Chennai l wednesday l october 23, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 20 l late city EDITION Foreign Institutional investors withdraw `82,000 cr from India This is the highest outflow of funds in a single month. The FIIs offloaded equities worth `2,261 crore on Monday alone, provisional data showed Large investors shifting focus to China? Indian markets tank amid sell-off According to market watchers, Indian stocks may be falling out of favour with FIIs, which are reportedly re-routing their funds to Chinese stocks. The foreign investors’ focus seems to have turned to Beijing after President Xi Jinping announced his plan to create a ‘high-quality market’ that gives the best bang for investors’ buck, followed up by a stimulus package unveiled this month | P14 ■ ■ Amid the massive sell-off, the Indian stockmarkets tanked on Tuesday, with the Sensex falling 930.55 points, or 1.15%, to settle at 80,220.72 Data showed the market cap of BSE-listed firms shrank `9,19,374 crore to `4,44,45,649 crore ($5.29 trillion) on Tuesday. This is interpreted as erosion of `9.19 lakh crore in investors’ notional wealth in a single day `61,973 cr The previous highest monthly FII outflow, recorded in March 2020 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 Modi, Xi talks today B  ilateral dialogue before BRICS Summit opens at Russia’s Kazan, says government N  eed to restore mutual trust to go back to status quo ante: Army Chief Gen Dwivedi We are trying to restore the trust. That will happen once we are able to see each other and reassure each other that we are not creeping into buffer zones that have been created Gen Upendra Dwivedi billion+ countries India and China have a population of over a billion. “Anybody who is predicting developments of this century cannot leave India and China out of that equation,’’ External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said economic ties up Economic ties are improving. China is India’s largest trade partner with $118.4 billion twoway trade in 2023-24. This was slightly higher than the bilateral trade between India and the US at $118.28 billion in the same year Siddharth Prabhakar @ Chennai ed relies on open sources, media reports Official sources said a proposal has been sent to the Tamil Nadu government for appointing a nodal officer. Since TN police doesn’t The Enforcement Directohave a nodal officer, the ED relies on open sources and media reports rate (ED) has flagged the isto launch money laundering investigations, sources said. sue of lack of a nodal officer and an anti-money laundering (AML) cell in the Tamil Action Task Force (FATF), an state police for sharing inforNadu police for “facilitating intergover nmental money mation with the ED, sources seamless sharing of informa- laundering and terrorist fi- claimed, adding that multiple tion” with the nancing watch- letters have been written by agency on cases dog, of which In- the ED to the Tamil Nadu popress to be investigatclusive dia is a member, lice in the past in this e d fo r m o n e y underscore the regard. laundering. need for a nodal ED can investigate cases The central agency’s office officer for effective coordina- under the Prevention of Monin Chennai has sent a letter to tion among various entities. ey Laundering Act (PMLA) the TN’s head of police force/ The appointment of such an only after cases involving DGP recently, urging him to officer is also required to en- predicate offences like cortake steps for forming the sure India’s rating in FATF ruption, drug seizures, cheatAML and nominating an of- does not drop, sources said. ing and fraud, murder, cyber ficer to improve inter-agency Tamil Nadu is the only state crime, etc., are registered by coordination, sources said. in south India which does not the state police, a Law EnThe guidelines of Financial have a nodal officer in the forcement Agency (LEA). P7 Y e s h i S e l i a n d MAYAN K SINGH @ New Delhi Setting all speculation to rest on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping holding a bilateral meeting in Russia’s Kazan, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said it will be held on Wednesday ahead of the BRICS Summit. “I can confirm that there will be a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Jinping tomorrow,” Misri said. This will be their first meeting after bilateral relations went south following a bloody clash of soldiers at Galwan in eastern Ladakh in 2020. Their meeting will not only signal to the world that the BRICS grouping is more powerful than perceived but also show India in a much stronger collaborative position with the China, Russia, and Iran. Back home, Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi pointed to trust issues with China, saying, “We want to go back to the status quo of April 2020. Thereafter we will be looking at disengagement, de-escalation and normal management of LAC... This has been our stand since April 2020.” Gen Dwivedi was delivering the Colonel Pyara Lal Memorial Lecture on Indian Army’s Decade of Transformation in Delhi. He felt that both sides need to reassure and convince each other to move forward with the subsequent phases of disengagement. This newspaper had on Monday brought out the trust concerns with China as several sources said there was nothing on the ground to suggest China was willing to blink. The new agreement addresses two key friction points, Depsang and Demchok. The military has remained consistent in its interpretation of the disengagement processes from areas such as Galwan, Gogra, Hot Springs, and the north and south banks of Pangong Tso, while also asserting that this does not affect India’s claim over the LAC alignment. According to sources, previous disengagements were carried out on the principle of mutual and equal security with no prejudice , to either side’s claims over the LAC. However, the standoff at Depsang remains significant, as Chinese troops have blocked access to Patrol Points (PPs) 10, 11, 11A, 12, and 13, which cover an area of approximately 952 sq km. These PPs, located east of the strategic SubSector North road, are not directly on the LAC but lie within Indian territory Sub-Sec. tor North is crucial due to its terrain, which allows large-scale armoured operations. Appoint nodal officer for better PMLA probes, ED tells TN police Russian President Vladimir Putin embraces Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their meeting on the sidelines of BRICS Summit at Kazan on Tuesday | AP/PTI Iran Prez seeks support to end conflict in bilateral talks tional North South Corridor. Discussions were also held on Afghanistan and humanitarian Prime Minister Narendra assistance provided to the peoModi on Tuesday held bilateral ple there. “Had a very good meetings with Iran’s new Presi- meeting with the President of dent Masoud Pezeshkian and Iran, Mr Masoud Pezeshkian. Russian President We reviewed the full Vladimir Putin upon range of relations behis arrival in Kazan, tween our countries. ahead of the 16th We also discussed All our efforts BRICS Summit. ways to deepen ties in give priority to “Prime Minister futuristic sectors,” Modi had his first-ever humanity; India is Modi later said. meeting with Presi- ready to provide As for the first bilatall possible dent Pezeshekian after eral, Putin joked that cooperation to he won the elections in Russia-India ties are end Ukraine war Iran. The two leaders so strong that he felt Narendra Modi, spoke about the need Modi would underprime minister to de-escalate tensions stand his comments in West Asia. Iran without a translator. sought India’s help in the resoOn the war in Ukraine, Modi lution of the conflict as it was said, “I have been in touch with acquainted with leaders across Putin. I would want a peaceful the world,” Foreign Secretary resolution keeping in mind the Vikram Misri said. humanitarian crisis. India will Modi also spoke about the extend all possible support for Chabahar port and the Interna- the peace process.” Express News Service @ New Delhi impleads in union case Lost $100 mn due to 37-day worker strike, Samsung tells HC R SIVA K UMAR @ Chennai Samsung India Electronics Private Limited on Tuesday said that it incurred a loss of $100 million because of the recent strike by the Samsung India Workers’ Union (SIWU), affiliated to the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU). The strike, which went on for 37 days, ended after tripartite talks involving senior state ministers, workers’ representatives and officials of the company . Senior counsel G Rajagopalan, appearing for Samsung, said this in the Madras High Court, while seeking to implead the company in the case already filed by SIWU praying for orders to the Tamil Nadu labour department to register their union. Justice R N Manjula, who heard the petition, allowed the company to implead in the case, saying that it was in the interest of justice and to give an opportunity to the company to raise its objections and the trade union to place its counterobjections. Rajagopalan submitted that Samsung cannot allow any political interference in the affairs of the company as the workers’ union is affiliated to CITU, which is in turn affiliated to the Communist Party of India (Marxist).  P7 40 more flights get bomb threats SHE K HAR SINGH & U J WAL J ALALI @ New Delhi Assam police encounters ‘very serious’, says SC A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan made the remark while hearing a plea challenging Gauhati HC’s dismissal of a PIL on 171 encounters. “Petitions like these can’t be brushed aside as premature,” it said | P9 HOAX bomb threats continued to keep the security agencies on their toes and inconvenience passengers on Tuesday as about 40 more flights received threat emails. Three CRPF schools, including the one in Rohini where an explosion happened two days ago, also received threats on Tuesday. On Tuesday, a CRPF school in Dwarka and another one Hyderabad also received hoax bomb threats. The emails, reportedly sent late in the night on Monday, indicated a potential bomb explo- sion in classrooms at 11 am on Tuesday. Officials said a detailed probe is underway, with senior officers of the CRPF, Intelligence Bureau, and Delhi Police reviewing the situation. Between Monday and Tuesday at least 70 flights belonging , to Air India, Vistara, IndiGo, and Akasa Air faced fresh 3 schools targeted A CRPF school in Delhi’s Dwarka, another one in Rohini where an explosion happened two days ago, and a third CRPF school in Hyderabad also received hoax bomb threats through emails bomb threats through social media, bringing the total number of such threats in the past eight days to 160. Sources put the security threats for Air India at 13, Vistara 11, and Akasa Air 12 on Tuesday. Meanwhile, IndiGo said 23 of its flights—both domestic and international— were targeted on Monday and Tuesday. It said three Jeddahbound flights were diverted to Riyadh, Medina, and Doha. A Vistara spokesperson said that a few of their flights received security threats through social media. An Akasa spokesperson also confirmed receiving security alerts on Tuesday . Ordnance factory blast Officials at the blast site of the Khamaria ordnance factory in Jabalpur, MP. Two persons were killed and 15 others suffered injuries; three are critical | PTI | P10 pm surya ghar Solar scheme fails to shine in TN, only 18K applicants in six months S GURUVANMI K ANATHAN @ Chennai The installation of domestic rooftop solar plants under the PM Surya Ghar Scheme in Tamil Nadu is facing poor response from consumers with only 70,122 registering for the scheme and just 18,032 applications submitted so far. The union government has set an ambitious target to cover 25 lakh households in Tamil Nadu between April 1, 2024 and March 31, 2025. In the last six months, those who have registered for the scheme constitute just 2.8% of the target. During its announcement, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) stated the PM Surya Ghar scheme will aid in generation of up to 300 units of free power per month in 1 crore households. Under the scheme, a consumer can install a 2KW solar plant, at a cost of `2 lakh. The centre will provide a subsidy of `60,000. For consumers using 300 units per month, their electricity bill will effectively be zero. There is also a significant gap between registration and actual submission of applications, according to the data from the Tamil Nadu Green Energy Corporation (TNGEC), the nodal agency for implementing the Rooftop Solar Pho- tovoltaics (RTPVs) scheme. Of the 18,032 applications submitted, RTPVs have been installed in 13,000 households, while the remaining 5,032 applications are pending in various stages, officials said. Across the country, too, the scheme has elicited only tepid response with just 1.28 crore registrations and 14.84 lakh applications submitted till September. An of ficial from TNGEC told TNIE, “We have installed RTPVs with a combined capacity of 792.17 MW till September. This is well below our target.” Discussing the reasons for the scheme’s poor response, the official said, “In major cities like Chennai, Tiruchy, Coimbatore, and Madurai, the growing apartment culture makes it difficult to install the plant for just individual houses.”  P7 TMC’s Kalyan Banerjee injured his hand when he smashed a glass bottle | PTI Meet on Waqf turns ugly as TMC member smashes bottle PREETHA NAIR @ New Delhi THE meeting of the Joint Committee on Waqf (Amendment) Bill witnessed high-voltage drama on Tuesday as Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee smashed a glass bottle during a heated exchange of words with BJP member and former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay, injuring himself in the process. Banerjee was suspended for one day from the committee after BJP MP Nishikant Dubey moved a motion to suspend him for his unruly behaviour. The motion was backed by nine members while eight voted against it, following which chairperson and BJP Lok Sabha MP Jagdambika Pal issued the suspension order. The meeting was adjourned briefly following the incident and Banerjee, who hurt his thumb and index finger was taken away for medical aid. The incident took place when the panel was listening to the views of two Odisha-based organisations that included retired judges and lawyers. The opposition MPs including Banerjee questioned the organisation’s stake in the bill. According to a member, though Banerjee was given an opportunity to speak during the proceeding, he sought another turn to speak. However, Gangopadhyay objected to the repeated disturbances and a heated exchange erupted between the two. Sources claimed both MPs used abusive language and Banerjee grabbed a glass water bottle and smashed it on the table. A source told this paper that Banerjee lost his cool when Gangopadhyay allegedly made some remarks about his mother. “Both of them were talking in Bengali... Later, Banerjee said Gangopadhyay used derogatory language against his mother. H o w e v e r, G a n g o p a d hy ay claimed Banerjee started it,” said the source.