CHENNAI  MONDAY  MARCH 01, 2021  `7.00  PAGES 32  LATE CITY EDITION MAIDEN MISSION OF ISRO’s COMMERCIAL ARM A SUCCESS NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL) through PSLV-C51 injects Brazil’s Amazonia-1 into orbit 17 minutes after launch from Sriharikota 18 CO-PASSENGER SATELLITES, TOO, IN ORBIT An optical earth observation satellite, Amazonia-1 will provide remote sensing data for monitoring deforestation in the Amazon region and analysing diversified farming. Apart from Amazonia-1, the PSLV rocket carried 18 other satellites that separated in a predetermined sequence. Of the 18, 14 were NSIL’s, comprising one from India and 13 from the US | P5 342 THREE SATS DEVELOPED BY COLLEGES ■ The other four sats belonged to IN-SPACe, of which three were developed jointly with Jeppiaar Institute of Technology, Tamil Nadu, GH Raisoni College of Engineering, Nagpur, and Sri Shakti Institute of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore. The fourth was Satish Dhawan Sat (SDSAT) by Chennai-based Space Kidz SATELLITES OF 34 CUSTOMER COUNTRIES LAUNCHED BY PSLV SO FAR 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 EPS, Shah hold late-night meet; seat decision today? S KUMARESAN & KRITHIKA S R I N I V A S A N @ Chennai/Villupuram THE AIADMK top leadership held seat-sharing talks with BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Chennai on Sunday night. The three-hourlong talks he held with Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O Paneerselvam at a luxury hotel went on well past midnight. It is learnt that any breakthrough may be announced on Monday . Shah, who landed in Chennai early on Sunday visited Puduch, erry and Villupuram before returning to Chennai late at night for the talks. It is learnt Shah’s itinerary was changed to accommodate the late-night meeting. He left for Delhi after the talks. Union Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy, BJP State unit president L Murugan and former Union minister Pon Radhakrishnan were present during the talks. If AIADMK finalises the poll pact with the BJP, the most crucial part of the alliance’s seat-sharing deal will be complete. The task of stitching up the other parties is expected to be completed soon. The talks assume significance after AIADMK inked the poll Tamil Nadu stood number one in governance in general, and amid the pandemic too, for which I congratulate Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam Amit Shah, Union Home Minister deal the previous day with the PMK by allocating 23 seats. Similarly, AIADMK is also in talks with the DMDK. State ministers SP Velumani and P Thangamani along with AIADMK deputy coordinator KP Munusamy called on him on Saturday and a decision is expected on Monday . Earlier on Sunday, the BJP’s camaraderie with the AIADMK got a fresh booster shot when Shah heaped praises on the Palaniswami government for its handling of the Covid-19 out- break. “Tamil Nadu stood number one in governance in general, and amid the pandemic too, for which I congratulate Palaniswami and Panneerselvam,” Shah said while addressing a massive public meeting at Janakipuram Ground. Asserting that the BJP would ally with the AIADMK for the elections in April, he took potshots at the Opposition, accusing it of indulging in corruption. He lashed out at the DMK over the 2G spectrum case, saying Tamil Nadu has 2G, 3G and 4G — two generations of Murasoli Maran’s family three of M , Karunanidhi’s family and four , of Jawaharlal Nehru’s family — all vying for power. In a scathingly raw attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Shah said, “Rahul baba goes to watch jallikattu live to show solidarity with Tamil people, forgetting that it was the Congress that had banned jallikattu. The BJP and AIADMK had revoked the ban.” Greeting the crowd with a warm “vanakkam” when he climbed onto the dais, Shah proceeded with an elaborate introduction, highlighting that Tamil is the oldest and sweetest language. He also apologised P4 for not speaking in it. All set, says govt as elderly to get jab from today EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Chennai THE Health department has sufficient doses of the Covid-19 vaccine for people above the age of 60 and those above 45 who have specified co-morbid conditions, officials of the department said on Sunday Peo. ple in these categories are set to get vaccinated from Monday . “We have enough doses of the vaccine for them. People in these groups will have to register on the CoWIN 2.0 app to- morrow (Monday). But even if they can’t, they may walk in with their ID card for spot registration from 9 am,” Director of Public Health TS Selvavinayagam told Express. A c c o rd i n g t o t h e Health de par tment, Tamil Nadu received a total of 23.77 lakh doses of vaccines, of which 21 lakh are of Covishield and 2.77 lakh are Covaxin. So far, 4.57 lakh healthcare and frontline workers in the State have been vaccinated, against the AZAD RAPPED FOR HAILING PM, POKING AT THE GANDHIS EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Srinagar/New Delhi A day after the G23 dissenters observed that the Congress was getting weaker, veteran party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for staying true to his roots while indirectly questioning the way the Gandhis function. On his first visit to Jammu and Kashmir after his Rajya Sabha term ended on February 15, Azad said: “I appreciate that he (Modi) does not hide his true self. Those who do so are living in a bubble. I like a lot of things about many leaders. I am from a village and I am very proud of it. Politically we are opposed to , him but at least he does not hide his true (self) reality. We all should be proud of our roots.” However, his comments did not go down well with some party leaders, who countered it was the Modi-led Centre that abrogated the Article 370, and made the state a Union Territory after carving out Ladakh. target of 8.21 lakh people. Vaccines are being administered at 761 private centres in Tamil Nadu, and of them, 65 are in Chennai. At private hospitals, the vaccine is priced at `250, while it is administered free of cost at gover nment hospitals. The CoWIN 2.0 app will be opened for the above-mentioned categories of people, besides the option of self-registration using Aadhaar, voter’s ID, driver’s licence, PAN card, or pension document with a photograph. People who register in advance, or those who opt for walk-in registration or on-site group mobilisation — such as through a pension association, resident welfare associations, or employee associations — may receive the vaccine from Monday . Advocacy and mobilisation in rural and semi-urban areas will be promoted to ensure those who want to get the vaccine have access to it. Rajesh Das booked by CB-CID for sexual harassment of officer EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Chennai THE Crime Branch-CID (CBCID) of the Tamil Nadu police on Sunday registered an FIR against former special Director General of Police Rajesh Das over allegations of sexual harassment levelled against him by a woman IPS officer, highlyplaced sources in the CB-CID told Express. Das has been booked under IPC Section 354 (outraging the modesty of woman) and SecWITH THIS ISSUE THE ESSENTIAL CAMPUS DIGEST tions 3 (prohibition of harassment of woman) and 4 (penalty for harassment of woman) of the TN Prevention of Women Harassment Act. The FIR also has a mention of Chengalpattu Superintendent of Police D Kannan, the sources said. Kannan had allegedly stopped the woman officer at a toll plaza while she was on her way to file the complaint. However, he had told Express that he was merely following the instructions of Das, who was his superior. YOUR LIFE COACH 32 PAGES, INCLUDING 16 OF edex (TABLOID), 4 OF CITY EXPRESS