WEDNESDAY 13 AUGUST 2025 www.thestatesman.com Pages 12 |` 5.00 X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 SINCE 1818 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR KTR SERVES DEFAMATION NOTICE ON BANDI SANJAY P4 SENSEX 80,235.59 q368.48 WEATHER Generally cloudy sky with a few spells of Light to moderate rain/ thundershower very likely to occur. RAINFALL: 048.7 mm P6 NIFTY 24,487.40 q97.65 SHUBMAN NAMED ICC PLAYER OF THE MONTH ISRAEL FACES CRISIS OF GLOBAL CREDIBILITY ABANDONING A LIFELINE P7 ` vs $ 87.67 SILVER `1,15,000 GOLD `1,02,610 Birla sets up probe panel in Justice Varma case Impeachment move against Justice Varma will remain pending till panel’s report STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 12 AUGUST Min. 89% TEMPERATURE Max: 30.0˚C (-2.6) Min: 25.3˚C (-1.4) SUN RISES 05:13 hrs MOON RISES 20:16 hrs SUN SETS 18:11 hrs MOON SETS 07:52 hrs New Moon on 23 August THUMBNAILS Women dressed in traditional attire take part in a Tiranga Rally ahead of the 79th Independence Day celebrations, on the banks of Dal Lake in Srinagar on Tuesday.nANI LS approves extension for Joint Committee on 'One Nation, One Election' Bill: The Lok Sabha on Tuesday approved an extension for the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to submit its report on the 'One Nation, One Election' bill until the first day of the last week of the 2025 winter session. The motion, moved by JPC chairman PP Chaudhary, covers the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill and Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill. (Page 5) ‘No coercive action against owners of diesel, petrol vehicles older than 10, 15 yrs’ PARMOD KUMAR NEW DELHI, 12 AUGUST The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed that no coercive action be taken against owners of diesel vehicles over 10 years old and petrol vehicles over 15 years old in the National Capital Region (NCR). A Bench of Chief Justice of India BR Gavai, Justice K Vinod Chandran and Justice NV Anjaria issued notice to the Centre and the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on a Delhi government plea challenging the blanket ban on such vehicles. The matter will be heard again after four weeks. “Earlier, one used to use cars for 40-50 years. Even now, vintage cars are there,” Rajya Sabha okays revised I-T Bill 2025; Oppn absent L ok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday announced the formation of a threemember inquiry committee to investigate allegations against High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma in the cash-at-home case. The members of the Committee include Justice Arvind Kumar, Supreme Court Judge; Justice Maninder Mohan Srivastava, Chief Justice of Madras High Court; and BV Acharya, Senior Advocate, Karnataka High Court. The committee will submit its report as early as possible. The proposal for impeachment of Justice Verma will remain pending till the receipt of the report of the inquiry committee. The decision comes after a notice signed by 146 MPs from both the ruling alliance and opposition was submitted to Mr Birla, seeking Justice Varma's removal. The notice cited allegations of corruption, following a fire incident at Justice Varma's official residence that led to Justice Gavai observed during the hearing. The Delhi government has sought recall of the Court’s 29 October 2018 order upholding the National Green Tribunal’s directive imposing the age-based ban on diesel and patrol vehicles. In its petition, the Delhi government said a comprehensive policy is required to address pollution in DelhiNCR, with vehicle fitness based on actual emission levels using scientific methods, rather than a blanket ban solely on age. It called for a study by the Centre and CAQM to assess whether age-based restrictions offer real environmental benefits compared to emission-based criteria. The plea argued that after 2018, stricter emission monitoring and wider pollution testing coverage have been implemented, making an age-based ban unnecessary. It urged that restrictions should be linked to emissions, not the age of the vehicle. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE India, Sanjiv Khanna, concluded he had "tacit or active control" of the storeroom where the cash was found and recommended impeachment. On 7 August 2025, the Supreme Court dismissed Justice Varma's challenge to the in-house inquiry that recommended his impeachment. The Court found the inquiry procedure was followed correctly and rejected arguments against it. The Court also stated that Justice Varma's conduct was "not confidence-inspiring". Then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna is believed to have urged Justice Varma to resign, but the judge refused. PARMOD KUMAR NEW DELHI, 11 AUGUST the alleged discovery of halfburnt wads of currency. The committee will conduct a thorough investigation into the allegations and submit its report to the Speaker, who will then place it before the House. If the committee finds the judge guilty, an address will be made to the President seeking his removal. The controversy began on 14 March 2025, when burnt currency notes were purportedly found in Justice Varma's residence during a fire. Justice Varma, then with the Delhi High Court, denied involvement, calling the allegations a "conspiracy." An in-house panel set up by the then Chief Justice of NEW DELHI, 12 AUGUST The Rajya Sabha Tuesday passed the revised New Income Tax Bill 2025, amidst empty Opposition benches. The Upper House also approved the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill 2025. The bills, being money bills, were now returned to the Lok Sabha.The bills were earlier passed in the Lok Sabha on Monday. The Income Tax bill seeks to replace the existing Income Tax Act of 1961 with a more streamlined and litigation-resistant direct tax code. The bill proposes to allow deductions for inter-corporate dividends for certain companies, permit taxpayers to claim refunds after filing their returns, even if the deadline has passed, and allow taxpayers to avail NIL TDS certificates if they don't have a tax liability. The Supreme Court on Tuesday observed that the inclusion and exclusion of citizens and noncitizens from the electoral rolls falls within the domain of the Election Commission of India (ECI), while also endorsing the poll panel’s stand that Aadhaar card is not conclusive proof of citizenship. The observation by a bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi came during a nearly day-long hearing in which senior advocate Kapil Sibal argued that the exclusion of about 65 lakh voters from the draft electoral roll published on 1 August ~ without any objection to their inclusion ~ was illegal. The bench, however, said that under the Rules, Bengal Cabinet to meet, likely to discuss growing tussle with ECI AGENCIES KOLKATA, 12 AUGUST Amid the growing tussle between the West Bengal government and the Election Commission of India (ECI), an urgent meeting of the state Cabinet has been convened on 18 August to discuss the complications arising out of the evolving situation. The decision to convene the Cabinet meeting on 18 August was notified soon after information surfaced that ECI has summoned state Chief Secretary Manoj Pant to the ECI's headquarters in New Delhi by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, on the issue of the commission’s directive for the suspension of four election officers. Insiders from the State Secretariat said that the Cabinet meeting is likely to discuss the complications arising out of the growing tussle between the state government and ECI, not just over the suspension of the four election officers but also over other issues, especially of special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bengal mooted by the commission. “We are expecting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to take some important decision on these matters at the Cabinet meeting on 18 August," said a member of the state Cabinet, requesting anonymity. The ECI had on 5 August asked the West Bengal Chief Secretary to suspend four officials and a casual worker of the state for alleged irregularities in the registration of names in the voter lists. The ECI also ordered that an FIR be registered against these four officials and a data entry operator, posted in South 24-Parganas and East Midnapore districts, for alleged ‘criminal activities’. On 8 August, the ECI had sent a reminder to Pant seeking a compliance report over the commission's direction to suspend the election officers, asking the Trinamul Congress government to send the compliance report on this matter by Monday. However, on Monday, the Chief Secretary sent a communique to the commission, sayingthatthestategovernment is yet to order any such disciplinary action against the election officers, as directed by the poll body, and for the time being has just removed these four officers from election duty. persons excluded must file applications for inclusion, and objections can only be considered at that stage. When Mr Sibal, appearing for RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha, said many people in Bihar do not have most of the documents sought by the ECI during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), Justice Kant remarked: “Bihar is part of India. If they don't have them, other states won’t either… there must be something to prove you are a citizen of India.” Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi said removal of voters on citizenship grounds must follow due process, which is not possible just three to four months ahead of assembly elections. Political activist Yogendra Yadav described the exclusion of 65 lakh voters as a “tectonic shift,” producing two persons from Bihar who had been marked as dead in the draft roll despite having voter ID cards. The NGO Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) argued that the SIR can disenfranchise lakhs arbitrarily, violating free and fair elections. PM Modi, Nadda to take call on NDA V-P candidate STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 12 AUGUST The National Democratic Alliance’s candidate for the upcoming vice-presidential election will be selected by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President JP Nadda on Tuesday. The name of the chosen one is expected to be announced on the same day. The announcement was made following a high-level meeting of the NDA leaders last week. 21 August is the deadline for filing nominations, and the vice-presidential election is set to take place on 9 September. The NDA meeting, held in the national capital on Thursday, passed a resolution authorising PM Modi and Nadda to select the NDA candidate for Vice Presidential elections. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh presided over the meeting attended by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and others. Following the meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiran Rijiju briefed media persons, saying the final candidate chosen by the prime minister and the BJP president would have the consensus and support of all NDA partners. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the Shiv Sena’s Shrikant Shinde, Lok Janshakti Party’s Chirag Paswan, the TDP’s Lavu Krishna Devarayalu, and the Republican Party of India’s Ramdas Athawale also attended the meeting. Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has already announced unconditional support to the BJP’s choice of candidate a day before the crucial meeting. The vice-presidential election was necessitated by the sudden mid-term resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar, who vacated the post citing medical reasons. His departure, however, sparked widespread speculation of underlying tensions between him and the Modi government. The vice president of India is elected by an electoral college comprising members of both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Ambani family lead Barclays-Hurun list, 300 families generate `7,100 crore daily NEW DELHI, 12 AUGUST STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Retail inflation falls to eight-year low of 1.55 per cent in July NEW DELHI, 12AUGUST India’s retail inflation slipped to an eight-year low of 1.55 per cent in July, mainly due to subdued prices of food items, including vegetables and cereals. The consumer price index (CPI) based inflation was 2.1 per cent in June and 3.6 per cent in July 2024. According to the data released by the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Tuesday, there is a decline of 55 basis points in the headline inflation of July 2025 in comparison to June 2025. It is the lowest year-on-year inflation rate since June 2017. The year-on-year inflation rate based on the All India Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) for July 2025 over the same month in 2024 is -1.76 per cent (Provisional). Corresponding inflation rates for rural and urban are -1.74 per cent and -1.90 per cent, respectively, the data said. The food inflation in July 2025 is also the lowest after January 2019. The Ambani family led the 2025 Barclays Private Clients Hurun India Most Valuable Family Businesses List for the second consecutive year. Reliance Industries, the family’s flagship, is valued at Rs 28.2 lakh crore, representing over a twelfth of India’s GDP. The Barclays Private Clients and Hurun India have unveiled the second edition of the 2025 Barclays Private Clients Hurun India Most Valuable Family Businesses List. The list expanded to 300 families, adding 100 new entrants, with a combined valuation of Rs 134 lakh crore which is more than the GDP of Turkey and Finland com- bined. Interestingly, collectively, these businesses generated Rs 7,100 crore in value daily last year and employ over two million people, contributing 15 per cent of India’s corporate tax collections. The Kumar Mangalam Birla family rose to second place with a valuation of Rs 6.5 lakh crore, followed by the Jindal family at Rs 5.7 lakh crore. BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 65.33 SIR row: Aadhaar not conclusive proof of citizenship, agrees SC RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 99% P12 The list also highlighted that the first-generation businesses also shone, with the Adani family topping that category at Rs 14 lakh crore, followed by the Poonawalla family at Rs 2.3 lakh crore. According to Nitin Singh, Head of Barclays Private Bank, Asia Pacific, the findings reflect an upcoming Rs 130 lakh crore intergenerational wealth transfer over the next five years, alongside a rise in family offices. Anas Rahman Junaid, Founder of Hurun India, called these businesses “the heartbeat of the nation’s economy,” emphasising their resilience, innovation, and growing global footprint. Giving the industry-wise trends, industrial products led in representation (48 com- panies), while automobile and auto components held the highest average valuation. Mumbai remained the leading hub with 91 companies, followed by NCR (62) and Kolkata (25). The report also highlighted a surge in professional governance, with 62 companies led by non-family CEOs, and growing diversity, with 22 family businesses headed by women. Notably, Haldiram’s, valued at Rs85,800 crore, remained India’s most valuable unlisted company The top 10 families now control nearly half of the total value of the list, underscoring the enduring influence of India’s leading dynasties in shaping the country’s industrial, social, and economic future. ‘Misleading’: ECI on NYT report over voter list manipulation AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 12 AUGUST The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday dismissed as “misleading” a report in The New York Times highlighting Indian Opposition leaders’ allegation of voter list manipulation. In a fact-check issued to rebut the NYT news report with the headline “Hundreds of Indian Lawmakers Detained at a Protest Claiming Vote Rigging”, the ECI shared a social media post carrying links to videos related to the “Actual truth at field level” of the SIR in Bihar. The videos carry testimonials of representatives of political parties, including the Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Left. The poll panel dismissed as “incorrect” statements issued by agitating Opposition leaders over alleged "voter list manipulation". Army, Air chiefs never said 6 jets, 250 soldiers lost in Op Sindoor; videos fakes: PIB PARWINDER SANDHU NEW DELHI, 12 AUGUST A viral video, claiming that Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi admitted that India lost six jets and 250 soldiers during Operation Sindoor launched against terror hubs inside Pakistan, is digitally altered and fake, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) said on Tuesday. The video being circulated on multiple social media platforms surfaced days after Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, disclosed that the Indian Air Force (IAF) shot down six Pakistani aircraft during Operation Sindoor. In the fake video, General Dwivedi can be heard saying, “Non-kinetic quadrant is something which you can start today. And the next war that we are looking at may happen soon and we have to prepare accordingly. As already been brought out by the director that in this we have to find the battle together. We have already lost six jets and 250 soldiers but we will never give up. We will learn. We have some deductions.” The PIB’s fact-check team stated that it was a deepfake video generated by Pakistani propaganda machinery. In a post on X, the PIB wrote: “A digitally altered video is circulating online, falsely showing the Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi admitting that India lost 6 jets and 250 soldiers in the war against Pakistan. This is an AI-generated deepfake video. The Indian Army Chief has made NO such statement.” Another deepfake video targeting the Air Chief shows him making similar claims. “We did lose six jets and one large Heron drone,” the IAF chief purportedly said. The PIB wrote on X: “This is an AI-generated deepfake video. The Air Chief Marshal has made NO such statement.”