thrissur l monday l January 13, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l city EDITION Youth power will make India a developed country by 2047: PM Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said India’s young population will power the country’s rise towards becoming a developed nation ‘Citizen’s help necessary to reach big goals’ youth are owners of viksit bharat: PM Modi said it was time for a quantum leap. “Big targets have to be set for a country to march forward. This is what today’s India is doing,” he said, adding the government alone cannot drive the country forward and achieving ambitious goals requires participation of every citizen. Hosting the Olympics in the next decade is one of the goals, he said | P9 ■ ■ Modi said he has full confidence the youth will realise ‘Viksit Bharat’ dream by 2047. He said the ownership in ‘Viksit Bharat’ is theirs too He was addressing the Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue in Delhi to mark Swami Vivekananda’s birth anniversary. “Swami Vivekananda said youth will find solutions to all problems,” he said $10 trillion will be the size of India’s economy by the next decade: Modi 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 EAM to attend Trump’s inauguration Jaishankar expected to have a short call on with the new US President, Secretary of State J AYANTH J ACO B @ New Delhi External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will be representing India at the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th President of the United States on January 20, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Sunday . Sources said Jaishankar is likely to have a short call on with Trump as well as Marco Rubio, the incoming Secretary of State. The meetings are expected to set the tone for IndiaUS relations under the Trump administration. India-US relations have traditionally enjoyed bipartisan political suppor t. However, border tensions B’desh conveys ‘deep concern’ to Indian envoy e x p r e s s n e w s s e r v i c e @ New Delhi Bangladesh on Sunday summoned India’s High Commissioner in Dhaka and expressed its “deep concern” over the recent border tensions. Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma was summoned after Dhaka accused New Delhi of violating a bilateral agreement by attempting to construct fences at five locations along the India-Bangladesh border. “Foreign Secretary Ambassador Md. Jashim Uddin today expressed deep concern of Government of Bangladesh to the High Commissioner of India Pranay Verma at his office at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs over the recent activities of the Border Security Force (BSF) of India along the Bangladesh-India border,” Bangladesh foreign ministry said. The meeting lasted 45 minutes, sources said. “We have an understanding with regard to fencing the border for security. BSF and BGB have been in communication. We expect understandings will be implemented and there will be cooperative approach to combatting crime,” Verma said. The tensions come as the government says there has been a rise in the number of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh entering India since the start of the political crisis there. Trump’s inauguration comes amid concerns over trade disruptions due to his hawkish tariff policies. Trump has said he will strive to boost American manufacturing and cut down on international engagements. Traditionally, US Presidential inaugurations are a low-key a f f a i r. H o w e v e r, Trump has extended invitations to leaders from a clutch of select countries including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. For India, the invitation was for Jaishankar. “EAM will also have meetings with representatives of the incoming Administration, as also some other dignitaries visiting the US on that occasion,” the External Affairs Ministry said. While bilateral ties under the outgoing Joe Biden administration saw improvement, such as the successful Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies, political ties were strained following Gurpatwant Singh Pannun murder plot. Trump’s tariff discussions and the policy of bringing man- ufacturing back to the US are raising concerns in India but New Delhi is optimistic about smoother bilateral relations. This confidence is based on the strong foundation of India-US ties and the personal rapport between Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. According to Jaishankar, India is better equipped to deal with these global disruptions. Speaking in Sydney last November, he had said: “There was already a reordering of supply chains, and this is likely to accelerate following the US election results. While some disruption may occur, India sees it as an opportunity .” UCC essential for equality: Suresh Gopi E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @T’Puram Union Minister of State Suresh Gopi on Sunday strongly advocated for the implementation of Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in India, and accused those opposing it of trying to sabotage elections. The MoS for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Tourism was speaking at the inauguration of an event held in Thiruvananthapuram to commemorate two decades of Swami Vivekananda Medical Mission’s service to tribal communities Saying that UCC was essential to ensure equality and the inclusive development envisioned in the Centre’s mantra of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’, Suresh Gopi said people opposing the UCC were using it as a tool to sabotage elections through vote-bank politics. At the event, Suresh Gopi criticised the lack of tangible outcomes from significant financial allocations, claiming that while the Union government had granted `37,000 crore to the state for tribal welfare, not even development worth `100 crore was evident in areas like Attappadi. He attributed this neglect to the region’s limited electoral ● More on P6 significance.  ‘88% rural, 75% urban Keralites die in hosps, end-of-life spending high’ ANNA J OSE @Kochi Around 88% of people in rural Kerala and 75% in urban Kerala spend their final moments in hospitals, as per a new study. This is nearly double the European average and points to the alarming rise in end-of-life healthcare expenses in the state. In sharp contrast, only 40% die in hospitals in other states. “Kerala seems to be more medicine centric than the US, where 80% of deaths occur in hospitals,” said D Narayana, economist and former director of Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation (GIFT), who is now professor of eminence of School of Social Sciences, M S Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, Ben- galuru. He collated the numbers on hospital deaths from the Sample Registration System Statistical Report 2020 by the Office of Census Commissioner 2024. The figure does not ensure quality of death even as it would see a massive rise in healthcare expenditure. “Most people wish to die at home. However, due to several reasons, they are not allowed to. Hospital stay before death cannot ensure quality end of life. It also adds to healthcare expenditure,” Narayana said, adding that the number of corporate hospitals in the state also contributes to the situation. The all-India average for hospital deaths in rural areas is 44.6% while that in urban areas ● More on P6 is 61.5%.  47% in UK Narayana says the European average hospital death rate is 44%, lower than the UK’s 47%. And these countries implement more social care, he said. High hospital deaths in the EU and UK have raised concerns there, and expert committees are looking into it D Narayana, economist kumbh 2025 Where grandeur bumps into spirituality Mahakumbh decoded Pa r a m i ta G h o s h @ Prayagraj AT the ground zero of Kumbh, Malwa’s Baba Yashwant Swaraj — goggled, high, and tridentwielding — is having a ball. He says he is “wi-fi Insta famous”, and pats the top of his trident on which he is convinced his guru, having shed his material form, sits as a flower. He gets a crowd but after a few minutes it moves on. At every bend in Kumbh, everyone is looking for a spectacle to match the hype. Saurabh Basu, an advocate at the Allahabad High Court, says that for ages, there has been no business in Allahabad as profitable as the Kumbh. “It was so when it was a Mughal city; now when it’s Prayagraj, it gives the riverine economy a boost.” For the 40 crore devotees expected to land in Prayagraj for the Kumbh, said to be the largest congregation anywhere in the world, the main target are the Shahi Snans, the first of which is on January 14 (Makar Sankranti). And there have been early movers, who have already made themselves home Total area 10,000 acres Budget K75,000 cr State’s budget K54,000 cr Centre’s budget K21,000 cr Baba Yashwant Swaraj, who claims he is a rage on the internet, at the Kumbh in Prayagraj on Sunday. The mela kicked off to a rousing reception | Paramita ghosh in the tent-city. While some seek spiritual enlightenment, others are drawn to the luxury and convenience offered by the Kumbh Mela. Somesh Tripathy , an advertising personnel from Noida, is here for the holy dip. So is Puspendra Singh from nearby Pratapgarh. Judy a New Yorker, has opted , for a `3-`4 lakh per night tent, complete with yoga facilities and a stunning view of the Sangam. “The moment I saw those cottages I knew I had to be here,” she said. In contrast, the kalpavaasis, or short-term dwellers leading an austere life at the Kumbh, can stay in tents free of charge. “There is convenience at the Kumbh for every class. If God has given you wealth, you stay in luxury tents,” says Anand Shukla, a priest from Mumbai, whose father did kalpavaas during Kumbh in the past.  Continued on: p10 Total Snans Six (Jan 13, Jan 14, Jan 29, Feb 3, Feb 12, Feb 26) Each snan takes off with bathing of saints and seers of 13 different Akharas 13 Akharas divided into 3 categories Sanyasi, Bairagi and Udaseen Total ghats: 41 Expected footfall on snan days 2 crore On Jan 29 snan: 8-10 crore ISRO to reassess strategy after space docking trial put on hold, yet again Express news service @ Bengaluru WHAT looked like an inevitable achievement in the early hours of Sunday was put on hold by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientists, who are closely observing and controlling the two spacecraft of the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) mission. After bringing the two spacecraft — SDX01 and SDX02 — as close to 230 metres on Saturday evening, at 3.11am Sunday ISRO , said on ‘X’ that the two satellites were close to each other and were spotted from an intersatellite distance of 105m. Two hours later, ISRO said Chaser and Target spacecraft were visible 15m apart. The news brought cheer among space science enthusiasts hoping for a successful maiden docking mission. At The two spacecraft, Chaser and Target, to be launched into space | Express Successful docking A successful docking is when the two spacecraft lock into each other for easy transfer of supplies, equipment and even astronauts. Before this, the docking of SDX01 and SDX02 was twice postponed on January 7 and January 9 6.19am, the ISRO team shared the news that the two SpaDeX satellites had been put on hold position at 15m, along with pho- tographs of the craft clearly visible at close range. However, at 7.06am, the scientists decided to put on hold the docking exercise until further analysis. They said they were successful in bringing the spacecraft just 3m from each other. The scientists did not divulge any reason for moving the spacecraft away to a ‘safer distance’, after they were close to completing thedocking experiment crucial for future Gaganyaan and Indian space missions. Experts, however, are speculating the reasons for the delay in the docking trial. While some said the two spacecraft were not aligned accurately for the docking to take place, others said the distance between the two was much more than what the scientists had announced and that there were er rors in calculation. e x p r e ss r e a d Sexual abuse of teen: 27 held so far 28k scam sites, 36k accounts purged Pathanamthitta: Twenty-seven people, including four juveniles, have been arrested so far for the sexual abuse of a teenage girl in Pathanamthitta. A 25-member SIT will probe the case, allegedly involving over 60 people who abused the girl in the past five years, from when she was just 13 | P7 T’Puram: The state police purged 28,724 websites and 21,000 social media profiles involved in financial fraud from the cyberspace in 2024. This apart, the police also blocked close to 36,000 bank accounts that were found involved in organised cyber scams | P6