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 MADURAI  WEDNESDAY  MARCH 29, 2023  `9.00  PAGES 12  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 EPS FIRM IN SADDLE Madras HC clears way for him to take charge as AIADMK gen secy EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi T M U R U GA N A N D H A M & R S I VA K U M A R @ Chennai LEAVING behind several legal hurdles, Edappadi K Palaniswami has emerged triumphant on Tuesday. Just after the Madras High Court rejected the petition of the deposed leader O Panneerselvam at 10.30 am, AIADMK election commissioners swung into action and announced the election of EPS as the general secretary of the AIADMK, the principal opposition party, in the state. The party is likely to inform the election result to the Election Commission of India to seek its approval. The all-powerful post, which was held by the legendary MGR and J Jayalalithaa, will empower EPS to call the shots in the party and prepare it for the 2024 general elections. In the morning, as lawyers owing allegiance to EPS and OPS swarmed the courtroom, it was an unusual atmosphere of anxiety and expectation. Justice K Kumaresh Babu told the US watching Rahul case; internal matter, says govt EPS dons MGR-style specs and cap at the AIADMK headquarters | P JAWAHAR crowded courtroom that the court is rejecting the petitions by Panneerselvam and his supporters. They had sought a stay on the polls for the general secretary post of the party Refer. ring to the AIADMK’s general council held on July 11, 2022, the court reasoned that the resolutions passed by the council with an overwhelming majority must be considered prima facie as valid. As the news about the verdict was out, AIADMK MLAs left the Assembly and rushed to Puratchi Thalaivar M G R Maaligai, the headquarters of AIADMK in downtown Avvai Shanmugam Salai. EPS, who was at his residence, also reached the headquarters quickly. The cadre were already bursting crackers and distributing sweets. “After many trials, fulfilling the dreams of the two tall leaders of the party (MG Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa), I have been elected as general secretary of the AIADMK unanimously by the primary members of the party,” said a visibly cheerful EPS while thanking the rank and file, and office bearers of the party P2 . EXPRESS READ Coast Guard rescues eight more SL Tamils June 30 new deadline for PAN-Aadhaar linking Ramanathapuram: Indian Coast Guard personnel have rescued eight more Sri Lankan Tamil people, who were stranded in the third sandbar near Dhanushkodi on Tuesday. This takes the total number of refugees, who have reached TN shores since March 2022, to 232 | P4 New Delhi: The Centre extended the deadline for linking PAN with Aadhaar by three more months to June 30 to enable people to comply with the mandatory I-T provisions. The earlier deadline was till March 31. Failure to link will lead to the PAN becoming inoperative | P10 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. 5-YEAR EXTENSION FOR TTD FCRA REGN Govt’s decision to renew FCRA licence of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams comes days after TTD paid penalty of `3 cr for alleged violation of rules Ukraine students get 2 shots to clear MBBS S H R U T I K A K K 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 exams will be in line with the existing National Medical Council (NMC) syllabus, a bench of judges B R Gavai and Vikram Nath said. The bench was hearing a batch of pleas by students who had to leave their studies mid-way and return to India. Earlier, the Centre had told the SC 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’. 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. The SC had in December 2022 asked the Centre to find a solution to the ‘humane problem’ faced by the medical students. “...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 this, the government formed a panel of experts, whose recommendation was sumbitted to the SC via an affidavit. The court accepted it on Tuesday with one modification in favour of the students. The affidavit said the relaxation is only for the present matter and will not be treated as a precedent for issues that may arise in the future.