kollam l saturday l November 14, 2026 l `10.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION After Massive global outage, microsoft restoring services elevated load caused it, says tech co The outage, which hit several Microsoft products, disrupted health care services, delayed corporate earnings reports and left schools struggling to communicate. A top UK trade union said the disruptions were having a “serious impact” on the country’s health care service. Microsoft attributed the disruption to “elevated load” on its technology infrastructure Microsoft said on Friday it was working to get back its services amid an outage that disrupted public services and businesses globally ■ 43 crore indigo, akasa air email services hit ■ In India, airline IndiGo said its email support services were impacted, while Akasa Air said its email services were experiencing delays. Air India said its flight operations remained unaffected Microsoft said it did not have any indication that the global outage was caused by any kind of malicious activity or threat actors people globally use services of microsoft on a daily basis 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 express read R2 lakh insurance cover for pilgrims T’Puram: In a first, the annual Sabarimala pilgrimage will come with a Rs 2 lakh death insurance cover for devotees, with the TDB footing the premium. The scheme, being introduced in association with LIC, will cover pilgrims arriving through both virtual queue and spot booking. P5 Sunny throws KSEB a lifeline T’Puram: In an apparent bid to shield KSEB from possible government scrutiny over its warning of an impending power crisis, Electricity Minister Sunny Joseph on Friday defended the utility. He said KSEB had not pressured the government to sign the power purchase contract but had only reiterated the need for additional power. P4 RSS to divide state unit into 3 sambhags T’Puram: The RSS is set to reorganise its Keralam unit into three distinct ‘Sambhags’, as it goes for major restructuring aimed at decentralising activities nationally. The decision was taken at a recent RSS’ Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha meeting. P4 Delhi corners Dhaka with water diplomacy India plans to let Ganga Water Sharing Treaty expire, but will release water as goodwill gesture the Centre plans to let the India-Bangladesh Ganga Water Sharing Treaty expire when the 30-year pact concludes next month. However, water sharing will continue for now as per existing terms, officials aware of the matter told this paper. India intends to demonstrate goodwill by maintaining the same volume of water allocation to Bangladesh as per the existing treaty even after its lapse. The water card is apparently a diplomatic tool to enhance bilateral relations. The treaty was signed on December 12, 1996 to govern the sharing of Ganga water between India and Bangladesh, particularly around the Farakka Barrage during the lean season. The agreement was scheduled to be renewed with mutual consent after 30 years. Sources said the Centre wants to renegotiate the terms to obtain additional water to meet India’s developmental initiatives. These include supporting operations at Kolkata’s Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, meeting the water requirements for NTPC’s thermal power plant, and addressing salinity issues in the Sundarbans and other regions. The current arrangement stipulates that each country receive 35,000 cusecs of water alternately for 10 days during the lean season, which runs from March 11 US promises India trade tariff edge over rivals PU S H PI TA D E Y @ New Delhi THE US has promised to give India a comparative tariff advantage over its competitors under the proposed trade deal, a senior official said on Friday The legal . text of the agreement will include safeguards to ensure that the US cannot impose additional tariffs beyond its commitments once the deal is concluded, the official added. The US team visited India in the first week of November for discussions. India’s major competitors include Vietnam, Bangladesh and Brazil, with which the US is actively engaged in tariff discussions and trade negotiations. Vietnam currently faces 12.5% 54 J I T E ND R A C H OUB E Y @ New Delhi general duties on its exports to the US under Section 301, while Bangladesh faces a 10% duty. Section 301 of the US Trade Act of 1974 grants the Office of the United States Trade Representative the authority to take retaliatory action against foreign government policies or practices that violate US trade agreements. India and the US have been negotiating the trade deal since it was announced in February 2026. During the negotiations, the US imposed an additional 10% ad valorem import duty on Indian goods under Section 301, effective July 24, 2026. The final tariff framework will depend on the outcome of the ongoing Section 301 investigation. rivers flow into Bangladesh from India. A few of them are governed by bilateral treaties 35,000 cusecs for 10 days each during lean season is the current bilateral arrangement 5,000 cusecs additional water sought in lean season to maintain India’s port, NTPC to May 11. ty was hurting their states’ interIndia needs 40,000 cusecs of ests, also attended the meeting. water to keep its developmental “We need at least 5,000 cusecs work on at the Kolkata port. In extra water to flush out sedithis context, the Central Water ments at Kolkata Port in the lean Commission presented the tech- season and also to stop saline innical details to the Ministry of trusion in Sundarban deltas and External Affairs last month. adjoining agricultural suitable “ We were areas,” said the asked to give all official. press technical details Taking a dig at clusive Bangladesh’s poa n d p re s e n t a tions associated litical confrontawith the Treaty tion with India, and how India can get more wa- an MEA official said: “On any ter during the lean season,” said treaty made in good faith, it is the an official. Officials of West Ben- duty of the lower riparian state gal and Bihar governments, to respect the upper riparian which complained that the trea- state to maintain that faith.” KPCC vacuum fuels fresh push for full-time chief K S S R E E J I T H @ T’Puram Following the AICC’s decision to put the appointment of a new KPCC president on hold, a section of senior Congress leaders has approached the party high command, pressing for an early appointment of a full-time state unit chief. Former KPCC presidents have reportedly conveyed to the high command that the prolonged delay in appointing a full-time chief could hamper the party’s organisational functioning. They have urged the leadership to end the uncertainty and appoint a president who can devote his full time to running the state unit. Former KPCC president Mul- Blue makeover strikes a chord; govt calendar sales surpass last year’s tally M S V i d ya n a n d a n @ T’Puram Shedding its familiar red-and-black look, the government of Keralam calendar has acquired a more elegant appearance, with royal blue taking centre stage. For the first time, it also features a cover showcasing a tranquil blue seascape, with a palmfringed shore and rolling waves. The new government’s motto, ‘Good Governance with Empathy’, is tastefully displayed on the cover. The makeover seems to have struck a chord with buyers, with more than 1.82 lakh copies sold in the first 10 days this year, surpassing the total number sold last year. Behind the redesign is 45-year-old Arun Gokul, a noted designer who has created more than 1,000 book covers for leading publishers. The Chief Minister’s Office views the calendar Earlier, India set up a panel to examine the restoration and future management of the Teesta Barrage Project in West Bengal. This move came amid growing Chinese involvement in Bangladesh’s plans for the Teesta river. An estimated 54 transboundary rivers flow into Bangladesh from India. Experts see the need for multiple treaties to govern these rivers. Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina claims she wants to return home in December. New Delhi may use the water treaty as leverage to negotiate the proper handling of Hasina, who is known for a proIndia approach. as a means of taking the government’s message into homes across the state. “The chief minister wanted the calendar to reflect the goals of the government and its flagship project, Mission Samudra. Arun submitted five designs and the CM picked the final one,” said Roy Mathew, media secretary to V D Satheesan. The design draws on the government’s ‘Puthuyuga Keralam’ vision and themes of the blue economy and the coast. “Blue was chosen to brand the government’s focus on the blue economy,” Arun said, adding that the cover was deliberately kept simple. “I have designed covers for books by eminent writers such as Basheer, Mukundan, Madhavikutty and Anand. But I deliberately avoided a complex design for this calendar. I wanted something simple that would appeal to everyone,” ● More on P4 he said. The party needs a president who can devote his full time and energy to strengthening the organisation — Mullappally Ramachandran lappally Ramachandran told TNIE that appointing a fulltime president was the need of the hour. He also ruled out a serving minister for the post, stressing that the organisational responsibilities demanded undivided attention. “Six months have passed since the government was formed. The Congress has returned to power after a decade in the Opposition. People voted against the LDF and Pinarayi Vijayan. Even those with left-leaning political views voted for the UDF, helping the Congress win 63 Assembly seats. But this political climate will not last forever. The party needs a president who can devote his full time and energy to strengthening the organisation,” Mullappally said. He said Sunny Joseph, who currently holds the power portfolio in the cabinet and the KPCC president’s post, had himself told him that shouldering the additional responsibility of party chief would be difficult. Mullappally also cautioned against asking a minister to quit the cabinet to take up the organisational post.  ● More on P4 ‘Taxpayers fund stats body with little oversight’ Preeth a N a i r @ New Delhi Sanjeev Sanyal, member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, on Friday backed the Centre’s proposed overhaul of the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) Bill on grounds that the premier institution relies on taxpayer funding but its governance rests with a 1,200-member society with little public oversight. However, Opposition members, including Congress MP P Chidambaram and Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Sougata Roy strongly opposed the overhaul at the meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, sources said. Introduced in the Lok Sabha during the Monsoon session, the bill was sent to the standing committee after objections from the Opposition and the academic community alleging it would undermine the ISI’s autonomy , . In his submission, according to sources, Sanyal told the panel only five of the institute’s 33 council members are from the govWhat is the ISI ernment, adding that the institute bill about? is audited by an approved auditor The Indian and had no direct oversight by the Statistical Institute Comptroller and Auditor General. Bill, 2026, seeks to “Two review committees have replace the ISI Act of pointed out that a Council with 33 1959 and convert members is too large. The second the Kolkata-based review committee (1983) proposed institute, founded in 12 and the fourth review committee 1931, from a (2021) proposed 19. Both asked for a registered society majority of external members in into a body order to avoid conflict of interest corporate, with the and ensure independent oversight. President as Visitor. Peer bodies like IITs have around The bill was brought nine members while IIMs and IISto the LS in the ERs have 11 members. A worrying Monsoon session sign is the recent drop in NIRF ranking,” sources quoted him as saying. Sanyal said leaving decisions on reform to a management elected by serving faculty or to the society’s general body risked a conflict of interest. Roy said repealing the ISI Act, 1959 and converting the institute into a statutory body corporate would concentrate power in the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. Chidambaram and Roy also objected to replacement of the 33-member Council, which includes elected representatives of teaching and nonteaching staff, with an 11-member Board of Governors (BoG). Former NITI Aayog vice-chairperson Suman Bery told the panel the bill gives the proposed BoG excessive powers, which could make it harder for the ISI to attract and retain a top director. He said this could affect efforts to bring talent back to India from overseas. Handling of cubs Tiger waste on human bodies angers activists b o sk y kh a n n a @ Bengaluru SOMEWHERE in a forest, a bureaucratic rulebook imagines a forester in a tiger mask and striped work robes, doused in big-cat urine and faeces, moving towards an orphaned cub. Conservationists say the picture is less wildlife science and more indignity . The instruction comes from the National Tiger Conservation Authority under the Union Min, istry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change. Its ‘standard operating procedure’ for handling orphaned or abandoned cubs and old, injured tigers in rewilding (rehabilitation) centres says handlers must wear a tiger mask and striped clothing “smeared with tiger urine and faeces” to mini- Stiff opposition The Karnataka forest department had proposed to create one rewilding centre in Bhadra Tiger Reserve, but the plan was dropped following opposition from locals. The forest department is now scouting for another location mise human imprinting “to the extent possible”. Wildlife experts called the directive ‘inhuman’. The row has sharpened because Karnataka has approved its first rewilding centre. Critics say if the rule is in force at Madhya Pradesh’s Kanha Tiger Reserve, home to the first rewilding centre, it must stop. Some conservationists said they will approach courts if it is enforced. Fo r m e r s t at e wildlife board member S Girijashankar wrote to Karnataka Forest, Environment & Ecolog y Minister Ramalinga Reddy stating that , tigers rely on highly sophisticated olfactory au, ditory and cognitive cues and cannot be fooled by a human disguise. He said the inhuman process in the SOP must be stopped. Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Bishwajit Mishra said the SOP contains many rules, and not all of it can be followed. The smearing rule is not followed at any rescue centre, he said.