DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 3, 2024, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 20 PAGES BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY JOURNALISM OF COURAGE CHALLENGE TO CITIZENSHIP (AMENDMENT) ACT PENDING BEFORE SC Govt ready with rules for CAA, set to be notified before LS polls announcement Process to be online, mobile phones can also be used to apply: Officials MAHENDER SINGH MANRAL & ANANTHAKRISHNAN G EXPLAINED CLIMATE CHANGE AMERICA’S CLIMATE FAILURES WHY NOBEL LAUREATE YUNUS GOT JAIL TERM PAGE 14 `7.00 (`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 NEW DELHI, JANUARY 2 RULES FOR the Citizenship (Amendment)Act(CAA),theBill for which was cleared by Parliament in December 2019, will be notified much before the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections, sources in the govern- ment said Tuesday. TheBill,whichsoughttofasttrack Indian citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians — but not Muslims — who migrated to IndiaowingtoreligiouspersecutioninPakistan,Afghanistanand Bangladesh, was passed by Lok Sabha on December 9, 2019, and Rajya Sabha two days later. It received the President’s assent on December 12, 2019. GOVT & POLITICS Rules key toAct BJP HUDDLE ON LS POLLS: RAM TEMPLE CAMPAIGN, 303-PLUS SEATS PAGE 7 IT HAS been more than four years since the law received Presidential assent after Parliament cleared the Bill. Its passage led to widespread protests. Eight extensions later, the government is ready with the rules which are necessary for implementation of the Act. Soon after the passage of the law, widespread protests broke out across the country. The rules for implementation of the Act werenevernotifiedandthegovernmentsoughtrepeatedextensions for framing the rules. Sources told The Indian Express that the rules are now ready and the online portal is also in place. The entire process, sources said, will be online and applicants can apply even from their mobile phones. “Wearegoingtoissuetherules for the CAA in the coming days. Once the rules are issued, the law canbeimplementedandthoseeligible can be granted Indian citizenship,”thesourcessaid. Asked whether the rules will benotifiedbeforetheannouncement of the Lok Sabha elections, the sources said, “All things are CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 GMRT TO PLAY KEY ROLE Another eye in sky, on ground: India is now part of world’s largest radio telescope project Ram Lalla idol: ‘Shyam’ or ‘shwet’? Most trustees back Yogiraj’s sculpture Yogirajof Mysuruusedshyam shila or bluish-blackstonetocarve51-inchidol MAULSHREE SETH LUCKNOW, JANUARY 2 UNION MINISTER of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi on January 1 said on social media that the idol of Ram Lalla carved by Mysuru-based sculptor Arun Yogiraj will be installed in Ayodhya. He may be right, but for now there’s an impasse which will be resolved soon. While a majority of the 11 members of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust gave the highest rating to Yogiraj-sculpted “shyam rang” (darkcoloured)RamLallaidolon December 22, the preference for a “shwet” (fair coloured) Ram by aseniortrustee,resultedinaninconclusive meeting. A source said, “The number one rating for the Yogirajsculpted idol will not change.” Another source said the final decision is likely to be announced by the Trust latest by Makar Sankranti i.e., January 14-15. Three renowned sculptors fromtheirrespectivefieldswere chosen to carve three idols depictingafive-yearold51-inchtall Ram Lalla (child Ram) in standing form. Two idols sculpted by Arun Yogiraj and Ganesh Bhatt have beencarvedin dark bluishgreystone(referredtoas“shyam shila”) derived from Karnataka, the third one by Satyanarayan Pandey and his family, is pure white, carved from makrana marble from Rajasthan. A source in the Trust said about eight sculptors were invited from different parts of the country in May last year, of whom three agreed to work under specific conditions. The first condition was they would have CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE WORLD DAE approves Rs 1,250 cr, Pune’s NCRA to take lead ANJALI MARAR BENGALURU, JANUARY 2 EVENASISROMondaylaunched a unique observatory to study Xrays and black holes in deep space and the stage is being set toconstructthethirdnodeof the LIGO in Maharashtra, scientists in India will now also be part of the international mega-science project, the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO), that will function as the world’s largest radio telescope. The SKAO is not a single telescope but an array of thousands of antennas, to be installed in remote radio-quiet locations in South Africa and Australia, that will operate as one large unit meant to observe and study celestial phenomena. India, through the Punebased National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA) and some other institutions, has been involvedinthedevelopmentofSKA since its inception in the 1990s. Considering the multinational collaboration, SKAO was established as an intergovernmental organisation in 2021 fol- PM UNVEILS SLEW OF PROJECTS IN TAMIL NADU Installation work at one of the SKA sites in Western Australia. Credit: SKAO lowing years of negotiation in which India, too, participated. Countrieshavetosign,andratify, the SKAO convention to formally become members. The Government’sapprovalforjoining the project, with a financial sanction of Rs 1,250 crore, is the first steptowardstheratification. The approval, which the Department of Atomic Energy announcedinits2023year-endingnote,comesweeksafterIndia gaveitsgo-aheadtoconstructthe CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SCIENCE CONGRESS FAILS TO KEEP DATE THIS YEAR PAGE 8 Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi, Chief Minister M K Stalin, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and Union MoS (I&B) L Murugan at the inauguration of the new terminal building at Tiruchirappalli airport on Tuesday. Modi inaugurated projects worth Rs 20,140 crore for the state during his visit. PTI REPORT,PAGE7 IIT-BHU SEXUAL ASSAULT Protesting new hit-and-run law, truckers Accused involved in dial down after talks with Home Secretary 3 other molestations on campus: Probe NEW DELHI, JANUARY 2 WITH THE truck drivers' nationwide protest against a new penal provision in hit-and-run cases triggering panic buying of fuel and essential items in several states, the Centre on Tuesday stepped in, assuring transporters that a decision on Lack of actionable intel & thinning of troops factors, reassessment on AMRITA NAYAK DUTTA NEW DELHI, JANUARY 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Home Minister Amit Shah chairs a meeting to review the J&K security situation, in New Delhi Tuesday. PTI REPORT,PAGE8 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 At a petrol pump in Amritsar, Tuesday. Rana Simranjit Singh EXPRESS NETWORK NICARAGUA FLIGHT: PEOPLE WERE TO PAY UP TO `80 LAKH ADANI-HINDENBURG CASE: SC TO DELIVER VERDICT TODAY GOVT PLANS TO END FREE MOVEMENT ON MYANMAR BORDER PAGES 8, 7, 12 RELATED REPORT PAGE 8 7 securitymen injured in attack, Manipur CM links it to Myanmar militants JIMMY LEIVON IMPHAL, JANUARY 2 ATLEAST sevensecurity personnel — five from the Manipur Police and two from the BSF — were injured on Tuesday in a suspected militant attack at the border town of Moreh in Manipur’s Tengnoupal district. This comes a day after four people belonging to the Meitei Pangal community were killed whenarmedmiscreantsopened fire into a crowd at Lilong Chingjao in Thoubal district. The attack in Moreh took placeataround8amonTuesday when a team of security personnel was conducting routine operations. They were attacked with bombs and automatic weapons, and the injured were airlifted to a hospital in Imphal. Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh said militants from Myanmar — Moreh borders the neighbouring country — were CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 At the home of one of the accused in Varanasi. Asad Rehman MANISH SAHU & ASAD REHMAN LUCKNOW, VARANASI, JAN 2 THE THREE accused in the IITBHU sexual assault case are learnt to have told police during questioning that they were involved in three other incidents of molestation on campus, and that they would visit the premises regularly, ostensibly to look for “opportunities”. An analysis of theircalldetailrecordscorroborated this, showing their loca- tion on the campus between 11 pm and 1 am frequently, officersinvolvedintheinvestigation told The Indian Express. Varanasi police had on Saturday arrested Kunal Pandey (28), Saksham Patel (20) and Abhishek Chauhan (22) for the incident,whichtookplaceonthe nightof November1.Asreported by The Indian Express, two days before this incident, another womanstudenthadfacedasimilar ordeal and had reported it to the Proctor’s office. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Local brands take big bite of India’s growing dark chocolate pie THE CHOCOLATE MARKET Market for chocolate bars grew to US$1,096.8 million in 2023 and is set to increase by 65% in the next five years Marketsharein2023(%) Marketsizeofdark chocolate(in$million) PlainWhite 90 80 70 60 41.1 50 40 30 58.3 Source: Euromonitor 7.8 Filled 31.2 85.6 57.3 2022 Plain Milk PlainDark 2023 2.7 2021 AS MORE and more Indians acquire a taste for dark chocolate, it's domestic brands, not global confectionery giants, who are dominating this fast-growing segment. Consider this: India’s dark chocolate market more than doubled in size to $86 million from $41 million over the past five years, growing 16 per cent annually, while the dominant milk chocolate segment grew at 11 per cent a year, as per data from market research firm Hershey’s, who are among the top players in Europe's $26-billion dark chocolatemarket, have chosen to continue catering to the milk chocolate market in India as is evident by their limited offerings of dark chocolate and focus on rural penetration with mass-market products. In contrast, domestic brands such as Amul, ITC's Fabelle, Chokola and Mason & Co are spearheading innovation in product offerings by experimenting with different ingredients and emphasising on singleorigin cocoa sources. Amul, for instance,offers17darkchocolate bars in its product portfolio. 2020 NEW DELHI, JANUARY 2 Euromonitor. However, international chocolate behemoths such as Nestlé,Mondelez,andHershey’s, which currently lead in the domestic milk chocolate market, play second fiddle to homegrown players such as Amul in the niche butrapidly-expanding dark chocolate segment. At a market share of 58.3 per cent, the $639-million milk chocolate segment dominates India’s overall chocolate market. Dark chocolates currently have a market share of nearly 8 per cent, but that's growing. Yet, international brands such as Nestlé, Mondelez and 2019 AGGAM WALIA 2018 PAGE 1 ANCHOR enforcing the stringent provisions in such cases under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita will be taken only after consultation with the All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC). Following the assurance from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) at a meeting SAMAN HUSAIN & MAHENDER SINGH MANRAL TERROR ATTACKS SOUTH OF PIR PANJAL LACK OF adequate actionable intelligenceoninfiltrationofterrorists and their sustenance, thinning of security forces in the hinterland and an increasing influx of narcotics are among the reasons for the high intensity attacksonsecurityforcesinPoonch, RajouriandJammu,threeborder districtsoftheJammuregion,top PLANE CATCHES FIRE AFTER COLLISION AT JAPAN AIRPORT, FIVE KILLED PAGE 16 These homegrown brands are also tapping into consumer segments that are urban, health conscious, and open to trying unusual flavours through specific marketing and distribution strategies. Unlike milk chocolate, dark chocolate is generally more expensive and tastes comparatively bitter due to higher cocoa content, ranging from 50 to 90 per cent, which makes it an acquiredtasteformostconsumers. Nestlé India does not have a dark chocolate bar in its product portfolio and its presence in the segment is limited to dark chocolate-coated wafer Kit Kat Dark. While Hershey’s has a few offerings, Mondelez’s Cadbury hasonlyfivedarkchocolatebars. Nestlé’s limited presence in the Indian dark chocolate market appears consistent with its strategy to boost growth by increasing penetration in the highly price-sensitive ruralmarket, instead of focusing on premium offerings. This rural penetration-led growth strategy leaves little room for pricier products like dark chocolate bars. Nestlé’s Kit Kat Dark costs Rs 120 for 41.5 gm, which is much higher than the price of the average milk chocolate bar in the Indian market. Much like Nestlé, Hershey’s only offers a single dark chocolate bar product in India called BARS Dark with 49 per cent cocoa content at Rs 60 for 40 gm. Hershey’s also has a range of bite-sized filled chocolate called Exotic Dark, which is essentially fruitsandnutscoveredbyalayer of flavoured dark chocolate. While Mondelez’s Cadbury has five options in dark chocolate bars as part of its Bournville range,itdoesnotdisclosethecocoa content in any of them, except for its Rich Cocoa bar with 70 per cent cocoa content. At the other end of the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2