DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA BELOW 7% AFTER FOUR QUARTERS Agriculture, services sector pull down GDP growth rate to 6.7% in Apr-June SUMMIT ROADSHOW: GOVT INKS DEAL WORTH `4.5L CRORE PAGE 3 8.2 8.1 8.6 7.8 6.7 FY24-Q2 FY24-Q3 FY24-Q4 FY25-Q1 4.3 FY24-Q1 INDIA’S REAL Gross Domestic Product(GDP)growthslippedto a five-quarter low of 6.7 per cent in April-June 2024-25 due to slower growth in agriculture, government spending and services, data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Friday showed. 5.5 6.2 FY23-Q4 NEW DELHI, AUGUST 30 12.8 FY23-Q3 AANCHAL MAGAZINE The quarterly GDP growth rate for Q1, which fell below the 7-per-centmarkforthefirsttime in a year, came in much lower than the projection of 7.1 per centbytheReserveBankof India (RBI).Itwasmuchlowerthan8.2 per cent in the year-ago quarter, and sequentially too, it was lower than 7.8 per cent growth seen in the previous quarter (January-March 2024). Manufacturing and con- REAL GDP GROWTH RATES (%) FY23-Q2 Elections brought down govt capital spending and investment, says CEA INSIDE `6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 FY23-Q1 BY UNNY POSTAL REGN. NO. JAIPUR CITY/001/2024-26 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2024, JAIPUR, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES BUSINESS AS USUAL ● Source: NSO, MoSPI struction sectors, however, firmed up with growth rates of 7 per cent and 10.5 per cent, re- spectively, in April-June as against 5 per cent and 8.6 per cent in the year-ago period. Public spending powered down, especially during the election phase, with government final consumption expenditure contracting by 0.2 per cent in AprilJune. There was positive sign on the consumption front with Private final consumption expenditure(PFCE)—theproxyfor consumptiondemand—picking up pace to record a seven-quarter high growth of 7.4 per cent in Q1 as against 5.5 per cent in the year-ago period. Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran said the SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, AUGUST 30 FOR THE first time since the ouster of Bangladesh Prime MinisterSheikhHasinaonAugust 5, India said Friday that the “development projects” there have beenimpactedduetothelawand order situation in the country. Also Friday, External Affairs MinisterSJaishankar,inremarks on the Bangladesh developments,underlined“wealsohave to recognise that there are political changes, and they can be disruptive”. Randhir Jaiswal, spokesper- Last Vistara flight on Nov 11 as merger with Air India clears the last hurdle SUKALP SHARMA NEW DELHI, AUGUST 30 VISTARA WILL operationally merge into the Tata group’s flagship airline Air India on November 12, drawing curtains on the decade-old airline brand that made a mark for its product and service quality as India’s foremostfull-servicecarrier.The wheels for the merger were set in motion in 2022 after the Tata group acquired Air India from the government. “Starting03September2024, customerswill,progressively,no longer be able to make bookings with Vistara for travel on or after 12 November 2024. All Vistara aircraft thereafter will be operated by Air India and bookings for the routes operated by these aircraft will be redirected to Air India’s website. Vistara will continue to take bookings and operate flights as usual till 11 November 2024,” Vistara said in a statement Friday. “As the merger process moves ahead, regular updates will be shared with customers on the websites and social media channels of Vistara and CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 NIRBHAY THAKUR NEW DELHI, AUGUST 30 Security concerns ● inDhaka SINCE SHEIKH Hasina’s ouster, Indian diplomatic staff have been dealing with security concerns — the Indian cultural centre there was vandalised and non-essential staff and families flown home. hasstalled,andhasbeenaffected because of the law and order situation there. Once the situation stabilises, normalcy is restored, then we will talk to (Dhaka), we willengageinconsultationswith CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 HISTORIC DOUBLE India’s Avani Lekhara during the women’s 10m air rifle (SH1) final at Paris Paralympics on Friday. She became the first Indian to claim gold medals in successive Paralympic Games. India’s Mona Agarwal won the bronze in the event. ANI PAGE16 MoS: Why should ST converts get quota benefit of that community? P5 DAMINI NATH NEW DELHI, AUGUST 30 ECHOING THE sentiment of the SanghParivarontheissue,Union Ministerof StateforHousingand Urban Affairs Tokhan Sahu has questioned why members of Scheduled Tribes (ST) who convert to another religion should continue to get the benefit of reservation. In an interview to The Indian Express,Sahu,afirst-timeBJPMP from Bilaspur, said only those who belong to a particular com- THE EXPRESS INTERVIEW TOKHAN SAHU MoS, HOUSING & URBAN AFFAIRS munity should enjoy the benefitsmeantforthatcommunityas envisaged in the Constitution. An RSS-associated tribals’ group, the Janjati Suraksha Manch (JSM), has been campaigning for de-listing of converted tribals for years, and the activities picked up pace in Chhattisgarh ahead of the Assembly elections last year. While the JSM has actively campaignedforde-listingandan RSS affiliate, Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, has been working among tribal groups, opposing missionaries,fordecades,theBJP is yet to make its stand clear on the issue. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Bengal Governor meets Shah amid BJP calls for ‘action from Centre’ LIZ MATHEW NEW DELHI, AUGUST 30 AS THE BJP mounts pressure on the West Bengal government over the recent rape and murder of a trainee woman doctor at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, provoking widespread protests, Governor C V Ananda Bose met Union HomeMinisterAmitShahFriday andbriefedhimonthesituation. DespitetheBJP’sdemandsfor “action," highly placed sources A rally in Kolkata on Friday against the rape, murder at RG Kar hospital. Partha Paul said the Centre is "carefully weighing" the steps it can take. While it has kept the political heat on with BJP protests almost a daily feature across the state, it is more circumspect about any intervention that can be seen as the Centre breaching the federal compact, especially when it depends on regional allies. Aleadersaid,“thereisnodefinite plan yet nor clarity” on the next steps. The Governor too is believed to have updated the Centre on the situation in West Bengal without suggesting any particular action. Bose was scheduled to meet CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Year after violence, why NIT Manipur has no Kuki student on campus PAGE 1 ANCHOR AJOY SINHA KARPURAM NEW DELHI, AUGUST 30 OVER A year since sectarian clashes tore through Manipur, thecampusof thestate’spremier engineeringcollege,theNational Institute of Technology, is without a single Kuki-Zo student. On May 17 this year, the Supreme Court facilitated the transfer of 38 Kuki students to The institute currently has 421 students from within the state and 397 from other states, according to its website Charges being pressed in mob attack on Delhi gurdwara that killed 3 men Amit Mehra E EXPLAINED son for the Ministry of External Affairs, said “bilateral projects have been impacted” due to the turmoil in Bangladesh. Responding to questions, Jaiswal said, “regarding bilateral projects…yes,becauseoftheturmoil in Bangladesh, our projects have been impacted. Let me tell you that our development cooperationactivitieswithBangladesh are aimed at the welfare of the people of Bangladesh… The Prime Minister, in his IndependenceDayspeechaswell, had stated that India will always beawell-wisherofBangladeshin its development journey. “Workonsomeoftheprojects Cong’s Tytler to face murder trial, 40 years after anti-Sikh riots CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 India says its development projects in Bangladesh have been impacted Flagging ‘political changes’ in Dhaka, Jaishankar cautions: ‘Can be disruptive’ FRAMING OF CHARGES ORDERED other NITs across the country. The court’s order states that “the displaced students who seek to avail of classes at any other NIT would be permitted to do so after taking their individual preferences, subject to administrative exigencies.” While the verdict meant that theKukistudentswhofledduring theviolencewouldneverbeback onthecampusof theirhomeNIT, Registrar Kumukcham Tomba Singh confirmed that there have beennoKukisamongthenewadmissions this year and the last. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Jaipur NEARLY 40 years after three men were killed by a mob which torched the Pul Bangash Gurdwara in Delhi during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Congress leader Jagdish Tytler, now 80, is set to face trial for charges including hate speech and murder. On Friday, Judge Rakesh Syal of the Rouse Avenue court orderedframingof chargesagainst Tytler under Indian Penal Code sections murder (302); abetment (109); rioting (147); promoting enmity between groups (153A) and being a part of unlawful assembly (143). After initially filing a closure report, giving a clean chit to Delhi’s Pul Bangash gurdwara on Friday; (left) Jagdish Tytler Tytler, the CBI was directed to reopen the investigation against him in 2007. On two other occasions, in 2009 and 2014, the CBI closed the case against Tytler but the court refused to accept the report. In April 2023, the agency said it had fresh evidence against Tytler – a corroboration of his voice sample with a particular speech he made 39 years ago. SeniorAdvocateHSPhoolka, appearing for complainant Lakhwinder Kaur, wife of Badal CONTINUED ON PAGE 2