FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 12 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | MUMBAI | BHUBANESWAR | LUCKNOW | SILIGURI Mining revenue must be the means, not end Alignment, not alliance Page 7 Iran fires on its Gulf neighbours, retaliating for US military strikes Page 9 Air Marshal Mishra named as Ram Temple Trust CEO Air Marshal Jeetendra Mishra Mahesh Bhagchandka Madan Mohan Pandey Nirmala Yadav MANOJ BHADRA Mahesh Bhagchandka from Delhi, Madan Mohan Pandey from Ayodhya, and Nirmala Yadav from Shikohabad, will be the new members of the Trust. Mahesh Bhagchandka will also be its new Treasurer. These decisions were taken unanimously at a Trust meeting chaired by Mahant Nritya Gopal Das at the Mani Ram Das Chavni in Ayodhya in the presence of key Trust officials and invited members while some attended the meeting virtually. The appointment of the CEO, along with other key changes in the Trust, was made in the wake of the detection of the theft of offerings at the Ram Temple in the last week of June, leading to the resignation of General Secretary Champat Rai and Trustee Dr Anil Mishra. Later, eight workers were arrested by the police for stealing the offerings with the Supreme Court now monitoring the SIT probe. Krishna Mohan, acting general secretary of the Ram Temple Trust, said 16 people were interviewed for the post of CEO. The three names shortlisted were Air Marshal Jitendra Mishra, Major General Sanjay Pratap Singh, and Shruti Bhardwaj. Ultimately, the IAF veteran’s name was finalised for the position of CEO. Additionally, Govind Dev Giri, the treasurer of the Ram Temple Trust, has been appointed new general secretary. A ir Marshal Jeetendra Mishra (retired), who headed the IAF’s Western Air Command during Operation Sindoor, was on Wednesday appointed the first full-time Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust that oversees the temple in Ayodhya. Govind Dev Giri will be the new General Secretary while Jaishankar to visit Ukraine, Poland from 3 September STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 2 September Amid the ongoing war in Ukraine, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will undertake an official visit to Ukraine and Poland from 3 to 5 September, the Ministry of External Affairs announced on Wednesday. During his visit, he will hold consultations with his counterparts ~ Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski. Mr Jaishankar’s visit to Ukraine is significant. India has been urging Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the conflict in Ukraine through dialogue and diplomacy, including during the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr Putin in Bishkek on the sidelines of the SCO Summit this week. • Profiles: Page 4 SC directs oversight of Bar Council of India by AG, SG in policy decisions PARMOD KUMAR New Delhi, 2 September The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it would consider reconstitution of the Bar Council of India (BCI) after the completion of State Bar Council elections and co-option of two women members by the Chief Justices of the respective High Courts. It directed that the existing BCI set-up would, in the meantime, confine itself to day-to-day affairs and associate the Attorney General (AG) and Solicitor General (SG) ~ both ex-officio members of the BCI ~ with decisions having significant policy implications. A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana directed that the process of constituting the newly elected State Bar Councils should be completed, including the co-option of two women members by the Chief Justice of the respective High Court, Zverev survives Sonego scare at US Open WORLD Page 6 Ayodhya, 2 September following which the State Bar Councils would elect their representatives to the BCI within two weeks of notification of their composition. The bench clarified that retired or former woman judges could be considered against the slots earmarked for co-opted women members. Justice Bagchi said existing office-bearers of the BCI could continue with routine administration until fresh elections, but decisions involving significant policy issues required participation of independent ex-officio members such as the Attorney General and Solicitor General. The court also questioned the legal basis of an April 2025 notification extending Thursday, 03 September 2026 SPORTS PERSPECTIVE EDITORIAL | BCI chairman Manan Kumar Mishra's tenure for five years, against the backdrop of submissions that Rule 12(2) provides a two-year tenure for the chairman and vicechairman. The bench, however, emphasised that its scrutiny was institutional rather than directed against any individual. CJI Kant said the immediate priority was to complete the State Bar Council election and co-option process, followed by the election of their representatives to the BCI. The court also heard submissions concerning the creation and functioning of the BCI Trust “PEARL-FIRST”, including allegations about the transfer of assets and appointment of individuals as lifelong trustees irrespective of whether they continued to hold positions in the BCI. The bench questioned whether members of an elected body could confer permanent trusteeship upon themselves and said these issues would be examined subsequently. Page 12 Govt rejects GDP data criticism, says revised base year behind change in numbers STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 2 September The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on Wednesday defended India’s latest GDP estimates, rejecting allegations that the government had revised down the previous year’s GDP figure to make the latest growth numbers appear stronger. The ministry issued a six-point clarification amid questions over the GDP data released on Monday, which has triggered a debate among economists, political circles and social media users. Earlier, former Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg had questioned the figures, arguing that nominal GDP growth for the April-June quarter should have been around 2.6 per cent, with real growth “close to 0”. He had also alleged that the nominal GDP estimate for April-June 2025 was lowered from around Rs 86 lakh crore to Rs 80 lakh crore, thereby boosting the reported growth Secretary, Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation, Dr. Saurabh Garg, speaks to the media on the release of the GDP Quarterly Estimates on Monday, 31 August. IANS rate for the corresponding quarter of 2026. The ministry, without naming Mr Garg, rejected the claim and explained that the two figures belonged to different GDP series and, therefore, could not be directly compared. The Rs 86.05 lakh crore figure cited in the criticism was calculated under the earlier GDP series, which used 2011-12 as the base year. India introduced a new GDP series with 2022-23 as the base year in February 2026, incorporating additional data sources and changes to the methodology used to estimate economic activity. Under the new series, nominal GDP for April-June 2025 was initially estimated at Rs 80.32 lakh crore. The estimate was subsequently revised slightly higher to Rs 80.44 lakh crore in June 2026, based on updated indicators and additional data. The ministry said the apparent difference between the earlier Rs 86.05 lakh crore figure and the roughly Rs 80 lakh crore figure used in the latest calculation was, therefore, a consequence of the transition to the new series, methodological changes and successive revisions, rather than an attempt to artificially boost the latest growth rate. The ministry also stressed that GDP growth cannot be calculated by comparing figures drawn from two different series. According to the latest estimates, India’s nominal GDP stood at Rs 88.27 lakh crore in April-June 2026. Compared with the comparable year-ago estimate of Rs 80 lakh crore under the new series, this represents a 10.3 per cent increase in nominal GDP. The ministry maintained that the latest GDP estimates were prepared using the methodology and data sources prescribed under the new series and that the figures released on Monday were correct. Nepal flood toll rises above 1,200 STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 2 September The death toll from devastating flash floods in Nepal rose to 1,204 on Wednesday, as India stepped up humanitarian assistance to the Himalayan nation. A total of 4,216 people remained missing as search-and-rescue operations entered their eighth day A fifth Indian Air Force (IAF) plane landed in Nepal on Wednesday, carrying an 11-member rescue team with specialised equipment and 5.5 tonnes of essential medicines. India has sent over 68 tonnes of emergency relief materials and specialised rescue teams to Nepal following the devastating flash floods. Deliveries include blankets, sleeping bags, heavy-duty tarpaulins, plastic sheeting, hygiene kits, essential medicines, food packets, solar lamps, water purification tablets and portable generators. Rainy Commute A man rides a bicycle amid heavy rainfall in Jalandhar, Punjab, on Wednesday. IANS UNEP: World to cross 1.5°C global warming, but can still return from higher temperatures STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Kolkata, 2 September Global temperature rise is set to cross 1.5°C, likely within the next few years, pushing climate risks and impacts to increasingly dangerous heights, but it is still possible to bring temperatures down and achieve global goals in the Paris Agreement, according to a new UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report. A temperature rise of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels was the safe threshold agreed upon in the 2015 Paris climate accord. The report, Limiting Overshoot, identifies an ‘overshoot, peak, and decline’ pathway as the best remaining option to minimise the magnitude and duration of this overshoot and try to return to below 1.5°C as soon as possible. “This summer’s scorching heat, raging wildfires and deadly floods are a warning of what lies ahead. We must make the overshoot above 1.5 degrees as small and short as possible. That demands an overshoot of ambition,” said UN Secretary-General Antőnio Guterres. According to the UNEP’s report, the first of its kind, the most optimistic scenario will see temperature rise peak at 1.8°C above preindustrial levels, above the goal of limiting warming to 1.5°C set by the Paris Agreement. Most other scenarios predict higher peaks. Above 1.5°C, risks and impacts will intensify with every extra fraction of a degree and every year. Anticipated impacts include intensified extreme weather, ecosystem loss, and submersion of Small Island Developing States and low-lying coastal cities. Severe damage to human health, food security, water supplies, nature, cities, infrastructure, and economies is expected. The report warns that the likelihood of crossing irreversible tipping points increases with the magnitude and duration of higher temperatures. These include the destabilisation of major ice sheets, degradation of the Amazon rainforest and disruption of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (the system of currents that moves warm surface water north and cold deep water south, playing a key role in regulating the climate). The UNEP report urges accelerated, collective and global action to get on an overshoot, peak and decline pathway. This pathway would minimise peak temperature rise through immediate and sustained cuts to greenhouse gas emissions, including methane, on the road to net-zero, and bring down temperatures through long-term net-negative emissions, with carefully governed Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) ~ the process of removing carbon from the air and storing it through afforestation or other means – an essential part of the mix. Following this pathway would involve adaptation actions that reduce vulnerability to the current, expected and unexpected impacts of climate change on societies, communities and economies ~ although there will likely be limits to adaptation and irreversible impacts, especially if peak temperatures are not minimised. “There are no good outcomes if we remain above 1.5°C. Across the globe, extreme heatwaves are already proving that climate impacts will strike faster, hit harder, and last longer ~ costing more lives and causing deeper disruption,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP. “Now is the time we must double down on climate action. We can ~ and must ~ get on the right path. By cutting greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening resilience and adaptation, and ensuring exceedance of 1.5°C is as small and short as possible.” The report notes that years of inaction mean that even if a return to below 1.5°C is secured, irreversible losses and permanently changed conditions are certain. Many communities may be forced to relocate or change livelihoods, while societies will face the challenge of re-adjustment.