FREE PRESS The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms VOL. 13 NO. 272 | BHOPAL | FRIDAY | MARCH 15, 2024 | PAGES 16 Given six names 10 mins before meeting: Cong NEW DELHI: Former IAS officers Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu were on Thursday appointed as election commissioners, ahead of the announcement of the Lok Sabha polls. The law ministry issued a notification announcing the appointments. A selection committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had met earlier in the day to recommend their names. The vacancies had come up in the Election Commission (EC) after the retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey on February 14 and the sudden resignation of Arun Goel on March 8. The poll panel is headed by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar. Kumar and Sandhu, both 1988-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers, belonged to the Kerala and Uttarakhand cadres, respectively, and are likely to assume office on Friday . Gyanesh Kumar Sukhbir Sandhu The Congress leader said he was given 212 names for scrutiny last night. "I had asked for a shortlist so that I can examine the candidates. But I did not get that opportunity. I reached Delhi at midnight and the meeting was at noon today. I was given 212 names, how can someone examine so many candidates in a day? Ten minutes before the meeting, I was given a shortlist of 6 names," he said. The 2024 general elections for the Lok Sabha, along with four state assemblies, are expected in April-May amid indications that the EC may announce these polls as early as this Friday . Earlier in the day, at the selection panel meeting chaired by the prime minister, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury gave a dissent note, raising questions over the procedure adopted to choose the election commissioners. The selection committee has one Union minister -Home Minister Amit Shah -- as nominated by the government and the leader of the largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha as members. CONTD. ON P8 - EDITIONS: INDORE, BHOPAL, UJJAIN, MUMBAI, PUNE Cabinet gives nod for ropeways in Ujjain, Sagar Jabalpur OUR STAFF REPORTER Bhopal Ropeways will be set up at four places in Madhya Pradesh under the national ropeways development programme. After approval by the cabinet at a meeting on Thursday, PWD was authorised to carry out the ropeway work. The places, where the ropeways will be installed, are from Ujjain railway station to Mahakaleshwar temple, Tik- Maha buys iconic Air India building AGENCIES New Delhi The Maharashtra government has become the owner of iconic Air India building with the Union government approving transfer of the asset on Thursday . The Maharashtra government bought the Air India building at Nariman Point in Mumbai for Rs 1,601 crore. CONTD. ON P8 MONEY FITCH RAISES INDIA’S GDP FORECAST FOR FY25 TO 7% FROM 6.5% EARLIER CAPITAL EXPENDITURE DECREASING: CM achieved in water resources, Narmada Valley Development Authority, PWD, Public Health Engineering, Urban Development and Housing and Panchayat and Rural Development Department, Yadav said. Despite all speculations, the administration has not closed any welfare projects, and there will not be dearth of resources for any projects, Yadav said. toriya Mata Temple in Sagar, from empire stadium to Gurdwara and from civic centre to Baldewbag in Jabalpur. The cabinet also approved Rs 24,293 crore for the first and second phase of the Ken-Betwa link project. NEW DELHI: The Centre reduced petrol and diesel prices by ` 2, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, said on X. The announcement comes weeks ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. The revised price will be effective from March 15, 6 am. Fmr prez Pratibha Patil hospitalised PUNE: Former President Pratibha Patil was admitted to Pune's Bharti Hospital with symptoms of fever and chest infection, officials said. She was admitted last night. She has a fever and a chest infection. Her condition is stable. Naxal with 100 cases against him held Takes cognisance of fire incident in Jabalpur pvt hosp OUR STAFF REPORTER City.bhopal@fpj.co.in Taking cognisance on Jabalpur hospital fire, State Information commission has laid down the ruling that all the clinics and hospital of private sectors come under purview of RTI ( Right to Information) Act. Information Kovind panel for three-tier polls in two phases BIJAPUR: A Naxalite, Sudhakar alias Undam (55) wanted in more than 100 cases, including murder and abduction, and carrying a reward of Rs 8 lakh was arrested in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, police said on Thursday. Mamata suffers 'major injury' KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee sustained injuries on her forehead on Thursday, according to the Trinamool Congress. As per the party, its Chief sustained a 'major injury' on her forehead. The All India Trinamool Congress shared photos of Banerjee on a hospital bed with a deep cut in the middle of her forehead and blood on her face. NEW DELHI: A high-level panel on Thursday recommended simultaneous elections for Lok Sabha and state assemblies as the first step followed by synchronised local body polls within 100 days in its report on 'one nation, one election' submitted to President Droupadi Murmu. Simultaneous polls will help save resources, spur development and social cohesion, deepen "foundations of democratic rubric" and help realise the aspirations of "India, that is Bharat", the panel headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind said in its report that runs into more than 18,000 pages. CONTD. ON P8 Life expectancy rises 5 yrs, GNI by 6.3% in one year UN’S PAT ON THE BACK FOR INDIA EXPECTED YEARS of schooling have increased by 4.6 years; and mean years of schooling have grown by 3.8 years NEW DELHI Average life expectancy in India was 67.7 years in 2022 - up from 62.7 a year earlier - and gross national income (GNI, per capita) has increased to $6951, a jump of 6.3 per cent in 12 months, the United Nation's Human Development Index, or HDI, report has said. The HDI report also indicated increases in expected years of schooling (to 12.6 per individual). Overall, the country has a HDI score of 0.644 in 2022, which ranks it 134 of 193 in the UN's report for 2023/24 'Breaking the Gridlock: Reimagining Cooperation in a Polarised World'. This r RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 places it in the 'medium human development' category . Significantly, India's HDI score for 2022 saw an increase after a drop the year before and a flat trend in the years prior. India's 1990 HDI was 0.434, making the 2022 score a positive change of 48.4 per cent. HDI refers to assessment of average achievements in three basic dimensions of human development - long and healthy life, access to education, and decent standard of living. "India has shown remarkable progress in human development over the years. Since 1990, life expectancy at birth has risen by 9.1 years. India's GNI per capita has grown by approximately 287 per cent," Caitlin Wiesen, the United Nations Development Programme's country representative, said. CONTD. ON P8 n The tenure of all state assemblies formed via polls after the "appointed date" and before the expiry of the full term of the Lok Sabha, will be only for the period ending up to the subsequent parliamentary polls. After this one-time transitory measure, all Lok Sabha and assembly polls will be held simultaneously. n Fresh elections could be held to constitute a new Lok Sabha in the event of a hung House or a noconfidence motion, or any such event. n Where fresh elections are held for the House of the People (Lok Sabha), the tenure of the House will be "only for the unexpired (remaining) term of the immediately preceding full term of the House. Centre asks states to ban 23 ‘ferocious’ dog breed NEW DELHI: The Central government has directed states to ban the sale and breeding of 23 breeds of ferocious dogs, including Pitbull Terrier, American Bulldog, Rottweiler and Mastiffs, amid rising instances of pet dog attacks. The directive issued to states and Union Territories bars people from keeping as many as 23 breeds of dogs as pets. The Centre also said that these breeds of dogs, which have already been kept as pets, should be sterilised to prevent further breeding. The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying said it has received representations from citizens, citizen forums and Animal Welfare Organisations to ban some of the breeds of dogs from keeping them as pets and other purposes. The panel has identified 23 breeds of dogs, including mixed and cross breeds, as ferocious and also dangerous for human lives. CONTD. ON P8 related to registration and approval of operation of any clinic and hospitals will have to be furnished in the state within 30 days. In this important decision issued to the health department, Information Commissioner Rahul Singh said that health is a subject directly related to the public and giving this information will help in curbing illegally running hospitals and clinics. Sunita Tiwari of Ja- QUALITY AT VALUE www.freepressjournal.in GOAL TO MAKE INDIA HUB FOR SCIENTIFIC LEARNING: PM NATION At the cabinet, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav extended the solar pump project and approved it in the name of “Pradhan Mantri Krishan Surya Mitra Yojna.” MP Energy Development Department will implement “Pradhan Mantri Krishak Mitra Surya Yojna” according to the directives issued under the Kusum-B project. The farmers are being given connections for solar pumps under the “Mukhya Mantri Krishak Mitra Yojna.” The cabinet also approved the formation of Chitrakoot Development Authority for development of the area. INFO OF HOSPITALS COMES UNDER RTI: IC ONE NATION ONE ELECTION n Govt must develop a legally tenable mechanism in order to restore the cycle of simultaneous elections. n In the first stage, elections for the Lok Sabha and all state legislative assemblies can be held together. n In the second step, the elections to municipalities and panchayats will be synchronised with the Lok Sabha and state assemblies in such a way that elections to municipalities and panchayats are held within 100 days of the holding of parliamentary and assembly polls. n For the purpose of synchronising Lok Sabha and assembly elections, the president shall notify the date of the first sitting of the Lok Sabha after a general election as the "appointed date". 34.00c. 17.20c Sunrise : 06.37 Sunset : 06.35 Before the Cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav told the ministers that capital expenditure was decreasing. It should be ensured that the expenses are made before March 31, Yadav said, adding that enough financial liquidity is available, and the departments should review daily to ensure that the target is achieved. The target should be HIGHLIGHTS NEWS BRIEF Petrol, diesel prices cut By ` 2 r Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2021-2023; RS 24,000 CR FOR KEN BETWA LINK PROJECT RCB KICK-STARTS PRE-TOURNAMENT CAMP SPORTS 2 ECs appointed, Adhir red-flags selection process `3 WEATHER FP balpur had asked in RTI for complete documents related to the registration of Dr Rajiv Jain, Star Hospital located at Malviya Chowk in Jabalpur for the year 2020 to 2021 and 2022. Sunita told in the online hearing that she did not receive the information required in the application. Sunita alleges that her daughter died due to medical negligence and the said hospital is being run illegally by Dr Rajeev Jain. CONTD. ON P8 CM launches PM tourism air service CM Mohan Yadav launches PM Tourism Air Service& PM Religious Tourism Heli Service at state hanger of Raja Bhoj Airport, Bhopal, on Thursday. Initially the service will be available for Mahakaleshwar & Omkareshwar but would be extended to Datia, Maihar and Orchha in future OUR STAFF REPORTER City.bhopal@fpj.co.in Chief Minister Mohan Yadav flagged off two planes and a helicopter at Raja Bhoj Airport signaling the launch of PM Shri Tourism Air Service and PM Shri Religious Tourism Heli Service on Thursday . A trial run of the air servvice was also held. The air services have been launched from Indore to Mahakaleshwar and Mamleshwar (Omkareshwar). This facility is already available for Kedarnath and Yamunotri. This service will soon be available for Datia, Maihar, Orchha Air services to begin in a month or two The air services to Mahakaleshwar and Mamleshwar (Omkareshwar) will take around one to two months to become operational. The fare has not been finalised so far. Both services were formally launched before the enforcement of model code of conduct.Vivek Shrotiya, additional managing director MP Tourism, informed Free Press, "MoU has been signed for operation. The companies will set up their own system for operation and have their own staff. We have 31 airstrips, and have given them free hand to operate their air services. They will finalise the fare. Overall it will take one or two months." too. MP Tourism Board has signed an MoU with Jet Air Service (Flyola) for the operation of PM Shri Tourism Air Service. CONTD. ON P8