MADURAI l saturday l January 31, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l LATE CITY 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 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 Menstrual health a fundamental right SC asks all schools to provide sanitary pads for free P rabhakar Tamilarasu @ Chennai suchitra kalyan mohanty @ New Delhi The 37th edition of Devi Awards organised by The New Indian Express honoured 12 remarkable woman achievers in Chennai on Friday. (Bottom row from left) Lakshmi Menon, CEO, TNIE; Aysha Rau; Vino Supraja, Muthamilselvi Narayanan; Dr Soumya Swaminathan; G Santhi; Suhasini Maniratnam; (Top row from left) Dr Thara Srinivasan; Mary Susanna Turcotte; Thulasimathi Murugesan; Prabhu Chawla, Editorial Director, TNIE; chief guest Mallika Srinivasan, Chairman and Managing Director of TAFE Limited; Deborah Thiagarajan; K Vaidiyanathan, Editor, Dinamani; and Mohana Sundari | p jawahar Honouring 12 Devis who led with purpose, rewrote rules E x press N ews S er v ice @ Chennai An evening dedicated to celebrating excellence, honouring inspiration, and placing the power of women firmly in the spotlight unfolded in Chennai on Friday, as The New Indian Express hosted the 37th edition of the Devi Awards. The event celebrated women whose courage, compassion and conviction have quietly but decisively transformed lives, institutions and communities across Tamil Nadu. From ecology and science to sport, social justice and everyday heroism, the awards honoured 12 remarkable women who have rewritten rules and challenged long-held stereo- TOURISM SUMMIT 2026 Where India meets Bharat maiden tourism summit hosted by TNIE explores India’s diversity | P7 E x p r e s s Re a d Godse’s heirs will be taught a lesson: CM Chennai: Paying tributes to Gandhiji on his death anniversary, CM MK Stalin on Friday said a fitting lesson would be taught to the heirs of Nathuram Godse, who are eager to erase the Mahatma’s memory and destroy the nation. In a post on X, the CM said, “Let us eradicate religious fanaticism! Let us honour the Mahatma!” | P4 types. More than a celebration of individual success, the evening was a salute to the collective strength of women who lead with purpose, resilience and integrity often without seeking applause. The awards were presented by Mallika Srinivasan, Chairman and Managing Director of TAFE Limited, whose presence underscored the evening’s focus on leadership rooted in purpose and sustainability . A changemaker in Indian industry, Srinivasan spoke candidly about the challenges women continue to face, particularly in entrepreneurship and workforce participation. “One of the biggest challenges is access to capital,” she said, pointing out that while governments and venture capital ecosystems are expanding, there is still much more to be done. Opening the evening at ITCGrand Chola, Lakshmi Menon, CEO, The New Indian Express, set the tone with a stirring address that drew parallels between Chennai’s spirit and the resilience of Tamil Nadu’s women. “This is a land of Shakti,” she said, invoking strength that flows “from goddesses to grandmothers, from classrooms to boardrooms, from farms to factories”. “True power does not seek attention. It doesn’t announce itself. It simply delivers results,” said Menon.  Continued on: P2 Sunetra to be sworn in deputy CM today S udhir S uryawanshi @ 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 P I TA D E Y and D I PA 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. DEVI AWARDS CHENNAI Biggest challenge faced by women in entrepreneurship is access to capital. There is still much more to be done Mallika Srinivasan, CMD, TAFE Limited Celebrating excellence From ecology to sport, social justice and everyday heroism, the Devi Awards celebrated excellence of 12 women 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. 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 . TN committee on union-state relations to file report in 2 parts 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 The three-member high-level committee constituted by the state government in April 2025 to examine union-state relations and recommend measures to secure the autonomy of states will submit its report in two parts instead of the original plan of submitting an interim and final report. The committee, with retired Supreme Court judge Justice Kurian Joseph as its chairperson, was expected to submit an interim report by this month as per the original Terms of Reference (ToR) issued by the government. However, there were delays due to the volume of work involved, sources said. Highly placed sources privy to the developments told TNIE that the committee has now opted for a two-part format, with the first part likely to be submitted to the Tamil Nadu government before the 2026 Assembly elections, while the second part will be presented within the stipulated two-year time frame, which will end by April 2027.  P4