nagapattinam l thursday l may 19, 2022 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION U.S., global banks unveil plan to tackle food crisis Anthony Blinken Billions of dollars to be spent on helping farmers, boosting fertiliser supply and developing land for food production World bank to contribute $30 billion Blinken chairs meet on food security The US Treasury Department said several global development banks will work together to address the food security crisis exacerbated by Russia’s war in Ukraine. The World Bank announced it will contribute $30 billion for projects to address food crisis. The Asian Development Bank and the African Development Bank, among others, will also chip in ■ ■ A two-day Global Food Security Call to Action meeting of foreign ministers from 30 countries, chaired by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken began past midnight on Wednesday, in New York Russia and Ukraine produce a third of the world’s wheat, and the disruption of supply due to the war has led to prices soaring 193 million people experienced acute food insecurity worldwide in 2021 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 PM’s economic advisory panel proposes urban job guarantee scheme E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi With income inequality in the country becoming starker, the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) on Wednesday proposed implementing an urban employment guarantee scheme on the lines of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). The panel raised concerns in chennai 36-year-old man hacked to death in broad daylight Sa h aya N ov i n sto n Lo b o @ Chennai A 36-year-old man was hacked to death allegedly by a bike-borne gang in broad daylight at Aminjikarai in Chennai on Wednesday The deceased . was identified as S Arumugam from Chetpet, who ran a finance company . The incident happened when he was on his way to office from home on a two-wheeler along with another worker, Ramesh, said police. “ Around 1.30 pm, four men on two bikes intercepted Arumugam near Pulla Avenue and hacked him with machetes even as vehicles were passing by The . gang spared Ramesh, who later picked up the bike and escaped,” said police. The gang, too, fled from the spot. Meanwhile, a video showing Arumugam battling for life went viral on social media. Though police rushed Arumugam to Kilpauk Medical College Hospital, he died without responding to treatment. The police have registered a case of murder and launched a hunt for the suspects. According to police, Arumugam has six different cases, including murder, assault, and woman harassment, pending against him. “He was arrested years ago for sexually harassing a woman at knife point in front of her husband,” said a senior police officer. Police suspect that Arumugam could have been murdered by someone affected by him. Jab-o-meter May 17 13,09,721 doses Take May 18 11,91,074 doses your shot Total: 1,91,78,14,826 NATIONWIDE may 17 may 18 Fresh cases Recoveries Deaths tamil nadu may 17 may 18 1,569 1,829 Fresh cases 2,467 2,549 Recoveries 19 33 Deaths 34 42 0 36 39 0 Figure it out 90% of India’s population survives on less than `25,000 a month 6.82% of total annual wages earned by richest 1% 35% of total annual wages earned by richest 10% 1.7% of the total annual cumulative wages earned by poorest 10% Income profile 20.17% Casual 33.5% Regular salaried 45.78% Selfemployed Source: Periodic Labour Force Survey 2019-20 over growing inequality as captured in The State of Inequality in India Report released by it. The report said the labour force participation rate in the country was 51.5% in 2019-20, which was better than the 49% in 2017-18. However, the participation rate of those educated till higher secondary over three years from 2017-18 to 2019-20 was significantly low at 40-43%. The clamour for an urban jobs scheme has been growing louder in recent times with increasing income inequality and job losses. Experts said an urban-focused employment guarantee scheme will go a long way in supporting consumption. Talking to this newspaper earlier this year, BJP MP and chairman of the parliamentary committee on finance Jayant Sinha had said that a scheme like MGN- REGA for urban informal sector workers could be designed with the help of digital infrastructure that the government has already built. The EAC-PM also recommended that raising minimum income and introducing a universal basic income are some of the measures that can reduce the income gap and facilitate equal distribution of earnings in the labour market. Apex Court refers to Article 161, says advice of State Cabinet binding on Governor; Arivu credits mother’s struggle; Stalin welcomes verdict, Congress circumspect SC invokes spl powers, frees Perarivalan after 31 years E x p r e ss N e ws Se r v i c e @ Chennai/New Delhi “Let me breathe; I’m free after 31 years,” said A G Perarivalan, a life convict in the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, after the Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered his release by invoking its extraordinary power under Article 142 of the Constitution. A bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao, B R Gavai, and A S Bopanna, who held that the advice of State Cabinet is binding on Governor in exercise of powers under Article 161 of the Constitution, said the Governor’s referral to the President the recommendation of the Tamil Nadu Cabinet (to grant pardon to all seven convicts in the case) two-and-a-half years after such a recommendation was made doesn’t have constitutional backing. Non-exercise of power under Article 161 or inexplicable delay in exercise of such power, which is not attributable to the prisoner, is subject to judicial review of the court, said the judges rejecting the Centre’s argument that in some cases President and not the Governor is the competent authority to grant pardon. Chief Minister MK Stalin hailed the verdict as a victory for State rights and federalism. “The verdict has established that Governors cannot interfere in political and policy decisions of State governments. It is important to note that the judges have said that when Governor becomes inactive, court will intervene,” the CM told reporters at the secretariat. Speaking to reporters, Perarivalan credited his mother, 74-year-old Arputhammal, for her sacrifices and nonstop efforts that eventually led to his release. “She has faced insults, she was ignored, and she suffered agony . Despite all that she was persistent and fought for me without a break for 30 Tamils all over the world gave me love and affection and treated me like their own son. I need to pay my gratitude to a lot of people and wish to do that in person Pre-monsoon mess AG Perarivalan AG Perarivalan and his mother Arputhammal met Chief Minister MK Stalin on Wednesday to express their gratitude | Express long years,” he said. “For both of us, me and my mother, it is the truth and justice on our side which gave us the strength to fight,” he said. Arputhammal profusely thanked everyone from the State government to a whole lot of sympathisers for their support in getting her son released. Thanking all those who stood by him in his long struggle, Perarivalan a brief TIMeLIne June 11, 1991: CBI arrests 19-year-old AG Perarivalan in Rajiv Gandhi Assassination case 1999: SC upholds TADA court’s death sentence to the seven convicts September 9, 2018: The AIADMK government recommends to Governor Banwarilal Purohit the release of all seven convicts May 18, 2022: SC orders release of Perarivalan invoking Article 142 An aerial view of relief workers on a tractor helping out residents of an inundated street in Vaddarapalya near Horamavu in Bengaluru on Wednesday. At least two persons were reported dead following heavy overnight pre-monsoon showers. Many areas received 50 mm to 150 mm rains. The Met department forecast more rains for the next 24 hours | Shriram B N It is important to note that the judges have said that when Governor becomes inactive, court will intervene MK Stalin, Chief Minister paid tributes to Senkodi, who took her life demanding the release of the convicts, former SC judges, Justices Krishna Iyer and K T Thomas, and retired IPS officer Thiyagarajan, who admitted in the court that he had omitted to record a part of Perarivalan’s confession that proved his innocence in the case. “Tamils all over the world gave me love and affection and treated me like their own son. I need to pay my gratitude to a lot of people and wish to do that in person through the course of my life,” Perarivalan said. While the AIADMK, the BJP, Left parties, the PMK and various Tamil outfits welcomed the verdict, the State unit of the Congress was circumspect in its reaction. “We do not wish to criticise the judgment of the Supreme Court,” Tamil Nadu Congress Committee chief KS Alagiri said in a tweet. “At the same time, we want to emphasise that the perpetrators are murderers and that they are not innocent.” The CM said the State government will study the full verdict and take steps for release of the other six convicts in the case. Full coverage on: P4 Day after, CBI arrests Karti’s aide in money-for-visa case E XPR E SS N E WS S E RVIC E @ Chennai The CBI on Wednesday arrested chartered accountant S Bhaskararaman, a close associate of Lok Sabha MP Karti Chidambaram, a day after raiding the latter’s premises in connection with a `50 lakh bribery case for clearing visas of 263 Chinese nationals working at a power plant in Punjab. Bhaskararaman was arrested since he was not cooperating in the investigation, CBI sources said. He was later produced before a local CBI court, which issued a transit remand to fly him to New Delhi. Bhaskararaman was among the five named in the first information report (FIR) in the case. Other booked include Karti, Vikas Makharia, representing Talwandi Sabo Power Limited, Mansa (Punjab); Bell Tools Limited, Mumbai (Maharashtra) and unknown public servants and private persons. The FIR alleged that Karti was ap p ro a ch e d t h ro u g h Bhaskararaman to get visas to bring in more Chinese professionals so as to expedite work on the thermal power plant. The visas issued were beyond the ceiling imposed by the Union home ministry. Karti allegedly negotiated the `50 lakh speed money deal through Bhaskararaman to provide the visas. The deal happened in 2011 when Karti’s father P Chidambaram was Union home minister at that point in time. r e s u m p t i o n o f c i t i z e ns h i p ‘Can consider 7.5-month-old foetus a minor child’ R SIVAKU M AR @ Chennai separated, only by a strait Chief Minister MK Stalin on Wednesday flagged off the ship carrying the first consignment of humanitarian aid to the people of Sri Lanka at the Chennai port | P4 | P Jawahar Resolving a complex matter involving the consideration of a foetus as a minor child in resumption of its Indian citizenship, the Madras High Court has ruled that the child is entitled to get back the citizenship even though its parents renounced the same when it was in womb. According to Section 8(2) of the Citizenship Act (CA), when a person ceases to be a citizen of India, every minor child of that person shall thereupon ceases to be its citizen. The child, however, may resume its citizenship within a year of attaining the age of 18. The case pertains to that of Pranav Srinivasan, a 22-year-old, who sought resumption of his citizenship though his parents had obtained a Singapore citizenship on December 19, 1998, when he was a foetus a g ed seven-and-a-half months. Later, Pranav, too obtained a Singapore citizenship by virtue of his birthplace. However, after attaining the age of majority on March 1, 2017, Pranav made a declaration before the Indian Consulate in Singapore seeking resumption of his Indian citizenship on May 5, 2017. The application was rejected by the Ministry of Home Affairs on April 30, 2019 and Pranav was asked to apply for citizenship under Section 5 (1) (f)/(g) of the CA, if he so desires. Justice Anita Sumanth of the Madras High Court, in a recent order, quashed the order of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, and ordered: “I have devoted anxious study in setting out the discussion as aforesaid and can arrive at no other conclusion except to state that a foetus or embryo, particularly one who was 7 ½ months on the critical date, that is 19.12.1998, certainly has acquired the status of a child...” P5 e x p r e ss r e a d Pre-poll bolw food security sheena bora case sports code violation reservation natural disaster Ahmedabad: In a blow to the Congress in poll-bound Gujarat, Patidar leader Hardik Patel resigned from its primary membership on Wednesday, saying its leadership is not serious about issues facing the people. He accused the party of being more concerned about chicken sandwitch than Gujarat. The party hit back saying his words were scripted by BJP | P7 New Delhi: Representatives from India took part in a meeting of G7 development ministers in Berlin on Wednesday during which ways to mitigate the food security crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine, were discussed. At the start of the two-day meeting, German Development Minister Svenja Schulze proposed that a global food security alliance be set up and accused Russian President Putin of using hunger as a weapon | P7 New Delhi: Indrani Mukerjea, arrested for the alleged murder of her own daughter, is set to leave Mumbai’s Byculla women’s prison after the Supreme Court granted her bail on Wednesday. The court said six-and-ahalf years in prison is too long a term and that the trial will not be completed soon as only 68 of 237 witnesses have been examined | P8 The Supreme Court appointed a threemember Committee of Administrators (CoA) headed by former judge Anil R Dave to manage the affairs of the All India Football Federation and ousted the Praful Patel-led executive committee that was at the helm even after completing its term. S Y Qureshi and Bhaskar Ganguly are also part of the CoA | P11 New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday decided to permit reservation for the OBCs in the local body elections in MP. The court that had on May 10 said no quota for OBCs can be provisioned, permitted the state to notify the reservation pattern local body wise as delineated in the reports of the dedicated commission. A bench headed by Justice Khanwilkar passed the order after the state sought modification of the bar | P8 Guwahati: The toll in Assam rains climbed to eight on Wednesday as the state continued to reel under the impact of flood and landslides. Rescue and relief works led by the Army, Air Force and Assam Rifles continued on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Tripura government is contemplating transporting essential items into the state through Chittagong port in Bangladesh as rail services have been affected by the flood Hardik Patel finally pulls the Cong plug India takes part in G7 ministers’ meet Indrani granted bail after 6.5 years in jail SC-appointed CoA takes over from Praful & Co SC permits OBC quota in MP local body polls Assam flood toll climbs to eight, relief works on