TUESDAY 02 JANUARY 2024 www.thestatesman.com Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC Twitter.com/thestatesman Facebook.com/thestatesman INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR HM TO CHAIR HIGH-LEVEL SECURITY REVIEW MEET ON J&K GRAVE CONCERN P6 SENSEX 72,271.9431.68 WEATHER Fog/mist in the morning, later mainly clear sky. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 29 °C and 21 °C respectively. TEMPERATURE Max: 24.6°C (-1) SUN RISES ----- hrs MOON RISES ----- hrs ` vs $ 83.202 PAISE Min. 57 % Min: 16.2°C (+2) SUN SETS ------ hrs MOON SETS ------ hrs Full Moon on 11 January THUMBNAILS A heavy rush of people seen at India Gate in New Delhi on Monday.  SUBRATA DUTTA Electoral Bonds sale: With the Lok Sabha elections coming close, the Ministry of Finance on Monday said the State Bank of India (SBI) has been authorised to issue and encash Electoral Bonds through its 29 Authorised Branches from January 2 to January 11, 2024. As per the ministry’s release, the Electoral Bonds shall be valid for fifteen calendar days from the date of issue and no payment shall be made to any payee Political Party if the Electoral Bond is deposited after expiry of the validity period. NEW DELHI, 1 JANUARY India and Pakistan on Monday exchanged, through diplomatic channels simultaneously at New Delhi and Islamabad, the lists of civilian prisoners and fishermen in each other’s custody and of nuclear installations and facilities. Under the provisions of the 2008 Agreement on Consular Access, the lists of civilian prisoners and fishermen are exchanged by the two countries every year on 1 January and 1 July. India has shared a list of 337 civilian prisoners and 81 fishermen in its custody, who are Pakistani nationals or are believed to be Pakistanis. Similarly, Pakistan has shared the list of 47 civilian prisoners and 184 fishermen in its custody, who are Indian nationals or are believed to be Indians. New Delhi has called for early release and repatriation of civilian prisoners, missing Indian defence personnel, and fishermen along GOLD 63,870 SILVER 78,600 STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, 1 JANUARY n the foundation day of the Trinamul Congress, the party’s chairperson Mamata Banerjee iterated the Trinamul’s commitment to the people, and to its relentless fight for the protection of democratic rights and to uphold the interests of Bengal. Miss Banerjee had founded the Trinamul Congress on 1 January 1998 after she realised that the Congress party would never launch a serious movement to dislodge the CPIM from power in Bengal. On Monday, Miss Banerjee in a message to the party workers, reiterated that under no circumstances she would surrender to any evil force and that they would continue the fight to establish the democratic rights of the people. In her message on the foundation day of the party she said: “To serve Ma Mati Manus, the journey of Trinamul Congress began on January 1, 1998. In this journey our main objectives O have been to honour the motherland, uphold the interests of our state and to work relentlessly for protection of the democratic rights of our people. Even today, each worker and supporter of our party is committed and pledged to these objectives. I humbly honour and respect their dedication and self sacrifices. Today the Trinamul Congress family is blessed with love and affection of one and all. It is on the strength of your unflinching support that we shall continue to fight for everyone in this great democratic country. No surrender to any evil force: in defiance of all terror we will continue Under the provisions of the 2008 Agreement on Consular Access, the lists of civilian prisoners and fishermen are exchanged by the two countries every year on 1 January and 1 July. with their boats, from Pakistan's custody. In this context, Pakistan was asked to expedite the release and repatriation of 184 Indian fishermen, who have completed their sentence. In addition, Pakistan has been asked to provide immediate consular access to the remaining 12 civilian prisoners in Pakistan's custody, who are believed to be Indians. Pakistan has been requested to ensure the safety, security and welfare of all Indian and believed-to-be Indian civilian prisoners and fishermen, pending their release and repatriation to India. “India remains committed to addressing, on priority, all humanitarian matters, including those pertaining to prisoners and fishermen in each other's country. In this context, India has urged Pakistan to expedite necessary action at its end to confirm the nationality status of 65 believed-to-be Pakistani prisoners, including fishermen, whose repatriation is pending for want of nationality confirmation from Pakistan,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. It said that as a result of sustained efforts by the government, 2639 Indian fishermen and 67 Indian civilian prisoners have been repatriated from Pakistan since 2014. This includes 478 Indian fishermen and nine Indian civilian prisoners who were repatriated from Pakistan in 2023. The exchange of lists of nuclear installations is covered under an Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear Installations and Facilities between the two countries. our lifelong struggles for the common people of our country.” Miss Banerjee, in December, had along with her party MPs met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought his intervention to release the held-up funds meant for the job card holders under MGNREGA and other schemes. Abhishek Banerjee, national general secretary of the party tweeted: “Celebrating the 27th Foundation Day of Trinamul Congress. Grateful for the incredible journey, the unwavering support of our dedicated members and the opportunity to serve the people. United we Sidhu Moosewala murder accused Goldy Brar declared terrorist under UAPA STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE CHANDIGARH, 1 JANUARY Canada-based gangster Satwinder Singh aka Goldy Brar was declared a terrorist under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act on Monday. Goldy Brar first hit the headlines when his name came up in the murder of Punjabi singer-cum-rapper Sidhu Moosewala which took place on 29 May, 2022. Subsequently, the Punjab Police named him as one of the main accused in that case. A Ministry of Home Affairs notice said that Goldy Brar is associated with the banned Khalistani outfit Babbar Khalsa International and that Brar is backed by crossborder terror agencies. Apart from the Moosewaala murder, he is involved in several other killings and accused of making threatening calls to pro-nationalist leaders and celebrities. Tsunami waves hit Japan after series of quakes AGENCIES TOKYO, 1 JANUARY Tsunami waves, some over 1.2 metres high, hit Japan's coasts on Monday after a series of strong quakes struck the country’s western coast in the afternoon. Waves as high as 1.2 metres struck Wajima port in Ishikawa prefecture while Toyama prefecture also reported tsunami waves of 50 centimetres at 4:23 p.m. local time. The Japan Meteorological Agency reported more than a dozen quakes in the Japan Sea off the coast of Ishikawa and nearby prefectures shortly after 4 p.m. The quakes, the largest of which had a magnitude of 7.6, started a fire and collapsed buildings on the west coast of Japan’s main island, Honshu. It was unclear how many people might have been killed or hurt. In the wake of the quakes, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) initially issued a major tsunami warning, P12 BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 76.64 TMC will not bow down ISRO begins 2024 with successful XPoSat launch to evil forces: Mamata India, Pak exchange lists of civilian prisoners, fishermen, N- installations STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE P10 On TMC foundation day, CM iterated party’s commitment to the people RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 94 % P5 NIFTY 21,741.9010.50 DAVID WARNER TO RETIRE FROM ODI CRICKET U’KHAND GOVT BANS OUTSIDERS BUYING AGRICULTURAL LAND urging people to evacuate immediately, for a broad swath of the country's western coast, including Ishikawa, Fukui, Niigata, Toyama, Yamagata and other prefectures. The warning was downgraded to a regular tsunami several hours later, meaning the waters could still reach up to 3 metres. Aftershocks could also slam the same area over the next few days, the agency said. Japanese public broadcaster NHK TV initially warned torrents of water could reach as high as 5 metres and authorities urged people to flee to high land or a top of a nearby building as quickly as possible. According to the agency, the major temblor occurred at 4:10 p.m. local time (0710 GMT) at a shallow depth, registering a maximum 7 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale on the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture. It also shook buildings in central Tokyo. JMA warned in a nationally broadcast news conference that central Japan may experience more earthquakes with maximum intensity on its seven-tier scale system in the coming week. Japanese government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said at least six homes were damaged by the quakes, with people trapped inside. A fire broke out in Wajima city and electricity was out for more than 30,000 households, he said. He said no reports of deaths or injuries had been confirmed from the quakes, saying the situation was still unclear. CMYK will persist in serving the nation with honesty and integrity.” The foundation of Trinamul Congress was observed with enthusiasm in the state. Party flags were hoisted in all the party offices upto the block level. As the Parliamentary election is drawing near, some groups with vested interests area spreading the message among that a distance has been created within the party between Miss Banerjee and Abhishek to create confusion among the people. The group had tried this before 2019 Lok Sabha election and 2021 Assembly election. TMC leaders, meanwhile, have categorically refuted the rumours that is being spread about by some sections with vested interests of a certain distance within the party between Miss Banerjee and Abhishek. The leaders said the speculation is baseless and intended to create confusion ahead of the Parliamentary elections. Mr Banerjee will fight under the leadership of Miss Banerjee, they said. NEW DELHI, 1 JANUARY India on Monday ushered in the new year by successfully launching the X-ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat), in its first venture into the field of advanced X-ray astronomy. ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch VehicleC58 (PSLV-C58), with XPoSat as its primary payload, was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 9.10 am, accompanied by ten other experimental payloads. The mission, among others, would offer insights into space-based polarisation measurements of X-ray emission from various celestial sources. Addressing scientists after the successful launch of the mission, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief S Somanath said the PSLV-C58 vehicle placed the satellite precisely into the intended orbit of 650 km, with a 6-degree inclination. “From this point, the orbit of the PSLV will be reduced to a lower orbit, where the upper stage of the PSLV which is now described as POEM will carry out experiments with nine of the onboard payloads and that will take some time," Mr NEW YEAR, NEW MISSION  The XPoSat is the first dedi- cated scientific satellite from the ISRO to carry out research in space-based polarisation measurements of X-ray emission from celestial sources. It carries two payloads, namely POLIX (Polarimeter Instrument in Xrays) and XSPECT (X-ray Spectroscopy and Timing).  After successfully putting into orbit its primary payload, the rocket's fourth stage will be lowered to a 350km orbit, by restarting it twice, to function as an orbital platform with 10 experimental payloads from educational institutions, private companies and ISRO. One of the payloads is the Women Engineered Satellite built by LBS Institute of Technology for Women for comparison of solar irradiance and UV index. Somanath added. The objective of the XPoSat mission is to measure polarisation of X-rays in the energy band 830keV (Kilo electron Volt) emanating from about 50 potential cosmic sources through Thomson Scattering by its POLIX payload. In its five-year lifespan, XPoSat will also conduct long-term spectral and temporal studies of cosmic X-ray sources in the energy band 0.8-15keV using the XSPECT payload.In addition, the PSLV-C58 rocket's fourth stage ~ the PS4 stage ~ will be lowered to a 350-km orbit, by restarting it twice, to function as an orbital platform with 10 experimental payloads from educational institutions, private companies and ISRO. One of the payloads is the Women Engineered Satellite (WESAT) built by LBS Institute of Technology for Women for comparison of solar irradiance and UV index. ISRO will also test its fuel cell, which will be the precursor for powering an Indian space station whenever it is built.