tirupati l tuesday l november 03, 2020 l `7.00 l PAGES 12 l anantapur EDITION NZ PM inducts first-ever indian-origin minister Priyanca Radhakrishnan, who has roots in Ernakulam, bags three key portfolios in PM Jacinda Ardern’s new ministry born in chennai to malayali parents a fighter for domestic abuse victims A second-time MP from the Labour Party, Priyanca is one of the five new faces in PM Adern’s ministry. She’s been given charge of three portfolios— community and voluntary sector; diversity, inclusion and ethnic communities; and youth development. Her parents, originally from Kerala’s Ernakulam district, moved to Chennai where Priyanca was born ■ ■ ■ In August, Priyanca was noticed in Kerala, when she appeared alongside PM Adern in a live video to extend Onam greetings Prior to becoming an MP in 2017, she had been a social worker, who fought to advance the rights of domestic abuse victims Her great-grandfather was associated with Left politics in Kerala 41-yr-old Has been a memeber of the labour party for 14 years CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ WARANGAL ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI MoF to reimburse `2,234 cr to AP sans any riders E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada PPA responds positively to AP’s Plea on rce Vijayawada: The AP government sought confirmation of the revised cost estimates (RCE) of Polavaram project at the 2017-18 price level at the Polavaram Project Authority (PPA) meeting held in Hyderabad on Monday. Engineer-in-Chief C Narayana Reddy, after attending the meeting, said the PPA has responded positively to AP’s demand for PPA intervention to convince the Ministry of Jal Shakti in this regard. “We have clearly explained the State government’s stand on the issue to the PPA. We insisted for the acceptance of the second revised cost estimates of the Polavaram project at the 2017-18 price level,” he said. Trump or Biden? In a relief to the State government, which has found itself in a tight corner over reimbursement of the funds spent on the Polavaram Irrigation Project, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) has ag reed to reimburse `2,234.288 crore to AP through the Polavaram Project Authority (PPA) without insisting on the condition that the cost of the project would be considered at the 2013-14 price level as resolved in the Union Cabinet meeting on March 15, 2017. According to sources, in a communication to the Department of Water Resources, the MoF stated that in view of the request made by the State government and the larger interests in expediting capital expenditure, it has no objection for the release of the amount (`2,234.288 crore) for the Polavaram project without any conditionalities. However, the exception is only for this time and for any further release of reimbursements, a written confirmation of the PPA on the conditions set forth by the MoF in its ear- It’s a one time exception: MoF The MoF stated that in view of AP’s request, it has no objection for the release of `2,234.288 crore towards the cost reimbursement of Polavaram project without any conditionalities. The exception is only for this time and for any further release of cost reimbursements, a written confirmation of PPA on the conditions set forth by it earlier is a must 239 million People eligible to vote this year 94 million Experts say the numbers need to be read with caution as festive cheer may fade Ballots already cast because of the Covid situation. It’s is about two-thirds of the overall 2016 vote count of 138.8 million Mail-in ballots, of them are could take days or in-person weeks to be counted votes. Both in some states, so the winner might Trump and not be declared Biden have hours after polls already cast close on Tuesday their ballot Trump set to spend election night at White House Twitter to lean on seven outlets to help determine whether a race is officially called - ABC News, AP, CNN, CBS News, Decision Desk HQ, Fox News and NBC News Bracing for Biden High-net-worth Americans are busy setting up trust funds, giving large gifts to heirs and philanthropies, and even selling family businesses as they brace for the tax hikes a Biden presidency might bring, Axios reports | P9,12 22 dead in Kabul univ massacre E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e Gunmen stormed Kabul University in Afghanistan’s capital on Monday, killing at least 22 students, including 10 women, and leaving around 24 others wounded. The attack happened minutes before Iran’s ambassador to the country was to arrive for the opening of a book fair. It all began around 11 am local time when a suicide bomber blew up himself inside the campus. Two gunmen then opened fire indiscriminately and and took dozens hostage while hundreds of other students fled with many scaling the campus’ perimeter walls. Images posted on social media showed what appeared to be the bodies of students lying in pools of blood in classrooms. “They opened fire ... all my classmates were lying in blood, either dead or wounded,” a student said. After six hours of fierce fighting, the two assailants were killed by the Afghan security forces with US support. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the massacre. Special Chief Secretary (Irrigation) Adityanath Das held discussions with the officials in the Ministry of Jal Shakti in New Delhi in this regard, which in turn forwarded the request to the MoF, seeking the release of the pending reimbursements unconditionally as it may delay the Polavaram project works. Now that the MoF has given the clearance, sources said NABARD will raise the funds, which may take one week and forward them to the PPA through the National Water Development Agency. The PPA will forward the same to AP . Green shoots? Factory output hits decade high back to normal Voters to decide today 34.6 60.4 mn million lier communication is a must. Responding to the proposal from the State government to raise Extra Budgetary Resources (EBR) of `2,234.288 crore for reimbursement of the Polavaram project cost under the Long Term Irrigation Fund (LTIF) from NABARD, the MoF, in a communication to the Water Resources Department on October 12, had set forth a condition -- funding would only be provided to the irrigation component and that too at the price level of 2013-14 as resolved in the Union Cabinet meeting on March 15, 2017. E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi An APSRTC bus ready to leave to Hyderabad from PNBS in Vijayawada, (right) Students attend a class in Tirupati on Monday | Prasant Madugula/madhav k Inter-state rtc bus services resume as AP, TS sign PACT E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada After a gap of more than 220 days, bus services between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana resumed on Monday with the APSRTC and the TSRTC reaching an agreement on operation of interstate services. As per the agreement, the APSRTC, which used to operate 1,009 buses covering a distance of 2.61 lakh km per day in Telangana earlier, has reduced its services to 638. The TSRTC which used to run 750 buses covering a distance of 1.03 lakh km per day earlier, will operate 820 buses. The APSRTC and the TSRTC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on total distance to be covered by each corporation in other State as part of the inter-state bus services. APSRTC Vice-Chairman and Managing Director MT Krishna Babu and his TSRTC counterpart Sunil Sharma exchanged the copies of MoU in the presence of Telangana Transport Minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar in Hyderabad on Monday The RTC bus servic. es were suspended on March 22 due to the Covid-19 induced lockdown. Speaking after signing the MoU, Krishna Babu said, “The APSRTC operated 1,009 buses covering a distance of 2.61 lakh km per day in Telangana e a rl i e r. N ow, t h e number of buses has been reduced to 638 and the total distance has come down by 1 lakh km. The TSRTC which operated 750 buses covering a distance of 1.03 lakh km per day in AP earlier, will run 820 buses. As per the MoU, the APSRTC will operate 638 buses for a distance of 1,60,999 km in Telangana, the TSRTC will run 826 buses for a distance of 1,61,528 P4 km in AP  .’’ APSRTC reduces its bus services to 638 from 1,009 As per the MoU, the APSRTC, which used to operate 1,009 buses covering a distance of 2.61 lakh km per day in Telangana earlier, has reduced its services to 638, while the TSRTC will operate 820 buses HC STAYS online INTER ADMISSIONS TILL NOVEMBER 10 E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Monday issued interim orders staying the online process of Intermediate admissions into junior colleges in the State till November 10. The High Court, which heard the writ petitions filed by the Central Andhra Junior Colle ge Managements president Kolli Brahmaiah, Sai Geetanjali Junior College correspondent V Durga Srinivasa Prasad and others, issued the stay orders till November 10. The petitioners contended that the admissions should be conducted in the same manner held earlier and the online admission process adopted now is unscientific. The counsels representing the petitioners informed the court that the Board of Intermediate Educa- ‘Online Inter admission process unscientific’ The petitioners contended that the Intermediate admissions into junior colleges should be conducted in the same manner held earlier and the online admission process adopted now is unscientific shock & awe Meet the 3-year-old of Turkey W hen firefighter Muammer Celik reached a t h re e - ye a r- o l d g i rl trapped for three days under the rubble of a deadly earthquake in a Turkish coastal city his heart sank. She was , lying motionless, covered in dust, and he asked a colleague for a body bag. But as Celik extended his arm to wipe her face, the child opened her eyes and grabbed hold of his thumb. “That’s where we saw a miracle,” Celik of the Istanbul fire department’s search-and-rescue team told The Associated Press, recounting Monday’s operation 65 hours after the quake hit, killing at least 93 people in Turkey and Greece. It was the second dramatic rescue on Monday after 14-yearold Idil Sirin was also pulled out alive. Onlookers applauded tion officials announced the online admission process into private and unaided junior colleges at a press meet held on October 20 without issuing a Government Order in this regard. They further told the court that there was no clarity on admissions with respect to students coming under the reservation category and students were also deprived of selecting their college during online admissions. The counsels argued that online admissions were not justified. Justice M Venkataramana said students will select the college of their choice during admissions and asked the BIE officials the rule under which the new online admission process was taken up. Serving notices on Principal Secretaries of School/Higher Education, Secretary of BIE and others directing them to respond to the petitions, the High Court posted the matter to November 10. with joy and wept with relief at both scenes in the Turkish city of Izmir, where the vast majority of the deaths and nearly 1,000 injuries have occurred. The US Geological Survey rated the quake 7.0, though other agencies recorded it as less severe. Celik, whose team was among several who travelled to Izmir, said he found Elif Perincek lying on her back between her bed and a closet in a space that was just big enough for her. “At first I was very upset,” he said. “Then I stretched out my hand to clean her face and she grabbed my thumb.” A day after the GST collection figures for October showed a robust uptick, rising past the `1 lakh crore mark, results of a monthly survey on factory output on Monday brought more cheer to the economy . As sales continue to surge in the ongoing festive season, India’s manufacturing sector activity improved for the third straight month in October, a monthly survey among purchasing managers of 400 manufacturers said on Monday . The IHS Markit India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 58.9 in October — the highest since mid-2008. In PMI parlance, an index reading above 50 indicates growth. “New orders and output at Indian manufacturers continued to recover from Covid-19induced contractions seen earlier, with PMI results for October highlighting historically sharp monthly rates of expansion,” said Pollyanna De Lima, economics associate director, IHS Markit. While the latest PMI data along with the impressive GST numbers released on Sunday may give the impression the economy is recovering, experts advise caution. According to them, festive season can spur the economic activities but one needs to watch if the trend continues beyond the festive season. “One needs to be cautious while reading this number. This is festive season and we are coming from a severe lockdown, which needs to be taken into account. One should watch post December trends, after the festive season,” said Madan Sabnavis, Chief Economist, CARE Ratings. Another growing concern was that despite increase in demand, manufacturers recorded a further reduction in employment. “There was disappointing news on the employment front Job cuts continue for 7th month in a row The survey said companies cut staff for the seventh month in a row, a streak not witnessed since the survey began in 2005. It, however, did not indicate the quantum of job loss though, with October seeing another reduction in payroll numbers. Survey participants that noted job shedding mentioned having observed containment measures to halt the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019,” the survey said. This indicates employers are cautious, despite their optimism that things will improve in the coming months. A-G declines consent for contempt of court proceedings against Jagan E XPR E SS N E WS S E RVIC E @ New Delhi Attorney General K K Venugopal on Monday refused to grant consent to initiate contempt proceedings against Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy for casting aspersions on judiciary The A-G, however, termed . the Andhra CM’s letter to Chief Justice of India S A Bobde levelling serious allegations against senior SC judge N V Ramana and releasing the content of the letter to media “prima facie contumacious”. In his letter to the CJI, Jagan had also claimed Justice Ramana was acting on behalf of Andhra Pradesh opposition leader Chandrababu Naidu. Elaborating why he would not initiate contempt of court proceedings, Venugopal said, “Since the letter was addressed directly to the Chief Justice of India, the CJI is seized of the case and it would not be appropriate for me to deal with it.” The AG’s opinion came on a permission plea filed by advocate Ashwini Ku- mar Upadhyay who had sought permission to begin contempt of court proceedings against the Andhra Pradesh CM over his October 6 letter alleging Ramana was influencing the Andhra Pradesh High Court. Upadhyay is one of petitioners whose plea led a bench headed by Justice Ramana to direct high courts to expedite cases against sitting and former MPs and MLAs. He had written to the Attorney General pointing out that 31 criminal cases were pending against Jagan.