DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2025, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 26 PAGES `7.00 (`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, `15 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 Delhi votes on Feb 5, EC will ask Govt to ensure Budget has nothing city-specific Bypolls in UP’s Milkipur and TN’s Erode are also scheduled Growthestimateat4-yearlowof6.4% onweakmanufacturingandinvestment AANCHAL MAGAZINE NEW DELHI, JANUARY 7 Govt clears memorial to Pranab in Delhi, daughter meets PM, thanks him PM NarendraModiwith former President Pranab Mukherjee’sdaughter SharmisthaMukherjeein NewDelhi. X/@Sharmistha_GK EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, JANUARY 7 FORMER PRESIDENT and lifelong Congressman Pranab Mukherjee will soon have a memorialinhisnameintheCapital. TheNDAgovernment hasinformed Mukherjee’s family that it has decided to earmark a designatedsitewithintheRashtriya Smriti complex for a memorial to the veteran leader who died on August 31, 2020. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 INDIA’S REAL Gross Domestic Product(GDP)isseengrowingat a four-year low of 6.4 per cent in the current financialyear (202425), primarily due to weak industrial and investment growth, the first advance estimates for FY25 released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) on Tuesday showed. The GDP growth for FY25 is seen lower than both the growth estimate of the Reserve Bank of India (6.6 per cent) as well as the government (6.5-7 per cent growth in the Economic Survey 2023-24). Thefirstadvanceestimatesof GDP,obtainedbyextrapolationof data of the first seven-eight months of the ongoing financial year (FY25), are released early to helpofficersintheUnionMinistry ofFinanceandotherdepartments in framing the broad contours of Union Budget for the next financialyear,whichistobepresented in Parliament on February 1. Even as GDP growth is estimatedtohavepickedpaceinthe CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 GROWTH OVER THE YEARS ■ GVA ■ GDP 9.4 9.7 6.7 3.9 3.9 -4.1 2019 -20 Source: NSO 7 (in%) 8.2 7.2 6.4 6.4 -5.8 2020 -21 2021 2022 2023 2024 -22 -23 -24 -25 WHATGDPESTIMATESSHOW,PAGE23 Behind Test rout: Key players on a long break from red ball at home ‘I am sure Collegium will take action to deal with (Justice Yadav) issue’ SANDIP G & VENKATA KRISHNA B RITU SARIN CHENNAI, NEW DELHI, JAN 7 ■ The last time Virat Kohli, India’s premier batsman, played a Ranji Trophy game was in 2012. ■ Rohit Sharma has not played domestic red-ball cricket for nine years now. ■ In the last four years, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed SirajandKLRahulhaveplayedjust four long-format domestic games between them. P11 NEW DELHI, JANUARY 7 Virat last played domestic red ball in 2012, Rohit in 2016 THE NUMBERS speak for themselves.Theplayerswhoformthe nucleus of India’s Test team barely plough the domestic fields, and this lack of red-ball CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SAYING HE was “sure” the Collegium would take “action” in the issue related to Allahabad HighCourtjudgeJusticeShekhar Yadav’s remarks targeting Muslims at a Vishwa Hindu Parishad event on December 8, former Supreme Court judge Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul flagged what hecalledadisturbing trend of sections of the court “trying to curry favour” with the Government. SpeakingtoTheIndianExpress, THE EXPRESS INTERVIEW JUSTICE S K KAUL RETIRED SUPREME COURT JUDGE Justice Kaul, who retired a year ago, said that such “aberrations” were “a little more today,” than CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 E E X P L A I NE D BY UNNY GDP: FIRST HALF SLUMP WEIGHS IN ON FULL YEAR GROWTH In second half of 2024-25, consumption will likely accelerate, but investment may remain flat BUSINESS AS USUAL Why growth ● isdown WHILE CONSUMPTION demand is set to grow at 7.3 per cent this year (4 per cent last year), investment (particularly, corporate) has not quite picked pace. This year, it is seen growing at 6.4 per cent compared with 9 per cent in FY24. THE WORLD EARTHQUAKE KILLS 126 IN TIBET PAGE 22 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE DECISION 2025 DelhiAssemblypolls Totalseats 70 NEW DELHI, JANUARY 7 THE ELECTION Commission of India announced Tuesday that Delhi, with over 1.55 crore registered electors across 70 constituencies, will vote in the Assembly elections on February 5. The counting of votes will be on February 8. Since the Union Budget is expected to be presented on February 1, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said theECwouldcommunicatetothe Cabinet Secretary that no Delhispecific announcement that can disturb the level-playing field CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SCseats 12 Total electorate 1.55 crore 7.4 lakh: Increase in voters from 2020 2.08 lakh: First-time voters (age 18-19) 2020 result (Vote share in %) 62 AAP INC: 0 8 BJP (53.6%) (4.3%) (38.5%) Voting FEB 5 Results FEB 8 MORE REPORTS P 4, 6 ISRO to BARC, agencies pitch in for the big clean-up at Maha Kumbh MAULSHREE SETH LUCKNOW, JANUARY 7 AS VISITORS settle into their tents and luxury domes at the Maha Kumbh that will be held on a sprawling 10,000 acres along theGangaatPrayagraj, authorities are bracing themselves for a huge challenge: the managementandtreatmentof waste generated each day during the Prefabricated toilets being set up for the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj. Vishal Srivastav 45-day religious event. TheMahaKumbh,heldevery 12years,startsonJanuary13and ends on February 26. One of the biggest such religious congregations in the country, nearly 40 crore visitors are expected to be at the mela this year, besides the 50 lakh pilgrims and sadhus, whoplantostayincampsforthe entire duration. DuringthelastMahaKumbh, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2