china eases grip, Alibaba splits Chinese e-commerce conglomerate Alibaba Group plans to overhaul its sprawling $257-billion empire by splitting into six business verticals as it looks to react faster to market changes and increase value tirupati l wednesday l march 29, 2023 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION The six units are Cloud Intelligence Group, Taobao Tmall Commerce Group, Local Services Group, Cainiao Smart Logistics Group, Global Digital Commerce Group and Digital Media and Entertainment Group Each unit will have a CEO as well as a board of directors and will retain the flexibility to raise outside capital and seek initial public offering, except for Taobao Tmall Business Group that handles China commerce, which will stay wholly owned by Alibaba Group The revamp comes a day after its founder Jack Ma returned home ending a year-long stay abroad and when China is easing its regulatory crackdown on private enterprises 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 Ukraine students to get 2 attempts to clear MBBS: SC Govt had offered them one shot at the final exams following a panel’s recommendation CID notices to Ramoji Rao, Sailaja E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada The Andhra Pradesh Crime Investigation Department (CID) issued notices to chairman of Margadarsi Chit Fund Private Limited (MCFPL) Cherukuri Ramoji Rao and the firm’s managing director Ch Sailaja for questioning in the alleged chit fund scam. Notices were issued to the duo under Section 160 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and they were asked to be available for examination at their residence or office on any of the four days —March 29, 31 or on April 3 or 6—and cooperate with the investigation. In the notices issued to them, investigating officer Ch Ravi Kumar said their examination was ‘just and necessary’ for effective investigation and to arrive at a P4 better conclusion.  s H R U T I k A KK A R @ New Delhi IN a major relief to Indian medical students who were forced to return from Ukraine, China and the Philippines due to war and Covid-19 pandemic, the Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed them to clear their final examination in two attempts, without enrolling in any medical college in India. This is applicable to MBBS students who returned to India in their penultimate year of studies and completed the course through online mode. The examination will be in line with the existing National Medical Council (NMC) syllabus and guidelines, a bench of judges B R Gavai and Vikram Nath said. The bench was hearing a batch of pleas fled by students who had to leave their studies mid-way and return to India. Earlier, the Centre had told the SC that it was ready to offer penultimate year students one chance to clear the final exams (both theory and practical) but the court modified it to two, considering the special circumstances of the case. The Centre said the theory exam would be held centrally on the pattern of Indian MBBS exam, while the practical exam would be conducted by designated government medical colleges. The students will also have to complete two years of compulsory rotatory internship, of which the first year will be free and the second year paid as decided by the NMC. The SC had in December 2022 asked the Centre to find a solution to the ‘humane problem’ faced by the medical students. “We are sure that the Union of India will give due importance to our suggestion and find out a solution for these students, who are undisputedly an asset to the nation and, particularly, when there is a dearth of doctors in the country it had said. ,” Following the suggestion, the government formed a committee of experts. The Centre submitted its recommendation to the Supreme Court via an affidavit, which the court accepted on Tuesday with one modification in favour of the students. The affidavit also made it clear that the relaxation in rules is only for the present matter and will not be treated as a precedent for issues that may arise in the future. US watching Rahul case; internal matter, says govt E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi The United States is watching Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s case in courts, US Department of State spokesperson Vedant Patel said on Monday . “The US engages with the Indian government on a shared commitment to democratic values, including freedom of expression. Respect for the rule of law and judicial independence is a cornerstone of any democracy, and we’re watching Rahul Gandhi case,’’ Patel said in a briefing while responding to a question regarding Rahul’s conviction in a defamation case and disqualification from Parliament. On being asked whether the US was engaging with India or Rahul, he said, “I don’t have any specific engagements to read out” though it is normal “to engage with members of opposition parties in any country wh e r e we h ave b i l a t e r a l relationships”. A BJP lawmaker in Gujarat had sued Rahul for defamation for his Modi surname slur in 2019. However, Union I&B minister Anurag Thakur dismissed the US remarks at a media event, saying the official had made a generic statement. “It is our internal matter. No one is above the Supreme Court. There are judicial and constitutional institutions. They (the US) have made a generic statement,” he said. JUN 30 Pan-aadhaar link deadline Centre extended the deadline for linking PAN with Aadhaar by 3 months to June 30 to enable people to comply with the mandatory IT provisions | P10 Vizag turns fortress as G20 meet begins E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Visakhapatnam A security blanket was thrown over Visakhapatnam as the second edition of the two-day G20 Infrastructure Working Group (IWG) meeting kicked off in the city on Tuesday .   On day one, 57 delegates from 14 member countries, eight guest countries and 10 international organisations attended the meeting and deliberated on the 2023 Infrastructure Agenda under India’s G20 Presidency . In the evening, Chief Minis- CM Jagan arriving at the venue of the G20 meet in the Port City on Tuesday. He landed at Vizag airport at 7pm, beyond his schedule as his flight reportedly developed a snag. Later, he took part in the gala dinner with the delegates | Express ter YS Jagan Mohan Reddy joined the delegates for a brief meeting and took part in the “Ratri Bhoj Par Samvad” gala dinner. Delegates focussed on the theme of ‘Financing Cities of Tomorrow: Inclusive, Resilient and Sustainable’ and discussed facets of making cities economic centres of growth, and financing urban infrastructure. The event provided a platform for the delegates to share their expertise in infrastructure development and explore solutions to global challenges.  P3