visakhapatnam l tuesday l november 24, 2020 l `7.00 l PAGES 12 l LATE CITY EDITION Congress veteran Tarun Gogoi passes away at 84 The three-time chief minister of Assam was undergoing treatment for post-Covid complications in Guwahati Tarun Gogoi  April 1, 1936  November 23, 2020 ‘no problem’ was his favourite one-liner Brought ulfa to the talks table Gogoi, who saw himself among a tough breed of politicians who do not dither while making decisions, often told his team members that his guiding mantra in all that he did was: “no problem”. Explaining it in his memoir Turnaround, the Congress stalwart said if one “approaches the P7 negative in a positive manner, things automatically fall into place”  ■ ■ As Assam’s chief minister for 15 years from 2001, Gogoi is widely credited for pulling the state from the edge of bankruptcy and putting it on the path of development The six-time MP will also be remembered for bringing various militant outfits, including the ULFA, to the negotiation table PM calls gogoi a popular leader and a veteran administrator 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 Rajan roasts corporate bank idea Abhayam project Former RBI boss, ex-deputy guv Viral Acharya appalled at plan to let borrowers become lenders E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi Former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Raghuram Rajan on Monday ripped apart the banking regulator’s latest proposal to allow large business houses to float banks, saying chances of misuse is very high because of ‘self-lending opportunities’. “Industrial houses need financing, and they can get it easily, with no questions asked, if they have an in-house bank. The history of such connected lending is invariably disastrous — how can the bank make good loans when it is owned by the borrower?” he asked in a note written jointly with RBI’s former deputy gover- nor Viral Acharya. The note, titled ‘Do we really need Indian corporations in banking’ and published on LinkedIn, warned that such a move will “further exacerbate the concentration of economic (and political) power in certain business houses”. RBI has till now been opposed to letting business houses run banks given India’s history of the 1950s and 1960s when a number of banks run by big industrial houses went under after a spate of connected loans were doled out. A major private-sector lender ICICI Bank is facing probe over loans given out to connected parties. RBI recently ordered the merger of the struggling private Raghuram Rajan Viral Acharya Why now? Have we learnt something that allows us to override all the prior cautions on allowing industrial houses into banking? sector lender Lakshmi Vilas Bank with DBS Bank. Rajan and Acharya said the latest proposal by RBI gives undue advantage to large business hous- es that already have the initial capital that has to be put up. “Moreover, highly indebted and politically connected business houses will have the greatest incentive and ability to push for (banking) licences. That will increase the importance of money power yet more in our politics, and make us more likely to succumb to authoritarian cronyism,” they warned. The duo’s caution came on a day when S&P Global Ratings also ter med RBI’s proposal “fraught with risk”. Non-performing assets within the corporate sector stood at a high 13% as of March this year, S&P said in its report. express read President Kovind to visit Tirumala for darshan today Heavy rains expected in southern districts of State Tirupati: President Ram Nath Kovind and his family are expected to arrive in Tirumala on Tuesday for darshan of Lord Venkateswara. Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan and Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will receive the President at the airport and accompany him on his pilgrimage. Kovind will arrive at the Renigunta airport on a special aircraft at 10.30 am and drive to the temple of Goddess Padmavathi Devi at Tiruchanur | P2 Vijayawada: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted heavy rains in Rayalaseema and south Coastal Andhra Pradesh under the impact of the severe cyclonic storm Nivar, which is expected to cross the North Tamil Nadu coast and South Andhra on November 25. The State Disaster Management Agency said parts of AP might witness heavy rains for the next three days and asked people to be alert | P4 Grand spectacle Laksha Deepotsavam being organised at the Srisailam temple on the occasion of Karthika Somavaram | Express Govt to give incentives to Adani Enterprises E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada IoT to protect kids, women in autos, cabs E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday virtually launched ‘ bhayam’, a first-of-its-kind InterA net of Things (IoT) project to protect women and children in auto rickshaws and taxis in the State. Speaking on the occasion, he said that in the first phase, IoT devices were being installed in 1,000 auto rickshaws in Visakhapatnam on Monday and by Feb, ruary 2021, they will be installed in 5,000 auto rickshaws and taxis across the State. By July 2021, the number of such vehicles would be 50,000, and by November 2021, the target — 1 lakh vehicles (auto rickshaws and taxis) — will be achieved. “These IoT devices and mobile apps will have twofold benefits. They will ensure the safety of women and children in auto rickshaws and taxis, and will send a message across that auto rickshaws and taxis in Andhra Pradesh are the safest, even better than cabs operated by companies such as Ola and Uber,” he said. Jagan further said that on entering an auto rickshaw or taxi, women and children may scan the QR code on the vehicle to get the details of the driver. P5 The State government on Monday announced a special package of incentives to be offered to M/s Adani Enterprises Limited, which proposed to set up an integrated data centre park and technology/business park, including a 200 MW data centre park, IT business park, skill university and recreation centre i n M a d h u r aw a d a o f Visakhapatnam. In an order issued by the IT, Electronics and Communications (promotion wing) de par tment announcing the incentives, the government said it is committed to provide impetus to the growth of data centres and believes data centres have the potential to catalyse the overall development of the IT/ITeS industry in the State. The government decided to give the incentives as per the recommendations of the State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB). P5