”

Later in the day, LoP in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi raised the issue, asking who controlled the microphone. In response, Birla said, “This has been raised several times. I don’t have any button to switch off the microphone. There existed a similar set-up earlier. I have requested several times that such allegations should not be raised against the chair.”

People remain committed to motherland despite adverse circumstances: Bhagwat

Paying tribute to Abdul Hamid on his birth anniversary at Ghazipur on Monday, Bhagwat said the martyr left an example for coming generations

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Varanasi: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Monday said that “despite a bid by different quarters to create an atmosphere of disharmony, countrymen always love their motherland”.

Bhagwat was addressing a gathering after releasing a book on the life of the legendary martyr, Param Vir Chakra recipient Abdul Hamid at his native village Dhamupur in Ghazipur district.

“One must take inspiration from our motherland, our ancient and rich culture and our ancestors’ ideals to make our country strong and developed as the entire world is looking towards India with great expectations,” Bhagwat said, adding that no matter how adverse circumstances are, people remain committed to the motherland.

Abdul Hamid, the 1965 Indo-Pak war hero, is known for destroying Pakistan’s Patton tanks with his RCL gun and compelling the enemy to flee Khemkaran. He was awarded the Param Vir Chakra posthumously.

Speaking about the country’s pluralistic culture, Bhagwat said during wartime, all countrymen sidelined their differences and stood together to save the motherland. He recalled that Tamil Nadu’s first chief minister CN Annadurai at one point of time “used to call Tamil region a separate territory”. “But when China attacked the country, he said that the attack on Himalaya was an attack on Tamil Nadu.”

The RSS chief said that in the battlefield there are only two options. “One can escape to save himself or sacrifice one’s life for the motherland. Veer Abdul Hamid also had a family. He was a good father. He had cordial relations with people of his village. But, he chose to protect the motherland and countrymen.” He added that the martyr left an example for coming generations by giving the supreme sacrifice for his country.

Acerbic Rahul spares none, attacks even Speaker Birla

‘You Bowed To Modi When Shaking Hands’

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla reacts as LoP Rahul Gandhi speaks in the House during ongoing Parliament session in New Delhi on Monday

Subodh.Ghildiyal@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: In his first speech as the leader of opposition, Rahul Gandhi spared none in Lok Sabha, with targets of his combative charge being PM Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, and even Speaker Om Birla.

Urging “fairness” in the House, Rahul recalled he along with Modi had walked Birla to the Chair on his election as Speaker last week. Addressing Birla, he said “you” were straight when you shook hands with “me”, but you bowed when you shook PM’s hand. A shocked Shah alleged Rahul was levelling allegations against the Chair. When Birla clarified it was “his culture” to bow to elders (Modi) and be equal with contemporaries, Rahul shot back that “nobody is above Speaker” and all should bow to the Speaker. “We are subservient to the Speaker. Some may feel they are not,” he said.

Rahul was particularly acerbic on Modi, whom he repeatedly teased as “non biological” — we all are born and we die, but “parmatma” speaks to “atma” of Modi. He laughed that Modi had claimed that Mahatma Gandhi was dead and was revived by a movie. It was a reference to Modi’s claim in an interview that he was “non biological” and messenger of the divine. He mocked that demonetisation and order to give Mumbai airport to Adani were also God’s messages.

Rahul said SP’s Faizabad MP Awadhesh Prasad told him that Modi commissioned three surveys with the idea of contesting from “Ayodhya”, but his surveyors told him that he would lose. He then went to Varanasi, and barely escaped defeat.

To demonstrate his point about “abhay mudra” and religions preaching fearlessness, Rahul showed pictures of Lord Shiva, an Islamic motif, Jesus Christ, Guru Nanak, Mahatma Buddha and Mahaveer. When he picked Shiva’s photo again, he point- ed to the giant screens in the House and complained that the camera was not on him, an echo of an old complaint. The cameras returned to him, but when he picked the photo again, the focus went back to the Chair. It led to laughter in the House.

Poking fun, Rahul said Modi not only spreads fear outside but has also intimidated the BJP functionaries, pointing out that Rajnath who had earlier greeted him with a smile was now sitting seriously in the PM’s presence. Then, Rahul lectured BJP on “internal democracy”, stating that opposition parties have it, even mentioning Congress’ ginger group — “G-22, G-23”.

When Shah made a stray quip to his account of a Gujarat trip, Rahul said, “I keep going to Gujarat, and this time we will defeat you there. Take it in writing, INDIA will defeat you.”

Once, Shah objected to Rahul alleging that BJP had called farmers “terrorists”. But Rahul pointed to Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Badal, and said “your ally is nodding, she also agrees with us.”

You throttled my voice, lost 63 MPs, Moitra taunts BJP

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: TMC MP Mahua Moitra hit out at BJP saying the governing party wanted to silence her, but the public silenced them.

She was speaking during the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the Prez’s address to a joint sitting of Parliament. Interestingly, when she stood up to speak after Rahul Gandhi, the PM was leaving the House, and she called out to him to stay back since he had come twice to her constituency during the election campaign.

“The last time I stood, I was not allowed to speak. The governing party paid a very heavy price for throttling the voice of one MP,” Moitra said, referring to her expulsion from 17th Lok Sabha in Dec 2023 over the ‘cash-for-query’ case.

“In their attempt to silence me, the public silenced them, causing them to lose 63 MPs... mujhko bithane ke chakkar mein janta ne aapko bitha diya, aapke 63 MPs ko permanently baitha diya. You have gone down from 303 to 240,” the TMC MP added.

Dhankhar expunges Kharge remarks attacking PM, RSS

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said this was the first time when protecting the Constitution has become an issue

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday hit out at PM Modi for his comments during the election campaign, which he said had “hurt many”, and also for irregularities in the NEET exam. He went on to allege that people from RSS and BJP had taken over the education system and questioned the Sangh’s role in other spheres, prompting chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar to expunge the remarks.

In response to Kharge’s allegations that vice-chancellors of universities, professors, NCERT and CBSE, among others, were all under the control of RSS and people with good ideas had no place there, Dhankar said, “This will not go on record. I am expunging it. Is it a crime to be a member of any organisation? You are saying that an organisation took over. This is absolutely wrong. Suppose a person is a member of RSS, is it a crime in itself? What is communal about this?” Speaking during the debate on the motion of thanks on the Prez’s address, Kharge said this was the first time when protecting the Constitution had become an issue. Without naming Modi, he said, “Now people are worshipping the Constitution. Just touching the forehead with the Constitution won’t work, you have to follow the path laid down in it.”

Kharge said people had taught a lesson to the “arrogant” BJP as he referred to Modi’s “ek akela sab pe bhari” and “400 paar” comments. He also said the PM, who used to speak about the “ills of ‘khichdi’ (alliance) govt”, was now in office because of allies after people brought down BJP’s Lok Sabha tally to only “200 paar”.

The LoP accused Modi of invoking communal sentiments and creating “division” during the poll campaign. He cited newspaper reports on Modi’s speeches and claimed that it was the first time when aPM spoke about religion in a campaign but did not succeed.

“Govt diverts the attention of people from important issues. When the opposition talks about farmers, Narendra Modi talks about releasing buffaloes. When the opposition talks about BJP’s divisive thinking, he talks about Aurangzeb and Mughals. While the opposition talks of unemployment and paper leaks, Narendra Modi talks of ‘mangalsutra’ and ‘mujra’,” Kharge said. This led to an uproar in the House as treasury members objected vociferously. Dhankhar said, “This is derogatory and defamatory. This can’t go on record.”

NHRC seeks Bengal report on thrashing of couple by group ‘linked to TMC’

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: The National Human Rights Commission has taken suo motu cognisance of reports about a couple being mercilessly beaten up in Lakshmipur village in Uttar Dinajpur district in West Bengal in full public view, by a “group of people” reportedly associated with the TMC which is power in the state. The NHRC has decided to send its team for a spot inquiry into the matter.

The commission has issued notices to the chief secretary and director general of police, West Bengal calling for a detailed report within one week. The NHRC has also asked authorities to tell what steps have been taken by the state govt to ensure that “such incidents of violation of the human rights of the citizens, by politically protected goons, do not recur”.

The video of the incident that reportedly happened on June 29 has gone viral on so- cial media causing outrage. The NHRC highlights that according to the media report, the allegations of a love affair between the victim couple were discussed in an open meeting (Panchayat) by the annoyed villagers. Then, the miscreants started beating the duo.

Notice to Foxconn for ‘systematically excluding’ married women from jobs

The NHRC has takes suo motu cognisance of reported discrimination by Foxconn, a major manufacturer of Apple devices, for allegedly “systematically excluding” married women from jobs at its iPhone assembly plant in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu. The commission has issued notices to the Union ministry of labour and employment and Tamil Nadu govt calling for a report within one week.

TNN

SAD rebels apologise before Akal Takht for ‘religious transgressions’ during Akali rule

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Amritsar: Rebel Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) functionaries appeared before Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs, here on Monday and apologised for “mistakes” committed when the party was in office in Punjab.

Last week, they had demanded that SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal should step down as party chief following the party’s debacle in the recently held Lok Sabha elections, where it could win just one of the 13 seats in Punjab.

In a meeting in Jalandhar, while urging Sukhbir to hand over the reins of the party,” they had decided to seek forgiveness from Akal Takht on July 1 for “blunders and shortcomings of the past”.

Acknowledging their involvement in “religious transgressions” during the party’s 10-year govt from 2007 to 2017, the rebel SAD group appealed to Akal Takht jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh to pronounce penance upon them and left after offering prayers for ‘chardi kalan’ (positive and optimistic attitude) in SAD.

Party members Bibi Jagir Kaur, Parminder Singh Dhindsa, Surjit Singh Rakhra, Prem Singh Chandumajra, Sarwan Singh Phillaur, Sucha Singh Chhotepur and Bhai Manjit Singh submitted a letter to the Akal Takht jathedar, blaming Sukhbir for the mistakes that, according to them, eroded the trust of a substantial seg- ment of the Sikh community and people of Punjab in SAD. These “missteps” resulted in failures of SAD govt and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) following which the party encountered a palpable estrangement from people of Punjab, said the rebel SAD group while mentioning “four mistakes”.

They also claimed that due to several incidents, the Sikh panth was disappointed with the Shiromani Akali Dal leadership, and the position of the party in both political and religious spheres had gone down.

“We acknowledge that throughout these occurrences, we were integral members of the SAD leadership and regretfully failed to prevent such incidents,” the letter said.

Blow for KCR as HC junks plea against probe into power purchase ‘irregularities’

Hyderabad: Telangana HC on Monday dismissed ex-CM K Chandrasekhar Rao’s petition as well as his apprehensions of bias against Justice L Narasimha Reddy commission of inquiry that looked into alleged irregularities in buying power from Chhattisgarh, reports Sagar Kumar Mutha.

A bench answered the principal objection raised by KCR that the issues before the state power regulatory commissions and issues before the commission of inquiry were different.

KCR contended that courts cannot review issues that have already been adjudicated by quasi judicial bodies like Telangana SERC and Chhattisgarh SERC.

The commission is looking into alleged irregularities that took place while buying power from Chhattisgarh during KCR’s 10-year govt and in setting up Bhadradri & Yadadri thermal power plants in state. The bench also brushed aside KCR questioning decision of the commission to issue him a notice under Commissions of Inquiry Act.

Case against UK-based Indian-origin prof for ‘provoking’ Manipur groups

A police complaint has been filed in Imphal against UK-based computer science professor of Indian descent Uday Reddy, alleging that his social media activity provoked ethnic tensions in violence-stricken Manipur. FIR against Reddy of University of Birmingham was lodged by a local resident at Imphal police station, citing his posts on X. His handle @Kautilya33 has been “withheld in response to a legal demand”, reports Prabin Kalita.

In response, Kuki Students’ Organisation-Delhi & NCR condemned the complaint, describing it as “frivolous”.

PhD scholar held as wife dies after forced abortion op

Hyderabad: A PhD scholar’s unwillingness to have a third girl child led to the death of his wife and the unborn baby due to a botched up abortion, in Telangana’s Suryapet. Ratnavath Harisingh was arrested on Monday with five others. Seventh accused is absconding.

According to the police, Ratnavath and Suhasini got married in 2019 and have two daughters. When his wife got pregnant for the third time, he threatened to desert her if she delivered a girlagain.

A week ago, Harisingh approached two technicians, Ranapangu Gopi and Shaik Saidulu, recommended by local practitioner Amaragoni Naveen. They put the couple in touch with Kammampati Guruvaiah, who confirmed on June 23 that it’sa girl. “The family took Suhasini to Shaik Khasim at Kamala Hospital in Huzurnagar. He conducted the abortion with sister Devarakonda Rani’s help,” said police. As her condition worsened, the family took her to Hyderabad, but she died on June 25. TNN

CBI summons 2 more Oasis teachers in NEET leak case

Abhijit Sen & Vishvendu Jaipuriar

Hazaribag: CBI summoned to Patna for interrogation Monday two more teachers of the school in Jharkhand’s Hazaribag whose principal and vice principal were arrested last week in the NEET-UG paper leak case. The agency is also preparing dossiers on “three well-known residents” suspected to be involved in the paper leak, based on arrested Oasis School principal Ehsanul Haque’s call records, officials said.

The two teachers under the scanner, including the deputy superintendent of the NEET-UG centre at Oasis School, were detained for questioning at the Central Coalfields Ltd guesthouse in Charhi last week. They were allowed to leave before CBI arrested Haque, vice principal Md Imtiyaz Alam, and journalist Jamaluddin.

Hazaribag's link in the NEET paper leak surfaced after Bihar's Economic Offenc- es Unit found a half-burnt question paper with Oasis School's NEET centre code in a“safe house” that had been used by a group of examinees and their "handlers" the night before the May 5 test.

CBI sources said that the investigation into Haque’s role in the paper leak case had since expanded to assessing the properties and wealth he had allegedly amassed. The value of his house in Hazaribag’s Hamia is allegedly worth several times more than his disclosed source of income.

The arrested principal’s answers to questions regarding the other properties in his name have been “unsatisfactory”, an official said.

Haque and his two co-accused are in CBI custody until July 4. Sources said the agency could seek an extension of their remand to take them to Delhi after July 5 for further questioning.

Leak ‘most important’ reason behind party’s poll debacle in UP: BJP ex-MP

Paper leak was “the most important” reason for BJP’s poor show in Uttar Pradesh in Lok Sabha polls, said the party’s former MP from Kannauj, Subrat Pathak, who lost to SP chief Akhilesh Yadav this time. In a series of posts on X, Pathak, while accepting that paper leaks had become endemic in India and the education system had been ruined by corruption, highlighted efforts by BJP govts in state and at Centre to correct the system. Pathak said besides a strong political will, the support of opposition parties was also required to combat paper leak.“Paper leak in police recruitment in UP is not new. Gradually, paper leak in various examinations across the country has become a part of our lives,” he said, adding that the Modi govt had already passed a strict law to check this.

TNN

Two-wheeler rider dies in Varanasi:

A man died after a car, being driven by a drunk doctor, hit his two-wheeler and dragged him along with his vehicle for several metres, in Varanasi on Sunday.

TNN

Times City

- How investigators responded to first day of calls

- ‘Metropolitan magistrate’: A term consigned to history books

- Why Body Cams Could Be Key To Scripting Successful Police Story

- Lawyers grapple with changes, some rush to bookstores, others greet shift

- Cops on toes to allay initial fears and confusion

- FIRs filed without major glitches at police stations

- Knowledge is power: Reaching out to counsellors, NGOs to spread the word

- Low on spirits! Most beer brands missing from bars

- `1k Aid To Women: Delhi Steps Closer To Launch Of Scheme

- BJP targets Delhi govt for water woes, flooding after rain; AAP strikes back

- Fact-finding committee formed in violation of rules, claims forest dept

- WCD begins process to take over mgmt of women helpline 181

- Mohalla bus service could be rolled in a mth: Gahlot

- Man shot by group after spat in Fbd

- CUET results delay: DU assures students worried over impact on academic year

- Driver held for hit-and-run incident that left 2-year-old dead

- False Charges Undermine Trust: Court

- Excise policy: No bail relief for Kavitha in two cases

- Delhi couple feared drowned in Rishikesh

- HC to hear Kejriwal’s plea against arrest by CBI today

- AAP tells MLAs to initiate green campaign

- ‘No reason to hear afresh plea for more meetings’

- Maliwal case: HC seeks cops’ stand on Bibhav’s petition against arrest

- Flock Watch Breeds Joy For Birders

- 9-year-old girl strangled, body burned; minor neighbour held

- Atishi tells edu secy to withdraw order issued on mandatory transfer of teachers

- Delhi-Ggn traffic to be hit for 3-4 days

- DJB production rises, but water problems persist

- Heavy showers likely over four days in Gurgaon

- Another Humid Day As Rain Gives Delhi The Miss Again

- Dhankher takes charge as DMRC director

- All trains running on Magenta Line now unmanned

- Four killed after car rams canter-truck on KMP e-way

- Find solutions to curb spilling of drain: Atishi

- 3 murdered in separate cases, 2 minors among those nabbed

- Anxiety May Double Risk Of Parkinson’s

- Gang forged papers to get bail, busted

How investigators responded to first day of calls

EXTENDING A HELPING HAND

Abhay@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: A policeman at a police station in northeast Delhi responded to a shooting call at 12.50am on July 1. It was amongst city's first call following the rollout of the newly codified criminal laws on the first day of July. Although he had trained well and undertaken dummy exercises to deal with the change, the cop felt the pressure to get it right in the real world.

On receiving the call, the 27-year-old cop entered a brief description and noted the Daily Diary Entry in E-Praman, the police app. He then reached the location and recorded a video using the app, geo-tagged the spot and provided a brief description in one of the columns. The video was subsequently uploaded to the centralised video pool at Police Headquarters. Following this, the policeman recorded the seizure memo and uploaded it. Upon completing the final upload, a certificate under Section 63(4) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the replacement of the Indian Penal Code, was generated. The entire process took a few hours.

"There was a mix of excitement and a little nervousness,” the policeman told TOI. “At the crime spot, the first thing I did was record or photograph the scene. This was the first time I was doing so. Every single frame t required for investigation was recorded and then uploaded on the app, all in real time."

It was also the first time that the investigator didn't use a pen and paper at the crime spot. "My mobile phone was my main tool and every single thing was videograp- hed in sequence,” he said. “I won't need to sift through a thick bunch of papers to check any point during inves- tigation. Everything is stored in the app, which cannot be tampered with or misplaced." He also said that in case there was no internet connectivity, the investigating officers were given 48 hours to upload the details once they re-entered internet areas.

He added, “Even after many years, if I just key in the FIR number, I will get all the details of the case. The accused cannot now claim that the evidence was planted or tampered with and it will also be legally acceptable." A video of a length of 15 minutes can be uploaded at a time.

TOI accompanied another investigating officer to a theft call. The cop explained to the victim the new laws and the procedure they were to adopt. The scene was videog- raphed and the complainant was informed about the process that had been set into being and the BNS section under which his case would be registered. The cop had thoughtfully carried a handbook on the new laws to confirm the sections being invoked.

After the recording of the crime site was completed, the crime and forensics teams were called to the spot. It was the first day of the new laws but the procedures didn’t prove hectic or smooth. “It's only the first day. We'll slowly get used to the new system," the investigator said, adding that within a few minutes, the entire details had been uploaded on the app for senior officers to check. In the earlier system, there was a lot of time-consuming paperwork required.

‘Metropolitan magistrate’: A term consigned to history books

Abhinav.Garg@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: In one of the first visible changes in district courts, the designation of ‘metropolitan magistrate’ will be phased out in wake of the new criminal laws that kicked in on Monday.

Delhi High Court, in an administrative order issued on Monday, re-designated the existing magistrate courts across the capital as “judicial” magistrate courts as required under Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) 2023.

The change in nomenclature impacts the chief metropolitan magistrates, additional chief metropolitan magistrates and metropolitan magistrates in all the districts of the city.

“In exercise of the powers conferred by Sub-Section (2) of Section 9 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 and all other powers enabling them in this behalf, the acting Chief Justice and judges of this court have been pleased to re-designate the existing magisterial courts of chief metropolitan magistrates, addl. chief metropolitan magistrates, metropolitan magistrates, etc. of all the metropolitan areas (erstwhile)/judicial districts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, with effect from 01.07.2024,” the order issued by the high court read.

The order lists out the changed designations that includes the additional chief metropolitan magistrates who are now addressed as additional chief judicial magistrates while the chief metropolitan magistrates have been redesignated as chief judicial magistrates. Since BNSS doesn’t contain the term metropolitan magistrate, they will be called judicial magistrates first class.

The high court has, however, underlined that the courts of chief judicial magistrates, additional chief judicial magistrates, judicial magistrates first class, etc, will continue to exercise powers/jurisdiction over the same categories of cases and/or cases of the same police stations/areas, as were being exercised by them prior to the order.

Why Body Cams Could Be Key To Scripting Successful Police Story

CUE FROM WEST: Can Help Simplify Procedures Specified Under New Laws

Rajshekhar.Jha@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Body-worn video (BWV) cameras have the potential to simplify procedures specified under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) that replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), according to investigators in Delhi Police.

On Monday, a major challenge for many investigating officers (IOs) was capturing video evidence at crime scenes. They could be seen juggling between their phone cameras, incoming calls and the app for uploading footage.

Section 105 of BNSS makes it mandatory to video-record the search and seizures. Section 172 makes videography of information of cases involving women victims mandatory while Section 185(2) makes the search by a police officer a must under recording. Similarly, under Section 176(3), videography of the scene of crime is mandatory in offences with seven years or more punishment. Section 180 makes recording of examination of a witness by police a must.

A few investigating officers TOI spoke to seemed to have doubts and confusion regarding certain requirements.

“I received back-to-back calls from my superiors just when I reached the crime scene and started recording. When I brought this up with my seniors, I was told to record after putting the phone in flight mode. Now, I am planning to keep a separate phone for this,” said an IO who didn’t wish to be named.

Others voiced concerns that waiving the mobile phone in front of a potential witness will only rattle them and there might be some who may be fine with audio but not video recording.

The body cameras may re- solve many of these concerns, said a retired senior cop, highlighting that police forces in the West consider body-worn cameras “essential equipment”.

“These cameras even act as independent witnesses, providing crucial evidence during arrests and at crime scenes. In Delhi, however, officers often struggle to find these witnesses, resorting to statements like ‘we requested bystanders to be witness but they refused due to prior commitments’ in their first information reports (FIRs),” the retired officer said, adding that the body cameras could provide a solution to these issues.

There have been studies in forces that use such cameras, and they have rated them effective. There were statistically significant reductions in citizen complaints against police and use-of-force reports for officers who wore cameras, compared with those who did not.

The Metropolitan Police (Met) in the UK provides a successful example. Their body cameras capture a continuous 30-second audio and video loop. This buffer isn’t saved unless the officer manually activates recording. When recording is activated, the preceding 30 seconds are included.

For police forces in the West, body-worn cameras are not turned on for routine patrols, but are activated for specific incidents instead. When a recording is happening, a flashing red light on the camera is visible and officers inform people that they are being recorded. The cameras are used while gathering evidence for investigation of crimes or suspected crimes, or to promote transparency during police actions. It also comes handy after an encounter for writing reports or verification of facts.

There are situations when officers in the West almost certainly activate their BWV cameras. “The cameras are mandatory when making an arrest; searching a property, land or vehicle; conducting a stop-and-search; or responding to a critical incident,” said an officer who had earlier served abroad in a programme hosted through the United Nations.

The concept of body cameras is not entirely new to Delhi Police. A proposal for use of such cameras was initiated in 2016. The plan was to use Nirbhaya Fund for financing the project. Later, the traffic police received about 1,000 cameras but, according to sources, most of these malfunctioned nearly two years ago and have not been repaired due to a lack of maintenance contracts.

Nowadays, no traffic cop is seen wearing such cameras. It is time that the department moved a proposal for the cameras to the Union home ministry, said the sources.

Lawyers grapple with changes, some rush to bookstores, others greet shift

AJUDGE SAYS We are yet to get an idea of the new laws. Primarily it’s for police and magistrates to deal with the new provisions immediately. The sessions court’s turn will come after some time

Vineet Upadhyay & Abhinav Garg TNN

New Delhi: A funny take on the 1997 film Chachi 420encapsulated the dilemma before the legal community in Delhi when the new criminal laws kicked in on Monday. Lawyers, and some judges too, shared a meme that wondered if the Kamal Hassan starrer could sound as mischievous if titled Chachi 318— the new section in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita that replaces the old and well-known Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code.

The change in sections/provisions of some key offences pose the first and most immediate challenge to the bar and the bench as they deal with cases registered under the three new criminal codes that replaced the British-era penal statutes on Monday.

Murder will now be covered by Section 103 of BNS, rape by Section 63, gangrape by Section 70(1) and attempt to murder by Section 109, to mention a few. While the old IPC had over 500 sections, BNS is slimmer with just 358 sections.

The first day of the implementation of BNS, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (the old one was Criminal Procedure Code) and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (Evidence Act) saw lawyers grapple with the shift, with many making a beeline to bookshops to pick up the bare acts of the new laws. Anticipating the change perhaps, the Bar Council of Delhi on Sunday had objected to his rollout at present and demanded more time for preparation.

Significantly, the apex lawyers' body, the Bar Council of India, had urged all bar associations across the country to refrain from any immediate agitation or protest against the implementation of the new laws, promising to take up the issue with govt.

There were mixed reactions among lawyers. Some expressed apprehension at too much power being given to police and investigative agencies, while others said it was a first step in discarding colonial-era rules and regulations.

Senior advocate Vikas Pahwa welcomed the shift. “Overall, there are many positives in the new acts,” he said. “There may be some confusion initially, but the system will be streamlined over time. I don't think lawyers will face any problems; they are competent and know how to handle legal issues in court.”

Pahwa, however, said police needed to be educated about the new laws and their implementation. “This extension could give police unfettered powers to extract confessions and manufacture evidence. The provision for attachment of proceeds of crime is also draconian. If identified, proceeds of crime can be attached during the investigation and trial and can be distributed to victims or appropriated by govt even before the trial concludes. This is arbitrary and problematic if the accu- sed is acquitted post-trial,” said Pahwa.

A judge told TOI, “We are yet to get an idea of the new laws. Primarily it’s for police and magistrates to deal with the new provisions immediately. The sessions court’s turn will come after some time, when in revision or appeal new provisions are referred to.”

Calling the new timeline for trial procedures a game changer, some senior lawyers pointed out that cases would now be committed within 90 days, arguments on charges will be made within 60 days of committal and arguments of charge will be concluded within 60 days.

However, critics flagged some problem areas, the most critical being availability of infrastructure for police and the courts across the country. “The new laws fail to address the problem of high handedness of police and delays in the justice system,” noted advocate Karan Sachdeva. “Police and the justice system require a complete overhaul so that it becomes more accessible. Also, the new laws have led to massive confusion and thus will probably be followed by multiple amendments and notifications like in the case of GST.”

Similarly, advocate Sanjay Sharma said the potential hurdles were numerous, including increased litigation, confusion and inconsistencies. “The new laws are a double-edged sword, bringing both promise and peril,” said Sharma. “On one hand, they offer a much-needed overhaul of our legal framework, addressing long-standing issues and promoting progress. On the other, their implementation poses significant challenges and, if not carefully considered, may lead to unintended consequences, injustice and hardships.”

Cops on toes to allay initial fears and confusion

ACOMPLAINANT SAYS The crime scene was videographed by the policeman. This was something new. From the briefing, I understand that the accused will receive a harsher punishment and the investigation will be more transparent

SHOWING THE WAY

Abhay@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: There was some scepticism and apprehension at police stations on Monday as people came to terms with the new criminal laws that came into operation on the first day of July. Many police stations not only had boards, posters and pamphlets on the new criminal law codes, but they also had helpdesks to provide necessary information to complainants. At one, balloons adorned the compound while the entrance had a board displaying important sections of the new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

At a police station in southwest Delhi, Ganga had come to complain about being defrauded of her money. “I only learnt about the new laws today after reaching the police station,” she said in Hindi. “I was curious about how this would impact my case and from what I have gathered from the police officers so far is that the law is centred on citizens.”

Like Ganga, many others asked numerous questions at the police station, mostly about how the new laws would benefit them. Subham Arora, 26, who had come to report a theft at his shop, said his primary concern was punishment for the culprits, who he wanted tracked down. After being briefed about the new system, Arora realised he would receive updates on the status of his complaint. “The crime scene was videographed by the policeman. This was something new. From the bri- efing, I understand that the accused will receive a harsher punishment and the investigation will be more transparent,” he said.

When he reached the police station with a complaint, garment businessman Mohammad Rafi was whisked into a room displaying posters on the new laws. Male and female officers were present to inform complainants about the new system. “People will learn about the new laws with time. Most of us aren’t acquainted with the new sections,” said Rafi.

After being briefed by the officers, Rafi reiterated an important point: cases can now be registered anywhere and police cannot refuse to accept a complaint. He said, "What matters most is the timely update of my case. Otherwise, many people I know have had to run from pillar to post to find out the status of their case. I am hoping the new laws won’t put me in the same situation.”

FIRs filed without major glitches at police stations

Continued from P1

Cops said that it was difficult to ascertain the ‘first FIR’ as many complaints came between midnight and 12.30am and FIR registration is a process carried out on the interconnected network called CCTNS, where it takes time to complete the process.

Overall, FIRs continued to be registered without any major glitches at different police stations through the day. Around 11am, Mangol Puri police station filed an FIR under Section 173 of BNSS for encroachment of a public road by an auto parts shop. There were several FIRs filed under IPC also, for offences that took place before midnight.

Knowledge is power: Reaching out to counsellors, NGOs to spread the word

FRIENDLY APPROACH: The emphasis is on educating community workers on how to file FIRs correctly under the newly codified laws

Devanshi.Mehta@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: With the introduction of the new criminal laws, Delhi Police has started community awareness programmes across Delhi to educate the public on them. The emphasis is on educating community workers on how to file FIRs correctly under the newly codified laws while reassuring them of ease in approaching the cops.

The focus of these community outreach programmes differed from place to place. While some had organised crimes as the topic, others dealt with cybercrime, crimes against women and other offences. An event at RK Puram had an audience of 200 people, including members of RWAs, street vendors, small business owners and others who listened to the briefing given by experts from the Union law and justice ministry and legal advisors. Pain was taken to make the people understand how they could now approach the court online with their grievances without having to wait as it was till now.

In a meeting at Seemapuri in Shahdara, police officers met 25 women members of various NGOs catering to the needs of women and children. The officers informed these community workers in detail on how to file FIRs correctly in cases of crime against women and children.

Pooja Sharma of NGO Jeejivisha, who attended the brie- fing, told TOI that during the awareness programme police had spoken particularly about the sections of the new laws regarding women and children, such as rape, kidnapping, POCSO cases and other offences. Po- oja stated, “Our NGO deals with more than a thousand cases of human and child trafficking and we make frequent trips to the police station. So, when they informed us that the FIR in such cases would not only be registered within 24 hours but also dealt with within 24 hours, it was a huge reassurance to us.”

Police stations in Safdarjung, Sarojini Nagar and Durgabai Deshmukh South Campus were also actively engaging in community outreach to teachers, students, and local stakeholders.

A woman sub-inspector told TOI, “Our major focus was understanding the issues and complaints that our station receives and then identifying vulnerable groups in the locality and educating them on the laws. We made sure they understood that certain sections of IPC dealing with crimes against women now had new sections, such as IPC Section 375 (rape) changing to Section 63 in Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.”

Indira Gandhi International Airport also hosted a public awareness programme for various stakeholders. In this particular session, the deputy commissioner of police at the airport pointed out that the new laws were citizen-centric, progressive, techdriven and accountable.

Low on spirits! Most beer brands missing from bars

HICCUPS TO GOOD TIMES

Atul Mathur & Amin Ali TNN

New Delhi: Shortage of beer has not just led to a drop in sales at liquor stores in Delhi, prominent clubs and bars of the city are also bearing the brunt of it.

Restaurateurs alleged that there was a severe shortage of popular beer brands at the warehouses and the nonavailability had started impacting sales at their restaurants. They added that some of the popular spirits were also not available. The restaurateurs rued that they were somehow managing to survive on whatever little was available at the warehouses and there was a substantial shift of customers to the bars and clubs in neighbouring towns in Haryana and UP.

To procure the stock of liquor, restaurateurs have to place an order on a portal run by the excise department. “But when we try to source beer, it says the warehouse is closed,” said a person running a bar in south Delhi. “What we have come to know is that whatever little stock Delhi’s wholesalers get is being diverted to the shops, which are run by govt’s corporations, to show that there is no shortage. Though this problem has been persisting since April, it has become acute in the last few days,” he claimed.

Sudhakar Banerjee, a banker, said he visited a popular niche restaurant with his family on Sunday and was surprised to find that not even a single brand of beer was available. “When we asked for our favourite brands of whiskey, even those were not available,” Banerjee said.

No reaction was available from Delhi govt’s excise department.

While there are over 680 liquor shops in Delhi, the number of hotels, clubs and restaurants that serve liquor is approximately 940. Beer is one of the most saleable items during summers.

Restaurateur Priyank Sukhija said most restaurateurs don’t know what to sell in the absence of popular and premium beer, whiskey and tequila brands. He asserted that lack of availability was impacting the customer experience.

Cocktail bars say many of their expat customers complain about their drinks not being made with a spirit of their choice.

“If someone requests popular whiskey cocktails like Old Fashioned, Whiskey Sour or Highball, we cannot explain why their favourite brand was not used in it. They don’t understand that bars didn’t have these popular yet readily available brands,” says a mixologist.

Outlets are facing a dual problem of popular brands not being available and those that are available are in short supply, said Sidhant Sharma, a partner at nightclubs.

Most of the usual fast selling popular brands aren’t available these days, said Sandeep Goyle, Delhi chapter head of National Restaurant Association of India.

`1k Aid To Women: Delhi Steps Closer To Launch Of Scheme

Women And Child Dept Tasked With Preparing Cabinet Note

Abhinav.Rajput@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Delhi govt has set the ball rolling for implementing the Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana, which aims to provide Rs 1,000 financial assistance to women aged above 18.

On Monday, Delhi women and child development minister Kailash Gahlot said he has instructed officials to expedite the process to ensure the scheme clears all "bureaucratic hurdles" and is launched as quickly as possible.

“I have asked the department to prepare the cabinet note so that we can initiate the Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana. The scheme’s primary objective is to provide assistance to women belonging to economically weaker sections, help them lead dignified lives and become financially independent. We want to ensure the women of Delhi get the benefit of the scheme at the earliest,” he said.

A senior Delhi govt official said the cabinet note will go for approval to three departments — finance, planning and law. “The officials will vet it, give comments, and after their approval, it will go to the cabinet,” he added.

However, some officials pointed out that implementing the scheme may not be simple as chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is currently in jail, which prevents cabinet meetings from taking place. “It has to be notified by the cabinet and after that, it goes to the LG for approval,” an official said.

Kejriwal is in Tihar jail in connection with a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy. Officials in the ministry said they were hopeful of the CM’s release and have started the process so that the scheme gets cabinet approval as soon as CM is out.

AAP govt had announced the scheme in its 2024-25 budget and plans to introduce it before the 2025 assembly elections, hoping to woo women voters. At the time, Kejriwal had called it the “world’s biggest programme” for women’s empowerment. An allocation of Rs 2,000 crore was made for 2024-25 for the scheme.

A woman must be registered as a voter in Delhi to be eligible for the scheme. She would have to fill out a form and give a self-declaration fulfilling certain conditions — that she is not a part of any govt scheme, is not a govt employee, and is not a taxpayer. On the basis of the self-declaration, she will start getting the benefits of the scheme. Along with the form, the woman also must provide her Aadhaar card and bank account information.

“Whenever a daughter or sister in our families comes home, her elder brother or father gives her some money because they want their sister or daughter to fulfil her needs without being dependent on anyone. Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, fulfilling the duty of being an elder brother, and a son, is bringing the Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojna,” Delhi finance minister Atishi had said in the assembly while announcing the scheme.

According to the electoral roll of Delhi published in Jan this year, there are 67,30,371 female voters in the national capital.

“There are over 67 lakh women voters in Delhi. You can exclude the income taxpayers from the scheme and the women who avail the benefits of govt schemes. I think it (Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana) will benefit about 45-50 lakh women,” Kejriwal had earlier said.

BJP targets Delhi govt for water woes, flooding after rain; AAP strikes back

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: BJP on Monday slammed AAP govt over waterlogging in the city, saying its “incompetence” was responsible for flooding during the recent rains and the scarcity of drinking water.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva alleged the govt had identified several dangerous waterlogging spots, but most of these locations had non-functional pumps. “On June 28, hundreds of permanent water drainage pumps installed by Public Works Department were not operational. According to our information, they were non-functional because they did not have diesel,” alleged Sachdeva.

Countering the charges, AAP said, “BJP-led central government governs NDMC. Maximum flooding has been seen under its area, for which BJP is responsible. They are pointing fingers at Delhi govt to hide from the reality of flooding in MPs, ministers and judges’ homes.”

“There is clearly corruption in NDMC that has led to this severe flooding. Never before have the homes of MPs, ministers and judges been flooded. What has happened to all the funds earmarked for desilting? Have all the funds been embezzled? The onus is on BJP and central govt,” said AAP.

“Not only this, poorly designed infrastructure built for the G20 Summit is also causing waterlogging. The entire Bharat Mandapam Complex is waterlogged. The ITPO tunnels are waterlogged. Therefore, BJP must stop pointing fingers and answer questions about their own work in NDMC,” the party added.

Attacking AAP, Sachdeva said even pumps installed by Delhi Jal Board, the flood department and Municipal Corporation of Delhi were not working. “Two days after the flooding, minister Atishi visited the pumping station at Minto Road Bridge, and even then, several pumps were not operational,” he alleged.

At the Bharti Nagar pumping station, the pumps of Public Works Department were found to be non-functional on June 28, and the situation has not improved satisfactorily, he alleged.

Sachdeva claimed this year, no additional temporary water drainage pumps were rented and installed, like they usually are every monsoon season. “Kejriwal govt’s argument is that the necessary tender could not be issued due to the model code of conduct. However, this govt, engrossed in securing CM’s bail and fighting elections, did not pay attention to this essential task,” he alleged.

Fact-finding committee formed in violation of rules, claims forest dept

The committee of ministers is probing the cutting of trees in the Ridge area in south Delhi’s Satbari earlier this year

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: A day after a three-member fact-finding committee of ministers began its probe into the cutting of trees in Ridge area in south Delhi’s Satbari earlier this year, the environment and forest department on Monday claimed that the panel was formed in violation of rules and it could lead to contempt of the Supreme Court.

In a communication to lieutenant governor VK Saxena, principal secretary of environment and forest department AK Singh said the Supreme Court had already formed an independent committee consisting of officers of the Forest Survey of India and other impartial experts, which had already furnished its preliminary report before the apex court. He added that Delhi govt’s committee, which comprised ministers Saurabh Bharadwaj, Atishi and Imran Hussain, also lacked the approval of the council of ministers.

The fact-finding committee was formed by Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai on June 29 to look into cutting of 1,100 trees in the Southern Ridge by DDA allegedly without required permission. The panel had asked the officials of DDA, Delhi Police and forest department to appear before it. Sources said only police officers appeared before it.

A Delhi govt source said the Supreme Court, which is also hearing the matter, had earlier asked Delhi govt why officers of the environment and forest department did not protect the forest when they had complete knowledge of the illegal felling of the trees in the Ridge area.

“Environment minister Gopal Rai asked for the report on tree felling but principal secretary AK Singh has not yet submitted the report,” the source said, adding that there was pressure on officers to not appear before the committee and “some higher ups” did not want the truth to come out.

“Why is AK Singh running away from accountability?” questioned the Delhi govt source, adding who has asked him (Singh) not to disclose the facts.

In his communication to LG, the copies of which were also marked to CM Arvind Kejriwal (who is currently under judicial custody) and the members of the fact-finding committee, Singh said constituting another committee in the name of fact finding when the apex court was seized of the matter was not only improper but may also invite contempt of the court for interfering in the judicial process. He further claimed that the committee was formed in violation of the relevant provisions of the Transaction of Business of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Roles (ToBR) 1993.

Singh observed in the communication that the formation of the committee was a “departure from the general practice and procedure” of Delhi govt as the principal secretary (environment and forest) was being asked to report to urban development minister whereas there were no orders by the chief minister to that effect. He added that the environment and forest minister was not even a member of the committee.

“The committee is nothing but a ‘Group of Ministers’ which has not been constituted by the Cabinet (Council of Ministers)...... The said factfinding committee has been constituted under the signatures of Saurabh Bharadwaj, UD minister, without any due authority or sanction from the Council of Ministers,” Singh noted in his communication.

WCD begins process to take over mgmt of women helpline 181

OFFICIALS SAY The transition, expected to be completed within two days, includes comprehensive arrangements to ensure seamless service. In the interim, calls for assistance can be made to 112

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Following a directive from the Centre, Delhi govt’s department of women and child welfare has started the process to take over the management of the women helpline 181 from the Delhi Commission for Women, minister Kailash Gahlot said on Monday.

According to officials, the transition is expected to take two days and the helpline may not function during that time. “The transition, expected to be completed within two days, includes comprehensive arrangements to ensure seamless service. In the interim, calls for assistance can be made to 112, with measures in place to inform the public about the change,” govt said in a statement.

The 24x7 helpline was started in 2012 for the women in distress after the Nirbhaya gangrape case. Its functioning, however, had been taken over by DCW in 2015 and remained under it till June 30. Officials said the helpline receives nearly 40,000 calls each month. It is a toll-free, 24-hour telecom service providing support to women seeking assistance.

Gahlot said the current service provider had been asked to run a statement during this buffer period on the- ir interactive voice recording system that people may call police’s 112 helpline for any assistance during the transition period. “We are committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of women in Delhi. We aim to provide a more integrated and efficient response to the needs of women in distress. Our department has made all necessary arrangements to handle calls effectively and provide timely assistance. I am confident that the women’s helpline number 181 will be operational again within a few days,” the minister stated.

Delhi govt, in a statement, said the Centre sent a directive to the chief secretary on May 4 that the women helpline 181 be managed by the department of women and child development.

Mohalla bus service could be rolled in a mth: Gahlot

New Delhi: Delhi govt's ambitious Mohalla bus service is expected to be rolled out within a month with transport minister Kailash Gahlot forming a committee to inspect approved prototype of the bus.

The scheme aims to deploy nine-metre-long electric buses to provide neighbourhood or feeder bus services. The AAP govt plans to introduce 2,180 such buses by 2025, catering specifically to areas which have limited road width or which witness overcrowding.

The prototype of the bus has already been approved, officials said.

“The inspection of the bus is already going on at Manesar in accordance with the Central Motor Vehicles Rules (CMVR). The minister has also formed a committee to inspect the bus in terms of the specifications required by the department.

"This will take a fortnight. We hope to complete this process by July 7. Following these clearances, the buses will be put on the roads for trial for a week,” said a senior official privy to the development.

The committee formed by the minister comprises officials from DIMTS, DTC and the transport department.

After the trial is completed, orders will be placed with the concerned company.

“It depends on the production of these buses by the company. As soon as we receive the first lot, we plan to roll out the scheme,” he added.

In March, Gahlot had inspected a prototype of a nine metre Mohalla bus at the Rajghat bus depot and travelled on it to attend the assembly budget session. He had said these Mohalla buses have seats for 23 passengers and are designed for shorter routes within Delhi, serving as a vital mode of first and last-mile connectivity for commuters.

According to the officials, 25 per cent of the seats in the buses will be pink, reserved exclusively for women who will also get free rides through 'Pink passes'.

PTI

Man shot by group after spat in Fbd

Gurgaon:A 32-year-old property dealer was allegedly shot dead by a group of assailants after an argument in Dabua on Sunday night. Preliminary investigation revealed that a monetary dispute may have been the reason behind the argument, police said.

The victim was identified as Kunal Bhadana, a Faridabad-based property dealer who was at Masjid Chowk in Dabua with his friends when, around 11.15pm on Sunday night, he was approached and shot dead by a group of four men.

Bhadana had gotten into some disputes with the accused over money related to his business, which could have led to the incident, police said.

TNN

CUET results delay: DU assures students worried over impact on academic year

Members of various students’ organisations during a protest against NEET Exam and NTA paper leak at Jantar Mantar

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: With the Common University Entrance Test (CUET UG) results likely to be delayed this year following the NEET row, there are concerns among students looking for admission to Delhi University (DU) over the impact this could have on their academic year.

However, urging students not to panic, DU officials have claimed the university will try to minimise the time usually taken for the admission process to be completed and maintain the academic schedule.

The CUET UG results were supposed to be announced on June 30. However, so far, there is no official information on when they would be out. The CUET UG provisional answer key, a crucial step in the result declaration process, is also yet to be released by the National Testing Agency. As per sources in NTA, it could take another 10 days for the results to be declared.

Scores of students are wary that the delay might affect the admission cycle at DU. However, assuring them, DU’s Dean of Admissions, Haneet Gandhi, said, “There will not be any delay. DU will take all measures to meet the students’ academic pursuits. Last year, the academic year started around mid-August, and this year too, it will likely begin at the same time.”

While acknowledging that the admission process for DU can start only once the CUET results are declared, she said the university “will try to balance and avoid the delay”.

“As soon as the results are announced, usually we give a little more time for students to pick their preferences. This year, after the CUET results are declared, we may not give students that long and reduce that time by a few days. Then, we will release the cumulative list,” she said.

Gandhi added, “Students aiming to get into DU should utilise this time to work on their preference sheet. Check the websites of the colleges, their rankings and the courses they are offering. There are 1,534 academic programmes, so students should take this time to make informed decisions.”

Driver held for hit-and-run incident that left 2-year-old dead

Noida: A 27-year-old commercial vehicle driver was arrested here on Monday in connection with a hit-and-run case in which a two-year-old boy was killed, police said. The child was out on a street without direct parental supervision in the Noida Sector 24 police station area when the incident took place on June 29, according to officials. “The suspect, identified as Kalyan Singh, a native of Firozabad, was apprehended near the ISKCON temple while on his way to Delhi. The vehicle, a Tata Ace with registration number DL 1 LAB 5863, has also been recovered,” a police spokesperson said. The incident occurred on June 29, and it was reported to the Sector-24 police station that the complainant’s two-year-old son had been fatally injured by an unknown driver of a Tata Ace vehicle. “The driver, who was speeding and driving recklessly, hit the child, who was on his way to a shop. The child was later taken to a hospital and then referred to a higher centre, but he succumbed to the injuries,” an official said. A local police official told PTI that the child's parents are daily wage earners, and the two-year-old boy was going towards a shop on his own. An FIR was lodged in the case under sections 279 (rash driving) and 304A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the police said. “Following the report, a police team was formed to investigate the case. The team reviewed all nearby CCTV footage, identified the vehicle involved in the incident, and the driver was nabbed,” the official said. PTI

False Charges Undermine Trust: Court

Rejects Probation Request, Says Imposing ‘Just & Humane Punishment’ Taking Age Into Account

Continued from P1

The offence entails a maximum punishment of simple imprisonment of up to two years or fine or both.

The sentence will remain suspended for 30 days to give Patkar enough opportunity to file an appeal, said the court. It had on May 24 convicted the activist in the case filed in 2000 by Saxena when he was president of National Council of Civil Liberties because of a defamatory press release.

“The unfounded accusations, such as involvement in hawala transactions and compromising the interests of Gujarat's people for foreign entities, were designed to ruin the complainant's public image and credibility. The complainant experienced profound damage to his reputation, trustworthiness and social standing. These defamatory remarks led to severe personal and professional hardships, forcing the complainant to suffer through the anguish of a drawn-out legal battle for over 20 years,” said the court.

Advocates Gajinder Kumar and Kiran Jai, Saxena’s counsels, requested the court that the fine amount be given to Delhi State Legal Services Authority. Responding to this, the court said that the complainant could dispense the amount as per his own wish after receiving it.

Taking note of Patkar’s distinguished status, which got her 28 national and five international awards, includ- ing Right to Livelihood Award (alternative Nobel), the court remarked that this makes her actions “even more reprehensible” and that her respectable position in society brings with it a responsibility to uphold the truth and act with integrity.

“The fact that someone of her stature made such false and damaging allegations aggravates her liability as it undermines public trust and sets anegative example,” the court noted. However, referring to her age as well as medical condition, the court said a balanced approach was required and it wished to impose a “just and humane” punishment.

Rejecting the request of Patkar’s counsels for probation, the court said her actions exhibit a “high degree of severity and intentionality”, clearly aimed at inflicting significant reputational harm on Saxena and there is no indica- tion of remorse or acceptance of responsibility for the damage inflicted on him.

The court said that by accusing Saxena of involvement in hawala transactions, Patkar had linked him to illegal financial activities without any evidence and seriously undermined his financial integrity and public trust.

Furthermore, the accusation that he was "mortgaging the people of Gujarat and their resources to foreign interests" suggested that he was betraying the trust of the citizens of Gujarat for personal gain, which is a grave imputation that irreparably damaged his reputation and standing, the court said. Labelling the complainant a "coward" and "not a patriot" further intensified the defamatory nature of the accusations, the court said.

We have not tried to defame anyone, will challenge the court’s order: Patkar

Barwani: Reacting to her five-month jail term by a Delhi court, Narmada Bachao Andolan activist Medha Patkar told TOI over phone: “We have not tried to defame anyone, we only do our work. We will challenge the court’s order. The court has suspended the sentence till Aug 1 to allow for an appeal. There are many advocates who are ready to work pro bono.” “Our defamation case filed against VK Saxena is pending,” she said. “We are working for labourers, farmers, poor, tribal, Dalits and the exploited. Truth can never be defeated. We don’t want destruction or inequality in the name of development,” she added.

TNN

Excise policy: No bail relief for Kavitha in two cases

TIMESNEWSNETWORK

New Delhi: Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed BRS functionary K Kavitha’s bail petitions in two cases of “corruption and money laundering” linked to the alleged excise policy scam, observing that there was enough prima facie evidence against her.

Declining relief in the case lodged by the Central Bureau of Investigation, Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said, “K Kavitha was prima facie one of the main conspirators in the criminal conspiracy hatched in relation to formulation and implementation of Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22.”

The court reached a similar conclusion in the case lodged by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against her, saying that the material collected by the investigating agency showed she was “prima facie involved in payment of kickbacks, establishing M/s Indo Spirit for recoupment of kickbacks, and in various other processes and activities relating to proceeds of crime, and thus, in commission of offence of money laundering as defined under Section 3 of PMLA.”

The court specified that its findings were only for the purpose of deciding her bail under PMLA. It also pointed out that the case of Kavitha cannot be equated to a vulnerable woman who may have been misused to commit an offence as she is a well-educated and accomplished woman, who has remained MP, MLC, etc.

Kavitha had challenged the trial court’s May 6 order by which her bail applications in the CBI’s “corruption” case as well as the ED’s “money-laundering” case were dismissed. Her lawyers had submitted that of the 50 accused in the excise policy case, she was the lone woman and urged the court to consider granting her bail as law keeps women on a different pedestal.

However, CBI and ED opposed Kavitha’s bail pleas, saying that she was powerful enough to influence witnesses. She is in judicial custody in the two cases.

In her bail plea, Kavitha maintained she had “nothing to do” with the excise policy and there was a criminal conspiracy against her “orchestrated by the ruling party at the Centre with the active connivance of ED.”

Delhi couple feared drowned in Rishikesh

Dehradun : A couple from Delhi were feared to have drowned in Ganga at Muni Ki Reti near Rishikesh on Monday, police said. State Disaster Response Force divers have launched a search operation in the river but the couple has not been found yet, cops said. According to police, the couple went to Neem Beach around 1pm to bathe in the Ganga. They disappeared in the waves after going little deep in the river, police said quoting eyewitnesses. The man has been identified as Lovepreet (26), a resident of Sudarshan Park in west Delhi, and the woman as Neha Thakur (22) from Karol Bagh, they said.

PTI

HC to hear Kejriwal’s plea against arrest by CBI today

TIMESNEWSNETWORK

New Delhi: Delhi High Court will take up on Tuesday chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea challenging his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in a “corruption” case related to the alleged excise policy scam.

The plea, which was filed on Monday, has been listed for hearing before Justice Neena Bansal Krishna.

In the plea, the Aam Aadmi Party national convenor also challenged a June 26 order of the trial court by which he was remanded in the CBI custody for three days.

Kejriwal was arrested by CBI on June 26 from Tihar Jail, where he was in judicial custody till July 3 in a related “money-laundering case” filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

CBI had claimed before the trial co- urt that the AAP chief did not cooperate with the investigation and deliberately gave evasive replies. The federal agency had also expressed apprehension that he might influence witnesses.

While sending Kejriwal to the CBI’s custody for three days on June 26, the trial court had refused to declare his arrest illegal, as sought by the defence counsel, saying that “the timing may be circumspect, but it is not the clear criterion for declaring an arrest illegal”. The trial court had said that while investigation was the prerogative of the probe agency, there were certain safeguards provided in law and the agency should not be “overzealous.”

The CM was arrested by ED on March 21 and was granted bail by the trial court in the “money-laundering” case on June 20. However, the trial court’s order was stayed by the high court.

AAP tells MLAs to initiate green campaign

New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has directed its MLAs to initiate a comprehensive green coverage campaign in the city to prevent the recurrence of extreme heat experienced this summer. The MLAs have been asked to co-ordinate with market associations and residents welfare associations to identify suitable locations for plantation within their respective constituencies, party functionaries said.

Launching the ‘52°C never again’ drive in his constituency Greater Kailash, minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said, “We have launched our tree plantation campaign across the GK constituency. Soon we will do plantation in other localities. Everyone is welcome to join. Complimentary herbs will also be given to participants.”

Other MLAs are expected to undertake a similar exercise in their own constituencies, working closely with local stakeholders to enhance the green cover in the city and mitigate the effects of rising temperatures.

Amid extreme heatwaves in Delhi-NCR in June, a weather station at Mungeshpur had reported the maximum at 52.9 degrees Celsius, dubbed as the highest temperature officially recorded in India. Although Met officials had later clarified that the reading could be “due to an error in the sensor or local factors”, June did break several records of extreme heat in the city, with its power demand reaching an all-time high.

To ensure relief, Delhi govt has also aimed to plant and distribute 64 lakh saplings throughout the city this year, a significant increase from the previous year’s target of 52 lakh. Environment minister Gopal Rai had said the plantation target would include 2.5 million trees and 3.2 million shrubs. Additionally, govt plans to distribute 0.8 million saplings, including both trees and shrubs, to the residents of Delhi at no cost.

Senior AAP functionaries said the public could also obtain medicinal plants from govt nurseries across the national capital for free.

TNN

‘No reason to hear afresh plea for more meetings’

TIMESNEWSNETWORK

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Monday rejected chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s application seeking directions to the prison authorities for granting two additional meetings with his lawyers through videoconferencing (VC).

Citing an order dated April 10, 2024 by the same court, special judge Kaveri Baweja said a plea for the same relief by Kejriwal was dismissed earlier and there were no fresh reason to take a view different from that order.

CM, in custody in the alleged Delhi excise policy case, said he was facing around 30 litigations across the country and, on the grounds of the right to fair trial, required two additional meeting with his lawyers thro- ugh VC for discussing them. The court, however, said, “The counsel for the applicant has failed to convince the court as to how the applicant is entitled to two additional legal meetings through VC on the same grounds which have been discussed and dealt with in the earlier order.”

Kejriwal’s counsel was asked to withdraw the application and move a fresh application with additional or fresh grounds, if any, which the advocate refused, the court said. “Thus, having considered the submissions made and the observations already made vide order dated April 10, 2024, I see no reason whatsoever to allow the application under consideration,” the judge said, dismissing the plea.

Kejriwal was recently sent to judicial custody till July 12 after his three-day CBI custody got over.

Maliwal case: HC seeks cops’ stand on Bibhav’s petition against arrest

TIMESNEWSNETWORK

New Delhi: Delhi High Court on Monday sought the stand of police on a plea by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s close aide, Bibhav Kumar, challenging his arrest in connection with the alleged assault on AAP Rajya Sabha member Swati Maliwal at CM’s residence.

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma held that Kumar’s plea was “maintainable” and issued the notice. Kumar, currently in judicial custody, allegedly assaulted Maliwal on May 13 and was arrested on May 18.

An FIR was was registered against Kumar on May 16 under various Indian Penal Code provisions, including criminal intimidation, assault or criminal force on a woman with the intent to disrobe, and attempt to commit culpable homicide.

Delhi Police had claimed that the plea was not maintainable. Kumar has sought a direction to declare his arrest as illegal and in gross violation of Section 41A (notice of appea- rance before police officer) of Code of Criminal Procedure and against the mandate of the law. He has claimed that he was arrested with an “oblique motive” while his anticipatory bail plea was pending in the trial court, in violation of his fundamental rights as well as the law.

In the petition, Kumar has also sought “appropriate compensation” for his “illegal” arrest and initiation of departmental action against the erring officials involved in the decision-making of his arrest.

The trial court had, on June 7, refused to grant bail to Kumar, saying he was facing “grave and serious” charges and that there was an apprehension that he could influence the witnesses.

Kumar’s first bail plea was dismissed on May 27 by another sessions court, which had said there appeared to be no “pre-meditation” on Maliwal’s part in getting the FIR lodged and that her allegations could not be ignored.

Flock Watch Breeds Joy For Birders

145 Distinct Species Of Birds In & Around City Identified

Among the most notable sightings were paradise flycatchers, the Jacobin cuckoo and the Indian pitta

Kushagra.Dixit@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: A summer bird census conducted recently yielded impressive results with bird watchers identifying 145 distinct bird species within the city and adjacent areas. The single-day survey involved collaborative action undertaken by several teams of dedicated birders, whose sighting confirmed a rich tapestry of bird life comprising both resident species and summer migrants. Delhi and neighbouring regions are host to summer avian visitors from south India, Sri Lanka, Africa and Europe who arrive to breed here. Among the most notable sightings were paradise flycatchers, the Jacobin cuckoo and the Indian pitta.

“Over 70 birders formed nine teams and went to different areas of the city to record the impressive species diversity. They spotted 145 species of resident and sum- mer breeding visitors. “A number of these species breed in Aravali Mangar, Bhondsi, Chandu, Najafgarh, Okhla and other parts of the Yamuna floodplain,” said birder Kanwar B Singh, who organised the birding expedition.

According to eminent birder major general Arvind Yadav, while there was no abnormality observed during the event, the gradual change in the landscape every year has many ecologists worried. Yadav said, “There was no abnormality in terms of sightings. We did not spot anything very rare and it was overall a decent census. However, what I must draw attention to is the changing landscape. For instance, plotting for residential areas is taking place near key bird habitats like Sultanpur and places in the Aravali range. At Sakarpur village near Gurgaon, where there use to be a leopard trail, there is now a highway adventure sports like paramotoring in the waterbody there. This will lead to habitat loss and disturbance for the birds.”

Yadav pointed out that at this time of the year, more than 15 species of summer migrants visit the region, including the Indian pitta, flycatchers, cuckoos, Eurasian golden oriole, rosy starling and bitterns.

9-year-old girl strangled, body burned; minor neighbour held

POLICE SAY Preliminary investigations suggest the accused attempted to steal some jewellery, during during which the incident occurred

Ankita.Anand@timesgroup.com

Gurgaon: A 16-year-old boy allegedly strangled to death a nine-year-old girl, his neighbour in a housing society, on Monday morning when she walked in on him trying to steal from the flat. He set her body on fire by lighting pieces of camphor and cloth he found lying around after he killed her, apparently to destroy evidence.

The boy, who was apprehended under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) — the first case to be registered in the city under the new law that has replaced the Indian Penal Code — had allegedly gone to the neighbour's house to steal jewellery when her mother and brother were visiting his flat. The two families live in adjacent towers of the Sector 107 society, which was built under the affordable housing scheme.

The case was registered at Rajendra Park police station.

The boy told investigators he entered the neighbour’s flat thinking everyone was away and panicked when the girl suddenly walked out of the washroom.

Police said the girl’s father, a machine operator at a factory, was away at work, so she was alone. She was taking a bath and had probably come out to check when she heard noises as the boy made his way in. The door was apparently latched but not locked, since the family had only gone out to the next tower and was expecting to return soon.

The boy claimed he strangled her with a dupatta on a bed. When he realised she was not breathing, he grabbed pieces of camphor and a matchbox from the 'pooja ghar' and threw the burning pieces on her, thinking it would erase his fingerprints and destroy other evidence. The murder was committed around 10am.

Investigators said they were still inquiring into what prompted him to go to the house to steal.

“We received a call around 10.45am that a minor girl was killed on Monday by a minor boy who resides in her neighbourhood. We have apprehended the minor. The matter is under investigation,” said DCP (west) Karan Goyal “Preliminary investi- gations suggest the accused attempted to steal some jewellery, during which the incident occurred. We are conducting a thorough interrogation to ascertain further details. This is the first case lodged under BNS in the city," said the police spokesperson Sandeep Kumar.

In her police complaint, the girl’s mother said on returning home she found the iron gate of their flat locked but the wooden door open. “I saw my neighbour’s son standing inside the flat and detected a burning smell. I immediately called my neighbours and the fire department. They entered the flat through the puja room. Inside the bedroom, we found my daughter’s partially burnt body,” she said.

Police have sent the body for autopsy, while a forensic team and dog squad collected evidence from the flat, including fluids.

The boy was booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 103 (1) (murder), 238 (a) (causing disappearance of evidence punishable with death or giving false information to screen offender), 305 (theft in a dwelling house, or means of transportation or place of worship, etc), 62 (attempt to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life or other imprisonments).

Atishi tells edu secy to withdraw order issued on mandatory transfer of teachers

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Delhi’s education minister Atishi has ordered the secretary (education) to immediately withdraw the recent mandatory transfer orders for teachers serving in the same schools for more than 10 years.

This comes after the Directorate of Education mandated transfers for teachers who have been at the same school for over a decade. The minister’s intervention ensures that these experienced educators remain in their current positions, countering the directive that threatened reassignment for those not voluntarily applying for a transfer.

The circular had left many teachers unhappy. In this regard, a delegation of teachers met the minister on Monday and handed over a memorandum to her.

Atishi said that a unique relationship exists between a teacher and their student which is built on years of trust. In such a situation, only a narrow administrative aspect cannot be the reason for the transfer of teachers from one school to another. Notably, the National Education Policy, 2020 also talks about improving the relationship between teachers and students and stopping the harmful practice of excessive transfer for a better educational environment.

The minister said education has been the top priority of Delhi govt under the leadership of CM Arvind Kejriwal. “In the last few years, we have worked tirelessly to strengthen the education system of Delhi. Teachers are the most important part of any school system and Delhi govt’s effort is to constantly work to increase the capacity and confidence of teachers and not do anything that hurts their dignity. In such a situation, such a decision, where under an administrative order, all the teachers who have completed 10 years in a school have been transferred in one go, should be withdrawn immediately,” she added.

Atishi issued instructions to the secretary (education) in this regard and said that this decision should be withdrawn immediately and no teacher should be transferred just because they have been working in a particular school for more than 10 years. She also sought an action taken report within the next seven days.

Delhi-Ggn traffic to be hit for 3-4 days

New Delhi: Delhi Traffic Police have issued a traffic advisory for 3-4 days on NH-48 in the carriageway from Gurgaon towards Delhi given the ongoing work being carried out by the NHAI.

The NHAI began work on topping the 121-km stretch of NH 48 between Dahisar and Achhad near the Gujarat border more than six months ago, in Dec 2023, by closing off one lane on either arm of the highway. Earlier, traffic movement was restricted at Okhla underpass due to waterlogging, the Delhi Traffic Police announced on June 30.

On June 29, a 60-year-old man drowned in the waters at Okhla underpass, which was submerged following heavy rain on Friday in the national capital. Heavy rains lashed parts of Delhi-NCR on Friday and Saturday, causing waterlogging, traffic jams, prompting the govt to take measures to tackle the situation.

ANI

DJB production rises, but water problems persist

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: The water production of Delhi Jal Board increased to 974 million gallons per day (MGD) on Monday from 938MGD on Sunday, the latest DJB bulletin stated. However, it still remains far below the city’s average demand of 1,290MGD.

After facing problems for over a month, the Wazirabad water treatment plant (WTP) produced 133MGD water on Monday, a little more than its capacity of 131MGD . It was producing less as the raw water supply got reduced, which, Delhi govt had claimed, was due to the alleged deliberate stopping of supply by the neighbouring Haryana.

According to Monday’s bulletin, the reduced raw water supply does not seem to be a problem any more, but DJB is facing other issues.

The Chandrawal WTP, which is supposed to produce 94MGD, is currently producing 80MGD due to a fault in its pump caused by Friday’s torrential rain, the bulletin stated. Similarly, the Okhla WTP is producing around 5MGD less than its capacity because of an underground reservoir problem. The Wazirabad plant is also battling maintenance problems.

In June, when the temperatures were rising, water supply was deeply affected across the city as the production at all DJB plants reduced considerably — dipping even to the season’s lowest of around 888MGD — prompting water minister Atishi to order a crackdown on its misuse.

Teams were deployed to enforce a fine of Rs 2,000 on anyone caught wasting water, including using pipes to wash cars, allowing water tanks to overflow, and utilising domestic water supply for construction. They were also authorised to disconnect any illegal water connection in construction sites or commercial establishments.

Heavy showers likely over four days in Gurgaon

Ipsita.Pati@timesgroup.com

Gurgaon: Residents in the city continued to experience a humid weather on Monday with the relative humidity at 70%, accompanied by partly cloudy sky. The IMD has issued a yellow alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall over the next four days.

The combination of high humidity, partly cloudy sky and intermittent sunshine in some parts of the city is expected to create a muggy and uncomfortable atmosphere. The maximum temperature in the city on Monday was 36.3 degrees Celsius, which was 1.7 notches below Sunday’s 38 degrees. The minimum temperature was recorded at 28 degrees Celsius.

“There is a yellow alert for four days in the region. We cannot specify the areas which will witness rain. In south Haryana, Mahendragarh and Rewari have been witnessing heavy to very heavy rain since the last two days. We are alerting people about the upcoming weather conditions. ,” Shivender Singh, a scientist with IMD, said.

As monsoon begins, it is crucial for residents to stay informed about the latest weather advisories and take appropriate measures.

Another Humid Day As Rain Gives Delhi The Miss Again

Forecast For Showers Off The Mark, City Hopes For Relief Today

DELHI’S PROBLEMS CONTINUE TO MULTIPLY

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:The weather in the city remained humid and cloudy on Monday, even as the weather department expected heavy showers across the city.

The weather department had initially issued an orange alert for heavy rain on Monday but withdrew the forecast in the morning. But it reinstated the forecast in the evening, only to withdraw it again.

Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) announced plans to improve forecasts by adding three more Doppler weather radars in the region. Currently, there are three radars in the city.

The IMD’s forecast for Monday, similar to Sunday’s, failed as it predicted moderate to heavy rain, but the actual rainfall that day was nil. On Friday, June 28, an underestimated forecast by IMD caught the city by surprise with the arrival of the monsoon and a devastating deluge. The city recorded 228.1 mm of rainfall in a matter of hours.

Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director general of meteorology at IMD, told media on Monday that the highest hourly rainfall of 91 mm in an hour, between 5 am and 6 am, was “challenging to predict” and that the rainfall received on Friday was “almost a cloudburst”.

To qualify as a cloudburst, at least 100 mm of rainfall per hour is required. Mohapatra mentioned plans to improve local forecasts by installing three more radars.

“The extremely heavy rainfall was confined to a very small part of the city, though heavy rainfall occurred at many places. None of the areas of the city on June 28 recorded an hourly rainfall of more than 100 mm. It was thus a near cloudburst but not a cloudburst by definition. The recorded hourly rainfall was maximum at 91 mm between 5 am and 6 am on June 28 over Safdarjung,” Mohapatra said.

According to IMD, which shared hourly rainfall data for Delhi University and Lodhi Road, the highest hourly rainfall measured on June 28 was 91 mm between 5 am and 6 am at DU, while on Lodhi Road, 89 mm of rainfall was recorded at the same time. IMD further noted that the maximum rainfall in 24 hours for Delhi in June was 235.5 mm on June 24, 1936.

On June 28, there was a rainfall of 228.1 mm, the second highest recorded for June and the third highest overall for the June to August period.

Meanwhile, the city recorded a maximum temperature of 36 degrees Celsius on Monday, which was a degree below normal compared to 37.1 degrees Celsius a day earlier. The minimum temperature on Monday was 28.4 degrees Celsius, a degree above normal, compared to 27 degrees Celsius on Sunday. Humidity levels ranged from 59% to 82%.

Maximum and minimum temperatures on Tuesday are likely to hover around 33 and 27 degrees Celsius, respectively.

IMD expects moderate to heavy rain on Tuesday and Wednesday, accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds reaching 30-40 kmph.

Dhankher takes charge as DMRC director

New Delhi: Rajiv Dhankher has assumed charge as the new director (projects & planning) of DMRC. Prior to taking up this role in DMRC, he was DRM in the Ajmer Division of Indian Railways.

During his tenure, the Udaipur-Himmat Nagar railway section was commissioned. He has also worked as a chief project manager in NCRTC for the Sahibabad-Ghaziabad-Duhai priority section. Dhankher was also involved in the commissioning of the JammuUdhampur Rail Link Project.

TNN

All trains running on Magenta Line now unmanned

DMRC has removed driver cabins from all 29 trains

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: All 29 trains on Magenta Line have now become completely unmanned. While Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has removed the drivers’ cabins, an attendant is present after a gap of three-four trains, but they will be removed in a phased manner.

TOI had reported in June that the trains on Magenta Line would become fully automated. “Magenta Line is now completely driverless. We have removed the driver’s cabins from 29 trains, creating more space for passengers. We will remove attendants in phases,” said a DMRC official. After Magenta Line, the same step will be taken on Pink Line.

Delhi Metro’s fully automated network is currently about 97km long and available on Magenta and Pink lines. It is the only driverless train operation network in India. In the upcoming corridors under DMRC’s Phase-IV expansion, too, the train operations will be driverless.

The driverless train operation facility was launched on the Janakpuri West-Botanical Garden Magenta Line in Dec 2020 and was introduced on the Majlis Park-Shiv Vihar Pink Line in Nov 2021. But till now, a train operator used to be present to instil a sense of confidence and assistance.

“We will try to implement this soon in Phase IV with the experience received on these two lines. For driverless operations in Phase IV, we have taken some measures like a track monitoring system with cameras installed on the tracks,” DMRC managing director Vikas Kumar earlier told TOI.

A DMRC official had earlier said, “Driverless trains bring more flexibility in the operations, and reduce human interventions and human errors. The system also helps in improving the availability of coaches for operations. The driverless trains eliminate the manual process of checking done before induction, subsequently reducing burden on train operators. The parking on the stabling line in depots is also done automatically.”

DMRC will procure 312 coaches — 52 trains — for driverless operations for Phase IV’s priority corridors. “DMRC has already started reaping benefits of driverless operations on its two lines in terms of increased availability of coaches on service. The reliability of the trains has increased manifold due to exhaustive self-tests done before induction in service every day, eliminating all possibilities of human error,” an official said earlier.

Four killed after car rams canter-truck on KMP e-way

Ankita.Anand@timesgroup.com

Gurgaon: Four people died and two others suffered severe injuries as a Maruti Ertiga collided with a canter-truck on KMP Expressway in Farrukhnagar on Monday afternoon. The impact of the collision was so severe that the car was completely shattered.

According to witnesses, both vehicles were travelling in the same direction when the accident occurred. The driver of the Ertiga was attempting to overtake the canter-truck at high speed, while the latter was trying to exit the expressway. The car driver, unfortunately, failed to react in time and crashed into the truck’s rear side. The truck driver is on the run.

After the collision, the car flipped several times before coming to a halt and breaking apart. Among the six family members, four -Brijesh Kaushik (52), his wife Sunita (48), his mother Kamla Devi (74), and his sister-in-law Kiran Kaushik (46) – lost their lives on the spot, while two others are in critical condition, police said. The family from Rajasthan’s Sikar was on their way back from Garh Ganga after attending the last rites of a relative. They were being followed by other family members in another vehicle.

Bystanders quickly rushed to their aid, contacted the police and hailed ambulances. Cops arrived at the spot and immediately transported the passengers to hospital.

“A preliminary investigation has revealed that the car driver was trying to overtake the canter when it rammed into it and overturned. The injured are undergoing treatment at the govt hospital in Sector 10,” said police spokesperson Sandeep Kumar.

A case was lodged against the truck driver after a complaint was filed by relatives of the accident victims.

Find solutions to curb spilling of drain: Atishi

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Public Works Department (PWD) minister Atishi, mayor Shelly Oberoi and senior officials jointly inspected a large part of drain number 12 in central Delhi on Monday. This drain is crucial for carrying rainwater from central Delhi to Yamuna.

During the inspection, Atishi instructed officials to find short-term solutions to prevent this drain from overflowing again this rainy season.

According to Delhi govt, the “unexpected rainfall” on June 28 this year caused this drain to overflow, leading to waterlogging around ITO Chowk. This drain was also the cause of flooding in ITO last year. A regulator in this drain broke last year, causing rainwater to backflow onto the Ring Road, Supreme Court and adjoining areas.

The minister also directed officials to find a permanent solution to prevent the drain from overflowing.

Mayor Oberoi stated that ITO Chowk and the roads around it are among the most important routes in Delhi. “To prevent waterlogging here, we will work together with the departments of the Delhi govt and take every necessary step,” said Oberoi.

According to the mayor, Atishi has asked officials to immediately remove encroachments on the banks of the drain, which will ensure that cleaning and maintenance work can be done without any hindrance.

Atishi has also directed officials to increase the flow of water by installing temporary water pumps to effectively manage drainage, said the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.

3 murdered in separate cases, 2 minors among those nabbed

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Three people were murdered in separate areas in Delhi on Sunday.

A 32-year-old man was killed in Jagatpuri. Police said they received many PCR calls about the incident. Cops reached the spot, which was near a railway container. The man, who had sustained severe injuries, including sharp-edged wounds to his back and hand, was rushed to GTB Hospital but was declared brought dead.

DCP (Shahdara) Surendra Choudhary said they identified the suspects with the help of CCTV footage. Multiple raids were conducted, and three suspects, including two juveniles, were apprehended.

The altercation began over an incident where the man allegedly threw a glass bottle on the floor, causing a piece of glass to hit one of the suspects. This led to a fight during which one of the juveniles stabbed the man with a knife, resulting in his death.

In another incident, a man was stabbed to death in Shahbad Dairy. His brother-in-law took him to BSA Hospital, but he was declared dead upon arrival. He had sustained severe stab wounds to his waist and thigh.

Another murder took place in northwest Delhi’s Shalimar Bagh. Following a dispute over a trivial matter, two brothers, Priyansh and Harsh, along with their father Lokesh Gupta, allegedly stabbed Vikram alias Rinku, a young man, in the neck with a sharp weapon.

Anxiety May Double Risk Of Parkinson’s

Those Over 50 With Depression Are More Vulnerable To Disease

Anuja.Jaiswal@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: People aged 50 years and above who experience anxiety should not ignore it as they may face twice the risk of developing Parkinson's disease compared to those in the same age group who are calm and content, reveals a recent study published in the British Journal of General Practice.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative condition worldwide. It is estimated that it will affect 14.2 million people by 2040, mostly due to an increase in life expectancy.

In people with anxiety, the study confirmed that depression, sleep disturbance, fatigue, cognitive impairment, hypotension, tremor, rigidity, balance impairment, and constipation are risk factors for PD.

Neurologists in Delhi emphasise that this finding can assist them in the early diagnosis and treatment of Parkinson’s disease.

Nevertheless, it is crucial to recognise that anxiety, although a potential early symptom, is only one aspect of the multifaceted nature of Parkinson's disease. While this study sheds light on the connection between anxiety and Parkinson's, further research is necessary to fully comprehend the complexities of this neurodegenerative disorder.

Dr Jaideep Bansal, senior director and head of neurology at Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh, said, “This study prompts healthcare professionals to give more consideration to anxiety symptoms in elderly patients and incorporate them into a comprehensive diagnostic process.”

“By recognising and addressing anxiety in a timely manner,” Dr Bansal suggests, “we can enhance the overall well-being of people at risk.”

Research shows that anxiety can appear prior to motor symptoms and that individuals with PD generally experience higher levels of anxiety.

“One theory suggests that PD may influence the brain’s fear circuitry and may be linked to cognitive changes that happen before other symptoms become apparent,” said Dr (Col) Joy Dev Mukherji, vice chairman & head of neurology, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket.

Dr PN Renjen, senior neurology consultant at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, stated that chronic anxiety can lead to elevated levels of stress hormones, particularly cortisol. The increase in cortisol can damage dopamine producing neurons in the brain, which is a distinctive feature of Parkinson’s disease.

“This damage can disrupt the normal functioning of the brain's motor control systems, leading to the characteristic symptoms of Parkinson's, such as tremors, rigidity, and bradykinesia,” he said.

Furthermore, anxiety can trigger inflammation, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction within the brain. These processes collectively contribute to the neurodegenerative progression observed in Parkinson's disease.

“Some people may experience persistent and unexplained feelings of worry and unease, indicative of a generalised anxiety disorder. Others might encounter sudden episodes of intense fear accompanied by physical symptoms such as a rapid heartbeat and sweating, which are characteristic of panic attacks. Additionally, social situations may trigger heightened self-consciousness and discomfort, leading to social anxiety. These manifestations of anxiety in PD often arise without a clear external cause and tend to persist over an extended period,” said Dr Biplab Das, director and senior consultant, neurology, Narayana Hospital, Gurgaon.

Anxiety is a common experience that everyone faces, but when it becomes persistent, uncontrollable, and reaches a pathological level, it can be a predisposing factor for certain conditions, said Prof Manjari Tripathi, head of neurology department of AIIMS. She added that it is important to note that “not all anxious patients will have Parkinson's disease”.

Fortunately, anxiety can be managed through both pharmacological and nonpharmacological approaches. “Adjusting one's lifestyle, exercise, yoga, seeking therapy, and taking prescribed medication may help lower the chances of developing PD.

Gang forged papers to get bail, busted

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Noida: Five members of a gang were arrested on Monday for allegedly forging ID documents to get bail at Surajpur district court. Three more members are now on the run.

According to the DCP of central Noida, Suniti, the suspects have been identified as Varun Sharma (29), Birbal (47), Naresh Chandra (48), residents of Bulandshahr, and Ajaz (25) and Ismail (50), residents of Dadri.

“The gang used to pose as guarantors for jailed prisoners, and the Aadhar card address mentioned by the guarantors at the time of the paperwork in court used to be fake,” she said.

Police said as of now, three cases have come to the fore in which the suspects released prisoners on bail with the help of fake documents. Nine fake Aadhar cards, 16 fake bail affidavits, 25 fake stamps, and multiple documents used at the time of bail were recovered from their possession. The DCP said the suspects have been operating the gang for the past two years.

“Investigations are underway to check their crime records and the number of people they released using fake documents,” said Surajpur SHO Manoj Kumar Singh. A case was lodged against them at Surajpur police station on Monday.

Times Global

- Trump substantially shielded from prosecution, rules US SC

- Prachanda govt in trouble? Ally Oli holds talk with rival

- Ukraine says foiled another Russian plot to topple govt

- ‘Aus move could drive pupils to UK, which charges $900’

- Chinese rocket accidentally launches during test, crashes

- Rival Parties Form Anti-Far Right Front

- Indian woman dies of a medical condition on Melbourne flight

- US said to seek Boeing guilty plea to avoid trial in 737 Max crashes

- AROUND THE WORLD

- Death for Christian man in Pak for sharing hateful posts

- Pandemic’s babies and toddlers are now school-age, and behind

Trump substantially shielded from prosecution, rules US SC

Court Says For 1st Time Since America Founding That Ex-Presidents Have Immunity For Official Actions, But Not Private Acts; Subversion Trial Unlikely Before Nov Polls

People hold anti-Trump placards in front of the US Supreme Court Monday

Chidanand Rajghatta TNN

Washington: The US Supreme Court on Monday ruled that former prez Donald Trump is entitled to “absolute” immunity for clearly official acts, implicitly overturning the principle that no person is above the law and paving way for an imperial presidency in America. By a 6-3 majority, conservatives on the country’s top court’s bench, three of them appointed by Trump, said broad immunity for official conduct is needed to protect “an energetic, independent executive”.

The three liberal justices on the bench dissented, saying the decision was gravely misguided and it “effectively creates a law-free zone around the president, upsetting the status quo that has existed since the founding”. Although Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, argued that the president “enjoys no immunity for his unofficial acts, and not everything the president does is official... (and) the president is not above the law”, liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor in her dissent for the minority said the broad immunity “reshapes the institution of the presidency” and “makes a mockery of the principle” that no man is above the law.

The ruling sends back to lower courts the election interference case against Trump and will almost certainly help run the clock down to the 2024 polls. The ruling still leaves it to the trial court to determine what Trump did or instigated cons- titutes official or unofficial acts, but the process will most certainly take months, effectively letting the voters decide the matter. If Trump wins on Nov 5, he can simply quash the case when he assumes office, by either ordering the justice department to drop the charges against him, or pardon himself. If Biden wins, he too, should he choose to do so, ride into an imperial presidency, forever changing the nature of politics in the self-professed “greatest democracy in the world”.

The Supreme Court conservatives tried to finesse the ruling saying a former president has absolute immunity for his core constitutional powers — and is entitled to a presumption of immunity for his official acts, but lacks immunity for unofficial acts. “No court has thus far considered how to distinguish between official and unofficial acts,” the justices wrote, while cautioning Trump against asserting “a far broader immunity than the limited one we have recognised”.

Democrats raged at the ruling, with New York Senator Chuck Schumer calling it a “disgraceful decision by the MAGA SCOTUS — which is comprised of 3 justices appointed by Trump himself.”Biden’s campaign said in a statement that the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling on Monday “doesn’t change the facts” about the events of Jan. 6, 2021.

The ruling marked the first time since the United States’ 18th century founding that the Supreme Court has declared that former presidents may be shielded from criminal charges in any instance. Fundamentally, what the conservative justices ruled upheld Richard Nixon's claim in 1974 during the Watergate scandal: “When the president does it, that means that it is not illegal.” Nixon would not have had to resign under the current SC ruling even though he tried to cheat his way into a second term.

Anti-Trump influencers and meme accounts on social media darkly joked that Biden should pack the courts, imprison Trump or postpone the Nov polls, shielded by his newfound presidential immunity. Others made reference to “King Biden” or shared images depicting the president in a crown.

(Inputs from agencies)

Trump: Ruling a ‘big win for democracy’

Donald Trump hailed a “big win” for democracy after the US Supreme Court ruled that presidents have presumptive immunity for official acts — a decision set to delay his trial for conspiring to overturn his 2020 election loss. “Big win for our constitution and democracy. Proud to be an American!” Trump posted in all caps on his Truth Social platform, as the conservative-leaning high court delivered its 6-3 opinion.

AFP

Bannon begins jail term for contempt

Steve Bannon, an influential Trump ally, reported to prison on Monday to serve a fourmonth sentence after he was convicted for defying a congressional subpoena from the committee that probed the Jan. 6, 2021, US Capitol attack. A defiant Bannon arrived at a prison in Connecticut, and told reporters that he was a “political prisoner”. “Proud of going to prison. I have not only no regrets, I’m proud of what I did.”

REUTERS

Prachanda govt in trouble? Ally Oli holds talk with rival

Kathmandu: A high-level meeting between Nepal’s two largest parties — Nepali Congress and CPN-UML — has led to fresh speculation that days of PM P K Dahal ‘Prachanda’-led govt are numbered.

Nepali Congress prez Sher Bahadur Deuba went to the house of Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist’s chairman and ex-PM K P Sharma Oli, part of the governing coalition, on Saturday Although the details of the closed-door meeting have not been made public, there is speculation among some political circles that the two politicians might have discussed the formation of a new coalition govt to oust Prachanda. Oli, eying premiership once again, was unhappy with the recent budget allocations for fiscal year 2024-25, which he has publicly criticised.

However, sources close to Prachanda dismissed “rumours about change in the power equation”, saying CPN-Maoist Centre chairman Prachanda and CPN-UML chairman Oli are determined to continue the present coalition for the full term. Prachanda and Oli held two meetings Sunday and Mo- nday at the PM’s Office during which “the two discussed the latest political situation and ways to strengthen the present coalition govt,” claimed PM’s press adviser. The two agreed to bring in political parties like Nagarik Unmukti Party which voted in favour of the govt during the vote of confidence into the governing coalition, he added.

Prachanda has faced vote of confidence in parliament thrice in his one-and-a-half-ye- ar term. Gunaraj Luitel, chief editor of Nagarik Daily, noted that there will be political stabilityonly if the largest party in the parliament Nepali Congress and the second-largest CPNUML join hands. “It seems unnatural when the third largest party Maoist Centre is steering the govt and the largest party NC is sitting in the opposition,” he said. The Nepali Congress has 89 seats in the 275-member House of Representatives whereas CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist Centre have 78 and 32 seats respectively. Nepal has seen 13 govts in the last 16 years.

PTI

Ukraine says foiled another Russian plot to topple govt

Kyiv: Ukraine’s security service said Monday it had foiled yet another Russian plot to stir public unrest and then use the ensuing turmoil to topple the govt, outlining a familiar tactic that Kyiv claims has been employed in a string of coup attempts in recent years. The Ukrainian domestic intelligence agency SBU said it had discovered a “group” of conspirators it accused of planning to spark a riot, seize the parliament building and replace the military and civilian leadership. Four people have been arrested and charged. While offering little detail on how such an ambitious plan could have succeeded, officials said it was a reminder that more than two years after launching a full-scale invasion of the country, the Kremlin remained determined to bring down Prez Volodymyr Zelensky’s govt by any means.

NYT

‘Aus move could drive pupils to UK, which charges $900’

The rise in fees makes applying for a student visa for Australia far more expensive than in competing countries like the US and Canada, where they cost about $185 and C$150 ($110) respectively

Melbourne: Australia’s education minister Jason Clare said the country has more than doubled the cost of student visa fees for international students because education is an incredibly important national asset. “We need to ensure its integrity and quality,” he said.

The fee hike move has, however, triggered outrage from student groups. Yeganeh Soltanpour, the national president of the Council of International Students Australia, said the fee increase, combined with high deposit costs, places extra strain on international students. “The possibility of spending all that money only to face rejection is quite disheartening... It has caused many in the student community to explore other options,” she said.

Phil Honeywood, CEO of the International Education Association of Australia, told ABC News that the announcement was the “last straw” for the international education sector, which has already suffered from a slowdown in visa approvals. “We are really in danger of losing a $48 billion a year industry,” he said, adding that it will “heavily impact” on relationships with our Indo-Pacific neighbours who rely on Australia to deliver world-class qualifications to young people. He said this change could drive prospective students to the UK, Australia’s closest competitor, which currently charges $900 for student visa fees.

PTI

Chinese rocket accidentally launches during test, crashes

A commercial Chinese rocket accidentally launched during a ground test on Sunday, climbing into the air before crashing into a nearby mountain and exploding in flames, the private company that owns the rocket said.

Because of a “structural failure,” the Tianlong-3 rocket separated from its testing platform while its propulsion system was being tested and lifted off from its launchpad, the rocket’s owner Space Pioneer said. The accident occurred at 3.43pm (local time) Sunday at a test facility in Gongyi city in Henan Province. After launching, the onboard computer automatically shut down, and the rocket fell into a hilly area about a mile from the test site, the statement said. No one was injured, the statement said, adding that the crash site was far from residential areas.

NYT

Rival Parties Form Anti-Far Right Front

France Polls: Leaders Of Left Bloc & Centrist Alliance Hint They’ll Withdraw Own Candidates In Districts Where Another Candidate Was Better Placed To Beat RN In Sunday’s Run-Off

Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella. The RN would need at least 289 seats in parliament for a majority. Pollsters calculated the first round had put it on track for anything between 250 and 300 seats

Paris: Opponents of France’s far right sought to build a united front to block the path to govt of Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) on Monday, after the party made historic gains to win the first round of a parliamentary election.

The RN and its allies won Sunday’s round with 33% of the vote, followed by a left-wing bloc with 28% and well ahead of Prez Macron’s broad alliance of centrists, who scored just 22%, official results showed.

While financial markets rallied on relief the RN tally was not greater, it was still a huge setback for Macron, who had called the snap election after his ticket was trounced by the RN in the European Parliament election last month.

“I’m satisfied, because we need change,” said RN supporter Jean-Claude Gaillet, 64, in Le Pen’s northern stronghold of Henin-Beaumont. “Things have not moved, and they must move.” But others feared the rise of the RN and its nationalist platform would cause growing tensions in French society. “I don’t think people realise wh- at’s happening, they are only thinking of the cost of living and short-term things like that,” said Yamina Addou outside a supermarket in the nearby town of Oignies, south of Lille. “I find it very sad.”

Whether the anti-immigrant, eurosceptic RN can form a govt will depend now on how successfully other parties manage to thwart Le Pen by rallying round best-placed rival candidates in hundreds of constituencies across France. The RN would need at least 289 seats in parliament for a majority. Pollsters calculated the first round had put it on track for anything between 250 and 300 seats — but that is before tactical withdrawals reshape voter intentions next weekend.

Leaders of both the left-wing New Popular Front and Macron’s centrist alliance indicated Sunday they would withdraw their own candidates in districts where another candidate was better placed to beat the RN in next Sunday’s run-off. It was not initially clear whether such a pact would always apply if the left-wing candidate was from the far-left France Unbowed (LFI) party of Jean-Luc Melenchon, a divisive figure with radical tax-and-spend proposals and class war rhetoric.

But Macron told ministers on Monday that denying the RN a majority was the top priority, according to one source at a closed-door meeting who said this was intended to confirm that the pact could apply to LFI candidates on a case-by-case basis. The source said Macron ended his speech at the Elysee Palace meeting with the call: “Attack!”

Pollster Ipsos calculated the first round had left threeway contests in around 300 of the 577 seats in France’s National Assembly. Le Monde newspaper said third-placed candidates had already withdrawn in around 160 of those.

While the so-called “republican front” against the far-right has broadly worked in the past, analysts question whether French voters are still ready to cast second-round ballots as directed by political leaders.

REUTERS

Indian woman dies of a medical condition on Melbourne flight

Melbourne: A 24-year-old Indian woman travelling from Melbourne to New Delhi on a Qantas flight on June 20 died on the spot when she developed a medical condition while the aircraft was still on the ground, according to a media report Monday. Manpreet Kaur reportedly “felt unwell” hours before arriving at the airport but managed to board the flight without any issues. According to a friend, Kaur was travelling to India to see her parents for the first time since she moved to Australia in 2020.

The friend said Kaur fell on the floor and “died on the spot” while putting on her seatbelt. The plane was still attached to the gate in Melbourne when cabin crew and emergency services rushed to help her.

“When she got on the plane, she was struggling to put her seatbelt on,” her friend Gurdip Grewal told the Herald Sun newspaper. “Just before her flight started, she fell in front of her seat and died on the spot.” It is understood that Kaur likely died of tuberculosis.

PTI

US said to seek Boeing guilty plea to avoid trial in 737 Max crashes

The lawyer representing the victims’ families called the offer a ‘sweetheart plea deal’ as it would not force Boeing to admit fault in the deaths of the 346 people in crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia in late 2018 and early 2019

The US justice department plans to allow Boeing to avoid a criminal trial if it agrees to plead guilty to a fraud charge stemming from two fatal crashes of its 737 Max more than five years ago, according to two lawyers for families of the crash victims.

Federal officials shared details of the offer on a call with the families Sunday before bringing the deal to Boeing, according to the lawyers, Paul G Cassell and Mark Lindquist.

The terms include a nearly $244 million fine, a new investment in safety improvements, three years of scrutiny from an external monitor, and a meeting between Boeing’s board and the victims’ families, said Cassell, a University of Utah law professor. The justice department did not respond to a request for comment, while Boeing declined to comment.

Cassell, who represents more than a dozen of the families, said that he and the families found the deal to be “outrageous”. He described the offer as a “sweetheart plea deal” because it would not force Boeing to admit fault in the deaths of the 346 people who died in the crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia in late 2018 and early 2019.

The terms reportedly being offered to Boeing would update a 2021 settlement that resolved the criminal charge accusing the aerospace giant of a conspiracy to defraud the Federal Aviation Administration. The new agreement would require Boeing to plead guilty to that charge, according to the lawyers.The 2021 criminal charge centered on two employees who were accused of withholding information from the FAA about changes made to software known as MCAS, which was later implicated in the crashes.

If Boeing agrees to plead guilty to the charge, the company would also admit to a set of facts laid out in that 2021 agreement, which Cassell criticised as a “whitewashed” narrative in which Boeing escapes blame for the deaths.

Under the earlier deal, the company agreed to pay $500 million to the victims’ families. It also agreed to pay more than $1.7 billion to its customers because they could not take deliveries of the Max during a 20-month global ban on the jet. The 2021 settlement is known as a deferred prosecution agreement, a type of deal often used in criminal cases against corporations, allowing companies to avoid charges if they do not engage in wrongdoing for a certain period.

The new plea deal comes just days before a July 7 deadline for the justice department to file criminal charges in the case. Boeing will have until the end of the week to decide whether to accept the deal, according to Cassell.

NYT

AROUND THE WORLD

SPACE BARBIE DESCENDS ON EARTH: A Barbie that spent six months orbiting the Earth on the International Space Station will go on public display for this first time this week at the Design Museum in London. The Barbie (in white astronaut suit) was made to resemble Samantha Cristoforetti, the first female commander of the ISS. Highlighting other connections between Barbie and the cosmos, there will also be rare editions of space-themed Mattel dolls on display

Swedish town selling plot for just 1 krona draws global interest, from India to America

A town in western Sweden has suspended land sales after being overwhelmed by requests for offering land at less than 10 euro cents ($0.11) per square metre, its mayor told AFP. “We launched this campaign in mid-April. It was a bit of a crazy idea, but also a joke to be honest. It was a marketing operation,” said Johan Mansson, mayor of Gotene, a town of around 5,000 people. Thirty plots of land, abandoned for decades, were put up for sale at one Swedish krona ($0.095) per square metre. The idea was to build more housing in a low-density area and help the region grow, the mayor said. A few weeks after the campaign started, Gotene managed to sell three plots. “A great success for such a small community,” said Mansson. “But we could never have imagined what was in store for us.” Several Swedish media picked up the story, a video was posted on TikTok, and millions of people discovered Gotene and its cheap plots. Since then, the municipality has been inundated with emails and calls from potential buyers. “We’ve had interest from Europe, Asia — mainly India and Pakistan — as well as the US, Australia, and even South America,” said Mansson. “we have succeeded in putting Gotene on world map.” Sales will resume on Aug 7.

Horses bolt through London in scene reminiscent of April runaway stampede

Three runaway horses bolted through the streets of central London Monday after one was spooked by a bus and two others tossed their riders. The Uk army said one horse Monday had minor injuries and neither soldier was injured. The scene was reminiscent of — but less chaotic — than an incident when five horses bolted in April and two were seriously injured. On Monday, a riderless horse that was being led got spooked while two other horses threw off their riders and bolted. One was caught a short distance away but two others made it to Vauxhall Bridge, 2.5kms away.

Death for Christian man in Pak for sharing hateful posts

Multan: A court in Pakistan sentenced a Christian man to death for sharing what it said was hateful content against Muslims on social media after one of the worst mob attacks on Christians in the eastern Punjab province last year, his lawyer said Monday, adding he will appeal the verdict.

In Aug 2023, groups of Muslim men burned dozens of homes and churches in the city of Jaranwala after some residents claimed they saw two Christian men tearing out pages from the Quran, throwing them on the ground and writing insulting remarks on other pages, authorities said.

Ehsan Shan, though not party to the desecration, was accused of reposting the defaced pages of the Quran on his TikTok account, his lawyer Khurram Shahzad said. He also said he would appeal against the death sentence issued Saturday by a court in the city of Sahiwal in Punjab. Amir Farooq, a police officer who arrested Shan, said the man shared “the hateful content at a sensitive time when authorities were already struggling to contain violence.”

AP

Petrol and diesel prices hiked in Pak

Weeks after slashing the prices of fuel ahead of the Eid ul Adha festival, the Pakistan govt Monday sharply hiked their prices for the next fortnight. According to a notification, the prices of petrol and High-Speed Diesel (HSD) were raised by Rs 7.45 and Rs 9.56 per litre respectively, the Express Tribune reported. The new ex-depot petrol price for July 1 to 15 would be Rs 265.61 per litre compared to Rs 258.16 in the previous fortnight, up by 2.9%, the Dawn reported. However, petrol would be available for over Rs 266 per litre in the retail market, it said. On the other hand, the new ex-depot price of HSD is Rs 277.45 per litre, or 3.6% higher than the Rs 267.89 over the past fortnight.

PTI

Pandemic’s babies and toddlers are now school-age, and behind

ISOLATION IMPACT: US teachers are seeing the effects of pandemic’s stress and isolation on young pupils: Some can barely speak, sit still or even hold a pencil. They are also unable to regulate their emotions

The pandemic’s babies, toddlers and preschoolers are now school-age, and the impact on them is becoming increasingly clear: Many are showing signs of being academically and developmentally behind. Interviews with more than two dozen teachers, pediatricians and early childhood experts in the US depicted a generation less likely to have age-appropriate skills — to be able to hold a pencil, communicate their needs, identify shapes and letters, manage their emotions or solve problems with peers.

A variety of scientific evidence has also found that the pandemic seems to have affec- ted some young children’s early development. Boys were more affected than girls, studies have found. “I definitely think children born then have had developmental challenges compared to prior years,” said Dr. Jaime Peterson, a pediatrician at Oregon Health and Science University. “We asked them to wear masks, not see adults, not play with kids. We really severed those interactions, and you don’t get that time back for kids.”

Researchers said several aspects of the pandemic affected young children — parental stress, less exposure to people, lower preschool attendance, more time on screens and less time playing. Brook Allen, in Martin, Tennessee, has taught kindergarten for 11 years. This year, for the first time, she said, several students could barely speak, several were not toilet trained, and several did not have the fine motor skills to hold a pencil. Children don’t engage in imaginative play or seek out other children the way they used to, said Michaela Frederick, a pre-K teacher for students with learning delays in Tennessee. She’s had to replace small building materials in her classroom with big soft blocks because students’ fine motor skills weren’t developed enough.

Perhaps the biggest diffe- rence Lissa O’Rourke has noticed among her preschoolers in Florida has been their inability to regulate their emotions: “It was knocking over chairs, it was throwing things, it was hitting their peers, hitting their teachers.” One explanation for young children’s struggles, experts say, is parental stress during the pandemic. A baby who is exposed to more stress will show more activation on brain imaging scans in “the parts of that baby’s brain that focus on fear and focus on aggression”, said Rahil D. Briggs, a child psychologist. That leaves less energy for parts of the brain focused on language, exploration and learning, she said. Time on screens also spiked during the pandemic as parents juggled work and children were cooped up at home. Experts believe that this affected attention spans and fine motor skills.

It’s too early to know whether young children will experience long-term effects from the pandemic, but researchers say there are reasons to be optimistic. “It is absolutely possible to catch up,” said Dr. Dani Dumitriu, a pediatrician at Columbia. Sarrah Hovis, a preschool teacher in Michigan. said she has seen great progress. By the end of this year, some of her students were counting to 100, and even adding and subtracting. “If the kids come to school,” she said, “they do learn.”

NYT

Editorial

- Lawful, Liberal

- For Rohits To Win

- Insta food era

- As Old As Trump, Biden? Good

- Battle Begins: New Codes Versus Old Ways

- The Secret To Attaining Permanent Bliss

- A thought for today

- Sacred space

Lawful, Liberal

New criminal codes will be tested on their ability to protect the principle of presumption of innocence

The three new criminal codes that kicked in yesterday – BNS, BNSS, and BSB – will eventually replace the trio of IPC, CrPC and Indian Evidence Act, respectively, which have governed the criminal justice system. That’ll happen only once all cases filed under the old codes are closed. Given India’s caseload, this, in effect, means two sets of codes will be in application simultaneously across jurisdictions – a tremendous challenge for those who man the criminal justice system. That the codes needed an overhaul is indisputable. But challenges remain aplenty.

Undertrials burden | The approach to the codes’ overhaul was discarding colonial baggage and to be reformative. Here, proportional penalty is key. This means penalties are designed such that minor offences don’t invite jail time. Old faults compounded by new offences that have crept in are unlikely to lessen the undertrial burden. It’s imperative that during training of the law enforcement machinery, it’s drummed in that no matter the crime and prescribed sentence, there must be unwavering focus on presumption of innocence – the hallmark of a liberal reformative justice system.

Heavy hand | Minimum age for criminal responsibility continues to be 7 years, lower than international convention. Snatching is a criminal offence. It’s still prison for those not looking after old parents.Sex on the pretext of marriage can be punished with up to 10 years’ jail.A judge can award such convict 1-day jail, or 10 years. Such latitude can be problematic in interpretation – not all judges are judicious.

Old laws block | Archaic legal ideas continue to be in play. Defamation remains on the statute, as do provisions for ‘sedition’ if not in so many words. A rigorous weeding out of archaic laws is required, not least when it comes to marital rape. Onus is on legislatures to decriminalise petty behaviour and junk harsh provisions to meet the agenda of reformative justice.

Capacity flags | Due process is deeply linked with capacity. Poor forensics botches up many an investigation. And courts must not allow police free hand when it comes to seizing ‘evidence’. Due process ensures, for instance, forensics of digital devices don’t impinge on privacy rights. It demands probes compartmentalise a phone’s contents – what investigators can and cannot explore. And that this rule is spelt out.

Various police forces advertise they ‘care’ for civilians, but collective experience is often otherwise. At the core, liberal justice, the long-stated purpose for an overhaul of IPC, CrPC and IEA, firmly stands for individual rights. The dharma of India’s criminal justice delivery must be premised on protection of personal freedoms and civil liberties.

For Rohits To Win

Nice guys don’t have to lose, provided rules are laid out & implemented fairly. This falters only in politics

A cricket captain under whom India wins a world cup is bound to be celebrated in the country. But what’s unusual is the leadership quality for which Rohit Sharma is being saluted – niceness. Popular wisdom is that nice guys finish last. Because the common belief is that getting to the top takes a large dollop of jerk-ness.

Can one really beat the competition without being a bit of a brute and a bully? Without some crookedness? Actually, it all depends on how the rules of the game are laid out. On how these are framed, but also on how these are implemented. In football, for example, it used to be said that, to be successful one must be a bit nasty. Then, new rules and tech made the refereeing more just, and the play more honourable. And tough-tacklers stopped being heroes. Or consider British colonialism, which was just business by unequal means. Only once a rules-based global order levelled the playing field, could Indians start building their own commercial empires.

Today, sports to business to science, in almost every sphere there are many success stories of the Rohit bhaiya leadership style of agreeableness, positivity and even-temperedness. Politics alone maintains a big difference. There are two key elements to this. One, any attempt to regulate the aggro in the electoral field runs against the lakshman rekha defending free expression. Two, its incentives diverge a lot. People want business to deliver good products and services, and sportspersons to deliver wins. Only in politics are its ugliest moments often its most popular. It’s effectively as rules-free as voters will tolerate. So, it looks like a no-holds-barred fight in most countries, most of the time. Everyplace else, nice guys and gals can now finish first.

Insta food era

The two-shelf kitchen in flats might vanish soon

Shinie Antony

Once people ate people, cavemen being cannibals, and one can almost picture the large pickle jars of sundried, salted human toes. After the discovery of fire came spit-roasting and charred meat – leading to the invention of toothpicks – towards steamed, smoked, batter-dipped and deep-fried, till it all culminatedin MasterChef with its fancy plating ritual. Today every dish ever consumed first walks the red carpet on Insta, in photoshoots with professional lighting and camera angles. If it can’t be posted, it can’t be eaten.

Women woke up early to soak, grind, chop and pound. Old films show them singing happy songs while doing so, just like ads had women wash clothes in delirious ecstasy because they’d finally found the right detergent. Men ate, women cooked – no excuse would do, not even labour pains. For the longest time patriarchs had no clue where water was kept. They were always calling out to the matriarch when thirsty, so that potable water became the best hidden secret in most households. Men, stumbling through kitchens if left alone, pined for their wives. The day men learnt to make tea, marriages began to break up.

Cooking was delegated to daughters-in-law who began to hire cooks; maharaj and khansama entered the kitchen. But groceries still had to be bought and pots washed. Street food changed dining table dynamics long before the food delivery guys. Thalis went up against breakfast buffets, gluttony was no longer a sin. Once mankind had tasted fast food, domestic fare had to up its game, trying to get the taste of chaat or Chinese just like that sold outside. Post-Covid that battle has been lost. Ordering in is now a finger reflex. With the same warm look that sepia moms had when they asked, aaj kya khaoge, beta? an app can seduce with mouthwatering options. The pampering has been taken out of home-cooking. Maa ke haath ka khana is now the childhood trauma we tell therapists about.

Everyone trustingly swallows what’s served, with even ‘homemade’ outsourced. Whether it’s farm-to-table or a gourmet meal, no one’s going to mess up their own scullery. The tiny open two-shelf kitchen in flats is set to be history. Cooking from scratch means popping leftover pizza into the microwave. O, the joy of entering a café and telling someone in detail exactly how complicated we like our coffee while a twitchy queue taps feet behind us.

As Old As Trump, Biden? Good

Ageism ignores economic reality. Seniors are a high-spending group, from healthcare to consumption. They aren’t a drag on growth. They are a plus for it

Dipankar Gupta

There is a loud ageist rumour doing the rounds. We are told that the elderly are stubbornly living longer and their numbers are now well beyond the load-bearing capacity of the young. This accusation is not just economically untrue, but it also undermines a fundamental feature that is found in humans alone.

Human seniors a breed apart | What we tend to ignore is that only among us do the old dominate the young. Even our close genetic neighbour, the silverback gorilla, must yield his leadership to younger rivals who are both stronger and more attractive to females in the band. Hard to tell which of the two hurts the arthritic, old gorilla more.

Human beings are, in that sense, a freak of nature. In US, two 75-plus men are banging away at each other for the most powerful office on earth. In the corporate world, if you haven’t noticed, peppered hair makes a CEO look credible.

For us, age confers dignity, not humiliation, as with gorillas. But what about retirement and when the body goes frail? Even then the old keep contributing.

They keep economy going | The pharmaceutical industry depends on the elderly to sell their drugs, such as the omnipresent lisinopril for hypertension, which in US is prescribed about 90mn times annually. In India, knee replacements are at around 2,50,000 a year and have grown 2.5 times in the past five years.

Sadly, but happily for drug producers, those above 65 years old are 11 times more prone to cancer. Then there are assembly line cardiac surgeries and long stints in ICUs from which hospitals rake in the most.

The “seniors living” market is expected to grow worldwide at a CAGR of 6.2% over the next seven years. Though this is still a fledgling industry in India, it is projected to touch $12bn by 2030. In India, if current form holds, the spending power of Gen S (“S” for seniors) will be $1tn by 2050.

Gen S also supports the economy via pension funds, which are a “captive audience”, in a manner of speaking, for much of it is channelled towards govt at low interest rates. The rate of growth in pension funds has outpaced GDP growth in several non-OECD countries. Examples abound from Canada to Uganda to India of pension contributions helping develop a country’s infrastructure.

Globally, seniors today constitute the wealthiest age cohort. The overall consumer class will bulge in numbers from 3.9bn in 2020 to about 5.6bn by 2030. This might deflate some cocky juvenile boast, but 76% of seniors will be in this consumer class (who spend at least $11 a day) by 2030 – a good 11% higher than for other categories.

Their spending power’s huge | By 2030, a Brookings report says, Gen S will spend close to $15tn, up from $8.7tn in 2020. In Japan, the country targeted most for being too creakily geriatric, pensioners’ share of spending is over 40%: double that of 2002. Also, Japanese couples over 65 have three times more assets than the average family. This makes seniors the driving force behind spending everywhere, Japan included.

In US, those born before 1965 are increasing their spending in year-over-year terms while younger generation retail spending has declined. Spending is what seniors do best, and they are at it.

This is why some Americans call the “silver economy” their secret weapon. It is pulled out when the country’s economy is cornered by inflation, deflation and myriad other economic crises. During the Covid years, this silver economy may well have been the silver bullet that helped most countries survive. So then, why yell at the old?

The digital health market too is burgeoning on the back of seniors. Even in India, a non-OECD country, health services are expected to touch `1.74L cr by 2027. Keeping this in mind, GOI has set up a Senior Age Growth Engine, or SAGE, to promote consumer goods aimed especially for the old.

Elderly play special role in India | There are other benefits too that elders bestow, especially in India. As about 48% of families here are joint, seniors contribute in ways money cannot buy, or can, but at a huge cost. This includes rearing grandkids and keeping the household humming while the young are, hopefully, earning a living somewhere.

But not every old person in India is warming the rocking chair or regaling little ones with nursery rhymes. In India, one-third of the elderly are still holding a job and have deferred their retirement to an unspecified future date. They may not be driving at the speed limit but many are still at the wheel.

Unlike the old gorilla, humans pull their weight even at an advanced age. Yet, they are unfairly made out to be the ball and chain holding up progress. Sure, they don’t produce as much but they compensate for that by their consumption. It is up to the youth now to step in and produce.

But where have all the young folks gone?

The writer is a sociologist

Battle Begins: New Codes Versus Old Ways

Gender sensitisation to much larger forensic infra, BNS & two other laws demand huge capacity expansion in the criminal justice system. Are govts up to it?

Ayushi Sharma and Aashna Mansata

India’s criminal justice system entered a new era yesterday with the enforcement of three new criminal laws – Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (BSA). Superseding colonial-era statutes, these laws promise to put in place a modern, citizen-centric and justice-oriented criminal justice system.

To resolve long-standing issues of delays in justice delivery and slow investigative processes, the new laws prescribe procedural timelines, increased use of tech, digital evidence and mandatory forensic investigations. These changes are not sufficient to truly decolonise the system. Besides, their efficacy depends on tremendous cooperation within state organisations, coupled with mobilisation of significant resources.

Training must be thorough | Making the new laws work requires thorough training and competence-building of key stakeholders, including police and judges. Home ministry has already launched initiatives for training of police, prisons, judicial and forensic personnel. However, this cannot be only about disseminating info. Far more is needed. Training of stakeholders must foster a shift in mindset towards the laws’ core objectives: to do away with colonial overhang and make the system more citizen-centric. This requires responsive and trust based policing practices and judicial procedures.

Community service a grey zone | BNS lays down community service as a form of punishment for six offences. However, the specifics remain unclear. There is a general lack of clarity on what community service entails, its term, segment(s) of community that will benefit from it, and how such a punishment will be enforced.

It is judicial decisions that have provided the specifics of such punishment in the past. From the number of hours of service per week to the number of years to its nature, courts have laid down terms on a case-by-case basis. Now, with community service gaining legislative recognition, specific guidelines must be put in place. This would ensure uniformity and remove vFast scope for judicial discretion.

Gender sensitisation’s key | BNS has introduced gender neutrality for some offences. While one offence has been made completely gender neutral, some others have been made so only for the offender and not the victim. This is limited progress. What’s more, implementing the provisions effectively will be a challenge. Deeply ingrained social beliefs can influence judicial decision-making. Rape myths and gender stereotypes have often led to sexual offenders being acquitted wrongly. So, adjudicating these new provisions could face hurdles unless judges undergo thorough gender sensitisation training.

Infra still lacking | Section 530 of BNSS provides that all trials, inquiries and proceedings may be held in electronic mode. This can only be implemented properly if there is robust digital infra across all courts. While the eCourts project has laid a foundation,actual revamping of all courts will take time and require digital literacy across the legal system.

Similarly, mandatory forensic investigations in certain type of cases will call for major infra upgrade. As per a BPRD report, while states like Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and Tamil Nadu have over 10 regional forensic science labs, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Mizoram have none. Furthermore, vacancy rates exceed 70% in some cases and pendency rates reach up to 400% in some labs.

Govt’s recent decision to allocate `2,080cr for upgrade of FSLs acknowledges these issues. However, only swift and efficient action can ensure the new legal provision is implemented properly.

Recording specifics | BNSS also provides for use of audio-video recording for investigative procedures. Doing so would lend transparency to test identification parades, search and seizure operations, victim statements, and collection of forensic evidence.

For this, police personnel will need to be equipped with proper equipment and training.

Besides, there is need for detailed guidelines for such recordings, on how the equipment is to be used, procedure for recording, and other safeguards against manipulation of evidence.

There are numerous flaws in the three new laws. Even if these were to be kept aside, govt bears a responsibility to ensure they are implemented properly. This requires overarching cooperation within its different organs. Plus a more efficient and transparent govt-citizen interface. It will take a lot more effort to truly decolonise our system. For now, authorities must focus on ensuring through the new laws the change that is possible. That is going to be the real test.

The writers are Research Fellows, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy

THE SPEAKING TREE

The Secret To Attaining Permanent Bliss

Swami Tejomayananda

Out of all the phases of life that we go through, people mostly like youth the best. Old age is usually looked upon as the age of complaining.

In Marathi, there is a saying: ‘Man becomes wise by experiences.’ Nonetheless,merely going through numerous experiences need not make a person wiser. Understanding those experiences and drawing the right lessons from them is important. Every experience holds valuable lessons waiting to be discovered.

During our student life, we study and try to understand life’s nuances. As householders, the major portion of life is devoted to careers, household responsibilities, and what we can do for society. In vanaprasth, more time should be devoted to spiritual sadhanas, with decreasing involvement in worldly activities.

Old age can be wonderful and productive – if one has the right attitude. Tulsidasji’s advice in Ramcharitmanas applies to a vanaprasthi. He says, “Practice control over the senses, develop dispassion, withdraw from too many worldly activities and devote greater time to the ways of saints and sages.”

In life, there comes a time when we can neither read nor hear. Then, we realise the importance of memorising shlokas. Therefore, spend time in japaand nama smaran. Open an account in the ‘Bank of God’ and keep depositing in it the name of the Lord. Tulsidasji prays: “Just as a greedy person loves to count money, in the same way, I must become greedy about counting Your name.”

His guidelines are: “Develop more and more control, withdraw from worldly pursuits and concentrate increasingly on spiritual sadhana.” If this is done, life will be wonderful. If this is not done, our bodies become weak, and desires gain strength; the body cannot keep pace with our desires, and this leads to frustration.

Life is a discovery channel. Every day, there is something new to learn, and one is never too old to learn. Life is also a package deal. These days, low-cost air tickets are available, but they come with special stipulations. Likewise, if you intensely want something, you may have to give up other things. Generally, we do not like the word ‘sacrifice’, but people often compromise higher values for small pleasures. If we want higher values, we must relinquish lower pleasures. Unless we stand for something, we will fall for everything! Wisdom lies in choosing the higher.

We have to decide how we wish to live; we have the choice between a life of sacrifice or one of compromise. History has proved that anything worth achieving is made possible only through sacrifice. The scriptures clearly state that a human life is difficult to obtain. The goal of life is not just to enjoy sense pleasures; it is to know the Truth.

Therefore, it is essential to appreciate the uniqueness and value of human birth. Why waste it by merely amassing money and living for oneself? We can know the Truth and attain liberation in this very life. Choose to strive for it. Be resolute and remain firm in it. Then, we can reach the final goal of permanent bliss.

Swamiji is from Chinmaya Mission

A thought for today

More the law, less the justice

CICERO

Sacred space

Whenever i feel inside what is right, i try and do that, that has been my nature when i captained the team as well. What i feel inside is what I want to do…i don’t think a lot about the past and future...

Rohit Sharma

Times Business

- Niva Bupa Health looks to raise `3,000cr from IPO

- Purplle bags `1,000cr in round led by ADIA

- Narayana Health enters insurance biz

- ICICI Lombard floats AI health insurance

- Ex-Softbank partner joins Flipkart board

- Bond yields are falling, life insurers may raise rates

- 1st time in 3 years, GST kitty growth slows to single digit

- Mfg activity recovers in June: Survey

- Avg daily UPI nos touch 46cr peak in June

- Auto cos go slow on dealer dispatches as demand dips

- Heat, humidity push power demand, fuel sales mixed

- 7 years: A friendlier, simpler GST on the way

- Broker fees must not be linked to volumes: Sebi

- ‘Women’s share on boards rises faster than in top jobs’

- RBI to link UPI, Asean payment systems

- Patanjali to acquire parent’s non-food biz

Niva Bupa Health looks to raise `3,000cr from IPO

Mumbai: Niva Bupa Health Insurance (formerly Max Bupa) has submitted a draft red herring prospectus to Sebi to raise Rs 3,000 crore. The IPO includes an offer for sale and a fresh issue of shares. Private equity investor True North, which acquired 51% of Max India in 2019 and which holds its stake through Fettle Tone, will get a partial exit though the OFS. The sale offer includes up to Rs 320 crore by Bupa Singapore Holdings and up to Rs 1,880 crore by Fettle Tone, with the remaining Rs 800 crore being a fresh issue of shares.

TNN

Purplle bags `1,000cr in round led by ADIA

Mumbai: Beauty retailer Purplle has raised a fresh Rs 1,000 crore in funding led by Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the company said in a statement on Monday. The funding values the company at about $1.3 billion, sources said.

TNN

Narayana Health enters insurance biz

Bengaluru: Dr Devi Shetty’s Narayana Health has forayed into insurance space with its product Aditi, which offers coverage with a sum insured of Rs 1 crore for surgeries and Rs 5 lakh in treatment costs at Narayana Health hospitals.

TNN

ICICI Lombard floats AI health insurance

Mumbai: ICICI Lombard has launched Elevate, a health insurance plan that uses AI to personalise covers. It comes with unique add-on riders like the option of a one-time infinite claim amount or a sum insured that increases with the previous year’s inflation rate.

TNN

Ex-Softbank partner joins Flipkart board

Mumbai: The Flipkart Group announced the appointment of Lydia Jett, former managing partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers, as a board member effective June 26, 2024.

TNN

Bond yields are falling, life insurers may raise rates

Mayur.Shetty@timesgroup.com

Mumbai: The fall in long-term bond yields, coupled with pressure from reinsurers, is causing private insurers to reevaluate their term insurance rates. Three of the top five private life companies are expected to raise their term rates soon, a senior industry source said.

The yield on the 40-year bond has decreased from 7.34% at the time of issue last year to 7.09%. Similarly, the yields on other long-term bonds have also dropped. For example, the 27-year bond maturing in 2051 is trading at a yield of 7.06% — only marginally higher than 10-year bond yield of 7%. These long-term bonds were already highly sought-after, with demand from insurance companies surpassing supply.

However, the entrance of new foreign investors in the bond market following JP Morgan index’s inclusion of govt bonds has further pushed down yields. And if RBI cuts rates later this year to keep pace with the US Fed, as expected by some economists, bond yields could fall further.

As part of their balance sheet management, insurers have to set aside a certain amount for claims they expect to pay over the next four decades, from the policies they have issued today. If bond yields fall, the amount that insurers must set aside goes up. The other factor is that the reinsurance market continues to be hard. “Many private insurance companies had gone overboard issuing large policies without medical underwriting. Now all companies are insisting on full medical underwriting for policies above Rs 50 lakh,” said a distributor.

1st time in 3 years, GST kitty growth slows to single digit

Central, State Mop-Up 8% Higher, Imports May Have Lagged

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: GST collections grew 7.7% in June to Rs 1.74 lakh crore, first time in three years when monthly mop-up rose at single-digit rate.

During the month, based on transactions in May, central GST collections are estimated to have increased 3.4% to Rs 32,067 crore, state GST went up 6.3% to Rs 40,715 crore, according to data available with sources. The two numbers (combined) show an 8% rise to Rs 73,134 crore, indicating a slower increase in integrated GST levied on imports and inter-state sales and cesses. Foreign trade has remained weak due to depressed prices for several commodities.

The IGST and compensation cess data was unavailable as the official numbers were not released by govt. During the first quarter, the kitty is estimated to have swollen by 10.2% to Rs 5,57,006 crore. Since December, monthly collections have increased by 10-12%, in line with the nominal growth rate.

“While the growth in collection in June seems to be on a lower side compared to previous month, overall GST collections have shown an encouraging trend over last few months. Industry hopes that the trend will enable the GST council to reinitiate the rate rationalisation exercise as indicated in the last council meeting,” said Partik Jain, partner at consulting firm PwC. Economists said one month’s data may not point to any direction.

“The June 2024, GST collection of Rs 1.74 lakh crore is a strong indicator of a booming domestic consumption sector. This marks an impressive four-month streak where collections have exceeded Rs 1.5 lakh crore, bringing the year-to-date total to a remarkable Rs 5.57 crore. This robust performance reflects a buoyant economy, with businesses demonstrating commendable noncompliance. Timely audits, scrutiny measures, and effective enforcement by the department have all contributed to this success. The significant surge in collections also raises expectations for the next wave of GST reforms. These reforms could potentially address working capital blockages, streamline tax rates, ease ITC restrictions and implement sector-specific solutions to tackle existing challenges,” said Saurabh Agarwal, tax partner at EY India.

Mfg activity recovers in June: Survey

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Growth in manufacturing activity in the country recovered in June on the back of solid demand, triggering the fastest rate of job creation in the sector in 19 years, a survey showed on Monday.

The HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index increased from 57.5 in May to 58.3 in June, indicating a sharper improvement in business conditions. The 50-point mark separates expansion from contraction in the survey, which is compiled from responses to questionnaires sent to 400 manufacturing companies.

Manufacturing output increased at a sharp pace that was faster than in May, as underlying demand remained favourable and new business continued to flow in, the survey results showed. It said the performance of the consumer goods industry was especially strong, although substantial increases were also noted in the intermediate and investment goods categories.

Avg daily UPI nos touch 46cr peak in June

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai: Average daily transactions under UPI touched a new high of 46.3 crore in June, up from 45.3 crore in the month before. Average daily transaction value also rose to Rs 66,903 crore from Rs 65,966 crore in May.

Total transactions in June — at 1,389 crore — were lower than May’s 1,404 crore due to the fewer number of days in the month. The number of transactions has increased by 49% year-on-year. According to bankers, there has been a significant increase in the use of UPI for investments in capital markets.

Auto cos go slow on dealer dispatches as demand dips

Pankaj.Doval@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: After nearly three years of bumper growth, car sales have started to show signs of weakness as demand has come down over the past few months on a high base and other negatives such as severe summer heatwave, uncertainty around elections, and expensive vehicles.

The Indian car market had bounced back strongly after the Covid setback and closed 2023 with record sales of 41.1 lakh units. However, the market has seen a squeeze in demand in recent months, which many fear will mean low-to-flat growth for the full year.

The numbers in June saw Maruti and Hyundai, the top two carmakers, report weak growth in dealership deliveries. But while they managed to stay positive, Tata Motors, which had made a remarkable comeback over the last few years, witnessed an 8% decline in dealer deliveries. Ma- hindra and Toyota, however, had good dispatches, but perhaps more due to pending consumer delivery backlog.

Shailesh Chandra, MD of Tata Motors’ passenger vehicles and electric mobility divisions, said after a boost in demand in the first half of April due to festivities in some parts of country, the industry has seen a decline in retails (registrations) in May and June due to elections and heatwave.

This has seen the company “re-adjust” wholesales to keep channel inventory under control. “The electric vehicles industry was affected by the broader industry trend and the impact of significant preponement of fleet sales in Q4FY24, due to expiry of FAME II subsidy in March 2024. Consequently, while the personal segment retails have grown slightly, there was a sharp decline witnessed in the fleet segment, which is expected to recover in the coming quarters,” he said.

Partho Banerjee, senior executive officer (marketing & sales) at Maruti, also said inventory levels are being monitored. “… we do feel that stocks are slightly higher as compared to the norm.” However, Banerjee said some ‘green shoots’ may begin to come up. “With the onset of monsoon and forecast of normal rains this year, we can expect more footfalls. Also, kharif sowing is going to be record high this year as per some reports. Thus, we are going to see the green shoots coming in the due course of time.”

Kunal Behl, VP (marketing & sales) at Honda Cars India, said, “Market conditions have been challenging to create fresh demand.”

DIESEL DOWN

Heat, humidity push power demand, fuel sales mixed

Sanjay.Dutta@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: The intense heat wave and rising humidity with the onset of monsoon towards end of the month drove up power consumption by 9% in June as households and commercial establishment ran cooling appliances for longer hours.

But petrol, jet fuel and LPG sales posted moderate gains, while diesel remained in the slow lane during the month, essentially on loss of farm sector demand.

Govt data pegged power consumption at 152.3 billion units (BU) during the month under review against 140.2 BU. The highest demand met in a day, also known as ‘peak demand met’ in industry parlance, too jumped 9.8% to 245.4 gigawatts (GW) from 223.2 GW in June 2023.

The picture was mixed for fossil fuels. Diesel demand, a key indicator of economic activities, was 1.3% lower than June 2023. This is largely attributable to lack of traction from the farm sector. Sequentially, however, sales were 0.4% higher than May.

Petrol consumption posted a healthy growth of 3.6% on rising share of fuel in new car sales and people’s preference for personal vehicles for holiday travel. On monthly basis, the growth was a modest 1.9% as the holiday season began tapering and monsoon disputed travel in many parts.

Jet fuel sales rose 4.3% annually, catching the fading strains of holiday season fervour, the reason why sequentially demand was 3.8% lower than May. LPG sales rose more than 5% year-on-year but were only 0.6% higher than May.

7 years: A friendlier, simpler GST on the way

By Vivek Johri

As we enter the eighth year of GST, stakeholders would have some inkling of what the future holds. Its broad contours have emerged from the just concluded 53rd meeting of the GST Council last week. Let us see what they add up to.

The good news is that in the tightrope walk between enforcement and facilitation there is a further tilt towards the latter. Of course, tax administration can not afford to take its eyes off the goal of improving compliance by making entry level checks for new taxpayers more foolproof, cleansing the base to purge abusers and ensuring timely filing and payments. The use of technology, such as biometrics and geo-tagging, and a focussed drive against fake entities and fake billing over the last two-to-three years has yielded good results and would continue. But, any further engineering in enforcement methods may not be necessary unless evaders find new modus of playing bluff. On enforcement, therefore, the focus may shift to better implementation of already prescribed SoPs by field officers so that the conduct of audits and investigations is professional and harassment-free.

GST Council has repeatedly used prompt clarification of contentious issues as a means of strengthening facilitation. This helps nip disputes in the bud. Post the Council meeting last week too, a slew of clarifications on the applicable rate of tax, taxability or valuation of a range of economic activities straddling across industry seg- ments have been issued. Many of these are trade-friendly and provide relief by negating additional tax liability including, in some cases, for the past. Owing to paucity of time, the Council could not discuss the entire agenda prepared by the Law and Fitment Committees and the balance items would be taken up at the August meeting. Evidently, more such clarifications on pending issues are on the way.

Dispute resolution is also likely to receive closer attention this year. The overarching objective would be to declog the dispute resolution channels by curtailing the number of fresh disputes, compressing timelines for resolution and settling those started in the initial phase of GST. Recent measures, such as waiver of interest and penalty in certain situations, reduction in pre-deposit for appeals, longer time period for payment of tax and interest in order to claim waiver of penalty and monetary thresholds below which govt will not appeal orders, are pointers to this.

However, an agenda item where businesses and lay persons alike have a high expectation of traction this year is the realignment of GST rates. This two-step process involves first, the compression of rate slabs from four (5, 12, 18 and 28%) to three and second, re-slotting of items (goods and services) into new slabs. The purpose is to simplify, so that most items attract the median rate, similar items are broad-banded and rate inversions in sectors, such as textiles, fertilisers, pharma etc. are removed. The rate rejig is of deep interest to the final consumer as it would determine whether her consumption basket becomes cheaper or dearer. It will take a fair amount of alchemy on the Council’s part to simultaneously balance revenue neutrality (some rates go up as others decrease) with price neutrality (inflationary impact) and satisfy diverse interest groups.

Given these pulls and pressures, continuing inflationary expectations (especially for food) and the inherent political sensitivity, it would be unreasonable to expect very quick results. While concrete outcomes on this agenda are likely to be backloaded within the financial year, clear timelines and a glide path of transition may well emerge sooner.

(The writer is former chairman, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. Views expressed are personal)

Broker fees must not be linked to volumes: Sebi

Regulator Proposes Easier Norms For Passive MFs Too

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai: In an investor-friendly move, Sebi has asked market entities like stock exchanges and depositories to ensure fees charged to brokers are uniform and not linked to volumes. The markets regulator on Monday also proposed easier compliance structure and reduced capital requirements for passive mutual funds.

The markets regulator has instructed stock exchanges, clearing corporations, and depositories to review fees charged to members such as stock brokers and depository participants. Sebi describes exchanges, clearing corporations and depositories as market infrastructure institutions (MIIs). Their service charges are borne by brokers who in turn recover them from investors.

Currently, some of these entities use a volume-based pricing model, which can be complex and lack transparency. This means that stock brokers can collect more money from investors than what they need to pay these entities. This can be misleading for investors and can create an uneven playing field for different-sized members.

To address this, Sebi has said that the charges collected by these entities from investors should match what brokers are charging the end-investor. “The MII charges which are to be recovered from the end client should be ‘true to label’,” Sebi said in a circular. The regulator said that the current practice of recovering charges from customers on a daily basis and passing them on once a month to the MIIs could re- sult in end-clients being charged more than what the intermediaries are paying the MIIs.

In future, the fee structure must be the same for everyone and not based on the volume of transactions. Also, the new charge structure should consider the current per-unit charges to ensure that investors benefit from any reduction in costs. These changes will be effective from Oct 1, 2024 by when the MIIs need to redesign their charge structures to follow these new rules.

On passive funds, Sebi has proposed that fund houses can spin off passive mutual fund schemes, which replicate indices and require less manager discretion, to adhere to less stringent rules and reduce compliance costs.

‘Women’s share on boards rises faster than in top jobs’

Sidhartha@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Govt mandate to have women on corporate boards has not just pushed up their share to 15.7%, but also helped large companies report healthier finances.

A paper by NCAER economists Ratna Sahay, Navya Srivastava and Mahima Vasishth, however, said there has not been a commensurate increase in increase in women occupying senior management (CXO) roles in Indian companies.

Since the mandate kicked in from April 2015, the share of women directors has increased over three times, after virtually stagnant between 2007 and 2014. In contrast, their representation in top management has increased from 13.8% in FY2014 to 21.8% in FY23, said the paper, to be presented at India Policy Forum on Tuesday.

Despite the progress on gender diversity in terms of board seats, India still needs to catch up as it lags the global average of 20% and far below 43% in France, the best performing country. It also pointed out that the share of women directors in companies set up after 1991 was higher as was also the case with top management.

While it may come as a surprise to many, small-cap firms listed on NSE fared better on diversity in their board composition with the share of women being 16.5% in 2023, compared with 13.5% for large caps. That’s probably because they had smaller boards as average number of women on boards of small cap firms was 2.5 compared to 4.7 for larger peers.

The paper, based on an analysis of over 2,700 NSE listed companies, also brings out that women directors are not only younger — 57 years being the average age in 2020 compared to 65 years for their male co- unterparts — they also held more board positions on an average — 1.2 compared to 0.8 for men.

It also concluded that there is a clear case for appointing more women in top positions in the corporate sector as large companies with at least one woman director had better economic performance, higher financial stability and lower financial risk. “We find that higher shares of women in board positions are positively associated with employee ratings and sentiment scores, but the relationship is significant only when there is at least one woman in top management positions,” it said.

RBI to link UPI, Asean payment systems

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai:RBI has joined Project Nexus, an initiative to enable instant cross-border retail payments by linking domestic Fast Payment Systems.

Nexus will initially interlink India’s UPI to the FPS of Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand by next year. Indonesia is set to join the platform in the future.

“In my view, the greatest advantage of Project Nexus will be to make cross-border payments much faster and less costly. This is a precursor to greater international cooperation among countries to enable faster cross-border remittances at a lower cost,” said RBI governor Shaktikanta Das at the signing of the agreement on Sunday.

Patanjali to acquire parent’s non-food biz

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai:The board of Patanjali Foods (earlier known as Ruchi Soya Industries) has approved the acquisition of the home and personal care business of parent Patanjali Ayurved for Rs 1,100 crore, the company said on Monday.

The acquisition will add to Patanjali Food’s product portfolio which, at present, largely consists of edible oils. Patanjali Ayurved’s HPC business covers dental care, skin care, home care and hair care. The deal will be completed by way of a slump sale and the payment will be made in five tranches, Patanjali Foods said in an exchange filing.

“The acquisition will bring along with it key synergies in terms of brand equity and enhancements, product innovations, cost optimisation, infrastructure & operational efficiencies and positive impact on market share,” the company said.

The firm and Patanjali Ayurved have agreed to enter into a deal permitting Patanjali Foods to use the trademarks and associated IP rights owned by the latter and that relate to the product portfolio of the HPC business. “A 20-year licensing agreement for a 3% turnover based fee along with other conditions has been agreed between the company and Patanjali Ayurved,” it said. The Baba Ramdev-led company held a 32.4% stake in Patanjali Foods as of FY24.

Times Sport

- Aggressive Alcaraz gets going

- Tricky opener for Bops-Ebden pair

- Claims of TMC MP targeted ex-diplomat’s hubby Puri: HC

- Injured Sabalenka pulls out

- Liren vs Gukesh World C’ship final to take place in Singapore

- Anand wins Leon title for 10th time

- Rahul’s first speech as LoP a front-on attack on Modi-Shah

- Results of NEET-UG re-test will ensure there is no change in number of toppers

- Good rainfall set to cool things down in NW India

- PRAGG MISSES CHANCE AGAINST WESLEY SO ON ANOTHER DAY OF DRAWS

- NO OWN GOALS!

- DUTCH OVEN

- MEXICO OUT; ECUADOR EARN SPOT IN LAST 8

- There’s no place like Leipzig

- Just be happy, Georgia coach tells ‘Kvara-dona’

- Nico is going to be a little annoying now, says pal Yamal

- GALLERY

- FITNESS TESTS NO MORE ‘CRITERION’ FOR INDIA SELECTION

- INDIAN TEAM’S RETURN DISRUPTED BY HURRICANE

- Seniors will be there in CT & WTC: Shah

- Karthik is RCB’s batting coach

- India complete formalities vs SA

- T20 WC: Six Indians in ICC’s ‘Team of the Tournament’

- OUTSIDE THEIR COMFORT ZONE IN SEARCH OF GLORY

- Delighted with OCA’s response on recognition to yoga: IOA prez Usha

- Afghan women cricketers urge ICC to set up refugee team in Aus

Aggressive Alcaraz gets going

Defending Champ Overcomes Debutant Lajal In First-Round Clash

TOUGH NUT: Carlos Alcaraz celebrates after winning against Mark Lajal in their first round match in London

Prajwal.Hegde@timesgroup.com

London: It’s been an unusually chilly start to Wimbledon, the temperature just about touching a high of 20 degrees Celsius. A stiff wind swept across Church Road and spectators tugged at their wraps and jackets. The sun only made a guest appearance and while the grass was dry, the characteristic pop was missing, slowing play considerably.

On Centre Court where Carlos Alcaraz’ tennis reigned the weather didn’t appear to be a factor. The tennis, like the hairdo on display down the other end, was adventurous to say the least. The defending champion, who rang the bell at SW19, got The Championships off to a sparkling start -heart-stopping spin and touch coupled with unbounded athleticism and pulsating power. The canvas was cold, but the art was ripe.

Alcaraz won 7-6 (3), 7-5, 6-2 against Estonia’s Grand Slam debutant Mark Lajal, who had his blonde dreadlocks pulled together in a pineapple style. Just as well for the full-house that the world No. 269, who came through the qualifiers here, had the shots to match his style as he spurred the world No.3 to go for more. Not that Alcaraz, whose play flirts with the outrageous, needed the push. The Spaniard had 44 winners in the 2-hours and 22-minutes on court.

“This is the most beautiful court I have played on,” the defending champion said. “I still get nervous when I play here. I practised for 45 minutes on Thursday and it was the first time I was nervous in practice because I was playing on this court.”

Lajal (21 years 63 days) and Alcaraz (21 years 70 days), just a week apart in age, are the seventh and eighth youngest players to start the men’s singles main draw here. Despite being so close in age, the two have never contested a match at either professional or junior levels. Lajal, whose father Mart was a motocross rider and grandfather Hardi Mets was a rally driver, is an accidental tennis player. His dream was to be a racecar driver. On Monday, the Estonian, who led by early breaks in the first and second sets, learnt that a break only counts when it’s backed by a hold. Winning a race is about holding the lead.

“I was a little bit surprised about his level, I have never seen him play or practice. I watched the highlights, but I didn’t get any information. It was a little bit difficult. I think he played great. This level is not for his ranking. I’m sure if he is still playing at this level, he’s going to increase his ranking, his level, and everything,” Alcaraz said of Lajal. “I’m happy about my level. I think I played a solid match, a great match.” In another first-round match, 5th-seed Daniil Medvedev knocked out American Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.

Among the women, French Open finalist Jasmine Paolini scored over Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain 7-5, 6-3.

FIRST ROUND RESULTS (DAY ONE)

Men: Grigor Dimitrov (10), Bulgaria, def. Dusan Lajovic, Serbia, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5; Denis Shapovalov, Canada, def. Nicolas Jarry (19), Chile, 6-1, 7-5, 6-4; Juncheng Shang, China, def. Cristian Garin, Chile, 7-5, 6-4, 6-4; Fabio Fognini, Italy, def. Luca van Assche, France, 6-1, 6-3, 7-5; Borna Coric, Croatia, def. Felipe Meligeni Alves, Brazil, 6-3, 7-6 (2), 6-3; Casper Ruud (8), Norway, def. Alex Bolt, Australia, 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-4; Daniil Medvedev (5), Russia, def. Aleksandar Kovacevic, United States, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.

Women: Maria Sakkari (9), Greece, def. McCartney Kessler, United States, 6-3, 6-1; Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (25), Russia, def. Taylor Townsend, United States, 7-6 (4), 6-1; Marta Kostyuk (18), Ukraine, def. Rebecca Sramkova, Slovakia, 6-3, 6-2; Daria Kasatkina (14), Russia, def. Zhang Shuai, China, 6-3, 6-0; Naomi Osaka, Japan, def. Diane Parry, France, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4; Madison Keys (12), USA, def. Martina Trevisan, Italy, 6-4, 7-6 (4).

Tricky opener for Bops-Ebden pair

Prajwal.Hegde@timesgroup.com

London: India’s Rohan Bopanna and Aussie Matthew Ebden, second seeds in the Wimbledon men’s doubles draw, go up against the tricky French pairing of Adrian Mannarino and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the first round. The Frenchmen are both singles players — Mannarino, a lefty, ranked 24, has been around the Tour for a while, while the 6’8’’ Perricard is 20, has a singles ranking of 58.

Bopanna-Ebden, the reigning Australian Open champions, reached the semifinals at SW19 last year, and with that kick-off a champagne run that won them trophies and accolades. The India No. 2 in the men’s dou- bles, Yuki Bhambri and Frenchman Albano Olivetti, are in the top half of the draw and take on the Kazakh duo of Alexander Bublik and Alexander Shevchenko.

Sriram Balaji, Bopanna’s partner at the Paris Olympics, is playing with Britain’s Luke Johnson here. The IndoBritish duo, placed in the bottom half of the draw, go up against the in-form fourth seeded Croatian-Salvadoran pair of Mate Pavic and Marcelo Arevalo, who won in Paris last month.

Sumit Nagal, who won the boys doubles title here nine years ago, has also entered the doubles draw this time, partnering Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic. They open against the all-Spanish combine of Pedro Martinez and Jaume Munar.

Claims of TMC MP targeted ex-diplomat’s hubby Puri: HC

New Delhi: The Delhi HC held that “roving allegations” insinuating financial impropriety in purchase of a property in Switzerland by former diplomat Lakshmi Murdeshwar Puri were “actually targeted” at her husband and BJP’s Hardeep Singh Puri, reports Abhinav Garg.

The court said it was “extremely irresponsible” of Gokhale to have published the “derogatory content” without due verification. It further directed Gokhale to publish an apology on his X handle from which he had put out the offending posts, as also prominently in TOI’s Delhi edition.

“It is this court’s view that no amount of monetary award can truly compensate for damage to reputation. However, upon a balance of a ll considerations, defendant No.1 is directed to pay to the plaintiff damages in the sum of Rs 50 lakh within eight weeks,” HC noted, while making it clear that the apology shall be retained on Gokhale’s X handle for six months from the date of posting. Justice Bhambhani noted that the documents placed by the former diplomat “clearly and cogently explained the source of funds” used by her to purchase the apartment, which included a loan from a banking institution and funds from her daughter, and while the damage caused to her reputation by the offending posts cannot be “effaced completely”, an unconditional apology is the least that is required. “The offending posts are per se defamatory; that the plaintiff has suffered undeserved legal injury to her reputation which warrants redressal,” the judge observed, saying allegations of financial impropriety dent the very foundations of a person’s reputation and in the present case, the loss of esteem suffered by her would have resulted “inevitably in loss of social standing, accompanied by psychological distress, aggravated by the pain of false accusation.”

Puri had approached the high court in 2021.

Injured Sabalenka pulls out

WILL BE MISSED: ARYNA SABALENKA

Prajwal.Hegde@timesgroup.com

London: Aryna Sabalenka has withdrawn from the Wimbledon tennis championships due to a shoulder injury. The world No.3’s decision to pullout opened up an already wide-open women’s singles draw. The strapping Belarusian, a two-time semifinalist here, had hinted she may not be able to start the tournament during her prechampionship media engagement on Saturday.

Sabalenka, who has been replaced by lucky loser Erika Andreeva in the draw, took to social media to say she’s heart-broken to pull out of the tournament.

“I tried everything to get myself ready, but unfortunately my shoulder is not cooperating. I pushed myself to the limit in practice today to try my best, but my team ex- plained that playing would only make things much worse,” said Sabalenka, who practiced early on Monday.

Sabalenka, who retired from her Berlin quarterfinal against Anna Kalinskaya due to the shoulder injury over a week ago, told the press that she wasn’t 100 percent fit and the injury was to the teres major muscle.

“The most annoying thing is that I can do anything -I can practice, I can hit my groundstrokes,” she said. “I’m struggling with serving. You don’t feel like you’re injured. If you give me weights, I’m going to lift weights. But if you tell me to serve, I’m going through pain.”

Liren vs Gukesh World C’ship final to take place in Singapore

Delhi, Chennai Miss Out On Hosting Rights

SET FOR AN EPIC CLASH: Ding Liren and D Gukesh

New Delhi: India’s efforts to secure a home World Chess Championships final match for D Gukesh came to nought with Singapore pipping Delhi and Chennai to claim hosting rights for the premier chess contest which will pit the youngest Challenger in the history against defending champion Ding Liren from China.

The Tamil Nadu government and All India Chess Federation (AICF) had submitted separate bids to FIDE, the world chess body.

The match, which will offer a prize money of $2.5 million, will be held between November 20 and December 15 this year.

“After reviewing the bids and inspecting all potential host cities for their venues, amenities, event programs, and opportunities, the International Chess Federation has selected Singapore as the host of the World Championship Match,” FIDE said in a release.

The 17-year-old Gukesh had scripted history by winning the Candidates Chess Tournament in April to become the youngest ever Challenger to the world title, bettering legendary Garry Kasparov’s 40-year-old record. “We are delighted that for the first time in the history of FIDE, a match for the World Championship will take place in Singapore. Not only is Singapore one of the most iconic global tourist and business hubs, but it is also a thriving chess center with great ambitions and talent,” FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich said.

“I would also like to thank the other bidders – New Delhi and Chennai. Both cities are renowned chess hubs with a rich history of hosting chess events, and we are confident we will see major chess events there in the future,” Dvorkovich continued.

FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky said, “Chess is not just a popular game and sport; it is often seen as the epitome of the human mind’s ability to think strategically, to plan, and to foresee. Singapore embodies these same qualities. It’s a great match for the great Match!”

PTI

Anand wins Leon title for 10th time

Leon (Spain): Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand proved his mettle once again and defeated Spaniard Jaime Santos Latasa 3-1 in the finals to win the Leon Masters for a 10th time. The 54-year-old Anand, who lived in Spain for many years before shifting his base back to Chennai, proved yet again that this was one of his favourite hunting grounds. It was in 1996, or 28 years back, that Anand won his first title here.

The format featured four players with his compatriot Arjun Erigaisi, the world number four, as the fourth seed and Bulgarian Veselin Topalov being the other two players in the tournament. Each round featured four games of 20 minutes each with a 10-second increment after every move.

Arjun had lost to Santos Latasa in the second semifinals by a score of 1.5-2.5 which was considered a sensational victory for the latter given the vast difference in the ratings.

Earlier in the first semifinal, the legendary duel between Topalov and Anand had ended in favour of the Indian who won the third game before drawing the remaining three.

PTI

Results: Semifinals: V Anand beat Veselin Topalov 2.5-1.5; Arjun Erigaisi lost to Jaime Santos Latasa 1.5-2.5. Final: V Anand beat Jaime Santos Latasa 3-1.

Rahul’s first speech as LoP a front-on attack on Modi-Shah

Linking Any Religion To Violence Wrong: Shah

Continued from P 1

The exchange was one of many which marked Rahul's maiden speech as leader of opposition. While he appeared charged, targeting govt over Manipur, Agniveer, NEET and MSP, an indication of BJP’s combative intent came right at the outset in the form of the PM’s riposte to Rahul’s jibe about his face betraying no expression. “I have been taught by the Constitution and democracy to take the LoP seriously,” Modi said.

The PM got support from his senior colleagues. Home minister Amit Shah supported Modi’s charge that Rahul had insulted Hindus.

“Crores of people in country proudly call themselves Hindus. Are they all speaking about violence? Linking violence to any religion, that too by somebody holding a constitutional position... I believe he should apologise,” Shah said. With the treasury benches up in arms, Rahul retorted, “Aap Hindu ho hi nahin.”

Rahul said when opposition was “violently crushed”, with two CMs put in jail, they sought refuge in “Shiv ji”, as he flashed a poster of the deity. The Speaker and BJP members objected to it. He said the snake around Shiva’s neck, trident behind his left shoul- der and “abhay mudra” taught fearlessness, non-violence and courage.

He said BJP brass spent 10 years spreading “hate, fear and violence” against anyone who opposed their policies, calling such actions contrary to the teachings of Lord Shiva and precepts of other religions. He said the two BJP tenures witnessed relentless assault on the foundational ideas of India and the Constitution, with farmers, students, small businessmen, opposition and soldiers bearing the brunt of whimsical policies and “vendetta”. He also repeatedly mocked PM as “non-biological” who has “direct connection with the almighty”, ribbing Modi on his campaign-time claims.

Rahul also referred to Ayodhya, saying BJP MP Anurag Thakur had spoken on the topic. “Anurag had talked about the attack on Sanatan Dharma, that’s why I have done this. I want to show what happened in Ayodhya, what was the truth of Ayodhya...” Gandhi said people of Ayodhya have given a message by defeating BJP.

Rahul’s speech on the motion of thanks to the President’s joint address, his first as the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, was a biting, front-on attack on Modi and Shah, who along with defence minister Rajnath Singh occupied the front row for the address.

Rahul also congratulated BJP on winning 240 seats and promised support. “Opposition is not your enemy. We are here to make your job easier,” he said. However, he also urged them to “not spread fear and hatred”.

Have become 2 persons as LoP: Rahul

Rahul said as LOP, he has become two persons, with his individual aspirations “having to die” before “the constitutional person” who has to represent all opposition parties, and who should be “disturbed” when Hemant Soren or Arvind Kejriwal are sent to jail. He said people have “given me responsibilities above my likes and dislikes”. Rahul told Speaker Om Birla that he is also in a similar role, with Birla the individual and Birla the Speaker as two different entities.

TNN

Results of NEET-UG re-test will ensure there is no change in number of toppers

 Continued from P 1

These students were among the 1,563 who were given grace marks because they had initially been given a wrong set of question papers and could not get the full three hours and 20 minutes allotted for the test.

The grace marks for them sparked an uproar with many led by well-known coaching institutes alleging corruption, leading the National Testing Agency (NTA) to reverse the award of grace marks and give the 1,563 students the choice of appearing for a fresh test or settling for their scores without any grace marks. In the event, only 813 volunteered to take the test afresh.

The results of the re-test, announced on Monday, will ensure that there is no change in the number of toppers, which came down to 61 after the exclusion of six whose score had reached 720 after the addition of grace marks.

Of the 1,563 candidates, 750 opted to retain their scores without the grace marks. Though their ranks slipped, their original marks; i.e, what they achieved without grace marks, are good enough to land them seats in good govt medical colleges.

Allegations of scam gained ground after six of the students who scored 720 were found to have appeared at the same centre, leading the NTA to reverse its decision on grace marks. The change was accepted by Supreme Court.

The official statement on Monday read: “Pursuant to the Order … a Re-Test was held for 1,563 candidates on 23 June 2024 …, out of which a total of 813 candidates appeared therein,” adding, “It is now informed that revised Score Cards of all Candidates of NEET (UG) 2024 (including of 1,563 Candidates who appeared in the Re-Test on 23 June 2024), are being hosted on the website...”

Chandigarh, which had just two candidates registered, saw zero attendance. The Jhajjar centre, which was under scrutiny, registered 58% attendance, with 287 of the 494 candidates tak- ing the test.

The NEET-UG exam, held on May 5 across 4,750 centres, saw a little over 23 lakh of the 24 lakh candidates taking the exam. 67 students initially scored a perfect 720, an unprecedented number in NEET’s history, with six from one centre in Haryana, raising suspicions of irregularities and the role of grace marks.

The NEET-UG exam, conducted by the NTA, is for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, and other related courses in govt and private institutions across India.

The agency is currently under scrutiny for alleged irregularities in the exam, including a paper leak, with various groups calling for a retest.

Good rainfall set to cool things down in NW India

Vishwa.Mohan@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Despite an 11% shortfall in June, monsoon this year could end in the ‘above normal’ range with IMD expecting good rainfall in the coming three months of the season.

“In 20 out of the 25 years, when June rainfall was below normal, July rainfall was normal or above normal. Similarly, in 17 of the 25 years, when June rainfall was below normal, overall southwest monsoon rainfall was normal or above normal,” said IMD chief Mrutyunjay Mohapatra while sharing past data that indicate high probability of ‘above normal’ seasonal rainfall in the country when La Nina would be an important factor.

As far as temperature is concerned, good rainfall will bring relief with maximum (day) temperature being normal to below normal over many parts of the northwest India in July.

In contrast, northwest India recorded a mean temperature of 31.73 degrees Celsius in June, 1.65 degrees Celsius above normal and the highest since 1901. Even the monthly average maximum temperature in the region was 38.02 degrees Celsius, 1.96 degrees Celsius above normal and highest since 1901.

IMD data shows that Rajasthan, MP, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, west and east UP, HP, Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, and Saurashtra and Kutch regions of Gujarat experienced 20 to 38 days of heat waves during April-June period.

Summer (March-June) in India this year experienced around a total of 536 heat wave days (heat wave days of all 36 meteorological subdivisions put together) — the highest since 2010 (578 days), when IMD started gathering this data. In June, the country experienced 181 heat wave days, the highest in the last 15-years with earlier highest recorded in 2010 (177 days).

Assam-Arunachal flooding cuts off road links to several India-China border areas

Flooding in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh worsened overnight with rain continuing to feed rivers already in spate and causing multiple landslides on Monday that cut off road links to several areas along the India-China border, reports Kangkan Kalita.

Assam State Disaster Management Authority reported that the number of flood-ravaged districts in the state increased from 12 to 19.

In Arunachal’s Itanagar, the administration ordered shutting schools from July 2 to 6 due to rain and landslides. Floodwater washed away a bridge over the Kurung river in Kurung Kumey. The swollen Kameng River swept away many houses in Seppa, East Kameng districts.

There seems to be no respite in sight over the next few days, with IMD forecasting heavy to extremely heavy rain in the NorthEast till at least the end of the week. Over 8,000 people are sheltered in relief camps across Assam. Tinsukia district reported one more flood-related death, taking the season’s death toll to 35.

CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said heavy rain in catchment areas of Arunachal was causing more flooding. He said NDRF and the Army were on standby to deal with any emergency. “The next three to four days are critical. We need to monitor the situation minutely.”

Subansiri in North Lakhimpur surpassed its previous highest flood levels, recorded in 2011 and 2017. “The situation worsened after National Hydroelectric Power Corporation released 409 cubic metre water from the Lower Subansiri dam, affecting 11,000 people in 21 villages of the district,” CM Sarma said.

PM Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah spoke to Sarma for an overview of the flood situation.

PRAGG MISSES CHANCE AGAINST WESLEY SO ON ANOTHER DAY OF DRAWS

Bucharest: Grandmaster R Praggnandhaa yet again squandered promising position to settle for a draw against American Wesley in the fifth round of Superbet Classic tournament as none of the five boards produced any decisive result, here.

The lead positions were unchanged with Fabiano Caruana of United States still ahead on 3.5 points, enjoying a half point lead over world championship challenger D Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa.

French duo of Alireza Firouzja and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia and Wesley share the third spot on 2.5 points each, a half point ahead of Anish Giri of Holland and Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan.

PTI

NO OWN GOALS!

France Advance to Quarterfinals Without Scoring From Open Play

Dusseldorf: Jan Vertonghen’s late own goal took France into the quarter-finals of Euro 2024 on Monday as they edged Belgium 1-0 in a tense tie in Duesseldorf. France had dominated the last-16 clash but their profligate finishing looked set to force extra time until they finally found a way through with five minutes left.

Substitute Randal Kolo Muani collected the ball inside the Belgian penalty area and hit a shot that was going wide until a deflection off the unfortunate Vertonghen took it past goalkeeper Koen Casteels.

The lucky break sent the 2022 World Cup runners-up into a last-eight tie in Hamburg on Friday as they remain on course to become European champions for the third time.

France are yet to score from open play in four matches at the tournament — captain Kylian Mbappe netted once from a penalty against Poland, while their other two goals came from opposition defenders.

Crucially, however, they are rock solid in defence, having conceded only one goal, from a penalty, so far. Their back line was outstanding against Romelu Lukaku and his fellow attackers, and Belgium bow out after what will go down as a disappointing tournament.

Both of these sides were looking for revenge, in Belgium’s case for their 1-0 defeat against France in the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup, a result that still hurts six years on.

France, meanwhile, had a point to prove at the Euros after going out in the last 16 three years ago on penalties to Switzerland, a deeply disappointing result in between runs to consecutive World Cup finals.

The French were widely seen as the favourites to win this tournament before arriving in Germany, but they were below par during the group phase. The broken nose suffered by Mbappe in their opening game against Austria did not help, and the uncertain form of Antoine Griezmann has been a problem too.

Griezmann was dropped for the last group match against Poland but returned here in one of two changes, with Marcus Thuram also coming in as wingers Ousmane Dembele and Bradley Barcola made way.

Meanwhile Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco’s reaction to his own side’s unconvincing displays in the group stage was striking.

Yannick Carrasco and Lois Openda were given starts to provide as much attacking threat as possible in support of Lukaku, while skipper Kevin De Bruyne played a more withdrawn role.

The hope, for the neutrals at least, was that so much attacking talent would lead to an open game full of goals, but the reality was rather different.

Belgium were happy to sit back and thwart France, and did not test opposition goalkeeper Mike Maignan at all in the first half.

AFP

RAW DEAL: Belgium goalkeeper Koen Casteels (right) watches helplessly as France’s Kulo Muani’s (not in pic) deflected shot bounces in

DUTCH OVEN

Netherlands On The Boil, Seek To Reignite Campaign Against Romania After Poor Start

Ultimately, it’s one match and that’s it. Whoever has greater desire, greater ambition, better team spirit, more self-confidence and confidence in teammates will make it.” — Radu Dragusin ROMANIA DEFENDER

VIRGIL VAN DIJK

Munich: Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk has called upon his side to rediscover their “will to win” ahead of Tuesday’s Euro 2024 last 16 meeting with Romania.

Despite boasting a talented squad, the Netherlands have so far struggled in the tournament.

Drawn in Group D alongside heavyweights France and Ralf Rangnick’s impressive Austria, the Netherlands finished just ahead of a lacklustre Poland and qualified as one of the four best third-placed sides.

Van Dijk, in particular, was the target of criticism from former Dutch midfielder Rafael van der Vaart who slammed his “disgraceful performance” against Austria in the Neth- erlands’ final group game.

“I want him to show some passion,” said the former Oranje playmaker. Still considered among the best defenders in the world, 32-yearold Van Dijk was at fault for Austria’s decisive third goal in the 3-2 win which sent the Alpine nation through as group winners.

Coach Ronald Koeman was a player when the Netherlands won the 1988 Euros on German soil. “If we have the luck we had in 1988, we’ll win tomorrow,” he said. Forward Cody Gakpo said Monday: “We need to be there, give energy, that’s our game plan. Romania need to produce a near perfect performance, Romania coach Edward Iordanescu on Monday ahead of the round of 16 Euro 2024 clash. “We know we have to be close to perfection tomorrow to have a good result,” Iordanescu said. “Mentally we have to be very strong and decisive. I think my team can do that. We must not make individual mistakes.”

Romania are 40 spots below seventh-placed Netherlands in the FIFA rankings and have won only two of their 19 games at six Euros finals appearances.

They face a Dutch side that have disappointed so far and finished third in their group after losing 3-2 to Austria but Iordanescu cautioned against reading too much into that performance.

“Don’t be fooled by how the Netherlands played against Austria,” he said. “No game is easy, especially not one that can get you into the quarterfinals. The Netherlands are favourites tomorrow. They have incredible players but we have our own strengths.”

Iordanescu said he was also considering changes beyond the forced replacement of suspended left back Nicusor Bancu, who misses out due to two yellow cards, adding that whoever plays knows what is at stake. “Reaching the quarterfinals would be fabulous,” he said. “ It’s important that we’re strong, organised and decisive, then there could be things that go in our favour.”

AGENCIES

IANIS HAGI

MEXICO OUT; ECUADOR EARN SPOT IN LAST 8

Glendale: Mexico were eliminated from the Copa America after a 0-0 draw against Ecuador, who advanced to the quarterfinals after avoiding a penalty in stoppage time thanks to a VAR review.

Mexico were initially awarded a penalty kick when Ecuador’s Felix Torres took down Mexican forward Guillermo Martinez in the penalty box. VAR rescinded the penalty because Torres touched the ball and Mexico were awarded a corner kick, sending in a chorus of boos raining down from the Mexican fans at State Farm Stadium. “I don’t like to talk about our referee. It is what it is and I believe we have more possibilities now that we have VAR,” Mexico coach Jaime Lozano said. “After an early exit, I don’t want to talk about the referee.”

Venezuela top group

In Group B, Eduard Bello opened the scoring in the 49th minute and Venezuela completed play with a perfect record, beating Jamaica 3-0. By winning the groupB, Venezuela avoid- ed a Thursday matchup in the quarterfinals against defending champions Argentina.

Uruguay’s coach Bielsa suspended

Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa has been suspended by South American soccer’s governing body for coming out late for the second half of the first two Copa America matches and will miss his team’s game against the United States on Monday.

The Confederation of South American Football said Sunday that Bielsa broke tournament rules and it fined the Uruguayan Soccer Association $15,000. Uruguay came out late for the second half in victories over Panama and Bolivia. Lionel Scaloni, Ricardo Gareca and Fernando Batista also faced similar bans. AGENCIES

POACHER AT WORK: Venezuela’s midfielder Eduard Bello (centre) heads the ball for his team’s first goal against Jamaica in Austin. Venezuela won 3-0

There’s no place like Leipzig

‘Home’ Sides Austria And Turkiye Battle It Out

Seven of Rangnick’s squad either currently play for Salzburg or Leipzig or have done at some time in their career. Baumgartner signed for Leipzig in 2023

RANGNICK

Leipzig: Turkiye have felt at home at Euro 2024 thanks to a huge expat population in Germany, but it is Austria who will be in familiar surroundings for Tuesday’s last 16 clash in Leipzig.

Under the leadership of Ralf Rangnick, Austria have been the revelation of the tournament so far, topping a group that contained France and the Netherlands thanks to their coach’s trademark brand of energetic football.

Rangnick’s first foray into international management has reestablished his reputation as one the game’s brightest thinkers after an ill-fated and short-lived spell in charge of Manchester United. It was Rangnick’s record in building the sporting organisation behind Red Bull’s football empire in Salzburg and then in the German city of Leipzig that had attracted United in the first place. Now the 66-year-old is reaping the reward of those structures he put in place as Austria look to make history by reaching the quarterfinals.

Seven of Rangnick’s squad either currently play for Salzburg or Leipzig or have done at some point in their career. That synergy between coach and players has allowed Austria to play the high-pressing game that has become the norm among Europe’s top clubs but is difficult to implement at international level due to a lack of time in training. “The intensity is the decisive factor,” said Rangnick.

Austria’s fine form is even more remarkable given the loss of Real Madrid’s David Alaba among a string of injuries. Marcel Sabitzer of Borussia Dortmund, Bayern’s Konrad Laimer and veteran Marko Arnautovic are the biggest names left in the squad. But the club-like team spirit fostered by Rangnick has been their strength to compensate for the lack of star names.

AFP

BAUMGARTNER

Just be happy, Georgia coach tells ‘Kvara-dona’

KVARATSKHELIA

Cologne: Georgia coach Willy Sagnol told winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to be happy and carry on playing with heart whatever he decides amid speculation about a transfer from Napoli to Paris St Germain after his stellar performances at Euro 2024.

“If he wants to, he should go,” Sagnol said after Georgia’s defeat to Spain ended their participation at the tournament in Germany where Kvaratskhelia, nicknamed “Kvara-dona” by fans after Diego Maradona, has shone.

“If it’s Napoli or Paris or whatever, I just want him to be happy and to still play with a lot of emotions, because that is how he gets so fantastic.

“I just wish him all the best in his career.”

Kvaratskhelia helped Napoli to the Serie A title in the 2022/2023 season their first since Maradona played for them winning both Most Valuable Player and Goal of the Season.

At the Euros, he tormented defences and scored in a shock win over Portugal that took Georgia past the group stage at their first major international football tournament despite being the lowest-ranked team.

That, inevitably, revived questions over the 23-year-old’s future, with some media reports saying he is weighing a contract renewal with Napoli versus interest from French champions PSG.

“I don’t think he will decide on his own. I think he still has a contract in Napoli. It’s a big club, and a club that has to be respected like all the other clubs,” added Sagnol at a news conference.

Nico is going to be a little annoying now, says pal Yamal

Spain’s Young Stars Revel In Banter Ahead Of Massive Clash With Germany

Cologne: Spain have set up a mouth-watering quarterfinal meeting with Germany for Friday, an early final of sorts with both heavyweight being joint highest winners of this tournament with three titles.

But before that, on Sunday night, the Iberians set the tournament alight with a slick masterclass with a 4-1 demolition of Georgia, who for their part gave Luis de la Fuentes’ team a slight ruffle by taking the early lead through a Robin Le Normand own goal in the Round of 16 encounter. De la Fuentes would later say his team could have beaten Georgia 9-1. Not many would have disagreed with that view. “I don’t want to offend anyone, but I think we have the best team and the best players. The result was deceptive because it could have been 8-1 or 9-1,” Spain’s coach said.

A polished performance in drizzling rain, Spain’s was a message of intent and one which included superbly taken goals from Rodri, Fabian Ruiz, Nico Williams and Dani Olmo. Coach Luis de la Fuentes’ claim was further buttressed by the idea that the play they dished out was orchestrated along Spain’s wings by a duo whose combined age is less than Cristiano Ronaldo’s own age. Williams is 21 years, and Lamine Yamal 16, the Portuguese superstar is 39. Do the math.

The youngsters have lent Spain their cool confidence at this tournament. On Sunday, they were quick, inventive and unrelenting down the flanks, with the older Williams proving the biggest threat in a pulsating game. Having led Georgia’s defence on a merry jig, Williams and Yamal later performed a celebratory dance.

“Nico Williams is going to be a little annoying after his match,” joked Yamal, “I told him not to start with it because I will score in the next game.”

After the game, Williams and Yamal were seen playing ‘rock, paper, scissors’ for a well-deserved post-match drink. “He didn’t want to give me the bottle of water and we always play a game of chance,” one said.

“This week he’ll have to put up with me because he didn’t score — hopefully in the next game he can shut me up. We always give each other challenges and work well together.”

Thanks to his tender age and illustrious club, Spain and Barcelona’s teenage winger Yamal has caught the eye but on the opposite flank, Williams is proving every bit as devastating as the 21-year-old Bilbao winger’s stunning goal showed.

Newspaper Marca described Yamal and Williams as “two Ferraris” on the wings and as they tore strips out of the Euros debutants to reach the quarterfinals. A watching Germany would have felt a flutter or two.

Facing Germany in the last eight is arguably the biggest match of the duo’s careers.

“When you see what Yamal brings to football, age becomes no issue,” German fullback David Raum said in glum admiration. “The lad plays in first team at Barcelona and also in the national team so there is no point talking about him as a kid. He has brutal quality and we will have to find a way to defend against him.”

“I think they are two top players, but not just those two. The whole Spanish team is very well equipped. They are never really predictable,” he said.

AGENCIES

SWEET BIRDS OF YOUTH: Spain’s Nico Williams (R) celebrates scoring his team’s third with Lamine Yamal in Cologne

GALLERY

McLaughlin-Levrone steals the show on last night of US Oly trials

Eugene: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone broke the women’s 400 metres hurdles world record for the fifth time on Sunday after crossing the line in 50.65 seconds at the US Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon.

The 24-year-old Olympic champion improved on her previous mark of 50.68 set two years ago at the same Hayward Field track and will travel to Paris to defend her title. McLaughlin-Levrone was in a state of disbelief after posting such a quick time. “I’m just amazed, baffled and in shock,” she said.

Anna Cockrell (52.64) was second while Jasmine Jones (52.77) took third. McLaughlin-Levrone exploded out of the blocks and took the lead immediately, gliding over each hurdle in a technically flawless performance.

China badminton player, 17, dies of cardiac arrest after collapsing on court:

An “outstanding” 17-year-old Chinese badminton player died of cardiac arrest after collapsing on court during a tournament in Indonesia, officials said on Monday. Zhang Zhijie was suddenly taken ill during a match late Sunday against Japan’s Kazuma Kawano at the Asia Junior Championships in Yogyakarta. The score was 11-11 in the first game when Zhang fell to the floor between points. The teenager received treatment at the venue and was rushed to hospital by ambulance, but passed away later that night after repeated efforts to resuscitate him failed.

Jackson completes sprint double at Jamaican Oly trials: Shericka Jackson completed the sprint double on the final day of the Jamaican Olympic trials by winning the women’s 200 metres on Sunday while Ackera Nugent set a national record en route to winning the 100 hurdles.

Double 200 world champion Jackson crossed the finish in 22.29 seconds, her best performance of the year, while LanaeTava Thomas (22.34) was second and Niesha Burgher third (22.39).

“I’m pretty pleased giving how the season was going, I ran a season best yesterday and came back with another season best today, so I’m definitely happy,” the Tokyo Olympics 100 bronze medallist said. “I’m happy and healthy, so it’s go-time for the Olympics.”

NBA sets salary cap at $140.588mn for 2024-25 season: The NBA announced on Sunday that the salary cap is set at $140.588 million for the 2024-25 season. The league said the Tax Level will be $170.814mn. Both figures go into effect from Monday. The NBA said the minimum team salary is set at $126.529mn for the 2024-25 season. For teams that exceed the tax, the First Apron Level is $178.132mn and the Second Apron Level is $188.931mn.

AGENCIES

ACTION TODAY

FOOTBALL: Euro PQFs, Romania vs Holland, 9.30 pm; Austria vs Turkey, 12.30 am Wednesday (Sony Sports)

TENNIS: Wimbledon, 3.30 pm (Star Sports)

FITNESS TESTS NO MORE ‘CRITERION’ FOR INDIA SELECTION

Focus Has Shifted To Injury Preventive Tests & Performance Tests For Contracted Players

India had all its resources fit and available for selection for T20 World Cup, which was lifted by Rohit Sharma’s team

Arani.Basu@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: The T20 World Cupwinning campaign was a rare instance in the last five years when the Indian team had all its resources fit and available for selection. Plagued by recurring injuries to star players like Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya post the 2019 ODI World Cup, the Indian cricket board’s (BCCI) medical team at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) changed its approach for contracted players from doing fitness tests to injury preventive tests and performance tests in the last two years.

According to a NCA document, in possession of TOI, it is clearly mentioned that the standard fitness tests are not a ‘selection criterion’ for players. The Indian team management under the captaincy of Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri had made fitness tests like the yo-yo test, which checks the endurance of athletes, a yardstick for players to get into the team.

The NCA team, comprising physios and strength & conditioning coaches, has devised three proformas which are known as National Fitness Testing Criteria (NFTC), Perfor- mance Testing Battery and Prevention Testing Battery. The NFTC is supposed to be done every 12-16 weeks, performance testing every six weeks and prevention testing every two weeks.

The NFTC consists of 10 metre sprint test, 20 metre sprint test, standing long jump, yo-yo tests and dexa scan (fat percentage). Interestingly, the document states that these numbers are derived from the average of athletes in an age group and are only group benchmarks. “Please note these are only fitness measures and not a selection criterion,” the document reads.

Notably, the yo-yo and 20 metre sprint numbers are set higher for emerging players than centrally contracted players. The yo-yo mark for contracted players is 16.5 while emerging players are expected to score 16.7.

What’s more interesting is that these yo-yo tests have become a rarity for contracted players at NCA. “The idea is that once a player is centrally contracted, he must have reached the desired level of fitness. With the amount of cricket and time they spend on the road, it is unreasonable for contracted players to undergo NFTC tests. So, the focus has shifted to injury prevention and performance tests. Team India strength and conditioning coach Soham Desai, along with physios Yogesh Parmar, Thulasi and Kamlesh Jain, has done a great job keeping the players in shape through the 2023 ODI World Cup and this T20 World Cup,” a BCCI source told TOI.

The prevention test has become the most important tool. There are tests like overhead squat, walking lunges, glute bridge hold and half kneeling medicine ball throw. These are short tests but it is observed if the player could hold his posture correctly through the tests. If the players struggles to do so, it’s warning sign that the player could be risking an injury.

The GPS vests and whoop bands provide information about running-bowling metrics and players taking responsibility of their off-field activities like sleep and recovery.

According to sources, surgery is the last option. Like in the cases of Bumrah, Hardik, Ravindra Jadeja and Shreyas Iyer, the medical team tried to work around these battery tests in 2022-23, “There are data and tests galore to ensure that the player is in prime shape when he takes the field. The performance testing battery and prevention testing battery played a big role in players going out on the field and performing without worrying about breaking down,” the source said.

Dravid, Rohit devised ‘rotation’ blueprint in Feb 2022

Outgoing Team India head coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma had prepared a blueprint for the pool of players in Feb 2022. “The captain and coach had sat down with the strength and conditioning coach and the physios in February. They had marked the India’s schedule. Rohit and Dravid had given them a pool of players. The support staff was told to ensure those players are available and in the best shape for the T20 World Cup in 2022. The process continued for ODI World Cup in 2023 and now this T20 World Cup. Thus, each series was marked for the players to play in” a source said.

While all the attention was on India’s probable top 15 players, the team management was actually working towards like-for-like options for every player. In effect, the team management had been looking at about 30 players.

“It was decided that if the trainers and physios feel a player is about to hit his threshold, he would be rested straightaway. If any player reveals any discomfort, the team management is willing to rest him at that very point. It’s better to err on the side of caution,” the source added.

Dravid and Rohit have been handicapped due to injuries to Bumrah and Jadeja in 2022 T20 World Cup before losing Rishabh Pant and Pandya in the ODI World Cup last year. But they stuck to their plans of protecting and preparing players for India to finally lift an ICC trophy in Barbados last Saturday,

INDIAN TEAM’S RETURN DISRUPTED BY HURRICANE

Bridgetown: Indian cricket fans might have to wait a little longer to see their T20 World Cup-winning heroes back in the country as the Rohit Sharma-led side’s travel plans have been impacted by a hurricane here. Reports said that hurricane Beryl, originating in the Atlantic, had intensified with maximum sustained winds of 210 kmph.

The Category 4 hurricane was about 570km east-southeast of Barbados and there are reports that the airport in Bridgetown will shut in the evening.

The team was supposed to take an Emirates flight from New York. A source said that the plan now is to fly the team back to India on a charter flight. “The team was supposed to leave from Bridgetown to New York and then reach India via Dubai. But now the plan is to get a charter flight straight from here to Delhi. A meeting with PM Narendra Modi is also being considered,” a source said.

PTI

Seniors will be there in CT & WTC: Shah

Bridgetown: BCCI secretary Jay Shah on Monday asserted that “seniors will be there” in next year’s Champions Trophy and the World Test Championship final if India qualifies for it.

Talking to the media here, Shah lauded the contribution of senior players in the side’s T20 World Cup triumph at the end of which skipper Rohit, senior batter Virat Kohli and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja announced their retirement from the shortest format’s international assignments. “Transition has already happened with three greats retiring,” Shah said when asked about his thoughts on the team’s next phase. “The way this team is progressing, our target is to win the World Test Championship final and Cham- pions Trophy. There will be a similar squad playing there. The seniors will be there.”

‘Selectors to pick new captain’

On Hardik Pandya’s chances of taking over captaincy from Rohit in the T20 format, Shah said: “Captaincy will be decided by the selectors. You asked about Hardik, there were lot of questions over his form but we and selectors showed faith in him and he proved himself.”

‘New coach from SL series’

The Indian team will have a new head coach from the limited-overs series in Sri Lanka starting later this month, Shah said on Monday but did not reveal who has been finalised to succeed the outgoing Rahul Dravid.

AGENCIES

Karthik is RCB’s batting coach

NEW ROLE: Dinesh Karthik will replace South Africa’s Neil McKenzie

Manuja.Veerappa@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru: Over a month after calling time on his career, wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik is back with his team Royal Challengers Bengaluru as a batting coach and mentor. The Bengaluru-based franchise revealed Karthik’s role on Monday. He replaces South Africa’s Neil McKenzie. The 39-year-old, an inspirational figure in the RCB set-up since he returned to the fold in 2022 in a defined role of a finisher, is the second-most capped IPL player. He also played for RCB in the 2015-16 season.

The addition of Karthik is a welcome move, considering the franchise has been inclined towards foreigners for key backroom roles. Karthik, who has scored 4,842 runs in 257 IPL appearances, apart from a rich international exposure, comes with the experience of being a seasoned warhorse in domestic cricket for Tamil Nadu.

With the Indian batters giving a good account of themselves in the 2024 IPL season, the appointment of Karthik will strengthen RCB’s line-up further. Apart from his batting and wicketkeeping skills, Karthik thrives under pressure, a quality which the youngsters can pick up. He will work alongside the coaching team led by Andy Flower. On his maiden foray into professional coaching, Karthik, in a statement, said, “Coaching at a professional level is incredibly exciting for me and is something I’m truly passionate about as a new chapter in my life. The breadth of my experiences as a player can contribute to the development of the group and bring added value.”

“I believe that cricket success hinges not only on technical proficiency but also on match intelligence and composure. I am eager to coach and mentor our batting group, helping them to not only refine their method but also to develop the keen match awareness needed to excel under pressure. It’s also great that I can continue my association with RCB,” he added.

India complete formalities vs SA

Sneh Rana (left) and Shafali Verma on the final day of the Chennai Test

Neha.Surana@timesgroup.com

Chennai: In the first two sessions on the opening day of their one off Test against South Africa, hosts India had ascertained their supremacy. They buried the visitors under an avalanche of runs (603/6 decl) and then the bowlers took over to flatten the opposition’s batting line-up. A late fightback from South Africa notwithstanding, India cruised to a 10-wicket win here on Monday.

With this win, India extended their domination over SA, while the visitors remained winless in their tour.

Resuming at the overnight score of 232/2, and trailing India by 105 runs, South Africa lost a flurry of wickets in the first session but fought hard before folding up for 373. The Indian women broke no sweat to chase down a mere 37 runs and wrap up the contest.

Earlier, SA skipper Laura Wolvaardt (122, 314b; 16x4), who was just seven runs away from her century, started the proceedings with Marizanne Kapp (31). Kapp’s stay was cut short by Deepti Sharma with a delivery l that kept low and turned sharply to trap the SA batter in the front. In the next over, Delmi Tucker was sent back for a duck, the second time in this match by Sneh Rana.

After a few subdued overs, the visitors lost Wolvaardt, who fell to Rajeshwari Gayakwad’s guile. SA were staring down the barrel at 281 for five, but their lower order offered resistance and held. There was a lull period in the afternoon session when they accumulated just 34 runs in almost 30 overs.

Nadine de Klerk (61, 185b; 8x4, 1x6) played a determined knock in her vigorous attempt to erase the deficit and secure a draw for the Proteas. Her watertight defence and play-it-safe approach frustrated the Indian bowlers.

Double-centurion Shafali Verma claimed her maiden Test wicket by dislodging Masabata Klaas’ bails with a delivery that spun from outside the off-stump. Two overs later Rajeshwari ended the resistance by cleaning up de Klerk’s wicket.

Brief scores: India 603/6 decl. & 37/0 in 9.2 overs bt SA 266 & 373 in 154.4 overs (Wolvaardt 122, Luus 109, de Klerk 61, Gayakwad 2-55, Deepti 2-95, Rana 2-111).

T20 WC: Six Indians in ICC’s ‘Team of the Tournament’

No Spot For Virat Kohli Despite Match-Winning Knock In Final vs SA

Dubai: The International Cricket Council has picked six Indians in its ‘Team of the Tournament’ for the just concluded T20 World Cup but there was no place for star batter Virat Kohli, who played a match-winning knock in the final against South Africa. In his new role as an opener, Kohli had an underwhelming World Cup before rising to the occasion in the big final where he was adjudged man-of-thematch for his 59-ball 76.

India pipped South Africa by seven runs in a sensational comeback in the death overs to win their second T20 World Cup title after 17 years. The ICC XI featured Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel and two pacers in Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh.

Rohit led from the front with 257 runs at a splendid strike-rate of 156.7 to his name. He was the second most leading run-getter after Afghanistan’s Rahmanullah Gurbaz. The Player of the Tournament and India’s trump card in their title win, Bumrah returned with 15 wickets. But more than his wickets, his impact in restricting the scoring rate of teams made Bumrah India’s most important player right through the tournament. His economy rate of 4.17 was the best ever by any bowler in a single edition of the T20 World Cup.

Following their historic semifinal finish, Afghanistan found three players in the ICC team, including left-arm quick Fazalhaq Farooqi, who topped the wicket-takers chart jointly with Arshdeep (17 wickets each). Wicketkeeper-batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who topped the runs scorers’ list with 281 runs as an opener for Afghanistan, also found a place alongside skipper Rashid Khan. The crafty leg-spinner brilliantly led Afghanistan in their historic run and returned with 14 wickets with a tidy economy of 6.17.

Team: Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh (all Indians); Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rashid Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi (Afghanistan); Marcus Stoinis (Australia) and Nicholas Pooran (West Indies); 12th man: Anrich Nortje. PTI

OUTSIDE THEIR COMFORT ZONE IN SEARCH OF GLORY

Paris Olympics-Bound Indian Boxers Cook Meals, Bond With Neeraj & Sindhu In Germany

Neeraj Chopra with Indian boxers and support staff in Saarbrücken

Sabi.Hussain@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: In their quest to excel and succeed on the global sporting stage, athletes the world over often go outside their comfort zones, leaving behind the familiarity of home comfort. While it ’s a norm to stay away from family, social gatherings and functions, the hardest part for Indian athletes training abroad often is the non availability of home-cooked food.

The Paris Olympics-bound Indian boxers, and their coaches and support staff, have ensured that they don’t feel the absence of their favourite daal, rice, sabzi, roti and chicken in faraway Saarbrücken. They have tied up with an Indian restaurant in the German city. They have taken along a chef (Dikshant) from NIS Patiala who was cooking for the boxers at the Sports Authority of India (SAI)-run facility and is well aware of the dietary requirements of the boxers.

Five of the six Olympicsbound pugilists – Nikhat Zareen (50kg), Lovlina Borgohain (75kg), Preeti Pawar (54kg), Jaismine Lamboria (57kg) and Nishant Dev (71Kg) – are at the German Olympic Centre in Saarbrucken for a month-long camp, which started on June 28, as part of their final preparations for of the Games. They will train alongside the national squads of Ireland, USA, Mongolia, Germany and Denmark among others.

The Boxing Federation of India (BFI), during a recce tour to the facility last year, had identified a Punjabi restaurant in Saarbrücken –run by a family from Chandigarh – where the Indian boxers can go and have their favourite meals. Separately, considering their month- long stay, the coaches have bought enough ration from an Indian departmental store — including pulses, rice and spices — for the chef to cook at the facility. The boxers, too, sometimes cook the food of their choice after their sparring sessions.

One part of the kitchen has been given to the boxing contingent for cooking. Reigning Olympic and world champion Neeraj Chopra and two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu are also training at the same facility and along with their support staff, they have been eating their meals with the country’s boxers.

One full block, belonging to the football federation, has been given to the boxers. The entire building belongs to them till they move to the Olympic Village on July 22. “All facilities are within walking distance. The athletes have to just train, eat well, rest and recover and remain focused,” said a BFI official.

The boxers go out on leisure walks and sightseeing with Neeraj and Sindhu during their free time. They have an overnight camp stay also planned as part of team bonding. “It’s the best place to train, that’s why Neeraj and Sindhu also chose to train there with their support staff. Saarbrücken offers the same climate and time zone as Paris. The boxers will reach the Olympic village in Paris by train — only an hour and 48 minutes travel time from Saarbrücken,” the official added.

Delighted with OCA’s response on recognition to yoga: IOA prez Usha

GAINING MOMENTUM: Young athletes at the yoga Nationals

Continued From P 1

Usha said the proposal will move through IOA’s sports committee to OCA’s general assembly meeting. It has been learnt that PM Modi was keen on yoga’s inclusion in the Games programme. IOA promptly took this initiative keeping in mind that OCA is headed by Singh – a former secretary general of IOA and former member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). “I am delighted that the OCA EB spontaneously agreed to India’s request to give yoga the recognition it deserves. The inclusion of yoga was an important step as it helps the competitive sporting community to embrace yoga. It has a universal appeal and people around the world have embraced yoga and drawn benefits,” Usha said in a statement.

By 2030, a total of 15 medals each (5 gold, 5 silver and 5 bronze) will be on offer in both men’s and women’s events — for traditional yogasana, artistic yogasana (single and pair), rhythmic yogasana (pair, free flow/group yogasana), individual all round-championships and team championships.

In December 2020, the ministries of youth affairs and sports, and AYUSH, had formally recognised ‘yogasana’ as a competitive sport, paving the way for its inclusion as a medal-event discipline in some of the domestic competi- tions such as Khelo India’s school and university games and National Games.

A National Yogasana Sport Federation of India (NYSFI) has been established for preservation and development of yoga as a competitive sport. The federation was recognised by the sports ministry as a national sports federation (NSF) in Nov 2020. International Yogasana Sports Federation (IYSF) was formed in Nov 2019, with yoga guru Baba Ramdev as its president and Dr H R Nagendra as secretary general.

The development marks an important chapter for yoga, which is believed to have started with the dawn of Indian civilisation and whose origin can be traced thousands of years ago. The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) had declared June 21 a s the ‘ International Yoga Day’ on December 11, 2014 at the behest of PM Modi during his address to UNGA that year.

Afghan women cricketers urge ICC to set up refugee team in Aus

Melbourne: With the dream of once again donning the Afghanistan jersey at the international level, 17 women cricketers from the country living in self-imposed exile in Australia have written to the ICC to help set up a team, which was disbanded after the Taliban takeover in 2021.

While the Afghanistan men’s team has set n ew benchmarks and recently made it to the T20 World Cup semifinals for the first time, the women players, who were contracted to the Afghanistan Cricket Board before the Taliban takeover, sought refuge in Australia, where they hope to set up a refugee team and play international cricket.

PTI

Delhi Times

- Virat: A man written by a woman

- I DIDN’T KNOW IF I HAD THE QUALITIES TO CALL MYSELF AN ACTOR: VIJAY

- Shatrughan Sinha admitted to hospital due to fever

- Kinetic floors, tree planting: How Coldplay tour reduced its carbon footprint by 59%

- THE DAILY CROSSWORD

- Keep your pet healthy in the monsoon

- TV content can’t change overnight, but we’re getting there, says Hitesh

- Kareena Kapoor celebrates 24 years of her film Refugee

- Paris Olympics: Ceremonial dress for the Indian contingent gets a tricolour touch

- HEY BABY!

- ‘WORKING WITH STARS WHO I’VE LOOKED UP TO HELPS SHATTER MY INHIBITIONS’

- Freeman criticizes ‘scam’ using his AI voice imitations

Virat: A man written by a woman

I would say a lifechanging moment would be when I met Anushka, because I saw a different side of life. It wasn’t similar to my environment; it was a different perspective, a different point of view, so that’s what is life-changing – Virat Kohli in an episode of RCB Podcast on a life-changing moment last year

He video calls his wife just minutes after winning the World Cup, searches for her in the stands when she’s not in sight, and flies back after his games just to be by her side. While he sounds like a man written by a woman, that’s Virat Kohli for you.

In a recent post, the ace cricketer claimed that his achievements wouldn’t be “remotely possible” without Anushka’s support. From taking a stand

for her each time trolls lashed out to calling her his ‘lifechanging moment,’ Virat has set a standard. So, the next time you see your partner reluctant to go the extra mile, you might just ask, “What’s your excuse?”

Whether it’s sending her flying kisses from the stands or kissing his wedding ring when she’s not around, Anushka always gets the credit for his achievements from Virat

In March 2016, after securing India’s position in the semi finals of the T20 world cup, Virat slammed the trolls who had been attacking Anushka

I DIDN’T KNOW IF I HAD THE QUALITIES TO CALL MYSELF AN ACTOR: VIJAY

I did not do Jawan expecting some quid pro quo in terms of my career. I wanted to work with a star like Shah Rukh sir and a director like Atlee. By working with a star like Shah Rukh sir, I also get to be known beyond the set of people who may have heard of me

VIJAY SETHUPATHI

M Suganth

Vijay Sethupathi reached a milestone of 50 films with the Tamil thriller Maharaja, which hit screens recently. The actor, who has become a pan-Indian star with films like Jawan, Merry Christmas and Super Deluxe, looks back on his journey so far, his current state of mind, his kids and how he maintains a work-life balance despite being one of the busiest actors in the country. Excerpts:

‘WOULD HAVE GONE CRAZY IF I’D BEEN CALLED A HERO WHEN I STARTED’

All I wanted was at least become a serial actor. I’m not putting down acting in serials by saying this. At that time, my thinking was that since there were so many serials being made, it would be easier for me to get a break in TV. One day, someone told me I was a hero, and I lost sleep that night. Over time, I got used to that word. And I realised that things had started moving in this direction only after I’d gradually started believing I could be a hero; I’d have gone crazy if someone had called me a hero right when I started out.

‘I USED TO FEEL EMBARRASSED TO CALL MYSELF AN ACTOR’

I used to feel embarrassed to say that I was an actor. These days, people are more accepting of acting aspirations, but that was not the case back then. Also, I didn’t know if I had the qualities to call myself an actor.

CONTINUED ON 4

Vijay in a still from Jawan

Shatrughan Sinha admitted to hospital due to fever

Shatrughan Sinha

Shatrughan Sinha, who is admitted to a suburban hospital in Mumbai, reportedly underwent a minor surgery. A source said that the senior actor had a hectic schedule recently due to the polling campaign and his daughter Sonakshi Sinha’s wedding. Earlier, when Sonakshi visited the hospital with her husband, Zaheer Iqbal, it raised speculations about her pregnancy. However, the source confirmed that the actress went to the hospital to see her father.

While there’s no clarity on how soon Sinha will be discharged from the hospital, it is said that the actor-politician is currently stable and under observation. “My father had a strong fever and we decided to take him to the hospital so that he could recover and we could have his yearly tests done as well,” son Luv told PTI in a WhatsApp message. He also denied rumours of Shatrughan Sinha undergoing surgery. PTI

Kinetic floors, tree planting: How Coldplay tour reduced its carbon footprint by 59%

In 2019, Coldplay promised its fans that they will not tour unless they can do it in an eco-friendly way. And in their 2023-24 tour, they actually delivered – beating eco-touring target of reducing carbon footprint by 50% compared to their 2016-17 tour

In 2021, the band first announced a 12-point plan to lower carbon emissions while touring. Apart from these eco solutions opted by the team, there were attendees who travelled to the shows by foot, bicycle, public transport or in shared rides

Promised in 2019: Plan to tour environmentally

We are taking time over the next year or two, to not only o be sustainable but also to be actively beneficial... how can we harness the resources that our tours create. Our dream is to have a show with no single-use plastic, largely solar-powered Chris Martin to BBC, Nov 21 2019

Delivered in 2024: 59% less CO2 emissions

We are happy to report that the direct CO2 emissions from the first two years of the show is 59% less than our previous stadium tour, on show-by-show comparison Coldplay’s statement in June 2024

How Coldplay met eco-tour targets

■ Show batteries charged on powerbikes and kinetic dancefloors. Kinetic energy produced by fans dancing on the floors charge the electric batteries being used

■ A tree was planted for every ticketpurchased and over 7 million trees have been planted so far

■ All the collected recyclable plasticwaste has to be recycled to make vinyls of Coldplay’s albums

■ Minimising air travel, with sustainableaviation fuel used when flying is unavoidable. In 2023, Coldplay frontman Chris used a train to commute from Manchester to Cardiff for a show

■ In-venue solar installations for energyneeds. Coldplay also funded two solar-powered ocean cleanup river interceptors, which extract plastics from the ocean

■ LED wristbands were returned byattendees and sent for recycling. As per the band, 72% of the tour waste has been diverted from landfill and sent for recycling, reuse or composting

Some concert attendees also charge batteries on power bikes

— Compiled by Shivika Manchanda

THE DAILY CROSSWORD

PER CORNER

Keep your pet healthy in the monsoon

Exercise and mental stimulation are important for your pet’s overall wellbeing, even during the rainy season. Don’t let your pets sit idle at home. If it’s pouring outside, engage them in indoor games – Dr Shantanu Kalamabi

Shourya Jha

Should you take your pet out for long walks when it’s raining? Should you tweak their daily routine, keeping the monsoons in mind? Does your pet need a change in diet? Monsoon brings its own list of challenges for pets. If you are a pet parent, here are some tips and tricks to maintain your pet’s well-being this season.

Soothe your pet during thunderstorms

● Designate a quiet, comfortable area in the house, where your pet feels safe

● Play soothing music, or use white noise to mask the sound of thunder

● Try calming products like pheromone diffusers or anxiety wraps, after consulting with the vet

● Your pet can pick up on your anxiety, so stay calm, and provide gentle reassurance

● If your pet’s anxiety is severe, speak to the vet about possible medications and therapies

(With inputs from Dr Deesha, Pune-based veterinarian)

Skin and furcare

● Ticks and fleas are most common in monsoon, so use anti-tick sprays and powder

● Frequently brush their coat to keep fur dry and untangled

● For long-haired breeds,consider trimming the fur

● Give your pet a bath regularly, using mild petsafe shampoo

● Regularly clean their bedding, litter boxes, to prevent bacterial and fungal growth

● Check for signs of redness, rashes, or unusual scratching

● Vaccinations and deworming schedules should be up-to-date

● Consult your vet about infections and parasite related treatments

(With inputs from Dr Shantanu Kalamabi, chief veterinary officerat a pet care brand)

Stuck indoors due to the rain? Activities you can try to keep your pet active

● A game of tug-of-war to burn energy

● Let your pet look for hidden toys, and treats to stimulate their mind

● Play fetch using a soft toy

● Invest in puzzle toys and treat dispensing toys to keep your pet engaged

● Use the time indoor to work on obedience training

Meals for the season

● Avoid raw food

● Boiled water that’s cooled down will help prevent dehydration and urinary infections

● Include food rich in Omega-3 andOmega-6 fatty acids like fish oil supplements, to help reduce the risk of infections and allergies

● Feed smaller, more frequent meals to maintain their energy levels and prevent digestive problems

(With inputs from Dr Umesh Kallahalli, senior veterinarian at a pet care brand)

When taking your pet out for walks

● Choose a time when the rain is light, or has paused

● Make your pet wear a raincoat and waterproof boots

● Dry your pet with a towel once back, paying special attention to the paws, underbelly

● Avoid walking your pet in areas with stagnant water, to avoid skin infections

TV content can’t change overnight, but we’re getting there, says Hitesh

While makers in TV treat you with respect, in OTT and films, people tend to judge you because you are a TV actor, I am not okay with that

Hitesh Bharadwaj

Hitesh Bharadwaj, who is the new lead in Ghum Hai Kisike Pyaar Mein after the seven-year leap, is currently seen playing a father to a five-year-old. Hitesh and the little girl (Amayra Khurana) share a great rapport and it’s a lot of fun on the set, he says. “Whenever my wife and I plan to start a family, I would love to have a girl child. Of course, right now we don’t plan to as we are both focusing on our careers,” he shares.

‘FINITE SHOWS ARE THE FUTURE’

Hitesh, who previously played the lead role in Udaariyaan after the leap, says he is happy to see some change in terms of content on TV. He shares, “Content cannot change overnight, but there is a change in the stories and formats. Many makers are opting for finite formats and contracts are written for a fixed period of time. I feel that the story and teamwork is the hero on TV today.”

‘THE WORD OVEREXPOSED IS NOT NEW FOR TV ACTORS’

Hitesh, who has been a part of showbiz for a decade, has been auditioning for OTT shows and films, too. He says, “The word ‘overexposed’ is not new for TV actors. When you meet producers from television, they treat you with respect and give your due because you have done a reasonable amount of work. But when you audition for a film or OTT platform, they tend to judge you because you come from telly background. I am not okay with that. I am waiting for the time when I will be just known as an actor and the medium will not matter. There are so many actors who have blurred the lines between mediums. Sharad Kelkar is a good example of someone who has successfully transitioned from TV to films and made a place for himself.”

— Tanvi Trivedi

Hitesh in Ghum Hai Kisike Pyaar Mein

Kareena Kapoor celebrates 24 years of her film Refugee

Kareena Kapoor Khan

Kareena Kapoor Khan and Abhishek Bachchan-starrer Refugee completed 24 years on Sunday. The film directed by JP Dutta also starred Jackie Shroff, Sunil Shetty and Anupam Kher. The actress took to her Instagram handle to share a video with sequences and songs from the film. She wrote in the caption, “24 years of discovering myself and my characters ...The best is yet to come... Love you all (sic).”

ANI

The actress with Abhishek Bachchan in a still from Refugee

Paris Olympics: Ceremonial dress for the Indian contingent gets a tricolour touch

I’m not a sporty person but it’s amazing to contribute to something that is a matter of Indian pride – Tarun Tahiliani

Hockey player Jarmanpreet Singh and shooter Anjum Moudgil in the new outfits. For men, the designer has gone ahead with short kurtas with bundis and saris for women. “I told them that the bundi is India, it can be 40 degrees over there so let’s put them in something cool so that they are not sweating. It is all natural fabrics... I wanted a sporty look so it didn’t look too formal,” says Tarun

Riya Sharma

On Sunday, the Indian Olympic Association hosted the sendoff ceremony for the Indian contingent heading to the Paris Olympics 2024. During the event, the ceremonial dress for the opening ceremony, designed by Tarun Tahiliani, and the playing kit were unveiled.

Tarun says, “It feels amazing to have made some contribution to something that is a matter of Indian pride. I did the research and said that the colours must come from the Indian flag. This year, the athletes are coming on barges down the Seine River. So, each country has its own barge. Imagine the whole thing with the big Indian flag and it will all look so beautiful. We have used ikat print and brocade from Banaras. This is India in different forms. The most important thing for me was to use the colours of the Indian flag. The Olympic committee’s flag has also been incorporated.”

Tarun Tahiliani, designer

Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports

Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas

MC Mary Kom

Vijender Singh

PT Usha, President, Indian Olympic Association

HEY BABY!

BIPASHA BASU and daughter DEVI had a fun day swimming together. “My sunshine is always with me,” wrote Bipasha

.

CHARU ASOPA and daughter ZIANA had a mommydaughter day as they did shopping in Dubai

‘WORKING WITH STARS WHO I’VE LOOKED UP TO HELPS SHATTER MY INHIBITIONS’

I see working in other languages as an opportunity to learn about people and their cultures. I now want to work Gujarati, Bengali and Marathi films. I do not know those cultures or languages, so I want to experience them by doing films there

The actor with his Jawan co-stars Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone and director Atlee

CONTINUED FROM 1

ON HOW HE GOT ATTRACTED TO ACTING

From around 2008-09, I started observing aspiring directors passionately watching and talking about films, and I realised that there was something about cinema. A series on international films in a Tamil magazine made me learn how to watch cinema. I began with Life Is Beautiful and started watching more films. I was confident that I’d begin to understand the knack of acting one day. So, I did all the things that might put me on that path... from watching films to discussing films with those who know what cinema is.

‘I BELIEVED WHAT I WAS SEEKING WAS AROUND ME’

When I was working in Dubai, I was earning 1,000 dirhams. When I moved to another company, I got 2,000 dirhams. When I thanked my employer, he said that God fulfils all my needs, and he was just one of the people who were meant to make it happen. At that time, I was a staunch believer and trusted it completely. I still continue to believe it (he’s now an atheist). What we need is right in front of us; earlier, I did not know that, but now, I know it exists and am searching for it. It’s like in an Aladdin video game – the treasure would be hidden in select places and if the character went to a specific spot, he’d get coins or points. Likewise, I believed what I was seeking was somewhere around me. If you have a goal, the lessons you learn during its pursuit will tell you if you’re nearing your destination.

‘HAVE NOT PAID ANY PRICE FOR THIS SUCCESS; I’VE ONLY EARNED HAPPINESS’

I have only earned happiness. Maybe I might have gotten a peek behind the masks that some people around me were wearing, but I don’t really blame anyone because the fault could have even been with me. I believe that’s the maturity I’ve developed; I’m responsible for both the good and bad that have happened to me.

‘I DON’T WANT TO CREATE ONLY A GOOD IMAGE ABOUT MYSELF WITH MY KIDS’

My kids have grown up, so I think I’ve now reached that stage where I’m starting to get relieved of my responsibilities as a parent. According to me, for the first 5-6 years, you should give them motherly love, Then, for five years from the ages 17 or 18, as a father, you should give them the guidance, discipline, rebuke and a little bit of love.

I want to make my kids understand the world, life, myself, my actions, both good and bad. I try to discuss everything with them. I do not want to create only a good image about myself with my kids. So, as much as possible, I try to be open with them. It’s enough if they understand as- pects about life. I always tell them not to take my words as the ultimate truth just because I’m their dad. They can decide their own lives instead of me having to do it for them.

ON HOW HE MAINTAINS WORK - LIFE BALANCE

I spend as much time as possible with my family. I tell stories to my kids. Even a couple of weeks ago, I told my daughter, who is 16, a story with a random set of words that I asked her to give me, like an elephant, a fox, a cabbage and carrot farm, a bee! I also drop her at school whenever possible. I did the first shave of my son and celebrated his milestone with a function, just like how people celebrate when girls attain puberty. I don’t post all these on Instagram, but shoot these memories on my phone, and watch them when I’m away for shoots.

‘Did Jawan mainly for the experience of working with SRK sir’

I did not do Jawan expecting some quid pro quo in terms of my career. I wanted to work with a star like Shah Rukh sir and a director like Atlee. Every film Atlee has directed so far has been a hit, so I wanted to learn how he carries this success. And, by working with a star like Shah Rukh sir — who is known across the length and breadth of the country — I also get to be known beyond the set of people who may have heard of me. He’s someone who I’ve looked at in wonder. So, in case I have some inhibitions or a sense of inferiority complex, working with people who I’ve looked up to — be it Rajini sir or Kamal sir or Shah Rukh sir or Vijay sir or the experienced female actresses — helps shatter my inhibitions and grow in confidence.

VIJAY SETHUPATHI

With his son Surya and daughter Shreeja; While Surya is now all set to make his debut as a lead, Shreeja had starred in the short film Mughizh (2021) alongside her father

Freeman criticizes ‘scam’ using his AI voice imitations

Morgan Freeman

Morgan Freeman recently took to social media and thanked his fans who called out unauthorised AI imitations of the actor’s recognisable voice, as per Variety.

“Thank you to my incredible fans for your vigilance and support in calling out the unauthorized use of an A.I. voice imitating me,” the ac- tor wrote, adding, “Your dedication helps authenticity and integrity remain paramount. Grateful. #AI #scam #imitation #IdentityProtection (sic).”

Morgan’s post comes at a time where AI imitations have faced scrutiny in the entertainment industry.

ANI

Table of Contents

TOI Print Edition Jul 02, 2024

Front Page

As nation moves to new laws, Delhi Police files 300 cases

NEET retest: 60% improve scores, but can’t match what they got with grace marks

Aus doubles visa fees for int’l students; Indians to be hit

PhD scholar held for abortion, wife’s death

9 ill after Rourkela Steel Plant gas leak

Share of women directors up over 3x

Yoga all set to become Asiad sport as early as 2026

Christian gets death in Pak for ‘blasphemy’

Case on UK-based prof for ‘provoking’ groups in Manipur

NHRC notice over Foxconn ‘bias’

9 devotees killed in Boler o-truck collision

Car hits truck on KMP, 4 of family die

INDIA BEATS SOUTH AFRICA AGAIN

First time in 3yrs, monthly GST rise <10%

Rahul’s ‘Hindu’ remarks spark fiery face-off with PM in Parl

IN THE COURTS

Patkar gets 5-month jail in LG defamation case

July monsoon rain likely to be ‘above normal’, says IMD

‘Tweets defamatory’: HC asks TMC MP to pay `50L

Times Nation

Shah counters oppn, says new laws duly debated in House

Remand time still remains 15 days: Min

Pol interference in service issue undesirable: HC

Terror clearly defined under BNS, says Shah

Badrinath deity sole owner of offerings: Court

MAHA STOPS DEEKSHABHOOMI WORK AFTER AMBEDKARITE STIR

FIRST DAY FIRST SHOW

Sleepwalking youth falls 3 floors, dies

Lover bobbitised for marriage refusal

Rahul lying, kin of Agniveer KIA get `1cr, says Rajnath

NIA gives nod for Rashid’s oath-taking

SL nabs 25 Indian fishermen as ties hit choppy waters after navy sailor’s death

Bishnoi gang planned Moose Wala-like hit on Salman: Chargesheet

Woman head constable aiding bootlegger in dry Guj nabbed

Rahul’s ‘not Hindus’ jibe at BJP draws angry reaction

Rahul enjoyed power without responsibility, says Thakur

Parl pays tribute to ’85 ‘Kanishka’ bombing victims

Oppn clashes with govt in RS over new laws, agencies’ ‘misuse’

‘Deeply regrettable,’ says RSS of Rahul comment; an ‘injustice’, adds VHP

Birla, Dhankhar tick off Cong for ‘mic off’ charge

People remain committed to motherland despite adverse circumstances: Bhagwat

Acerbic Rahul spares none, attacks even Speaker Birla

You throttled my voice, lost 63 MPs, Moitra taunts BJP

Dhankhar expunges Kharge remarks attacking PM, RSS

NHRC seeks Bengal report on thrashing of couple by group ‘linked to TMC’

SAD rebels apologise before Akal Takht for ‘religious transgressions’ during Akali rule

Blow for KCR as HC junks plea against probe into power purchase ‘irregularities’

Case against UK-based Indian-origin prof for ‘provoking’ Manipur groups

PhD scholar held as wife dies after forced abortion op

CBI summons 2 more Oasis teachers in NEET leak case

Two-wheeler rider dies in Varanasi:

Times City

How investigators responded to first day of calls

‘Metropolitan magistrate’: A term consigned to history books

Why Body Cams Could Be Key To Scripting Successful Police Story

Lawyers grapple with changes, some rush to bookstores, others greet shift

Cops on toes to allay initial fears and confusion

FIRs filed without major glitches at police stations

Knowledge is power: Reaching out to counsellors, NGOs to spread the word

Low on spirits! Most beer brands missing from bars

`1k Aid To Women: Delhi Steps Closer To Launch Of Scheme

BJP targets Delhi govt for water woes, flooding after rain; AAP strikes back

Fact-finding committee formed in violation of rules, claims forest dept

WCD begins process to take over mgmt of women helpline 181

Mohalla bus service could be rolled in a mth: Gahlot

Man shot by group after spat in Fbd

CUET results delay: DU assures students worried over impact on academic year

Driver held for hit-and-run incident that left 2-year-old dead

False Charges Undermine Trust: Court

Excise policy: No bail relief for Kavitha in two cases

Delhi couple feared drowned in Rishikesh

HC to hear Kejriwal’s plea against arrest by CBI today

AAP tells MLAs to initiate green campaign

‘No reason to hear afresh plea for more meetings’

Maliwal case: HC seeks cops’ stand on Bibhav’s petition against arrest

Flock Watch Breeds Joy For Birders

9-year-old girl strangled, body burned; minor neighbour held

Atishi tells edu secy to withdraw order issued on mandatory transfer of teachers

Delhi-Ggn traffic to be hit for 3-4 days

DJB production rises, but water problems persist

Heavy showers likely over four days in Gurgaon

Another Humid Day As Rain Gives Delhi The Miss Again

Dhankher takes charge as DMRC director

All trains running on Magenta Line now unmanned

Four killed after car rams canter-truck on KMP e-way

Find solutions to curb spilling of drain: Atishi

3 murdered in separate cases, 2 minors among those nabbed

Anxiety May Double Risk Of Parkinson’s

Gang forged papers to get bail, busted

Times Global

Trump substantially shielded from prosecution, rules US SC

Prachanda govt in trouble? Ally Oli holds talk with rival

Ukraine says foiled another Russian plot to topple govt

‘Aus move could drive pupils to UK, which charges $900’

Chinese rocket accidentally launches during test, crashes

Rival Parties Form Anti-Far Right Front

Indian woman dies of a medical condition on Melbourne flight

US said to seek Boeing guilty plea to avoid trial in 737 Max crashes

AROUND THE WORLD

Death for Christian man in Pak for sharing hateful posts

Pandemic’s babies and toddlers are now school-age, and behind

Editorial

Lawful, Liberal

For Rohits To Win

Insta food era

As Old As Trump, Biden? Good

Battle Begins: New Codes Versus Old Ways

The Secret To Attaining Permanent Bliss

A thought for today

Sacred space

Times Business

Niva Bupa Health looks to raise `3,000cr from IPO

Purplle bags `1,000cr in round led by ADIA

Narayana Health enters insurance biz

ICICI Lombard floats AI health insurance

Ex-Softbank partner joins Flipkart board

Bond yields are falling, life insurers may raise rates

1st time in 3 years, GST kitty growth slows to single digit

Mfg activity recovers in June: Survey

Avg daily UPI nos touch 46cr peak in June

Auto cos go slow on dealer dispatches as demand dips

Heat, humidity push power demand, fuel sales mixed

7 years: A friendlier, simpler GST on the way

Broker fees must not be linked to volumes: Sebi

‘Women’s share on boards rises faster than in top jobs’

RBI to link UPI, Asean payment systems

Patanjali to acquire parent’s non-food biz

Times Sport

Aggressive Alcaraz gets going

Tricky opener for Bops-Ebden pair

Claims of TMC MP targeted ex-diplomat’s hubby Puri: HC

Injured Sabalenka pulls out

Liren vs Gukesh World C’ship final to take place in Singapore

Anand wins Leon title for 10th time

Rahul’s first speech as LoP a front-on attack on Modi-Shah

Results of NEET-UG re-test will ensure there is no change in number of toppers

Good rainfall set to cool things down in NW India

PRAGG MISSES CHANCE AGAINST WESLEY SO ON ANOTHER DAY OF DRAWS

NO OWN GOALS!

DUTCH OVEN

MEXICO OUT; ECUADOR EARN SPOT IN LAST 8

There’s no place like Leipzig

Just be happy, Georgia coach tells ‘Kvara-dona’

Nico is going to be a little annoying now, says pal Yamal

GALLERY

FITNESS TESTS NO MORE ‘CRITERION’ FOR INDIA SELECTION

INDIAN TEAM’S RETURN DISRUPTED BY HURRICANE

Seniors will be there in CT & WTC: Shah

Karthik is RCB’s batting coach

India complete formalities vs SA

T20 WC: Six Indians in ICC’s ‘Team of the Tournament’

OUTSIDE THEIR COMFORT ZONE IN SEARCH OF GLORY

Delighted with OCA’s response on recognition to yoga: IOA prez Usha

Afghan women cricketers urge ICC to set up refugee team in Aus

Delhi Times

Virat: A man written by a woman

I DIDN’T KNOW IF I HAD THE QUALITIES TO CALL MYSELF AN ACTOR: VIJAY

Shatrughan Sinha admitted to hospital due to fever

Kinetic floors, tree planting: How Coldplay tour reduced its carbon footprint by 59%

THE DAILY CROSSWORD

Keep your pet healthy in the monsoon

TV content can’t change overnight, but we’re getting there, says Hitesh

Kareena Kapoor celebrates 24 years of her film Refugee

Paris Olympics: Ceremonial dress for the Indian contingent gets a tricolour touch

HEY BABY!

‘WORKING WITH STARS WHO I’VE LOOKED UP TO HELPS SHATTER MY INHIBITIONS’

Freeman criticizes ‘scam’ using his AI voice imitations