22052022-TTB-03.qxd 22-05-2022 00:48 Page 1 123 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 142 NO. 140 | 16 PAGES | ~6.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2021-2023 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  HARYANA ERROR-PRONE SINDHU LOSES IN THAILAND OPEN SEMIFINALS SPORT /thetribunechd NOT SAFE IN VALLEY, SHIFT US OUT: PANDIT EMPLOYEES J&K 75 YEARS OF PARTITION: MORRISON OUT, ALBANESE BAHAWALPUR TO SET TO BECOME NEXT RAJPURA SPECTRUM AUSTRALIAN PM BACK PAGE sunday | 22 may 2022 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com To tame inflation, Centre slashes petrol price by ~9.50, diesel by ~7 Asks states to follow suit | Will ensure ease of living: PM | Revert to UPA level: Cong Tribune News Service SOLAN GIRL BALJEET KAUR SCALES MT EVEREST INSIDE Air surcharge: Leh and beyond Rs 2.00 New Delhi, May 21 The Centre on Saturday cut excise duty on petrol by Rs 8 per litre and that on diesel by Rs 6 per litre as it announced a host of measures to tame inflationary pressures that have sent household budgets as well as business plans haywire due to their cascading effect. The excise duty cut will translate into a price reduction of Rs9.50alitreonpetrolandRs7on diesel after taking into account its impact on other levies. Announcing the duty cut ~200 LPG SUBSIDY ■ 9 cr Ujjwala Yojana bene- ficiaries to get ~200 LPG subsidy (12 cylinders/yr) ■ ~1.10 lakh cr fertiliser subis in addition ANNUAL COST TO GOVT sidy, whichcr announcedto Budget ~1.05lakh in FUEL PRICE CUT LPG SUBSIDY ■ Cut in Customs duty on raw materi~1 LAKHCR ~6,100 CR al used for making plastic products PRICE IN DELHI NEW OLD ■ Reduction in import duty on raw PETROL ~95.91 ~105.41 materials used to produce steel DIESEL ~89.67 ~96.67 ■ Measures to cut cement cost through tweets, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also said the government would give Rs 200 per cylinder sub- sidy to nine crore Ujjwala Yojana beneficiaries for 12 cylinders in a year to help ease some of the burden arising from cooking gas rates rising to record levels. “This will help our mothers and sisters. It will have a revenue implication of around Rs 6,100 crore a year while the cut in excise on diesel and petrol will have revenue implication of around Rs 1 lakh crore per year for the government,” she said. The Centre also announced an additional Rs 1.10 lakh crore fertiliser subsidy to provide further cushion to farmers due to its rising import prices as a result of the Ukraine-Russia conflict. continued on page 10 Ex-CM Chautala convicted in ‘It’s called confidence,’ EAM counters disproportionate assets case Rahul’s ‘arrogant’ Foreign Service remark ❝ And it is called defending New Delhi, May 21 A CBI special court on Saturday convicted former Haryana CM Om Prakash Chautala in connection with a disproportionate assets case. Special Judge Vikas Dhull posted the matter for May 26, when the court will hear arguments on the quantum of sentence. The CBI had filed the case in April 2006 and a chargesheet was filed on March 26, 2010. Chautala was accused of amassing assets worth Rs 6.09 crore disproportionate to his continued on page 10 New Delhi, May 21 External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar today rebutted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s comments quoting unnamed European bureaucrats that the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) had completely changed and become arrogant. “It is called defending national interest,” tweeted Jaishankar, who said it was a national interest S Jaishankar, EXTERNAL AFFAIRS MINISTER reflection of confidence of the Indian Foreign Service. “Yes, the Indian Foreign Service has changed. Yes, they follow the orders of the govern- ment. Yes, they counter the arguments of others. No, it’s not called arrogance. It is called confidence. And it is called defending national interest,” tweeted the minister. At the “Ideas for India” conference in London, Rahul Gandhi had alleged that the “deep state” in India was attacking institutions and continued on page 10 GOLD GLORY M EN’S compound team of Abhishek Verma, Rajat Chauhan & Aman Saini won gold at the Archery World Cup in S Korea. Mohan Bhardwaj (left) bagged a dream WC individual silver medal. INSIDE Tunnel collapse: Nine more found dead, rescue op ends Jammu, May21 Nine bodies were pulled out of the debris on Saturday, two days after a landslide hit an under-construction tunnel on the Jammu-Srinagar highway in Ramban. The rescue operation has ended. Ramban Deputy Commissioner Mussarat Islam said the families of the deceased would be paid a compensation of Rs 15 lakh each, as directed by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. The construction company has been booked. The rescuers retrieved the bodies of all 10 workers at about 7 pm. “The national highway has now been opened to traffic,” an official said. INSIDE IN BRIEF Held over Gyanvapi post, DU prof granted bail NEW DELHI: A court on Saturday granted bail to Delhi University associate professor Ratan Lal who was arrested for "objectionable" social media post on 'Shivling' at the Gyanvapi mosque. TNS Former minister of Punjab Tota Singh dead MOGA: Two-time former Punjab minister Tota Singh, 81, died after a prolonged illness on Saturday. He was senior vice-president of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and an SGPC member. INSIDE GoI to procure moong from Punjab on MSP CHANDIGARH: The Centre has agreed to procure moong from Punjab on the minimum support price (MSP), an official spokesperson said here on Saturday. “The GoI has conveyed to the state government through a letter its approval to implement the Price Support Scheme (PSS) for procuring 4,585 MT of summer ‘moong’ in Punjab for the rabi season 2021-22,” the spokesperson said. The date of procurement will be decided by the Punjab Government. “The state government will provide a revolving fund equivalent to at least 15 per cent of the procurement cost of the sanctioned quantity and ensure that the payment is credited directly into the bank accounts of the farmers within three days of procurement,” the letter reads. INSIDE