SATURDAY www.thestatesman.com 06 AUGUST 2022 FIND US ONLINE Scan this with your smartphone twitter.com/TheStatesmanLtd facebook.com/thestatesman1875 Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR ‘IRCTC HAS COME BACK STRONGLY’ VIEW FROM KIEV P6 WEATHER GENERALLY CLOUDY SKY. LIGHT RAIN/THUNDERSHOWERS. THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 33 AND 26 DEGREES CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. Max: 95% P7 P11 AGENCIES MUMBAI, 5 AUGUST PM to chair NITI Aayog’s 7th governing council meeting Min: 87% TEMPERATURE Max: 30.4°C (-4) SUN RISES 05:46 hrs MOON RISES 13:38 hrs Min: 26.5°C (0) SUN SETS 19:09 hrs MOON SETS 00:25 hrs STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 5 AUGUST THUMBNAILS Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. ANI Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari flew the indigenous Planes including the Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, Light Combat Helicopter & HTT-40, which are being inducted into IAF.  ANI China restricts US ties over Pelosi’s Taiwan visit: China said it is canceling or suspending dialogue with the United States on a range of issues from climate change to military relations and anti-drug efforts in retaliation for a visit this week to Taiwan by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The measures, which come amid cratering relations between Beijing and Washington, are the latest in a promised series of steps intended to punish the U.S. for allowing the visit to the island it claims as its own territory, Pg10 to be annexed by force if necessary. UGC asks varsities to observe 14 Aug as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day : The University Grants Commission (UGC) asked all the universities and colleges to organise programmes and seminars to observe 14 August as "Partition Horrors Remembrance Day" to commemorate the sufferings and sacrifices of millions of Indians during the partition in 1947.UGC chairman Prof M Jagadesh Kumar said it is important to encourage students, staff and faculty members to participate in the observance of "Partition Horrors Remembrance Day" in large numbers. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 5 AUGUST W est Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee today met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed a range of issues pertaining to the state, including GST dues. According to sources, the 45-minute meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere.“West Bengal CM @MamataOfficial met PM @narendramodi,” the PMO tweeted along with a picture of the meeting between the two leaders. The meeting came days after the arrest of Miss Banerjee’s close lieutenant Partha Chatterjee by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the school teacher recruitment scam in West Bengal. Miss Banerjee is in the national capital to attend a governing council meeting of the NITI Aayog, to be chaired by the PM on 7 August. The meeting will focus on issues related to agriculture, health, and the economy. Miss Banerjee had skipped the last meeting of the NITI Aayog.The Trinamul Congress chief also paid a courtesy call on new President Droupadi Murmu to complement her on assuming the highest constitutional post. Miss Banerjee, accompanied by her nephew and party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, arrived in the national capital on Thursday and met her party’s MPs to discuss the party’s strategy during the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament and the road to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. “Our Chairperson @MamataOfficial held a meeting with all MPs in Delhi. The current Parliament session, the road to 2024, and various issues were discussed, with several activities and initiatives outlined for the coming days. We are always committed to serving the people,” the TMC tweeted. Miss Banerjee’s meeting with the party MPs was significant since it came just two days before the vice-presidential election in which NDA candidate and former West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar is pitted against joint Opposition nominee Margaret Alva. Despite Mrs Alva’s repeated appeals, the TMC has announced that it would abstain from voting in the vice presidential poll, saying it was not consulted by the other Opposition parties before naming their joint candidate for the election. Centre gives cabinet secy 1-yr extension MPs do not enjoy immunity from arrest in criminal cases during Parl session: Naidu NEW DELHI, 5 AUGUST NEW DELHI, 5 AUGUST The Appointment Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved a one-year extension for Union cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba. Gauba terms was set to get completed at the end of this month. However, he will continue in the same position till August 30, 2023. Last year in 2021 also, Gauba was given a one-year extension till August 2022 by the government.On 30 August, 2019, Gauba had taken over as the new Cabinet Secretary in the Government of India after the superannuation of PK Sinha. Gauba is an IAS officer of the Jharkhand cadre (1982 batch) and has held important assignments like Union Home Secretary, Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development and Chief Secretary, Jharkhand. He has also represented India at the International Monetary Fund. He was one of the key implementers of the Centre's decision to abrogate Article 370 and the reorganization of Jammu and Kashmir. ANI Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday clarified in the House that “MPs do not enjoy any immunity from being arrested in a criminal case during the Session or otherwise”. In criminal matters, Naidu said, Members of Parliament (MPs) are “not on a different footing than a common citizen”. “It means that a Member of Parliament does not enjoy any immunity from being arrested in a criminal case during the Session or otherwise,” Naidu observed. Naidu's observation came a day after Congress leader of house Mallikarjun Kharge raised the issue in the House that he was summoned by the FACT FILE TOTAL CASES 4,41,07,588 ACTIVE CASES 1,35,364 NEW CASES 20,551 21,595 NEW RECOVERIES TOTAL DEATHS 5,26,600 UNION HEALTH MINISTRY FIGURES AS OF 8.00 A.M. FRIDAY 05 AUGUST 2022 Delhi recorded 2,149 cases and two deaths P12 rate by 50 bps to Mamata calls on Modi; RBI hikes repoloan EMIs to rise curb inflation, seeks funds for WB Bengal CM to attend a governing council meeting of the NITI Aayog RAINFALL: 0.8 mm RELATIVE HUMIDITY PARA-POWERLIFTER SUDHIR SETS GAMES RECORD ALEX JONES ORDERED TO PAY SANDY HOOK PARENTS MORE THAN $4M AGENCIES Enforcement Directorate when the session is on.Going by what has happened in the last few days, Naidu said, "I want to clarify one thing that "there is a wrong notion among the members that they have a privilege from action by agencies while the session is on". “I have given it a serious thought. I examined all the precedents and I remember my own ruling given earlier.” “Under Article 105 of the Constitution, Members of Parliament enjoy certain ‘Voter card, Aadhaar link to streamline electoral rolls’ STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 5 AUGUST Streamlining of electoral rolls and curbing the menace of multiple enrollment are some of the reasons behind linking of voter cards with the Aadhar. “The reasons behind linking Voter IDs with Aadhaar numbers are, streamlining of electoral rolls and the process of registration of migrated voters without duplication in electoral rolls and curbing the menace of multiple enrollment of the same persons in different places. Accordingly, the Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021 has been enacted to provide for the linking of electoral roll data with Aadhaar number," said Minister of Law and Justice Kiren Riji- ju on Friday in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha. The Election Commission of India has informed that the Commission will link Aadhaar number with entry in electoral roll in accordance with the extant Standard Operating Procedure prescribed by the Unique Identification Authority of India without any access to Aadhaar database, said the reply. Election Commission said it has taken multiple measures for the security and safety of the electoral roll data platform. At the application level, various protocols like two-factor authentication, encryption (SHA512), algorithm communication only through https protocol and frequent security audit of applications are ensured. privileges so that they can perform their parliamentary duties without let or hindrance. One of the privileges is that a member of Parliament cannot be arrested in a civil case, 40 days before the commencement of the Session or Committee meeting and 40 days thereafter,” he said .This privilege is already incorporated under Sec 135A of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908, said Naidu. The SC in a recent case, State of Kerala Vs K. Ajith and Others, Naid said, observed that “privileges and immunities are not gateways to claim exemptions from the general law of the land, particularly as in this case, the criminal law which governs the action of every citizen.” Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair on Sunday the 7th meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog that is expected to pave the way for synergies towards a new era of collaboration and cooperation between the Centre and states. The agenda of the meeting includes crop diversification and achieving self-sufficiency in oilseeds and pulses and agri-communities; implementation of the National Education Policy–school education; implementation of the National Education Policy–higher education; and urban governance. As part of preparations for the meeting, the national conference of chief secretaries was held in Dharamshala in June 2022 which was the culmination of the sixmonth-long rigorous exercise by the Centre and the states.The conference was chaired by the PM and attended by the chief secretaries of all states and UTs, along with senior officials of the central and state governments. This would be the first in-person meeting of the Governing Council since July 2019. The EMIs on the loan will rise as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday hiked the repo rate by 50 basis points to 5.40 per cent to contain inflation. Several banks have already raised their borrowing rates and some will again increase their rates after this hike by the central bank. “For any financial institution including NBFCs Cash in the Inventory. All NBFC must borrow money from the market and then lend to customers. Difference between borrowing cost and lending income is the profit for NBFC. With increase in borrowing cost NBFC has to increase the lending cost to maintain profitability. Usually interest rates on loans are variable and are linked to Repo cost directly or indirectly. Hence when the Repo rate is changed by the government, NBFC changes the lending rate. Eventually, this increase in lending rate translates to the increase in EMI as the duration of the loan remains constant,” said Anshu Agarwal, Finance Head (India) of Branch International.Whenever the central bank increases the repo rate it is worrisome for existing and upcoming borrowers as their EMIs and interest rises. According to the RBI norms, banks are required to link the interest rates of loans with an external benchmark, which is generally the RBI's repo rate. Meanwhile, the bank deposit rates are also likely to increase, bringing some relief to the common man. After the rate hike by the central bank, the timing of taking the loan is crucial for home loan borrowers as they usually borrow at floating rates. “Home loan rates are now expected to settle around 8 per cent per annum, which can put a short-term psychological dent on the demand for the mid and affordable housing segment, but we won't see that continuing for long,” said Amit Goyal, CEO, India Sotheby's International Realty. The monetary policy committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has unanimously voted to increase the policy repo rate by 50 basis points to 5.40 per cent. Consequently, the Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) rate adjusted to 5.15 per cent and Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate adjusted to 5.65 per cent. This is the third consecutive rate hike by the central bank in this year after a 40 basis points hike in May and 50 basis points in June. With Friday's hike, the RBI has increased the rate by 140 basis points since May this Home loan rates are now expected to settle around 8 per cent per annum, which can put a short-term psychological dent on the demand for the mid and affordable housing segment, but we won't see that continuing for long AMIT GOYAL CEO, INDIA SOTHEBY'S INTERNATIONAL REALTY year. The central bank has retained its projection for GDP at 7.2 per cent, with Q1 at 16.2 per cent, Q2 at 6.2 per cent, Q3 at 4.1 per cent, and Q4 at 4.0 per cent, with risks broadly balanced. Real GDp growth for Q1FY24 is projected at 6.7 per cent. On the inflation front, projections for the 2022-23 remain unchanged at 6.7 per cent, with Q2 at 7.1 per cent, Q3 at 6.4 per cent and Q4 at 5.8 per cent, with risks evenly balanced. CPI Inflation for Q1FY24 is projected at 5.0 per cent. Rahul, Priyanka detained amid protests STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 5 AUGUST Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Shashi Tharoor, were detained in the national capital on Friday amidst the grand old party’s massive nationwide protests on the issues of inflation and unemployment. Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Shashi Tharoor were detained while marching to Rashtrapati Bhavan to protest against inflation, price rise, GST and unemployment. Congress party leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Mallikarjun Kharge among others chose to sport black outfits to mark their support for the protests called by Congress. The Delhi Police had imposed Section 144 of the CrPC We’re witnessing the death of democracy. What India has built brick by brick, starting almost a century ago, is being destroyed in front of your eyes. Anybody who stands against this idea of the onset of dictatorship is viciously attacked, jailed, arrested and beatRAHUL GANDHI - CONGRESS LEADER en up in the New Delhi district except for Jantar Mantar ahead of the Congress party's call for nationwide protests. The party had decided to stage a pan-India protest today and hold a demonstration outside the residences of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Droupadi Murmu. However, it was thwarted by Delhi Police.Despite no permission from Delhi Police, the Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra being detained during a nationwide protest. party leaders said they would go ahead with their proposed protest march. Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra jumped over a police barricade placed near the AICC office here during a protest. She was later detained by police. Apart from Priyanka Gandhi, several party leaders, including Sachin Pilot, Mallikarjun Kharge, Jairam Ramesh and India, China held talks over LAC airspace violations, provocations by PLA Air Force AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 5 AUGUST India and China held a special round of military talks on Tuesday at the ChushulMoldo border meeting point in eastern Ladakh to discuss airspace violations and provocations by the Chinese side in that region over the past 45 days. The talks were held after the Indian Air Force countered Chinese attempts to provoke in the eastern Ladakh region by violating airspace and confidence-building measurement lines, according to which both sides have to fly fighter jets within 10 km of the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Government sources told IANS: "During the military The talks also come at a time when China is having strained relations with several countries, including the US, over a high-profile US leader's visit to Taiwan and the firing of ballistic missiles in the Japanese Exclusive Economic Zone talks, the Indian side strongly objected to Chinese flight activities for over a month near the eastern Ladakh sector and asked them to refrain from such provocative activities.” The talks also come at a time when China is having strained relations with several countries, including the US, over a high-profile US leader's visit to Taiwan and the firing of ballistic missiles in the Japanese Exclusive Economic Zone. The talks between the two sides included air force officials from both sides along with representatives of the army. The Indian Air Force was represented by Air Commodore Amit Sharma from the Operations Branch, while an officer of an equivalent rank from the Air Force of the People's Liberation Army came for the discussion. Sources said the Indian Army was represented by a Major General-rank officer under the Fire and Fury Corps led by Lt Gen A Sengupta. The Chinese have been complaining about the Indian Air Force upgrading its capability in Tibet to detect Chinese Air Force aircraft operating within the territory they control. The confrontation between the two air forces began on 25 June when a PLAAF J-11 fighter aircraft flew very close to a point of friction in eastern Ladakh at around 4 p.m. and was picked up by both men on the ground as well as by radars. Chinese activities in front of the Chumar sector continued for over a month and the Indian Air Force retaliated strongly by scouting its fighter jets, including Mirage 2000 and MiG-29, from its forward positions near the Ladakh region. Sources said that China did not expect such a strong response from the Indian Air Force which was ready to face any possible misadventure from the PLAAF. Ranjeet Ranjan were also detained at Police Lines Kingsway Camp in Delhi. “Our job is to raise the issues of the people...Some Congress MPs detained, also beaten by police,” Rahul Gandhi said. “This protest is about price rise and Agnipath. Price rise affects everybody. As a political party and as elected representatives we are bound to voice the grievances, the burdens and the fears of the people. This is what we are doing,” Congress MP P Chidambaram said. Later, Delhi Police released all the Congress MPs who were detained during protest march. The Congress MPs were released after being detained for almost six hours for protesting peacefully and democratically against price rise, unemployment and GST, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said. Partha, his aide sent to 14 days judicial custody KOLKATA, 5 AUGUST A special Public Money Laundering Act court (PMLA) on Friday sent former state minister Partha Chatterjee and his aide Arpita Mukherjee to 14 days judicial custody in connection with the multi-crore West Bengal School Service Commission recruitment scam. Both will have to be presented at the same court on 18 August. Chatterjee’s counsel sought to counter the argument of ED counsel that bail should not be granted to Chatterjee because of his “influential connections” as a former minister ,arguing Chatterjee had already been stripped of his ministerial and party portfoli os and hence the argument of “influential connections” does not really hold IANS ground.