madurai l saturday l may 28, 2022 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l late city EDITION PTI booker moment for Geetanjali’s translated work S i m i K u r i a k o s e @ New Delhi For Delhi-based writer Geetanjali Shree and translator Daisy Rockwell, their novel Tomb of Sand fetching the super-prestigious International Booker Prize was an epic moment. The award was a first for any Indian language book, and the first time a Hindi book made it to the Inter- national Booker shortlist. “I accept it with a lot of humility, happiness and pride. I am very happy that I became a medium for the world to now take notice of Hindi. People should realise that, just like in Hindi, other Indian languages also have a literary world that they must become aware of,” shared Shree. The book was originally published in Hindi as Ret Samadhi in 2018. Namita Gokhale, writer and co-director of the Jaipur Literature Festival, said, “It has been translated with skill, empathy and exuberance. It is a proud moment for Hindi, the third-most spoken language in the world, and for all of Indian writing.” Satyanand Nirupam, editori- al director of the publishing house, Rajkamal Prakashan, said: “We were very confident about this novel when we published it in 2018.” Noted Indian translator Arunava Sinha said, “this is a book that says ‘give up everything else, just come and spend time with me and we will journey we , will travel.’ While reading this book, you are forced to acknowledge the writing, the words, the sounds, etc., and that makes for such a satisfying experience, so removed from the way we consume art nowadays.” Such recognition also provides impetus to homegrown writers and translators. “The new generation lacked enthusiasm in or was confused about the rich heritage of Hindi literature. In such a period, to have this win is only going to attract people towards the language,” added Nirupam. Stressing that there exists “brilliant and relevant contemporary writing” in Indian languages, Gokhale concluded, “We need to break out of the hegemony of English.” CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI No proof, Aryan’s name cleared in narcotics case S u d h i r S u r ya w a n s h i @ Mumbai A year after he was arrested in connection with a party drug haul, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Friday cleared the name of Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan in the case. The NCB’s special investigation team (SIT) did not find any evidence of drugs or other related substance on Aryan or the other five accused. “The touchstone of the principle of proof beyond reasonable doubt has been applied... a complaint against 14 persons under various sections of NDPS Act is being filed. Complaint against rest six persons is not being filed due to lack of sufficient evidence,” a note signed by Sanjay Kumar Singh, deputy director general of NCB read. It all began on October 2, 2021 when NCB Mumbai in- File photo of Aryan Khan | PTI tercepted Vikrant, Ishmeet, Arbaaz, Aryan and Gomit at the International Port Terminal in Mumbai and Nupur, Mohak and Munmun at the Cordelia Cruise. Aryan did not have drugs with him. Yet, he was forced to sign papers admitting he was in possession of drugs. On the basis of the self-declaration in NCB custody, he was put behind bars, the note added. According to officials, Aryan was arrested on the assumption that his friend was the drug carrier. “But the SIT found that Aryan’s friend was not carrying any drugs for him. In fact, Aryan had told him to carry drugs. Besides, no drug was found on Aryan during the raid. He was also not subjected to a medical test to verify if he had consumed any narcotic. Even in Aryan’s What’sApp chat record, no substantial evidence was found to file and pursue the case. Therefore, the charges framed by Mumbai NCB have been dropped against Aryan and other five,” and NCB official said. THE NCB Mumbai operation was led by Sameer Wankhede, but NCP minister Nawab Malik called it an extortion racket and outed the former’s fake caste certificate, following which he was replaced as the probe officer. With the NCB now giving Aryan a clean chit, the Centre ordered a full-scale probe against Wankhade. Household savings soar to two-decade high 70% DROP IN TRANSFER TO GOVT Savings in the household financial sector surged as much as 3.6% points to 11.5% of gross national disposable income in FY21 — the highest in over two decades CURRENCY IN CIRCULATION The value of currency in circulation up 10% to A31.05 lakh in FY22, constituting 13% of GDP At the time of demonetisation, the value of currency in circulation was around A18 lakh crore `2,000 notes 24,510 lakh 31 March 2021 31 March 2022 21,420 lakh The value of total 2000 bank notes in circulation in FY22 was `4.28 lakh crore in against `4.90 lakh crore in FY21 EXPENDITURE UP, SURPLUS DOWN RBI surplus fell from `99,122 crore in 2020-21 to `30,307 crore due to a 280% jump in expenditure The expenditure includes provisioning of `1.14 lakh crore towards contingency funds RBI paid only `30,307.45 crore to the government in FY22, which was 69.42% lower than `99,122 crore paid in FY21 This was because RBI’s transfer to the contingency fund shot up to `1.14 lakh crore in FY22 against `20,710 cr transferred in FY21 COST OF PRINTING CURRENCY RBI spent `4,985 crore for printing currency notes in FY22, a 25% increase from `4,012 crore a year ago R I S K O F H I G H IN F L A TION Sounding a note of caution, the Reserve Bank of India said there is a risk of high wholesale price inflation putting pressure on the retail inflation, albeit with a lag RBI said structural reforms are essential for sustained, balanced and inclusive growth, and to deal with the post-pandemic world | P12 `61.9 Lakh Crore RBI’s balance sheet increased by 8.46% to `61.9 lakh crore in FY22 Source: RBI annual report Can’t accept AICTE advice, won’t hike engg fees: TN E x p r e ss N e ws Se r v i c e @ Chennai Engineering college fees in Tamil Nadu will not be hiked this academic year, said Higher Education Minister K Ponmudy on Friday . “Engineering fees will not be increased in Tamil Nadu. The old fees will remain in force. The recommendations of the AICTE cannot be accepted,” the minist e r t o l d re p o r t e r s at t h e Secretariat. The statement assumes significance as the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) recently revamped the fee structure after six years, and fixed fee slabs for different courses. According to the AICTE’s recommendation, a minimum fee of `79,600 a year and a maximum of `1.89 lakh a year can be charged for undergraduate engineering courses. In Tamil Nadu, the existing fee for a government quota seat is almost half of the recommended fees, with a majority of private colleges in the State charging around just `55,000 a year. The minister’s announcement has come as a blow to some of the private colleges, located in urban areas and tier I cities, which were planning to hike the fees following AICTE’s recommendation.  Continued on: P2 express read Seven soldiers killed in Ladakh road accident New Delhi: Seven soldiers were killed and 19 injured in Ladakh’s Turtuk sector on Friday morning when their vehicle skidded off the road and plunged 50-60 feet into the Shyok river, Army officials said. The injured, some of them seriously, have been shifted to the Command Hospital in Chandimandir in Haryana’s Panchkula district | P10