FRIDAY 09 JUNE 2023 www.thestatesman.com twitter.com/thestatesman facebook.com/thestatesman INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR POPE IN ‘GOOD GENERAL CONDITION’ AFTER SURGERY IN ABEYANCE P6 SENSEX 62,848.64 294.32 WEATHER PARTLY CLOUDY SKY. VERY LIGHT RAIN/DRIZZLE TOWARDS NIGHT AT ONE OR TWO PLACES. STRONG SURFACE WINDS(SPEED 20-30 KMPH) DURING THE DAY. THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 41 AND 24 DEGREE CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. P11 NIFTY 18,634.55 91.85 P7 Says allowing anti-India elements not good for bilateral relationship STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 8 JUNE Max. 76 % Min. 36 % Max: 39.9 °C (+0) SUN RISES 05:23 hrs MOON RISES 00:15 hrs Min: 23.9 °C (-4) SUN SETS 19:18 hrs MOON SETS 10:36 hrs E TEMPERATURE THUMBNAILS Indian Olympic Association chairperson P T Usha along with the athletes and other dignitaries hold the Flame of Hope during a send-off ceremony for the Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023, at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi on Thursday.  ANI Thane man chopped, minced and cooked live-in i partner's body pieces: The prime accused in the Thane murder case allegedly stooped to unimaginably gory levels to disguise his live-in partner's killing, stunning even the police investigators, officials said on Thursday. Accused, Manoj Sahani, 56, was nabbed late on Wednesday night after he was found living in his rental flat with several body pieces of his live-in partner, Saraswati Vaidya, 32, whom he (Pg 5) had killed recently. xternal Affairs Minister S Jaishankar today made it clear to Canada that giving space to separatist elements from India was not good for the bilateral relationship after visuals surfaced on social media of a float in the Canadian city of Brampton that reportedly celebrated the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Addressing a Press conference to highlight the Modi government's achievements on the foreign policy front during its nine years in office, he said: "I think there is a bigger issue involved... Frankly, we are at a loss to understand other than the requirements of vote bank politics why anybody would do this...I think there is a larger underlying issue about the space which is given to separatists, extremists, to people who advocate violence. I think it is not good for relationships, not good for Canada." Mr Jaishankar also lashed out at Canada's National Security Advisor Jody Thomas for her reported remarks calling India among the top sources of foreign interference in Canada. “What shall I say, the ‘Rahul Gandhi has a habit of criticising India abroad’ STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 8 JUNE External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar addresses the devotees during his visit to Guru Arjan Dev Ji Gurudwara, in New Delhi on Thursday.  ANI phrase which came to my mind was actually a Hindi phrase which was...’Ulta chor kotwal ko daantey..’ (the pot calling the kettle black). If anybody has a complaint... we have a complaint about Canada,” he said. Talking about India's relations with its main adversaries China and Pakistan, the foreign minister said relations with China would remain impaired if the situation on the border did not improve while asserting that India has delegitimised cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan. He said China tried to coerce India in April-May 2020 by its military actions in eastern Ladakh in violation of bilateral agreements. “We want peace with China, but if peace Monsoon arrives in Kerala: IMD agreements are violated then what can be done? However, talks happen. We spoke to China just before the Galwan Valley incident (15 June 2020) happened... We told them about the movement of their troops. I spoke to them just a day after Galwan. We have to find a way to disengage, otherwise, relations will remain impaired,” he said. While responding to a series of questions on Rahul Gandhi's statements on China capturing Indian territories, Mr Jaishankar said the Congress leader was in the habit of saying so many things. "He (Rahul) referred to a bridge being built by China on Pangong Tso Lake. But that was on territory captured by China in 1962. China has captured External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar today hit out at senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his sharp attacks on the Narendra Modi government during his foreign visits, saying it was not in the national interest to take the country's internal matters abroad. “The world is watching us. Rahul Gandhi has a habit of criticising India abroad. I don't think taking national politics out of the country is in the national interest,” Mr Jaishankar said at a press conference while reacting to Mr Gandhi’s recent remarks. territories in India since the 1950s. However, in 2020 we had to do forward deployment, which caused tension," he said. Describing the situation with China as “complicated”, the minister said such issues should not be reduced to a point-scoring exercise but should be debated. SNS & AGENCIES MUMBAI, 8 JUNE The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) monetary policy committee unanimously decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent, while projecting gross domestic product (GDP) and inflation at 6.5 per cent and 5.1 per cent respectively. The repo rate is the rate of interest at which RBI lends to other banks. A consistent decline in inflation (currently at an 18month low) and its potential for further decline may have prompted the central bank to put the brake on the key interest rate again. Most analysts had expected the RBI to continue to keep the repo rate unchanged. Inflation has been a concern for many countries, including advanced economies, but India has managed to steer its inflation trajectory quite well. The RBI in its April meeting, the first in 2023-24, had paused the repo rate. Barring the April pause, the RBI raised the repo rate by 250 basis points cumulatively to 6.5 per cent since May 2022 in the fight against inflation.Raising interest rates is a monetary policy instrument that typically helps suppress demand in the economy, thereby helping the inflation rate decline. India's retail inflation was above RBI's 6 per cent RBI Guv: Half of `2k notes in circulation back in system AGENCIES MUMBAI , JUNE 8 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das on Thursday said 50 per cent of the to-be-withdrawn Rs 2,000 notes came back to the system. “Totally so far about Rs 180,000 crore of Rs 2000 notes have come back. This is roughly about 50 per cent of the Rs 2000 notes which were in circulation on March 31," RBI Governor Das said at a postmonetary policy meeting press conference. About 85 per cent of those notes, on a provi- sional basis, have come back as deposits in bank accounts. he added. “Good thing is that there has been no rush in any of the banks," Das said, appealing to people not to rush to banks in panic. He particularly urged people to avoid the last-minute rush at bank branches. (PG8) target for three consecutive quarters and had managed to fall back to the RBI's comfort zone only in November 2022. Under the flexible inflation targeting framework, the RBI is deemed to have failed in managing price rises if the CPI-based inflation is outside the 2-6 per cent range for three quarters in a row. Coming to the GDP outlook, the RBI expects India's 2023-24 GDP growth at 6.5 per cent, with quarter Q1 at 8.0 per cent, Q2 at 6.5 per cent, Q3 at 6.0 per cent, and 5.7 per cent. The RBI governor Shaktikanta Das, while reading the monetary policy state- ment on Thursday, said the central bank sees risks to these GDP figures as evenly balanced. As per the provisional estimates released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) recently, real GDP growth for 2022-23 stood at 7.2 per cent, higher than the 7 per cent projected. The government expects an upward revision in the 2022-23 GDP numbers going ahead. As regards the inflation rate, the MPC forecast was 5.1 per cent for 2023-24 taking into account the rabi crop harvest/monsoon projections and favourable near term inflation trend. ‘No violence in last 48 hours; MHA has cleared `101.75-cr relief package for Manipur’ AMBASSADORS NEW DELHI, 8 JUNE SNS & AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 8 JUNE east Bay of Bengal today, the 08th June 2023," it said. The IMD further said that conditions are favourable for further advance of Southwest monsoon into some more parts of central Arabian Sea, remaining parts of Kerala, some more parts of Tamil Nadu, some parts of Karnataka and some more parts of southwest, Central and north-east Bay of Bengal and some parts of north-eastern states during next 48 hours. There has been widespread rainfall over Kerala during the past 24 hours.The IMD in a statement yesterday had predicted that meteorological conditions were becoming favourable for the onset of monsoon over Kerala during the next 48 hours. The IMD had in May predicted the arrival of monsoon on 4 June. Miss World 2022 Karolina Bielawska and Miss India World 2022 Sini Shetty pose for a photo at the inaugural Press meet for the 71st edition of the beauty pageant, in New Delhi on Thursday.  SUBRATA DUTTA No Indian will be left behind in wellness journey: PM STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 8 JUNE Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the government’s unwavering commitment towards a healthier India has led to significant strides in the healthcare sector, and the government will ensure that no Indian is left behind in the journey towards wellness. On the completion of his government’s nine years in office, Mr Modi tweeted: the hastag ‘#9YearsOfHealthForAll’ and shared articles, graphics, videos and information on the Government’s work. Since 2014, the government has focused on developing an integrated approach and a long-term vision regarding healthcare in India. Ensuring affordable treatment for everyone was one of the topmost priorities of the Modi government. BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 76.8114 RBI MPC retains repo rate at 6.5 pc, projects 6.5 pc GDP STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE The South-west Monsoon reached India on Thursday with its onset over Kerala, a week after the normal date of 1 June, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.The South-west Monsoon normally sets in over Kerala on 1 June with a standard deviation of about seven days. Monsoon is crucial especially for kharif crops, which are dependent on rains. India has three cropping seasons - summer, kharif and rabi. In a statement, the IMD said: "South-west Monsoon has set in over Kerala today, the 08th June, 2023 against the normal date of 01st June." "The South-west Monsoon has advanced into remaining parts of south Arabian Sea and some parts of central Arabian Sea, entire Lakshadweep area, most parts of Kerala, most parts of south Tamil Nadu, remaining parts of Comorin area, Gulf of Mannar and some more parts of southwest, central and north- P12 SILVER 73438.00 GOLD 61,390.00 ` vs $ 82.57 5 PAISE EAM Jaishankar turns up the heat on Canada RAINFALL: Nil RELATIVE HUMIDITY SIRAJ PICKS UP 4-FER AS AUSTRALIA MAKE 469 IN FIRST INNINGS PEOPLE BRING CHANGE, NOT EXTERNAL FORCES While addressing the post budget webinar on Health and Medical Research in March this year, he said: “We have put forward a vision before the world and that is ‘One Earth-One Health’. It means that we are emphasizing holistic healthcare for living beings, be it humans, animals or plants.” As per the data revealed through the Economic Survey 2022-23, the share of government health expenditure in the total health expenditure has increased from 28.6 per cent in FY14 to 40.6 per cent in FY19. Simultaneously, the survey showed a decline in out-ofpocket health expenditure from 64.2 per cent in FY14 to 48.2 per cent in FY19. The survey highlighted a hike in the share of expenditure on health in the total expenditure on social services, from 21 per cent in FY19 to 26 per cent in the FY23 Budget estimate. To provide accessible and affordable healthcare to the common people, the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri -- Jan Arogya Yojana (ABPMJAY) was launched in 2018. One of the world’s largest government-funded healthcare programmes, the ABPMJAY is taking healthcare protection to a new paradigm by providing free treatment facilities up to Rs 5 lakhs. From its inception till April 2023, more than 23 crore Ayushman cards have been created against the verified beneficiaries; 4.83 crore hospital admissions worth more than Rs 53,350 crore have been authorized through a network of 27,077 empanelled healthcare providers including 11,700 private hospitals. More than 1.5 lakh Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres have been set up in different parts of the country. These hospitals are equipped with advanced facilities with stored essential drugs, vital maternal and child health services, and more than 1,900 procedures for non-communicable diseases, including diseases like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease which are provided free of cost. The affordable prices and increase in ease of access to these centres have encouraged people to visit these healthcare centres without worry about the cost.While inaugurating AIIMS Guwahati in April 2023, PM Modi said that AB-PMJAY has helped save Rs 80,000 crore of millions of patients across the country who belong to economically weaker sections of the society. The situation in Manipur remained peaceful and under control as no incident of violence was reported in the last 48 hours in the North-east state, Kuldiep Singh, advisor (Security) to the Manipur government said on Thursday. To provide relief to the displaced people of Manipur, Singh said, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has approved a relief package worth Rs 101.75 crore. The MHA's approval of the relief package for the displaced in Manipur followed Union Home Minister Amit Shah's direction to the state government to send a request to his ministry for such a package.As per Singh, a total of 27 arms, 245 ammunition and 41 bombs within Porompat Police Station limits under the jurisdiction of Imphal East district of Manipur and one arm and two bombs in Bishnupur district in the state have been recovered during the last 24 hours. “A total of 896 arms and 11,763 ammunition and 200 bombs of different kinds have been recovered to date," said Mr Singh. The retired Indian Police Service officer from the 1986 batch said curfew was relaxed for 12 hours in five valley districts, and 10 hours and 8 hours in neighbouring hill districts. “There is no curfew in six other hill districts. Movement of essential items along NH-37 is ensured. A total of 294 empty vehicles have left Imphal for Jiribam today. A total of 220 loaded vehicles have left Noney and 198 loaded tankers and trucks have left Jiribam today," the former Central Reserve Police Force chief said. DRDO successfully flight-tests Agni Prime ballistic missile off Odisha coast STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE BALASORE, 8 JUNE The new generation Ballistic Missile ‘Agni Prime’ was successfully flight-tested by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha on Wednesday night. During the flight test, all objectives were successfully demonstrated, according to official sources. This was the first preinduction night launch conducted by the end-users after three successful developmental trials of the missile, validating the accuracy and reliability of the system, said an official release. Range Instrumentation like Radar, Telemetry and ‘Agni Prime’ ballistic missile successfully flight-tested by DRDO off Odisha coast on Wednesday.  ANI Electro Optical Tracking Systems were deployed at different locations, includ- ing two down-range ships, at the terminal point to capture flight data covering the entire trajectory of the vehicle. Senior officials from DRDO and Strategic Forces Command witnessed the successful flight-test, which has paved the way for induction of the system into the Armed Forces. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated DRDO and the Armed Forces for the success as well as the copy-book performance of the New Generation Ballistic Missile Agni Prime. Secretary Department of Defence R&D & Chairman DRDO Dr Samir V Kamat appreciated the efforts put in by the teams of DRDO laboratories and the users involved in the test launch.