21 JANUARY 2024 www.thestatesman.com INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC Twitter.com/thestatesman Facebook.com/thestatesman KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR WEATHER Mainly clear sky very likely. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 22 °C and 12 °C respectively. RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 96 % TEMPERATURE Max: 22.0°C (-3) SUN RISES 06:19 hrs MOON RISES 07:59 hrs Indo-Myanmar border to be fenced, says Amit Shah New Delhi may also end the free movement facility with Myanmar, says home minister Min. 44 % Min: 12.6°C (-1) SUN SETS 17:11 hrs MOON SETS 19:14 hrs Full Moon on 25 January THUMBNAILS Artists from Thailand perform during the 7th India International Ramayana Mela 2024 in New Delhi on Saturday.  ANI Delhi Police arrests man behind Bollywood actress deepfake video case: Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit of the Delhi Police has arrested a man behind the deepfake video of a popular actress, police said on Saturday.The IFSO has arrested the person who created the video and has posted the same on social (PG5) media, a police official said. AGENCIES GUWAHATI, 20 JANUARY nion Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said that the Indo-Myanmar border will be fenced like the Indo-Bangladesh border to curb the influx of illegal migrants and insurgents. Addressing the passing out parade ceremony of Assam Police Commandos, Mr Shah said: “The IndoMyanmar border is to be fenced like the IndoBangladesh border. The Centre, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has decided to fence the IndoMyanmar border to curb the influx of illegal migrants and insurgents." "We are also thinking of ending the free-movement facility with Myanmar," Mr Shah added. Mr Shah applauded the Assam Police for fighting against different issues U Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Assam chief minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma at the passing out parade of Assam Police Commandos, at Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, Sarusajai in Guwahati on Saturday.  ANI including infiltration and drug smuggling. “Assam has always been affected by infiltration issues that have been going on for 10 decades, Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, drug smuggling, etc., but Assam Police has a glorious his- tory of fighting and winning against these issues," he said. The 1,643-kmlong India-Myanmar border, spanning Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh, currently operates under the Free Movement Regime (FMR), permits individu- 53rd Statesman Vintage and Classic Car rally today STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, 20 JANUARY The 53rd edition of The Statesman Vintage and Classic Car Rally will be held at the Eastern Command Sports Stadium on Sunday. The cars will assembled at 10 a.m. and will be flagged off at 11 a.m. The Statesman is the pioneer in holding vintage car rallies in the country. The rally in Delhi started in 1964 followed by the Kolkata edition in 1968. The rally in 1968 was a grand success, so much so that vintage car owners took special interest in their cars, maintained them and anxiously waited for the notice in The Statesman announcing the date of the rally. Over the years the city lost some of the finest restor- ers of vintage and classic cars. These included Shashi Kanoria, Sanjay Ghosh, Pratap Chowdhury, Gautam Mukherjee and Bampu Sarkar. These stalwarts used to bring their vehicles and their august presence always awed visitors. The 2024 rally has created great enthusiasm among young people. The invitation cards have already been exhausted and still people queued up at Statesman House to get a card at the 11th hour. Vintage and Classic Cars are parts of history. Thousands of people stand on the road to cheer the old cars. There are three cars of special note taking part in Sunday’s rally, including a 1906-make Renault Freres owned by late Shashi Kanoria and to be driven by his son Shrivardhan, a well known restorer and collector in the country. There is a 1913 Gebruder Stoewer, a rare German vehicle and one of the last of its kind in the world. The car is owned by Mr Ananda Chowdhury who will drive the vehicle. The car was imported by Ananda’s great grandfather and the vehicle has served the Chowdhury family for four generations. A 1921 Rolls Royce owned by Shri Shri Iswar Satyanarayan is one of its kind in the world as the car looks like a temple on wheels. There are 15 vehicles that are aged between 99 years and 91 years. A century old 600 cc Panther Sloper motor cycle made in 1923 and owned by Syed Kamalud- din Hossain will take part in the rally. There will be car owners who will come in period costumes. A Dodge Kingsway , the car which was used by the Commissioner of Kolkata Police will be on display. PK Sen, who was the Commissioner of Kolkata Police used to drive the vehicle. The Commissioners till early 1990 used to travel in the vehicle. The cars that are likely to create a sensation among the visitors include a Renault Freres (serial no 1), Stoewer (serial no 2), and a Rolls Royce 1937 ( serial no 39). The last named car was used by Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India and he travelled in this car to take oath as the President. Pran Pratishtha: I&B Ministry issues SOPs STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 20 JANUARY The Information and Broadcasting Ministry on Saturday issued an advisory to all news and social media platforms in view of the 22 January Ram Temple ceremony, asking them to refrain from publishing or telecasting any content that may be false or manipulated or has the potential to disturb communal harmony or public order in the country. In an announcement, the Ministry said the advisory was being issued in the context of upcoming nationwide celebrations of Ram Lalla Pran Pratishtha in Ayodhya as it was observed that certain unverified, provocative and fake messages are being spread, especially on social media, which can disturb communal harmony and public order. The Ministry’s advisory covers newspapers, television channels, digital news publishers and social media platforms. As part of their due diligence obligations, the social media platforms have been advised to make reasonable efforts to not host, display or publish information prohibited by the advisory. The Ram Janmabhoomi Temple is illuminated ahead of its 'Pran Pratisththa' ceremony, in Ayodhya on Saturday.  ANI The advisory invites attention to the provisions of the Programme Code under the Cable Television Networks Regulation Act, 1995, and Norms of Journalistic Conduct laid down by the Press Council of India under the Press Council Act, 1978, a reference to which has also been made in the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. The Norms of Journalistic Conduct provide “Accuracy and Fairness: The Press shall eschew publication of inaccurate, baseless, graceless, misleading or distorted material.” On Caste, Religion or Community References, the Norms provide “It is the duty of the newspaper to ensure that the tone, spirit and language of a write up is not objectionable, provocative, against the unity and integrity of the country, spirit of the constitution, seditious and inflammatory in nature or designed to promote communal disharmony.” On Paramount National Interest, the Norms provide that “Newspapers shall, as a matter of self-regulation, exercise due restraint and caution in presenting any news, comment or information which is likely to jeopardise, endanger or harm the paramount interests of the State and society, or the rights of individuals with respect to which reasonable restrictions may be imposed by law on the right to freedom of speech and expression under clause (2) of Article 19 of the Constitution of India.” The Programme Code provides under Rule 6 (1) “No programme should be carried in the cable service which contains attack on religions or communities or visuals or words contemptuous of religious groups or which promote communal attitudes or contains anything obscene, defamatory, deliberate, false and suggestive innuendos and half truths; and is likely to encourage or incite violence or contains anything against maintenance of law and order or which promote anti-national attitudes.” The Ministry has issued advisories from time to time for television, print, and digital media, including social media platforms, to maintain adherence to applicable norms and regulations applicable to the media, especially in matters related to public order, factual accuracy of information being published/broadcast, and communal harmony among various religious communities of India. als living near the IndiaMyanmar border to travel 16 km into each other's territories without a visa. Initiated in 2018, the FMR policy was a component of India's Act East policy. As per FMR policy, those belonging to the hill tribes, being citizens of either India or Myanmar and residing within a 16 km radius on either side of the border, can cross with a border pass valid for one year, allowing a stay of up to two weeks per visit. Allegations claim that following the military coup in Myanmar on 1 February 2021, a considerable number of Myanmar's tribal population crossed into India, particularly Manipur and Mizoram, and remained illegally. It's alleged that these individuals sought refuge on Indian territory and subsequently engaged in unlawful activities, notably drug smuggling. In September 2023, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh appealed to the Centre to terminate the FMR. The state government, contends that insurgents exploit this regime to advance their activities, including involvement in the ongoing ethnic conflict in the state. Manipur shares approximately 390 km of a porous border with Myanmar, with only about 10 km fenced as of now. In July last year, the state government disclosed data indicating that approximately 700 illegal immigrants had entered the state. Additionally, following the military coup in Myanmar on 1 February 2021, Mizoram has witnessed an influx of thousands of anti-Junta rebels. Government estimates suggest that several thousand refugees have settled in various parts of Mizoram since the coup. Mizoram has a porous border spanning 510 kilometres with Myanmar. Simultaneous polls: `10K cr required for new EVMs after every 15 yrs, says EC AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 20 JANUARY If Lok Sabha and assembly elections are held simultaneously, the Election Commission (EC) will need around Rs 10,000 crore after every 15 years to buy new Electronic Voting Machines, the poll body said. The EC has informed the government that life of any single Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) goes upto 15 years. Accoding to this life span, one EVM can be in use for three term of elections. ECI has estimated that around 11.80 lakh polling stations are required to be set up for Lok Sabha elections. If assembly elections also happen simultaneously in that case more EVMs would be required, ECI sources said. The sources added that at least two sets of EVMs are required at each polling station, one for the Lok Sabha and second for the assembly. Increased number of Control Units (CUs), Ballot Units (BU)s, and Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) will also be required, the Commission said in a letter to the Union Law Ministry, last year in February.Responding to a question, the Election Commission told the Law Ministry that in 2023, the tentative cost of EVM was Rs 7,900 per BU, Rs 9,800 per CU, and Rs 16,000 per unit of VVPAT. Central Government has constituted a High Level Committee on One Nation, One Election led by former president Ram Nath Kovind. As per the Terms of Reference, the Committee is required to make recommendations for creation of an appropriate legal and administrative framework for holding simultaneous elections on a permanent basis, identification of necessary amendments to the Constitution and related election laws, preparation of common electoral rolls, logistics such as EVMs/VVPATs, etc. Recently the high level commity has issued a public notice for inviting suggestions from members of general public. The committee said that this initiative has been taken for making appropriate changes in the existing legal administrative framework to enable simultaneous elections in the country.