DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE `7.00 (`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 Faster and convenient travel Modi Sarkar ki G Guarantee Government of india Scan for more information Faster connectivity across the country by high speed indigenous Vande Bharat trains; Giving momentum to Indian Railways cbc 22201/13/0265/2324 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2024, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 22 PAGES Hamara Sankalp Viksit Bharat At 5.1% in Jan, IN CUSTODY SINCE AUG 2022; HANDED DEATH PENALTY, LATER COMMUTED retail inflation at 3-month low; factory output at 3.8% in Dec NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 12 RETAIL INFLATION slipped to a three-month low of 5.1 per cent inJanuaryprimarilyduetolower food prices after having risen to a four-month high in December, data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Monday showed. Separately released data by the NSO showed that the factory output, as measured by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), rose to 3.8 per cent in December from 2.4 per cent in the previous month, but was lower than 5.1 per cent in the year-ago period. Theretailinflationrate,based on Consumer Price Index (Combined), slowed in January after having risen for the previous two months. While it marked the 52nd month of retail inflation staying above the 4 per cent mark in the 4+/- 2 per cent band of medium-term inflation target set by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the core inflation—non-food,non-fuelsegment — fell to a 50-month low of 3.6 per cent in January. Economists said the continued fall in core inflation indicated that RBI’s monetary policy tightening is having an impact but elevated food inflation continues to be a worry. “This (core inflation) is a 50-month low and suggests that RBI’s monetary CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY 7 have returned, appreciate Emir’s decision to enable release: Govt Families got news once men had boarded flight home, say ‘grateful to PM’ SHUBHAJIT ROY RITIKA CHOPRA & SHAJU PHILIP NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 12 MORE THAN three months after they were sentenced to death, eight former Indian Navy personnel have been released from custody in Qatar and seven have returned to India. This was announced by the Ministryof ExternalAffairsinthe early hours of Monday. Hours later, Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said Prime NEW DELHI, KOCHI, FEB 12 Some of the former Indian Navy personnel after their arrival in New Delhi early Monday. PTI Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Qatar on February 14 and meet Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, after com- Ashok Chavan latest to quit Cong, says no call yet on joining BJP ALOK DESHPANDE pleting his visit to the UAE that starts Tuesday. Relieved families hailed the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 RLD confirms: Will join NDA, faced injustice in INDIA bloc, pride at stake MUMBAI, FEBRUARY 12 LALMANI VERMA IN ANOTHER setback to the CongressinMaharashtra,former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan quitthepartyonMondayandresigned as MLA too. Amid speculation that he would join the BJP, Chavan said he had not taken any decision yet. This is the third big exit from the state Congress unit in less than a month. Last month, former Union minister Milind Deora quit the party to join the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Last week, former Congress MLA Baba Siddique joined the NCP led by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar. AICC in-charge for Maharashtra Congress, Ramesh ENDING SPECULATION, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief and Rajya Sabha MP Jayant Chaudhary on Monday confirmed that his party would join the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Speaking to reporters at the party office here, after paying tribute to his father and party founder Ajit Singh on his birth anniversary, Chaudhary said: “I havespokentoallmypartyMLAs andworkers,andhavetakenthis decision after speaking to them. There has been no big planning behind the decision, it is not like NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 12 Chavan after resigning from the Congress, in Mumbai on Monday. Sankhadeep Banerjee Chennithala, has called an urgent meeting of all senior party leaders in Mumbai on Tuesday afternoon. The party fears that a CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MORE REPORTS PAGE 8 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Easy win for Nitish as 3 Haldwani: Police station RJD MLAs, ‘missing’ JD(U) to come up at site, accused MLAs surface on his side told to pay Rs 2.44 crore SANTOSH SINGH AVANEESH MISHRA THREERJDMLAscrossedoverto the NDA while five absent JD(U) MLAs turned up with just a few minutes to go for voting, helping Chief MinisterNitishKumarwin the trust vote easily on Monday with 129 votes in his favour. There was no vote against, as the UTTARAKHAND CHIEF Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Mondayannouncedthatapolice stationwouldbebuiltatthespot in Nainital’s Haldwani city where the demolition of a mosque and a madrasa, which authorities said were built on governmentland,ledtoviolence PATNA, FEBRUARY 12 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 HALDWANI, FEBRUARY 12 Bihar CM Nitish Kumar outside the Assembly in Patna on Monday. ANI Clear message from our govt: CM Dhami in which five people were killed and several injured. Themainaccusedinthecase, AbdulMalik,wasservedanotice CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 It’s sunny side up when a community of solar physicists unites to help, bust myths PAGE 1 ANCHOR ANJALI MARAR BENGALURU, FEBRUARY 12 WHILE RELOCATING from Finland’s University of Helsinki to NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) for her second post-doctoral studies in January 2023, solar physicist Anshu Kumari, 32, felt the absence of a support group within the scientific community when she Around 50 INDUS members met recently at the 42nd meet of the Astronomical Society of India in Bengaluru. INDUS needed help with a software. The challenges she faced sowed the seeds of the Indian Network for Dynamical and Unified Solar (INDUS) Physicists in her mind. Starting with a humble WhatsApp group, team INDUS launched a website on August 15 last year. Their online presence has only grown since then. The voluntary initiative is led by Indian researchers pursuing PhD, postdoctoral studies and young scientists working in the field of solar and heliospheric CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 FAMILY MEMBERS of the eight former Indian Navy personnel, in Qatari custody since August 2022, were informed of their release by the Indian government late Sunday after they had boarded flights to return home. Of the eight, only Commander Purnendu Tiwari, whose CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 E EXPLAINED AANCHAL MAGAZINE Qatar frees eight former Indian Navy men, PM will go to Doha tomorrow ● The road via Doha WHILE THE release of the eight men and the PM’s decision to travel to Doha underline the behind-the-scenes effort, it also charts the course for a new chapter in IndiaQatar relations, more so because Doha is a key player in the Middle East. GOVT & POLITICS GOVERNOR DELIVERS ‘SHORTEST’ ADDRESS IN TAMIL NADU PAGE 9 SENTHIL BALAJI RESIGNS AS TN MINISTER PAGE 9 Barricades being put up at Delhi’s Ghazipur border on Monday. Praveen Khanna FARMPROTEST2.0,EXPLAINED,P17 Talks inconclusive, Punjab farmers to set out for Delhi today Consensus on some issues, others need permanent resolution: Minister Munda KANCHAN VASDEV CHANDIGARH, FEBRUARY 12 TWOYEARSaftertheyforcedthe Centre to repeal three farm laws before ending their year-long protestatDelhi’sborders,Punjab farmer unions announced late Monday night that farmers would set out for the Capital at 10 am Tuesday to press their demands,including alegalguaran- tee of minimum support price (MSP) for crops. The decision to march to Delhi – ‘Dilli Chalo’ – was taken after marathon talks in Chandigarh remained inconclusive, the farmer unions said. SamyuktaKisanMorcha(nonpolitical) convenor Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee coordinator Sarwan Singh Pandher were CONTINUED ON PAGE 2