WORLD FOOD PRICES AT 19-MONTH HIGH The benchmark index for world food commodity prices rose in November to its highest level since April 2023 The price index, compiled by UN 32% Food and Agriculture Organization to Annual jump track most traded food commodities, in veg oil zoomed to 127.5 points in November— price index a 5.7% rise from a year ago The surge is on account of high international vegetable oil prices FAO’s vegetable oil index jumped 7.5% above levels seen a month ago Chennai l saturday l december 07, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 20 l late city EDITION Sunflower, soyoil prices rose on strong global import demand 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 Row over `500 notes bundle on Singhvi seat in the Rajya Sabha RBI holds rates again to keep inflation down RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR In balancing act, cuts cash reserve ratio and frees up `1.16 lakh crore to support growth cheaper funds to the economy to support growth, by slashing THE Reserve Bank of India the cash reserve ratio (CRR) by (RBI) on Friday chose to stay 50 bps to 4%. The move will rethe course on inflation control, lease `1.16 lakh crore of lendarefusing to make any knee-jerk ble money to banks. CRR is the reaction to the growth slump percentage of banks’ deposits reported in the second quarter that must be parked with RBI. with a repo rate cut. Announcing the policy deciRBI’s monetary polision, Das said all data cy committee (MPC) led since October indicate by governor Shaktikanthat the economy has ta Das decided to mainbottomed out and has tain the repo rate at since been resilient. 6.5% for the 11th time “We don’t want to take on the trot. The last any decision which we time it changed the may be forced to retract repo rate—the interest or regret. We need more rate at which RBI lends evidence/data to changmoney to commercial es our course of acbanks—was in Febru- At this juncture, tion,” he said at the cusary 2023, when it raised tomary post-policy prudence and practicality it by 25 basis points. press conference, which demands we With Friday’s deciwould be his last presssion to hold rates, the remain careful er if he is not given ancentral bank has sigother extension. His RBI Governor nalled that a growth current term ends on Shaktikanta Das slip in just one quarter December 10. does not warrant a course corMichael Patra, the senior rection from its Parliament- most deputy governor who is mandated inflation control in-charge of the monetary polobjectives. icy department, said: “Just beRBI has, however, cut the cause of one set of data went FY25 GDP projection from 7.2% off the mark, it’s too early to to 6.6% and also raised the full reverse or change the course,” year inflation estimate to 4.8% indicating that the secondfrom 4.5% earlier. quarter GDP numbers are not While it maintained the key the end of the road for econompolicy rate, the MPC offered ic growth.  P14 B E N N K O C H U V E E D A N @ Mumbai Horror Class XII boy shoots school principal dead in MP district A nu r aa g S i n g h @ Bhopal In a horrific incident, the principal of a government school was allegedly shot dead by a Class XII student on the school premises in Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh on Friday . The murder happened at around 1 pm when Surendra Saxena, principal of Dhamaura Higher Secondary School, was entering the toilet, located between the school’s boundary wall and the main road outside. The accused, after a heated exchange of words with the principal, whipped out a pistol and shot him twice in the head from point blank range. Saxena died on the spot. The boy then went to principal’s office, took the keys of the latter’s scooter and fled on the two-wheeler. “A few hours later, the 17year-old accused was arrested by the Chhatarpur police while trying to flee to adjoining Mahoba district of UP,” Chhatarpur district police superintendent Agam Jain told this newspaper. The student, whose father runs a thriving dairy business in Chhatarpur district, told the police during interrogation that he was upset as the principal scolded him and warned that he would take action against him for indiscipline. Sources said the principal had cautioned by the boy in the past as well for being absent from class and misbehaviour on the school premises, particularly with girl students. He had come to the school with the illegal firearm earlier too. However, Saxena’s brother Rajendra Saxena alleged that the murder was due to a plot by some school insiders. Agam Jain said, “All possible angles, including that of conspiracy, will be probed in detail.” Detected during anti-sabotage check The Rajya Sabha on Friday witnessed an uproar over a wad of `500 notes from the seat allocated to legal eagle and Congress member Abhishek Manu Singhvi the previous day . Commotion be gan after Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar informed the House that security personnel found a bundle of currency notes of `500 denomination on seat number 222, allotted to Singhvi. He said they were recovered during a routine anti-sabotage check on Thursday There were . about 100 notes in the bundle, but whether or not they were genuine is yet to be established, he added. A heated exchange of words between the ruling and Opposition benches followed and the House descended into chaos. “I am quite astonished to even hear about it. Yesterday I , reached inside the House at 12.57 in the afternoon. House “I have been careful that antisabotage checks must be very severe because in these highly technological situations where chemicals are used... From that perspective it was done,” said Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar @ New Delhi First blood An injured farmer being carried after security personnel lobbed teargas to disperse protesters during their march to Delhi, at Shambhu border in Patiala, on Friday | pti kodanad murder HC ALLOWS EXAMINATION OF EPS, SASIKALA The court permitted AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, V K Sasikala and six others to be examined as defence witnesses, calling it vital to bring out truth | P2 Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Congress MP closes at 1 pm. From 1 to 1.30, I sat with Ayodhya Prasad in the canteen and had lunch. At 1.30, I left Parliament. So, my total stay in the House was three minutes and 30 minutes in the canteen yesterday. I find it bizarre that even on such an issue politics is raised,” Singhvi said on X. Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge criticised the chairman for naming a member before the investigation had concluded. But Leader of the House J P Nadda interjected saying there should be no objection to identifying the seat and member involved. He add- ed, “Carrying bundles of notes in the House is not appropria t e, ” a n d c a l l e d f o r a n investigation. Nadda went on to criticise the selective reaction of Kharge to various issues. But Kharge retorted with “We don’t suppress matters; you do.” When the House resumed in the afternoon to take up private members’ business, BJP MPs raised slogans demanding answers from the Congress over the recovery of currency notes. Failing to pacify them, Deputy Chairman Harivansh, who was in Chair, adjourned the Rajya Sabha for the day . Centre gives `945 cr for Cyclone Fengal relief; TN seeks `6,675 cr T M u r u g anandham @ Chennai Chief Minister MK Stalin on Friday met the inter-ministerial central team sent to Tamil Nadu to assess the damage caused by Cyclone Fengal and sought `6,675 crore from the union government for undertaking temporary and permanent reconstruction works in rain-hit areas. The CM submitted a detailed memorandum and urged the team to recommend maximum relief assistance to Tamil Nadu in its report. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs on Friday approved the release of `944.80 crore, two instalments of the central share of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), to Tamil Nadu for carrying out relief work. “After the assessment reports of the central team, additional financial assistance from the NDRF will be approved as per established procedure,” a release from the MHA said. Reacting to the announcement, the chief minister, in a tweet on X, said, “The GOI has announced its share towards SDRF. Since this amount will not be sufficient to cope with the disaster caused by cyclone Fengal, I reiterate the request to the union government to immediately release `2,000 crore from the National Disaster Relief Fund.” The central team, which arrived in Chennai on Friday evening, met the CM at the secretariat in the presence of senior ministers and top officials. Chief Secretary N Muruganandam and Commissioner of Revenue Administration Rajesh Lakhoni made a presentation on the havoc wrought by the cyclone across districts. P7 DMK made VCK chief skip event: Vijay CHENNAI: Releasing the book ‘Ellorukkumana Thalaivar Ambedkar’ on Friday , TVK chief actor Vijay faulted Thol Thirumavalavan for skipping the event, and said the pressure from coalition partner DMK may have made the VCK president to stay away Comparing the unrest in Ma. nipur to the Vengaivayal incident in TN, Vijay accused the DMK government in TN and the BJP government at the centre of inaction. Rebuffing Vijay’s allegations, Thirumavalavan said he skipped the event after “realising the conspiracy” of ideological opponents to create fissures within the DMK alliance by trying to use him as a pawn for political machination. “Explanation would be sought from deputy general secretary Aadhav Arjuna for his speech against the DMK at the event,” the VCK chief said. ENS  P4 Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways Government of India KAMARAJAR PORT LIMITED (A Company of Chennai Port Authority) SILVER JUBILEE CELEBRATION Presided by Shri Sarbananda Sonowal Hon’ble Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Govt. of India In the august presence of Shri Shantanu Thakur Hon’ble Minister of State of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Govt. of India Guests of Honour Shri E.V. Velu Hon’ble Minister for Public Works, Highways and Minor Ports, Govt. of Tamil Nadu Shri T.K. Ramachandran, I.A.S. Secretary, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Govt. of India Shri Sunil Paliwal, I.A.S. Chairperson, ChPA & KPL Smt. J.P.Irene Cynthia, I.A.S. Managing Director, KPL Saturday, 7th December 2024 Hotel Leela Palace, Chennai