SATURDAY 06 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 STRESSES LINKING DATABASE WITH AI-DRIVEN ANALYTICS ‘CULTURE IS IN BENGAL’S BLOOD’ P7 SENSEX 72,026.15178.58 WEATHER Fog/mist in the morning, Mainly clear sky later.Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 25 °C and 16 °C respectively. RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY P5 NIFTY 21,710.8052.20 Min. 48 % Max: 25.0°C (0) SUN RISES 06:18 hrs MOON RISES 00:12 hrs ` vs $ 83.202 PAISE New Moon on 11 January THUMBNAILS STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, 5 JANUARY Children wearing warm clothes seen at Kartavya Path on a cold winter evening.  ANI Union Cabinet declares Ayodhya airport as int’l airport: The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday approved a proposal to declare Ayodhya Airport as an International Airport and naming it as “Maharishi Valmiki International Airport, Ayodhyadham.” eacting to the incident in Sandeshkhali, ruling Trinamul Congress has criticized the central agencies for not intimating the state government about conducting raids in the districts. It has termed “continuous provocation on part of central agencies as R Parl security breach: 5 out of 6 accused give consent to undergo polygraph test NEW DELHI, 5 JANUARY Five of the six accused persons in the December 13 Parliament security breach case on Friday gave their consent before a Delhi court to undergo a polygraph test. Delhi Police had moved an application seeking permission to conduct a polygraph test of the six accused persons -- Manoranjan D, Sagar Sharma, Amol Dhanraj Shinde, Neelam Devi Azad, Lalit Jha and Mahesh Kumawat -- who have been arrested in connection with the case. Excluding Neelam Devi, the other five accused gave their consent to undergo a polygraph test before Additional Sessions Judge Hardeeep Kaur of the Patiala House Courts. The judge also extended their police custody by eight days after they were produced before the court amid tight security on the expiry of their police remand. The police had moved an application for conducting a polygraph test of the accused, saying the investigators needed to get more details to make the case strong and gather more evidence to GOLD 47,45090 unearth the entire conspiracy. The police have also sought permission to conduct brain mapping and Narco tests of Manoranjan and Sagar. The duo had burst yellow smoke canisters inside the Lok Sabha chamber on December 13, the 22nd anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attack, after jumping from the visitors’ gallery before they were overpowered by the MPs present in the House. Two others -- Neelam Azad and Shinde -- also burst smoke canisters and raised slogans outside Parliament. Jha is believed to be the mastermind of the entire plan, he reportedly fled with the mobile phones of the four others. A polygraph test, commonly known as a lie detector test, involves recording physiological indicators such as blood pressure, pulse, and respiration while the individual under scrutiny responds to a series of questions. After each response, forensic scientists provide their opinion, based on the recorded readings, regarding the truthfulness or falsehood of the accused person's statements. instructed by the BJP.” Calling the incident in Sandeshkhali, in which the villagers beat up and threw stones at Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials, gone to conduct raid at the house of Trinamul Congress’s Sheikh Sajahan, as unfortunate, Dr Shashi Panja said the ED officials should have informed the local administration or the chief secretary so that local police could have assisted them to avoid any untoward incident. She said it is unfortunate that the state government has been pulled up for the incident when it was not informed at all. She said, “Because of series of incidents, local people believe that the ED and CBI go to the houses of the members of the opposition parties only while people like Suvendu Adhikari who was found taking money are not caught. Local people have seen this and when they saw the ED officials they became furious. Also, there are some elements who try to take advantage of the situation.” She urged the BJP not to instigate people. “It has become BJP’s game to defame Bengal and show that the law and order situation has deteriorated.” Trinamul spokesper- SILVER 76,600 BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 78.000.41 STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 5 JANUARY 23. The statistics ministry's first advance estimate of growth this year is even higher than the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) recently revised forecast of 7per cent. The Finance Ministry has ED team attacked during raid on TMC leader’s house in Sandeshkhali: A team of officers of the Enforcement Directorate(ED) were attacked on Friday morning during a raid on a Trinamul Congress leader’s residence at Sandeshkhali in North 24-Parganas district. Five officials were injured and admitted to hospital among them three are critical. The ED officers accompanied by a few personnel of central forces were conducting raids on the house of Shahjahan Sheikh, a local Trinamul leader and matsa prani sampad karmadhakshya (chief of zila parishad fisheries and animal husbandry), when hundreds of locals overpowered them. Trinamul Congress leadership said that the incident was the result of “continuous provocation on the part of central agencies SNS at the behest of the BJP”. (PG3) son Kunal Ghosh appealed to the local people of Sandeshkhali not to fall into the trap of the BJP and not be provoked and not attack the media. State president of TMC social media & IT cell wing Debangshu Bhattacharya said, “Today's event was a spontaneous reaction to excessive provocation of blatantly disregarding the people of Bengal! It seems, all ED-CBI raids are reserved for the opposition party, as the puppets continue to safely hide behind the veil of BJP's power.” For the incident he blamed the ED as they did not inform or consult the state before the raids. “Only the state government is aware which areas are sensitive and they could have guided the agencies,” he said. Wishes pour in as Didi turns 70 EC dismisses Jairam’s concern over VVPAT STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 5 JANUARY Dismissing Congress leader Jairam Ramesh’s concern over the voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT), the Election Commission (EC) on Friday reiterated its full faith in the use of the electronic voting machine (EVM) in elections. In his 30 December letter to the EC, Ramesh, who is the Congress general secretary incharge of communications, had sought an appointment with the poll panel for the leaders of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) to put forward their point of view on the VVPAT. In its reply to Ramesh’s letter, the poll panel categorically said it has no new assertions or reasonable and legitimate doubts which require further clarifications. “The letter dated 30th December 2023, however, does not mention any specific issues onVVPAT. It is, once again, requested to refer to EVM resources, including further updated FAQs, which covers all possible aspects. The letter said to be in sequence of the earlier letters, has no new assertions or reasonable and legitimate doubts which requires further clarifications,” read the letter signed by Pramod Kumar Sharma, Principal Secretary, EC. Referring to the August 9, 2023 memorandum submitted to the poll panel on the EVMs, Sharma said, “Memorandum dated 9th August, 2023 has already been duly replied on 23rd August. Further, para-wise reply to issues raised due to incorrect and inadequate appreciation of material available in the public domain in follow up letter dated 2nd October 2023 by Omar Hooda, in individual capacity, is duly replied to this letter covering all aspects of EVMs like non-tampering, non- hacking, micro controllers, end-to-end verifiability, legal provisions, counting, technical competency, manufacturing, source code, etc.” WINTER CARNIVAL Women dressed in traditional attire perform 'Kulvi Naati' dance during the Manali Winter Carnival 2024, in Manali on Friday. ANI ‘Indian economy to grow 7.3 pc in 2023-24’ India's gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to grow by 7.3per cent in 202324, up from 7.2per cent in 2022-23, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation said on Friday. Real GDP is estimated to attain a level of Rs 171.79 lakh crore, as against the Provisional Estimate of GDP for the year 2022-23 of Rs 160.06 lakh crore, released on 31st May, 2023. Nominal GDP in 2023-24 is estimated at Rs 296.58 lakh crore, as against the Provisional Estimate of GDP for the year 2022-23 of Rs 272.41 lakh crore, released on 31st May, 2023. The growth in nominal GDP during 2023-24 is estimated at 8.9per cent as compared to 16.1per cent in 2022- P12 It has become BJP’s game to defame Bengal: TMC Min: 15.9°C (+2) SUN SETS 17:6 hrs MOON SETS 11:59 hrs AGENCIES P8 ED should have given prior intimation: Trinamul Congress on Sandeshkhali incident Max. 90 % TEMPERATURE AUS LEAPFROGS INDIA TO REGAIN NO.1 TEST RANKING ADANI BACK AS ASIA'S WEALTHIEST PERSON AFTER SC’S DECISION also projected the growth to exceed its forecast of 6.5per cent. The Advance Estimates of National Income are indicator-based and are compiled using the benchmarkindicator method i.e. the estimates available for the previous year (2022-23) are extrapolated using the relevant indicators reflecting the performance of sectors. The manufacturing sector is set to grow to 6.5per cent from 1.3per cent in 2022-23, and is set to drive growth higher this year, with the construction sector posting an even more impressive growth rate of 10.7per cent on top of a 10per cent expansion in 2022-23. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has also released data saying India's forex reserves jumped by $2.759 billion to $623.2 billion in the week ended December 29. In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had increased by $4.471 billion to $620.441 billion. For the week ended December 29, the foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased by $1.869 billion to $551.615 billion, as per the data from the RBI. United Nations through its UN World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2024 report further said in 2024, India is projected to grow at 6.2per cent supported by robust domestic demand and strong growth in the manufacturing and services sectors. This growth is slightly lower than the 6.3per cent estimate for 2023, amid robust domestic demand and strong growth in the manufacturing and services sectors, the report said. Indian Navy thwarts attempt to hijack bulk carrier in Arabian Sea STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 5 JANUARY The Indian Navy's Mission Deployed platfor ms responded swiftly to a maritime incident in Arabian Sea involving a hijacking attempt onboard Liberia Flagged bulk carrier. The vessel had sent a message on the UKMTO portal indicating boarding by 5-6 unknown armed personnel on Thursday evening. Responding swiftly to the developing situation, the Indian Navy launched a Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) and diverted INS Chennai deployed for Maritime Security Operations to CMYK assist the vessel. The aircraft overflew the vessel early Friday morning and established contact with the vessel, ascertaining the safety of the crew. The aircraft continues to monitor movement and INS Chennai is closing the vessel to render assistance. The overall situation is being closely monitored, in coordination with other agencies/MNF in the area. “ The Indian Navy remains committed to ensuring safety of merchant shipping in the region along with international partners and friendly foreign countries,'' an official release said. DOLA MITRA KOLKATA, 5 JANUARY On the chilly afternoon of January 5, 2024 a group of vegetable vendors at a Kolkata bazaar, are sipping cups of hot, milky, sugary chai. They are mostly women and they have broken into a song, “Esho Ma Lakkhi, bosho ghorey, amari ghorey thako alo korey,” (Come, o Mother Lakshmi, and light up my home with your blessings.) They are from various villages around the districts of the city and they don’t know the words of “Happy Birthday to You” but when they are told that it’s their chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s birthday and if they had a message for her, the chorus of gratitude, sprinkled with generous dozes of giggling and clapping, was their spontaneous response. “She is our Ma Lakkhi,” chuckles Nanda Mandal, who is from Lakkhikantapur, a hamlet in South 24 Paraganas District. They are all recipients of the economic benefits of one of the Mamata Banerjee government’s most successful public distribution schemes, “Lakshmi Bhandar”. Under this welfare program, girls and women from poor families get direct payments of Rs 1000 in their bank accounts every month. “I cannot describe to you what it feels like to have this money come in every month without me having to slog for it,” says Namita Mandal, a domestic worker who lives in Garia. According to those who know Mamata Banerjee well, for her the biggest birthday gift is the happiness of the people of her state, especially the masses, the grassroots people. “She does not at all celebrate her own birthday at a personal level,” says Dola Sen, Rajya Sabha Member of Trinamul, the grassroots political party Mamata Banerjee founded in 1998, after breaking away from the Congress. “It is like any other day for her which entails just working and concentrating on how to bet- ter the lives of the people.” “She is one leader who would have forgotten her own birthday if it wasn’t for the bouquets of flowers and the hundreds of best wishes that start pouring in from the crack of dawn,” says another Trinamul colleague. Indeed, among those to have wished her today, on her 69 th birthday, was none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He took to X (formerly Twitter) to greet her. He wrote, “Best wishes to West Bengal CM Mamata Didi on her birthday. Praying for her long and healthy life.” Though political rivals, the Indian PM and the Bengal CM are known to be courteous, exchanging greetings and wishes on special occasions. She was also greeted by Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress President and Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha. Incidentally, Mamata Banerjee recently suggested his name as the leader of the Opposition unity alliance, INDIA. Mamata Banerjee’s childhood is depicted in detail in her own memoirs, “My Unforgettable Memories,” in which she talks about her humble home and the hardships she faced growing up. Her love for her mother Gayatri Devi and the depth of her sorrow when her father died and how her struggles shaped her will to help the needy and subsequently her career in politics is rivetingly dealt with. She also noted that there was a discrepancy between her official and original birthdays with 5 January being the former. Be that as it may, the official date is good enough for Didi’s supporters from village vendors to close colleagues to political foes to declare a hearty, “Shubho Jonmodeen, Didi!” Happy Birthday. Didi may not approve of the cutting of cakes but it doesn’t stop her constituency, the grassroots people, from raising a toast with their cups of chai.