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Front Page

- IN THE COURTS

- Gang guns down Trinamool man at Bengal dhaba

- City woman, BSES staffer electrocuted

- 3 die digging in Guj illegal coal mine

- Increase in TDS/TCS entries irks taxpayers

- 4 of family among 5 killed in Bihar crash

- CUET-UG retest on July 19 for 1k students

- Donald Trumps Death

- Pune cops seize trainee IAS officer’s Audi

- Covid-year job surge led by agri, construction: RBI

- BJP’s RS tally dips to 86, NDA 101; can still get bills passed with others’ help

- After 46 yrs, team breaks open Puri ‘ratna bhandar’

- 32-year-old patient shot dead ‘by teen’ in GTB hosp ward

- CRPF jawan killed, 2 cops injured in Manipur attack

IN THE COURTS

➤ Madras HC quashes punishment imposed on a constable for sporting a beard in accordance with his religious beliefs, ruling that disciplinary action was ‘shockingly disproportionate’

P 8

➤ Bombay HC directs RPO to reissue a Mumbai resident a passport after it rejected his application on a wrong police verification report

P 10

➤ A Delhi court acquits a man accused of rape, stating that the victim’s testimonies are neither clear, cogent, credible, nor trustworthy

P 7

Gang guns down Trinamool man at Bengal dhaba

Bapi Ray (36), a Trinamool member, was shot dead and another seriously wounded when a gang of eight to 10 people fired at them while they were dining at a roadside dhaba at Islampur in Bengal’s Uttar Dinajpur. Business rivalry could be the murder motive, sources said. The killing sparked sporadic protests on Sunday.

P 8

City woman, BSES staffer electrocuted

A woman, who went to a hospital to visit her son Saturday, died of electrocution in a waterlogged street in Bhajanpura. In another incident, a BSES staffer checking a pole in Mohan Garden was electrocuted.

P 2

3 die digging in Guj illegal coal mine

Three men died of asphyxiation as toxic gas leaked while they were digging in an illegal coal mine at Muli taluka in Gujarat’s Surendranagar district Saturday evening. None of them was wearing safety gear.

P 9

Increase in TDS/TCS entries irks taxpayers

With FMs routinely adding transactions requiring tax deduction at source or tax collected at source, number of entries requiring TDS/TCS is close to the half century mark, creating a headache for taxpayers.

P15

4 of family among 5 killed in Bihar crash

Five people, including four members of a family, were killed and seven others injured when their SUV crashed into a truck in Bihar’s Kishanganj district early Sunday. Three children were among the deceased.

P 12

CUET-UG retest on July 19 for 1k students

Out of 1,000 CUET-UG aspirants for whom NTA is conducting a retest on July 19, 250 candidates are from Oasis Public School in Hazaribagh, the same school that was under the lens for NEET-UG paper leak.

P 8

Donald Trumps Death

■ Bullet Pierces Ear At Rally ■ Secret Service Kills Shooter ■ 1 Rallygoer Dead, 2 Injured

Chidanand Rajghatta TNN

Washington: Donald Trump, US ex-president and Republican candidate for this year’s presidential election, escaped by centimetres an assassination attempt during a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, convulsing an already turbulent political scene in America.

Bullets fired by a lone gunman positioned on a nearby rooftop nicked Trump’s right ear and bloodied it — he was later said to be “fine and in great spirits” — but a 50-yearold man, besides the assailant who was immediately shot dead by the Secret Service, was killed in the incident. Two other rallygoers were critically injured.

In iconic images immediately flashed across the world, a fearless Trump, breaking free from a huddle of Secret Service agents protecting him, raised a clenched fist with blood streaking across his cheek. The indelible moment, consecrated into campaign merchandise within hours of the incident, inflamed and galvanised Trump’s supporters, and is expected to power him back to the White House.

The shooter was identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks (20). His father, Matthew, told CNN he was trying to figure out “what the hell is going on” but would “wait until I talk to law enforcement” before speaking. Reported to be an outstanding student, images of Thomas wearing glasses, braces, and a stars-and-stripes T-shirt emerged after the shooting.

Amid swirling conspiracy theories about it being an “in- side job”, there were calls for the resignation of the Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle. But Trump himself thanked the Secret Service and law enforcement officials for their “rapid response” and extended his condolences to the family of the person at the rally who was killed, although he later said “it was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening”. Trump affirmed his commitment to continue his campaign and said he was looking forward to the upcoming Republican National Convention.

Blame game, P 16

P 16

EDIT PAGE: Trump’s Moment/Shot That’ll Divide America More

Motive of shooter, a Republican who would’ve been 1st-time voter in Nov prez polls, ‘unclear’

The motive of shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks is still unclear, said FBI. A resident of a Pittsburgh suburb, he was a registered Republican and would have voted for the first time in Nov’s presidential polls. He, though, made a $15 contribution to a Democratic-aligned group the day President Biden was sworn in. Public Pennsylvania court records show no past criminal cases against Crooks, though three explosives devices were found inside his car and home hours after his death, law enforcement officials told AP. The AR-15 semi-automatic rifle he used was bought by his father at least six months ago, investigators said.

P 16

Secret Service in line of fire for ‘security failures’, FBI agent says breach ‘surprising’

The much-vaunted Secret Service, often portrayed in heroic light by Hollywood, came in for heavy flak for almost failing in its line of duty. A probe is on to determine how a sniper with a full rifle kit managed to evade its agents and get within 150m of Trump. FBI special agent in-charge Kevin Rojek conceded it was “surprising” the gunman was then able to fire so many shots at the stage before being killed despite the presence of Secret Service’s counter-sniper team and counter-assault team. James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, said, “There are many questions and Americans demand answers.”

P 16

Pune cops seize trainee IAS officer’s Audi

Trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar’s white Audi with a red-and-blue beacon and words ‘Maharashtra Govt’ emblazoned in red on either side of the Four Rings logo was impounded Sunday, three days after the Chaturshringi traffic police division sent her a notice asking for the car to be brought for verification. The car was handed over to police after removing the beacon and the stickers. Khedkar used it during her posting in Pune.

P 12.

Covid-year job surge led by agri, construction: RBI

The increase in employment in the pandemic year (2020-21) was led by agriculture and allied activities, construction, health and social welfare, an analysis of the data released by the RBI has shown. The RBI’s report has triggered an intense debate after it showed a spurt in employment in 2020-21 when the Covid-19 had wreaked havoc leading to sharp contraction in GDP and devastation across sectors such as manufacturing and services.

P 15

BJP’s RS tally dips to 86, NDA 101; can still get bills passed with others’ help

Vishwa.Mohan@timesofindia.com

New Delhi: Four nominated members who were part of BJP in Rajya Sabha retired on Saturday, reducing the party’s strength to 86 and of NDA to 101 in the Upper House, whose current strength is 226 due to 19 vacancies.

Though NDA can still get key legislations passed in the House with the support of seven non-aligned nominated members, two Independents and friendly parties such as AIADMK and YSRCP during the coming budget session, filling the vacancies under nominated category at the earliest will be crucial to reduce the alliance’s dependence on others.

Rakesh Sinha, Ram Shakal, Sonal Mansingh and Mahesh Jethmalani are the four nominated members who retired on Saturday. They had formally aligned themselves with BJP after being nominated to RS. Another such member in the nominated category who is part of BJP is Gulam Ali. He will retire in Sept 2028. The President nominates 12 members to RS on the recommendation of the govt. In the existing House, seven of them kept themselves non-aligned (not part of BJP) but such members invariably take the side of the governing party in passing a legislation.

Of 11, NDA may get 8, P 10

Gaurav Gogoi to be Cong dy leader in LS

Gaurav Gogoi will be deputy leader of Congress in the LS and a letter regarding the decision has been sent to Speaker Om Birla. CPP chairperson Sonia Gandhi has written to Birla, informing him about the appointment of deputy leader, chief whip and 2 whips for Congress in the Lower House.

P 10

After 46 yrs, team breaks open Puri ‘ratna bhandar’

Debabrata.Mohapatra@timesofindia.com

Bhubaneswar: The Puri Jagannath Temple’s treasury called ‘ratna bhandar’ was reopened Sunday by an 11-member team to carry out an inventory and restoration after 46 years, fulfilling a campaign promise by the newly elected BJP govt in Odisha.

The last inventory of valuables, undertaken in 1978, remained inconclusive. According to govt records, around 128kg of gold and 221kg of silver items were found.

A large crowd of devotees gathered to witness the event Sunday afternoon. The team opened three locks of the outer chamber, but the duplicate keys for the inner chamber locks failed, which then had to be broken open. “We have put two new locks on the door to the inner chamber,” said Arabinda Padhee, chief administrator of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA).

Temp strong room, P 13

32-year-old patient shot dead ‘by teen’ in GTB hosp ward

Killing A Case Of Mistaken Identity: Kin

Police personnel investigate at the hospital on Sunday

Abhay@timesofindia.com

New Delhi: A 32-year-old patient was shot dead, allegedly by an 18-year-old youth, inside a ward of GTB Hospital in Shahdara Sunday. His family has claimed he was killed in a case of mistaken identity and that the intended target was a history-sheeter, who was admitted to the same ward.

The victim, Riyazuddin, was a labourer who lived with his family in Sriram Nagar, Khajuri Khas. He had been admitted to the hospital on June 23 for treatment of an abdominal infection.

Sunday’s incident took place around 4pm, a senior police officer said. The suspect allegedly came to ward number 24 and fired at least two rounds at the patient, who was receiving dressing from the nurse.

20 people, P 3

CRPF jawan killed, 2 cops injured in Manipur attack

Kangkan.Kalita1@timesofindia.com

Guwahati: A CRPF constable from Bihar was killed and two Manipur cops and an unidentified civilian were wounded Sunday in an ambush by suspected militants in Jiribam district, the conflict-ridden state’s new flashpoint bordering south Assam.

CM N Biren Singh blamed the attack, the second one targeting security forces in just over a month, on an “armed group suspected to be Kuki militants”. Kuki Inpi Manipur, which represents the tribe, termed the ambush “a state-sponsored attack” carried out through “Meitei state forces and valley-based insur- gent groups that include Arambai Tenggol”. The attack at the district’s Morbung village took place when a joint CRPF and Manipur Police team was en route to the area for an operation.

Second attack, P 11

Times Nation

- HC relief for TN cop punished for sporting beard as permitted by rules

- Soon, a planetarium for LWE-hit dist

- Hazaribag again: 250 of 1,000 taking CUET re-test are from Oasis school

- Accused in TN BSP neta’s murder killed by cops while trying to flee

- PSU bank dy manager held for siphoning off ex-DIG’s `26L

- TMC man shot dead at Bengal roadside dhaba, biz rivalry suspected

- BJP MLA objects to kids’ namaz at anganwadi

- Bihar wants Centre to announce flood control steps, infra projects

- Centre’s health spend down as % of GDP or total Budget since ’18-19

- Illegalities, not wind, to blame for hoarding crash, says report

- 3 die of asphyxiation at illegal coal mine in Guj

- Offer tax deductions for skill development, proposes govt agency

- Iskcon says ‘Lord Jagannath saved Trump’, recalls ’76 NY Rathyatra help

- HC relief for man denied passport over wrong police verification

- With 100 million followers, Modi most followed leader on X

- Cong again names Gogoi party’s deputy leader in LS

- 33 major health insurers now on national claims exchange

- NDA may get 8 of 11 vacant seats in RS

- Under oppn attack, govt to launch portal on Constitution

- Was Udham Singh at Jallianwala Bagh on day of massacre? Book reignites debate

- Second attack on security forces in Manipur in just over a month

- Two minors, 8 & 15, killed in separate leopard attacks in UP

- After Trump attack, BJP targets Rahul’s remarks on Modi

- ‘Creamy layer’ income cap was last revised in 2017 to `8L/year

- Pune cops visit Khedkar mom’s home but fail to meet her

- Khedkar’s Audi handed over to cops after removing beacon, seized

- Why some couples are opting for the slim, secular ‘court marriage’

- 4 of family among 5 killed as SUV rams truck in Bihar

- Maha fort stir turns violent ahead of Shivaji kin’s visit

- All Puri temple treasury valuables moved to temporary strong room

- Tree plantation drive is apt response to climate change: Shah

- All India Muslim law board to challenge SC’s alimony verdict

- Leave Mon dist: Student body to immigrants sans Nagaland ILP

- K’taka ex-mantri was at ’23 hotel meeting where tribal fund scam was plotted: SIT

- MP high court judge who retired in April joins BJP

HC relief for TN cop punished for sporting beard as permitted by rules

The Madurai bench of Madras HC ruled that the disciplinary action against G Abdul Khadar Ibrahim was ‘shockingly disproportionate’

Chennai: Madurai bench of Madras high court has quashed the punishment imposed on a police constable for sporting a beard in accordance with his religious beliefs. HC ruled that the disciplinary action was “shockingly disproportionate”.

G Abdul Khadar Ibrahim was granted a 31-day earned leave for the pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina six years ago. On his return, he sought an extension of his leave, claiming he had a leg infection.

In Oct 2019, Ibrahim was subjected to a preliminary inquiry and issued a memo of charges that included failing to report for duty after his earned leave and maintaining a beard against the regulations stated in 1957 Madras police gazette.

During the inquiry, Ibrahim later claimed, he was not allowed to cross-examine key witnesses, including the duty sub-inspector and an assistant commissioner. Despite his de- fence, the inquiry officer found the charges valid, leading to his increments being stopped for three years with a cumulative effect.

Ibrahim appealed against the decision, but the Madurai police commissioner only reduced the punishment to two years without cumulative effect, prompting Ibrahim to file a writ petition challenging the order.

Justice L Victoria Gowri said Madras police gazette permits Muslim officers to wear a beard. “The duty of upkeeping discipline in the department does not permit the respondents to initiate punishment on employees belonging to minority communities, particularly Muslims, for maintaining a beard which they do throughout their lives by following the commandments of Prophet Mohammed,” she said. It quashed the punishment and asked the Madurai police commissioner to take a fresh decision in line with legal principles within eight weeks.

TNN

Soon, a planetarium for LWE-hit dist

Children of Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada in Bastar division will soon be able to gaze beyond the Milky Way, into nebulas and faraway galaxies. Dantewada will be the first Maoist-affected district to have a digital planetarium, reports Rashmi Drolia. The initiative has been taken by Dantewada district administration with the help of ministry of culture and National Council of Science Museums, with a budget of over Rs 7.9 crore. The site chosen is near Karli village, around 10km from Dantewada town. Work is expected to begin in Oct, and likely to be over by June next year. Sources in the ministry said it’s the first time a digital planetarium is coming up in a district battling Left Wing Extremism. It will be a boost to public morale where children often drop out of schools due to Maoist threat, said an official.

Hazaribag again: 250 of 1,000 taking CUET re-test are from Oasis school

‘Missing Data & Question Papers In Wrong Language Necessitated Re-Exam’

NTA announced the retest schedule Sunday but did not address the delay in results, which are already two weeks late. The answer key has also not been released

The CUET-UG re-examination will be conducted for the affected candidates on July 19 in computer-based test mode, the agency announced on Sunday

Manash.Gohain@timesofindia.com

New Delhi: The Hazaribag school centre, under scrutiny for an alleged NEET-UG paper leak, is back in the news. Out of 1,000 CUET-UG aspirants for whom National Testing Agency (NTA) is conducting a retest on July 19, 250 candidates are from Oasis Public School in Hazaribag. According to NTA sources, the retest is necessary due to the distribution of question papers in a language not chosen by the candidates and issues with “missing data” for some aspirants.

The agency announced the retest schedule on Sunday but did not address the delay in the results, which are already over two weeks late. The final answer key has also not been released. The official notification on Sunday stated that grievances submitted by candidates up to June 30, and complaints sent to rescuetug@nta.ac.in between July 7-9 (before 05.00pm) have been reviewed. The re-examination will be conducted for the affected candidates on July 19in computer-based test mode.

The public notice did not specify the number of candidates or the nature of the grievances. However, sources indicate multiple issues, including “missing data” for some as- pirants. According to NTA sources, the “1,000 candidates are spread across six states, and some grievances include time lost due to the distribution of the wrong question paper.”

The distribution of incorrect question papers also occurred during the NEET-UG exam on May 5, leading NTA to grant grace marks for the lost time. However, following opposition and pleas in Supreme Court against the inflation of marks, NTA withdrew the results and announced retest for 1,563 candidates, 813 of whom attended the exam on June 23.

Sources also mentioned that NTA has not been able to retrieve data for some candidates. “Some data are missing, so these candidates will have to take the test again on July 19”, said the source, without revealing how the data was misplaced.

This raises questions about how long NTA will take to release the results. Initially scheduled for June 30, the results were delayed due to the paper leak allegations involving NEET-UG, and UGC-NET. On July 7, the agency released the provisional answer key for CUET-UG 2024, indicating a retest for candidates if grievances were validated. “Initially, it was decided to announce the re- sults for the remaining candidates before the retest, and subsequently for the rest. However, a final decision is yet to be made,” said the source, indicating further uncertainty.

Delhi University has already indicated that a three-week delay in results would delay the university’s academic calendar by two weeks. It now appears the delay will extend to nearly four weeks, further affecting the academic calendar for the first year undergraduate students for the 262 participating universities.

Accused in TN BSP neta’s murder killed by cops while trying to flee

Chennai:A key accused in the murder of BSP Tamil Nadu chief K Armstrong was shot dead here Sunday, police said, adding that he allegedly opened fire at them and attempted to flee from their custody. Several opposition politicians raised questions about the police’s version of events that led to the killing of K Thiruvengadam, and reiterated their demand that the BSP leader’s murder be investigated by CBI.

Police released a video clip that purportedly shows the accused persons hacking Armstrong to death on July 5. The clip was taken from CCTV recordings in the vicinity of the crime scene, police said. According to police, when Thiruvengadam was taken to Manali in North Chennai as part of the investigation to unearth weapons allegedly concealed at a spot, he escaped from custody after pushing away the policemen on escort duty. The incident took place when the police vehicle had halted near a lake area to enable the accused to relieve himself, according to the police.

Though the police personnel tried to apprehend Thiruvengadam, he fled, the police said. Eventually, however, the sleuths spotted him at a nearby locality and busted his hideout at ‘Vegetarian Village’, which falls in Puzhal police station limits. When they tried to arrest him, the accused allegedly opened fire at the police using his unlicensed pistol. For self-defence, a police inspector shot Thiruvengadam, the police said. It is, however, not clear whether police personnel were injured in the operation.

The accused was quickly taken to a nearby private hospital for treatment. Doctors there declared him brought dead.

An FIR has been registered and a magisterial inquiry has been ordered.

PTI

EPS, Annamalai raise doubts over ‘encounter’

AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, TN BJP chief K Annamalai and PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss Sunday raised doubts over the encounter in which Thiruvengadam was killed. Palaniswami alleged that “suspicion arises if this encounter was done to save someone”.

Annamalai said the encounter appeared to be an attempt to hide the truth as DMK men were allegedly involved in the murder. Ramadoss said the reasons given by police regarding the killing were unconvincing.

TNN

PSU bank dy manager held for siphoning off ex-DIG’s `26L

Guwahati: A deputy manager of a leading PSU bank was among two people detained for siphoning off Rs 26 lakh from the bank account of a former DIG of Assam Police, reports Mukut Das. Police registered a case and started an investigation on June 19 after Bhabadhar Dutta, 84, retired DIG of police, lodged a complaint that Rs 26 lakh was transferred from his account at SBI’s Barbari branch on several dates to several accounts without his consent.

During the probe, police found that the transactions were made to mainly three persons. “On examination of those persons, they disclosed that one person, namely Gulenur Hussain, then branch manager of SBI’s Barbari branch, currently posted at the Dispur SCAB (Specialised Currency Administration Branch) as a deputy manager, made the transactions through internet banking. Based on their statements, the deputy manager was detained,” police said.

During interrogation, Hussain revealed that “he had been targeting inoperative and unused accounts for a long time for fraudulent and unauthorised use for his personal gain without being detected”. Dutta did not use his bank account for three years, which made Hussain presume the user might have passed away. Dutta came to know about unauthorised transactions when he went to update his passbook.

“In the current case, when he found there was no registered mobile number connected to the victim’s account, he decided to siphon off some amount,” police said.

They found that Hussain took assistance from one Tridip Kalita to arrange a SIM card and second mobile, which they registered with the victim’s account and created a user ID and a password. Police also detained Kalita. Hussain used the money to clear his liabilities and invested some amount in trading at the stock exchange.

TMC man shot dead at Bengal roadside dhaba, biz rivalry suspected

Malda: A Trinamool Congress functionary was gunned down and another seriously wounded around 9pm Saturday when a gang of eight to 10 fired gunshots at them while they were having dinner at a roadside dhaba in Islampur in Bengal’s Uttar Dinajpur district, about 510km north of Kolkata, reports Subhro Maitra. The murder of Bapi Ray, 36, sparked daylong sporadic protests and roadblocks Sunday, with party workers and locals demanding arrest of the assailants. Ray’s wife Lipi demanded a CBI probe into the attack.

According to sources, business rivalry could be the murder motive. Ray was jailed before for his involvement in the illicit liquor trade. Police said an inter-state manhunt has been launched. Dhaba workers were interrogated and CCTV footage checked.

Ray was eating with M Sajjad — whose wife Rajnur Khatun is Ramganj gram panchayat pradhan — and a few other Trinamool workers when the gunmen arrived in a car. They shot Ray in his chest and throat multiple times from close range and went away. Sajjad was also hit. The two were taken to Islampur subdivisional hospital, where Ray was declared dead. Sajjad later told reporters he could not recognise the assailants.

BJP MLA objects to kids’ namaz at anganwadi

Vadodara: BJP MLA Shailesh Mehta on Sunday objected to a purported video of children offering namaz in an anganwadi in Karnali town of Vadodara district. Mehta reported the issue to the district administration and the district education officer (DEO), requesting that they take necessary action.

The viral video, which was said to have been shot on July 12, showed some children covering their heads with a white cloth and offering namaz and later embracing each other.

“This can’t be allowed in anganwadis. Why were non-Muslim children asked to offer namaz? Anganwadis are not meant for such activities,” Mehta told TOI. A right-wing outfit, Hindu Sena, claimed a similar video of an anganwadi in Sonal Nagar area in Jamnagar city had also gone viral.

TNN

Bihar wants Centre to announce flood control steps, infra projects

JD(U) Stays Adamant On Special Status For State

FLOOD OF DEMANDS

RUN-UP TO THE BUDGET

Sidhartha@timesofindia.com

New Delhi: Ahead of the Union Budget, Bihar govt has approached the Centre with a demand to announce flood mitigation measures to address a long-standing problem, especially in the northern part of the state, along with several infrastructure projects. This is in addition to Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United)’s demand to accord ‘special category’ status to one of the most backward states in the country, something that the Bihar chief minister is unrelenting on despite BJP ministers maintaining that this kind of a dispensation is no longer possible.

JD(U) functionaries said rules can be tweaked to address a long-pending concern of the state, especially after the creation of Jharkhand more than two decades ago. “It is within the realm of powers of any govt to devise policies to address the imbalance,” a party source told TOI.

While Andhra Pradesh too had similar demands, CM Chandrababu Naidu is now seeking specific projects and a package for the backward regions of the state which too was bifurcated to create Telangana. He gave a long list of projects from an oil refinery to a push for petrochemicals when he recently met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and top Union ministers.

The special status issue flagged by two major constituents of NDA will be dealt with by the 16th Finance Commission chaired by economist Arvind Panagariya when it presents its report towards the end of 2025 as several other states have been demanding the tag as well.

For the time being, Bihar govt has sought finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s intervention to deal with the flood problem especially because it involves Nepal. Any restriction of flow of water will have to be dealt with bilaterally with the neighbouring country, but the state govt’s proposals are meant to build infras- tructure to address the issue domestically, as far as possible, asource familiar with the discussions told TOI. The state govt is hoping for some announcements in the Budget.

Along with infrastructurerelated proposals, the state has also asked for support in centrally sponsored schemes, suggesting that the Centre should take over the state’s contribution as well. Bihar, however, is focused on driving the best bargain given the current political situation at the Centre with representatives from BJP as well as JD(U) knocking on the Centre’s doors.

JD(U) is studying Naidu’s proposals and is expected to have a more detailed wish list in the months ahead with party representatives suggesting that the coalition with BJP is a long-term partnership and everything cannot be delivered through one Budget.

Centre’s health spend down as % of GDP or total Budget since ’18-19

Rema.nagarajan@timesofindia.com

The Union government’s expenditure on healthcare may appear to be rising at first glance. However, it has actually been steadily shrinking in the last five years (2018-19 to 2023-24) whether as a share of the Budget or as a percentage of GDP. In fact, the spending has barely kept pace with inflation since 2019-20.

As a percentage of the total Budget, health spending has shrunk from 2.4% in 2018-19 to 1.9% in 2023-24. As a percentage of GDP, it has fallen from 0.30% to 0.28% in 2023-24.

As for inflation, the outlay in 2019-20 was a little over Rs 66,000 cr, while in 2023-2024 it was just under 83,500 cr. Adjust for inflation using the wholesale price index and that translates to a tiny rise from around Rs 65,000 cr to Rs 66,000 cr at 2018-19 prices. And this is not even taking into account the fact that inflation in the healthcare sphere is likely to be much higher than in general price levels.

What is even more worrying is that even this low spending is after adding funds collected through the health cess. When the cess was introduced in 2018, it was claimed that it would top up government spending on health to take care of the health of poor and rural families. Instead, the thousands of crores collected each year through cess has in effect been used to make up for the steady cut from normal budgetary resources that the health sector has been facing.

In 2022-23, the Centre’s health spending included over Rs 18,300 crore that came from the health cess. If you take the cess out, the Centre’s budgetary spending would be just Rs 59,840 crore, less than what was spent before Covid, in 2019-20 (Rs 66,042 cr) even without adjusting for inflation.

In 2018, when the cess was introduced, health spending was 2.4% of government’s total expenditure. If the government spent the same proportion of its total spending in 2023-24, it should have spent over Rs 1.07 lakh crore on health. Instead, the revised expenditure for 2023-24 showed just over Rs 83,400 crore, which included Rs 18,300 crore from health cess.

Shockingly, even after adding what seems like a large one-time expenditure for Covid in 2020-21 (Rs 10,655 crore) and 2021-22 (Rs 15,955 crore) the health spending in these years does not equal what the expenditure would have been if the spending had been at the 2018-19 level of 2.4% of the total budget expenditure.

Health sector spending includes allocation for health and family welfare, health research and Ayush. Ayush share saw significant increase as a share of government’s total expenditure. Spending on health research went up just marginally though 70-80% of this is on the Indian Council for Medical Research, except in 2020-21 when 40% of the allocation was for Covid emergency response. However, spending on health and family welfare, which is meant for national programmes, the national health mission and health system strengthening, has seen a substantial cut in terms of its share in GDP and in total budget expenditure.

Post 2014, the highest share that health and family welfare has had of the total budget spend was 2.4% in 2017-18. After that, this share has steadily decreased, including in the Covid years, despite separate allocation for Covid response, to touch 1.7% in 2023-24. If the health cess component is not counted, this would fall even further to 1.5%.

Illegalities, not wind, to blame for hoarding crash, says report

Ahmed.Ali@timesofindia.com

Mumbai: The Ghatkopar hoarding tragedy was not caused by natural forces or strong winds and “could have been avoided if officials of railways, BMC, (hoarding firm) Ego Media directors and their structural engineer had not turned a blind eye to illegalities” like lack of proper soil testing, according to reports from Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI), weather bureau and IMD cited by SIT in the chargesheet filed last week.

Pointing out that structures in Mumbai should be designed to withstand winds up to 158.4kmph and that on May 13, 87kmph wind hit the 120×120ft hoarding, the VJTI report says it crashed due to “inadequate/ deficient design and construction foundation”.

The chargesheet says BMC and GRP officials were well aware that the land belonged to the state and BMC rules were applicable as the tender document mentions ‘Maharashtra Govt’ on the top.

The reports reveal a glaring lack of proper soil testing, substandard piling work, and a fundamentally flawed and defective design of the Ghatkopar hoarding, which collapsed on May 13, killing 17 and seriously injuring over 70.

Reports from VJTI, Weather Bureau, and Indian Meteorological Department, which are now part of the chargesheet filed by Mumbai police last week, reveal a glaring lack of proper soil testing, substandard piling work, and a fundamentally flawed and defective design.

3 die of asphyxiation at illegal coal mine in Guj

TIMES NEWS NEWORK

Rajkot:Three men died of asphyxiation as toxic gas leaked while they were digging in an illegal coal mine at Muli taluka in Gujarat’s Surendranagar district on Saturday evening. Police said the workers were digging a 100-foot deep pit on govt wasteland in Bhet village. None of them were wearing safety gear, such as helmet or oxygen mask.

The deceased were identified as Laxman Koli (35), Viram Koli (35), and Khoda Koli (32), all residents of Muli taluka. They were employed by illegal miners on a daily wage of Rs 700, police said. Since Jan this year, at least 11 people have died working in illegal coal mines at Surendranagar.

Investigation officer D D Chudasama said teams have been formed to find the accused and collect necessary evidence.

Offer tax deductions for skill development, proposes govt agency

Manash.Gohain@timesofindia.com

New Delhi:Several tax benefits for skilling have been proposed in the Budget by National Skill Development Corporation as the govt seeks to align it with formal education.

In its presentation to the finance ministry, the govt agency has proposed extending several benefits — deductions on tuition fees and interest on loans, exemptions for scholarships, lower tax rates for forprofit skilling institutions, exemptions to educational institutions to skilling programmes, ensuring tax exemptions for training institutes and enhanced deductions for skilling expenditures, apart from changes to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime.

In the amendments sought under the direct tax laws, it proposed to add an explanation to clarify that ‘education’ includes skill development programmes and training conducted by training institutes, which will enable them to be eligible for seeking exemptions applicable to trusts.

“This will enable institutions to function at a lower cost and make the programme more affordable and of better quality as well as enhance access,” said an official of NSDC. The proposal also sought deduction to individuals on donations made to training institutes providing skilling courses.

The skilling body and the skill development ministry have argued that govt has focused on education, providing a slew of incentives and exemptions to educational institutions, which significantly improved India’s literacy ratio.

“These changes aim to align skilling with formal education, providing extensive tax benefits and incentives to skilling institutions, thereby making skilling more accessible and affordable,” a senior official told TOI.

In line with provisions for not-for-profit universities and other educational institutions, it also proposed exemption from Income tax. To boost its growth and expand its reach to its target trainees at affordable pricing, it is recommended lower tax rates for new skilling training centres.

Other recommendation includes extending deduction on tuition fees to skill training institutes, encouraging individuals to upskill/ reskill and easing financial burdens, interest on loans for vocational and skill development training will be eligible for tax deductions, promoting higher participation in skilling, and interest on loans for vocational and skill development training will be eligible for tax deductions, promoting higher participation in skilling. Tax exemption is also sought for scholarships for skill development courses.

Iskcon says ‘Lord Jagannath saved Trump’, recalls ’76 NY Rathyatra help

In July 1976, Donald Trump had come to the rescue of Iskcon devotees looking for a large space to construct the raths by providing his train yard for free

Subhro.Niyogi@timesofindia.com

Kolkata:As the frontrunner in the US presidential race was hit in the ear in an apparent assassination attempt by a gunman at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, Iskcon recalled Sunday Donald Trump’s association with the first Rathyatra in New York nearly half-a-century ago.

Iskcon Kolkata vice-president Radharamn Das called Trump’s narrow escape divine intervention. “In July 1976, Donald Trump had come to the rescue of Iskcon devotees looking for a large space to construct the raths by providing his train yard for free. Today, during the Rathyatra festival, it was Lord Jagannath’s turn to return the favour,” Das said.

Assistance from the then 30-year-old emerging real-estate mogul had made the first chariot procession of Lord Jagannath on New York’s Fifth Avenue possible in 1976.

Finding a huge empty site close to Fifth Avenue in New York where the chariots could be built was never going to be easy. Devotees of Iskcon who were planning a big bang 10th celebration of the organisation with a grand Rathyatra in New York had knocked on the doors of every person possible, but in vain.

A few days later, the Iskcon devotees learnt that Donald Trump had purchased the old railway yard. Devotees then went to his office with a big basket of Maha Prasadam and a presentation package. His secretary took it but warned: “He never agrees to this kind of thing. You can ask but he is going to say ‘no’.”

Three days later, Trump’s secretary called up the devotees saying: “I don’t know what happened but he read your letter, took a bit of the food you left, and immediately said, ‘Sure, why not?’”

HC relief for man denied passport over wrong police verification

Cops said Exalt D’souza had a pending criminal case when it was only a civil case

Rosy.Sequeira@timesofindia.com

Mumbai: Granting relief to a Chembur resident, Bombay high court recently directed the regional passport office (RPO) to reissue him a passport after it had rejected his application on a wrong police verification report that he had a pending criminal case when it was only a civil case.

“We make it clear that the application for re-issuance of passport shall not be rejected on the basis that a civil case is pending against the petitioner,” said Justices Burgess Colabawalla and Firdosh Pooniwalla in the July 4 order.

Exalt D’souza (57) had applied for renewal of his passport. On July 10, 2020 the RPO, Bandra (E) wrote, seeking clarification on the police verification report that there is a criminal case pending trial against him before the civil judge, Mapusa, Goa. The passport office also wrote that if his explanation were unsatisfactory, he would be denied the passport.

On Aug 4, 2020 D’souza visited RPO and showed the case papers. RPO sent the papers to Chembur police to clear. D’souza requested the police to rectify their error. On Aug 20, 2020 he received RPO’s letter that cited the pending case and said a court order and undertaking would be required.

D’souza’s advocates Uttam Rane and Mikhail Dey said the police verification report itself was faulty because there is no criminal case pending against him but a civil suit for partition of property in which he is one of the parties. The report itself being faulty, passport authorities could not have denied him passport.

RPO’s advocate D P Singh said in the application to the query whether criminal proceedings are pending against him, D’souza mentioned the civil court and case number. He said D’souza must file a fresh application for passport and pendency of the civil case will be no ground to refusehim.

With 100 million followers, Modi most followed leader on X

New Delhi: PM Narendra Modi on Sunday crossed the milestone of 100 million followers on X, emerging as the most followed world leader on the social networking site. His handle has witnessed a growth of approximately 30 million users in the last three years, reports Akhilesh Singh.

“A 100M on @X! Happy to be on this vibrant medium and cherish the discussion, debate, insights, people’s blessings, constructive criticism and more. Looking forward to an equally engaging time in the future as well,” the PM said on X.

PM has pipped opposition leaders by a huge margin of followers on the networking site. He is far ahead of other world leaders including US President Joe Biden, who currently has 38.1 million followers, Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed (11.2 million) and Pope Francis (18.5 million).

His influence also extends to YouTube and Instagram, where he has nearly 25 million subscribers and over 91 million followers.

Cong again names Gogoi party’s deputy leader in LS

New Delhi: Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi has been named the party’s deputy leader in Lok Sabha, the appointment coming days after the nomination of Rahul Gandhi as the leader of opposition. Gogoi was also the deputy leader in the 17th Lok Sabha.

Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi has sent a letter to Speaker Om Birla nominating the floor managers in the lower house ahead of the budget session starting on July 22.

Eight-term MP and the senior most LS member Kodikunnil Suresh is the new chief whip of Congress, and Manickam Tagore and Mohammad Jawed are party whips. While Tagore has retained his role as whip, Jawed is a new addition.

INDIA bloc fielded Suresh for the post of Speaker to challenge Om Birla, who was elected by a voice vote. The opposition is still demanding the post of deputy speaker. TNN

33 major health insurers now on national claims exchange

‘Will Expedite Claims And Ensure Transparency In Process’

Durgeshnandan.Jha@timesofindia.com

New Delhi: At least 33 major companies offering health insurance in India have joined the NHCX or National Health Claims Exchange — a centralised platform developed by govt for exchange of insurance claims related information.

Till now, this exchange takes place via multiple platforms which leads to increased processing time. NHCX use, govt sources said, will not only expedite the insurance claims process but it will also make the whole process transparent as Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India (IRDAI), the top insurance regulatory body of the country, will have access to the claims settlement status in real time.

“Citizens will also be able to see the status of their insurance claim through the mobile,” said a top official of the National Health Authority (NHA), which has developed the centralised platform. He said that some companies have already started processing claims via the NHCX on a trial basis and an official launch of the platform along with all features will be done soon.

Recently, HDFC Ergo, a major player in the health insurance industry, reportedly processed its first claim through NHCX which has been developed by the NHA in collaboration with IRDAI.

Sources said the NHCX, in its current form, does not intend to regulate the business, but records generated from the digital platform can certainly be used in future to devise systems to be added to the platform to prevent malpractices such as refusal to accept aclaim on unjust grounds.

Currently, patients who visit a hospital for treatment provide their insurance policy details or a card issued by the Third-Party Administrator (TPA) or insurance company. The hospital then accesses the claim processing portals of respective payers and uploads the required documents for preauthorisation or claim approval process. On receipt of the pre-authorisation/claim form, the insurance company/Third Party Administrator (TPA) authenticates and digitises the form using their internal claims processing portal. The claims are then adjudicated by the relevant team.

“Often, patients keep waiting throughout the day for this process to be completed leading to delay in discharge from hospital and additional room rent charges. With NHCX, they can monitor the progress of claim settlement. It is a major relief,” said a senior doctor.

NDA may get 8 of 11 vacant seats in RS

Continued from P 1

Currently, the upper House has 19 vacancies, including four each from J&K and nominated category, and 11 from eight different states (two each from Assam, Bihar and Maharashtra, and one each from Haryana, Telangana, MP, Rajasthan & Tripura). Ten out of these 11 seats got vacant last month due to election of members to LS while one was due to the resignation of Bharat Rashtra Samithi member K Keshava Rao. Rao later joined Congress.

Election to these 11 seats in the coming months will possibly give eight seats to NDA and three to the INDIA bloc, including one from Telangana to Congress, bringing the party’s tally to 27 — two more than what it needs to retain its LoP post in RS.

Under oppn attack, govt to launch portal on Constitution

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: The Centre, under attack from the opposition which alleges that BJP is trying to undermine and alter the Constitution, will launch a dedicated portal — ‘Hamara Samvidhan, Hamara Samman’ — to spread awareness among citizens on their legal rights.

The portal will be inaugurated in Prayagraj on Tuesday, commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Constitution’s adoption and India becoming a Republic.

As part of its nationwide awareness drive on the Constitution, the law ministry, with the help of various high courts, bar associations and law universities, has been organising events across the country promising justice to all.

The second regional event of the year-long celebration, ‘Hamara Samvidhan Hamara Samman’ campaign, is being organised in Prayagraj as part of the law ministry’s ‘Designing Innovative Solutions for Holistic Access to Justice (DISHA)’ programme, a central sector scheme.

The campaign began in Jan and has been taken to different cities, promoting and spreading awareness about the Constitution in simplified ways. The programme includes organising and popularising subcampaigns such as Sabko Nyaya Har Ghar Nyaya, Nav Bharat Nav Sankalp, and Vidhi Jagriti Abhiyaan.

Besides encouraging citizens to actively participate on the portal, the law ministry has been encouraging advocates to register for a pro bono panel of lawyers from different bars and law universities. The ministry also recognises such lawyers for their contributions through awards to encourage others to enrol for pro bono services.

“The portal will serve as a repository of knowledge, providing citizens with easy access to information to create awareness about the Constitution and legal rights,” law ministry said.

TIMES Special

Was Udham Singh at Jallianwala Bagh on day of massacre? Book reignites debate

This isn’t the first time Udham Singh’s presence or otherwise at Jallianwala Bagh on April 13, 1919, has been debated. Various books and accounts disagree on this aspect of the massacre episode

Former defence minister V K Krishna Menon, who was part of the team that defended Singh during his trial in London, is one of the many who have said the latter was at Jallianwala Bagh on the day of the massacre, and suggests this defined his life thereafter

Accounts of Singh’s presence at Jallianwala Bagh on April 13, 1919, were apparently first questioned in a communication dispatched by the then home department to the British secretary of state for India, on June 20, 1940

Amaninder.Pal@timesofindia.com

Chandigarh: The curious case of a school textbook in Punjab suggesting that one of India’s celebrated freedom fighters, ‘Shaheed’ Sardar Udham Singh, wasn’t anywhere near Amritsar on April 13, 1919 — the day of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre — has ignited sentiments in his native state that go beyond challenging this alleged historical untruth.

Generations have grown up hearing and reading about how Udham Singh, who would go on to “avenge” the massacre of innocents two decades later, tended to those wounded at Jallianwala Bagh hours after the carnage and also helped a woman find her husband in a heap of bodies.

Some accounts mention that he stood over the victims’ bodies at Jallianwala Bagh that day and vowed to make it his life’s mission to get them justice. He would wait until March 13, 1940, for that moment to arrive.

Udham Singh’s act of shooting dead Michael O’Dwyer, who was the British lieutenant governor of Punjab at the time of the massacre, in London’s packed Caxton Hall and his arrest, conviction and execution thereafter remain one of the more compelling stories of the movement for Independence.

Earlier this year, a six member team from Ferozpur’s Shaheed Udham Singh Memorial Society landed in Chandigarh to meet officials of Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) and contest the veracity of the information mentioned in one of its published textbooks.

The original version of Punjabi Paath Pustak, a Class IV textbook, states that Udham Singh was abroad when bullets from British soldiers’ guns rained on a Baishakhi Day crowd at Jallianwala Bagh protesting the Rowlatt Act and the arrest of freedom fighters Saifuddin Kitchlew and Satyapal.

“A textbook published by PSEB says Udham Singh was abroad when the Jallianwala Bagh carnage happened. That’s a blatant historical distortion. We have submitted documentary evidence supporting the fact that Udham Singh was present at Jallianwala Bagh that day. Fortunately, PSEB responded positively to our request and decided to amend the chapter,” Jaspal Handa, a member of Shaheed Udham Singh Memorial Society, told TOI.

This isn’t the first time that Udham Singh’s presence or otherwise at Jallianwala Bagh on April 13, 1919, has been debated. Various books and accounts disagree on this aspect of the massacre episode.

In a foreword to B S Maighowalia’s 1969 book Sardar Udham Singh: A Prince Amongst Patriots in India, former defence minister V K Krishna Menon writes, “Sardar Udham Singh, who joined the national movement early in his life, soon parted company with Gandhiji. The key factor in this conversion was the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, which impelled him to rebel against the authority, almost individualistically, but with determination coupled with bitterness.”

Menon, who was part of the team that defended Udham Singh during his trial in London, then cites an instance suggesting that the latter’s presence at Jallianwala Bagh on the day of the massacre would define his life thereafter.

“Sardar Udham Singh was driven to avenge the death of martyrs. The grimmest element in this determination of vengeance seems to have been the acceptance of the request of an Indian woman who had decided to immolate herself at Jallianwala Bagh. But Udham Singh undertook to retrieve the body of the dead husband.”

In 1974, Udham Singh’s remains, which had been lying in England since his execution in 1940, were brought to India. The same year, Central Khalsa Orphanage, where Udham Singh had spent a part of his childhood, published a Punjabi book on him authored by Suba Singh.

Quoting various sources, Suba Singh writes, “Ratan Devi from Peshawar had also come to Amritsar. But her husband fell victim to the bullets. In the evening, she was wailing and asking for help. Udham Singh heard her voice and went to the place of the massacre along with her. With much difficulty, he located the body of her husband and even retrieved it.”

The book also mentions that on April 14, authorities of the orphanage had deputed some youth at the site of the massacre for relief and rescue operations and that Udham Singh was part of it. In one of his books, Dr Sikander Singh, who did his PhD on Udham Singh, writes, “Udham Singh was also there. He was doing the work of a water carrier.”

Martyrs of the Twentieth Century by Giani Gurmukh Singh Musafir states, “On the day of the massacre, Udham Singh was present in the orphanage. A group of boys from the orphanage was deputed to care for injured people. He was deeply shocked while tending to the victims and pledged to take revenge.”

The first challenge to these accounts of Udham Singh being present at Jallianwala Bagh came from a set of British files declassified in 1997.

The documents, included in historian Dr Navtej Singh and Avtar Singh Jouhl’s 2002 book Emergence of the Image: Redact Documents of Udham Singh, provide detailed information about Udham Singh from his days in Amritsar to his execution in Pentonville prison in England.

Accounts of his presence at Jallianwala Bagh on April 13, 1919, were apparently first questioned in the communication dispatched by the then home department to the British secretary of state for India, on June 20, 1940.

“Enquiries made in his (Udham Singh’s) home village at Sunam in Patiala state and in Amritsar do not confirm his statement that any of their relatives was shot in Amritsar in 1919, or that he was present at Amritsar,” states the communication.

The London-based British authorities purportedly tried to ascertain whether any relative of Udham Singh was at Jallianwala Bagh during the protest that culminated in a tragedy.

In response, the home department wrote on April 8, 1940, “We have no knowledge of any brother or other relative being in Amritsar...His 1927 Amritsar statement to the police, although detailed and accurate in all other aspects, made no mention of either claimant.”

The documents also claim that Udham Singh was then working in Africa and returned to India at least two months after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. After his arrest in London for O’Dwyer’s assassination, Udham Singh’s initial statement gives the impression that he was not pre- sent in Amritsar on April 13, 1919, the papers suggest.

Cannon Row police station’s A Division noted on March 13, 1940, “He first left that country (India) during 1918, from Mombasa, East Africa, and worked there as a motor mechanic for a German firm in Nairobi. He could not recollect how long this situation lasted but thinks it was for eighteen months. He says he was sacked for not going to work. He returned to India about June 1919.”

Bharat Bhushan, coordinator of the UK-based Shaheed Udham Singh Welfare Trust, told TOI that since all official British files linked to Udham Singh were classified till 1989, writers of books published in the previous decades didn’t have access to the important cache of primary sources. “The contrary fact (about Udham Singh being abroad on the day of the massacre) emerged once the British authorities declassified the documents,” he said.

But so intertwined were the tales of the Jallianwala massacre and Udham Singh that the British ostensibly tried hard to delink his act (of assassinating O’Dwyer) from the massacre. “The heroic act of the martyr and his apparent link to the massacre was proving uncomfortable for them,” Bhushan said.

A communication between British officials appears to confirm their apprehension, “The anniversary of Jallianwala Bagh will fall on the 13th April... It would be advisable to avoid holding Udham Singh’s trial on this date.”

Second attack on security forces in Manipur in just over a month

Continued from P1

The slain CRPF staffer, 43-year-old Ajay Kumar Jha of Madhubani district, was felled by a bullet to his forehead, police said. He was declared dead on arrival at a local hospital. The wounded cops are said to be out of danger while the civilian is receiving treatment at a hospital in Assam’s Silchar.

The 8.40am ambush was the second such attack on security forces in Manipur in just over a month. On June 10, suspected militants targeted the advance security convoy of CM Biren Singh in Kangpokpi district, injuring a policeman.

At Morbung, the joint patrol team was bombarded by militants strategically positioned at five to six locations. The security personnel retaliated and the gunfight continued until noon, after which the militants moved to the forested hills in the vicinity. Jha, who was at the wheel of the vehicle ferrying the team, was apparently the first to be struck by a bullet.

Additional security forces have been dispatched to Morbung for a combing operation.

CM Biren Singh wrote on X, “I strongly condemn the killing of a CRPF jawan... His supreme sacrifice in the line of duty shall not go in vain.”

Kuki Inpi urged the Centre to ensure the safety of the KukiZo people. “The sustained and coordinated attacks on the Kuki-Zo people in the Jiribam region represent a ruthless attempt to further ethnic persecution... This has severely disrupted the lives, safety, and security of the Kuki-Zo community. Hundreds of villagers have been compelled to flee their homes in Jiribam due to ongoing oppression by Meitei armed groups, with many displaced in relief camps,” it said.

Kuki Inpi also criticised what it described as “a deliberate failure of the CRPF to maintain neutrality”.

The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum of Manipur had reiterated its demand for “a Union Territory with a legislature for the Kuki-Zo community in the state” in an open letter to HM Amit Shah the previous day.

Two minors, 8 & 15, killed in separate leopard attacks in UP

Two separate leopard attacks claimed an 8-year-old girl in Bijnor and a 15-year-old boy in Kheri district over the weekend, report Harveer Dabas & Kanwardeep Singh. These incidents add to the toll of leopard-related deaths, with 22 fatalities reported in Bijnor alone over the past year.

Field director of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, Lalit Verma, said, “We sent multiple teams to the area, and locals have been advised to stay cautious. The victim’s family will be entitled to compensation . ”

After Trump attack, BJP targets Rahul’s remarks on Modi

‘FRIENDS’

Akhilesh.Singh@timesofindia.com

New Delhi: After the bid to assassinate former US president Donald Trump, BJP called out Congress for the incendiary and inciting language used by Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders during the Lok Sabha campaign and said inflammatory language that fuelled the attack on Trump was also used against PM Narendra Modi.

Party spokespersons recalled Rahul referring to the PM as Hitler and his “Woh (Modi) ghar se nahi nikal paayega, Hindustan ke yuva usko danda marenge (PM will be beaten with lathis if he were to venture out of his house)” remark, and said it was this type of provocative remark which encouraged political violence.

“Incidentally, ‘democracy is in danger’ is the theme in the US presidential election too, just like ‘samvidhaan ko bachana hai’ was the opposition’s pitch in India. Caste, like race in America, was weaponised to drive a wedge in Indian society. Demonising opponents and calling them dictators is also not a coincidence. The global money bag, with dangerous ideas, used the term for the first time, to describe democratically elected powerful world leaders, who he couldn’t control,” BJP’s IT department head Amit Malviya said in a post on X.

The remark, which appeared to echo BJP’s complaints against billionaire investor and trader, George Soros, who has tried to influence politics in many countries, and marked a remarkable expression of sympathy for Trump.

“But the third time fail Rahul , who sought foreign intervention in India’s elections, failed to deliver,” Malviya said, sharing a screenshot of Rahul’s post on X dated March 21 where the Congress leader appeared to be taking at swipe at Modi by asking, “Why do so many dictators have names that begin with M... Marcos, Mussolini, Milosevic, Mubarak, Musharraf, Micombero.”

A video of Rahul’s recent remark at a press conference where he referred to the alleged incident of a slipper being tossed at Modi’s convoy in Varanasi without criticising it was also shared.

BJP spokesperson Shahzad Poonawala also came down hard on Congress for dehumanising Modi. “By dehumanising Trump, you legitimise such attacks. Similar dehumanising attacks are taking place in India too where some label PM Modi as a ‘threat to democracy’ and a ‘non-biological’ PM. Such attacks, from the head of Congress communication department, legitimise and mainstream violence and hatred,” Poonawala said.

Violence has no place in politics: PM

PM Narendra Modi joined other world leaders in strongly condemning the attack on former US President Donald Trump saying he’s deeply concerned by the attack on “his friend”.

Modi said on X violence has no place in politics and democracies. “Wish him speedy recovery. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the deceased, those injured and the American people,” said the PM.

Trump was injured during his election rally when a suspected shooter fired multiple shots toward the stage from outside of the rally venue in Butler, the US Secret Service said.

Among other global leaders who condemned the shooting were French President Emmanuel Macron, UK PM Keir Starmer, German chancellor Olaf Scholz and Japanese PM Fumio Kishida.

TNN

‘Creamy layer’ income cap was last revised in 2017 to `8L/year

It Is Supposed To Be Updated Every 3 Yrs To Adjust For Inflation

Residence of trainee IAS officer Pooja Khedkar at Baner in Pune district

Subodh Ghildiyal TNN

New Delhi: The controversy about alleged misrepresentation of ‘non-creamy layer’ certificate by trainee IAS Pooja Khedkar has cast a cloud over the ‘ OBC creamy layer’ criteria and its implementation. But the irony is that genuine backward aspirants are getting a rough deal and desperately hoping that the new BJP govt will finally wake up to the long pending revision of ‘creamy layer’ for Mandal reservations.

The increase in ‘income ceiling’ for 27% OBC quotas is pending for seven years, which has made it twice overdue for a hike. It is supposed to be revised every three years to adjust for inflation. The ‘creamy layer’, last revised from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 8 lakh in 2017, is the group of backwards who are categorised as well-off among the OBCs and thus ineligible for job and education quotas.

All India OBC Employees Federation general secretary G Karunanidhy said during the seven years, the Union govt has revised the salary structure of its employees and increased their dearness allowance (DA) from 24% to 46% till July 2023, and ignoring these indexes for income ceiling for reservation is unjustified. “The new central govt has settled in. We demand immediate revision of income ceiling for creamy layer to Rs 15 lakh,” he said.

When the income ceiling was due for an increase in 2020, the Union social justice ministry moved a cabinet proposal recommending it be hiked from Rs 8 lakh to Rs 12 lakh, but added a separate point to redefine the ‘income criteria’ for the ‘creamy layer’. As laid down by the post-Mandal 1993 office memorandum, ‘income’ does not include ‘salary’ and ‘agricultural earnings’, but govt proposed that in future ‘salary’ be included in calculating ‘income’.

The proposal ran into resistance from the National Commission for Backward Classes and senior OBC leaders of BJP, who argued that inclusion of ‘salary’ in calculating the ‘creamy layer’ would make it easier for a backward to be considered better-off. A surprised Modi govt was forced to put the proposal in cold storage.

The deadlock dragged on for three years and in Sept 2023, the revision became due again. Meanwhile, the social justice minister told the Lok Sabha on Feb 7, 2023, that there was no proposal for revision “since the existing income limit is considered sufficient”, triggering outrage among the backwards.

Now, with two hikes overdue, social justice activists like Karunanidhy, who have sent several letters to govt, complain it has become much easier for an OBC to be weeded out of eligibility for reservations because Rs 8 lakh is too low a ceiling in 2024, seven years after it was determined.

Pune cops visit Khedkar mom’s home but fail to meet her

Pune: Separate teams of Pune rural and Pune city police that visited the bungalow of IAS trainee officer Puja Khedkar’s mother, Manorama, in Baner at 7am and 10am Sunday, had to return from the gates as nobody responded to their repeated calls, reports Gitesh Shelke.

SP (Pune rural) Pankaj Deshmukh told TOI, “We wanted to question Manorama Khedkar regarding the rioting and threatening case registered by police following complaint by a farmer in Mulshi taluka.” The case was registered after a June 5, 2023, video surfaced in which Manorama, accompanied by private bouncers, was seen waving a pistol during an argument with some farmers over land ownership. On Saturday, police recorded statements of witnesses and carried out spot panchnama. At 7am Sunday, officials reached Manorama’s bungalow.

On not getting any response from inside the bungalow, police team pasted the notice on the gates and returned. The notice, addressed to Manorama, mentions details of the case and refers to violation of terms of license in wake of misuse of the firearm. It further directs Manorama to reply to the notice within 10 days, failing which the firearm license shall be cancelled.

Khedkar’s Audi handed over to cops after removing beacon, seized

Trainee IAS officer Pooja Khedkar has been accused of misusing her official position

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Pune: Trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar’s white Audi with a red-and-blue beacon and the words “Maharashtra Govt” emblazoned in red on either side of the Four Rings logo was impounded Sunday, three days after the Chaturshringi traffic police division sent her a notice asking for the car to be brought for verification. The car was handed over to police after removing the beacon and the stickers, an officer said.

Khedkar, who has been accused of misusing her official position, used to travel in the Audi A4 during her posting in the Pune collectorate in June.

“The Khedkar family’s driver brought the car to the traffic division’s office around 3.30am, albeit without the vehicle documents. We have issued notice to them again, asking for the papers,” senior traffic inspector Shafil Pathan told TOI.

“We need all details of the car — who’s been driving it and why beacons and govt stickers were used on it.”

The Audi, registered in the name of Thermoverita Engineering Pvt Ltd, had multiple pending e-challans issued against traffic violations. The family’s driver, Aslam Jamadar, paid fines totalling Rs 26,000 against 21 challans last Friday. Police put up barricades around the car and a jammer on one of the front wheels after it was handed over.

The allegations against Khedkar include demanding privileges an IAS trainee officer isn’t entitled to, such as a cabin and staff, and breaching protocol to sit in the additional collector’s office.

Why some couples are opting for the slim, secular ‘court marriage’

Despite the red tape, those who don’t want the stress of a traditional ceremony are going the registry route. And as Sonakshi Sinha showed, they can be fun too

It might be smaller than a traditional wedding, but it still requires a lot of work, and the mandate for public details to be disclosed remains a challenge SATHSYA ANNA THARIEN, CONTENT CREATOR

SIGN UP FOR SIMPLICITY: (From left) Tabbu Chowdhury gets her marriage registered at her Kolkata home; Sathsya Tharien after her inter-faith court marriage in Delhi

Shruti.Sonal@timesofindia.com

Registry or ‘court marriages’, as they are called in India, are usually dull affairs in govt buildings that are heavy on paperwork and low on joy. When it’s an inter-faith nuptial, there is the added complication of parental and societal resistance. But not Sonakshi Sinha’s. Draped in her mother’s ivory and gold vintage saree, the Bollywood actor looked visibly excited as she put her thumb print on legal papers to register her marriage with Zaheer Iqbal under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, as a small group of family and friends cheered on. That moment may have had none of the ‘tamasha’ that usually surround celebrity weddings, but the joy and warmth of the celebration was enough to silence trolls and reaffirm a woman’s right to choose her partner.

The Special Marriage Act or SMA is a law intended to facilitate inter-faith and inter-caste marriages. It’s also available to those who want secular marriages, and is increasingly gaining traction among same-caste, same-faith couples who want to ditch the big fat Indian wedding in favour of a simple, secular ‘court marriage’ that lets them enjoy the day instead of spending hours standing on a stage, greeting hundreds of people whose names they won’t even remember.

Eight months ago, Kolkata-based Tabbu Chowdhury and her same-faith partner decided to have a registry marriage on November 9, the date they had met on a dating app in 2021. Instead of going to the office, they invited the registry officials home, who legalised the process using the couple’s biometrics and witnesses, which has been mandatory for all marriage registrations by West Bengal since November 2023 . “From food to people to dressing, we decided everything rather than let the parents decide. We cut the cake, exchanged varmalas, got a catering service, and took photographs. There was no pandit or anything,” says 29-year-old Chowdhury.

Mumbai-based wedding photographer Ebrahim Kapadia says he has covered nearly ten registry weddings in the past few months. “Many couples want to celebrate with just close family and friends, and focus on moments that really matter,” says Kapadia, who has been documenting weddings for nearly a decade.

“It’s not that these couples can’t afford a big wedding, but they are putting their foot down and telling their families that their priorities are different,” he says.

One of the shaadis that Kapadia’s team covered was the court marriage of Navi Mumbai’s Reshma and Darshan. Unlike glitzy videos doing the rounds, this YouTube video that garnered more than 60,000 views captured the laughter and pranks that shaped the big day. “It was small, but it was everything I wanted!” says Reshma, a fashion designer. After the court procedure, the couple invited about 30 people home, where some Marathi rituals took place. At first, it was difficult to convince her mother about the rather low-key celebrations, but she eventually agreed, Reshma recalls.

Convincing families is still one of the biggest hurdles. Some couples are able to stand their ground, yet others have to find a middle path. Chowdhury had to follow her registry wedding with a more traditional one 15 days later that had around 900 guests.

For inter-faith and inter-caste couples, there are way more hurdles, especially the 30-day notice period which parents or ‘love jihad’ vigilantes can use to create problems. However, content creator Sathsya Anna Tharien, who had an inter-faith court marriage, says she was lucky as the couple’s parents didn’t force any ideas on them. “My parents also had a simple wedding, so that made things easier.” Dressed in a simple pink salwar kameez, she shared a photograph with her followers online after the court ceremony. Outside the court, they exchanged garlands and went for lunch with their families. Like Sonakshi Sinha, she followed it up with a reception.

She posted a detailed video outlining the step-by-step process of her marriage registration in a Delhi court on YouTube, hoping it would help couples opting for such marriages convince their kin and get the right information about the online application process, questions asked by the registrars, and documents needed. “While planning my wedding, I realised that the information out there about such marriages is only the dry, legal details. I wanted to help people using my personal experience,” Tharien says.

The video has nearly four lakh views, the comment section peppered with queries and a few intolerant comments. Many were apprehensive about the notice period clause, Tharien adds, as they were planning the wedding against their family’s wishes.

Tharien outlined her own struggles in getting the tiny details in the affidavit format right, and discomfort while putting personal details on a public notice board as part of the 30-day mandate. “The scale of such a marriage might be smaller than a traditional wedding, but it still requires a lot of work, and the mandate for public details to be disclosed remains a challenge for many people,” she adds.

4 of family among 5 killed as SUV rams truck in Bihar

Patna: Five people, including four members of a family, were killed and seven others injured when their SUV crashed into a truck in Bihar’s Kishanganj district early Sunday. Three children were among the deceased, reports Kshitiz.

Those in the SUV were headed to Bagdogra airport near Bengal’s Siliguri, around 100km from the crash spot, police said. The injured included five children.“ Eye witnesses reported the SUV was moving at a speed of about 100kmph,” Kishanganj SP Sagar Kumar said.

Md Jawaid, Congress’s Kishanganj MP who visited the site, claimed the accident occurred as the truck was moving on the wrong flank of the highway and because of poor quality of the road. MP Jawaid demanded an inquiry.

Maha fort stir turns violent ahead of Shivaji kin’s visit

Kolhapur: The monthslong campaign by some right-wing outfits to rid Kolhapur’s historical Vishalgad Fort of encroachment turned violent Sunday, with instances of stone-pelting and assa ult by some protesters on residents of the area, reports Abhijeet Patil.

Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati, a former Rajya Sabha MP and descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji, marched to the fort with thousands of supporters around 9.40am, sources said.

Videos emerged of a few police personnel guarding the place, contradicting the administration’s statement that it had deployed a l arge contingent to stop the pro- testers. Later in the afternoon, instances of attacks on houses in Gajapur were reported. A house was torched and several vehicles were damaged. Residents said p olice were conspicuous by their absence.

Chief minister Eknath Shinde promised a demolition drive starting Monday.

Last year, the district administration carried out a survey of the fo rt and found 160 illegal constructions. The fort is a protected monument.

All Puri temple treasury valuables moved to temporary strong room

Inventory On Hold Till ASI Wraps Up Repair Work

At least 85 RAF personnel have taken guard outside the temple, while five platoons of state police have been deployed inside to monitor the shifting & audit

Debabrata.Mohapatra@timesofindia.com

Bhubaneswar: The door to the inner chamber of Puri Jagannath Temple’s treasury had to broken open on Sunday as the original keys have been missing since in 2018. The loss of the keys had put a halt to efforts that year of making an inventory of the valuables. The “misplaced” keys subsequently became a contentious political issue in the state.

Contrary to myths of snakes guarding the ratna bhandar, no reptiles were found when the designated team opened the chamber on Sunday. “We did not come across any snakes, insects, or reptiles,” said Puri district collector Siddharth Shankar Swain. To ensure safety, govt deployed 11 members of Snake Helpline, a voluntary unit specialising in snake rescue. “Our services were not needed as no snake was found,” said Subhendu Mal- lik from the helpline.

The inventory of valuables is on hold until Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) restores the ratna bhandar, which has developed cracks.

“We have shifted all the valuables from the outer chamber to a temporary strong room near the ratna bhandar. However, due to the paucity of time, we could not transfer the valuables from the inner chamber. It will be done another day,” said Arabinda Padhee, chief adminis- trator of SJTA.

Six large wooden chests were transported from Bhubaneswar to Puri for storing the valuables, with nine more in production. Justice Biswanath Rath, chairman of the committee overseeing the inventory, said the ratna bhandar was not fully dilapidated. “We found five almirahs and six or seven wooden chests (sinduka) in the inner chamber. We did not open them to check valuables.”

Govt announced that the inventory would occur inside the renovated ratna bhandar after ASI completes the conservation work.

Security in and around the 12th-century shrine has been tightened to monitor the shifting and audit of the jewellery. At least 85 RAF personnel have taken guard outside the temple, while five platoons of state police have been deployed inside. Police have installed advanced CCTV cameras in the strong room.

“Since there is no deadline for completion of the inventory work, we have asked our personnel to remain alert and vigilant in and around the temple. We request devotees to cooperate with us,” said Puri SP Pinak Mishra.

BJP had made reopening the ratna bhandar a key campaign promise during the 2024 assembly and Lok Sabha elections, held simultaneously in the state. It also comes days after govt decided to open all four gates of the temple. Before this, only the Lion’s Gate was kept open for entry and exit of devotees, while the other three had been shut since March 2020.

CM Mohan Majhi expressed his optimism on X: “Jai Jagannath. At your wish, first the four gates of the temple were reopened. Now, ratna bhandar has been reopened after 46 years. I firmly believe that the great endeavour will be successful.”

Tree plantation drive is apt response to climate change: Shah

Union minister Amit Shah plants a tree in memory of his late mother Kusumben Shah under ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ campaign in the presence of MP CM Mohan Yadav at Pitreshwar Hanuman Temple premises in Indore on Sunday

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Taking part in a mega tree plantation drive in Indore in which 11 lakh saplings were planted in a day creating a world record on Sunday, Union home minister Amit Shah said that the “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam” campaign launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is an apt response to the challenges of climate change.

Shah also praised the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) for achieving the target to plant five crore trees much ahead of the target date.

He said that May 2024 was set as the target to plant five crore tress by CAPFs but they achieved the target in 2023 and have planted 5.2 crore saplings. By the end of the year, another one crore saplings will be planted, he added.

Speaking of the importance of trees, Shah quoted Matsya Purana which mentions that a stepwell is equal to 10 wells, a pond is equal to 10 stepwells, a son is equal to 10 ponds and a tree is equal to 10 sons. He said plants should be taken care of like a child until they grow up, later on, they will take care of you like a mother.

The Union minister said that when the PM started this plantation campaign, no one had any idea of this becoming a people’s movement.

He said Indore was known for cleanliness, delicious cuisine, good governance, cooperation and participation, but henceforth the cleanest city will also be known for the historic tree plantation drive.

He added that Indore will also be known as a green city.

All India Muslim law board to challenge SC’s alimony verdict

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) cited Islamic law (Sharia) to announce on Sunday that it will explore ways to get Supreme Court’s recent verdict allowing divorced Muslim women to claim maintenance beyond the 'iddat' period overturned.

AIMPLB, essentially a body of Sunni clerics, questioned the SC ruling and said it defied human reasoning.

“It does not augur well with human reasoning that men are held responsible for maintenance of their ex-wives even when the marriage is non-existent," said a board statement which invoked authority of the Prophet Muhammad and Allah to explain its stand.

The board decided to challenge Uniform Civil Code (UCC) law passed in Uttarakhand, while urging govt to sever strategic ties with Israel & pressure it to cease hostilities, & calling for "restoration" of the Places of Worship Act.

Describing Palestine crisis as a “humanitarian problem as Israel has illegally occupied and displaced citizens of Palestine”, it appealed to “Muslims of the world to exhibit genuine concern... which is not only a humanitarian cause but also basic requirement of the faithful”.

SC on July 10 affirmed that Section 125 of Code of Criminal Procedure applies to all mar- ried women, including Muslims, allowing them to claim maintenance from their husbands. The verdict from Justices B V Nagarathna and Augustine George Masih, which underscored the need for Indian men to recognise the contributions of homemakers and support them financially, has come in for praise.

The board in its statement said this judgment “will create further problems to these women who have successfully come out their painful relationship”. The board’s legal committee will explore ways to get the decision overturned

AIMPLB's stand on the decision is rooted in the belief that it contradicts Sharia, which mandates maintenance only during iddat period. After this period, a woman is free to remarry or live independently, with the ex-husband no longer responsible for her support.

On UCC, the board said its legal committee is preparing to challenge Uttarakhand's law, arguing that it undermines the country's diversity and constitutional principles, including religious freedom.

The statement also highlighted ongoing religious disputes, referencing the Worship Places Act of 1991, and called for the SC to apply this Act to recent disputes to prevent new conflicts. Additionally, it condemned the increase in mob lynching incidents, urging adherence to the rule of law.

Leave Mon dist: Student body to immigrants sans Nagaland ILP

Dimapur: Konyak Students’ Union (KSU) has asked all immigrants without a valid inner line permit (ILP) to leave Nagaland’s Mon district immediately, reports Bhadra Gogoi.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the KSU said non-compliance with the directive will invite “necessary action”.

It said the presence of unauthorised people poses a significant threat to the social and cultural fabric of “our community” while affirming its resolution to uphold the rule of law and protect the interests of Konyak people.

Expressing concern over increasing number of immigrants entering the district without ILP, it urged law enforcement agencies to conduct regular ILP checks at Namsa and Naginimora check gates with immediate effect.

It said blatant disregard for ILP regulations is unacceptable and undermines the legal framework meant to regulate and monitor the entry of nonresidents into “our district”. The union said it is imperative to enforce stringent measures to ensure that immigrants without valid ILP are not allowed into the district.

It urged respective villages and town students unions and law enforcement agencies to take the matter seriously and promptly address the issue.

K’taka ex-mantri was at ’23 hotel meeting where tribal fund scam was plotted: SIT

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru: The joint probe by ED and Karnataka’s SIT into diversion of Rs 94 crore from Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki ST Development Corporation has revealed the involvement of ex-minister B Nagendra in the alleged scam by participating in a meeting in a hotel in Dec last year where he asked officials to transfer corporation’s money into a new account.

Nagendra, who resigned last month after the scam broke out, was arrested by ED sleuths on Saturday.

As per the documents SIT has submitted in court, Nagendra’s personal secretary Devendrappa, close aide Nekkunti Nagaraj, another ac- cused Nageshwara Rao, and the corporation’s then MD JG Padmanabha, among others, met at a star hotel. Nagaraj allegedly asked Padmanabha to open a bank account and deposit the corporation’s funds in it. However, Padmanabha initially declined to follow his instructions.

Later, Nagaraj informed the group that Nagendra was at the hotel and led them to him. All of them returned to the place where they were sitting earlier. Nagendra then allegedly directed the corporation officials to open a new account & deposit money.

The alleged scam began after this meeting, and over Rs 94 crore belonging to the corporation was transferred to multiple accounts.

MP high court judge who retired in April joins BJP

Bhopal: Former judge of Madhya Pradesh HCJustice Rohit Arya has joined BJP. “I want to remain active in public life so as to be able to contribute to public good in whatever way possible,” Justice Arya said. He retired as an HC judge in April 2024. However, he said electoral politics “is not my cup of tea”.

Talking to TOI on Sunday, Justice Arya said he attended, as chief speaker, a seminar by a BJP-affiliate group on new criminal laws on Saturday. After that he visited BJP headquarters and joined BJP.

“I find myself close to BJP philosophy, the spiritual and cultural issues which form the core of its philosophy, I decided to join the party,” he said.

TNN

Times City

- Clean Air, Blue Skies: How Flooded Streets Hide Delights Of Monsoon

- 3 men held for posing as BSES officials for extortion

- Pump owners go on strike, pollution check centres shut

- How teenaged son’s only hope was extinguished by live wire

- Meet the new crop of robots, courtesy students across India

- GTB Shooting: Close Shave For Sister Too

- Licence issued for liquor store for domestic flyers arriving at T-3

- Inventory of sources at bad air hotspots to determine what more must be done

- Over 20 people present on fourth floor where shooting took place

- Mechanised cleaning yet to take off in CP after 2 yrs

- DJB asked to increase water testing as cases of diarrhoea rise in capital

- Another hot and humid day, rain prospects bleak

- Four held for firing at teen

- Not All Matches Are Fixed In Heaven: A Flashback...

- Cabbie sounds horn & disrupts reel shoot on Gzb road, thrashed

- ABVP alleges vandalism, NSUI rejects allegations

- Residents of Jor Bagh allege attacks by dogs kept by activist, carry out protest

- Not So Welcoming: Restoration Of Jheel Park Going Down The Drain

- Acute threat to CM’s health, reiterates AAP; BJP hits back

- BJP seeks review of hike in power purchase charge

- AAP again targets LG over felling of 1,100 trees in ridge

- Metro to conduct survey

- Crossing The Line... 3 Deadly Tracks Flagged

- NDMC revises health licence fee for eateries, fitness centres

- Woman held for fake case

- BJP urges Delhi govt to act on veggie prices

- Memes of Change?

- ‘Testimonies unclear’: Court acquits man in rape case

- FIRs fail to slow down these teen ‘daredevils’

- Spirit of Olympics comes to town with ‘Bharat in Paris’ run

- ‘FIR delay no ground’, man convicted of sex assault on 4-year-old

TIMES Special

Clean Air, Blue Skies: How Flooded Streets Hide Delights Of Monsoon

Rains Offer Fresh Lease Of Life To Yamuna, Wetlands Besides Recharging Flora And Fauna

Kushagra.Dixit@timesofindia.com

New Delhi: Yes, the capital’s urban crisis is an essential part of the woes of the rainy season. But there is another aspect to the monsoons than just getting trapped in waterlogged roads — the air is scrubbed clean of pollutants, the dirty Yamuna gets flushed, dried wetlands get a soaking, landscape becomes lusher as vegetation regerminates.

The moisture laden wind system brings 60-80% of the city’s annual rainfall between June and Sept to revitalise the landscape. With the ecology — the Yamuna, Aravali, wetlands, forests, soil, flora and fauna — being recharged, the city sustains another year of uncertainty. The monsoon rains replenish the Yamuna, ensuring an adequate water supply for Delhi until the following summer. The drop in temperature results in a decrease in power demand, providing much-needed relief for the city's energy infrastructure.

TOI could observe the positive impact of the rains soon after the first showers. There were fresh agarics sprouting in the forest shade, the small Salmon Arab butterfly hovered over blossoms and the Cordia mixa(lasura) began fruiting in the Yamuna Biodiversity Park.

“Most trees shed leaves during the hot, dry period to deal with water stress and conserve moisture. With the first showers, the trees grow new foliage and are soon lush green,” said CR Babu, professor emeritus, who as head of the Centre for Environmental Management of Degraded Ecosystems (CEMDE) played a big role in the development of the seven biodiversity parks of Delhi. “Many insects lay eggs and larvae deve- lop on the new foliage. With the larvae around, insectivorous birds become active. So, a mini ecosystem comes into being.”

Babu also pointed out that good ground vegetation assists the infiltration rate of groundwater while trapping dust. “Grasses and small plants, annuals and ephemerals complete their lifecycle by the time the monsoon ends. They re-germinate during the next monsoon. They sprout, flower and fruit and enrich the soil by providing nutrients,” said the professor. “This will lead to an ex- plosion of invertebrates such as earthworm and ants that makes soil porous and increase fertility.”

According to Babu, the geography of Delhi has two ecosystems, the Aravali and the Yamuna. “The former is rocky and hilly with skitte- red or iron rich soil, while the latter has sandy or alluvial soil. They have different native plants and seasonal annuals apart from specific weeds,” he said. “The rainy season helps them both get a green cover. They host butterfly larvae, which is food for grassland birds, which in turn disperse seeds.”

Meanwhile, Faiyaz Khudsar, senior scientist and biodiversity expert, pointed out how some micro-level processes help keep the soil rich enough to sustain the city. “The rains support soil microbes that are recyclers and decomposers. They decompose the leaf litter (fallen leaves) and turn it into soil nutrients to support seed growth,” said Khudsar. “The nutrients they enable for the soil helps sustain the city’s vegetation throughout the year. This is one example of how the rains ensure life for Delhi.”

Wildlife biologist Sumit Dookia said the rains were crucial for bird species such as bulbul, lapwing, robin and oriole. These nest in the summers have chicks by the monsoon and rely on the food becoming plentiful for survival.

Very importantly, the rains wash away the waste from the Yamuna, noted Bivash Pandav, professor, Wildlife Institute of India. “The flowing water carries away lots of filth in the river. It also deposits silt and, thus, helps rejuvenate the floodplain. Silt from the mountains is rich in minerals and nutrients,” Pandav said. “The flushing reduces the pollution in the river. Unwanted species that grow in riverine areas, such as water hyacinth and ipomea, also get flushed away. And of course, the extra water also recharges the groundwater.”

3 men held for posing as BSES officials for extortion

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Three men have been arrested for posing as BSES officials and extorting money from posh areas of the city. Police inquiry revealed that the trio had been duping people for several years by threatening them with high electricity bills and registration issues.

The accused were identified as Shammi Chadha, a property dealer, and his associates Dilesh Kumar, a momos vendor, and Shakil Ahmed, an electrician. Both Chadha and Kumar had a criminal past.

Police received a PCR call on July 10 from a resident of Maharani Bagh regarding extortion by three men posing as BSES officials. “A team went to the spot. The owner of the house reported that three men arrived on a bike and demanded Rs 12 lakh as a fine for using domestic electricity for commercial purposes," an officer said.

The PCR call by the owner prompted the men to flee the scene. Subsequently, a case was registered.

During the investigation, the police team analysed several CCTV footages and call detail records of numbers provided by the fake officers to the complainant. “During the probe, we traced the ownership of the bike seen in the CCTV footage to a phone number, which led us to apprehend one of the accused using its current location,” the officer mentioned.

Through him, the other two accused were also nabbed.

DCP (southeast) Rajesh Deo said the accused posed as fake BSES officials and visited under-construction sites to extort money from owners in the name of fines for using domestic electricity for commercial purposes.

“They had extorted money from many other people, but those incidents were not reported. It was also revealed that these three had worked as recovery agents for BSES through a private company. After their tenure ended, they began extorting money from people."

The accused have claimed that they have been duping people since 2017. Efforts are underway to find other victims cheated by them, police said.

Pump owners go on strike, pollution check centres shut

Abhinav.Rajput@timesofindia.com

New Delhi: Delhi Petrol Dealers' Association (DPDA) has called a strike starting Monday that could result in the closure of several Pollution Under Control Centres (PUCC) at pumps across the national capital.

With approximately 80 lakh registered vehicles in Delhi, the shutdown of these centres may lead to significant repercussions, including a potential increase in vehicular pollution. Vehicles operating without a valid PUCC certificate are subject to a hefty fine of Rs 10,000.

The strike decision comes in response to Delhi govt's recent proposal to raise the rates of pollution certificates, which the DPDA deems inadequate.

The proposed hike, varying between Rs 20 and Rs 40, will come into effect once notified by Delhi govt.

Nischal Singhania, president of the Delhi Petrol Dealers Association, said the last revision took place 13 years ago. Since then, staff salaries have risen by 300$ and operation costs have increased substantially. Singhania said the proposed increase was insufficient to maintain operations.

Delhi currently has around 400 PUC centres at various petrol and diesel stations throughout the city.

Govt had last week raised the charges for PUC certificates.

The new rates for two and three-wheelers running on petrol, CNG, or LPG (including bio-fuel) have been increased from Rs 60 to Rs 80. For four-wheelers and above in the same fuel category, the rates have been raised from Rs 80 to Rs 110. Diesel-powered vehicles will see rates rising from Rs 100 to Rs 140.

The certificate testifies that a vehicle complies with emission standards.

The Motor Vehicle Act stipulates that vehicle owners caught without a valid PUCC can face imprisonment of up to six months, a fine of up to Rs 10,000, or both. The Central Motor Vehicles Rules require every motor vehicle, including those conforming to BSI/II/III/IV and those running on CNG/LPG, to possess a valid PUC certificate one year after the date of registration. However, the validity period is one year for four-wheeler BS-IV-compliant vehicles and three months for others.

In Delhi, the PUC certification process is conducted in real-time and is integrated with the vehicle registration database.

The association said that rates were last revised in 2011 after a gap of 6 years and the percentage increase then was more than 70%. “The rate hike announced by Delhi govt now after 13 years is merely 35%, whereas all our expenses in the operation of a PUC Centre have increased multiple times with just the wages having increased three times from 2011 to 2024,” it said.

“The Oil Marketing Companies have also been charging heavy rents from the PUC Centres to the extent of 10-15% of the total revenue which was earlier not the case. Various other operational costs of the PUC Centre have drastically increased over the last 13 years,” it added.

How teenaged son’s only hope was extinguished by live wire

Poonam came in contact with a live wire accidentally when she was on her way to conduct some tests for her son

Sahitra Bhat

New Delhi: The 34-year-old mum, who died on Saturday after suspected electrocution in a waterlogged street in north-east Delhi’s Bhajanpura, was on her way to collect medical test reports done for her 14-year-old son who was on the ventilator in a hospital ICU.

She came in contact with a live wire accidentally when she was on her way to a Yamuna Vihar clinic in the morning.

A guard from a nearby hospital rushed out in rubber boots to help Poonam but was unsuccessful. He also suffered a mild shock.

Poonam lived with her husband and son in a two-storied house in Bhajanpura. On Sunday, several family members sat on the narrow road outside, mourning her loss.

They wondered what would happen to her teenaged son, Aarnav, who suffers from Down Syndrome and has been entirely reliant on his mother.

He cannot walk, speak or perform any task unassisted. He has been hospitalised for pneumonia for 20 days after he started getting seizures, Poonam’s cousin Preeti added. While he has been brought home for now, he is unaware that his mother has died.“ We are scared that his condition will worsen if we tell him about her death,” Preeti said. “There is nobody left who can take care of him.”

Poonam’s husband Parvinder runs a small shop and cannot provide the time and attention needed to care for Aarnav.

Poonam’s family said the street where the accident happened was prone to getting waterlogged and there have been previous incidents of electrocution.

The family blamed govt officials, who only cleaned up the area because of the death.

Despite the tragedy, the only precaution taken has been to tape the wires to the pole they were dangling from. Loose wires are still strewn across the road.

“Despite the fact that people ha- ve been electrocuted before, no barricades were put up. There are so many wires hanging from the streetlight,” Poonam’s aunt Suman said.

“There was a wedding in our family in March. She was happy and dancing. If the administration doesn’t take the required measures, more people will die. This is entirely their fault,” Preeti said.

Sources in BSES said the pole is under the maintenance of PWD.

When TOI sought a response from PWD, there was none.

A senior police officer said the law enforcers would write to discoms and other agencies seeking details on who the pole belongs to.

The incident is a reminder of a schoolteacher’s death at New Delhi railway station on June 26, 2023. Sakshi Ahuja, a resident of Preet Vihar in east Delhi, was about to board the Vande Bharat Express when she died of electrocution.

Aprobe suggested she had grabbed the pole to avoid skidding on a waterlogged road and got electrocuted.

Her family said she had stepped on apuddle and was electrocuted. Ahuja's 9-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter, who were next to her, were saved just in time. Police filed a chargesheet alleging negligence on the part of seven railway employees, citing their negligence that caused Ahuja’s death.

50-yr-old BSES staffer dies of electric shock

New Delhi: A 50-year-old BSES employee died after allegedly suffering an electric shock while checking a 15-foot pole in southwest Delhi’s Mohan Garden. Subsequently, he fell from the pole, police said. After receiving a PCR call from a hospital in west Delhi regarding the incident, a police team rushed to the spot to find that Ram Naval, a resident of Mohan Garden, had fallen from an electric pole after suffering a shock at 9.30 am in S Block, a senior police officer said. "He had head injuries and deep burns," the officer said, adding that Naval was referred to another hospital, where he later died. A case has been registered under relevant sections of the BNS.

TNN

Meet the new crop of robots, courtesy students across India

IIT PROFESSOR SAYS This year, Robocon was much more exciting and saw more advancement. This year, the robots were fully automated. This is a new demonstration among the students, and each team has used AI elements this year

Ridhima.Gupta@timesofindia.com

New Delhi: Imagine a colossal stadium ablaze with lights, cameras capturing every moment, and an audience buzzing with excitement and adrenaline. In the heart of this electrifying arena stand two formidable opponents, poised and ready for their final showdown. But these aren't human contenders—they're robots, locked in an epic battle for the 2024 DD Robocon India title.

This was the exhilarating scene at Delhi’s Thyagaraj Stadium on Sunday evening. After fierce competition among robots from 46 colleges across the nation, the final clash saw two mechanical titans facing off: one from Pimpri Chinchwad College of Engineering and the other from Nirma University. After a three-minutelong battle, the match was finally won by Nirma University from Ahmedabad.

This year, the competition theme at Robocon was 'Harvest Day,' in which the robots had to plant as many rice seedlings as possible in the makebelieve field. Furthermore, the robots had to pick up the balls that represented seeds and take them for storage at the stylos. The teams that placed the maximum number of saplings were announced as the winning team. The theme of the ABU-Robocon was decided by Vietnam’s ABU-Robocon organising team.

DD Robocon India 2024 was powered by IIT Delhi and Prasar Bharati. The aim of Robocon is to promote techni- cal skill development, innovation and teamwork among engineering students, providing visibility and recognition in the field of robotics. More than 750 students from over 46 colleges, institutions and universities in the country participated in DD Robocon. This is a national-level event happening for the last 23 years in the country.

The competition was divided into three stages. In the first stage, 69 teams submitted their proposals, specifying the sizes of their tentative robots and their CAD drawings.

Speaking to TOI, IIT professor Sunil Jha said, “This year, Robocon was much more exciting and saw more advancement. This year, the robots were fully automated. This is a new demonstration among the students, and each team has used AI elements this year.” He added, “A lot of recruitment companies also attend the Robocon to see the new innovations of the students, which encourages students to put their best foot forward.”

The winning team from DD Robocon 2024 will represent India at international Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) Robocon 2024. The ABU Robocon 2024 will take place in Quang Ninh, Vietnam, on Aug 25.

Talking about the winning team, the professor said, “The winning teams are quite good and we are very optimistic that this year, India could win at the international Robocon, which will probably happen for the first time.”

GTB Shooting: Close Shave For Sister Too

Family Of Deceased Recounts Terrifying Moments

Police inspect GTB Hospital after the firing incident killed one person

Abhay@timesofindia.com

New Delhi: Taranum, the sister of 32-year-old Riyazuddin who lost his life in a case of alleged mistaken identity, and a female staff member narrowly escaped injury when a gunman opened fire on them at GTB Hospital.

Faheem, the deceased’s younger brother, recounted: “My sister told Riyazuddin to close his eyes as he would not be able to watch the whole process. It was at that time that a man entered the room. He did not say anything and shot my brother.”

According to Faheem, the shooter fired two more rounds at his sister and the nurse, but they managed to escape unharmed. As Taranum ran from the ward in a state of shock, she called Faheem. “I actually thought she was joking as I wondered how someone could open fire inside a hospital,” he said.

Raisuddin, another brother of the victim, described the scene as chaotic, with their mother witnessing the shooter running. He claimed that the man again fired while escaping. The family expressed anger at the alleged lack of security guards near the ward, questioning how someone could enter the hospital with a gun and commit such a crime. The victim is survived by his wife and two kids.

This incident was not the first of its kind at GTB Hospital. In 2021, gangster Kuldeep Maan, alias Fajja, escaped from custody amid a dramatic shootout on hospital premises. The criminals, who arrived in a Scorpio SUV with a police sticker, attempted to free Kuldeep by firing shots in the air and throwing chili powder at the cops. However, Delhi Armed Police personnel reacted swiftly, killing one of the criminals and injuring another.

Health minister Saurabh Bharadwaj criticised LG VK Saxena, alleging that the law and order situation in the national capital had deteriorated over the past two years. In a post on ‘X’, Bharadwaj claimed that criminals no longer feared the law, with incidents such as murders inside Tihar Jail, a lawyer being shot in front of the court, and an elderly person being brutally murdered in broad daylight in Jangpura. He attributed the rise in crime to the understaffing of Delhi Police and the allocation of a large proportion of the force to VIP security.

Delhi BJP spokesperson Anil Gupta expressed shock over the incident, alleging it spoke volumes on poor security in the Delhi govt hospital.

Licence issued for liquor store for domestic flyers arriving at T-3

New Delhi: Delhi govt's excise department has issued licence to the Delhi Consumer’s Cooperative Wholesale Store Ltd. (DCCWS) for opening a retail liquor store at the arrival area of the Terminal-3 of IGI airport, officials said on Sunday.

This is a first L-10 liquor store of its kind at the Indira Gandhi International airport to cater to domestic customers arri- ving in Delhi, an official said.

This facility will be a self service store with a walk-in experience in an area of 750 square feet approximately. All the national and international brands registered with the department will be available, he said.

"The store will be open 24x7 whereas all other retail shops in Delhi are operational from 10am to 10pm only," he said.

TNN

Inventory of sources at bad air hotspots to determine what more must be done

SMOKE WITHOUT FIRE: Dust deposits on the sides of the road is a major source of pollution

Priyangi.Agarwal@timesofindia.com

New Delhi: Delhi govt’s environment department, which identified major and minor sources of pollution in the city last year, will prepare an inventory on how many of these sources still exist in 13 locations determined to be pollution hotspots. This new inventory will be completed by Sept.

The department, however, said that of the 4,500 minor sources identified at the 13 hotspots, 3,000 had been resolved. Delhi’s pollution hotspots are Anand Vihar, Okhla, Mundka, Dwarka, Pooth Khurd Bawana, RK Puram, Rohini, Narela, Jahangirpuri, Vivek Vihar, Wazirpur, Ashok Vihar and Punjabi Bagh. These were considered hotspots based on the annual average PM10 exceeding 300 micrograms per cubic metre and PM2.5 being over 100 micrograms per cubic metre.

A departmental official said, “Last year, our teams mapped 65 major and around 4,500 minor sources of pollution at these hotspots. We have constituted a team to revisit these hotspots and prepare a new inventory of major pollution sources and how many of the old sources continue to exist. The exercise will be completed within the monsoon season.”

The official added, “The minor sources were added to the Green Delhi app and of these, around 3,000 sources have been resolved. Official agencies have been asked to act on the remaining sources.” As an example, the pollution sources identified at Anand Vihar were people walking across the road through a broken divider slowing down traffic and causing traffic jams, stoppage of buses at the exit roads, heavy dust deposits on the sides of the road, large construction sites, unpaved and paved areas with heavy dust load in front of the air monitoring station and congestion on Chaudhary Charan Singh Marg. Many of these have been taken care of since.

Pollution in Delhi spikes in the winter season from mid-Oct to Jan when the air quality index hovers in the ‘very poor’ to ‘severe’ category. Historically, the period from Nov 1 to 15 is the most polluted fortnight of the year.

In 2023, Delhi recorded an average daily PM2.5 pollutant level of 100 micrograms per cubic metre against 98 in 2022. The PM2.5 concentration in 2023 was 2.5 times higher than the annual National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) standard and 20 times higher than the annual WHO safe limit. The average daily PM10 concentration in 2023 was 205 micrograms per cubic metre, but it was still 3.4 times higher than the annual NAAQS and 13.7 times higher than WHO’s annual safe limit.

Over 20 people present on fourth floor where shooting took place

Continued from P1

As a crowd gathered, the suspect fired more shots, closed the door of the ward from outside and fled, said Raisuddin, the victim’s brother.

Raisuddin said at the time of the firing, his elder sister Taranum was also present in the ward. “There were four-five people present there. The next ward was also filled with patients,” a police source said. The incident happened on the fourth floor of the building, where more than 20 people were present, including patients and staff, the source added.

Police received information about the incident at 4.20pm, stating that a patient had been shot dead and the shooter had fled, following which several teams and senior officers rushed to the spot.

According to Faheem, Riyazuddin’s younger brother, the real target was a man named Waseem. “He had been shot at in June and was admitted to Riyazuddin’s ward a month ago. He was later transferred to another ward. The shooter, not knowing this, must have come to kill him but mistakenly shot my brother instead,” he claimed, adding that Waseem’s wife had been concerned about his safety, and demanded security and a separate room for him.

Police inquiry revealed that Waseem (33) and his associate Asif (30) had been shot at by a group of people near Shaitan Chowk in Welcome area on June 12. The duo was on a motorcycle when the group fired over a dozen rounds, which ended up injuring two homeless men too. “Waseem was involved in 17 criminal cases. He claimed to be a member of the Hashim Baba gang,” a police source said.

Police said they are investigating the family’s claims of mistaken identity, along with other possibilities, such as gang war or personal enmity. “A case has been registered at GTB Enclave police station. We suspect that at least three or four people were involved. Two of them likely conducted reconnaissance and tasked the 18-year-old with carrying out the shooting,” said an officer. Police suspect two of the teen’s aides were standing outside the ward when the firing took place.

The family has alleged that when the firing took place, no guard was present near the ward of the Delhi govt-run hospital.

Responding to the incident, Delhi health minister Saurabh Bhardwaj said, “Negligence in such cases will not be tolerated. Whoever is guilty will not be spared. Security of all hospitals will be reviewed.”

Meanwhile, the Residents’ Doctors Association of GTB Hospital has decided to commence an indefinite strike, beginning Monday, to protest against lack of safety measures. Emergency services, however, will be functional.

Mechanised cleaning yet to take off in CP after 2 yrs

Vibha.Sharma@timesofindia.com

New Delhi: The plan to introduce complete mechanised cleaning in Connaught Place, which was approved two years ago, has not made any significant progress yet.

The project has encountered some technical difficulties, said New Delhi Municipal Council vice-chairman Satish Upadhyay. Earlier, there was a lack of satisfactory response to the council’s attempts for hiring an agency.

The project got the green signal at a meeting of the council in June 2022, and a tender was promptly floated, but only one concessionaire was able to meet the criteria. The process was scrapped then. A few more attempts to hire an agency went in vain.

“A decision was taken thereafter to make some modifications in the tender documents and to allow a single concessionaire to engage in the maintenance of the horticulture and green spaces as well as the cleaning and sweeping work,” said Upadhyay.

“The planning department has, meanwhile, raised some queries and we are looking into them,” he added.

Upadhyay further explained, “It is a comprehensive project that needs different machines for each task and a detailed plan for their operation and maintenance. Since our initial attempts to hire an agency for this task did not yield satisfactory response, we are trying to resolve all technical difficulties before initiating a fresh tender.”

The project’s complexity and the need for specialised equipment for each task have contributed to the delay in its implementation, he said.

Finding the manual sweeping done by the sanitation staff insufficient to meet the standards and overcome the problems faced in removing paan stains and in deep cleaning of granite and stones in Connaught Place and adjoining areas, NDMC had finalised a comprehensive housekeeping plan.

Under the project, NDMC will engage a private concessionaire to deploy various types of cleaning machines. These include mechanical road sweepers for main roads, battery-operated ride-on sweeping machines for parking areas, corridors, courtyards, public plazas, and footpaths/paved areas.

Additionally, compact-sized “walk behind” sweeping machines will be used to clean areas that are inaccessible by normal sweeping machines, such as corners of corridors and parking lots. “A scrubbing machine for cleaning granite and other stones as well as pressure jetting machine to clean pan stains, footpath, kerb stones, litter bins and vacuum litter pickers are also proposed to be engaged in the finalised plan,” said an official earlier.

The project will cover the outer, middle & inner circles, radial roads, corridors, parking areas, plaza areas, pavements and inner & outer open courtyards in Connaught Place.

DJB asked to increase water testing as cases of diarrhoea rise in capital

DELHI’S LIFELINES: At present, DJB is required to conduct nearly 1,000 water quality tests daily, covering tubewells, underground reservoirs, overhead tanks, rivers and water treatment plants

Siddhanta.Mishra@timesofindia.com

New Delhi: Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has been instructed to increase the frequency of water quality tests after reports of rising cases of diarrhoea.

While DJB routinely ensures safe drinking water in schools and community centres, officials have now been asked to test tubewell water in residential areas.

During a high-level meeting at the end of June, headed by South-West Delhi district steering committee, stakeholders gathered to develop a strategy to prevent the spread of water-borne diseases.

It was reported that according to the Health Management Information System (HMIS) under the ministry of health, the number of reported diarrhoea cases has increased from 15,152 in the financial year 2022-23 to 20,393 in 2023-24 in the city.

An order issued after the meeting says: “Plan and conduct random water testing and ensure availability of safe drinking water in upcoming months of monsoon in schools, anganwadi centres, he- althcare facilities and to conduct inspection of quality of water provision by public and private vendors in public utility areas like in and around railway stations, bus stand, market places. Also, undertake testing of the legality of underground water usage in the domestic setups.”

In May 2023, DJB raised concerns about schools not obtaining mandatory safe drinking water certificates. The treatment and quality control cell of DJB wrote to the directorate of education. "It has been anticipated that some schools are submitting forged and fake water quality test reports to education department as number of schools approaching DJB for water testing are not matching with the number of schools in Delhi," it said.

Another hot and humid day, rain prospects bleak

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Following a day of light showers, the national capital experienced a warm and humid climate on Sunday.

According to India Meteorological Department, the maximum temperature soared by two degrees. The partly cloudy sky, combined with sunshine in the afternoon and high humidity levels, intensified the discomfort levels for residents.

The maximum temperature at Safdarjung, the city’s base station, was 37.1 degrees Celsius, two notches above normal, compared to 35.6 degrees Celsius a day earlier. The minimum temperature also soared, with Sunday recording 27.6 degrees Celsius, normal for the season, against 25 degrees Celsius a day earlier. The relative humidity oscillated between 58% and 92%.

IMD had forecast light rain; however, the city did not receive any rain until late Sunday evening. A day earlier, Safdarjung received 13.6 mm of rainfall, while some areas recorded moderate rain, with Ayanagar receiving 34.8 mm. So far, Safdarjung has received 72.8 mm of rainfall in July, against the normal of 209.7 mm.

“There are chances of light to very light rainfall on Monday in some areas, but nothing substantial,” said an IMD official. The maximum and minimum temperatures on Monday are likely to hover around 36 and 28 degrees Celsius, respectively.

The air quality index (AQI) of the city was in the “moderate” category.

Four held for firing at teen

Four people, including three juveniles, were apprehended on Sunday for allegedly firing at an 18-year-old boy over personal enmity in south Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar. A case has been registered.

TNN

Not All Matches Are Fixed In Heaven: A Flashback...

Chargesheet Rekindles Memories Of 2000 Cricket Scandal

Rajshekhar.Jha@timesofindia.com

New Delhi: In the summer of 2014, armed criminals from south Delhi intercepted a van in Lajpat Nagar and looted Rs 8 crore kept in cash. Police investigation showed that the money belonged to notorious bookie Rajesh Kalra. Just a year before this, Kalra, along with others, had been named in a chargesheet filed in the infamous “match-fixing scandal” of 2000.

Delhi Police filed an FIR in the case in March 2000. It took police 13 years to conclude their probe, and a former top cop ensured a chargesheet was filed in 2013.

Last week, a Delhi court ordered the framing of charges in the case, rekindling memories of the 24-year-old case for investigators.

Delhi Police started probing a case of extortion of a city businessman in the year 2000. Underworld don Chhota Shakeel had demanded Rs 5 crore from the target through his Dubai-based conduit, Shaheen.

It was the interception of Shaheen's phone that led cops to Krishan Kumar, the brother of T-Series founder late Gulshan Kumar, Rajesh Kalra, and Sanjeev Chawla, who were frequently mentioned in the conversations.

Tracing the calls, cops found out that Chawla had been staying in the same hotel where South African team captain Hansie Cronje was staying. The probe revealed that the characters were constantly communicating with each other, particularly when matches were being played.

While police action since March 2000 created a storm, there wasn't much action on the ground. Two years later, Cronje (then 32) died mysteriously in a plane crash in South Africa in June 2002.

For the next 11 years, there wasn't much chatter about the case or the investigation. In May 2013, Delhi Police again claimed to have busted a ‘spot- fixing’ nexus and arrested cricketer Sreesanth and two of his Rajasthan Royals teammates, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan, on charges of spot-fixing during IPL 6.

The cops, led by then-police commissioner Neeraj Kumar, wrapped up this investigation in three months and filed a chargesheet in July 2013. Simultaneously, cops concluded their investigation into the 2000 match-fixing case as well and filed a chargesheet against Kalra, Chawla, and Kumar.

Of these people, Chawla, who is currently in jail, was extradited from the UK in 2020 and arrested. Born in Delhi, Chawla was a known bookie in London until his extradition. He played a central role in conspiring with Hansie Cronje to fix matches, police said in their chargesheet.

Chawla, whom the court has agreed was the main conspirator in the case, became India’s first successful extradition since a treaty was signed with the UK in 1992.

“Our investigation showed that Chawla was introdu- ced to Cronje in Jan-Feb 2000. Cronje was told that he could make a significant amount of money if he agreed to lose cricket matches," recalled an investigator.

Chawla’s Indian passport was revoked in 2000, and he obtained a British passport in 2005. In June 2016, Chawla was arrested in London following India’s request for his extradition.

Police said that Chawla operated one of the biggest betting syndicates in the late 1990s for the D-Company.

Cabbie sounds horn & disrupts reel shoot on Gzb road, thrashed

Avishek.Kumar@timesofindia.com

Ghaziabad: A group of youths shooting a reel in a car on an Indirapuram road thrashed a cabbie with hockey sticks after he blew the horn while overtaking their vehicle and inadvertently disrupted their performance around Saturday midnight.

Abhay Chauhan of Auraiya, who drives a cab attached to a private company in Noida Sector 62, had just dropped a few employees home and was on his way back to office around 12.30am when a Tata Nexon blocked his way near the CISF camp.

Narayan Pratap Singh, his brother, told TOIthat Abhay decided to overtake the car as it was moving slowly. The cabbie blew the horn and went past the Nexon.

But in doing so, he unwittingly disrupted a video shoot. According to Narayan, some of the Nexon’s occupants were recording a reel by emerging from the sunroof and spreading their arms as the wind ruffled their hair.

“That is when my brother overtook the car and sounded the horn,” Narayan said.

When Abhay approached NH-9, the Nexon overtook his Ertiga and screeched to a halt in front.

“Four to five youths came out of the Nexon and started vandalising Abhay’s cab. They shattered the windshield with sticks and damaged the bonnet. When Abhay confronted them, they abused him for ruining their video shoot,” he added.

The youths rained blows and punches on Abhay. He was then pinned to the ground and attacked with hockey sticks.

Narayan said he received a police call around 1am, asking him to come to a private hospital.

Swatantra Singh, the Indirapuram ACP, said a passerby informed the cops about a cabbie lying injured on the road. “We took him to a hospital and informed his family members. He received 15 stitches in the head and is currently under observation,” he added.

Following a complaint by Abhay’s family, an FIR was registered against unknown persons under sections 191 (2) (rioting), 191 (3) (rioting, armed with a deadly weapon), 126 (2) (wrongful restraint), 115 (2) (voluntarily causing hurt), and 324 (2) (mischief) of BNS, 2023. The Nexon, police said, is owned by Ram Karan of Sonipat.

ABVP alleges vandalism, NSUI rejects allegations

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Ahead of the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) elections, members of ABVP and NSUI have engaged in a new row.

ABVP has accused NSUI members, including DUSU vice-president Abhi Dahiya, of ransacking the union office. NSUI has denied the allegations and in turn accused ABVP of vandalising Dahiya's office. Meanwhile, DUSU president Tushar Dedha has filed a complaint. According to a statement by ABVP, at 3 am on Sunday, NSUI members vandalised the offices of Dedha, DUSU secretary Aparajita, joint secretary Sachin Baisla, as well as the visitor room.

ABVP members shared videos of vandalism that they claim were taken at the time of the incident. The members claim that the “goons” first consumed alcohol in Dahiya's office and then vandalised the property in the DUSU office.

ABVP has demanded that the university administration remove Dahiya from his position and police take action against him.

NSUI denied the allegations and accused ABVP of vandalizing Dahiya's office. “Last night, several ABVP members attacked my office at Delhi University. Their reaction came after I exposed the fake degree of an ABVP officebearer and DUSU president,” Dahiya claimed in a statement.

"ABVP is conspiring to defame me and NSUI. I will expose this conspiracy by taking legal action and bringing the truth to light in court,” he added. He demanded that CCTV footage of the incident be made public. Police said they had received a complaint from Dedha at Maurice Nagar police station and would soon be filing an FIR in the matter.

Residents of Jor Bagh allege attacks by dogs kept by activist, carry out protest

The activist dismissed the allegations by the protesters (in pic)

Kushagra.Dixit@timesofindia.com

New Delhi: Alleging attacks by dogs housed by an animal welfare activist, residents of Jor Bagh organised a peaceful demonstration to express their “frustration” and “concern”.

The protesters, which included members of the RWA, claimed that Ambika Shukla, a trustee of animal welfare organisation People for Animals (PFA), kept more than 15 dogs at her residence. They alleged that these dogs—all rescued—had attacked or bitten several individuals, including children and the elderly. The residents showed purported pictures and videos of the dogs being taken out for strolls unleashed. They further alleged that at least three complaints filed against Shukla regarding the issue had gone unaddressed, prompting them to undertake the “silent protest”.

Shukla denied the allegations, stating that there had been only one “unfortunate” incident of a bite. She said, “These are rescued dogs and all sterilised. They are tended to and kept clean. The whole issue is like making a mountain out of a molehill. The- re was one unfortunate incident where a woman was bitten by a dog sitting at my house’s gate. I had met her a couple of times, and she is okay now. People must also be more accepting. Even I have been bitten so many times.”

Varun Varma, president of Jor Bagh association, however, said, “We are all animal lovers here and have pets. This is an issue of being irresponsible and affecting others' liberty and compromising safety. She has 15 dogs, and only two handlers take them for a walk without a leash. So many people have been bitten or attacked.” Varma claimed that the area had a well-fenced park where the dogs could enjoy for a couple of hours twice a day, but Shukla had “turned a blind eye to the issue”.

He added, “The dogs defecate there. The poop is never cleaned by the handlers. Who doesn’t want a peaceful and safe neighbourhood? We have complained to her, but she is always indiffe- rent. The police also do nothing. So, we had no other option but to hold this silent protest.”

The protesters said they had filed three complaints on the issue, with the most recent being on July 1after an 81-year-old resident was bitten. However, they claimed, no action had been taken so far.

“None of the complaints have been converted into an FIR. The police ask us to go to NDMC. On July 1, after an 81-year-old relative of mine was bitten, a complaint was lodged. Though Shukla came to meet her a couple of times, the problem remains unresolved,” said Yatharth Kumar, one of the protesters.

Another resident, Swati, alleged that the dogs raised a stink, and their persistent barking created a nuisance. “Last month, a relative of mine visited us. Her driver was attacked by a dog. One of the handlers also misbehaved with him,” she alleged. Another resident claimed that dogs had even defecated inside a local temple. “I filed a complaint with police on April 1 after she brought dogs to a Shiva temple and one of them defecated there. When confronted, she started arguing with us,” Vandana Singh alleged.

Not So Welcoming: Restoration Of Jheel Park Going Down The Drain

POOR UPKEEP: Partially Completed Project Slows Down Due To Lack Of Funds

An MCD official said there was a proposal to transfer the upkeep of the park to a non-govt organisation. However, a conclusive decision hasn’t been taken on this yet

The 62-acre space was to be developed into a recreational centre for east Delhi with ticketed entry

Vibha.Sharma@timesofindia.com

New Delhi: The restoration of Welcome Jheel Park in east Delhi’s Shahdara has become a seemingly interminable endeavour. Until 2022, the erstwhile East Delhi Municipal Corporation had been active in restoring the lake, greening it and constructing a footpath, amphitheatre and administrative block. The partially completed park was even inaugurated in Feb 2022 by member of Parliament Manoj Tiwari. After that, all progress slowed down due to lack of funds and even the finished work began deteriorating in the absence of maintenance.

Now, an MCD official confided, there’s a proposal to transfer the upkeep of the park to a non-govt organisation. However, a conclusive decision hasn’t been taken on this yet.

“Under the central govt’s Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT 1) scheme, we received Rs 14.2 crore and used that for erecting the park’s boundary wall, open amphitheatre, sitting area and to carry out work on the lake,” the official said. “Construction of the administrative block, entry gates, fo- otpath, parking and cycle stands was also taken up."

On Saturday, TOI saw how wild vegetation had covered the steps of the open amphitheatre, while the footpath and administrative block remained incomplete. The grass was patchy and there wasn’t much plantation at the site except for an overgrowth of weeds.

Local residents told TOI that lack of maintenance by MCD had robbed the park of its charm. They said if this negligence continued, the works already undertaken or partially completed would become unusable.

MCD had requested Rs 10.7 crore under AMRUT 2 scheme to complete the remaining res- toration of the park-cum-lake, but there hasn’t been much progress in this. Funds are also needed for the construction of air-conditioning shafts, play area and for beautification as planned initially.

The 62-acre space was to have been developed into a recreational centre for east Delhi with ticketed entry. At one point, there were even plans to construct a Bollywood-themed park on the premises. An official had earlier said that after completion of the project, the department concerned would invite a concessionaire to run the facilities — boating, food court, parking, booking of lawns for parties, meeting hall and amphitheatre — and for maintenance and security, sharing the revenue generated in an agreed ratio with MCD.

Following the trifurcation in 2012, the east corporation invested Rs 4 crore to revive the lake, filling it with treated water from a nearby drain. The National Environmental Research Institute, Pune, executed the project using the 'phytorid wastewater treatment technology'. According to an official, the plant is still operational and supplies 2-3 lakh litres of treated water per day, while a total of 6 crore litres of water is needed to fill the lake completely.

Acute threat to CM’s health, reiterates AAP; BJP hits back

ATISHI SAYS BJP has conspired to put Kejriwal in jail in a fake case. His weight has declined by 8.5kg and his sugar levels have fallen below 50 five times in his sleep

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: AAP on Sunday alleged that there was an acute danger to chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s health in judicial custody. Delhi cabinet minister Atishi said Kejriwal, who is a severe diabetic, has had his sugar levels falling dangerously low. Hitting back, BJP called it a drama and said that when CM was out of jail, he campaigned extensively for Lok Sabha polls without facing any health issues. However, as his arrest approached, he started citing health issues.

Atishi said, “BJP has conspired to put Kejriwal in jail in a fake case. There is an acute danger to his health. His weight has declined by 8.5kg and his sugar levels have fallen below 50 five times in his sleep. This is a worrying situation, especially for a diabetic,” she said, addressing a press conference. “If Kejriwal suffers a stroke, if there is brain damage or some permanent damage, who will be responsible?" she asked, claiming that AAP chief was unable to get proper medical attention as he was in jail.

Asked whether AAP would approach court over the matter, Atishi said they were consulting their lawyers and doctors over the issue. “BJP should know that if anything happens to Kejriwal, not just the country, but God will also not forgive them,” she said.

Supreme Court on Friday granted interim bail to Kejriwal in a money laundering case registered against him by ED in the alleged Delhi excise scam. However, Kejriwal will remain in jail until he secures interim or regular bail in the same case, registered against him by CBI, which arrested him last month.

Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said AAP functionaries were aware AAP was losing its political significance amidst growing allegations of corruption. He added that if Kejriwal remained in jail for an extended period, his party might disintegrate. In such a situation, “desperate” AAP functionaries were reiterating their statements daily to secure Kejriwal's bail, he said. “So, Atishi is repeating today what Sanjay Singh said yesterday. All AAP functionaries try to influence not only the public but also the courts by getting their statements published every day. However, they will not succeed in their campaign of spreading confusion and rule,” he said.

Sachdeva added: “Delhiites are witnesses to how Kejriwal, who was out on bail before the elections, campaigned every day, and no one saw him going to hospital even once. But when the day of going to jail came, he started pretending to be ill again.”. Kejriwal's “poor health drama” was just an attempt to mislead CBI court and get bail, he claimed.

BJP seeks review of hike in power purchase charge

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Delhi BJP has written to the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) chairperson requesting a review of the Power Purchase Adjustment Charge (PPAC) hike by discoms and sought its discontinuation.

In the letter, Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said the move had caused widespread resentment among the people due to the hefty electricity bills they were getting this summer.

The bills of domestic consumers in Delhi have increased due to the revision of the PPAC by 6 to 8% since Feb this year.

However, this has not affected the bills of consumers who get subsidies for up to 200 units, officials said on Wednesday.

Most parts of Delhi are supplied power by four discoms — BSES Yamuna Power Limited, BSES Rajdhani Power Limited, Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited, and NDMC.

In the case of BRPL and BYPL, the increase is 8.75% and 6.15%, respectively, and for Tata Power and NDMC, it is 8.75%. Factoring in the hike, the total PPAC for BRPL is 35.8%, for BYPL 37.8%, for Tata Power 37.9%, and for NDMC 38.8%. Sachdeva said the PPAC, along with other surcharges, amounts to an abnormally high amount in the bill. He said Delhi BJP had studied the matter and found that the PPAC was illegally imposed in 2011 by then Congress govt.

Sachdeva alleged that the discoms have been seeking PPAC imposition as a temporary measure without withdrawing the previously imposed PPAC, resulting in Delhiites paying up to 37% as PPAC.

He said that if surcharges were added along with PPAC, it would become equal to the actual electricity consumption charges. The people of Delhi feel cheated and it's a constitutional duty of DERC to protect their interests, he said.

“PPAC was never a part of the approved Business Regulatory Plan of Power Discoms, and it was allowed by Kejriwal's govt around August 2015, and hence PPAC should be reviewed, and it should not be allowed,” he said.

“DERC should review the power tariff, and we repeat that at these rates, discoms are earning huge profits. Things like PPAC... should not be allowed,” he said.

AAP chief spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar said free electricity is available for 24 hours and up to 200 units. “The cheapest electricity is available in Delhi. BJP should explain why there are power cuts in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh,” she said.

AAP again targets LG over felling of 1,100 trees in ridge

AAP SAYS Delhi govt is planting trees and is constantly trying to make the city pollution-free. On the other hand, there is LG who secretly goes to an eco-sensitive zone and orders tree felling

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: AAP on Sunday alleged that even as Delhi govt had taken several steps to control pollution in the capital, trees were being cut at the behest of LG. Addressing a press conference, AAP chief spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar alleged: “AAP govt is planting trees and is constantly trying to make Delhi pollution-free. On the other hand, there is LG of Delhi who secretly goes to an eco-sensitive zone and orders felling of trees.” AAP has repeatedly alleged that Saxena had a role in the “felling of 1,100 trees” in southern ridge. BJP has counter-alleged that it was CM Arvind Kejriwal who had given the approval to cut the trees.

“In last 10 years, AAP govt has taken many steps to control pollution in Delhi. Among the long-term measures, all 1,700 industries in Delhi have been converted to run on PNG fuel. Delhi has a very progressive electric vehicle policy under which the highest number of electric vehicles in the country have been purchased in the capital,” she claimed.

Kakkar claimed AAP govt had brought Delhi's green cover to a historic high in the last 10 years to about 24%. In the last four years, 2 crore trees were planted in Delhi, she added. As many as 17 city forests existed in Delhi and AAP govt was creating six more, she said. “An order of Supreme Court is required to cut even a single tree in ridge area of Satbari,” she said. “On Feb 3, LG goes there and orders the felling of 1,100 trees. For the benefit of which capitalist friend did LG himself go and give these directions?” she alleged.

LG’s office did not respond to the allegations.

Metro to conduct survey

New Delhi: Delhi Metro will conduct its tenth customer satisfaction survey starting Monday to collect feedback from commuters on its services and various facilities at metro stations, according to an official statement.

PTI

Crossing The Line... 3 Deadly Tracks Flagged

These Rly Stretches Report Most Deaths, Injuries

Abhay@timesofindia.com

New Delhi: Three railway stretches — Subzi Mandi to Adarsh Nagar station, Shahdara to Old Delhi, and Sahibabad Junction to Anand Vihar Terminal — have been identified as hotspots for trespassing, reporting the highest numbers of deaths and injuries of people crossing tracks, a recent analysis by Railway Protection Force (RPF) has revealed.

RPF data compared the first six months of 2023 and 2024. The total number of deaths stood at a staggering 510 — while 256 lost their lives and 147 were injured between Jan and June last year, 254 were killed and 122 injured in the corresponding period this year.

Analysis revealed that the three stretches accounted for nearly 27% of these — 77 deaths or injuries occurred between Subzi Mandi and Adarsh Nagar stations, 43 between Shahdara and Old Delhi stations, and 21 between Sahibabad Junction and Anand Vihar Terminal.

The data suggested that the high number of casualties and injuries in these areas may be linked to two key factors. Firstly, there are many factories in the areas, which has led to workers seeking quicker routes to reach their workplaces and taking perilous shortcuts across active railway tracks.

Secondly, the RPF report pointed out, several residential clusters have sprung up in the vicinity and many locals end up crossing railway tracks, some of them on a daily basis. Data shows that till June this year, there have already been 654 cases of trespassing, with 650 people being arrested or detained.

According to RPF, those who get caught trespassing often express reluctance to use designated footbridges or underpasses. “They claim that the designated safe passage routes make their journeys significantly longer. So, those options become less appealing compared to the seemingly quicker shortcuts across railway tracks,” a senior RPF officer said.

Outlining a multi-pronged approach to tackle the issue, the officer said, “We conduct regular awareness campaigns to educate the public about the dangers of trespassing. We also enforce the Railway Act by pursuing legal action against those caught trespassing, resulting in fines imposed by the courts.” He added that Railways is constructing boundary walls and foot over bridges at various locations to ensure people take the safest paths and routes.

NDMC revises health licence fee for eateries, fitness centres

Vibha.Sharma@timesofindia.com

New Delhi: The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has issued an office order detailing the updated health licence fees for various establishments, including restaurants, fitness centres, hotels, eateries, shops, and kiosks.

The council's decision comes in response to repeated requests from NDMC members to avoid implementing significant fee increases. Hence, NDMC has made small adjustments to fees across various categories.

“The licence fee for regulation of various trades in NDMC areas under various sections of NDMC Act 1994 has been revised for financial year 2024-25 in accordance with the council’s resolution of Aug 2018,” stated the office order issued recently.

For banquet halls, coffee shops, or restaurants with more than 50 seats, the annual fee has been raised from Rs 16,100 to Rs 16,300. For shops or restaurants with less than 50 seats, the fee has increased from Rs 8,000 to Rs 8,100. The fee for lodging houses with 100 or more beds has been raised from Rs 32,300 to Rs 32,600, and the fee for 5-star lodging hotels has been increased from Rs 80,600 to Rs 81,400.

The licensing fee for theatres, circuses, and amusement places has also seen a slight increase. For cinema halls and dancing halls in hotels, the fee has been raised from Rs 8,000 to Rs 8,100.

In addition to the annual fee applicable for granting and renewing health licences, the processing fees for new licences have also increased slightly. The processing fee is a one-time charge, levied at the time of granting a licence.

The council has declared that it will impose a higher late fee for applications submitted after the April 30 deadline. “For applications for renewal received after April 30 and within one year from the date of expiry of the health licence, late fee charges @5% of licence fee per month will be charged. And for applications received for renewal ayear after the expiry of the licence, the late fee will be double the annual licence fee for every expired year plus 5% licence fee per month for pending months, if any,” stated the council in its order.

The health licence is issued for three years, and the fee is paid once in three years, after which the licence must be renewed. NDMC reviews or increases the health licence fee every year, and traders are required to submit their renewal applications by March 31.

However, traders operating their business from rented shops argue that they cannot apply for a new health trade licence without clarity on the policy for issuing licences to rented shops. In response, officials asserted that obtaining health trade licences is unrelated to the monthly rent charged for the shops.

Woman held for fake case

Ghaziabad: A woman and her friend were arrested on Sunday for allegedly plotting to file a fake case by accusing her neighbour of abducting her 7-year-old son.

TNN

BJP urges Delhi govt to act on veggie prices

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Delhi BJP has urged Delhi govt to address the issue of rising vegetable prices, saying it has become a significant burden for the economically weaker sections and the lower middle class.

In a letter to the food and civil supplies minister of Delhi, Imran Hussain, Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor suggested that special vans should be sent to each municipal ward to ensure subsidised vegetables reach the masses.

The party has also demanded that Delhi govt start complementary distribution of onions and potatoes.

According to the letter, vegetables such as potatoes, which are used most days, are selling at Rs 40 to 50 per kg, onions at Rs 50 to 60 per kg, and tomatoes at Rs 90 to 100 per kg, making them unaffordable for many. Other vegetables like lady's fingers and brinjal are selling above Rs 100 per kg, while peas are selling at Rs 150 per kg, further exacerbating the crisis.

Delhi BJP spokesperson urged the minister to take immediate action and provide the common people with potatoes at Rs 20 per kg, onions at Rs 25 per kg, and tomatoes at Rs 40 per kg, as they were sold just 10 days ago. Additionally, BJP has requested that other vegetables be provided to the public at cheaper rates.

Inclement weather, a spike in transportation costs, and a shortage of labour have caused the prices of seasonal vegetables in the capital to shoot up by 25-50% in the first week of July compared to June.

Not just tomatoes, which were sold at Rs 60 per kg in the wholesale market a week ago, but most vegetables — potatoes, lady's fingers, bottle gourds, and brinjals — have shown a spike at the Azadpur auction yard.

CITY CITY BANG BANG

Memes of Change?

The power of the meme is that, unlike an argument, it is impossible to counter. One can like it or dislike it, choose to ignore it or share it, but there is no arguing with it. The only option is to produce memes that are effective but carry the opposite message

SANTOSH DESAI

It has been generally acknowledged that, rather than mainstream media, the key source of energy during the last elections was found in alternative digital channels. The national TV med ia has ceased to be a source of credible information or opinion, for that matter, except for those supporting the govt. For any alternative perspective, therefore, the answer lies elsewhere. The influence of voices like Dhruv Rathee, Ravish, Ajit Anjum, and many others has been enormous, with each of them racking up millions of views with their videos.

Of course, alternative media is available to everyone, and in the past, it was the BJP that was the master of the digital and social media game. This time, however, it found itself cha llenged by voices from the other side. Part of the problem lay in the fact that because mainstream media throttled the voice of the opposition almost entirely, it helped create a market for other views. Also, given the blanket coverage that PM Modi and his govt receive on TV channels, there was perhaps a sense of overexposure and exhaustion at the by-now familiar tropes that are repeated.

The democracy of disparate voices creates a wide-ranging menu for people to choose from. The fact that so many voices that were opposing the govt found traction suggests that there was a hunger that needed to be satisfied. A democracy of this kind, which comes without any centralised regulation, has room for all kinds of views, including those that are extreme. It spawns many conspiracy theories in the name of ‘truth’ and creates an entire group of people who make themselv es susceptible to highly implausible ‘alternative’ facts that they are convinced have been kept hidden from them.

YouTube videos and other shortform videos are arguably the most powerful agents of change in India. Whether it is entertainment, fashion, beauty products, technology, self-im- provement, or politics, the unfiltered voice of the country finds expression here. Given our addiction to the phone, these formats are ideal for browsing mindlessly through, and their impact is both wide-ranging and deep.

But it is not just alternative media vehicles that are powerful; the form in wh ich information and influence are transmitted is also changing. The meme is arguably the most potent and fastest form in which opinion travels. The meme is a shard of content put together with a combination of text, visuals, and even video, and captures a particular slant on anything of interest in popular culture, be it an event, a person, or a statement made by someone. It is an act of invention and subversion, often using humour to get its point across. As a form of com- munication, it has exploded in popularity and is now the most basic unit of communication in the digital world.

In this election, for instance, the ‘pawpaw’ meme was devastatingly effective. It seized upon a BJP ad that showed a young girl tearfully telling her papa that PM Modi stopped the war to get them to safety. In that single word, it collapsed a world of meaning — it ridiculed the gullibility of those who believed the claim, it flipped the meaning of PM Modi’s standing as a paternal figure for his followers and it helped deflate many serious messages from the govt’s side.

When Rahul Gandhi was given the moniker of ‘Pappu’, it did him far more damage than any diatribe about being part of a dynasty. It undercut his legitimacy and made everything he said or did irrelevant. Everything was coloured with the tint of ‘Pappu’. It is only in the last couple of years, thanks to his Bharat Jodo Yatra and his new-found confidence as a politician, that he has been able to rise above that characterisation.

The power of the meme is that, unlike an argument, it is impossible to counter. One can like it or dislike it, choose to ignore it or share it, but there is no arguing with it. The only option is to produce memes that are effective but carry the opposite message. And like all things in popular culture, there is no saying as to which meme will catch people’s fancy and which will die unheralded.

The meme is not only an alternative form of expression but also a new mode of persuasion. Traditionally, we think of persuasion as being about changing people’s minds, thereby getting them to act in the way we desire. We put forward arguments and use credible authority figures to put forward our message.

The meme works differently. Change here happens through imitation or subversion. Its ability to rapidly recirculate through an organic process, thanks to its shareability, adds to its power. By slipping past the rational defences of the receiver, it delivers its message with greater precision and accuracy.

For example, in recent weeks, there was a video by Jyoti Nooran that went viral. It showed a feisty young woman walking out on a feudal husband, leaving his palatial house, and tearing his picture in the process. It spawned thousands of short videos in which various young girls imitated the actions set to the same music track. The motivation to imitate came from wanting to be part of the popular discourse, but in doing so, it made the issue of not taking injustice lying down in a marriage that much more salient. It was a far more effective way of delivering this message than, say, a public service ad tackling the same theme.

As the media landscape around us changes and does so dramatically, the rules of communication too reflect this transformation. We will listen to new people and communicate in new ways. We are already seeing the effects of this change in many critical areas of our lives. And more is changing as AI becomes a more integral part of our lives.

santosh365@gmail.com

My Times, My Voice: Like this article? SMS MTMVSAN<space> yes or No to 58888

‘Testimonies unclear’: Court acquits man in rape case

TIMESNEWSNETWORK

New Delhi: A Delhi court has acquitted a man accused of rape, stating that the victim's testimonies were neither clear, cogent, credible, nor trustworthy. Furthermore, her allegations were not corroborated by other material evidence.

The court of additional sessions judge Priyanka Bhagat, in the judgment dated July 9, noted that the prosecution’s entire case was based on the statement of the prosecutrix. It mentioned that there were major contradictions in her version regarding the incident of her food being spiked, which affected the credibility of her statements.

The court was hearing a case against an individual named Mahender, who, in 2014, allegedly spiked the victim's food, raped her, and filmed the incident after she became unconscious in Nainital. After she returned to Delhi, the accused allegedly threatened to circulate the video clip and raped her at an under-construction building.

The case was registered against him at Subzi Mandi police station under the penal provisions of rape and criminal intimidation.

“The entire case of the prosecution is that the prosecutrix was repeatedly raped on the blackmailing that accused Mahender would make the said video viral. However, the said video was never brought into evidence by the prosecution,” the court said.

Regarding the alleged incident of wrongful confinement from Nov 11 to 15, 2014, the court, noting her contradictory statements, said she had admitted that she had access to Mahender’s mobile phone at this time.

FIRs fail to slow down these teen ‘daredevils’

Earlier this week, 53 FIRs were registered against parents or guardians of minors found driving, but this had little impact on the ground

Anjali Singh & Avishek Kumar

Noida: Highway or bylane, there’s hardly any corner of the city where you don’t get to see this daredevilry — teenagers zipping around in two wheelers, taking sharp turns, overtaking from any side, headphones in place of helmets and throwing caution and rulebook to the wind.

Earlier this week, 53 FIRs were registered against parents or guardians of minors found driving, but this had little impact on the ground — underlining the need for a sustained campaign and stricter checks on roads. Several teenagers were found behind the wheels of cars as well — a road menace highlighted recently by the Porsche accident in Pune, which claimed the lives of two IT professionals on May 19.

In Noida, many students — some of them in school uniforms — were found riding bikes home as classes were over on Friday. None of them had helmets on, but they sported a smile reeking of defiance as TOI panned its camera on them.

This wasn’t just around schools, but outside coaching centres and factories in sectors 27, 25, 45, 62 and others.

“It would be surprising for us if we don’t find a teenager riding a bike or driving a car during a routine check. Whenever they are caught, the most common excuse is ‘bas yahin tak jana hai (I’ll go somewhere near)’ or ‘kuch emergency aa gayi thi (there was an emergency)’. This has become the norm. So, whenever we stop a bunch of teenagers, we know what they are going to say. Parents should be strict at home,” said Vijay, a traffic inspector.

Do schools not take any action against such kids?

Most of them park their bikes and cars by the road in the vicinity of their schools. The authorities don’t intervene as the violations take place outside the school gate.

In Sector 25, TOI found three students in school uniform riding a Royal Enfield. Headed home after class, none had any headgear on.

“Not just tripling, we have even caught underage drivers and riders doing stunts for social media. They are not adults, so we try to explain to them the perils of driving without a licence. When we call their parents, many of them say they have gifted the bikes to the children to head to school and back,” the traffic inspector said.

DCP (traffic) Anil Kumar Yadav said of the 53 FIRs, 18 were registered in Noida. “Apart from registering FIRs against parents, we have also been organising awareness sessions with schools.We will keep cracking the whip,” he added.

Several social activists engaged in road safety programmes blamed cops for the lack of vigil and parents for being negligent. Some of them called for a sturdy public transport network.

“Apart from the metro, there isn’t much public transport in Noida and Ghaziabad. There are auto-rickshaws and e-rickshaws here and there, but there are places where you need your own transport. A number of schools also don’t provide bus facilities, leaving students to fend for themselves. This also leads to them bringing their own vehicles to school,” said Brajesh Sharma of 7X Welfare Team, which has been engaged in such drives for almost four years now.

Spirit of Olympics comes to town with ‘Bharat in Paris’ run

The run aimed to integrate traditional sports with the fast-growing Indian E-sports segment

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: An inaugural run, titled “Bharat in Paris”, was organised on Sunday at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium to celebrate India's Olympic movement. According to organisers, it serves as a prelude to the inclusion of E-sports in the Olympics.

The run, aiming to integrate traditional sports with the fast-growing Indian E- sports segment, was flagged off by Union minister of textiles, Giriraj Singh. BJP’s North East Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari was also present at the event.

“Today, India has made big strides in the Olympics. India has achieved so much in the global sporting arena, which is unimaginable. India is winning medals in every sport, making the country proud... The growing opportunity of digital India offers gre- at possibilities in leveraging new Olympic medal sports such as E-Sports,” said Singh, adding that it was a great occasion for India to establish its presence in the E-Sports industry and win medals along with traditional sports.

This run is a good wish for the athletes going to the Paris Olympics, Tiwari said, adding, “It is our wish for the Indian contingent to double the medals tally. “

‘FIR delay no ground’, man convicted of sex assault on 4-year-old

The survivor alleged that the accused, who was a tenant in their house, had touched her private parts in June 2022

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: A Delhi court recently convicted a man of aggravated sexual assault on a four-year-old girl in 2022, observing that “sexual abuse of children remains shrouded in shame, guilt and family honour and, hence, is seldom reported”.

Rejecting the arguments of the defence counsel about the delay in the registration of the FIR, the court of additional sessions judge Susheel Bala Dagar said on July 9, “More than that when the abuser is a known person, it is very difficult to report the matter. The normalisation of abuse in society has become so endemic that it is only when the abuse is perceived to be gruesome and serious, involving penetration or bad touch, that both children and families pay attention and speak up or report.” The FIR was filed 10 days after the assault.

The court was hearing a case against the man charged for rape and under Section 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act.

The survivor alleged that the accused, who was a tenant in their house, had touched her private parts in June 2022. The court said merely touching the private parts of a child with sexual intent would be an offence under Section 10 (punishment for aggravated sexual assault) of Pocso Act along with Indian Penal Code offences for outraging the modesty of the survivor by physical contact and advances involving unwelcome and explicit sexual overtures and forcing her to be naked.

The court said that in such a scenario it would have been difficult for the girl’s mother to report the incident immediately against the accused, who was also a distant relative. “The mother must have been under shock. The prosecution’s case cannot be discarded or disbelieved merely on the grounds of delay in FIR and the delay in the filing of FIR cannot be used as a ritualistic formula to doubt the authenticity of the prosecution evidence,” said the court.

Merely because the mother denied an internal medical examination of her three-year-and-11-month-old child does not mean that the incident did not occur, the court said, adding that “the testimony of the victim child is found to be both creditworthy and admissible without any embellishment improvement or tutoring”.

Additional public prosecutor Yogita Kaushik Dahiya appeared for the prosecution.

Editorial

- CONTRAPUNTO

- Trump’s Moment

- Where’s J&K Headed?

- Many happy returns

- Shot That’ll Divide America More

- GOI’s Job? Find The X Factor For Factories

- Cultivating An Inner Flow Of Calmness And Serenity

- Sacred space

CONTRAPUNTO

That rifle hanging on the wall of the working-class flat or labourer’s cottage is the symbol of democracy.

It is our job to see that it stays there.

– GEORGE ORWELL

Trump’s Moment

In reaction to assassination bid, Trump shows he’s boss of optics. Political rhetoric on either side won’t change

The assassination bid on Trump at a campaign rally, confirmed analysts’ worst fears of what America’s rough political rhetoric could accomplish. The constant stirring of anger, the consistent polarisation-sans-reason, and the two political parties at their weakest, have created space for political violence.

Violence is up | Just as an example of growing disquiet was the assault on speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband in 2022 – attacked with a hammer after a conspiracy theorist’s call to “break her kneecaps”. The world has witnessed the aggression in US politics and society, so earnest bites that “political violence is un American” has few takers. Political violence in fact may be a new normal, notwithstanding the urgent calls from politicians across parties to dial back the rhetoric. Laments over the impact of social media on the dysfunction that’s American politics today, resurfaced over the explosion of misinformation right after the assassination attempt. Hysteria online has implications offline. But for social media companies, it was business as usual.

Ever political | In America’s multiethnic, multi-race, unique political system, divisions are the norm. Trump’s politics is rooted in every faultline. A measure of the reach of his extreme politics is how even social media cancellations did little to restore “normalcy”. His instinctive and politically astute reaction to the attack, days before the Republican convention where he’ll be formally nominated party presidential candidate, should dispel any doubt of his political smarts. The first batch of T-shirts with his raised fist and bloodied face was on sale on online shopping platform Taobao less than three hours after the attack. He seized the moment – a contrast with similar-aged Biden, decidedly feeble domestically, though forceful in his support of Israel’s war.

Leave guns alone | Finally, the gun question. America’s the only Western and wealthy nation where firearm fatalities are the leading cause of child and teen deaths. Yet, guns are a tool, a toy, a symbol of American “values”. Trump shooter’s AR-15, a semi-automatic civilian version of the military M16, is unlikely to be available in the civilian market in any other country.

There are experts suggesting the attack may see Republicans reconsider their stance on firearms. Four presidents were assassinated, several were shot at. There’s nothing to indicate that the incident, from which Trump emerged a winner, will have any impact on attitudes to guns. It likely only whetted appetite for more violence. America’s extensive security apparatus, taken by surprise in Butler County, which is Trump country, has work to do.

Where’s J&K Headed?

Enhancing authority of LG in lead-up to assembly polls sends out wrong signals

Centre’s move to expand the powers of Jammu & Kashmir’s LG is a concerning development. Through an amendment of rules, LG has been made the final authority on functioning of All India Service cadre, police, and postings and prosecution sanction, among other things. This is the second time this year that Centre has extended its jurisdiction over how the Union Territory is to be run. When seen in context of impending assembly elections – to be held by Sept 30, per SC directive – this raises questions over the road ahead for J&K.

Twin goals in J&K | That insurgency-ridden UT represents a special case is not in doubt. As the recent spurt in terror attacks in Jammu highlights, it needs a very efficient administration if violence is to end in the region. But just as important is the restoration of democratic process. The high turnout in Valley constituencies in recent LS polls is an indicator of what its people want.

The upcoming Assembly elections, the first in 10 years, represent a great opportunity in this regard. Expansion of central authority in lead-up to assembly polls has already raised apprehensions regarding the powers of an elected govt.

Will J&K get what it had? | The step has also put a question mark over statehood being restored to J&K, something Centre has promised ‘at the earliest’. For, while L&G may be top authority in a UT, a state is run by elected representatives, with Centre’s representative, the governor, having limited powers. How would overarching central authority work if J&K is granted statehood again?

It is now for Centre to allay apprehensions regarding its latest move. Winning over the hearts and minds of people is very important in a strife-torn region. And that calls for transparency.

Many happy returns

If the shoe doesn’t fit, delivery boy does a revisit

Milind Ghatwai

Many more delivery boys ring your bell than friends and relatives. One moment they appear framed just outside the doorway, the next you see them juggling dexterously with their paraphernalia. You don’t offer hot tea, only cold stares. Always in a hurry, their quizzical eyes have only one question: OTP? They don’t overstay even this half-welcome. The instant you clear the OTP test, they are gone. They never initiate conversation but respond to those who miss visitors out of sheer nostalgia.

The OTP warriors take on a different role when they turn up to collect returned products. So many products are returned these days that you wonder if the delivery boys need a new nomenclature. Redeemers would be more appropriate because they do even this job with equanimity, sporting the same inscrutable expression as they do while delivering a new product.

Returning or rejecting products has become a thriving subculture. Thanks to a generous return policy, these rejections aren’t followed by broken hearts or even a broken limb. No snide remarks, no bruised egos, no counter-questions. It’s not even mandatory to buy a new product. Unlike credit card defaulters, there’s no fear of history catching up someday, at least not yet.

The redeemers can probably guess if a customer is doing it for fun or convenience, like someone ordering two pairs of shoes, selecting the one that fits, and sending the other back with torn wrappers. They, however, have no way of knowing if the apparel failed the test or the mirror. Do the redeemers wish habitual offenders to be blacklisted or named and shamed in the future? Perhaps not, because carrying a returned product is also a duty.

Watching silently from the sidelines are elders still figuring out online shopping. While they take note of the exchange of OTPs and products, their mind goes back to the good old days when they walked into a shop with their eyes lowered and a prayer on their lips. Sporting a sheepish smile, they did everything to keep the shopkeeper in good humour. Obvious in their pace was an admission of how they had goofed up in the first place or how their family forced them to return something against their wishes. The shopkeeper always had the upper hand. Somehow, they could never play Redeemer.

Shot That’ll Divide America More

Assassination attempt on Trump may well shred the modicum of civility that remains in US politics. Liberal vs rightwing fights on gun control will get even nastier

Chidanand.Rajghatta@timesgroup.com

A bullet from a gunman’s high-powered rifle grazed presidential candidate Donald Trump’s ear. The former president has survived, but metaphorically, the bullet also nicked the nose of American democracy, already bearing the scars of many such murderous assaults. The world will be all ears to hear and see what bearing the incident will have on the upcoming presidential elections and whether it will offer a magic bullet to the vexed issue of gun control. Domestically, it will test Trump and the Republican Party’s passionately pro-gun stance.

Four out of 46 American presidents have been assassinated while in office – Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, and Kennedy. More than half-dozen others, incumbent, former, and putative presidents, have survived such attempts. They include Reagan, Ford, Truman, and Roosevelt. It is as if American presidents are a magnet for an assassin’s bullet.

One would think this shouldn’t happen in a democracy because the system allows better ways of expressing dissent, anger, and frustration – mainly through the ballot box. But the fact that such attempts appear to take place more frequently in democracies – including in India – than in authoritarian states is testament to the openness of free societies.

American political lexicon is full of expressions that speak to its leaders and candidates espousing their ideas in the open – even in the age of overwhelming social media. American politicians undertake ‘whistlestop’ tours ‘barnstorming’ across ‘bellwether’ states delivering ‘stump’ speeches.

In this case, Trump wasn’t exactly chugging across the country in a train making unscheduled stops in the countryside dotted with sheep and delivering speeches standing on tree trunks by the barn – the way Teddy Roosevelt did, giving rise to those expressions. But the principle is the same even if he flitted around in his private jet. He was out campaigning in the open, selling his ideas and canvassing for votes. That’s the stuff of democracies. The assassin took a shot at it.

Like Trump, democracy will survive. But already anxious, it will now be fearful.

The last American president to survive a major assassination attempt, Ronald Reagan, made light of the attack, borrowing a line from boxer Jack Dempsey to tell his wife Nancy Reagan, “Honey, I forgot to duck!” as he was wheeled into the emergency room. There he joked to doctors, “Please tell me you’re Republicans.” As he recovered, surrounded by medical staff, he wrote, “If I had this much attention in Hollywood, I’d have stayed there.” To a nurse who told him to “keep up the good work” of his recovery (from injuries more serious than Trump’s), he quipped: “You mean this may happen several more times?”

But times have changed. Expect no jokes – at least not from Trump – not that it is a joking matter. Besides, Donald Trump is no Ronald Reagan. For all the implicit partisanship of jokes to physicians attending to him, Reagan was an agreeable man who embraced bipartisanship on many issues. It was a time when policy trumped politics. Not so now. The Trump playbook is replete with themes of revenge and retribution, vengeance and vendetta.

In some ways, not that it justifies the attack, it is Trump who channelled disenchantment into anger in America, sometimes explicitly encouraging violence. So the bullet, rather than unite the country, may well shred the modicum of civility that remains in politics. Expect a very angry MAGA constituency to storm out to polling stations in Nov, particularly since the episode will again draw attention to one of liberal America’s pet peeves – the rampant proliferation of assault weapons. The assailant’s said to have used a high-powered militarystyleAR-15 rifle – now the favoured weapon of mass shooters.

America’s love affair with guns is evident in, among other spheres, the number of movies with the word gun in the title. From Top Gun to Naked Gun, Gatling Gun to Golden Gun, Hired Gun and Missing Gun, Hollywood has offered paeans to the country’s unsurpassed passion for guns. Small wonder US has less than 5% of the world’s population, but 50% of the world’s civilian-owned guns.

While it has earned a reputation for holding a gun to the world’s head, it now appears one half of America is also holding a gun to the other half’s head. Gun homicide rate in US is 25 times higher than in other high-income countries, while total homicide rate is seven times higher. America itself is under the gun. None of this seems to bother the Trump constituency.

In fact, the matter of whether the attempt on Trump’s life will move the needle on gun control in America will come up right away in Milwaukee this week when the Republican National Convention meets to formally anoint Trump as its nominee. Trump may be physically injured, but he’ll be there in person, politically surcharged, attending the event with even more gusto now.

Trump has been one of the most gun-friendly presidents in recent history. Asserting he’s “proud to be the most pro-gun, pro-Second Amendment president you’ve ever had in the White House,” he told the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting last year that mass shootings in America “are not a gun problem…this is a mental health problem, this is a social problem, this is a cultural problem, this is a spiritual problem.”

So if he rides into White House for a second term, that now looks even more likely, expect the gun control issue to fall on deaf ears, even if it almost cost him his life. As for anti-gun Americans, they will have to bite the bullet for now.

GOI’s Job? Find The X Factor For Factories

LS poll results have sent clear message on what voters want. But a giant manufacturing leap is must for employment generation. Budget is a good place to begin

Gurcharan Das

There were many reasons for the surprises in LS election results, most related to local issues. However, one common thread nationally was an undercurrent of anxiety among voters, especially in Hindi heartland. It related to jobs and to a lesser extent food prices. People were not necessarily unemployed – they were underemployed and aspired to better jobs.

No one seemed to address their concern during campaigning. BJP offered a vision of a rapidly growing economy that would become world’s third largest, but didn’t bother to relate growth to jobs. Opposition stuck to a message of freebies, promising to fill vacancies in govt jobs. The election has thus sent a clear, sobering message to new govt: create quality jobs.

Missing the jobs | Since 1991, India has grown handsomely, at almost 6% a year, lifting 400mn people out of poverty. Extreme poverty has come down to less than 5% of population. But high growth hasn’t created enough jobs. Why? Because India has failed to create an industrial revolution. It has done exceptionally well in services, but that is not the answer for 45% of nation’s workers, who are stuck in agriculture.

All successful nations have developed by creating an industrial revolution. More recently, East Asian nations – Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan – have become prosperous by following a simple strategy of exporting labour-intensive manufactured products. China is the latest example. India has failed – manufacturing accounts for only 15% of GDP, and India’s share of global exports of goods is less than 2%. To fix this has to be the new govt’s single-point agenda.

Recent periodic labour surveys, including last week’s RBI report, have shown a pick-up in jobs and labour participation. But these surveys point to ‘self-employment’ or low-end informal jobs, at best low-productivity jobs in construction or trade.

Naysayers will argue an industrial revolution’s time is past as technology will soon make human jobs obsolete; environmentalists are terrified of climate effects of another “industrial revolution”. Fact is technology’s threat to jobs is more immediate in white-collar services than in making shoes, toys and garments. As for the environment, it’ll mean acting more sustainably. To give up on manufacturing would be the wrong moral choice.

Structural reforms a must | To achieve the goal, govt will need major reforms, including the three big ones previous govts failed to pull off, relating to land acquisition, labour codes, and farm laws. It’ll need bringing down power and railway rates to competitive levels, and judicial reform for quick enforcement of contracts, plus a continuous focus on ease of doing business. Above all, it’ll need education reform to deliver an employable workforce with an apprentice programme.

This requires heavy lifting, made heavier now by coalition compulsions and an energised opposition. Modi’s strong suit is implementation, not persuasion; he isn’t ‘consultative’ by nature; neither a ‘deal maker’ like Lyndon Johnson; nor an ideological reformer like Thatcher or Deng, who incessantly ‘sold’ the reforms. But because he’s a doer, there’s a good chance of success.

It’ll need a change in mindset, however. Tariffs will have to be brought down to competitive levels. Large firms will need to be induced to enter labor intensive manufacturing. Once big firms gain market share, small and medium firms will flourish as component suppliers. Industrial policy will have to reward exports and jobs, instead of production, as in the PLI scheme. Indian companies will have to disrupt global markets with innovation, which isn’t their strong suit. Hence, the need to bring in multinationals to set up a second hub, the so-called China +1 strategy, similar to Apple in cellphones.

Time’s right | Preconditions for a takeoff are better than ever. Infra is vastly improved – road mileage has doubled since 2011; port handling capacity has quadrupled. India is now one market after GST. Digital revolution has reduced friction and systemic corruption.And demographics are still in our favour for at least a dozen years. Creating a labour-intensive industrial revolution will need quick action from multiple ministries. Empowered leadership will be key to coordinating hundreds of actions, in mission mode.

The ethos of a new govt is set in the first 100 days. With Budget around the corner, now is the time to act. There’s a huge prize waiting if India manages to pull it off. It means India too will one day catch up with Asian tigers and achieve 2047 goal of Viksit Bharat. What could be a bigger moral imperative than transforming a developing country into a middle-class nation.

THE SPEAKING TREE

Cultivating An Inner Flow Of Calmness And Serenity

Swami Sukhabodhananda

A seeker is a conscious person; a person who is not a sadhak is unconscious, and so he is still seeking but in the wrong direction. Every one of us is a seeker, but a spiritual seeker is conscious and knows what he is seeking, while the unconscious seeker is unaware of what he is seeking.

An elderly lady was searching for something under a streetlight. A passerby noticed her and, without knowing what she was looking for, began searching too. Seeing these two people searching, another person joined in to help. Soon, 10 people were searching under the streetlight.

A young man passing by saw the group and wondered, “What are they all searching for in such a small area?” He asked one of them, “What are you looking for?” The person replied, “I don’t know; I saw them searching, so I joined in.”

Curious, the young man approached the elderly lady and asked, “What are you searching for?” She replied, “I’m looking for a coin I dropped.” “Where did you drop it?” he asked. “In my hut,” she said. Puzzled, the young man asked, “If you dropped it in your hut, why are you searching here?” The old lady answered, “Because there’s no light in my hut.”

The Kathopanishad says those who constantly look outward are ultimately led to their own downfall. Why? “Antaratman na pashyanti” – because they fail to look within themselves. The search has to be within oneself. The Bible says, “The kingdom of heaven is within you.”

In the Gita, Krishn says, “Antah sukham,” – happiness is within yourself. Therefore, you have to learn to look within.

It is said that Buddha’s energy was so powerful that flowers bloomed out of season. This expression reflects his profound influence, attracting many young people to become bhikshus (monks). When Buddha addressed gatherings, thousands would attend.

One day, as Buddha was preparing to give a sermon in a neighbouring village, two men approached him, hurling accusations. They cursed him, saying, “You are a parasite; you are taking away all our youngsters,” and continued their verbal attack. Buddha, ever compassionate, listened patiently.

After a while, Buddha gently interrupted them, saying, “I must stop you now. There are many people waiting for my lecture in the neighbouring village. I will finish the lecture and return. If you wish to continue, you may do so then. Please allow me to proceed.” His calm and loving response shocked the two men.

They asked, “Buddha, we are cursing you, abusing you, and trying to hurt you. Does it not affect you?”

Buddha replied, “If you wanted to hurt me, you should have met me 10 years ago. I am so centred now. Your words may be like a firebrand, but the fire is extinguished when thrown into a river. Similarly, when your words touch my heart, there is a river of coolness and peace within me, extinguishing their fire. To hurt me, you should have met me 10 years ago, not now.”

The story concludes with those two men becoming Buddha’s disciples. Swamiji’s Guru Poornima Online Utsav will be held from July 17-21. For details contact: 99017 77003/95135 60108

Sacred space

Anybody can become angry – that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way…is not within everybody’s power.

Aristotle

Times Business

- Exports positive in Q1 amid global challenges: Goyal

- FPIs invest `15k cr in first 2 weeks of July

- India-Korea FTA meeting from July 17

- Plea to keep 45-day MSME payment rule

- Covid job surge led by agri, health, construction: RBI

- Claim arising from GenAI covered: TCS

- TCS plans to hire 40,000 freshers this financial year

- HCLTech looks at 5% revenue growth in FY25

- Invest In Stocks Of Particular Theme With Sectoral Funds

- Increasing TDS/TCS entries irk taxpayers

- Kotak Bank CEO admits to inadequate tech investments

Exports positive in Q1 amid global challenges: Goyal

New Delhi: India’s exports have recorded healthy growth in May and remained in the positive zone in June and the first quarter of the current fiscal despite global challenges, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal has said. He added that growth in the services sector is helping the country’s outbound shipments to register positive growth rates. “In May, exports were positive, the figure for June is also positive. The first quarter is also in the positive territory,” he said. India’s merchandise exports rose 9.1% to $38.1 billion in May. AGENCIES

FPIs invest `15k cr in first 2 weeks of July

New Delhi: Foreign investors infused Rs 15,352 crore into Indian equities during the first half of July, driven by govt’s commitment to ongoing reforms, low US Federal rates, and strong domestic demand. AGENCIES

India-Korea FTA meeting from July 17

New Delhi: With talks to upgrade the existing India-Korea FTA moving forward, senior officials of both countries will hold the next round of negotiations from Wednesday in Seoul, an official said.

AGENCIES

Plea to keep 45-day MSME payment rule

New Delhi: Industry body SME Chamber of India has urged finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to continue the 45-day MSME payment rule for corporates and other buyers. AGENCIES

Covid job surge led by agri, health, construction: RBI

Agri, Allied Services Saw Rise Of 18.5Mn In Employment

Surojit Gupta & Sidhartha TNN

New Delhi: The increase in employment in the pandemic year (2020-21) was led by agriculture and allied activities, construction, health and social welfare, an analysis of the data released by RBI has shown.

RBI’s report, which measures productivity across 27 sectors, has triggered an intense debate after it showed a spurt in employment in 2020-21 when the pandemic had wreaked havoc, leading to sharp contraction in GDP and devastation across sectors, such as manufacturing and services.

Data in the report, released last week, showed agriculture and allied services witnessed an increase of 18.5 million in employment, while construction added 4.8 million during this period. Official sources said the numbers also tallied with the real gross value added (GVA) — a measure of economic activity — in the farm sector which expanded 4%, while overall GVA fell by 4.1%.

On Saturday, PM Narendra Modi cited the report and said 80 million new jobs were created during the last three-four years and argued that this had silenced those spreading false narratives about jobs not being created.

The KLEMS database, which is compiled by RBI using multiple data sources, showed that a large part of the employment in the farm and allied sector could be attributed to self employment as people rushed back to their villages, following the nationwide lockdown in March-end, 2020.

As demand for health during the pandemic year shot up, health and social work employment rose by 1.3 million, while the employment growth in the contact-intensive manufacturing was about 1 million. In contrast, education saw the steepest decline with a 1.2 million contraction.

During 2021-22, employment in the manufacturing sector grew 4.1 million, probably after economic activity started the recovery, with textiles, leather and footwear, basic metals and fabricated metal products notching up gains. Contact intensive sectors, such as hotels and restaurants, added 0.6 million while business services saw 2.2 million addition to employment.

KLEMS data follows globally accepted principles for estimating input, output and productivity and is recognised for being a consistent and reliable source, officials said.

An analysis of data released by RBI on Tuesday showed that 3.1 crore workers were added in 2020-21 and 1.2 crore were added in 2021-22 and after the recovery, 1.9 crore were added in 2022-23. Before Covid struck, in 2019-20, 4.2 crore workers were added.

“The increase is mainly in agriculture and agriculture has too many people, and it has increased further. It goes against the 30-year trend of declining employment in ag- riculture and this could be the reason for the spike during Covid years,” said Pronab Sen, the country’s former chief statistician. He said it was largely led by women and also those who had gone back to their villages to work in farms, adding that the increase has been largely in agriculture and casual labour, which should not be read as addition to jobs.

Several data points and research have shown that there were significant job losses in the aftermath of the pandemic. Large sectors of the economy were hurt and small businesses were shuttered prompting people to return to their homes in different cities and villages.

The sharp impact of the pandemic had dragged down growth with a record contraction of 23.1% in the first quarter of 2020-21 and 5.8% in the second quarter of the same fiscal year. Overall growth for FY21 contracted 5.8% but since then has recovered to post robust expansion.

RBI’s report had shown that India added nearly 4.7 crore jobs in FY24, higher than several other estimates and employment growth rate was estimated at 6% in 2023-24, higher than the 3.2% recorded in 2022-23. The report measures industry productivity and employment.

This is the first time that RBI has tried to extrapolate a provisional estimate of productivity for FY24, using available numbers, triggering a sharp debate over the state of jobs in the country.

Claim arising from GenAI covered: TCS

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru: TCS CFO Samir Seksaria stated that the company is adequately covered for any risks and liabilities that might emerge from projects deployed leveraging GenAI.

“Given its initial stage, GenAI is not increasing the overall risk materiality from that perspective. We have adequate cover both from an errors and omissions (insurance) perspective and a D&O (directors and officers insurance policy), as well as from asset coverage too. Structurally, these are risks that are taken care of by the project management team, and our legal team is involved in looking at what the exposures could be, and we continue to mitigate them. Insurance is just a fallback to it,” he said. Errors & omission insurance protects businesses and their employees from negligent actions from clients.

TCS plans to hire 40,000 freshers this financial year

Veena.Mani@timesofindia.com

Bengaluru: As the IT sector undergoes significant transformations, India continues to be the go-to destination for talent, adapting to the tectonic shifts shaping the sector.

In the June quarter, TCS added 5,452 employees, bringing the total headcount to 606,998. The company plans to hire around 40,000 freshers in the current financial year, similar to the previous one.

“The diversity of skills that are required, talent available in other markets, geopolitical challenges in certain geographies, and if you look at all of these, India is the destination for talent, and that is not going to change in the near future,” said TCS CHRO Milind Lakkad. He highlighted the company’s efforts in bridging the gap between acade- mia and industry requirements through reskilling and upskilling initiatives, which are difficult to replicate on such a large scale. “I am very confident about a positive way forward for Indian talent, enabling us to achieve much more than what we have done so far.”

Lakkad dismissed concerns about GenAI leading to a reduction in the workforce, stating that while technology is changing the nature of jobs, employees are adapting to it. “GenAI is changing the nature of jobs, copilots are coming, and employees are adapting to it. I do not see any reduction in the workforce because of this technology. We talked about reduction in workforce when other technologies came in the past, but that ne- ver happened,” he added.

TCS has rolled increments ranging from 4.5% to 7%, with high performers receiving 10-12%. The company’s Elevate Runway programme is aimed at driving employees to the next level of competency, with juniors receiving double their compensation. Lakkad emphasised the importance of linking learning with career growth.

HCLTech looks at 5% revenue growth in FY25

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru: HCLTech remains optimistic about achieving its revenue growth of 3% to 5% for FY25, despite the absence of a significant increase in discretionary spending and some uncertainties surrounding the timing and nature of the anticipated recovery.

“Traditionally, the June quarter is soft for us, and revenue picks up after that. The same trajectory will follow this year too,” C Vijayakumar, CEO of HCLTech, said. The company saw a 1.6% sequential decline in revenue in constant currency during the June quarter.

The management expressed confidence in meeting its growth forecast, even though revenue was affected by the divestment of its stake in Sta- te Street HCL Services — a joint venture between the global financial services firm and HCL UK. State Street acquired a 49% stake in the joint venture for $170 million, consolidating its operations in India. HCLTech believes that bringing the State Street HCL Services capabilities in-house will streamline the model, enabling faster decision-making and providing a more effective and efficient experience for its clients. After making a net addition in the March quarter, HCLTech’s headcount dropped by 8,000 in the June quarter, of which, 7,398 were due to the State Street divestment.

The company has set a margin guidance of 18% to 19% for the current financial year, mirroring previous year’s figures. Vijayakumar acknowledged the presence of headwinds in the financial services sector, which are expected to continue in the Sept quarter as well. Clients in this sector are increasingly focusing on efficiency-led programs, while discretionary spending remains a challenge. Despite that, HCLTech has observed some revenue from GenAI projects, as companies are increasingly adopting this technology across various initiatives.

Regarding annual increments, HCLTech said that it is still evaluating the matter and has not made any decision for the current financial year.

Invest In Stocks Of Particular Theme With Sectoral Funds

TOI IN THE CLASSROOM

Sectoral and thematic funds is an equity mutual fund category that received the highest inflows of 70,000 crore in the past year. It is now the secondlargest category in the equity mutual fund space after flexicap funds.

What Are Thematic Funds?

Thematic funds are a category of MFs that invest at least 80% of their total assets in stocks of a particular theme. Some of the popular themes with investors and launched by fund houses in the recent past are manufacturing, real estate, tourism, energy and automotive, BFSI, and PSU funds. For example, the manufacturing fund is a thematic fund that predominantly invests in a diversified portfolio of sectors like auto and auto ancillaries, capital goods, healthcare, chemicals, oil and gas and consumable fuels.

Who Should Consider A Thematic Fund?

Wealth managers suggest investors build their core portfolio with diversified equity mutual funds and allocate a small satellite portion to thematic funds. They believe first-time investors should avoid thematic funds and start with diversified equity funds. Once your core portfolio is built and you are looking to generate alpha in portfolios and understand the risks associated with it, you could opt for a sectoral fund.

How Can Money Be Deployed?

Like any equity-oriented scheme, investors can make lump sum and systematic investments in these schemes. If investors believe certain events unfolding over a year will help the theme, they could use a staggered approach, while if they feel the theme can perform anytime, they can opt for a one-time investment.

What Risk Do They Carry?

Thematic and sectoral funds carry higher risks than diversified equity funds. Since they invest in a narrow range of stocks, they have a higher concentration risk. If you invest at a time when the economy works in favour of the underlying companies, then these schemes could give you high returns. However, any sudden adverse developments in the economy could impact companies in the portfolio leading to a loss in the near term. Often, themes may take longer to play out due to certain conditions while the broader market may continue to move up, leading to underperformance for a longer time.

PRASHANT MAHESH

Increasing TDS/TCS entries irk taxpayers

Such Levies Get Close To Half Century Mark, Multiple Rates Complicate Matters

Sidhartha@timesofindia.com

New Delhi: It’s something that the taxman loves but businesses and individuals often find cumbersome. With finance ministers routinely adding transactions requiring tax deduction at source (TDS) or tax collected at source (TCS), the number of entries requiring TDS or TCS is now close to the half century mark.

While there is a compliance burden — as it requires depositing the money after filling up a challan — there is also a cost involved as businesses and individuals have to set aside funds, often from the start of the financial year (if the transaction is in April) to the next financial year (till the department completes the assessment of returns). Often the rate can be as high as 20% as is the case with overseas tour packages and certain overseas remittances or even 30% for income from securitisation of trusts.

What complicates matters is the multiple rates — from 0.1% to 1%, 5%, 10% and so on. Besides, those with a PAN have a different rate from those who don’t.

Tax experts said in several cases, the TDS or TCS provisions were introduced at a time when data on several transactions was not available, which is now accessed by authorities due to Annual Information Returns and the Annual Information Statement requirements. Besi- des, GST has helped the tax department access a large database, which is often tapped by authorities to nudge taxpayers to pay up.

“It is a cost for business and things can be streamlined by having lower rates and fewer rates of TDS and TCS,” a tax consultant with a leading firm said.

Tax authorities have a completely different take, arguing that TDS and TCS throw up data, which helps them track evasion. Besides, they argued that higher rates of deduction or collection, actually encourage taxpayers to file returns and claim refunds. “We have seen in the past that several car buyers would go for TCS but did not file returns. If the rate is high, it automatically forces them to file returns, helping the department get revenue,” a senior officer said.

In 2017, when PM Narendra Modi addressed tax officers, he had not only set a target of having 10 crore assesses — there are around 8 crore direct tax returns — but also suggested that there was a need to collect more revenue from scrutiny of returns, which at that time generated 8%.

Kotak Bank CEO admits to inadequate tech investments

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai: Kotak Bank MD & CEO Ashok Vaswani has admitted that investments in technology were inadequate, saying it will be ramped up. He also said that the bank is fully aligned with the regulator.

In a letter to sharehol- ders, Vaswani said, “We had significantly stepped up resources and investments in technology. However, it is evident that we have more to do.”

RBI had pulled up Kotak Bank and placed business restrictions after finding that its IT systems were not up to the mark.

Vaswani said, “the regula- tor wants us to take care of our customers and do that in a prudent manner... That is exactly what the management team seeks to do. Hence, there is no ray of light between the regulators and the team.”

Kotak Bank had a disagreement with RBI when the regulator refused to accept the issuance of preference shares as dilution of capital.

Times Global

- Secret Service Had One Job. Did It Fail Its Duty?

- A ‘Republican’ who donated $15 to Dems on day Biden was sworn in

- Biden: No place in US for this kind of violence, it’s sick

- From Teddy Roosevelt to Trump: Story of assassination survivors

- Blame game among Dems, Republicans after shooting

- Oli, a ‘pro-China leader’, appointed Nepal’s new PM

- Bill to retain STEM grads in US introduced in House

Secret Service Had One Job. Did It Fail Its Duty?

Witness Claims He Saw Shooter, Informed Officer; Probe On To Find How Gunman Got So Close

The US Secret Service is trying to figure out how a gunman armed with an AR-style rifle was able to get close enough to shoot and injure former Prez Donald Trump at a rally Saturday in Pennsylvania, a monumental failure of one of the agency’s core duties.

The gunman, who was killed by Secret Service personnel, fired multiple shots at the stage from an “elevated position outside of the rally venue”, the agency said. An AP analysis of more than a dozen videos and photos, as well as satellite imagery, shows the shooter was able to get astonishingly close to the stage where the ex-prez was speaking. A video posted to social media and geolocated by the AP shows the body of a man wearing gray camouflage lying motionless on the roof of a manufacturing plant just north of Butler Farm Show grou- nds, where Trump’s rally was held.

The roof was less than 150 metres from where Trump was speaking, a distance from which a decent marksman could reasonably hit a human-sized target. For reference, 150 metres is a distance at which US army recruits must hit a human-sized silhouette to qualify with the M16 assault rifle in basic training. The ARstyle rifle used by the shooter is the semiautomatic civilian version of the military M16.

The FBI on Sunday identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20. FBI special agent in charge Kevin Rojek said it was “surprising” that the gunman was able to fire at the stage before he was killed. The FBI said it will lead the probe into the shooting, working with the Secret Service and local and state law enforcement.

Two witnesses at the rally clai- med to have seen the shooter, with one saying he saw the gunman apparently scouting for a perfect perch to shoot at the former US prez. According to attendee Ben Macer, he “saw the guy move from roof to roof”, CBS News reported. Macer said he told an officer that the shooter was on the roof, approximately “200 to 250 yards” away from where Trump was addressing. “When I turned around to go back to where I was, it was when the gunshots started, and then it was just chaos”.

Butler resident Ryan Knight, another witness along the fence line, also said he saw the suspected shooter atop the American Glass Research building, the CBS report said. “My main thought is why wasn’t the Secret Service on top of AGR? That’s a very big vantage point to shoot at the president. How did that get missed?” Knight asked.

Calls for an investigation came from all sides. James Comer, a Republican who is the House Oversight Committee chairman, said he has called on Secret Service direc- tor Kimberly Cheatle to appear for a hearing. Some even called for Cheatle’s resignation. Rep Ritchie Torres, a New York Democrat, called for investigating “security failures”. US secretary of homeland security Alejandro Mayorkas said his department and the Secret Service are working with law enforcement to probe the shooting. Maintaining the security of prez candi- dates is one of the department’s “most vital priorities”, he said.

The Secret Service, meanwhile, denied accusations by some Trump supporters that it had rejected campaign requests for additional security. “In fact, recently the Secret Service added protective resources and capabilities to the former prez’s security detail,” a spokesperson said.

AP & PTI

Theodore Roosevelt gave a speech with a bullet in his chest at a comeback event

Donald Trump is not the first former prez to survive an assassination attempt while trying to reclaim his old office. More than a century ago, Theodore Roosevelt was shot just before he was scheduled to go onstage at a campaign event — and went ahead to give his speech anyway with a bullet in his chest. On Oct 14, 1912, Roosevelt was in Milwaukee. As he left his hotel to head to a nighttime event, a man named John Schrank approached and opened fire with a Colt revolver. Several men tackled Schrank. Roosevelt, 53, was saved by a metal eyeglasses case and the fat text of his speech, 50 pages folded over so that it was 100 pages thick, in his pocket. But the bullet, even slowed down, still penetrated his chest and he found blood on his hand when he searched for and found a dime-sized wound. Allies wanted to take Roosevelt to the hospital, but he insisted on delivering his address first. And thus followed one of the most extraordinary speeches in presidential campaign history.

NYT

Injured Trump is escorted away from the rally by Secret Service agents in Butler

A ‘bullet’ streaks past Trump

Trump grabs his right ear

Inspects his hand, which has blood stains

Surrounded by Secret Service agents

Gets assisted by Secret Service agents

Pumps his fist, seems to mouth ‘fight’

Trump is escorted off the stage

A ‘Republican’ who donated $15 to Dems on day Biden was sworn in

A video published by TMZ showed the assailant on his belly on a sloping rooftop and aiming a rifle

Washington: Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old gunman who attempted to assassinate former prez Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania, lived in relatively affluent suburb Bethel Park in the hills south of Pittsburgh, about an hour’s drive from the site of the rally.

Law enforcement recovered an AR style rifle at the scene. Bomb-making materials were also found inside Crooks’ vehicle near the rally and at his home, according to two officials who were not authorised to speak publicly. An FBI official said Saturday that a motive had not yet been determined. Public court records in Pennsylvania show no past criminal cases.

Investigators believe the weapon Crooks used was purchased by his father at least six months ago, the officials said. His father, Matthew Crooks, told CNN he was trying to figure out “what the hell is going on” but wouldn’t speak about his son until after he talked to law enforcement.

Records show Crooks was registered as a Republican voter, but federal campaign finance reports also show that age of 17 he gave $15 to ActBlue, a political action committee that raises money for left-leaning and Democratic politicians, on Jan. 20, 2021, the day Prez Biden was sworn in to office. Both Republicans and Democrats will be looking for evidence of Crooks’ political affiliation as they seek to cast the ri- val party as representing extremism.

Crooks appears to have graduated in 2022 from Bethel Park High School, which has about 1,400 students, and received a $500 “star award” that year from National Math and Science Initiative. In a video of the graduation ceremony, Crooks, a slender young man with glasses, can be seen crossing the stage to modest applause.

NYT & AP

‘A hero’: Ex-fire chief died trying to protect his family

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro on Sunday identified the rallygoer who was killed as Corey Comperatore, a former fire chief from the area, and said he “died a hero”. “His wife shared with me that he dove on his family to protect them,” he said. He declined to discuss the condition of two others who were wounded.

AP

Biden: No place in US for this kind of violence, it’s sick

 Continued from P1

Hours after being shot at, Donald Trump said, “We will FEAR NOT, but instead remain resilient in our faith and defiant in the face of wickedness. In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand united, and show our true character as Americans, remaining strong and determined, and not allowing evil to win. I truly love our country, and love you all, and look forward to speaking to our great nation this week from Wisconsin.”

The assassination attempt drew universal condemnation from all sides of the political spectrum in America and beyond, with Prez Biden calling it “sick” and phoning Trump to inquire about his wellbeing. “There’s no place in America for this kind of violence, it’s sick. It’s sick. It's one of the reasons why we have to unite this country. We cannot allow for this to be happening. We cannot be like this,” Biden said. Ordering an independent review into the incident, Biden said, “I urge everyone, everyone please don’t make assumptions about his motive or affiliations.”

From Teddy Roosevelt to Trump: Story of assassination survivors

Chidanand Rajghatta TNN

Washington:US political pundits and presidential historians are already handing the 2024 elections to Donald Trump, suggesting the attempt on his life will uncork a wave of sympathy and admiration for the survivor and power him back into the White House.

Well-known presidential chronicler Douglas Brinkley is among those predicting a Trump surge because “there’s something in the American spirit that likes seeing fortitude and courage under pressure and the fact that Trump held his fist up high will become a new symbol.” “By surviving an attempted assassination, you become a martyr, because you get a groundswell of public sympathy,” Brinkley told the Washington Post, which said: “Trump is often most comfortable — and most effective — when playing both martyr and victim, and Saturday’s shooting naturally thrusts him back into that role.”

Within hours of the assassination attempt, Trump attracted a surge of support from several eminences grises. “I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery,” tweeted Elon Musk of Tesla and X, adding, “Last time America had a candidate this tough was Theodore Roosevelt.” Roosevelt famously survived an assassination attempt in 1912, when, like Trump, he was seeking to return to the presidency.

Shot in the chest while campaigning in Milwaukee (where Trump is headed to on Monday for the Republican National Convention), Roosevelt continued speaking, saying, “It takes more than a bullet to kill a Bull Moose.” He eventually lost the 1912 election to Woodrow Wilson.

Not everyone saw a likeness of Roosevelt in Trump. Some critics pointed to George Wallace, a racist segregationist from Alabama who also lost despite surviving an assassination bid. Gerald Ford also survived two assassination bids and still lost.

But then, 2024 is not 1912. No photos or images exist of Roosevelt being shot.

Blame game among Dems, Republicans after shooting

Chidanand Rajghatta | TNN

Washington:Blame game and politicking began within minutes of the attempt to assassinate former prez Donald Trump. Hardline Trump Republicans and Democrats traded charges, accusing the other side of creating the atmosphere that triggered the attempted assassination. Trump supporters ferreted out a statement by Prez Joe Biden in which he said “it’s time to put Trump in a bullseye”, to make the explosive claim that it was a deliberate attempt to eliminate their leader.

“I have one job and that’s to beat Donald Trump. We’re done talking about the (June 27) debate. It’s time to put Trump in the bullseye. He’s gotten away with doing nothing for the last 10 days except ride around in his golf cart, bragging about scores he didn’t score…The fact is, he’s not answering questi- ons,” Biden was reported to have said in a phone call to donors.

Trump acolytes, some of them auditioning to be his running mate, suggested such statements engendered the attempt on his life. South Carolina senator Tim Scott, a Trump ally, shared a similar sentime- nt, saying, “Let’s be clear: This was an assassination attempt aided and abetted by the radical Left and corporate media incessantly calling Trump a threat to democracy, fascists, or worse.”

On their part, Democrat supporters viewed the incident through their own lens of suspici- on, one of them saying, “I’m not one for conspiracy theories, but you don’t just stand around and fist pump when there’s an active shooter.”The fact that the assailant carried an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, a weapon of choice lately for mass shooters in America, outraged gun control activists. “As we process this news about Donald Trump’s assassination attempt, remember the shooter didn’t act alone. He was assisted by 220 Republican House members, 49 senators, and the National Rifle Association who have consistently blocked gun safety,” wrote one on social media. Others pointed out to Trump’s own sneering dismissal of the attempt on the life of then House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband and his implicit threat of violence during the election campaign, including suggesting there would be a bloodbath if his side perceived the outcome as being unfair.

1st US assassination bid in social media era

It was the first attempted assassination of a current or former US prez in the era of social media, and the conspiracy theories, finger-pointing and campaign gamesmanship moved at the speed of the internet, far faster than the actual facts of what transpired at former prez Donald Trump’s campaign rally. In the era of memes, X posts, Truths, Threads and TikTok, introspection was never going to be the dominant mood. A picture of Trump, fist aloft, American flag fluttering overhead, became iconic in an instant. Within minutes of the first images of Trump grabbing his wounded ear Saturday, voices on the left were calling it staged. Arch conspiracy theories came from the far-right who suggested that the Secret Service was somehow in on it through the “Deep State Intel Community”. X posters and internet sleuths even named the shooter — incorrectly. The man was in fact a soccer journalist in Italy. Among younger social media users, an image of Trump’s face photoshopped into a portrait of Vincent van Gogh with a bandaged, partly amputated ear was widely shared.

NYT

Oli, a ‘pro-China leader’, appointed Nepal’s new PM

Kathmandu: K P Sharma Oli, CPN-UML chairman and seen as a pro-China leader, was appointed Nepal’s PM for a fourth term on Sunday to lead the new coalition govt that faces the daunting challenge of providing political stability in the Himalayan nation. Oli, 72, succeeds Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda who lost the vote of confidence in the House of Representatives on Friday, leading to the formation of the new govt process as per the constitution.

A statement by Prez Ram Chandra Paudel’s office said Oli will take oath of office Mon- day. First elected as PM in 2015, he was re-elected in 2018 and then reappointed briefly in 2021.

Oli became the PM with the support of Nepali Congress, the largest party in the parliament. On Friday, Oli staked his claim to become the next PM with the backing of NC president Sher Bahadur Deuba and submitted the signatures of 165 House of Representatives members — 77 from his Communist Party of Nepal Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) party and 88 from Nepali Congress.

His predecessor and CPN Maoist Centre chairman Prachanda was forced to step down barely 18 months after taking office after Oli’s party withdrew its support. Oli instead forged a seven-point deal with the former five-time PM Deuba, 78. The two leaders agreed that the remaining term of the parliament would be shared between them in turns. In the first phase, Oli will be the PM for 18 months. Nepal’s next general elections are due in 2027.

Oli’s biggest challenge as PM will be balancing Nepal’s ties with its giant neighbours India and China. In the past, he has reached out to China and stoked populist rhetoric against India. Relations soured with India when Oli endorsed a political map in 2020 depicting disputed territories as Nepali.

Since 2008, when the erstwhile monarchy was formally abolished and Nepal adopted an interim constitution, it has had 13 different govts with Dahal, Deuba, and Oli serving multiple terms as prime minister akin to a musical chair.

PTI & AFP

Bill to retain STEM grads in US introduced in House

Lubna.Kably@timesofindia.com

Indian-American Congressman Shri Thanedar has introduced a bill that proposes reforms to the H-1B visa process and raises the number of available visas each year to enable STEM graduates to continue to stay and work in the US.

While the bill — ‘Keep STEM Graduates in America Act’— has sparked off conversation among the Indian diaspora, the general feeling is that this bill will not see the light of the day just like other similar bills. The only ray of hope is US prez nominee Donald Trump’s recent statement in an interview that he favoured giving green cards to all foreign graduates of US varsities. “Perhaps, the political climate has thawed in favour of retaining the best and brightest. A favourable legislation that would enable STEM students to stay and work in the US could at least come up for voting in the House and Senate,” said a US attorney.

Trump in his interview said the mechanism of automatic green cards was needed to prevent bright students from retur- ning to their home nations, like India and China, where they become multibillionaires. His campaign office, however, hurriedly issued a statement about an aggressive vetting process.

At present, H-1B visas are the most popular and feasible route for high-skilled foreign nationals, including newly qualified STEM graduates from US universities, to work in the US. Indians face a waiting period of several decades before being able to obtain an employment based green card. The annual quota for H-1B cap visas is 85,000 (which includes 20,000 vi- sas that are allotted under the Masters’ cap for those beneficiaries having advanced degrees from US universities). The demand far outstrips the supply.

Thanedar said, “By expanding the availability of H-1B visas and making the process to obtain one simpler, we take an important and tangible step towards a future where those students with the most potential to innovate will innovate in the US.” The Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies said about 3 lakh Indian students and millions of foreign students will benefit from this bill.

Times Sport

- CARLOS LOVES GRASS

- UNSEEDED PATTEN, HELIOVAARA SAVE 3 MATCH POINTS TO WIN TITLE

- TOP PLACE FINISH FOR SINIAKOVA, TOWNSEND PAIR

- LIVING A DREAM, THE KREJCIKOVA WAY

- GALLERY

- As political crisis rumbles, France’s Bastille Day parade meets Olympic torch relay

- Anahat, Shaurya enter fourth round of World Jr Squash

- Samson, Mukesh fire India to 42-run win

- Anirban Lahiri takes 4-shot lead in Spain

- BCCI to release Rs 1 crore for Gaekwad’s treatment

- THE CUP IS FULL

- Racism a blind spot in much of Spain

- Far from satisfied: Bielsa

- WHO KNOWS, MAYBE DI MARIA WILL SCORE ANOTHER GOAL IN THE FINAL, SAYS MESSI

CARLOS LOVES GRASS

Spain’s Alcaraz, 21, Beats 7-Time Wimbledon Champion Djokovic To Retain SW-19 Crown

MASTERCLASS: Carlos Alcaraz celebrates his win in the final

Prajwal.Hegde@timesofindia.com

London: The question always was can Carlos Alcaraz win the title match, because Novak Djokovic, the most decorated man in tennis, going for an epic 25th major crown, was never going to lose the Wimbledon final. Alcaraz, in his fourth major final, was quick on the button and after two hours and 27 minutes of riveting flair, the 21-year-old Spaniard powered to a 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (4) win. His second Wimbledon title and fourth Grand Slam.

The world No.3, now only one of six men to achieve the Roland Garros-SW19 double in the Open Era, had 42 winners and faced just three breakpoints against the best returner in the sport. Djokovic was off his pace on Sunday, but perhaps the smiling Spaniard, having saved his best tennis for the final, had left the 37-year-old behind on an afternoon where the sun made a grand appearance in this leafy London suburb.

The opening game of the match, where Alcaraz broke Djokovic, lasted 13 minutes, but thereafter points rolled quickly and Alcaraz was up by two sets after 75 minutes of action.

Alcaraz struck in the ninth game of the third set, breaking Djokovic in play, that was stamped as much with genius as with a robust fearlessness. Djokovic shot out of his chair at the changeover, bracing for what looked like the final game of the tournament. The crowd was absolutely behind the seven-time champion, ‘let’s go Nole, let’s go’, was playing on loop.

Alcaraz went ahead 40-0 before the serve and nerve shook, three championships came and went, and it was 5-all.

Centre Court was on its feet applauding the Serb asking for more as the set sailed into the tie-break. Alcaraz went ahead 3-1, 5-3 and at 6-4, on his fourth championship point, he closed on a Djokovic error.

“The score was 40-0 (10th game), but I was seeing the trophy so far away,” said Alcaraz, cradling the prize he had received from Catherine, the Princes of Wales. “Djokovic is an unbelievable fighter, and I knew he was going to have his chances again, so I had to stay there. I tried to win the point with the serve, but I couldn’t.”

“It was difficult for me. I tried to stay calm, I tried to stay positive in that situation,” Alcaraz said. “Going into the tiebreak, I tried to play my best tennis. That’s all I was thinking about. I’m really glad that in the end I could find the solution.”

Djokovic, 37, was contesting the Wimbledon final just 38 days after he had surgery on his right knee.

“Obviously, it is not the result that I wanted, especially in the first couple of sets, the level of tennis wasn’t up to par from my side,” said Djokovic at the trophy ceremony. “But credit to Carlos for playing some complete tennis. From the back of the court, on serve, he had it all today. I tried to push him and saved the three match points, extended the match a little bit, but it wasn’t meant to be. He’s a deserved winner today, so congratulations to him for amazing tennis.”

“I have to be very proud,” said the Serbian, looking at his journey. “Obviously there’s disappointment right now, but when I reflect on the last four to five weeks, what I’ve been through (with the knee surgery), I’m very satisfied. I try to remind myself sometimes of how surreal it is being here; being really blessed to fight for the trophy. Every time I step on this court it feels like the first time. I’m living a childhood dream.”

Alcaraz’ second Wimbledon title in two years saw him richer by £2,700,000 in prize money, while Djokovic’s second successive runner-up finish earned him £1,400,000.

UNSEEDED PATTEN, HELIOVAARA SAVE 3 MATCH POINTS TO WIN TITLE

London: Unseeded Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara saved three match points in the second set before beating Australian duo Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson 6-7 (7), 7-6 (8), 7-6 (11-9) in the men’s doubles final for their first Grand Slam title on Saturday.

Heliovaara became the first Finnish man to win the Wimbledon doubles and sank to his knees in tears after he and Patten converted their second match point. He then put his head on his partner’s shoulder, still sobbing, as they sat in their chairs and waited for the trophy presentation. “The tears say it all,” Heliovaara said. “It’s very emotional.”

Patten is the third British man in the professional era to win the men’s doubles at the All England Club, joining Jonathan Marray in 2012 and Neal Skupski last year.

Playing on Centre Court, the duo never had a break point in the match and missed a set point in the first set after coming from 6-1 down in the tiebreaker to lead 7-6. In the second set, they saved a match point at 6-5 and two more in the tiebreaker, where they trailed 5-2 before beginning their turnaround.

TOP PLACE FINISH FOR SINIAKOVA, TOWNSEND PAIR

London: After seeing longtime doubles partner Barbora Krejcikova win the Wimbledon singles title, Katerina Siniakova went out on Centre Court and added another Grand Slam trophy to her own collection.

Siniakova won her third women’s doubles title at Wimbledon after teaming up with Taylor Townsend to beat Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe 7-6 (5), 7-6 (1) on Saturday in a match that finished after 10:20 p.m. local time under floodlights.

“Amazing. I’m so proud of Barbora,” Siniakova said of her Czech countrywoman. “I’m just so happy that we could do it as well.”

Siniakova has won seven major doubles titles with Krejcikova and one with Coco Gauff at this year’s French Open. This was her first with American Townsend.

AP

LIVING A DREAM, THE KREJCIKOVA WAY

Newly Crowned Champion Barbora Pays Emotional Tribute To Late Mentor Novotna

Barbora Krejcikova with the trophy on Saturday

Prajwal.Hegde@timesofindia.com

London: In the four hours since she had closed out the Wimbledon final, Barbora Krejcikova had done more interviews than she cared to count.

The 28-year-old champion had worn her hair loose and her face was without a smudge of make-up. She arrived for the late evening round tables wearing her match face. Not a line of complaint showing.

“It’s good to have all these obligations,” she said of the postchampionship commitments, which can be draining and often goes late into the night.

Krejcikova, who on Saturday claimed her second major singles title, three years after her first at Roland Garros, which along with her seven women’s doubles and three mixed-doubles crowns, makes for a crowded trophy cabinet, is fabulously grounded.

Maybe it is age, maybe it is her way At the end of the near two-hour final against Jasmine Paolini, who was close to tears and could only manage the briefest of handshakes, Krejcikova, 5 ft 10’ to the Italian’s 5 ft 4’, grabbed Paolini and enveloped her in a hug.

“I like Jasmine, she’s always very polite, always smiling, always super happy,” Krejcikova said. “It’s always nice to be around her in the locker room. I told her that I’m sorry because I knew that she wanted to win too. These moments, at the end of a match, are not pleasant, when you have someone at the other end who you like. I hope she wins a Grand Slam as well.”

The Czech’s range is truly staggering, there’s nothing she cannot do on a tennis court, but it is her history with the 1998 Wimbledon champion Jana Novotna, who passed away seven years ago after a long battle with cancer, that has consumed the sporting landscape.

“I miss Jana a lot. It was just very, very emotional to see me on a board right next to her,” Krejcikova said of the Wimbledon honours board. “I think she would be proud, she would be really excited that I’m on a same board as she is because Wimbledon was super special for her.”

Krejcikova, who worked with Novotna for almost four years, until she passed away, said she still has dreams of her mentor.

“I’m dreaming about her a lot and we are talking in these dreams,” she said.

As a child, Krejcikova had a little notebook in which she penned her tennis goals. When she was 12, she wrote that she would like to win the French Open one day.

“It was quite a big dream for me to win the French Open,” she said, “Maybe like three-four months ago, I was looking through that notebook and I found it there.”

“Things shifted a little bit when I met Jana, when she told me all the stories about Wimbledon, about the grass, how difficult it was for her to win the title and how emotional she was when she actually made it,” she said. “Since then I started to see Wimbledon as the biggest tournament in the world.”

And now as the queen of the most famous lawns in the world, she has dotted the lines of her dreams.

“It’s great that I’m a two-time major champion. It’s something unbelievable,” she said. “On the other hand, I’m still the same person. I still love tennis very much. I still want to continue playing tennis well and fight for other tournaments.”

Long may her unfiltered simplicity reign.

GALLERY

Shot putter Abha Khatua’s name missing in WA’s list of Olympic participants

New Delhi: Shot putter Abha Khatua’s name was surprisingly missing from the Indian athletics team’s list of Olympic participants published by World Athletics, even as she currently trains in Poland ahead of the Paris Games. Khatua, who qualified for the Olympics through world ranking route, left the country for Spala in Poland on Thursday, along with other track and field athletes. From there, the athletes will reach Paris on July 28. Mysteriously enough, the World Athletics’ list of participants for the Paris Games had only 29 Indian track and field athletes instead of 30 names entered by Athletics Federation of India through the Indian Olympic Association with Abha’s name missing.

‘Bharat in Paris’ marathon flagged off to celebrate Indian Olympic movement: The ‘Bharat in Paris’ marathon was flagged off in New Delhi on Sunday to celebrate India’s Olympic movement as well as the recognition of Esports by the IOC. The race was flagged off by union minister of textiles Giriraj Singh and Manoj Tiwary, a member of the parliament. A total of 118 athletes, led by ace javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, will compete in the Paris Olympics, starting July 26. The International Olympic Committee and the Saudi Arabia government have entered into an agreement to conduct the inaugural Olympic Esports Games in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia next year.

US swimmer Ledecky still the gold standard going into 4th Olympics: Twelve years on from her stunning 800m freestyle victory at the London Olympics, Katie Ledecky is headed to her fourth straight Games in Paris aiming to extend her run of sustained excellence.

Shooter Bhavtegh in contention for final berth in Jr World Cup: Skeet marksman Bhavtegh Singh Gill enjoyed a near-perfect opening day of qualification, shooting down 74 out of 75 targets to finish on sole third spot in the ISSF Junior World Cup in Porpetto, Italy on Sunday. All 68 competitors in the event will come back on Monday to complete the two final qualification rounds before the top six head into the final.

AGENCIES

ACTION TODAY

TENNIS: ATP 500, Hamburg Open 3.30 pm (Eurosport)

As political crisis rumbles, France’s Bastille Day parade meets Olympic torch relay

ARARE OCCASION: Torch bearer Colonel Thibaut Vallette holds the Olympic flame in Paris during the annual Bastille Day military parade, which this year celebrates the 80th anniversary of the Liberation of France and also the upcoming Olympics

Paris: Paris is hosting an extra-special guest for France’s national holiday Sunday the Olympic flame lighting up the city’s grandiose military parade for Bastille Day.

Just 12 days before the French capital hosts exceptionally ambitious and high-security Summer Games, the torch relay is joining up with thousands of soldiers, sailors, rescuers and medics marching in Paris beneath roaring fighter jets to mark Bastille Day. What does Bastille Day celebrate? On July 14, 1789, revolutionaries stormed the Bastille fortress and prison in Paris, heralding the start of the French Revolution and the end of the monarchy. The holiday is central to the French calendar, with events across the country. It aims to embody the national motto of ‘liberty, equality and fraternity,’ though not everyone in France feels the country lives up to that promise. The parade is the holiday’s highlight. This year, it’s pay- ing tribute to those who freed France from Nazi occupation 80 years ago with a re-enactment of the D-Day landings of June 6, 1944, and a display of emblems of the 31 countries whose troops contributed to the liberation. About half are African nations that were under French colonial rule during World War II.

AGENCIES

Anahat, Shaurya enter fourth round of World Jr Squash

New Delhi: India’s Anahat Singh and Shaurya Bawa entered the fourth round of the World Junior Squash Championships in Houston in the girls’ and boys’ sections respectively. Reigning women’s national champion Anahat defeated Samantha Jaffe of the US 11-7, 12-10, 11-6 in the third round.

She will meet Japan’s Akari Midorikawa for a place in the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, Bawa rallied to beat USA’s Rustin Wiser 4-11, 11-7, 12-10, 11-6 in third round and will lock horns with Segundo Portabales of Argentina in the pre-quarterfinals.

PTI

Other results: Boys 3rd round: Yuvraj Wadhwani (Ind) lost to Javier Emilio Romo Lopez (Ecuador) 11-8, 6-11, 11-7, 8-11, 6-11;

Girls 3rd round: Tiana Parasrampuria (Ind) lost to Lauren Baltayan (France) 5-11, 3-11, 3-11.

Samson, Mukesh fire India to 42-run win

Men In Blue Clinch 5-Match T20I Series 4-1

IN FORM: Sanju Samson plays a shot during the fifth T20I against Zimbabwe

Harare: Sanju Samson’s well-crafted fifty and Mukesh Kumar’s disciplined spell helped India wind up their Zimbabwe tour with a comprehensive 42-run victory in the fifth and final T20I here on Sunday. With this win, India clinched the series 4-1. Samson’s (58 off 45b) was central to India’s healthy 167 for six along with Shivam Dube’s flashy 26 (12b).

Then the India bowlers led by Mukesh (4/22), Shivam Dube (2/ 25) and Washington Sundar (1/7) did their job, bundling out Zimbabwe for 125 in 18.3 overs.

After the early dismissal of Wessly Madhevere, who dragged the third ball of the first over by pacer Mukesh onto his stumps, and Brian Bennett, the pair of Tadiwanashe Marumani (27) and Dion Myers (34) added 44 runs for the third wicket to keep the hosts in the hunt. Marumani’s switchhit four off leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi, who went for a few runs in this match, was quite stunning in its execution. But such shots were few and far between from the Zimbabwe batters. Marumani went for a sweep shot against Washington but missed the line altogether as the ball crashed on to his upper torso to get adjudged as leg-before. Dube tailed a shuffling Myers with a quicker delivery onto his body, and the Zimbabwe batter merely chipped the ball to Abhishek Sharma at short third man. The final nail on their hope was the run out of skipper Sikandar Raza (8), which came in a cartwheel of four wickets for nine runs. Mukesh, who bagged his ca- reer-best T20 figures, fittingly ended the Zimbabwe innings with the wicket of Richard Ngarava.

Earlier, Samson (1x4, 4x6) and Riyan Parag (22, 24b) added 65 runs for the fourth wicket a s India recovered from a middling Powerplay in which they scored 44 for three. Yashasvi Jaiswal (12), who made an unbeaten 93 in the fourth T20I, started the proceedings with two sixes in the first two balls of the innings bowled by Raza. But in the fourth ball of the same over, Jaiswal played the wrong line to a delivery on the middle and leg stump to get bowled.

India lost two quick wickets of second T20I centurion Abhishek Sharma and skipper Shubman Gill, and at 44 for three, the team needed a partnership to steady the innings. Samson and Parag provided just that.

PTI

Brief scores: India 167 for 6 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 58, Shivam Dube 26; Blessing Muzarabani 2/19, Richard Ngarava 1/29) beat Zimbabwe 125 all out in 18.3 overs (Dion Myers, Faraz Akram 27; Mukesh Kumar 4/22, Shivam Dube 2/25) by 42 runs.

GOLF WRAP

Anirban Lahiri takes 4-shot lead in Spain

Sotogrande (Spain): Anirban Lahiriinched closer to a maiden win on the LIV Golf series as he carded a 5-under 66 in the second round to take a four-shot lead at the LIV Golf Andalucía here.

Lahiri, who plays on the Crushers team, put himself in position for his first win after the second round that included six birdies and no bogeys in his last 13 holes.

The 37-year-old, who opened with a 2-under 69, is 7-under with 18 holes to go. New Zealand’s Danny Lee his closest pursuer at 3-under. Lahiri is seeking to end his nine-year victory drought. His last win came in India in the Indian Open on the DP World Tour.

Aditi rises to T-22nd: Aditi Ashok shot three birdies in the last four holes of the third round as she carded a 4-under 67 and jumped 22 places to tied-22 at the Amundi Evian Championship in Evian les Bains, France. The Indian, who has played more than 30 Majors, vaulted to 5-under for three rounds a s she continues her search for her maiden Top-10 finish in a Major.

Earlier, Diksha Dagar had withdrawn from the event after her first round 76. Both Aditi and Diksha will play for India at the Olympic Games in Paris. The 72-hole stroke play competition has a purse of $8 million with winner’s share of $1.2 million.

Shubhankar moves to T-61st: Shubhankar Sharma shot a modest even-par 70 in the third round to move to tied-61st at the Genesis Scottish Open golf tournament in North Berwick, Scotland. Shubhankar shot six birdies and as many bogeys to be 3-under with one round to go.

A week ahead of the Open at Royal Troon, the Indian has been getting his birdies, but too many dropped shots have pegged him back.

AGENCIES

BCCI to release Rs 1 crore for Gaekwad’s treatment

Tushar.Tere@timesofindia.com

Vadodara: The BCCI announced on Sunday that it will provide aid of Rs 1 crore to former India cricketer Anshuman Gaekwad, who has been battling cancer for the last year. Gaekwad had written to the cricket board a few months ago seeking financial help.

The BCCI assured all possible assistance to the Gaekwad family residing in Vadodara. Several former cricketers, including 1983 World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev and Sandip Patil, urged the BCCI to help Gaekwad, who also coached the Indian cricket team. Gaekwad’s son, Sha- trunjay, told TOI that they wrote to the BCCI seeking help as a significant amount of money had been spent on his medical treatment in London.

The 71-year-old former cricketer is currently undergoing treatment at Bhailal Amin General Hospital in Vadodara. Gaekwad wasn’t keeping well for over a year and was diagnosed with Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), a type of blood cancer, earlier this year.

Soon after the diagnosis, his treatment began, and the doctors suggested that he be treated in the United Kingdom. He underwent chemotherapy in London.

THE CUP IS FULL

DURING THE MONTH-LONG FESTIVAL OF FOOTBALL, THERE WERE NUMEROUS MOMENTS OF DELIGHT AND TRIUMPH, FRUSTRATION AND FAILURE, CONTROVERSIES AND SURPRISES...

YAMAL & THE YOUNG GUNS

It might not have been foremost on his mind, but the young Spaniard, who turned 17 on Saturday, had been waiting for his school exam results earlier in the tournament. From his performances, and superb goal against France, he looks mature beyond his years and broke the record for youngest player and scorer at a Euros. German 21-year-old Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz lit up the tournament for the host nation, and another 21-year-old, Xavi Simons, scored a spectacular goal even as the Netherlands lost to England in the semifinal

MINNOWS NO MORE

The so-called smaller football nations stood up to the big guns and caused several surprises. Georgia, Albania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine and Turkey all produced eye-catching results. There were no easy opponents at Euro 2024. No team lost all their games, the first time that happened at a men’s European Championship since it was an eight-team event in 1992.

Georgia beat Portugal and briefly led Spain in the pre-quarterfinals in a fearless debut campaign. Albania had the lead in two of their three games and scored a quick record-breaking goal. Slovenia didn’t lose a game in regular play and was only eliminated by Portugal in a penalty shootout. Georgian goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili made 29 saves in four games, by a distance the most in the competition so far and ahead of Dutch keeper Bart Verbruggen with 18 in six matches.

HORNET’S NEST

Merih Demiral, Jude Bellingham and Mirlind Daku: When you know the eyes of the world are on you, it is best to cut out the controversy. Inflammatory goal celebrations, crotch-grabbing and leading fans in xenophobic chants respectively drew UEFA sanctions for this trio. Also, it seemed to be a regular thing during the tournament as fans of many teams threw plastic cups at players taking corners or goalkeepers about to launch goal kicks.

FAILING STARS

By his own admission, Mbappe had a tournament to forget, largely hindered by a broken nose and a face mask that he never looked comfortable wearing. He had only a penalty to show for his 24 attempts at goal, the most by any player, and one more than a similar struggler... Mbappe’s interventions in French politics were arguably more significant than his deeds on the field.

With Cristiano Ronaldo, did we witness the end of an era? Portugal persisted with the 39-year-old but he looked a shadow of the player once considered by many the best in the world, and was unable to find the back of the net in open play. His biggest impact was arguably on tournament security as a string of selfie-seeking fans tried to reach him on the field.

VAR TROUBLE

It wouldn’t be a big soccer event without heated arguments over the video review system. VAR has strayed far from the original concept unveiled by FIFA in 2016, and a few crucial calls overshadowed key games. Denmark’s Joachim Andersen had his goal ruled out for offside by VAR against Germany before VAR helped award a penalty against him shortly after. Referees and VAR often seemed to take a lenient approach to grappling in the penalty area. But, when Dutch defender Denzel Dumfries collided with England’s Harry Kane while trying to block a shot, it was a penalty that changed the course of that semifinal game.

“I think that we cannot play properly football and this is due to VAR. It really breaks football,” Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman said.

There was no penalty for Germany in the quarterfinals when the ball struck Spain defender Marc Cucurella’s hand. German fans jeered Cucurella in Spain’s semi-final game with France as a result.

OFF THE PITCH

Euro 2024 achieved record figures across the full panoply of off-field activities.

STRUGGLING GIANTS

This was supposed to be a new dawn for Belgium under coach Domenico Tedesco, but the same problems at major finals persisted as they could not turn dominance into goals and went out meekly in the last-16. Kevin de Bruyne couldn’t inspire an often-toothless Belgian team. No side has successfully defended the Euros apart from Spain in 2012 but Italy’s attempt to this summer was nothing short of woeful. The Azzurri beat Albania 2-1 but were thoroughly outplayed in a 1-0 defeat by Spain and stole through with a last-gasp strike against Croatia in a 1-1 draw. Coach Luciano Spalletti struggled to get a tune from his squad whom he labelled “slow”.

RECORD PLAYERS

SOME OF THE MILESTONES THAT WERE REWRITTEN DURING THE LAST MONTH:

THE YOUNGEST: Spain teenage sensation Lamine Yamal made history in his country’s opening game against Croatia by becoming the youngest player ever to appear in a European Championship game at the age of 16 years and 338 days. In doing so he beat the previous record held by beat Poland’s Kacper Kozlowski, who was 17 years and 246 days old when he appeared at Euro 2020.

Yamal, of Barcelona, then claimed another piece of history by becoming the youngest player ever to score a goal at the Euros in Spain’s 2-1 semi-final win against France, at the age of 16 years and 362 days.

THE OLDEST: At the other end of the scale, Portugal defender Pepe claimed the record for the oldest player ever at a European Championship when he took to the field in his team’s opening game against the Czech Republic at the age of 41. He was 41 years and 130 days old by the time he appeared in the quarter-final against France -an age at which almost every footballer has long since retired.

The Porto centre-back passed the previous mark set by Hungary goalkeeper Gabor Kiraly, who was 40 years and 86 days old when he played against Belgium at Euro 2016.

OLDEST TO SCORE: Luka Modric became the tournament’s oldest goalscorer when he netted in Croatia’s final game, a 1-1 draw against Italy. Modric was 38 years and 289 days old, breaking the record set by Austrian Ivica Vastic in 2008 by 32 days. Croatia were eliminated in the group stage, meaning that game is set to also go down as Modric’s last ever at the tournament.

DEFYING TIME: At 39, Cristiano Ronaldo had been hoping to claim the oldest goalscorer record for himself, but he failed to add to his alltime tournament best tally of 14 goals on Portugal’s run to the quarter-finals, notably missing a penalty against Slovenia in the last 16.

Ronaldo did, however, claim other records. Having first appeared at the tournament in 2004, Ronaldo competed at an unprecedented sixth European Championship in Germany, and has now made a total of 30 appearances, at least seven more than any other player.

THE FASTEST: Albania’s Nedim Bajrami netted the fastest ever goal at a European Championship when he put his side ahead after just 23 seconds in their opening game against Italy.

Georgia’s Georges Mikautadze scored 3 goals

Italy coach Luciano Spalletti had a Euro to forget

Racism a blind spot in much of Spain

A REMINDER: In this Aug 4, 1936, file photo, American athlete Jesse Owens (L) breaks the tape in a record time of 21.1 seconds in the heats of the men’s 200m at the Olympic Games race in Berlin. Scars of World War II and relics from its Nazi past are preserved at Berlin’s Olympiastadion, where Euro 2024 final was held

The racist chants started every time Shaun Wright-Phillips touched the ball and grew stronger as the match went on, with some 40,000 Spanish football fans raining hate on England’s right-winger, a 23-year-old Black man.

When the two teams meet on Sunday in the final of the 2024 European Football Championship, Spain’s star players will be two young men of colour — Nico Williams of Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona’s 16-year-old Lamine Yamal, both second generation immigrants. That’s testimony to a kind of progress of sorts — the Spanish team that lined up against England in November 2004 was all White — but it’s a fragile and qualified kind of progress at best as their opponents know all too well.

The UK’s immigrant communities arrived a generation or more before those in Spain. There are roughly 300,000 people in Spain with Sub-Saharan African origins while there are 2.4 million people from Black ethnic groups in England, the 2021 census said. And the England team has regularly featured Black players since the 1980s. Football is seldom ever just about sports, and that’s the case in this tournament.

In a year of elections — five in Europe and one for the European Parliament itself — migration and identity have been central, divisive issues. They have loomed large over the 51 games, from Black French players including Kylian Mbappé taking a rare stand by calling on voters to keep extremists from power to members of Germany’s far-right AfD party characterizing their national team as too “woke,” too diverse and not German enough.

A week ago, as Saka spoke of his resilience following a crucial penalty in England’s quarterfinal win over Switzerland, the relief on his face was visible. But fans saying this tournament is his chance for redemption are already adding to a narrative that people with a migrant background need to be exceptional to receive the support of the nation.

Spain is embracing Yamal, but three months ago he was the subject of a racist joke on one of Spain’s main sports broadcasters. “If Lamine Yamal doesn’t do well at football, he could end up next to a traffic light,” German Burgos said, implying that if he didn’t make the grade he’d wind up begging on the streets.

Burgos, 54, was fired by the broadcaster Movistar+.

The response of Movistar+ shows that things are changing in Spain, somewhat, and the presence of Yamal and Williams in the national team is a reflection of the way the makeup of Spanish society has changed. Racism is a blind spot in much of Spain. Racist abuse has become common greeting last season for Real Madrid’s Black Brazilian striker Vinicius Junior. .

Whether Williams and Yamal help Spain take home the trophy or not, some might be inclined to see their success as a celebration of multiculturalism — and it is. Williams was born in Spain to a Ghanaian couple who’d trekked across the Sahara to enter the European Union via Spain’s north African exclave Melilla.

But that doesn’t offer any guarantee of continued progress. ©2024 BLOOMBERG L.P.

Far from satisfied: Bielsa

Suarez Gets Stoppage-Time Goal, Uruguay Beat Canada 4-3 In Shootout For 3rd Place

Charlotte: Uruguay needed a late equaliser and penalties to beat Canada in Saturday’s Copa America third-place playoff match, with coach Marcelo Bielsa saying the South American side had performed well below their level.

Canada made several changes to their lineup for the match and looked the fresher side as they caused Uruguay a number of problems.Uruguay, ranked 14th in the world, were on the verge of a shock defeat to the 48th-ranked Copa America debu- tants before Luis Suarez scored a stoppage-time goal to force a penalty shootout, which Bielsa’s side won 4-3.

“It wasn’t a great performance. The draw, at best, was barely deserved. I think that the opponent head coach’s decision to prioritize physical aptitude instead of usual starters was more successful,” Bielsa told reporters.

“I went with the usual starters in spite of them being weary. There were ups and downs. The chances created by both teams were even, but in all truth, we didn’t play well. “Regarding this third place, I do think Uruguay is one of the three best teams of this tournament. Even if this tournament came after long seasons and the tiredness affects players, I thought that given our roster, we could have played a bit better than what we showed.”

Bielsa’s counterpart Jesse Marsch, who took charge of Canada in May, said he was proud of the progress the team had made in a short period, adding: “The players are disappointed in the way that we gave the match away.

“But I was very positive with them. We’ve been together for a little over six weeks. We came into this match, put some new players on the pitch, played for me against one of the best teams in the world, and dominated the match.

“We’re still a young team. If you look at their team, they have experienced players across the board, players playing at big clubs, a lot of experience in understanding how to handle moments. And we’re still developing that.” The American also hailed Canada’s fringe players for quickly adapting to his style of play despite coming into the match with little game time. “The beauty was the clarity with which the way that we’re playing was executed by the new players that came in,” Marsch said.

“It’s not so easy to build a tactical model with such short time and under such big stresses against such good opponents and then see them respond and perform and execute at such a high level. So, again, what a positive sign.

“What a great group of guys. What incredible potential we have with this team.” REUTERS

WHO KNOWS, MAYBE DI MARIA WILL SCORE ANOTHER GOAL IN THE FINAL, SAYS MESSI

(From left) Lionel Messi, Rodrigo De Paul, and Angel Di Maria during training

Miami: Argentina captain Lionel Messi hopes forward Angel Di Maria ends his international career with a goal in Sunday’s Copa America final against Colombia.

Di Maria, 36, announced in February his plans to retire from internationals after representing his country for 15 years and Messi wants him to get his name on the scoresheet as he did against Brazil to clinch the continental title in 2021 and against France as they won the 2022 World Cup final. “Who knows, maybe he’ll score another goal in the final like he did in all the previous ones he’s played in. It would be extraordinary,” Messi said in an interview with Direct TV Sports on Saturday, adding that the team still hopes he will reverse his decision.

“We always tell him that if everything goes well, we have playoff games coming up. Nevertheless, ‘Fideo’ (Di Maria) has made up his mind and there’s nothing that can change it.” Di Maria has scored 31 goals in 144 appearances for Argentina, having played in six Copa Americas and four World Cups. He also struck the winner in Argentina’s 1-0 victory over Nigeria to win Olympic gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Meanwhile, Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said, “I hope the fans have a party, I want it with all my heart. Apart from the joy of winning the title, I think it would be a joy for everyone if it ends well.” AGENCIES

Delhi Times

- A card that elevates your lifestyle

- Mother gave me strength: Hina on breaking cancer news

- SONAM KAPOOR & ANAND AHUJA’S WIMBLEDON DATE

- NEW BEGINNINGS FOR ANANT & RADHIKA

- BUZZ STOP

- Happy that now roles are written for me: Divya

- A star-studded Wimbledon ﬁnale

- The potli has arrived, and in style

- Female roles are more relatable today, says Divya

- A celebration of women’s sports, tennis and tradition

- Olympics take centrestage at French National Day reception

- A power-packed night with the stars

A card that elevates your lifestyle

The card presents an array of new culinary offers to enhance your lifestyle experience with a cashback on every swipe

(L-R) Parul Anand, Sandeep Batra, Rakul Preet Singh and Sandeep Ghosh

HSBC India launched an upgraded lifestyle credit card, the HSBC Live+ Credit card, with a full suite of new culinary offers to enhance the lifestyle experience of globally-minded customers. The card was unveiled by Rakul Preet Singh, Sandeep Batra, Head, Wealth and Personal Banking, HSBC India, Parul Anand, Managing Director, Asia Cards, HSBC and Sandeep Ghosh, Group Country Manager, India and South Asia, Visa. The event was also attended by renowned actors and social media influencers from the lifestyle and food categories.

Launched in partnership with Visa, cardholders are entitled to a 15% discount at restaurants across Asia through the Live+ Dining Programme. The card also offers 10% cashback on spending in three categories: dining, food delivery and groceries, along with unlimited 1.5% cashback on other spends.

Commenting on the revamped credit cards, Sandeep Batra said, “The card reflects our commitment to continuously enhance the overall experience of all our customers across segments with distinct needs. The card is designed to cater to the dynamic lifestyle of our customers and with an aim to reward every single time they make a transaction, ensuring they enjoy more value in every transaction. The card allows customers to enjoy delightful culinary experiences through a wide selection of restaurants, both locally and overseas. We encourage our customers to take advantage of this offer and maximise their benefits with their everyday spends.” The revamped card has offers on everyday spends and cashback on every transaction. In line with the growing consumer needs in India, the card is designed to match the lifestyle of consumers and encourages them to truly live it up.

Mother gave me strength: Hina on breaking cancer news

Hina Khan, who has been documenting her battle with breast cancer after her recent diagnosis, took to Instagram and shared pics from the day she broke the news to her mother. Hina wrote, “A mother’s heart can consume an ocean of sorrow and pain to provide shelter, love and comfort to her children. This was the day she received the news of my diagnosis, the shock that she felt was inexplicable but she found a way to hold me and forget her pain. A superpower in which mothers excel always. Even her world was crumbling down yet she found a way to shelter me in her arms and give me strength.” TNN

SONAM KAPOOR & ANAND AHUJA’S WIMBLEDON DATE

Donning a striped yellow co-ord set with a billowy midi skirt, Sonam Kapoor with her husband Anand Ahuja joined the celeb attendees at the Women’s Singles Final at Wimbledon

FOR MORE CELEB ATTENDEES, INCLUDING TOM CRUISE AND ZENDAYA, SEE 2

NEW BEGINNINGS FOR ANANT & RADHIKA

Newlyweds Radhika and Anant Ambani had renowned guests from all walks of life showering them with love and blessings at the Shubh Aashirwad ceremony held on Saturday night. The bride wore a stunning outfit that showcased a painting by Indian artiste and sculptor Jayasri Burman. The ensemble celebrated Anant and Radhika’s union through deeply meaningful imagery. The Ambani family played perfect hosts to the elite guests, which included political heavyweights, spiritual leaders, industrialists, sports stars and the Bollywood brigade.

FOR MORE FROM THE CELEBRATIONS, SEE 4

Nita Ambani

Mukesh Ambani

Shah Rukh Khan

Kim Kardashian, who sported a nath, shared a selfie with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

Salman Khan

BUZZ STOP

SHRENU PARIKH STUCK IN AIRCRAFT FOR OVER 10 HOURS

Shrenu Parikh took to Instagram to share her ordeal and frustration after being stuck in an aircraft for over 10 hours. “Had only heard how pathetic you guys are. Aaj dekh bhi liya... no accountability. 10 hours and we are still sitting waiting in an aircraft,” she wrote. TNN

Happy that now roles are written for me: Divya

After Veer-Zaara I was getting similar roles. After Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, I was offered sisterly roles. Things changed with Badlapur, which got me back to being a commercial actress. It has been a fun journey

Divya Dutta

Preeti Atulkar

Divya Dutta confesses that being an actor is not easy. “This is a kind of profession where every day you dig a well. You have to keep up and keep working hard. It’s not like, aaj toh mujhe saare critics ne keh diya ki showstealer ho, toh ho gayi meri zindagi set,” shares Divya. In an interaction, the Dhaakad actress speaks about the importance of freedom to make choices, and applauds the changing portrayal of female characters in Indian cinema. Excerpts from a chat:

‘FEMALE CHARACTERS HAVE MORE DEPTH IRRESPECTIVE OF AGE BRACKET’

Divya feels that female characters are becoming more relatable and multi-dimensional, resonating with viewers at a deeper level. “The shift in audiences’ preferences can be attributed to the rise of OTT platforms. Gone are the days when women were confined to singing songs as the leading ladies or playing characters like the hero’s mother,” she says, adding, “Nowadays, there is more depth to our roles, irrespective of the age-bracket.”

CONTINUED ON 3

Divya Dutta; (inset) in a still from Veer Zaara

A star-studded Wimbledon finale

James Bond star Pierce Brosnan

From Hollywood stars to sports legends, the Wimbledon women’s final drew a glittering crowd as Barbora Krejcikova defeated Jasmine Paolini in a dramatic three-set final on Saturday

Tom Cruise appeared in high spirits

Maria Sharapova rocked a brilliant white number for Wimbledon ladies’ final day

The Queen’s Gambit star Anya Taylor-Joy

Bridgerton fame Nicola Coughlan

Tennis fan Hugh Jackman was a guest in the Royal Box

Stanley Tucci, who also attended the men’s semi-finals, enjoyed a gripping women’s final

Billie Billie Jean Jean KingKing

Zendaya attended the Wimbledon women’s final in a stylish menswear-inspired outfit

Sundeep Bhutoria spotted at the Wimbledon women’s final with Suhel Seth. This marks Suhel’s 40th year at Wimbledon

POV

The potli has arrived, and in style

Move over mini bags and party clutches. The biggest wedding of our times has put a humble piece of desi accessory in fashion’s fiercest spotlight. As one gorgeous woman after another showed up in lush lehengas, maximalist shar aras and regal saris, the one arm candy that remained a constant in almost all the frames was the potli. At times colour coordinated, at others making a bold statement in its bejewelled, embroidered and sequined avatar, the potli has effortlessly dethroned its more formal European rivals at the moment.

It’s about time too. Aspirational French and Italian fashion labels are under scrutiny for allegedly exploiting their suppliers, there is a class-action suit against another luxe label for its anti-trust policies. In this environment, the appearance of the desi hand bag at super glamorous events calls for a celebration. Especially when you realise that the guests and the hosts, between themselves, own at least a few hundred pieces of the rarest and priciest branded handbags ever sold.

The potli is versatile you can choose your fabric, colour, paint your initials, alter the length, add mirrors or pom-poms to suit the occasion. No one cares or needs to know how much you spent on it, as long as it looks good on you.

The potli is also incredibly forgiving. You can carry as much or as little as you wish. It will happily play along as you swing it freely, wrap it round your wrist or plonk it on a chair. It will never steal your thunder or tell you that you are too old or too young for it. It is never ‘so-lastseason.’ Your grandma’s zardosi or velvet potli would still work with your Team Bride ghagra just as it did for her. It will be your keeper of secrets and all your keys, just as it was for her. And it is also unlikely that your artisanal potli will fail any counterfeit test.

To borrow from a lovely phrase reportedly used by a filmmaker known for his aesthetic opulence: A beautifully crafted potli will have that ‘namak’. Simply ‘add to taste’.

Agree? Disagree? Got a POV idea? Write to us at: pov@timesofindia.com

Female roles are more relatable today, says Divya

Divya Dutta

CONTINUED FROM 1

The actress adds, “Female characters today are far more layered and relatable. You’re not just a goodytwo-shoes or a vamp. And I guess it’s a beautiful time to be writing characters and for actors to perform them.”

On getting the kind of roles she wants, Divya says, “I took up smaller roles at one point in my career and made my presence felt. Now, I am happy that roles are now being written for me.”

‘PEOPLE SHOULD GET THE OPPORTUNITY TO LIVE WITHOUT REGRETS’

A strong advocate of feminism, Divya says, “It’s not about saying I am better. Aapko haq hona chahiye ki aap apni zindagi ki choices decide kar sake. I was lucky that my mother stood by me. People should get opportunities to live without regrets and I feel fortunate to be able to make my own choices. Even if they turn out to be mistakes; they are mine.”

On scepticism about getting typecasted after playing Shabbo in Veer-Zaara...

Divya’s first tryst with fame came from Veer-Zaara (2004). However, she had reservations about playing a supporting role. “When Aditya and Yash Chopra revealed that I would be portraying Shabbo, a friend of Zaara (played by Preity Zinta). I was a bit sceptical. I thought if I played a friend’s role in a Yash Chopra film, then everyone’s going to offer me a friend’s role only. Adi probably read my face and said, ‘You will be remembered for this role’. My mother also told me, ‘Do your part so well that people take notice of you.”

A celebration of women’s sports, tennis and tradition

As Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejcikova triumphed in a gripping Wimbledon Women’s final, fans in the capital rejoiced at the British High Commissioner’s screening

Wimbledon is iconic. With its history, strawberries and cream, rain stopping play – the tournament manages to put a great show every year – Becks Buckingham, Minister Counsellor, Political and Press, British High Commission

Wimbledon is a historical and prestigious event. This screening is a great way to build a more supportive sports environment and also helps bring in more fans for the sport – Ankita Raina, India’s top seeded player

Samriddhi Raj

Dressed in classic white and green attire, savouring strawberries and cream, and sharing a mutual appreciation for the game, guests revelled at the screening of the Wimbledon Women’s Singles final between Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejcikova and Italy’s Jasmine Paolini at the British High Commissioner’s residence.

Minister Counsellor, Political and Press, British High Commission, Becks Buckingham, who hosted the screening, said, “With both players, it’s a chance at their first Wimbledon title, which I think makes for an incredible match. I’m proud that we all came together to recognise the achievements of women athletes everywhere.”

“Krejcikova deserved to win. And genuinely, it was a great game of tennis,” said Neil Jones, the British Air Advisor at the British High Commission.

Neil Jones, British Air Advisor at the British High Commission

Jason Keats Hall, High Commissioner of Jamaica

Lara Hampshire, Deputy Head of Trade Policy, British High Commission, and fans were seeing reacting to Paolini’s efforts and Krejcikova win in what was a deeply engrossing three-setter between the players

Becks Buckingham, Minister Counsellor, Political and Press, British High Commission, with Ankita Raina, India’s top-seeded tennis player, during an intense moment in the match

Strawberries and cream, a dessert synonymous with the Championship, was served to the guests

Olympics take centrestage at French National Day reception

For the first time, Olympic Summer Games will not take place within a stadium, but out in the city itself. It will be a unique way to promote understanding across cultures – Thierry Mathou, Ambassador of France

As we look forward to the Paris Olympics and Paralympic Games, I’d like to commend France for its commitment to supporting sports – Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of Labour and Employment & Youth Affairs and Sports

Thierry Mathou, Ambassador of France, with Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of Labour and Employment & Youth Affairs and Sports

Riya Sharma

With the Olympics as the theme, the French Embassy celebrated the country’s National Day in the capital recently. An arrangement of miniatures of the Eiffel Tower with the Olympic logo and mascots Olympic Phryge and Paralympic Phryge made for the preferred selfie point for guests. Sports took centre stage at the event as Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, PT Usha, President, Indian Olympic Association and Paralympian Deepa Malik attended the celebrations ahead of the Olympics.

PT Usha, President, Indian Olympic Association, with Gagan Narang, Vice President of Indian Olympic Association

Siniša Pavić, the Ambassador of Serbia, turned up sporting a Paristhemed tie

From macarons to mini opera pastries and tarte au citron, guests got to relish all things French and sweet at the event

Emmanuel LebrunDamiens, Director of the French Institute in India

Chang Jae-bok, Ambassador of South Korea

Paralympian Deepa Malik

A power-packed night with the stars

Sachin Tendulkar

Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s Shubh Aashirwad ceremony on Saturday saw many Bollywood stars and international personalities in attendance

MS Dhoni

Rajinikanth

Kim and Khloe Kardashian

Sara Ali Khan

Janhvi Kapoor

Shahid Kapoor and Mira Rajput

Amitabh Bachchan

Venkatesh

Ram Charan

Kim’s second look for the day

Nicky Hilton

Jasprit Bumrah with Khali

Madhuri Dixit

Rishabh Pant

Siddharth Roy Kapur and Vidya Balan

Education Times

- GATE 2025 may witness a 10% increase in registrations

- IIT Delhi scientists get promising results while working on brain cancer cure

- NCISM to hold mock tests for AYUSH students who will take NExT 2024

- DTU launches MTech by Research to boost multidisciplinarity in engineering

- Priest’s son, CA AIR 1, balanced between accounting and watching reels

- Finance is a challenging yet exciting field for women

- UGC invites applications for DST National Postdoctoral Fellowship

- ALERTS

- DU UG classes for 3rd and 5th semesters to start from Aug 1

- Will there be enough takers for MBBS in Hindi

- After full literacy in Ladakh, ULLAS targets nine new states

GATE 2025 may witness a 10% increase in registrations

Both GATE and JEE Advanced involve faculty members of IITs at every stage of the operation with the whole process overseen by committees comprising IIT directors

No questions have been raised about the sanctity of IIT organised GATE and JEE Advanced

Rajlakshmi.Ghosh@timesofindia.com

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee has taken over the mantle from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore to conduct the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) in 2025. The institute has recently launched GATE website (gate2025.iitr.ac.in) where aspirants can check the latest updates. Moreover, the GATE 2025 syllabus and exam pattern have also been released for all 30 subjects setting the stage for the exam’s upcoming application process. The focus, given the rising instances, of malpractices and compromised integrity in national level entrance exams, is on the smooth conduct of the exams, and IIT Roorkee is gearing up to meet the challenge.

Speaking to Education Times, Prof KK Pant, director IIT Roorkee, says, “Ensuring the integrity and excellence of GATE 2025 is our foremost commitment. With meticulous planning and enhanced user experience, we aim to facilitate a seamless examination process that empowers aspiring engineers and scientists across the country.”

Echoing similar thoughts, Prof P Arumugam, organising chairperson – GATE 2025 and professor of Physics, IIT Roorkee, explains, “Since its inception in 1983, the GATE exam processes were meticulously drafted and refined consistently by the faculty members of IITs and IISc. The recent developments related to the Computer-Based Test (CBT) with external partners also have a significant contribution from our system. IIT Roorkee, with the support of other zonal IITs and IISc, will be keen to maintain the quality of GATE exams which open up several opportunities for the bright and deserving students.” He elaborates further, “With the input from the various committees set up for this purpose, IIT Roorkee is focusing on a flawless conduct of GATE 2025. We plan to improve the experience of the candidates appearing for this exam through the quality of the questions and the CBT. The exams will be conducted all over India in the cities listed on our website. However, the list of cities may change depending on the applications we receive and the recommendations of our CBT partner.” Notably, 226 exam cities have been listed on the GATE website till date, which is the same as last year.

Security protocols

“CBT mode with sufficient security protocols (like encryptions) for handling the questions is crucial. GATE and JEE Advanced involve the faculty members of IITs at every stage of operation with the whole process overseen by committees involving the directors of IITs. In this digital era, many of the exam processes are vulnerable and hence we are reviewing the relevant processes,” adds prof Arumugam. Highlighting the credibility of the exam process, Prof Deepankar Choudhury, National Organising chairperson of GATE 2021 and Natio- nal Organising vice-chair of IIT JEE (Advanced) 2015 says, “IIT organised GATE and JEE Advanced exams are held with the utmost care, and in the past over 20 years, no questions have been raised about the sanctity of the exam by stakeholders including the general public. We, from the IIT system, send our own faculty and staff members for direct inspection of the exam centres both during the exam and on the eve of the exam day to address any possible glitches no matter how insignificant. All the seven zonal IITs for JEE Advanced and an equal number for GATE in addition to IISc have a sense of ownership in conducting the exams, which brings with it a huge sense of responsibility.”

Choudhury further points out that though the same question paper for each subject in GATE is circulated throughout the country to maintain uniformity of standards, yet several layers of secrecy are maintained at every step.

Rise in numbers

Discussing the possibility of increasing registrations in GATE 2025, Arumugam says, “We expect that there will be an increase of around 10% in registrations this year, though we are preparing to handle about 15% increase. Last year, the number of candidates registered was 7,42,324. Including the double papers chosen by many candidates, the number of registrations was 8,26,288.” No new papers are being added this year hence the exam will continue to have 30 test papers as in GATE 2024. “We are processing the requests for new papers which will be introduced for GATE 2026,” he informs, dismissing any changes in the exam pattern and syllabus. “The syllabus revision will start this year and will be implemented for GATE 2026,” he adds. GATE 2025 exam, meanwhile, will be conducted on February 1, 2, 15 and 16, 2025.

IIT Delhi scientists get promising results while working on brain cancer cure

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Researchers at IIT Delhi have given a ray of hope with their study published in the prestigious journal Biomaterials, possibly discovering a novel treatment to cure brain tumours. Glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive type of cancerous brain tumour in adults, poses significant treatment challenges despite available options like surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Patients diagnosed with glioblastoma typically have a life expectancy of only 12–18 months postdiagnosis. Working under the guidance of Jayanta Bhattacharyya, associate professor, Centre for Biomedical Engineering, IIT Delhi, a PhD student named Vidit Gaur primarily conducted the study. Vidit developed a novel nanoformulation, namely Immunosomes, that combines a CD40 agonist antibody with the small molecule inhibitor RRX-001. This innovative approach aims to enhance treatment efficacy for brain tumours, potentially offering new hope for improving outcomes in glioblastoma patients. The Department of Biotechnology, GoI, the Indian Council of Medical Research, Government of India, and the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi funded the research.

NCISM to hold mock tests for AYUSH students who will take NExT 2024

Several AYUSH students are in a tizzy though they have been informed about the format

Ayushi.Gupta1@timesofindia.com

In May, the National Exit Test (NExT) was made mandatory for AYUSH students including BAMS graduates as per the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (National Examinations for Indian System of Medicine) Regulations, 2023. The news got the students into a tizzy, with various AYUSH students staging a protest by gathering at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, to demand the exemption from the National Exit Test (NExT) for the 2019 batch. The students have been demanding to put NExT on hold till further notice.

However, the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) under the Ministry of AYUSH, has stated that the Commission is following the guidelines of the NCISM Act, 2020, making the operation of NExT mandatory before August 2024. Meanwhile, NCISM will conduct two mock test sessions, free of cost for the students appearing for the first edition of the exam.

Talking to Education Times, Vaidya Jayant Deopujari, chairperson, NCISM says, “The NCISM is a statutory body constituted under the NCISM Act, 2020, and according to the Act we are bound to make NExT operational before August 2024. This is the reason we have initiated the awareness and orientation process from now on. However, we are planning to conduct the first session of the NExT by October 2024. Meanwhile, we are taking utmost care that in the process, students’ interests are not hampered. For this, we have released the guidelines for conducting NExT for Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Sowa-Rigpa courses. The colleges have been directed to create awareness and conduct proper orientation regarding the exam.” Reacting positively to the protests staged by some AYUSH students, Deopujari says, “Whenever there is some new guideline or a new policy is introduced, students hesitate and try to avoid it. Earlier this month, a group of 40 to 50 students staged a protest at the NCISM office, but we made them understand the need for the exam and the guidelines. These students were particularly happy about the idea of conducting mock tests before the exam. I believe that some students who have been protesting are just afraid of a newly introduced exam, but NCISM will support every student in all possible ways.” Highlighting that the decision has been made in advance and that there is enough time for students to prepare for the exam, Prof Tanuja Manoj Nesari, director, All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), says, “The decision to implement NExT has been made carefully, NCISM had intimated all the colleges and students well in advance about the exam. It conducted orientation sessions to give specific and clear guidelines about NExT 2024 implementation.” The NExT has been made mandatory for all those who have commenced their internship on or after December 20, 2023 (irrespective of the year of admission/batch), ie, the date of notification of the National Examinations for Indian System of Medicine Regulation, 2023.

Clinical competency

“This exam has been designed to check the clinical competency of stu- dents. The exam will hold questions that are based on clinical knowledge rather than book-based concepts. Students who will practise and work at the hospitals will be able to crack this exam and further can register themselves as licensed medical practitioners,” says Sachidanand Prasad, secretary, NCISM. To ease the licencing process for students, NCISM will conduct the NExT exam twice a year. “By holding this exam twice a year, students undergoing internship for over 270 days can apply for the upcoming session of the exam. This policy was designed by NCISM to avoid time wastage. If students can get through with the NExT result by the time they finish their one-year internship, it will save them from the unnecessary waiting after completing the internship and waiting for exam results, likewise, they can directly go and register themselves with the State Medical Councils (SMCs),” adds Prasad.

The graduate degree of the candidate who could not qualify NExT will be considered for other job options.

Eligibility for appearing in NExT

●An intern who has completed a minimum of 270 days of internship as of the closing date of the submission of the application for NExT

●Graduates of Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Sowa-Rigpa who have completed a one-year compulsory internship

● Foreign nationals whose medical qualification has been recognised under schedule III of the IMCC Act,1970 or section 36 of the NCISM Act, 2020

DTU launches MTech by Research to boost multidisciplinarity in engineering

The programme comprises three semesters for research while the remaining semester includes core and elective courses

Only a few institutions, including some IITs, offer the MTech by Research programme

Shehwaaz.Khan@timesofindia.com

In alignment with the New Education Policy (NEP 2020) and to promote multidisciplinary learning in engineering, Delhi Technological University (DTU) recently launched the MTech by Research programme, starting from the academic session 2024-2025. The programme is designed for students who wish to pursue in-depth research and build a career in Research & Development in specialised fields.

Open to bachelor’s students of all engineering disciplines, the programme is offered by 11 departments at the University, including the Departments of Applied Chemistry, Applied Phy- sics, Civil Engineering, Biotechnology, and Department of Multidisciplinary Centre for eoinformatics (MCG), among others. Students will be able to take specialisations of their interest offered by these departments and dedicate two years to research on any of their chosen areas.

"Only a few institutions, including some IITs, offer the MTech by Research programme, which primarily focuses on the student's research undertaken over two years. What differentiates this programme from regular MTech programmes is its structure: regular MTech programmes typically consist of three semesters of coursework and one semester of research. In contrast, the MTech by Research programme dedicates 75% of its duration to research, with the remaining 25% dedicated to core and elective courses,” says Prateek Sharma, vice-chancellor, Delhi Technological University.

Interdisciplinary approach

“The programme is designed in a way that multiple departments collaborate to offer an extensive research methodology and support to the students,” says Rinku Sharma, dean (Academics), DTU.

The programme has been introduced to bridge the gap between various engineering disciplines and create a space for interdisciplinary research. AK Srivastava, professor, Department of Civil Engineering and dean, Outreach and Extension Activities, says, “Due to the constantly changing technologies, research in engineering cannot be conducted in isolation. In Civil Engineering, for instance, new AI- enabled technologies are being utilised for monitoring, evaluation, and instrumentation, among others. Therefore, there is a role for other departments such as Software, Electronics, and Electrical Engineering, too, hence, researchers in Civil Engineering can have access to diverse disciplines to develop competencies in these areas.”

The Department of Civil Engineering is offering research projects such as AI-Driven Structural Health Monitoring, Machine Learning in Construction Management, Data Science for Smart Cities, and Predictive Maintenance of Infrastructure.

“Several government bodies such as the Central Road Research Institute, Central Soil and Mate- rials Research Station, and National Institute of Rock Mechanics are conducting extensive and cutting-edge research, where MTech by Research students can utilise their skills. Moreover, there are dedicated Research & Development departments in many government and private entities where interdisciplinary research is being conducted,” adds Srivastava.

Ruchika Malhotra, associate head and professor in the Department of Software Engineering, highlights the benefits of the programme, stating, “The transition from MTech by Research to PhD programmes will be significantly smoother due to the programme's extensive focus on research activities. This focus will better prepare students for advanced research, in case they choose to pursue a PhD.”

Eligibility criteria

Candidates with an engineering degree, who wish to pursue the programme, must appear for the GATE exam or the MTech by Research Admission Test conducted by DTU. Following this, an interview will be conducted by the University that will finalise admission to the course.

Students who pursue the programme are hired in research-specific roles and as consultants in public and private organisations. “As per our experience in the past placement drives, organisations have shown interest in PhD candidates for researchbased profiles. Students who complete their MTech by Research programme will be hired in similar positions. We are in talks with past recruiters of our regular MTech programmes such as Wipro, Capgemini, and Siemens who have also shown interest in students who graduate from the MTech by Research programme for their Research & Development departments. Moreover, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is underway with other private organisations,” says Rajesh Rohilla, dean, Alumni Affairs, DTU.

Every department has a specific research focus that students can pursue, which includes research projects on Polymer Science and Chemical Technology at the Department of Applied Chemistry; Biomedical Data Science, Sustainable Environment, and Advanced Therapeutics offered at the Department of Biotechnology, among others.

Priest’s son, CA AIR 1, balanced between accounting and watching reels

Shivam Mishra underscores the importance of integrity and client commitment for CAs

The main issue during the CA Final is our training period. There is significant work pressure for those working in CA firms as they often work late into the night. Maintaining a proper balance between work and study is crucial. They should have clear targets and timelines and focus on ICAI study material. –Shivam Mishra

TOPPER TALK

Sonal.Srivastava@timesofindia.com

Delhi boy Shivam Mishra cleared the CA Final exam in his first attempt. He is a first-generation CA; his father is a priest and an astrologer, and his mother is a homemaker. Shivam says he opted for CA as it was a natural choice, given his Commerce background in class XII. Predicting the future by studying the alignment of stars was not his cup of tea.

“CA is one of the best courses available to Commerce students, so I plunged headlong into it after school in 2019. In November 2019, I cleared the Foundation with AIR 50. In July 2021, I got infected with Covid just one month before the exam; it was quite difficult still I managed to get AIR 20 in the Intermediate exams. Following this, I started my articleship and appeared in the final exams in May 2024,” he adds.

Elaborating about his preparation strategy, Shivam says “I got around five months of leave for CA final preparation and consistently studied for 10 to 12 hours, taking only a day off in those five months. I maintained a daily tracker where I wrote my plans and executed them every day accordingly. After revising the CA final syl- labus around four times and attempting some mock test papers, I took the exams in May 24 and got 83.33%, 500/ 600 in the recently declared results.”

In June 2023, Shivam started his final preparation. “From 10 am to 9 pm, I was busy with articleship; I would study at night and sleep at 3-4 am after completing self-study and classes. The past year was completely tied up; I missed weddings and family functions. My parents supported me through this journey,” says Shivam, who was one of the school toppers in Kendriya Vidyalaya Sainik Vihar, Delhi and stood among top 1.5% students in KVs.

“The main issue during the CA Final is our training period. There is significant work pressure for those working in CA firms as they often work late into the night. Maintaining a proper balance between work and study is crucial. They should have clear targets and timelines and focus on ICAI study material,” he advises. After his CA Final exam, Shivam returned to his training, which will continue till October. He is pursuing articleship at BSR & Co, KPMG. Shivam is interested in playing online games, talking to friends, and watching web series. He motivates himself by setting goals. “There was a phase during the articleship when things were not in my favour, and I was demotivated. But last year in June, I started my journey towards cracking the final. I thought if I did not do it, then I would be delayed and unable to clear the final,” says Shivam.

According to him, this year’s CA final papers were moderately tough. “If students have a good grip on the CA Intermediate subjects, the CA Final exams are an extension of those subjects. In articleship, we also see subjects such as Taxation and Financial Reporting, which help develop a good grasp, and multiple revisions help in scoring well in the final exams,” he adds.

One of the more difficult subjects in CA finals is Auditing, says Shivam. “Auditing is a pure theory subject and requires multiple revisions. Students must revise it at least 7-8 times before appearing in the final exams. Other subjects are interesting and have a practical component,” Shivam explains.

He plans to work for one or two years and then pursue an MBA or UPSC. “CA, sometimes, becomes monotonous, but UPSC allows you to work on different things,” says Shivam, who is still trying to figure out his calling.

Shivam says that CA is all about client commitment and integrity. “Nowadays, organisations such as the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) review the work of CAs and CA firms so CAs must be careful about their work,” he adds.

Active on social media during preparation and exams, Shivam was watching reels for 10-15 minutes daily. He is not against being on social media but advocates monitoring and controlling the time spent on it.

Finance is a challenging yet exciting field for women

Delhi girl Varsha Arora, CA Final AIR 2, plans to work in the taxation or finance domain as it is more welcoming towards women

In the CA Finals, I found Audit tough as it is more of a theoretical subject. My strength lies in Advanced Financial Management which is linked to forex derivatives. –Varsha Arora

Rajlakshmi.Ghosh@timesofindia.com

With the release of the ICAI CA Final results, Delhi girl Varsha Arora was elated. For never in her wildest dreams had she thought of securing the second rank with a score of 480/600 (80%) which also made her the topper among women. “I was not even sure if I could get a rank, forget about being among the top five. So, when the results were out, it was almost surreal,” says the 25-year-old from East Delhi’s Dilshad Colony, who dreamt of a moderately decent future. She hopes to bag a job in the taxation or finance domain as she feels it is more welcoming towards women. The number of women CAs, she says, is on the rise, because of the easy availability of learning materials and the training from ICAI. “Girls are also resilient because studying CA can be a time-consuming process. However, finance is a challenging and exciting area to be in, and women are making the most of it,” sheadds.

Her own journey, like all others in the profession, has been long once she resolved to appear for her CA exams post her graduation from Indraprastha College for Women, Delhi University (DU) with BCom (Hons). “I started preparing for my CA Foundation in 2019,” says the former student of Arwachin Bharti Bhawan Senior Secondary School, Delhi, where she was among the toppers, doing exceptionally well in accountancy and business studies. While preparing for her CA Finals, Varsha had to maintain a fine balance between her articleship and her own preparation for the exam. “It was tough managing both but it taught me some valuable lessons in time management,” she adds. Her parents were her pillars of strength and encouraged her to give 100%.

She advises fellow aspirants to maintain a positive mindset and seek emotional support from parents and teachers when the need arises.

UGC invites applications for DST National Postdoctoral Fellowship

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

UGC is inviting applications for the DST-Nano Mission Postdoctoral fellowship in Nano Science and Technology for candidates interested in pursuing research in frontier areas of Nano Science and Technology. “Applications are invited for the award of DST-Nano Mission Postdoctoral Fellowship in Nano Science and Technology for pursuing research in frontier areas of Nano Science & Technology. This highly prestigious fellowship is tenable in Research Institutions/Universities including non-profit R & D institutions anywhere in India. The fellowships are awarded under the National Programme for Nano Science and Technology (NPNST) of the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India,” states the UGC notification. The fellowship carries a consolidated monthly stipend of Rs 60,000 per month plus applicable HRA besides a research contingency grant of Rs 2,00,000 per annum. Funds will be disbursed through the host institution or university.

ALERTS

■ Mohan Babu University, Andhra Pradesh invites applications for BTech in Computer Science and Engineering Eligibility: Candidates must have a60% aggregate in PCM: Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics Deadline: July 31, 2024 Link:https://admissions.mbu.asia/

■ University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK invites applications for the Faculty of Science Undergraduate International Scholarship Eligibility: Candidate must be self-funded and have excellent academic grades Deadline: July 31, 2024 Link: http://www.strath.ac. uk/studywithus/scholarships/ facultyofscienceundergraduate scholarshipsforinternational students202425/

■ AICTE and OPPO India invite applications for Green Internship programme Eligibility: Students from all streams, technical and non-technical can participate Deadline: Not announced Link: www.iamgenerationgreen.com

■ XLRI Jamshedpur invites application for PGDM (GM) programme Eligibility: GMAT and GRE score Deadline: Not announced Link: https://www.xlri.ac.in/

■ Sanskriti University, Uttar Pradesh invites applications for PhD admissions Eligibility: Candidates must qualify UGC NET, UGC CSIR NET, GATE, SLET exam Deadline: July 15, 2024 Link: https://admission.sanskriti.edu.in/

■ University of Wollongong India invites applications for Women Leaders in FinTech Scholarship Eligibility: Scholarship is available to students applying for the Master of Financial Technology (FinTech) or Master of Financial Technology (Extension) courses, starting in November 2024 Deadline: Not announced Link: https://www.uow.edu.au /india/support/women-leadersin-fin-tech-scholarship

DU UG classes for 3rd and 5th semesters to start from Aug 1

The University of Delhi (DU) has released the academic calendar for the third, fourth, fifth and sixth semesters of the undergraduate programmes for 2024-25. The university administration has also extended the summer vacation for the third-semester students from July 22 to July 31. According to the calendar, classes will begin from August 1 onwards for the students of the third and fifth semesters. The mid-semester break has been scheduled from October 27 to November 3, 2024.

Will there be enough takers for MBBS in Hindi

While the courses in Hindi will help in better comprehension in the initial years, at the PG level, the students will have to transition to English for making a headway in their careers

Rajlakshmi.Ghosh@timesofindia.com

After Madhya Pradesh, the Bihar government is set to offer Bachelor of Medicine, and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) courses in Hindi from the upcoming academic session, which makes it the second state to address English phobia among students. The new MBBS Hindi course will be as per the AIIMS Delhi syllabus for students who qualify the NEET UG 2024 exam. With around 85,000 government schools in Bihar where Hindi is the medium of instruction, the new initiative is expected to make the academic journey of students easier and help them overcome their limited proficiency in the English language. Experts though are divided in their opinions – while some claim that it would help students comprehend their subjects better and give them more confidence, others feel it will limit their prospects in higher education, and on a global scale. Speaking to Education Times, Dr B Srinivas, secretary, NMC, says, “As per the NMC regulations, medical education should be in English. However, the MBBS course is being customised in certain states, and even there, they will have to provide literal translation of the medical textbooks as no new words can be introduced. The aim is to help students make an easy transition to the MBBS course since many of them, specially from Bihar and Rajasthan, come from rural areas and tend to struggle with English language textbooks.”

Handholding exercise

MBBS in Hindi, consequently, will be a handholding exercise but students will ultimately have to transition to PG medical education in English, where they will not have such flexibility. “Once the students become familiar with the medical terminologi- es, it will become easier to transit to English. Since we are part of the WFME (World Federation for Medical Education) regulations, all medical colleges in India must follow the same global standards, and even if the MBBS course is in Hindi or in any other language, students will finally have to appear for their exams in English. Hence, MBBS in Hindi is more of a facilitating measure, rather than areplacement for the programme in English,” adds Dr Srinivas. Language translation can be a time-consuming task and if states are taking up the initiative of indigenising medical education, efforts should be made to ensure that faculty experts with a good grasp of Hindi, English and their subjects, are engaged for the purpose, says Dr Srinivas.

Unnecessary step

Dr Manoj Kumar, professor and head, Department of Surgery, AIIMS Patna, doubts the effectiveness of such an initiative, since the faculty he says will not be comfortable using Hindi terminologies for English words. “In any case, most of our classes are bilingual, so it is not as if the lectures are exclusively in English. MBBS in Hindi may also undermine the intellect of the students who, in institutes like AIIMS, are among the cream of the lot, having studied English texts in their class XII boards and cracked NEET. Many of our doctors are from Hindi medium schools, but that has never prevented them from excelling in the UK, US or Australia. If we were able to manage MBBS in English for the past 100 years, why should the problem arise now,” he asks. Moreover, most of the classrooms have a diverse mix of students, MBBS in Hindi may drive a wedge between them, says Kumar. “Only time will tell if students want to take it up as their preference since they are not expected to comprehend English texts where the language is archaic and difficult,” he adds.

Workable solution

Drawing from experience, Dr Kuldeep Gupta, general secretary, National Medicos Organisation (NMO), Madhya Pradesh (MP), says, “The colleges in MP have permitted the students to opt for the language of their preference.

Students are free to write their exams in Hindi, English or Hinglish. The lectures in classes are bilingual, hence students who opt for Hindi have the flexibility to refer to English textbooks and those from English do make it a point to turn to Hindi textbooks for better understanding of concepts.” He explains that around 30% students in the state have opted for MBBS in Hindi in their first year for which textbooks have already been translated while maintaining the technical terms in English. Additionally, translated medical textbooks from second year right up to the final year are awaiting approval for students to get started. Gupta further says that the same faculty teaches both the Eng- lish and Hindi medium students so that quality is not compromised. “Even though some of our students have opted for MBBS in Hindi, they are motivated to learn English through Foundation courses and AETCOM (Attitudes, Ethics, and Communication) modules that teach communication skills, professionalism, and ethics over 4 years,” he adds.

After full literacy in Ladakh, ULLAS targets nine new states

The centrally sponsored scheme focuses on women’s education and uplifting socially disadvantaged groups

Shehwaaz.Khan@timesofindia.com

Ladakh recently became a fully ‘functionally literate’ administrative unit by achieving a 97% literacy rate after the implementation of the centrally-sponsored scheme ULLAS – Nav Bharat Saaksharta Karyakram or the New India Literacy Programme, which was launched in alignment with the NEP 2020 in 2022. The scheme is currently implemented in 22 states, where it focuses on empowering individuals aged 15 years or above who could not get their schooling. It consists of five key components: foundational literacy and numeracy, life skills, basic education, vocational skills, and continuing education. After achieving the milestone in Ladakh, the scheme aims to achieve full literacy in the country by 2027. The scheme aims to achieve full literacy in eight to nine states and Union Territories this year. “Ladakh is the first region to have achieved a full literacy rate under the scheme. However, we will conduct the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Test (FLNT) – a literacy test developed by ULLAS that evaluates basic reading, writing, and numeracy skills – in the coming months and we have estimated that eight to nine states and union territories will be declared fully functionally literate regions this year. These are the states and Union Territories with less population such as Goa, Pondicherry, Lakshadweep, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, among others. The states with large populations such as UP and Maharashtra will take time, but we are working on it,” says Archana Sharma Awasthi, joint secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education (MoE).

There are currently 1.33 crore learners on the ULLAS mobile app, with as many as 35 lakh volunteers consisting of college students, housewives and retired teachers. Around 75 lakh learners sat for the FLNT exam conducted by ULLAS in 27 states and union territories.

As per the Census 2011, any person aged 7 or above, who can read and write in any language, is considered literate. However, the ULLAS scheme also evaluates a person’s numeracy skills to declare them as literate. “We have developed primers with NCERT’s support on basic numeracy skills. The FLNT exam, conducted in a local language, evaluates both reading, writing as well as numeracy abilities. Any person who scores above 50% in the exam is declared literate,” says Awasthi. ULLAS scheme runs with the support of volunteers, consisting largely of local college students. UGC, AICTE, and NCTE have directed the affiliated institutions to allocate credits to the students actively participating as volunteers in the ULLAS scheme.

Focus on female literacy

Women are more persistent in getting the basic education to become self-dependent. “More women have benefitted from the scheme and they are more enthusiastic to get education. Our focus is on increasing the female literacy rate in places where it is lower than the national literacy rate,” says Preeti Meena, director, Dept of School Education & Literacy, MoE.

Table of Contents

TOI Print Edition Jul 15, 2024

Front Page

IN THE COURTS

Gang guns down Trinamool man at Bengal dhaba

City woman, BSES staffer electrocuted

3 die digging in Guj illegal coal mine

Increase in TDS/TCS entries irks taxpayers

4 of family among 5 killed in Bihar crash

CUET-UG retest on July 19 for 1k students

Donald Trumps Death

Pune cops seize trainee IAS officer’s Audi

Covid-year job surge led by agri, construction: RBI

BJP’s RS tally dips to 86, NDA 101; can still get bills passed with others’ help

After 46 yrs, team breaks open Puri ‘ratna bhandar’

32-year-old patient shot dead ‘by teen’ in GTB hosp ward

CRPF jawan killed, 2 cops injured in Manipur attack

Times Nation

HC relief for TN cop punished for sporting beard as permitted by rules

Soon, a planetarium for LWE-hit dist

Hazaribag again: 250 of 1,000 taking CUET re-test are from Oasis school

Accused in TN BSP neta’s murder killed by cops while trying to flee

PSU bank dy manager held for siphoning off ex-DIG’s `26L

TMC man shot dead at Bengal roadside dhaba, biz rivalry suspected

BJP MLA objects to kids’ namaz at anganwadi

Bihar wants Centre to announce flood control steps, infra projects

Centre’s health spend down as % of GDP or total Budget since ’18-19

Illegalities, not wind, to blame for hoarding crash, says report

3 die of asphyxiation at illegal coal mine in Guj

Offer tax deductions for skill development, proposes govt agency

Iskcon says ‘Lord Jagannath saved Trump’, recalls ’76 NY Rathyatra help

HC relief for man denied passport over wrong police verification

With 100 million followers, Modi most followed leader on X

Cong again names Gogoi party’s deputy leader in LS

33 major health insurers now on national claims exchange

NDA may get 8 of 11 vacant seats in RS

Under oppn attack, govt to launch portal on Constitution

Was Udham Singh at Jallianwala Bagh on day of massacre? Book reignites debate

Second attack on security forces in Manipur in just over a month

Two minors, 8 & 15, killed in separate leopard attacks in UP

After Trump attack, BJP targets Rahul’s remarks on Modi

‘Creamy layer’ income cap was last revised in 2017 to `8L/year

Pune cops visit Khedkar mom’s home but fail to meet her

Khedkar’s Audi handed over to cops after removing beacon, seized

Why some couples are opting for the slim, secular ‘court marriage’

4 of family among 5 killed as SUV rams truck in Bihar

Maha fort stir turns violent ahead of Shivaji kin’s visit

All Puri temple treasury valuables moved to temporary strong room

Tree plantation drive is apt response to climate change: Shah

All India Muslim law board to challenge SC’s alimony verdict

Leave Mon dist: Student body to immigrants sans Nagaland ILP

K’taka ex-mantri was at ’23 hotel meeting where tribal fund scam was plotted: SIT

MP high court judge who retired in April joins BJP

Times City

Clean Air, Blue Skies: How Flooded Streets Hide Delights Of Monsoon

3 men held for posing as BSES officials for extortion

Pump owners go on strike, pollution check centres shut

How teenaged son’s only hope was extinguished by live wire

Meet the new crop of robots, courtesy students across India

GTB Shooting: Close Shave For Sister Too

Licence issued for liquor store for domestic flyers arriving at T-3

Inventory of sources at bad air hotspots to determine what more must be done

Over 20 people present on fourth floor where shooting took place

Mechanised cleaning yet to take off in CP after 2 yrs

DJB asked to increase water testing as cases of diarrhoea rise in capital

Another hot and humid day, rain prospects bleak

Four held for firing at teen

Not All Matches Are Fixed In Heaven: A Flashback...

Cabbie sounds horn & disrupts reel shoot on Gzb road, thrashed

ABVP alleges vandalism, NSUI rejects allegations

Residents of Jor Bagh allege attacks by dogs kept by activist, carry out protest

Not So Welcoming: Restoration Of Jheel Park Going Down The Drain

Acute threat to CM’s health, reiterates AAP; BJP hits back

BJP seeks review of hike in power purchase charge

AAP again targets LG over felling of 1,100 trees in ridge

Metro to conduct survey

Crossing The Line... 3 Deadly Tracks Flagged

NDMC revises health licence fee for eateries, fitness centres

Woman held for fake case

BJP urges Delhi govt to act on veggie prices

Memes of Change?

‘Testimonies unclear’: Court acquits man in rape case

FIRs fail to slow down these teen ‘daredevils’

Spirit of Olympics comes to town with ‘Bharat in Paris’ run

‘FIR delay no ground’, man convicted of sex assault on 4-year-old

Editorial

CONTRAPUNTO

Trump’s Moment

Where’s J&K Headed?

Many happy returns

Shot That’ll Divide America More

GOI’s Job? Find The X Factor For Factories

Cultivating An Inner Flow Of Calmness And Serenity

Sacred space

Times Business

Exports positive in Q1 amid global challenges: Goyal

FPIs invest `15k cr in first 2 weeks of July

India-Korea FTA meeting from July 17

Plea to keep 45-day MSME payment rule

Covid job surge led by agri, health, construction: RBI

Claim arising from GenAI covered: TCS

TCS plans to hire 40,000 freshers this financial year

HCLTech looks at 5% revenue growth in FY25

Invest In Stocks Of Particular Theme With Sectoral Funds

Increasing TDS/TCS entries irk taxpayers

Kotak Bank CEO admits to inadequate tech investments

Times Global

Secret Service Had One Job. Did It Fail Its Duty?

A ‘Republican’ who donated $15 to Dems on day Biden was sworn in

Biden: No place in US for this kind of violence, it’s sick

From Teddy Roosevelt to Trump: Story of assassination survivors

Blame game among Dems, Republicans after shooting

Oli, a ‘pro-China leader’, appointed Nepal’s new PM

Bill to retain STEM grads in US introduced in House

Times Sport

CARLOS LOVES GRASS

UNSEEDED PATTEN, HELIOVAARA SAVE 3 MATCH POINTS TO WIN TITLE

TOP PLACE FINISH FOR SINIAKOVA, TOWNSEND PAIR

LIVING A DREAM, THE KREJCIKOVA WAY

GALLERY

As political crisis rumbles, France’s Bastille Day parade meets Olympic torch relay

Anahat, Shaurya enter fourth round of World Jr Squash

Samson, Mukesh fire India to 42-run win

Anirban Lahiri takes 4-shot lead in Spain

BCCI to release Rs 1 crore for Gaekwad’s treatment

THE CUP IS FULL

Racism a blind spot in much of Spain

Far from satisfied: Bielsa

WHO KNOWS, MAYBE DI MARIA WILL SCORE ANOTHER GOAL IN THE FINAL, SAYS MESSI

Delhi Times

A card that elevates your lifestyle

Mother gave me strength: Hina on breaking cancer news

SONAM KAPOOR & ANAND AHUJA’S WIMBLEDON DATE

NEW BEGINNINGS FOR ANANT & RADHIKA

BUZZ STOP

Happy that now roles are written for me: Divya

A star-studded Wimbledon ﬁnale

The potli has arrived, and in style

Female roles are more relatable today, says Divya

A celebration of women’s sports, tennis and tradition

Olympics take centrestage at French National Day reception

A power-packed night with the stars

Education Times

GATE 2025 may witness a 10% increase in registrations

IIT Delhi scientists get promising results while working on brain cancer cure

NCISM to hold mock tests for AYUSH students who will take NExT 2024

DTU launches MTech by Research to boost multidisciplinarity in engineering

Priest’s son, CA AIR 1, balanced between accounting and watching reels

Finance is a challenging yet exciting field for women

UGC invites applications for DST National Postdoctoral Fellowship

ALERTS

DU UG classes for 3rd and 5th semesters to start from Aug 1

Will there be enough takers for MBBS in Hindi

After full literacy in Ladakh, ULLAS targets nine new states