BENGALURU  WEDNESDAY  JUNE 15, 2022  `9.00  PAGES 18  LATE CITY EDITION IPL: STAR RETAINS TELEVISION RIGHTS, VIACOM BAGS DIGITAL The IPL media rights for the 2023-27 cycle, which was sold via e-auction, went for a cumulative record price of `48,390 crore STEEP RISE IN THE DIGITAL SPACE From a combined price of B16,347.50 crore in the 2018-22 cycle, the IPL media rights price has grown in multitudes, 2.96 times to be precise, with the digital space dominating this auction. With the base price set at B33 crore/game, Viacom18 bought the rights for B50 crore/game. It paid an additional B2,991 crore P13 to bag package C (non-exclusive rights for 18-22 games/season) as well WHOS AND WHATS OF THE AUCTION ■ ■ Disney Star bought the subcontinent television rights for B23,575 crore while Viacom18 won the digital rights (Packages B and C) for a combined B23,491 crore Package D, the overseas rights, went to Viacom18 and Times Internet, with the parties broadcasting in different territories US $6.46 bn REVENUE THE BCCI STANDS TO MAKE IN 2023-27 VIA BROADCAST RIGHTS 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 Modi sets a new target of 10 lakh jobs in 18 months EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi EXPRESS READ Missing 40-day-old baby in Hubballi found Hubballi: The 40-day-old baby girl, who went missing on Monday afternoon from the KIMS Hospital, was found behind the pediatric section of the hospital on Tuesday morning. One of the patient’s attendants heard a baby crying and informed the KIMS staff who rescued her. Her mother has identified her baby. P5 Mid-day meal worker falls into sambar, dies Mangaluru: A 37-year-old midday meal worker at St Victor School, who had fallen into a hot vessel of sambar on May 30, died at Kasba village of Puttur taluk in Dakshina Kannada district on Sunday. The deceased, Agnes Pramila D’Souza was working as an assistant cook at the school. P5 WANT TO BE AN AGNIVEER? WITH Prime Minister Narendra Modi issuing instructions to hire 10 lakh government employees in mission mode within 18 months, filling up of existing vacancies and creating new job opportunities climbed right on the top of the priority ladder of the government on Tuesday . Modi issued the instructions after reviewing the status of human resources in all departments and ministries. As if on cue, the Cabinet Committee on Security approved a scheme to recruit soldiers for just four years. The scheme is expected to provide jobs to over 46,000 youth in a year (see box). Political circles saw in Modi’s announcement, an attempt to snatch the unemployment card away from the Opposition ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. His 18-month deadline for jobs will end just four months before the general elections. It is also an acknowledgement that unemployment is a top-of-the-mind issue particularly among the youth. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi panned the Centre’s drive as maha jumla (peddling rhetoric), saying it’s similar to “the The Centre on Tuesday unveiled an Agnipath job scheme for armed forces Age group: 17.5-21 yrs. Salary: B30K a month. 4-yr service. B48L insurance They will be inducted into the force as Agniveers, a new rank, distinct from sepoys They will be recruited under an “all India, all-class” basis as opposed to regiment model that recruits youth from specific regions and castes failed BJP promise made eight years ago to provide 2 crore jobs each year”. But home minister Amit Shah lauded the recruitment drive, saying the youth are the foundation of “new India”, adding Modi has been constantly working to empower them. As on March 1, 2020 the number of regular Central government civilian employees was 31.91 lakh as against the sanctioned strength of 40.78 lakh. In other words, about 21.75% posts were vacant. About 92% of the total Central jobs are provided by five major ministries or departments — railways, defence (civil), home At the end of the four-year period, 25% will be absorbed into the service and the rest will be relieved Those retained will serve for 15 years more and retire with pension Those relieved will get severance package of B10-12 lakh; no pension | P9 affairs, posts and revenue. Railways alone has 2,98,428 vacancies. Of them, 2,177 are gazetted posts, according to a recent reply to a query in the Lok Sabha by railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. Railways has re-started the process to fill up about 50% of the vacancies — 1,40,713 posts, including 20,944 SCs and 10,930 for STs, sources said. Hiring was on hold for a while after violence following irregularities in exams under the NonTechnical Popular Categories a few months ago. The ministry has set the recruitment ball in motion again under this category across the country . Stalin’s letter to PM on Mekedatu not legal: CM E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ Bengaluru CALLING it a political stunt, CM Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday slammed the Tamil Nadu government for writing a letter to PM Narendra Modi seeking his intervention to restrain the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) from dis- President INAUGURATES TEMPLE Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday inaugurated ISKCON’s Sri Rajadhiraja Govinda Temple, in Bengaluru | P5 Justice BS Patil, new Lokayukta E N S @ Bengaluru JUSTICE BS Patil, an exjudge of the Karnataka HC and serving Upa Lokayukta, was appointed as the Karnataka Lokayukta on Tuesday . Justice Patil resigned from the post of Upa Lokayukta after Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot issued the notification appointing him as the head of the corruption watchdog. He is perhaps the first judge to be appointed as the Lok ay ukta while serving as Upa Lokayukta. A retired judge of the SC or retired chief justice of HC or retired judge of HC with a minimum of 10 years’ experience can be appoi nted as Lokayukta, as per the amendment made to the Karnataka Lokayukta Act in 2015. Born on June 1, 1956 at Padekanur village of Muddebihal Taluk in Bijapur district, Justice Patil enrolled as an advocate in 1980. cussing the Mekedatu project. Bommai said the Central Water Commission and Jal Shakthi Ministry had earlier put a condition that a detailed project report on the Mekedatu project has to be approved by CWMA. The CM said TN has been placing hurdles for all Cauveryrelated works and this is not new. “This letter is not authorised and the Union government will not accept their plea. There is no locus standi for the letter, which does not fall under the legal ambit. This demand is illegal. The Mekedatu project in no way involves Tamil Nadu’s share of Cauvery water. It is our share,” he asserted. P4 The Tamil Nadu government is causing hindrance to projects taken up by Karnataka in the Cauvery basin Govind Karjol, Minister Names of Farooq, others in play for Oppn Prez pick S A N T W A N A B H AT TA C H A R YA @ New Delhi IT’S that season when names swirl around like summer dust for the next incumbent of the mansion atop Raisina Hill. Who the Prime Minister smiles at or does namaste to is being watched with a hawk eye. The Opposition too is donning its armour—a contest is more or less certain, even if its numbers mean it will be symbolic. Chief ministers—and a mentor of CMs—are trying to settle on a common Opposition candidate. Sharad Pawar is in the thick of the action, even as he slinks away from a contest himself. With Sonia Gandhi away in hospital and Rahul Gandhi busy fending off the ED’s queries, it was left to Pawar to give some shape to the disaggregated Opposition army . Pawar had powwows with both West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and her arch-foes, Left leaders Sitaram Yechury and D Raja, in Delhi. Other heavyweights will arrive on Wednesday . Pawar is plumping for long-time friend Farooq Abdullah. The Left is once again keen on former Bengal governor Gopal Gandhi—he had dropped out last time after the Congress fielded Meira Kumar, and may or may not agree. Farooq is not unwilling. But the last word won’t be said till Didi speaks her mind. Yashwant Sinha’s name too was doP9 ing the rounds in that context! 2 schools in Bengaluru report Covid-19 clusters E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ Bengaluru NEARLY a month after schools reopened, two Covid clusters have been found in two schools of Bengaluru’s BBMP limits. In all, 31 students tested positive for Covid in rapid antigen tests, but the more-accurate RTPCR test reports of 21 of them returned negative. The schools are located in Rajagopalnagar ward of Dasarahalli zone. Special Commissioner (Projects) Ravindra PN said, “21 students of Class 6 from New Standard English (NSE) School and 10 students of Class 5 from MES school tested positive for Covid when they were subjected to RAT.” The vaccination team visited the schools on June 9 and found a few students to be symptomatic. When RAT was conducted, they tested positive. Since it was a cluster, the samples were subjected to RTPCR tests. P3