BENGALURU  SATURDAY  DECEMBER 31, 2022  `9.00  PAGES 22  LATE CITY EDITION GOVT HIKES INTEREST ON POST OFFICE SAVINGS BY UP TO 110 BPS The government on Friday raised interest rates on most post office savings schemes that do not get income tax benefits NO CHANGES FOR PPF, SUKANYA SAMRIDDHI CORE SECTOR GROWTH AT 5.4% IN NOVEMBER While the rates for PPF and girl child savings scheme Sukanya Samriddhi were retained at 7.1% and 7.6%, respectively, that of deposits up to 5% as well as NSC, Senior Citizen Savings Scheme and Kisan Vikas Patra have been raised by up to 1.1 percentage points. The rates on Kisan Vikas Patra have been hiked to 7.2%, a government notification said | P13 ■ ■ ■ 8% Monthly Income Scheme would earn 40 bps more at 7.1%, while National Savings Certificate has been raised by 20 bps to 7% Senior Citizen Savings scheme will earn 40 bps more at 8% GROWTH RATE OF EIGHT INFRASTRUCTURE Meanwhile, production of eight infrastructure sectors increased 5.4% in November against a 3.2% growth in the year-ago period SECTORS DURING APRIL-NOVEMBER PERIOD 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 For facelift, target old cases for disposal: CJI Puts district courts on a pedestal, says people must get rid of the colonial mindset S H R U T I K A K K A R @ New Delhi CHIEF Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Friday urged all courts to identify and target disposing of their oldest of cases in the next few months so as to change the image of the judiciary . Speaking at the inauguration of the Andhra Pradesh Judicial Academy CJI said, “We need to , change the image of the judiciary which is based on the clas, sical movie phrase, tareekh pe tareekh.” He suggested all courts to take up their oldest cases for expeditious disposal. ample, 63 lakh cases have been The CJI put district courts on considered delayed due to nona pedestal, saying availability of counpeople must get rid sel. Besides, almost of the colonial 14 lakh cases have mindset of referbeen delayed since ring to them as subsome record or docuordinate judiciary ment is awaited, in hierarchy and in which is beyond the practice. control of the court, Citing data availhe pointed out. able at the National To enable court esCJI Chandrachud Judicial Data Grid, tablishments to monthe CJI sought to unitor the progress of derscore that the reasons for case disposal, justice clocks delay in case disposal are not will be established in every attributable to judges. For ex- court, he added. N A R E N D R A S E T H I @ Dehradun E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ Bengaluru Prime Minister Narendra Modi carries the mortal remains of his mother Hiraben Modi during her funeral procession in Gandhinagar on Friday | PTI Modi’s centenarian mother passes away offered floral tributes to his mother there and bowed down at her feet. Later, Modi and his PRIME Minister Narendra Mo- brothers shouldered her mordi’s mother Hiraben Modi tal remains for some distance passed away at U N Mehta before placing them in a van. Hear t Hospital in The prime minister Ahmedabad early on also posted a moving Three-day Friday. The end came tribute to his mother, mourning at 3.30 am, the hospital also known as Hiraba. Prime Minister said in its medical bulModi wrote, “A great Modi’s birth letin. She was 100. journey of 100 years place Vadnagar Hiraben is survived has come to an end. I will observe a by her five sons — PM have witnessed three three-day Modi and his brothers qualities in mother, a mourning with Somabhai, Amrutbjourney like that of a hai, Prahladbhai, and all major markets tapasvi (saint), a selfin the city to Pankajbhai — and less worker and life remain closed daughter Vasantiben. dedicated to values… to condole Her last rites were When I met her on her Hiraben’s death performed at a crema100th birthday she torium in Gandhinasaid one thing which I gar at 9.30 am in the presence always remember — kam karo of the prime minister, his buddhi thi, jivan jivo suddhi thi brothers and other family mem- (work with intelligence, and bers. Earlier in the day the PM live life with purity).” , reached the residence of his Modi had last visited the Mebrother Pankaj Modi at Raysan hta hospital to inquire about village on the outskirts of Gan- his mother on Wednesday after dhinagar, where Hiraben’s learning about her deterioratmortal remains were kept. He ing health condition. D I L I P S I N G H KS H AT R I YA @ Ahmedabad Combat role for CRPF women with Valley ultras FAYA Z WA N I @ Srinagar IN a first, the CRPF will deploy women personnel trained in handling of automatic weapons, explosives and drones on operational duties in the militancy-hit Kashmir. The deployment will take place in March and it will be the first induction of the women force of any security agencies for direct combat with militants in the Valley . CRPF inspector general (Srinagar sector) Charu Sinha told TNIE that the CRPF is planning to deploy female personnel during the cordon and search operation as it has been observed that women feel uncomfortable during search operations by male-dominated security forces. “For the comfort of women folk, we are going to deploy women personnel during the search operation.” At present, women CRPF personnel are deployed for frisking women at the Srinagar airport, civil secretariat and other Supreme Court judge Justice S Abdul Nazeer said that registration of more criminal cases than civil cases is not a healthy trend for the society. That would mean more people are taking law into their own hands. Accident cases may have been included in the list of criminal cases, yet the surging number of criminal cases is a cause for concern, he said. He was speaking after laying the foundation stone for the construction of a new annex court complex in Udupi on Friday. Justice Nazeer said that 95 per cent of the cases registered by the police end up in acquittal and this means wrong charge-sheets are being filed before the courts. Pant injured after Merc rams divider Drugs worth `6.31 cr for NY parties seized in Bengaluru CENTRAL Crime Branch sleuths have arrested eight persons, including two foreign nationals, and seized narcotic substances worth Rs 6.31 crore in three separate operations. According to the police, the accused were planning to sell the drugs at New Year parties. Police said they had kept a vigil on drug peddlers for over a month as they were anticipating that drugs would be supplied at New Year parties. In Kothanur police station limits, the police arrested six persons who are residents of Bengaluru and Hyderabad. They had procured drugs from Nigerian nationals staying in Goa, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. The accused had rented a house in Kothanur to store the procured drugs and sell them at exorbitant prices during New Year celebrations. In another raid, police have seized 2.3 kg of MDMA, 250 ecstasy pills, 4kg of hashish oil, 440g of charas and 7.1 kg of ganja, which is estimated to be worth Rs 6 crore. In another operation in Electronics City the , police arrested an Ivory Coast national and seized 250g of MDMA worth Rs 25 lakh. A citizen of Costa Rica was also arrested in Banaswadi and cocaine and ecstasy pills worth Rs 6 lakh were seized. Looking inward, he said bail, not jail, is one of the most fundamental rules of the criminal justice system. “Yet in practice the number of undertrials languishing in prisons in India reflects a paradoxical situation, deprivation of liberty even for , a single day is a day too many ,” the CJI said, adding the provisions of bail must not be meaningless and mechanical. The CJI also sought to dispel fear in judicial officers in trial courts on how grant of bail will be perceived, saying it is irrational. MORE CRIMINAL CASES NOT A HEALTHY TREND: SC JUDGE Representative picture | ANI government installations. “In the next two to three months, we intend to deploy women personnel in counter militancy operations in the Valley as well,” Sinha said. The women personnel would be given one-and-a-half month training in the Valley in handling of sophisticated weapons, explosives and use of drones. “After undergoing additional training, the women CRPF personnel will be deployed in counter-militancy operations to fight militants like their male counterparts. The women personnel will be doing everything that a male constable does,” Sinha said. CORE SECTOR GROWS BY 5.4% IN NOVEMBER This was aided by a better show by coal, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity segments, according to official data on Friday. DASHING wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant was injured in a car accident in the early hours of Friday near Roorkee after he dozed off at the wheel and crashed into a highway divider. Pant was on his way to Roorkee from Delhi in his Mercedes Benz to surprise his mother on the New Year’s eve when the accident occurred. Eyewitnesses said Pant broke the car window and jumped out as it was catching fire. In the process, his skin peeled off at a few places. Passersby called the police and the ambulance service. After first aid in Roorkee, he was admitted to the Max Hospital in Dehradun. Pant suffered injuries on his legs, head and back, but is stable. He does not seem to have bone injuries but has a ligament tear on his right knee, which is being further as- Rishabh Pant (left) receives treatment at a hospital in Roorkee after his car (above) met with an accident, on Friday | PTI sessed. Max Hospital said Pant is responding to treatment. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Pant’s mother Saroj Pant, inquired about his health and wished him speedy recovery . The Board of Control for Cricket in India said Pant will receive the best possible medical care and get all support. “The BCCI is in constant touch with Rishabh’s family while the medical team is in close contact with the doctors cur- rently treating Rishabh,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah said. Speaking to this newspaper, Haridwar Senior Superintendent of Police Ajay Singh said, “At 5.22 am, the operator of a Haryana Roadways bus called the police and ambulance about the accident.” According to police sources, two employees of a sugar mill, who were returning home from night duty were , among the first responders. “As soon as we got the information, we rushed to the spot and identified cricketer Pant,” said Sonu Kumar, who was part of the ambulance team. All Pant could remember after jumping out was his mother’s mobile number, which he asked the first responders to call. According to Sonu, “Pant said since he could rarely indulge in his passion for driving because of his busy cricketing schedule, he chose to drive home from Delhi.” Shah sounds poll bugle from Mandya, tears into Oppn B K L A KS H M I K A N T H A @ Mandya Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi and BJP state president Nalinkumar Kateel greet the crowd at the party’s Jana Sankalpa Yatra in Mandya on Friday | UDAYKUMAR S 2L PRIMARY DAIRY UNITS TO COME UP AT VILLAGE LEVEL ACROSS COUNTRY IN 3 YEARS Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said the government plans to set up 2 lakh primary dairy units at the village level across the country in the next three years. Inaugurating the mega milk dairy of Mandya Milk Union (ManMul) at Gejjalagere in Mandya, Shah said the dairies could be established with the collaboration between AMUL and Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF), in every village of the state. “Just as a White Revolution transformed the lives of dairy farmers in Gujarat, a collaboration between KMF and AMUL will make India a big dairy exporter,” he said. P4 UNION Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday sounded the bugle for the 2023 Assembly polls in Karnataka by urging the people of the state to vote for the BJP for the development of the state. Addressing a gathering during the BJP’s Jana Sankalpa Yatra at Mandya, a Vokkaliga bastion, Shah tore into the Congress and JDS and termed them dynastic parties. He accused them of looting the state resources for many years and serving as automated teller machines (ATMs) for their party leadership. “While the Congress government was an ATM for its party high command, JDS was an ATM for a family As both par. ties were corrupt, there has been no development in the state. The double-engine BJP government (at state and Centre), which believes in nationalism and unity, has been devel- oping the state in a big way he ,” said. Accusing the two parties of being communal and sheltering criminals, Shah alleged that the Congress neglected and cheated the Dalit and Adivasi communities for centuries. “BJP made Ram Nath Kovind, a Dalit, and Droupadi Murmu, an Adivasi, Presidents of India. It is the BJP which is working for the welfare of these two communities in the country he said. ,” Referring to the recent ban on Popular Front of India (PFI), Shah said that the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government had withdrawn 56 cases against 1,700 PFI cadres, but it was PM Modi who banned the PFI and sent its leaders to jail. The government also scrapped Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, to end t e r r o r i s m i n t h e s t a t e, he added. CONTINUED ON: P4 NEW STUDY In Western Ghats, butterflies evolve faster than you thought D O N N A E VA @ Bengaluru A new study has thrown light into many interesting aspects of butterflies’ adaptation and evolution processes. Researchers from the National Centre of Biological Sciences (NCBS) have found that butterflies that have evolved to make use of mimicry evolve faster than the species that don’t make use of mimicry . The study was undertaken by three researchers from NCBS, Dipendra Nath Basu, Vaishali Bhaumik and advisor Prof Krushnamegh Kunte, who studied several species of butterflies and their imitative traits in the Western Ghats in Karnataka. The findings were categorised into three -- model species (those that are toxic to predators), Batesian mimicry species (those that evolved traits of unpalatable species to avoid predators) and non-mimetic species (those that are closely related to Batesian mimics but did not evolve mimicry trait). Batesian mimics adapt to avoiding predators by evolving The Common Rose (Pachliopta aristolochiae) is a bright, warningly patterned toxic butterfly that most predators learn to avoid eating | KRUSHNAMEGH KUNTE similar wing colour patterns and flight behaviours. Interestingly they found that the mim, icking species of butterfly have evolved faster than the non-mimetic species, but the model species evolved at an even faster rate. Analyses revealed that not only had colour patter ns evolved at a much faster rate, but that members of mimetic communities had evolved at a faster rate than their close relatives. Butterflies exhibit a wide range of colours and colour patterns, suggesting that the genetic architecture underlying wing patterns and colour pigments are relatively malle- able and susceptible to change, the researchers said. The researchers are now planning to study species of butterflies in older biological communities in North East India and South East Asia to see if the rate of evolution is similar in these communities as compared to the young communities they studied in the Western Ghats. “The hope is that this research will reveal how species diversified and bio-diversity flourished in the Indian tropic,” they said.