WEDNESDAY 05 MARCH 2025 www.thestatesman.com X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 SINCE 1818 Pages 16 |` 5.00 | LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR BUZZ ABOUT CHANGE OF GUARD BACK IN K’TAKA POLITICAL CIRCLES ‘MODI GOVT BENT ON WEAKENING RTI’ P5 SENSEX 72,989.93q96.01 WEATHER Generally clear. Hazy in the evening. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 33°C and 20°C respectively. NIFTY E.U. CONSIDERS 800 BILLION EURO PLAN TO STRENGTHEN DEFENCES P6 22,082.65q36.65 ` vs $ 87.30 SMITH CONTINUES EXCELLENT RUN IN ICC ODI EVENTS P10 SILVER 1,07,000 GOLD 88,980.00 CT 2025: Kohli, bowlers power India into final P16 BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 70.48q1.13 India remains growth engine for global economy, says PM Modi NIKHIL VYAS NEW DELHI, 4 MARCH RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY Men in Blue defeat Australia by four wickets in first semi-final TRIDIB BAPARNASH Max. 53% Min. 42% NEW DELHI, 4 MARCH Min: 20.3˚C SUN SETS 17:41 hrs MOON SETS 23:27 hrs gritty half-century by Virat Kohli coupled with a clinical bowling performance powered India into the final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 with a four-wicket victory over Australia in a thrilling semifinal at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday. Chasing 265, the Indians found themselves in early trouble with skipper Rohit Sharma and his opening partner Shubman Gill back in the pavilion in the eighth over with only 43 runs on the board. However, Kohli laid the foundation for a successful run chase with a steady 84 runs off 98 balls. He received good support from Shreyas Iyer (45) and KL Rahul (42 not out). By the time the star batter holed out at long on while attempting a big hit off Adam Zampa, Team India were well on their waytoacomfortablevictory. Hardik Pandya walked in and proceeded to attack the Aussie bowling. The all-rounder hit three sixes and a boundary for a sizzling innings of 28 runs off 24 deliveries before Rahul brought up the winning runs in style with a six off Glenn Maxwell. Earlier, India rode a disciplined bowling performance from Mohammed Shami & Co to overcome a calculative half century from Steve Smith that led Australia’s recovery Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that India remains a growth engine for the global economy and has proven its resilience in challenging situations. The prime minister was speaking at the post-budget webinars via video conferencing on MSME as an Engine of Growth; Manufacturing, Exports and Nuclear Energy Missions; Regulatory, Investment and Ease of Doing Business reforms. Pointing out that disruptions in the supply chain affect the global economy, and the world needs reliable partners that produce highquality products and ensure reliable supply, Mr Modi said India was capable of fulfilling this need, presenting a significant opportunity for the country. Mr Modi urged the industry not to be a mere spectator but to actively seek their role TEMPERATURE Max: 33.2˚C SUN RISES 05:54 hrs MOON RISES 09:29 hrs A Full Moon on 14 March THUMBNAILS A person walks on a snow- covered road during snowfall, at Tangmarg in Baramulla on Tuesday. n ANI Nifty falls below 22,000 intraday: The stock market ended lower on Tuesday in a volatile session with the Nifty falling below 22,000, intraday, for the first time since 5 June 2024. With today's fall, the Nifty50 closed in the negative zone for the tenth session in a row, while Sensex ended lower for a third day. At close, the Sensex was down 96.01 points or 0.13 per cent at 72,989.93. (Page 12) Delhi HC grants bail to Christian Michel in ED matter: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday granted bail to Christian James Michel, the alleged middleman in the money laundering case linked to the AgustaWestland VVIP Chopper scandal. Recently, the Supreme Court granted him bail in a related CBI case. India’s batter Virat Kohli plays a shot during the ICC Champions Trophy semi-final cricket match between India and Australia, in Dubai, UAE on Tuesday. n UNI before Alex Carey provided the much-needed late order flourish to propel the side to 264. Ausie skipper Smith led from the front with a carefully curated 73 off 96 deliveries to set the tone for the Aussies, before Carey produced a 57-ball 61 to help the Kangaroos get to the par total against the Indian bowlers, who consistently kept picking up wickets to apply the brakes on the scoring on a sluggish Dubai wicket. Moments after Rohit Sharma lost his 14th toss in a row, and Smith elected to bat, India drew first blood in the third over of the match, with Shami dismissing rookie opener Cooper Connolly for a duck, making up for dropping Travis Head on the first ball of the match. Head, who has been India’s chief tormentor in recent times, more spe- cially in crucial ICC tournaments, took full advantage of the reprieve and was beginning to look dangerous for India, having smashed five boundaries and two sixes, before Rohit Sharma turned to Varun Chakravarthy to end the flourishing 50-run second wicket stand between the southpaw and Smith. Chakravarthy resp onded to the faith shown in him by his skipper, sending back the dangerous Head for 39 in his first over. Smith survived a very eventful over from Axar Patel, escaping a runout and then breathing a sigh of relief when the bails didn't dislodge despite the ball hitting the stumps. India clawed their way back into this contest, piling up the dot balls as pressure was beginning to now show on Smith and new man Marnus Labuschagne. Munde resigns but unlikely to be named murder accused despite opposition demand STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE MUMBAI, 4 MARCH Maharashtra Food & Civil Supplies Minister Dhananjay Munde of the Ajit Pawar-led NCP submitted his resignation to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday, bringing down the curtain on a controversy which has dogged the Fadnavis government ever since it was sworn in the wake of the murder of the BJP's Massajog village sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, Sources said that the decision about Mr Munde's resignation was taken at a late evening meeting on Monday, 3 March, held at the Devagiri bungalow between Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and NCP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. However, sources said that the demand made by opposition leaders like Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP MLA from Beed, Sandeep Kshirsagar, besides several others, that the CID must submit a revised chargesheet in the Massajog village sarpanch murder case is unlikely to be conceded, unless some new evidence involving Mr Munde comes to light, which seems unlikely at the moment. Neither has there been any breakthrough in nabbing accused number 8, Krishna Andhale, who is one of the main accused in the case, as per the chargesheet, even after more than 80 days of the murder. Speaking to the media after Mr Munde resigned, Sharad Pawar-led NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad said that accused number 8 Krishna Andhale is still absconding after more than 80 days because he is not alive, since he has already been murdered. It is also being speculated in political circles that Mr Munde resigned only after he successfully ensured that the investigation was derailed and evidence linking him to the murder was made to disappear, along with accused number 8, Krishna Andhale. Sources said that it is unlikely that any new names, including Dhananjay Munde's name, would be added to the chargesheet going strictly by the evidence gathered by the special investigation team (SIT) so far, unless some new evidence about Mr Munde comes to light, which seems unlikely, at least at the moment. 87 pc Indians believe one or more of their personal data elements in public domain compromised STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 4 MARCH A recent survey has shown that 87 per cent of India's citizens believe one or more of their personal data elements are already in the public domain or in databases that have been compromised. A survey by LocalCircle said that among those who believe their personal identification data has been leaked or in the public domain, over 50 per cent state it is their Aadhaar or PAN card details or both that have been compromised. It said when comparing the survey results of 2022 and currently, the percentage of citizens who confirmed that their personal data is in the public domain or leaked has jumped from 72 per cent to 87 per cent currently. For the present situation, citizens hold various arms of the government, telcos, banks, and eCommerce apps/sites responsible, noted the survey results. The report highlighted that during the Mahakumbh, many people received WhatsApp messages from unknown numbers seeking donations. Many of the recipients of such messages took to social media to complain about how they were being bombarded despite not having shared their numbers. “Data privacy is a big joke in India…Never shared our mobile numbers with ISKON but always get donation messages. Looks like unauthorised data selling…” one of the citizens shared on LocalCircles. Sachin Taparia, founder of LocalCircles, said: "Hopefully, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, which released the draft rules for the Digital Personal Data Protection Act after a long wait of 16 months and invited public inputs via the MyGov portal by March 5, will plug this menace soon. Without the rules in place, the legislation, which was passed in Parliament in August 2023, couldn’t come into force.” It is to be noted that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has made a significant move in addressing these concerns, releasing the longawaited draft rules for the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act. Smith, meanwhile, survived two more chances, and in the process added 56 runs for the third wicket with Labuschagne, and went on to bring up the team's 100 with a six off Axar Patel. With India desperately needing a breakthrough, Ravindra Jadeja provided the relief by trapping Labuschagne to end an enterprising innings of 29 after consuming 36 balls. Jadeja struck again in quick succession with the wicket of Josh Inglis, who lobbed a simple catch to Virat Kohli at cover. With Australia in a spot of bother, Smith forged a 55-run stand for the fifth wicket with Carey as he inched closer to a welldeserved century. However, the Australia captain was sent back 27 short of the three-figure mark by Shami with a peach of a delivery to turn the tide in India’s favour. and carve out opportunities. He said it is easier today compared to the past as the country has friendly policies and the government stands shoulder to shoulder with the industry. The prime minister called for a strong resolve, objectivity in seeking opportunities in the global supply chain, and accepting challenges. If every industry takes one step forward, collectively, they can achieve significant progress, he said. "The world is currently experiencing political uncertainty, and the entire world views India as a growth centre," said Modi, highlighting that during the Covid crisis, when the global economy slowed down, India accelerated global growth. He added that this was achieved by advancing the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat and accelerating reforms. The prime minister emphasised that these efforts minimised the impact of Covid on the economy, helping India become one of the fastest-growing economies. Calling the MSME sector the backbone of India's manufacturing and industrial growth, he said: "MSMEs play a transformative role in the economic growth of our country, we are committed to nurturing and strengthening this sector." In 2020, he recalled, the government made a significant decision to revise the definition of MSMEs after 14 years, which eliminated the fear among MSMEs that they would lose government benefits if they grew. Bombay High Court grants 4-week relief to former SEBI chief Madhabi Puri Buch STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE MUMBAI, 4 MARCH The Bombay High Court granted relief to former Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chief Madhabi Puri Buch on Tuesday by staying a special Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) court's order directing a First Information Report (FIR) to be filed against her for alleged stock market fraud and regulatory violations. A single bench headed by Justice Shivkumar Dige said the ACB special court order of 1 March was passed "mechanically" without going into details and without attributing any specific role to the accused. The HC’s judgement came after petitions filed by Buch, three present whole-time SEBI directors namely Ashwani Bhatia, Ananth Narayan G and Kamlesh Chandra Varshney, BSE Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Sundararaman Ramamurthy as well as its former chairman and public interest director Pramod Agarwal, sought quashing of an order passed by the ACB special court directing the ACB to register an FIR against them pertaining to allegations of fraud committed in 1994, while listing a company called Cals Refineries Ltd on the BSE.