DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA ● REG.NO. MCS/067/2018 - 20 RNI REGN. NO. 1543/57 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE FRIDAY, MAY 13, 2022, MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES `5.00, WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT FOR MARCH SHOWS GROWTH OF 1.9% Retail inflation rises to 8-year high, touches 7.79% in April Highpricelevelsof fuel,fooditemsand householdservicescontributetosurge NEW DELHI, MAY 12 RETAIL INFLATION surged to a near 8-year high of 7.79 per cent in April, persisting above the ReserveBankof India’s(RBI's)inflation target for the fourth straight month, data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) showed Thursday. High price levels of fuel and food items, especially of vegetables, spices and oils/fats, along with household services, contributed to the sharp rise in CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 E E X P L A I NE D AANCHAL MAGAZINE Why RBI ● may act IN ANTICIPATION of the inflation print, the rupee slipped to a record low, while stocks plummeted 2 per cent amid concerns that runaway prices may force RBI to tighten rates more aggressively. There could be back-to-back rate hikes in the next MPC meet in June. EXPLAINED,PAGE9 A glimmer of hope from milk, pulses as prices fall HARISH DAMODARAN & PARTHASARATHI BISWAS NEW DELHI, PUNE, MAY 12 IS THE worst of food inflation — 8.38 per cent year-on-year in April — over? Some hope is provided by milk, which has the highestweightamongfooditems intheconsumerpriceindexafter cereals. And also pulses, besides the likes of onion and potato. International prices of dairy commoditieshavefallenoff acliff inthepastmonth,andtheeffects are percolating to India as well. Theaveragepriceofskimmilk powder(SMP)attheGlobalDairy Tradefortnightlyauctionplatform hit a high of $4,599 per tonne on April5,almosttwiceitsearly-May 2020lowof $2,373.Butthatprice has since eased to $4,130 per tonnein the latest May 3 auction. Thedrophasbeenevenmore for anhydrous milk fat (ghee) prices, which have crashed from $7,111 to $6,008 per tonne betweenMarch15andMay3.These hadagainsoaredfromtheworldwide Covid lockdown-induced lows of $3,870 in July 2020. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Opp leader told me ‘PM twice, what more’, but I can’t rest: Modi Ride market volatility with Balanced Advantage Funds. Give your portfolio a dynamic mix of equity and debt. Funds in the Balanced Advantage category aim to offer optimum market linked returns while helping you manage market volatility. Diversify your investments with Balanced Advantage Funds ‘Won’t rest till govt schemes cover all’ Bhat’s grieving family members in Budgam. Shuaib Masoodi ` 131 per kilo ` 159 per kilo ` 198 per kilo ` 52 per Dozen GYANVAPI SURVEY Court says break locks if needed, submit report by May 17 Kashmiri Pandit govt staffer killed in Valley BASHAARAT MASOOD & ARUN SHARMA MILITANTS THURSDAY barged into a government office in central Kashmir’s Budgam district andfatallyshotaKashmiriPandit employee — the third attack againsttheminoritycommunity in the Valley this year. Police said Rahul Bhat, a revenue department official at the tehsil office in Chadoora, was BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY At Kashi VishwanathGyanvapi complex Thursday. Anand Singh CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 HINTING THAT he was ready for another term, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday thata“verysenior”Oppositionleader,whomherespects,hadonce asked“whatelse”wasleftforhim toaccomplishafterbecomingPM twice — but he will not rest till “100 per cent” coverage of Government schemes was achieved. Speaking virtually at the Utkarsh Samaroh in Bharuch, where beneficiaries of four Central Government schemes were assembled, Modi said: “Once I met a leader...he is a very senior leader...he has been a political opponent, but I do respect him. One day, he came to meet CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Aaditya: Mumbai may get single planning authority in a year, to be headed by mayor MUMBAI, MAY 12 VARANASI, MAY 12 CONTINUEDONPAGE2 takentoahospitalwherehesuccumbedtohisinjuries.Theysaid two militants were involved in theattackandthatBhatwasshot point blank with a pistol. TheattackonBhat,inhis30s, BHARUCH, MAY 12 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE ASAD REHMAN STATINGTHAT“anatmosphereof fearhasbeencreated”,aVaranasi court on Thursday ordered resumption of the video survey of the Kashi Vishwanath templeGyanvapi mosque complex, which was halted last week following allegations of bias against the official in charge — even if it meantgetting“locksopened/broken”.Thesurveyreportshouldbe submitted on May 17, it said. Rahul Bhat worked for the revenue deparment SRINAGAR, JAMMU, MAY 12 KAMAAL SAIYED MAHARASHTRA TOP COURT ALLOWS E-RICKSHAWS IN MATHERAN AS PILOT PROJECT PAGE 4 MAHARASHTRA ENVIRONMENTMinisterAadityaThackeray on Thursday said that the state government was working on a plan to ensure that a single planning authority governs Mumbai in a year, to be headed by the mayor, who would be given enhanced administrative powers. He was speaking at the international conference on ‘Climate Crisis 2.0 - Mobilizing Finance for Coastal Cities’, in collaboration with the Brihanmumbai MunicipalCorporation(BMC),the Aaditya Thackeray at the conference in Mumbai on Thursday. Pradip Das state government and not-forprofitorganisationMumbaiFirst. Thackeray said, “There are multiple agencies in Mumbai and having a single planning CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Age ceiling, Rajya Sabha term limit on Cong table, Chintan Shivir starts today PAGE 1 ANCHOR MANOJ C G UDAIPUR, MAY 12 THE CONGRESS top brass is actively considering a radical idea to bring new faces into leadershiplevels.Sourcessaidtheparty isseriouslythinkingof imposing anage-ceilingforleaderstohold positions in the organisation at all levels and for contesting elections besides putting in place a term-limitforRajyaSabhamembers.Theideaispartoftheparty’s attempt togiveita“younglook.” Two senior leaders, who are playing a key role in delibera- Rahul Gandhi Thursday leaves for the ‘Chintan Shivir’ in Udaipur from Sarai Rohilla railway station in Delhi. Congress tions in the run-up to the Congress Chintan Shivir beginning Friday in Udaipur, told The Indian Express that the party is “seriously thinking” about the two ideas though it is not yet clear “what shape these proposals will take”. “I can tell you there is certainly a thinking in this direction…Weareseriouslythinking, but I cannot say now how it will come up,” one leader said. It remains to be seen whether the ideas will come up for discussion at the Chintan Shivir which is being held to deliberate and find a roadmap for the party’s electoral revival. As many as 430 Congress leaders have assembled for the Shivir, the first such brainstorming session since the party’s electoral slidebeganin2014.Addressinga meeting of the Congress Working Committee earlier this week, party president Sonia CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Contact your MFD/RIA. 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