BHUBANESWAR  SATURDAY  NOVEMBER 02, 2024  `9.00  PAGES 12  LATE CITY EDITION FAMILIAR INDIAN BATTING COLLAPSE AGAINST NEW ZEALAND IN 3RD TEST After bowling out New Zealand for 235, India lost three wickets in eight balls to throw away the advantage. They ended Day One at 86/4 on Friday 14th FIVE-WICKET HAUL FOR JADEJA IN TESTS Earlier, Ravindra Jadeja bowled 22 unchanged overs in energy-sapping heat and humidity of Mumbai to pick up his 14th five-wicket haul in Tests. The left-arm spinner from Saurashtra and Washington Sundar (4/81) shared nine wickets between them to bowl out visitors in the first innings of 3rd Test. Will Young (71) and Daryl Mitchell (82) hit 50s for the Kiwis ■ 314 ROHIT, KOHLI’S BELOW PAR RETURNS CONTINUE ■ Skipper Rohit Sharma scored 18 off 18 balls before being caught at second slip. His scores in last five innings are 2, 52, 0, 8 and 18. Virat Kohli once again got out cheaply when he fell short of the crease attempting a quick single. His wicket meant the hosts were reduced to 84/4 from 78/1 in the last two overs | MORE ON P11 WICKETS JADEJA HAS, 5TH MOST BY ANY INDIAN BOWLERS IN TESTS 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 CM confirms JSW-POSCO’s Keonjhar project H E M A N T K U M A R R O U T @ Bhubaneswar CHIEF Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday announced that JSW Group and South Korean steel major POSCO will jointly set up a mega steel plant in his home district of Keonjhar. The New Indian Express was the first to report on the proposed steel manufacturing unit in Keonjhar in its October 31 edition. Majhi revealed the plan three days after the two conglomerates inked a pact in the presence of JSW Group chairman Sajjan Jindal and POSCO chairman Chang In-hwa. The development would make Odisha one of the major steel producers in the world, he said. “We conducted two roadshows at Delhi and Mumbai recently for inviting investors to the Utkarsh Odisha: Make-in-Odisha Conclave 2025 in January. I had discussed with both JSW Group and POSCO regarding a steel plant in the mineralrich Keonjhar district. They had agreed and accordingly both the groups have signed an MoU to form a joint venture (JV),” the chief minister told reporters at Keonjhar. The JV the chief minister , said, would set up a greenfield integrated steel plant with an initial capacity of 5 million tonne per annum (MTPA). “They would jointly set up the plant and have already mentioned it. The Keonjhar project is under process and Odisha will soon get another mega steel plant,” he said. Beyond steel, the JV also aims at driving cooperation in battery materials and renewable energy. Since POSCO has set a benchmark in sustainable technologies and low-carbon products, the upcoming project is expected to focus on hydrogen reduction ironmaking and electric furnace-based low-carbon high-grade steel production. As reported by TNIE, the state government has already identified two sites for the project. The 2,500-acre land parcel of Odisha Tea Plantation Ltd (OTPL) at the Taramakant area under Banspal block and 1,956-acre land area at Patna are CONTINUED ON P5 being readied. Soren in new controversy, this time over his age M U K E S H R A N J A N @ Ranchi WHAT is Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s actual age? 47? 49? Does it matter anyway ? If you were to go by the sworn affidavit he submitted to the Election Commission on December 12, 2019 while filing his nomination papers for the Jharkhand assembly polls, he should be 47 now because he had claimed he was 42 at that point in time. But in the affidavit he filed on October 24 this year for contesting from the Barhait constituency, he mentioned his age as 49. Election affidavits are filed with utmost care because false declarations could end up in the candidate’s disqual- ification. While the BJP predictably went for his jugular and sought legal action, the Congress, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha’s (JMM) ally, played it safe saying it needs verification. However, the JMM was confident that the affidavit was kosher. As for Chief Electoral Officer K Ravi Kumar, whose personnel scrutinised Soren’s latest affidavit, he said no complaint on the matter has reached his office yet. The electoral officer of Barhait has the right to take a decision on the matter, he said, adding that the nomination process and its scrutiny are already over. As such, if there is any complaint, it can be resolved through legal process, he added. CONTINUED ON P5 MORNING AFTER A thick sheet of smog hangs over Bhubaneswar at dawn on Friday after Diwali revelry the previous day | DEBADATTA MALLICK EXPRESS READ Mango kernel gruel kills 2 women Berhampur: Two women died and six others were taken ill after allegedly consuming a gruel made of mango kernel in a village of Kandhamal district, bringing back dark memories of past deaths from the erstwhile KBK region once infamous for its acute poverty and backwardness. The victims were identified as Runi Majhi (30) and Ranita Patamajhi (28) | P4 Minor girl gangraped in capital, 4 held Bhubaneswar: In a horrific incident, a minor girl was allegedly gangraped by four youths in the capital city after spiking her drink. The accused also recorded video of the crime to blackmail the victim and her family. Police on Thursday arrested the four accused and detained another minor girl for allegedly assisting them | P3 Army begins patrolling at Demchok PDF files downloaded from the Election Commission’s site show the age discrepancy All documents filed for the nomination were fully verified — Jharkhand Mukti Morcha spokesperson Manoj Pandey New Delhi: With the completion of disengagement of troops from the two friction points in eastern Ladakh, the Indian Army on Friday resumed regular patrolling at Demchok. Army sources told this newspaper that patrolling at the second stand-off point, Depsang Plains, would begin soon | P7 25 JAN 1955-1 NOV 2024 BIBEK DEBROY LIVED MANY LIVES IN ONE SHORT LIFE SHANKKAR AIYAR Author of The Gated Republic, Aadhaar: A Biometric History of India’s 12 Digit Revolution, and Accidental India ‘DON’T dwell on the words’. It was his mantra for writing. Basically move on. How does one not dwell on the words while reminiscing about a loss and life…and Bibek Debroy lived many lives in one life — just the bibliography of his writings and the books he authored would take up this page and more! Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the PM, Bibek passed away at AIIMS, Delhi on Friday. He was 69. I first met Bibek in the 1990s while researching water — over cups of tea we discussed the chemistry, geography and therefore the politics of water. It set the stage for a treasured friendship, exchange of thoughts, information and oddities — for instance the role of Lord Linlithgow in cattle farming or Shakespeare’s thoughts on money . Bibek embodied the term genius — he could infuse Kasparov’s opening gambit to explain implications in global trade, induct the concept of dharma while debating on taxation and present economic policy as a game with many outcomes. The skill and talent to make things simple was accompanied by felicity of language from Russian to Sanskrit – on one occasion, at a function hosted by the RSS, unsure of his Hindi, Bibek spoke on the global economy in Sanskrit. His ability to traverse across a tapestry of subjects effortlessly reflected extraordinary curiosity and therefore grasp of knowledge. He could quote chapter and verse from dense texts and decode them — whether it was nuances from the Constitution, provisions of WTO, or delineation of Kuznets Curve. Fiercely independent Bibek reserved the right to differ and disagree without being disagreeable and often termed his disagreements as disappointments. Bibek will be remembered as the quintessential interpreter of maladies and a repository of hopeful resolution. He brought forth deep analysis of the cause and consequences. For decades, he was the go-to person for governments at the Centre and across states on complex issues. This is manifest in the spectrum of his work - the challenge of deprivation in districts, economic freedom and competitiveness, restructuring of the railways, impact of judicial delays and corruption in governance. He was a rare raconteur of history with an uncommon sense of humour and a huge collection of anecdotes — he once recalled how while in the ministry of finance he was admonished for answering a Parliamentary question! Always willing to share, you could dial him with doubts or for a hearty chin wag on anything from the potential for an Indian version of Yes Minister to quirks of politicians to parallels of King Lear in Indian politics. India will miss his scholarship. I will miss the friendship. I wish I had met him earlier, known P6 him longer. OCT REGISTERS 2ND BEST GST REVENUE AT `1.87L CR Festive season-driven domestic demand, enhanced compliance push up collection ROBUST REFUNDS In October 2024, refunds of `19,306 crore were issued, reflecting a 18.2% rise compared to the same period last year As we look ahead to the November GST Council meeting, key discussions on streamlining the tax rate structure and continued focus on trade facilitation areas are expected Mahesh Jaising, partner and leader, indirect tax, Deloitte India M O N I K A YA D A V @ New Delhi A surge in festival demand pushed the Goods and Services Tax (GST) collected by the Union and state governments in October to `1.87 lakh crore, marking it the second-highest collection since the new indirect regime was rolled out on July 1, 2017. The highest GST collection was recorded in April 2024, at `2.10 lakh crore. The October figure comes with annual growth of 8.9%, finance ministry data released on Friday showed. In October 2023, the total GST revenue was `1.72 lakh crore. The latest growth is on account of a rise in domestic sales as well as enhanced compliance. The gross GST collection includes Central GST of `33,821 crore, State GST of `41,864 crore, Integrated GST of `99,111 crore, and Cess collection of `12,550 crore for the month of October 2024. In the month under review, GST revenue from domestic transactions increased by TOP STATES BY GST REVENUE (D CRORE) STATE Maharashtra Karnataka Gujarat Tamil Nadu Haryana Uttar Pradesh OCT 2024 OCT 2023 `31,030 `27,309 `11,971 `9,730 `10,761 `13,081 `11,407 `11,188 `8,716 `10,045 `8,964 `9,602 10.6%, reaching `1.42 lakh crore. Meanwhile, revenue from taxes on imports saw a rise of approximately 4%, totalling `45,096 crore. According to Saurabh Agarwal, tax partner at EY, the recent GST collections indicate a potential slowdown in consumer spending in India, which surged in the previous fiscal year. The single-digit growth signals a cooling-off period. “The collections made this month on account of festive season, particularly the performance of the automobile sector, will be crucial in deter mining the short-ter m trend. While the festive season is expected to boost collections, the overall outlook for the near future remains cautious. Despite shortter m uncertainties, the long-term prospects for GST collections remain promising due to India’s expanding consumer base and the government’s pro-growth policies,” Agarwal added. The net GST collections (after the refunds) during the month show a growth of 8% to `1.68 lakh crore. Refunds recorded a growth of 18.2%.