SATURDAY 01 FEBRUARY 2025 www.thestatesman.com X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 SINCE 1818 Pages 16 |` 5.00 |LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR KASH PATEL, INSISTS HE HAS NO ‘ENEMIES LIST’ KARNATAKA NOW ALLOWS DIGNIFIED DEATH FOR THE TERMINALLY ILL P9 P4 SENSEX 77,500.57p740.76 WEATHER Morning clouds followed by afternoon sun. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 29°C and 21°C respectively. NIFTY 23,508.40p258.90 P7 ` vs $ 86.65 P12 SILVER 1,07,000 GOLD 84,610.00 BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 76.78q0.09 Economic Survey projects real GDP growth for FY26 at 6.3-6.8 per cent ‘India, USA working on PM’s visit to Washington’ Sustained growth of 8 pc a year needed for at least a decade to achieve goal of ViksitBharat@2047, says survey RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Max. 88% Min. 76% NEW DELHI, 31 JANUARY Min: 21.1˚C SUN SETS 17:24 hrs MOON SETS 07:29 hrs T TEMPERATURE Max: 29.6˚C SUN RISES 06:15 hrs MOON RISES 08:13 hrs WOMEN’S U-19 T20 WC: INDIA TO FACE SA IN FINAL ‘FOUR YEARS OF PEACE’ Full Moon on 12 February THUMBNAILS A view of tulips at Amrit Udyan during a press preview ahead of its opening for public from 2 February to 30 March, in New Delhi on Friday. n ANI Framing of charges against accused on 4 Feb in RG Kar financial scam: A special court on Friday fixed 4 February for the process of framing of charges in the case of multi-crore financial irregularities at the state-run R G Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata. The date of framing of charges was intimated by the judge of the special court during a hearing in the matter. All the five accused individuals in the case will have to be physically present at the court on that day. he Economic Survey tabled in Parliament by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday showcased key developments in the Indian economic landscape, from growth numbers to banking sector performances. It said that India’s economy is projected to expand between 6.3 per cent and 6.8 per cent in the financial year 2025-26 (FY26). Notably, the IMF has kept India’s GDP growth forecast unchanged at 6.5 per cent for FY25 and FY26 while the World Bank has maintained a projection of 6.7 per cent. During a press conference, Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran painted a stark picture of how Indian corporates are compensating their workers and employees and called for a more equitable distribution of incomes. "If you look at the growth in profitability and the growth in employment expense a combination of hiring and compensation - there is a huge disparity between the two, which has been highlighted by several private players themselves in the last few months," he said. The Economic Survey said the rapid pace of technological evolution in India, particularly in areas like AI, blockchain,anddataanalytics, hascreatednewopportunities to reimagine traditional financialservicesandprocesses. AI and large language models (LLMs) have enhanced customer service through interactive chatbots andpersonalisedexperiences, whileblockchainofferssecure, transparent, and efficient transactions, it said. Highlighting the capital markets,theEconomicSurvey said they are central to India’s growthstory,catalysingcapital formation for the real economy, enhancing the financialisationofdomesticsavings, andenablingwealthcreation. The survey indicated that food inflation, as tracked by the Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI), rose to 8.4 per centinFY25(April-December) from 7.5 per cent in FY24. This surge was primarily driven by a handful of food items, particularly vegetables and pulses. Extreme weather events significantly impacted agricultural output, the survey said. While core inflation (excluding food and fuel) eased to 4.1 per cent, service-related inflation in housing, healthcare, and education continued to rise. The Economic Survey further highlighted the developments in India’s external sector saying it continued to display resilience amidst global headwinds. Total exports (merchan- dise and services) have registered steady growth in the first nine months of FY25, reaching USD 602.6 billion. In order to achieve the goal of Viksit Bharat@2047, the Economic Survey said there would have to be sustained economic growth of close to 8 per cent every year for at least a decade. To achieve this growth, the investment rate must rise to approximately 35 per cent of GDP, up from the current 31 per cent, it added. The Economic Survey further highlighted that India's development aspirations require a substantial investment in infrastructure over the next decade. INSIDE PAGE 8 n Economic Survey stress­ es private sector’s role in infra development n Agricultural income grew at 5.23 per cent annually over past decade PAGE 10 n Health spending rose from 29.0 to 48.0 pc between 2015­2022 n Education, human capital foundational pil­ lars for development STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 31 JANUARY India on Friday confirmed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Washington soon for talks with US President Donald Trump on a range of bilateral issues and global developments. At a media briefing here, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said PM Modi and President Trump had a telephonic conversation some days back and the two sides are now working on an early visit by Mr Modi to the US to further deepen the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership. Specific dates for the visit are still being worked and will be announced at an appropriate time, he added. The spokesperson also said India is working with the US side on procedural issues for the early extradition of the 26/11 Mumbai attack accused Tahawwur Rana after the US Supreme Court declined his petition. ‘India will soon become world’s third largest economy’ Unacceptable: Rashtrapati Bhavan on STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE The President said government employees are also significant representatives of the middle class. "Recently, my government decided to constitute the Eighth Pay Commission for the welfare of government employees. This decision will lay the foundation for substantial salary increases for government employees in the coming years." NEW DELHI, 31 JANUARY Laying out her government’s vision for the country's future, President Droupadi Murmu Friday said India would soon become the third largest economy in the world. In this context, the President of India pointed out that the nation is witnessing major decisions and policies being implemented at an extraordinary speed, with the highest priority given to the poor, the middle class, the youth, women, and farmers. Addressing a joint sitting of Parliament on the first day of Budget session, Mrs Murmu said: "In the vision of a ‘Viksit Bharat’... there is the collective strength of public participation, a roadmap for the nation's economic progress, the power of technology in the form of a digital revolution, and the foundation of modern infrastructure. The government is steering India towards becoming the world’s thirdlargest economy." She said government employees are also significant representatives of the middle class. "Recently, my government decided to constitute the Eighth Pay Commission for the welfare of government employees. This decision will lay the foundation for substantial salary increases for government employees in the coming years." “Additionally, the Central government has decided to provide a 50 per cent assured pension to lakhs of employees under the Unified Pension Scheme, which has been widely welcomed,” she added. For the youth, she said, the government has placed a special focus on their education while creating new employment opportunities for them. The President noted that PM hails Budget session as first since 2014 to be devoid of foreign interference STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 31 JANUARY In a veiled attack on the Opposition and forces outside the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said this is perhaps the first Parliament session since 2014 when he assumed office that there has been no attempt to create disturbances by foreign sources just before the session. “This is the first session in the last decade when there has been no ‘videshi chingari’ (spark from abroad) in our affairs. Otherwise during the last 10 years, there have always been attempts to create trouble before each session, with no shortage of people willing to fan the flames,” he told reporters ahead of the opening of the Budget Session of Parliament. The prime minister said the country is advancing in “mission mode”. “We are advancing in mission mode… Innovation, inclusion and investment – this has consistently been the basis of our economic activity roadmap,” he said. He expressed confidence that this Budget session will “infuse new energy in attaining the goal of 'Viksit Bharat' by 2047, when India will com- plete 100 years of independence". Mr Modi also expressed his hope and prayers for the continued blessings of Maa Lakshmi on the poor and middle class of India. He said important decisions will be taken during the session to empower women to ensure they get equal rights and any sectarian or faith-based discrimination is removed. He expressed confidence that every Member of Parliament (MP), especially the young ones, will contribute to the agenda of 'Viksit Bharat' during the session. Emphasising that India is a young nation with immense youth power, the prime minister said that the youth aged 20-25 today will be the biggest beneficiaries of a developed India when they reach the age of 45-50. the youth are showing the way to the world in the fields of Artificial Intelligence and the adoption of technology. "Today, our youth is bringing glory to the country in every field from startups to sports to space...'' she said. The President said that the government has placed four key principles – service, good governance, prosperity, and pride – at the core of its governance to ensure that the journey towards ‘Viksit Bharat’ continues to be guided by the ideals of the Constitution. “The PM Vidyalakshmi Scheme has been introduced to provide financial assistance to meritorious students for higher education. Additionally, one crore youth will be given internship opportunities in the top 500 companies," she noted. President Murmu said: “A new law has been enacted to prevent incidents of paper leaks and ensure transparency in recruitment. " For the farmers, she said, the government has consistently increased the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for both Kharif and Rabi crops. "Over the past decade, spending on the procurement of rice, wheat, pulses, oilseeds, and coarse grains has tripled. In the past six months, 109 climate-resilient, bio-fortified, and high-yielding advanced crop varieties have been released to farmers." Sonia, Rahul’s remarks on President STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 31 JANUARY The Rashtrapati Bhavan, on Friday, reacted sharply to the remarks made by Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on President Droupadi Murmu’s speech on the opening day of the Budget Session of Parliament, saying the comments clearly “hurt the dignity of the high office and therefore are unacceptable”. Commenting on the President's customary speech in Parliament, the CPP Chairperson told reporters: “Poor lady! The President was getting very tired by the end. She could hardly speak, poor thing.” The leader of the Opposition called the President’s speech “boring”. In a statement, the Rashtrapati Bhavan, without naming anyone, said: “While reacting to the media on the President’s address to the Parliament, some prominent leaders of the Congress party have made comments that clearly hurt the dignity of the high office, and therefore are unacceptable. These leaders have said that the President was getting very tired by the end and she could hardly speak.” The Rashtrapati Bhavan further said that it would like to clarify that nothing could be farther from the truth and the President was not tired at any point. “Indeed, she has believed that speaking up for the marginalised communities, for women and farmers, as she was doing during the course of her address, can never be tiring. The President’s office believes it might be the case that these leaders have not acquainted themselves with the idiom and discourse in Indian languages such as Hindi, and thus formed a wrong impression. In any case, such comments are in poor taste, unfortunate and entirely avoidable,” the statement said. The remarks made by the CPP Chairperson and the leader of the Opposition received a severe backlash from the BJP with its national president J P Nadda leading a frontal attack, calling it “deeply disrespectful”. Mr Nadda said the focus today should have been on celebrating India’s remarkable progress, as outlined in the President’s address. Kohli fails on domestic pitch too; heartbroken fans leave stadium TRIDIB BAPARNASH NEW DELHI, 31 JANUARY The excitement around star batter Virat Kohli’s return to domestic cricket lasted a mere 15 deliveries as the former India captain was dismissed for a forgettable 6, with Railways pacer Himanshu Sangwan sending his stump cartwheeling early in the innings. Delhi, having elected to field on winning the toss on Thursday, saw Kohli in high spirits, acknowledging the sea of supporters while fielding. His turn to bat came on Day 2 when Yash Dhull fell to Rahul Sharma in the 24th over, triggering thunderous cheers as the former India captain made his way to the middle. Despite getting off the mark on the fourth delivery by guiding Kunal Yadav’s delivery into the cover region, his discomfort against the moving ball continued to affect him as he attempted to counter the swing and seam of the Railways attack. His struggles outside the off-stump, reminiscent of past woes against Australia, resurfaced as he tentatively poked at deliveries. However, during the 28th over of Delhi’s innings, the 36-year-old showed glimpses of his class by driving a delivery straight down the ground for four. But the joy was short-lived as Sangwan’s inswinging delivery breached a sizeable gap between Kohli’s bat and pad, sending the off-stump cartwheeling. The stadium, which had erupted with chants of Kohli..Kohli… upon his arrival, fell into stunned silence on his dismissal, and it was immediately followed by fans leaving the Arun Jaitley Stadium. While Delhi will have another innings in the match, and so would Kohli, it will be interesting to see if the crowd exceeding 10,000 that had gathered in the first essay will be back in anticipation of the iconic batter getting a bigger score. Despite Kohli’s early dismissal, Delhi, battling for a last-gasp attempt at qualification in the final round of the Ranji Trophy group stage, ended the second day with a healthy 92-run lead, thanks to skipper Ayush Badoni’s 99 and Sumit Mathur’s watchful unbeaten 78. Elsewhere, both Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane fell in their 90s as well, while Mumbai piled on the runs and Kerala sealed their progress to the next round with a resounding victory.