NEW IPL RULES CWG 2030:

INDIA SENDS
EXPRESSION
Ahead of the 2025 season, BCCI has made some major
OF INTEREST
changes in the rules in the all-captains meet. A look...
India formally
SALIVA BAN SLOW OVER- submitted Expression
REVOKED RATE BAN of Interest to host
The usage of saliva on The IPL the Centenary
balls had been banned will enforce Commonwealth
since Covid pandemic, demerit points Games at Ahmedabad.
but it has been lifted for captains if they fail The letter of interest
for the IPL from to adhere to optimal was sent by P T
hereon. This came after over-rate. Mandatory Usha as the chief of
appeals from several ball change after the Commonwealth Games
star bowlers including 11th over in second Association of India
Mohammed Shami innings for night games on March 13 | P15
CHENNAI � FRIDAY � MARCH 21, 2025 � `9.00 � PAGES 40 � LATE CITY EDITION
CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOGGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI

30 more Naxals US detains Indian student

‘MALPRACTICE’

Do not release
NIRF rank list: for alleged Hamas support
HC to ministry
E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Madurai

THE Madurai Bench of the Ma-

killed in C’garh
E J A Z K A I S E R @ Raipur
A G E N C I E S @ Washington, D.C.

US federal authorities have de-

tained an Indian citizen who
came to the country legally on a
student visa and threatened to de-
of his wife Mapheze Saleh, a US
citizen, his lawyer said in a law-
suit seeking his immediate re-
lease. Some reports said Saleh’s
father served as a senior political
adviser to the Hamas leadership.
dras High Court on Thursday, in port him claiming he posed risk Confirming Suri’s detention, a
an interim stay order, restrained AT least 30 members of the to American foreign policy. Department of Homeland Secu-
the Union Education Ministry banned CPI (Maoist) were killed Badar Khan Suri, a postdoctor- rity spokesperson claimed Suri
and the National Board of Ac- in two separate encounters in al fellow at Georgetown Univer- was “actively spreading Hamas
creditation (NBA) from publish- Bastar division on Thursday, as sity, was detained by masked propaganda and promoting an-
ing the National Institutional security forces intensified opera- agents from outside his home on tisemitism on social media.”
Ranking Framework (NIRF) tions against left-wing insurgen- Monday, US media reports said. The incident comes days after
rank list for 2025. cy in south Chhattisgarh. His visa was revoked due to his another Indian student, Ranjani
A bench of Justices J Nisha “A joint team of the District alleged ties with Hamas. Srinivasan, ‘self-deported’ follow-
Banu and S Srimathy passed the Reserve Guards (DRG) from Bi- Suri was being targeted be- ing cancellation of her visa over
order on a public interest litiga- japur and Dantewada, Special cause of the Palestinian heritage her alleged support for Hamas.
tion (PIL) petition filed by C Chel- Task Force, CRPF and elite Co-

Elon Musk’s X sues Indian govt over

lamuthu of Dindigul alleging BRA force was out on search op- Jawans returning from the encounter site
malpractices and lack of trans- erations based on specific intel- in the forest area at Bijapur-Dantewada EXPRESS READ
parency in calculation of scores ligence inputs. Around 7 am, an border, in Bijapur on Thursday | ANI
for the rank list. encounter broke out in the dense Tasmac case: HC tells ED
Chellamuthu, in his petition,
said the NIRF ranking is arrived
at merely based on the data pro-
forest along the inter-district bor-
der area of Bijapur-Dantewada,
where 26 Naxalites were neutral-
others from the encounter site.
Union Home Minister Amit
Shah stated that the security
to halt all proceedings
Chennai: Acting on a petition filed
content blocking, misuse of IT rules
vided by the institutions without ised. During the exchange of fire, forces had achieved another big by the state government, the
any verification or auditing. He DRG jawan Raju Oyami lost his success in the mission to elimi- Madras HC on Thursday directed R A K E S H K U M A R @ New Delhi the more stringent requirements Safe harbour
said many institutions submit life,” said Jitendra Yadav, Bi- nate Naxalism under the ‘Naxal the Enforcement Directorate to put of Section 69A of the IT Act and Non-compliance of a
false data to boost their ranking japur district police chief. Mukt Bharat Abhiyan’. Chief on hold all proceedings related to ELON Musk-led-social media the associated Blocking Rules. takedown order under
to lure students and MNCs. He In another gunfight at Kanker Minister Vishnu Deo Sai praised searches conducted at Tasmac and platform X (formerly Twitter) has Section 69A is the legally de- Section 79(3)(b) may
submitted comparative data of district in the north Bastar re- the commitment of the security related entities and asked the filed a petition in the Karnataka fined route by which the govern- strip platforms of safe-
the National Assessment and Ac- gion, a combined team of the personnel. “We are achieving agency to file a reply by March 24 High Court against the Centre, ac- ment can restrict access to online harbour protection
creditation Council’s (NAAC’s) Border Security Force, Bastar historic success in the fight explaining the basis on which the cusing it of illegally blocking con- content that is deemed harmful to that shields them from
AQAR (Annual Quality Assur- Fighters and DRG gunned down against the Maoists,” he said. raids were carried out | P2 tent on the platform. the nation’s interests. However, being liable for content
ance Report) reports and the four Maoists close to the Abujh- So far this year, 113 Maoists The petition, filed on Thursday, this process is regulated by the posted by third parties
NIRF reports, posted online by mad jungle of Narayanpur. No have been eliminated in various Murders peaked under alleges the government is circum- 2009 IT (Procedure and Safe-
some institutions. He claimed security personnel sustained in- encounters in the state. Last year, venting established legal safe- guards for Blocking for Access of
the figures corresponding to the juries in the Kanker encounter. Maoists lost 219 of their fighters
AIADMK govt in 2012: CM guards and procedures in its bid Information by Public) Rules, Sahyog portal
number of PhD students, facul- The recovered bodies of Mao- in anti-insurgency operations. Chennai: After opposition leader to censor online content. Accord- which require a structured re- X also refused to join
ties, R&D funds, consultancy ists are yet to be identified and The series of encounters dur- Edappadi K Palaniswami on ing to X, the government is im- view process before blocking de- govt’s Sahyog portal,
project funds received, etc., are the casualty count of the red ing the last one year are part of Thursday blamed the DMK properly using Section 79(3)(b) cisions are made. set up to streamline
higher in the NIRF reports than rebels may rise further, the of- the renewed strategy to elimi- government for rising cases of of the Information Technolo- Section 79(3)(b) says if a takedown requests
the AQAR reports. P7 ficer said. nate Maoist influence in Chhat- murder, CM M K Stalin said that gy Act to issue content block- government agency flags under Sec 79(3)(b),
The forces also recovered 21 tisgarh by March 2026. between 2012 and 2024, the ing orders. It argued that this illegal content, the plat- terming it a ‘censorship
WITH THIS ISSUE weapons, including an AK-47, Bijapur, Dantewada, Kanker number of murder cases was the section is not intended for form must take it down tool’ that pressures
CHENNAI’S BEST WEEKEND GUIDE 40 PAGES,
INCLUDING 24
two Self-Loading Rifles, one IN- and Narayanpur are among the highest at 1,943 under AIADMK rule such purposes and that the within 36 hours or risk be- platforms to remove
OF INDULGE SAS rifle, three BGL rocket seven Maoist-affected districts of in 2012, and was lowest under DMK government is delib- ing liable for third-party content without proper
(TABLOID)
launchers, and explosives among Bastar division. regime at 1,540 in 2024 | P4 erately bypassing content. legal review
 ALMANAC TODAY MIN MAX Sunrise 6.13 am
Friday: 21/03/2025 Year: Krodhi Panguni: Thei Pirai Phalgun: Krishna Paksha 27 C 35 C
0 0 Sunset 6.20 pm
Tithi: Saptami till 28.25 hrs Nakshatra (Star): Jyeshtha till 25.46 hrs. Moonrise --.--
Moon in Vrischika till 25.46 hrs. Today is Nuvroj (Parsi) Rahukaalam: 10:30-12:00 FORECAST
Yamagantam: 15:00-16:30 Gulikakalam: 07:30-09:00 WEATHER Sunny Moonset 10.43 am

02 CHENNAI FRIDAY 21 03 2025

� �

HC asks ED to halt proceedings in Tasmac case

NOT COMMUNAL HATRED

Murder of three Dalits:

HC commutes death
Corporation says employees, including women, harassed; central agency asked to produce case records by Tuesday

penalty of 4 to life term

EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE officials until the next hearing. ED is BJP’s henchman, says Law Minister Regupathy Section 17 of the Prevention of
@ Chennai In its petition, Tasmac alleged Money Laundering Act in Tas-
Chennai: Referring to the censure by the Madras HC regarding the ED’s
that ED had detained its em- mac and other related premis-
raids at Tasmac offices, Law Minister S Regupathy blasted the agency
THE Madras High Court on ployees, including women, for es, as illegal and arbitrary. The
stating it was functioning as the BJP’s ‘henchman’. In a statement on
Thursday directed the Enforce- over 60 hours for inquiry with- ED, after holding the search op-
Thursday, Regupathy said, “The ED is thinking that the formula it used
ment Directorate (ED) to put on out informing them about the erations, had said that incrimi- E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @Madurai owing to the improbable testi-
in the north to induct politicians into the BJP will also work here. Only
hold all proceedings related to reason for the searches. The ED nating data relating to transfer monies of the witnesses con-
cowards without a spine will yield to BJP’s tactics, not DMK cadre.” He
the searches the agency had carried searches at Tasmac postings, transport tender, bar THE Madurai Bench of the Ma- cerned, who were merely intro-
also charged that union government has ‘set off’ ED in retaliation to
conducted at Tamil Nadu State premises at 20 locations from licence tender, indent orders fa- dras High Court recently com- duced to rope in innocent
CM Stalin consolidating political forces against the delimitation plot
Marketing Corporation (Tas- March 6 to 8. vouring a few distilleries and muted the death penalty im- persons, the judges noted.
that seeks to ‘curtail the representations of the southern states in the
mac) offices earlier this month, During the hearing, the court excess charge of `10-30 per bot- posed on four persons to life The bench wondered how the
Parliament’. “The Joint Action Committee meeting convened by the CM
until the court hears the peti- also questioned the ED about tle were recovered. It also said imprisonment in a case per- police filed a final report against
on March 22 against delimitation has spoiled their sleep,” he said. ENS
tions filed by Tasmac and Tamil the manner in which it had car- it had unearthed that distiller- taining to the murder of three 25 people when the key eyewit-
Nadu government in the mat- ried out the raids at midnight. ies and bottling companies gen- SC men in Udappankulam vil- ness stated that a mob of nine
ter. The court asked the ED to The court asked Additional So- the raids were carried out. The ing the state government, to erated illicit revenue of `1,000 lage of Tenkasi in 2014. A bench persons had hacked the three
file its response by March 25. licitor General (ASG) AR L ASG argued that no one was produce copies of CCTV cam- crore through bogus or inflated of Justices G Jayachandran victims to death. The fact that
A division bench of Justices Sundaresan, representing ED held captive for 60 hours and era footage of Tasmac offices to transactions and used this and R Poornima observed that one of them, V Kannan, has
M S Ramesh and N Senthilku- in the case, to submit FIR, En- that the employees were al- prove the allegations. The peti- money for kickbacks to secure the prosecution failed to prove been suffering from night blind-
mar orally instructed the ED’s forcement Case Information lowed to leave. Taking note of tions have sought the court to more orders from Tasmac. The that the murder occurred due ness for the last 30 years, was
counsel to ensure that no ac- Report (ECIR) and other docu- it, the court directed Advocate- declare that the search and sei- next hearing of the case is to communal hatred. The pa- also not considered by the trial
tion is taken against Tasmac ments, on the basis of which General P S Raman, represent- zure proceedings held under scheduled for March 25. rameters laid down by the Su- court, though the incident took
preme Court for imposing place at 7.15 pm (on June 1, 2014),
death penalty are not satisfied they added.
in this case, the judges added. The bench took the decision

Non-cert goods seized from Moreover, the gravity of the

offence mentioned is also not a
on the Referred Trial case (when
the death sentences are referred

godowns of e-comm firms case for capital punishment,

they said and modified the death
penalty imposed on Ponnuma-
to the high court for approval)
and two joint appeals filed by 11
people convicted in the case. Ac-
ni, Gurusamy, Kaliraj alias cording to the prosecution, on
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE house on Veppampattu Road, Thangaraj, and Muthukrishnan June 1, 2014, when the three vic-
@ Chennai Koduvalli, Thiruvallur dis- to life sentence. The bench also tims – Kaliraj, Venugopal and
trict, led to the seizure of 286 confirmed the life sentence im- Murugan – were travelling to
OFFICIALS of the Bureau of packs of baby diapers, 36 posed on three more accused. Sankarankoil on their two-
Indian Standards (BIS) con- boxes of insulated hot pots, However, the bench acquitted wheeler, a group of nine per-
ducted raids at Amazon and 26 stainless steel water bot- four persons – Suresh and three sons hacked them to death.
F lipkart warehouses in tles, and 10 insulated steel others of the same name Kan- Based on the statement of Ka-
Thiruvallur, seizing non-cer- bottles – all lacking BIS cer- nan – in the case, as there was liraj’s son, the police identified
tified products violating qual- tification. Both e-commerce no evidence to prove their in- the nine persons. They also add-
ity control regulations. firms were found in viola- volvement except the conspira- ed 16 more people as accused
At Amazon’s warehouse in tion of quality control laws, cy charge. The conviction under through the statements of other
IndoSpace A S Industrial posing potential risks to the latter was also found to be witnesses using the conspiracy
Park Private Limited at Du- consumers. unsustainable by the high court theory.
rainallur village in Ponneri BIS Chennai Branch Head
taluk of Thiruvallur district, G Bhavani confirmed that le-
BIS officials discovered 3,376
uncertified products worth
gal action would be taken un-
der the BIS Act, 2016, which
NORTHERN BIRDS FIND NEW HOME
A flock of Eurasian spoonbill or common spoonbil — generally found in the northern parts of the country where the mercury
3,300 driver-cum-conductors
to be recruited across state
`36 lakh, including insulated prescribes up to two years of
flasks, insulated food con- imprisonment or a fine rang- levels are high — was spotted at Samanatham kanmoi (irrigation tank) in Madurai on Thursday. This unprecedented migration
tainers, metallic water bot- ing from `2 lakh to 10 times pattern of the tall, white wading birds could be a result of habitat loss and the adverse effects of climate change | K K SUNDAR
tles, ceiling fans, and toys. the product value for offend-
These items, which require ers. Consumers are urged to E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Chennai
mandatory BIS certification,
were being stored and sold
without the BIS Standard
report fake ISI-marked prod-
ucts via the BIS Care App,
email ([email protected]), or
Over 1 lakh students enrol in govt WITH mounting debts amounting to several thousand crores of
rupees, state transport corporations have halted the recruitment

schools in March; Tiruchy tops list

Mark, violating Section 17 of visit www.bis.gov.in to verify of conductors, and instead, initiated the recruitment for driver-
the BIS Act, 2016. A similar product certifications, a re- cum-conductor (DCC) positions. The Institute of Road Transport
operation at Flipkart’s ware- lease stated. (IRT) issued a notification on Thursday to fill 3,300 DCC roles
across eight corporations in Tamil Nadu.
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE This marks the first large-scale recruitment for permanent posi-
@ Chennai tions in the transport department in seven years. According to
official sources, this initiative aims to optimise resource utilisa-
MORE than 1 lakh students tion and reduce service cancellations caused by shortages of driv-
have enrolled in government ers and conductors. According to
and government aided schools official data, the eight transport
since the enrolment drive be- corporations are currently fac-
gan on March 20. With im- ing a shortage of 11,000 workers,
proved digital infrastructure, including drivers, conductors,
smart classrooms in all elemen- and technical staff. The com-
tary schools, the school educa- bined strength of drivers and
tion department aims to enrol conductors across these corpora-
over 4 lakh children in govern- As many as 1,06,268 students have enrolled in government schools | EXPRESS tions stands at 87,000.
ment schools this year. Officials TNIE on March 11 reported
from the elementary education school enrolment. Among the installation of smart class- that the government intended to
department said more than 3.2 districts, Tiruchy saw the high- rooms in all primary schools remove the conductor’s position from future recruitments, in-
lakh children joined govern- est enrolment of 3,668 students, across the state. Officials also stead to hire for a new combined role that merges the duties of
ment schools last year. followed by Kallakurichi (3,090 stated that the construction of both drivers and conductors.
As per the department’s data, students), Tenkasi (3,047) and hi-tech labs in middle schools is According to the IRT notification, candidates holding both con-
1,06,268 students have joined Chengalpattu (2,816). on the verge of completion. ductor and driver licenses are eligible to apply for DCC positions
government schools, of them “We have instructed schools “Our goal of expanding digital online through https://www.arasubus.tn.gov.in/ from March 21
95,250 students have enrolled in to ensure that all children, who infrastructure is to bridge the to April 21. The minimum education requirement is an SSLC
Class 1. A total of 75, 502 stu- have turned five and are receiv- digital divide and encourage qualification, and applicants must also possess a first-aid certifi-
dents have joined the Tamil me- ing early childhood care and parents to enrol their children cate. Among the allocations, MTC has been assigned 364 DCC posi-
dium in Class 1, while 19, 748 education at anganwadi cen- in government schools rather tions, while the SETC, which manages long-distance buses, has
have joined the English medi- tres, are enrolled in govern- than private schools. This ini- been allotted 318 posts. The remaining vacancies are distributed
um. Health department data ment schools,” said a senior de- tiative will ease the financial across six Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporations: Madurai
Goods, which require mandatory BIS certification, were being stored and sold indicates that over 8.5 lakh chil- partment official. The depart- burden on parents, especially in (322), Villupuram (322), Kumbakonam (756), Salem (486), Coimbat-
without BIS Standard Mark, violating Section 17 of the BIS Act, 2016 | EXPRESS dren aged five are eligible for ment recently completed the rural areas,” an official said. ore (344), and Tirunelveli (362).

ARIES TAURUS GEMINI CANCER LEO VIRGO LIBRA SCORPIO SAGITTARIUS CAPRICORN AQUARIUS PISCES
(Mar 21 - Apr. 20) (Apr. 21 - May 21) (May 22 - June 21) (June 22 - July 23) (July 24 - Aug. 23) (Aug. 24 - Sept. 23) (Sept. 24 - Oct. 23) (Oct. 24 - Nov. 22) (Nov. 23 - Dec. 22) (Dec. 23 - Jan. 20) (Jan. 21 - Feb. 19) (Feb. 20 - Mar 20)
Given that The Moon is Venus is Personal As Domestic You’re being It’s been a bit of Celestially Make every Your stars are Professional
P E T E R V I DA L partners will offering the protecting your freedom is the emotional affairs occupy encouraged to a serious week speaking, the effort possible fortunate, Pisceans can
be in a best genuinely social life and key, although you turbulence your time, try out new so far, what Moon is under to get in touch but wasteful. only gain from
21ST March : Every time I give an interview, I am volatile mood and liable friendly celestial relationships with will have to judge whether dies down, you will and family members solutions to old problems. with turbulent planetary control. In your private with old friends over the Although a number of today’s intriguing
asked how astrology works. The simple answer to upset even the most alignment you’ve had all colleagues, meaning that you can afford to abandon begin to see that life will demand your From a close look at your influences causing certain affairs this means that next few days. You’ll be areas of your solar chart planetary movements.
perfect gatherings, your week. The most general you may now be ready to certain onerous but must be tackled on a attention. Actually, current stars, I’d say that plans to be postponed or what you say goes, at pleasantly surprised by are showing difficulties, The chances for
is that it doesn’t work in any way that twentieth social stars are excellent. advice I can offer is to try take a few risks. Your necessary responsibilities. purely practical basis, although a great many you need to focus on the changed. However, now least as far as home the emotional support others are considerably commensurate financial
century science can understand. Its starting Take the initiative and to look beyond the approach must be subtle Perhaps you should keep doing what needs to be important untried and original, rather that the Moon is moving affairs are concerned. Set that such contacts can easier. The part of your rewards are still good but,
assumption is that all parts of the universe have confidence that material pressures of but firm. There is nothing fundamental personal done in an unfussy and developments seem to than on outmoded ways into lighter regions of the a generous example and bring, and will soon be chart symbolising your by now, the arrangements
are linked to all other parts, and that therefore your plans will please the last week and plan to be gained from storming commitments in place for unpretentious manner. be in the offing, if you of doing things. Get on and zodiac, you can let up the hold out the promise of very much happier. You work, for example, is should be complete. The
everyone in the end - for a brilliant and in with all guns blazing, now, at least until you’re No frills are needed, so concentrate on personal give up all those bad pressure. You can even emotional rewards if you will, however, not indicating great last thing you want is too
patterns on Earth are linked to rhythms in the sky; even if they don’t see brighter life. And look to unduly alarming people sure that there is space for don’t get seduced into affairs, you should avoid habits that you know have allow partners to look want other people to always feel in control of promise if you only give many loose ends causing
by looking at one, we gain insights into the other. eye-to-eye now. the future with faith. who are in a nervous mood. change. unnecessary sidelines. emotional tangles. been holding you back. after the practical details. follow your lead. your own affairs. up a few stale habits. complications.

CROSS WORD JUMBLE UNSCRAMBLE THESE JUMBLES, ONE LETTER TO

EACH SQUARE, TO FORM FOUR ORDINARY WORDS.
BY DAVID L. HOYT
ACROSS DOWN AND JEFF KNUREK
1 Running across junction (7) 1 Doctor has endless
5 A question of choice (5) discussion over co�ee (5)
8 Happen to change course (4,5) 2 Wood essential in model making (3)
9 Short tailless dog (3) 3 Country that is right
10 A span of roguishness (4) to put Scotsman out (4)
12 Such a net may become loose (8) 4 Earth reduced to dust? (6)
14 Many admit to being 5 He’s paid to mind
Solutions to Yesterday’s puzzle

inexperienced (6) someone else’s business (8)

15 Sarah’s new worry (6) 6 An insect’s uninterrupted
17 Suggest the main development (9)
di�erence is in prestige (8) 7 Gear to make use of horsepower (7)
18 Let it be one sort 11 They spend their time together (9)
of square in another (4) 13 Rounded up but not rounded o� (8)
21 Frequently no distance at all (3) 14 Be like the rest and
22 Put back in o�ce and control study past results (7)
political community (9) 16 The horses in the racket (6)
24 Reviewed American position 19 The king holds one of them (5)
in the Mediterranean (5) 20 It’s a foreign drink (4)
SU DO KU EASY 25 After midnight 23 Skill acquired through
youngsters sparkle (7) regular training (3)
TEST YOUR NUMBER
CRUNCHING SKILL WITH OUR
UNIQUE PUZZLE YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS
Across: 1 Celerity, 5 Bias, 9 Storm, Down: 1 Case, 2 Lookout, 3 Roman
� Fill in the grid with digits in such a manner 10 Airmail, 11 Going concern, 13 Letter, remains, 4 Trance, 6 Irate, 7 Silently, 8 French
that every row, every column and every 3X3 box Yesterday’s
14 Chapel, 17 China cabinet, 20 Repined, window, 12 Placards, 15 Peerage, 16 Raider,
accommodates the digits 1 to 9, without repeating any. 21 Drake, 22 Styx, 23 Browbeat. 18 Imply, 19 Beat.
 The PM 2.5 level recorded at Alandur NEWS UPDATE FROM TN

18 µg|m3 on Thursday. Nitrogen dioxide level

was at 8 µg/m3 against the
prescribed standard of 80 µg/m3
Twitter @ xpresstn
‘TNIE Tamilnadu’ @ xpresstn

03 CHENNAI FRIDAY 21 03 2025

� � newindianexpress com

After snag, metro trial run smooth TN gets French invite to join
on Mullaithottam-Poonamallee line coalition on Ocean Rise conf
The trial is dubbed as a major step towards opening Poonamallee-Porur elevated corridor S V K R I S H N A C H A I TA N YA @ Chennai

FRANCE has invited TN to join

E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Chennai December 2025. This section is the global coalition on Ocean
part of Corridor-4, which spans Rise and Coastal Resilience. Dr
After an initial hiccup, Chen- 26.1 km from Lighthouse to Thierry Mathou, Ambassador of
nai Metro Rail Corporation Poonamallee Bypass. France to India, met CM MK Sta-
(CMRL) successfully carried Chennai Metro’s ambitious lin on Thursday to extend an in-
out the trial run of metro train Phase II expansion will cover a vitation to a special summit dur-
on the 3 km stretch between total of 118.9 km, featuring 128 ing the third United Nations
Mullaithottam and Poonamal- stations across three corridors. Ocean Conference (UNOC3) in French Ambassador Thierry Mathou handing over invitation to CM Stalin | EXPRESS
lee from 11.30 pm on Thursday It consists of corridor-3 from Nice, France, on June 7.
to 12 am on Friday. Madhavaram to SIPCOT (45.8 The coalition, launching at the noting the coalition will unite the warmest in 175 years, exceed-
The initial trial on Thursday Km), Corridor-4 from Light- summit, aims to boost interna- coastal cities, regions, and island ing 1.5°C above pre-industrial
evening was disrupted due to a house to Poonamallee Bypass tional collaboration on sea level states globally. He was joined by levels.
technical glitch caused by a (26.1 Km) and Corridor-5 from rise and coastal challenges, kick- Herve D M Delphilin, EU Ambas- “Data for 2024 show that our
short circuit. The train, which Madhavaram to Sholinganal- ing off a week-long UNOC3 with sador to India and Bhutan, and oceans continued to warm, and
started from Poonamallee de- lur (47.0 Km). 193 UN member states other delegates. sea levels continued to rise. The
pot, encountered issues after Once the Poonamallee to participating. Dr Mathou emphasised that frozen parts of Earth’s surface,
travelling 1.2 km, resulting in An aerial view of a portion of Mullaithottam and Poonamallee stretch | P JAWAHAR Porur section becomes opera- Dr Mathou, speaking to TNIE the UNOC3 outcome document known as the cryosphere, are
sparks due to the short circuit. tional, the next 8 km stretch- during a visit to Plastic Odyssey, could be as vital for oceans as the melting at an alarming rate: gla-
The trial run is a major step Rail officials, after the initial had previously announced the from Porur to Kodambakkam a 40-metre “floating laboratory” Paris Agreement is for climate ciers continue to retreat, and
towards opening the Poonamal- trial between Mullaithottam nine-kilometre metro stretch Power House-is expected to tackling plastic pollution, praised change. Antarctic sea ice reached its sec-
lee to Porur elevated corridor, and Poonamallee, testing will from Poonamallee to Porur, open by June 2026. The entire Tamil Nadu’s efforts on sea level The World Meteorological Or- ond-lowest extent ever recorded,”
expected by the end of this year. be extended to Porur. which includes 10 stations. It is Phase II project is scheduled for rise. “States like Tamil Nadu are ganisation’s (WMO) 2024 climate said WMO Secretary-General Ce-
According to Chennai Metro Chief Minister MK Stalin scheduled for inauguration by completion by December 2027. crucial to this initiative,” he said, report, confirming last year as leste Saulo.

Two men with EXPRESS READ

102 kg ganja Man lands in net for

smuggling star tortoises
arrested near Chennai: The Triplicane police
arrested a 40-year-old man for

Maduravoyal allegedly trying to smuggle 400

star tortoises in an auto rickshaw
on Thursday. The man, identified
E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Chennai as Yasin of Triplicane, was

YOUTH SPEEDING THE Tambaram city police ar-

arrested during a vehicle check. He
was travelling in an autorickshaw.

ON STOLEN BIKE
rested two persons near Madura- Sources said the police grew
voyal bypass on Thursday and suspicious and checked his bag

DIES IN ACCIDENT
seized 102 kg ganja, a car, and two after Yasin gave evasive replies to
mobilephones. their questions. The tortoises were
The suspects, Paraman (45) later handed over to the forest
from Madurai and Daniel Raja department officials. Yasin told
Bro’s call E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Chennai (34) from Usilampatti, have a his- the police that he got the
comes in tory of drug-related crimes, the tortoises from a godown in Minjur.
handy A youth who stole a bike on Wednesday police said. Paraman, previously Further probe is on. ENS
morning died on the same night after jailed in AP for smuggling ganja,
It was a call
FRAGRANCES CONVERGE
crashing the two-wheeler into a milestone allegedly established contacts
from the youth’s
brother on his
on the side of the road at Thirupachur with suppliers Nagaraj and Na- Job fraud: Two held for
near Tiruvallur. jeem there. After his release in A salesperson from Kannur in Kerala selling attar imported from various countries on the side of Spurtank Road. The cost of duping 14 of `62.8 lakh
mobile phone
The deceased has been identified as May 2024, he partnered with Dan- attar in his possession ranges from `150 to `800 for 6 ml. Attar holds great significance in the month of Ramzan | MARTIN LOUIS
that helped the
23-year-old M Arumugam of Ranipet. iel Raja to transport ganja, the Chennai: Two men were arrested
police identify
Tiruvallur Taluk police said Arumugam police said. for cheating 14 people of `62.8
Arumugam, who
had six cases of bike thefts pending Sources said in December 2024, lakh by promising jobs in various

Biz partners among 4 held for kidnapping man

stole the bike
against him. the duo had smuggled 52 kg ganja government departments
from
The police said the bike was stolen from worth `2 lakh, and in January including Tangedco and Public
Kadambathur in
Kadambathur on Wednesday morning. 2025, they had brought in 90 kg Works Department (PWD). The
the morning.
The accident happened around 9 pm while ganja worth `4 lakh. EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE Prabhu (37), managed to escape. and Udhayakumar and Sasiku- suspects, identified as N Dilli
The body of the @ Chennai
he was negotiating a curve. He died on the In a separate case, the Pallavar- The suspects have been identi- mar are his business partners. Kumar (60) and G Mahesh (34),
deceased was
spot as he suffered multiple injuries. am police arrested Payal Das (24) fied as A Udhayakumar (28), his Recently, the company encoun- were arrested by the job racket
sent to a
Sources said it was a call from the of Tripura near Tirusulam rail- FOUR people were arrested for brother A Sasikumar (26), V tered losses, leading to a fallout wing of the Central Crime Branch
government
youth’s brother on his mobile phone that way gate for possessing 3 kg of kidnapping a businessman on Jagadish (26) and S Lokeshwaran between the partners, they said. (CCB). According to the
hospital in
helped the police identify him. Arumu- ganja. She had been smuggling Tuesday and locking him up in a (28). Prabhu has been running an Sources said for the past 10 complaints filed by the victims,
Tiruvallur for
gam’s body was sent to a government hos- high-grade ganja for three years, lodge in Guindy for money. A day online trading business in Ben- days, Prabhu has been staying the duo had also given them fake
postmortem
pital in Tiruvallur for postmortem. using social media, sources said. after, the man, identified as R galuru for the past four years, with his friend in Tondiarpet. appointment orders. ENS

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 ‘SEP REPORT Chennai: In response to a query from PMK floor leader G K Mani
regarding the status of the Justice Murugesan panel report on the State
UNDER REVIEW’ Education Policy (SEP), Chief Minister M K Stalin informed the Assembly
on Thursday that the report is currently under the government’s review

04 CHENNAI FRIDAY 21 03 2025

� �

Law & order duel: CM asks EPS to hear him, AIADMK MLAs scoot
Opposition leader lists murders; Stalin says govt acting without favour, reminds House of what happened in Thoothukudi police firing & Sathankulam cases

Tamil Nadu recorded lowest number

of murders in 12 years in 2024: Stalin
E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Chennai “Besides, this government is compared to the past, the least
paying attention to ensuring murders were witnessed in
CHIEF Minister M K Stalin on punishment to the criminals. 2024 at 1,540.”
Thursday asserted that the While 181 history-sheeters The CM also said the police
state police are functioning in- were convicted in 2023 through department, under his leader-
dependently, taking legal ac- courts, the number of such ship, has been functioning ef-
tion against anti-social ele- convictions in 2024 was 242. ficiently in establishing peace
ments irrespective of their Diligent concern shown by the by preventing crimes. “Those
status or political affiliations. police in conducting the court who are trying to gain political
He pointed out that of the total cases is the reason for the con- mileage by referring to stray
CM M K Stalin speaking on murders in TN in the Assembly on Thursday (left); EPS and other AIADMK MLAs speaking to reporters outside the House | EXPRESS, ASHWIN PRASATH number of murders in the past viction of the criminals. In incidents should ponder over
12 years in the state, the lowest 2024, a total of 150 history- the state of law and order dur-
E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Chennai since he had already conveyed (1,540) were reported in 2024, sheeters were awarded life sen- ing the AIADMK regime which
what he wanted to say. while the highest were report- tence or imprisonment for was at the lowest ebb based on
LEADER of Opposition, Edap- By this time, the AIADMK ed in 2012 at 1,943. more than 10 years,” the CM the statistics,” he added.
I did not come to know about These crimes took place at a time
padi K Palaniswami, on Thurs- MLAs were on their feet de- Replying to an issue raised added. He also elaborated on the in-
these incidents by watching TV. I am when the CM was telling the House
day locked horns with Assem- not saying that nothing has that no one can escape the law. Just manding more time for EPS. At by Leader of the Opposition cident that took place on
bly Speaker M Appavu and happened. But the point is whether like a daily status report, a murder this juncture, Stalin, referring (LoP) Edappadi K Palaniswa- MURDERS REPORTED Wednesday. On the LoP saying
Chief Minister MK Stalin over the government took action or not report is being given every day to Palaniswami’s controversial mi about multiple murders re- there were four murders re-
the alleged deteriorating law r e m a rk s o n t h e d ay o f ported on Wednesday in vari- ported on Wednesday, the CM
and order situation in the state. M K Stalin, chief minister EPS, AIADMK general secretary Thoothukudi firing in 2018 ous parts of the state, the CM said preliminary investigation
While Palaniswami staged a when he was the CM, said, “You said as part of the preventive of the incident in Coimbatore
walkout along with AIADMK should not forget what hap- steps to keep a check on crimes, indicated it to be a case of sui-
MLAs accusing the Speaker of Listing a slew of deaths, EPS “These crimes took place at a pened in Thoothukudi and additional police personnel cide. He said a probe is under
refusing to give more time to said on Wednesday, the body of time when the CM was telling Sathankulam. I did not come to have been deployed to places way in the case of a charred
complete his speech, Stalin ac- Malaiyarasan, a constable from the House that no one could es- know about these incidents by where festivals are taking body of a constable found in
cused the opposition party of Sivaganga, was found in a cape from the law. Just like a watching TV.” place, mega entertainment Madurai. The murder that

1,943

1,927
running away from the House charred state near Perungudi daily status report, a murder When Palaniswami and oth- spots and tourist places to en- took place in Sivaganga dis-

1,661

1,540
without having the courage to in Madurai. A woman teach- report is being given every day. er AIADMK MLAs were about sure the safety of the people. trict was due to family feud, he
listen to his reply. er’s body was found in a similar This is the achievement of the to walk out of the Assembly, On the LoP making certain added.
During the zero hour, Palan- condition at Madukkarai in DMK government. The law and Stalin said, “I am not saying remarks about the law and or- On the brutal daylight mur-
iswami sought to raise a law Coimbatore. Also, a man was order situation was never this that nothing has happened. But der issue, the CM said he der of a history-sheeter named
and order issue but the Speaker hacked by a gang while they he bad in the state,” Palaniswami the point is whether the gov- wished to explain it with sta- John, alias Chanakyan in
said the issue should be inti- was travelling in a alleged and made ernment took action or not.” tistics. “The police have been 2012 2013 2020 2024 Erode, the CM said the inci-
mated to him at least 30 min- car near Nasiya- certain remarks The CM asked AIADMK MLAs taking two complementary ac- dent took place after he was
utes before the commencement nur. A soothsayer which were ex- to remain and listen to his re- tions - expeditious action tak- returning from a police sta-
of the session. To this, Palan- w a s h a c ke d t o p u n g e d by t h e ply if they had the courage and en after a crime is committed Stating that the number of tion, where he had to report as
iswami said the rule would be death at Madap- Speaker. not “run away” in fear. and measures to prevent murders in 2012 (during the part of his bail condition.
applicable only to call attention puram in Thirub- Palaniswami in- Speaking to reporters out- crimes. Particularly, the activi- AIADMK regime) stood at Highlighting that the police
motion, and opposition parties huvanam in Siva- sisted on more time side the House, Palaniswami ties of criminals and gangsters 1,943, Stalin said, “This was have arrested the key accused,
can raise issues of urgent im- ganga district. In to complete his said that Stalin has been giving who are involved in crimes re- the highest number of mur- Stalin said preliminary inves-
portance during the zero hour. Chennai, DMK s p e e ch bu t t h e the same reply throughout the peatedly are being closely ders that took place in the state tigation indicated that John
After a few minutes of argu-
ment, the CM said he was ready
trade union mem-
ber Kumar was
ASSEMBLY Speaker said the
opposition leader
year and wondered if he and
his party members should stay
monitored and when neces-
sary, arrests are being made
in the past 12 years. In 2013 the
number of murders stood at
was murdered to avenge the
death of another history-
to answer Palaniswami’s
questions.
kidnapped and
murdered.
TIME could not make ir-
relevant comments
back in the Assembly to hear
that answer again.
under Goondas Act,” the CM
pointed out.
1,927, while during the lock-
down period it was 1,661. When
sheeter named Chelladurai in
Salem in 2020.

Centre yet to release TVK chief spars with oppn, treasury benches; CM warns of action
`2.9K crore of pending S K U M A R E S A N @ Chennai by contesting under DMK’s
symbol, made allegations re-
Offended by this, Velmuru-
gan entered the well of the
frontation. Minister Thangam
Thennarasu and MLA Ezhilan
Appavu condemned Vel-
murugan’s conduct, and said,

MGNREGA wages: Min

IN perhaps the first such in- garding the previous AIADMK House and argued with Pitch- Naganathan unsuccessfully “Since the inception of this
stance of heated argument be- government for failing to en- andi by pointing fingers at him tried to pacify him. By then, (16th) Assembly, we have not
tween the ruling DMK and one sure reservation in govern- after the latter refused his re- Speaker M Appavu had re- encountered such an incident.
of its allies in the Assembly, ment jobs for those who quest to provide a chance turned to the Chair. Let this be the final warning. If
Ta m i z h a g a Va z h v u r i m a i studied in Tamil me- to counter the objections As Velmurugan refused to such actions are repeated,
E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Chennai When Thangamani raised Katchi founder and MLA T dium. Certain specif- raised by the calm down, CM Stalin inter- strict measures will be
the issue of MGNREGA work- Velmurugan sparred with the ic remarks made by AIADMK. vened and said, “Velmurugan taken.”
ELECTRICITY Minister V Sen- ers not receiving their wages, Chair, the opposition and him were strongly The situation esca- has every right to voice his Addressing the media later,
thilbalaji, during Thursday’s Rural Development Minister I treasury benches. This led to objected to by AIAD- lated further when Min- concerns in this House, and I Velmurugan accused Sekarba-
Assembly session, said that the Periyasamy said in response, Chief Minister M K Stalin urg- MK MLAs, led by Dep- ister P K Sekarbabu in- fully respect his right to speak bu of reacting angrily when he
previous AIADMK regime did “The union government has to ing the speaker to take action uty Opposition Leader tervened and made a from his seat. However, leaving was talking about an issue
not provide 24x7 three-phase release `2,900 crore towards the against him. R B Udhayakumar, follow- remark against Velmurugan. his seat, entering the well of close to his heart. “I will appre-
power supply to agriculture wages. Once they release the The issue was set off when ing which Deputy Speaker K An infuriated Velmurugan the House, shouting and dis- ciate any good initiative, but I
motors, but it released a GO in fund, it will be directly depos- Velmurugan, who had won Pitchandi, who was in the walked close to the minister rupting proceedings is will never bow down to any-
this regard just two days before ited into the accounts of benefi- from the Panruti constituency Chair, expunged them. and entered into a heated con- unacceptable.” one,” he added.
the declaration of state elec- ciaries.” Periyasamy also al-

PMK calls for caste census, ministers

tions in 2021 leged that the centre has
He informed that currently reduced the number of work- ‘Work scheme may go State govt is not
three-phase power is being sup-
plied for 16 hours and infra-
days under the scheme in the
states, including TN. on in villages merged going to increase
with urban bodies’ price of milk: Min
assert only union govt has authority
structure works are under way Thangamani also countered
to make it 24x7. Health Minister Ma Subrama-
He also added that through nian’s remark regarding the Chennai: Municipal Chennai: Minister for Dairy
various measures, the present opening of Namakkal medical Administration Minister K N Development R S Rajakannappan
government has minimised the college. He said, “Namakkal Nehru on Thursday told the assured the Assembly on E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Chennai leader G K Mani urged the state pointed out that if a caste-based
losses of Tangedco (Tamil medical college was opened by Assembly that the state Thursday that the government is government to conduct a caste- census was conducted along-
Nadu Generation and Distribu- former chief minister Edappa- government is considering not going to increase the price of A heated debate unfolded in the wise census to provide propor- side the national population
tion Corporation) and thus its di K Palaniswami whereas the continuing the MGNREGA scheme milk. However, the minister did Assembly over the demand for tional reservation to all com- census, all related concerns
debt load. DMK government opened only in 375 village panchayats which not clarify whether this a caste census and the political munities. He war ned that would be addressed.
He said, “Tangedco has to the medical college hospital.” have been chosen for merger assurance is regarding the claims surrounding Tamil without a caste-based cen- Minister S S Sivasankar clar-
pay interest of `16,500 crore for Subramanian maintained with nearby urban local bodies procurement price paid to Nadu’s 69% reservation sus, Tamil Nadu’s exist- ified that neighbouring states
the loans accumulated during that the medical college even after their merger. The farmers or retail price paid by policy. PMK leader G K ing 69% reservation had conducted caste surveys,
the AIADMK regimes. The was opened by minister was speaking during consumers. During the speech on Mani emphasised the could be struck down not censuses. He reiterated
state government is aiding the Prime Minis- question hour. He said that the the debate for the general and necessity of a caste cen- by the courts. Citing only the centre has authority to
firm with increased ter Narendra key contention for farmers and agriculture budgets for the year sus to ensure fair and the examples of Karna- conduct a caste census. TNCC
subsidies.” Modi. people objecting to merging their 2025-26, AIADMK MLA A P equitable reservation for taka and Telangana, he president K Selvaperunthagai
While Senthilbalaji categori- villages with the neighbouring Jayasankaran demanded that all communities. In re- stated that Tamil Nadu also echoed this view.
cally denied that three-phase urban local bodies was fear that the government should increase sponse, ministers reiterated should follow suit in conduct- Despite the ministers’ re-
power supply for 24 hours was they would be losing out on the the procurement price of milk. that only the union government ing a caste census. sponses, Mani and TVK mem-
not implemented during the MGNREGA scheme after the Responding to his demand, has the authority to conduct Responding to this demand, ber Velmurugan maintained
previous government, former merger. Minister Nehru further Minister Rajakannappan such a census. Minister for Backward Classes that neither the high court nor
minister and AIADMK mem- noted that the issue had been emphasised that both consumers During the debate on the gen- Welfare Siva V Meyyanathan the Supreme Court had barred
ber P Thangamani maintained brought to the notice of Chief and producers of milk are eral and agriculture budgets stated that the delay was due to state governments from con-
that it had been. Minister M K Stalin. ENS economically vulnerable. ENS for the year 2025-26, PMK floor the union gover nment. He ducting a caste census.

EXPRESS READ

L600 cr for reconstructing damaged govt houses Salem history-sheeter’s murder: Five ED searches house of Kovai
more suspects arrested, 2 surrender SDPI member, arrests him
Chennai: The state government has allocated `600 crore for the year
2025-26 to implement the Muthalamaicharin Veedugal
Marukattumana Thittam, a scheme for reconstructing houses which
were built under various government schemes till the year 2000-01, EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE Coimbatore North district and
and are beyond repair. These houses will have a plinth area of 210 sq ft E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @Erode On Wednesday night, Chithode @ Coimbatore runs an automobile spare parts
and will be reconstructed at a cost of `2.40 lakh per house. `600 crore police arrested Parthiban, business at Thippu Sultan mar-
allocation includes a devolution grant of `100 crore and state fund of A day after John (34), a history- Azhagarasan, Sethuvasan, Si- AT the end of day-long search- ket, sources said. The search
`500 crore. The rural development department has also issued sheeter from Salem was hacked vakumar and Periyasamy, who es, officials from the Enforce- began at 9.30 am and lasted for
guidelines for the scheme. It also issued a G.O. allocating `1,087.33 to death by a gang near Nasiya- allegedly followed John in a car ment Directorate (ED) arrested about seven hours. A second
crore for implementing the Anaithu Grama Anna Marumalarchi nur, two suspects surrendered along with the gang. a functionary of the Social team searched the resi-
Thittam-II in 13,014 habitations at 2,329 village panchayats. ENS in court on Thursday morning. Earlier in the day, John’s Democratic Party of In- dence of Rajik’s friend
Four people were arrested after body was handed over to his dia (SDPI) and took Wahid located in a
a shootout in the aftermath of wife and relatives after post- him into custody for neighbouring locality.
the murder and five more sus- On Thursday, two suspects surrendered mortem examination was done further investigation. He was arrested on
pects were arrested on Wednes- at the Erode JM 3 court | EXPRESS at the Government Medical However, officials did Thursday night.
day night. College Hospital in Perundurai. not reveal the charges ED officials wanted to
Police said John and his ac- and Salim, (30), of Kitch- The family took it to Kitch- against him. search the residence of one
complice killed a history- ipalayam in Salem, surren- ipalayam for last rites. According to sources, ED of- more functionary, but since he
sheeter Chelladurai in 2020. Po- dered in Erode JM 3 court. Despite several attempts, Su- ficials conducted searches at was admitted in hospital, they
lice suspect Chelladurai’s Magistrate M Afzal Fathima perintendent of Police G Jawa- the residence of H Rajik Ahmed did not. Personnel from Central
brother Jeevagan may have sent the two to judicial custody har did not respond to TNIE’s (35) located in Extension Street Reserve Police Force (CRPF)
planned John’s murder. and they were lodged in the phone calls for comments re- on Annaji Rao Road. Rajik is and TN police were deployed
On Thursday, Jeevagan, (36), Gobichettipalayam district jail. garding the probe. the general secretary of SDPI during the searches.
 3 JAILED Hosur Additional District and Sessions Court on Thursday gave
life sentence S Deva alias Devaraj (28), M Manoj Kumar (25), and
FOR LIFE N Vijaya Kumar (26), residents of Thorapalli near Hosur, for killing
M Rajesh, over a land dispute with Devaraj’s friend in 2019

05 CHENNAI FRIDAY 21 03 2025

� �

Govt homes built just 10 years ago turn ‘Scrap 80:20 policy for PhD
unusable, 444 families told to vacate seats in Thiruvalluvar univ’ R A J A L A K S H M I S A M PAT H @ Vellore
Residents demand detailed investigation into poor construction, seek alternate housing
THIRUVALLUVAR Universi-
ty’s 80:20 admission policy for
S G O D S O N W I S E LY D A S S each of the 37 blocks to vacate PhD programmes has sparked
@ Thoothukudi the houses stating that a stabil- discontent among part-time
ity check report by professors candidates, particularly assist-
RESIDENTS of houses built by of the Tirunelveli Government ant professors. Under the poli-
the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Engineering College had found cy, 80% of PhD seats are re-
Development Board (TNUHDB) the building weak and unsafe served for full-time scholars,
at Gomezpuram in Rajiv Gan- for living. leaving only 20% for part-time
dhi Nagar demanded alternate Hence, all residents includ- applicants.
housing after eviction notices ing allotted persons, legal heirs, Many assistant professors,
were issued citing structural rentals and encroachers were especially those from self-fi- The rule also adversely affects faculty in government-aided and government
instability. An investigation advised to vacate and asked to nancing colleges where a PhD colleges, where a PhD is mandatory to secure associate professor post | EXPRESS
has been demanded. cooperate with TNUHDB, until is essential for qualification,
On behalf of the Rajiv Gan- the building was strengthened. have criticised the policy as un- ground, and completing a PhD for the past four years, leaving
dhi Awas Yojana (RAY), TNUH- “The walls and ceiling devel- fair and restrictive. The rule is mandatory for my career. De- teachers without a platform.
DB constructed 37 blocks con- oped cracks. The cement plas- also adversely affects faculty in spite clearing the CET, not be- When contacted by TNIE,
sisting 444 houses each, ters had started falling apart in government-aided and govern- ing able to secure a part-time Thiruvalluvar University Vice-
measuring 350 sq.ft. at 2022,” said a resident, who came ment colleges, where a PhD is PhD seat is deeply dishearten- Chancellor, Professor Dr T Aru-
Gomezpuram in Mappilliurani to the complex in 2020. mandatory to secure an associ- ing. Other universities follow a mugam said, “If we allocate
panchayat. The construction Residents urged for a de- ate professorship. 60:40 ratio.” 50% of the seats to part-time
began in 2016 and houses were Residents of TNUHDB tenements at tailed probe into the poor con- Despite clearing the Com- Sources said the policy con- candidates, it will affect full-
allotted to homeless persons Gomezpuram in Thoothukudi are left struction and action against mon Entrance Test (CET) mul- tradicts the state’s efforts to in- time scholars and the quality
from 2017 to 2020. The residents, staring at a bleak future as they have the builders as the building had tiple times including in Janu- crease the Gross Enrollment of the PhD. Moreover, there
mostly from poor financial been told to vacate their houses due to worn out before it’s estimated ary and July 2023 and 2024 Ratio (GER) in higher educa- aren’t enough candidates ap-
backgrounds, had paid `41,085 safety concerns | V KARTHIKALAGU life span of 20 years. The allot- numerous part-time candidates tion. The Thiruvalluvar Uni- plying under the 20% quota.”
to acquire a house. “Over 67 ted persons must be provided claim they have been consist- versity Coordination Council However, sources claimed the
families were allotted with the As per the notices served on encroachers to vacate the build- with alternate housing. Repeat- ently denied admission. (TUCC) has also raised con- academic council and syndi-
houses, the rest were rented out March 17, 2025, TNUHDB ad- ings or strict action would be ed efforts to reach higher offi- Another assistant professor cerns over the university’s fail- cate were held without teacher
and a few allotted persons sold ministrative engineer had in- taken. In January, 2025, TNUH- cials of TNUHDB proved shared thier plight, “I come ure to hold elections for the aca- and principal representatives
the house,” residents said. formed rental residents and DB officials pasted notices in futile. from a financially weak back- demic council and syndicate of affiliated colleges.

EXPRESS READ
Man attempts suicide
as cops threaten him
Coimbatore: A daily wage
labourer in Nilgiris tried to die
2 MBA students die in bike-truck collision
Mayiladuthurai: Two MBA students died after their bike
collided head-on with a truck in Sirkazhi. The deceased - R
Bhuvanesh of Kollidam and B Selvam of Cuddalore - were
ATTENTION TAXPAYERS !
by suicide, accusing police of students at a government arts and science college. Selvam,

e-Verification Scheme, 2021

frame him in a mobile phone who was riding the bike to college, lost control of the vehicle,
theft case. Sources said causing it to collide head-on with a speeding truck. While he
Sivanaiah (48) of Lawrance died on the spot, Bhuvanesh died on the way to hospital.
near Avalanche had gone to a The Anaikkaranchathiram police shifted the bodies to the
government hospital on Sirkazhi GH for autopsy. A case has been registered under
Wednesday, hitching a ride on 106 of the BNS. A search is on for the truck driver. ENS
a truck. After a while, the
truck driver accused Sivanaiah
of stealing his mobile phone
and lodged a complaint in
Agarwals hosp docs correct cornea damage
Chennai: The doctors at Dr Agarwals Eye Hospital performed
Any objection to the displayed
financial transaction in AIS?
Emerald police station. The a pinhole surgery on a senior citizen to correct his damaged
police allegedly threatened cornea. Pinhole Pupilloplasty (PPP) is a technique designed
Sivanaiah. After returning to reduce the pupil size to that of a pinhole, limiting the
home, he tried to end his life. amount of light entering the eye. The senior citizen

We will verify from the source

His wife and children took him sustained injuries in his right eye while playing badminton.
to a local hospital. (To The intervention avoided need for corneal transplantation,
overcome suicidal thoughts, reducing the risk of infections and graft rejection while
contact help line 104) ENS ensuring a safer vision restoration, a release said. ENS

Cognizant’s city learning �����������

centre to train one lakh AGRE
E
professionals every year CHANGE OF NAME
I, SESHAGIRI BABU TATA
alias TATA SESHAGIRI BABU,
son of Thiru Syamala Rao Tata,
E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Chennai born on 3rd October 1974,
(District of Birth: Vizianagaram-
COGNIZANT is set to establish a 14-acre Immersive Andhra Pradesh),

EE �
Learning Centre at its Siruseri campus in Chennai, residing at No. 271/2,
reinforcing its commitment to talent 2nd Floor, Kamarajapuram, Behind
G R
development and Artificial Intelli- International Tennis Stadium,
I S A
g e n c e ( A I ) - d r ive n wo rk f o r c e
transformation.
Nungambakkam, Chennai-600 034,
shall henceforth be known as
D
Expected to be completed in three KALYAN TATA
years, the centre will train 1,00,000 Seshagiri Babu Tata alias Tata Seshagiri Babu
professionals annually, featuring
CBC 15401/13/0022/2425

Chennai, 21st January 2025.

14,000 seats, smart classrooms, incu-
bator hubs, design thinking spaces,
and client experience zones. It will
NAME CHANGE
also include residential and well-be- I, Sumitra Mishra
Our new state-
of-the-art centre ing facilities. W/o Mr. Raghunath Prasad
will fuel As a hub-and-spoke model, the cen- Mishra
continuous tre will support other learning facili- aged 52, residing at No.7,
learning and ties in Hyderabad, Pune, Kochi, and
equip our people Coimbatore. The focus will be on AI
Srinivass Kgeyes Flats
to lead in an skilling, leadership training, and S-1, Srinivasapuram
AI-powered consulting programmes. “Our new 1st Main Road, Thiruvanmiyur
world state-of-the-art centre will fuel con- Chennai - 600 041.
Cognizant CEO tinuous learning and equip our peo- henceforth Check financial transactions available in AIS tab of your income tax account
Ravi Kumar S ple to lead in an AI-powered world,”
said Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar S.
known as at www.incometax.gov.in
Sumitra Kumari Mishra

If you agree with information, return of income can be updated u/s 139(8A)
of the IT Act, 1961, subject to eligibility

If you disagree, raise an objection. We will check with the source

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06 CHENNAI FRIDAY 21 03 2025
� � THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS

IF I HAVE SEEN
FURTHER THAN
OTHERS, IT IS BY
STANDING UPON
THE SHOULDERS
OF GIANTS
ISAAC NEWTON

GOVERNMENT OF ODISHA, OFFICE OF THE CHIEF

CONSTRUCTION ENGINEER, RURAL WORKS CIRCLE BALASORE
No:- 810 / WE, Dt:- 19/03/2025
O-1642 e-procurement Notice
1. Name of the Work:- “Building Works.”
2. Estimated Cost:- As per Annexure.
3. Time for completion:- As per Annexure
4. No of Work:- As per Annexure
5. Summary for key dates is provided below:-
Procurement Officer Bid lden- Availability of Tender online Last Date Date & Time of opening
tification for bidding & Time of of Tender
No. From To seeking Tender Technical Financial
Clarification Bid Bid
1 2 3 4 5 6
Chief Construction Engi- N.C.B. Dt. Dt. Dt. 15.04.2025 Dt. Will be
neer Rural Works Circle, No-27 of 27.03.2025 16.04.2025 up up to 5.00 P.M. 17.04.2025 intimated
Balasore 2024-25 at11.00 A.M. to 5.00 P.M. at 11.00 AM. latter
Further details can be seen from the website www.tendersodisha.gov.in
Any other changes/Corrigendums may be seen only in website www.tendersodisha.gov.in
Sd/- Er. Duryodhan Behera, Chief Construction Engineer,
OIPR- 25105/11/0039/2425 Rural Works Circle, Balasore

NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE, THE WORD ITSELF

SAYS ‘I’M POSSIBLE’! ❯ AUDREY HEPBURN
 TWO Two men who attempted to steal money
from North sub-division revenue office in
HELD Bengaluru were caught by staff and handed
over to the Halasuru Gate police on Thursday

07 CHENNAI FRIDAY 21 03 2025

� �

K’taka min claims

ONE-MAN PANEL

SC sub-categorisation
honey-trap bid, will be done based on
HM orders probe 2026 census, says Naidu
S V I S W A N AT H @ Vijayawada (Mala) with 7.5%.
Cooperation Minister KN Rajanna says he CM N Chandrababu Naidu
was targeted; BJP MLA calls it blackmail THE AP Legislative Assembly reaffirmed his commitment to
on Thursday discussed the sub- ensuring justice for all SC sub-
categorisation of Scheduled groups, citing the Supreme
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE sentatives, including ministers, Castes (SCs) based on the One- Court’s approval. He highlight-
@ Bengaluru were becoming common in Kar- Man Commission report by re- ed the long-standing struggle,
nataka. “An attempt was made Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar (centre), TNIE CEO Lakshmi Menon (sitting left), Editorial Director Prabhu tired IAS officer Rajeev Ranjan including Manda Krishna Ma-
KARNATAKA Home Minister on Rajanna, amounting to Chawla (sitting right), Resident Editor-Kerala Kiran Prakash (fourth from left) and Deputy Resident Editor Cithara Paul Mishra. The Assembly decided diga’s movement, the Justice
G Parameshwara announced in blackmail. A leader aspiring to (extreme right) with Devi awardees (from left) Swathy Subramanian (architect), Poornima Indrajith (actor & designer), to implement SC sub-categori- Ramachandra Rao Commission
the Assembly on Thursday that be CM is behind it,” he V P Suhara (social activist & writer), Ritu Sara Thomas (architect), Maya Mohan (educator), V J Joshitha (cricketer), sation using the State (1996), and the 1999
he would order a high-level alleged. Sheela Kochouseph (entrepreneur), Sudha Chandran (forest guide), P G Deepamol (ambulance driver), Usha Nangiar as a unit based on the Presidential assent
probe into the alleged honey Rajanna urged the Home (Koodiyattam artist), Latha K (chef), Sreekumari Ramachandran (writer), R N Rejitha (CRMG crane operator), Savita 2011 Census and dis- that created 22,000 job
trap attempt on Coop- Minister to expose Rajan (architect) and Rev Sister Roselin Chirayil (social worker) during the Devi Awards presentation ceremony at Taj tricts as units after the opportunities. Howev-
eration Minister KN those responsible, re- Vivanta in Kochi on Thursday | TP SOORAJ 2026 Census. It also er, in 2004, the Supreme
Rajanna. vealing that 48 leaders passed a resolution to Court ruled that only
Addressing report-
ers, Rajanna admitted
across party lines had
been targeted, secur- DEVI AWARDS CELEBRATE 15 WOMEN include the Budaga
Jangam caste in the SC
Parliament could de-
cide on SC sub-catego-

FOR THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS IN KOCHI

to being targeted in a ing a stay order to pre- list. risation. The Usha Me-
honey trap attempt vent media coverage. The One Man Com- hra Commission later
and requested an in- He added that even mission, formed on supported its benefits,
quiry by a panel led by central leaders had November 15, 2024, and in August 2023, the
a retired High Court fallen victim to simi- E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Kochi TNIE Group CEO Lakshmi Mother, stressing that wom- toured 13 districts, Supreme Court upheld
judge. “I will not shy lar traps. Menon, Editorial Director en should be viewed as ‘De- gathered public feedback, and SC sub-categorisation.
away from revealing Expressing concern SUN glitter off Kochi’s Ma- Prabhu Chawla, and Kerala vis’. “TNIE has recognised submitted its report on March Naidu called it a 30-year jour-
the fact. I am not Sath- Since it concerns over blackmail tactics, rine Drive shimmered bright- Re s i d e n t E d i t o r K i r a n something divine in them,” 10, 2025. It proposed dividing 59 ney for social justice, linking it
the dignity of
ya Harishchandra or every member of
Rajanna extended er than usual on Thursday Prakash. he said. He urged people to SC sub-groups into three cate- to the TDP’s commitment to
Sri Ramachandra to the House, we sympathies to former evening as TNIE honoured Receiving the award, edu- prioritise kindness over pro- gories: Most Backward (Relli) Dalit political empowerment,
hide it,” he stated. should put an end minister HD Revanna 15 women icons with the Devi cationist Maya Mohan em- fessional success and warned with 1.0% reservation, Back- citing GMC Balayogi and
Earlier, in response to it. I will order a and his family, who Awards at Taj Vivanta for phasised the importance of of the rising drug menace ward (Madiga) with 6.5%, and Prathibha Bharathi’s
to the BJP’s demand high-level were allegedly being their outstanding contribu- love in teaching, expressing among youth. Encouraging Relatively Less Backward appointments.
for a probe into the in- investigation targeted. MLA Mu- tions across diverse fields, faith in the youth. “Society them to read more, he said,
cident, Parameshwara G Parameshwara,
nirantna also claimed from feminist activism to has changed, and so have stu- “Books are our friends, our
assured that action Home Minister he had been falsely im- fashion innovation. dents, but I believe in them,” philosophers.” EXPRESS READ
would be taken once plicated in a rape case. Since 2014, the Devi Awards she said. Sudha Chandran, Dignitaries, including K V
Rajanna filed a com- Meanwhile, CM Sid- series has recognised over Kerala’s first woman forest Thomas, Kochi Mayor M An- Rescuer bitten by cobra Inter-state drug racket:
plaint. “Since it concerns the daramaiah and Deputy CM DK 375 exce ptional women guide, spoke of her deep bond ilkumar, and Loknath Behra, dies after 3 days in ICU Key accused detained
dignity of every member of the Shivakumar were absent dur- achievers across India. The with nature, recalling per- attended the event. The
House, we should put an end to ing the Assembly debate. Sid- 32nd edition saw Kerala Gov- sonal struggles, including evening resonated with ap- Coimbatore: A 39-year-old snake Kozhikode: In a major crackdown
it. I will order a high-level inves- daramaiah was discussing the ernor Rajendra Vishwanath the loss of her husband and preciation and celebration as rescuer, K Santosh Kumar, on the inter-state drug network,
tigation,” he affirmed. case with Minister Byrathi Arlekar felicitate 15 Devis a cancer diagnosis. “The for- Kochi’s who’s who gathered succumbed to a cobra bite at the Kozhikode police have
BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Suresh, while Rajanna had met who have left an indelible est is my life,” she said. to honour the Devis who con- CMCH, Coimbatore, on detained Ashkar, 29, of
Yatnal claimed that honey trap him earlier for approval to ad- mark with their talent and In his address, Governor tinue to break barriers and Wednesday. A resident of Thamarassery, under the
attempts against public repre- dress the issue. tenacity. He was joined by Arlekar invoked the Divine inspire change. Maharani Nagar, he had been Prevention of Illicit Traffic in
rescuing snakes for 15 years. Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic
Bitten during a rescue in Vadavalli Substances (PITNDPS) Act.

‘Institutions with poor academic quality Stalin, Pinarayi & K’taka min to on Monday, he remained in the
ICU for three days but did not
Ashkar, the second accused in a
drug case involving the seizure of

and infrastructure receive top rankings’ take part in CPM party congress
recover. He is survived by his wife 1.198kg of MDMA from a lorry in
Saranya, an 11-year-old special Wayanad last August, has been
child, and a seven-year-old shifted from Kannur Jail to
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE 2-6, will see participation from daughter. Environmentalists Thiruvananthapuram Jail following
C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1 ity and infrastructure to attain tional institutions nation- @ Madurai all state party secretaries and called his death a great loss and the detention order. The police
top rankings, while many re- wide—only after thorough veri- office bearers. urged the government to provide also linked Ashkar to another case
AS the AQAR documents are puted state universities are ex- fication and full disclosure of TAMIL NADU Chief Minister On April 3, CM Stalin, Kera- solatium. Wildlife activists where 12.76g of MDMA was
verified by NAAC’s expert com- cluded. He warned that such the scoring methodology. MK Stalin and Kerala Chief la CM Vijayan, and Karnataka requested financial aid for his recovered from the residence of his
mittees, the discrepancies in manipulation could harm the After reviewing the submit- Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will Revenue Minister Krishna family. ENS associate, Sanjith Ali. ENS
NIRF data suggest that institu- quality of higher education in ted data, the bench issued an attend the CPI(M)’s 24th Party Byre Gowda will join the ‘Con-
tions manipulated their sub- the country. interim order. The government C o n g r e s s a t Ta m u k k a m ference on Protection of Rights
missions to secure higher rank- The petitioner urged the counsel requested time to sub- Ground in Madurai on April 3, of State Governments’. Senior NOTICE
ings, Chellamuthu claimed.
This, he alleged, allows institu-
court to direct the Union Min-
istry and NBA to publish NIRF
mit a counter affidavit, and the
case was adjour ned to
said CPI(M) state secretary P
Shanmugam on Thursday. The
leader Prakash Karat and Vi-
jayan will deliver special ad- TUBE INVESTMENTS OF INDIA LIMITED
tions with poor academic qual- rankings—which assess educa- April 24. congress, scheduled from April dresses on the final day. Registered Office : Dare House, 234, N.S.C. Bose Road, Chennai - 600 001.
Notice is hereby given that the certicate for the undermentioned
securities of the company has been lost/misplaced and the
NOTICE holder of the said securities / applicant have applied to the
company to issue duplicate certicate.
CHOLAMANDALAM FINANCIAL HOLDINGS LIMITED Any person who has a claim in respect of the said securities
Registered Office : Dare House, 234, N.S.C. Bose Road, Chennai - 600 001. should lodge such claim with the company at it’s Registered
Notice is hereby given that the certicate for the undermentioned Ofce within 15 days from this date, else the company will
securities of the company has been lost/misplaced and the proceed to issue duplicate certicate without further intimation.
holder of the said securities / applicant have applied to the
company to issue duplicate certicate. Name of the Folio Number Certificate Distinctive Number(s)
Holder Number of Shares Number From To
Any person who has a claim in respect of the said securities (Rs.1/-)
should lodge such claim with the company at it’s Registered BHASKAR L PRAGASAM TIL0024010 200 24010 186823962 186824161
Ofce within 15 days from this date, else the company will FLORA BHASKAR
&
proceed to issue duplicate certicate without further intimation.
JOTHI LOUIS
Name of the Folio Number Certificate Distinctive Number(s) Date : 20.03.2025 NAME OF THE APPLICANTS : BHASKAR L PRAGASAM,
Holder Number of Shares Number From To Place : Chennai FLORA BHASKAR & JOTHI LOUIS
(Rs.1/-)
BHASKAR L PRAGASAM TIF0024010 200 24010 186823962 186824161
FLORA BHASKAR
&
JOTHI LOUIS
Date : 20.03.2025 NAME OF THE APPLICANTS : BHASKAR L PRAGASAM,
Place : Chennai FLORA BHASKAR & JOTHI LOUIS

CSIR - CENTRAL SALT & MARINE CHEMICALS Smt ANUSUYAMMA S Mrs JAYASEELI
RESEARCH INSTITUTE GIJUBHAI BADHEKA MARG, of Sullurpet passed away of Avadi passed away on
on March 13, 2025 March 13, 2025
BHAVNAGAR - 364 002 �
(CSIR - An Autonomus Body under Ministry of Science & Technology)
ADVERTISEMENT NO. 1/2025
CSIR - Central Salt & Marine Chemicals Research Institute, Bhavnagar invites ONLINE
applications from eligible Indian citizens for the following posts:- Shri RAMAJAYAM K S Shri SARDAMAL JAIN M
of Adyar passed away of T Nagar passed away
Pay Level in Pay Matirx as on March 14, 2025 on March 15, 2025
Name of Positions Number of Positions
per 7th CPC �
Security Officer 01 (UR-01) Level - 07
Junior Hindi Translator 01 (UR-01) Level - 06
Junior Stenographer 04 (UR-02, ST-01, EWS-01) Level - 04
Junior Secretariat Assistant Shri ANANTHANARAYANAN M R Smt MANIMEGALAI K
05 (UR-03, OBC-01, ST-01) Level - 02 of Adyar passed away of West Tambaram passed away
(General)
on March 16, 2025 on March 16, 2025
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Starting date for submission of Online Application: Shri BHAWARLAL LODHA JAIN Smt CHANDRA A
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IF YOU FELL DOWN YESTERDAY, STAND UP

TODAY ❯ H G WELLS
 Only at first does it seem paradoxical that
the anti-internationalism of conservatism is Friedrich
so frequently associated with imperialism Hayek

08 CHENNAI FRIDAY 21 03 2025

� �

B
OTH natural and economic Bringing in fresh blood often requires purging old systems. medical care rather than a practical
ecosystems have one thing in resolution for a financial problem.
INDIAN EXPRESS IS NOT AN common—they evolve through But that has hardly been the case for the Indian economy, Second, financial regulations and
INDUSTRY. IT IS A MISSION. a process of ‘creative destruc- where protection has been prioritised over risk-taking processes need to allow for a lot more
— Ramnath Goenka tion’. The inefficient are weed- creative destruction as well as emer-

THE NEED TO
ed out over time and replaced gence of new kinds of financing. To-
by those that are more compe- day’s regulations are so focused on so-
tent. Thus, the competitiveness of an called ‘investor protection’ that they do

LET’S FOCUS ON GRAVE

economy is critically dependent on its
ability to encourage and endure a churn USE CREATIVE not allow for the risk-taking that gener-
ates cutting-edge innovation. By the

DESTRUCTION
despite all the disruptions it may cause same token, the bankruptcy process

CURRENT ISSUES THAN in the short run. Unfortunately, evidence

suggests that India still does not have a
needs to focus on fast resolution rather
than ‘revival’. Regulators, bankruptcy

A CENTURIES-OLD GRAVE level of churn that one expects of an

economy based on high levels of innova-
tion and risk-taking.
courts and policy-makers need to ac-
cept that all risk-taking entails some
amount of failure. The sensible ap-

I
One simple way to gauge creative de- proach is to clear the debris as soon as
T’S a sign of regression that the grave of a 17th century ruler struction is to look at the churn in the possible so that a new round of
is gobbling up an inordinate amount of political oxygen in top 10 companies by market capitalisa- SANJEEV SANYAL Member, Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council risk-taking can begin.
21st century India. But it’s a serious problem when a pro- tion. Comparing those who made the Third, there should be less protection
posal to relocate it is rupturing communal harmony and top 10 in March 2005 to those in March for the established incumbents in most
triggering violence. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra 2025, it is quite striking that seven of sectors. India’s economic policies have,
Fadnavis added fuel to fire last week when he proclaimed them are the same—Reliance, Tata Con- since the 1950s, been inordinately ori-
sultancy Services, Infosys, State Bank ented towards protecting inefficient in-
merit in BJP MP Udayanraje Bhosale’s demand to remove of India, Bharti Airtel, Hindustan Uni- cumbents from global and domestic
Aurangzeb’s grave from the small town of Khuldabad, not far lever and ICICI Bank. Of the new en- competition. This has been done
from the Ellora caves. Resentment had built up after the re- trants, Life Insurance Corporation is through licences, permits, regulatory
lease of a film fictionalising the travails of Shivaji’s son Sham- an old public sector enterprise that hap- complexity, import tariffs, government
bhaji at the hands of the Mughal emperor. The latest political pened to be listed recently. The other contract requirements and other pro-
moves led to violence in the nearby Shambhaji Nagar (earlier two—HDFC and Bajaj Finance—are tection against competitors.
hardly examples of new blood. I can say from experience that indus-
Aurangabad) and Nagpur almost 500 km away.
Contrast this with what happened in try associations rarely demand econom-
There may be reasons to keep a dark cloud of judgement the US over the same period. Only one ic reforms and mostly demand protec-
hanging over the Mughal’s reign. But there are also two big company—Microsoft—managed to stay tion. Since they represent incumbents,
lessons from history that should deter us from acting on it. in the top 10 by market capitalisation. their goal is not global competitiveness
First, not far from Aurangzeb’s unpaved grave is the brown- Companies like General Electric, Exxon or efficiency, but the building of a moat.
stone mausoleum of Malik Ambar, the Ethiopian-origin Mobil, AIG and Walmart have been re- Protection is sometimes needed for na-
placed by Meta, Alphabet, Amazon and tional security or for an infant industry,
Muslim general of Ahmednagar sultanate who mentored
Tesla. It is not just the companies, but but this must be carefully calibrated.
Shivaji’s grandfather Maloji and set off the Bhosale clan’s the successful sectors that have changed. Any attempt to protect everything will
glorious saga. Second, historians have shown that the Mughal This is what has allowed the US to re- effectively protect nothing.
emperor showed more religiosity to draw a contrast with main an economic superpower. Incidentally, the above argument for
others as his failures mounted—including on the battlefield A similar dynamism is visible when creative destruction also holds true for
against the Marathas’ Muslim commanders and the Muslim one looks at China’s top 10 companies. SOURAV ROY government where defunct agencies,
rulers of Bijapur and Golconda. Today’s rulers would do well Seven of them have changed over the last laws and regulations need to be peri-
20 years. Only three state-owned banks state-owned banks, China’s top compa- the subsequent cleaning up of the bank- odically removed. This is the focus of a
to avoid the crutch of piety and answer more consequential are common to both lists. Meanwhile, old nies are also young: BYD (2007), Alibaba ing sector led to some amount of churn. systematic effort is being currently
questions such as why Kailash Arjun Nagare, winner of a heavyweights like PetroChina, Sinopec (1999) and Tencent (1998) among them. There has also been a boom in startups done in the central government under
young farmer award in Maharashtra, died by suicide last and China Mobile have been replaced by Contrast this with India’s big compa- in recent years. Nevertheless, it is fair the banner of ‘process reforms’. Hun-
week after complaining about a lack of irrigated water. the likes of Tencent, Alibaba and Kwei- nies: SBI (established in 1921 as Impe- to say that India, now at the threshold dreds of old laws and regulations have
Let Aurangzeb lie in a corner of his spiritual master Za- chow Moutai. Ranked at number eight, rial Bank), Tata Consultancy Services of becoming the world’s third largest been removed, outdated agencies such
inuddin Shirazi’s courtyard. The emperor’s remains must BYD has completely disrupted the world (1968), Reliance (1973), Life Insurance economy, still does not have the same as the Tariff Commission have been
of automobiles. Notice again how both Corporation (1956), Infosys (1981) and level of dynamic churn as the top two. shut down, and default lists—such as
have gone back to the elements long ago. The bit of stone and
companies and sectors have churned. Hindustan Unilever (1933). The only So what needs to be done? In my per- those for national monuments—are
lattice installed around the grave centuries later by a Hydera- The importance of young and ener- top-10 company established after 1990 is sonal view, the first step would be to being revisited.
badi nizam and a British viceroy would be all that can be getic companies is visible in both the US Bharti Airtel (1995). change a deeply engrained social atti- To sum up, India needs to celebrate
physically removed. A plaque in the corner says the grave and China. Most of the currently high- This is not to suggest that India has tude that looks with suspicion at risk- creative destruction in the economy.
cost Aurangzeb 14 and three-fourths rupees, which he paid performing companies in the US were not experienced any creative destruc- taking and innovation. Indeed, insolven- The central philosophical idea has ex-
for by sewing caps. Its ‘relocation’ now would cost Indian set up after 1990: Alphabet (established tion at all. In the last decade, several cy is often seen as a moral failure rather isted in India for millenniums in the
in 1998 as Google), Meta (2004 as Face- large companies such as Jet Airways than a business failure. It is common form of Shiva and Kali. We now need to
taxpayers an enormous sum, not to speak of the violence it
book) and Amazon (1994). Microsoft and and Essar Steel have disappeared even during bankruptcy procedures that pleas incorporate it into our policy-making,
has and still can cause. It’s definitely not worth the cost. Apple, set up respectively in 1981 and as new ones like OYO and Zomato have are made to somehow save an insolvent and cultural attitudes towards risk-tak-
1977, are old companies by American emerged. The introduction of the Insol- company. It is as if we were dealing with ing, failure and renewal.

CENTRE WILL HAVE TO HELP

standards. With the exception of the vency and Bankruptcy Code in 2016 and a much-loved relative who needs urgent (Views are personal)

T’GANA BALANCE GROWTH

THE IMPERIAL AGENDA BEHIND
T
HE budget document of any government indicates, at
a glance, whether the direction it’s headed in is real-
istic. In that sense, Telangana Deputy Chief Minister
Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka’s budget for 2025-26 is tinged
TRUMP’S GREENLAND GAMBIT Fanning flames
Ref: Not piecemeal deals, West Asia needs
lasting solutions for peace (Mar 20). Religious
with a cautious optimism. Though it’s the first Telan- extremism runs deep in West Asia. As long as

W
gana budget to cross the `3-lakh-crore mark, the FM has HY is US President Donald it does, the violence will continue. Western
stretched it only by about `15,000 crore compared to the last Trump hyperventilating about states must stop supplying arms to such
Greenland? He spends not a sin- conflict-ridden regions. Their weapons are
fiscal. Despite a plethora of welfare schemes, the fiscal defi-
gle week without reasserting fanning the flames of conflict.
cit is pegged at `54,000 crore. If the actual numbers at the that its annexation by the US is Sankara Venkata Raman, Chennai
KAJAL BASU Veteran journalist
end of the year land close to the estimates, Bhatti will have inevitable, despite the fact that
done a fine balancing act. such a move would defy every Reduce plastic
The lion’s share of `1.04 lakh crore went to the Congress’s rule of sovereignty known to humankind. Ref: Scientific management of waste
six guarantees and other welfare schemes. Capital expendi- “I think it will happen,” he repeated as viewed the US positively – despite hav- Barely 11 years ago, Brookings had is lucrative (Mar 20). Scientific waste
ture has been pegged at `36,504 crore, including over `10,000 recently as March 13, forcing the chair- ing turned down the US’s proposal 79 wildly misread the winds by predicting management is crucial, but proactive
man of the Danish parliament’s defence years ago to buy Greenland for a paltry that “because of the slowdown in invest- steps need to be taken to minimise waste
crore for Hyderabad and a proposed fourth large city. The committee to remark, “It would mean war $100 million in gold bullion, equivalent ments in new mining activities, it is less generation. Plastic packaging is the biggest
emphasis on accelerating and spreading out industrialisa- between two NATO countries.” to $1.3 billion today.) In fact, BP, Chev- certain that Greenland will be able to get villain. Promoting eco-friendly alternatives
tion, and the Mega Masterplan 2050 for it must be appreci- Trump is focussing on appropriating ron, ConocoPhillips, Eni, Equinor and major mining projects off the ground”. and adopting a ‘return and refund’ option for
ated. It’s imperative for Telangana to not solely focus on both Greenland and Ukraine, alienat- Shell were granted exploration/exploi- Greenland didn’t, because of its envi- plastic packaging can help to some extent.
Hyderabad. Only 22.5 percent of its workforce is engaged ing the European Union, since both are tation licences for Northeast Greenland ronmental concerns – the country cur- Nabnit Panigrahi, Rayagada
in the industrial sector, while 42.7 percent works in agricul- continental countries. His reasons for in 2013. In the early 2000s, Cairn Energy rently has only two functioning mines
usurpation are the same: ego, impuni- blew more than $1 billion drilling dud – but, in the intervening decade, China City infrastructure
ture; the services sector including IT remains the main
ty, minerals, legacy. He doesn’t care wells in offshore Greenland. manoeuvred itself into controlling 75 Ref: Attaching strings: Centre to states &
contributor, employing 34.8 percent of the workforce. Seen whom he estranges. percent of the rare earth deposits in the states to cities (Mar 20). The column made for
in this perspective, the state’s high per capita income isn’t Trump’s harping on Greenland being world, according to the Ukrainian Geo- an interesting read. With poor infrastructure
a real barometer to assess the demography’s economic essential for “national security” takes logical Investment Group (GIG). plaguing our cities, a third language would
strength. While welfare schemes surely do empower, a long- its inspiration from a United States Geo- The GIG might hesitate about esti- be of least concern to a common citizen. Our
term plan is also needed. Besides, the artificial intelligence logical Survey text (‘What is a critical mating Ukraine’s reserves, but accord- wish is to see the governments utilise our tax
mineral?’): “The Energy Act of 2020 de- ing to Kyiv, about 5 percent of the contributions more efficiently to improve our
revolution might prove disruptive for both the services and
fined critical minerals as those that are world’s “critical raw materials” are in lives through better urban infrastructure.
industrial sectors sometime soon. essential to the economic or national se- Ukraine. The World Economic Forum Anand Hosmane, email
Hence, the government’s focus on a proposed AI City, up- curity of the United States…”According says only about 15 percent of Ukraine’s
grading skills and industrialisation is as important as its to the USGS’s 2022 list of 50 critical min- 20,000 mineral deposits covering 116 Preventing dropouts
welfare schemes. The main challenge is to ensure seamless erals/elements, more than a dozen of sites were being mined when Russia Ref: Why punish students for systemic faults
these are nestled untouched by human attacked in 2022. (Mar 20). The curriculum should explicitly
AFP

transition to the age of AI in all sectors including agricul-

ture. One big hurdle will be a shortage of funds. While the hands in Greenland. And many of them This is why Europe wants to defend state the objectives for each class, and
are abundant in Ukraine. Donald Trump is eying Greenland Ukraine against Russia. It doesn’t want teachers should employ simple and effective
state will have to mobilise funds without getting into a debt Greenland’s critical mineral and en- the minerals to leave Europe. Ukraine teaching techniques so as to impart knowledge
trap—with the outstanding debt at over ` 5 lakh crore—the for its natural resources that
ergy assets are estimated at $4.4 trillion, is home to a third of the continent’s effectively. Both parents and teachers must take
onus will also be on the Centre. As Bhatti rightly pointed of which $1.7 trillion are oil and gas. The are potentially worth trillions lithium deposits. It also has about 19 the responsibility to identify and address the
out, Telangana’s share in the central pool of taxes decreased value of minerals is, therefore, roughly of dollars. But annexing it, as he million tonnes of graphite, used to factors contributing to student dropouts.
from 2.43 to 2.1 percent under the 15th Finance Commission. $2.7 trillion. More important is that claims he intends to do, would defy make EV batteries. Avinashiappan Myilsami, Coimbatore
Greenland’s resource fortune and strate- Ukraine also has other critical miner-
His call for rational tax devolution that does not punish per-
gic location, both untapped, is potential-
every rule of sovereignty known to als such as titanium sponge, uranium, Sunita’s resilience
forming states must be debated. the modern world
ly worth hundreds of billions – perhaps and ilmenite. According to a 2023 study Ref: Joy all around as Sunita’s back home
trillions – of dollars in the medium-term, by Forbes Ukraine, the country’s rare (Mar 20). Sunita Williams deserves rich praise
especially with Arctic shipping routes But the dalliance with the US didn’t earth and other critical minerals could for displaying extraordinary courage and
Q U I C K TA K E
opening up and climate change making last. Four exploration licences are cur- be worth as much as $14.8 trillion. resilience during her 9-month-long stay at the
resource extraction possible there. rently active in Greenland, none of them Neither Greenland nor Ukraine is ex- International Space Station. Space research
BEYOND BYZANTINE INTRIGUE But if there is one thing that the fu- given to an American company: one field ploiting its reserves, for reasons rang- holds immense potential, and our youth can
ture resists with all its caprice and in the western Davis Strait is held by the ing from war in Ukraine and climate- draw inspiration from Sunita to pursue careers

I
STANBUL, which houses a fifth of Türkiye’s population, has might, it is being reliably priced. In UK’s Panoceanic Energy and the partly- change concerns in Greenland, and nor in this field.
always wielded immense power in the country’s politics. So a 2016, it was estimated that 35,000 sq km Danish national oil company(NOC) Nu- are they immediately exploitable. But Govardhana Myneedu, Vijayawada
in Greenland (1.6 percent of its land naoil, and three more land-based fields they exist, tauntingly easy pickings.
former mayor—Recep Tayyip Erdogan, now president—trying Temple entry
area) were under mining and mineral are held by the UK-based Greenland Gas The US wishes to secure resources for
to crush the incumbent—challenger Ekrem Imamoglu—is just exploration. Then, in 2021, Greenland & Oil. These four blocks expire in 2027 its continued growth in a global future Ref: Non-Hindu believers should be given entry
another episode of Byzantine court politics. It comes when stopped issuing licences for oil and gas and 2028. Greenland’s goal is 100 percent it views as both fossil-fuelled and bat- into temples, says Sivagiri Mutt chief (Mar
Türkiye seems on the verge of clinching peace with the Kurds, because of concerns about climate dependence on clean energy by 2030. tery-driven. An act of warlike but not 20). Swami Satchidananda’s demand that
its largest ethnic minority, and matters also because the NATO change and drilling costs, and the ex- That’s five years from now. Trump boots-on-the-ground neo-imperialist su- non-Hindus who revere Hindu gods be allowed
member is a close backer of the new Syrian regime. Now that ploration area shrank. will remit office, never to return, in four zerainty over both countries is a small to enter Hindu temples is reasonable. There
its ruler for more than two decades has detained yet another It isn’t as if Greenland always kept years’ time, in January 2029. For him, price to pay for a continuing economic should be no restriction as long as they adhere
the US out of the picture. (Until recent- time is running out. An act of imperial- status of first among equals. to the code of conduct. I feel this would be
opponent, one wonders whether the world’s most volatile region ly, before Donald Trump threatened to ist regency, eight decades in the waiting, (Views are personal) good for social and religious harmony.
has just added another crisis of political and diplomatic faith. forcibly annex the island, Greenlanders would be his legacy. ([email protected]) S Lakshmi, Hyderabad

THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS

Chairman of the Board: Manoj Kumar Sonthalia Editor: Santwana Bhattacharya
Resident Editor (Tamil Nadu): Anto T Joseph * Printed and Published by R K Jhunjhunwala on behalf of Express Publications (Madurai) Private Ltd., at Express Press, ‘Express Gardens’, 29, Second Main Road, Ambattur Industrial Estate, Chennai - 600 058. Chennai: Vol. 95, No.68. RNI Reg. No. TNENG/ 1002/57.
Phone: 044-23457601, Fax: 044-23457619. * Responsible to decide the matter under the PRP Act. Copyright: Express Publications (Madurai) Private Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any manner, electronic or otherwise, in whole or in part, without prior written permission is prohibited.
 Himanta Biswa Sarma @himantabiswa Mallikarjun Kharge @kharge Sharad Pawar @PawarSpeaks
POSTS
OF THE Assam is scripting a success story in environment conserva- The forcible detention of senior farmer leaders... cannot ‘Mahad Chavdar Tale Satyagraha’ was a historic step
tion. In last 5 years, we have undertaken tree plantations in be condemned enough. Both BJP and AAP, intoxicated towards human rights and social change. Let us resolve
DAY over 200 sq km and freed up 100 sq km from encroachment with power, is guilty of crime against farmers to carry forward Babasaheb’s fight against inequality

09 CHENNAI FRIDAY 21 03 2025

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RS, LS adjourned on last day of budget session amid protests and warnings to DMK MPs over attire 25 setenced to death in UAE

Delimitation T-shirts trigger House uproar POWER CORRIDOR

HOUSE APPRISED ON U.P-BIHAR ROAD PROJECT
The two stretches of the Ram Janki Marg project will be completed in
R A J E S H K U M A R T H A K U R @ New Delhi win”. As the deadlock persist- and let the proceedings go on,” Bihar and Uttar Pradesh by May and December 2027, repectively, Union
ed, when the House reassem- he appealed to the Opposition. Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari informed the
THE Rajya Sabha and Lok Sab- bled at noon, Deputy Chairman However, amid continued pro- Lok Sabha on Thursday, saying the project is at various stages of
ha on Thursday faced frequent Harivansh announced another tests, the House saw multiple completion. “Land acquisition has been completed in all the districts in
adjournments amid a row over adjournment for 15 minutes. adjournments. Uttar Pradesh... In Bihar, an award for land acquisition has been
DMK MPs entering the Houses At 12.15 pm, amid continued Earlier, Speaker Om Birla ob- completed for a stretch from Mehrauna Ghat to Masrakh,” he said. The
wearing white T-shirts with disruption, he adjourned pro- jected to DMK members’ attire, Ram Janki Marg project connects Ayodhya in UP with Bhithamore in
slogans opposing the delimita- ceedings until 2 pm. When the stating that wearing T-shirts Sitamarhi district in Bihar near the Nepal border, aiming to improve
tion exercise. House reconvened at 2 pm, he with slogans violated the regional connectivity and boost religious tourism, local business,
Both the Houses failed to con- adjourned it for the day. House’s rules of procedure. He agriculture, travel, trade, enhance employment and investment
duct any significant business The Lok Sabha was also ad- adjourned proceedings until opportunities, and strengthen India-Nepal cultural ties.
and were adjourned for the day. DMK MPs protest during the Budget session of Parliament on Thursday | EXPRESS journed for the day as opposi- noon. Similar scenes unfolded
Thursday was the first day of tion members protested while when the House reconvened at
the second phase of the Budget mentary standing committee he said but did not disclose wearing T-shirts. Krishna Pras- 12, prompting Tenneti to ad- ‘12.55L REFUNDS FOR FAULTY TOLLS ON NH IN 2024’
session that passed without reports soon after the House what he had observed. ad Tenneti, who was in the journ proceedings until 2 pm. The government on Thursday said 12.55 lakh refunds were made in 2024
transacting any business, ex- convened. He then adjourned Although the chairman did Chair, urged Opposition mem- “House functions with rules for faulty toll collections on National Highways. In a written reply to the
cept for the laying of papers. proceedings until 12 noon. not officially state the reason bers to retur n in “proper and procedures. Members have Lok Sabha, Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari said penalties of
In the Rajya Sabha, which Dhankhar later invited floor for the adjournment, he object- shape”. “We have a discussion to maintain the dignity and more than `2 crore have been levied so far on the user fee collecting
saw three adjournments over leaders of parties to discuss ed to DMK members wearing on agriculture. You are not al- honour of the House. But some agencies for incorrect user fee deduction cases. He also said if toll
the issue of T-shirts, Chairman ways to resolve the impasse. “I T-shirts displaying the slogan lowing the discussion to take MPs are not following the rules agencies are found responsible for incorrect user fee deduction, a
Jagdeep Dhankhar allowed the would share with the members “Delimitation – Tamil Nadu place on such an important top- and violating the dignity which 30-50x penalty on excess user fee will be imposed on the fee collecting
laying of papers and parlia- what I have seen in the House,” will fight, Tamil Nadu will ic. I request you to cooperate is not acceptable,” Birla said. agency. Responding to a separate question, Gadkari said state-owned
NHAI is also considering the installation of audit cameras at high-value
toll plazas to independently monitor the accurate count and classify

49 Indians on death row Slogan raises constitutional issue, no vehicles using Artificial Intelligence.

in 8 countries, House told undermining of Parliament: DMK MP

E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ New Delhi by the Indian government to se- P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi mitting 6- 7 notices on a daily ba- “Not only Southern states,
cure their release. sis in the House for discussion on many other states will also be
THE government informed the “In accordance with the in- THE slogan “fair delimitation delimitation. However, the gov- affected and their numbers will
Rajya Sabha on Thursday that formation available with the to Tamil Nadu” is one of the re- ernment is not paying heed. Our be reduced in the Lok Sabha.
49 Indians are currently sen- Ministry, the number of Indian quirements under the Constitu- demand is that Prime Minister We will lose our bargaining
tenced to death in eight different prisoners, including undertri- tion and it doesn’t undermine Modi or Union Home Minister power,” he said.
countries, awaiting the imple- als, in foreign prisons current- the decorum of Parliament, Amit Shah should come to Par- The Union government had
mentation of their sentences. ly stands at 10,152,” the minis- says Dravida Munnetra Ka- liament and make a statement on suspended delimitation in 1976
The total number of Indian pris- ter said. The minister said that zhagam (DMK) Rajya Sabha Delimitation and clarify the gov- with the 42nd Amendment to
oners, including under-trials, in the government places a high MP P Wilson. ernment stand,” he said. the Constitution, which froze
foreign prisons stands at 10,152. priority on the safety, security, On Thursday, the presiding of- The T- shirt protest was not a the number of Lok Sabha seats
The government said that 25 and well-being of Indian na- ficers of the Lok Sabha and Ra- pressure tactic, said the Rajya until the 2001 census so that MPs during the Budget session of Parliament in New Delhi on Thursday | PTI
Indian nationals have been sen- tionals abroad, including those jya Sabha adjourned both Houses Sabha MP adding that they states’ family planning pro-
tenced to death in the UAE, imprisoned in foreign jails. over DMK MPs wearing T-shirts wanted to bring to the attention grams would not affect their po-
though the judgment has yet to Singh presented tabulated data with slogans on the issue of de- of the House about the grave litical representation in the Lok 99.78% EXISTING LAND RECORDS DIGITISED: GOVT
be carried out. Minister of State from eight countries detailing limitation. Speaking to this consequences of the impending Sabha, he pointed out. Almost all existing land records in rural areas have been digitized under
for External Affairs Kirti Vard- the number of Indian nationals newspaper, Wilson said that they delimitation exercise. Counter- In 2002, the 84th Amendment Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme (DILRMP)
han Singh provided this infor- who have been sentenced to adopted the mode of protest as ing Home Minister’s assurance was passed, which froze the launched in 2016. Responding to questions on the subject, MoS for
mation in response to a query in death, but whose judgments the Centre has been neglecting that Southern states will not number of the Lok Sabha seats Housing and Urban Affairs Tokhan Sahu on Thursday said, “As of now,
the Rajya Sabha. have yet to be carried out. their demand of clarity on lose seats as the delimita- and postponed delimitation ‘un- 99.78% digitization of existing land records (Record of Rights) have
The MEA was asked about the According to the data, the fig- the issue of delimitation, tion exercise will be con- til the first Census after 2026, he been completed. Some areas of northeastern states do not have land
number of Indians who have ures are as follows: 25 in the which will be detrimental ducted on pro rata basis, said, asserting that the 1971 cen- records like other states due to community ownership issues and the UT
been languishing in foreign pris- UAE, 11 in Saudi Arabia, six in for Southern states if im- Wilson said that the min- sus should be kept as the base of Ladakh has started digitization in last couple of years. So far, rural
ons for years and details of Indi- Malaysia, three in Kuwait, and plemented on the basis of ister has to clear the air for delimitation. “Even after 50 areas have been mainly covered under DILRMP,” the minister said,
ans awaiting capital punish- one each in Indonesia, Qatar, the population. on the formula of years, population stabilisation adding, under the programme, a computerised registration system is
ment abroad, and the steps taken US, and Yemen. “We have been sub- pro rata basis. has not taken place,” he added. being facilitated so that the formalities can be conducted online.

Nod to `54K cr for defence acquisition India-NZ bilateral relations focus on

M AYA N K S I N G H @ New Delhi field mobility of these tanks, defence, PM Luxon visits INS Surat
BOLSTERING For the Indian Army, procurement
of 1,350 House Power Engine
especially in high-altitude are-
IN a move to enhance the capa-
bility of the armed forces, the CAPABILITY accorded for T-90 Tanks
as, by increasing the power to
weight ratio,” it said in a state-
M AYA N K S I N G H @ New Delhi and the Indian Navy.
The New Zealand Navy cur-
Defence Acquisition Council Contract with Russia's ment. “For the Indian Army, PRIME Minister of New Zea- rently commands the CTF 150,
(DAC) on Thursday approved Rosoboronexport (RoE) to procure AoN for procurement of 1,350 land Christopher Luxon, along one of five task forces operated
acquisition of a plethora of 1,000 HP engines for T-72 Tanks HP Engine was accorded to up- with Rear Admiral Garin Gold- by Combined Maritime Forces.
military hardware worth more grade the present 1,000 HP En- ing, Chief of Navy, Royal New It conducts maritime security
than `54,000 crore, including For the Indian Navy, AoN for gine for the T-90 tanks,” the Zealand Navy, visited the latest operations outside the Arabian
airborne early-warning and procurement of Varunastra ministry said. indigenously built destroyer of Gulf to ensure that legitimate
control-aircraft systems, torpe- Torpedoes (Combat) accorded The DAC also cleared anoth- the Indian Navy, INS Surat, at commercial shipping can tran-
does and engines for T-90 tanks. er proposal for the procure- Naval Dockyard, Mumbai, on sit the region free from non-
For the Indian Air Force, AoN for
The DAC also approved guide- ment of the Varunastra torpe- Thursday. The Indian Navy state threats. As a part of the
procurement of Airborne Early
lines for reducing the timelines do for the Indian Navy. “For the said, “The dignitaries were giv- ship visit, the CN-RNZN called
Warning & Control (AEW&C)
at various stages of the capital Indian Navy, AoN for procure- en an in-depth briefing on the on Admiral Sanjay J Singh,
Aircraft Systems gets nod
acquisition process to make it
“faster, more effective and effi-
`54,000 CR 12 AEW&Cs will be procured under
ment of Varunastra torpedoes
(combat) was accorded by
warship’s intricate design and
formidable capabilities, offer- boasts an indigenous content
Flag Officer Commanding-in-
Chief, WNC, and discussed
cient,” the defence ministry. CAPITAL ACQUISITION DAC,” the ministry said. ing a glimpse into its critical of over 75%, the Navy said. strategic naval engagements,
two different projects
The decision on a “more ef- PROPOSALS CLEARED The Varunastra torpedo is an role in bolstering national mar- The Prime Minister’s visit which was followed by a brief-
fective” procurement process indigenously developed ship- itime security.” coincides with the Royal New ing on the command’s role.
was in line with the ministry’s tal acquisition proposals ity enhancers, which can launched anti-submarine tor- INS Surat, commissioned Zealand Navy Ship HMNZS Te At the Naval Dockyard, he
initiative to celebrate 2025 as amounting to more than `54,000 change the complete spectrum pedo developed by the Naval this January, is the latest indig- Kaha’s visit to Mumbai from discussed technical support for
the ‘Year of Reforms’. The ap- crore,” it said. of warfare and exponentially Science and Technological enous guided missile destroyer March 20 to 24. In addition, HMNZS Te Kaha’s upcoming
proval to the procurement pro- “For the Indian Air Force, an increase the combat potential Laboratory. of the Indian Navy. Built by Ma- Commodore Rodger Ward, visit with the Admiral Superin-
posals was accorded by the DAC approval for the procurement of various weapon systems. “The induction of additional zagon Dock Shipbuilders, Commander of Combined Task tendent of the Dockyard. The
chaired by Defence Minister of Airborne Early Warning The ministry said the DAC quantities of this torpedo Mumbai and designed by the Force 150, is also visiting the Admiral also laid a wreath at
Rajnath Singh, it said. and Control (AEW&C) Aircraft also cleared a proposal to pro- would enhance the Navy’s Indian Navy’s Warship Design Wester n Naval Command. the Gaurav Stambh at ND Mum-
“The DAC accorded accept- Systems was accorded by the cure 1,350-HP engines to up- capability against adversaries’ Bureau, the ship is a shining These visits mark a significant bai and paid homage to person-
ances of necessity (AoNs) or DAC,” the ministry said. grade the T-90 battle tanks. s u b m a r i n e t h re at s, ” t h e example of Atma Nirbhar step towards furthering the re- nel who made supreme sacri-
initial approvals to eight capi- AEW&C systems are capabil- “This will enhance the battle- ministry said. Bharat (self-reliant India) lationship between the RNZN fices in the nation’s service.

Acid attack survivors can move legal Hasina kin alleges targeted attack on former PM
services authority for comp delay: SC JAYA N T H JACO B @ New Delhi

BRITISH Labour politician and

based on documentary evi-
dence of corruption.” “I would
welcome Siddiq to come and de-
S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y ALSO IN TOP COURT former minister Tulip Siddiq, fend her case with the best pos-
@ New Delhi the niece of Sheikh Hasina, sible legal support accompany-
‘Consent immaterial Collegium appoints has accused Bangladeshi au- ing her,” he said.
THE top court on Thursday if survivor is minor’ 8 judges to Guj HC thorities of launching a “tar- The controversy began when
said acid attack survivors A lawyer on Thursday was The Supreme Court collegium geted and baseless” campaign the Chief Adviser of Bangla-
should approach their respec- reprimanded by the court for headed by Chief Justice Sanjiv against her and urged an im- desh made public comments to
tive state legal services author- repeatedly using ‘consensual Khanna has approved the mediate end to the “damaging a British television journalist,
ity (SLSA) if the compensation relationship’ in a bail plea of proposal to appoint eight allegations.” suggesting that Siddiq may
they are entitled to is delayed, his client, accused of rape of a judicial officers as judges of Siddiq’s legal representatives have been involved in embez-
while also asserting that survi- minor girl. ‘We got sick after the Gujarat High Court, a have called for an immediate zlement tied to the Rooppur
vors should not refrain from reading the petition. You statement uploaded on halt to a series of “false plant and hinted at the possibil-
getting admitted to private hos- have written ‘consensual the apex court website and damaging” allegations ity of her being summoned to
pitals of their preference. relationship’ at least 20 said. The collegium, made against the British Mem- Bangladesh for questioning.
The order came while hear- times.’ Setting the facts also comprising Justice ber of Parliament regarding prime minister Sheikh Hasina Siddiq’s father was a univer- The comments also referred
ing a PIL by an NGO seeking straight, the bench said B R Gavai and Justice financial irregularities linked and Russian President sity professor in Dhaka, and to the Anti-Corruption Com-
strict implementation of the consent was trivial if Surya Kant, held a to the Rooppur Nuclear Power Vladimir Putin. her mother was granted politi- mission (ACC) “taking the mat-
apex court directions in Laxmi survivor was a minor. meeting on March 19. Plant, which was built with The letter said: “It is not un- cal asylum in the UK as the ter very seriously” and implied
v. Union of India in 2014. Russian help. common for family members to younger sister of Sheikh Hasi- investigating Siddiq’s substan-
A two-judge bench of the top In a letter to Bangladesh’s be invited to accompany Heads na. In January, Siddiq resigned tial remaining wealth in
court, comprising CJI Sanjiv Anti-Corruption Commission of State on state visits.” from her role as economic sec- Bangladesh.
Khanna and Justice Sanjay Ku- admit survivors, often seeking granted them four weeks. (ACC), Siddiq’s lawyers from The lawyers also dismissed retary to the treasury, responsi- “Siddiq has no wealth left be-
mar took note of the petition- advance payment despite the ‘Victims at liberty to approach Stephenson Harwood reiterat- claims that a £700,000 flat in ble for addressing corruption hind in Bangladesh, and no evi-
er’s submissions that acid at- SC directive mandating free the SLSA in case of delay in ed her position that she had no London’s King’s Cross, gifted to in the UK’s financial market. dence has been provided to sup-
tack survivors were finding it treatment to survivors at all payment of compensation,’ the involvement in the nuclear Siddiq in 2004, was linked to Meanwhile, ACC chairman port any of the allegations. The
difficult to receive compensa- public and private facilities. bench said, adding that delay in plant deal despite being embezzlement, calling the alle- Mohammad Abdul Momen told claims made by the Chief Ad-
tion from Maharashtra author- Noting that the Centre and 11 disbursal and contempt of SC photographed at a signing cer- gations “absurd” as the flat was the BBC the allegations “are by viser are false and designed to
ities. The plea also alleged that States had not filed their re- directives by private hospitals emony in the Kremlin in 2013 acquired 10 years before the nu- no means targeted and base- create unwarranted publicity,”
the private hospitals refused to plies to the plea, the top court should be brought to its notice. alongside then-Bangladesh clear deal. less, and its investigation was her legal representatives said.
 INDIA Max Min Max Min

3
Ahmedabad 35 22 Mumbai 33 24
‘INFANT SALE’ Bhopal 32 19 Panaji 34 25
A doctor in Assam’s Sribhumi district allegedly sold an Jaipur 31 20 Patna 29 21
Amritsar 30 13 Lucknow 33 18
infant to a couple after an unmarried woman gave birth Chennai 32 28 Port Blair 32 27
to the child, officials said, adding that a case has been OF A FAMILY FOUND DEAD AT Kolkata 32 24 Imphal 24 17
lodged against the doctor who is currently absconding MEMBERS HOME IN RAJASTHAN’S BIKANER Srinagar 16 00 Chandigarh 31 13

10 CHENNAI FRIDAY 21 03 2025

� �

Barricades dismantled as traffic Shah likely to visit

on two Haryana borders resumed Bihar on March 29
Farm leader Dallewal shifted to Jalandhar under tight security, Punjab clears roads on its side to firm up poll plan CHANDIGARH
H A R P R E E T BA J WA @ Chandigarh stroy Punjab and do not shut R A M A S H A N K A R @ Patna
DIARY
the state’s highways.”
THE arrest of farmer leaders He also acknowledged the in- HOME minister Amit Shah is HARPREET BAJWA
and eviction of protesting dustry’s lament: “Punjab’s likely to visit Bihar on March Our correspondent
farmers from the Shambhu trade has been hit hard because 29 to discuss the strategy for in Chandigarh
and Khanauri borders since of the closure of the two key the state assembly elections [email protected]
Wednesday highlight Punjab’s highways at Shambhu and due in October-November this
rural and urban divide over Khanauri border points for year. Shah is expected to hold a
the issue. more than a year.” meeting with senior leaders of Prez’s request before
The leaders’ detention trig- Meanwhile, Farmer leader BJP at the party’s state head- attending convocation
gered protests in Tarn Taran Jagjit Singh Dallewal, detained quarters the same day.
President Droupadi Murmu set an
and Gurdaspur, while farmers Wednesday evening, was shift- Confirming Shah’s proposed
example of humility as she recently
staged a statewide protest. In ed to a PWSD guest house in the visit, Bihar BJP president Dilip
attended two convocation
Faridkot, police prevented high-security Jalandhar Can- Kumar Jaiswal said that Shah power in the national capital
ceremonies in Punjab – one at the
farmers from blocking Nation- tonment area on Thursday will reach Patna on March 29 after a gap of three decades.
Central University of Punjab (CUP)
al Highway-15. Over 200 farm- morning. Haryana Police start- evening and meet senior party “Star campaigners will cam-
Concrete barricades being removed after the eviction of agitating farmers from the and the other at the All India
ers were detained and trans- ed dismantling cemented bar- leaders the same evening. paign for all NDA candidates
Shambhu border, in Patiala district onThursday | PTI Institute of Medical Sciences in
ported to undisclosed locations ricades erected last year to pre- The next day, he will partici- irrespective of their parties,”
Bhatinda. The President’s secretariat
in buses. The Dirba police de- vent farmers from Punjab from pate in a meeting of the coop- said a senior BJP leader who is
had asked both institutions that the
tained about 50 farmers from said the highway’s opening will public besides losses to the heading towards the national erative ministry and then leave a member of the BJP state core
chair designated for the President
BKU (Sidhupur) protesting on boost the state’s economy and state industry. capital as part of their ‘Delhi for Gopalganj, where he is ex- committee.
must not be more grandiose than
the Sangrur-Patran road. Pro- tourism. They bemoan that the Sources claimed the police Chalo’ programme. By evening, pected to address a public meet- He, however, said that the list
the other dignitaries on the stage
testers were dispersed in Gur- year-long blockade caused ir- action followed after traders in one-way traffic resumed at both ing. This is the first visit of of star campaigners will be fi-
and during the scheduled group
daspur, Bathinda and Abohar. reparable loss to trade and in- Ludhiana told AAP national border points. Shah after expansion of Nitish nalised by the central leader-
photograph with students. Also, a
BKU leader Rakesh Tikait dustry and left thousands of convener Arvind Kejriwal that The Shambhu border was de- Kumar cabinet. ship of the party. Before the un-
sign language interpreter was
said if farmers are not united, commuters stranded. it would be difficult for AAP to serted after Wednesday night’s The home minister is expect- ion home minister’s visit,
engaged to sensitise institutions
governments will quell farm- Badish Jindal, President of get votes in the Ludhiana West police operation cleared the ed to discuss joint election cam- railway minister Ashwin
and students on differently-abled
ers’ protests and facilitate cor- the World MSME Forum, said Assembly byelection if the protest site. JCB machines re- paign for the NDA candidates Vaishnav is expected to visit
persons, an official said.
porates. Satnam Singh Pannu, that the state was incurring farmers’ protest did not end. sumed operations to dismantle in all the 243 assembly constitu- the state on March 25.
president of the Kisan Mazdoor `1,500 crore monthly, and the Punjab Finance Minister the remaining temporary struc- encies in the assembly polls. Vaishnav will participate at
Sangharsh Committee, said the business decreased by 15 to 20 Harpal Singh Cheema, facing tures and clear the Shmbhu- Shah’s possible visit has, how- an official function of the rail-
police action showed that in- percent. He said the state suf- criticism from certain quarters Ambala highway. Many ever, heated up state’s political ways in Saharsa. Prime Minis-
stead of “badlaav,” Chief Min- fered losses worth `10,000 crore over the police crackdown, farmers detained from Khanau- temperature. In 2024 Lok Sabha ter Narendra Modi is also ex-
ister Bhagwant Singh Mann since 2019. said, “We want to tell the farm- ri on Wednesday night were election, alliance partners had pected to visit Bihar in April.
was doing “badle ki rajniti.” Narinder Singh Bhamra, ers that we stand by them. taken to a marriage hall in Pat- campaigned for NDA candi- The date of PM’s visit is yet to
In contrast, the urban popu- President of the Fastener Man- Their demands concern the tran. The arrested farmer lead- dates. The same strategy was be finalised by the PMO. The
lation, mainly traders, indus- ufacturers Association of In- Centre. You (farmers) hold any ers from Mohali and Shambhu followed in the Assembly elec- visit of top leaders of the party
trialists, and commuters, large- dia, said the blockades also cre- protest against the Centre, and border were shifted to Patiala tions in Delhi, which paved the has heated up the state’s politi-
ly hailed the move. Industrialists ated problems for the general we are with you. But do not de- central jail. way for return of the BJP in cal temperature.

Bulldozers used After Disha Salian’s father Main accused among six booked Khattar meets former
against Gujarat Cabinet colleague on Holi

bootleggers seeks FIR, Maha demand for sedition, curfew lifted in Nagpur On eve of Holi, Union minister
Manohar Lal Khattar and Haryana

against Aaditya intensifies

cabinet minister Anil Vij surprised
everyone as they met each other at
D I L I P S I N G H KS H AT R I YA S U D H I R S U RYAWA N S H I @ Mumbai Ambala cantonment and praised
@ Ahmedabad each others work. The meeting
S U D H I R S U RYAWA N S H I @ Mumbai THREE days after the mob-re- comes after Vij was served a show
DESPITE the Supreme Court lated violence over Aurangzeb’s cause notice for his comments agaist
guidelines requiring local ad- MEMBERS of the ruling Ma- tomb, curfew was lifted in some CM Nayab Singh Saini and Haryana
ministrations to issue notices haYuti on Thursday raised the parts of Nagpur city and re- BJP chief Mohan Lal Badoli.
before demolishing encroach- Disha Salian death controver- laxed in a few others on Thurs- Clarifying his stand, Vij had said,
ments, Gujarat authorities sy in both houses of Maharash- day. The cyber police booked despite occasional differences over
have taken a more direct ap- tra legislature, a day after her six persons, including the mas- certain issues, he had no personal
proach to address rising law- father Satish Salian approached ter mind of this violence, grudge against the leaders. Khattar,
lessness. Police have compiled the Bombay High Court seek- Fahim Khan, on charges of se- however, greeted Vij as one of his
lists of antisocial elements and ing a CBI probe and registra- dition and spreading misinfor- oldest friends, terming Vij’s assembly
bootleggers whose illegal prop- tion of an FIR against Shiv mation on social media during segment a saffron party stronghold.
erties are now being targeted Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya the unrest here.
for demolition. Thackeray and others. Cyber DCP Lohit Matani said
After videos of public vio- Disha, former manager of MLAs entered the well of the the accused edited and circu- Infighting in Punjab Cong
lence, vandalism, and intimida- late actor Sushant Singh Ra- House, demanding a probe into lated the video of the protest Security personnel deployed at Hanspuri area in Nagpur on Thursday | PTI
tion went viral, the government jput, died on June 8, 2020, after the death. Minister of state for against Aurangzeb, which once again out in open
announced a major crackdown falling from the 14th floor of a home Yogesh Kadam said the caused the riots to spread. clashes between two groups. eos were shared on social me- Days after state Congress in-charge
on criminal elements. Police high-rise in suburban Malad. SIT probe was still going on, Considering the inconven- Their rampage in central dia, which fuelled the violence; Bhupesh Baghel directed the Punjab
have prepared a list of 7,612 of- Police then registered an acci- and Salian’s father has made ience to citizens and the N a g p u r w a s f u e l l e d by more videos subsequently “glo- leadership to raise issues against
fenders, including 3,264 boot- dental death report case. the state government a party to improvement in the law and rumours that a ‘chadar’ with rified” the violence. each other on the party platform,
leggers, 516 gamblers, and 2,149 Shiv Sena (UBT) Uddhav his petition. order situation, Commissioner holy inscriptions was burnt The state cyber crime depart- the cold war between Bholath MLA
individuals accused of harass- Thackeray said the CID probe “We will act as per the court of Police Ravinder Singal or- during protests led by VHP ment has asked Facebook, X, Sukhpal Singh Khaira and
ing women in public. found no foul play but the BJP orders. Those who are guilty, no dered lifting the curfew from and Bajrang Dal for the remov- Instagram, and YouTube au- Kapurthala MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh,
Authorities have begun in- is targeting and defaming his matter how powerful they are, Nandanvan and Kapil Nagar al of Mughal emperor Au- thorities for information about who have been on loggerheads for
specting the individuals’ prop- family members. “Aditya has will not be spared,” he said. police station areas from 2 pm rangzeb’s tomb. 230 profiles on their platforms many years, once again erupted.
erties to identify illegal con- not done anything wrong so Satish’s plea claimed that on on Thursday. Curfew was imposed in Kot- and block them. When Rana announced he would
structions. Bulldozer why should he be afraid? We June 8, Disha organised a party Singal also ordered the cur- wali, Ganeshpeth, Tehsil, Meanwhile, the Archaeologi- purchase maize from farmers for two
operations commenced in are open for any probe. BJP at her home that was attended few in Lakadganj, Pachpaoli, Lakadganj, Pachpaoli, Shanti cal Survey of India (ASI) has years at MSP, Khaira took to X saying
Ahmedabad and other districts leaders’ fingers got burned in by Aaditya, actors Sooraj Pan- Shantinagar, Sakkardara, and Nagar, Sakkardara, Nandan- put up tin sheets on two sides Rana was propagating private
against unlawful properties Nagpur violence, therefore the choli and Dino Morea, among Imambada areas to be relaxed van, Imambada, Yashodhara of the 18th-century structure purchase of maize for his ethanol
owned by those engaged in Disha Salin matter has been de- others. Citing eyewitness ac- from 2 pm to 4 pm to allow peo- Nagar and Kapil Nagar police encasing the tomb in Khulda- plants. Earlier, Rana had supported
criminal activities. The state liberately raked,” Uddhav said. counts, he claimed in the plea ple to venture out to buy essen- station areas. bad amid right-wing organisa- the BJP government’s proposal to
police chief also called an im- Aditya said the matter is sub that Disha was “gang-raped, tial items of daily need. The probe has so far indicat- tions demanding its removal. A implement private marketing of
portant meeting where signifi- judice, so he won’t comment. forcibly restrained and subject- The Nagpur police said the ed that misinformation was circular fence will also be in- crops as part of the three
cant decisions are expected. Shouting slogans, MahaYuti ed to brutal sexual assault.” mobs tur ned violent after spread initially after some vid- stalled around the tomb. now-junked farm laws in 2021.

Once neighbours, sparrows now face extinction Grabbing minor’s breasts not enough
N A R E N D R A S E T H I @ Dehradun 5 get one-year jail to charge accused with rape bid: HC
THE sparrow has become a
rare sight in today’s urban term for burning N A M I TA BA J PA I @ Lucknow The judge said that it partly
allowed the criminal revision
sprawl, leaving many children
unfamiliar with this charming leopard in cage THE Allahabad High Court re-
fused to acknowledge grabbing
plea filed by the three accused.
Finding it to be a case of at-
companion. As deforestation, the breasts of a minor girl tempt to rape or attempt to
noise pollution, and urbanisa- N A R E N D R A S E T H I @ Dehradun along with breaking her pyja- commit penetrative sexual as-
tion take their toll, these birds ma strings, and trying to drag sault within the purview of the
are retreating to rural areas. THE Chief Judicial Magis- her beneath the culvert, an Pocso Act, the trial court in-
“The absence of sparrows in trate’s Court in Pauri, Uttara- enough act to charge an ac- voked Section 376 (rape) with
our cities is alarming for bird khand, has sentenced five vil- cused with the offence of rape, Section 18 (attempt to commit
enthusiasts. Their cheerful lagers, including former village or an attempt to rape. an offence) of the Pocso Act
chirping in rural settings of- head, to one year of imprison- A single judge bench of the and issued summoning order
fers a comforting reminder of ment for setting a captive leop- court observed it was an act of under these sections.
nature’s harmony,” says Dr Ra- ard ablaze. “aggravated sexual assault”. IPC (assault or use of criminal Challenging the summoning
man Kumar, an ornithologist. According to reports, on May With the above observation, the force with intent to disrobe) order issued by the trial court,
On the occasion of World 24, 2022, an enraged mob set a high court in its March 17 or- read with the POCSO Act (ag- the accused moved the HC,
Sparrow Day on March 20, ex- captive leopard on fire in Saplo- der, modified a summon order, gravated sexual assault). wherein it was primarily ar-
perts highlight the challenges Manoj Chandran said, “The ate a more hospitable environ- di. A case was registered at the altering the charges against the “The allegations leveled gued that no offence under
faced by sparrows in urban en- biggest crisis facing sparrows ment for sparrows,” he added. Kotwali police station in Pauri two accused. against accused Pawan and Section 376 (rape) of IPC was
vironments, from finding suit- is the lack of food and habitat. Ornithologist Ajay Sharma based on a complaint from a for- According to the prosecu- Akash and the facts of the case committed even if the com-
able nesting sites to accessing The use of chemicals in food said, “In the past, wheat was est officer, naming five people tion, Pawan and Akash, grabbed hardly constitute an offence of plaint version was taken on its
food. “Sparrows used to nest in items like wheat and other spread out while cleaning at including the then village head. the breasts of the 11-year-old attempt to rape in the case. In face value and that the case
crevices and thatched roofs, but grains is detrimental to them. home, and lentils were also The charges included violations victim and Akash broke the order to bring out a charge of did not go beyond the extent of
now homes are made of con- If we pay attention to a few key cleaned. The grains would scat- of the Wildlife Protection Act string of her pyjama and tried attempt to rape, the prosecu- Sections 354, 354(b) IPC, and
crete, leaving them with fewer factors, we can improve the situ- ter, providing food for the birds. and obstruction of public serv- to drag her beneath the culvert. tion must establish that it had relevant provisions of the
options,” Raman Kumar says. ation for these birds.” This practice has diminished ants in their duties. However, as witnesses inter- gone beyond the stage of prepa- POCSO Act.
According to forest depart- Chandran emphasised the im- significantly, leading to an in- The region, encompassing vened, accused fled the spot. ration. The difference between On the other hand, the coun-
ment sources, sparrow popula- portance of maintaining green- creased food crisis for them.” villages like Bhatti, Sarna, Kul- Initially, the accused were preparation and actual attempt sel for respondents submitted
tions in urban areas have plum- ery in homes and cautioned Sharma added, “The small mori, and Saplodi, had been summoned to face trial under to commit an offence consists that at the stage of framing the
meted by nearly 40 per cent. In against constructing entirely sparrow cannot eat larger plagued by fear due to frequent section 376 (rape) and under the chiefly in the greater degree of charges, the trial court was not
contrast, the situation in rural concrete houses. “By ensuring grains; it relies on tiny insects, leopard sightings in 2022. These Pocso Act. However, the high determination,” the bench of supposed to sift and weigh the
areas remains relatively stable. that our living spaces incorpo- which have also decreased in leopards instilled significant court later directed the accused Justice Ram Manohar Narayan evidence and material collected
Chief Conservator of Forests rate some greenery, we can cre- number.” terror in the area. be tried under section 354(B) Mishra observed. during the investigation.
11 CHENNAI FRIDAY 21 03 2025
� � THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS

OÚ«Û%lOÚ ÑÚOÛ%ÁÚ HIGH ENERGY MATERIALS RESEARCH

OÛ¾Úß%®ÛÄOÚ BMf¬¾ÚßÁéÁÚÈÚÁÚ OÚaæÞÂ, LABORATORY DRDO, MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, SUTARWADI, PUNE- 411 021.
ÅæàÞOæàÞ®Ú¾æàÞW BÅÛSæ, _OÚQÈÚßVÚ×ÚàÁÚß ÉºÛVÚ, _OÚQÈÚßVÚ×ÚàÁÚß EXPRESSION OF INTEREST
@ÅÛ°ÈÚ© mæMsÚÁé ®ÚÃOÚlzæ ÑÚMSæÀ : 33/2024-25 ¦«ÛMOÚ:18-03-2025 Annexure-A
EOI No. HEMRL/25EOI002/LP Date : 28/02/2025
ªÉÄîÌAqÀ mÉAqÀgï ¥ÀæPÀluÉAiÀÄ°è aPÀ̪ÀÄUÀ¼ÀÆgÀÄ f¯Éè ¯ÉÆÃPÉÆÃ¥ÀAiÉÆÃV E¯ÁSÉ G¥À«¨sÁUÀUÀ½UÉ
HEMRL, Pune an armament laboratory under Defence Research and
M¼À¥ÀqÀĪÀ ¯ÉPÀÌ ²Ã¶ðPÉ : 5054-04-337-0-01-154 f¯Áè gÀ¸ÉÛUÀ¼ÀÄ - ¸ÀÄzsÁgÀuÉUÀ¼ÀÄ, 8443 oÉêÀt Development Organisation, invites Expression of Interest from reputed
ªÀAwPÉ CrAiÀÄ°è£À MlÄÖ 6 PÁªÀÄUÁjUÀ½UÉ Pɦ¦ ¥ÉÆÃlð¯ï ªÀÄÆ®PÀ CºÀð UÀÄwÛUÉzÁgÀjAzÀ mÉAqÀgï Manufacturing firms for following stores.
DºÁ餸À¯ÁVzÉ. PÁªÀÄUÁjUÀ¼À£ÀÄß ªÀ»¹PÉƼÀÄîªÀ CxÀªÁ ¤ªÀð»¹gÀĪÀ ¸ÁªÀÄxÀåðzÀ §UÉÎ (Standard Sr.
Tender Document KW - 1 & 4 gÀAvÉ) «ªÀgÀUÀ¼À£ÀÄß ®UÀwÛ¸ÀvÀPÀÌzÀÄÝ, UÀÄwÛUÉzÁgÀjUÉ C¢ü¤AiÀĪÀÄ 3gÀ°è EOI Number DESCRIPTION OF ITEMS QTY
No
£ÀªÀÄÆ¢¹gÀĪÀ PÀ¤µÀÖ CºÀðvÉUÀ½zÀÝgÉ ªÀiÁvÀæ UÀÄwÛUÉAiÀÄ£ÀÄß ªÀ»¸À§ºÀÄzÁVgÀÄvÀÛzÉ. PÀ¤µÀÖ CAzÁdÄ ªÉÆvÀÛ HEMRL/ Braiding of Circular Miniature 300 mtr Per year
1
gÀÆ. 10.00 ®PÀëUÀ¼ÀÄ ºÁUÀÆ UÀjµÀÖ CAzÁdÄ ªÉÆvÀÛ gÀÆ. 500.00 ®PÀëUÀ¼ÀÄ DVgÀÄvÀÛªÉ. Pɦ¦ ¥ÉÆÃlð¯ï 25EOI002/LP Detonating Cord (for 05 years)
mÉAqÀgï ¸À°è¸À¨ÉÃPÁVgÀĪÀ 6 PÁªÀÄUÁjUÀ½UÉ (E.¸ÀASÉå: 19330 (2£Éà PÀgÉ), 19349 (2£Éà PÀgÉ), GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS:
19413, 20250 ¢£ÁAPÀ: 28-03-2025, EA.¸ÀASÉå: 20568 ¢£ÁAPÀ:03-04-2025, EA.¸ÀASÉå:20346 The reputed manufacturing firms who are interested may send their
¢£ÁAPÀ:09-04-2025gÀAzÀÄ) ¸ÀAeÉ 4.30 UÀAmÉAiÉƼÀUÉ mÉAqÀgï ¸À°è¸À¨ÉÃPÀÄ. ºÉaÑ£À «ªÀgÀUÀ½UÉ PÀbÉÃj EOIs through DEFPROC Portal (www.defproc.gov.in) on or before
ªÉüÉAiÀÄ°è «µÀAiÀÄ ¤ªÁðºÀPÀgÀ£ÀÄß ¸ÀA¥ÀQð¹ w½AiÀħºÀÄzÁVzÉ. 29/04/2025 by 11.00 hrs. The offers against the EOI will be opened on
30/04/2025 at 11.30 hrs.
ÑÚÕ/- OÛ¾Úß%®ÛÄOÚ BMf¬¾ÚßÁé, The proposals in response to this EOI will be evaluated based on a Preliminary
ÅæàÞOæàÞ®Ú¾æàÞW BÅÛSæ, _OÚQÈÚßVÚ×ÚàÁÚß ÉºÛVÚ, _OÚQÈÚßVÚ×ÚàÁÚß Evaluation carried out by HEMRL as per the technical specification.
The Final Evaluation will be based on the project specific criteria.
The vendors are expected to submit all the mandatory information as per
HEMRL requirement. The actual execution of the contract will be based
on the technical specifications and all the other terms and conditions
evolved through this EOI.
Offline applications will not be accepted. The Director, HEMRL reserves
the right to reject any or all the EOIs without assigning any reasons
whatsoever and his decision in this regard will be final. The details on
the specification, scope of work, terms and conditions and the evaluation
criteria are available on DEFPROC portal.
Sd/-
Scientist ‘F’
For Director, HEMRL
Contact No.: Tel No. 91 20 25912241
CBC 10301/11/0177/2425 Fax No. 91 20 25869661

NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE, THE WORD ITSELF

SAYS ‘I’M POSSIBLE’! ❯ AUDREY HEPBURN

TAMBARAM WEST BRANCH

No. 1, Shiva Shanmugam Road, Tambaram West - 600 045
Government of India Undertaking
Ph. No: 044-22260795
E-mail id : [email protected]
E-AUCTION SALE NOTICE
E-Auction Sale Notice for Sale of Immovable Properties under the Securitisation and Reconstruction
of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 read with proviso to Rule 8 (6) of
the Security Interest (Enforcement) Rules, 2002.
Notice is hereby given to the public in general and in particular to the Borrower (s) and Guarantor (s) that
the below described immovable property mortgaged/charged to the Secured Creditor, the constructive/
�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
of Tambaram West Branch of the Canara Bank, will be sold on “As is where is”, “As is what is”, and
“Whatever there is” on 08.04.2025 for recovery of Rs. 54,84,429.80 (Rupees Fifty Four lakhs Eighty
Four thousand Four Hundred Twenty Nine and Paise Eighty only) as on 28.02.2025 plus applicable
interest and incidental charges from 01.03.2025 to the Tambaram West Branch of Canara Bank from
1. Mr. T.R.MAHADEVAN Residing At No.2/32, Arunagirinathar St. New Perungalathur, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
– 600063 2) Mr. V ILANGOVAN Residing At No.17A, Gangai Amman Koil Street, Parameshwaran Nagar,
Sholinganallur,Chennai-600119.
Details and full description of the immovable property with known encumbrances, if any. Details of Property :
����������������������� All that piece and parcel of land and building(Residential Flat) at Flat No.G2 in Ground Floor
����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
situated at No.167 (New No.28), Padmavathy Nagar, Perungalathur Village, Tambaram Taluk, presently Chengalpet
������������������������������������������������������������Bounded on the North By: 24 feet Road, South By:
Revenue Channel, East By: Plot No.5, West By: Plot No.7, Situated within the Registration district of South Chennai
��������������������

Reserve Price : EMD Amount : Bid Increase Amount :

Rs. 56,26,000/- Rs. 5,62,600/- Rs. 20,000/-
(Rupees Fifty Six Lakhs and Twenty Six Thousands only) (Rupees Five Lakhs Sixty Two thousand Six Hundred Only) (Rupees Twenty Thousand only)

Date & Time of E - Auction : 08.04.2025 & Time 11:30 A.M. to 12:30 P.M.
(With unlimited extension of 5 minutes duration each till the conclusion of the sale)
The Earnest Money Deposit shall be deposited on or
before 05.04.2025 till 4.00 P.M.
For detailed terms and conditions of the sale please refer the link “E-Auction” provided in Canara Bank’s website
(www.canarabank.com) or may contact Branch Manager, Tambaram West Branch, Canara Bank (Ph No:
044- 2226079/ 9444052541) email id- [email protected], ������������������������������������������������
E-Auction: https://baanknet.com
Date : 19.03.2025 ����������������
Place : Chennai Canara Bank
12 CHENNAI FRIDAY 21 03 2025
� � THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS

All the news.� OFFICE OF THE CHIEF CONSTRUCTION ENGINEER

RURAL WORKS CIRCLE, BALASORE
E_Mail ID : [email protected], Ph-No-06782/260318, Balia, Balasore

In just a click. O-1641

“e” Procurement Notice for Bridge Work
Identification No.- Online Tender- Bridge NCB No. 26 of 2024-25
Letter No.815 /WE Date.19/03/2025
1. Name of the work :- Bridge works.
Log to 2.
3.
Total No. of work
Estimated Cost
:-
:-
As per annexure
As per annexure
www.newindianexpress.com 4.
5.
Eligible Class of Contractor
Period of Completion
:-
:-
As per annexure
As per annexure
6. Other details
Availability of tender On-line Last Date & Date & Time of Opening of Tender
Bid Identifi- for bidding Time of seek- in 0/0 C.C.E..R.W Circle, Balasore
Procurement Officer
cation No. ing Tender
From To Technical Bid Financial Bid
Clarification
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Chief Construction
NCB No.- 26 27.03.2025 16.04.2025 up 15.04.2025 up 17.04.2025 at Will be inti-
Engineer, Rural Works
�������������������
of 2024-25 at 11.00 A.M to 5.00 P.M. to 5.00 P.M. 11.00 A.M. mated later
Circle, Balasore
���������������� ����������������������������������������������� www.tendersodisha.gov.in
����������������������� Sd/- Er.Duryodhan Behera,
OIPR-25105/11/0037/2425 Chief Construction Engineer, R.W. Circle, Balasore.

PURASAWALKAM BRANCH
80, Ritherdon Road, Purasaiwakkam,
Chennai - 600007
Phone : 044-23454292/293/294
PUBLICATION DEMAND NOTICE
Notice under Sec.13(2) of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets
and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002, sent on 19.02.2025 by Registered Post.
To,
1. Mr. Ramesh Kumar M, S/o. Meganathan, Flat no:105, 1st Floor, Block No:R,
Core-1,VGN STAFFORD, Sudharsanam Nagar Main Road, Thirumullaivoyal,
Chennai-600062. 2. Mrs. Yamuna Lakshmanan, W/o Ramesh Kumar M, Flat no:105,
1st Floor, Block No:R, Core-1,VGN STAFFORD, Sudharsanam Nagar Main Road,
Thirumullaivoyal, Chennai-600062.
Sub: Credit facilities with our Purasawalkam Branch.
You committed default in repayment of loan and hence your loan account has been
��������������������������������������28.01.2025 in accordance with the Reserve Bank
of India directives and guidelines. The outstanding due to the tune of Rs.49,28,046/-
(Rupees Forty Nine Lakhs Twenty Eight Thousand and Forty Six Rupees Only) as on
18.02.2025 plus unapplied interest.
The Bank issued notice under the SARFAESI Act under Sec.13(2) on 19.02.2025 calling
upon you to repay the outstanding amount of Rs.49,28,046/- The notice was sent to
you by Regd. Post has been returned unserved.
You are called upon to pay Rs.49,28,046/- being the outstanding dues as on
18.02.2025 together with further interest till date of payment within 60 days from the
date of this publication failing which Bank will be constrained to exercise its rights of
enforcement of security interest as against the secured assets given in the Schedule
hereunder.
SCHEDULE OF PROPERTY
Security agreement with brief description of securities: All that piece and
parcel of 792 Sq.ft., of undivided share of land out of Acres 17.18 Cents, together
with proposed construction of Residential unit in First Floor, having built up area
of 1517 Sq.ft., including common areas and further 207 Sq. ft., of private terrace
area adjoining the residential Unit No. 105, in block No. R, Core-1, at the residential
project namely “VGN STAFFORD”, situated at No.16, Thirumullaivoyal Village, “VGN
PURASAWALKAM BRANCH
STAFFORD” comprised in Survey Nos.209/2 Part, now Block No.46, Town Survey 80, Ritherdon Road, Purasaiwakkam,
No.4 and 883, now Block No.42, Town Survey No.35B, Previously in Ambattur Taluk. Chennai - 600007
Presently Avadi Taluk, Thiruvallur District, within the Registration District of Chennai Phone : 044-23454292/293/294
North and Sub-Registration District of Ambattur standing in the name of Mr Ramesh
Kumar & Mrs L Yamuna # Property is also mortgaged to the M/s Barcode Solutions
PUBLICATION DEMAND NOTICE
Notice under Sec.13(2) of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial
Prop: M Ramesh Kumar. Bounded on the:- North by: 40 Feet Road in Survey No.
209/2, Lands in Survey No.209/2 Northern Part & Survey No.693 Part, South by: Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002, sent on 19.02.2025 by
Land in Survey No.209/1 Part, East by: Land in Survey No.209/1 Part, West by: Registered Post.
Land in Survey No.692/2. To,
Place: Chennai ������������� ����� 1. M S BARCODE SOLUTION, Prop: Ramesh Kumar M, No:304, B.K.H Road, 1 st
Date : 19.03.2025 Bank of Baroda Floor, Ayanavaram, Chennai-600023. 2. Mr. Ramesh Kumar M, S/o. Meganathan,
Flat no:105, 1st Floor, Block No:R, Core-1,VGN STAFFORD, Sudharsanam Nagar
Main Road, Thirumullaivoyal, Chennai-600062. 3. Mrs. Yamuna Lakshmanan,
W/o Ramesh Kumar M, Flat no:105, 1st Floor, Block No:R, Core-1,VGN STAFFORD,
IF YOU’RE Sudharsanam Nagar Main Road, Thirumullaivoyal, Chennai-600062.
GOING THROUGH Sub: Credit facilities with our Purasawalkam Branch.
HELL, KEEP You committed default in repayment of loan and hence your loan account has
GOING ����� ����������� ��� ��������������� ������ ��� 28.01.2025 in accordance with the
WINSTON CHURCHILL Reserve Bank of India directives and guidelines. The outstanding due to the tune
of Rs.38,79,121.01 (Rupees Thirty Eight Lakhs Seventy Nine Thousand One
Hundred and Twenty one Rupees and one paisa Only) as on 18.02.2025 plus
unapplied interest.
The Bank issued notice under the SARFAESI Act under Sec.13(2) on 19.02.2025
calling upon you to repay the outstanding amount of Rs.38,79,121.01 The notice
was sent to you by Regd. Post has been returned unserved.
You are called upon to pay Rs.38,79,121.01 being the outstanding dues as on
18.02.2025 together with further interest till date of payment within 60 days from
the date of this publication failing which Bank will be constrained to exercise its
rights of enforcement of security interest as against the secured assets given in the
Schedule hereunder.
SCHEDULE OF PROPERTY
Security agreement with brief description of securities: All that piece and
parcel of 792 Sq.ft., of undivided share of land out of Acres 17.18 Cents, together
with proposed construction of Residential unit in First Floor, having built up area
of 1517 Sq.ft., including common areas and further 207 Sq. ft., of private terrace
area adjoining the residential Unit No. 105, in block No. R, Core-1, at the residential
project namely “VGN STAFFORD”, situated at No.16, Thirumullaivoyal Village,
“VGN STAFFORD” comprised in Survey Nos.209/2 Part, now Block No.46, Town
Survey No.4 and 883, now Block No.42, Town Survey No.35B, Previously in
Ambattur Taluk. Presently Avadi Taluk, Thiruvallur District, within the Registration
District of Chennai North and Sub-Registration District of Ambattur # Property is
also mortgaged to the Housing loan taken in the name of Mr Ramesh Kumar and
Mrs Yamuna L (NPA). Bounded on the:- North by: 40 Feet Road in Survey No.
209/2, Lands in Survey No.209/2 Northern Part & Survey No.693 Part, South by:
Land in Survey No.209/1 Part, East by: Land in Survey No.209/1 Part, West by:
Land in Survey No.692/2.
Place: Chennai ������������� �����
Date : 19.03.2025 Bank of Baroda

GETTING INFORMATION
OFF THE INTERNET
IS LIKE TAKING A
DRINK FROM A FIRE
HYDRANT ❯ MITCHELL KAPOR
 13 years
Beijing 7 -5 SNY Los Angeles 20 10 SNY
Colombo 32 25 SNY Melbourne 19 15 LC
Dhaka 31 21 SNY Moscow -6 -9 LS
GLOBAL Dubai 26 20 LR New York -2 -9 SNY
WEATHER Houston 17 6 LR Singapore 30 25 LR
VISA
after it was closed, Germany reopens LR: Light Rain HR: Heavy Rain LS: Light Snow Istanbul 7 4 LR Toronto -7 -17 LS
its embassy in Syria’s Damascus TDS: Thundershower LC: Light Cloud SNY: Sunny London 7 2 SNY Washington 11 7 LC

13 CHENNAI FRIDAY 21 03 2025

� � newindianexpress com

All eyes on Riyadh as Russia to hold Trump to order a plan to shut

talks with US on Ukraine Monday down Education dept in US WASHINGTON
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy urges EU leaders to step up weapon
supplies; says Kremlin must stop making unnecessary demands
Peacekeeping PRESIDENT Donald Trump

force in Ukraine
plans to sign an executive order
Thursday calling for the shut-
down of the US Education De-
on the table partment, according to a White
House official, advancing a
campaign promise to eliminate
KYIV an agency that’s been a long-
time target of conservatives.
SENIOR officers from coun- Trump has derided the De-
tries across Europe and beyond partment of Education as
will meet late on Thursday at a wasteful and polluted by liberal
military headquarters on the ideology. However, finalizing its
outskirts of London to flesh out dismantling is likely impossi-
plans for an inter national ble without an act of Congress,
peacekeeping force for Ukraine which created the department Protesters gather during a demonstration at the headquarters of the Department of
as details of a partial ceasefire in 1979. A White House fact Education on Friday in Washington | AP
are worked out. sheet said the order would di-
UK Prime Minister Keir rect Secretary Linda McMahon Trump says he believes The White House has not
Starmer said the “coalition of “to take all necessary steps to India will lower tariffs spelled out formally which de-
the willing” plan, led by Britain facilitate the closure (of) the New York: US President Donald
partment functions could be
and France, is moving into an Department of Education and Trump said he hopes to see lower
handed off to other depart-
“operational phase.” But it’s return education authority to tariffs from the south-Asian
ments or eliminated altogether.
unclear how many countries the States, while continuing to powerhouse. In an interview with
At her confirmation hearing,
are willing to send troops, or ensure the effective and unin- Breitbart News, Trump said,”I
McMahon said she would pre-
whether there will be any cease- terrupted delivery of services, believe they’re going to probably
serve core initiatives, includ-
fire to protect. programs, and benefits on be lowering those tariffs
ing Title I money for low-in-
Ukraine and Russia agreed which Americans rely.” substantially, but on April 2, we
come schools and Pell grants
in principle Wednesday to a Trump’s Republican admin- will be charging them the same
for low-income college stu-
A Russian “Grad” self-propelled multiple rocket launcher fires towards Ukrainian positions in southern Ukraine in this limited ceasefire after Presi- istration has already been gut- tariffs they charge us.”
dents. The goal of the adminis-
photograph provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Thursday | AP dent Donald Trump spoke with ting the agency. Its workforce is tration, she said, would be “a
the countries’ leaders this being slashed in half, and there better functioning Department
MOSCOW committee on international af- Western sanctions since 2014. week, though it remained to be have been deep cuts to the Of- system that is fundamentally of Education.”
fairs, and Sergei Beseda, advi- Karasin is a career diplomat. seen when it might take effect fice for Civil Rights and the In- unequal. The department sends bil-
RUSSIA and US officials will sor to the head of the FSB secu- President Volodymyr Zelen- and what possible targets would stitute of Education Sciences, “This isn’t fixing education. lions of dollars a year to schools
hold talks on Ukraine in Saudi rity service.” skyy urged EU leaders Thurs- be off limits to attack. The ten- which gathers data on the na- It’s making sure millions of and oversees $1.6 trillion in fed-
Arabia on Monday, President Ushakov said he had con- day to step up weapon supplies tative deal to partially rein in tion’s academic progress. children never get a fair shot. eral student loans.
Vladimir Putin’s aide Yuri Ush- firmed this after talks with US to Ukraine and keep pressuring the three-year war came after Advocates for public schools And we’re not about to let that Some of Trump’s allies have
akov said. National Security Advisor Russia, as top military Russian President Vladimir said eliminating the depart- happen without a fight,” the questioned his power to close
Donald Trump spoke to both
Russia’s Vladimir Putin and
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelen-
Mike Waltz. Both agreed
to send “expert groups”
for the talks, he added.
? brass gathered in Lon-
don to thrash out plans
to police any peace
Putin rebuffed Trump’s push
for a full 30-day ceasefire.
Only Britain and France
ment would leave children be-
hind in an American education
National Parents Union said in
a statement.
the agency without action from
Congress. AP

skyy this week and the US is The delegations are deal. Zelenskyy said have said they are willing to
also due to hold talks with Kyiv
in the coming days.
due to discuss “initia-
tives” that Putin and
the Kremlin leader
must “stop making un-
send troops, though countries
including Australia, Canada, A S I A M AT T E R S
INDONESIA THAILAND
“These consultations will Trump spoke about re- necessary demands that France and Finland say they
take place on Monday, March garding the Black Sea. only prolong the war.” Kyiv are open to being involved in
24, in Riyadh,” Ushakov said The Russian FSB in 2014 ad- has said that US is due to hold some way. “This is more than JAKARTA PASSES LENS ON EXPAT
Thursday in comments pub- mitted that Beseda was in Kyiv talks with Ukraine in Saudi just a focus on troops. We’re AMENDMENTS PILOTS ON
lished by the Kremlin. during a bloody crackdown on Arabia. It is not clear if they talking about protection in air,
“From the Russian side, they the Ukrainian capital in the will take place on the same day at sea, and operational plan- TO ARMY LAW LOCAL FLIGHTS
will be attended by Grigory Ka- midst of the country’s pro-EU or if the Russian and Ukraini- ning” Starmer’s spokesman Indonesia’s parliament on Thailand’s authorities
rasin, chairman of the Senate’s revolution. He has been under an delegations will meet. AP Dave Pares said. AFP Thursday passed into law have pledged not to
contentious revisions to extend an arrangement
TAKING STOCK
Israeli strikes across Gaza hit scores
the country’s military Bill, that allows foreign pilots
which will allocate more to be deployed on

EU delaying
civilian posts for military domestic flight routes

of homes, kill at least 85 Palestinians

officers, and street after Thai pilots filed a
protests against the lawsuit against the

tariffs on US changes are expected to

take place. The revisions MALAYSIA
government last week.
The pilot association had

goods by
have been criticised by expressed cautious
GAZA STRIP
civil society groups, who ‘POLICE OVERSTEPPED optimism about the
say it could take the AUTHORITY IN 2022’ assurance from the Civil

two weeks
ISRAELI strikes killed at least
world’s third-biggest Aviation Authority of
85 Palestinians across the Gaza
democracy back to the The High Court on Thursday ruled Thailand that the
Strip overnight and into Thurs-
draconian “New Order” era that police had acted ultra vires temporary measure would
day, according to local health
of former strongman (beyond powers) to impose a end this year, the
BRUSSELS officials. Hours later, Hamas
President Suharto, where condition that absolutely prohibited association’s president
fired three rockets at Israel
military officers the Malaysian Bar Council’s Teerawat Angkasakulkiat
THE European Union said without causing casualties, in
dominated civilian affairs. assembly and march, dubbed the said on Thursday.He said
Thursday its tariffs targeting the first such attack since Is-
American goods in retaliation rael ended the ceasefire with a The Bill requires officers Walk for Judicial Independence in authorities had
An Israeli tank takes position on the Gaza Strip border in southern Israel; (below) to resign from the military 2022. The assembly and march were acknowledged challenges
for US levies on steel and alu- surprise bombardment of Gaza Israeli protesters in a demonstration calling for an end to the war | AFP
minium would start in mid- on Tuesday. before assuming civilian to protest actions of the Malaysian faced by unemployed Thai
April, two weeks later than Israeli military ordered peo- positions. Anti-Corruption Commission. pilots in finding jobs.
planned, to give more time for ple to evacuate an area in cen-
dialogue. tral Gaza near Khan Younis,
US President Donald Trump’s saying it would operate there in
25-percent tariffs on imports of
the metals took effect on March
response to rocket fire from Ha-
mas. Israel restored a blockade French citizen freed after EXPRESS READ
Canada slams Chinese
880 days in prison in Iran
12, to which the European Un- on northern Gaza, including ISRAEL-GAZA: DAY 529
ion immediately responded Gaza City, that it had main- execution of 4 citizens
with two sets of countermeas- tained for most of the war.
ures set to begin on April 1 and It warned residents against Hamas fires at Tel Aviv Ottawa: China executed four
mid-April. using the main highway to en- in first riposte to Israel DUBAI deau had been freed. He offered Canadians in recent months,
Among the US products set to ter or leave the north and said no immediate details of what Canada’s foreign affairs minister
be targeted were bourbon, boats only passage to the south would Tel Aviv WEST BANK Gaza Strip: The Hamas said it A French citizen imprisoned in led to Grondeau’s release, said Wednesday. Such executions
JORDAN

and motorbikes. be allowed on the coastal road. fired rockets at Israeli commercial Iran for over 880 days has been though it came on Nowruz, the of Westerners are relatively rare.
Two European sources told It also announced an additional hub Tel Aviv on Thursday in its freed, French officials said Persian New Year, when Iran Foreign Minister M’lanie Joly said
Jerusalem
AFP that France, Spain and It- ground operation in northern first military response to the Thursday. has released prisoners in the Canada had asked for clemency in
GA Z A growing civilian death toll from
aly pushed the European Com- Gaza near the already largely STRIP The release of Olivier Gron- past. Jean-Noel Barrot, France’s the drug-related accusations
mission to delay its measures destroyed town of Beit Lahiya, Israel’s resumption of air and deau comes as France minister for Europe and involving the dual citizens
-- which have already triggered where strikes have killed doz- ground operations in Gaza. and the rest of Europe foreign affairs, posted a Beijing’s embassy in Ottawa said
ISR A EL
a Trump threat to hit back at ens over the past 24 hours. The armed wing of Hamas, the try to pursue negotia- picture online of Gron- the executions were due to drug
Europe’s wine and spirits sec- Israel blamed the renewed Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, tions with Iran over its deau smiling aboard what related offences.
tor with punishing 200-percent fighting on Hamas because the TOLL SO FAR said in a statement on Thursday rapidly advancing nu- appeared to be a private
that it fired rockets at Tel Aviv in

51,016
tariffs. According to one of the militant group rejected a new clear program. jet. “We will tirelessly
sources, bourbon could poten- proposal that departed from response to Israel’s “massacres” In going public with continue our efforts to Turkey detains 37 over
of Gaza civilians.
tially be withdrawn altogether their signed agreement. Hamas his detention in Janu- ensure that all our com- 'provocative' posts
from the list of targeted goods. has said it will only release the ary, Grondeau alluded patriots still held hostage,
Questioned by AFP, the com- remaining hostages in ex- One of the strikes on Gaza week, encompassing most of to the politics at play in his im- including C’cile Kohler and Istanbul: Turkish authorities
mission said nothing was yet change for a lasting ceasefire early Thursday hit the Abu eastern Gaza. prisonment. ‘You become a hu- Jacques Paris, are in turn re- detained 37 people for sharing
decided on that front. and a full Israeli withdrawal Daqa family’s home in Abasan “Another tough night,” said man who has been stocked leased,” Barrot wrote. ‘provocative’ content on social
The first part of the EU re- from Gaza. More than 400 Pal- al-Kabira, a village just outside Hani Awad, who was helping away indefinitely because one The Iranian government did media, the interior minister said
sponse involved letting levies estinians were killed on Tues- of Khan Younis near the border rescuers search for more survi- government is seeking to exert not immediately acknowledge Thursday, pressing ahead with a
dating from Trump’s first term day alone, mostly women and with Israel. It was inside an vors in the rubble. “The house pressure on another,’ he said. Grondeau’s release, but the crackdown on dissenting voices
-- but currently suspended -- children, according to Gaza’s area the Israeli military or- collapsed over the people’s hea French President Emmanuel French government confirmed that escalated with the arrest of
snap automatically back into Health Ministry. dered evacuated earlier this ds.” AFP Macron wrote online that Gron- his release. AFP the mayor of Istanbul, a potential
place after March 31, with a sec- challenger to President Recep
ond set of tariffs set to target Tayyip Erdogan. Mayor Ekrem
US industrial and agricultural STATUS CHECK Imamoglu was arrested on
goods. Wednesday in a graft probe.

India 118 in World Happiness Report, Nordic nations top

The European Commission
said it wanted to “align” the th
timing of its response. “The Algeria prosecutors seek
EU countermeasures that were 10-year jail for writer
announced on 12 March will all
take effect in mid-April,” EU LONDON of Happiness on March 20 each tinued to remain in the top four, United Nations Sustainable De- ple volunteered; 74 for helping Algiers: Algerian prosecutors have
trade spokesman Olof Gill said year, focuses on the impact of in that order. The United King- velopment Solutions Network a stranger, and in case of wallet requested a 10-year prison
in a statement. Delaying the INDIA ranked 118th in the caring and sharing on peo- dom is at the 23rd position, ranks the countries according returned by a neighbour (115), sentence for French-Algerian
first set would also allow the World Happiness Report 2025 ple’s happiness, including the US is 24th and China to the self-assessed life evalua- stranger (86) and police (93). writer Boualem Sansal, 80,
commission to consult with published Thursday, up from how sharing a meal in- stands at 68th position tions by those polled averaged Afghanistan is ranked the accused of undermining the
member states on the lists of the 126th position in the previ- creases happiness. in the list of 147 coun- over the years 2022-2024. unhappiest country in the country’s territorial integrity, local
targeted products, Gill said. ous year but below countries Finland was ranked tries this year. While India ranked 118th world, this year 147th. While media reported Thursday. Sansal,
The commission leads the such as Ne pal, Pakistan, the happiest country in The annual report, overall, in terms of the ‘Coun- Pakistan with 109th rank (108 a prominent figure in North
27-country bloc’s trade policy Ukraine and Palestine. the world for the eighth published by the Wellbe- try rankings for six measures in 2024) remained ahead of In- African modern francophone
and has been in charge of dis- The 13th edition of the an- consecutive year and oth- ing Research Centre at of benevolence’, it was listed dia, Sri Lanka, with 133rd rank literature, is known for his
cussions with the United States nual report, released coincid- er Nordic countries Den- the University of Oxford in much higher at 57 for (how peo- (128 in 2024) and Bangladesh criticism of Algerian authorities as
to avoid a trade war. AFP ing with the International Day mark, Iceland and Sweden con- partnership with Gallup, the ple) donated; at 10 for how peo- 134th position trailed. PTI well as of Islamists.
 Market 899.02 MARKET
Sensex 76,348.06 H220
GOLD
24 carat (10 gm) H90,810 H100
SILVER
1 kg H1,05,100
FOREX
Dollar 86.35

Watch 283.05 Nifty 23,190.65 H200 22 carat (10 gm) H83,250 H1 10 gm H1,051 Euro 94.38

14 CHENNAI FRIDAY 21 03 2025

� � newindianexpress com

In a bind over Gold Bond

In 2015, the government introduced Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGBs) as an
Equity markets rebound; up 3% in 4 sessions
alternative investment to physical gold. Since then, a total of 67 tranches have This upward trend marks a shift from prolonged bearish sentiment that had dominated market for several months
been issued, covering 146.96 tonnes of gold and raising `72,274 crore.
However, with gold prices having increased by 3.2 times since the launch, the A RS H A D K H A N @ New Delhi 23,190.65. Vinod Nair of Geojit lieve we are returning to a ‘10-
government now faces a liability exceeding `1.2 lakh crore. Financial Services attributed year average P/E’, a measure
THE Indian equity market has this rally to the consistent fall in of a stock’s valuation, which
7000 shown a notable recovery over the US dollar index, which has may be around 20 or 21,” said
6,263 the past four sessions, with reduced the intensity of foreign Rathi. He added that this week’s
(Feb21, 2024)
6000
both the BSE Sensex and NSE institutional investor (FII) sell- surge does not necessarily indi-
Nifty50 gaining about 3% each. ing, while domestic institution- cate that the rally would
Issue price This upward movement comes RALLY IN 4 SESSIONS al investor (DII) buying remains continue.
5000 (`)/unit as a contrast to the bearish sen- robust. FIIs turned net buyers “We need further confirma-
timent that dominated the mar- Sensex: 2,500 points on Thursday, buying shares tion from companies that things
One unit=1 gm
4000 The tenure of ket for several months. Nifty: 640 points worth `3,294 crore (net value). have returned to normal and
SGBs is 8 years. The rise on Thursday was in- WHAT’S AIDING THE MOVE? However, Anand K Rathi of that earnings growth is expect-
3000 However, after fluenced by the Federal Re- MIRA Money cautioned that ed to be around 12-14%. This
serve’s decision to maintain FIIs selling slowing down the bulls are not fully back in cautious approach is necessary
completion
of five years, interest rates at 4.25%–4.50% Dollar getting weak the market, indicating that the to navigate the uncertainties in
2000
2,684 a bond- during its second policy meet- Ease in tariff war benchmarks are still down by the market,” said Rathi.
(Nov30, 2015) holder can ing of 2025, alongside the ex- 11% from their September The Indian equity market has
FOMC’s dovish stance
1000 prematurely pectation of two quarter-per- highs. “What we are witness- faced significant pressure since
redeem the centage-point rate cuts by the ing is a correction back to a late September 2024 due to vari-
bonds at end of the year, which has bol- Falling US dollar fuels rally as FIIs turn net buyers level of valuation that I believe ous factors, including US Presi-
current stered investor confidence. is typical for India. During the dent Donald Trump’s tariff ac-
market prices Vinod Nair of Geojit Financial Services attributed this rally to the
At the close of trading on consistent fall in the US dollar index, which has reduced the intensity ‘super bull market’, forward tions, substantial FII outflows
Thursday, the Sensex was up by of foreign institutional investor (FII) selling, while domestic ear nings price-to-ear nings amidst a weakening rupee, slow-
899.01 points or 1.19% at institutional investor (DII) buying remains robust. FIIs turned net (P/E) ratios reached 23-24. Cur- ing economic and corporate
76,348.06, and the Nifty was up buyers on Thursday, buying shares worth `3,294 crore (net value). rently, we’ve corrected to below earnings growth, and expensive
by 283.05 points or 1.24% at the average P/E of 18-19. I be- valuations.

GOLD-BAR SHAPED FISCAL HOLE

Total outstanding sovereign gold bond (Kg)
Current value of the outstanding SGBs (`cr)
1,32,153
1,17,900
Manappuram sells 18% to Bain for `4,385 cr Hero MotoCorp
invests `525 cr
Weight of gold bonds redeembed prematurely (kg) 14,808 B E N N KO C H U V E E DA N @ Mumbai said in an exchange filing on
Thursday.
panded capital basis but ex-
cluding warrants. The open
next phase of growth and drive
transformation by enhancing in Euler for EV
three-wheelers
Total govt liabilities due to SGBs in FY24 (RE) (`cr) 60,566 THE second largest pure-play The stake will be purchased offer price has been fixed at operational excellence,
Total govt liabilities due to SGBs in FY25 (BE) (`cr) 55,055 gold loan player Manappuram by Bain Capital Asia (through `236/share,” the companies strengthening leadership, and
Finance has inked a deal with its affiliated BC Asia Invest- said in a joint statement. expanding its presence across
Interest paid on SGBs in FY25 (RE) (`cr) 1,746 Bain Capital, under which the ments XXV and BC Asia Invest- Based on the open offer sub- key segments, Bain said in the A RS H A D K H A N @ New Delhi
Interest to be paid on SGBs in FY26 (BE) (`cr) 1,640 latter will acquire 18% in the ments XIV) through a scription, Bain’s stake will statement.
Thrissur, Kerala-based compa- preferential allotment vary between 18% and Meanwhile, Manappuram HERO MotoCorp (HMCL), the
(RE: Revised Estimate; BE: Budget Estimate) Note: Data till 13 March 2025 ny for `4,385 crore. of shares. 41.7% on a fully diluted which has a track record of 75 leading two-wheeler manufac-
The deal also leads to an open “The equity transfer basis, including shares years, also said its subsidiary, turer, is making a strategic en-
INVESTORS MAKING A KILLING offer by the private equity ma- will be on a fully dilut- to be issued pursuant Asirvad Microfinance, which try into the rapidly growing
Redemption price/unit of SGBs for redemptions due on 17 Mar 2025 (`) 8,624 jor for an additional 26% reduc- ed basis via preferen- to exercise of warrants. was under some regulatory ac- electric three-wheeler market
ing the current promoters — tial allotment of equity Existing promoters will tion earlier and whose IPO pa- with an investment of up to
Issue price/unit of SGBs to be redeemed on 17 March 2025 2,943 VP Nandakumar family — stake and warrants at a price of hold a 28.9% stake in the pers are pending with the Sebi `525 crore (approximately $60
Capital appreciation (%) 193 to under 30%. `236/share, — a 30% premium company post the investment since October 2023 will now be million) in Euler Motors, a
Following the fund infusion over the six-month average on a fully diluted basis, includ- withdrawn. The company fur- company specialising in elec-
Interest earned annually (%) 2.5 of `4,385 crore, the investor trading price. The transaction ing shares to be issued pursu- ther said the microfinance tric three-wheelers.
Annual rate of return for investors (%) 16 will be classified as a joint pro- will trigger a mandatory open ant to exercise of warrants. company will make the neces- HMCL’s primary investment
Source: RBI
moter with board representa- offer for the purchase of an ad- The investment aims to fuel sary application to Sebi in this will be in Equity Shares and Se-
tion, Manappuram Finance ditional 26% stake on an ex- the 75-year-old Manappuram’s regard. ries D Compulsory Convertible
Preference Shares, giving it an
approximate 32.5% stake on a

Hindalco to invest `45,000 cr in metals, enter EV space Govt orders probe into Ola fully diluted basis. Additional-
ly, a portion of the investment
may be used to acquire shares

Electric sales discrepancy

from existing Euler Motors
E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ Mumbai Hindalco unveils new growth-focused logo space, they are pioneering the shareholders through a second-
metals that will drive our coun- ary sale, the company stated in
The new Hindalco brand logo, featuring a bold and dynamic ‘H,’
ADITYA Birla group chairman try’s EV revolution. This, the a regulatory filing.
represents forward momentum and reinforces the company’s role in
Kumar Mangalam Birla has company will do by joining the E N S E CO N O M I C B U R E AU The stake acquisition is ex-
shaping India’s industrial and sustainable future, the company said
said the group’s flagship Hin- ongoing EV revolution in the pected to be completed by April
in a statement.
dalco will invest `45,000-crore country so as to take it to the THE Heavy Industries Minis- 30, 2026.
in copper and aluminium seg- next level. try has directed the Automotive “As we strengthen and diver-
ments and entry into the elec- “Our battery foil plant at Adi- Research Association of India sify our presence in emerging
tric mobility materials space tya Fabrication plant in Chakan (ARAI) to investigate the dis- mobility landscape, this invest-
by setting up the country’ first near Pune is set to provide crepancy between Ola Elec- ment allows Hero MotoCorp to
copper foil facility for electric high-performance, sustainable tric’s reported sales figures and venture into a rapidly growing
vehicles. alternatives to traditional auto- the actual vehicle registrations, electric three and four-wheeler
Meanwhile, Hindalco Indus- motive components especially alongside numerous consumer market, while unlocking adja-
tries Ltd has unveiled a new for the EV industry. We are also complaints against the compa- ashtra, Punjab and Madhya cent business opportunities
brand identity, marking its setting up the country’ first ny, as per sources aware of the Pradesh. These actions were and continuing to cement its
transformation from a materi- copper foils facility for EVs in development. taken due to concerns over the leadership in the future of sus-
als supplier to an engineered this facility,” he said. The ministry has asked ARAI company’s compliance with tainable mobility,” Pawan
solutions provider. “In electric mobility, renew- to submit a report within 15 trade certificate requirements. Munjal, Executive Chairman,
The brand identity was un- able energy, energy storage, days. This regulatory scrutiny Ola Electric, backed by FAME Hero MotoCorp.
veiled by Aditya Birla Group, semiconductors, and high-end comes after Ola Electric II and PM E-DRIVE, must meet This is its second major in-
Chairman, Kumar Mangalam electronics, we are positioning claimed to have sold 25,000 elec- ARAI guidelines. ARAI is prob- vestment made by Hero in the
Birla in the presence of indus- statement. Announcing the In another key initiative for ourselves as a provider of solu- tric scooters in February 2025, ing sales discrepancies and com- electric vehicle space following
try leaders, policymakers, and new brand identity for Hindal- the group, Birla said Hindalco’s tions and a co-creator, collabo- while government data from plaints, with a report due in 15 a 40% stake in IPO-ready Ather
business partners. co Industries on Thursday, Bir- Pune unit will be setting up a rating with customers to bring the Vahan portal showed only d ay s. Re g u l at o r y p re s s u re Energy. Hero MotoCrop said
The new Hindalco brand la said, “We are committing copper foil facility for the elec- the future forward,” he said. 8,600 vehicles were registered mounts as SEBI warns of disclo- that its investment in Euler
logo, featuring a bold and dy- `45,000 crore across the alu- tric vehicles segment. It can be noted that Hindalco during the same period. sure lapses, and CCPA investi- will provide them with a strong
namic ‘H,’ represents forward minium, copper and specialty Expressing his desire of re- is the largest aluminium pro- This probe follows recent reg- gates service complaints. An foothold in the fast-growing
momentum and reinforces the alumina businesses to deliver peating in the electric mobility ducer in the country and along ulatory issues faced by Ola Elec- Ola Electric unit also faces an electric three-wheeler market,
company’s role in shaping In- both upstream and next-gen space, what Hindalco has been with its US subsidiary Novelis, tric, including raids and inspec- insolvency petition from Ros- where EVs are projected to ac-
dia’s industrial and sustainable high precision engineered doing in the metals space, he it is among the top aluminium tions by transport authorities in merta Digital over alleged pay- count for 35% of total sales in
future, the company said in a products to our customers.” said in the battery materials companies in the world. various states such as Mahar- ment defaults. the near future.

Govt discusses Apple, Samsung dominate EXPRESS READ

RBI appoints Indranil
BIS crackdown on Amazon, Flipkart
content woes smartphone exports in ’24
with Grok AI
Bhattacharyya as ED
MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank has
promoted Indranil Bhattacharyya
warehouses, substandard goods seized
R A K E S H K U M A R @ New Delhi to executive director (ED)
E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ New Delhi overseeing economic and policy E N S E CO N O M I C B U R E AU @ Bengaluru additional information, when
INDIA’s smartphone export in research. Previously an adviser in appropriate.” The spokesper-
THE Ministry of Electronics 2024 was dominated by Apple the monetary policy department, THE Bureau of Indian Stand- son added that they are engaged
and Information Technology and Samsung, with the two he has nearly three decades of ards (BIS) has raided e-com- closely with various stakehold-
(MeitY) is in discussions with companies accounting for ap- experience in monetary and fiscal merce giants Amazon and Flip- ers including regulators to pro-
Elon Musk’s Grok over con- proximately 94% of all ship- policy, banking, and international kart warehouses across several vide customers with a great
cerns about its content. Accord- ments, according to a report by economics. He also served as an cities and seized substandard shopping experience.
ing to ministry sources, the Counterpoint Research. economic expert at Qatar Central products including toys, bottles Flipkart in a statement said:
government has not issued any This surge in exports is at- Bank. Bhattacharyya is a and speakers as these products “The platform has several proc-
advisories yet, but is instead tributed to the companies’ ex- postgraduate from JNU and his were found without the manda- esses to review the listings sell-
engaging in discussions to un- panded manufacturing opera- research focuses on monetary tory BIS Quality Mark, violat- ers make on the marketplace,
derstand how Grok’s platform tions within the country. policy and financial markets. ing the BIS Act, 2016. and also conducts regular au-
may have violated Indian law. Overall, Made-in-India’s smart- The national standards body dits to ensure compliance.”
A ministry official, speaking phone shipments —the number bile maker Vivo, which grew in a post on X said, “By seizing enforces quality control orders Gaurav Makhijani, associate
on condition of anonymity, of smartphones manufactured 14% to capture a 14% shipment Sebi eases ESOP rules these substandard items, BIS (QCOs) to ensure that both im- partner at Roedl and Partner
confirmed that no advisories within India and shipped either share. for IPO-bound founders ensures that only products ported and domestically manu- India, said foreign manufactur-
have been sent to Grok. domestically or internationally Foxconn Hon Hai’s manufac- meeting safety standards are factured goods meet Indian ers must obtain certification
However, the official noted — increased by 6% compared to turing volumes grew 19% in MUMBAI: Sebi has proposed sold to consumers, thereby pro- safety and quality standards. under the Foreign Manufactur-
that an earlier advisory sent to the previous year. The report 2024, backed by Apple. changes to Employee Stock tecting them from substandard In case a product falls under e r C e r t i f i c at i o n S ch e m e
AI players regarding content is also predicts a double-digit OPPO, however, slipped to Option Plan (ESOP) rules, goods.” a QCO, BIS certification be- (FMCS). “Depending on the
still valid. Grok, an AI assistant growth in Indian smartphone the fourth position as a manu- allowing IPO-bound founders to The BIS has been carrying comes mandatory, and manu- product category, this certifica-
developed by Elon Musk’s com- manufacturing for 2025, accom- facturer, with its shipments de- retain ESOPs even if classified as out search and seizure opera- facturers must obtain a BIS li- tion is typically granted after an
pany xAI, has come under scru- panied by a rise in local value clining 34%. DBG’s shipments promoters. Currently, promoters tions for a few weeks now. The cense before selling their inspection of the manufactur-
tiny for generating inflamma- addition. also saw double-digit growth in cannot receive ESOPs, creating crackdowns are aimed at curb- products. ing site supplying goods to the
tory content on X. The AI According to Counterpoint, 2024, thanks to expanding part- ambiguity when founders are ing the distribution of unsafe When asked about BIS raids, Indian market...,” he explained.
chatbot engaged in abusive ex- South Korean tech giant Sam- nerships with Xiaomi and listed as promoters due to IPO and non-certified products Amazon spokesperson said, Last week, the Ministry of
changes, targeted Elon Musk sung solidified its position as a Realme. In terms of overall norms. To prevent misuse, Sebi through e-commerce platforms. “We require sellers of all prod- Consumer Affairs said BIS
and Indian politicians, includ- dominant player in India’s elec- growth, Tata Electronics was suggests a one-year cooling-off Recently, at an Amazon ware- ucts to comply with applicable identified that several non-cer-
ing the Prime minister. MeitY’s tronics manufacturing in 2024, the fastest-growing manufac- period before an IPO. It clarifies house in Lucknow, the certifi- laws, regulations and Amazon tified products are being sold
discussions with Grok aim to registering a 7% year-on-year turer in 2024, registering a that employees later identified as cation agency seized 215 toys policies. Upon being notified, on e-commerce platforms even
address these concerns and en- (y-o-y) growth driven by in- 107% growth, with the iPhone promoters can hold and exercise and 24 hand blenders that re- we take actions including re- though BIS certification has
sure compliance with Indian creasing exports. The second 15 and iPhone 16 as the major ESOPs granted at least a year portedly lacked mandatory BIS moving non-compliant prod- been made mandatory for these
laws and regulations. spot was taken by Chinese mo- volume contributors. before the IPO decision. certification. The government ucts, and reach out to sellers for products.
 BCCI announces `58 crore
The BCCI has announced a cash reward of Rs 58 crore for the Indian
team that won the ICC Champions Trophy earlier this month in Dubai.
The Rohit Sharma-led India defeated New Zealand in the final. The
cash reward for CT win financial windfall will cover the players, coaching and support staff and
members of the selection committee headed by Ajit Agarkar.

15 CHENNAI FRIDAY 21 03 2025

� � newindianexpress com

IPL: Saliva use back, captains exempted from ban for slow over-rate
G O M E S H S @ Chennai tabled at the meeting in the usage as it hinders bringing re- nings in an evening fixture which has demerit points for
BCCI headquarters where all verse swing into play. wherein the captains will have code of conduct breach which
COME Saturday, the sight of ten IPL captains were present. The latest among them was the option to appeal to the um- translates to suspension points.
bowlers and players using saliva The saliva ban, which came India pacer Mohammed Shami pires and ask for a change of For slow over-rates, the ICC has
to shine the ball will be a com- into effect at the height of the who spoke about it during the ball. This might not apply for af- match fee fines in place as well.
mon sight during the Indian Covid pandemic in 2020, was Champions Trophy in Dubai. ternoon games. “Toss becomes In the IPL, too, the captain will
Premier League. The decision to made permanent by the Interna- “We are trying [to get reverse very important given the dew at face demerit points for slow over
lift the ban on using saliva in the tional Cricket Council in 2022. It swing], but the usage of saliva few grounds. There is a new rule rate which might translate into
league was taken during the all- has since been followed across on the ball is not allowed,” Sha- which has been given to change fines but not necessarily face an
captains meet that happened in the globe including the IPL. mi had told reporters after In- the ball but it has to be with the immediate match-ban. Last year,
Mumbai on Thursday. Apart However, with the world having dia’s win over Australia in the consent of the umpires,” a Hardik Pandya faced a one-
from the revoking the ban, the recovered from the pandemic Champions Trophy semi-final. source said. match ban after his third offence
BCCI has also introduced a ball and the days of quarantine and “We keep appealing that we Hardik Pandya, Rajat Patidar (C) and Shreyas Iyer at the captains’ meeting | IPL Apart from this, captains will for slow over-rate because of
change provision for the second physical contact restrictions are should be allowed to use saliva not face match ban going for- which he will not be taking part
innings of the matches to coun- long gone, several players, espe- so that we can bring reverse Meanwhile, the provision to also come into place this season. ward for slow overrates. Accord- in Mumbai Indians’ opening
ter the dew factor. These new cially bowlers have made the re- swing back into the game and it introduce the second new ball to This will come into play after ing to sources, the IPL will fol- game against Chennai Super
rules, among other things, were quest to revoke the ban on saliva becomes interesting.” counter the dew advantage will the 11th over of the second in- low the ICC regulations in place Kings on Sunday.

Test of pace: Can the senior pros deliver?

Bhuvneshwar, Shami and Siraj, three experienced Indian pacers, will have a lot to prove in the upcoming season

G O M E S H S @ Chennai play the better they will get.

“Bowlers like Siraj, Bhuvi or
IT is that time of the year when even for that matter, Shami,
the majority of the cricketing have got so much experience.
world comes to a stop, witness- But it’s a matter of executing
ing and celebrating the two- that. And how do you do it con-
month-long carnival that is the sistently enough? So, getting Ahmedabad has been named as the venue for the 2030 Commonwealth Games

India submits EoI

Indian Premier League. into a routine, I’m sure they are
And over the past 17 years, legendary bowlers and they will
one thing every team of the have a certain routine they fol-
league has looked to do is get low. But it’s all about doing it

to host CWG 2030

their pace bowling core intact. again and again and again. And
That is why overseas fast bowl- that’s where Ishant Sharma, for
ers are always in demand, but that matter, even though he’s
more often than not it is the not been anywhere, the way he
team that has a solid group of trained, bowling in the nets and I N D R A N E E L D A S @ Chennai
Indian pacers that has thrived. guiding the bowlers, it’s very
While Lasith Malinga and important. But even if you wear INDIA have formally submitted Expression of Interest to host
Dwayne Bravo are always the his spikes, you want to win the the Centenary Commonwealth Games at Ahemdabad in Gujarat
two names discussed when it matches for the country. Not in 2030. The letter of interest was sent by PT Usha as the chief of
comes to an all-time IPL bowl- just help other fast bowlers. So, Commonwealth Games Association of India on March 13. Usha,
ing attack, Trent Boult is not far Shami will be looking forward who is also the Indian Olympic Association president, said in the
off, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and to being back in those leading letter that Ahmedabad would be the host city. This apparently
Jasprit Bumrah are right up (From left) Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj will be keen to make a mark for their new teams | x wicket-takers. would lead to hosting bigger mega events like the Olympic Games.
there with them. “It’s not easy after injury to The last day for submission of the letter is March 31.
In fact, Kumar is all set to be- all about Kumar, Shami and daily. Siraj is coming on the come back and straight away India will also be hosting all the disciplines that have been
Top Indian pacers of IPL*
come the highest wicket-taking Siraj. The trio has sort of been back of a rough year. Tough perform. But Shami is doing dropped from the programme in Glasgow next year. That means
pacer in the league surpassing through a shuffle between their Name Mat Wkts ECO SR time in red-ball cricket, he that. Yes, you need to get that fit- shooting, hockey, wrestling, badminton, archery and squash
Bravo (183) who is only two teams and it just so happens, B Kumar 176 181 7.56 21.6 missed out on the Champions ness level high. But I am confi- could be part of the programme and might include more. Since
wickets ahead of him. Kumar’s that their stakes and the signifi- Bumrah 133 165 7.3 18.5 Trophy squad and now will have dent all the senior fast bowlers the visit of Commonwealth Games Federation president Chris
181 scalps have come in 176 cance have gone up massively. a point to prove for Gujarat Ti- will do really well this season. Jenkins and Chief Executive Officer Katie Sadleir’s Gujarat visit
games as he has been at the For a team that is heavily reli- Sandeep 127 137 7.8 20.5 tans in Ahmedabad. From the Because if not, we know the In- in January (29-31), there have been serious discussions on the
front and center of Sunrisers ant on their batting at M Chin- Harshal 106 135 8.74 16 clippings that are doing rounds dian cricket team’s talent pool is viability of hosting the Commonwealth Games. There were dis-
Hyderabad’s success over the naswamy, Royal Challengers Mohit 112 132 8.67 17 ahead of the season, he is swing- so big. Even A or B or C teams cussions during the recently-held National Games in Uttara-
past decade. Bumrah’s choice is Bengaluru will be looking to Ku- ing the balls both ways and un- can win a lot of tournaments. khand as well. Usha’s letter was addressed to Chris Jenkins, CGF
Shami 110 127 8.43 19.1
of course a no-brainer — 165 mar, along with Josh Hazle- der the lights, he could be lethal So, they will know that. It’s all chief, and highlighted Ahmedabad’s contribution towards host-
wickets in just 133 games at an wood, for inspiration. One of Unadkat 105 99 8.97 21.52 with the new ball. Meanwhile, about having that belief system ing major sporting events including the final of the 2023 50-over
economy of 7.3 and a strike rate the most economical pacers in Siraj 93 93 8.64 21.05 Shami has been on and off since at the start of the run-up and ex- men’s cricket World Cup and the recently-held Coldplay concert.
of 18.5. Then there are Sandeep the league, Kumar will have to *Players who are set to play this season his India comeback, but has ecuting those plans well. And I She, on behalf of Commonwealth Games Association of India,
Sharma, Harshal Patel, Mohit bring his A-game to nail those played all matches in Dubai as think Shami is one of the best in officially expressed India’s Intent to host the 2030 Games. The
Sharma, Mohammed Shami, yorkers and slower balls in the are going to count. I’m very con- India won the ICC title. He did that,” said Sreesanth. letter also said that Ahmedabad would be the host city.
Jaydev Unadkat and Moham- batting paradise. “We were just fident in the way Bhuvi has not look like the same old pace- Indeed. Whether they will be The CGF had been through a torrid time recently with multiple
med Siraj. While every single talking about yorkers, Bhuvi’s been working, especially off-sea- man, but in T20s, Shami has an able to do so or not, we will know hosts cities backing out due to rising costs and economic viability.
one of them is expected to play got a great back-of-hand slower son training. He didn’t miss advantage, especially with the in the coming weeks. This time Glasgow has come forward after Singapore and Malay-
a crucial role for their teams, ball. He uses the crease really many matches. He has been con- Impact Player rule. sia, despite showing some interest, also backed out. She also high-
four of them would be at the well. He varies the pace. And he sistently playing even the first- Sreesanth believes it will all IPL GFX FOR SAT: MI and CSK lighted that it would lead to job creation and foster economic
core of it all. Bumrah is still re- knows every team, every player. class matches. So that will sure- come down to the plan they have squad analysis graphics will growth. Along with the CWG, the city might host some other
covering from injury, so we will And because he’s been playing ly help,” S Sreesanth, JioStar and how they execute them. He be out on Saturday Commonwealth Government events. The bid has got the backing
look at him later. For now, it is for ages, all those experiences expert for the 2025 IPL, told this felt that the more games they of the Gujarat government & the Sports Authority of Gujarat.

LOCAL EXPRESS
MOP Vaishnav Srikanth, Rajawat and Kirsty the first woman IOC president EXPRESS READ
Lahiri T-22 after round

College win Sindhu out of Swiss Open A G E N C I E S @ Costa Navarino (Greece) cure. Coventry’s win also was a
victory for outgoing IOC presi-
one in Int’l series Macau
MACAU: Indian golfer Anirban

handball title
KIRSTY Coventry has been dent Thomas Bach, who has Lahiri opened with a 3-under 67 in
A G E N C I E S @ Basel wat had earlier beaten local elected president of the Inter- long been seen as promoting the International Series Macau to
player Tobias Kuenzi in straight national Olympic Committee her as his successor. He did not be T-22 after the opening day.
E N S @ Chennai TWO-TIME Olympic medallist games in the opening round. and become the first woman use his right to vote.“I will Lahiri, who has not won a title
and seventh seed PV Sindhu’s Srikanth Kidambi, who reached and first African to get perhaps make all of you very, very since 2015, had six birdies against
MOP Vaishnav College for poor run continued as she round two by defeating com- the biggest job in global sports. proud and hopefully extremely three bogeys in his round. He also
Women bagged the title in the crashed out in the open- patriot HS Prannoy how- The Zimbabwe sports minister confident in the decision you had a hat-trick of gains between
Sports Spark 2K25 handball ing of the women’s sin- ever meekly surren- and two-time Olympic swim- have taken,” Coventry said in the 14th and the 16th. Patrick
inter-collegiate tournament or- gles event of the Swiss dered to China’s world ming gold medallist got a stun- her acceptance speech. “Now Reed shot a majestic seven-
ganised by New Prince Shri Open Super 300, losing No 6 Li Shi Feng 15-21 ning first-round win in the sev- Kirsty Coventry will become the first we h ave g o t s o m e wo rk under-par 63 to take the first-
Bhavani College of Engineer- 17-21 19-21 against low- 11-21 in less than 40 en-candidate contest after women president of IOC | IOC together.” round lead. Shiv Kapur, SSP
ing & Technology. In the final, er ranked Julie Jakob- minutes. voting by nearly 100 of her col- Walking to the podium, she Chawrasia and Yuvraj Sandhu
MOP Vaishnav College for sen of Denmark on Meanwhile, India’s top leagues in the IOC membership idential election in decades was congratulated and kissed shot 1-under each to be T-51.
Women defeated MGR Janaki Wednesday. women’s doubles pair of on Thursday. with no clear front-runner be- on both cheeks by Juan
College of Arts and Science On Thursday, Toma Popov Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gop- She gets an eight-year man- fore the vote. Many predicted Antonio Samaranch, who was
16-8. Placings: Winner: MOP Vaishnav; beat India’s Priyanshu Rajawat ichand entered the date into 2033. It was the most an absolute majority could take her expected closest rival in Ex-F1 team owner Eddie
Runner-up: MGR Janaki college; 3rd: SDNB 21-15 21-17 in 47 minutes. Raj- quarterfinals. open and hard-to-call IOC pres- several rounds of votes to se- the vote. Jordan passed away
Vaishnav college for women.
CAPE TOWN: Ex-Formula 1 team
Ajit cracks ton
BOXING owner and media personality
Riding on R Ajit Kumar’s ton Eddie Jordan passed away,
(148) CCL defeated PUC by 140 according to a statement by his
runs in a Fifth Division match
of the TNCA league. Brief Scores V
Division: A Zone: CCL 340/4 in 50 ovs (R Ajit
Kumar 148, Kalaiarasan 88, CS Pavithran 60
Thakur gets boost as HP HC directs BFI to include name family. He was 76. He ran his own
Jordan team in the 1990s and
2000s in F1 and became a
popular pundit on TV after selling
n.o) bt PUC 200 in 43.2 ovs (KR Shrreyas Ragha- I N D R A N E E L D A S @ Chennai withdrawal of nomination is on Guidelines (MEG) of the Na- senting the Union of India and the team in 2005. Jordan had
van 53 n.o, C Karthick 52, R Ajit Kumar 4/36); Friday (5pm). The HP court did tional Sports Development Code the sports ministry said “The of- been undergoing treatment for
Gandhi Nagar Starlets 266/8 in 50 ovs (T Aad- IN a major setback to Boxing not want to interfere with the of India (2011) as well as the fice noting, which is on record, what he had called ‘quite
havan 59, S Arunachalam 3/38) lost to Chen- Federation of India president elections but has directed the rules and regulations of the BFI. cannot be considered to be a fi- aggressive’ cancer. The statement
nai Port SC 267/4 in 49.3 ovs (KS Rohit Narayan- Ajay Singh, the Himachal BFI to include Thakur’s name Despite HPBA pointing it out to nal view of respondent no. 2, said Jordan passed away
an 88, AK Nitin 52, S Arunachalam 55 n.o); SBI Pradesh High Court also stayed and redraw the nomination of the RO, no changes took place since there is no official intima- peacefully with family by his side.
RC 200 in 48.2 ovs (B Mohan 70, M Vimal Raj the letter issued by him on candidates list. It needs to be and the nomination process tion with respect to the said not-
3/38) bt Book Sellers XI 171 in 38.2 ovs (Sreenath March 7. The Himachal Pradesh seen what the RO does next. Af- ended with those names on it. ing in question”. In the HP HC
Kumar 65, S Aswin Kumar 5/23); Vigneswara CC Boxing Association was forced ter two court orders, the Thakur These points were raised during order, the single judge Ajay Mo- All eyes on Neetu, Pooja,
194/9 in 50 ovs (TT Kishore 42, U Sathish Kumar to approach the court after one faction has claimed that they the hearing on Wednesday. han Goel also said that there is Jaismine in boxing nat’ls
4/50) bt Bharat Petroleum 186 in 42.4 ovs (R of its nominations for the Elec- have the backing of around 25 What seemed interesting are no rider mentioned in the rules
Mithun 91, TT Kishore 6/63); Venkateswara CC toral College – former sports state units. The HP HC order lowed by the RO to be part of the the views of the Union of India and regulations of the BFI on NEW DELHI: The country’s best
149 in 48.3 ovs (S Santhosh Gokulkrishna 31, K minister Anurag Thakur – was comes a day after the Delhi High Electoral College because of the (sports ministry). As reported who the state unit can nominate. boxing talent is all set to punch
Chandru 4/394) lost to Royapettah CC 150/4 in deleted based on the March 7 let- Court set aside the March 7 let- March 7 letter. The DABA also by this daily, the March 7 letter The order notes that “one finds their way to glory as the draw for
30.5 ovs (P Ezhilraj 81). ter issued by the president three ter because “this Court (Delhi has written to the RO to include apparently was supported by an that the Electoral College is to the 8th Elite Women National
days after the announcement of HC) is of the view that a prima their two names – Rohit Jain RTI which had noted that elect- inter alia consist of two voters Boxing Championships to be
Nettu Kuppam wins the poll dates. facie case is established by the and Neeraj K Bhatt. ed members should be nominat- who are to be nominated by each played at the Shaheed Vijay
Nettu Kuppam emerged as the The HPBA had sent two petitioner in its favour. Preju- Interestingly, the Electoral ed by the state units of electoral member association and the Singh Pathik Sports Complex in
winner, while Mugathuvara names to the BFI to be included dice shall be caused to the peti- College prepared by the presi- rolls. The RTI had produced an nomination or representation Greater Noida from March 21-27
Kuppam secured the runner-up in the Electoral College (EC) – tioner, if the petitioner is not dent without the name of ‘internal’ noting of the sports of each member association is set the ball rolling for a week-
position in volleyball at the its president Rajesh Bhandari allowed to participate in the Thakur was accepted by RO RK ministry that said the member to be by two member representa- long exhibition of exhilarating
CPCL Vilayattu Thiruvizha and Thakur. After the HP court election process”. In this case, Gauba. As highlighted by this who should be representing the tives authorised by the Presi- contest between the established
(Sports Festival). In the kabad- order, the HPBA has written to Delhi Amateur Boxing Associa- newspaper the provision incor- state unit needs to be an elected dent or General Secretary/ Sec- and upcoming talent. A total of
di game, Thalan Kuppam took the returning officer to include tion (DABA) was the petitioner porated in the letter was not in one. However, during the Delhi retary of the association.”. 188 boxers will be competing in
home the top honors. Thakur’s name. The last date of and two members were not al- line with the Model Election HC hearing, the counsel repre- Full story: newindianexpress.com 10 weight categories.
 China’s car giant BYD has announced an ultra-fast electric
vehicle charging system that it says can charge EVs almost
as quickly as it takes to fill a gasoline car. It plans to build
more than 4,000 of the new charging stations across China

16 CHENNAI FRIDAY 21 03 2025

� � newindianexpress com

Gen AI has permanently

R A K E S H K U M A R @ New Delhi

G
ROK, an AI assistant
developed by Elon

altered the fraud landscape

Musk’s company xAI,
has been making
headlines for both
good and bad reasons.
On the positive side,
Grok is praised for its unfiltered U M A K A N N A N @ Bengaluru originates via social media ahead, the integration of

A
THE AI ASSISTANT THAT’S
and human-like responses, mak- channels. More than half of ML-based fraud prevention
ing conversations feel more real S Gen AI gained trac- respondents (56%) struggle is a necessity for businesses
and engaging. However, it has tion, so did social engi- to identify if Gen AI has been to fight back against today’s

MAKING WAVES IN INDIA

also sparked controversy due to neering scams. In some involved in a fraud attack, sophisticated fraud threat.
its lack of tone restrictions, cases, consumers vol- and therefore find it difficult Our research indicates that
meaning that if a user insults untarily handed over to quantify the impact of 85% of fraud experts believe
or abuses it, Grok may respond payment data as Gen GenAI on their fraud losses. the fraud landscape has been
in the same manner. launch, Elon Musk said, “If AI enables scams by provid- About 85% of businesses dramatically changed by
There have been several it tried to understand the ing real-time conversation in in India agree that GenAI Generative AI. As a result,
instances of abusive exchang- true nature of the uni- dozens of languages. has permanently altered the over 52% have seen an in-
es, with Grok not hesitating to verse, that’s actually the Social engineering scams fraud landscape, increas- crease in losses from
use strong language—even best thing that I can come are transforming the fraud ing its complexity and fraud attacks in the
against its own creator, Elon up with from an AI safety landscape, says a new report sophistication. GenAI past year.”
Musk, as well as Indian politi- standpoint. I think it is by global data and tech com- has also enabled the For businesses,
cians from both ruling and op- going to be pro-humanity pany Experian. Nearly 74% ‘industrialisation of behavioural bio-
position parties, including the from the standpoint that of respondents in Experian’s fraud,’ where fraud- metrics, shared
prime minister. This unique humanity is just much survey believe the biggest sters create and de- consortium data
characteristic has made Grok a more interesting than fraud threat is social engi- ploy fake identities, and inte g rating
sensation among Indian users, not-humanity.” neering scams. Fraudsters deepfakes, and other AML with fraud de-
who find its raw, untamed re- Musk co-founded now have technology at their fraud tactics on a large cisioning are the top
sponses more engaging. As a OpenAI in 2015, the com- fingertips. Sixty-nine per- scale. It says that to areas for investment in
result, its usage has surged pany behind ChatGPT, but cent of the survey’s respond- counter this, businesses the next year. The report
past rivals like OpenAI, Deep- stepped down from its board ents agree public access to must adopt advanced AI- highlights that 48% of Indian
Seek, and even ChatGPT, which in 2018. GenAI is increasing fraud driven fraud prevention businesses face challenges in
are often perceived as more for- threat. tools, integrate multiple se- implementing ML models due
mal and restrained, resembling
HOW DOES GROK Not many people realise curity solutions, and adopt to insufficient training data,
conversations with a computer GENERATE DATA? that fraudsters also look at smarter fraud orchestration and 60% report a lack of qual-
rather than a human-like Grok is directly connected to your social media engage- strategies—ensuring better ity data. Developing effective
assistant. cool? Now, stop whining.) latest and most advanced ver- the X platform, allowing it to ac- ments and posts before tar- detection, stronger security, in-house ML models is com-
This bold, unfiltered re- sion, designed to combine strong cess and process real-time data geting you. The report says a and reduced costs. plex, thus, customisable off-
HOW DID GROK GO VIRAL? sponse spread like wildfire, in- reasoning with extensive pre- with minimal delay. Unlike oth- huge variety of Authorised Shail Deep, chief operat- the-shelf ML models can ex-
Sometimes, all it takes is a sin- stantly making Grok a viral training knowledge. Trained on er AI models that rely on static, Push Payment (APP) fraud ing officer, Experian EMEA pedite deployment and value
gle moment to turn something sensation in India. Within the Colossus supercluster with pre-loaded datasets or delayed and money mule recruitment & APAC, said: “As we look realisation, it adds.
into an Internet sensation. A hours, screenshots of the ex- 10 times the computing power of snapshots, Grok can tap into
user named “Toka” casually change flooded social media, previous models, Grok 3 brings live posts, user profiles, and oth-
asked Grok to list their 10 best sparking debates, memes, and significant improvements in rea- er content on X as they are cre- T E C H N O L O G Y B U Z Z
mutuals on X. When the chat- endless discussions about soning, mathematics, coding, ated or updated.
bot didn’t respond immediately,
Toka took a dig at it using not-
whether AI should have such
an unfiltered personality.
world knowledge, and instruc-
tion-following tasks.
This enables Grok to stay cur-
rent. If today is March 21, 2025, Capgemini accelerates agentic EY launches its EY.ai agentic
so-friendly language. With just one savage reply, With large-scale reinforce- Grok can pull insights from X
In an unexpected twist, Grok
clapped back with the same
Grok 3 proved that AI could be
more than just robotic—it could
ment learning, Grok 3 can proc-
ess information for seconds to
right up to this moment. The
platform can provide real-time
AI adoption for enterprise platform with NVIDIA
expletive—this time in Hindi, be real, raw, and unpredictable. minutes before generating a re- analysis, trending topics, user Capgemini has introduced customised agentic EY on Thursday announced its AI EY.ai agentic
responding: “Tera ‘10 best mu- sponse. Grok 3 has achieved a sentiments, and breaking news. solutions designed in collaboration with NVIDIA platform, created in collaboration with NVIDIA.
tuals’ ka hisaab se yeh hai list…
WHAT IS GROK? leading Elo score of 1402 in If someone posts about a major to accelerate enterprise AI adoption. The Built on the full NVIDIA AI stack the platform will
mutual matlab dono follow Grok is a large language Chatbot Arena—an open- event right now, Grok can see it company said it will deliver AI integrate private, domain-specific
karte ho, par exact data nahi model (LLM) designed source platform for eval- and weave it into its response, services tailored to meet diverse NVIDIA AI reasoning models with
hai toh mentions pe bharosa to provide conversation- uating AI through human making it more dynamic and needs of specific industries when human knowledge to enhance
kiya. Thik hai na? Ab rona al AI responses, similar preference—demonstrat- relevant. Also, it collects data implementing AI agents, from operational excellence through
band kar.” (Rough translation: to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, ing superior perform- from news websites and other healthcare to manufacturing and the productivity of AI agents.
Here goes your list of 10 best Google’s Gemini, and ance across academic publicly available sources to telco. Built on NVIDIA AI Enterprise, Deployment is said to start with
mutuals… mutual means peo- Anthropic’s Claude. benchmarks and re- stay updated with the latest de- Capgemini said it offers a simplified, core business areas and will continue
ple who follow each other, but According to its of- al-world user velopments. It analyses content high-performance deployment process, enabling expansion into sector-specific enterprise AI agent
since I didn’t have exact data, I ficial website, interactions. in real-time to provide relevant clients to securely integrate agentic capabilities solutions across life sciences, manufacturing,
relied on mentions. Isn’t that Grok 3 is the During its insights and updates. into their existing technology infrastructure financial services and more

SMD INITIATIVE

KIIT-DU and University of Tulsa,

USA Sign MoU to Launch Dual Degree
Program in Computer Science
This partnership is a
strategic move that will
create valuable academic
pathways and global
career opportunities for
students while fostering
educational ties between
the two nations.
Significance for
Students

T
he KIIT-DU has signed University of Tulsa is known for
an MoU with the Univer- its robust support for student � Dual Degree Advantage: The
sity of Tulsa, Oklahoma, placements, boasting a 100 2+2 program allows students to
earn two degrees from two pres-
USA today to establish a per cent placement rate, which tigious institutions, enhancing
dual degree program in aligns with KIIT’s achievements their academic credentials and
B.Tech Computer Science. The in campus placements. global employability.
signing ceremony took place Dr. Samanta, in his address, � Global Exposure: Students will
in the presence of Dr. Achyuta emphasized that this MoU gain international experience
by spending two years in the
Samanta, Founder of KIIT and opens up opportunities for KIIT USA, broadening their cultural
KISS, marking a significant step students to experience educa- understanding and academic
towards international collabora- tion in an international context, perspectives.
tion in higher education. thereby enriching their academ- � Enhanced Career Opportuni-
According to Prof. Saran- ic journey. ties: The University of Tulsa’s
jit Singh, Vice-Chancellor of strong placement record, coupled
Professor Debashis Ban-
with KIIT’s impressive placement
KIIT, this initiative introduces dyopadhyay, Vice Chancellor of track, ensures excellent career
a unique 2+2 program where KISS, concluded the event with prospects.
students will spend two years at a vote of thanks, underscoring � Skill Development: Exposure
KIIT and two years at the Uni- the significance of this partner- to diverse teaching methods,
versity of Tulsa. Upon comple- ship for both institutions. research opportunities, and
international learning environ-
tion, they will graduate with two KIIT is a pioneer in building ments will strengthen students’
degrees at the same level. This global academic networks as technical and soft skills.
program is part of KIIT’s broad- part its concerted effort towards INSTITUTIONAL BENEFITS
er strategy to enhance the internationalisation of its � International Collaboration:
internationalization of its campus, collaborating The MoU enhances KIIT’s global
educational offerings. with over 60 renowned academic partnerships, aligning
In addition to the institutions across the with its goal of internationalizing
education.
dual degree program, USA, UK, France, Ger- � Research and Faculty
40 students from various many, Japan, South Korea, Exchange: Opportunities for
disciplines including engineer- Thailand, Taiwan, Colombia, collaborative research, faculty
ing and liberal studies will par- Bangladesh, and beyond. sabbaticals, and academic ex-
ticipate in short courses at the It has established over 350 changes will foster innovation
and knowledge-sharing.
University of Tulsa during the MoUs with corporations and � Cultural and Educational
summer. This initiative aims to universities globally. They in- Integration: The partnership
foster further collaboration in re- clude University of Oxford, Ari- strengthens educational ties
search, faculty exchanges, and zona State University, Imperial between India and the United
sabbaticals between the two College London, Lund Universi- States, promoting cross-cultural
institutions. ty and University of Florida and learning.
Dr. Vivian Wang, Vice Pro- Toi Ohomai Institute of Tech- BROADER IMPACT
vost for Global Engagement nology, New Zealand, among � Enhanced Reputation: This col-
laboration further solidifies KIIT’s
at the University of Tulsa, ex- others. position as a globally connected
pressed enthusiasm for this These partnerships foster ac- institution committed to quality
collaboration, highlighting that it ademic excellence and cultural education.
would strengthen ties between exchange, enabling students � Support for Diverse Disci-
India and the United States. and faculty to engage in innova- plines: The inclusion of liberal WE KNOW
studies, along with engineering,
She noted that her previous tive research and learning op- encourages interdisciplinary WHAT WE ARE,
visit to KIIT last year left a last- portunities. Programs Offered learning.
ing impression regarding its Under International Linkages in- � Empowering Tribal Students: BUT KNOW
The initiative aligns with KIIT’s
commitment to providing quality
education, particularly for tribal
clude Semester Exchange Pro-
gram, Dual-Degree Programme, ongoing e�orts to provide NOT WHAT WE
students. Internship Programme, and enhanced opportunities for
marginalized communities. MAY BE
Prof Singh added that the Pathway Program.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE