WEDNESDAY 19 JUNE 2024 www.thestatesman.com Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR PANNUN MURDER PLOT: NIKHIL GUPTA PLEADS NOT GUILTY CABINET COLLAPSE P6 SENSEX 77,301.14308.37 WEATHER Generally cloudy sky. Rain / thundershower likely towards night. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 34 °C and 29 °C respectively. P5 NIFTY 23,557.9092.30 GOLD 72,220110 SC on NEET: Even 0.001 pc negligence needs action Bench told NTA that ‘it should come forward & admit (any negligence)’ NEW DELHI, 18 JUNE Max. 92 % Min. 71 % Max: 35.3°C (+1.5) SUN RISES 04:52 hrs MOON RISES 15:2 hrs Min: 30.4°C (+3.4) SUN SETS 18:23 hrs MOON SETS 01:38 hrs TEMPERATURE Full Moon on 22 June THUMBNAILS A portion of a bridge over the Bakra River collapsed in Araria, Bihar on Tuesday. ANI Airports in Patna, Vadodara receive bomb threats, security heightened: Security has been heightened at airports in Gujarat's Vadodara and Bihar's Patna after bomb threat emails were received by the airport authorities on Tuesday. "A bomb threat email was received by Patna airport. Security heightened at the airport. Further details awaited," Patna Airport's Director said. Security was also tightened at Vadodara airport after a bomb threat email was received by the airport authorities. Curfew imposed in Balasore after violent clash STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE BALASORE, 18 JUNE Curfew was imposed in Balasore town till Tuesday midnight following violent clashes between two groups which began from Patrapads and spread to other areas on Monday. There are reports that a place of worship and a few shops were damaged by a mob. A house was allegedly torched by the miscreants. Stray incidents of stone pelting also took place at night despite the presence of police. The curfew order directs closure of all shops , business establishments and other establishments. However emergency services, mainly medical, were exempted, the order said. The district administration has also suspended internet services for 48 hours. Balasore SP Ms Sagarika Nath said “no movement will be allowed”. She claimed that the situation is under control. P10 ` vs $ 83.42 PARMOD KUMAR RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY he Supreme Court on Tuesday said that even if there was 0.001 per cent negligence in the conduct of the NEET-UG 2024, the National Testing Agency (NTA) must come forward and admit it, as it issued notice in another set of petitions seeking re-conduct of the examination for admission to undergraduate medical courses in government and private institutions across the country. Stating that “[e]ven if there is 0.001 per cent negligence (in the conduct of NEET-UG 2024) it should be looked into”, a vacation bench of Justices Vikram Nath and S V N Bhatti told the National Testing Agency that “it should come forward and admit it” and “We expect timely action from you”. “Even if there is 0.001 per cent negligence on the part of anyone it should be thoroughly dealt with. All these matters ought not to be treated as adversarial litigation,” Justice Bhatti said as the bench tagged the pres- T Members of several students organisations stage a protest over the NEET issue in Hyderabad on Tuesday. ANI ent set of petitions with the earlier ones which are listed for hearing on 8 July 2024. The court gave the Central government and the NTA two weeks’ time to respond to the fresh petitions. Notwithstanding the denial of alleged leakage of NEET-UG 2024 paper at certain centres and irregularities in the conduct of the exam, Justice Bhatti further said: “Imagine a situation where a person who has played fraud on the system, becomes a doctor and starts treating patients, he is more deleterious towards society.” The bench told counsels appearing for the Centre and NTA that children have prepared for the The bench tagged the present set of petitions with the earlier ones which are listed for hearing on 8 July 2024. The court gave the Centre and the National Testing Agency two weeks’ time to respond to the fresh petitions. examination and “we cannot forget their labour”. As the advocate appearing for one of the petitioners referred to a conversation with the advocates appearing for the Central government and the NTA outside the courtroom before the matter was called, Justice Bhatti said:“Your (the NTA and the Central government) stance ought not to change the moment you enter the court, representing the Agency which is responsible for conducting the examination.You must come forward and admit mistake.” The observations from the vacation bench came in the course of the hear- PM: Kisan Samman Nidhi is world’s largest direct benefit transfer scheme Assam Home Secy commits suicide at hospital after wife dies STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Assam Home Secretary Shiladitya Chetia committed suicide at a private hospital in Guwahati following his wife's death on Tuesday, officials said. Chetia, an IPS officer of the 2009 batch, was on leave for the last four months due to his wife’s ill health. According to police sources, Chetia’s wife was battling cancer and she passed away at a private hospital here. Following her death, the senior police official shot himself with his service pistol in the hospital. Chetia’s wife was in the fourth stage of carcinoma and was under treatment at a private hospital in the city for the last several days. “Shiladitya Chetia was mentally down due to his wife’s ill health for the last few days and the unfortunate incident happened today. He was staying at the hospital and looking after his wife," a police official said on the condition of anonymity. AGENCIES VARANASI, 18 JUNE Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi has now become the world's largest direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme. “Till now, Rs 3.15 lakh crore has been deposited into the bank accounts of crores of farmer families across the country. Additionally, Rs 700 crore has been deposited into the accounts of farmers in Varanasi district. I am happy that technology has been utilised more effectively in the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi to ensure all beneficiaries receive their entitled benefits. Just a few months ago, during the Bharat Sankalp Yatra, more than one crore farmers joined this scheme,” he said. Mr Modi arrived in Kashi (Varanasi) on Tuesday on a two-day visit and addressed a farmers' rally at Mehdiganj. The PM released the 17th instalment of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi. Through this, Rs 20,000 crore will be disbursed to 9.26 crore beneficiary farmers across the country. The PM also handed over Krishi Sakhi certificates to over 30,000 women from self-help groups.“We have witnessed the work of sisters as Asha workers. Sisters play a crucial role in advancing Digital India. Now, we will see farming getting new strength in the form of Krishi Sakhi. Today, 30,000 certificates have been awarded to support groups under Krishi Sakhi, which is currently operational in 12 states,” he said. GUWAHATI, 18 JUNE Centre implements measures to meet high power demand amid heat wave STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 18 JUNE Amid the prevailing heat wave resulting in increased demand for power supply, the Ministry of Power has implemented a series of measures to meet the highest-ever peak demand of 250 GW during this ongoing summer season. The ministry on Tuesday said that the northern region of India has been experiencing high demand conditions due to a prevailing heat wave since 17 May. Despite these challenging conditions, the highest-ever peak demand of 89 GW in the northern region was successfully met. This achievement was made possible by importing 25 to 30 per cent of the region's power requirement from neighbouring regions. All utilities have been advised to maintain a high state of alert and minimise forced outages People cover themselves for protection from a dust storm on a hot summer day at Sangam in Prayagraj on Tuesday. ANI of equipment, it said. According to the IMD forecast, heat wave conditions in North-West India are expected to abate from 20 June. The ministry highlighted that it has taken measures like Imported Coal Based (ICB) Plants Operation to continue the generation support during the high demand period. Minimum planned maintenance of generating units has been scheduled during this period. Efforts are being made to minimise partial and forced outages to maximise the availability of generation capacity, the ministry said. Additionally, plants under long-term outage have been sensitised to revive their units to ensure maximum power generation. All generating companies (GENCOs) have been advised to keep their GAMBHIR INTERVIEWS FOR INDIA HEAD COACH’S ROLE BEFORE SUMMIT WITH KIM, PUTIN VOWS THEY’LL BEAT SANCTIONS TOGETHER plants in healthy condition to ensure full capacity availability for optimal operation of various generation sources and adequate coal stocks are being maintained at coalbased thermal stations. Further, the hydro stations have been advised to conserve water during solar hours and dispatch maximum generation during non-solar hours to ensure power adequacy at all times. The ministry has directed the gas-based power plants to provide grid support. Additionally, around 860 MW of additional gas-based capacity (non-NTPC) has been tied up through competitive bidding specifically for this summer. Furthermore, approximately 5000 MW of NTPC gas-based capacity has been instructed to be ready for immediate operation as per system requirements. CMYK ing of another set of petitions by Amulya Vijaya Pinapati, Nitin Vijay and others, praying for the NEET-UG 2024 to be conducted again in the wake of widespread allegations of paper leak, irregularities and a large number of candidates getting perfect scores in the result published on 4 June. On 13 June, the NTA had informed the Supreme Court that the score-cards of 1,563 NEET-UG 2024 candidates who were given “grace marks” to compensate for the loss of time in commencing the paper will be cancelled, with an option given to them to take re-test. P12 SILVER 91,500500 BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 82.150.60 Group of Ministers discusses candidates for post of LS Speaker Toll in rail mishap rises to 10, probe launched STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 18 JUNE A key meeting of the Group of Ministers was held at the residence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday evening to discuss candidates for the post of Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha and also strategy for the upcoming Parliament session which will commence on 24 June, sources said. The sources further said the meeting, which was also attended by Union Ministers S Jaishankar, Manohar Lal, Dharmendra Pradhan, Kiren Rijiju, and Chirag Paswan, discussed ways to ensure better floor coordination among the NDA partners during the session. Rajnath Singh has been given the responsibility to build a consensus for the election of the Speaker's post among the alliance parties as well as opposition parties. During this Parliament session, the newly elected MPs will be sworn in, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha will be elected and President Droupadi Murmu will deliv- STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE SILIGURI, 18 JUNE er her customary address to Parliament. The election to the post of Speaker is scheduled to be held on 26 June during the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha. The President will address a joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on 27 June. Recently, Janata Dal (United) leader KC Tyagi made it clear that his party, along with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), would back the candidate nominated by the BJP for the key post in the Lower House of Parliament. The JD-U leader’s comments are an indication that the saffron party is likely to put up its nominee for the Speaker’s post and that the candidate may not be from its allies. The last session of the 17th Lok Sabha (Budget session) was held between 31 January and 10 February. The number of fatalities following the collision between the Kanchanjunga Express and a goods train near Rangapani railway station in Darjeeling district on Monday has risen to 10. According to Dr. Sandeep Sengupta, Dean of the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital, two individuals, including a six-year-old girl, passed away last night, succumbing to their injuries. Morethan30passengerswho were injured are receiving medical care. All of them are in stable condition, with three of themhavingundergonesurgery, Dr Sengupta added. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee yesterday met the injured passengers at the hospital. Meanwhile, Chief Commissioner of Railway Safety, for the North-east Frontier Railway, Janak K. Garg, has initiated an official investigation into the incident. (See Pg 2)
The Statesman is one of India's oldest English newspapers. It was founded in Kolkata in 1875 and is directly descended from The Friend of India (founded 1818). The Englishman (founded 1821) was merged with The Statesman in 1934. The Delhi edition of The Statesman began publication in 1931. The Statesman Weekly is a compendium of news and views from the Kolkata and Delhi editions. Printed on airmail paper, it is popular with readers outside India. The Statesman (average weekday circulation approximately 180,000) is a leading English newspaper in West Bengal. The Sunday Statesman has a circulation of 230,000.
