KOZHIKODE l wednesday l September 04, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Bengaluru firm tests India’s first indigenous combat drone Flying Wedge Defence and Aerospace announced the successful maiden flight of indigenous unmanned bomber aircraft, the FWD 200B Armed with missile-like weapons Can fly non-stop for 7 hrs; up to 800 km Classified as a Medium Altitude (15,000 feet) Long Endurance Combat Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, FWD 200B is equipped with optical payloads for surveillance and missile-like weapons for air strikes and bombing, the firm’s founder-CEO Suhas Tejaskanda said. It has a wingspan of 5 metres, length of 3.5 metres, maximum take-off weight of 102 kg & payload capacity of 30 kg ■ The drone can fly at a cruise speed of 152 km per hour, with a maximum speed of 250 km per hour. Its runway requirement is just 300 metres allowing it to operate from shorter airstrips, the company said ■ With an endurance of 7 hours and a range of 800 km, FWD 200B doesn’t need frequent refuelling or landing, Tejaskanda said 12,000 sq ft Area of the firm’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Bengaluru 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 Booked for rape, Nivin Pauly says charge baseless E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Kochi Reeling under a spate of ‘MeToo’ allegations, the Malayalam film industry suffered a fresh jolt on Tuesday after actor Nivin Pauly was named as one of the accused in a rape case registered on the complaint of a woman hailing from Oonnukal in Ernakulam’s Kothamangalam. Following news reports of an FIR against him, Nivin, in a hurriedly-convened press conference in Kochi at night, termed the allegation fake and said he did not know the complainant. He also said he would go to any length to prove his innocence. “This is a fake allegation. I don’t know this woman and have never seen her. I am ready to face the investigation and will cooperate with the investigation team to prove my innocence,” Nivin said. The complainant has alleged that she was raped in Dubai last year on the pretext of being offered a role in a film. She alleged the involvement of multiple persons, including Nivin. The FIR, registered by Oonnukal police under Ernakulam rural police limits, names six persons: A woman Shreya, film producer A K Sunil who is known for movies Vijay Superum Pournamiyum and Manoharam, Binu, Basheer and Kuttan, who were associated with the films, and Nivin, the sixth accused. Nivin said he was responding to the allegation the same day as someone has to fight the fake charges. He said he was speaking for the industry at a Actor Nivin Pauly addressing the media in Kochi on Tuesday | T P Sooraj Sexual assault case against Alencier Kochi: The Chengamanadu police in Kochi have booked Malayam actor Alencier based on the complaint of an actress. The complainant alleged Alencier committed the sexual assault during the shooting of a film in Bengaluru in 2017. P4 time when all and sundry were coming up with false allegations. “In the current scenario, anyone can raise allegations against people in cinema. I decided to respond the same day as I felt someone should fight it. I have decided to fight,” Nivin said. On the case, he said such a complaint was raised a few months ago as well. “I had received a call from the police station to enquire about a similar complaint. The case was closed as the police found it baseless. I didn’t follow it up as my legal team advised me against it. Now, I don’t know who is involved in this or the names mentioned in the FIR. I haven’t read the FIR either,” he said. ● More on P4 CM prevails, Sasi to stay, Anvar told to hold fire Household savings on rebound E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e AFTER sharply declining during the pandemic, India’s household savings are rebounding on the back of rising income levels, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Speaking at an event in Mumbai on Tuesday, RBI deputy governor Michael Debabrata Patra said that the rebound process has already begun, noting that households’ financial assets have increased from 10.6% of GDP during 2011-17 to 11.5% during 2017-23. And there is room to grow further because the level was 15% of GDP during the early 2000s till the global financial crisis. Household savings are the portion of income that is not spent on consumption and set aside for future use; these are usually deposited in banks or invested in other financial instruments. Because of their @T’Puram Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has asserted his authority within the CPM, at least for the time being, after LDF MLA P V Anvar’s outbursts against CM’s political secretary P Sasi and ADGP M R Ajith Kumar turned power equations murkier in the ruling party . The Nilambur MLA’s tirade against the influential duo ended on a lame note after meeting the CM on Tuesday. There won’t be any immediate action against either Sasi or Ajith Kumar, and Anvar has been directed to settle for a temporary ceasefire. Interacting with reporters after the meeting, Anvar said P V Anvar he has apprised Pinarayi of his concerns. A copy of his grievances would be handed over to party secretary M V Govindan as well. Anvar said he was not seeking the removal of Ajith Kumar from his post as it was up to the party and the CPM to take a decision on that. “As a comrade, I made my stance clear and my responsibility in the matter ends with that,” he said. Sources said Pinarayi was unhappy with Anvar’s open outburst against the CMO and the top cop. He is of the view that complaints, if any, should have been communicated di● More on P5 rectly to him.  Robust domestic savings to drive economic growth, says RBI deputy governor Michael Patra B E N N K OC H U V E E D A N @ Mumbai HOME TRUTHS Net financial savings of households halved from 2020-21 levels due to behavioural changes during the pandemic and shift towards physical assets such as housing. But with rising incomes, households are now rebuilding their financial assets Households will remain the top net lenders to the rest of the economy in the coming decades 11.5% Households’ financial assets have increased from 10.6% of GDP during 2011-17 to 11.5% during 2017-23 (excluding pandemic year) revival in capex cycle is likely to push up private sector’s borrowing needs, which could be partly met by households sheer size, household funds are considered a major driver of long- term economic growth. Explaining the reasons for the fall in the domestic savings level of late, Patra noted that the net household savings have halved, hitting a five-year low of 5.2% of GDP in fiscal 2024, but he attributed this to ‘behavioural changes’ during the pandemic, driven by shifts from financial assets to physical assets such as property . According to Patra, that phase is over and households NEW sumit E X P R E SS R E A D Enduring back pain, Sumit wins gold E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Chennai IT is as if winning gold has become a habit for Sumit Antil. The back pain that had been afflicting him for the last one-and -a-half year vanished. He was focussed on the job in hand — retaining gold at the Paris Paralympics. And he did it in style when he threw the javelin to 70.59 m — a new Paralympics record. It had not been easy. During a virtual interaction, he re- vealed that he felt more pressure in Paris than in Tokyo. Perhaps, it’s the burden of expectations on Monday in his F46 event. There are quite a few things that separate Sumit from the rest. He is one of those paraathletes who previously competed against ablebodied athletes. One among the competitors was Neeraj Chopra, the Oly m p i c s i l ve rmedallist. During the interaction are now rebuilding their financial assets. “Going forward, boosted by rising incomes, households will likely build back their financial assets,” Patra said while addressing a finance summit organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry here on Tuesday . Concurrently, households’ physical savings have also risen in post-pandemic years to over 12% of GDP. These can rise further—these had reached 16% of GDP in 2010-11. Households are expected to remain the top net lenders to the rest of the economy in the coming decades, he said. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das had earlier raised concerns over more and more household savings going into financial instruments such as mutual funds and stocks, saying this had led to banks facing a deposit drought. he revealed that he keeps speaking with Neeraj and the champion javelin thrower had given him an advice or two before the Paralympics. He said that he has been in touch with Neeraj but before the Parlympics he did not speak to him directly but through his manager. “I got a message from Neeraj bhai through someone and he told me that the atmosphere (in Paris) is good,” said Sumit. He also asked him to not try anything new. “I just took his advice and it was a really good experience.” Nehru Trophy Boat Race on Sept 28 Alappuzha: The Nehru Trophy Boat Race Society on Tuesday decided to organise the race on September 28. The event will be held without much fanfare, Agriculture Minister P Prasad said on Tuesday. P2 2 dead in massive fire in T’Puram building T’Puram: In a suspected case of murder, two people including a female employee, died after a massive fire broke out at office of the New India Assurance Company in Pappanamcode on Tuesday. P4