FRIDAY 12 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 BALANCED DIPLOMACY SOME STRAY THOUGHTS ON INDIA’S SPORTING JOURNEY P7 SENSEX 79,897.3427.43 WEATHER Generally cloudy sky. Possibility of rain/thunder shower towards night. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 34 °C and 28 °C respectively. RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 87 % THUMBNAILS A group of students met Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan at his residence over the NEET-UG examination, in New Delhi on Thursday.  ANI PARMOD KUMAR NEW DELHI, 11 JULY enying any mass malpractice in the conduct of the NEET-UG 2024 exam, the Central government has told the Supreme Court that data analytics done by the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, shows that there is neither any indication of mass malpractice nor a localised set of candidates being benefitted leading to abnormal scores. Apparently, this is in reference to 67 candidates scoring perfect 720 marks. In 2020 one candidate scored perfect 720 marks, three in 2021, one in 2022 D Farmers’ stir: Farmers’ body Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Thursday announced it will resume its agitation over its pending demands, including a legal guarantee to MSP and loan waiver, and submit a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi. The SKM made the announcement a day after its general body met but indicated that its agitation this time may not be a march to Delhi. and two in 2023. The Central government, in its affidavit, filed on Thursday, also said that the counselling will be conducted in four rounds starting from the third week of July. Assuring that wrongdoers would not be permitted to go scot-free, the central government has said: “For any candidate, if it is found that he/she has been the beneficiary of any malpractice, the candidature of such person would be cancelled at any stage during the counselling process or even afterwards.” Terming as fake the video showing a photo of the NEET-UG paper leaked on Telegram on 4 May, the National Testing Agency EAM calls for deeper cooperation among Bay of Bengal nations STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 11 JULY External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday called upon the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) countries to infuse new energies, new resources and a new commitment into cooperation among the seven members of the grouping. “For India, BIMSTEC represents the intersection of its ‘Neighbourhood First’ outlook, the ‘Act East Policy’ and the ‘SAGAR’ vision,” he said, addressing the BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers’ Retreat. The meeting is being attended by the foreign ministers or senior representatives of the governments of India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Myanmar. Recalling that the BIMSTEC countries had last met in a similar format in Bangkok in July last year, Mr Jaishankar said much has happened since then and this should spur their endeavours to deepen and broaden the activities of BIMSTEC. The BIMSTEC Charter, for a start, has come into effect from 20 May this year. “Global and regional developments also make it imperative that we find more solutions amongst ourselves,” he said. He said there are longstanding goals such as capacity-building and economic cooperation that have acquired a new urgency. ''And not least, a grouping that is so com- plementary and so congenial in its membership should surely harbour higher aspirations. Our hope is that these would be expressed as shared and ambitious BIMSTEC Vision.” Mr Jaishankar regretted that collaborative potential of the Bay of Bengal has long remained underrealised. ''Our challenge is to change that for the better, and to do so rapidly. The retreat is meant to exchange ideas openly, candidly and fruitfully. We all benefited from the last such exercise in Bangkok. This one now has a particular importance as it serves to prepare strong outcomes for the Summit to be held later in the year,” he said. The retreat in New Delhi, he said, will revolve around connectivity, institutional building, cooperation in trade and business, collaboration in health and space, digital public infrastructure. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested key accused Rakesh Ranjan alias Rocky from Bihar's Nalanda in connection with the NEET paper leak case. Ranjan's arrest brings a significant advancement in the investigation, the agency said on Thursday. Rakesh Ranjan, who is believed to be a one of key player in the NEET paper leak network, was taken into custody following a planned operation by the CBI. “Before his arrest, the CBI set a trap and conducted raids at four locations in the vicinity of Patna and in Kolkata,” a senior CBI official told ANI. Ranjan's arrest is seen as a crucial step towards uncovering the full extent of the malpractice that has cast a shadow over the integrity of one of India's most important entrance examinations, the agency said. The CBI's investigation has so far resulted in the arrest of over dozen of suspects, each allegedly playing a role in the leak and distribution of the NEET exam papers. in its affidavit has said: “The timestamp was manipulated to create a false impression of an early leak.” Stating that it has carried out an analysis of distribution of marks of candidates in NEET-UG 2024 at National, State and City level, the NTA has said: “This analysis indicates that the distribution of marks is quite normal and there seems to be no extraneous factor, which would influence the distribution of marks”. The SC on Thursday adjourned for 18 July the hearing on a batch of petitions seeking the cancellations of the NEET-UG 2024 exam on the grounds of paper leak and other irregularities in the conduct of the examination on 5 May 2024. UNITED NATIONS, 11 JULY The population of India is expected to increase through 2054 and potentially peak in the second half of the century or later, according to a report released by the United Nations on World Population Day, celebrated annually on 11 July. It is expected that the world’s population will peak in the mid-2080s, growing over the next 60 years from 8.2 billion people in 2024 to around 10.3 billion in the mid-2080s, and then will return to around 10.2 billion by the end of the century, stated the report titled 'World Population Prospects 2024'. The size of the world’s population in 2100 is now expected to be six per cent lower — or 700 million fewer — than anticipated a decade ago. As A nurse places newborn babies on a bed on the occasion of World Population Day, at the Government Kasturba Gandhi Hospital for Women and Children in Chennai on 11 July 2023. ANI of 2024, population size has peaked in 63 countries and areas, including China, Germany, Japan, and the Russian Federation, and the total population of this group is projected to decline by 14 per cent over the next 30 years. For another 48 countries and areas, including Brazil, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Turkey, and Vietnam, the population is projected to peak between 2025 and 2054. "In the remaining 126 countries, including India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and the United States of America, the population is expected to increase through 2054 and potentially peak in the second half of the century or later," the report pointed out. In nine countries of this group, including Angola, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Mob assault video: BJP, section of media deliberately maligning the state, says CM STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday accused the BJP and a section of the media of maligning the state after an old video of mob assault in Ariadha in North 24-Parganas began circulating just before the by-elections for four Assembly constituencies held yesterday. Speaking to mediapersons at the NSCB international airport, Miss Banerjee also held former BJP MP from Barrakpore Arjun Singh responsible for the rise of local goon Jayanta Singh, the alleged mastermind behind the Ariadha incident. Jayanta Singh has been arrested by police after the video showing his gang members assaulting people, including a woman, in his den, went viral. Miss Banerjee said the two-year-old incident happened when Arjun Singh was BJP MP of Barrackpore Lok Sabha constituency. There was a BJP MP in Barrackpore when Jayanta amassed wealth and rose to fame. He also tried to foil the 2021 Assembly election, Miss Banerjee said. She accused a section of Miss Banerjee, who was leaving for Mumbai, said that she will separately meet Shiv SenaUBT chief Uddhav Thackeray, NCP-SP chief Sharad Pawar and the Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav during her two-day trip. the TV channels of showing the old incident repeatedly at the behest of the BJP ahead of Wednesday's byelections. “This was done deliberately to create false propaganda before the polls. Even an event of 2021 was highlighted. I might adopt legal steps against such things,” the chief minister said. Miss Banerjee, who was leaving for Mumbai, said that she will separately meet Shiv Sena-UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray, NCP-SP chief Sharad Pawar and the Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav during her two-day trip to attend the marriage function of industrialist Mukesh Ambani's son Anant Ambani. “I will meet Uddhav Thackeray, whom I have not met for quite some time, there tomorrow. I will have political discussions with him. I will also go to the residence of Sharad Pawar and meet him. I heard that Akhilesh Yadav will be there. I will also meet him. I will be coming back to Kolkata on Saturday,” she said. However, she did not specify the subjects of her discussion with the three regional party leaders. Minor boys gang-rape, Budget 2024: PM convenes meeting murder 8-yr-old in Andhra with economists, sectoral experts STATESMAN NEW SERVICE HYDERABAD, 11 JULY In a horrific incident, three minor boys allegedly gangraped and killed an eightyear-old girl in Nandyal district of Andhra Pradesh. Police had pressed sniffer dogs after the girl remained missing for four days. Although one of the boys confessed to the rape and killing, the body of the victim is yet to be traced. According to police the girl, who was studying in class III went missing on 7 July and her father had registered a police complaint saying she did not come back after going off to play in a nearby playground. After failing to trace the girl the police had brought in a sniffer dog which led to the three boys studying in classes VI and VII of the same school as the victim. One of the boys confessed that they had called her to play with them and later raped her India’s population will peak in 2nd half of the century, says UN report STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 83.000.27 KOLKATA, 11 JULY CBI arrests key accused in NEET paper leak case STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 11 JULY P12 SILVER 95,5001000 Counselling to start from third week of July: Central govt to Supreme Court Full Moon on 21 July Dharmaveer Swarajya Rakshak Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Mumbai Coastal Road (South) project has been temporarily opened for traffic, in Mumbai on Thursday.  ANI GOLD 73,420220 ‘No indication of mass malpractice in NEET’ Min: 29.2°C (+2.3) SUN SETS 18:25 hrs MOON SETS 22:6 hrs TEMPERATURE P10 ` vs $ 83.56 Min. 60 % Max: 35.3 °C (+2.5) SUN RISES 04:60 hrs MOON RISES 09:32 hrs P6 NIFTY 24,315.958.50 GAMBHIR WANTS TEN DOESCHATE IN COACHING STAFF RAHUL REITERATES DEMAND FOR PM’S VISIT TO MANIPUR According to police the girl, who was studying in class III went missing on 7 July and her father had registered a police complaint saying she did not come back after going off to play in a nearby playground. at a desolate spot near the irrigation pump house. Apprehensive they would be caught if the girl complained to her parents the trio murdered her by pushing her into the canal. Following the confession police are searching the backwaters of river Krishna near the Muchumarri Lift irrigation pump house. Since the water in the canal is quite deep during the monsoon season authorities say there is a possibility that the body has been washed away. The SDRF was also pressed into service with boats to search for the body of the victim. The incident has sent shockwaves throughout the state. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 11 JULY Ahead of the presentation of the Union Budget, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with economists and sectoral experts on Thursday. The meeting also saw the participation of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Notable figures including Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Bery and other members of the planning body attended the meeting. At the gathering, in-depth discussions took place aimed at shaping the economic direction of the country for the coming fiscal year. One of the main subjects of discussion was job generation. Among the experts and economists who attended were Surjit Bhalla, A K Bhattacharya, Prof Ashok Gulati, Gaurabh Ballabh, Amita Batra, Mahendra Dev, and K V Kamath. The Pre-Budget con- Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a meeting with economists ahead of the Union budget which will be presented on 23 July, in New Delhi on Thursday. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is also present.  ANI sultations for Union Budget 2024-25 started from 19 June 2024 onward in the Ministry of Finance chaired by Finance Minister and concluded on 5 July. In the course of the inperson consultations, over 120 invitees across 10 stakeholder groups, including experts and representatives from farmer associations and agriculture economists; trade unions; education and health sector; employment and skilling; MSME; trade and services; industry; economists; financial sector and capital markets; as well as, infrastructure, energy and urban sector, participated. Notably, in her address to the joint sitting of Parliament last month, President Droupadi Murmu indicated that the government would come out with historic steps to accelerate the pace of reforms. Centre sets up panel to verify candidature claims, other details of IAS probationer Puja Khedkar AGENCIES Republic of Congo, Niger, and Somalia, very rapid growth is projected, with their total population doubling between 2024 and 2054. The demographic landscape has evolved greatly in recent years, said Li Junhua, UN Under-SecretaryGeneral for Economic and Social Affairs. "In some countries, the birth rate is now even lower than previously anticipated, and we are also seeing slightly faster declines in some high-fertility regions. The earlier and lower peak is a hopeful sign. This could mean reduced environmental pressures from human impacts due to lower aggregate consumption. However, slower population growth will not eliminate the need to reduce the average impact attributable to the activities of each individual person," he said. NEW DELHI, 11 JULY The Central government on Thursday constituted a single-member committee to verify the candidature claims and other details of Puja Manorma Dilip Khedkar (photo), probationary IAS officer posted in Pune, who was transferred to Washim in central Maharashtra on Tuesday after she was found at the center of a controversy over her alleged misuse of power as a civil servant. The Ministry of Personnel made the announcement in a statement. It said that the committee is chaired by a senior officer of the rank of Additional Secretary under Central government and it will submit its report in two weeks. “The Central Government has constituted a singlemember Committee, chaired CMYK Ms Khedkar is a 2023batch IAS officer of the Maharashtra cadre, who secured an AIR of 841 in the UPSC exam, sparked a controversy recently when she used her private Audi car with a red-blue beacon light and VIP number plate by a senior officer of the rank of Additional Secretary to Government of India to ver- ify the candidature claims and other details of IAS Puja Manorma Dilip Khedkar, a candidate of Civil Services Examination-2022 and earlier CSEs. The Committee will submit its report in 2 weeks," reads the Ministry of Personnel statement. Ms Khedkar is a 2023batch IAS officer of the Maharashtra cadre, who secured an All India Rank (AIR) of 841 in the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exam, sparked a controversy recently when she used her private Audi car with a red-blue beacon light and VIP number plate. She also demanded facilities that are not available to probationary officers in the IAS. According to a report submitted by Pune collector Suhas Diwse to the General Administration Department, Khedkar repeatedly demanded that she be provided with a separate cabin, car, residential quarters, and a peon even before joining the duty as a trainee on 3 June. However, she was denied the facilities. The IAS trainee was also accused of removing the nameplate of a senior official at the Pune collector's office when he allowed her to use his ante-chamber as her office. Ms Khedkar allegedly submitted fake disability and Other Backward Class (OBC) certificates to clear the civil services exam. Reports claimed that she had also submitted a mental illness certificate. In April 2022, she was asked to report at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, for verification of her disability certificate, but she did not do so, citing Covid infection.