SATURDAY 01 JUNE 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 ‘BAD LOANS CRISIS DURING CONG GOVT STIFLED DREAMS’ ‘SENTIMENTS POSITIVE FOR MVA’ P7 SENSEX 73,961.3175.71 WEATHER GENERALLY CLOUDY SKY. HEAT WAVE CONDITIONS AT ISOLATED PLACES. THUNDERSTORM/ DUSTSTORM WITH LIGHT RAIN ACCOMPANIED WITH GUSTY WINDS (SPEED 30-40 KMPH). THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 44 AND 30 DEGREES CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY P4 NIFTY 22,530.7042.05 P6 ` vs $ 83.245 PAISE STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 31 MAY Max: 45.8 °C (+6) SUN RISES 05:24 hrs MOON RISES 02:08 hrs Min: 29.0 °C (+2) SUN SETS 19:15 hrs MOON SETS 13:52 hrs T Young volunteers dressed as chickens and calves demonstrate to create awareness against animal cruelty organised by PETA, ANI in Bengaluru on Friday. SILVER 95,5001000 GOLD 72,760 BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 81.110.82 According to the ECI,more than 10.06 cr voters will decide the fate of 904 candidates Min. 13 % THUMBNAILS P12 Last phase of hard-fought Lok Sabha elections today Max. 59 % TEMPERATURE ROHIT, NAJMUL MARVEL AT NY STADIUM MAGIC PUNJAB’S BATTLE he months-long Lok Sabha elections 2024, the world’s biggest electoral exercise, has hit the final stretch, with voting for the seventh and last phase of the elections to be held on Saturday. The final phase of the 18th Lok Sabha elections covers 57 parliamentary seats across eight States and Union Territories. Prominent candidates from the BJP are Prime Minister Narendra Modi (Varanasi, UP), Union minister Anurag Thakur (Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh), Ravi Shankar Prasad (Patna Sahib, Bihar) and Kangana Ranaut (Mandi, Himachal Pradesh); prominent Congress candidates in the fray include Manish Tewari (Chandigarh), Vikramaditya Singh (Mandi) and Ajay Rai (Varanasi). Other prominent candidates are Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Misa Bharti (Pataliputra, Bihar) and Trinamul Congress (TMC) leader Abhishek Banerjee (Diamond Harbour, West Bengal). The polling is scheduled to begin at 7 a.m. in 1.09 lakh polling stations amid tight security. These polling stations will be manned by around 10.9 lakh polling officials. The 57 parliamentary seats going to polls in the seventh phase include 13 each in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, nine in West Bengal, eight in Bihar, six in Odisha, four in Himachal Pradesh, three in Jharkhand and one in Chandigarh. According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), more than 10.06 crore voters, including approximately 5.24 crore male, 4.82 crore female and 3574 third gender electors, will decide the fate of 904 candidates who are in the fray in this phase. Polling for the 42 Assemb ly constituencies in the fourth and last phase of the Odisha Assembly will also take place simultaneously. The poll panel has called upon voters to turn out in greater numbers at polling stations and vote with responsibility and pride.The ECI also said the CEOs concerned and State machineries have been directed to take adequate measures to manage the adverse impact of hot weather or rainfall wherever predicted. Assured minimum facilities like water, shed, toilets, ramps, volunteers, wheelchairs, and electricity are in place to ensure that every voter, including elderly and persons with disabilities, can cast their vote with ease, it said. The Lok Sabha elections are being held in seven phases between 19 April and 1 June. The first phase of polling was held on 19 April, second phase on 26 April, third phase on 7 May, fourth phase on 13 May, fifth phase on 20 May and sixth phase on 25 May. Counting will take place on 4 June. Govt data: India’s GDP growth rate in Q4FY24 grows by 7.8 per cent Prajwal Revanna arrested on arrival in India, sent to 6-day police custody STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 31 MAY JD-S leader and the BJP-led NDA's Hassan Lok Sabha seat candidate Prajwal Revanna was on Friday sent to police custody till 6 June after his arrest upon his return to India in connection with sexual abuse allegations against him. Mr Revanna was taken into custody by the specially constituted SIT team shortly after his arrival early today at Bengaluru airport on a flight from Munich. The Hassan lawmaker's lawyers will be allowed to meet him every day between 9.30 a.m. to 10.30 a.m, a Bengaluru court said on Friday. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case had sought 15-day custody of Mr Revanna in the first of three sexual assault cases filed against the JD-S MP. Prior to his arrest, Prajwal Revanna had moved a local court for anticipatory bail in a case of kidnapping of a rape victim. There was a posse of women police personnel led by women IPS officers waiting to execute the arrest warrant against the suspended JDS MP after he alighted from the plane from Munich. Mr Revanna was then taken in a jeep, accompanied by only women police, to the CID office. A SIT source said that it was a conscious call to Amid election campaign, Trump first former president convicted of crime AGENCIES NEW YORK, 31 MAY In a historic verdict that could impact the US presidential elections, with reverberations around the world, Donald Trump, who is in the middle of a campaign to reclaim the White House, has become the first former President to be convicted of crimes. The verdict came on Thursday from a jury of 12 ordinary citizens ~ seven men and five women ~ who convicted Mr Trump on 34 criminal charges relating to hush money paid before the 2016 election to buy the silence of a porn star who alleged that they had had a sexual tryst. US laws, however, do not prevent him from running for President or getting elected. Of the four criminal cases pending against him, this is the first to conclude with a verdict before the November election and the others may be delayed. Mr Trump was charged with falsifying business records to cover up the hush money payments by showing them on his company ledgers as legal expenses paid to his lawyer Michael Cohen, an offence under New York state laws. He faces a range of sentences from probation or a fine to prison sentences of as many as four years for each of the 34 charges. Even if he is sentenced to prison, he could still stay out and campaign with an appeal to a highe r court which is most likely. Leaving the court, Mr Trump said, "This was a disgrace. This was a rigged trial by a conflicted judge who was corrupt.” “This is long from over,” he added. Judge Juan Merchan, who presided over the case, set the sentencing for 11 July, just four days before the Republican Party Convention that is expected to formally declare him its candidate for President as he has won an overwhelming majority of the delegates in the primaries, the intra-party elections. send only women officers to arrest Prajwal, sending home a message that the 33-year leader had exploited his power as an MP with women. The airport security handed over Mr Revanna to the SIT, after which he was taken to the CID office in Bengaluru. Mr Revanna is facing allegations of sexual assault and criminal intimidation by a woman who used to work in his residence. Earlier in the month, his father HD Revan- na was arrested on sexual assault and kidnapping charges in a case linked to the Hassan MP. Earlier in the day, Mr Revanna's medical tests were conducted at the city’s Bowring Hospital. His mother Bhavani Revanna will be questioned by the SIT on Saturday. The grandson of former prime minister HD Deve Gowda is wanted in sex abuse cases after several of his purported obscene videos began circulating widely. Suspended Janata Dal (Secular) (JD-S) MP Prajwal Revanna was arrested by SIT at the Bengaluru Airport after he ANI landed on Friday. Robust 8.2 per cent GDP growth is only trailer of things to come: PM AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 31 MAY Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that the Q4 GDP growth data for 202324 shows "robust momentum in our economy, which is poised to further accelerate." "Thanks to the hardworking people of our country, 8.2 per cent growth for the year 2023-24 exemplifies that India continues to be the fastest growing major economy globally. As I have said, this is just a trailer of things to come," PM Modi said. The high growth rate has been driven by a strong performance of the manufacturing and mining sectors, according to figures released by the Ministry of Statistics on Friday. The growth has been propelled mainly due to significant growth of 9.9 per cent in the manufacturing sector in 2023-24 over -2.2 per cent in 2022-23 and a growth of 7.1 per cent in 2023-24 in the mining sector up from 1.9 per cent in 2022-23. The manufacturing sector plays a key role in providing quality jobs to the young graduates passing out of the country's engineering institutes and colleges. The government has rolled out incentives to boost the manufacturing of smartphones, electronic goods, drones, and semiconductors to help India emerge as an alternative supply chain to a geo-politically alienated China. This has also led to an increase in high-value exports. The government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sharply raised expenditure on large infrastructure projects in the highways, railways, and ports sectors to create more jobs, which has had a multiplier effect in creating more demand for goods and services and spurring growth in the economy. The ongoing growth momentum indicates the resilience of the Indian economy, based on a strong domestic market that has helped to protect the country from the global slowdown. India is ranked as the fastest-growing economy in the world, with China struggling to recover after the pandemic and the European countries narrowly escaping a recession. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 31MAY India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate in the quarter ending 31 March 2024 grew by 7.8 per cent, the data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) of Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) said on Friday. Notably, these figures surpass the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) estimate of 7 per cent. As per the government data, the GDP growth provisionally stands at 8.2 per cent for the Financial Year 2023-24 (FY24), as compared to the growth rate of 7 per cent in FY23. Real GDP has been estimated to grow by 8.2 per cent in FY 2023-24 as compared to the growth rate of 7per cent in FY 2022-23. Nominal GDP has witnessed a growth rate of 9.6% in FY 2023-24 over the growth rate of 14.2 per cent in FY 202223.Earlier, government estimates had placed GDP growth for FY24 at 7.6 per cent. The Real Gross Value Added After hectic two-month poll campaign, PM meditates at Vivekananda rock memorial STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 31 MAY After a hectic two-month campaign for the 2024 general elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spent thewhole day on Friday meditating at the Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of India in Tamil Nadu. Dhyan Mandapam, the venue of the Prime Minister’s meditation, is the same spot where philosopher-saint Swami Vivekananda had meditated in 1892. Mr Modi will continue his meditation till Saturday evening. The spot, located at the geographical end of India’s mainland, is also the meeting point of the Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. On reaching Kanyakumari last evening, the Prime Minister offered prayers at Bhagavathy Amman Temple. BJP leader C R Kesavan said: "PM Modi is meditating and praying at the divine feet of our Bharat Mata at Kanyakumari in the Vivekananda rock memorial. He is meditating and praying not for personal salvation but for the uplifting of Bharat." “PM Modi following in the footsteps of Swami Vivekananda to meditate will be a milestone event in our history, and on June 1st, after he completes 45 hours of meditation, he will come out with a renewed resolve and faith to serve the people of Bharat," Mr Kesavan said. He said PM Modi will be returning for a third term in office. "We are very sure that on June 4th, with the blessings of Swami Vivekananda and blessings of the people of Bharat, he will continue his historic journey to lead Bharat in the Kartavya kaal to become a Viksit Bharat," he said. The Vivekananda Rock Memorial, where PM Modi is meditating, stands as a symbol of national unity and inspiration. Recalling the significance of the location, Mr Kesavan narrated how in the 1890s, Swami Vivekananda, distressed by the poverty and lack of self-confidence among Indians under British rule, sought answers at this very rock. He prayed from 25 December to 27 December, 1892, and found enlightenment and a path forward. The BJP leader drew parallels between Vivekananda and PM Modi, highlighting that both share the name Narendra and are deeply inspired by similar ideals and said that the life and mission of Swami Vivekananda inspired PM Modi. "Vivekananda had said that the youth was a strong link between the glorious past and the grand future. PM Modi classes our youth, the Amrit Peedhi. PM Modi knows that for Viksit Bharat, the youth will be the driving ener- gy force," he added. The Prime Minister is known to undertake spiritual journeys at the end of election campaigns. In 2019, he visited Kedarnath, and in 2014, he visited Shivaji's Pratapgarh. Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday offered prayers at Sri Venkateswara temple in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. Accompanied by his wife Mrs Sonal Shah, the BJP leader reached the temple at around 8 am and spent half an hour there, participating in rituals. The election for 543 Lok Sabha seats is being held in seven phases starting 19 April and ending on 1 June. The counting of the votes will be held on 4 June. (GVA) has been estimated to grow by 6.3 per cent in Q4FY24. "This GVA growth has been mainly due to significant growth of 9.9 per cent in manufacturing sector in 2023-24 over a contraction of (-)2.2 per cent in 2022-23 and growth of 7.1 per cent in 2023-24 over 1.9 per cent in 2022-23 for mining sector," the government said in a press release. For the entire financial year 2023-24, GVA has grown by 7.2 per cent, compared to the growth rate of 6.7 per cent in FY23. Real GVA and Real GDP have been estimated to grow by 6.3 per cent and 7.8 per cent respectively in Q4 of FY 202324. Growth rates in Nominal GVA and Nominal GDP for Q4 of FY 2023-24 have been estimated at 8.0 per cent and 9.9 per cent respectively. Real GDP or GDP at Constant Prices is estimated to attain a level of Rs 173.82 lakh crore in the year 2023-24, against the First Revised Estimates (FRE) of GDP for the year 2022-23 of Rs 160.71 lakh crore. DGCA notice to AI after 20-hour delay NEW DELHI, 31 MAY Prime Minister Narendra Modi meditates at the Vivekananda Rock Memorial, where Swami Vivekananda did meditation, in Kanyakumari on Friday. He will meditate here till 1 June. ANI After reports of an Air India flight being delayed by 20 hours due to a technical issue with the aircraft, the Civil Aviation Ministry and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued show cause notices to the airline on Friday. Air India’s Delhi-San Francisco flight AI 183, scheduled for departure on Thursday afternoon was delayed for more than 20 hours due to a problem with the aircraft. Passengers had a harrowing time, with some reports saying that some of them fainted as the aircraft's air-conditioning system was non-functional. SNS
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