DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE WEDNESDAY, MAY 18, 2022, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES Rising prices drive wholesale inflation to record high of 15.1% AANCHAL MAGAZINE NEW DELHI, MAY 17 THE INFLATION rate based on Wholesale Price Index (WPI) surged to a record high of 15.1 per cent in April, with the rise in prices of vegetables, fruits, milk, manufacturing, fuel and power, accordingtodatareleasedbythe Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday. This is the highest WPI print in the 2011-12 series. Annual WPI inflation — inflation at the producer level — has remained in double digits for 13 months in a row, consistently edging upwards. According to data released last week, inflation at the retail levelalsosurgedtoaneight-year high of 7.79 per cent in April, The big worry MUCH OF the inflation spike is being seen as a result of the RussiaUkraine conflict. But the big worry for policymakers is the trend of retail inflation converging towards WPI-based inflation — in deviation from the usual trend of wholesale price inflation collapsing in the direction of retail price rise. with expectations now rising for another repo ratehikebytheRBI in June of as much as 40 basis points. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Weak market debut for LIC, lists at 8% discount ENS ECONOMIC BUREAU MUMBAI, MAY 17 DISAPPOINTING INVESTORS on listing day, shares of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), which mobilised around Rs 20,557 crore through the country’s biggest initial public offering (IPO) recently, plunged nearly 8 per cent in its market debut on Tuesday. LIC, India’s biggest insurer and domestic financial institution, started trading at Rs 867.20 —atadiscountof 8.62percent— on the BSE as against the issue price of Rs 949 per share. The shareclosedthedayatRs875.45, a discount of 7.75 per cent, even EXPLAINED LOW-KEYLISTING FORLIC:WHAT ARE THELONG-TERM PROSPECTS? PAGE 13 as the volatile stock markets staged a rally, with the Sensex jumping nearly 1,345 points, or 2.54 per cent. LIC now has a market value of around Rs 5.53 lakh crore and is India’s fifth biggest company intermsof marketcapitalisation after Reliance Industries, TCS, HDFC Bank and Infosys. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SINCE 1932 DECLINES TO STAY GYANVAPI PROCEEDINGS Secure Shivling claim site, allow namaz: SC Plea in Varanasi clearly seeks to change religious character: Masjid committee ANANTHAKRISHNAN G & LALMANI VERMA NEW DELHI, VARANASI, MAY 17 DECLINING TO stay proceedings before a Varanasi court on matters related to the Kashi Vishwanath temple-Gyanvapi mosque complex, the Supreme Court Tuesday asked the Varanasi district magistrate to secure the area where a Shivling was claimed to have been found during a videographic survey of the mosque area without impeding or restricting the rights of Muslims to access and offer namaz at the mosque. The bench of Justices D Y ChandrachudandPSNarasimha, hearing an appeal by the Committee of Management of Anjuman Intezamia Masjid, Varanasi,saidthereislackof clarity on whether the trial court, in CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 LALMANI VERMA VARANASI, MAY 17 The Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi. Anand Singh THE EDITORIAL PAGE WE ASK THE WRONG QUESTION By FAHAD ZUBERI CAUTION, CONSTITUTION Any attempt to change character of Gyanvapi mosque violates law of the land PAGE 10 Needle moves within BJP: New claim brings Kashi out of cold, raises heat on 1991 law LIZ MATHEW NEW DELHI, MAY 17 WHEN THE Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on November 9, 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modicalledita“daytoforgetany bitterness one may have”. The Survey official removed, two more days to submit report same day, responding to a question on whether the RSS would now take up the issue of the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi and the Shahi Idgah in Mathura, its chief Mohan Bhagwat said: “Because of a historical backdrop, the Sangh got associated with this movement (Ayodhya) CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THEVARANASIcourtonTuesday removed the Advocate Commissioner it had appointed initially to oversee the videographic survey of the Gyanvapi mosque complex, stating that he had been “highly irresponsible” in executing the work. The court also extended the deadline for submission of the survey report by two days to May 19. The removal of Advocate Commissioner Ajay Kumar Mishra came on an application filed by Vishal Singh, the Special Advocate Commissioner. Singh CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY `7.00 (`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM