DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 6 AMID THE strain in ties between the two countries, India announced Friday that Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri will be visiting Bangladesh on December 9 for “consultations”. The visit comes days after CONTINUEDONPAGE2 NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 6 OPPOSING PETITIONS challenging the constitutional validity of the Places of Worship Act, the management committee of the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi has approached the Supreme Court, saying that the “consequences” of allowing them “are bound to be drastic”. In an intervention application, the mosque committee pointed to the violence in Sambhal,UttarPradesh,wherea CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY 07/12/2024 72 100 122 86 RBIholdskeyrate,lowersgrowth forecast,movestoboostliquidity FY25 GDP projection slashed to 6.6% and inflation forecast raised to 4.8% MUMBAI, DECEMBER 6 Consequences are bound to be drastic: Gyanvapi panel to SC EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE CRR CUT TO 4%, WILL RELEASE `1.16 LAKH CRORE HITESH VYAS A protest at West Bengal’s Hili over alleged atrocities on Hindus in Bangladesh. PTI `5.00 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 IN LINE with expectations, the ReserveBankof India(RBI)Friday lowered the cash reserve ratio (CRR) by 50 basis points (bps) to 4percenttoboostliquidityinthe financialsystem,evenasthesixmember Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) left the repo rate — the key policy rate — unchanged at 6.5 per cent for the 11th consecutive time. The rate-setting panel, however,slashedtheGDPgrowthestimate to 6.6 per cent in FY2025 from 7.2 per cent projected earlier and revised upwards the consumer price index-based inflation (CPI), or retail inflation, forecast to 4.8 per cent for the current fiscal from 4.5 per cent estimated earlier. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, while announcing the policy, said, “To ease the potential RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das on Friday. PTI liquidity stress, it has now been decided to reduce the cash reserve ratio of all banks to 4 per cent of net demand and time liabilities (NDTL) in two equal tranches of 25 bps each with effectfromthefortnightbeginning December 14, 2024 and December 28, 2024.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 E E X P L A I NE D Visit comes amid strain in ties following violence against Hindus there, protests REG.NO. MCS/067/2018 - 20 RNI REGN. NO. 1543/57 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2024, MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES Foreign Secy going to Bangladesh on Dec 9 for consultations: India ● ● WhatCRR cut means THE MOVE to cut the CRR — the percentage of a bank’s total deposits that it is required to maintain in liquid cash with the RBI as a reserve — will free up Rs 1.16 lakh crore to the banking system, augmenting the lendable resources of banks. REPORTS, PAGE 15 Uproar in House as Dhankhar says ‘wad of cash’ found on Singhvi seat Central school push: 85 new KVs, 13 in J&K; 28 Navodayas, Congress MP says North-East focus not his money, EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 6 THE UNION Cabinet on Friday approvedRs8,231croreforwhat may be the largest expansion of centralschoolsinadecade,sanctioning 85 new Kendriya Vidyalayas(KVs)and28Jawahar NavodayaVidyalayas(JNVs).The Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir will receive the highest number of new KVs (13), while Arunachal Pradesh will get the most JNVs (8). KVs are intended for children of central government and CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 demands probe NIKHILA HENRY NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 6 RAJYASABHAChairmanJagdeep Dhankhar announced in the House Friday that “a wad of currencynotes”wasrecoveredfrom a seat allotted to Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi at the closing of the House Thursday, triggeringanuproarandawarof words between BJP and Oppositionmembers,leadingto adjournment of the Upper House. Singhvi termed the “recovery” of cash from his seat as PM Narendra Modi, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, V-P Jagdeep Dhankhar, Speaker Om Birla and former President Ram Nath Kovind at an event at Parliament House to pay tribute to Dr B R Ambedkar on his death anniversary. ANI “bizarre”anddemandedaprobe. Dhankhar said the cash was found during a routine “antisabotage” security check of the Chamber. “Apparently, a wad of currency notes was recovered by CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Governor C P Radhakrishnan, CM Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar pay tribute to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar on Mahaparinirvan Diwas, in Mumbai. 3 parties, 6 depts: Why the portfolio impasse in Mahayuti govt in Maharashtra ALOK DESHPANDE MUMBAI, DECEMBER 6 THE MAHAYUTI may have had an easy victory in the Maharashtra elections, proving predictions of a tough contest wrong. However, the period since has been marked by intense negotiations as all the three parties, buoyed by their strong performance — the BJP 132, Shiv Sena 57 and NCP 41 seats—havebeenjostlingforkey portfolios. Theswearing-inonThursday itself remained a touch-and-go tillalmostthefinalhoursasSena chief Eknath Shinde held out reportedly for the Home Ministry, besides Deputy Chief Minister post. He finally fell in line with the BJP’s plans reportedly after he was told to make a choice between Home and Urban Development. Ajit Pawar, who has scored some pointswith theBJP bypro- jecting himself as an entirely amenable ally, has his own demandsaswell,withHousingand Finance–heldbyhimintheprevious Mahayuti government – top of his list. A look at the six mostsought-after departments in Maharashtra, and why they are so coveted: Home Across governments, in states and at the Centre, this remainstheonedepartmentevery leaderwantscontrolof –andthe one that chief ministers almost never part with. The reasons are obvious: Home controls the police, giving the minister concernedvaluableandearlyinsight into every development of import under their area. In times of political instability, the long arm of the law can go a long way in steadying or rocking the boat – and, in the Mahayuti’s case, can be a way of keeping allies in CONTINUEDONPAGE2