SATURDAY 07 DECEMBER 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 ‘DREAM BIG, BUT WORK HARD’ BID ON BADAL P6 SENSEX 81,709.12 q56.74 WEATHER SMOG/SHALLOW FOG IS LIKELY IN THE MORNING. MAINLY CLEAR SKY. SMOG/MIST IS LIKELY IN THE EVENING/NIGHT. THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 25 AND 08 DEGREE CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. RAINFALL: Nil NIFTY 24,677.80 q30.60 P7 ` vs $ 84.67 Ruckus in RS over currency wad find Cash found at Abhishek Singhvi’s seat; Cong MP ‘astonished’ RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 90 % TEMPERATURE Min. 32 % Max: 25.1 °C (0) SUN RISES 07:02 hrs MOON RISES 12:28 hrs Min: 08.5 °C (1) SUN SETS 17:25 hrs MOON SETS 23:15 hrs THUMBNAILS STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 6 DECEMBER A PM Modi visits a stall during the inauguration of the Ashtalakshmi Mahotsav exhibition, at Bharat Madapam in New Delhi on Friday. n ANI Foreign secretary to visit Dhaka next week: Amid the ongoing tensions between India and Bangladesh over the attacks on Hindus in the neighbouring country, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri will visit Dhaka on 9 December for foreign office consultations between the two countries. ''(The) Foreign Secretary is scheduled to visit Bangladesh on the 9th of December and he will meet his counterpart and there will be several other meetings during the visit. ,'' Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. heated discussion took place in the Rajya Sabha on Friday when Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar informed the House that a wad of cash was found by security officials on a seat belonging to Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi. “I hereby inform the members that during the routine anti-sabotage check of the chamber after the adjournment of the House yesterday, apparently, a wad of currency notes was recovered by the security officials from seat number 222 which is presently allotted to Abhishek Manu Singhvi, elected from the state of Telangana,'' Mr Dhankhar said. “The matter was brought to my notice, FRANCE’S MACRON VOWS TO STAY IN OFFICE TILL END OF TERM and I made sure an investigation takes place and the same is underway,” he said. Congress president and Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge was on his feet to defend his party colleague, who was not present in the House. He said: “The Chair should not have named the Member if the matter was under investigation.” He further asked: “Can he do like this?” Responding, Mr Dhankar said: “The Leader of the Opposition has said one thing that when the matter is under investigation he should not be making a debate on it. I would really appreciate it, and this may be followed. Number two, in responding to the LoP I was extremely concerned and therefore I might myself assert whether the member has really attended the House.” Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said he does not understand why there should be an objection that “the Chair should not take the name of the member”. Union Minister JP Nadda said: "This incident is of serious nature. It hurts the dignity of the House." Mr Kharge said that his party was not averse to an investigation. Speaking outside the House, Mr Singhvi said that he was “astonished” to hear of the discovery, adding that if there is a failure in the security agencies that must also be completely exposed. “I am quite astonished to even hear about it. I never heard of it. I reached the inside of the House yesterday at 12.57 pm. The House rose at 1 pm. From 1 to 1:30 pm, I sat with Ayodhya Prasad in the canteen and had lunch. At 1:30 pm, I left Parliament. So my total stay in the House yesterday was 3 minutes and my stay in the canteen was 30 minutes. I find it bizarre that even on such issues politics is raised,” he said. P9 GOLD 78,465.00 There has been a decline in cases of violence in the North-East: PM NIKHIL VYAS NEW DELHI, 6 DECEMBER Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asserted that there has been a decline in cases of violence in the Northeast and AFSPA has been removed from many districts. “Over the past decade, several historic peace agreements have been signed in the North-East. The border disputes between the states have also progressed quite amicably,” Mr Modi said while addressing the Ashtalakshmi Mahotsav here. In line with his commitment to showcase the cultural vibrancy of Northeast India, Mr Modi inaugurated the first-ever threeday Ashtalakshmi Mahotsav at Bharat Mandapam. The cultural festival, which commenced on Friday will conclude on Sunday and it will highlight the vast cultural tapestry of North-East India, bringing together an array of traditional arts, crafts, and cultural practices. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Modi said: “Northeast is the Ashtalakshmi of India.” BUMRAH SHINES, BUT HOSTS DOMINATE IN ADELAIDE TEST P12 SILVER 92,000 BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 71.40 RBI keeps rate unchanged at 6.5 pc, cuts GDP growth projection to 6.6 per cent STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 6 DECEMBER The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Friday with a majority of 4:2 decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent and retain the ‘Neutral’ stance. Announcing the decision, Governor Shaktikanta Das said the Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) rate remains at 6.25 per cent and the Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate at 6.75 per cent. He announced that the RBI has also cut the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) by 50 basis points to 4 per cent, and said the measure will lead to the infusion of Rs 1.16 trillion into the system. On inflation, the Governor said for the Financial Year 2024-2025, the (Consumer Price Index) CPI will be 4.8 per cent. For Q3 of FY25, it is projected at 5.7 per cent; while for the Q4, it is 4.5 per cent. Further, for Q1 of FY26, the CPI is projected at 4.6 per cent and at 4 per cent for the Q2 . He said that going for- ward, food inflation is likely to soften in Q4 with seasonal easing of vegetables prices and kharif harvest arrivals; and good soil moisture conditions along with comfortable reservoir levels auguring well for rabi production. The RBI also cut the GDP growth projection to 6.6 per cent from 7.2 per cent for FY25. The Real GDP growth for Q3 is projected at 6.8 per cent, and 7.2 per cent for Q4 of the fiscal. The MPC noted that the near-term inflation and growth outcomes in India have turned somewhat adverse since the October policy. Going forward, however, economic activity is set to improve along with rising business and consumer sentiments, as reflected in the Reserve Bank’s surveys. Governor Das said on the supply side, the growth in gross value added (GVA) during Q2 was aided by resilient services and improving agriculture sector, but weakness in industrial activity – manufacturing, electricity and mining – tempered overall growth. Looking ahead, robust kharif foodgrain production and good rabi prospects, coupled with an expected pickup in industrial activity and sustained buoyancy in services augur well for private consumption, he added. As per the RBI statement, Saugata Bhattacharya, Dr Rajiv Ranjan, Dr Michael Debabrata Patra and Shaktikanta Das voted to keep the policy repo rate unchanged at 6.50 per cent while Dr Nagesh Kumar and Professor Ram Singh voted to reduce the policy repo rate by 25 basis points.