The Evening Wrap: 17 candidates share top rank in revised NEET-UG results

The National Testing Agency (NTA) on July 26 announced the final results of the controversy-ridden medical entrance exam NEET-UG, officials said. In today’s results 17 candidates share top rank, down from 61 in revised results. The results were declared following directive from the Supreme Court after taking into account marks of a physics question, which the NTA had said has two correct answers. Forty-four out of the 67 candidates who were earlier declared toppers had scored full marks because of the marks awarded for that particular physics question. The number of toppers was later reduced to 61 with the agency withdrawing grace marks awarded to six candidates to make up for loss of time at few exam centres. Among the top 100 ranks, 17 got 720 full score, 6 got 716 and 77 candidates got 715. In a major setback to unsuccessful aspirants of NEET-UG 2024, the Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the pleas seeking cancellation and re-test of the controversy-ridden exam, holding that there was no evidence on record to conclude that it was “vitiated” on account of “systemic breach” of its sanctity. The verdict came as a shot in the arm for the embattled NDA government and the National Testing Agency (NTA), which were facing strong criticism and protests, on streets and in Parliament, over alleged large-scale malpractices like question paper leak, fraud and impersonation in the prestigious test held on May 5. The CBI is probing alleged irregularities in NEET-UG 2024 and has lodged six FIRs. The NEET-UG is conducted by the National Testing Agency for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions. Supreme Court to examine if Governors are ‘subverting’ federalism Sitting on crucial Bills only to eventually refer them to the President who solely acts on the advice of the Centre, is opening the doors for Union interference in the legislative domain of States, thereby subverting federalism. The decision of the court to intervene came in a petition filed by the State of Kerala, which brought into focus the role of its Governor, who kept Bills pending for two years before reserving seven of them for the consideration of the President, who has no discretion and entirely depends on the aid and advice of the Centre. The President had subsequently withheld consent to four though none of the seven Bills had dealt with Centre-State relations. Kerala, represented by senior advocates K.K. Venugopal, Jaideep Gupta and advocate C.K. Sasi, said the Governor should have returned the Bills, which dealt with amendments to State cooperative societies, lok ayukta and university laws, to the State Legislative Assembly “as soon as possible” and given reasons for his objections. Instead, the Governor had sat on them. He denied the people of Kerala the “benefits of the welfare legislation” before referring the seven Bills to the President in November last year without mentioning the time-lapse. Kerala said the Centre had withheld assent on four Bills without assigning any reasons. Thus, the State said, the machinations of the Governor saw the Centre take decisions on issues exclusively coming within the ambit of the State’s legislative domain. It argued that the Governor’s power to reserve a Bill for the consideration of the President is limited and confined to specific circumstances detailed in the proviso to Article 213 of the Constitution. “The actions of the Governor subvert the delicate balance envisaged by the Constitution between the three organs of State, by rendering the functioning of the elected executive, which has drafted and introduced the Bills, and then the State Legislature, which has passed the Bills, wholly ineffective and otiose. The actions of the Governor also subvert the federal structure of the Constitution, by reserving for the President (acting on the aid and advice of the Union Cabinet) Bills which are wholly within the domain of the State under the Constitution,” the State of Kerala argued. Chief Justice Chandrachud said the court would look into “when Governors can refer Bills to the President”. The court issued notice to the Additional Secretary to the Kerala Governor and the Home Ministry. “This is a sad state of affairs. The Supreme Court should step in and tell the Governor when they can refuse Bills and when they can refer them to the President… Otherwise, the Constitution is being rendered otiose,” Venugopal addressed the Bench. The court similarly issued notice to the Home Ministry and the Secretary to the West Bengal Governor on a separate petition filed by the State government, which said the Governor’s omissions “defeats” democratic good governance. The Chief Justice asked Venugopal, Gupta and senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, appearing for the State of West Bengal along with advocate Astha Sharma, to meet and frame the legal issues to be decided by the court. Singhvi referred to earlier petitions filed by Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Telangana in the Supreme Court against their Governors for delaying Bills sent to them for their assent. “The Governor would act on the Bills before every Supreme Court listing… some of the Bills are cleared… It is as if the Supreme Court has to push them,” Singhvi, who had appeared for Tamil Nadu in a separate case, recalled. Venugopal said the reference to the President was like an escape route to avoid taking any decisions. “The President, which would effectively mean the Council of Ministers aiding and advising the President, has not given any reason whatsoever for withholding assent for four out of the seven Bills reserved by the Governor. This is a highly arbitrary action, violating Article 14 (right to equality) of the Constitution, as well as Article 200 (procedure for granting assent to Bills) and 201 (procedure regarding Bills reserved for consideration of the President),” the Kerala petition said. Recently, Tamil Nadu had approached the apex court blaming Governor R.N. Ravi of toying with the citizens’ mandate by sitting on the Bills by neither assenting nor returning them. It said the Governor had positioned himself as a “political rival” by simply sitting on the Bills for months together. Punjab too had come to the apex court complaining that the Governor’s delay was threatening to bring the administration to a “grinding halt”. In Telangana’s case, the top court had to intervene in April last year for the Governor to clear Bills pending since September 2022, compelling advocate Dushyant Dave, appearing for the State, to submit that legislatures in Opposition-ruled States were at the mercy of the Governors, who had become a law unto themselves. Kanwar Yatra row: Supreme Court extends interim stay on directives issued by U.P., Uttarakhand, M.P. on eateries The Supreme Court on July 26 directed the continuation of its July 22 interim order staying the directives issued by the BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Madhya Pradesh, asking eateries along the Kanwar Yatra routes to display the names of their owners, staff and other details. A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and S.V.N. Bhatti said it won’t issue any clarification on the July 22 order as “We have said what needed to be said in our July 22 order. Can’t force anyone to disclose names.” The bench asked the Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments to file their response to the pleas challenging their respective directives. It allowed the petitioners to file their responses to the replies of the state governments and posted the matter on August 5. In its reply, the Uttar Pradesh government defended its directive requiring eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route to display the names of their owners and staff, saying the idea was to bring in transparency, avoid “potential confusion” and ensure a peaceful yatra. On July 22, the apex court ordered an interim stay on the directives issued by the BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Madhya Pradesh governments. Kargil Vijay Diwas: Congress accuses PM Modi of doing ‘petty politics’ over Agnipath scheme Prime Minister Narendra Modi is doing “petty politics” even on the occasion of paying tribute to martyrs of Kargil Vijay Diwas, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleged on July 26. Kharge claimed that no Prime Minister has done such a thing before. His comments came after the Prime Minister defended the Agnipath scheme, saying it was done at the behest of the armed forces. Addressing a function on the 25th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Divas at Drass, Modi accused the Congress of spreading misconceptions about the Agnipath recruitment scheme for the armed forces. “It is very unfortunate and deplorable that Prime Minister @narendramodi ji is doing petty politics even on occasions like paying tribute to martyrs on Kargil Vijay Diwas. No Prime Minister has ever done this before,” Kharge wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter). The Congress chief said that the Prime Minister’s claim that his government implemented the Agnipath scheme at the behest of the Army is “a blatant lie and an unforgivable insult” to the armed forces. “Modi ji, it is you who are spreading LIES! Former Army Chief (Retd.) General MM Naravane has said on record that 75% of recruits were to be taken for permanency in the ‘Agnipath Scheme’ and 25% of people were to be let go after 4 years. But the Modi Govt did the opposite, and forcibly implemented this scheme for all three Armed Forces,” Kharge said. Quoting news reports on the former Army Chief’s book, Kharge said, “…Former Army Chief (Retd) General MM Naravane in his book which the Modi Govt has stalled from being published, has also said, that the ‘Agnipath Scheme’ was shocking for the Army, and for the Navy and Air Force, it came like a “bolt out of the blue”!” “Are we creating professional soldiers, only by 6 months of training? Soldiers join the Army out of patriotism, not to earn a living. Many retired officers have strongly criticised Agnipath and said that it is endangering National Security and the aspirations of the rural youth, demanding that this scheme should be completely scrapped,” Kharge added. Reiterating his party’s demand to scrap Agnipath scheme, Kharge asserted that Agniveers do not get any pension, gratuity, family pension, liberalised family pension and any education allowance for their children. “Modi ji, 15 Agniveers have been martyred so far. At least respect their martyrdom. There is a lot of anger and strong opposition among the youth of the country regarding Agniveer!” Kharge added. Congress communication chief Jairam Ramesh, in a separate post on X, noted, “He [Mr Modi] says that managing the pension bill has nothing to do with the introduction of Agnipath. This is contrary to all that Government spokespersons, military experts, and defence commentators have been pointing out for the last two years”. “There has been unanimity that managing the pension bill of the Government of India was the primary motivation for Agnipath/Agniveer. Now Mr. Modi says that this is not true,” Ramesh added. Mamata to attend NITI Aayog meeting in Delhi West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on July 26 left for New Delhi and said that she will participate in the meeting of NITI Aayog in the capital scheduled on July 27 to “ record our voice”. Banerjee’s decision to participate in the meeting comes amidst Chief Ministers of several States governed by Opposition parties boycotting the meeting likely to be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “I will be there for some time. If they allow us to record our voice, will record. Or else will protest and come out of the meeting. I will try to speak on behalf of my State,” Banerjee told journalists before leaving for New Delhi. She said that Hemant Soren, Chief Minister of Jharkhand will participate in the meeting and added “will speak for everybody”. The West Bengal Chief Minister also accused the Centre of discriminating against West Bengal and other Opposition ruled states in the Budget presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on July 23. “We are unable to reconcile with this political bias in the Budget,” she said. Banerjee said that there was an attempt to divide West Bengal by a Minister and party members of the BJP. “We strongly condemn these attempts. To divide West Bengal is to divide India. We do not support this,” she said. Her remarks were directed at the remarks of Union Minister of State for Ministry of Development of North East Region and West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar who has made a proposal to include north Bengal in the NorthEast region. The Chief Minister said that on the one hand the State is facing an economic blockade from the Centre and on the other hand there are attempts to change geography by dividing the State. 36% children aged under 5 stunted, 17% underweight: WCD Minister About 17% of children in the age group of 0-5 years are underweight, while 36% are stunted and 6% are wasted, the Women and Child Development Ministry said on July 26. Stunted, wasted and underweight are key indicators of malnutrition in children aged between 0-5 years. Stunted growth refers to children who are too short for their age, typically resulting from chronic malnutrition. Wasted refers to children who are too thin for their height, indicating acute malnutrition often due to a recent and severe weight loss. Underweight children have a low weight for their age, encompassing both stunting and wasting, and reflects either chronic or acute malnutrition, or a combination of both. Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha, Women and Child Development Minister Annapurna Devi said, as per the data of Poshan Tracker for the month of June 2024, around 8.57 crore children under 6 years were measured, out of whom 35% were found to be stunted, only 17% were found to be underweight and only 6% children under 5 years were found to be wasted. According to the State-wise data shared by her, Uttar Pradesh exhibits the highest stunting rate at 46.36%, closely followed by Lakshadweep at 46.31%. Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh also report alarming stunting rates at 44.59% and 41.61%, respectively. Wasting, a sign of acute malnutrition, is most severe in Lakshadweep, with 13.22% of children affected. Bihar and Gujarat also show high wasting rates at 9.81% and 9.16%, respectively. Such high percentages reflect recent severe weight loss in children, typically due to inadequate food intake or diseases. In terms of underweight children, Madhya Pradesh leads with 26.21%, followed by Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu at 26.41%. Lakshadweep again shows a concerning rate of 23.25%. Some States, however, fare relatively better. Goa reports the lowest stunting rate at 5.84%, wasting at 0.85%, and underweight children at 2.18%. Sikkim and Ladakh also show comparatively low malnutrition rates, suggesting more effective nutritional policies or better overall health conditions. CBI busts Gurugram call centre that duped foreigners, arrests 43 suspected cyber criminals The CBI has arrested 43 suspected cyber criminals as it busted a call centre in Gurugram which allegedly duped foreigners by offering technical solutions to problems with their computers, officials said on July 26. The CBI raided the office of Innocent Technology (OPC) Pvt Ltd operating from DLF Cyber City, Gurugram, where the central agency found several agents on live calls aiming to cheat foreigners, they said. “Searches were conducted at 7 locations across Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida. It was revealed that transnational cyber-enabled financial crimes in this network were being coordinated across distributed centers mainly directed from a Call Centre Operating from DLF Cyber City, Gurugram. So far 43 accused have been arrested,” the CBI said. The CBI is in touch with the FBI and law enforcement agencies in multiple countries through INTERPOL for follow-ups on the leads. The agency has alleged that the intended victims were induced to download malicious softwares on their systems which blocked their computers. “The victims were subsequently induced to make payments for restoration of their system. It is revealed that proceeds of the crimes were channelled from multiple countries to Hong Kong,” the agency said. Rahul Gandhi appears in U.P. court, calls defamation case against him ‘cheap publicity’ Congress leader Rahul Gandhi appeared before an MP-MLA court in U.P.’s Sultanpur on July 26 in a defamation case and said it was filed to gain “cheap publicity”. Gandhi, who appeared before Special Judge Shubham Verma, said he never gave a statement against anyone which could lead to a case of defamation, his lawyer Kashi Prasad Shukla told reporters. Local BJP leader Vijay Mishra filed the case on August 4, 2018, against Gandhi for making alleged objectionable remarks against the then BJP president and current Home Minister Amit Shah. The court fixed August 12 as the next date of hearing in the matter when the statement of the petitioner will be recorded. Sources said Gandhi need not appear in the court on that date. Advocate Santosh Kumar Pandey, representing Mishra, said Gandhi recorded his statement before the judge and the evidence will be presented on August 12. Earlier, Gandhi had halted his ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ in Amethi on February 20 this year and appeared in court, which granted him bail. On Friday morning, a large number of Congress workers gathered at the civil court as Gandhi arrived there at exactly 11 am. He appeared before the special judge in court number 15. He returned after recording his statement. The court premises resembled a fortress with a heavy presence of security personnel. Gandhi, the Lok Sabha member from Rae Bareli, arrived in Lucknow by air and travelled to Sultanpur by road. In Brief: Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama have endorsed Kamala Harris in her White House bid, giving the vice president the expected but still crucial backing of the nation’s two most popular Democrats. The endorsement, announced Friday morning in a video showing Harris accepting a joint phone call from the former first couple, comes as Harris continues to build momentum as the party’s likely nominee after President Joe Biden’s decision to end his reelection bid and endorse his second-in-command against Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 26 July 2024 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [View in browser]( [More newsletters]( Revised NEET-UG results: 17 candidates share top rank, down from 61 The National Testing Agency (NTA) on July 26 [announced the final results]( of the controversy-ridden medical entrance exam NEET-UG, officials said. In today’s results 17 candidates share top rank, down from 61 in revised results. The results were declared following directive from the Supreme Court after taking into account marks of a physics question, which the NTA had said has two correct answers. Forty-four out of the 67 candidates who were earlier declared toppers had scored full marks because of the marks awarded for that particular physics question. The number of toppers was later reduced to 61 with the agency withdrawing grace marks awarded to six candidates to make up for loss of time at few exam centres. Among the top 100 ranks, 17 got 720 full score, 6 got 716 and 77 candidates got 715. In a major setback to unsuccessful aspirants of NEET-UG 2024, the Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the pleas seeking cancellation and re-test of the controversy-ridden exam, holding that there was no evidence on record to conclude that it was “vitiated” on account of “systemic breach” of its sanctity. The verdict came as a shot in the arm for the embattled NDA government and the National Testing Agency (NTA), which were facing strong criticism and protests, on streets and in Parliament, over alleged large-scale malpractices like question paper leak, fraud and impersonation in the prestigious test held on May 5. The CBI is probing alleged irregularities in NEET-UG 2024 and has lodged six FIRs. The NEET-UG is conducted by the National Testing Agency for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions. Supreme Court to examine if Governors are ‘subverting’ federalism Sitting on crucial Bills only to eventually refer them to the President who solely acts on the advice of the Centre, is opening the doors for Union interference in the legislative domain of States, thereby subverting federalism. The [decision of the court to intervene]( came in a petition filed by the State of Kerala, which brought into focus the role of its Governor, who kept Bills pending for two years before reserving seven of them for the consideration of the President, who has no discretion and entirely depends on the aid and advice of the Centre. The President had subsequently withheld consent to four though none of the seven Bills had dealt with Centre-State relations. Kerala, represented by senior advocates K.K. Venugopal, Jaideep Gupta and advocate C.K. Sasi, said the Governor should have returned the Bills, which dealt with amendments to State cooperative societies, lok ayukta and university laws, to the State Legislative Assembly “as soon as possible” and given reasons for his objections. Instead, the Governor had sat on them. He denied the people of Kerala the “benefits of the welfare legislation” before referring the seven Bills to the President in November last year without mentioning the time-lapse. Kerala said the Centre had withheld assent on four Bills without assigning any reasons. Thus, the State said, the machinations of the Governor saw the Centre take decisions on issues exclusively coming within the ambit of the State’s legislative domain. It argued that the Governor’s power to reserve a Bill for the consideration of the President is limited and confined to specific circumstances detailed in the proviso to Article 213 of the Constitution. “The actions of the Governor subvert the delicate balance envisaged by the Constitution between the three organs of State, by rendering the functioning of the elected executive, which has drafted and introduced the Bills, and then the State Legislature, which has passed the Bills, wholly ineffective and otiose. The actions of the Governor also subvert the federal structure of the Constitution, by reserving for the President (acting on the aid and advice of the Union Cabinet) Bills which are wholly within the domain of the State under the Constitution,” the State of Kerala argued. Chief Justice Chandrachud said the court would look into “when Governors can refer Bills to the President”. The court issued notice to the Additional Secretary to the Kerala Governor and the Home Ministry. “This is a sad state of affairs. The Supreme Court should step in and tell the Governor when they can refuse Bills and when they can refer them to the President… Otherwise, the Constitution is being rendered otiose,” Venugopal addressed the Bench. The court similarly issued notice to the Home Ministry and the Secretary to the West Bengal Governor on a separate petition filed by the State government, which said the Governor’s omissions “defeats” democratic good governance. The Chief Justice asked Venugopal, Gupta and senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, appearing for the State of West Bengal along with advocate Astha Sharma, to meet and frame the legal issues to be decided by the court. Singhvi referred to earlier petitions filed by Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Telangana in the Supreme Court against their Governors for delaying Bills sent to them for their assent. “The Governor would act on the Bills before every Supreme Court listing… some of the Bills are cleared… It is as if the Supreme Court has to push them,” Singhvi, who had appeared for Tamil Nadu in a separate case, recalled. Venugopal said the reference to the President was like an escape route to avoid taking any decisions. “The President, which would effectively mean the Council of Ministers aiding and advising the President, has not given any reason whatsoever for withholding assent for four out of the seven Bills reserved by the Governor. This is a highly arbitrary action, violating Article 14 (right to equality) of the Constitution, as well as Article 200 (procedure for granting assent to Bills) and 201 (procedure regarding Bills reserved for consideration of the President),” the Kerala petition said. Recently, Tamil Nadu had approached the apex court blaming Governor R.N. Ravi of toying with the citizens’ mandate by sitting on the Bills by neither assenting nor returning them. It said the Governor had positioned himself as a “political rival” by simply sitting on the Bills for months together. Punjab too had come to the apex court complaining that the Governor’s delay was threatening to bring the administration to a “grinding halt”. In Telangana’s case, the top court had to intervene in April last year for the Governor to clear Bills pending since September 2022, compelling advocate Dushyant Dave, appearing for the State, to submit that legislatures in Opposition-ruled States were at the mercy of the Governors, who had become a law unto themselves. Kanwar Yatra row: Supreme Court extends interim stay on directives issued by U.P., Uttarakhand, M.P. on eateries The Supreme Court on July 26 [directed the continuation of its July 22 interim order]( staying the directives issued by the BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Madhya Pradesh, asking eateries along the Kanwar Yatra routes to display the names of their owners, staff and other details. A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and S.V.N. Bhatti said it won’t issue any clarification on the July 22 order as “We have said what needed to be said in our July 22 order. Can’t force anyone to disclose names.” The bench asked the Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments to file their response to the pleas challenging their respective directives. It allowed the petitioners to file their responses to the replies of the state governments and posted the matter on August 5. In its reply, the Uttar Pradesh government defended its directive requiring eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route to display the names of their owners and staff, saying the idea was to bring in transparency, avoid “potential confusion” and ensure a peaceful yatra. On July 22, the apex court ordered an interim stay on the directives issued by the BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Madhya Pradesh governments. Kargil Vijay Diwas: Congress accuses PM Modi of doing ‘petty politics’ over Agnipath scheme Prime Minister Narendra Modi is doing “petty politics” even on the occasion of paying tribute to martyrs of Kargil Vijay Diwas, [Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleged]( on July 26. Kharge claimed that no Prime Minister has done such a thing before. His comments came after the Prime Minister defended the Agnipath scheme, saying it was done at the behest of the armed forces. Addressing a function on the 25th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Divas at Drass, Modi accused the Congress of spreading misconceptions about the Agnipath recruitment scheme for the armed forces. “It is very unfortunate and deplorable that Prime Minister @narendramodi ji is doing petty politics even on occasions like paying tribute to martyrs on Kargil Vijay Diwas. No Prime Minister has ever done this before,” Kharge wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter). The Congress chief said that the Prime Minister’s claim that his government implemented the Agnipath scheme at the behest of the Army is “a blatant lie and an unforgivable insult” to the armed forces. “Modi ji, it is you who are spreading LIES! Former Army Chief (Retd.) General MM Naravane has said on record that 75% of recruits were to be taken for permanency in the ‘Agnipath Scheme’ and 25% of people were to be let go after 4 years. But the Modi Govt did the opposite, and forcibly implemented this scheme for all three Armed Forces,” Kharge said. Quoting news reports on the former Army Chief’s book, Kharge said, “…Former Army Chief (Retd) General MM Naravane in his book which the Modi Govt has stalled from being published, has also said, that the ‘Agnipath Scheme’ was shocking for the Army, and for the Navy and Air Force, it came like a “bolt out of the blue”!” “Are we creating professional soldiers, only by 6 months of training? Soldiers join the Army out of patriotism, not to earn a living. Many retired officers have strongly criticised Agnipath and said that it is endangering National Security and the aspirations of the rural youth, demanding that this scheme should be completely scrapped,” Kharge added. Reiterating his party’s demand to scrap Agnipath scheme, Kharge asserted that Agniveers do not get any pension, gratuity, family pension, liberalised family pension and any education allowance for their children. “Modi ji, 15 Agniveers have been martyred so far. At least respect their martyrdom. There is a lot of anger and strong opposition among the youth of the country regarding Agniveer!” Kharge added. Congress communication chief Jairam Ramesh, in a separate post on X, noted, “He [Mr Modi] says that managing the pension bill has nothing to do with the introduction of Agnipath. This is contrary to all that Government spokespersons, military experts, and defence commentators have been pointing out for the last two years”. “There has been unanimity that managing the pension bill of the Government of India was the primary motivation for Agnipath/Agniveer. Now Mr. Modi says that this is not true,” Ramesh added. Mamata to attend NITI Aayog meeting in Delhi West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on July 26 left for New Delhi and said that [she will participate in the meeting of NITI Aayog]( in the capital scheduled on July 27 to “ record our voice”. Banerjee’s decision to participate in the meeting comes amidst Chief Ministers of several States governed by Opposition parties boycotting the meeting likely to be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “I will be there for some time. If they allow us to record our voice, will record. Or else will protest and come out of the meeting. I will try to speak on behalf of my State,” Banerjee told journalists before leaving for New Delhi. She said that Hemant Soren, Chief Minister of Jharkhand will participate in the meeting and added “will speak for everybody”. The West Bengal Chief Minister also accused the Centre of discriminating against West Bengal and other Opposition ruled states in the Budget presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on July 23. “We are unable to reconcile with this political bias in the Budget,” she said. Banerjee said that there was an attempt to divide West Bengal by a Minister and party members of the BJP. “We strongly condemn these attempts. To divide West Bengal is to divide India. We do not support this,” she said. Her remarks were directed at the remarks of Union Minister of State for Ministry of Development of North East Region and West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar who has made a proposal to include north Bengal in the NorthEast region. The Chief Minister said that on the one hand the State is facing an economic blockade from the Centre and on the other hand there are attempts to change geography by dividing the State. 36% children aged under 5 stunted, 17% underweight: WCD Minister About [17% of children in the age group of 0-5 years are underweight, while 36% are stunted and 6% are wasted]( the Women and Child Development Ministry said on July 26. Stunted, wasted and underweight are key indicators of malnutrition in children aged between 0-5 years. Stunted growth refers to children who are too short for their age, typically resulting from chronic malnutrition. Wasted refers to children who are too thin for their height, indicating acute malnutrition often due to a recent and severe weight loss. Underweight children have a low weight for their age, encompassing both stunting and wasting, and reflects either chronic or acute malnutrition, or a combination of both. Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha, Women and Child Development Minister Annapurna Devi said, as per the data of Poshan Tracker for the month of June 2024, around 8.57 crore children under 6 years were measured, out of whom 35% were found to be stunted, only 17% were found to be underweight and only 6% children under 5 years were found to be wasted. According to the State-wise data shared by her, Uttar Pradesh exhibits the highest stunting rate at 46.36%, closely followed by Lakshadweep at 46.31%. Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh also report alarming stunting rates at 44.59% and 41.61%, respectively. Wasting, a sign of acute malnutrition, is most severe in Lakshadweep, with 13.22% of children affected. Bihar and Gujarat also show high wasting rates at 9.81% and 9.16%, respectively. Such high percentages reflect recent severe weight loss in children, typically due to inadequate food intake or diseases. In terms of underweight children, Madhya Pradesh leads with 26.21%, followed by Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu at 26.41%. Lakshadweep again shows a concerning rate of 23.25%. Some States, however, fare relatively better. Goa reports the lowest stunting rate at 5.84%, wasting at 0.85%, and underweight children at 2.18%. Sikkim and Ladakh also show comparatively low malnutrition rates, suggesting more effective nutritional policies or better overall health conditions. CBI busts Gurugram call centre that duped foreigners, arrests 43 suspected cyber criminals The CBI has [arrested 43 suspected cyber criminals as it busted a call centre]( in Gurugram which allegedly duped foreigners by offering technical solutions to problems with their computers, officials said on July 26. The CBI raided the office of Innocent Technology (OPC) Pvt Ltd operating from DLF Cyber City, Gurugram, where the central agency found several agents on live calls aiming to cheat foreigners, they said. “Searches were conducted at 7 locations across Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida. It was revealed that transnational cyber-enabled financial crimes in this network were being coordinated across distributed centers mainly directed from a Call Centre Operating from DLF Cyber City, Gurugram. So far 43 accused have been arrested,” the CBI said. The CBI is in touch with the FBI and law enforcement agencies in multiple countries through INTERPOL for follow-ups on the leads. The agency has alleged that the intended victims were induced to download malicious softwares on their systems which blocked their computers. “The victims were subsequently induced to make payments for restoration of their system. It is revealed that proceeds of the crimes were channelled from multiple countries to Hong Kong,” the agency said. Rahul Gandhi appears in U.P. court, calls defamation case against him ‘cheap publicity’ Congress leader[Rahul Gandhi appeared before an MP-MLA court]( in U.P.’s Sultanpur on July 26 in a defamation case and said it was filed to gain “cheap publicity”. Gandhi, who appeared before Special Judge Shubham Verma, said he never gave a statement against anyone which could lead to a case of defamation, his lawyer Kashi Prasad Shukla told reporters. Local BJP leader Vijay Mishra filed the case on August 4, 2018, against Gandhi for making alleged objectionable remarks against the then BJP president and current Home Minister Amit Shah. The court fixed August 12 as the next date of hearing in the matter when the statement of the petitioner will be recorded. Sources said Gandhi need not appear in the court on that date. Advocate Santosh Kumar Pandey, representing Mishra, said Gandhi recorded his statement before the judge and the evidence will be presented on August 12. Earlier, Gandhi had halted his ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ in Amethi on February 20 this year and appeared in court, which granted him bail. On Friday morning, a large number of Congress workers gathered at the civil court as Gandhi arrived there at exactly 11 am. He appeared before the special judge in court number 15. He returned after recording his statement. The court premises resembled a fortress with a heavy presence of security personnel. Gandhi, the Lok Sabha member from Rae Bareli, arrived in Lucknow by air and travelled to Sultanpur by road. In Brief: Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama have [endorsed Kamala Harris]( in her White House bid, giving the vice president the expected but still crucial backing of the nation’s two most popular Democrats. The endorsement, announced Friday morning in a video showing Harris accepting a joint phone call from the former first couple, comes as Harris continues to build momentum as the party’s likely nominee after President Joe Biden’s decision to end his reelection bid and endorse his second-in-command against Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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