tuesdAY 08 october, 2024 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard S pa c e c r a f t to study scene of cosmic crash Victor Ambros U.S. scientists win nobel medicine prize for discovery of microRNA A spacecraft, launched by SpaceX from Cape Canaveral, blasted off on Monday to investigate the scene of a cosmic crash. A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS Page 9 l New Delhi l J8.00 India extends $400 mn assistance to Maldives, signs a slew of pacts `3,000 cr currency swap deal to address forex shortage; RuPay card launched in Malé Y e s hi S e li @ New Delhi iNDIA on Monday took a major step in healing the strained ties with the Maldives by enhancing its development assistance to the cash-strapped nation and signing a slew of pacts, including a `3,000 crore currency swap agreement. After the bilateral talks with the visiting Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a $400 million support to the island nation to overcome its financial challenges. Announcing the details, the Reserve Bank of India said it has entered into a currency swap agreement with the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) under the SAARC Currency Swap Framework 202427. Under the pact, the MMA is eligible for financing support from the RBI amounting to $400 million under the US Dollar/ Euro Swap Window and `3,000 crore under the INR Swap Win- jumbo care Zoo in spot for failing to take care of ‘Shankar’ express news service @ New Delhi The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) has suspended the membership of Delhi’s National Zoological Park due to concerns over the treatment of Shankar, an African elephant. Shankar, gifted to India by Zimbabwe in 1996, has been kept alone since 2005, following the death of his companion, Bambai. The elephant’s welfare has been under scrutiny, with reports emerging that he was kept in chains. Delhi Zoo Director Sanjeet Kumar said the zoo will respond to the suspension. The decision came after WAZA sought information on Shankar’s care, from the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) and the zoo on May 24 and July 24 this year. However, after a detailed review, WAZA took the step to suspend the zoo’s membership. “Following a thorough review of this case, the WAZA Council has voted to immediately suspend the membership of the National Zoological Park, New Delhi,” the letter from WAZA to Kumar and the CZA said. WAZA said that to lift the suspension, the zoo must develop a comprehensive plan within six months either to relocate Shankar to a new facility or to address the welfare concerns raised. This plan, WAZA noted, must be approved by it and must reflect a significant improvement in Shankar’s care. If the zoo chooses relocation, Shankar should be trained for the move, it added. airport 2 Chinese killed in targeted attack A blast that targeted a convoy of Chinese workers on the airport motorway in Pakistan’s largest city Karachi killed two nationals, Beijing’s embassy said on Monday | P9 Gary Ruvkun PM Narendra Modi and Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu virtually inaugurate the new runway at the Hanimaadhoo Int’l Airport, at Hyderabad House in New Delhi | pti dow. The agreement would be valid till June 18, 2027. The SAARC currency swap framework is designed to offer short-term foreign exchange liquidity to member countries experiencing balance of payments stress or foreign exchange shortages. It serves as a temporary solution until more permanent financing arrangements can be made. The bilateral meet saw the signing of several agreements, including the launch of RuPay card in Maldives and enhancing the relationship between the two nations to a Comprehensive Economic and Maritime Security Partnership. Modi and Muizzu virtually inaugurated the new runway at the Hanimadhoo International airport and witnessed a live transaction using a RuPay payment service card in the Maldives. The airport’s redevelopment under Indian Line of Credit of $132 million aims to provide complete new infrastructure including ATC tower, hangar, cargo facilities, and passenger terminal building. The two leaders agreed to bolster bilateral ties that had hit a rocky patch last year after some Maldivian ministers tried to fan anti-India sentiments. Stressing India’s historic relations with the Maldives, Modi said New Delhi has supported Malé in times of crisis. “India has always been the first responder for Maldives whether it was essential commodities or vaccines,” he added. Muizzu thanked India for the assistance. “We hope to welcome more Indian tourists to Maldives,” he said. l PAGES 12 Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun discovered microRNA, the tiny pieces of genetic material that alter how genes work at the cellular level | P9 After 10 yrs, law finally catches up with man accused of rape-murder U J W A L J A L A L I @ New Delhi A 48-year-old man who allegedly gangraped and murdered a woman and left her naked body at a park in Vasant Kunj has been arrested nearly 10 years after he committed the crime, said a police officer on Monday . The accused, Randhaul alias Ramphal, was involved in five cases, including two murders which he had allegedly committed nearly three decades back. Ramphal and his aides gangraped and murdered the woman in 2014 at the park where she had come after visiting her father at a hospital. DCP (Special Cell) Amit Kaushik said the cops had been chasing Ramphal for the last six months. Acting on a tip-off that Ramphal would come to his house in village Luhari of UP’s Baghpat, cops managed to arrest him under Section 41 (1) c of CrPC on October 1. As per section 41(1)(c) of CrPc, a police officer may arrest a person who has been declared a proclaimed offender. The DCP said Ramphal first went to the jail in 1993 in an attempt-to-murder case in which he and his father had allegedly beaten his neighbour over farm land. “After coming out of jail, he started behaving ED raids AAP MP in Punjab, Kejriwal says ‘God with us’ H a r p r e e t B ajwa @ Chandigarh Siddu plays the caste census card, sets Oct 18 for cabinet discussion Parties brace for J&K, Security personnel stand outside a counting centre in Jammu, a day before the counting of votes for Jammu & Kashmir Assembly polls on Monday | Pti express news service @ Bengaluru Amid the growing demand from leaders of Backward Classes (BC) to implement the socioeconomic and educational survey report, popularly known as caste census, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said a decision on implementing it will be taken after a discussion at the cabinet meeting on October 18. However, Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries Kumaraswamy said the Congress is talking about the caste census report to divert attention from the Mysuru Urban Development Authority sites allotment case against Siddaramaiah. He dared the Congress to dissolve the Assembly and go for elections with the caste census issue. After a meeting with ministers, legislators and leaders from Backward Classes, Siddaramaiah said Karnataka was the first state in the country to conduct such a survey during his first tenure as chief minister from 2013 to 2018. The survey report was submitted to the state government in February Siddaramai. ah said legislators and leaders from BC communities have urged him to implement the recommendations of the report. However, sources said even after cabinet discussion, a cabinet sub-committee is likely to be formed to look into the report and give its recommendations. Siddaramaiah said during his first tenure, the H Kantharaj Commission conducted a detailed survey, but its report was not ready then. It was completed when H D Kumaraswamy was chief minister, but he refused to accept it. Later, the BJP government too did not accept the report. Haunting memories Rotem gets a hug from her husband Yoav after a commemoration marking one year since the Hamas attack on Israel, at the Coral Temple Synagogue in Bucharest, Romania, on Monday | AP | p7 like a gangster in his village,” the DCP said. In 1994, Ramphal’s father was killed. He took revenge. In 2002, Ramphal, along with his two aides, killed one more person to create terror in his village. In 2014, Ramphal along with his friends went to Sanjay Van in Vasant Kunj for partying. “A woman, whose father was admitted to a hospital, had also come to the park that day. They first gangraped and then killed her by strangulation. They dumped her naked body in Sanjay Van,” the DCP said, adding Ramphal fled after committing the crime. Haryana verdict today P r e e t ha Nai r @ New Delhi With the counting of votes for Haryana and J&K assembly elections on Tuesday the , results would hold significance for all major players, coming as they do three months after the Modi government assumed office for the third consecutive term. While Haryana witnessed the first direct contest between the BJP and the Congress after the Lok Sabha polls, the mood is upbeat in the grand old party as most of the exit polls predicted its smooth win. If the exit poll results are validated in Haryana, it will be a shot in the arm for the Congress and the INDIA bloc in the upcoming Maharashtra and Jharkhand elections. The party is hoping to keep up the momentum of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, where a resurgent Opposition INDIA bloc reduced the ruling BJP to 240 seats. For the Congress, victory in Haryana would indicate a strong support from the farmers and the Dalit community, which constitutes 20% of the state’s population. However, a tussle for the chief minister’s post can mar the glory of a Congress victory with former CM Bhupender Singh Hooda and his bete noire Kumari Selja vying for the top post. Despite the exit poll results, the ruling BJP is confident of retaining power for a third term. Apart from the BJP and the Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party, INLDBSP and JJP-Azad Samaj Party are also in the fray . In the keenly watched J&K polls, some pollsters have given an edge to the Congress-National Conference alliance while others predicted a hung assembly These polls are the . first since the abrogation of Article 370. While the BJP is hoping to form the government in ‘Naya Kashmir’ with the help of Independents, the Congress-NC alliance has also begun backchannel talks with other parties. J&K saw the entry of a large number of Independents and smaller parties like the People’s Conference, Apni Party and Awami Ittehad Party (AIP). The PDP, which severed its ties with the BJP in 2018, is hoping to emerge as a kingmaker. On Monday, NC president Farooq Abdullah said he will “accept PDP’s support from the core of his heart”. | P8 Enforcement Directorate sleuths on Monday raided the premises of AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora as a part of a money laundering probe linked to a land fraud case. Besides Arora (61), the others included realtors and investors. The ED action drew a sharp reaction from AAP “This is not . an investigation against corruption; it is clearly an orchestrated attempt by the Prime Minister to crush one party by using every resource, agency, and power at his disposal,” said AAP’s national convenor Arvind Kejriwal. “We have God on our side,” he added. Sources said the ED team raided Arora’s residence at Hampton Homes colony in Ludhiana as he is the owner of Ritesh Properties and Industries Ltd. He was allotted an industrial plot in Ludhiana by the state government a few years ago when the Congress was in power in the state. Arora allegedly breached the allotment conditions by setting up commercial and residential projects. Besides raids at his Ludhiana home, his house in Gurugram was also searched by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The ED searches also included premises of Hemant Sood of Ludhiana and Chander Aggarwal of Jalandhar. Both are directors of the company Sourc. es said Pardeep Aggarwal of Royal Industries in Ludhiana is also under ED scrutiny and his premises are being raided. “The ED has raided 17 locations in Punjab,’’ said an official. Sources said that the ED has been investigating Arora even before he became an MP . “I am a law-abiding citizen, will cooperate fully with agencies,’’ Arora stated on ‘X’. checkmate Global conflicts take the moolah out of the Amritsar chess industry H a r p r e e t B ajwa @ Chandigarh A bustling industry of chess kits with an international clientele is struggling due to global uncertainty following the Israel and Ukraine wars. Before the wars broke, chess kit manufacturers in Amritsar sold goods worth about `20 crore, of which 75% was exported. Export orders are now down by 70-80%. Wooden chess kits are among the sought-after gift items during Christmas and New Year, yet there is little demand as of now. “Though winter is our busiest season, most of us hardly have any orders,’’ rues Rishi Sharma, a third generation manufacturer, who says his business took a 40% hit last year. He proudly claims he made a chess set for English business magnate Richard Branson in 2021. Amritsar has a small but specialised industry of about 35 medium and small chess manufactures. They employ around 500 highly skilled artisans plus another 1,000 semi-skilled workers to make the wooden pieces and sets. It’s a craft that has been passed from generation to generation. The artisans take great pride in their artistry as they use simple implements to carve the exquisite pieces. For example, the carving of a knight itself takes 5-7 days. The cost of their chess kits range between `5,000 and `25,000 depending on the quality, design, material and craftsmanship. “We were exporting to the US, Canada, the UK, Europe, Australia, Ukraine, Iran and Israel. But with inflation rising Ivory to Red sandalwood to Sheesham Before Independence, chess pieces were carved out of ivory. When ivory was banned, it was replaced with red sandalwood. When that too was prohibited, manufacturers shifted to sheesham. Now that sheesham is on the restricted list, chess pieces are made from Kikkar as well due to global uncertainty, our industry has been affected,’’ says Sharma. The cost of raw material and labour, too, have gone through the roof. Then there is the issue of obtaining a ‘Vriksh Certificate’ from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The certification process started in 2018 takes 15-30 days to get as every minute detail of each sheesham tree from where wood for the chess pieces are sourced are to be recorded and shared. “Due to these stringent rules restricting the sale of sheesham, the market share of wooden chess sets has declined sharply says Sharma. ,’’ Surjit Singh Ahuja, another Amritsar-based exporter, says, “when a Netflix web series, The Queen’s Gambit released in the UK in 2020, it was a worldwide hit and our sales went up manifold. The bounce continued till December 2022 before it tapered down.’’