SAMBALPUR  WEDNESDAY  JULY 02, 2025  `9.00  PAGES 12  CITY EDITION STEALTH FRIGATE INS TAMAL LATEST INDUCTION INTO THE NAVY An improved version of Shtil missile is the primary weapon for anti-air defence of the Russian-manufactured frigate INS Tamal SHIPBORNE SURFACE TO AIR MISSILE KEY USP RUSSIAN TECH HELPS MAKE IN INDIA PLAN Describing the latest version of the missile, sources from Russia said the Russian Shtil-1 is a shipborne, medium-range, multi-channel, verticallaunch Surface to Air Missile (SAM) system. It provides omnidirectional collective defence of ship squadrons as well as omnidirectional individual defence of ships against attacks by enemy anti-ship missiles and aircraft ■ ■ Trials of Shtil-1 with 9M317ME SAMs fitted aboard the frigate Tamal were completed at a Baltic Sea range before its delivery to India Sources term the transfer of as being “in line with Russian-Indian military-technical cooperation, which is evolving, on the basis of longterm contracts and the Centre’s ‘Make in India’ initiative | P7 8th INS TAMAL IS THE EIGHTH SHIP THAT RUSSIA TRANSFERRED TO THE NAVY 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 Whopping 767 farmer suicides recorded in Maha in 3 mths Hard talk on terror at Quad meet Jaishankar says India will exercise right to defend against terror, expects partners to understand J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi S U D H I R S U R YA W A N S H I @ Mumbai THE Maharashtra government on Tuesday revealed in the legislative assembly that between January and March this year, at least 767 farmers died by suicide across the state. A majority of them hail from the Vidarbha region. The disclosure was made by the state government after Congress MLAs sought data on the rising farm suicides in Maharashtra, particularly in Vidarbha. They also wanted to know how the state government was extending help to the deceased farmers’ families. Congress MLAs also demanded increasing the financial aid for the deceased from the current `1 lakh. In his written reply Makrand , Patil, relief and rehabilitation minister and NCP MLA, said the government will extended all possible help to the affected farmers. Patil said between January and March this year, 767 Steps to curb deaths farmers in the state died by The state suicide. Of government said it them, 376 has undertaken farmers were measures to stop eligible for the suicides. “Govt is t h e M a h a rextending ashtra govcompensation for er nment’s crops that get compensadamaged due to rain t i o n . P a t i l or natural calamity” said as many as 257 farmers died by suicide in western Vidarbha’s Yawatmal, Amarawati, Akola, Buldhana and Wasim districts alone. Of them, the families of 76 farmers got financial help from the state government while 74 applications were or disqualified. In Hingoli district of Marathwada, 24 farmers killed themselves in that period. The Congress lawmakers alleged that the Maharashtra government had failed to extend financial help to the kin of the deceased farmers immediately . ACT OF ECONOMIC WARFARE: MINISTER External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday described the Pahalgam terror attack as an act of economic warfare, adding India no longer separates terror groups from the states that support them IN the backdrop of the Pahalgam terror attack, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday asserted that India will not hesitate to defend its citizens against terrorism and expects its strategic partners to stand in solidarity, at a meeting of Quad foreign ministers in Washington. “A word about terrorism in the light of our recent experience — the world must display zero tolerance. Victims and perpetrators must never be equated. And India has every right to defend its people against terrorism, and we will exercise that right. We expect our Quad partners to understand and appreciate that,” Jaishankar said, addressing his counterparts from the US, Japan and Australia. The strong statement came as in the wake of the Pahalgam attack, which left 26 civilians dead — mostly tourists in a cross-bor- WANT TO HAVE SIMILAR MEETS EVERY 5-6 MTHS: U.S. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stressed the strategic importance of the grouping. “We would like to do this every five-six months. These are important strategic partners and allies of the US. We have shared priorities — we talk about ideas and concepts,” he said der terror attack, underscoring India’s growing assertiveness on counterterrorism in multilateral groupings such as the Quad. Set against the backdrop of growing concerns over China’s assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific, the Quad meeting also reaffirmed the group’s commitment to a free, open, and rulesbased regional order. “We are all committed to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Jaishankar said. “It is essential that nations of the Indo-Pacific have the freedom of choice, so essential to make right decisions on development and security,” Jaishankar said. He added that the bloc was becoming “more cohesive, nimble and focused”. CM Majhi takes charge of remaining Rath Yatra rituals R A J K U M A R M O H A N T Y @ Puri WITH the Rath Yatra this year marred by serious security lapses which even led to loss of three lives in a stampede near Gundicha temple, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has taken matters into his own hands. As the Bahuda Yatra (return journey) of the holy Trinity is to be held on July 5 with expected turnout of lakhs of devotees, Majhi on Tuesday chaired two separate high-level meetings with senior officials of the state government and servitors of Srimandir to ensure that the events are incident-free. Taking responsibility of monitoring the remaining rituals of the nine-day-long car festival, he sent a stern message to CM Mohan Majhi with servitors and senior government officers at a meeting in Puri officials in charge directing them to follow security protocols in letter and spirit. There will be zero tolerance to any lapses, he warned. “I am deeply shocked by the unfortunate incidents that took place during the first three days of the Rath Yatra. I have entrusted development commissioner Anu Garg to investigate them,” Majhi told mediaper- sons after the meeting. He said, “Our main aim is to conduct the remaining rituals - Hera Panchami, Bahuda Yatra, Suna Besha, Adharpana and Niladri Bije smoothly. A large number of devotees are expected, especially for Suna Besha, due to favourable weather conditions. It is therefore crucial to manage security arrangements effectively and be prepared for any untoward incident.” The chief minister said the administration has made elaborate arrangements for the timely observance of rituals and hassle-free darshan of deities. He has specifically directed the administration to provide adequate facilities to devotees for darshan of the deities during these major CONTINUED ON P5 rituals. Parliamentary panel meeting cut short over Medha Patkar party MPs stormed out of the meeting, with some calling A parliamentary panel meeting Patkar ‘anti-national’. on Rural Development According to sources, a and Panchayati Raj was BJP MP told the meeting postponed abruptly on that “Pakistan Prime Tuesday as BJP MPs boyMinister could have been cotted it in protest against invited for the meeting”. the presence of activist A BJP MP told this paMedha Patkar and actorper they were not inMedha Patkar formed about the depositurned-activist Prakash Raj, who were invited to tion of Medha Patkar and appear before the committee. Prakash Raj while panel head The meeting saw stor my Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka said it is scenes as former Union minisa normal practice to invite civil ter and BJP MP Parshottam society members on various Rupala along with other ruling issues. P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi NATURE’S TANDAV The Panchvaktra Mahadev Temple at the confluence of the Beas and Suketi rivers flowing in spate after a cloudburst, in Himachal’s Mandi dist on Tuesday | PTI | P8 The Quad, or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, has emerged as one of the cornerstones of India’s strategic engagements amid a volatile regional landscape. India is set to host the next Quad summit later this year. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasised the need for secure and diversified supply chains, particularly around critical minerals — a veiled reference to overdependence on China. “Countries not part of the Quad will benefit from it,” he added. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong reinforced the group’s shared vision for “peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific,” while Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya highlighted the “strength and unity” the Quad. X FACTOR TRUMP-MUSK FEUD US president Donald Trump threatened to deport his former ‘first buddy’ Elon Musk as the two fought over the tax bill | P9 Key Cabinet decisions on job creation, Olympics preparation `1 L CR SCHEME KHELO BHARAT TO CREATE NITI AIMS FOR 3.5 CRORE JOBS A FITTER INDIA R A K E S H K U M A R @ New Delhi E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Chennai IN a bid to boost employment generation, especially in the manufacturing sector, the Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved the Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) Scheme with an outlay of `99,446 crore. The scheme is expected to create 3.5 crore jobs across the country over a two-year period, Minister of Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw said while announcing the scheme. Of these, 1.92 crore beneficiaries are expected to be first-time entrants into the workforce, the minister said. The benefits of the scheme will apply to jobs created between August 1, 2025 and July 31, 2027. The scheme comprises two comHow to ponents—Part A, which tarqualify gets first-time employees, Firms with and Part B, which incentivfewer than 50 ises employers to create adworkers must ditional jobs. hire two more Under Part A, first-time workers. employees registered with Larger firms the Employees’ Provident must add 5 Fund Organisation (EPFO) new staff and will receive support equivakeep them for lent to one month’s EPF six months wage (up to `15,000), paid in two instalments. The first instalment will be provided after six months of continuous employment, and the second after 12 months of service. Under Part B, the scheme focuses on encouraging employers to create additional jobs across all sectors, with emphasis on manufacturing. Employers will receive incentives of up to `3,000 per month per new employee for two years, provided the employee remains in sustained employment for at least six months. For the manufacturing sector, the incentives will be extended to the third and fourth years as well. WITH the major objective of making India a sporting powerhouse and inculcating sports culture among the masses, the new Khelo Bharat Niti was approved by the Union cabinet. It will supersede the National Sports Policy of 2001. It also aims at engaging the youth of the country while trying to build a fitter India. The new Khelo Bharat Niti will aim to bring in more transparency and accountability in sports governance while driving necessary changes to usher in a robust mechanism to promote sports in our day to day lives. The policy also has 2036 Olympics in mind for which India has alPromoting ready entered the bidding process. According to the business ministry statement, “It lays Another key out a visionary and strategic feature of the roadmap to establish India policy is to as a global sporting powerpromote the house and a strong contendbusiness side er for excellence at internaof things with tional spor ting events, the sports including the 2036 Olympic market Games.” expanding The policy also speaks exponentially about making sports part of the school curriculum. “In alignment with the National Education Policy 2020, the NSP 2025 proposes to: Integrate sports into school curricula,” said the document. Interestingly, both sports and education are state subjects. The policy which is a , guiding document for a better sports ecosystem, is aiming for establishing comprehensive sports programmes for all groups from grassroots to elite level. The policy also speaks about introducing more leagues with the help of National Sports Federations (NSFs), something the ministry has been trying to bring in for some time. HEALTHY LIVING 5 km walk daily, half-plate meal can reverse NAFLD: Study S N A G R A G A M I @ Bhubaneswar NOT expensive medications, just a brisk 5-km daily walk and half-plate meal at lunchdinner can significantly reverse nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) within a short period, a landmark study from Odisha has established. While NAFLD, a major precursor of serious diseases like liver cancer and cirrhosis, has emerged a leading public health problem in the country over the recent years, the study has challenged the growing dependence on medications for its treatment. Led by eminent gastroenterologist and former head of gastroenterology department at SCB MCH, Cuttack, Prof SP Singh, the team of researchers from various medical institutes in the country have demonstrated that a very simple combination of reduced diet and increased physical activity , particularly walking, can reverse NAFLD substantially . Conducted at the Kalinga Gastroenterology Foundation, the study followed 565 NAFLD patients over a one-year period. Majority of them were from rural areas and consumed high calorific diet. Around one-fifth of them had pre-existing type 2 diabetes and hypertension. The advice of the study team was simple: reduce dietary intake by 50 per cent and walk 5 km per day The patients were . followed up monthly and contacted weekly to ensure compliance. At the end of the year, the results were striking. As high as 85.2 per cent of the par- ticipants had lost weight with mean BMI reducing from 26.08 to 25.06. Liver stiffness decreased in nearly 68 per cent of the patients. A two-point reduction in liver stif fness was marked in 52 per cent, while one-stage reversal in liver fibrosis was observed in 40.5 per cent. Around 16.4 per cent of the patients also marked complete This important real-world study has blown the lid off the myth perpetuated by the pharmaceutical companies that only medicines work and lifestyle interventions lack significant benefits Prof SP Singh, lead author resolution of fatty liver. Improvements were also seen in fasting glucose, cholesterol levels, liver enzymes and insulin resistance. Lead author Prof Singh said, NAFLD affects nearly one in three Indians and closely linked with obesity type 2 dia, betes and sedentary lifestyles. Apart from causing serious liver diseases, it is also strongly associated with cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome and chronic kidney disease. He described the findings as “a wake-up call” for both doctors and patients. “This impor- tant real-world study has blown the lid off the myth perpetuated by the pharmaceutical companies that only medicines work and lifestyle interventions lack significant benefits. It has also proved the notion that lifestyle changes have low adherence. Our study achieved a remarkable 72.8 per cent adherence rate,” he said. The team comprised Dr Prajna Anirban, Dr Swati Chouhan, Dr Manas Panigrahi, Dr Chitta R Khatua, Dr Samir Hota, Dr Mitali Rath, Dr Sanjib Kar, Dr Bijay Mishra, Dr Saroj Sahu, Dr Jimmy Narayan and Dr Ayaskanta Singh. EXPRESS READ Flood situation still critical in Balasore Balasore: Flood situation continued to be critical in Balasore district as Subarnarekha flowed above the danger level, while Jalaka showed signs of falling on Tuesday. Flood-affected villagers complained of poor relief distribution by the administration. Though district officials evacuated residents from flood-prone areas, people in several low-lying villagers chose to stay back. Subarnarekha river water level reached 10.47 metre against the danger mark of 10.36 metre. Jalaka river was flowing at 6.48 metres, below the danger mark of 6.50 metre but floodwater continued to inundate 10 low-lying villages | P4