saturdAY India’s economy rebounds to 6.2% in December quarter 01 Positive growth in the current fiscal and less than 7% growth expected in the next will keep India as the fastest-expanding major economy March, 2025 epaper.morningstandard.in growth pegged at 6.5% for fiscal ’24-25 facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard Pa k i s ta n Cleric among 7 Killed in Blast A top cleric and six worshippers were killed in a blast triggered by a suicide bomber during Friday prayers in northwest Pakistan’s restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Page 09 A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS l New Delhi l J8.00 l 4.6% by which output of 8 key infra sectors rose in January PAGES 12 The 6.2% growth in gross domestic product (GDP) was higher than a revised reading of 5.6% expansion in the JulySeptember 2024 period, according to data released by the Statistics Ministry on Friday. It was, however, lower than the RBI’s estimate of 6.8% for the period. For the full 2024-25 fiscal, the government pegs GDP growth at 6.5% o va l o f f i c e d r a m a Deal fails as Trump, Zelenskyy shout it out Agencies Rescuers carry workers to safety on Friday. Search for the remaining 25 workers will continue on Saturday | PTI Avalanche buries camp in U’khand, 32 rescued 25 workers hired by contractor to widen highway remain trapped the Army PRO said. All 32 have been taken to the ITBP camp in Mana for treatment, the sourcAN avalanche that rolled down es said. early on Friday buried a BorMana, three kilometres from der Roads Organization (BRO) Badrinath, is the last village on camp in the high-altitude vil- the India-Tibet border at an allage of Mana in Uttarakhand’s titude of 3,200 metres. The avaChamoli district. Thirty-two lanche hit around 7.15 am, of the 57 workers trapped burying the workers inunder the avalanche side eight containers chamoli have been rescued, and one shed, the with concern over Army said. Swift rethe safety of the othsponse teams, comuttarakhand er 25 mounting as inprising more than c l e m e n t we a t h e r 100 people from the forced a pause in resIbex Brigade, especue operations. cially trained in high Multiple teams comprisaltitude rescue operations, ing the Army disaster response were immediately mobilised. forces battled through tough The teams included doctors ter rain and heavy snow and ambulances. through the day to reach the According to Disaster Manmen. They initially pulled out agement and Rehabilitation 10 workers and then the others, Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman, sources said. Four of those res- the situation is critical with the cued are in a critical condition, containers buried under six to n a r e n d ra s e t h i & m aya n k s i n g h @ Dehradun/New Delhi All efforts are being taken to rescue the trapped personnel by utilising all available resources Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister Army, itbp join rescue efforts The Indian Army and IndoTibetan Border Police (ITBP) are involved in the rescue efforts; however, the highway beyond Hanuman Chatti remains closed due to weather conditions. express read Roadmap for ties India, EU set free trade pact deadline Setting a year-end deadline for their Free Trade Agreement, expanding cooperation in critical technologies and boosting the India-Europe corridor, India and the European Union outlined an ambitious roadmap for their partnership following the meeting between PM Modi and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who was accompanied by a high-level delegation on Friday | P7 revanth reddy says ‘Delimitation an injustice to South’ Telangana CM A Revanth Reddy on Friday cautioned that southern states would face injustice if delimitation is carried out based solely on population. He accused the BJP of conspiring to remain in power permanently by weakening the southern states both economically and politically. He accused Amit Shah of giving any clarity on the impact of delimitation | P5 Officials say no property tax waiver days after MCD’s announcement ture was finalised when the budget was passed in February Days after the Aam Aadmi Par- 2024. ty-led Municipal Corporation of Similarly in a meeting held on , Delhi (MCD) announced that a February 13, 2025, MCD determajor property tax waiver had mined the tax rates and duties been passed in the house, the of- for the upcoming financial year ficials clarified that no 2025-26. exemption would be The corporation also granted. All property highlighted its financial owners and occupiers challenges, including “MCD has will be required to pay outstanding dues exreceived multiple the tax in accordance inquiries from the ceeding ` 14,000 crore, with the existing laws. which have impacted public regarding “MCD has received whether they are payments for municipal multiple inquiries from still obligated to employees’ salaries, rethe public regarding pay property tax. tirement benefits, and MCD reaffirms whether they are still contractor dues. “Withobligated to pay proper- that property tax out financial stability ty tax. MCD reaffirms remains payable and accountability, that property tax re- by all occupiers/ MCD will struggle to owners.” mains payable by all ocmaintain essential civic cupiers/owners, and no services such as sanitaCivic body statement changes have been made tion, cleanliness, and to its applicability,” the the maintenance of civic body said in a statement. streets, roads, and drainage sysThe statement emphasised tems,” the statement read. that property tax constitutes It ruled out any possibility of nearly one-fourth of its total waiving property tax payments revenue and is crucial for main- and urged residents to file their taining civic infrastructure. The property tax returns on a selffinancial year 2024-25 tax struc- assessment basis by March 31. P RA B HAT S H U K L A @ New Delhi The Delhi High Court on Friday rejected the petition of the heirs of Maharaja Dr. Karni Singh seeking rental arrears from the Central government for Bikaner House in Delhi. The heirs had demanded payment for the period between 1991 and 2014, claiming that the government had ceased paying rent under a 1951 agreement before vacating the property in 2014 | P4 (With agency inputs) `9L cr loss for investors as markets crash Sensex and Nifty fell 2% on Friday, mirroring deep losses in global markets over trade war fears. The aggressive sell-off eroded investors’ wealth by `9 lakh crore | P10 Smash networks helping intruders: Shah to city cops M U KE S H RAN J AN @ New Delhii ‘No compromise on women safety’ Shah asked cops to send DCP-level officers to police stations and organise public hearing camps to address public issues. New security committees should be formed in JJ clusters for safety of women and children, he added. ‘Identify areas prone to jams’ The home minister directed the police to identify areas frequently affected by traffic jams. The Delhi Police Commissioner and Chief Secretary should meet to develop a prompt solution for the benefit of commuters, he added. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday directed the Delhi Police to take stringent action against networks facilitating entry of illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya migrants into the country terming the is, sue “related to national security” which should be dealt with strictly . He stated, “The issue of illegal intruders is also related to national security and it should be dealt with strictly. They should be identified and deported.” Shah made the remarks while chairing a high-level review meeting on the prevailing law & order situation in the national capital. During the meeting, the HM asked the Delhi Police to prioritise the elimination of interstate gangs in the city ruthlessly . Top brass of Delhi Police, including Commissioner Sanjay Arora, CM Rekha Gupta, Delhi Home Minister Ashish Sood and other senior officials of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Delhi government responsible for law & order, attended the meeting. According to sources, the Congress issues gag order on Kerala leaders P r e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi Amid the row over Congress leader Shashi Tharoor’s TNIE column hailing the achievements of the CPM-led government in Kerala, the Congress leadership on Friday said those who don’t toe the party line would face action. Speaking at the meeting of the Congress brass with Kerala leaders, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi cautioned the leaders “not to go against party line and disrespect the people of Kerala”. With Tharoor by her side, Congress’ Kerala in-charge Deepa Dasmunshi said all lead- From left: Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala, Shashi Tharoor and K Suresh | pti ers have to work in coordination, discipline, and unity to win the upcoming local body and Assembly elections in the state. “We have got clear indication from the high command that people are looking for a change, so we should not do anything that disrespects the people. If anyone says anything personally we will take strong ... action,” she said. According to sources, Rahul said he is emotionally connected to the state and the people. “People are yearning for a change and we should be careful about our strategies. We should not do anything wrong against the party line,” sources quoted him as saying. AICC general secretary K C Venugopal said that no leaders have the right to make out-ofline statements in the media. At least three leaders, including M M Hassan, targeted Tharoor, saying his public comments damaged the party . When asked if the censure is directed at Tharoor, Dasmunshi said: “Why are you only pinpointing Tharoor? So many others made personal views. It has been told generally to everyone.” She also ruled out a leadership change in the state unit. It means K Sudhakaran will continue as the president. win-win deal Bikaner house HC dismisses plea over rent arrears seven feet of snow. The bad weather continues. Teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and SDRF left for the spot, about 300 km from Dehradun, amid continuing snowfall and rain. Home Minister Amit Shah said rescuing the trapped people is the government’s top priority . In a post on X, he said he spoke to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and the chiefs of the ITBP and the NDRF. The trapped workers were employed by a company involved in highway widening along a 50 km stretch from Mana to Mana Pass. The BRO is overseeing this project through a contractor. District Magistrate Dr Sandeep Tiwarisaid officials have been directed to restore traffic on blocked roads and repair damaged power lines. The White House on Friday witnessed unprecedented drama as visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump exchanged angry words in public, turning their discussion to end the war with into a shouting match. The last 10 minutes of the 45-minute engagement devolved into a tense back-and-forth between Zelenskyy Trump, and Vice , President J D Vance. Zelenskyy was in Washington to sign a revenue-sharing minerals agreement with the US. He left White House without signing the deal that Trump had demanded in return for US help to end the war and support Ukraine. A joint press conference that was planned after the meeting was also cancelled. During the talks, Trump shouted at Zelenskyy and berated him for “gambling with millions of lives” and accused him of trying to trigger World War III. The talks appeared to have gone sideways after the Ukrainian leader expressed skepticism about Russia’s commitment to diplomacy citing Moscow’s record of bro, ken commitments. This evoked a sharp reaction from Vance, who said: “Mr President, with respect. It’s disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media.” Zelenskyy tried to object. At this stage, Trump intervened. “You’re not in a good position. You don’t have the cards right now,” Trump said pointing his finger toward Zelenskyy. “With us you start having cards,” he said, adding: “You’re either going to make a deal, or we’re out, and if we’re out, you’ll fight it out. It’s not going to be pretty ,” Soon, Trump and Zelenskyy were talking over each other. When Trump insisted Zelenskyy was losing the Ukraine war and that Ukrainian cities have been reduced to rubble by three years of war, the latter pushed back. | P9 Kangana Ranaut, Javed Akhtar bury defamation hatchet after five years S h r e ya s Pa n d e @ Mumbai Kangana Ranaut and Javed Akhtar have officially called a truce. The actor-turned-BJP MP and the veteran lyricistscreenwriter, have put an end to their compounding legal feud through mediation. After completing the formalities of the settlement, Kangana shared a photo on her social media where she was beaming in a grin standing alongside a smiling Akhtar. The actor, who earlier had some fiery exchanges with Akhtar, called him “kind” and “gracious” to have settled the matter. Their legal tussle began in 2020 when Kangana gave a TV interview after actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death. In her shaky soft voice she made a big , claim about a meeting she had with Akhtar at his house. She said Akhtar pressured her to apologise to Hrithik Roshan over their much-publicised feud in 2016. Kangana even alleged that Akhtar warned her of dire consequences if she doesn’t act accordingly . Akhtar strongly rejected the claims. “Whatever Kangana said in the interview is a lie and nothing but a lie. I had told her about the agenda of the meeting on call. Didn’t call her to discuss t h e weather, political situation or America’s election in 2016,” Akhtar told the court. The man, known for writing some pow- er-packed Amitabh Bachchan dialogues wasn’t going to stay silent, was he? Neither was Kangana going to back down. She filed a counter-defamation case against Akhtar in 2021. Now, Kangana has clarified that what she said in the TV interview was due to a misunderstanding. Exiting the court after the hearing on Friday, Akhtar told the media, “The matters are finally settled. She has apologised for all the inconvenience caused to me. I will take back my case and she will take back her case.” Kangana added in her social media post that the veteran lyricist has agreed to write a song for her upcoming directorial. With the legalities settled, will we get to see a moment of “poetic justice” with their collaboration? Only time will tell.