FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS VOL. XXXX NO. 347 | INDORE | THURSDAY | MAY 23, 2024 | PAGES 14 r Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026; `3 r RNI No. 38281/83 QUALITY AT VALUE www.freepressjournal.in - EDIT KOHLI IS MY FIRST PICK: PONTING PARITY IN HAMAS, ISRAEL UNACCEPTABLE SPORTS WEATHER EDITIONS: INDORE, BHOPAL, UJJAIN, MUMBAI, PUNE MODERN SATI SAVITRI 43.10c. 29.00c Sunrise : 05.44 Sunset : 07.00 CINEMA INDORE SWACHHTA VIDEO BRACE UP for CANNOT HELP DREAMING..., SAYS MAHINDRA severe heat wave OUR STAFF REPORTER Indore Citing a video by a US vlogger hailing cleanliness of Indore, Anand Mahindra – chairman of Mahindra Group -- expressed desire for this cleanliness culture to spread across the nation. “Cannot help dreaming: If this were to be replicated throughout the country...,'' he wrote while sharing the video. Indore was ranked as the cleanest city in India for the seventh year in a row at the Swachh Survekshan Awards-2024. The city's prestigious designation was secured due to its effective waste management system, including segregation, conversion and disposal through a publicprivate partnership model. Recently Mahindra shared , a video featuring US travel vlogger Max McFarlin, who praised Indore's exceptional cleanliness. In the video, McFarlin showcased a roadside eatery and highlighted the hygiene measures taken, such as separate bins for used steel plates and a basin for hand- washing. He also commended the locals for their cleanliness consciousness, citing an instance where someone promptly picked up food after spilling it on the street. As per information, the city spends Rs 200 crore annually on waste management. A total of 850 vehicles criss-cross the city daily and collect 692 tonnes of wet, 683 tonnes of dry and 179 tonnes of plastic waste. Reacting to the video, many praised the city's culture and its people who know their duties and prioritise cleanliness. One user wrote, ''Cleanliness and order are not matters of mere taste and upbringing, they are among the essential requirements of human beings.'' Another person commented, ''India would look very different if more cities had residents like those in Indore who prioritise cleanliness.'' A third user said, ''If this were to be replicated throughout the country EC COMES DOWN HEAVILY ON BJP, CONG ‘CORRECT DISCOURSE, MAINTAIN DECORUM’ NEWS BRIEF VP pays tribute to Raisi in Tehran TEHRAN: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Wednesday met Iran's acting President Mohammad Mokhber here and conveyed condolences over the tragic demise of President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in a helicopter crash. Raj’s Barmer boils at 48 deg C JAIPUR: Rajasthan continued to reel under the grip of severe heat conditions with Barmer recording the highest temperature at 48 degrees Celsius on Wednesday. Looking at the situation, the state government cancelled the leaves of all divisional commissioners, additional divisional commissioners, district collectors, additional district collectors and sub divisional officers till further orders. SRK hospitalised with heat stroke AHMEDABAD: Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan was admitted to a hospital in Ahmedabad on Wednesday after suffering from a heat stroke, police said. He was admitted to multi-speciality K D Hospital, they said. "Actor Shah Rukh Khan was admitted to K D Hospital after suffering from a heat stroke," Ahmedabad (Rural) Superintendent of Police Om Prakash Jat said. 3 nations recognise Palentine OLSO: Spain, Norway and Ireland have recognized Palestinian statehood, which is seen as a snub to Israel over the grinding war against Hamas in Gaza. Although 140 countries — more than two-thirds of the United Nations — have recognized the state of Palestine over the years, the simultaneous announcement by the three European nations carries additional weight. TWO BIG AGENCIES New Delhi The Election Commission Wednesday came down heavily on ruling BJP and opposition Congress, asking them to desist from campaigning along caste, community, language, and religious lines. The Poll panel directed BJP president JP Nadda and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to issue formal notes to their star campaigners, urging them to "correct" their discourse, exercise care, and maintain decorum during their speeches. Noting that the country's socio-cultural milieu cannot be made a casualty to elections, it told BJP president J P Nadda and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge that utterances of star campaigners follow patterns and create narratives which can be damaging beyond the model code period. Referring to their respective replies to the notices issued to them on April 25, the election authority said that "technical loopholes or extreme interpretations of other political party's utterances" cannot discharge the parties and their campaigners from the core responsibility of their own content ties of provisions of the model code which state that no party or candidate will include in any activity which may aggravate existing differences or create mutual hatred or cause which ought to be corrective to the ongoing discourse "and not further plummeting the quality of campaign discourse". It reminded the two par- tension between different castes and communities, religious or linguistic. Nadda was issued the notice on opposition charge that Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a divi- RBI rolls out fiscal red carpet for new regime SRINATH SRIDHARAN of 5.5-6.5% (as suggested by the Bimal Jalan Committee). This buffer The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has is crucial for managing unforeseen announced an unprecedented divirisks related to depreciation of secudend of Rs 2.1 lakh crore for the Cenrities, monetary or exchange rate , tral government for FY24, significantpolicy risks. ly exceeding market expectations of The substantial dividend possibly Rs 80,000 to Rs 100,000 crore. This divstems from higher income generated idend is approximately 141% higher from the RBI’s forex portfolio, driven than the previous year’s payout and by the US Federal Reserve’s aggressive will help better manage the fiscal interest rate hikes in recent years. The deficit and give the governfact that the RBI could ment greater room to madeliver such a high dividend neuver on the expenditure while simultaneous-ly SPECIAL strengthening its balance side. The dividend or surplus transfer by the RBI to the Centre was sheet by increasing the CRB is a posiRs 87,416 crore for the fiscal 2022-23. tive indicator of its robust financial The previous high was Rs 1.76 lakh management. crore in 2018-19. That the RBI has been delivering In the interim budget for the curon all fronts, despite geopolitical fracrent fiscal year, presented on Februtures and global economic volatility , ary 1, the government had anticipatwith supply chain disruptions, is a ed a dividend of INR 1.02 lakh crore hat-tip moment for it. from the RBI, public sector banks The thing to ponder, though, is that (PSBs), and other financial instituthe interim Union budget numbers tions. The record-high dividend were presented on February 1. As comes despite the RBI increasing its part of the budgetary planning contingency risk buffer (CRB) to process, the government would have 6.5% from the previous 6%, the highreceived indicative budget assumpest within the recommended range tions from the RBI. THE FP Highest number of candidates in fray since 1996 A total of 8,360 candidates are contesting the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, the highest since 1996, according to an analysis of official data. In the 2019 polls, there were 8,039 candidates, and in 1996, a record 13,952 candidates were in the fray for 543 seats of the Lower House of Parliament. sive speech in Rajasthan's Banswara. In his reply to the notice, Nadda had maintained that the statements of BJP's star campaigners rely on facts to expose the "mal intent" of the Congress to the nation. He had also told the EC that the Congress and the INDIA bloc, in pursuance of vote-bank politics, have begun opposing India as a nation, its identity, its original Hindu religion. CONTD. ON P7 Missing B’desh MP found dead in Kolkata AGENCIES / KOLKATA Hours after the Bangladesh government declared on Wednesday that Awami League MP, Md Anwarul Azim Anwar, who went missing from Kolkata on May 13, was "brutally murdered" in the city, the West Bengal police said on Friday that investigations into the case of the politician's killing has been taken up by the state CID. Stating that the police had "reliable inputs" that Anwar "may have been murdered", Akhilesh Chaturvedi, IG, CID, said that the police were yet to recover the victim's body. "We had no prior intimation of the Bangladeshi MP's arrival to this city . CONTD. ON P7 ‘A PLANNED MURDER’ "Anwar was murdered in a planned manner at a residence in Kolkata. Police forces of both India and Bangladesh are working simultaneously to unearth the motive behind the murder and who the culprits are. We are following all international protocols to get to the bottom of this," Asaduzzaman Khan, Bangladesh Home Minister, told reporters in Dhaka this morning Meet India-born Nikesh, 2nd highest paid CEO in US AGENCIES Washington Nikesh Arora, the Indiaborn CEO of Palo Alto Networks, has been ranked America's second-highest paid CEO in 2023. With a compensation of $151.43 million, the 56-year-old's earnings have surpassed those of many tech giants, like Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and Google's Sundar Pichai. A total of 17 Indi- Earns more than Sundar Pichai and Mark Zuckerberg an-descent CEOs are in the top 500 rankings, according to an analysis published by The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday . Shantanu Narayen of Adobe is the second-highest paid Indian-descent CEO, ranked 11 overall. Arora and Narayen earned $151.43 million and $44.93 million, respectively, more than Tesla's Elon Musk, who did not receive any compensation in 2023, according to the report. Meta's Mark Zuckerberg earned $24.40 million, while Alphabet's Indiaborn head Sundar Pichai earned $8.80 million during the period under re- view. A product of Delhi's Air Force Public School, Arora first drew international attention as the chief business officer at Google, which he left in 2014 to head SoftBank with a reported compensation that was said to be a record for Japan. Arora has been heading Palo Alto Networks, a cybersecurity company, since 2018. CONTD. ON P7 then India would be the cleanest place in the world, Sir. Thanks for sharing such wonderful videos and awakening the people.'' ''The Indore model is the best model of a smart city and Swachh Bharat Indori people take it personally when it comes to cleanliness, they make sure as visitors as well, we don't litter, my family there guided us not to litter on the road and stopped the car for putting waste in the bin,'' stated a fourth. Justice Sheel Nagu to be Acting CJ of MP HC OUR STAFF REPORTER Bhopal Justice Sheel Nagu will be the Acting Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court. The Ministry of Law, Government of India, issued an order in this connection on Wednesday. Chief Justice of the high court Ravi Malimath is retiring on May 24. Justice Nagu was appointed judge of the high court in May, 2011. He passed LLB from Jabalpur and practised as lawyer in the MP High Court for a long time. for next 3 days OUR STAFF REPORTER city.bhopal@fpj.co.in Amid scorching heat, weatherman has warned of severe heat wave condition in isolated places of Madhya Pradesh for the next three days. This is bound to adversely affect normal life as people would be exposed to extreme heat. The weather department warned of severe heat wave in Datia, Bhind and Niwari on Thursday On Friday . , Gwalior, Datia, Bhind, Chhattarpur and Niwari would experience severe heat wave. On Saturday it , would be the turn of Rajgarh, Gwalior, Datia, Bhind, Chhattarpur and Niwari to brave the severe heat wave. Residents of Rajgarh, Badwani, Alirajpur, Jhabua, Dhar, Ratlam, Mandsaur, Neemuch, Guna, Ashok Nagar, Shivpuri, Gwalior, Morena, Sheopur Kalan, Katni, Panna, Damoh, Chhattarpur and Tikamgarh would have to brave heat wave on Thursday . On Friday heat wave will , prevail in Rajgarh, Burhanpur, Khandwa, Badwani, Alirajpur, Jhabua, Dhar, Ratlam, Agar, Malwa, Mandsaur, Neemuch, Guna, Ashok Nagar, Shivpuri, Gwalior, Morena, Sheopurkalan, Singhrauli, Rewa, Satna, Maihar, Anuppur, Damoh, Tikamgarh etc. In the last 24 hours, Ratlam braved severe heat wave, while Chhattarpur, Gwalior and Datia faced the wrath of heat wave. Senior scientist of weather department Dr Vedprakas Singh said that owing to low PLACE Ratlam Dhar Khandwa Guna Datia Ujjain Tikamgarh Gwalior Satna Raisen Narmadapuram Betul DEG/C 45 44.9 44.5 44.2 44.1 43.8 43.8 43.7 43 42.4 41.7 41. 2 Mercury hits 2-yr high Indore in The city’s maximum temperature rose to a two-year high of 43.4 degrees Celsius on Wednesday. Moreover, officials of the Regional Meteorological Department forecast no relief for denizens and said that there are chances of a heat wave for three days from May 24 to May 26. The night temperature on Tuesday was recorded at 29.1 degrees Celsius, four degrees above normal. pressure area over the Bay of Bengal, heat would continue to sweep the state in upcoming week. CONTD. ON P7 Calcutta HC scraps over 5L OBC certificates benefits BENEFITS AGENCIES Kolkata The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday struck down the OBC status of several classes in West Bengal granted since 2010, finding such reservations to vacancies in services and posts in the state are illegal. Passing judgment on petitions challenging the provisions of the Act, the court clarified that the services of citizens of the struck-down classes, who are already in service or have availed the benefit of reservation or have succeeded in any selection Accident kills 3 Indian-origin students in US WASHINGTON: Three Indian-American students were killed and two others were injured in a fatal road accident as their speeding car flipped over in the US state of Georgia, according to the police. The deceased were identified as Sriya Avasarala, Anvi Sharma and Aryan Joshi were passengers in a single-vehicle crash last week on Westside Parkway in Alpharetta, according to local police. Based on evidence at the scene, it is believed that the driver lost control of their car which then came to rest upside down in the tree line. DIDI REFUSES TO ACCEPT West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday asserted that she "will not accept" the Calcutta High Court order scrapping the OBC status of several classes in the state.She hinted that the government could challenge the order in the Supreme Court. process of the state will not be affected by the order. The number of enlisted persons under OBC in West Bengal after 2010 is likely to be above five lakhs, one of the lawyers representing the petitioners said. The court struck down several classes for reservation as Other Backward Classes (OBC) given under The West Bengal Backward Classes (Other than Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) (Reser- vation of Vacancies in Services and Posts) Act, 2012. The court said that the directions will be given prospective effect. In the judgement, the division bench comprising justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Rajasekhar Mantha clarified that the executive orders of the state government classifying 66 classes of OBC before 2010 were not interfered with, since these were not challenged in the petitions. CONTD. ON P7 Will set up JPC within a month to probe Adani scam: Cong NEW DELHI: The Congress on Wednesday attacked the Modi government over a media report that claimed that the Adani Group passed off low-quality coal as far more expensive cleaner fuel in transactions with a Tamil Nadu PSU, and said that a JPC will be set up within one month of an INDIA bloc government taking office to probe such allegations. Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi claimed that a "huge coal scam" has come to light under the BJP government and through this "scam", "Prime Minister Narendra Modi's favourite friend ‘Will throw Agniveer scheme in dustbin’ Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said Wednesday the Agniveer military recruitment scheme will be scrapped and thrown in the dustbin if the INDIA bloc comes to power, as he slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "turning India's jawan into labourers". P6 Adani" has looted thousands of crores of rupees by selling low-grade coal at three times the price, which the common people have paid from their pockets in expensive electricity bills. CONTD. ON P7