KOCHI l Thursday l January 18, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE city EDITION Indian economy will grow 7% in 2024-25, says rbi governor Indian economy should record a growth rate of 7% in the next fiscal and inflation is likely to ease further, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said India stays stable amid global chaos: Das next year’s CPI inflation pegged at 4.5% Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Das said that India presents a picture of growth and stability amidst a challenging global macroeconomic environment. He credited the government for the various structural reforms undertaken in recent years that have boosted the medium- and long-term growth prospects of the Indian economy ■ ■ “With strong domestic demand, India remains the fastest growing major economy... We have emerged stronger out of the recent spate of global shocks,” the top banker noted Das pegged next year’s average CPI inflation at 4.5%, saying RBI is committed to, and confident of, achieving the 4% target soon 250 bps repo rate hikes carried out by RBI since may 2022 to control inflation 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 AT a gathering of 7,000 workers, PM gives step-by-step advice, Asks them to convince voters that “Modi’s guarantee is a reality” Modi unveils blueprint to break BJP’s Kerala jinx Harping on development projects and welfare schemes implemented by his government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi outlined the BJP’s road map to break the Kerala jinx in the coming Lok Sabha elections as 7,000 odd grassroot-level functionaries of the party listened with rapt attention in Kochi on Wednesday . “Visit each household in your area and explain various welfare schemes implemented by the Union government. Check whether the family is a beneficiary of any such scheme. If not, check if they qualify for any such benefits. Take them to the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra currently in progress in the state and ensure that Prime Minister Narendra Modi offers prayers at Sree Krishna temple in Guruvayur on Wednesday. He spent close to 30 minutes inside the temple | Express Modi’s Day out From inaugurating projects to addressing party workers, PM Modi had a busy day in Kerala. A look: Guruvayur PM arrives at 7.25am on helicopter from Kochi Solemnises marriage between Suresh Gopi’s daughter Bhagya and Shreyas Mohan Returns to Guest House and leaves for Triprayar temple Dressed in traditional Kerala attire, he enters Sree Krishna temple through east entrance, spends 30 minutes inside for darshan Later, Modi greets the children and performers who took part in vedic chanting session and presented bhajans, poses for photographs with them Triprayar PM reaches Triprayar, spends nearly an hour at Sree Rama temple listening to vedic chants, and bhajans on Lord Ram they receive the benefits,” Modi told the BJP’s in-charges. It was the same strategy that saw the BJP romp home, overcoming a strong anti-incumbency wave in Madhya Pradesh. The sakthi kendra incharge is a party functionary who is in charge of three booths of a constituency . Modi, who started his speech addressing the party workers as colleagues in Malayalam, said he bows before the determination of BJP workers in Kerala who held their ideology and party flag high despite adverse situations and political murders. Listing various welfare schemes initiated and implemented by his government, the prime minister told the Offers ‘meenoottu’ (offering food to fish) at the temple, After darshan, he also greets people waiting in queue by the road Kochi E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ Kochi PM dedicates infra projects worth K4,000 crore to nation. Projects include 310-m-long New Dry Dock and International Ship Repair Facility at CSL, and LPG Import Terminal of Indian Oil Corporation at Puthuvype in Kochi Holds meeting with 7,000 workers, educates them on ways to woo voters Pak expels Iran envoy after airstrikes Claims violation of sovereignty, global law after Tehran’s missile and drone strikes on terror bases in Balochistan Y e sh i S e l i @ New Delhi Pakistan on Wednesday downgraded diplomatic relations with Iran, a day after Tehran launched unprecedented missile and drone strikes on terrorist bases of a Sunni militant group in the restive Balochistan province. Pakistan recalled its ambassador in Tehran and asked his Iranian counterpart who is currently in Iran not to return. Iran is the second neighbour after India with which Pakistan has downgraded diplomatic ties. Pakistan also said it reserves the right to retaliate. “Pakistan has decided to recall its Ambassador from Iran and suspend all high-level visits ongoing or planned between the two countries following the unprovoked violation of its airspace by Tehran,’’ said Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, spokesperson of Pakistan’s foreign office. The ethnic Baloch population (see map) is spread across Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. Pakistan claimed that two children died during these attacks. “The attack was unprovoked and a blatant breach of Pakistan’s sovereignty by Iran and a violation of international law and the purposes and principles of the Charter of UN,’’ Baloch added. Two bases of Balochi outfit Jaish al-Adl in Pakistan were targeted by missiles and drones on Tuesday Iranian state media , reported. But Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahain claimed in Davos that the attack was on rogue Irani- ans getting sanctuary in Pakistan. Prior to the attack, Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar had met Abdollahain in Davos. China urged both sides to exercise restraint. “We call on both sides to exercise restraint, avoid actions that would lead to an escalation of tension and work together to maintain peace and stability,’’ said China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning. In his calibrated reaction, foreign office spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “This is a matter between Iran and Pakistan. Insofar as India is concerned, we have an uncomprom i s i n g p o s i t i o n o f z e ro tolerance to terror. We understand actions that countries take in their self-defence.” P9 Sunni group with Iran focus AFGhANISTAN Jaish al-Adl, or the “Army of Justice”, is a Sunni militant group founded in 2012 IRAN PA K I STA N Balochistan Sindh INDIA Major Ethnic groups Balochi Sindhi Pashtun Punjabi Balochistan state in Pak Source: University of Texas at Austin 2019 Jaish al-Adl was behind the 2019 suicide bombing that killed 27 Iranian special forces Its stated aim is to free Sunni-majority Sistan and Balochistan province from Iran’s control It mostly operates out of Pakistan’s Balochistan province. Iran claims it has the backing of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia D-Street bloodbath wipes `5L cr off investor wealth A R S H A D K H A N @ New Delhi Biggest fall in 19 mths Indian stock markets tanked over 2% on Wednesday — the biggest slump in one-and-a-half years — wiping out investors’ wealth to the tune of `5 lakh crore. The crash was on the back of a host of global and domestic developments, which triggered big selling across Indian equities, especially in banking, metal and oil shares. The 30-share BSE Sensex The benchmark BSE Sensex fell 2.23% while broader Nifty slipped 2.09%. The two key stock indices suffered their worst single-day losses in percentage terms since June 13, 2022 Flier stuck in SpiceJet loo for an hour as door jams e x p r e ss n e w s S e r v i c e @ Bengaluru A flier on board a SpiceJet aircraft on Wednesday was stuck inside its washroom for about an hour as the door latch jammed. He was rescued by an engineer after the flight landed in Bengaluru. Flight No. SG 268 after a three-hour delay took off from Mumbai at 2 am. The male passenger went to the loo after take off, but was unable to come out as the door malfunctioned. Hearing his screams, the crew tried to open the toilet door, but could not. A senior cabin crew member slid a note to the passenger asking him not to panic as the flight would be landing soon. She wrote, “Sir, we tried our best to open the door. However, we could not open. Do not panic, we are landing in few minutes, so please close the commode and sit on it and secure yourself. As soon as the main door is open, an engineer will come, do not panic.” This action by the crew member has received wide appreciation. 16 pages, including 4 pages of KOCHI Express closed the Wednesday session with a loss of 1,628 points, or 2.23%, at 71,500.76 while the broader Nifty50 settled 460 points, or 2.09%, lower at 21,571.95. Investors lost heavily as the market cap of all BSElisted firms came down to nearly `370 lakh crore on Wednesday from `375 lakh crore in the previous session. Two biggest factors for Wednesday’s fall are investors dumping HDFC Bank shares following its poor third-quarter earnings and the US Federal Reserve indicating a delay in interest rate cuts. Given its high weightage, an 8.5% fall in HDFC party workers, “You have to convince the voters that Modi’s guarantee is a reality .” “While the governments of LDF and UDF were ridden with corruption and scams, we brought the benefits of development to the people. India has transformed into a Viswamitra, and our status has improved globally. We have the best relationship with countries in the Middle East and the status of Keralites working in the Gulf countries has improved,” said Modi. He called upon the party workers to take up a cleaning drive in temples ahead of the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. Ensure that Sri Ram Jyothi is lit in all households on ● More on P4 January 22, he said.  Bank alone contributed to a 944 points slip in the Sensex. Christopher Waller, one of the seven US Fed governors, had said on Tuesday that the central bank should not rush to cut its benchmark interest rate until inflation comes down below 2%. The remark pushed the 10-year treasury yields to above 4% market and the dollar index to a month high. This, in turn, sent ripples across markets around the world. Maharaja’s student stabs asst prof on campus, absconds E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @Kochi A differently-abled teacher of Maharaja’s College in Kochi was allegedly stabbed and wounded by a student following an argument over the suspension of another student on the campus on Wednesday . Nizamudheen K M, an assistant professor with the Research Department of Arabic, suffered injuries between his left arm and neck after Mohammed Rashid, a final-year B A Arabic student, allegedly stabbed him with a “sharp weapon.” Nizamudheen, who is partially deaf, alleged Rashid also threatened to kill him. The Ernakulam Central police have registered a case and launched a probe to nab Rashid, believed to be a member of Fraternity Movement, the student’s wing of Welfare Party . Nizamudheen underwent treatment at the General Hospital for minor injuries. In his complaint, Nizamudheen said Rashid and his friend Ali entered into an ar- KSRTC set to see major changes in Ops Angry over fellow student’s suspension Rashid reportedly nursed a grudge against Nizamudheen as he held him responsible for the suspension of Bilal, another student and Fraternity Movement member gument with him in the Arabic department on Wednesday noon over the suspension of Bilal, another Frater nity Movement member. “Realising that the student was not in the right frame of mind, I ended the argument and proceeded to the principal’s chamber. As soon as I reached the stairs, Rashid came up behind me and hit me with an object that looked like a screw-driver or a knife. I couldn’t see it clearly. I saw what looked like blood on the weapon, and thought I was stabbed and checked for inju● More on P4 ries,” he said.  Minister Ganesh Kumar says major firms would be roped in to build a system that can handle accounts, purchase, stock mgmt and other aspects in KSRTC | P5 state of education 25% teens can’t even fluently read Class 2 text in mother tongue K a v i ta Ba j e l i - D at t @ New Delhi About 25% of teenagers in India between 14 and 18 years of age cannot fluently read a Class-2 level text in their mother tongue, the latest Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) released on Wednesday said. When it comes to reading English, about 42% could not read simple sentences. “A little over half can read sentences in English (57.3%). Of those who can read sentences in English, almost three-quarters can tell their meanings (73.5%),” the report said. Mathematics was also not a bright spot. Of the 34,745 teens surveyed, only 43.3% could solve a mathematical problem that involved dividing a threedigit number by a single-digit number – a skill that is expected of third or fourth-standard students. However, it is an improvement over the findings of the 2017 survey, when only 39.5% could solve a similar problem. Overall, 86.8% of the respondents are enrolled in educational institutions. The older youths are more likely to be not enrolled — 32.6% of 18-year- olds not currently enrolled as against 3.9% of 14-year-olds who took part in the survey . The survey found that 89% have access to a smartphone at home while 94.7% males and 89.8% females said they know how to use one. However, only 19.8% of females and 43.7% of males own a smartphone. This survey also found Humanities to be the most preferred stream for students after 10th standard. Of the Class 11 and 12 students surveyed, 55% opted for Humanities, 31% opted for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and 9% for Commerce. The proportion of out-ofschool children and youth has been secularly declining amid the government’s push to uni- versalize secondary education, the report noted. “One major worry during COVID-19 was that with livelihoods being threatened, older children would drop out. That fear turned out to be unfounded,” said the survey report. About 84% have completed at least eight years of schooling, compared to 81% in 2017. ASER 2023 ‘Beyond Basics’ survey was conducted by Pratham Foundation, an education-focused non-profit in 28 districts across 26 states. At least one rural district was surveyed in each of the major states.