WEDNESDAY India’s maternal mortality rate down in last 10 years, says W.H.O. 20 India joins six other countries that have seen a drop in maternal mortality in the last 10 years, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday SEPTEMBER, 2023 MORE LIVES SAVED DURING LIVE BIRTHS epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard The maternal mortality rate (MMR) in India has declined significantly, the WHO said at a regional meeting in Colombo (see graphic). But it is still some distance away from the target of under-70 per lakh live births by 2030 set by the UN in 2015. Bangladesh, Bhutan, DPR Korea, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Thailand are the other countries that have seen a drop in MMRs twitter.com/TheMornStandard ELON MUSK MONTHLY CHARGE FOR ALL USERS OF X In a move which would be the biggest shake-up since he took over the site last October A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 9  NEW DELHI  PAGES 12  J8.00 33% RESERVATION IN PARLIAMENT & STATE ASSEMBLIES; 2029 FIRST WINDOW FOR ITS IMPLEMENTATION Women’s quota bill tabled, to sail in LS today The Narishakti Vandan Adhiniyam will strengthen our democracy. We are committed to making this bill into a law Narendra Modi, Prime Minister The bill says it will be implemented only after census and delimitation. So doors are closed till 2029 Mallikarjun Kharge, Cong president Unfortunately census was not held in 2021. Had it been done, quota rollout could have happened immediately Nitish Kumar, Bihar Chief Minister Prime Minister Narendra Modi walks towards the new Parliament building on Tuesday | PTI Steeplechase before the actual rollout FOR WOMEN’S RESERVATION TO COME INTO EFFECT, 3 FACTORS HAVE TO BE SATISFIED The bill has to be passed by Parliament and notified The national head count or census after the bill is passed would be the starting point C A delimitation exercise, which means redrawing of constituencies, will follow after the census to carve out more seats. Quota rollout would be on the based on the delimitation outcome. Delimitation can begin only after 2026 A B SINCE IT IS A CONSTITUTION AMENDMENT BILL, IT NEEDS TO BE PASSED BY BOTH HOUSES WITH SPECIAL MAJORITY Majority of the total members of each House Two-thirds majority of members present and voting * It will also have to be approved by at least 50% of state assemblies to become a law AKHILESH, MAYAWATI DEMAND RESERVATION FOR SC, ST & OBCs N A M I TA B A J PA I @ Lucknow Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati Mayawati wants more quota in bill “If a separate quota is not assured to the SC, ST and OBC women, it will be difficult for them to get a chance on general category seats because casteist parties do not want to see them grow,” said Mayawati UP satraps — the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Tuesday extended their support to the Women’s Reservation Bill, but with riders. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav stuck to his stance of carving out a quota for women from the backward classes, Scheduled Castes and minorities within the 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. Significantly, he demanded that the right to reserve seats must rest with the political parties and not with the Election Commission. ■ India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal are on track to reduce under-5 mortality. For India, the under-5 mortality rate was 32 per 1,000 live births in 2020 as against 35 per 1,000 live birth in 2019 | P7 India, Canada lock horns over terror, expel diplomats Akhilesh went on to add that the bill must balance gender and social justice. For her part, BSP president Mayawati extended her support to the bill, hoping it would be passed this time around after discussion. She said her party would have been happier had the quota been hiked to 50%. While the bill provides for one-third quota for women within the seats for reserved for SC/STs, Mayawati said whatever the quantum of quota, that for women from the SC, ST and OBCs should be worked out separately She also sought a transpar. ent and time-bound implementation of the legislation. THE frayed India-Canada ties sank to a new low on Tuesday with both countries expelling one diplomat of each other. The high-voltage drama unfolded with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaking in the House of Commons in the morning about “credible allegations that India was involved in the killing of slain Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar”, a charge rejected by India as ‘absurd’. Parallelly, Canada’s foreign minister Melanie Joly announced the expulsion of Indian diplomat Pavan Kumar Rai, prompting a tit-for-tat action from India as it asked Canadian diplomat Olivier Sylvestere to leave the country . In a strongly worded statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said. “Such unsubstantiated allegations seek to shift the focus from Khalistani terrorists and extremists, who have been provided shelter in Canada and continue to threaten India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity The inaction . of the Canadian government on this matter has been a longstanding and continuing concern,” it added. The diplomatic face-off between India and Canada over the Khalistani issue has been brewing for the past few years. Recently when Trudeau was in , Delhi to attend the G20 Sum- Canadian PM Justin Trudeau speaks in the House of Commons in Ottawa | PTI DON’T WANT TO PROVOKE: TRUDEAU Hours after the diplomatic row broke out, Trudeau said he did not seek to “provoke” India but urged New Delhi to take the killing of Nijjar with ‘utmost seriousness’. “We want to work with India to lay everything clear and to ensure there are proper processes,” he said mit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had strongly raised concerns about the Khalistani extremism in Canada. Trudeau responded that Canada would not encourage violence but would continue to support freedom of expression. Amid tensions, talks for an India-Canada free trade agreement (FTA) have been put on hold. Experts say the diplomatic strain is likely to continue. BIDEN CALL TO UN ON UKRAINE WAR US President Joe Biden in his UNGA address appealed to the global body to stop Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, cautioning other countries not to appease Moscow | P9 LeT commander Uzair Khan among 2 militants eliminated in J&K encounter 54-yr-old cop on patrolling duty killed by speeding car F AYA Z W A N I @ Srinagar E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ New Delhi A 54-year-old Delhi Police official died after being hit by a speeding car in east Delhi’s Pandav Nagar area on Tuesday , officials said. No arrest has been made yet. The incident took place when sub-inspector Gangasaran and assistant sub-inspector Ajay Tomar were on patrolling duty in a Gypsy officials said. Tomar , was driving the car. As the cops stopped a Bolero for checking, Gangasaran came out of the vehicle, so did Ramgopal, the truck driver. Then a Honda Amaze car came speeding from Ghaziabad side going towards Sarai Kale Khan and hit Gangasaran and Ramgopal from behind, according to police. Tomar, with the help of Rajkumar, the Bolero helper, took Gangasaran and Ramgopal to Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital where the cop died of injuries. Ramgopal was refer red to Safdarjung Hospital for further treatment. A case under Sections 279 (rash driving), 337 (Causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 304A (causing death by negligence) of the IPC has been registered, police said. ■ Kerala, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra, TN, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Karnataka have achieved the UN target on maternal mortality Y E S H I S E L I @ New Delhi P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi MARKING a new beginning on the first day of the new Parliament House, the Narendra Modi government on Tuesday tabled the long pending Women’s Reservation Bill in Lok Sabha to block 33% seats for women in Parliament and legislative assemblies. However, according to Constitutional experts, the bill is unlikely to be implemented before 2029 as it can be done only after the completion of delimitation exercise based on the first Census after the Bill becomes law. The discussion on the bill in Lok Sabha on Wednesday is likely to see heated exchanges as it is learnt that Congress leader Sonia Gandhi will lead the debate from the Opposition camp. If the bill comes into force, the number of women MPs in Lok Sabha will go up to 181 from the current 82. It also proposes one-third quota for women within the seats reserved for SC/STs. As per the bill introduced by Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, the quota rollout can happen only after the delimitation or redrawing of constituencies based on data from the first Census after the legislation is notified. Speaking to this newspaper, Constitutional expert P D T Achary said it is unlikely that the bill will be implemented before 2029. “The seats will be reserved after the completion of the delimitation exercise based on the first Census after the bill is passed. All the existing constituencies have to be redrawn by the delimitation commission. Then they have to identify the constituencies to be reserved for women. This is going to be a longdrawn process,” says Achary Though the decadal . Census was to be carried out in 2021, it was postponed because of Covid-19. The government is yet to announce a fresh date for the exercise. Achary points out that the constituencies will be redrawn only after the next Census, which is likely after 2026. According to the Constitution (84th Amendment) Act, there is a freeze on readjustment of constituencies till the first Census after 2026. “After the 2024 elections, the new Lok Sabha will be in office and it cannot be tampered with till its term expires in 2029. So the delimitation will be completed only after 2029,” he said. Achary points out that the bill needs to be ratified by not less than 50% of the state assemblies. Before that, the bill needs to be passed by special majority (a majority of the total number in the House plus a majority of two-thirds of the House present and voting) in both Houses, he says. P7 UNDER-5 MORTALITY RATE TOO DECLINES GOOD LUCK AND PROSPERITY Devotees in large numbers celebrated Ganesh Chaturthi across the national capital on Tuesday. | PARVEEN NEGI LASHKAR-e-Toiba (LeT) commander Uzair Khan was one of the two terrorists killed in the fierce gunfight in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district that lasted seven days, in which two Army officers and a police officer also lost their lives. Briefing reporters here on Tuesday, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Kashmir, Vijay Kumar said Uzair’s body has been recovered while that of another militant is lying in the forest area. Sources said Uzair’s charred body was recovered from the forest area on Sunday, following which forensic experts conducted DNA testing and also collected DNA samples from the slain militant’s family Security personnel at the encounter site on Tuesday | PTI members. Uzair, who had joined militancy in July last year, was carrying a bounty of `10 lakh on his head. The LeT militants were involved in the killing of four security personnel, including Colonel Manpreet Singh (Commanding Officer of 19 Rashtriya Rifles), Major Ashish Dhonchak and DSP Humayun Bhat. The three officials were killed in the gunfight with the militants in the forest area last Wednesday. Security forces then launched search operations in the Gadole forests. Body of Sepoy Pradeep, who had gone missing during a gunfight on Wednesday was found , on Monday . The security forces had used drones, quadcopters and helicopters, and fired hundreds of rockets, mortar shells, under barrel grenades, and ammunition aimed at the possible militant hideouts in the forest area. ADGP Vijay Kumar said the gunfight is over but the search operation will continue. EXPRESS READ Noida lift crash: 2 more held, total arrests now 4 HC reserves verdict in Naidu’s quash petition 48-hour bandh in Imphal Valley, normal life affected Aditya-L1 begins 110-day journey to study Sun Need to keep an eye on Nipah outbreak: Pinarayi CUET-UG exam to be held in May, says NTA Two more officials of a private construction firm have been arrested in connection with the lift crash at Noida’s Amrapali Dream Valley society in which eight workers were killed, police said on Tuesday. Earlier, two general managers of Girdhari Lal Construction Private Limited were arrested for September 15 crash. In total, nine people were named pertaining to negligence and culpable homicide not amounting to murder. | P4 The High Court of Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday reserved its judgment after hearing the petition filed by former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, seeking that the case booked against him in the alleged AP State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC) scam be quashed. Senior Supreme Court advocates Harish Salve and Siddharth Luthra contended that Naidu was a victim of “regime revenge”. | P5 Normal life was hit in Imphal Valley districts of Manipur on Tuesday as Meira Paibi, a collective of Meitei women, and local clubs called for a 48-hour bandh from midnight, seeking release of five people who were arrested for carrying firearms, officials said. Educational institutions, markets, banks and commercial establishments remained closed, while attendance in government offices was negligible. | P8 The Aditya-L1 mission has left the earth orbit and is on its 110day journey to reach the Lagrange Point-1 (L1) 1.5 million km away, between the Sun and Earth, to study the solar features. The satellite was put out of the Earth’s orbit at 2am Tuesday. This is the fifth consecutive time that ISRO has successfully transferred an object into a trajectory toward another celestial body or location in outer space. | P5 Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan said on Tuesday the Nipah outbreak reported from Kozhikode district is under control now, but the threat of the infectious disease is not over yet. At present, it is not possible to rule out the chance of a second wave of the Nipah outbreak, he said. It cannot be said that the threat of Nipah is completely over, but it is a relief that the disease has not spread among more people, the CM said in Thiruvananthapuram. The NTA on Tuesday announced the exam calendar for 2024. The CUET-UG (Common University Entrance Test-Undergraduate) and NEET (National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test) will be held in May, while CUET-PG and UGCNET (University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test) will be held in June. The JEE-Mains examination) will be held in two sessions: the first session will be held in January and the second, in April. | P7