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 BHUBANESWAR  SATURDAY  DECEMBER 07, 2024  `9.00  PAGES 14  LATE CITY EDITION 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 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 RBI holds rates Amid bribery lens, Adani makes move again to keep to develop Gopalpur-Jeypore corridor inflation down HEMANT KUMAR ROUT @ Bhubaneswar 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 sig- Shaktikanta Das, other extension. His nalled that a growth current term ends on RBI Governor 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 economP12 policy rate, the MPC offered ic growth. B E N N K O C H U V E E D A N @ Mumbai THE intense political slugfest over its acquiring land near bauxite-rich Gandhamardan Hills and the US court’s indictment for allegedly bribing government officials in Odisha notwithstanding, Adani Group has approached the state governm e n t fo r d eve l o p i n g t h e Gopalpur port-Jeypore economic corridor. Sources said, Adani Ports and Logistics has submitted a proposal to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi evincing interest to develop the economic corridor via Rayagada and Koraput districts under build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) model. EXPRESS READ ASO posts sold during BJD govt: Majhi Bhubaneswar: Accusing the previous BJD government of spawning rampant corruption in the recruitment process, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday said jobs were being sold for lakhs of rupees during its tenure. While moving the Odisha Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill in the Assembly, Majhi said the post of ASOs was being sold for the `25 lakh to `30 lakh each. The Bill was passed in the Assembly by a voice vote. “The BJD had established a culture of corruption. There was no transparency in recruitment. This legacy has to be broken,” Majhi said | P3 Gopalpur-Rayagada-Jeypore economic corridor will enable businesses to operate more efficiently, attract new investments, and unlock economic opportunities Adani proposal Underlining that the proposed economic corridor is crucial for the state’s industrial growth, managing director of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) Karan Adani has requested the chief minister to consider the proposal for developing this vital infrastructure project. The proposed economic corridor will reduce travel time significantly from nine hours to just three-and-half hours between Gopalpur and Jeypore, allowing rapid transport of cargo and fostering industrial growth. It would benefit industries in Koraput, Rayagada, Nabarangpur, Malkangiri and other souther n and wester n districts besides enhancing access to health care and education for local communities, and supporting the overall economic landscape of the state. Given the strategic importance of this connectivity Ada, ni has proposed to develop the economic corridor with at least 200 metre of right of way (ROW) for accommodating all the facilities and development of six-lane road, double railway lines, pipelines and utili- ties in future. The BOOT model, he stressed, can ensure efficient execution and timely completion, while also saving on initial costs. Under this model, the private player would invest in the construction and operation of the economic corridor, subsequently transferring it to the state government at the end of the concession period. “Gopalpur-Rayagada-Jeypore economic corridor will enable businesses to operate more efficiently, attract new investments, and unlock economic opportunities for local communities apart from employment which is invaluable for Odisha’s future,” the proposCONTINUED ON P7 al stated. Row over `500 notes on Singhvi’s RS seat RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR @ New Delhi 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 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 added, “Carrying bundles of notes in the House is not appropriate,” and called for an 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.” HORROR Class 12 student shoots principal dead in school A N U R A A 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. “ few hours later, the 17-yearA old accused was arrested by the Chhatarpur police while trying to flee to adjoining Mahoba district of UP,” Chhatarpur district police superintendent Agam Jain said. 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.