FRIDAY 10 JANUARY 2025 www.thestatesman.com Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 SINCE 1818 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR POLITICAL MISOGYNY TIRUPATI STAMPEDE: NAIDU ORDERS JUDICIAL INQUIRY P8 SENSEX 77,620.21 q528.28 WEATHER SMOG/MODERATE FOG AT MOST PLACES WITH DENSE FOG AT A FEW PLACES LIKELY IN THE MORNING. THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 20 AND 06 DEGREES CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 100 % TEMPERATURE P6 ` vs $ 85.85 P7 GOLD 80,020.00 THUMBNAILS Visitors arrive for an exhibition at the 18th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas celebrations in Bhubaneswar on Thursday. n ANI Market extends previous session's losses; Nifty slips below 23,550: Stock market extended the previous session's losses with Nifty finishing below 23,550 amid selling across the sectors bearing FMCG. Indices opened flat but soon bears took charge and dragged the Nifty near 23,500. At close, the Sensex was down 528.28 points or 0.68 pc at 77,620.21, and the Nifty was down 162.45 points or 0.69 pc at 23,526.50. (PG 10) BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 76.59 Amid AAP-Cong row ahead of Delhi polls, Omar says wind up INDIA coalition The PM stated that India will remain the world's youngest and most skilled population for decades BHUBANESWAR, 9 JANUARY Min: .04.8 °C (-2.1) SUN SETS 17:43 hrs MOON SETS 04:46 hrs P12 SILVER 92,500 India committed to principle of ‘humanity first’, says Modi STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Min. 54 % Max: 21.2 °C (+2.2) SUN RISES 07:15 hrs MOON RISES 14:07 hrs NIFTY 23,526.50 p162.45 INDIA SEEK RIGHT BALANCE IN ODI SET-UP A LAND-GRAB AGENDA FOR MODERN TIMES P rime Minister Narendra Modi emphasised India's philosophy of peace and universal brotherhood, stating that "the future lies not in war but in Buddha" as he inaugurated the 18th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention in Bhubaneswar on Thursday. "It was in Odisha that Emperor Ashoka renounced war and embraced the path of peace, while the rest of the world expanded empires through the power of the sword. The Peace Pagoda at Dhauli symbolises this transformation," the Prime Minister remarked. He said that this legacy inspires India to convey to the world that the path forward is one of peace and compassion. "India is now recognised globally as a Vishwa Bandhu (friend of the world)," he said, urging the Indian diaspora to strengthen this global connection through their efforts. “India is not just the mother of democracy; democracy is an intrinsic part of Indian life," the Prime Minister observed. He highlighted how Indians naturally embrace diversity and integrate seamlessly into the societies they join. Projecting a bright future for the country, Mr. Modi stated that India will remain the world's youngest and most skilled population for decades, meeting global skill demands. He also pointed to India's incredible pace of development, asserting that the country is on track to become the world’s third-largest economy. He emphasised India's recent achievements, including the success of the Chandrayaan mission, the global recognition of Digital India's strength, and advances in renewable energy, aviation, electric mobility, and infrastructure projects such as metros and bullet trains. "India is now manufacturing fighter jets and transport aircraft domestically," he said, envisioning a future where people will travel to India in “Made in India” aircraft for the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas. “Today's India firmly asserts its perspective and amplifies the voice of the Global South,” the Prime Minister said, noting unanimous support for India's proposal to make the African Union a permanent member of the G-20. India, he stressed, is committed to the principle of "Humanity First." Mr Modi assured the diaspora that the issues they face are being addressed, including easier access to consulates and embassies. He proposed that the diaspora organise award functions in their respective countries to recognise prominent local residents in various fields and participate in treeplanting drives under the initiative "Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam" (One Tree in Mother's Name). The Prime Minister also suggested creating a database to trace the villages and cities in India from which people of Indian origin emigrated, along with the places they settled. Highlighting the significance of the Girmitiya legacy, he proposed establishing a university chair dedicated to its study and urged regular World Girmitiya Conferences. He also announced the establishment of Thiruvalluvar Culture Centres to spread the teachings of Tamil poet-saint Thiruvalluvar. The first centre has started in Singapore, and a Thiruvalluvar Chair is being established at the University of Houston in the USA. The Prime Minister underscored the importance of the GIFT CITY ecosystem in meeting the financial services and investment needs of the diaspora. He encouraged them to leverage its benefits to strengthen India's development journey. He lauded Grammy award winner Ricky Kej for the inaugural song and expressed hope that it would be played at Indian diaspora events worldwide. The PM also flagged off a special tourist train from Delhi today. It will travel to 17 tourist destinations. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE JAMMU, 9 JANUARY Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday lashed out at the bitter campaign between the AAP and Congress ahead of the Delhi Assembly polls and said the INDIA bloc should be wound up as unity is lacking among the Opposition. Soon after Mr Abdullah made the statement, however, his father and National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah said those who think the alliance was just for parliamentary polls should come out of this misconception. Omar and Farooq Abdullah were speaking to reporters on the sidelines of different functions in the Jammu region. Mr Abdullah, whose National Conference is part of the INDIA bloc, said in response to questions from mediapersons that both AAP and Congress are part of the bloc but they are contesting the elections in Delhi and also resorting to acrimonious poll campaigns against each other. "They should wind up the alliance in case it was just for the Lok Sabha elections," Mr Abdullah said. His remark came a day after the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav said that the INDIA bloc has lost its significance as it was specifically formed for the Lok Sabha elections. However, in a conflicting statement his father Dr. Farooq Abdullah said “As far as alliance is concerned, alliance exists in everything, and not limited to contesting elections. The alliance exists to strengthen the country and remove hatred from our country”. Saying that the NC has nothing to do with the Delhi elections, he lamented lack of clarity on the INDIA bloc's future and said the Congress and AAP should decide how they can effectively fight against the BJP. "The AAP won the past two elections and this time we will have to wait to see who gets the mandate of the Delhi voters," he ssid. RTI portal functioning smoothly, says DoPT STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 9 JANUARY The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has examined the concerns raised about the functioning of the Right to Information (RTI) portal and clarified that the system is operational and effective RG Kar incident: Verdict to be pronounced on 18 January AGENCIES KOLKATA, 9 JANUARY A special court in Kolkata will pronounce, on 18 January, the verdict in the ghastly rape and murder of a junior woman doctor of R G Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata in August last year. The verdict will be pronounced 68 days after the trial process in the matter started at the special court on 11 November last year. The brutalised body of the doctor was found from the seminar hall within R.G Kar premises on the morning of 9 August last year. The initial investigation into the matter was carried out by a special investigation team (SIT) of Kolkata Police, who arrested civic volunteer Sanjay Roy as the prime accused in the case. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which later took over the investigation, too ~ in its one and only charge sheet ~ also identified Sanjay Roy as the "sole prime accused" in the crime of rape & murder. During the course of interrogation, the CBI arrested the former, controversial principal of R G Kar, Sandip Ghosh and the former SHO of Tala Police Station Abhijit Mondal on charges of tampering with the evidence. However, both were recently granted default bail by the special court recently because the CBI failed to file a supplementary charge sheet against the two of them within 90 days from the date of their arrests. after the introduction of a new One-Time Password (OTP) feature. ''A comprehensive review by the DoPT has confirmed that the portal’s newly implemented features, including an enhanced security protocol, are operational and user-friendly,'' an official press note said on Thursday. Responding to issues reported by some users, the DoPT clarified that the OTP feature, introduced on 2 January, was implemented to authenticate users and protect sensitive personal information included in RTI applications. By ensuring only authorised access, the measure strengthens cyber- security and aligns with best practices. Concerns were raised about delays in receiving OTPs. The DoPT explained that while OTPs are promptly dispatched from the NIC email domain, delays may occasionally occur due to high traffic on either NIC server or external email services like Gmail or Yahoo.