TUESDAY 14 MARCH 2023 Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC www.thestatesman.com KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR ‘WE’RE BUILDING AI FOR GOVERNANCE, COMMERCIAL USE, DEEP CAPABILITIES’ ‘ADHERE TO PRINCIPLES OF INTEGRITY & TRANSPARENCY’ P5 WEATHER Mainly clear sky. Temperature will be in the range of 34-23 degrees Celsius. RAINFALL: 00.0mm RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max.88% Min.38% Max: 34.5°C (+1) SUN RISES 05:48 hrs MOON RISES 23:08 hrs Min: 23.0°C (+1) SUN SETS 17:45 hrs MOON SETS 09:17 hrs TEMPERATURE BIDEN TO ANNOUNCE AUSTRALIA SUBMARINE DEAL IN SAN DIEGO P8 P10 THUMBNAILS 149 passengers placed in 'No Fly List' for a period since 2020: As many as 149 passengers have been placed in the 'No Fly List' for a period, as per the recommendations of the respective Internal Committee constituted by the airline during the last three years (from 2020 till date), the Rajya Sabha was informed on Monday. The Ministry of Civil Aviation in a written reply said that in the last three years, no such case has been revoked. The SoP, as per the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR), Section 3-Air Transport, Series M, and Part VI titled "Handling of unruly/disruptive passengers", provides that a complaint of unruly behaviour from the pilot-in-command is to be referred by the airlines to an Internal Committee constituted by the airline. It also says that the Internal Committee shall decide the matter within a period of 30 days along with the category level of the unruly passenger and the duration of the ban from flying in terms of the provisions of the CAR. Pending a decision of the Internal Committee, the concerned airline may ban such passengers from flying for a period not exceeding 30 days. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 13 MARCH ndia has scripted history by winning two Oscars at 95th edition of Academy Awards ceremony as the song 'Naatu Naatu' from the film 'RRR' clinched the Oscar in the Best Original Song category while ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ won an Oscar in the Best Documentary Short Film category. 'Naatu Naatu' was picturised on Ram Charan and NTR Jr from the film 'RRR'. This is the first time that two Indian productions have won the Oscar awards. The 95th Academy awards function was held in Los Angeles. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday congratulated music director MM Keeravani and lyricist Chandra Bose after their song "Naatu! Naatu!" from the Telugu film "RRR" won the prestigious Oscar award. Modi also congratulated the team of documentary film "The Elephant Whisperers" for winning the Oscar in the "Best Documentary Short Film" category. "Exceptional! The popularity of 'Naatu Naatu' is global. It will be a song that will be remembered for years to come. Congratulations to @mmkeeravaani, @boselyricist and the entire team for this prestigious honour," Modi tweeted after "Naatu! Naatu!" won the award. He further added that the country is "elated and proud" of their achievement. The Prime Minister also wished producer Guneet Monga and her team for their documentary "The Elephant Whisperers" winning the Oscar award. "Congratulations to @Earth- The film 'RRR' clinched the Oscar in the Best Original Song category I 'Naatu Naatu' was picturised on Ram Charan and NTR Jr from the film 'RRR'. This is the first time that two Indian productions have won the Oscar awards. The 95th Academy awards function was held in Los Angeles. Kartiki Gonsalves Director of ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ RRR’s Music director MM Keeravani and lyricist Chandra Bose Spectrum, @guneetm and the entire team of 'The Elephant Whisperers' for this honour. Their work wonderfully highlights the importance of sustainable development and living in harmony with nature," Modi tweeted. 'Naatu Naatu' has already won a Golden Globe and a Critics Choice Award this year. At the 95th edition of the Academy Awards, 'The Elephant Whisperers' clinched the Oscar for the Best Documentary Short ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ won an Oscar in the Best Documentary Short Film category. The documentary is about the bond that develops between a couple and an orphaned baby elephant called Raghu. PM Narendra Modi on Monday congratulated music director MM Keeravani and lyricist Chandra Bose after their song "Naatu! Naatu!" also congratulated the team of documentary film "The Elephant Whisperers" for winning the Oscar. Film. The film's producer Guneet Monga has reacted to her film's big win. The 'Elephant Whisperers' marks Kartiki Gonsalves' directorial debut. Lauding the film's director, she said: "This is an incredibly powerful and historical moment. We, as two women from India, stood on that global stage making this historical win. I'm so proud of this film, this moment and proud of my amazing team at Sikhya Entertainment, that an STATESMAN NES SERVICE NEW DELHI, 13 MARCH tion of law as to the interpretation of the constitution or for the purpose of hearing any reference under article 143 Centre approves additional assistance of over `1,800 cr to five states hit by calamities STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 13 MARCH The Centre has approved additional assistance of about Rs. 1816 crores under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) to five states, which were affected by floods, landslides and cloudbursts in 2022. The approval came at a high-level meeting under the chairmanship of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. While Assam will get about Rs 520 crores, Himachal Pradesh will receive Rs 240 crores, Karnataka Rs 941 crores, Meghalaya Rs 47 crores and Nagaland Rs 68 crores. ''This additional assistance is over and above the funds released by the Centre to the states under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), already placed at the disposal of the states. During the financial year 2022-23, the Central Government has released Rs. 15,770.40 crores to 25 states in their SDRF and Rs. 502.744 crores to four states from NDRF the Home ,'' Ministry said today. speech in London Historic Triumph independent production house from India has made the history to be the first ever Indian film by an Indian production to win an Oscar. My heart is racing with all the joy, love, excitement in the moment. I'm so grateful to Kartiki, the wonderful visionary that she is." The documentary is about the bond that develops between a couple and an orphaned baby elephant called Raghu, who was entrusted to their care. SC refers petitions seeking legal recognition of same-sex marriage to Constitution Bench The Supreme Court on Monday referred a batch of petitions seeking recognition of the same-sex marriage to a fivejudge constitution bench as court said the issue involves prevailing statutory regimes relating to marriages and the rights under the constitutional law. A bench of Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice P.S. Narasimha and Justice J.B. Pardiwala referred the petitions to a five-judge constitution bench taking recourse of Article 145(3) under which any case involving a substantial ques- P12 PM greets ‘RRR’, ‘The Elephant Parliament uproar Whisperers’ for winning Oscars over Rahul’s India scripts history by winning two Oscars at 95th edition of Academy Awards ceremony New Moon on 21 March SHADAB TO LEAD PAK IN AFGHANISTAN T20IS; BABAR AZAM RESTED shall be heard by a bench of five judges. While Centre said it is for Parliament to decide whether the same gender marriage could be recognised under the law, the senior advocates appearing for various petitions pointed to provisions in Special Marriage Act to argue that same gender marriages could be permitted as a right referring to judgment upholding the right to privacy as a fundamental right and judgment decriminalising same sex relationship. Stating that the entire issue falls within the domain of the parliament taking into account societal morality and ethos, the Centre in its affidavit has said that Despite the decriminalisation of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, the petitioners can't claim fundamental rights recognised under the Indian laws. “Family issues are far beyond mere recognition and registration of marriage between persons belonging to the same gender. Living together as partners and having sexual relationship by the same sex individuals (decriminalised now) is not comparable with the Indian family concept of a husband, a wife and children, which necessarily presupposes a biological man as a 'husband', a biological woman as a 'wife' and the children born out of the union between the two -- who are reared by the biological man as father and the biological woman as mother,” says the Centre's affidavit. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 13 MARCH Parliament on Monday adjourned abruptly when the Opposition raised an uproar and protested against the Government's demand for an apology by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his recent remarks on the state of Indian democracy in London. The two Houses of Parliament had resumed their sittings for the second part of the Budget Session this morning, but the proceedings turned noisy after the Treasury Benches raised the issue of the Congress leader's remarks, saying he should apologise for his observations. In the Rajya Sabha, Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge said comments made by members of the Lok Sabha could not be raised in the Rajya Sabha, and cited earlier rulings in his support. He said comments made by Leader of the House Piyush Goyal regarding Mr Gandhi's speech should be therefore expunged. Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, after hearing different views, said he would give his ruling tomorrow and adjourned the House for the day. After a quiet start at 11 am, the two Houses had such stormy scenes that they were adjourned within minutes for the post-lunch sitting from 2 pm. There was no peace however as the Treasury Benches reiterated their demand later. Amid noisy scenes, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary presented the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir's Budget in the Lok Sabha. Just as Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi started speaking on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's recent speech in London, the Opposition members rushed to the well of the House in protest leading to a ruckus. Joshi said where was Gandhi's concern for democracy when he tore off an Ordinance document during the UPA rule. The Minister said Gandhi had cast aspersions on the Speaker saying that his microphone was switched off in the House. The Speaker said people of the country had deep faith in its democracy. Speakers of Parliaments all over the world agreed India has a strong and empowered democracy, Birla said. Following this, Lok Sabha Birla adjourned the House till 2 pm. The Rajya Sabha was also adjourned by Chairman Jagdeep Dhankar as there were similar scenes created by protesting Opposition MPs. Slamming Rahul Gandhi for "insulting India in London," Defence Minister Rajnath Singh demanded in Lok Sabha that the Congress leader should be asked to "apologise before the House." Raising the issue just before the Question Hour was to start, Singh said "Rahul Gandhi, who is a member of this House, insulted India in London. I demand that his statements should be condemned by all members of this House and he should be asked to apologise before the House." The Defence Minister said Gandhi had asked foreign countries to intervene and "save" Indian democracy. He said the whole House should condemn Congress leader's remarks and requested the Speaker to direct him to apologise before Parliament. Leader of House in the Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal, without naming anyone, said a Congress leader had brought down the dignity of the Indian democracy outside India. He said "this is a matter of grave concern and he should be strongly condemned." Mr Goyal spoke on the issue just after the official papers were laid in morning and again when the House reassembled post-lunch after the first adjournment. The Congress members rose at their seats to protest on the matter. Goyal said India was today leader of the G20 and the whole world had expressed appreciation for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership. India qualifies for WTC final after New Zealand beat Sri Lanka AGENCIES AHMEDABAD, 13 MARCH India have qualified for the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final of the 2021-23 cycle at The Oval starting from June 7, after New Zealand beat Sri Lanka by two wickets in a thrilling last-ball win at the Hagley Oval on Monday. Sri Lanka was the other team in contention for a spot in the WTC final. But now after losing the first Test to New Zealand by two wickets, it has cleared the path for India to go into the final and meet Australia in the summit clash. With the Ahmedabad Test now heading towards a draw, Sri Lanka needed to beat New Zealand 2-0 in the two-match Test series to qualify. But rain in Christchurch took an entire session away in their quest to defend 284 runs against the Blackcaps. Kane Williamson's unbeaten 121, and backed by Daryl Mitchell's outstanding 81 handed New Zealand a thrilling win and also ensured that India will meet Australia in the WTC final at The Oval from June 7-11, nine days after the end of IPL 2023. Taking a 2-1 series lead in the opening three of four Border-Gavaskar Trophy Tests at home against Australia proved to be enough for Rohit Sharma's side to clinch their spot in the WTC final. But the icing on the cake to confirm their WTC final spot was to avoid defeat in the ongoing fourth Test at Ahmedabad, which is heading towards an inevitable draw. With Sri Lanka's defeat to New Zealand, Rohit Sharma's men cannot drop below second position in the WTC points table. India began their WTC campaign for the 2021-23 cycle in England, taking a 21 lead in their series against Joe Root's men, before the fifth Test in Manchester was postponed until July 2022 due to Covid. They would go on to lose the fifth Test match in Birmingham, though series wins against New Zealand, Sri Lanka at home, followed by an away series victory over Bangladesh set up their charge to the WTC final. Their BorderGavaskar Trophy series win sets up a final against Australia on neutral ground at The Oval in London, with the winner claiming the World Test Championship mace.