Vol. 65 No. 341 | THURSDAY | JUNE 9, 2022 | 17 Pages | EDITIONS: MUMBAI*, Pune, Indore, Bhopal, Konkan, E-paper RBI MAY RAISE RATES ABOVE PRE-COVID LEVELS WHOEVER LOVES THEIR CHILD OR WIFE WILL DEFINITELY LIKE THE FILM: VIDYUT JAMMWAL EDIT RAISING RATES, DECLINING GROWTH 330c. 290c. Al-Qaeda threat: COUGH UP MORE FOR HOUSING EMIs Cops in a huddle over Modi’s visit Sunrise: 06:00 am Sunset : 07:15 pm RBI DROPS ITS ACCOMMODATIVE STANCE AS RETAIL INFLATION REMAINS THE BUGBEAR HC Bench backs out The Reserve Bank of India has raised its key interest rate (Repo) by 50 basis points, the second hike in two months, in a bid to douse high inflationary pressures. (Repo rate is the rate at which the central bank lends short-term funds to banks. In line with the rate hike by the FPJ DESK MUMBAI A two-judge bench of the Bombay High Court on Wednesday recused itself from hearing the bail plea of Delhi University's associate professor Hany Babu and the plea of Gautam Navlakha, both accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, without citing any reason. The bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and VG Bisht was hearing the bail plea of Babu in which he stated that the purported letter cited by the National Investigating Agency (NIA), speaking of a conspiracy to kill Prime Minister Narendra Modi, did not incriminate him. Babu said the unsigned letter, which the NIA claimed was found on the computer of Babu's co-accused Rona Wilson, was neither written by him nor addressed to him. It did not mention his role in the alleged conspiracy Babu stat, ed. His plea, filed through counsels Yug Chaudhry and Payoshi Roy was mentioned , before a vacation bench of the high court last month. CONTD. ON NATION PAGE GAUTAM S MENGLE & KAMAL MISHRA MUMBAI Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Pandey addressed a meeting of senior officers on Wednesday in the wake of a threat issued by the terrorist outfit Al-Qaeda, which has threatened to attack major Indian cities, including Mumbai. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to Mumbai on June 14 was also taken into account and instructions were issued to ramp up security across the city . Mumbai has always been one of the most sensitive targets for terrorist attacks, ever since the 1993 serial blasts in the city Further, the threat to . India from the Al-Qaeda is regarded to be very real, ever since it announced in 2014 that it was setting up a separate module to specifically focus on jihad in the Indian subcontinent. The declaration had been made personally by Ayman al-Zawahiri, who took over the reins of the Al-Qaeda after Osama Bin Laden was killed in Pakistan in 2011. Over the years, Al-Qaeda has shown a rising interest in India, with al-Zawahiri recently releasing a video talking about the hijab row in Karnataka. The threat was made by the Al-Qaeda following certain derogatory remarks made by former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma on a news channel debate last month. Sharma has since been suspended from her post and has also issued an apology amidst rising interna, tional outrage over her comment. According to police sources, Wednesday’s meeting was chaired by Pandey and Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Vishwas Nangre Patil, where the Al-Qaeda threat and PM Modi’s impending visit were discussed. CONTD. ON NATION PAGE RBI, some banks and nonbanking finance companies too raise their lending rates, which essentially leads to an increase in EMIs for borrowers.) In the present situation, marked by high inflation and liquidity crunch, the existing and potential home buyers will have to shell out more money for the payment of equated monthly installments An officer from the Mumbai Crime Branch reached New Delhi on Wednesday to gather information about a jailed gangster, Lawrence Bishnoi, as part of the Mumbai Police’s inquiries into the alleged threat to the life of actor Salman Khan. A handwritten letter was found at the Bandstand Promenade on June 5, which bore a single line -- that Salman and his father Salim Khan would soon meet the same fate as the recently murdered singer Siddhu Moosewala. The Bandra police had registered an FIR in connection with the incident and the Crime Branch Unit IX is conducting par- CHAITALI DHARAMSHI MUMBAI OVERALL, GIRLS OUTSCORE BOYS YET AGAIN The results of the Class 12 Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examinations were announced by the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) on Wednesday In . all, 10,048 students have secured more than 90 per cent marks. While Mumbai had the highest number of students scoring above 90 per cent, it came in at the bottom of the list for overall pass perHSC centage, at 90.91 RESULTS per cent, with Konkan has Konkan bagging highest pass % the first spot yet again, at 97.21 at 97.12, Mumbai per cent. 2,766 the lowest students from at 90.91 Mumbai scored outperformed the above 90 per cent, boys, with a passing while 1,731 students in Pune rate of 95.35 per cent, commanaged this feat. pared to the boys’ 93.29 per Once again this year, girls cent. THREAT TO SALMAN KHAN allel inquiries into the case. “We have sent an officer to meet the Delhi Special Cell and formally obtained information about Bishnoi, as he was arrested and interrogated by them. The objective is to gauge whether there is any concrete connection between the threat letter and the earlier attempt by Bishnoi on Khan’s life,” a senior Crime Branch officer said. Following his arrest by the Delhi Special Cell in 2021, Bishnoi had told his interrogators that he had sent his henchmen to reconnoitre Khan’s Bandra residence and to also try and murder the actor. CONTD. ON NATION PAGE Deboard passenger if no to mask: DGCA OUR BUREAU NEW DELHI Made international debut against Ireland smashing 114 at the age of 16 85 fifties Eight International centuries in career n Women’s ODI and Test team captain Mithali Raj has decided to walk into the sunset, capping her 23-year-long professional career n She also captained the national side in two 50-over World Cup finals – the only one to do so in India, male or female. W n She belted MOST RUNS IN  OMEN ODIS, accumulating 7805 runs at a staggering average of 50.68. In 12 Test matches, she scored 699 runs. n Her innings of 214 against England in 2002 remains the second highest individual score by a batter in women's Test cricket. I set out as a little girl on the journey to wear the India blues, as representing your country is the highest honour. Airlines must de-board any passenger before departure if they refuse to wear face mask inside an aircraft even after being warned, aviation regulator DGCA said on Wednesday . Besides, airport operators must take help of the local police and security agencies and levy fines on people not wearing face masks, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation has said in a circular. The circular followed a Delhi High Court order of June 3 which said the "DGCA should issue separate binding directions to all staff persons deployed at the airports and in the aircraft, including flight attendants, air hostesses, captains/pilots and others, to take strict action against passengers and others who violate the masking and hygiene norms". All such persons as are found violating the norms must be fined and persistent defaulters must be placed on the no- fly list, the court had said. The DGCA’s Wednesday circular said airlines must ensure the passengers wear SP support: MVA breathes easy SANJAY JOG MUMBAI The Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi on Wednesday heaved a sigh of relief. Samajwadi Party legislators Abu Azmi and Rais Shaikh, who had sought clarification from the ruling partners on its secular credentials, after a meeting with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and a phone call from party chief Akhilesh Yadav, declared that they will vote for the MVA in the Rajya Sabha election slated for June 10. For the MVA and the Shiv Sena, in particular, every vote is crucial for ensuring a win for its second nominee Sanjay Pawar. There are seven candidates in the fray -- BJP 3, Shiv Sena 2 and NCP and Congress one each -- for the Rajya Sabha election slated for June 10. Both Azmi and Shaikh did not attend the meeting of MVA legislators, independents and smaller parties on Tuesday , which was intended to be a show of strength. They had openly expressed serious displeasure over the MVA gov- ernment’s inability to provide substantial funds to the minority community especially , to the Minority Finance Commission. Azmi and Shaikh were also livid over repeated Hindutva claims by Thackeray and the Shiv Sena in a game of one-upmanship the BJP . However, Azmi, after his meeting with Thackeray and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, categorically declared that ‘‘Samajwadi Party will vote for the MVA. Both CM and DCM have promised to CONTD. ON NATION PAGE 30 years at a current interest rate of 7.1 per cent, the EMI will increase from Rs 13,441 to  14,675, a rise of Rs 1234, if Rs  the interest rate climbs from 7.1 per cent to 8%. Even more worrisome, the RBI hike will impact the realty sector. Says ANAROCK Chairman Anuj Puri, ‘‘ hike was inA evitable but we are now entering the red zone. Any future hikes will reflect markedly on 2,766 city students score above 90% Crime Branch officer in Delhi for info on gangster STAFF REPORTER MUMBAI (EMI). For instance, if a borrower has an outstanding SBI home loan of  20 lakh for a term of Rs  masks properly on flights and they are removed from faces only "under exceptional circumstances and for permitted reasons". If a passenger needs an extra face mask, the airline must provide it, it noted. "The airline shall ensure that in case any passenger does not adhere to above instructions even after repeated warnings, he or she should be de-boarded, if need be, before departure," it said. In case any passenger refuses to wear mask or violates the COVID-19 protocol even after repeated warnings in flight mid-air, he must be treated as "unruly passenger" as defined in the DGCA regulations, the circular said. CONTD. ON NATION PAGE PIC: BHUSHAN KOYANDE ELGAR CASE: SANJAY JOG MUMBAI At a press conference,  State Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad, along with the Maharashtra board officials declared the passing percentage MOOSEWALA CASE: BISHNOI MAIN MAN G angster Lawrence Bishnoi is the mastermind behind the murder of Sidhu Moosewala, the Delhi Police told reporters on Wednesday, reports NDTV. Bishnoi was the key suspect but he had not confessed to the crime, saying instead that his gang was involved and they had planned and executed the crime. Bishnoi -- who is in Delhi's Tihar jail -- has been questioned several times by the police and is said to be connected to Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar, who claimed responsibility for the murder in a Facebook post. . The Punjab police had termed the incident as a case of an inter-gang rivalry. INDIA REJECTS ECOLOGY INDEX T he Union environment ministry on Wednesday rebutted the Environmental Performance Index 2022, which ranked India at the bottom of a list of 180 countries, saying some of the indicators it used are "extrapolated and based on surmises and unscientific methods". The index published recently by the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy. RuPay credit card for UPI payments OUR BUREAU / NEW DELHI The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday approved the linking of credit cards to UPI platforms, beginning with RuPay cards. Until now, only debit cards connected to savings bank accounts and current accounts were allowed to link up with the UPI platform. "... The basic objective of linking credit cards to UPI is to provide a customer (with) a wider choice of payments,’’ Reserve Bank Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar told reporters.CONTD. ON NATION PAGE Topperspeak: Elated! Incredulous! Stunned! CHAITALI DHARAMSHI, ABHISHEK NAIR & ADITI ALURKAR MUMBAI BETWEEN THE LINES of the state.  Around 14,85,191 students registered for the HSC exams this year, which were held from March 4 to April 7. The pass percentage of students in the Arts, Science, and Commerce streams was 94.22. In comparison to last year’s overall pass percentage of 99.6 per cent, which was based on internal assessments and previous board exam scores, the overall pass percentage has decreased. Talking about Mumbai’s overall pass percentage, Dr Rajendra Shinde, Principal, St Xavier’s College said, “Students had to enter an offline setup after two years and answer a 100-mark paper for 3.5 hours; this transition has certainly been reflected in the board results. The quality of education in the online mode played a part too. Since exams were offline for our students, no unfair means could be used either.”CONTD. ON NATION PAGE housing sales.’’ He further notes: The rate hike will push up home loan interest rates, which had already begun creeping upward after the surprise monetary policy announcement last month. Of course, interest rates will remain lower than during the global financial crisis of 2008, when they went as high as 12% and above. CONTD. ON P13 Pooja Bhansali Mitesh Wandhare Neha Shet Karen Aguiar Mohammed Bhadsorawala Ishaan Jain As it has been its practice for the last few years, the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education has not been declaring an official list of toppers. However, The Free Press Journal was able to speak to some of the shining stars in the city’s colleges. At Jai Hind College in south Mumbai, Mohammad Bhadsorwala topped with a 96.83 per cent in Science. For the boy who had played the unofficial class jester all this while, the topper status came as a surprise. “I had confidence in my 12th results. I had been attending tuitions around my neighborhood for the examinations. I thoroughly enjoy studying sci- ence and will appear for the JEE Mains this year,” he declared, adding “people around me seem to be happier about my result than I am. My parents and friends did appreciate my score a lot.” For Karen Ashton Aguiar, who was the Arts topper at St Xavier’s College, having scored 93.33 per cent, it was quite unbelievable. “I am letting the news sink in, I still believe it’s a prank. In school, I always came second, so topping what has always been my dream college feels wonderful. My father is elated too, he is especially proud since he sees his initials in my name.”   For  Pooja Bhansali, the Arts topper from Ruia College who scored 94.33 per cent, the news of her achievement was a validation of her study strategy . “It’s the same as before. CONTD. ON NATION PAGE ing to a spike in infections, the active caseload in the city has climbed to 7,000. Maharashtra also reported the highest single-day cases in the last four months, with 2,701 new cases being reported in the last 24 hours, pushing its overall tally to 78,98,915, with 1,47,866 deaths so far. Dr Lancelot Pinto, Consultant Pulmonologist and Epidemiologist, P D Hinduja Hospital, said, “Waning immunity post prior infections and vaccination, increased social inter- actions/overcrowding, increasing travel and reduced precautions (masking, sanitizing) have all possibly contributed to the surge that we are presently experiencing. Fortunately it , does appear that despite increasing numbers, the proportion of those infected who have severe disease is low, and we are likely to experience a surge similar to what we witnessed in January A total of 19,185 tests .” were carried out in the city increasing the test positivity rate to 9.19 per cent. Mumbai daily Covid tally at 1765 SWAPNIL MISHRA MUMBAI Mumbai and Maharashtra continue to report the highest single-day Covid cases after four months. The city logged 1765 new cases on Wednesday which , is the highest since January 26 when 1858 cases were recorded in a single day taking the over, all tally to 10,73,541. However zero Covid deaths were reported for the second consecutive day; the death toll remains at 19,569 fatalities. Meanwhile ow- Worrisome: 0-19 age group constitutes 10% cases STATEWISE MAY 14 TO JUNE 7 COVID DATA SWAPNIL MISHRA MUMBAI Nearly 10.41 per cent of the current Covid cases reported between May 14 and June 7 are in the 0-19 years’ age group. State data shows that 1,089 cases have been reported in this category of , which 793 are in the 10-19 age group. In all these cases, however, only mild symptoms were reported so home isolation was advised and the recovery period was two to three days. Paediatricians have said most of their patients exhibited flu- or pneumonialike symptoms and their antigen tests were positive. The state’s paediatric taskforce has suggested that children should wear masks in the classroom and get vaccinated. “If we go by the state data then the infection rate in children is low but we cannot deny that children are equally infected like adults, with self-testing kits being used. The only reason numbers are low is that most cases are not being reported as they are not getting tested and are being home-isolated,” according to a doctor. Paediatrician Dr Amey Kakirde, said, “There is not much of a rise in the number of children getting Covid, as most of them have flu or pneumonialike symptoms which is similar to corona symptoms. None of the serious cases I have seen needed hospitalisation. I would urge parents to get their children vaccinated, as only vaccines can act as a barrier for now, considering cases are surging across Maharashtra.” A paediatrician from a civic-run hospital said they were now seeing patients with mild symptoms. Most of them came in with a positive rapid antigen test, while some others had positive RT-PCR reports. However, they were recovering within two or three days. Dr Bakul Parekh, a member of the paediatric taskforce, said all age groups had been equally infected, but there was not much of a rise in the number of children being infected, as compared to the last two waves. CONTD. ON NATION PAGE