WEDNESDAY 04 BENGALURU FIRM TESTS INDIA’S FIRST INDIGENOUS COMBAT DRONE SEPTEMBER, 2024 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard Flying Wedge Defence and Aerospace announced the successful maiden flight of indigenous unmanned bomber aircraft, the FWD 200B X.com/TheMornStandard UKRAINE 50 KILLED, 219 HURT IN RUSSIAN ATTACKS Two ballistic missiles blasted a military training facility and nearby hospital on Tuesday in Ukraine, killing 50 people and injuring over 219 others. PAGE 9 ARMED WITH MISSILE-LIKE WEAPONS A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS NEW DELHI B E N N K O C H U V E E D A N @ Mumbai AFTER sharply declining during the pandemic, India’s household savings are rebounding on the back of rising income levels, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Speaking at an event in Mumbai on Tuesday, RBI deputy governor Michael Debabrata Patra said that the rebound process has already begun, noting that households’ financial assets have increased from 10.6% of GDP during 2011-17 to 11.5% during 2017-23. And there is room to grow further because the level was 15% of GDP during the early 2000s till the global financial crisis. Household savings are the portion of income that is not spent on consumption and set aside for future use; these are usually deposited in banks or invested in other financial instruments. Because of their BRUNEI VISIT Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to the iconic Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei, on Tuesday. He also interacted with Indian community members. Approximately 14,000 Indians are residing in Brunei | PTI | P7 9 Maoists, including 6 women, killed in C’garh E J A Z K A I S E R @ Raipur NINE Maoists, including six women cadre, were killed in an encounter with security forces at the Purangel-Andri hilly terrain along the inter-district border of Dantewada and Bijapur in south Chhattisgarh on Tuesday . Acting on inputs about the presence of Maoists belonging to the West Bastar Division committee and Peoples’ Liberation Guerrilla Army company number 2 in the area, a joint team comprising personnel from District Reserve Guards, Bastar Fighters and Central Reserve Police Force launched a search operation. “Exchange of fire ensued around 10.30 am between the security forces and the Maoists. Nine bodies of armed Maoists in uniform, including six women, along with weapons have been recovered,” said Sunderraj P Bastar IG. , A large quantity of weapons, including self-loading rifle, 303 rifle, 315 bore rifle, BGL launchers, explosives were found. “The forces engaged in the operation are safe. The recovered bodies are yet to be identified. Since there is a possibility of the presence of several other dead or injured Maoists in and around the encounter site, additional reinforcement has been sent to the area,” said Gaurav Rai, Dantewada SP . Teen chased, shot dead by cow vigilantes A Class XII student of Faridabad was chased in a car and killed by suspected cow vigilantes who mistook him for a cattle smuggler, said Haryana Police, adding that five suspects have been arrested. Sources said that Aryan Mishra, a student at an open school, stepped out of his home at night on August 22 to accompany his five friends in an SUV . The group was on its way to Palwal through the Delhi-Agra PAGES 12 Robust domestic savings to drive economic growth, says RBI deputy governor Michael Patra H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh J8.00 Household savings on rebound Cong, AAP in alliance talks for elections in Haryana THE Congress said on Tuesday it is in talks with Aam Aadmi Party for an alliance in Haryana, but nothing has been finalized yet. Sources said hard bargaining from both sides is on, even as the Congress’ central election committee has cleared the names of candidates for 66 seats out of 90 till Tuesday . AICC general secretary incharge of Haryana Deepak Babaria acknowledged such talks. “We have to defeat the ruling BJP and not allow votes to be divided,’’ Babaria said. Party sources said Rahul Gandhi in a meeting of the party’s Central Election Committee on Monday showed interest about the possibility of such an alliance for assembly polls in Haryana due October 5. AAP sources said the party demanded around 20 seats from Congress “based on its performance in the recent Lok Sabha elections.” Congress sources, however, said the INDIA bloc, of which both parties are members, is a national coalition rather than a state-level arrangement. It is learnt that the discussions on seat-sharing will take place between KC Venugopal of the Congress and Raghav Chadha of AAP . AAP’s Haryana chief Sushil Gupta said that his party was ready for all 90 seats and would not accept four or seven seats as part of the deal. Earlier, both parties had ruled out alliance, but Rahul in the Monday meeting sought to know if any deal was possible. On whether the Congress will nominate Vinesh Phogat in the polls, Babaria said: “You will get clarity by Wednesday .” In the recent parliamentary polls in Haryana, the Congress and the AAP allied on 10 seats with the former winning five and the latter none. AAP MP Sanjay Singh welcomed reports about the alliance, saying defeating BJP was a priority He said any decision . on alliance will be taken with the approval of AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal, who is in jail in excise policy cases. National Highway. Aryan’s friend Harshit Gulati was driving the car that also carried two women, the police said. “A group of cow vigilantes started chasing them as they suspected them to be cow smugglers. But Aryan and friends did not stop as they believed Shanky his friend sitting in the , car, had a rivalry with someone among those who were pursuing them,” the police said. The suspects hit Aryan twice. The first bullet hit him near the neck and the second in the chest. “When the accused saw two women in the car, they realised their mistake and fled the spot. Aryan was rushed to a hospital, where he died a day later,” said a police officer. The police verified the CCTV footage at different places and identified the car used by the accused. The five suspects have been identified as Anil Kaushik, Varun, Krishna, Adesh, and Saurabh. They were sent to judicial custody after they were produced in court. HOME TRUTHS Net financial savings of households halved from 2020-21 levels due to behavioural changes during the pandemic and shift towards physical assets such as housing. But with rising incomes, households are now rebuilding their financial assets Households will remain the top net lenders to the rest of the economy in the coming decades sheer size, household funds are considered a major driver of long- term economic growth. Explaining the reasons for the fall in the domestic savings level of late, Patra noted that the net household savings have halved, hitting a five-year low IT is as if winning gold has become a habit for Sumit Antil. The back pain that had been afflicting him for the last one-and -a-half year vanished. He was focussed on the job in hand — retaining gold at the Paris Paralympics. And he did it in style when he threw the javelin to 70.59 m — a new Paralympics record. It had not been easy. During a virtual interaction, he revealed that he felt more ver-medallist. During the interaction he revealed that he keeps speaking with Neeraj and the champion javelin thrower had given him an advice or two before the Paralympics. He said that he has been in touch with Neeraj but before the Paralympics he did not speak to him directly but through his Households’ financial assets have increased from 10.6% of GDP during 2011-17 to 11.5% during 2017-23 (excluding pandemic year) of 5.2% of GDP in fiscal 2024, but he attributed this to ‘behavioural changes’ during the pandemic, driven by shifts from financial assets to physical assets such as property . According to Patra, that phase is over and households KOLKATA’S STUNNING TAHRIR SQUARE MOMENT I T was Kolkata’s own Tahrir Square moment, its own Shahbagh. Actually let me revise that. I , watched Tahrir Square very closely on TV I saw . Shahbagh with my own eyes, having had the opportunity to report on that movement in Dhaka. But Kolkata today is perhaps even more extraordinary All of Kolkata . today became the hallowed ground of the most astonishing people’s protest ever. In the 77 years of its Independence, I dare say India has not seen anything like it. With a grating, metallic screech, the nine-foot-high m e t a l b a r r i c a d e s we re dragged aside this afternoon by policemen on the narrow BB Ganguly Street. The road leads to Lalbazar, the Kolkata Police headquarters. Rising over the cacophony were the strains of We Shall Overcome, the American civil rights song, and the Bengali anthem of protest, Kazi Nazrul Islam’s Karar Oi Louho Kopat Bhang — break down the iron gates of prison. The singers, all junior doctors who had been camping at the location through rain, shine and a hot muggy night for last 22 hours, gathered to MONIDEEPA BANERJIE Veteran journalist demand justice for their colleague, raped and murdered in their hospital while she was on duty on the night of August 9. In the hands of the junior doctors who marched slowly forward singing those songs, meaning every word in those powerful lyrics, were rajanigandhar malas — garlands of tuberose speckled with red roses. One doctor held aloft what must be the movement’s icon: a plastic replica of the human spine. These doctors have demonstrated over the last 24 days that their vertebral column is in place. Their unique protest exhorted everyone to keep theirs upright and straight. Especially the police. Just before heading into Lalbazar, the doctors’ delegation broke into a song again, signing off with Jana Gana Mana. Behind them, other doctors standing in a series of human chains joined in. Everyone stood still. Time stood still. After the meeting with the commissioner of Kolkata Police, the doctors said they were not satisfied with officer’s responses but they would end their sit-in demo on BB Ganguly Street. However, their protests would continue in other forms. One night this week, the junior doctors called for a voluntary blackout in every home in Kolkata for 60 minutes, with only candles to be lit through the dark hour. Kolkata has responded magnificently All of Tuesday . , thousands of people stood holding hands all along the 16 km stretch of the arterial Eastern Metropolitan Bypass road that swings around the city No blocking traffic, no po. litical flags, only banners and posters demanding justice for the RG Kar victim and an occasional burst of slogans, mostly Justice for RG Kar. In the human chain were doctors, nurses, students and scores of ordinary folk, moved by the movement for justice and outraged by the way the state has handled both. Collectively, Kolkata is today a tsunami of righteous anger. An anger it has chosen to express with the red rose. Mahatma Gandhi would P8 have approved. Protesting junior doctors march towards the police HQ after they were allowed to meet the police chief, in Kolkata | PTI Advice from Neeraj, enduring back pain, Sumit wins gold pressure in Paris than in Tokyo. Perhaps, it’s the burden of expectations on Monday in his F46 event. There are quite a few things that separate Sumit from the rest. He is one of those para-athletes who previously competed against able-bodied athletes. One among the competitors was Neeraj Chopra, the Olympic sil- 11.5% REVIVAL IN CAPEX CYCLE IS LIKELY TO PUSH UP PRIVATE SECTOR’S BORROWING NEEDS, WHICH COULD BE PARTLY MET BY HOUSEHOLDS NEW SUMIT E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Chennai Classified as a Medium Altitude (15,000 feet) Long Endurance Combat Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, FWD 200B is equipped with optical payloads for surveillance and missile-like weapons for air strikes and bombing, the firm’s founder-CEO Suhas Tejaskanda said. It has a wingspan of 5 metres, length of 3.5 metres, maximum take-off weight of 102 kg & payload capacity of 30 kg | P5 manager. “I got a message from Neeraj bhai through someone and he told me that the atmosphere (in Paris) is good,” said Sumit. He also asked him to not try anything new. “I just took his advice and it was a really good experience.” Sumit also spoke about how he created a para world record while competing against able- To be under pressure is normal at such a big stage and we try not to get stressed due to pressure. I read less, but do meditation and watch movies — Sumit Antil bodied athletes in Patiala during a Grand Prix event in 2021. “I threw some 66.43 m and that time it was a record. I wanted to find out how it feels to compete with able-bodied athletes.” With gold secured, he has set sights on a three-peat at the LA Paralympics as his next target. But crossing 80 m too would be one of his dreams. Sumit is the second para athlete after shooter Avani Lekhara to defend their title. Lekhara on Tuesday P11 finished fifth in 50m 3P . are now rebuilding their financial assets. “Going forward, boosted by rising incomes, households will likely build back their financial assets,” Patra said while addressing a finance summit organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry here on Tuesday . Concurrently, households’ physical savings have also risen in post-pandemic years to over 12% of GDP. These can rise further—these had reached 16% of GDP in 2010-11. Households are expected to remain the top net lenders to the rest of the economy in the coming decades, he said. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das had earlier raised concerns over more and more household savings going into financial instruments such as mutual funds and stocks, saying this had led to banks facing a deposit drought. SUPERTECH 200 residents fall sick after drinking water P R A B H AT S H U K L A @ New Delhi OVER 200 Supertech Eco Village 2 residents in Greater Noida West fell ill after allegedly consuming contaminated water on Monday The majority of . those affected were children, displaying symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhoea. Residents blame the outbreak on poorly maintained water tanks in the complex. The health crisis emerged primarily in four towers—C-4, C-5, C-6, and C-7—comprising 20-storey buildings with over 160 flats. Residents suspect that last week’s water tank cleaning, completed over three days, was not carried out properly resulting in the contamination. Recounting the distress, one of the residents said, “We had to rush our son to Surbhi Hospital in Noida, where he is undergoing treatment.” Another resident, Abhishek Singh, narrated a similar ordeal. His son’s condition worsened after consuming the contaminated water, culminating in seizures that necessitated emergency care in the hospital’s ICU. In response to the outcry the , society’s maintenance team inspected and collected water samples for testing. They have pledged to fix any issues found and take action against those responsible for the negligence. A senior official from Bisrakh police station confirmed that the cleaning agent used in the process had inadvertently tainted the water, causing the outbreak of illness. The Greater Noida authority is currently involved in managing the situation and ensuring the safety of the residents. EXPRESS READ Uncertainty over MCD ward committee polls Mayor Shelly Oberoi on Tuesday refused to appoint presiding officers for the MCD ward committee elections, saying her conscience does not allow her to participate in an “undemocratic election process.” The elections are scheduled for Wednesday, but are likely to be postponed now. In a letter to the MCD commissioner, Oberoi said she got several representations from councillors who said they were unable to file nomination as only one day notice was given to the candidates. 3 Coast Guard crew on rescue ops missing Three crew members went missing after an Indian Coast Guard copter on a rescue mission crashed into the Arabian Sea off Porbandar coast in Gujarat. The incident happened on Monday night during a Coast Guard operation to evacuate an injured crew member on board a tanker sailing close to Porbandar. One of the four crew members on board the helicopter was rescued. Search is on for three others. P8
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