FRIDAY 14 MARCH 2025 www.thestatesman.com X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 SINCE 1818 Pages 12 |` 5.00 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR FADNAVIS BACKS SHAKTIPEETH EXPRESSWAY K’TAKA DEPUTY CM TO REPRESENT STATE AT DELIMITATION MEET P4 SENSEX 73,828.91 q200.85 WEATHER Today Doljatra, being a holiday in the offices of , there will be no issue of this edition dated 15 March 2025. Mainly clear sky. Maximum and Minimum Temperature most likely to be around 36˚C and 25˚C respectively. RAINFALL: 0.0 mm RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 91% Min. 27% TEMPERATURE Max: 35.0˚C (+1.4) Min: 25.1˚C (+2.5) SUN RISES 05:47 hrs MOON RISES 17:02 hrs SUN SETS 17:45 hrs MOON SETS 05:11 hrs Full Moon on 14 March THUMBNAILS Devotees perform 'Holi Pujan' on the eve of the Holi festival, in Haridwar on Thursday. nANI P5 NIFTY 22,397.20 q73.30 ` vs $ 87.01 P9 GOLD `89,350 SILVER `1,01,000 BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 70.33 The move has sparked off a political storm, with the BJP attacking it as parochial STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE CHENNAI, 13 MARCH T aking the confrontation with the BJP-led Union government on the imposition of Hindi and the National Education Policy to another level, the DMK government of MK Stalin has decided to axe the official rupee symbol ₹ in the state Budget and replace it with its own logo, ‘ru’ (for rupee) in Tamil script, used since the British era. After releasing the first-ever economic survey for the state, Chief Minister MK Stalin, in a social media post, displayed the change in the logo. Significantly, this is the first time that a state government rejected the national currency symbol as a mark of protest. This change comes ahead of the 2025 budget presentation by Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu on Friday morning when the Assembly convenes for the Budget Session. The new logo also has the caption “ellorukkum ellam” (Everything for everyone), highlighting the DMK’s claim to inclusive government or the ‘Dravidian Model of Governance’. The state government opting for a new symbol instead of the official one has come as a bolt from the blue and has sparked off a political storm, with the BJP criticising the move as parochial. Interestingly, the official rupee symbol was designed by D Udhaya Kumar, son of a former DMK legislator, Dharmalingam. He had won the design competition announced by the Union government and it was officially adopted on 15 July 2010. His design which was accepted AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 13 MARCH NEP Controversy: Upping the Ante Rupee Symbol Replacement: The Tamil Nadu government has replaced the official rupee symbol (`) with Tamil script in Budget 2025-26, making it the first time a state has rejected the national currency symbol. Chief minister MK Stalin unveiled the new Budget logo with the equivalent letter for ‘ru’ (for rupee) in Tamil script, used since the British era. Education Policy Clash: Tamil Nadu refuses to implement key aspects of NEP 2020, particularly the three-language formula. The Centre has withheld 573 crore rupees in education funds under Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). The NEP requires compliance for SSA funding. The Section 17A mandates prior approval from a competent authority before a police officer can conduct any enquiry, inquiry, or investigation into an alleged offence committed by a public servant under the PC Act. The MHA's consent has Centre’s stance: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan accuses DMK of politicising the language issue. He has called the DMK’s opposition "hypocritical" and a political strategy. CM Stalin’s Stand: Stalin led a statewide protest on 11 March, condemning NEP and the delimitation proposal. He called NEP a threat to Tamil Nadu’s education system, arguing that it undermines reservation policies and denies financial aid to SCs, STs, & OBCs, and imposes Hindi over Tamil Nadu’s twolanguage policy (Tamil & English since 1968). He claims the Centre is using funding as a tool for language imposition. He has criticized investment in Sanskrit over Tamil, despite Tamil being globally spoken. incorporates both the Devanagari ‘₹’ and the Latin script ‘R’, combining the two. The parallel lines are indicative of the national tricolour as well as equality. BJP State President K Annamalai, in a ‘X’ post slammed the DMK government for replacing the official rupee symbol designed by a Tamilian and incorporated into our currency. “Thiru Udhay Kumar, who designed the symbol, is the son of a former DMK MLA. How stupid you can become @mkstalin,” he asked. BJP veteran and former Telangana governor Tamilisai Soundararajan also ridiculed the DMK government’s decision to guillotine the official symbol. Defending the DMK govern- now been sent to the Secretariat of Lt Governor V.K. Saxena, paving the way for questioning of both Sisodia and Jain – who both spent over 17 months each behind bars in connection with various corruption and money laundering cases linked to the excise policy and floating of shell companies. Both former ministers are currently out on bail. The two AAP leaders lost the Assembly elections held last month. After the BJP's massive victory in the polls, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta had promised to probe all cases of alleged corruption during the previous AAP government. AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 13 MARCH in mid-2024, India's economic growth is expected to accelerate and register one of the fastest rates among the world’s large economies. Bank of Baroda economist Dipanwita Mazumdar said: “With the current inflation print in line, we believe CPI would undershoot RBI’s target in Q4, thus opening more policy space by RBI in terms of easing, to support growth. We expect CPI to be at 4.6 Central government seeks coordination with states to check illegal migration STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Political Reaction: The BJP’s Tamil Nadu chief, K. Annamalai, called the move "stupid" and pointed out that the rupee symbol was designed by a Tamilian, Udhay Kumar, son of a former DMK MLA. ment’s move, TNCC President K Selvaperunthagai said: “Tamil Nadu’s stand on the language policy is being understood by other states and this is the time to declare aloud what the state rightly feels. In 2010, when the rupee symbol was adopted, there was no coercion to impose any language. But the present situation demands resistance.” Tamil Nadu has consistently refused to implement key aspects of the NEP 2020, particularly the three-language formula. As a result, the Central government has withheld Rs 573 crore in assistance under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). According to policy guidelines, states must comply with NEP provisions to receive SSA funding, with the Centre covering 60 per cent of the allocation for states like Tamil Nadu. Chief Minister M K Stalin recently led a statewide protest against the Union government, condemning both the NEP and the proposed delimitation exercise, which he described as a threat to South India. Addressing a public rally, Mr Stalin said: “We oppose NEP because it will completely destroy Tamil Nadu’s education system.” He accused the Centre of using funding as leverage against states that refused to implement central policies. “Is there a greater example of anarchy than saying, ‘If you do not adopt Hindi, we will not provide funds’?” he asked. ISRO undocks SpaDeX satellites AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 13 MARCH The Indian Space Research Organisation on Thursday announced the successful completion of its SpaDeX mission's space de-docking, marking a significant milestone in India's future in space exploration. Union minister Jitendra Singh extended his congratulations to the ISRO team after the "SPADEX satellites accomplished the unbelievable de-docking" and said that the event was "heartening for every Indian!" “This paves the way for smooth conduct of ambitious future missions including the Bharatiya Antriksha Station, Chandrayaan 4 and Gaganyaan,” Singh said in a post on X. The undocking process involved a precise sequence of events, culminating in the separation of the SDX-01 (Chaser) and SDX02 (Target) satellites that was launched on 30 December in 2024, using Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)-C60, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. It included the successful extension of SDX-2, the planned release of Capture Lever 3, and the disengagement of the Capture Lever in SDX-2. After these maneuvers, the decapture command was issued in both SDX-1 and SDX-2, leading to the successful separation of the satellites. Decline in inflation paves way for higher GDP growth The decline in retail inflation to a level that is below the RBI’s targeted level of 4 per cent is expected to pave the way for accelerating GDP growth ahead as it provides the central bank with more headroom to cut interest rates and expand liquidity to spur economic activity and create more jobs. A Moody’s report expects monetary easing, apart from the government’s capital expenditure and tax cuts for the middle-class, to play a key in role in accelerating India’s growth rate. The report expects the country’s GDP growth to exceed 6.5 per cent in 2025-26. The report states that following a temporary slowdown P12 Language row: TN drops ‘`’ symbol from budget logo Home Ministry gives nod to prosecute Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain In fresh trouble for former Delhi ministers Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain, facing allegations of wrongdoings in connection with Education and PWD departments, the Ministry of Home Affairs has given its approval to proceed against them in corruption cases. Interestingly, the prosecution request of Delhi government's Vigilance Department approved by the MHA dates back to 2021. The prosecution approval was sought by the vigilance directorate under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act (PC Act). PV SINDHU BOWS OUT OF ALL ENGLAND OPEN RUSSIA RETAKES KURSK TOWN per cent in FY25 with Q4 now at 3.8 per cent This is lower than the RBI's estimate of 4.4 per cent for the fourth quarter. Similarly, a Crisil report states that India’s GDP growth is expected to hold steady at 6.5 per cent in fiscal 2026. Besides budgetary support, the RBI’s interest rate cuts, lower crude oil prices and a normal monsoon are expected to support growth. “In the coming months, we expect food inflation to remain soft, supported by healthy crop output, benign global prices and a high base of fiscal 2025. Non-food inflation could see a slight uptick due to a low base and the impact of a weaker rupee. In fiscal 2026, we expect headline inflation to average 4.4 per cent (vs an estimated 4.7 per cent in fiscal 2025), driven by softer food inflation,” the report further states. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra last month announced a 25 basis cut in the policy rate from 6.5 per cent to 6.25 per cent in the monetary policy review to accelerate growth amid global uncertainties. He said that inflation has declined and is expected to further moderate and grad- ually align with the RBI’s target of 4 per cent. The monetary policy decision maintains a delicate balance between controlling inflation and pushing up the growth rate in a slowing economy, The MPC also unanimously decided to continue with its neutral stance in monetary policy and will focus on inflation while supporting growth. This would provide flexibility to respond to the macroeconomic environment, Malhotra said. Now, with inflation continuously trending downwards in recent months to touch a 7-month low of 3.6 per cent in February, there is expected to be less pressure on the RBI on the price front which will enable it to go in for easing monetary policy further to push growth. NEW DELHI, 13 MARCH Underlining that much needs to be done to curb illegal recruitment, the Central government has sought close coordination with all states to tackle the menace of illegal migration. “Only by acting together and in a unified manner, will we be able to tackle the menace of illegal migration,” Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said at the Recruiting Agents’ Conclave, attended by representatives of various central ministries and state government representatives. Mr Singh said the government is committed to ensuring that Indians going abroad are highly skilled through continuous skilling, re-skilling, and up-skilling efforts. “The Government of India has been making concerted efforts to promote skill-based, safe and legal migration and mobility,” he said. Emphasising the important role that Recruiting Agents play in the emigration process, he observed that they play a crucial role in promoting safe and legal mobility. “However, much needs to be done to curb illegal recruitment taking place on the grounds.” While the government recognises the invaluable contributions made by Indian migrant workers to India's economy and global reputation, it remains cognisant of the challenges and vulnerabilities that they face in foreign lands, the minister said.