PROBE NOD AGAINST K’TAKA CM GIVEN LAWFULLY, COURT TOLD RBI GOVERNOR ATTRIBUTES SLOWER Q1 GROWTH TO REDUCED GOVT SPENDING 01 SEPTEMBER 2024 www.thestatesman.com X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 RUBINA FRANCIS WINS BRONZE MEDAL IN WOMEN’S 10M AIR PISTOL SH1 FINAL PAGE 12 PAGE 4 PAGE 5 INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 PAGES 12 |` 5.00|LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR WEATHER Partly cloudy sky. Light rain / thundershower likely to occur in some areas. Maximum and Minimum Temperature most likely to be around 33˚C and 27˚C respectively. ‘With more women judges, gender landscape changing’ CJI said that Kerala is in a leading position with 72 per cent of judges being women RAINFALL: 2.6 mm RELATIVE HUMIDITY PARMOD KUMAR Max. 98% Min. 68% NEW DELHI, 31 AUGUST Min: 27.6˚C (+1.0) SUN SETS 17:55 hrs MOON SETS 16:26 hrs P TEMPERATURE Max:32.8˚C (+0.3) SUN RISES 05:19 hrs MOON RISES 02:38 hrs New Moon on 3 September THUMBNAILS Tribal community women take part in the 'Mukti Diwas' observation on the 72nd anniversary of the abolishment of the Criminal Tribes Act. n ANI IMD predicts above-normal rainfall for September: Indian Metrological Department stated in a virtual press conference on Saturday that the country is expected to receive above-normal rainfall in September. IMD added that the monthly rainfall for September is likely to exceed 109 per cent of the long-period average of 167.9 mm. Heavy to very heavy rainfall is anticipated in the northwest region, including Uttarakhand, parts of Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Rajasthan, & adjoining areas of MP. ointing to the gender demographic shift among the judiciary at district level across the country, the Chief Justice of India, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud on Saturday said that an increasing number of women are joining the district judiciary, with Kerala in a leading position with 72 per cent of judges being women. Describing the changing gender dynamics as a picture of a promising judiciary of the future, the Chief Justice said: “Women consisted of 58 per cent of the total recruitment for Civil Judges in Rajasthan in 2023. 66 per cent of the judicial officers appointed in Delhi in 2023 were women. In Uttar Pradesh, The Election Commission (EC) on Saturday rescheduled the date of polling for the Haryana Assembly elections to 5 October from 1 October. The poll panel also revised the date of counting of votes for Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections to 8 October from 4 October. While announcing the revised date for polling in Haryana, the EC said in a statement: “Representations have been received from National Political Parties, State Political Party and All India Bishnoi Mahasabha regarding mass movement of people of Bishnoi community of Haryana to Rajasthan to participate in STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 31 AUGUST PM Narendra Modi on Saturday underlined the need for swift justice when it comes to crimes against women, asserting that the faster justice is delivered in cases related to atrocities against women, the greater will be the assurance of safety for half the population of the country. According to the revised schedule issued by the EC, the notification for the Haryana elections will be issued on 5 September and the last date of filing of nominations is 12 September. centuries old Asoj Amavasya festival celebration. It may deny voting rights to large number of people and may lead to reduce voters' participation in general election to legislative assembly of Haryana." “The Commission, having considered these representations, has decided to change the date of poll only for Haryana from 1st October (Tuesday) to 5th October Mid-air engine failure forces emergency landing at city airport; all passengers safe STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, 31 AUGUST Mid-air engine trouble forced an Indigo aircraft to make an emergency landing at Kolkata’s NSCBI Airport last night. All passengers on board the aircraft are safe. According to sources at Kolkata Airport, around 10:30 p.m. on Friday, an Indigo flight 6E 0573 bound for Bengaluru, carrying 163 passengers and six crew members, took off from Kolkata airport. Reports indicated that while the aircraft was still in Kolkata's airspace, the addressed her disrespectfully and with condescension. The Chief Justice said that the situation appeared to arise “solely due to her age and gender”. “Such instances can be disheartening. Your support to your younger colleagues at such times would be invaluable and would strengthen the fabric of the judicial institution,” the CJI said. The inaugural function of the two-day conference of the District Judiciary was also attended by the PM and Minister of Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal. Quick justice will ensure safety for women: PM He was inaugurating the National Conference of District Judiciary organised by the Supreme Court of India at Bharat Mandapam here. Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, Supreme Court Judges, Chief Justices of High Courts and district judges were present. The Prime Minister said that atrocities against women and the safety of children were matters of grave EC reschedules polling date for Haryana Assembly polls STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 31 AUGUST 54 per cent of the appointments for Civil Judge (Junior Division) in the batch of 2022 were women. In Kerala, 72 per cent of the total number of judicial officers are women.” “These are a few examples which paint the picture of a promising judiciary of the future”, the CJI said Speaking at the inaugural function of the National Conference of the District Judiciary, Chief Justice Chandrachud, while pointing to the changing gender equation in the district judiciary, expressed concern over the incident of disrespect with a young female judge. Narrating the experiences shared by a young district judge from a rural court, the CJI stated that while most members of the bar were respectful, a few lawyers frequently pilot noticed that the right engine was not functioning properly. The pilot immediately contacted Kolkata Air Traffic Control and requested permission for an emergency landing, which was promptly granted. A full emergency was declared, the airport’s runways were cleared and the aircraft landed safely. Upon landing, the passengers were evacuated from the aircraft. A passenger on the flight was reported as claiming to have seen fire in one of the engines, but this has not been confirmed by either the airline or NSCB airport officials. Aviation engineers and fire department personnel arrived at the scene to assess the problem with the aircraft. The exact nature of the mechanical issue with the aircraft's engine is not yet known, but passengers expressed their frustration over the incident. (Saturday),” the Election Commission said. According to the revised schedule issued by the EC, the notification for the Haryana elections will be issued on 5 September and the last date of filing of nominations is 12 September. Scrutiny of nominations will take place on 13 September and the last date for withdrawal of candidature is 16 September. On 16 August, the EC announced that Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir will held in three phases with the first phase of voting on 18 September, second on 25 September and the third phase on 1 October, while in Haryana polling was to be held in a single phase on 1 October. concern for society. He said that there were several stringent laws to deal with crimes against women and there was a need to ensure better coordination in the criminal justice system to ensure swift justice.The PM observed that in 2019, the government started a scheme to establish fast track special courts. Under this, there is a provision of deposition centres for important witnesses. The Indian Army launched the first phase of Project NAMAN, in the presence of Chief of Army Staff, General Upendra Dwivedi. The project is designed to provide dedicated support and services to Defence Pensioners, Veterans and their families. It is centred around the implementation of the SPARSH (System for Pension Administration Raksha), a digital pension system, which streamlines pensionrelated processes for Defence Pensioners, addressing the need for accessible facilitation points for Veterans and Next of Kin (NOK) across the country. Speaking at the launch, General Dwivedi empha- sised the importance of Project NAMAN in ensuring that the veterans and their families receive the care and support they deserve. He highlighted the project's role in extending these essential services to the entire resident population of military stations and surrounding localities. The project involves the establishment of reception and facilitation centres, enabled through a tripartite MoU between the Indian Army’s Directorate of Indian Army Veterans (Adjutant General's Branch), Common Service Centre (CSC) eGovernance India Limited, and HDFC Bank Limited signed last year in September 2023. Indian Embassy in Laos rescues 47 Indians trapped in cyber-scam centres in Golden Triangle SEZ STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 31 AUGUST The Indian Embassy in Laos on Saturday informed that it has successfully rescued 47 Indians who were trapped in cyber-scam centres at the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Bokeo Province of Laos. “Of these, 29 were handed over to the Embassy by Laos authorities after their crackdown on illegal activities in Golden Triangle SEZ, while other 18 had approached the Embassy in distress, seeking help," the Embassy said in a statement. Embassy officials travelled from capital Vientiane to Bokeo to actively liaise with local authorities for their rescue. Transport from Bokeo to Vientiane was organised by the Embassy, as also accommodation and food arrangements for the Indians upon arrival in Vientiane. Indian Ambassador to Laos, Prashant Agrawal, met the group upon arrival to discuss the challenges they faced, and to advise further course of action. The Embassy has undertaken and completed all procedural requirements of Laos authorities for their repatriation to India. Of these, 30 have already safely returned to India or are on their way, while the remaining 17 are awaiting travel arrangements to be firmed up and would be leaving Laos soon. Ambassador Agrawal emphasised that “ensuring „Decades ago, we all consciously chose to overlook the nature of Chinese production and the advantages that they enjoyed in a system where they got a level playing field with all the advantages that they brought to bear," Mr Jaishankar said. He said District Monitoring Committees, which have District Judges, District Magistrates and Superintendents of Police as its members, can become more active and provide coordination among different parts of the judicial system. The PM said about 4.5 crore cases are pending in the district courts. The courts are being modernised and provided new technology. Army launches project to provide dedicated support to veterans and their families STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 31 AUGUST We are not the only country in the world which is having a debate about China: EAM safety and well-being of Indians is a matter of top priority for the Embassy. Any request for help received from those in distress is taken up urgently and promptly and all due assistance extended.” The Embassy has so far rescued 635 Indians and ensured their safe return to India. “We thank Laos authorities for their help and cooperation. We have also urged action at their end against unscrupulous elements and the matter has been raised at the highest levels,” the statement further said. “We strongly advise any Indian planning to take up any job offer in Laos to exercise utmost care and caution, and do the due diligence thoroughly to avoid being duped. They may carefully go through the detailed Advisory available at the Embassy's website at https://www.indianembassylaos.gov.in/ or contact the Embassy in case of any doubt," the statement added. Earlier this month, the Embassy rescued 14 Indian nationals from similar cyberscam centres in Laos. In May, 13 Indians, including seven workers from Odisha, were also rescued and repatriated. The Embassy has highlighted that many of these fake job offers involve positions such as “Digital Sales and Marketing Executives” or “Customer Support Service” roles, which are fronts for call-centre scams and cryptocurrency frauds. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 31 AUGUST Calling China a 'unique problem', External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday asserted that India is not the only country in the world that is debating about China today. Decades ago everyone chose to consciously overlook the nature of Chinese production, and are now complaining, the External Affairs Minister said. “China is a unique problem because it has a unique polity and economy. It's not just an Indian problem. If today people are complaining about trade deficits with China, it is because decades ago, we all consciously chose to overlook the nature of Chinese production and the advantages that they enjoyed in a system where they got a level playing field with all the advantages that they brought to bear," Mr Jaishankar said while addressing the ET World Leaders Forum. “There is a general China problem. We are not the only country in the world which is having a debate about China," he said. Citing an example of Europe and the USA, the EAM said: “Go to Europe and ask them, what is today among your major economic or national security debates? It's about China. Look at the United States, it's obsessed with China, and rightly so in many ways." The External Affairs Minister further asked: “What happens when you have multiple neighbours?” “You know, by definition, relationships with neighbours are very complicated. They are all democratic polities. Governments will change, and there will be political debates in their country. Often, we will be the centre of those debates. It's natural as we are a big country. We have to expect, plan and build into our policy, making an expectation that there will be changes, some more organic and some more disruptive in our neighbourhood,” Mr Jaishankar said. IAF’s MI-17 drops snag-hit helicopter near Kedarnath PR SINGH DEHRADUN, 31 AUGUST A snag-hit civilian helicopter, which had been lying at the Kedarnath shrine helipad for nearly two months due to a tail rotor failure, ended up crashing on the banks of the Mandakini river while being airlifted by an Indian Air Force (IAF) MI-17 helicopter on Saturday morning. The mishap occurred as the MI-17, tasked with transporting the damaged helicopter from Kedarnath Helipad to Gauchar airbase, began shaking mid-air due to the weight, rendering it unstable. The MI-17 pilot, facing imminent risk to his aircraft, had no choice but to jettison the civilian helicopter, which was slung underneath, near Tharu Camp at Lincholi, 34 km away from the Kedarnath shrine area. Confirming the incident, Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) officials stated that the MI-17 became jerky and unstable shortly after takeoff from the Kedarnath Helipad. The pilot's decision to release the lifted helicopter was necessary to avoid a potentially costly disaster for the IAF aircraft. The wreckage of the civilian chopper, operated by Crystal Aviation Company, was found scattered along the riverside. No casualties were reported. A State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) team was immediately dispatched to search the area and take control of the wreckage. The Crystal Aviation Company, one of over 10 aviation firms operating in the Kedar Valley during the ongoing Chardham pilgrimage season, had requested IAF assistance to transport the non-functional helicopter for repairs at Gauchar. The helicopter had made an emergency landing in June due to the tail rotor failure.