17 SEPTEMBER 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 WILL ARREST BOOST NAIDU’S POLITICAL CAREER? DOOMED TO FAIL? P6 WEATHER GENERALLY CLOUDY SKY. LIGHT RAIN/THUNDERSHOWERS. THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 33 AND 25 DEGREES CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. RAINFALL: 009.8 Mm RELATIVE HUMIDITY Min: 26.9 °C (+2) SUN SETS 18:24 hrs MOON SETS 19:40 hrs THUMBNAILS Artists performing at North East Students’Festival (NESt) Fest 2023 at Talkatora Stadium, in the Capital on Saturday.  SUBRATA DUTTA IAF chief announces plans to buy around 100 more indigenous LCA Mark 1A fighter jets: In a major announcement aimed at giving a boost to the indigenous aerospace sector, the Indian Air Force has officially announced plans to buy around 100 more made-in-India LCA Mark 1A fighter jets. The plan to buy the indigenous plane was announced in Spain by Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari soon after receiving the first C295 transport aircraft in Spain in an exclusive interaction with ANI. A view of a temple partially submerged in flood waters after authorities opened the gate of the Bargi Dam following incessant rainfall , in Bhopal on Saturday.  ANI Modi will launch PM Vishwakarma scheme on his 73rd birthday today W e have seen them at street corners, market pavements and under thatched huts, sweating to make, repair and give new shapes to articles which we need to run our lives smoothly. After our requirements are met, we leave them to their lot, little concerned about their everyday travails. There are millions of them across the country, representing the true spirit of atmanirbharta (self-reliance). Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch on his 73rd birthday on Sunday, the “PM Vishwakarma” scheme which will not only upgrade the artisans’ skills, but transform their lives with easy credits and marketing support. Eighteen traditional crafts have been identified for the scheme. They are carpenters, blacksmiths, locksmiths, goldsmiths, potters, sculptor-stone breakers, cobblers, masons, barbers, washermen, tailors, garland makers, fishing net makers; basket/Mat/Broom Maker/Coir Weavers; boat makers, armourers, hammer and took-kit makers and doll amd toy makers. They will get recognition of their crafts and skills through free registration through Common Services Centres (CSCs) using biometric based PM Vishwakarma portal. They will also get PM Vishwakarma certificates and ID cards. To convey the Government’s due regard, and society’s respect for their age-old crafts, the Prime Minister will launch the scheme at the India International Convention and Expo Centre, the Capital’s most stylish and largest convention centre that he will be inaugurating at Dwarka on Sunday morning. Mr Modi has described the tra- Besides, they will get a toolkit incentive of Rs 15,000; collateral-free credit support up to Rs 1 lakh (first tranche) and Rs 2 lakh (second tranche) at a concessional interest rate of just five per cent. Incentives will be given for digital transactions and marketing. The social recognition and financial support will not only encourage the artisans to continue with their family crafts in the “GuruShishya” tradition, al artisans as Vishwakarmas. The day they come under the sunshine of national recognition is none other than the Vishwakarma Jayanti, which marks the birthday and life of the divine maker of the universe. The Prime Minister’s concern for them is not for just upgrading their skills to the 21st century level; he has a vision to improve the scale and reach of their products and services to a level as to integrate them with domestic and global value chains. PM Vishwakarma will be fully funded by the Union Government. An outlay of Rs 13,000 crore has been provided for it. They will be imparted skill upgradation involving basic and advanced training. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE HYDERABAD, 16 SEPTEMBER gans whenever his party raised serious issues like inflation. Later, speaking to the media, Congress MP P Chidambaram said that the party has received no response to the nine issues cited by Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi in her letter to the Prime Minister which they felt should be taken up for discussion. “The only agenda that attracted my attention was a Bill to amend the act governing and contribute to sources of traditional self-employment opportunities, but even create with their hands and tools products which can be subjects of marvel and adoration. The Prime Minister’s interaction with officials and various Ministries showed that a system can be created for the artisans’ digital empowerment and brand promotion. Mr Modi wants the Vishwakarmas to become entrepreneurs. They need to be assured of raw materials, wherever needed, and facilities can be given to take the products to the market, he has told the officials. dition- Congress will oppose Bill on EC Congress will oppose the Bill that seeks to amend the law regulating the appointment of the Chief Election Commission and Other Election Commissioners in the upcoming special session of Parliament on the grounds that it will destroy the independence of the Election Commission of India (ECI). The party, which held its working committee meeting in Hyderabad today, also rejected the ‘One nation one election’ proposal, saying that it was against the federal structure of the country and the BJP simply wanted to create false narratives and divert attention from more pressing issues. At the first meeting of the reconstituted CWC Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge slammed the BJP for resorting to coinage of new slo- P10 PM's birthday outreach to cover millions of artisans NEW DELHI, 16 SEPTEMBER TEMPERATURE Max: 33.8°C (0) SUN RISES 06:07 hrs MOON RISES 08:48 hrs P7 DEEPAK RAZDAN Max.97% Min. 67 % INDIA MISS CHANCE TO BE NO.1 AFTER ASIA CUP LOSS TO B’DESH EL CHAPO'S SON EXTRADITED FROM MEXICO TO USA the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioner’s appointment which is actually destroy the independence of the election commission. We will oppose that Bill,” said Mr Chidambaram. The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Terms of Office) Bill, 2023 is all set to be introduced in the Lok Sabha in the upcom- ing session. He called it a “damaging” one which will reduce the status of the EC apart from undermining its independence.Mr Chidambaram further stated that Congress has also rejected the ‘one nation one election’ proposal floated by the BJP. “One nation one election’ is an assault on the Constitution. We reject it. It is an attack on federalism. It will require five Constitutional amendments. The BJP knows it does not have the numbers to pass this Constitutional Amendments. Yet if it put forward this mirage of one nation one election it is to divert attention from pressing issues and false narratives.” Apart from the main resolution other resolutions were taken up including the killings in Manipur and demand to declare the devastation in Himachal Pradesh as a national disaster. HIGHLIGHTS al crafts have been identified for the scheme. They are carpenters, blacksmiths, locksmiths, goldsmiths, potters, sculptor-stone breakers, cobblers, masons, barbers, washermen, tailors, garland makers, fishing net makers; basket/ Mat/Broom Maker/Coir Weavers; boat makers, armourers, hammer and tookkit makers and doll & toy makers.  They will get recognition of their crafts and skills through free registration through Common Services Centres using biometric based PM Vishwakarma portal. They will also get PM Vishwakarma certificates and ID cards. PM Vishwakarma will be fully funded by the Union Government. An outlay of Rs 13,000 crore has been provided for it. They will be imparted skill upgradation involving basic and advanced training.  Besides, they will get a toolkit incentive of Rs 15,000; collateral-free credit support up to Rs 1 lakh (first tranche) and Rs 2 lakh (second tranche) at a concessional interest rate of just five per cent. Incentives will be given for digital transactions and marketing. ‘First ‘One Nation, One Election’ committee meeting on 23 Sept’ NEW DELHI, 16 SEPTEMBER Former President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday informed that the first meeting of the ‘One Nation, One Election’ committee will be held on 23 September. The former President, who chairs the 'One Nation, One Election' committee, disclosed this to mediapersons in Bhubaneswar on Saturday. The meeting will take place a day after the conclusion of the five-day special session of Parliament. Earlier this month, the Centre had announced that an eight-member committee has been constituted to examine the 'One Nation, One Election' concept. Besides Mr Kovind and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the government had named Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, former Rajya Sabha LoP Ghulam Nabi Azad, former chairman of the 15th Finance Commission NK Singh, former Secretary General of Lok Sabha Subhash Kashyap as its members, Senior advocate Harish Salve and former Chief vigilance Commissioner Sanjay Kothari are also on the panel. However, Mr Chowdhury declined the invitation to be a part of the committee. The panel will look into the feasibility of holding not only the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections simultaneously, but also elections to municipalities and panchayats, according to the gazette notification. Scepticism, optimism: Panelists discuss what 2024 holds in store for India STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, 16 SEPTEMBER Many of the questions raised during the today’s panel discussion at The Statesman Awards for Rural Reporting and The Cushrow Irani Prize for Environmental Reporting at Kalamandiron the topic ‘2024 could well change our lives’ remained apparently unanswered, though the stimulating debate threw light on all aspects starting from general elections in the country next year, the Ukraine-Russia war, US elections to Chinese expansionism. While kicking off the debate Ravindra Kumar, editor and managing director of The The panel discussion during The Statesman Awards for Rural Reporting at Kala Mandir, Kolkata, on Saturday.  BISWAJIT GHOSHAL Statesman said: “The debate should not be confined to political issues, rather it should be broad-based and global.” Against the background of a situation six months ahead of the Lok Sabha polls the panelists ~ Trinamul Congress ideologue and MP Jawhar Sircar, Manoj Jha, RJD MP, Chandra Bose, independent politician who left BJP recently, Mukund Padmanabha, senior journalist and former editor of The Hindu, and journalist Ishan Joshi ~ engaged in stimulating exchanges of arguments and counter-arguments. “The BJP regime will go as the Opposition parties are getting united. People are deradicalised.The man (Narendra Modi) may not give up power despite popular mandates going in favourof the national Opposition alliance. The party at the Centre would try live on by horse-trading,” Mr Sircar said. Citing the example of the Maharashtra experience he said: “During its ten year regime the BJP has toppled nine state governments. For Maharashtra, they have captured the state government by horse trading of Rs 5000 crore in cash.” The country will be going through a troublesome period in 2024, Mr Sircar maintained, a point Mr Bose argued against. Mr Bose, claiming for himself a non-political identity after quitting the saffron party, expressed optimism saying, “2024 will be a year of positivity and people are expecting a lot as the countdown for the general election begins. We have attained political freedom but PM turns 73: Here’s how India is shining globally under Modi’s leadership  Eighteen tradition-  STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE P12 are yet to attain social and political freedom.” But he expressed doubts whether the country has adequate press freedom and said people want answer in this regard. “I think 2024 is much more than an election and the damage this regime has done would be hard to repair. BJP is trying to polarise the nation and the Opposition parties are falling prey to this. The Opposition too have failed to keep their house in order,” Mr Jha said, making an attack on BJP. Moderator Arpan Banerjee, lawyer and academician, virtually announced the discussion was inconclusive. (PG5) VINEET GUPTA NEW DELHI, 16 SEPTEMBER The world is echoing the fact that this century is India’s century. This was evident from the recently concluded global mega meet – the G20, where on the very first day, under India’s Presidency, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a consensus was reached. On the very first day itself, the alliance adopted the New Delhi Declaration. They were also awestruck with India’s hospitality as it hosted over 40 global leaders and their delegations at New Delhi for the G20 Summit. On the Russia-Ukraine crisis, India pressed members to agree on a common statement that watered down its earlier condemnation of the war. It also acknowledged limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) will require slashing greenhouse gases 43per cent by 2030 from 2019 levels. The global inclusion Global leaders praised PM Modi for his statesmanship at the summit. He not only led the group to a consensus, but showcased his inclusivity thoughts by adding African Union in the G20 members list. When much of the existing international multilateral architecture was built, most of Africa was still colonised. They did not have an opportunity to have their voices heard. Under India’s presidency, this is another step towards correcting that imbalance. Another key move under PM’s leadership was the announcement of launch of the India-Middle EastEurope mega economic corridor. The US and the EU have backed an ambitious plan to build an economic corridor signalling PM’s acceptability among world leaders. At the launch, PM Modi said the India-Middle EastEurope economic corridor promised to be “a beacon of cooperation, innovation, and shared progress”. Biden said it was “gamechanging investment”. India’s leadership in space India under PM Modi is not only dominating the world, but it has set its strong foot in space leadership as well.’ The landing on Chandrayaan-3 on the rugged, unexplored south pole of the moon, made India the space hero as it became the first country to do so.The mission is seen as crucial to lunar exploration and India's standing as a space power, just days after a similar Russian lander crashed. "This moment is unforgettable. It is phenomenal. This is a victory cry of a new India," said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who waved the Indian flag as he watched the landing. India didn’t stop here as it launched solar mission by sending a solar observatory Aditya-L1. It will monitor the sun with seven specially designed distinct scientific payloads. It will do so from its position at a gravitationally stable point in the Earthsun system called Lagrange point 1 which is around 1 million miles from Earth. As per the latest update (Friday), scientists from the Isro Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (Istrac) implemented the fourth Earth-bound manoeuvre of Aditya-L1. Global financial inclusion India launched Unified Payments Interface (UPI) back in 2016 with an aim of digitally inclusivity of India at large. It did it very well. Now, the platform has went global through partnering with many countries and making it operational there as well. It begins with Singapore where Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched operations of UPI in Singapore. After Singapore, UAE, Nepal, Bhutan and France, Sri Lanka were in the league. Before G20, PM Modi had announced the use of UPI for the G20 member countries' delegates in India. This has led to an awareness among these countries on how India is digitally updated in the finance sector. PM Modi:Most popular global leader with 76 per cent approval According to the USbased consultancy firm, Morning Consult’s 'Global Leader Approval Rating Tracker' 76 per cent of people approve of PM Modi's leadership. PM Modi is riding at the top of the list with a huge margin as the second-best approval rating is enjoyed by Switzerland President Alain Berset at 64per cent and Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador 61per cent. Leaders of other key countries, like the US President Joe Biden has a 40per cent approval, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau has 37per cent, UK PM Rishi Sunak ratings stood at 27per cent, and France President Emmanuel Macron stood at just 24per cent.