THURSDAY 24 OCTOBER, 2024 BYJU’S IN TROUBLE AS SC JUNKS NCLAT ORDER ON INSOLVENCY PROCEEDINGS epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard BANGLADESH PROTESTERS BACK ON DHAKA STREETS A student group demanded resignation of Md Yunus over his comments that appeared to call into question former PM Sheikh Hasina’s resignation in August. PAGE 9 The Supreme Court also annulled the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal’s approval of Byju’s `158.9 crore dues settlement with the BCCI BCCI ASKED TO DEPOSIT SETTLEMENT AMOUNT A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS  NEW DELHI PANNUN CASE J8.00 FACILITATE MUTUAL ASPIRATIONS: XI Meaningful accountability sought by US on conspiracy Both sides must facilitate each other’s development aspirations, Xi said. They must strengthen communication and properly manage differences and disagreements, he added FRICTION POINTS PART OF THE PACT The recent patrolling and disengagement agreement will cover the remaining friction points at Depsang and Demchok, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said Y E S H I S E L I @ New Delhi THE US has said it would not be fully satisfied until there is “meaningful accountability” resulting from India’s investigations into the foiled murderfor-hire plot against Khalistani radical Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil. “We continue to expect and want to see accountability based on the results of that investigation, and certainly the United States won’t be fully satisfied until there is meaningful accountability resulting from that investigation,” State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said on Wednesday . He said this in the context of the US visit of an Indian enquiry committee on the case for talks last week. Of the two main players in the alleged plot, Nikhil Gupta is in a US jail as Prague extradited him months after his arrest. The US recently named former RAW field officer Vikash Yadav as Gupta’s handler and the alleged mastermind in the conspiracy Yadav no longer . works for RAW . In an unrelated case of extortion and kidnapping, Yadav was arrested by the Delhi Police in December last year and lodged in Tihar Jail for over four months till he managed to get regular bail. Patel said that there was “valuable engagement with India’s inquiry committee last week”. Information, he said, was also exchanged between “our two governments to further our respective investigations.” Patel noted the US understands that the Indian inquiry committee will continue its investigation.  Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with President Xi Jinping Modi, Xi talks lay BRICS for normalisation road Special Representatives to oversee peace and tranquility on border Y E S H I S E L I @ New Delhi TAKING off from the recent agreement on patrolling and disengagement along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday initiated steps to normalise bilateral relations by issuing directions to revive various dialogue mechanisms. The talks happened on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan for about 50 minutes, almost five years after a bloody faceoff at Galwan in eastern Ladakh in 2020. “India-China relations are important for the people of our countries, and for regional and global peace and stability Mu. tual trust, mutual respect and mutual sensitivity will guide bilateral relations,” said Modi. Welcoming the agreement for complete disengagement and resolution of issues that arose in 2020 along the LAC, Modi underscored the importance of properly handling differences and disputes and not allowing them to disturb peace and tranquility . “The two leaders agreed that the Special Representatives on the India-China boundary question will meet at an early date to oversee the management of peace and tranquility in border areas and to explore a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution to the boundary question. The relevant dialogue mechanisms at the level of Foreign Ministers and other officials will also be utilised to stabilise and rebuild bilateral relations,” according to the foreign office. The two leaders affirmed that stable, predictable, and amicable bilateral relations between India and China, as two neighbours and the two largest nations on earth, will have a positive impact on regional and global peace and prosperity . Closer India-China ties will also contribute to a multi-polar Asia and a multi-polar world. The leaders underlined the need to develop bilateral relations from a strategic and longterm perspective, enhance strate gic communication and explore cooperation to address developmental challenges. Later, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said both Modi and Xi stressed that India and China can have a “peaceful, stable and beneficial bilateral relationship” with maturity and wisdom, and by showing mutual respect for each other’s sensitivities. He said peace in the border will create space for returning towards normalisation of bilateral relations. P7  PAGES 12 A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra directed the cricket board to deposit the settlement amount of `158.9 crore with the committee of creditors. Now, Byju Raveendran and his brother Riju Raveendran stand to lose control over Think and Learn Pvt Ltd or Byju’s—a company engaged in providing online educational services | P10 NDMC doubles parking fees to battle pollution NDMC has decided to double parking fees for both cars and two-wheelers till the lifting of GRAP Stage II. The hike aims to encourage use of public transport and help curb pollution, NDMC said, adding the revised rates will apply only to off-street parking and indoor parking spaces. | P3 Morning walkers at a park amid a thick layer of smog | SHEKHAR YADAV SC stresses on right to live in clean environ... S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi AS the air pollution in the Delhi-NCR continues to worsen, the Supreme Court on Wednesday expressed strong disapproval of the Centre’s failure to address the issue. The court underlined that time has come to remind the Government Of India that there is a fundamental right of every citizen to live in a clean environment. While slamming the Centre for making the environment protection law “toothless”, the SC said that the provision under the CAQM Act, which deals with penalty for stubble burning, was not being implemented effectively . A three-judge bench led by Justice Abhay S Oka, along with Justices Ahsanuddin Amanulllah and Augustine George Masih, stated that the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capi- tal Region and Adjoining Areas Act of 2021 (CAQM Act) was enacted without the required machinery to effectively implement its provisions aimed at curbing air pollution. Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre, mentioned that Section 15 of the CAQM Act will be implemented effectively with regulations likely to be issued within 10 days. The CAQM informed the SC that there has been noncompliance with its order by Punjab and Haryana to stop stubble burning. Consequently , it issued notices to various officials concerned, questioning them why penal action should not be taken against them. In response, the SC emphasised that it is a fundamental right of all citizens to live in clean and pollution-free environment and it is the duty of the authorities concerned, to uphold this right. Assets worth `12 cr AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday filed the nomination for her maiden electoral battle from Wayanad, Kerala. Her mother and Cong ress Parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, brother Rahul Gandhi, and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge accompanied her to the collectorate. The bypoll in Wayanad, scheduled on November 13, was necessitated after Rahul Gandhi vacated the seat to retain Rae Bareli. Before filing the papers on In the elction affidavit, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra declared assets worth `11.9 cr, including her `5.63 cr house in Shimla. Her husband Robert Vadra’s assets worth `65.5 cr were also mentioned Wednesday Priyanka , held a massive roadshow. Addressing a huge gathering of supporters, she said she has 35 years of experience in the political arena, though she is fighting election for the first time. “I campaigned for my father when I was 17 years old in the 1989 elections. I had cam- paigned for many leaders including my mother and brother. This is for the first time I am asking to vote for myself,” she said. Priyanka will take on CPI veteran Sathyan Mokeri and BJP’s Navya Haridas. In his address, Rahul Gandhi said there will be two representatives for Wayanad in the Lok Sabha if Priyanka is elected. “I will be the unofficial representative and Priyanka the official face,” he said. Rahul represented Wayanad from 2019 to 2024. After filing the nomination, Rahul and Priyanka went to Puthumala and offered floral tributes at the graves of those killed in the landslide. Nasrallah successor dead: Hezbollah 2-day RSS meet in UP from Oct 25 Hezbollah announced on Wednesday that Hashem Safieddine, who had been widely expected to be the group’s next leader after the death of Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in an Israeli airstrike. Over the past several weeks, Israeli air strikes have killed much of Hezbollah’s top leadership | P9 The RSS will hold a two-day national executive meet, beginning October 25, in UP, on the impact of social media on children. RSS national publicity chief Sunil Ambekar said the agenda of the meet includes topics mentioned by Mohan Bhagwat during his Vijaya Dashami address. S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, accompanied by Rahul Gandhi, during the roadshow at Kalpetta on Wednesday | E GOKUL PMO on the learning curve to harness AI @ New Delhi AI for notes and efficiency! That is prime goal as the government strives to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) in a big way in its functioning. Officials from various wings of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Tuesday participated in a dedicated session on AI so as to enhance productivity speed up the decision, making process, and perk up public delivery systems. The session sought to address the use of AI in official work, such as file management and note-taking in offices, since the cutting-edge tech is seen as a means to scale up productivity . In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s emphasis on the use of tech for efficiency Un, ion Minister of State at the PMO, Jitendra Singh, advised the officers to optimise AI deployment in government operations. Singh said AI could play a role in transforming governance, stream- lining operations, and improving decision-making across various verticles. The session was attended by officials at all levels — from section officers to the principal secretary to the Prime Minister. The attendees included P K Mishra, Principal Secretary to the PM, as well as Amit Khare and Tarun Kapoor, advisors to the PM. The session was part of Mission Karmayogi, a capacity-building initiative to D E L H I I T E S wo ke u p o n Wednesday morning to a dense layer of smog enveloping the city as the air quality remained , in the ‘very poor’ category with an overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of 363. Many areas have entered the “severe” zone. Jahangirpuri recorded the worst AQI at 418, followed by Vivek Vihar at 407 and Anand Vihar at 402. By 9 am, the AQI at Sonia Vihar was nearing the “severe” category at 398, while Wazirpur recorded 396. Overall, the city’s AQI was 363. An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered ‘good,’ 51 to 100 ‘satisfactory 101 to 200 ‘moderate,’ ,’ 201 to 300 ‘poor,’ 301 to 400 ‘very poor,’ and 401 to 500 ‘severe.’ The CAQM has activated Stage-II of the Graded Response Action Plan. Several restrictions are already in place, and further measures may be implemented if pollution levels continue to escalate. States have right to tax industrial alcohol, rules SC ENHANCING EFFICIENCY RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi EXPRESS READ PRIYANKA FILES NOMINATION FOR POLL DEBUT, KICKS OFF CAMPAIGN EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Kalpetta ... meanwhile, AQI continues to be ‘very poor’ empower government staff. A demonstration on breaking ‘hierarchical barriers’ within the PMO, showed how officials could learn advanced concepts. It covered how AI could revolutionise sectors like healthcare, agriculture and public delivery services. By leveraging AI, government departments can reduce human error and create responsive systems, Singh said. He, however, had a word of caution: “AI holds immense potential but must be used with caution to ensure confidentiality and data security .” Conman at it again, tries to grab land as Shah aide, held U J W A L J A L A L I @ New Delhi A 43-year-old man, a serial fraudster, was arrested for impersonating the OSD of Home Minister Amit Shah and deceiving individuals. He would sometimes claim to offer a Rajya Sabha seat, while at other times he promised high-ranking jobs in top PSUs. His latest crime came to light on October 9, when a cop at the Dayalpur police station got a call about a trespassing incident. He met with both parties involved — Sanjay Kumar and Tohid Malik. The cop then re- ceived a call from a person who claimed to be the home minister’s OSD. The caller threatened the cop with consequences if the property was not handed over to Tohid, DCP (North-East) Rakesh Paweriya said. A day later, the caller, Navin Kumar Singh, came to the police station to meet the SHO and continued threatening the staff. When the SHO directed him to provide documents, he left saying that the “DCP would direct them.” The police then ran a background check to find that Singh was a serial fraudster. OPENING a major revenue source for state governments, the Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that the regulatory power over the production, manufacture, and supply of industrial alcohol lies with states and not the Centre. In a 8:1 majority ruling, a nine-judge Constitution bench led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud held that industrial alcohol comes within the definition of ‘intoxicating alcohol’ under Entry 8 of the State List, so the state governments can regulate and tax it. The majority bench comprised CJI Chandrachud and Justices Hrishikesh Roy Abhay , S Oka, J B Pardiwala, Manoj Misra, Ujjal Bhuyan, Satish Chandra Sharma, and Augustine George Masih. However, Justice B V Nagarathna dissented and held that states did not have the legislative competence to regulate industrial alcohol. The latest verdict overturns a 1990 seven-judge bench judgment which held that the Centre had the regulatory power over industrial alcohol. Several state governments including Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Kerala had challenged the seven-judge bench judgment The matter was referred to the nine-judge bench in 2010. During hearings, states argued the power to tax industrial alcohol is vital in the post-GST era and to monitor public health.