Code of conduct needed in South China Sea: govt External affairs minister Jaishankar said sea lines of communication passing through South China Sea are critical for peace, stability in the Indo-Pacific Region. The Code of Conduct in the South China Sea should be consistent with global law and not prejudice legitimate rights and interest of nations not party to discussions, he said at the 14th East Asia Summit tirupati l sunday l july 28, 2024 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l late city EDITION 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 1 s t w o m an in 2 0 y r s french promise for Manu Didi walks out of NITI Aayog meet Prime minister calls for zero poverty, wants it prioritised at the village level for achieving Viksit Bharat M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi The vision of Viksit Bharat can be realised through Viksit states. The aspiration of Viksit Bharat should reach the grassroot level i.e. to each district, block, and village Narendra Modi India shooter Manu Bhaker | AP W HEN the joy is back for an athlete, it’s not at all joyous for the opponents. Firing freely, soaking the pressure and not thinking about winning or losing has made an indelible mark on her psyche. Manu Bhaker, 22, had trying times before and after the Tokyo Olympics when she was still a teen. The shooter had broken away from TNIE @ olympics her childhood coach (in Japan, she was two points off qualifying for final). She did not know where her career was heading and was seeking stability . Indraneel Das “I told him (coach Jaspal Paris Rana) that I will shoot with you only and I don’t know if I would continue after 2024,” she had told this daily earlier. She had learnt her lessons and realised that people forget what medal you have won when you lose. On a wet Saturday at Chateauroux, some 250 km away from Paris, Bhaker lifted the spirits of the Indian team. She started off slowly, but once she hit the target, it was the Bhaker show. She finished third with a score of 580 behind Veronika Major (582) and Jin Ye Oh (582). Sunday could be the day when India win their first medal. P11 Speculation rife on Modi’s August visit to Ukraine Y e s h i Se l i @ New Delhi Speculation is rife on Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelling to Ukraine in August, a month after he visited Russia following the NDA’s third consecutive victory in the general elections. Though there is no official word from the government or the Ukrainian side in Delhi, it has not been denied either. An announcement could be made closer to the day of Modi’s departure. This will be Modi’s first visit to Ukraine ever since Russia invaded the neighbour on February 24, 2022. Ukraine celebrates its national day on August 24, so Modi’s visit could be around that time. The prime minister is also likely to go to Poland after Kyiv. “When Modi visited Moscow earlier this month, he spoke about a peaceful resolution of the conflict and expressed grief over the death of children (following reports of a hospital attack in Kyiv). He also shared with President Vladimir Putin on the likelihood of his visiting Ukraine subsequently,” according to a source. Since India and Russia share a strong historic bond, Modi’s possible visit to Kyiv would have no impact on the bilateral ties with Moscow. E a rl i e r t h i s m o n t h , Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had expressed dismay over Modi’s warm hug with Putin. Naidu spoke for 20 mins. Assam, Arunachal, Chhattisgarh, and Goa CMs spoke for 15-20 mins. But as soon as I spoke for 5 mins, they kept hitting the bell Mamata Banerjee West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday created a flutter by claiming she was not allowed to complete her speech at the NITI Aayog governing council meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an allegation that was emphatically denied by the government. Mamata also claimed that her microphone was turned off five minutes into her speech. But the Press Information Bureau’s fact-checking vertical rubbished it. “The clock only showed that her speaking time was over. Even the bell was not rung to mark it,” the PIB said. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, too, trashed the allegation and said every chief minister was “allotted their due time to speak”. B V R Subrahmanyam, the Chief Executive Officer of NITI Aayog, informed that all CMs were allotted seven min- Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and chief ministers during a group photo session in New Delhi on Saturday | PTI utes to speak. They got their turn in alphabetic order. “Since Mamata was representing West Bengal, her turn would have come in the afternoon, but she made a request to speak before lunch and it was agreed.” Mamata was the only CM from an Opposition-ruled state to participate. Her Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar, who is part of the NDA at the Centre, also did not make it. In all, 10 CMs did not show up. Putting it in context, TMC sources said Mamata attended the meet despite attempts by the Opposition INDIA bloc to wean her away so as to send a , message that she would not be guided by Congress strategies. In his address, Modi empha- Make policies to attract FDI, Modi urges states Modi urged all states to take advantage of technological and geopolitical changes to make India developed by 2047. He advised them to make policies conducive for attracting FDI. He also directed the NITI Aayog to prepare an investment-friendly charter Attack by Pak special forces kills one jawan f aya z w an i @ Srinagar A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned Pakistan on 25th anniversary of Kargil War, Pakistan’s Border Action Team and militants attacked the Army’s forward post along the Line of Control (LoC) in Machil sector of J&K on Saturday While the . Army foiled the attack, a jawan was killed and four other soldiers, including a Captain, were injured in the gunfight. One Pakistani intruder was gunned down. Defence spokesman in Srinagar said the Pakistan special forces team took advantage of bad weather and poor visibility along the LoC in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district. Two or three armed men crossed the LoC and fired on the forward Army post from close proximity he said. , A BAT team generally comprises Pakistani commandos and highly trained militants. Sources said two other BAT members fled to the other side of the LoC after the gunfight. The injured soldiers were taken to the Army’s base hospital at Badamibagh Cantonment in Srinagar for specialised treatment. The deceased jawan was identified as rifleman Mohit Rathour. He succumbed to his injuries in the hospital. The defence spokesman said the Army is trying to ascertain whether the slain Pakistani national was a regular soldier or a terrorist or a guide. sised the need to tackle poverty on an individual level rather than just at a programme level. “We must target zero poverty as a priority for a Viksit Bharat starting at the village level,” he said, adding it would have a transformational effect. In her speech, Mamata said, “Many states have been deprived in the Budget, including my state, which has been deprived of MNREGA funds for the last three years.” She said the Centre cannot discriminate between states based on its political equation with the parties governing them. WITH THIS ISSUE BOLD MONK PLUS 12 PAGES Finalise new D-wall estimates soon: CM E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada Approving the estimates before November is crucial, or else works will be stalled Chandrababu Naidu Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday took part in the 9th Governing Council meeting of the NITI Aayog in New Delhi and sought for finalisation of estimates at the earliest to build a new diaphragm wall for the Polavaram Irrigation Project. Following the meeting, which w a s c h a i r e d by P r i m e Minister Narendra Modi, Naidu spoke to mediapersons and said a memorandum on funds required for the Polavaram project will be tabled during a Union Cabinet meeting. Further, the Chief Minister explained that he met Jal Shakti Minister CR Paatil and handed over a copy of the Cabinet Note, which elaborated on the resolution passed by the State Cabinet regarding the construction of a new diaphragm wall, for the Centre’s P4 approval.