DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE MONDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2024, AHMEDABAD, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES COP29 OPENS TODAY IN BAKU, AZERBAIJAN Return of Trump hangs heavy on climate summit as world meets to talk US contributions are key to achieving Paris pact goals on global temperature TWO GUNBATTLES IN KISHTWAR, SRINAGAR Special Forces personnel killed, three injured in J&K gunfight Troops engage those behind killing of two village defence guards on Nov 7 Naib Subedar Rakesh Kumar of 2 Para ARUN SHARMA & BASHAARAT MASOOD JAMMU, SRINAGAR, NOV 10 Outside the Baku Olympic Stadium, the venue for the COP29 UN Climate Summit in Azerbaijan, on Sunday. AP E X P L A I NE D E EXPRESSATCOP29 AMITABH SINHA BAKU (AZERBAIJAN), NOV 10 IF COP29, beginning Monday in the Azerbaijan capital, indeed delivers what it is supposed to — a strong finance agreement to enable enhanced flows of money for climate action — it couldturnouttobethemostimportant climate meeting since the one in Paris in 2015. Inadequate money is one of the biggest hurdles to enhanced climateactionthatisurgentlyre- WhatBaku ● mustdeliver IT’S FOR COP29 to stitch together a finance agreement for a ten-fold increase in the quantum of financial flows — from US$ 100 billion each year that developed countries are currently obligated to raise to at least a trillion dollars a year from 2026. The summit also has to deliver a comprehensive finance package for countries that need it the most. quired to contain runaway increases in global temperatures. COP29, the 29th edition of CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 `5.00 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 AJUNIORCommissionedOfficer (JCO) of the Army's Special Forces was killed and three soldiers injured — two of them critically—inafiercegunbattlewith militantsonSundayinthedense forestsof Keshwanonthehigher Near the gunfight site in Nishat area of Srinagar. Shuaib Masoodi reachesof JammuandKashmir’s hilly Kishtwar district. The same militants had abductedandkilledtwo villagede- fence guards (VDGs) on Thursday, the Nagrota-based WhiteKnightCorpssaidinapost on X while confirming the death of the JCO, identified as Naib SubedarRakeshKumarof 2Para. Separately, another team of security forces exchanged fire with militants in Srinagar Sunday morning. The security forces were conducting search operations in the Zabarwan forest near Srinagar city on the basis of inputs regarding the presence of militants when they came under fire. No injury was reported from this gunbattle. In its post on X, the White Knight Corps said: “#GOC #WhiteknightCorps and all ranks salute the supreme sacrifice of #Braveheart, Nb Sub Rakesh Kumar of 2 Para (SF). CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 A lot of countries are nervous about US, we are not one of them, says Jaishankar ‘PMwasamong firstthreecalls Trumptook’after beingelected PALLAVI SMART MUMBAI, NOVEMBER 10 “I KNOW today a lot of countries arenervousabouttheUS,let’sbe honestaboutthat.Wearenotone of them,” External Affairs MinisterSJaishankarsaidSunday. He also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was “among the first three calls” that Donald TrumptookafterwinningtheUS presidential election. Jaishankar was speaking at the Silver Jubilee celebrations of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar at an event in Mumbai on Sunday. PTI the Aditya Birla Scholarships Programme in Mumbai. Also presentwereHarvardUniversity professor and political philosopher Michael J. Sandel and Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Ayushman expanded: Over 2 lakh Aussie site not banned, Minister’s elderly join in week after rollout comments freely viewed: Canada TOP 5 STATES: KERALA NO 1 ANONNA DUTT NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 10 OVER 2.16 lakh new beneficiaries above the age of 70 received cards under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) within the first week of Prime Minister Narendra Modi rolling out the expanded version of the flagship health insurance scheme to cover all elderly, according to the latest official data. The data also shows that Kerala Madhya Pradesh 73,193 16,680 45,305 7,717 Uttar Pradesh 2,534 Karnataka 44,547 11,613 — Haryana ■ New beneficiaries registered (70 & above) ■ Existing beneficiaries re-registered (70 & above) 11,610 1,084 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Total 2,16,483 32,732 (Source: National Health Authority) On social media block allegation, Ottawa cites Meta’s 2023 policy DIVYA A & SOUMYARENDRA BARIK NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 10 NEWS OUTLET The Australia Today, which alleged it was blocked in Canada, an allegation affirmed by the Ministry of External Affairs, was “never banned” and the comments of India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar can be “easily and freely viewed in Canada”, a spokesperson for Canada’s Foreign Ministry told The Indian Express Sunday.Asfortheallegationof itbeingpulleddownfrom social media, the spokesperson cited“adecisionbyMetatoblock news on its social media platforms in Canada since 2023”. Last week, the MEA and The Australia Today said the latter’s content, including Jaishankar’s BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Women, farmers, jobs in focus as BJP, MVA unveil manifestos ‘When you come into government, you serve not only people who voted for you, but also people who didn’t’ SMRITI IRANI BJP LEADER PAGE 9 DECISION 2024 BJP leaders Amit Shah, Piyush Goyal and Devendra Fadnavis release the party manifesto; (right) Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Sanjay Raut and NCP (SP)’s Supriya Sule release the MVA manifesto in Mumbai on Sunday. Deepak Joshi & Amit Chakravarty BJP promises anti-conversion law, MVA power bill relief & 2-day menstrual leave SHUBHANGI KHAPRE & ALOK DESHPANDE MUMBAI, NOVEMBER 10 ● The way Soren violated Adivasi rights, no one has: Babulal Marandi ● Maharashtra: CAG flagged debt pressure but the sops keep coming PAGE 11 FOCUSING ON women, farmers and jobs, the ruling BJP and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) Sunday announced their respective manifestos for the November 20 Assembly polls in Maharashtra. While the BJP promised a stringent anti-conversion law and a hike in the monthly allowance under Ladki CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 In the fields, anger takes root: Soyabean farmers feel cheated by prices of his 45-acre land at Sawargaon village in Latur taluka and district. That works out to 10 quinLATUR, NOVEMBER 10 tals per acre, better than his last year’s average yield of 7 “THERAINSweregood, quintals. the rates are bad,” says But Shinde isn’t Shivaji Shinde about happy, as soyabean is soyabean, the most trading at about Rs “political crop” in 4,200/quintal in the Maharashtra’selections Latur APMC (agriculDECISION tural produce market this time, ahead of the 2024 usual suspects: Sugarcommittee) mandi MAHARASHTRA cane, onion and milk. now, compared to Rs The39-year-oldhas 4,900 a year ago and harvested 300 quintals of the the government’s minimum leguminous oilseed from 30 out CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 PARTHASARATHI BISWAS & HARISH DAMODARAN How luck ran out for 2 fake toll booths, an irrigation office, and a court in state PAGE 1 ANCHOR BRENDAN DABHI & ADITI RAJA WANKANER , BODELI, GANDHINAGAR, NOVEMBER 10 AN ILLEGAL toll booth in Wankaner, a bogus irrigation office in Chhota Udepur, and recently, a fake court in Gandhinagar. Over the last one year, Gujarat police has had to grapplewithcasesof people–or The Indian Express recently visited these spots. PAGE4 groups of people – duping the citizens by posing as genuine officials operating out of an office or booth. However, the accused in all but one of the cases are now out on bail. The Indian Express recently visited the sites from where the fake operations were carried out and found how the illegal activities continued for months, and years, on end. At the site of the toll booth busted on NH 27 (formerly NH 8A),connectingWankanertothe ceramic town of Morbi and major ports of Kandla and Mundra in Kutch district, a tiny freshly painted yellow and black booth, 500-metres from the main toll plaza off the highway, could be spotted. The booth, with a toll rate chart pasted on it, has come up at the entrance to the Vaghasia village on November 1 to plug any “toll leaks” following the fake plaza that was busted on this highway exactly a year ago. A similar booth has been set up attheexitof Vaghasiavillagethat fallsafurther500metresbeyond the toll plaza, towards Morbi. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Ahmedabad