tadepalligudem l friday l march 05, 2021 l `7.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Kerala bjp pitches ‘metro man’ sreedharan as cm face The technocrat will be the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate, senior party leader and Union Minister V Muraleedharan said Final decision not taken: Muraleedharan The minister’s social media post on E Sreedharan’s leadership in the upcoming Assembly polls came hours after the party’s state chief K Surendran said he has requested the national leadership to announce the ‘Metro Man’ as NDA’s chief ministerial candidate. Muraleedharan later clarified that the BJP has not taken a final decision on it ■ April 6 End of 24-year association with dmrc ■ Meanwhile, Sreedharan’s 24-year long career with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation ended on Thursday as he quit his advisory role The 88-year-old said age has not affected his health. “Mentally I am very strong. I will not be working like a normal politician. I will still be working like a technocrat,” Sreedharan added When elections to the 140-seat Kerala assembly will he held 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 8.5% Defectors to get Bengal BJP ticket Party to focus on educational qualifications and innovative leadership skills of candidates EPFO keeps interest rate for FY21 same as last year MA N ISH A N A N D @ New Delhi E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi THE Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has fixed the interest rate on provident fund deposits at 8.5% for 2020-21 — the same as the last year. The decision was taken at the 228th meeting of the Central Board of Trustees of the EPFO, held in Srinagar under the chairmanship of Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Union Minister of State for Labour & Employment. “The Central Board recommended 8.50% annual rate of interest to be credited on EPF accumulations in members’ accounts for the financial year 2020-21. The interest rate would be officially notified in the government gazette following which EPFO would credit the rate of interest into the subscribers’ accounts,” the board said in a statement. The decision came on the back of large withdrawals and fewer contributions throughout the last year amid the coronavirus pandemic. There were apprehension that the rate might be further reduced. Sources said the EPFO will be left with a surplus of `300 crore after crediting an interest rate of 8.5% for FY21 to its six-crore subscribers. In March 2020, EPFO had reduced the interest rate to 8.5% for 2019-20 — a seven-year low — from 8.65% in 2018-19. Net new enrolments with the retirement fund body grew 24% to 1.25 million in December, indicating a return to the pre-Covid levels of subscriber growth for the EPFO, according to the payroll data released last Saturday . BJP leaders Dharmendra Pradhan, Bhupender Yadav and Kailash Vijayvargiya after a meeting the Chief Election Commissioner in New Delhi on Thursday | Parveen Negi Party to field professionals in Kerala, TN “In Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the BJP will give ample scope to professionals with credible public achievements besides the committed cadre in the candidate selection, while the turncoats from the Congress will get the ticket in Puducherry,” sources stated. With the former “Metro Man” E Sreedharan in the saddle, the BJP is likely to experiment in candidate selection to gain popular attention in Kerala to further its aim to emerge as the third force in the state 10% price discount on mobiles for women on March 8 in select outlets More benefits for women employees A sum of `5 lakh on behalf of the State government was announced for the NonGazetted Women Employees Union. Further, annual health check-up camps will be held for Anganwadi women. Special emphasis will be laid on training of girls of Plus-1 and Plus-2 to prepare them for competitive exams Books for children of pre-primary classes During the review on YSR PrePrimary Schools, the CM inspected books and teaching aids designed for pre-primary children, which were displayed by the Women & Child Welfare Department. The CM said 4,17,508 books will be distributed to children of PP-1 and 4,17,508 books to PP-2 classes. The book distribution will be started on March 20 Imran seeks trust vote after shock Senate defeat Pakistan’s PM Imran Khan has called for a vote of confidence of the National Assembly after the shock defeat of his cabinet colleague Abdul Hafeez Shaikh in the Senate on Wednesday Finance minister Shaikh was trounced by former PM Yousaf Raza Gilani, the joint opposition candidate fielded by Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) Gilani won the seat securing 169 votes against Shaikh’s 164, in a polling that saw cross-voting by Imran’s senators Imran later said he was prepared to sit in the Opposition if his vote of confidence motion was defeated in the National Assembly Women’s Day incentives   omen need to W download Disha App   ,000 stands with QR codes 2 CM Jagan Mohan Reddy examines books and teaching aids designed for pre-primary kids on Thursday | Express E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada Ahead of Inter national Women’s Day, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy announced a slew of measures for the safety welfare and em, powerment of women, in gene r a l , a n d e m p l oye e s i n particular. Candlelight rallies will be taken out across the State on March 7. A 10 per cent discount will be given on mobile phones purchased by women to be set up across the State to enable women to download Disha App   special day off for A women cops on march 8 from select shopping centres on March 8 and they need to download Disha App. A special day off will be given to all women personnel in the Police Department on March 8. Two women constables from every wing of the Police Department will be felicitated. These decisions were taken by the Chief Minister in a review meeting of Women and Child Welfare Department held on Thursday He directed . officials to set up 2,000 stands with QR codes across the State E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada “If I am out of the government, I will go to the people and bring them out to continue my struggle for the country. I will not let these traitors sit in peace,” he said | P11 Imran Khan, Pak PM Scare at taj mahal Security personnel check for bomb in the premises of Taj Mahal in Agra on Thursday. The Taj Mahal complex was vacated in the morning following a hoax bomb call | pti OTT platforms need screening as some of them show porn, says apex court E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi Ashok Bhushan asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to submit by Friday the government’s recent norm to regu- to enable women to download Disha App. He agreed to give five additional casual leaves to women employees. A sum of `5 lakh on behalf of the government was announced for the Non-Gazetted Women Employees Union. “SERP and MEPMA will sign an MoU with Hindustan Lever Limited to make sanitary napkins available in shops set up by YSR Cheyutha beneficiaries at cheaper rates compared to open market prices,’’ he said. Further, the State government will organise annual health check-up camps for Anganwadi women. Special emphasis will be laid on training of girls of Plus-1 and Plus-2 to prepare them for competitive exams. Hoardings containing details of Disha initiatives should be set up in junior colleges and higher educational institutions. Wide publicity should be given to Disha iniP4 tiatives, he said.  the people,” said a senior BJP functionary . Also, potential candidates who have the ability to take the party forward in the next decade, too, will get picked, the functionary added, In line with the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP is leaning towards fielding a large number of turncoats, including sitting legislators, who joined the party from the ranks of the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, with sources saying that the star powers of actors and actresses, too, will be factored in, in tune with the electoral flavour of the state. While a few sitting MPs have evinced interests to contest Assembly elections in Assam, sources said the party isn’t in favour of fielding members of Parliament in West Bengal, as they would be tasked with help ing build the poll campaign. The West Bengal unit has recommended Trinamool Congress defector and former state minister Suvendu Adhikari from the Nandigram constituency against incumbent Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has already decided to contest from there. While the BJP may release the names of the candidates in West Bengal, Kerala and Puducherry in the next few days, the party is likely to wait for the formal announcement of seat adjustments with allies in Assam and Tamil Nadu. Now, renew DL online driving licence Want your driving licence renewed? No need to bribe RTO sharks, you can do it online through Aadhaar-based authentication fromnow. A look at some of the DL-related services you can avail online  Learner’s License  Renewal of driving license for which test of competence to drive is not required  Duplicate DL  Change of address in DL and certificate of registration  Issuing international driving permit  Surrender of class of vehicle from license  Application for temporary registration of motor vehicle  Application for registration of motor vehicle with fully built body  Application for issue of duplicate certificate of registration  Application for NOC for certificate of registration  Notice of transfer of ownership of motor vehicle  Application for transfer of ownership of motor vehicle  Intimation of change of address in certificate of registration  Endorsement or termination of hire-purchase agreement This will reduce the compliance burden on citizens, helping them avail these services in a hassle free, contactless manner It will also reduce the footfall in RTO offices Aadhaar authentication mandatory for these contactless services Govt extends support to State bandh against Vizag steel plant privatisation In a televised address, Imran lashed out at the 11-party grand Opposition alliance for “making a mockery of democracy” and said he will never let the corrupt off the hook I will ask my members to show if they have confidence in me. If they say they have no confidence, I will sit on Opposition benches EXPRESSING concern over the unbridled streaming of content on over-the-top (OTT) platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime, the Supreme Court on Thursday said a few platforms even show “pornographic materials” and that there should be a mechanism to screen such programmes. A bench headed by Justice With the BJP on Thursday getting down to the business of finalising candidates for all poll bound states, the thrust was on high skill-sets and qualifications along with the ability to resonate with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for “innovative leadership to execute the vision of the party and the government on the ground.” While the BJP is likely to draft in fresh blood in Assam to beat anti-incumbency, professionals who are achievers are being favoured in West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The BJP’s central election committee meeting convened by party chief J P Nadda, was attended by Modi and senior Union ministers like Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Narendra Singh Tomar. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, state minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, and leaders from the West Bengal party’s unit were among those who attended the meeting. The party is likely to release its list of candidates in the next few days in a phased manner in line with the staggered poll schedule. “Special focus during screening of candidates is on their educational qualifications and innovative leadership skills to execute the vision of the prime minister to connect the initiatives of the government with late social media, messaging and streaming platforms. The observation came while the bench was hearing the plea of Amazon Prime Video’s India head Aparna Purohit challenging the Allahabad HC order rejecting her anticipatory bail in connection with FIRs lodged against her over Tandav web series. “A balance has to be struck as some OTT platforms are also showing porn,” said the bench. The government has extended its solidarity to the State bandh call given by the Vizag Steel Plant Parirakshana Committee on Friday against the Centre’s move to privatise Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP). Announcing the decision of the State government, Information and Public Relations Minister Perni Venkataramaiah (Nani) said the steel plant was set up in Visakhapatnam after a prolonged agitation in which more than 30 people had laid down their lives. “VSP should remain as a public asset and it should not be privatised. Our Chief Min- What will be affected   PSRTC to suspend its A bus services till 1 pm  Autos and lorries not to ply   usiness establishments B to remain shut   ducational institutions to E remain closed Visakhapatnam Steel Plant should remain as a public asset and it should not be privatised considering the sentiments of people of Andhra Pradesh Perni Nani, I&PR Minister ister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has already written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, suggesting alternative measures to sustain the steel plant,’’ Nani said, adding that the Centre should consider the sentiments of crores of Andhra people and give up its move to privatise VSP . Underlining the need for PSUs, he said, “In AP, the APSRTC was merged with the government despite a huge financial burden. This was done in view of the needs of the common public.’’ Nani, who also holds the Transport portfolio, said APSRTC bus services will be suspended till 1 pm due to the P4 bandh.  Kakinada fourth best livable city, Tirupati 46th E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada Four cities in Andhra Pradesh have secured ranks in the Ease of Living Index (EoLI) 2020 released by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) in New Delhi on Thursday . The EoLI survey assessed 111 cities across the country based on various parameters, including Services, Finance, Policy, Technology and Governance. In million-plus population category, Visakhapatnam se- cured 15th rank, while Vijayawada stood at 41st place. Kakinada got fourth rank and found a place in the top 10 liveable cities in less than million population category, while Tirupati secured 46th place. Vi s a k h a p a t n a m scored 57.28 in EoLI (Overall), 51.93 (Quality of Life), 19.42 (Economic Ability), 65.18 (Sustainability) and 77.20 (Citizen Perception). Vijayawada scored 50.35 in EoLI (Overall), 50.40 (Quality of Life), 11.57 (Economic Ability), 53.78 (Sustainability) and 67.40 (Citizen Perception). In Quality of Life index, Visakhapatnam fared better than Vijayawada as the two cities come under million plus population category . In less than million population category, Kakinada secured 56.84 in EoLI (Overall), 54.53 (Quality of Life), 11.98 (Economic Ability), 51.67 (Sustainability) and 85.40 (Citizen Perception). Tirupati scored 50.33 in EoLI (Overall), 54.07 (Quality of Life), 11.46 (Economic Ability), 51.96 (Sustainability) and 64.30 (Citizen Perception). In Municipal Performance, Visakhapatnam secured ninth rank in million plus population category while Vijayawada got , 27th place. Tirupati secured second rank and found a place in the top 10 cities in less than million population category. Kakinada got 11th place, acc o r d i n g t o t h e M o H UA rankings.