kochi l saturday l January 31, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 18 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 why warsh is an unlikely choice 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 ■ ■ 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 19 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 s u c h i t r a k a lya n m o h a n t y @ 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 . 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 Home test Sanju Samson during a practice session at Greenfield Stadium in Karyavattom, Thiruvananthapuram, on the eve of the fifth T20 match between India and New Zealand. The batter is set to play his first international match on his home ground | B P Deepu | P13 E X P RESS REA D Tharoor all praise for Rahul Gandhi T’Puram: A day after making peace with the Congress high command, Shashi Tharoor showered praises on Rahul Gandhi, terming him “sincere” and “a strong voice against communalism”. Tharoor and the party top leadership mended fences at a closed-door meeting with Rahul and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge in New Delhi on Thursday. P5 Arab League secretary general meets EAM New Delhi: Ahead of the second India–Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in New Delhi on Saturday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday held talks with League of Arab States Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, focusing on strengthening India–Arab cooperation across political, economic and strategic domains amid heightened regional and global uncertainties. P7 18 pages, including 4 pages of kochi Express Confident Group head shoots himself dead amid I-T raid R a k s h i t h G o w d a @Bengaluru Chiriankandath 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 office located on the first floor of the Confident Pentagon building on Langford Road, Bengaluru. The taxmen were still conducting investigation at the Confident Group office located in the same building when it happened. His family alleged that “pressure” from the I-T department drove Roy 57, to end his life. , Police said I-T officials from Kerala were questioning him for the S u d h i r S u r ya w a n s h i @ Mumbai SANTWANA B HATTA C HA R YA , P USH P ITA D E Y a n d DI PAK M ONDA 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 ‘naive’ decision by previous gover nments 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 government, 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. He said despite opening up the automobile and wine sectors, the domestic industry will remain protected as there are import quotas on EU products. “There is no threat. Manufacturing costs in Europe are too high. We have protected 90% of our auto market. Small cars are not part of the deal,” Goyal added. Bangladeshi nationals, Kerala Police & the deportation puzzle When police picked him up on Thursday, the Bangladeshi national had already spent about two years in Kerala — working quietly in Ernakulam, living unnoticed, and surviving without a single valid document. His arrest, however, raises a question police officers admit they grapple with daily: Is he the only Bangladeshi national illegally working in the state? The answer, they say is an obvi, ous no. Last year, Ernakulam Rural Police launched a special drive — Operation Clean — to identify illegal immigrants, particularly those blending in with the state’s massive migrant workforce. In January alone, the drive led to the arrest of 27 Bangladeshi nationals from the Paravur area, many of them found in possession of forged Aadhaar cards and other fake Indian documents.But after that major operation, such arrests 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 immediately shifted to a hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival. We are in touch with his family members, who are not in India. The I-T officials will also be questioned as part of the probe. As of now, there is no information regarding the I-T case registered against him and also the reason for the suicide,” Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh said. Roy’s elder brother C J Babu alleged that Roy took the extreme step because of pressure from tax officials. He alleged that an additional income tax commissioner and his team were putting pressure on his brother. “My brother had been tense for a while due to the I-T raids. On December 3 also, I-T officials raided his office. He had no enemies, threat or debt,” Babu said. The Ashok Nagar police registered an unnatural death case following a complaint filed by T A Joseph, MD and founding director of Confident Group. He has sought a probe into the circumstances that led Roy to take the extreme step. Roy’s wife, son, and daughter, who live in Dubai, are expected to reach Bengaluru around 3am on Saturday . Confident Group has presence in Kerala and Karnataka and Dubai. Goyal faults Sunetra to be sworn in M’rashtra Dy CM today UPA govt’s naive protectionism challenges galore J o s e K J o s ep h @ Kochi C J Roy a BIG shocK to biz fraternity Kochi: The demise of businessman and film producer C J Roy has come as a big shock to the Kerala public. His death comes just ahead of the release of his latest co-produced film, ‘Anomie: The Equation of Death’. Kerala Film Producers’ Association president B Rakesh said his demise is a big shock to the film industry. Paul Raj of Alfa Ventures developers, remembers Roy as a strong businessman. “What transpired today is very unfortunate,” he said. P4 have become fewer, not because the problem has disappeared, but because the challenges have multiplied. Police officers admit that special drives can flush out many such cases, but identifying, prosecuting, and deporting them is a far more complicated process. “Once we catch them, we produce them before the court. They are sent to jail. After completing the jail term, a deportation order is issued. Then the Kerala Police have to take them to the border and hand them over to the BSF,” a police officer explained. “But with growing diplomatic tension between India and Bangladesh, deportation is going to be more challenging,” the officer said. Ernakulam district alone hosts over 3 lakh migrant workers. Intelligence agencies suspect that among them are Bangladeshi nationals who crossed the border illegally and later procured forged identity documents to secure work and ● More on P4 accommodation. 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 Sat- urday The day began with NCP lead- cise and sports,” said a party source . ers Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare, Chha- seeking anonymity . gan Bhujbal and Dhananjay Sources said Sunetra and Munde meeting Chief Minisher sons Parth and Jay are ter Devendra Fadnavis and likely to attend the legislaconveying that Sunetra will ture party meeting where she be elected the NCP legislative will be elected its leader. party leader and join the cabi“After the meeting, she will net as deputy chief minister submit the letter of her elecin place of her husband. tion as the legislative party “We also infor med the Sunetra Pawar leader to the governor and chief minister that she will stake her claim for the post hold all portfolios that were allotted of deputy chief minister,” said a to Ajit Pawar, including finance, ex- source.