visakhapatnam l tuesday l may 24, 2022 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION cait now trains its guns on online pharmacies Deep discounting affect retail chemists The retailers’ body has alleged that e-pharmacies are resorting to deep discounting and violating the Drugs & Cosmetics Act ‘Can’t sell prescription drugs online’ According to the Confederation of All India Traders, e-pharma firms such as Pharmeasy, Medlife, 1Mg, Netmeds and e-commerce giants such as Amazon and Flipkart are offering medicines at 30-40% discount plus free shipping. CAIT says predatory pricing and unfair business practices will impact the livelihood of lakhs of small chemists across the country ■ Predatory pricing is done with the sole intention of eliminating market competition, CAIT said. It also noted that sale of prescription drugs and medicines through online medium is illegal. The Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940, does not permit home delivery as prescription “in original” is required, it added 75% Discount is offered by e-pharmacies for wellness products, Cait alleges 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 Petrol tax slashed, but you aren’t getting full relief R a k e s h K u m a r @ New Delhi (From R) Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the IPEF’s launch event in Tokyo on Monday | AP India joins pact for Indo-Pacific synergy, growth It covers half the population of the world and more than 60% of the global GDP Ye s h i Se l i @ New Delhi for Indo-Pacific is free and open,’’ said Biden. India joined the Indo-Pacific The IPEF seeks to strengthen Economic Framework for Pros- economic partnership amongst perity (IPEF) that was con- participating countries with ceived by US President Joseph the objective of enhancing reR Biden and launched in Tokyo silience, sustainability, incluon Monday, with Prime Minis- siveness, economic growth, ter Narendra Modi saying he fairness, and competitiveness expects it to become the engine in the Indo-Pacific region, acof global economic growth. cording to a joint statement isThe IPEF covers half the sued on IPEF. population of the world and Amongst those who attended more than 60% of the the event virtually It isn’t a global GDP “India has . were leaders from traditional historically been at the Australia, Brunei, Infree-trade centre of trade flows donesia, Republic of pact: US in the Indo-Pacific reKorea, Malaysia, New g i o n , h av i n g t h e Zealand, Philippines, US National world’s oldest commer- Security Advisor Singapore, Thailand, cial port in Lohtal, Guand Vietnam. The Jake Sullivan jarat. India is commitIPEF will initiate dissaid the IPEF is ted towards working not a traditional cussions on trade, supwith all Indo-Pacific ply chains, clean enfree trade countries for an IPEF ergy decarbonisation, , agreement, which is both inclusive and Infrastructure adding new and flexible. The foun- challenges need and Tax and Anti-Cordation of resilient sup- new approaches. ruption among memply chains must be 3Ts The IPEF is part ber nations. — Trust, Transparen- of US efforts to Meanwhile, India cy and Timeliness,” counter China’s and the US signed an Modi said. Investment Incentive aggression on India is looking forAgreement (IIA) that trade in the ward to collaborating superseded a similar region with partner countries pact in 1997. The IIA under the IPEF framewas signed by Foreign work and work towards advanc- Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra ing regional economic connec- and US CEO of International tivity integration and boosting Development Finance Corpora, trade and investment within tion (DFC) Scott Nathan. The the region. IIA is a legal requirement for “The nations represented DFC, which covers various prohere today and those who will grammes, including debt, injoin this framework in future vestment guarantee, investare signing up to work towards ment insurance or reinsurance, an economic vision that will de- and feasibility studies for poliver for all peoples. The vision tential projects and grants. Jab-o-meter Take your shot May 22 8,81,668 doses May 23 11,91,382 doses Total: 1,92,50,82,880 NATIONWIDE May 22 May 23 Fresh cases Recoveries Deaths 2,226 2,022 2,202 2,099 65 46 Consumers were in for a shock on Sunday as the reduction in petrol prices thanks to the excise duty cut was lower than they had thought. Vehicle users in Delhi were expecting `9.50 cut in petrol prices but the reduction was only `8.69. Consumers in other cities also had to shell out more than expected. Reason: the state-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) raised the base price of petrol overnight, which jacked up the net retail price. OMCs update the base price as and when backend crude and refining prices change. According to the price notification of OMCs, the oil companies increased the base price on petrol by 58 paise, making petrol almost `1 dearer. Following the hike in base price, the petrol costs `96.72 per litre in Delhi, instead of `95.91 per litre. It means people in Delhi were paying 81 paise per litre more at petrol pumps. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had on Saturday announced slashing the Cen- E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e On day two of the World Economic Forum Summit in Davos, the government of Andhra Pradesh signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Adani Green Energy to set up two Mega Green Energy projects at an estimated cost of `60,000 crore in the State. Besides establishing a 3,700 MV hydro storage project, the renewable energy company headquartered in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad will also set up a 10,000 MW Solar Power Project in the State. Special Chief Secretary (Industries) R Karikal Valaven on behalf of AP and Ashish Rajvanshi of Adani Green Energy exchanged the MoUs to this effect in the presence of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and CHIEF Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy met Tech Mahindra CEO and MD CP Gurnani, Executive Vice-President of Dassault Systemes Florence Verzelen, Mitsui OSK Lines President Takeshi Hashimoto and Hero MotoCorp Chairman and CEO Pawan Manjul on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum at the Swiss resort of Davos. During his interaction with CP Gurnani at the AP Pavilion, Jagan expressed his aspiration to develop Visakhapatnam as a technology hub with focus on artificial intelligence (AI) and further sought investments in the sector. Jagan further informed the industrialist that 30 skill colleges and 175 skill hubs would be coming up in the State, be- @ Vijayawada @ Vijayawada CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy with Adani Group of Companies Chairman Gautam Adani at the AP pavilion in Davos on Monday I Express Adani Group of Companies Chairman Gautam Adani. It has been estimated that the projects will provide 10,000 direct and indirect jobs. They will be crucial in the developing industrialisation in Andhra Pradesh. On the sidelines of the Forum, Jagan had held discussions with Gautam Adani on Sunday and Monday regarding the two projects. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath and Industries Minister Gudivada Amar nath held a meeting with Enel Power chief Michele Crisostomo and discussed opportunities in the renewable energy sector in AP Lauding the State’s . focus on integration of wind and solar power, Crisostomo said the idea should be replicated in other regions too. CM’s pushback against Takht’s call to arms All-party meet on Bihar caste census on Friday Patna: Bihar’s Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has called an allparty meet on the sensitive issue of caste census possibly on May 27. Announcing the decision on Monday, Nitish said there is nearconsensus on the meeting’s date, though some are yet to comfirm their participation. Nitish had met Tejashwi Yadav earlier | P8 H a r p r ee t B a j w a @ Chandigarh Vinai Kumar Saxena is new Lt Governor of Delhi @ Kakinada YSRC MLC Ananta Udaya Bhaskar alias Ananta Babu at the Kakinada GGH I Express person whose death was intended) and 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code. “According to preliminary details and the confessional statement of the accused, the sides a skill university . Stating that his company will work with the Andhra Pradesh government in the field of skill development, CP Gurnani said, “We will associate with the Andhra University and draft a syllabus, in three months, for high-end technology for skill development.” Assago Industries, a subsidiary of Tech Mahindra which manufactures chemical products, would also set up a `250 crore ethanol manufacturing unit in the State. In her discussion with the chief minister, Executive VicePresident of Dassault Systemes Florence Verzelen said, “We had meaningful talks on skill development and new age energy. We are interested in investing in the education sector and are looking forward to partnering with Andhra P4 Pradesh.” licensed weapon e x p r e ss r e a d New Delhi: Vinai Kumar Saxena, the chairperson of Khadi and Village Industries Commission, was on Monday appointed the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi. Saxena, 64, will succeed Anil Baijal who resigned last week citing “personal reasons” pected base price shrank the benefit to `9.40. Base price may be changed on a daily basis or less frequently as the OMCs prefer, said Gaurav Moda, India Energy Leader, EY. The final price comprises base price, central excise, dealers’ commission and state VAT. Some taxes are absolute (like Central excise), some are levied as a percentage of the base price. So, the exact price reduction may vary from state to state. There is no such issue in the case of diesel. Jagan moots developing Vizag as tech hub at WEF E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e Kakinada Superintendent of Police M Ravindranath Babu said the accused has been charged under sections 301 (Culpable homicide by causing death of a person other than The benefits of the excise duty cut would be lost in a month if the Centre allows fuel prices to be hiked like this, warned Kerala finance minister K N Balagopal ap-adani green mou for `60k-cr energy projects cooling off Two horses take a bath in the sea to beat the heat in Visakhapatnam on Monday. Horses can tolerate maximum temperature of 37.7 0 Celsius. However, they find it challenging to deal with high levels of humidity | G Satyanarayana YSRC MLC arrested for ex-driver’s murder YSRC MLC Ananta Udaya Bhakar alias Ananta Babu was arrested in connection with the murder of his former driver Veedhi Subrahmanyam (23), police said on Monday, adding that he has been named as the prime accused. The MLC, who had reportedly had gone into hiding after Subrahmanyam’s death on Friday was detained in the morn, ing. His arrest was recorded in the evening after a day long interrogation. He was later produced before the Special Judicial First Class Mobile Court Magistrate C Janaki, who remanded him in judicial custody . Disclosing the case details, ‘Price benefits could be wiped out in a month’ tral excise duty on petrol by `8 per litre and `6 per litre on diesel. She claimed it would reduce the price of petrol by `9.5 per litre and of diesel by `7 per litre in Delhi. After confusion prevailed among consumers in Kerala on the real impact of the excise duty cut on fuel prices, the state’s finance minister K N Balagopal clarified that consumers in the state should have got a price reduction of `10.41 following the 8 cut in excise duty and the `2.41 reduction in state tax but the unex- deceased—Subrahmanyam— went out with friends around 8 pm on May 19, and consumed liquor at Old Navabharath School in Sriram Na g ar. Around 10:30 pm, the accused —MLC Ananta Babu—passed by the area and saw Subrahamanya, who had left him (three months ago),” he said. After leaving the school, Subrahmanyam and friends reportedly went to Janmabhoomipeta and purchased food. They then went to the MLC’s residence at Shankar Towers. The MLC asked Subrahmanyam about the amount (`20,000) he had lent the driver for the latter’s wedding. “The accused scolded the victim for drinking, which had cost him his job as a driver, SP P5 Ravindranth Babu said. Vizag Steel Plant DGM stalls chain-snatching bid, stabbed E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Visakhapatnam Visakhapatnam Steel Plant DGM (operations) G Venkatram Manohar Reddy’s bid to prevent two men from snatching a chain left him injured.   He was stabbed when he tried to resist their attempts to snatch a gold chain from a woman at Ukkunagaram on Monday . When two men on a motorcycle tried to snatch the woman’s gold chain near a temple in front of sector 5 market at Ukkunagaram, a youngster shouted to alert people. Manohar Reddy, who was walking with his wife in the area, caught hold of one man. He raised an alarm, seeking help from others. However, the assailant attacked the DGM with a knife, injuring him. When the assailant tried to flee, locals caught him and handed him over to the steel plant police. The knife that was used to attack Manohar Reddy was also seized. Meanwhile, the DGM has been shifted to the steel plant hospital where his condition is reported to be stable. Police have registered a case and a probe is underway . Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh on Monday stirred the pot by urging all Sikhs to have licensed modern weapons, given the uncertain times they are living in. Hours later, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Punjab BJP president Ashwani Sharma took strong exception to the call, but Shiromani Akali Dal leaders supported it. Significantly, people in Punjab already have more than 3.50 lakh licensed weapons. The jathedar, in his address to mark the anniversary of the sixth Sikh guru, Guru Hargobind Sahib, urged Sikh boys and girls to keep traditional material arts like gatka alive. “Sikhs should also be armed with licenced modern weapons in today’s age,’’ he said while urging people to shun drugs. Akal Takht is the highest temporal seat of Sikhs. The jathedar is its high priest. Appalled by the statement, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann urged the jathedar to spread the message of peace, harmony and brotherhood, adding weapons don’t have any place in a rules-based civilised society. Punjab BJP president Ashwani Sharma said that jathedar should talk about communal harmony and peace rather than weapons, adding his statement gave a wrong message to the masses. For their part, Shiromani Akali Dal leaders justified the jathedar’s message, saying weapons are inte g ral to Sikhism. They said the call was in the context of the poor law and order situation in Punjab.