DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE MONDAY, JANUARY 15, 2024, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 14 PAGES SINCE 1932 Modi Sarkar ki Guarantee Government of India India becoming world’s manufacturing hub CBC 22201/13/0148/2324 Scan for more information Hamara Sankalp Over 200 mobile manufacturing units in the country now as compared to two in 2014; India is the second largest mobile manufacturing country in the world Viksit Bharat INDIA-MALDIVES HIGH-LEVEL CORE GROUP HOLDS FIRST MEETING MaldivesGovtpushesforwithdrawalof Indiantroops,setsMarch15deadline Discussed mutually workable solution for continuing operation of aviation platforms for humanitarian aid: MEA DIVYA A NEW DELHI, JANUARY 14 A DAY after Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu took an indirect jibe at India for “bullying”, his government on Sunday set a March 15 deadline for India to withdraw its military personnel from the country. Thedeadlinewasannounced by a senior official in the Muizzu government on a day the India-Maldives high-level core group held its first meeting in Male on Sunday. “In this meeting, on behalf of PresidentMuizzu,theMaldivian delegation proposed the re- `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES & ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM Chinese President Xi Jinping and Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu in Beijing on January 10. Reuters file moval of Indian troops by March 15,” Ahmed Nazim, policy director at the President's Office, told reporters, according to a Reuters report. “This date was proposed in the agenda by the government and specifically the President. These discussions are ongoing,” he said. Local media reports also quoted Nazim on a March 15 deadline. “Indian military personnel cannot stay in the Maldives. This is the policy of President Dr Mohamed Muizzu CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Footfall down, Gulmarg businesses look to the skies — awaiting snow BASHAARAT MASOOD GULMARG, JANUARY 14 WITH SNOW eluding Gulmarg so far this winter, the slopes of theskiresorthaveremainedlifeless and the tourist buzz usually feltthereduringthistimeof year has been absent. “If Gulmarg is a movie, then the snow is the hero. When the hero is missing, the movie becomes a flop,” said Waseem CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Army to let Lt Cols who specialise in niche tech opt out of command posts AMRITA NAYAK DUTTA NEW DELHI, JANUARY 14 Rahul yatra begins: In mandir season, Cong says BJP using Ram for votes Manipur suffered due to BJP ideology, hatred... will restore peace, says Rahul EXPLAINED TOP 10 TRENDS OF 2024 YOUR MONEY, YOUR LEADERS, YOUR WORLD Investor and author Ruchir Sharma speaks to economist and psephologist Prannoy Roy PAGE 7 The ski resort has seen little snowfall this year. Shuaib Masoodi ARMY OFFICERS specialising in nichetechnologiessuchasartificial intelligence, robotics and drones, among others, can now continue in the same domain on promotion to Colonel instead of getting posted out for command assignments, The Indian Express has learnt. According to sources, the ArmyisbringinginanewHRpolicy under which Lieutenant Colonelsapprovedforpromotion to the rank of Colonels can voluntarily continue in their field of expertiseandnotmoveforcommand appointments, which is the standard practice at present. Only about 30-40 per cent of Lieutenant Colonels are approved for the rank of Colonel. This will also be applicable for officers specialising in niche areas like space, information technology, nano technology, weapons,ammunitionaswellas in information operations, specific languages and other important projects. The idea, as per sources, is to promote domain specialisation in the Army. However, such officers who choose to remain in their selecteddomain,willhavetoforgo command assignments. They willalsonotbeeligibleforsubsequent career courses such as senior command, higher command or equivalent courses. As per the policy, the officer will continue in his domain of specialisation for two years, after which his/ her further extension will be decided by a board of officers,basedonhisperformance and the organisational CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Sankhadeep Banerjee Milind Deora with CM Eknath Shinde in Mumbai on Sunday Rahul Gandhi in Manipur’s Thoubal district on Sunday. AICC MANOJ C G IMPHAL, JANUARY 14 HOPING TO generate muchneeded political momentum to take on the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections barely a couple of months away, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday began his second yatra in a little over a year, calling for a “harmonious and equitable” society as against what he said was the BJP’s politics of “violence, hatred and monopoly”. BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY ALOK DESHPANDE & ZEESHAN SHAIKH MUMBAI, JANUARY 14 IN A setback to the Congress in Mumbai ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, former MP Milind Deora quit the party on Sunday and joined the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ARMY DAY 2024 A RED initiative appears in today’s edition of The Indian Express. This page is an initiative of the marketing solutions team of The Indian Express Group and contains content paid for by advertisers. This page should be read as an advertisement. Deora joins Shinde Sena: ‘Cong intent on opposing everything PM says, does’ The loss, gain CONGRESS HAS lost its only available candidate who could have contested the Mumbai South LS seat. The Shinde Sena gains a face with deep links in business circles and Delhi’s political circuit. Abhishek’s fresh swipe at Cong: ‘Their seat aspirations like aiming for stars’ EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE TMC’s vote sharemore thanCongin NCHACpolls: Abhishek NEW DELHI, JANUARY 14 THERECENTLYconcludedNorth Cachar Hills Autonomous Council (NCHAC) elections in AssamthatsawtheCongressand TrinamoolCongress(TMC)draw a blank have become another pointof contentionbetweenthe INDIAblocalliesamidseat-shar- ing talks for the Lok Sabha polls that seem to have hit a wall. After Friday’s NCHAC results that saw the BJP complete a near sweep by winning 25 of the 28 seats,TMCgeneralsecretaryand the party’s de facto number two Abhishek Banerjee took a dig at the Congress. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Can a nylon shuttle match one made of feathers? IIT researchers may have answer PAGE 1 ANCHOR THE SCIENCE BEHIND BADMINTON SHUTTLES SHIVANI NAIK MUMBAI, JANUARY 14 EVERY TIME Sanjay Mittal, 55, held a badminton shuttlecock made of feathers, all he thought of was the cruelty inflicted upon birds. This got the IIT Kanpur aerospace engineering professor thinking. Could a nylon alternativereplicatetheflightpatternof a duck or goose feather shuttle CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SYNTHETIC SHUTTLECOCK FEATHER SHUTTLECOCK 1. Shuttlecocks are traditionally made from duck feathers, but the nylon ones are more durable. 2. Using a wind tunnel, three Indian researchers studied the aerodynamics of shuttles “Our study opens up the possibility for improved designs that make the nylon shuttlecock structurally stiffer so that it more closely mimics the aerodynamic performance of feather 3. At higher speeds, a synthetic shuttlecocks. This could be a game-changer” shuttlecock buckles, Sanjay Mittal, deforms into a square, and IIT Kanpur vibrates radially Kolkata