The Evening Wrap: GDP growth slows to 15-month low of 6.7% in April-June

India’s economic growth slowed to a 15-month low of 6.7% in April-June 2024-25, mainly due to poor performance of the agriculture and services sectors, government data showed on Friday (August 30, 2024). The gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 8.2% in the April-June quarter of 2022-23. India, however, remained the fastest-growing major economy, as China posted a 4.7% growth in April-June 2024. The previous low of 6.2% was recorded in the January-March quarter of 2023. “India’s GDP growth expectedly slowed down in Q1 FY2025 relative to Q4 FY2024 (to a five-quarter low of 6.7% from 7.8%), even as the GVA growth surprisingly accelerated between these quarters (to 6.8% from 6.3%). This divergent trend was led by the normalisation of the growth in net indirect taxes, and the slowdown in the GDP growth is not a cause for alarm, in our view,” said Icra Chief Economist, Head, research & outreach, Aditi Nayar said. According to the National Statistical Office (NSO) data, the agriculture sector gross value added (GVA) growth decelerated to 2% from 3.7% in the April-June quarter of 2023-24. The expansion in ‘financial, real estate and professional services’ GVA too slowed to 7.1% from 12.6% in the year-ago quarter. However, the GVA in the manufacturing sector accelerated to 7% in the first quarter of the current fiscal compared to 5% a year ago. “Real GDP or GDP at Constant Prices in Q1 of 2024-25 is estimated at ₹43.64 lakh crore against Rs 40.91 lakh crore in Q1 of 2023-24, showing a growth rate of 6.7%,” NSO said in a statement. It further stated that nominal GDP or GDP at current prices in Q1 of 2024-25 is estimated at ₹77.31 lakh crore against ₹70.50 lakh crore in Q1 of 2023-24, showing a growth rate of 9.7% As per the data, the output (GVA) in the ‘mining and quarrying’ accelerated to 7.2% in the first quarter from 7% a year ago. Electricity, gas, water supply and other utility services grew by 10.4% from 3.2%. The construction segment also grew by 10.5% from 8.6% a year ago. Trade, hotels, transport, communication and services related to broadcasting slowed to 5.7% from 9.7% a year ago. Public Administration, defence and other services grew 9.5%t, up from 8.3% a year ago. Real GVA (Gross Value Added) in Q1 of 2024-25 is estimated at ₹40.73 lakh crore against ₹38.12 lakh crore in Q1 of 2023-24, showing a growth rate of 6.8% compared to 8.3% in the year-ago period. Nominal GVA in Q1 of 2024-25 is estimated at ₹70.25 lakh crore compared to ₹63.96 lakh crore in Q1 of 2023-24, showing a growth rate of 9.8% over 8.2% a year ago. Supreme Court protects news anchor from arrest for interviewing jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi The Supreme Court on Friday protected from arrest a private news channel anchor who is facing a court-monitored SIT probe in a case on mobile phone interviews of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. Bishnoi, who is one of the accused in the 2022 murder of singer Sidhu Moosewala, is the alleged mastermind of a firing incident outside the Mumbai residence of Bollywood actor Salman Khan. The gangster gave video interviews on mobile phone to the anchor of the news channel. A Bench comprising Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, however, said that irrespective of the journalist’s intention to expose criminals, interviewing inmates “poses serious breach of jail regulations”. “....at a certain level, perhaps your client seeking the interview may have breached certain regulations of the jail,” the court told the petitioner’s counsel. Taking note of the plea of the news channel, the top court also issued notices to the Punjab government and IPS officer Prabodh Kumar who is heading the special investigation team (SIT) set up by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. It took note of the submissions of senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and R.S. Cheema, appearing for the news channel and the anchor, that the journalist, who is facing threats to his life for the sting operation, be not arrested. “The second petitioner shall cooperate with the SIT investigation. We direct that pending further orders from this court, no coercive steps shall be taken against him,” the CJI said in the order. The news channel and the journalist have challenged the order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to the SIT to lodge an FIR over the interviews of the jailed gangster. The High Court had passed the order while hearing a case it initiated on its own on the use of mobile phone in jails. A three-member SIT was constituted to probe the interviews given to the news channel and ascertain the complicity of officials, if any. Observing that the interviews helped “expose the rot”, Rohatgi said the registration of the FIR against the journalist amounted to shooting the messenger. The fact that it can happen within a jail is also a very serious matter, he said. “If the messenger is killed, then who will expose the rot,” the senior lawyer asked. The sting operation was part of investigative journalism to show how Bishnoi was in touch with Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar and was hatching a conspiracy to attack Salman Khan due to his involvement in the blackbuck shooting case. Bishnoi has threatened to kill Salman Khan for shooting a blackbuck which the Bishnoi community holds as sacred. “The fact remains that you gain access to jail and publish interview from jail. Can you do that? Can we say the high court is wrong...there are restrictions by virtue of incarceration,” the bench observed. On July 30, another apex court bench headed by Justice Bela M Trivedi had junked a separate plea by gangster Bishnoi against the high court’s order to form the SIT and register an FIR over his interviews with the news channel. The bench had said it was not inclined to interfere with the high court order. “Let it be investigated. It is a matter of investigation. There are 73 cases filed against you,” the bench had told the counsel for the gangster. In March last year, the news channel ran two interviews of Bishnoi. Former Jharkhand CM Champai Soren joins BJP Two days after he quit the JMM, former Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren joined the BJP on Friday. Soren along with a large number of his supporters crossed over to the saffron camp in the presence of Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma at a ceremony here. The veteran politician visibly became emotional after he was welcomed into the saffron fold. The joining of the 67-year-old tribal leader to the BJP was seen as a shot in the arm for the saffron party’s efforts to boost its connection with the Scheduled Tribes, a community which has been the main voter base of the JMM. He was a close aide of JMM supremo Shibu Soren. Champai Soren quit the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) on Wednesday, asserting that the state government’s present style of functioning and its policies compelled him to leave the party he served for many years. Champai has earned the nickname ‘Jharkhand’s Tiger’ for his contribution to the fight to create a separate state in the 1990s. Jharkhand was carved out of the southern part of Bihar in 2000. The elections to the 81-member Assembly are due later this year. People in queer relationships can open joint bank accounts, nominate their partners, Finance Ministry clarifies People from the LGBTQIA+ community and those in queer relationships cannot be prevented from opening joint bank accounts, the Union government said in an advisory issued this week, making it clear that they can also nominate each other as beneficiaries. This comes nearly a year after the Supreme Court of India asked the Union government to consider providing equal entitlements to partners in a queer relationship, in a judgement that refused to recognise same-sex marriage. Among other suggestions, the Supreme Court’s October 2023 judgement had directed the government to consider enabling partners in a queer relationship to be able to open joint bank accounts and nominate each other in case of death. The August 28 advisory was issued by the Department of Financial Services as a “clarification” in connection with judgement. “There are no restrictions for persons of the Queer community to open a joint bank account and also to nominate a person in queer relationship as a nominee to receive the balance in the account, in the event of death of the account holder,” it said, adding that the Reserve Bank of India had also issued a clarification on this matter to all Scheduled Commercial Banks on August 21. Some private banks had already been enabling people in queer relationships to open joint bank accounts, even before the SC judgement. In a statement, Axis Bank welcomed the Finance Ministry advisory, saying it “seamlessly aligned” with its inclusive banking initiative, which has let LGBTQIA+ persons in same-sex relationships nominate each other as beneficiaries and open joint bank accounts since September 2021. In April this year, the government set up a six-member committee to define and elucidate “the scope of the entitlements of queer couples who are in unions”, in accordance with its submission to the Supreme Court. It is chaired by the Cabinet Secretary and also includes the Secretaries to the Ministries of Home Affairs, Social Justice and Empowerment, Law and Justice, Women and Child Development, and Health and Family Development. The committee’s mandate also allowed it to “co-opt experts and other officers if deemed necessary”. The panel’s first meeting was held on May 21, the Social Justice Ministry told Parliament. Subsequently, a sub-committee meeting was held on May 31, and the first round of stakeholder consultations was held on July 25. Ceiling on net borrowing: Supreme Court to set up five-judge bench to hear Kerala’s plea against Centre Kerala government in the Supreme Court on Friday made an oral mentioning about the formation of a Constitution Bench to examine whether a State has an “enforceable right” to raise its borrowing limits over and above the cap fixed by the Union government. The oral mentioning was made before Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud by senior advocate Kapil Sibal for Kerala. The reference to a Constitution Bench was made by a two-judge Bench of Justices Surya Kant and KV Viswanathan in April this year on the basis of an original suit filed by Kerala. The Chief Justice agreed to look into it. The reference had raised seminal questions on whether “fiscal decentralisation” was an aspect of Indian federalism and if central regulations fixing net borrowing ceilings on States were a violation of the principles of federalism. The court had also referred to the Constitution Bench the issue of whether financial restrictions introduced by the Centre had meted out a differential treatment to Kerala compared to other States. The two-judge Bench further asked the Constitution Bench to examine if the borrowing restrictions of the Centre were in conflict with the role assigned to the Reserve Bank of India as the “public debt manager”. Finally, Justice Kant’s Bench had framed the question whether it was mandatory for the Centre to have prior consultation with States for giving effect to the recommendations of the Finance Commission. The reference came on the basis of an original suit filed by Kerala accusing the Union government of arbitrarily restraining its borrowing limits, due to which the State was tottering at the brink of a financial emergency, unable to pay salaries, pensions and fulfill its other essential financial commitments. However, the Bench of Justices Kant Viswanathan had been skeptical about Kerala’s prowess to use its funds wisely. It had refused to pass any judicial order directing the Union government to lift the net borrowing ceiling for Kerala or enable the State to borrow ₹ 26,226 crore on an immediate basis. The Bench had observed that the Centre had already allowed a “substantial relief” of ₹13,608 crore to the State for it to tide over the immediate crisis. The Division Bench noted that there was a vacuum in law concerning Article 293 of the Constitution, which dealt with the financial borrowings by States. Kerala had approached the apex court arguing that the Centre’s shackles on the State’s borrowing powers was an attack on federalism and a catalyst to bring about a breakdown of the constitutional machinery in the State. The State had argued that the borrowing limits ought to be fixed by the States. The Union had argued that the State had a long history of fiscal deficit, by which its expenditure was in far excess of its income. Supreme Court collegium rejects Justice Shamim Ahmed’s request, reiterates transfer to Madras High Court Declining Allahabad High Court judge Justice Shamim Ahmed’s request for reconsideration of his transfer to the Madras High Court, the Supreme Court Collegium on Friday reiterated his transfer for better administration of justice. According to a resolution uploaded on the apex court website, on August 21, 2024, the Collegium, headed by Chief Justice D.Y Chandrachud and comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai, Surya Kant and Hrishikesh Roy, proposed the transfer of Justice Ahmed. “In terms of the Memorandum of Procedure, we have consulted one of the Judges of the Supreme Court who, being conversant with the affairs of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, is in a position to offer views on the proposed transfer. “We have also consulted the Chief Justice of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad and the Acting Chief Justice of the Madras High Court. Justice Shamim Ahmed, however, by a representation dated 22 August 2024 has requested reconsideration of the proposal for his transfer to the Madras High Court,” the collegium said. The Collegium said it considered the request made by Justice Ahmed in his representation but did not find any merit in the request made by him. “The Collegium, therefore, resolves to reiterate its recommendation dated August 21, 2024 to transfer Mr Justice Shamim Ahmed to the Madras High Court,” the collegium said. In Brief: PM Modi to visit Brunei, Singapore Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Brunei and Singapore in the first week of September, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday. The Prime Minister will travel to Brunei on September 3-4, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal announced at his media briefing. This will be the first bilateral visit of an Indian Prime Minister to Brunei, he said. This visit will also mark 40 years of the establishment of the diplomatic ties between India and Brunei, Jaiswal said. From there, PM Modi is slated to visit Singapore on September 4-5 at the invitation of his Singaporean counterpart, the MEA said. Somanathan takes over as Cabinet Secretary T.V. Somanathan took over as Cabinet Secretary on Friday following the superannuation of Rajiv Gauba, an official statement said. Gauba had been Cabinet Secretary since 2019 and completed an unprecedented five-year term. Until recently the Union Finance Secretary, Somanathan was named as the next Cabinet Secretary on August 10 with a two-year tenure. A 1987-batch IAS officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre, Somanathan is a qualified chartered accountant, cost accountant and company secretary. He has held important assignments at the Centre, including as Joint Secretary and later as Additional Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office. He also served as a joint secretary in the Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs and was deputed as director for corporate affairs at the World Bank in Washington DC. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 30 August 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]( GDP growth slows to 15-month low of 6.7% in April-June India’s economic [growth slowed to a 15-month low of 6.7% in April-June 2024-25]( mainly due to poor performance of the agriculture and services sectors, government data showed on Friday (August 30, 2024). The gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 8.2% in the April-June quarter of 2022-23. India, however, remained the fastest-growing major economy, as China posted a 4.7% growth in April-June 2024. The previous low of 6.2% was recorded in the January-March quarter of 2023. “India’s GDP growth expectedly slowed down in Q1 FY2025 relative to Q4 FY2024 (to a five-quarter low of 6.7% from 7.8%), even as the GVA growth surprisingly accelerated between these quarters (to 6.8% from 6.3%). This divergent trend was led by the normalisation of the growth in net indirect taxes, and the slowdown in the GDP growth is not a cause for alarm, in our view,” said Icra Chief Economist, Head, research & outreach, Aditi Nayar said. According to the National Statistical Office (NSO) data, the agriculture sector gross value added (GVA) growth decelerated to 2% from 3.7% in the April-June quarter of 2023-24. The expansion in ‘financial, real estate and professional services’ GVA too slowed to 7.1% from 12.6% in the year-ago quarter. However, the GVA in the manufacturing sector accelerated to 7% in the first quarter of the current fiscal compared to 5% a year ago. “Real GDP or GDP at Constant Prices in Q1 of 2024-25 is estimated at ₹43.64 lakh crore against Rs 40.91 lakh crore in Q1 of 2023-24, showing a growth rate of 6.7%,” NSO said in a statement. It further stated that nominal GDP or GDP at current prices in Q1 of 2024-25 is estimated at ₹77.31 lakh crore against ₹70.50 lakh crore in Q1 of 2023-24, showing a growth rate of 9.7% As per the data, the output (GVA) in the ‘mining and quarrying’ accelerated to 7.2% in the first quarter from 7% a year ago. Electricity, gas, water supply and other utility services grew by 10.4% from 3.2%. The construction segment also grew by 10.5% from 8.6% a year ago. Trade, hotels, transport, communication and services related to broadcasting slowed to 5.7% from 9.7% a year ago. Public Administration, defence and other services grew 9.5%t, up from 8.3% a year ago. Real GVA (Gross Value Added) in Q1 of 2024-25 is estimated at ₹40.73 lakh crore against ₹38.12 lakh crore in Q1 of 2023-24, showing a growth rate of 6.8% compared to 8.3% in the year-ago period. Nominal GVA in Q1 of 2024-25 is estimated at ₹70.25 lakh crore compared to ₹63.96 lakh crore in Q1 of 2023-24, showing a growth rate of 9.8% over 8.2% a year ago. Supreme Court protects news anchor from arrest for interviewing jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi The Supreme Court on Friday [protected from arrest a private news channel anchor]( who is facing a court-monitored SIT probe in a case on mobile phone interviews of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. Bishnoi, who is one of the accused in the 2022 murder of singer Sidhu Moosewala, is the alleged mastermind of a firing incident outside the Mumbai residence of Bollywood actor Salman Khan. The gangster gave video interviews on mobile phone to the anchor of the news channel. A Bench comprising Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, however, said that irrespective of the journalist’s intention to expose criminals, interviewing inmates “poses serious breach of jail regulations”. “....at a certain level, perhaps your client seeking the interview may have breached certain regulations of the jail,” the court told the petitioner’s counsel. Taking note of the plea of the news channel, the top court also issued notices to the Punjab government and IPS officer Prabodh Kumar who is heading the special investigation team (SIT) set up by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. It took note of the submissions of senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and R.S. Cheema, appearing for the news channel and the anchor, that the journalist, who is facing threats to his life for the sting operation, be not arrested. “The second petitioner shall cooperate with the SIT investigation. We direct that pending further orders from this court, no coercive steps shall be taken against him,” the CJI said in the order. The news channel and the journalist have challenged the order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to the SIT to lodge an FIR over the interviews of the jailed gangster. The High Court had passed the order while hearing a case it initiated on its own on the use of mobile phone in jails. A three-member SIT was constituted to probe the interviews given to the news channel and ascertain the complicity of officials, if any. Observing that the interviews helped “expose the rot”, Rohatgi said the registration of the FIR against the journalist amounted to shooting the messenger. The fact that it can happen within a jail is also a very serious matter, he said. “If the messenger is killed, then who will expose the rot,” the senior lawyer asked. The sting operation was part of investigative journalism to show how Bishnoi was in touch with Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar and was hatching a conspiracy to attack Salman Khan due to his involvement in the blackbuck shooting case. Bishnoi has threatened to kill Salman Khan for shooting a blackbuck which the Bishnoi community holds as sacred. “The fact remains that you gain access to jail and publish interview from jail. Can you do that? Can we say the high court is wrong...there are restrictions by virtue of incarceration,” the bench observed. On July 30, another apex court bench headed by Justice Bela M Trivedi had junked a separate plea by gangster Bishnoi against the high court’s order to form the SIT and register an FIR over his interviews with the news channel. The bench had said it was not inclined to interfere with the high court order. “Let it be investigated. It is a matter of investigation. There are 73 cases filed against you,” the bench had told the counsel for the gangster. In March last year, the news channel ran two interviews of Bishnoi. Former Jharkhand CM Champai Soren joins BJP Two days after he quit the JMM, former Jharkhand Chief Minister [Champai Soren joined the BJP]( on Friday. Soren along with a large number of his supporters crossed over to the saffron camp in the presence of Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma at a ceremony here. The veteran politician visibly became emotional after he was welcomed into the saffron fold. The joining of the 67-year-old tribal leader to the BJP was seen as a shot in the arm for the saffron party’s efforts to boost its connection with the Scheduled Tribes, a community which has been the main voter base of the JMM. He was a close aide of JMM supremo Shibu Soren. Champai Soren quit the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) on Wednesday, asserting that the state government’s present style of functioning and its policies compelled him to leave the party he served for many years. Champai has earned the nickname ‘Jharkhand’s Tiger’ for his contribution to the fight to create a separate state in the 1990s. Jharkhand was carved out of the southern part of Bihar in 2000. The elections to the 81-member Assembly are due later this year. People in queer relationships can open joint bank accounts, nominate their partners, Finance Ministry clarifies People from the LGBTQIA+ community and those in queer relationships [cannot be prevented from opening joint bank accounts]( the Union government said in an advisory issued this week, making it clear that they can also nominate each other as beneficiaries. This comes nearly a year after the Supreme Court of India asked the Union government to consider providing equal entitlements to partners in a queer relationship, in a judgement that refused to recognise same-sex marriage. Among other suggestions, the Supreme Court’s October 2023 judgement had directed the government to consider enabling partners in a queer relationship to be able to open joint bank accounts and nominate each other in case of death. The August 28 advisory was issued by the Department of Financial Services as a “clarification” in connection with judgement. “There are no restrictions for persons of the Queer community to open a joint bank account and also to nominate a person in queer relationship as a nominee to receive the balance in the account, in the event of death of the account holder,” it said, adding that the Reserve Bank of India had also issued a clarification on this matter to all Scheduled Commercial Banks on August 21. Some private banks had already been enabling people in queer relationships to open joint bank accounts, even before the SC judgement. In a statement, Axis Bank welcomed the Finance Ministry advisory, saying it “seamlessly aligned” with its inclusive banking initiative, which has let LGBTQIA+ persons in same-sex relationships nominate each other as beneficiaries and open joint bank accounts since September 2021. In April this year, the government set up a six-member committee to define and elucidate “the scope of the entitlements of queer couples who are in unions”, in accordance with its submission to the Supreme Court. It is chaired by the Cabinet Secretary and also includes the Secretaries to the Ministries of Home Affairs, Social Justice and Empowerment, Law and Justice, Women and Child Development, and Health and Family Development. The committee’s mandate also allowed it to “co-opt experts and other officers if deemed necessary”. The panel’s first meeting was held on May 21, the Social Justice Ministry told Parliament. Subsequently, a sub-committee meeting was held on May 31, and the first round of stakeholder consultations was held on July 25. Ceiling on net borrowing: Supreme Court to set up five-judge bench to hear Kerala’s plea against Centre Kerala government in the Supreme Court on Friday made an oral mentioning about [the formation of a Constitution Bench to examine whether a State has an “enforceable right” to raise its borrowing limits]( and above the cap fixed by the Union government. The oral mentioning was made before Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud by senior advocate Kapil Sibal for Kerala. The reference to a Constitution Bench was made by a two-judge Bench of Justices Surya Kant and KV Viswanathan in April this year on the basis of an original suit filed by Kerala. The Chief Justice agreed to look into it. The reference had raised seminal questions on whether “fiscal decentralisation” was an aspect of Indian federalism and if central regulations fixing net borrowing ceilings on States were a violation of the principles of federalism. The court had also referred to the Constitution Bench the issue of whether financial restrictions introduced by the Centre had meted out a differential treatment to Kerala compared to other States. The two-judge Bench further asked the Constitution Bench to examine if the borrowing restrictions of the Centre were in conflict with the role assigned to the Reserve Bank of India as the “public debt manager”. Finally, Justice Kant’s Bench had framed the question whether it was mandatory for the Centre to have prior consultation with States for giving effect to the recommendations of the Finance Commission. The reference came on the basis of an original suit filed by Kerala accusing the Union government of arbitrarily restraining its borrowing limits, due to which the State was tottering at the brink of a financial emergency, unable to pay salaries, pensions and fulfill its other essential financial commitments. However, the Bench of Justices Kant Viswanathan had been skeptical about Kerala’s prowess to use its funds wisely. It had refused to pass any judicial order directing the Union government to lift the net borrowing ceiling for Kerala or enable the State to borrow ₹ 26,226 crore on an immediate basis. The Bench had observed that the Centre had already allowed a “substantial relief” of ₹13,608 crore to the State for it to tide over the immediate crisis. The Division Bench noted that there was a vacuum in law concerning Article 293 of the Constitution, which dealt with the financial borrowings by States. Kerala had approached the apex court arguing that the Centre’s shackles on the State’s borrowing powers was an attack on federalism and a catalyst to bring about a breakdown of the constitutional machinery in the State. The State had argued that the borrowing limits ought to be fixed by the States. The Union had argued that the State had a long history of fiscal deficit, by which its expenditure was in far excess of its income. Supreme Court collegium rejects Justice Shamim Ahmed’s request, reiterates transfer to Madras High Court [Declining Allahabad High Court judge Justice Shamim Ahmed’s request]( for reconsideration of his transfer to the Madras High Court, the Supreme Court Collegium on Friday reiterated his transfer for better administration of justice. According to a resolution uploaded on the apex court website, on August 21, 2024, the Collegium, headed by Chief Justice D.Y Chandrachud and comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai, Surya Kant and Hrishikesh Roy, proposed the transfer of Justice Ahmed. “In terms of the Memorandum of Procedure, we have consulted one of the Judges of the Supreme Court who, being conversant with the affairs of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, is in a position to offer views on the proposed transfer. “We have also consulted the Chief Justice of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad and the Acting Chief Justice of the Madras High Court. Justice Shamim Ahmed, however, by a representation dated 22 August 2024 has requested reconsideration of the proposal for his transfer to the Madras High Court,” the collegium said. The Collegium said it considered the request made by Justice Ahmed in his representation but did not find any merit in the request made by him. “The Collegium, therefore, resolves to reiterate its recommendation dated August 21, 2024 to transfer Mr Justice Shamim Ahmed to the Madras High Court,” the collegium said. In Brief: PM Modi to visit Brunei, Singapore Prime Minister [Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Brunei and Singapore]( in the first week of September, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday. The Prime Minister will travel to Brunei on September 3-4, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal announced at his media briefing. This will be the first bilateral visit of an Indian Prime Minister to Brunei, he said. This visit will also mark 40 years of the establishment of the diplomatic ties between India and Brunei, Jaiswal said. From there, PM Modi is slated to visit Singapore on September 4-5 at the invitation of his Singaporean counterpart, the MEA said. Somanathan takes over as Cabinet Secretary [T.V. Somanathan took over as Cabinet Secretary]( on Friday following the superannuation of Rajiv Gauba, an official statement said. Gauba had been Cabinet Secretary since 2019 and completed an unprecedented five-year term. Until recently the Union Finance Secretary, Somanathan was named as the next Cabinet Secretary on August 10 with a two-year tenure. A 1987-batch IAS officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre, Somanathan is a qualified chartered accountant, cost accountant and company secretary. He has held important assignments at the Centre, including as Joint Secretary and later as Additional Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office. He also served as a joint secretary in the Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs and was deputed as director for corporate affairs at the World Bank in Washington DC. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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