TUESDAY 28 FEBRUARY 2023 Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC www.thestatesman.com KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR P2 WEATHER Partly cloudy sky. Temperature will be in the range of 32-22 degrees Celsius. RAINFALL: 00.0mm RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max.95% Min. 52% Max: 31.0°C (+1) SUN RISES 06:00 hrs MOON RISES 10:47 hrs Min: 22.9°C (+3) SUN SETS 17:40 hrs MOON SETS --:-- hrs TEMPERATURE P5 rime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the Government's mega welfare schemes could achieve their objectives easily and reach the last mile, if there was good governance, and an administration dedicated to serve common citizens. Addressing a post-Budget webinar on reaching the last mile, he said mere allocation of large funds could not ensure the nation's development or public welfare. To ensure that benefits of the schemes reached the poorest and well in time, it was essential to have an able and a sensitive administration, he said. The Prime Minister said when Government work was measured and monitored regularly, it was possible to achieve time-bound goals and desired results. The greater the stress on good governance, the easier would be the achievement of reaching the last mile. The webinar was the P Priests perform 'Maha Aarti' at the 108 Kundiya Shiva Shakti Mahayagya, in Gurugram Monday.  ANI fourth of a series of 12 postBudget webinars organized by the government to seek ideas and suggestions for the effective implementation of the initiatives announced in the Union Budget, 202324. He said vaccination of children in villages and tribal areas seemed an impossible task at one Advertisements should not mislead consumers: Govt The Centre today asked manufacturers, service providers, advertisers, and advertising agencies to ensure that their advertisements do not mislead consumers. There was a need for ethical standards in advertising. Disclosures must be hard to miss to ensure that they don't get mixed up with a group of hashtags or links, said Rohit Kumar Singh, Secretary of the Department of Consumer Affairs while virtually delivering the keynote address at the ''Get It Right Brand Influencer Summit 2023'', organised by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) in Mumbai. The summit focused on the importance of responsible advertising practices and consumer protection. ''For endorsements in pictures, disclosures should be superimposed over the image, and for endorsements in videos, disclosures should be made in both audio and video formats. In live streams, disclosures should be continuously displayed and prominently placed,'' Singh said. Echoing the sentiments of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he highlighted the crucial role of striking a balance between supporting businesses and protecting consumer interests. He cited the Consumer Protection Act 2019 passed by Parliament, which provides protection against misleading advertisements. While differentiating between good and bad advertisements, he said the government's intention was not to obstruct the growth of businesses but to ensure that ethical standards were met. With over 75 crore internet users in India, of which 50 crore were social media users, Singh noted the paradigm shift from traditional advertising to social media advertising and the importance of conducting it responsibly. He stressed the need for influencers and celebrities to disclose any material connections with advertisers that might affect the credibility of their representation. time, and could take years to complete. Things changed once the system was changed and Mission Indradhanush was launched. The Mission helped vaccination drives during the Covid-19 pandemic and proved that good governance had a vital role in last mile delivery, he said. Interacting with experts and stakeholders, Mr Modi said the saturation policy and reaching the last mile approach complemented each other. At one time the poor were running after the government for basic facilities, and searched for middlemen to get them. This gave birth to corruption and denial of rights to the people. Today, the government is reaching the poor with different services, he said. “The day we are determined to ensure that every basic facility is provided to every citizen in every area, then we will see a big change takes place in the work culture at the local level. This is the spirit behind the policy of saturation. When our aim is to reach everyone, then there will be no scope for discrimination and corruption. And only then, we will also be able to achieve the goal of reaching the last mile,” the Prime Minister said. Giving examples of the approach, the Prime Minister cited PM SVANidhi Scheme that linked street vendors to formal banking; the Development and Welfare Board STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI: 27 FEBRUARY The BJP will easily gain a majority in Tripura and its alliance government will come to power in Nagaland, exit polls have predicted. The race for Meghalaya will be tight, with Conrad Sangma's NPP (National People's Party) likely to emerge as the single largest party. Tripura voted on February 16, recording nearly 88 per cent polling. The India Today exit poll has predicted that the BJP will win 36-45 seats in the Tripura Assembly. The BJP-led alliance is likely to retain power, shows the India TodayAxis My India poll. With voting for the assembly polls in Meghalaya and Nagaland ending on Monday amid tight security, all eyes are now on the results. In Meghalaya, polling was held at 3,419 polling stations across 59 Assembly constituencies, while in Nagaland voting was held in 59 out of 60 Assembly constituencies. The Matrize exit poll for STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 27 FEBRUARY President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan . Stating that the PIL petitioner advocate was “pointing fingers at a particular community” and terming them as “barbaric”, both Justice Joseph and Justice Nagarathna said that Hinduism was a way of life which for De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Communities; five lakh common service centers in villages; and the milestone of 10 crore cases of tele-medicine. The Prime Minister said that this year’s Budget has paid special attention to taking the mantra of reaching the last mile to tribal and rural areas. He said that for this, thousands of crore rupees have been allocated to the Jal Jeevan Mission. Work has started on more than 60,000 Amrit Sarovars, out of which 30,000 Sarovars have already been constructed. “These campaigns are improving the standard of living of those Indians living far and wide, who have been waiting for such facilities for decades. We do not have to stop here. We have to create a mechanism for new water connections and the pattern of water consumption. We also have to review what can be done to further strengthen water committees, and prepare people for water storage before the rains come,” he said. Exit Polls: BJP to win Tripura & Nagaland; Meghalaya sees four-cornered contest Exit Poll2023 Meghalaya predicted 21-26 seats for the NPP 6-11 seats , to the BJP 8-13 to the TMC, , 3-6 for the Congress and 1019 for others. In Meghalaya, it continued to be a four-cornered contest. In the last Assembly polls, although the Congress had emerged as the single largest party winning 21 seats, the Conrad Sangma-led National People's Party, which had won 20 seats, had managed to form the government following an alliance with the BJP . However, this time, with no pre-poll alliance in place, the Congress, BJP NPP and TMC , are looking to win a majority on their own. In Nagaland, in 2018 the ‘No bigotry in Hinduism’, SC junks plea on renaming roads, places Observing that India cannot be kept on boil by selectively dragging the past history, the Supreme Court on Monday junked a petition seeking to restore original names of historical, cultural and religious places traceable in Ramaya, Mahabharat, Puranas and religious scriptures/ Coming down heavily on a BJP leader and advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, a bench of Justice K.M. Joseph and Justice B.V. Nagarathna said that the country having more pressing issues to deal with cannot be kept a “prisoner of past” and recalled the “divide and rule’ policy of the Britishers. “We don’t want the present and the succeeding generations to become prisoners of [past”, the bench said as Justice Joseph while pointing to the greatness of Hindu religion, referred to a treaty ‘The Hindu Way of Life’ by India’s second P12 Good Governance essential Delhi court sends Sisodia to 5-day CBI to reach last mile: PM Modi custody till 4 March STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 27 FEBRUARY THUMBNAILS NEW DELHI, 27 FEBRUARY P10 DJOKOVIC BREAKS GRAF’S RECORD FOR MOST WEEKS AS WORLD NO.1 PM said mere allocation of large funds could not ensure the nation's development or public welfare Full moon on 7 March STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE SUNAK ON VERGE OF EU DEAL SHINDE ATTEMPTS TO CORNER THACKERAY GROUP ISSUES ‘WHIP’ , ‘SISODIA ARRESTED TO DIVERT ATTENTION FROM ADANI ISSUE’ has assimilated that came its way and there was no place for bigotry in it. “You want to keep this as a live issue and keep the coun- try on a boil. Fingers are pointed at a particular community and are termed as barbaric. You run down a particular section of society. India is a secular State and it (Supreme court) is a secular form” and are seeking direction to the secular Union Home Ministry – that protects all sections of people - to set-up a ‘renaming commission’, said Justice Joseph. Pointing to the greatness of Hindu kings in Kerala, Justice Joseph said that they were, centuries ago, who gave lands for the construction of churches. As BJP leader and advocate PIL petitioner told the court that there were roads and cities named after Muslim invaders but there was none after the five Pandyas, Justice Nagarathna referring to the ‘divide and rule’ policy of Britishers asked him “can you wish away the facts of history. Can you wish away invasion from history? Don’t we have other problems in this country? To move forward”. BJP 35 Left 12 Others 13 Tripura NDPP-BJP alliance had formed the government. The Naga People's Front (NPF), which had emerged as the single largest party in the last Assembly polls, faces a tough time as many of its leaders have since quit to join the NDPP. The Matrize exit poll predicts the BJP+NDPP will win 35-43 seats, the Congress will get 1-3 seats, the NPF might get 2-5, the NPP 1 and 6-11 for the others in Nagaland. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 27 FEBRUARY A Delhi court on Monday sent Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia to five-day Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) custody in the excise policy scam case till March 4 even as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers held protest demonstrations against the BJP led Central government in several parts across the country over Sisodia's arrest. The CBI on Sunday arrested Sisodia in connection with the alleged Delhi liquor excise policy case after eight hours of questioning. Special judge MK Nagpal of the Rouse Avenue Courts, who had reserved his order after arguments from both sides, pronounced his order sending Sisodia to custody till March 4. Appearing for the CBI, Special Public Prosecutor Pankaj Gupta argued: "Investigation has revealed that Sisodia verbally directed the Secretary to put a new cabinet note to bring about the change and variance in the policy. He was heading the Group of Ministers constituted by the cabinet for the Excise Policy...The profit margin was enhanced from 5 per cent to 12 per cent. He could not explain why the changes were made." He said that the agency was asking for his phone which he has been using since January 2020. Senior advocate Dayan Krishnan, appearing for Sisodia, said: "Their grounds for remand are not tenable in law at all. All the arguments about profit margin were approved by the LG. The LG, who is the complainant in the case, approved it in May 2021." As the CBI had alleged that Sisodia destroyed three of his four phones, Krishnan said that the agency claimed Sisodia used four phones, three The CBI on Sunday arrested Sisodia in connection with the alleged Delhi liquor excise policy case after eight hours of questioning. Special judge MK Nagpal of the Rouse Avenue Courts, who had reserved his order after arguments from both sides, pronounced his order sending Sisodia to custody till March 4. of which are destroyed, asking what was his client supposed to do - keep those phones in anticipation that the agency will come and arrest him? "Their case is I did not answer in the way they wanted me to answer. I will show why that is not a ground for remand. If your lordships grant remand for self-incrimination then that would be a travesty," he said. The AAP on Monday held nationwide protests across the country against the arrest of the Delhi Deputy Chief Minister by the CBI in connection with the alleged corruption in the now-scrapped excise policy. Protests were staged in Chandigarh, Delhi, Bhopal, and other cities amid heavy police deployment. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday claimed that many officers of the Central probe agency were against Sisodia’s arrest. The "political pressure" to arrest Sisodia was so high that they had to obey their "political masters", Kejriwal added. "I am told that most CBI officers were against Manish’s arrest. All of them have huge respect for him and there is no evidence against him. But the political pressure to arrest him was so high that they had to obey their political masters," the chief minister said in a tweet. SC seeks explanation from Centre over OROP arrears payment issue to eligible pensioners AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 27 FEBRUARY The Supreme Court on Monday sought to know why the Ministry of Defence passed a unilateral notification extending the time for payment of One Rank-One Pension (OROP) arrears to retired army personnel. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud directed the Secretary in the pension scheme department of the Ministry of Defence to file a response explaining why the defence ministry passed a "unilateral" notification for payment of OROP arrears to retired army personnel in four equal instalments. "The Defence Ministry has earlier sought an extension, which was granted by the top court by order of September 16, 2022. A further extension was granted in January 2023 for three months," the court observed. The Centre issued a notification later in January this year that arrears on account of the revision of pension from July 1, 2019, till the date of its implementation shall be paid by the Pension Disbursing Agencies in four instalments, the court further noted. However, the government has also said that it will pay arrears in one instalment to all the family pensioners including those in receipt of special or liberalized family pensions and all gallantry award winners. An application was filed by Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement (IESM) in the Supreme Court challenging government notification. The court asked how can the department modify it when the court has passed an order to pay the arrears by March this year. The court remarked that this is not war but it is under the rule of law and warned the Ministry of Defence that it may issue a contempt notice, asking them to set its house in order. The court listed the matter after Holi. The decision to implement OROP was taken by the Narendra Modi government on November 7, 2015, with benefits effective from July 1, 2014. OROP was a longstanding demand of the armed forces and implies that retired soldiers of the same rank, who have retired after serving for the same length of service, will receive the same pension, irrespective of the date and year of their retirement. Earlier, the top court dismissed the review petition which had challenged its decision on this policy. The review petition was moved in the Supreme Court challenging the top court judgement delivered in March last year.