HYDERABAD  TUESDAY  JANUARY 18, 2022  `9.00  PAGES 16  LATE CITY EDITION DEADLINE FOR FEEDBACK ON GM FOOD NORMS EXTENDED People can now submit feedback on the draft regulations till Feb 5, the FSSAI said on Monday. Original deadline was Jan 15 DECISION AFTER PRESSURE FROM RSS OUTFIT BLANKET NOD FOR USE AS INGREDIENT? The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)’s decision to push the last date comes in the wake of protests from anti-GM groups, activists, farmers and NGOs. Last week, the RSS-affiliated Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), too, put its weight behind the anti-GM campaign shooting off a letter to the FSSAI asking it to withdraw its “irresponsible” proposals ■ ■ SJM co-convenor Ashwani Mahajan also launched an online campaign highlighting GM food’s impact on health and nature According to the draft norms, once the FSSAI grants approval, no other clearance is required for GM food to be used as an ingredient in any product, except infant food | P7 Nov 15, 2021 WHEN THE FSSAI RELEASED THE DRAFT GUIDELINES ON GM FOOD 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 Drone strike kills 2 Indians in UAE Trouble to escalate after first attack by Houthi rebels, as Gulf nation says it has a right to respond E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ New Delhi IT’s called the safest country in the Gulf region. Yet, three people, including two Indians, were killed in a drone attack near the Abu Dhabi airport on Monday. The terror message was clear — don’t think the UAE is a safe place to live and work any longer. Yemen-based Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for the attack. Tension in the region is set to rise as the UAE has vowed to retaliate. “This terrorist attack by the Houthi militia on areas and civilian facilities on Emirati PANDIT BIRJU MAHARAJ 4 FEB 1938 - 17 JAN 2022 SYNONYM OF KATHAK, COMPLETE KALAKAAR PAGE 5 NATIONWIDE JAN 16 JAN 17 Fresh cases Recoveries Deaths 2,71,202 2,58,089 1,38,331 1,51,740 314 385 TELANGANA JAN 16 JAN 17 Fresh cases Recoveries Deaths 2,047 2,013 3 2,447 2,295 3 JAB-O-METER TAKE YOUR SHOT January 16 39,46,348 doses January 17 68,95,050 doses TOTAL DOSES 1,57,91,63,478 COVID THIRD WAVE EBBING IN DELHI, MUMBAI, KOLKATA? PAGE 7 soil... will not go unpunished,” UAE foreign ministry said. A Pakistani national also died in the explosion. All the three deceased were employees of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc). Six others were hurt in the attack but are out of danger. The identity of those killed could not be immediately known and the authorities were working on it, India’s Ambassador to the UAE Sunjay Sudhir told this newspaper on phone. He also sought to downplay concerns saying that the UAE, which is home to around 35 lakh Indians, is a safe place. According to reports, boobytrapped drones hit Adnoc’s storage facility at Mussafah industrial area near the airport, triggering multiple explosions. Three petroleum tankers explod- TS to allocate `7.2K cr for devpt of schools, introduce English medium EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Hyderabad TAKING a leaf out of Andhra Pradesh government’s experience in the education sector, Telangana has decided to allocate `7,289 crore for providing basic amenities at all government schools under the new scheme “Mana Vooru - Mana Badi”. The State Cabinet took a decision to this effect during a meeting held here on Monday . Former IAS officer of Telangana cadre A Murali, who quit his post in Telangana and joined as an advisor in Andhra Pradesh government, developed schools in the neighbouring State. He devised a plan, giving facelift to government schools in AP The Telanagna . government has now decided to replicate the same. The effort is expected to give a major boost to gover nment schools in the State. The Cabinet also decided to introduce English medium in all government schools in the State. The Cabinet also gave approval for establishing a Women’s University and a Forest University in the CONTINUED ON P2 State. ed in the fire. The industrial area is just 22 km from the city centre and has an oil pipeline network including 36 storage tanks, from which heavy vehicles transport fuel across the country . The UAE is a key member of the Saudi-led coalition that has waged war against the Houthis since 2015. The Houthis had recently threatened to launch strikes against the UAE after losing the energy-rich Shabwa province to the coalition. The province is a strategic asset as it has significant oil and gas fields as well as two ports for exporting energy . EXPRESS READ China grew at 8.1% in 2021 on low base effect New Delhi: Chinese economy grew 8.1% in 2021, the fastest in 10 years, driven by low base effect. The annual growth rate is lower than economists’ average estimates of 8.4%. However, GDP growth in the fourth quarter at 4% bettered analysts’ expectation of 3.6%, data released on Monday showed. Macroeconomic futures showed that fixed asset investments in 2021 grew 4.9%, beating expectations of a 4.8% growth. Investment in real estate rose 4.4%, while that in infrastructure was up 0.4% | P10 Hyd may become 1st Indian city to host Formula E race E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Hyderabad FORMULA E, the world’s fastest growing sport and the pinnacle of electric car racing championship, on Monday signed an agreement with the Telangana government to make Hyderabad a host city The next championship is . scheduled to be held from November, 2022 to March, 2023. Although ideated just 10 years ago in 2011 and first race held in 2014, its viewership per race is more than half of the Formula 1 and is increasing quite rapidly every year. Currently Formula E boasts of a cumulative viewership , of 500 million. As a part of their global hunt for new locations, Hyderabad has been chosen as a potential host city for the upcomCONTINUED ON P3 ing season.