PM unveils model of Netaji memorial Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday unveiled the model of a memorial dedicated to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, to be set up in Andaman and Nicobar To mark Netaji’s 126th birth anniversary, Modi also named 21 islands of the Union Territory after Param Vir Chakra awardees Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays homage to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on Parakram Diwas, in New Delhi on Monday | ANI COIMBATORE l Tuesday l january 24, 2023 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l LATE CITY EDITION 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 80,000 Indians in US face layoff heat Have to find a new job within two months or leave the country; share plight on social media platforms; Spotify to cut its staff base by 6% u M A k A N N A N @ Bengaluru WITH a series of layoff announcements by all top tech companies globally in recent weeks, reports suggest that 60,000-80,000 Indian IT professionals in the US have lost jobs. A majority of them are said to be on H-1B and L1 visas, who will have to find another job within 60 days or pack up. Microsoft, Meta, Amazon and Alphabet together have laid off 51,000 employees. Till now, 311,592 employees have lost jobs, according to Layoffs.fyi, which compiles data from public reports and tracks layoffs. In 2023 alone, 174 tech companies laid off 56,570 employees. Many affected Indians have shared their stories on various social media platforms. Mon- ambigha M, one of the impacted Google employees, said in a LinkedIn post that she must spring back into action as being an immigrant on an H-1B visa does not give her the flexibility to take time off. She joined Google only 10 months ago. After working with Google for three years and six months, Kunal Kumar Gupta received the termination mail. “I am immediately open to work and would need immediate assistance to find a role as I am on an H-1B visa which gives me 60 days to find a job,” Gupta said. Meanwhile, Swedish music streaming firm Spotify on Monday announced that it is reducing its employee base by 6%, or about 600 employees. In a note to employees, CEO Daniel Ek said, “While we have made express read Ranipet crane mishap: Death toll rises to 4 Ranipet: One more person died on Monday in the crane mishap that took place on Sunday night during a temple festival near Nemili. The death toll has increased to four, while six were injured. The crane operator, Murugan (35) of Panapakkam, was arrested. Body of missing TN boy found in septic tank Chennai: The body of a six-yearold boy who had gone missing was retrieved from a septic tank inside a panchayat office premises in Chengalpattu on Sunday. The boy accompanied his father to fill drinking water cans, said the police. Mary Kom to lead ministry’s Oversight Committee Chennai: Multiple world champ M C Mary Kom will lead a five-member Oversight Committee to probe various charges against the WFI chief and submit its report in four weeks. Olympic medallist wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, former India shuttler Trupti Murgunde, ex-TOPS CEO Rajagopalan and ex-SAI ED Radhika Sreeman are the other members on the panel. great progress in improving speed in the last few years, we haven’t focused as much on improving efficiency... And in a challenging economic environment, efficiency takes on greater importance. So, in an effort to drive more efficiency control , costs... I have decided to restructure our organisation.” According to HR experts, it is not difficult for those who lost jobs in the US to find one in India. Vijay Sivaram, CEO of Quess IT Staffing, expects hiring intent for IT professionals across tech and non-tech companies to revert to its pre-pandemic levels. “Hot skills such as full stack engineers, data analysts and scientists, DevOps specialists, and cloud engineers will be sought after,” he said. 200,000 Tech employees lost jobs in the US since November 30-40% Spotify Swedish music streaming company decides to trim 6% of its workforce, or 600 employees Of the affected are Indian IT professionals who are on H-1B and L1 visas 60 days Grace period for non-immigrant visa holders to find another job, or they will have to leave the US TN brings in rules to protect transpersons R S I V A K U M A R @ Chennai In a significant step to protect the rights of transpersons and wipe out discrimination in employment and education, the state government recently notified the Tamil Nadu Transgender (Protection of Rights) Rules, 2022. Additional Advocate General (AAG) S Silambanan on Monday told the Madras HC the rules were notified on December 26, 2022 and had come into effect from the same date. He made the submissions before Justice N Anand Venkatesh when pleas relating to the LGBTQIA+ community came up for hearing. The key aspects of the rules — which were notified following the orders of the HC — include provisions prohibiting discrimination in government or private organisations, particularly in the realms of education, employment, and healthcare. They also include the opportunity to hold public or private office, infrastructure such as unisex toilets and measures for safety in transportation. A mobile app — Thirunangai Mobile App — was devised for issuing identity cards to members of the community . Meanwhile, V Chandrasekaran, senior panel counsel for the centre, informed the court that the National Council for Educational Research and Technology (NCERT) issued a draft module ‘Inclusion of Transgender Children in School Education: Concerns and Roadmap.’ CONTINUED ON: P2 Judges don’t face poll, but people are watching: Rijiju S H R U T I K A K K A R @ New Delhi Union law minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday threw another barb at the judiciary, saying though judges don’t face public scrutiny or polling like politicians, people are definitely watching and forming opinions based on their performance. Speaking at a Delhi Bar Association event, Rijiju said, “Judges don’t have to face elections. They are also not subjected to public scrutiny. Although the public can’t elect judges, they are watching them. Their judg- ments, the way they work and on a “mass scale”. “CJI told me the manner in which they dis- that there should be some repense justice, people are looking strictions on social media. CJI and are also forming an asked us to take some opinion. In the age of stern steps against peosocial media, nothing ple who are commentcan be hidden.” ing on judges. We are After Chief Justice of considering it. But when India D Y Chandrapeople are criticising at chud’s request for impoa mass scale, what can sition of restrictions on we do?” Rijiju asked. social media against adReiterating that his verse comments on letter to the CJI dated Kiren Rijiju judges, the Centre is January 6, did not seek considering to take stern steps, government nominees on the he said, but wondered what collegium, he said it was meant could be done if the criticism is as a follow up of the SC’s verdict in the NJAC case. “I wrote a letter to CJI on 6th Jan... Nobody knew about this for 2/3 days but someone got to know and the headline was that law minister has written a letter to CJI for government representatives in collegium.... Collegium consist of five judges, how can I add someone else in the collegium?” Rijiju asked. He said the Centre respects the judiciary as its independence is absolutely necessary for democracy “If the dignity of ju. diciary is lowered, then it can’t be protected,” he said. HC lawyer collects kickbacks for judges P R A M DA S @ Kochi IS there a price tag to get favourable verdicts? That is what a leading lawyer practising in the Kerala High Court had his clients believe when he collected lakhs of rupees from them. The money he , told them, was meant as kickbacks for HC judges. The shocking revelation was made in the report submitted by the HC’s vigilance wing after a detailed probe into the dealings of lawyer Saiby Jose Kidangoor. The probe was launched following revelations by HC lawyers as well as a directive from the court. The wing found several instances of Saiby collecting huge sums of money from clients by taking the names of three judges of the Kerala High Court. The HC vigilance wing recorded statements from several lawyers. One said Saiby allegedly received `25 lakh from a client to be given as bribe to a judge. Another lawyer put the number at `50 lakh. A third lawyer said Saiby collected `25 lakh from a film producer, accused in a case, claiming some amount was for a judge. The probe officer concluded that Saiby’s acts violated Section 35 of the Advocates Act.