FRIDAY 23 FEBRUARY 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 P5 SENSEX 73,158.24535.15 WEATHER MAINLY CLEAR SKY. THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 27 AND 09 DEGREES CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY P7 ` vs $ 83.8313 PAISE GOLD 64,095.00 Min. 30 % Government supporting rural economy for Viksit Bharat: PM Max: 26.2 °C (+1) SUN RISES 6:52 hrs MOON RISES 17:18 hrs Min: 10.8 °C (-1) SUN SETS 18:16 hrs MOON SETS 06:54 hrs THUMBNAILS A mesmerising view of beautiful snowcapped Pir Panjal mountains in Banihal area of Ramban district on Thursday.  ANI ED issues 7th summons to Kejriwal in Delhi excise scam: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued seventh summons to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to appear before it in connection with the alleged excise policy scam, said the sources. Kejriwal has been asked to appear before the financial probe agency on February 26, said the sources. Earlier, on Monday, Kejriwal skipped the ED’s sixth summons in connection with the alleged excise policy (P2) scam. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 22 FEBRUARY PM Modi to launch world’s largest grain storage project P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said a Developed India will be realised only if the country has a strong rural economy, and unlike previous governments, his government takes a holistic view of rural activities to encourage their growth. He was speaking at the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), known for its Amul brand, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad. Mr Modi said governments earlier had a fragmented view of the rural economy. This neither allowed rural India to prosper nor gave farmers an opportunity to improve their economic lot, he said. Mr Modi said his government is paying attention to small farmers and how to improve their lives. The government is focusing on animal husbandry, fisheries, giving their farmers Kisan Credit Cards. Beekeeping is being encouraged and farmers are supplied seeds which can tolerate climate change. AGENCIES Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate and lay the foundation of multiple initiatives to strengthen the country's Cooperative Sector on February 24 at Bharat Mandapam in the national capital which will be a major step in empowering small farmers, the PMO said. The Prime Minister will inaugurate the pilot project of 'World's Largest Grain Storage Plan in Cooperative Sector', which is being done in 11 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) of 11 states. PM Modi will also lay the foundation for an additional 500 PACS across the country for the con- struction of godowns and other agricultural infrastructure as part of the scheme. The initiative aims to seamlessly integrate PACS godowns with the foodgrain supply chain, fortifying food security and fostering economic development in the country with a collaborative effort supported by NABARD and spearheaded by the NCDC. The initiative is being implemented through the convergence of various existing schemes like the AIF, AMI, etc. to enable PACS participating in the project to avail subsidies and interest subvention benefits for undertaking infrastructure development. ed livestock breeders get online payments of Rs 200 crores every day. The origin of Amul, Mr Modi said, lay in the Kheda Milk Union under the guidance of Sardar Patel. With the expansion of cooperatives in Gujarat, the GCMMF came into being. He said: “It is a great example of balance between cooperatives and government and such efforts have made us the largest milkproducing nation of the world, employing eight crore people.” NEW DELHI, 22 FEBRUARY The Prime Minister said the Union Cabinet, late on Wednesday, decided to bring changes in the National Livestock Mission to encourage domestic breeds. Financial aid will be given to help turn wastelands into grazing pastures. Premia for insurance of animals is being reduced to make animal rearing profitable. The government has constituted a Rs 30,000 crore fund to modernise infrastructure related to animal husbandry, he said. Dairy cooperatives are being provided credit at lower rates and thousands of crores of rupees are being spent on modernisation of milk plants, he said. Talking about Amul, the Prime Minister said many brands came after Inde- pendence, but there was nothing comparable to Amul. He said “Amul has become the symbol of the strength of the Pashupalaks of India.” The Prime Minister said, “Amul means trust, development, public participation, empowerment of farmers and the technological advancements through time.” He said Amul is the inspiration of Atmanirbhar Bharat. Amul products are exported to more than 50 countries around the world, He said more than 18,000 milk cooperative committees and a network of 36,000 farmers are associated with it. More than 3.5 crore litres of milk is being processed per day, and the associat- Rajnath Singh dares Opposition to contest BJP claim it fulfilled all promises One Russian skier killed in Gulmarg avalanche, 6 rescued AGENCIES STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NABARANGAPUR, 22 FEBRUARY Coming out in fulsome praise of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) rule at the Centre, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said the BJP fulfilled all the pre-election promises it made to the people over the course of its decade-long tenure at the helm. Speaking at the BJP Karyakarta Sammelan in Odisha, which is set to go to polls for the Assembly later this year, the Raksha Mantri said the BJP was the only party that came forward to change the face of national politics at a time when it was facing a "crisis of confidence and credibility". Addressing party cadres at the event on Thursday, the veteran BJP leader said, "We belong to a party that does what it says. For the first time in our history, a party came forward accepting the challenge to change the face of Indian politics at a time when it was facing a crisis of confidence and credibility. It was Prime Minister Narendra Modi to took this challenge head on. Our politics does not divide people on the basis of caste, creed and religion. Our politics is founded on justice and humanity." In a swipe at the Congress, he said the grand old party took the country and their level of politics to a point where the people lost confidence in leaders and elected representatives. "During Congress rule, people would often say politicians make a lot of promises before the polls but seldom kept their word once the votes were cast," the BJP leader said, in a dig at the Congress. "I wish to tell the Opposition: if you wish to test our credibility, check all our past manifestos and assess if we kept our promises to the people. We have fulfilled all the pre-election promises that we made. In 2014, when I was the BJP president, PM Modi urged me not to make any promises that cannot be fulfilled. In 2019, PM Modi said I should be made the president of the party's Election Manifesto Committee. We said we would abrogate Article 370 and now the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is governed by the same laws as other states. When we said we would end Triple Talaq, some leaders in the Opposition said mixing religion with politics would create chasms in the society," the Defence Minister said. JAMMU, 22 FEBRUARY A Russian skier was killed when a massive avalanche hit the Afarwat area of Gulmarg in North Kashmir on Thursday while six of his compatriots and a local guide have been rescued. The incident took place at a busy time for the ski destination on account of the 4th edition of the Khelo India Winter Games, with more than 800 youths from different parts of the country gathered at Gulmarg. The Winter Games were inaugurated by Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday even as authorities had warned of avalanches in the area following heavy snowfall earlier this week. The sports meet was unaffected by the incident. Reports said six of the seven skiers from Russia, who were trapped when the ava- NEW DELHI, 22 FEBRUARY Defending champions Chennai Sup er Kings will host Royal Challengers Bangalore at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in the opening match of IPL 2024 on 22 March. On Thursday, the IPL released a partial schedule comprising an initial set of 21 matches between 22 March and 7 April. The IPL final is expected to be played on 26 May, with just five days between that and the opening match of the men's T20 World Cup, to be played in the US and the Caribbean from 1 June. Like in 2009, 2014 and 2019, the IPL 2024’s biggest roadblock was the fact that it is expected to clash with the general elections. In the past, the cricket carnival coincided with the polls twice, leading to confusion regarding hosting the event. The 2009 edition was moved entirely to South Africa, whereas in 2014, the IPL was played in two halves – the first in the UAE and the other back in India. In 2019, the two events did not collide, and hence the IPL, starting 23 March, was played entirely in India. This time, the IPL council has therefore decided to announce the schedule par- tially, and the second half of the tournament schedule is expected once the Election Commission of India reveals the dates of the national elections, which are expected to take place in the months of April and May. There are four doubleheaders in the initial schedule including two on the opening weekend. On March 23, Punjab Kings will play the day match against Delhi Capitals at home followed by Kolkata Knight Riders hosting Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Eden Gardens. On 24 March, Rajasthan Royals play their first game against Lucknow Super Giants while Hardik Pandya’s Mumbai Indians open with an away-fixture against Gujarat Titans, his former team. The Capitals are the only franchise that won't play any games at their home ground, Delhi's Feroz Shah Kotla, in the 22 March- 7 April period; both those games will be held at the ACA-VDCA Stadium in Visakhapatnam. Capitals, Titans and RCB will play five of their 14 matches in this 17-day window. KKR will play only three matches; all the other franchises have been slotted to play four games. It's likely Punjab Kings will play their home games at a brand new venue, in Mullanpur on the out- BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 82.970.06 Lok Sabha elections 2024: AAP-Congress Delhi deal finalised,4-3 seat-sharing likely STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 22 FEBRUARY The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have finalised their seat-sharing alliance for the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, news agencies, quoting highly placed sources, reported on Thursday. As per the sources, both parties have locked the deal for a four-three alliance, with the AAP contesting four seats and Congress settling for three. The seat-sharing alliance came through after several rounds of deliberations this week and today, as well as a meeting held at KC Venugopal's house in Delhi. During the meeting, KC Venugopal and Mukul Wasnik were present from the Congress side, while Sandeep Pathak, Saurabh Bhardwaj and Atishi were representing the AAP. According to reports, the AAP is likely to contest from New Delhi, South Delhi, West Delhi and North West Delhi Lok Sabha constituencies. East Delhi, Chandni Chowk and North East Lok Sabha constituencies will be spared for Congress. A formal announcement in this regard will be made by both parties. In addition to this, it has also been learned that Congress is likely to give AAP one seat in Haryana, while AAP will support the Congres for the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat. In Gujarat, the AAP is demanding three seats, while the Congress is willing to concede two; however a final agreement on this is awaited. Delhi Congress President Arvinder Singh Lovely said on Thursday that the final decision on seat sharing for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections with the AAP will be announced soon. In response to a question on the final seat-sharing deal between the two parties, he said, “It will be announced soon.” The Delhi Congress chief reiterated that the Congress and the AAP are part of the Opposition’s INDIA. “INDIA alliance will fight the elections not only in Delhi but across the country,” headded.Notably,the two parties have held several meetings over the seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming generalelections.Inthe2019Lok Sabha elections, both the Congress and the AAP drew a blank in Delhi. (WITH INPUTS FROM AGENCIES) PRAYER FOR THE NATION Teams of the Army, Tourist Ski Patrol Police, and the Jawahar Institute of Mountaineering rushed to the spot to launch a rescue operation. lanche hit the area, were rescued, one of them in an injured condition. Teams of the Army, Tourist Ski Patrol Police, and the Jawahar Institute of Mountaineering rushed to the spot to launch a rescue operation. Helicopters of the Indian Air Force (IAF) were deployed for the mission. Nuzhat Gull, secretary, the J&K Sports Council, said all Khelo India athletes were safe after the avalanche hit the Khilanmarg area of Gulmarg. All the fixtures are being run as per schedule, she added. Defending champs CSK face RCB in IPL 2024 opener TRIDIP BAPARNASH P12 SILVER 75,000 PM Modi said governments earlier had a fragmented view of the rural economy Max. 84 % TEMPERATURE P4 NIFTY 22,217.45162.40 INDIA LOOK TO SEAL SERIES; ENGLAND EYE REDEMPTION IMPLICATIONS OF PYONGYANG-TOKYO TALKS SHARMILA ARRESTED; CALLS HER BROTHER A DICTATOR ‘GOVT CAPTURING DEMOCRACY THROUGH FINANCIAL TERRORISM’ skirts of Chandigarh, instead of their traditional home in Mohali. While it feels like just last month that Ravindra Jadeja struck a boundary off the last ball to take Chennai Super Kings to their fifth IPL title, the fact remains that it's been eight long months since that epic night in Ahmedabad. And on 22 March, the Men-in-Yellow will return to action with all eyes on the charismatic MS Dhoni, who said last year that winning the IPL in 2023 would have been the perfect time for him to retire but he plans on coming back for one last run ‘next year’. The tournament will also see Hardik Pandya return to Mumbai Indians as the captain, replacing Rohit Sharma. There will be eyes on Rishabh Pant too, expected to return to competitive cricket after being out of action following a serious car accident in December 2022. Prime Minister Narendra Modi performs a ritual at the Valinath Dham temple in Visnagar of Mehsana district on Thursday. ANI