NATIONAL COMPANY LAW TRIBUNAL ORDERS LIQUIDATION OF GO FIRST TUESDAY 21 The budget carrier had stopped flying three years ago after being bogged down by financial woes and filed for a voluntary insolvency resolution JANUARY, 2025 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard 3 T I M E S FA ST E R BILLIONAIRES’ WEALTH GREW The wealth of billionaires grew three times faster in 2024 than the year before, an anti-poverty group said on Monday ahead of an annual gathering in Davos. PAGE 9 17 years LIQUIDATOR TO PROBE FINANCIAL AFFAIRS A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS  NEW DELHI  J8.00  PAGES 12 TRUMP 2.0 BEGINS NATIONAL EMERGENCY DECLARED AT U.S.-MEXICO BORDER A RAFT OF EXECUTIVE ORDERS EXPECTED The golden age of America begins right now... I will very simply put America first DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT The resolution process did not take off and the tribunal has now ordered liquidation of the airline on an application by the Committee of Creditors (CoC). Dinkar Tiruvannadapuram Venkatasubramanian is the liquidator, who will continue to probe the airline’s financial affairs. He will submit a preliminary report within 75 days from the date of start of liquidation | P10 Lifer till death for RG Kar accused S U L A G N A S E N G U P TA @ Kolkata A Sealdah court on Monday sentenced Sanjay Roy the lone , accused in the horrific rapemurder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in August last year, to life imprisonment till death. The court, however, rejected the prosecution’s demand for death penalty saying it was not a “rarest of the rare” crime. Additional District and Sessions Judge Anirban Das ordered Roy to pay `50,000 as penalty and directed the West Bengal government to give the victim’s family `17 lakh as compensation — `10 lakh for death and `7 lakh for rape while at work. But the victim’s father refused to accept it. He instead demanded capital punishment of the accused. The judge said, “I don’t think money can compensate for any death. It was the liability of state to protect your daughter as she was on duty (when the Donald Trump takes the oath of office during the Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the US Capitol in Washington, on Monday. As per convention, J D Vance was sworn in as the vice president just ahead of Trump | AP DONALD Trump, 78, on Monday took his oath of office for a historic second term as US president, and pledged a blitz of immediate orders on immigration and the culture wars as he caps his extraordinary comeback. As per protocol, J D Vance was sworn in as Vice President first, followed by Trump’s taking oath as President. With one hand raised in the air and the other on a Bible given to him by his mother, the 47th US president took the oath of office beneath the huge Rotunda of the US Capitol. Trump started his inaugural speech with: “The golden age DEATH SENTENCE TO IRANIAN SINGER An Iranian court has sentenced Amir Hossein Maghsoudloo, known as Tataloo, to death on appeal after he was convicted of blasphemy, according to local media reports | P9 of America begins right now,” adding that the US will “flourish and be respected”. In his fiery address, he said “America’s decline is over” as changes will come “very quickly”. Hitting out at the Biden administration for the migrant crisis, he promised to clean up the mess on a war footing. He said he was declaring a national emergency at the US-Mexico border and would deploy troops there to deal with the crisis. He also listed a series of actions to be rolled out: renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, and reclaiming the Panama Canal. On the international trade front, he promised a ‘complete overhaul’ by taxing foreign countries through tar- iff to enrich US citizens. Trump is expected to issue some 100 executive orders. A political outsider at his first inauguration in 2017, now Trump is surrounded by the wealthy and powerful. While Trump refused to attend Biden’s 2021 inauguration after claiming electoral fraud by the Democrat, this time Biden has been keen to restore the sense of tradition. Biden joined for mer presidents Barack Obama, George W Bush and Bill Clinton at the Capitol. Former first ladies Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush were there but ex-first lady Michelle Obama stayed away . Unusually for an inauguration where foreign leaders are normally not invited, this time Argentina’s hard-right president Javier Milei attended the event, along with Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni. Chinese vice president Han Zheng represented his government. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar attended the ceremony as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s special envoy Con. gratulating Trump, Modi wrote on X: “Congratulations my dear friend President Donald Trump on your historic inauguration as the 47th president of the United States! I look forward to working closely together once again, to benefit both our countries, and to shape a better future for the world. Best P9 wishes...” BIDEN ISSUES PREEMPTIVE PARDONS FORMER MP and Congress candidate from the New Delhi constituency Sandeep Dikshit has sounded an alarm over the growing culture of freebies terming it “unsustainable”. The son of former CM Sheila Dikshit accused the AAP of pushing Delhi into a budgetary crisis through its populism schemes. Dikshit highlighted how freebies have led to Delhi’s first revenue deficit in years, forcing the government to seek a `10,000 crore loan from the Centre. “Once Arvind Kejriwal started the trend in 2013, every political party jumped onto the bandwagon of comparative populism. However, these practices are unsustainable in the long run and will eventually lead to financial ruin,” he said. The Congress candidate delved into the numbers, emphasising the strain on the capital’s finances. “This year, Delhi had a budget of `76,000 crore. Of this, `39,000 crore is fixed for salaries and establishments, leaving `37,000 crore for development. AAP’s flagship schemes, like the Mahila Samman Yojana, will cost `12,000 crore. Then its health scheme will likely add another `16,000 crore. Together, they consume over two-thirds of the development budget. When you add other freebies, such as free bus rides for women, the numbers don’t add up.” INTERVIEW ON P4 Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday congratulated Donald Trump just before his swearing in. “We hear Trump’s statements about restoring direct contacts with Russia, which were halted by the outgoing administration... We welcome the approach,” he said SEVEN IN DELHI CANTT 16 IN JANAKPURI 15 EACH IN KARAWAL NAGAR, LAXMI NAGAR, AND ROHTAS NAGAR THE February 5 elections will see 699 candidates vying for 70 seats, with the final list announced after the withdrawal deadline on Monday. Among these, the New Delhi constituency where AAP leader Arvind , Kejriwal is contesting his fourth election, has the highest number of candidates at 23. Initially 981 candidates filed , 1,522 nomination sets, including multiple entries. After scrutiny last weekend, 719 candidates remained in the fray but , the final count dropped to 699 after withdrawals. Janakpuri follows New Delhi 13 IN VIKASPURI, THE LARGEST CONSTITUENCY TOTAL with 16 candidates, while Karawal Nagar, Laxmi Nagar, and Rohtas Nagar each have 15 contestants. Burari and Adarsh Nagar have 14 candidates, while Mundka, R.K. Puram, Kalkaji, Matiala, Dwarka, and Seelampur each have 13. Vikaspuri, the largest constituency with 4,62,184 voters, also has 13 contenders. On the other hand, Delhi Cantonment, the smallest constituency with 78,893 voters, will see seven candidates competing. The constituencies with the lowest number of candidates are Patel Nagar and Kasturba Nagar with just 5 candidates each in the fray P3 & 4 . MALE FEMALE 1,55,24,858 83,49,645 71,73,952 3RD-GENDER 1,261 PLANETARY PARADE Skywatch time as rare celestial show begins; 7 planets to align in March R I S H I TA K H A N N A @ Bengaluru IN a rare celestial event, seven planets of the Solar System will align by March this year. Six of them — Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune — will begin to come into alignment on Tuesday (January 21), while Mercury will join in on February 28. Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will be visible to the naked eye, but Uranus and Neptune will require a telescope to observe the alignment, which is called a ‘planetary parade’. Dr B R Guruprasad, Director of Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, explained to this newspaper that a ‘planetary parade’ is a phenomenon in which multi- ple planets appear in the sky at the same time from the perspective of observers from Earth, more clearly visible in the evening/night sky . Highlighting its significance, Guruprasad said while a few planets align when they cross paths in their orbits, having as many as seven align at once is rare. Venus will be the brightest and the most eye-catching. Mars, with its red hue, will resemble a glowing bulb. Saturn will appear as a tiny dot in the western sky, while Jupiter will look similar, but positioned in the southern sky . Uranus and Neptune will appear like small bright dots, but not be visible to the naked eye. March 8 will mark the maximum elongation, with Mercury reaching its farthest point from the Sun. By March 12, Saturn will dip below the horizon for a while, but from February 28 to horrific rape-murder happened). This is a statutory provision. If you take it, you can use it. I gave whatever I felt. You can move a higher court.” Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she was not happy with the verdict, and so did junior doctors at RG Kar. The victim’s colleagues cited unresolved questions and the absence of action against other potential suspects. They wanted a more thorough probe, including the motive and the involvement of others. However, the National Commission for Women welcomed the ruling. Roy was convicted by a special court on Saturday, nearly six months after his arrest. THE Uttarakhand Cabinet on Monday approved the Uniform Civil Code’s (UCC) regulations, close to a year after the legislation was passed by the state assembly Chief Min. ister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the date of its implementation will be announced soon. Sources suggested it could be notified on January 26, a day after the results of the January 23 municipal elections is announced. A mock drill of a UCC portal set up by the government will be held on Tuesday Govern. ment officials tasked with managing the portal have already been given ample training. Uttarakhand’s UCC encompasses various aspects of personal law, including marriage, divorce, maintenance, property rights, adoption and inheritance. “The code recognises live-in relationships, ensuring that children born from such unions are entitled to equal inheritance rights,” an official stated. The UCC aims to establish a uniform legal framework applicable to all individuals, regardless of their religion, caste or community . However, the state’s tribals are out of its ambit. PUTIN CONGRATULATES TRUMP, SIGNALS THAW P R A B H AT S H U K L A @ New Delhi While Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and junior doctors at RG Kar were unhappy with the verdict, the National Commission for Women welcomed it N A R E N D R A S E T H I @ Dehradun Hours before Trump’s swearing-in, outgoing president Joe Biden on Monday issued pre-emptive pardons to Dr Anthony Fauci, retired Gen Mark Milley, and members of the House committee that investigated the Jan 6 attack on the Capitol Freebies not sustainable It’s official: 699 candidates in fray, in long run, says Dikshit highest 23 from New Delhi seat A S H I S H S R I V A S TA V A & D I K S H A S I N H A @ New Delhi Different strokes U’KHAND CABINET CLEARS UCC RULES Guests including Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai and Elon Musk at the inauguration ceremony | AP A G E N C I E S @ Washington NO. OF YEARS GO FIRST, EARLIER KNOWN AS GO AIR, REMAINED IN SERVICE March 12, the planetary alignment will be at its peak. The alignment happens along the ecliptic, which is an imaginary line that marks a path that Earth and other planets follow while orbiting the Sun. The planets will not line up side by side in a straight line next to each other, but will appear at different points in the sky, all visible to the observer — Dr B R Guruprasad, Director, Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium Who will head Haryana Sikh gurdwara panel? H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh THE independents winning over half the seats in the elections for the first Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC), raises an important question — who will form the executive body? In these elections, 21 independent candidates won out of a total of 40 wards. Additionally one independent candidate , had earlier won unopposed, bringing the total number of independents to 22. Focus is now on the nomination of nine co-opted members who will join the HSGMC. In response to the election outcome, former SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal stated that this result clearly indicates that anyone attempting to interfere in the Sikh religion will be rejected. Besides the independents, the Jagdish Singh Jhinda-led Panthic Dal (Jhinda) secured 11 seats. The Haryana Sikh Panthic Dal (HSPD), led by Baldev Singh Kaimpuri, captured four seats, while the Sikh Samaj Sanstha, led by Didar Singh Nalwi, won three seats. Notably Jinda emerged , victorious in ward No. 18 (Assandh) with a margin of 1,941 votes, while Nalwi won ward No. 13 (Shahabad) by a margin of just 200 votes. Jhinda and Nalwi led the demand for a separate Haryana gurdwara management committee.