THIRUVANANTHAPURAM l thursday l march 30, 2023 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE city EDITION After confusion, NPCI says 1.1% fee only for some transactions The new interchange charges are applicable only for UPI merchant transactions above L2,000 using prepaid payment instruments (PPI) No charges for normal upi transactions Will not affect 99.9% upi users There will be no fee for customers who use bank account-based UPI, the National Payments Corporation of India clarified after its recent circular on 1.1% fees on certain UPI transactions created confusion. NPCI recently permitted PPI wallets such as Paytm to be part of interoperable UPI ecosystem and allowed them to charge 1.1% fee from merchants ■ According to the NPCI, the interchange fee will not affect 99.9% of UPI transactions, because they are linked to bank accounts. In other words, if you are sending money to friends or family, it won’t attract 1.1% fee ■ “These bank account-to-account transactions continue to remain free for customers and merchants,” NPCI clarified on Wednesday April 1, 2023 When the 1.1% interchange charges for ppi wallet transactions kick in 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 Deal to ramp up Russia oil imports Rosneft and Indian Oil Corporation sign pact to ‘significantly increase’ oil supplies, diversify grade R A K E S H K U M A R @ New Delhi 5 years Class 1 admission age stays same Not possible to ‘scuttle’ existing system in Kerala where a child gets admitted to Class one at age 5, says minister | P5 INDIA’s oil imports from Russia, which jumped 11 times in 2022-23 amid worsening geo-political tensions, are set to hit record highs with Indian Oil Corporation inking a pact with Russia’s largest oil producer Rosneft to ‘substantially’ ramp up oil supplies. Russia will also diversify the grades of crude oil it supplies to India. The deal assumes significance as it comes at a time when India is increasingly facing diplomatic pressure by Western countries to curtail imports of ‘cheaper crude’ from Russia. India, the third largest oil importer in the world, has been ignoring such calls citing its domestic energy needs and has show time K’taka polls on May 10. could be anybody’s game Fast facts Date of polling May 10 Counting of votes May 13 Assembly strength 224 5.24 Cr Total voters on poll rolls in Karnataka 9.58 lakh Of them are 18+ who would exercise their franchise for the first time 12.15 lakh Total 80+ voters who would get to exercise their franchise from home for the first time Ramu Pat i l @ Bengaluru Karnataka will go to polls on May 10. As things stand today no party looks to , be the clear winner and the contest is likely to go right down to the wire. However, equations may change. For now, Karnataka seems to be staring at a fractured mandate, something Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned against during his speech in Davangere. State agencies’ reading of the current situation also indicates the same. There has to be some reason why the PM mentioned it. On the ground, the Congress, which is making all-out efforts to take advantage of the anti-incumbency factor, seems to have a slight edge. The BJP’s well-oiled election machinery is trying hard to bridge that gap and return to power on its own. The Janata Dal (Secular) seems to be holding on to its base in Old Mysuru region and its performance will have a direct bearing on the Congress’ show and the overall results, to be known on May 13. Around a year ago, it looked as though the Congress was clearly ahead of the others and the BJP did not look confident. But, the BJP quickly re-calibrated its strategy and brought its Lingayat strongman B S Yediyurappa into the game by accommodating him in the party’s Parliamentary Board. He is now leading the charge along with Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai. Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah’s frequent visits have also helped the party push its development agenda and counter the Congress’ efforts to set the narrative around corruption. The BJP is depending on Modi’s popularity to overcome anti-incumbency, while the Congress will make corruption its major poll plank along with freebies and welfare programmes. Karnataka is crucial for the BJP, which is trying to expand its base in the South. It is equally important for Congress, which hopes to start its nationwide revival from Karnataka ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. As we see it now, it could be anybody’s game. Kottayam: Vaikom Satyagraha, the people’s struggle against untouchability enters its 100th year on Thursday. It was on March 30, 1924, that three men, Kunjappy, Bahuleyan and Venniyil Govinda Panicker, in the presence of hundreds of people, walked towards a board which read ‘Theendal jaathikkarkk praveshanam nirodhichirikkunnu’ (Entry banned for untouchable caste members) | P2 16 pages, including 4 pages of THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Express 2022-23 Countries 2020-21 2021-22 (Apr-Jan) Iraq 12,873 26,381 28,694 Saudi 10,753 19,706 24,793 Russia 944 2,256 24,700 UAE 7,361 10,701 14,285 USA 5,373 9,541 9,380 All figures in $ million increased Russian oil imports considerably in the past year. On Wednesday, Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin and IOC chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya signed the agreement in the presence of Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep S Puri. The agreement, however, did not indicate volumes. The two companies also discussed ways of expanding cooperation between Rosneft and Indian companies in the entire value chain of the energy sector, including possibilities of making payments in national currencies. According to energy cargo tracker Vortexa, India imported 35% of its total crude from Russia in February 2023, which is 1.62 million barrels per day. India’s other top four traditional oil suppliers are Iraq, Saudi Arabia, UAE and the US (see chart). According to the commerce ministry Russia has for the first , time become one of the five largest trading partners of India, thanks to ballooning crude oil imports. The volume of trade between the countries in 2022 reached $38.4 billion. “Thus, the goal set by the leaders of our countries to increase turnover to $30 billion by 2025 has been achieved in advance,” said the head of Rosneft. Indian companies ONGC Videsh Ltd, Oil India Limited, Indian Oil Corporation and Bharat PetroResources have been owners of 49.9% of Rosneft’s subsidiary JSC Vankorneft since 2016. Against capturing Arikomban, HC asks panel to give options E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Kochi The Kerala High Court on Wednesday constituted a fivemember committee of experts to advise the court on options other than capturing tusker Arikomban to prevent the jumbo from causing disturbance to human settlements. The committee, which has to submit a report by April 5, has also been tasked with suggesting long-term measures to mitigate human-elephant conflicts. The five-member committee comprises Arun R S, chief conservator of forests (high range circle), Kottayam, Pramod H, chief conservator of forests and field director (Project Tiger), Kottayam, N V K Ashraf , chief vet- ‘Had HC not interfered...’ T’Puram: Forest Minister A K Saseendran said Arikomban would have been caught had the High Court not interfered. He also said the state will abide by the court’s directive even though residents of Chinnakanal are living in a state of constant fear | P4 erinarian and vice-president, Wildlife Trust of India, P S Easa, chairman of Care Earth Trust, Chennai, and former director of Kerala Forest Research Institute, and Ramesh Babu, amicus curiae Terming hate speech as a vicious circle, the Supreme Court on Wednesday reprimanded states for failing to curb it. “This is going on because state is impotent, powerless and doesn’t act in time. Why do we have the state at all if it is silent?” Justice K M Joseph wondered. The judge said, “This hate thing is a vicious circle. The moment politics and religion are separated and politicians stop using religion in politics, hate speeches will go away Some sort of mechanism needs to be developed by ... the state so that we can curb this kind of statements.” Taking strong exception to fringe elements making hate speeches, Justice B V Nagarathna, during the hearing said, “The idea of fraternity was so much there earlier but now I’m sorry to say the cracks are coming.” “We had orators like Nehru, Vajpayee. People from rural areas used to come to listen to them. Now fringe elements from all sides are making these statements. Are we now going to take contempt of court action against all Indians?” she asked. The hearing witnessed exchange of sharp remarks between Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Justice Joseph with Mehta asking the judge to not single out hate speeches in Maharashtra. He cited a DMK leader’s rant against Brahmins in Tamil Nadu and a hate speech by a child at a rally in Kerala, adding, “Let us not be selective.” The bench, however, said, “Let us not make this a drama. This is legal proceedings.” Brahmapuram: Corp fined another `30 cr; total penalty over `130 cr A nu K u r u v i l l a an d A i s h w a r ya P r a b haka r an Fines imposed on corp for lapses Fine Year Mayor Times are getting tough for Kochi corporation. Besides facing criticism over its failure in containing the fire at the Brahmapuram dumpsite, the civic body is also being fined crores over the environmental hazards the fire posed. The latest is the `30-crore fine slapped by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The CPCB has sought the amount as environmental compensation for the Brahmapuram incident. KSPCB chairman Pradeep Kumar A B said a directive has been received from CPCB to fine Kochi corporation another `30 crore. “The directive has been issued under L100 cr 2023 M Anilkumar L30cr 2023 M Anilkumar L1.4 cr 2023 M Anilkumar L3 cr 2018 Soumini Jain L1 cr 2016 Soumini Jain @Kochi Making memories Students of Model HSS in Kozhikode write on one of their friends on the conclusion of the SSLC examination on Wednesday | E Gokul Govt plans to hold food delivery cos accountable A N IL K U M A R T @Kochi Realising that its efforts to curb plastic waste menace would be futile if it does not rein in food delivery firms like Zomato and Swiggy, the state government is planning to implement Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) costs for the companies as part of its environmental policy approach. Food deliveries are major contributors of plastic waste generated across the state. EPR is a policy approach where a producer’s responsibility for a product is extended to Hate speech: SC chides states for being impotent S H R U T I K A K K A R @ New Delhi appointed by the court who shall function as convener. Meanwhile, the court allowed the forest department personnel deployed in areas frequented by Arikomban to tranquillise the elephant and fit it with a radio collar for tracking its movements till the committee files its report on April 5. This, said the court, should be done if the tusker poses a threat to the personnel. “The committee should consider the data available with the forest department on the habits of Arikomban. This should be done to advise the court whether there are options, other than capturing Arikomban, that can be explored to prevent it from causing disturbances in human settlements,” ● More on P4 said the court. Plastic waste E X P R ESS R EA D Vaikom Satyagraha enters 100th year Top crude oil suppliers to India in FY2022-23 the post-consumer stage of its life cycle. The objective is to reduce use of plastic by online food delivery firms, which, officials said, are responsible for a significant amount of plastic waste generated in urban areas. “It is the firms’ responsibility to rein in plastic use. If they are not ready to implement green protocol, the government will be forced to do it. A joint effort will help us prevent another Brahmapuram tragedy said a source ,” with Suchitwa Mission. Contingent workers of Kochi corporation said online food delivery accounts for roughly 90% of total plastic waste generated in the city “Around 90% of plas. tic waste we collect from houses is of food delivery While a few . of them were properly segregated, many people dumped plastic waste with biodegradable waste. Though several people have realised the importance of segregation after the Brahmapuram fire, some remain indifferent. If the government can take steps to control plastic use in food deliveries, Kochi can get rid of plastic menace soon,” said Ranjith, a contingent worker. As per statistics with State Suchitwa Mission, around 10,500 tonnes of solid waste is generated daily. Of this, nearly 1,780 tonnes, or 13 per cent, is just ● More on P4 plastic waste.  Section 5 of CPCB rules. The KSPCB chairman has been tasked with sending the notice to the civic body,” he said. Already, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has fined the corporation `100 crore following the fire. Making matters worse, the stays that the corporation had obtained on various fines have been vacated. These include `1 crore fine imposed by NGT under the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, `3 crore imposed by the KSPCB in 2018 (both when Soumini Jain was the mayor) and another `1.4 crore fine slapped by KSPCB following the recent fire. In the offing is another `10-crore fine that would KSPCB would impose, on NGT’s directive, on local bodies around Vembanad Lake for not taking steps to control the pollution of the water body “In effect, the corpora. tion will have to pay more than `130 crore as fine,” Pradeep said. Sources in KSPCB said the corporation might approach the review panel of the NGT or move Supreme Court seeking a stay on the ● More on P4 fines. Dweep MP’s disqualification revoked by LS Secretariat E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi NCP leader from Lakshadweep Mohammad Faizal P P stepped into the Lok Sabha on Wednesday for the first time after the LS Secretariat revoked his disqualification, weeks after the Kerala HC suspended his conviction and 10year jail term in an attempt to murder case. Coming as the notification did in the wake of Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from the Lok Sabha, it indicated the possible trajectory his case could take. Rahul is yet to file his appeal against the verdict. Faizal’s case also came up in the SC, which gave different indicators. An SC bench observed, “When there is...opinion...that it is a case of acquittal only then suspension of conviction and sentence can be done. There cannot be a separate norm for an MP and an MLA for suspension of conviction and sentences.”