kochi l saturday l august 31, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 20 l late city EDITION Vistara to merge with Air India from Nov 12, deal gets govt nod Singapore Airlines (SIA) said the Indian govt has cleared its K2,058.50 crore FDI into the enlarged Air India Group as part of Vistara-Air India merger No immediate change in schedule, aircraft From September 3, those trying to book Vistara for travel on November 12 or beyond will be redirected to Air India’s website. Customers who have already booked Vistara will automatically have their reservations converted to Air India flight numbers. Though flight numbers will change, the aircraft fleet, flight schedules, and crews will largely remain the same till early 2025 25.1% Concerns over service POST-MERGER ■ Vistara, which has 90 aircraft, is known for its excellent service quality and in-flight experience, while Air India gets panned for its older planes and disruptions due to crew shortage. Industry experts have flagged concerns whether Air India will be able to match up to Vistara’s high standards ■ The merger will create one of the world’s largest airline groups | P10 Stake Singapore Airlines will get for investing K2,058.5 cr in Air India group 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 GDP growth slips to 15-month low in Q1 M O N I K A YA D A V @ New Delhi POOR performance of the agriculture and services sectors pulled down India’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate in the April-June 2024 quarter to a 15-month low of 6.7%, against 8.2% in the yearago period, government data released on Friday showed. The agriculture sector registered a 2% growth during April-June 2024, down from 3.7% in the same quarter a year ago. Trade, hotels, transport, communication and services related to broadcasting moderated to 5.7% from 9.7%, as per data released by the National Statistical Office. The NSO data also indicated that India’s gross value added or GVA, which measures the growth in supply by subtracting net product taxes from GDP showcased a 6.8% growth , r a t e i n t h e A p r i l - Ju n e quarter. The latest GDP growth rate is less than the Reserve Bank of India’s estimate of 7.1% for the same period and also lowest in the past five quarters. Explaining the d i p, C h i e f Economic Advisor (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran said it could be due to reduced government spending during the general elections. “Growth momentum has remained strong, with the slowdown in the first quarter anticipated due to elections and less spending by the Government ,” he said. The CEA noted that the final consumption expenditure and net exports have remained resilient, even as the growth rate in agriculture and livestock sectors appears to be reaching its lowest point. Nageswaran said India is positioned to achieve a GDP growth of 6.57% in FY25, as projected in the Economic Survey . Those who consider Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj as their deity and have been deeply hurt, I bow my head and apologise to them Narendra Modi, prime minister Modi apologises over collapse of Shivaji’s statue Takes a swipe at Rahul Gandhi for insulting Veer Savarkar, another son of the land S u d h i r S u r ya w ans h i @ Mumbai Visited Raigad in 2013: PM “In 2013, when my party projected me as the prime ministerial candidate, the first thing I did was to visit Raigad Fort. I bowed before Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s statue and sought his blessings,” Modi recalled in his address at Palghar Shinde, Ajit said sorry A few days ago, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Ajit Pawar had extended their apology. However, the Opposition continues to demand Shinde’s resignation With assembly elections in Maharashtra around the corner, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday sought to limit the political damage caused by the recent collapse of a 35-ft statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the state, by apologising to the legendary ruler and all those who were hurt by it. Modi had inaugurated the statue at Rajkot Fort in Sindhudurg district on December 4, 2023, on the occasion of Navy Day . The prime minister was addressing a gathering after laying the foundation stone of the `76,000-crore Vadhvan Port project in Palghar district located adjoining Mumbai. “The moment I landed here, I first apologised to Shivaji over the statue collapse. I also apologise to the people who were hurt by the collapse,” he said. “Those who consider Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj as their deity and have been deeply hurt, I bow my head and apologise to them. For us, nothing is bigger than our deity he added. ,” The statue was erected to honour the legacy of the Maratha Navy and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj towards pioneering maritime defence and security and its historical linkage with the mod, ern Indian Navy . Modi also took a swipe at the Opposition for insulting and abusing another famous son of the land, Veer Savarkar. “Our values are different, we are not those who keep abusing and insulting the great son of Mother India, the son of this land, Veer Savarkar. They are not ready to apologise, they are ready to go to the courts and fight,” he added, taking potshots at Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi. However, the Opposition said there can be no pardon for the corruption in the construction of the statue. NCP (SP) president Jayant Patil said that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj never condoned corruption and negligence. “Maharashtra follows the path shown by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. So, sir (Modi), Maharashtra will not forgive this mistake. The people who are responsible for this lapse will have to face punishment,” Patil said. RSS nat’l conclave in Palakkad from today E x p r e ss N e w s S e r vi c e @Palakkad The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) will hold its annual Akhil Bharatiya Samanvay Baithak for the first time in Kerala. The three-day meet will begin on the Ahalia campus, Palakkad, on Saturday . The organisers said that 32 national office-bearers of various organisations working for social transformation inspired by the RSS’ ideology will participate in the meeting. Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh Sunil Ambekar said 90 All India karyakartas in charge of the Sangh and 230 representatives including RSS Sarsangchalak Mohan Bhagwat, Sarkaryawah Dattatreya Hosabale, Deputy Sarkaryawahs Dr Krishnagopal, Mukunda C R, Arun Kumar, Alok Kumar, Ramdat Chakradhar and Atul Limaye will be present. “The working experience and organisational report of all our organisations will be discussed at the meeting. Their experiences, problems, achievements as well as evalua- tion of their work in different fields will be discussed, as will other issues of national importance. Matters related to national security and attacks on mi, norities in Bangladesh will also be discussed,” he said. It is learnt that the performance of BJP and RSS outfits in the recent LS polls will be discussed. The year-long programmes as part of RSS centenary will be announced at the meeting. Eleven delegates from Kerala are participating in the event. Fresh trouble for Jayasurya S h an A S @T’Puram The tremors that followed the release of the Justice Hema Committee report continued to shake the Malayalam film industry with one more woman levelling sexual misconduct allegation against actor Jayasurya. Meanwhile, the police probing the allegations are expected to complete the recording of complainants’ secret statements before magistrates in the coming days. Adding to Jayasurya’s troubles, the Karamana police have re gistered a second case against him based on the complaint filed by a junior artist. The alleged incident took place on the location of the movie Pigman in Thodupuzha in 2013. The complainant alleged that Jayasurya held her from behind while she was returning from the bathroom on the location. The woman alleged that when she pushed him away, Jayasurya apologised. Based on the complaint, the police have booked him for outraging the modesty of the woman. The case will be trans- ferred to Thodupuzha police for further action. Earlier, the Cantonment police had registered a case against Jayasurya after a Kochi-based actress filed a complaint against him. DIG S Ajeetha Begum, who is posted in Thiruvananthapuram, will be monitoring the investigation into the cases registered against Jayasurya and Siddique at police stations in Thiruvananthapuram. AIG G Poonguzhali will monitor all the seven cases registered in Koc h i . A l s o, t wo DySP-ranked officers have been included in the SIT to investigate rape cases registered in Kochi. On Friday, the special investigation team (SIT) recorded the statements of a Kozhikode-based male artist who had alleged that he was sexually abused by director Ranjith in Bengaluru. A team led by IPS officer Aishwarya Dongre recorded his statement. A fresh case against Ranjith will be registered in Kozhikode based on the complaint, and it will be transferred to Bengaluru as the alleged offence took place ● More on P4 there.  EDU boost Kerala State Literacy Mission launched Changathi in 2017 in Palakkad So far, 7,664 migrant workers have completed the course in Kerala The results of 2,696 people who attended the examination this year will be out in September This year, Alappuzha topped the list with 561 candidates, of which 500 were women Migrant labourers during an exam conducted by the Literacy Mission able in Kerala in the textbook for the programme ‘Hamari Malayalam’. “The current syllabus Film director Ashiq Abu on Friday, in strong disagreement and protest, quit the membership of Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA) within days after he criticised the delayed response on the Hema Committee report. He also criticised federation’s general secretary B Unnikrishanan and president Sibi Malayil for their domination in decisionmaking. P2 E x p r e ss N e w s S e r vi c e @ T’Puram In a veiled attack on the CPM state leadership for backing M Mukesh amid calls for his resignation as MLA in the wake of sexual harassment allegations, senior leader and politburo member Brinda Karat said the party s h o u l d n o t e n g a g e i n d ive r s i o n a r y arguments. In an article published on the party’s website, Brinda hinted that the CPM cannot defend Mukesh citing that the Congress is not taking action against its tainted MLAs. “We should not get into diversionary - what is called in Hindi, a ‘tu-tu-main-main’ (you did this and I did that) sort of useless argument. The focus is and must be to provide a safe environment for women everywhere — and in the context of the Hema Committee report — in the film industry Women must have the confidence that . the government and society are with them in their brave fight for justice. In addition to the protection of personal space and bodily integrity, this also means equal rights within the industry she stated. ,” Brinda was apparently referring to the party leadership’s decision not to press for Mukesh’s resignation, citing two Congress MLAs continuing in their posts despite facing simi● More on P4 lar charges.  P r e e t h a N ai r @ New Delhi Avani Lekhara celebrates her gold medal with coach Suma Shirur at Chateauroux on Friday | AP shooting for the stars 10th India are 10th on the overall standings India also won a silver medal through Manish Narwal in the men’s 10m air pistol (SH1) final at Chateauroux avani’s historic gold Avani Lekhara became the first Indian to win two successive Paralympic gold medals with a recordbreaking performance. She bettered her Olympic record set in Tokyo to finish ahead of South Korea’s Lee Yunri. Mona Agarwal won bronze on her maiden Paralympics in SH1 air rifle | P11 athlete on track India won their first track medal at the Paralympics in Paris when Preethi Pal finished third in T35 category The second Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) meeting on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill on Friday ran into rough weather after Opposition MPs and the ruling NDA allies staged a walkout over several amendments in the proposed legislation. Sources said the Opposition walked out after officials of the minority affairs ministry failed to provide satisfactory replies regarding the proposed omission of Section 40 from the Waqf Act 1995, which currently allows Waqf boards to decide if a property is a Waqf or not. The Opposition also alleged that the government was trying to mislead the public by giving misinformation regarding the bill. Sources said DMK’s A Raja questioned the government’s intention to remove Section 40, which was included by amending the Waqf Act 1995 in 2013 under the Manmohan Singh government. As per Section 40 of the Waqf Act 1995 (as amended in 2013), the state Waqf Board is empowered to decide any question that arises as to whether a particular property is a Waqf property or not. “An amendment passed by Parliament included Section 40 in the law. How can the government overrule the law?” Raja asked. Sources said that members of the Opposition Congress, DMK, and AAP along with TDP, and JD(U) boycotted the meeting after they alleged that officials could not answer their sharp questions. AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi joined the Opposition walkout. 20 pages, including 4 pages of KOCHI Express + 4-page pullout Literacy Mission to upgrade migrant workers’ syllabus It isn’t surprising anymore that migrant workers in Kerala speak efficient Malayalam. And many are settling down in the state as well. On cue, the Kerala State Literacy Mission (KSLM) is all set to revise the syllabus for its project, Changathi, introduced to teach migrant labourers Malayalam. Moving a level higher, the plan is to incorporate subjects like climate change, digital literacy and healthcare, education , and government services avail- Aashiq Abu quits FEFKA JD(U), TDP join Oppn walkout from Waqf JPC Hamari malayalam S h yam P V @Palakkad Brinda ‘criticises’ CPM state leadership’s soft stance on MLA Mukesh was prepared in 2017 and it mainly focused on addressing the language barrier faced by guest labourers. Since many of them have started settling down in Kerala, it is important for the state to make them aware of the free services given to the public here. We aim to revise the syllabus in such a way that it becomes a bridge for people from other states in understanding our government facilities better,” KSLM director A G Oleena told TNIE. The literacy programme was first introduced in Pal- akkad district and hundreds of migrant labourers have completed the courses offered in the state. “Today, the course model is such that Malayalam is taught to them by their own people who have completed the literacy courses earlier. In simple words, a West Bengal native is taught Malayalam by a person who speaks Bengali but became an instructor after undergoing the literacy course earlier. This way , learning sessions become more effective,” the KSLM director ● More on P4 said.  Era of non-stop talks with Pakistan over, says Jaishankar Y E S H I S E L I @ New Delhi THE era of uninterrupted dialogue with Pakistan is over, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday. Speaking at a book launch here, he said all actions—positive or negative—will have consequences, adding that nobody can expect India to remain a silent spectator in matters concerning its core national interests. “As far as Jammu and Kashmir is concerned, Article 370 is done. India is not passive and whether events take a positive or negative direction – either way we react,” Jaishankar said while speaking at the release of for mer ambassador Rajiv Sikri’s book, Strategic Conundrums: Reshaping India’s Foreign Policy. Commenting on the turmoil in India’s neighbourhood, he said neighbours are “always a conundrum” and so are “major powers”. As for Bangladesh, Jaishankar said the small nation is “India locked” and the strong people-to-people connections can’t be ignored.