tirupati l saturday l january 31, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l anantapur EDITION Don names former Fed governor Warsh as next Fed chairman Kevin Warsh would replace current chair Jerome Powell when his term expires in May. Powell was on Trump’s line of fire for not cutting interest rates new appointment needs senate nod The new appointment, which requires Senate confirmation, amounts to a return trip for Warsh, 55, who was a member of the Fed’s board from 2006 to 2011. He was the youngest governor in history when he was appointed at age 35. Warsh is currently a fellow at the right-leaning Hoover Institution and a lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business ■ 19 why warsh is an unlikely choice ■ In some ways, Warsh is an unlikely choice as he is someone who typically supports higher interest rates to control inflation Trump has said the Fed’s key rate should be as low as 1 per cent, far below its current level of about 3.6 per cent, a stance few economists endorse. Warsh has recently said he supports lower rates | P11 members of the fed reserve generally decide rate cuts 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 ‘Guntur, M’giri and V’wada will come under Amaravati’ Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu inaugurates the Kanuri-GMCANA Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Centre at the Guntur Government General Hospital (GGH) on Friday | Express Vijayawada: Highlighting the Economic Survey 2025-26, which recognised Amaravati as an emerging greenfield city, Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu has said the region, including Guntur, is set for a dramatic transformation over the next decade. “Amaravati will include Guntur, Mangalagiri and Vijayawada municipal corporations, and a 182 km Outer Ring Road, larger than the one in Hyderabad, will surround the State Capital Amaravati,” he highlighted Ghee adulteration case: SIT writes to govt, flags several admin lapses E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Tirupati/Vijayawada The Supreme Court-appointed CBIled Special Investigation Team (SIT) has reportedly written to the Andhra Pradesh government, seeking disciplinary action and criminal proceedings against several accused, and government officials in connection with the Tirumala laddu ghee adulteration case. According to sources, the SIT sent three separate letters to different State authorities, highlighting serious administrative lapses, and alleging that officials from the Boiler Depar tment, District Industries Department, and the State GST failed to detect adulterated ghee during inspections at dairy plants, and ghee transportation in tankers. In the first letter, the SIT reportedly wrote to the Director General of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), requesting action against Chinnappan, Accused No. 24, and several TTD E x p r e s s Re a d Assembly Session from February 11 Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly Session will commence on February 11. Governor S Abdul Nazeer issued a notification on Friday to this effect. As per the practice, the Governor will address the members of both the Assembly and the Council. The BAC will decide the agenda of the session CSIR-NIO laboratory comes up in Vizag Visakhapatnam: CSIRNational Institute of Oceanography inaugurated its shore-based laboratory in Visakhapatnam on Friday. The laboratory will focus on oceanographic research in the Bay of Bengal to assess living and non-living marine resources and to support coastal and offshore units along India’s east coast | P3 staffers involved in the case. The SIT sought a detailed probe and initiation of criminal proceedings under corruption-related laws, citing findings of disproportionate assets of the accused. The second letter was addressed to the Boiler Department, calling for action against boiler inspectors and other officials for failing to discharge their statutory duties. The investigation found that poor monitoring and negligent inspections of large industrial boilers at dairies and ghee storage units ena- bled the continuation of illegal activities involving adulterated ghee. In the third letter, the SIT reportedly wrote to the Principal Secretary of the Andhra Pradesh government, seeking action against GST officials at checkposts along routes used by ghee tankers travelling to Tirupati. The letter highlighted serious lapses at interstate border checkposts, particularly on Tamil Nadu-AP and Karnataka-AP routes, where officials allegedly failed to record tanker details, verify documents, and monitor consignments effectively . Sources said the SIT emphasised in all three letters that responsibility should be fixed, and strict action be taken against both the accused and the negligent officials involved in the laddu ghee adulteration case. Further, the SIT had flagged lapses in preparing Srivari Laddu Prasadam between 2019 and 2024, besides mentioning several related issues P4 during the course of inquiry  . Sunetra to be sworn in deputy CM today Sudh i r Su r ya w an s h i @ Mumbai Rajya Sabha member Sunetra Pawar, spouse of deceased Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Ajit Pawar, is set to be sworn in as Maharashtra deputy chief minister on Saturday, hours after she is elected the legislative party’s leader. At present, Sunetra represents the party in the Rajya Sabha. The NCP, which has 41 MLAs, will hold its legislative party meeting at Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai on Saturday . The day began with NCP leaders Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare, Chhagan Bhujbal and Dhananjay Munde meeting Chief Minister De- vendra Fadnavis and conveying that Sunetra will be elected the NCP legislative party leader and join the cabinet as deputy CM in place of her husband. “We also informed the chief minister that she will hold all portfolios that were allotted to Ajit Pawar, including finance, excise and sports,” said a party source seeking anonymity . Sources said Sunetra and her sons Parth and Jay are likely to attend the legislature party meeting where she will be elected its leader. “After the meeting, she will submit the letter of her election as the legislative party leader to the governor and stake her claim for the post of deputy CM.” UPA protectionism naive: Goyal S A N T WA N A B H AT TA C H A R YA , P U S H PI TA D E Y and D IPA K M O N D A L @ New Delhi INDIA lost billions of dollars in export opportunities due to the ‘naïve reading’ of sensitive sectors by the previous government during earlier negotiations with the European Union, commerce minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday . The free trade agreements with the UK and EU have opened up the automobile and wine sectors that were earlier perceived as sensitive. Goyal, in an exclusive interview with TNIE, said it was the ‘naïve’ decision by previous governments to keep these sectors closed that resulted in Indian exporters losing access to large developed markets. “It was the height of naïveté that the Congress could not even see what was sensitive and what was not. Today India exports $9 , billion worth of automobiles,” Goyal said. “Because of that failure under the UPA gover n- ment, crores of people lost livelihoods. Our ability to move up the value chain and develop higher skills and better quality products was compromised. The Congress, DMK and their partners must be held accountable for this,” Goyal said. Goyal said despite opening up the automobile and wine sectors, the domestic industry will remain protected as there are import quotas on EU products. “We have protected 90% of our auto market. Small cars are not part of the deal,” he said. Confident Gp head shoots himself dead amid I-T raid RAKSHITH GOWDA @ Bengaluru C h i r iankandat h Joseph Roy, chairman of Confident Group, shot himself dead on Friday following marathon grilling by income tax sleuths in Bengaluru. The real estate tycoon, who was also the Honorary Consul of the Slovak Republic, took the extreme step at the consulate of fice located on the first floor of the Confident Pentagon building on Langford Road. The taxmen were still conducting investigation when it happened. His family alleged that “pressure” from the IT department drove Roy (57) to end his life. Police said I-T officials from Kerala were questioning him for the past three days. On Friday, Roy was questioned for several hours. During break, Roy went to the consulate office on the first floor. After a few minutes, a gunshot was heard. The staff found him lying in a pool of blood. “The incident happened around 3.15 pm. Roy was shifted to a hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival. The IT officials will be questioned as part of the probe,” Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh said. Menstrual health a fundamental right SC asks all schools to provide sanitary pads for free E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e s u c h i t r a kalyan mohanty @ New Delhi HOLDING that the right to menstrual health is part of the right to life and education under Article 21, the Supreme Court in its landmark verdict on Friday directed all states and Union Territories to provide free biodegradable sanitary napkins to girl students and put in place functional, gender-segregated toilets for all students. Such sanitary napkins shall be made readily accessible at no cost to girl students, preferably within the toilet premises through sanitary napkin vending machines, or, where such installation is not immediately feasible, at a designated place or with a designated authority within the school, it added. The 126-page verdict by a bench of justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan warned that private schools failing to comply would face derecognition. “A period should end a sentence, not a girl’s education,” Justice Pardiwala wrote, noting that the pronouncement is meant for classrooms where girls hesitate to ask for help, teachers restrained by lack of resources, and parents who may not realise the impact of their silence. “The right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution includes the right to menstrual health. Access to safe, effective and affordable menstrual hygiene management measures helps a girl child attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health. The right to healthy reproductive life embraces the right to access education and information about sexual health,” the bench held. The court directed that all schools must establish Menstrual Hygiene Management corners equipped with spare innerwear, uniforms, and disposable bags. School toilets must have handwash facilities and covered waste bins. The judgment came on a PIL filed by social worker Jaya Thakur seeking nationwide implementation of the Centre’s Menstrual Hygiene Policy . BITS Pilani campus at Amaravati to start by 2027 @ Vijayawada The absence of safe and hygienic menstrual management measures undermines dignified existence Supreme Court Compliance compulsory States and UTs must ensure compliance in three months, with District Education Officers asked to conduct annual inspections and child rights commissions overseeing implementation As part of the ongoing development of Amaravati as the State Capital, and a centre of excellence for higher education, Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) Pilani, a premier deemed university has , registered 70.011 acres of land in Mandadam and Venkatapalem villages of Thullur mandal for establishing its state-of-the-art Amaravati campus. BITS Pilani has proposed to develop the Amaravati campus in three phases, with an initial investment of approximately `1,000 crore in the first phase. The campus will feature iconic architectural structures, smart infrastructure, AI-powered services, immersive learning tools, and sustainable modular designs, positioning it as a next-generation innovation and learning hub. At full capacity, the Amaravati campus of BITS) Pilani is expected to accommodate around 10,000 students in a phased manner, with the commencement of student intake P4 proposed by 2027.