DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE MONDAY, MAY 2, 2022, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 14 PAGES `6.00 (`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 ‘WILL STOP RUSSIAN COAL IMPORT BY SUMMER, PHASE OUT OIL BY YEAR END’ ConfidentofagreementwithIndiaonwar crimeaccountability:GermanChancellor Climate change fight, free trade pact on common agenda in his first talks with PM as Chancellor, says Olaf Scholz EXPRESS SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, MAY 1 ‘Work-from-home to work-from-Kerala, it has peace and you can eat anything here’ P RAJEEVE, KERALA MINISTER FOR LAW, INDUSTRIES AND COIR PAGE 11 AHEAD of his meeting Monday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Berlin — their first since his election as German Chancellor in December 2021 — Olaf Scholz has told The Indian Express that he is “confident” there is a “broad agreement” between India and Germany on Russianactionsthatviolate“core principles of the UN Charter”, and on the principle that “massacres against the civilian population are war crimes” and “those responsible must be held accountable”. Modi, who leaves for Berlin Sundaynight,isexpectedtohold talks on a range of bilateral issues. Scholz said the “fight EXCLUSIVE cerpts of the interview: Want to deepen cooperation in a wide variety of areas, politically and economically” — OLAF SCHOLZ GERMAN CHANCELLOR against climate change” and “efforts for sustainable development” will be part of the common agenda, and “concluding a FreeTradeAgreement”between India and the EU would be an “important step.” Edited ex- Chancellor, this is your first meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in your current capacity. It comes when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has posed a new challenge in the geo-political landscape. How do you see India’s position on Russia, what’s your message to India? The Government Consultations with the Republic of India are the first such consultations since I took office in December. This might give you an idea of the importance the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Ukraine, bilateral ties on table for PM in Europe SHUBHAJIT ROY PRIMEMINISTERNarendraModi will “exchange perspectives” on the “Ukraine issue” and strengthenbilateralpartnerships during his three-day, three-nation visit to Europe, newly appointed Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said on Sunday. Modi will leave for Germany on Sunday night, and will meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz inBerlinonMonday.Hewillthen head to Denmark, where he will meet Danish PM Mette Frederiksen in Copenhagen — andalsoparticipateintheSecond India-Nordic Summit with the prime ministers of Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Sweden and Record share of domestic investors in listed companies MUMBAI, MAY 1 DOMESTICINVESTORSaretighteningtheirgriponlistedcompaniesatatimewhenforeignportfolio investors are pruning their holdings due to global uncertainty and rising interest rates in the US. Significantly, the share of retail, high net-worth investors, and domestic institutional investors(DIIs)asawhole,reached anall-timehighof 23.34percent as on March31,2022, well above the FPI (foreign portfolio investors) share of 20.15 per cent. The data compiled by primeinfobase.comshowcasestherise of the domestic individual investor and the huge counterbalancing role they have played to foreign investors. Seven years back in March 2015, while the FPI share was 23.32 per cent, the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 HOME LOAN RATES HIKED FOR EXISTING HDFC BORROWERS P 12 CHENNAI, MAY 1 THE SERVICE CHIEFS Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande and Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar at South Block, Sunday. Amit Mehra GENPANDESETSPRIORITIES,P6 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY Mumbai to Durgapur flight hits turbulence, many on board injured EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, KOLKATA, MAY 1 A SPICEJET flight operating from Mumbai to Durgapur in West Bengalsawsevereturbulenceon Sunday evening, resulting in injuries to at least 40 passengers. Of them, 12 received serious injuries, and are now in a stable condition. ASpiceJetspokespersonconfirmed the incident onboard the 189-seater Boeing 737-800 aircraft.Officialssaidtheplaneflew into a storm while landing. Sourcessaidthepassengerswent intopanic,andcabinbaggagefell on many of them, causing in- PAGE 1 ANCHOR juries, including on the head. Sources in the Airports Authority said the aircraft had 188 passengers. “Some passengers suffered head injuries and were quickly shifted to a hospital. Doctors reported they are stable now and out of danger." Expressing regret, SpiceJet said in a statement: “SpiceJet Boeing B737 aircraft operating flight SG-945 from Mumbai to Durgapur encountered severe turbulence during descent which unfortunately resulted in injuries to a few passengers. Immediate medical assistance was provided upon arrival in Durgapur.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ARUN JANARDHANAN The rush and ● the worry AS MARKETS soared after the sharp fall following the outbreak of Covid-19, retail investors entered the market in large numbers over the last two years. Their holding of listed companies has touched an alltime high now. Experts, however, caution investors hoping for quick returns. In the past, a retail rush into markets at high levels has not ended well. Norway on Tuesday. On the way back on Wednesday, Modi will make a brief stopoverinParisforameeting with French President Emmanuel Macron. In his departure statement on Sunday, Modi did not mention the Russia-Ukraine conflict directly. “My visit to Europe comes at atimewhen theregion faces many challenges and choices. Through my engagements,Iintendtostrengthenthe TN varsity’s dean removed after medical students take Charak oath E E X P L A I NE D GEORGE MATHEW & SANDEEP SINGH PM Modi will visit Germany, Denmark and France NEW DELHI, MAY 1 Ministries get trained on a new dashboard: ‘PM Speech Tracker’ ANISHA DUTTA NEW DELHI, MAY 1 GOVT & POLITICS BJPCHEATEDMY FATHERONHINDUTVA PRETEXT,IAMNOTSO NAIVE:UDDHAV P 5 THE WORLD U.S. SPEAKER PELOSI VISITS KYIV; RUSSIA SAYS IT HIT FOREIGN WEAPONS P 10 MINISTRIES AND departments in the Union government have beenaskedtotrackthespeeches of Prime Minister Narendra Modi by continuously updating a dashboard, ‘PM Speech Tracker’.Theywererecentlyprovidedtrainingonvariousaspects of the dashboard’s functioning and updation procedures. When contacted, an official aware of the development said the exercise was aimed at training officials to gauge the impact of the speeches madeby the PM. “The idea is to track the impact of the speeches on social media and other media platforms and also to see the narrative developed on the speeches besides amplifying the messaging,” said YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW E AN XPRESS RTI APPLICATION the official who did not want to be named. NITI Aayog, the government think tank, had on December 15, 2021, organised an online training programme for several ministries to discuss the procedure of updating the dashboard/ tracker, and other aspects of its functioning, it is learnt. The training programme followed an email titled ‘Online training programme on PM Speech Tracker’ sent on December 13 by the Niti Aayog to secretaries of the ministries of CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE TAMIL Nadu government Sunday removed the dean of MaduraiMedicalCollege,adayafteritsnewstudentswereadministered the Maharshi Charak Shapath,inSanskrit,insteadofthe usualHippocraticOathinEnglish. The event, attended by two state ministers — Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan and Commercial Taxes Minister P Moorthy — had triggered a controversy, coming as it did amidst an already brewing languagerowandTamilNadu’stensions with the Centre. As visuals of students taking the Sanskrit oath were widely publicised, the state government ordered the removal of Dean A Rathinavel, saying he was being placed on a waiting list for future posting. Tamil Nadu Health Minister CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Rs 1.68 lakh crore in Apr, GST collection soars to all-time high ENS ECONOMIC BUREAU NEW DELHI, MAY 1 REGISTERING THE highest level of collections since its rollout in July 2017, gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections rosetoRs1.68lakhcroreinApril, for sales in March, according to data released by the Union Finance Ministry on Sunday. This marks a 20 per cent increase from the April 2021 level onthebackof improvedcompliance,enforcementactionagainst tax evaders and pick-up in economic activity. During April 2022, 1.06 crore of the monthly summary GSTR3B (self-declared) returns were filed, of which 97 lakh pertained to March, as against 92 lakh filed during April 2021. Also, 1.05 crore statements of invoices issued in GSTR-1 (outward supplies returns) were filed, the Ministry said. “This shows clear improvement in the compliance behaviour, which has been a result of various measures taken by the tax administrationto nudge tax- payers to file returns timely, to make compliance easier and smoother and strict enforcementactiontakenagainsterrant taxpayers identified based on dataanalyticsandartificialintelligence,” the Ministry said. Union Finance Minister NirmalaSitharamanhighlighted the role of states in the highestever GST collections. “Sincerely recognise and appreciate the efforts made by each and every stateinimproving#GSTrevenue collection. India’s economic recovery is sure to be on a sustained path due to all our efforts,” she posted on Twitter. Gross GST collection in April, whichincludesrevenueofCentre and states, is at an all-time high and Rs 25,000 crore more than the previous high of Rs 1.42 lakh crore collected in March. In April lastyear,GSTcollectionsstoodat Rs 1.40 lakh crore. Experts said the rise could alsobeattributedtoyear-endactivity, higher inflation rate, input tax credit being allowed only on timely compliance by vendors and high value of imports. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ‘Mastermind’ behind Patiala clashes held, total arrests now 9 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE PATIALA, MAY 1 THE ALLEGED mastermind behindtheviolentclashesinPatiala, Barjinder Singh Parwana, has been arrested, taking the total number of arrests so far to nine. Patiala Range IG M S Chhina announced the arrest at a press conference Sunday, saying more than20policeteamswereonthe trailofParwana,38,whowasheld in Mohali and brought to Patiala. A Patiala court remanded him in police custody for four days. Clashes had broken out betweenmembersof theShivSena (Bal Thackeray), which had called for an “anti-Khalistan” march, and Sikh activists and Nihangs outside Patiala’s Kali Mata temple on Friday. The two sides brandished swords and pelted stones ateach other, leaving at least four persons, including two policemen, injured. It was the first major lawand-order incident in the state Barjinder Singh Parwana in Patiala, Sunday. Harmeet Sodhi underthenewAamAadmiParty government. A resident of Rajpura in the district, Parwana was one of the masterminds of Friday’s incident, according to police. He is accused of leading Sikh radicals during the incident. Police said Parwana had four FIRslodgedagainsthim,andwas known for making provocative speeches on social media. Having spent time in Singapore in 2007-08, he had returned and set up ‘Damdami Taksal’ at CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kerala leader arrested over hate speech, Union MoS backs him SHAJU PHILIP THIRUVANANTHAPURAM,MAY1 TWO DAYS after he delivered a hate speech targeting the Muslim community at an event backed by the Sangh Parivar in Thiruvananthapuram, controversial Kerala politician P C George was arrested early on Sunday and lodged at a police campinthestatecapitalforafew hours before being granted bail by a local court. Following George’s release from custody, various pro-BJP outfits and the conservative Christian Association and AllianceforSocialActiontookout P C George was granted bail later amarchinThiruvananthapuram in protest against his arrest. He was also backed by Union MoS andBJPleaderVMuraleedharan who accused the CPM-led governmentinKeralaof resortingto “doublespeak” and “hypocrisy”. “The CPM had taken a stand thatfreedomof expression,right of expression, is there for everyone, including the right to raise anti-national slogans. When people raised anti-national slogans, CPM took a stand that this is a free country, this is a democratic country, everybody has the right to raise their opinion. P C George expressed his opinion. What was the hurry in arresting him?” Muraleedharan said. OnFriday,attheAnanthapuri Hindu Maha Sammelan, George had alleged that restaurants run by Muslims should be avoided because they use “some kind of drops” that cause impotence. He also talked of “love jihad” and an “agenda to establish a Muslim country” by “sterilising men and women (of other faith)”. On Sunday, after he was CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Auto driver’s dream turns real, his son is Kerala’s new football sensation NARAYANAN S KOCHI, MAY 1 ON THURSDAY, when Kerala played Karnataka in the Santosh Trophy semifinal, Mohammed Nizar desperately wanted to watchthegamefromthestands. But by the time the auto driver from Nilambur in Malappuram hadfinishedhisday'strips,itwas too late to reach the stadium in Manjeri, some 30 km away, in time for the 8.30 pm kick-off. And so, it was on live stream that Nizar finally saw his 22year-old son Jesin T K, the latest football sensation in Kerala, cre- ate history by scoring five goals in his team's 7-3 win after coming on as a substitute. Jesinis now the first player to score five goals as a substitute in Santosh Trophy history. He is alsothe new ownerof theKerala record for the most number of goals in a game in the tournament — previously held by Asif Saheer, who had scored four againstBiharinthe1999edition. Come Monday, Jesin's father Nizar is not taking any chances. When Kerala take on West Bengal in the final, he plans to call itadaybytheafternoon,and travel with the family to Manjeri to watch the big game. A foot- ball-crazy father who nurtured afootball-crazy sonin a footballcrazy land, Nizar says it will be the biggest day of his life. And in a way, he is realising his unfulfilled dreams through his son. “I wanted to become a footballer but I was not focussed. I got into various sports, such as athletics,basketballandkabaddi, and ended up becoming no one. I did not have anyone to advise me properly. Jesin was also good in athletics and he was into sprinting and all. The one advice Igavemysonwastofocusonjust one thing at a time and I'm happy that he has stuck to foot- (Left) Jesin TK after Kerala’s semifinal win. AIFF; (Above) A young Jesin with his family. His father drives an auto in Malappuram. ball,” Nizar said. Against Karnataka, Jesin was brought on in the 30th minute when the hosts were trailing by a goal. Within four minutes, the striker levelled the score by lifting the ball over the onrushing goalkeeper after showcasing his pace to get to a through-pass. Then, he struck again in the 42nd and 44th minutes to complete a hat-trick within 15 minutes—andsetKeralaontheirway toaconvincingwinbeforeadding twomoregoalsinthesecondhalf. Jesin, who plays for Kerala United, says he owes his rise to Bino George, the Kerala coach who also guides the club, as well as the coaches at MES College in Mampad where he is pursuing graduation in Arabic. “Ihaveneverbeenpartof any districtteam.ButIgotthechance to play I-League seconddivision, Kerala Premier League and now Santosh Trophy due to my coaches at MES, Rafeeq sir and Murugan sir, and George sir,” he said. Jesin's grandmother also played a key role in his early yearsintofootball,sayshisfather. “When Jesin was a child, it got difficult to manage with my meagre earnings as an auto driver and I went to the Gulf for CONTINUED ON PAGE 2