FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 12 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR | Wednesday, 08 October 2025 SPORTS WORLD EDITORIAL PAGE Ties with Britain Page 6 Israel marks 2 years since 7 Oct attack amid Gaza war Patna, 7 October Following the announcement of the Bihar Assembly Elections 2025, political activity has intensified in the state with parties ~ from Congress, to the BJP and the JD(U) ~ looking to finalise the first list of candidates in the coming days so that the election campaign can begin on time. A series of meetings on seat-sharing were held on Tuesday by the parties. JD(U) leaders and ministers arrived at CM Nitish Kumar’s residence in Patna. Apart from the party supremo, senior leaders Vijay Choudhary and Sanjay Jha met colleagues to assess the ground situation. While the seat-sharing formula between the BJP & JD(U) is nearly finalised, managing coordination within the NDA remains a challenge. The BJP leadership is making continuous efforts to appease its allies, as LJP (Ram Vilas) president Chirag Page 7 Paswan and HAM(S) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi remain firm on their respective demands. On the other hand, seat-sharing activity is also gaining momentum within the INDIA alliance. Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP) chief Mukesh Sahani told the media that alliance partners have reached an internal agreement, and a formal announcement will be made on Wednesday evening through a press conference. The RJD has reportedly finalised the names of 50 candidates, with final approval awaited from party supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav. Meanwhile, the Congress held a closed-door strategy meeting in Patna. After finalising their candidate list, party leaders are expected to leave for Delhi. A meeting of the Congress Central Election Committee is scheduled in Delhi on Wednesday, where the final approval of candidates for the Bihar Assembly elections is likely to take place. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Siliguri, 7 October C hief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday criticised the alleged apathy of the Central Government towards West Bengal, saying she often wonders whether the state is being treated like an “adopted child” because of the Centre’s step-motherly attitude towards it. Speaking to reporters at Uttarkanya near Siliguri, the Chief Minister said it was “deeply unfortunate” that political narratives were being built against the state government even as people in North Bengal were reeling from the devastation caused by floods and landslides. “Just because there is no ‘double engine sarkar’ in West Bengal, they are trying to create a political narrative instead of extending genuine help to the people in distress,” she remarked. IN ITS SOUTH ASIA OUTLOOK, THE WORLD BANK SAID INDIA IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN THE WORLD’S FASTEST-GROWING MAJOR ECONOMY, SUPPORTED BY CONTINUED STRENGTH IN CONSUMPTION GROWTH. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 7 October for FY26/27 has been downgraded, however, as a result of the imposition of a 50 per cent tariff on about three-quarters of India’s goods exports to the United States, the report added. “India is expected to be the world’s fastest-growing source of energy demand in the medium term and will surpass China to become the single largest source of energy demand by 2050,” the report added. Recently, Morgan Stanley said India’s economy needs to expand at an extraordinary 12.2 per cent pace each year to solve its underemployment crisis. It underscored the risk that millions of young Indians may remain locked out of productive work, fueling social strains at home. India’s economy grew 7.8 per cent in the June quarter, outpacing expectations, but that pace still falls far short of what’s needed to absorb the 84 million people set to join the workforce over the next decade, Morgan Stanley said. The report also pointed to poverty levels as a lingering drag on household consumption in the country. Without stronger industrial and export growth, accelerated infrastructure rollout, and sweeping reforms to upgrade skills and improve the business climate, India risks falling into a jobs trap, Morgan Stanley warned. CM Mamata Banerjee conducts an inspection of the flood-affected areas at Nagrakata, in Jalpaiguri. SNS When asked about demands from the Darjeeling MP and others that the state government declare the situation a ‘state disaster’, Ms. Banerjee firmly ruled it out. She cited examples of several other states that had faced natural calamities in recent years without such declarations, saying that the state was already taking necessary measures for relief and rehabilitation. On allegations of PM Modi to launch multiple projects in Mumbai STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 7 October Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit Maharashtra on 8-9 October, where he will inaugurate several key infrastructure projects. On 8 October, PM Modi will arrive at Navi Mumbai and undertake a walkthrough of the newly built Navi Mumbai International Airport. At 3:30 p.m, he will officially inaugurate the airport's Phase 1, built at a cost of around Rs 19,650 crore. On 9 October, PM Modi will host UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Mumbai, where they will attend the 6th edition of the Global Fintech Fest at Jio World Centre. The conference's central theme is "Empowering Finance for a Better World" ~ Powered by AI, Augmented Intelligence, Innovation, and Inclusion. US scientists bag 2025 Nobel Prize for Physics for experiments in quantum technology AGENCIES New Delhi, 7 October Three scientists from the USA have been conferred the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics for their experiments on a chip that revealed quantum physics in action. The prestigious prize has provided opportunities for developing the next generation of quantum technology, including quantum cryptography, quantum computers, and quantum sensors. Two of the winners are from the University of California, Berkeley and Santa Barbara ~ John Clarke and John M. Martinis. Michel H. Devoret is from Yale University, New Haven, and the University of California, Santa Barbara. The trio will share the prize money of 11 million Swedish kronor. “The 2025 #NobelPrize in Physics has been awarded Page 12 CM hits out at Centre for neglecting Bengal World Bank raises India’s GDP forecast for FY26 to 6.5 per cent The World Bank raised India’s gross domestic product (GDP) forecast for 2025–26 (FY26) to 6.5 per cent from 6.3 per cent projected in June. It further revised downwards the estimate for 2026–27 (FY27) by 20 basis points to 6.3 per cent due to higher-than-expected tariffs on India’s exports to the United States. In its South Asia Outlook, the World Bank said India is expected to remain the world’s fastest-growing major economy, supported by continued strength in consumption growth. The report further noted that almost one-fifth of India’s goods exports went to the United States in 2024, equivalent to about 2 per cent of GDP. The government’s reforms to the Goods and Services Tax (GST), reducing the number of tax brackets and simplifying compliance, are expected to support activity. The forecast Learning from the mess that Gurugram now is Page 9 Bihar: Seat-sharing talks intensify across NDA, INDIA blocs IMRAN MOJIB PERSPECTIVE Top Aussie stars return for limited-over series against India to John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret, and John M. Martinis for the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit,” the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences posted on social media. Quantum mechanics allows a particle to move straight through a barrier, using a process called tunnelling. As soon as large numbers of particles are involved, quantum mechanical effects usually become insignificant. The laureates’ experiments demonstrated that quantum mechanical properties can be made concrete on a macroscopic scale. They conducted experiments with an electrical circuit in which they demonstrated both quantum mechanical tunnelling and quantised energy levels in a system big enough to be held in the hand. “It is wonderful to be able to celebrate the way that century-old quantum mechanics continually offers new surprises. It is also enormously useful, as quantum mechanics is the foundation of all digital technology,” said Olle Eriksson, Chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics. non-cooperation and delay in submitting reports to the Centre for financial assistance, the Chief Minister clarified that a comprehensive report would be prepared and submitted within 15 days, after thorough surveys in the affected areas across the Hills and the plains ~ including Siliguri, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, and Cooch Behar. “Is it possible to prepare a full report within two days of such a massive natural calamity, when relief operations are still underway?” she asked, adding, “It is the Centre’s responsibility to come forward with good intentions and provide financial support. We do not beg ~ we fight for our rights.” Miss Banerjee also expressed displeasure over some BJP leaders’ “false and exaggerated” claims on social media about deaths following a bridge collapse, saying they should have verified facts with the state administration before making public statements. Miss Banerjee said she would leave for Kolkata on Wednesday but would return to Siliguri next week to review the situation. According to the Chief Minister, the total number of deaths reported from the region stands at 27, with two additional bodies recovered — one from Bhutan and another from Nepal. • More reports: Page 2 Death toll in cough syrup case rises to 17 in Madhya Pradesh: Bhopal: Another kid has died of kidney failure in Madhya Pradesh due to suspected consumption of the now-banned toxic cough syrup ‘Coldrif ’, taking the death toll in the state to 17. Meanwhile, the Opposition Congress has questioned whether a bulldozer would be sent to demolish the house of MP Health Minister and Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla? The latest fatality was of one-and-a-half-year-old girl, Dhani Deharia, the daughter of Naveen Deharia from Chhindwara, while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Nagpur, Maharashtra on Monday night. Her condition had worsened rapidly due to complete kidney failure.