TUESDAY 09 JULY 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 REVANTH URGES LEADERS WHO LEFT CONGRESS TO RETURN ‘IT’S TIME FOR PARTY DRAMA TO END’ P4 SENSEX 79,960.38 Cloudy sky. Light rain/thundershower very likely to occur. Maximum & Minimum Temperature most likely to be around 33°C & 27°C respectively. RAINFALL: 02.9 mm RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 95% TEMPERATURE Max:32.2°C(-0.3) SUN RISES 04:58 hrs MOON RISES 06:54 hrs P9 NIFTY 24,320.55 WEATHER RAHUL URGES MODI TO VISIT MANIPUR RACE FOR T20 OPENER’S SLOT HEATS UP P10 ` vs $ 83.49 GOLD 74,560.00 P12 SILVER 95,000 Initiate action against wrong beneficiaries: SC BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 85.85 CM Mamata blames Centre for flood-like situation in N Bengal SC directs the NTA and CBI to make full disclosure on the paper leak, its mode & extent Min. 70% Min:27.6°C (+0.8) SUN SETS 18:25 hrs MOON SETS 20:29 hrs New Moon on 21 July THUMBNAILS National Cadet Corps (NCC) members perform during an Inter-Group Band Competition hosted by the North Eastern Region (NER), at Sarusajai Stadium in Guwahati on Monday.  ANI SC dismisses WB govt plea against courtmonitored CBI probe into Sandeshkhali cases: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea filed by the West Bengal government challenging the court-monitored CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) probe into land grabbing and extortion cases in Sandeshkhali. (PG3) PARMOD KUMAR NEW DELHI, 8 JULY tating “We should not be in self-denial (NEET-UG 2024 was compromised by paper leak) as it only adds to the problem, the Supreme Court on Monday directed the National Testing Agency (NTA) to make full disclosure about the nature of the leak, places where the leak took place and the lag of time between leak and conduct of the exam that took place on May 5, 2024, in which 23,33,287 candidates took the exam and 72,000 students did not. The court asked the NTA to state when the leak first took place, the manner in which the leaked question papers were disseminated and the lag of time between the occurrence of the leak and the conduct of the examination exam on May 5, 2024. The court further directed the NTA to inform about the steps taken by it to identify beneficiaries of the leak, identify the centres/cities where the leak took place and the modalities followed to identify beneficiaries of the leak. Besides seeking information from the NTA, Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud heading a bench also comprising Justice J B Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra directed the Central Bureau of Investigation S (CBI) to file a status report on its investigation and the material that has come to light as of today. The investigating agency, the court said, would also furnish information on the identified beneficiaries of the paper leak, identify the centres/cities where the leak took place and the modalities followed to identify beneficiaries of the leak. The status report by the CBI will be filed by the investigating officer investigating six FIRs registered in Patna, Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Jharkhand. “We are also of the view that CBI shall file a status report before this court on the status of the investigation as of today and material which has come to light till today,” the court said in its order. Having directed the full disclosure of information from the NTA and the status report from the CBI, the bench deferred passing any order on the merits and posted the matter for hearing on Thursday – July 11, 2024. “We are of the view that an order on merits would have to be deferred”, said CJI Chandrachud. On the conclusion of the hearing which lasted for over an hour and a half, the top court in its order asked the Central government and the National Testing Agency to inform whether it would be feasible to use data analytics in a cyber forensics unit or any agency employed by the government to identify suspect cases, so that modality can be formed to segregate tainted from the untainted students. The court further directed the Central government to set up a multi-disciplinary team of renowned experts to ensure due measures are taken to obviate any further breach in NEET papers. Stating that the experts on the committee could be from outside the government, the court directed that the constitution of the committee shall be informed to it (court) and the court shall decide if the committee shall go ahead or need people from a diverse pool of domain expertise and data analytics. On the plea by a number of petitioners seeking the cancellation of NEET-UG 2024 in its entity and its reconduct, Chief Justice Chandrachud said the parameters for the grant of such a prayer are well settled and they include – whether the leak of the paper is traceable to systemic levels, whether the breach is of the nature and scale that fouls the integrity of the entire examination process and whether it is not possible to segregate tainted (the beneficiaries of the paper leak) from the untainted students who appeared for the NEET-UG 2024. Having spelt out the parameters that would weigh in favour of retest, Chief Justice Chandrachud said that in a situation where a breach of sanctity affects the entirety of the exam and if segregation is not possible then retesting is needed. But if beneficiaries are identified then retest won’t be needed which involves students on such a wide spectrum. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, 8 JULY Chief minister Mamata Banerjee today hit out at the Centre for doing nothing to address the threat of floods in vast areas of north Bengal, which is facing a flood scare due to continuous rains there. In this contest, she asked the government officials, including the chief secretary, departmental secretaries, DMs to start round-the-clock monitoring. The chief minister said, “There is a flood scare looming large in north Bengal. Most of the rivers are in spate due continuous rains. Moreover, the breach of embankments of Ganga and erosion of land continue to be a problem as the Centre had done nothing worthwhile and did not ever carry out dredging.” Miss Banerjee said,” The Centre had not paid us a single penny in this regard.We have been working sincerely and spending crores of rupees on the issue for years. Moreover, PM in Moscow for talks with Putin on Hemant Soren wins trust vote in J’khand Assembly; likely to expand cabinet bilateral cooperation, global issues ASHOK TUTEJA NEW DELHI, 8 JULY Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Moscow to a red carpet welcome on Monday evening for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on bilateral cooperation as well as various regional and global issues, including the war in Ukraine. Mr Modi, who is accompanied by a high-powered delegation, was received at the Vnukovo International Airport by Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov and senior Indian officials. President Putin will hold a private dinner in honour of the Indian leader tonight. This will provide the two leaders an opportunity to discuss the entire gamut of bilateral ties and global developments in an informal setting. Tomorrow, Mr Modi will address the Indian community in Russia, pay respects at the Tomb of the Unknown Sol- dier in the Kremlin and visit an exhibition in Moscow. Thereafter, Mr Modi and Mr Putin will hold the 22nd IndiaRussia Annual Summit, which will be followed by delegationlevel talks between the two countries. Thereafter, Mr Modi will leave for Austria for the second leg of his overseas visit. In a statement, Mr Modi said, ''I look forward to reviewing all aspects of bilateral cooperation with my friend President Vladimir Putin and sharing perspectives on various regional and global issues. We seek to play a supportive role for a peaceful and stable region. The visit will also provide me an opportunity to meet the vibrant Indian community in Russia.'' He noted that the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia has advanced over the past ten years, including in the areas of energy, security, trade, investment, health, education, culture, tourism and peopleto-people exchanges. A whole range of issues, including defence, trade linkages, culture, education, civil nuclear cooperation, culture and people-to-people contacts, will be on the agenda of the Indian PM and the Russian President. They will also discuss various global developments. Given the personal chemistry between the two leaders, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict is bound to figure prominently during the meeting. The PM is expected to reiterate India's stand that this is not the time for war and that Newly-inducted minister takes oath twice due to goof-up during expansion of MP cabinet STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE BHOPAL, 8 JULY Congressman-turned-BJP leader Ramniwas Rawat on Monday became a minister in the Dr Mohan Yadav led BJP government of Madhya Pradesh twice in a matter of 15 minutes. The faux pas occurred when Rawat was first administered the oath as a minister of state at around 9.05 AM at the Governor House in Bhopal by MP Governor Mangubhai Patel. Shortly after, Rawat realised that he had taken oath as a minister of state. He pointed it out to Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav. Subsequently, Rawat took another oath at around 9.20 AM. This time he was sworn in as a cabinet minister. Nonetheless, till then Rawat had not resigned as a minister of state, for which he was sworn in 15 minutes ago. Also, sources said that Rawat was officially still a Congress MLA at the time of the swearing in, as he had not yet resigned from his Congress MLA post in the State Assembly either. Rawat is a six-time MLA from the Vijaypur assembly seat in Sheopur district. He is one of the seniormost Congress leaders of MP. He was the working President of the State Congress too. However, despite winning as MLA from the Vijaypur seat continuously for the sixth time in the 2023 Assembly polls, Rawat was sidelined by the Congress and since then he was unhappy. He finally joined the BJP on 30 April. His move to the BJP played a significant role in the BJP's easy win at the Morena seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, as it is assumed that Rawat took more than 40,000 votes with him being with the BJP. This was the first expansion of the Mohan Yadav government in seven months of its formation. The number of ministers has gone up to 31 from 30. The number of cabinet ministers has increased to 19 from 18. There are 12 ministers of state. Three ministerial berths are still vacant, as there can be a maximum of 34 ministers in the state government. The opposition Congress reacted sharply to the bizarre events in the oath-taking procedure. MP Congress spokesperson Avneesh Bundela charged that such a mistake has never occurred in the past anywhere in the country. the two warring nations must give dialogue and diplomacy a chance to resolve the crisis. India has been under intense pressure from the West to minimise its engagement with Russia for its ''aggression'' against Ukraine. However, India has been quite clear that while the war must end, it cannot afford to alienate Russia due to various factors, including Moscow's increasing proximity with China. The talks between the two leaders will also provide Mr Modi an opportunity to raise with Mr Putin the issue of Indian nationals who were misled into participating in Russia's war with Ukraine. While ten Indians have returned home, an estimated 30-45 Indian nationals are still working for the Russian Army. India has strongly taken up with Russian authorities the issue of their early repatriation. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE RANCHI, 8 JULY Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Monday won the trust vote in the state assembly with a comfortable majority of 45 MLAs. He had moved a confidence motion after he took office earlier this week when he got bail from the Jharkhand High Court in an alleged land scam. Jharkhand Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahto allotted one hour for debate on the confidence motion. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief replaced Champai Soren, who had taken over the post following the former's dramatic arrest in a land scam case around five months ago. He had resigned as the chief minister, shortly before his arrest on January 31 by the Enforcement Directorate. Hemant was granted bail by the Jharkhand High Court on June 28. “Today is July 4. On Jan 31, from the same place, I conveyed a message to you all on how the opposition has conspired against me. They were successful. For five months, they tried to keep me inside the jail by different means. We took the legal path, and people supported us,” Soren had said before taking the oath. In the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly, the JMM-Congress-RJD alliance holds 45 seats, with the JMM having 27 legislators, the Congress 17, and the RJD one seat. The Opposition BJP has 24 MLAs. The strength of the state assembly currently stands at 76 following several members’ transition to the Lok Sabha, resignations, and expulsions. This adjustment lowers the halfway mark to 38, facilitating Soren’s majority. Following the trust vote victory, Hemant is also expected to expand his cabinet later on Monday as Governor C P Radhakrishnan is likely to be out of the state after July 9. The JMM president held a meeting with coalition partners on Sunday in this regard. While Hemant was in jail, his party, JMM, won three Lok Sabha seats - two more than its tally in 2019. In 2019, JMM fought the assembly elections in alliance with the Congress and RJD and got a comfortable majority with 47 seats in the 81-member House. Govt cites data on job creation to refute Citigroup report on employment in India STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 8 JULY The Ministry of Labour and Employment on Monday rebutted a research report by Citigroup questioning India’s capacity to create sufficient employment opportunities even with seven per cent growth rate, and said the report had failed to use official data such as the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) and the Reserve Bank of India's KLEMS data. In a rebuttal, the Ministry said the report, quoted by some of the print and electronic media, had failed to “account for the comprehensive and positive employment data available from official sources.” The Ministry said it “rebuts such reports which do not analyse all official data sources available in the public domain.” The Ministry said according to PLFS and RBI's KLEMS data, India has generated more than eight crore (80 million) employment opportunities from 2017-18 to 202122. This translates to an average of over two crore (20 million) employment per year, despite the fact that world economy was hit by Covid19 pandemic during 2020-21. These figures contradict CMYK Citigroup’s assertion of India’s inability to generate sufficient employment, the Ministry said. This significant employment creation demonstrates the effectiveness of various government initiatives aimed at boosting employment across sectors. The Annual PLFS report depicts an improving trend in labour market indicators related to: (i) Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), (ii) Worker Population Ratio (WPR) and (iii) Unemployment Rate (UR) for persons of age 15 years and above during 2017-18 to 2022-23. For instance, the WPR i.e. employment has increased from 46.8 per cent in 2017-18 to 56 per cent in 2022-23. Similarly, the labour force participation has also increased in the country from 49.8 per cent in 2017-18 to 57.9 per cent in 2022-23. The Unemployment Rate has declined from 6.0 per cent in 2017-18 to a low of 3.2 per cent in 2022-23. The PLFS data shows that during the last five years, more employment opportunities have been generated compared to the number of people joining the labour force, resulting in a consistent reduction in the unemployment rate. This is a clear indicator of the positive impact of government policies on employment. Contrary to the report, which suggests a dire employment scenario, the official data reveals a more optimistic picture of the Indian job market, the Ministry said. the Centre was trying to renew the Farakka accord without consulting us. Even considering the fact that it would share water to Bangladesh from the Teesta river, which hardly has any water now. Moreover, the setting up of 14 hydel power projects in Sikkim too is leading to water crisis in north Bengal.” She also spoke about opening more flood shelters to evacuate people affected by the floods. “About nine flood shelters are already in place in Jalpaiguri, where about 500 evacuees have been accommodated. Then there is a fear of flash floods. Earlier, South Dinajpur used to be under water, but now we have been able to mitigate the problem there.” In this context, she even blamed the DVC, saying, “The DVC would in no way release waters without intimating us. We expect that the DVC would keep us in the loop by giving us a report on the issue of releasing waters on a dayto-day basis. Five soldiers killed as terrorists attack military truck with grenades in J-K STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE JAMMU, 8 JULY Five Army soldiers were killed and five others were injured when terrorists on Monday attacked a military truck with grenades in Billawar region in the Kathua district of the Jammu division. The injured soldiers were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment. Reports said that the Army truck came under terror attack in the Badnota village in the Machhedi area of the Lohai Malhar block in Billawar. Terrorists tossed grenades at the Army vehicle and opened fire at it from the hilltop. The soldiers retaliated and an encounter broke out in the area. A massive search operation has been launched in the jungle area by reinforcements of the Army, CRPF and J&K Police. Additional DGP (Jammu Range) Anand Jain said, “Exchange of fire between terrorists and security forces is going on in the Machedi area of Kathua district. Massive search operation has been launched after two soldiers were injured in a terrorist attack.” Officials said five soldiers have been martryred in the incident. The attack in the district came days after a CRPF jawan was killed and two Pakistani terrorists eliminated in the Hiranagar area of the Kathua district on 12 June. An Army soldier was injured yesterday in a terrorist attack in the Rajouri district of Jammu and two soldiers lost their lives in the Kulgam encounter. Six terrorists were also neutralised in Kashmir. Terrorist attacks particularly in the Jammu region have heightened in the past few weeks. Jammu’s Reasi district was rocked by a terror attack at a pilgrims’ bus on 9 June in which 9 persons were killed and 41 injured.