TUESDAY 24 DECEMBER 2024 www.thestatesman.com X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 Pages 12 |` 5.00 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR CONG, BRS TRADE CHARGES ON VANDALISM AT ALLU ARJUN'S RESIDENCE MOTIVATE PEOPLE ON ORGAN DONATION: PREZ TO MEDICAL FRATERNITY P4 SENSEX 78,540.17 p498.58 ` vs $ 85.13 P9 Mainly clear sky. Shallow fog in the morning. Maximum and Minimum Temperature most likely to be around 25˚C and 15˚C respectively. RAINFALL: 0.0 mm RELATIVE HUMIDITY SILVER 91,400 GOLD 78,380.00 B’desh requests India to send Sheikh Hasina back STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 23 DECEMBER Min. 48% Max: 24.6˚C (-2.4) Min: 13.8˚C (-2.3) SUN RISES 06:13 hrs MOON RISES 17:50 hrs SUN SETS 16:58 hrs MOON SETS 11:43 hrs New Moon on 31 December THUMBNAILS Children dressed as Panj Pyare' or 'The Beloved Five' take part in a religious procession ahead of the Veer Bal Diwas, to mark the martyrdom of Sahibzada Zorawar Singh and Sahibzada Fateh Singh, in Amritsar on Mondayn ANI CISF says no lapse over alleged scuffle at Parliament on 19 Dec: The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) on Monday firmly denied any lapse on its part regarding the December 19 alleged scuffle outside the Makar Dwar in the Parliament premises, that occurred between the MPs, due to which two of the Bharatiya Janata Party parliamentarians, Pratap Sarangi and Mukesh Rajput, got injured. DIG (Operations) of the CISF, Shrikant Kishore, on being asked about the incident by media ,stated that the force had acted appropriately, and said, "There was no lapse on the part of CISF when the clash happened," adding that, by lapse if you mean some weapons were allowed inside, then I can tell you that no weapon was allowed." STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 23 DECEMBER B angladesh has formally asked India to extradite former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to this country in August after a student-led movement dislodged her from power. A "note verbale" has been sent to the Indian government for sending Sheikh Hasina back to Bangladesh, Interim Government's Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain was quoted as saying by the Bangladeshi media. "We have sent a note verbale requesting India to send Sheikh Hasina back," Mr Hossain told reporters. An official spokesperson of the Ministry of External affairs here said, " we confirm that we have received a note verbale from the Bangladesh High Commission today in connection with an extradition request. At this time, we have no comment to offer on this matter." Sheikh Hasina fled to India on 5 August after she was ousted from power following weeks of protests and clashes that killed over 600 people. An interim government, led by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus, has been ruling Bangladesh since then. Dhaka has been upset with some of the statements Sheikh Hasina has made in recent weeks. On 9 December, she accused the Yunus-led interim government of being the "mastermind" behind the student protests that led to her ouster. While addressing a virtual meeting of the United Kingdom Awami League, she claimed that despite all the demands of the protesters being met, the unrest continued across the nation, suggesting that it was a planned conspiracy. Sheikh Hasina's ouster and the subsequent attacks on the minorities, especially Hindus, across Bangladesh have cast a shadow on India-Bangladesh ties too. India has repeatedly asked Bangladesh to ensure the safety Former SC judge V Ramasubramanian appointed as NHRC chairperson STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 23 DECEMBER mission(NHRC), India." Under the Protection of Human Rights (PHR) Act, 1993, the apex human rights body consists of a Chairperson, five full-time members and seven deemed members. NHRC has been waiting for a full-time Chairperson since 1 June, after former Supreme Court judge and the eighth Chairman of the rights panel, Justice Arun Mishra, retired on completion of his tenure in office. Since then, NHRC has been functioning with just one member in five positions, Vijaya Bharathi Sayani, also the Acting Chairperson. As per Sections 2, 3 and 4 of the PHR Act, the Chairman and other members are appointed by the President upon the recommendation of a committee consisting of the Prime Minister (who serves as the committee’s Chairperson), Home Minister, Leaders of the Opposition in both Houses of the Parliament, the Speaker of Lok Sabha and the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha. The qualification of the NHRC Chairperson is that he should either have been a Chief Justice of India or a judge of the Supreme Court. Besides Chairperson, NHRC consists of five other members other than the ex-officio mem- bers. One member is, or has been a judge of the apex court and one member is, or has been the Chief Justice of a High Court. Out of the remaining three members selected for their professional experience in matters centred on human rights, at least one must be a woman. The ex-officio members include the Chairpersons of National Commissions -National Commission for Scheduled Castes, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, National Commission for Women, National Commission for Minorities, National Commission for Backward Classes, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights; as well as the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities. Jaishankar to visit US for talks with key officials STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 23 DECEMBER External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will visit the United States from 24-29 December, it was officially announced on Monday. ''He will be meeting counterparts to discuss key bilateral, regional and global issues,'' the Ministry of External Affairs said. During the visit, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will also chair a conference of the Consul Generals of India in the United States. The visit comes less than a month before the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th president of the United States. of minorities in the neighbouring country. The matter was also raised with Dhaka when Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri visited the neighbouring country earlier this month. He had held talks his Bangladesh counterpart Md. Jashim Uddin and also called on Towhid Hossain. The meetings followed as ties between the two countries deteriorated over the past few months with India being concerned about the surge in extremist rhetoric, increasing violence incidents and provocations, especially against the Hindu community in Bangladesh. In fact, the Union External Affairs Minister, Mr S. Jaishankar, had also held a bilateral meeting with Hossain on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York which was the first highlevel engagement between the two countries after Hasina's ouster in August. Even Hasina has also strongly condemned the "tortures" inflicted on common people, especially minorities, by the interim government. She had stated that a top leader of the sanatan religious community has been "unjustly arrested" and must be "released immediately". "A temple has been burnt in Chittagong. Previously, mosques, shrines, churches, monastries and houses of Ahmadiya commnunity were attacked, vandalized and looted and set on fire. Religious freedom and security of life and property of people of all communities should be ensured', she stated. Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday distributed appointment letters to over 71,000 newly inducted recruits in Government departments and organizations, saying the government is prioritising the full utilisation of India's youth talent through initiatives like Rozgar Melas. He emphasised that his government was working in all the departments with the youth of the country as the focus point. He said there is a campaign going on to provide government jobs in various ministries, departments and institutions of the country. ''Today also, more than 71,000 youths have been given appointment letters. In the last 1-1.5 years, almost 10 lakh youths have been given permanent government jobs by our government. This is a very big record in itself. In the tenure of any previous government, youths have not got permanent jobs in the Government of India in such a way in the mission board. But today, not only are lakhs of youths getting government jobs but these jobs are being given with complete honesty and transparency,'' he said. He expressed his happiness that the youths coming from this transparent tradition are also engaged in serving the nation with full devotion and honesty and expressed the hope that the pledge taken Delhi HC dismisses anticipatory bail plea of ex-IAS trainee officer AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 23 DECEMBER The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed anticipatory bail plea of sacked Maharashtra cadre probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar, who allegedly submitted false OBC and PwBD (Persons with Benchmark Disabilities) certificates and fraudulently availed attempts beyond the permissible limits provided for the Civil Services Examination (CSE) by faking her identity. A bench of Justice Chandra Dhari Singh vacated its earlier order shielding her from arrest and in its judgment, opined that prima facie, a strong case was made out against Puja Khedkar. It added that custodial interrogation of a person accused of an offence of such nature is required to unearth the facts. Asking Khedkar to cooperate with the investigation, the Delhi HC, in an interim order passed on August 12, granted her protection from arrest. Justice Singh-led Bench, on November 28, reserved its decision on Puja Khedkar’s anticipatory bail plea after hearing both sides. It was then clarified that till the judgment is delivered, the interim relief granted earlier to Puja Khedkar shielding her from arrest will continue. Earlier, a court here had turned down her anticipatory bail plea and asked the investigating agency to find out if anyone from inside the UPSC had helped Khedkar. Centre removes ‘no-detention policy’ for classes 5 & 8 students Shyam Benegal passes away at 90 STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 23 DECEMBER AGENCIES MUMBAI, 23 DECEMBER Veteran filmmaker Shyam Benegal, who pioneered the parallel film movement in India, passed away in Mumbai on Monday. The filmmaker was suffering from a kidney ailment for a while and was admitted to Wockhardt hospital in Mumbai. His funeral will be held in Mumbai at 10:00 am on Tuesday. Shyam Benegal is widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers after the 1970s, and received several honours like 18 National Film Awards, a Nandi Award, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India's highest award in the field of cinema, a Padma Shri, and Padma Bhushan. The filmmaker recently celebrated his 90th birthday in Mumbai. BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 72.35 ‘Nearly 10 lakh job letters issued under Rozgar Mela’ TEMPERATURE President Droupadi Murmu on Monday appointed retired Supreme Court judge Justice V Ramasubramanian as the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). Murmu has also appointed Priyank Kanoongo and Dr. Justice Bidyut Ranjan Sarangi (Retd) as the members of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), India. In a post on X, NHRC India said, "Hon’ble President of India appoints Shri Justice V. Ramasubramanian (Retd.) as the Chairperson, and Shri Priyank Kanoongo and Dr. Justice Bidyut Ranjan Sarangi (Retd.) as the Members of the National Human Rights Com- P12 The request was made through a ‘note verbale’ to the Indian govt, said B’desh’s Foreign Affairs Adviser WEATHER Max. 94% P5 NIFTY 23,753.45 p165.95 INJURY RULES SHAMI OUT OF BGT TRUMP THREATENS TO TAKE BACK PANAMA CANAL He was born in Hyderabad to Sridhar B. Benegal who was prominent in the field of photography. Shyam Benegal started his career as a copywriter and made his first Documentary film in Gujarati, ‘Gher Betha Ganga’ in 1962. His first four feature films ‘Ankur’ (1973), ‘Nishant’ (1975), ‘Manthan’ (1976) and ‘Bhumika’ (1977) made him a pioneer of the new wave film movement of that period. Chief Minister MamataBanerjee condoled the death of legendary film maker. "Saddened by the demise of our iconic filmmaker Shyam Benegal. A pillar of Indian parallel cinema, he was loved and admired by all connoisseurs. My condolences to his family, friends and followers," she wrote on her X handle. In a significant development, the Central government has removed the 'no-detention policy' for classes 5 and 8 in schools run by it stressing that the new rules will help improve the learning outcomes while giving special attention to students who are not academically strong. The Centre has amended the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rules, 2010, introducing provisions for regular examinations and holding back students in specific cases in Class 5 and Class 8 if they fail. Under the new "Right to Free Compulsory Child Education Amendment Rules 2024" effective from December 16, regular competency-based examinations will be con- ducted at the end of every academic year for Class 5 and Class 8 students. If a student fails to meet the promotion criteria, they will be given additional instruction and a re-examination within two months of the results being declared. However, students failing the re-examination will be held back in the same class. Previously, the state governments had the discretion to implement detention policies. While 18 states have opted out of the no-detention policy, an equal number have chosen to retain it. "The Government of India has decided that even after every effort, if detention is necessary, students may be detained. However, no child will be expelled from school until Class 8," Sanjay Kumar, Secretary of School Education told reporters on Monday. He added, "If a student fails, teachers will provide them with two months of additional instruction, and only in exceptional cases will the student be detained. The focus is on enhancing learning outcomes." The amendments also mandate that retained students receive specialised inputs to address their learning gaps. The examination process will be competency-based, ensuring holistic development rather than rote learning. In 2009, the Right To Education Act introduced the 'no-detention policy' under which the students up to class 8 had to be promoted. To ensure quality education, Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation was introduced, but it was scrapped in 2017 due to poor implementation. Right to Education was amended in 2019 to empower state governments to decide on the introduction of detention policies, which were previously prohibited until Class 8. The amendments aimed to address concerns regarding learning outcomes. Kumar highlighted that in 2019, 18 states decided to abolish the no-detention policy, while the other 18 continued with it. The new rules mark a significant policy shift in elementary education aimed at improving learning outcomes. To address learning gaps, class teachers are required to guide students and, if necessary, engage with their parents. Teachers will provide specialised inputs based on assessments to help the students improve. School heads must maintain a record of students held back and monitor their progress closely. by India to build Viksit Bharat by 2047 will be fulfilled. He said the policies of the last decade -- Make in India, Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, Startup India, Stand Up India, Digital India -- have been made, keeping the youth at the focus. He said, ''India changed its policies in the space sector. India promoted manufacturing in its defence sector and the youth benefited the most from this. Today the youth of India is full of new confidence. Today we have become the fifth largest economy in the world. India has become the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world.'' Stressing that his government is supporting the youth in every way, PM Modi noted that '' Today, when a youth decides to start his own startup, he gets a whole ecosystem to support him. Today when a youth plans to make a career in sports, he is confident that he will not fail. Today, modern arrangements are being made for the youth at every step from training to tournaments in sports.” ''Today, we are seeing a complete transformation in so many sectors. Today India has become the second largest country in the world in mobile manufacturing. Today, from renewable energy to organic farming, from space sector to defence sector, from tourism to wellness, the country is touching new heights in every sector..," he stated. PM remembers Charan Singh on his 122nd birth anniversary, Kharge slams govt STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 23 DECEMBER Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday paid tributes to former Prime Minister and Bharat Ratna awardee Chaudhary Charan Singh on his 122nd birth anniversary, calling him a true well-wisher of the poor and farmers whereas Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge accused the Union government of being ''antifarmer''. In a post on X, PM Modi said, "Humble tribute to former Prime Minister Bharat Ratna Chaudhary Charan Singh ji, a true well-wisher of the poor and farmers, on his birth anniversary. His dedication and service to the nation will continue to inspire everyone." Chaudhary Charan Singh was born in 1902 at Noorpur in Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh, in a middle-class peasant family. He was renowned as the chief architect of land reforms in Uttar Pradesh. His efforts led to the enactment of crucial land reform bills, such as the Department Redemption Bill of 1939 and the Land Holding Act of 1960, which aimed to address issues of land distribution and agricultural sustainability. The Congress president also remembered former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh, whose birth anniversary is marked as the Farmers' Day. In a post on X, Kharge said, "Farmer is India, the pride of the country. Warm wishes to all farmer sisters and brothers, and farm labourers on Farmer's Day. Respectful tributes to former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh ji on his birth anniversary, who fought for the farmers of the country."