The Evening Wrap: 5G is a knock on the doors of a new era in the country, says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched 5G telephony services in the country, ushering in an era of ultra high-speed internet on mobile phones. He launched the service in select cities at the IMC 2022 conference. The services will progressively cover the entire country over the next couple of years. Capable of supporting ultra-high-speed internet, the fifth generation or 5G service is expected to unleash new economic opportunities and societal benefits, serving as a transformational force for Indian society. After the launch, all the three major telecom operators demonstrated one use case to show the potential of 5G technology in India. “Though this summit is global, the voice is local. Today 130 crore Indians are getting the gift of 5G,” the PM said after the launch. “I am happy that school children from rural parts of India are part of this rollout,” he added. The new India will not only be a consumer of technology, rather India will play an active role in the development and implementation of the technology, Modi said. "We focused on four pillars, which include the cost of device, digital connectivity, cost of data and the mindset of Digital First. When we talk about the cost of device, it can only be affordable when we are Atmanirbhar,” he said. He also said that the number of internet users was rapidly increasing in rural India compared to internet users in urban areas. "Today an Indian, on an average, spends 14gb data in a month. In 2014 this cost ₹4,200 per month, now it is costing somewhere between ₹125 to ₹150. This means that poor and middle-income people are saving approximately ₹4,000 every month, it is not a small feat," he further said. “This is not just India’s decade, it is the century of India,” he said, adding that this was an occasion for the entrepreneurs, small artisans and businessmen to help them progress further. Congress polls | It’s Mallikarjun Kharge vs Shashi Tharoor as Tripathi’s nomination is rejected Senior Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor and Mallikarjun Kharge are set to face off in the election for the party’s president post after former Jharkhand Minister K.N. Tripathi's nomination was rejected on Saturday. The three filed their papers on Friday, the last day of the process. Addressing a press conference at the Congress headquarters in New Delhi, AICC Central Election Authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry said a total of 20 forms were received during the nomination process and four of them were rejected. Kharge had submitted 14 forms, Tharoor submitted five and Tripathi one. Mistry said Tripathi's form was rejected as the signature of one of his proposers did not match and another proposer's signature was repeated. Meanwhile, Kharge resigned as the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, sources said, a day after filing his nomination papers for the AICC election. Kharge’s resignation, which he sent to Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday night, is in line with the party's declared 'One person, One post' principle. Senior leaders P. Chidambaram and Digvijaya Singh are the front-runners for being the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha. Indore deemed cleanest city for 6th time in a row, Surat retains 2nd position Indore was adjudged India’s cleanest city for the sixth time in a row with Surat and Navi Mumbai following it on the next two spots in the Central government’s annual cleanliness survey, the results of which were announced Saturday. Indore and Surat retained their top positions in the big cities category this year, while Vijayawada lost its third spot to Navi Mumbai. Madhya Pradesh secured the top spot In the category of best performing States in the ‘Swachh Survekshan Awards 2022’, while Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra followed. Among the States having fewer than 100 urban local bodies, Tripura has bagged the top rank. President Droupadi Murmu gave away the awards to the winners at an event in New Delhi, attended by Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and others. In the category of cities having a population less than one lakh, Maharashtra’s Panchgani was ranked number one, followed by Chhattisgarh’s Patan and Maharashtra’s Karhad. Meanwhile, Haridwar was awarded the cleanest Ganga town in the category of more than 1 lakh population, followed by Varanasi and Rishikesh. Bijnor was ranked the first among Ganga towns with fewer than one lakh population. followed by Kannauj and Garhmukhteshwar. Maharashtra’s Deolali was adjudged the country’s cleanest Cantonment Board. The 7th edition of Swachh Survekshan was conducted to study the progress of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) and rank the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) based on various cleanliness and sanitation parameters. The Survekshan evolved from being an assessment of 73 cities in 2016 to covering 4,354 cities this year. RBI’s monetary policy has sent a positive message: Nirmala Sitharaman India’s inflation is at a manageable level and the Reserve Bank of India’s latest monetary policy which included a 50 basis points hike in interest rates, have sent a “very positive message in the market”, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. Over 70% of the foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) who had left the Indian stock markets in the months running up to July, have returned over the last two months, she also said, asserting that India is now entering an era of robust economic activity. “Till July, you had a lot of FPIs flowing outside of India, going away from India. And people thought, ‘Oh, that’s an indication the economy is going to be in distress’. As much or even more have started coming back from August and till September, more than 70% of all of whom went out, have equally come back,” she said. Noting that it is going to be a period ‘unlike any other times’ for the economy and businesses, with investments and manufacturing as well as services sectors, Sitharaman said a lot of funds will flow into India and several mergers and acquisitions can be expected. “This is going to be an era of entrepreneurship for building Indian economy, for a lot of flow of funds that is going to come into India. The government is actively engaged with sovereign funds, the big funders who can come and invest in India,” she said, pointing to the interest shown by global investors in schemes like production-linked incentives. “You are going to have a lot of mergers and acquisitions, I think. Mergers and acquisitions are also going to happen because it’s an economy which is seen as the sweet spot world over, because we have achieved a certain growth and are standing out as the fastest growing economy in the world. And therefore, you’re going to have a lot of investor interest,” she said. Speaking at the sixth annual day of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India, Sitharaman said that the ‘era of robust economic activity’ would require regulators to be robust as well. “We need a lot of good professionals which are going to help the economy understand how liquidation, how insolvency, bankruptcy, all of them can be handled, where required, in a very efficient and timely manner,” she concluded. Russian troops ‘encircled’ near key Ukraine town in annexed region The Ukrainian army said it has encircled several thousand Russian troops near a key town in one of the four Moscow-held territories that President Vladimir Putin annexed a day earlier despite condemnation from Kyiv and the West. Putin staged a grand ceremony in the Kremlin on Friday to celebrate the annexations of four territories controlled by his army. On Saturday, Ukrainian forces were on the doorstep of Lyman town in Donetsk, which Moscow's forces pummelled for weeks to capture this spring. Ukraine's army said that it had "encircled" a Russian grouping near the eastern town, estimating it to be around 5,000 troops. The governor of the neighbouring Lugansk region, Sergiy Gaiday, said the surrounded soldiers have three options: "try to break through, all die together or surrender." The Kremlin-backed leader of Donetsk said Friday that Russian troops and their allies were holding on to Lyman with "their last strength". The four annexed territories create a crucial land corridor between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, annexed by Moscow in 2014. Together, the five regions make up around 20% of Ukraine, where Kyiv in recent weeks has been clawing back territory. Following the annexation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the U.S.-led military alliance NATO to grant his country fast-track membership. He also vowed never to hold talks with Russia as long as Putin was in power. Meanwhile, the World Bank announced $530 million in supplemental funding for Ukraine to enable it to "meet urgent needs created by Russia's invasion." The support, in the form of a new loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, is being guaranteed by Britain to the tune of $500 million, with Denmark backing the remaining $30 million, the World Bank said. In Brief: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned his country would not ratify the NATO membership bids of Sweden and Finland until the two Nordic countries “kept” their promises to Ankara. “Until the promises made to our country are kept, we will maintain our principled position,” Erdogan said in a speech to parliament. He has accused both countries of being havens for Kurdish militants, specifically highlighting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), and for promoting “terrorism”. A deal was then struck between the three countries in June, which included provisions on extraditions and sharing of information, clearing the way for NATO to formally invite the two nations to join the alliance. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 01 OCTOBER 2022 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( Launch of 5G services | This is not just India’s decade, it is the century of India, says PM Modi Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday [launched 5G telephony services in the country]( ushering in an era of ultra high-speed internet on mobile phones. He launched the service in select cities at the IMC 2022 conference. The services will progressively cover the entire country over the next couple of years. Capable of supporting ultra-high-speed internet, the fifth generation or 5G service is expected to unleash new economic opportunities and societal benefits, serving as a transformational force for Indian society. [The Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing the gathering during the inaugural ceremony of India Mobile Congress 2022 and launch of 5G services at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi on October 1, 2022.] After the launch, all the three major telecom operators demonstrated one use case to show the potential of 5G technology in India. “Though this summit is global, the voice is local. Today 130 crore Indians are getting the gift of 5G,” the PM said after the launch. “I am happy that school children from rural parts of India are part of this rollout,” he added. The new India will not only be a consumer of technology, rather India will play an active role in the development and implementation of the technology, Modi said. "We focused on four pillars, which include the cost of device, digital connectivity, cost of data and the mindset of Digital First. When we talk about the cost of device, it can only be affordable when we are Atmanirbhar,” he said. He also said that the number of internet users was rapidly increasing in rural India compared to internet users in urban areas. "Today an Indian, on an average, spends 14gb data in a month. In 2014 this cost ₹4,200 per month, now it is costing somewhere between ₹125 to ₹150. This means that poor and middle-income people are saving approximately ₹4,000 every month, it is not a small feat," he further said. “[This is not just India’s decade, it is the century of India]( he said, adding that this was an occasion for the entrepreneurs, small artisans and businessmen to help them progress further. Congress polls | It’s Mallikarjun Kharge vs Shashi Tharoor as Tripathi’s nomination is rejected Senior Congress leaders [Shashi Tharoor and Mallikarjun Kharge]( are set to face off in the election for the party’s president post after former Jharkhand Minister K.N. Tripathi's nomination was rejected on Saturday. The three filed their papers on Friday, the last day of the process. Addressing a press conference at the Congress headquarters in New Delhi, AICC Central Election Authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry said a total of 20 forms were received during the nomination process and four of them were rejected. Kharge had submitted 14 forms, Tharoor submitted five and Tripathi one. Mistry said Tripathi's form was rejected as the signature of one of his proposers did not match and another proposer's signature was repeated. Meanwhile, Kharge resigned as the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, sources said, a day after filing his nomination papers for the AICC election. Kharge’s resignation, which he sent to Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday night, is in line with the party's declared 'One person, One post' principle. Senior leaders P. Chidambaram and Digvijaya Singh are the front-runners for being the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha. Indore deemed cleanest city for 6th time in a row, Surat retains 2nd position [Indore was adjudged India’s cleanest city for the sixth time in a row]( with Surat and Navi Mumbai following it on the next two spots in the Central government’s annual cleanliness survey, the results of which were announced Saturday. Indore and Surat retained their top positions in the big cities category this year, while Vijayawada lost its third spot to Navi Mumbai. Madhya Pradesh secured the top spot In the category of best performing States in the ‘Swachh Survekshan Awards 2022’, while Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra followed. Among the States having fewer than 100 urban local bodies, Tripura has bagged the top rank. [President Droupadi Murmu speaks at the Swachh Survekshan Awards 2022 ceremony in New Delhi on October 1, 2022. Photo: Twitter/@rashtrapatibhvn] President Droupadi Murmu gave away the awards to the winners at an event in New Delhi, attended by Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and others. In the category of cities having a population less than one lakh, Maharashtra’s Panchgani was ranked number one, followed by Chhattisgarh’s Patan and Maharashtra’s Karhad. Meanwhile, Haridwar was awarded the cleanest Ganga town in the category of more than 1 lakh population, followed by Varanasi and Rishikesh. Bijnor was ranked the first among Ganga towns with fewer than one lakh population. followed by Kannauj and Garhmukhteshwar. Maharashtra’s Deolali was adjudged the country’s cleanest Cantonment Board. The 7th edition of Swachh Survekshan was conducted to study the progress of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) and rank the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) based on various cleanliness and sanitation parameters. The Survekshan evolved from being an assessment of 73 cities in 2016 to covering 4,354 cities this year. RBI’s monetary policy has sent a positive message: Nirmala Sitharaman India’s inflation is at a manageable level and the Reserve Bank of India’s latest monetary policy which included a 50 basis points hike in interest rates, have sent a [“very positive message in the market”]( Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. Over 70% of the foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) who had left the Indian stock markets in the months running up to July, have returned over the last two months, she also said, asserting that India is now entering an era of robust economic activity. “Till July, you had a lot of FPIs flowing outside of India, going away from India. And people thought, ‘Oh, that’s an indication the economy is going to be in distress’. As much or even more have started coming back from August and till September, more than 70% of all of whom went out, have equally come back,” she said. Noting that it is going to be a period ‘unlike any other times’ for the economy and businesses, with investments and manufacturing as well as services sectors, Sitharaman said a lot of funds will flow into India and several mergers and acquisitions can be expected. “This is going to be an era of entrepreneurship for building Indian economy, for a lot of flow of funds that is going to come into India. The government is actively engaged with sovereign funds, the big funders who can come and invest in India,” she said, pointing to the interest shown by global investors in schemes like production-linked incentives. “You are going to have a lot of mergers and acquisitions, I think. Mergers and acquisitions are also going to happen because it’s an economy which is seen as the sweet spot world over, because we have achieved a certain growth and are standing out as the fastest growing economy in the world. And therefore, you’re going to have a lot of investor interest,” she said. Speaking at the sixth annual day of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India, Sitharaman said that the ‘era of robust economic activity’ would require regulators to be robust as well. “We need a lot of good professionals which are going to help the economy understand how liquidation, how insolvency, bankruptcy, all of them can be handled, where required, in a very efficient and timely manner,” she concluded. Russian troops ‘encircled’ near key Ukraine town in annexed region The Ukrainian army said it has [encircled several thousand Russian troops]( near a key town in one of the four Moscow-held territories that President Vladimir Putin annexed a day earlier despite condemnation from Kyiv and the West. Putin staged a grand ceremony in the Kremlin on Friday to celebrate the annexations of four territories controlled by his army. On Saturday, Ukrainian forces were on the doorstep of Lyman town in Donetsk, which Moscow's forces pummelled for weeks to capture this spring. Ukraine's army said that it had "encircled" a Russian grouping near the eastern town, estimating it to be around 5,000 troops. The governor of the neighbouring Lugansk region, Sergiy Gaiday, said the surrounded soldiers have three options: "try to break through, all die together or surrender." The Kremlin-backed leader of Donetsk said Friday that Russian troops and their allies were holding on to Lyman with "their last strength". The four annexed territories create a crucial land corridor between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, annexed by Moscow in 2014. Together, the five regions make up around 20% of Ukraine, where Kyiv in recent weeks has been clawing back territory. Following the annexation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the U.S.-led military alliance NATO to grant his country fast-track membership. He also vowed never to hold talks with Russia as long as Putin was in power. Meanwhile, the World Bank announced $530 million in supplemental funding for Ukraine to enable it to "meet urgent needs created by Russia's invasion." The support, in the form of a new loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, is being guaranteed by Britain to the tune of $500 million, with Denmark backing the remaining $30 million, the World Bank said. In Brief: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan [warned his country would not ratify the NATO membership bids]( of Sweden and Finland until the two Nordic countries “kept” their promises to Ankara. “Until the promises made to our country are kept, we will maintain our principled position,” Erdogan said in a speech to parliament. He has accused both countries of being havens for Kurdish militants, specifically highlighting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), and for promoting “terrorism”. A deal was then struck between the three countries in June, which included provisions on extraditions and sharing of information, clearing the way for NATO to formally invite the two nations to join the alliance. 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