tirupati l thursday l june 08, 2023 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l anantapur EDITION 700 Indian students in Canada face deportation over fake documents The students, most of them from Punjab, had moved to Canada in 2017-19 on student visas. Their admission letters were found to be fake Twitter `16-20 lakh paid to agent to secure visa Canadian oppn leader pledges support The fraud was discovered in March, when the students applied for permanent residency in Canada. When the Canadian Border Service Agency perused the documents the students had submitted for their visas, it found the purported admission letters from Humber College in Toronto were fake. The students had paid `16-20 lakh each to a Jalandhar-based agent for moving to Canada ■ Once the students reached Canada, the agent told them to seek admission elsewhere saying Humber seats were full. He also returned some money ■ Meanwhile, Canadian opposition leader Pierre Poilievre hit out at the Justin Trudeau-led government for the decision to deport the students. He said the students came in good faith and completed their programmes June 13 When the deportation is set to start, according to the notices to students 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 State approves new pension scheme Pensioner will receive 50% of basic pay as pension under GPS against 20.3% under CPS E x p ress N e w s S er v i c e @ Vijayawada The Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy at the Secretariat on Wednesday has decided to abolish the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) and implement Andhra Pradesh Guaranteed Pension Scheme (GPS) in a bid to ensure better benefits to employees post retirement. The Cabinet felt that it would be better to pay 50% of the employees’ basic pay till the time of retirement as monthly pension and continue increasing it by adding the Dearness Relief (DR) from time to time similar to the Centre extending DA and DR to employees and retired employees once in six months. Besides regularising the services of contract employees, who would have completed five years by June 2, 2014, the Council of Ministers gave its nod for the constitution of a Pay Revi- U J W A L J A L A L I @ New Delhi A thorough exercise was conducted before introducing GPS. It will benefit both employees and the government. Restoring the Old Pension Scheme will not take time, but it will be a burden and prove to be detrimental for future generations. So, the government finally came up with the GPS to provide better pension benefits to employees post retirement Ch Venugopala Krishna, I&PR Minister sion Commission, enhancing the House Rent Allowance (HRA) for employees working in all district headquarters to 16% from 12% and implementing the payment of 2.73% Dearness Allowance (DA). These decisions are expected to benefit around 10,117 contract employees working in various departments. Though officials had recommended that the cut off date for regularisation of service be fixed at 10 years (by June 2, As per the assurances given to us during the Joint Staff Council meeting, the Cabinet has approved key issues like regularisation of contract employees with a cutoff of 5 years, enhancing HRA to 16% from 12% for employees working in district headquarters and implementing 2.73% DA. I thank Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy for keeping up his promises Key Cabinet decisions 6,840 K Venkatrami Reddy, APSEA president 2014), the Chief Minister took a decision of slashing it to five years. By implementing the slew of decisions, the Cabinet believes the YSRC government has fulfilled 99.5% of its promises. Speaking to reporters, Information and Public Relations M i n i s t e r C h S r i n iva s a Venugopala Gopala Krishna said the government introduced GPS considering the future of the State and welfare of P4 the employees. 3,920 116 Police battalion RIMS Kadapa New posts sanctioned 11 Govt hospital for mental care 23 41 65 Upgrading sitanagaram PHC Palasa Kidney Centre Narsapuram Fisheries University Night watchmen at govt jr colleges 476 75 Fisheries Science College College Top protesting wrestlers on Wednesday agreed to suspend their agitation after Union s p o r t s m i n i s t e r A nu r a g Thakur assured that the Delhi Police probe into charges of sexual harassment against sidelined Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh will be wrapped up by June 15. “We had a very positive discussion with the protesting wrestlers... They demanded that the investigation be concluded and a chargesheet be filed by June 15. This demand was agreed by consensus,” Thakur said after having a sixhour-long discussions with the a wrestler delegation. This was the second meeting between the government and the protesting wrestlers within five days. The grapplers had met Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday night. On Wednesday top wrestlers , including Bajrang Punia and Minister Anurag Thakur (L) after talks with wrestlers Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia on Wednesday | Parveen Negi Sakshi Malik met Thakur and made five significant demands, including the appointment of a woman WFI chief and the scrapping of police FIRs against them for violation of law and order on May 28. “In the meeting, it was suggested by the wrestlers that the WFI elections be held by June 30 and an Internal Complaints Committee of WFI be formed that should be headed by a woman,” Thakur said, adding all of them were agreed. “Also, two names of coaches were suggested by the wrestlers who will be part of the adhoc committee for technical as- Speculation rife over minor cabinet revamp Court allows CBI to conduct ninhydrin test on Viveka note RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR @ New Delhi E x p ress N e w s S er v i c e @ Hyderabad The Special Court for CBI cases at Nampally in Hyderabad on Wednesday granted permission to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to conduct a ninhydrin test on the letter written by former minister YS Vivekananda Reddy just before his death to check for fingerprints on it. On February 11, 2021, the CBI had forwarded the letter found at the crime scene to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL). After checking it, the lab had reported that the letter was written by Vivekananda Reddy under duress. Following this, the probe agency sought the court’s permission to check the letter for fingerprints. If found, the CBI further wanted to investigate if they belonged to the accused in the murder case of the former minister. The CBI had also asked the court to allow it to replace the original letter with a colour photocopy in the event that the original letter and the script on it were damaged during the ninhydrin test. After hearing the arguments put forth by counsel for the CBI, the court granted permission to conduct the ninhydrin test. Wrestlers put agitation on hold for a week after talks with sports minister aussies get head start Travis Head (left) and Steve Smith take a run against India in the WTC final match at the Oval on Wednesday. Head remained unbeaten on 146 and Smith on 95 at close of play on Day One. The two added 251 runs for the fourth wicket | AFP | P11 Centre hikes MSPs for kharif crops by 5-10%, to pay `143 more for paddy J i ten d ra Ch o u b e y @ New Delhi A day after removing the procurement ceiling for pulses under the price support scheme to encourage farmers to boost production, the Centre on Wednesday increased the minimum support price (MSP) of kharif crops.   The latest move is to provide better remuneration to farmers and motivate them to diversify their crops. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved revision in MSP for all mandated kharif crops grown in 2023-24 crop year and procured in Kharif marketing season (OctoberSeptember). The decision comes in the backdrop of weaker monsoons and reduced sowing areas. For primary food crops such as paddy the , new MSP stands at `2,183 per quintal — an increase of `143 from the previous year. The MSP of moong (green gram) has been increased by `803 to `8,558 and that of sesa- me by `805 to `8,635. The MSP for maize has been raised by 6.5% to `2,090 per quintal, tur/ arhar (pigeon peas) by 6% to `7,000, urad (black gram) by 5% to `6,950, groundnut by 9% to 6,377, sunflower by 5.6% to `6,760, and soybean by 7% to `4,600. However, the comparative data over the past nine years show that the rate of increment in MSP during the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) rule (2014-2023) is significantly lower than that of the previous nine years (2004-2013) under the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government. A series of meetings held by the BJP brass here since Monday has set off speculation of an organisational revamp and a possible minor reshuffle in the Union cabinet before the departure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the US. Some ministers could be dropped and given organisational responsibilities so as to prepare the party for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. If sources are to be believed, a rejig in the ministries of agriculture, aviation, finance, Jal Shakti, environment and climate change, power and rural development is on the cards. The party’s senior leadership is learnt to have brainstormed on revamping BJP units in various states, including Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Telangana, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Kerala. The party is also expected to soon announce the name of leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly. Incumbent Karnataka BJP chief Nalin Kateel has completed his term in office. As for poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, there is buzz over Union minister Pralhad Singh Patel being elevated as its state unit head. Patel is considered an influential leader who can tone up the party’s performance in the state elections later this year. Incumbent BJP state chief V D Sharma is said to not have a good rapport with Chief Minister Shivraj Chauhan. In Telangana, incumbent state unit president Bandi Sanjay Kumar may get a major responsibility at the party’s national level. The meeting also discussed the strategy to expand the ruling NDA. sistance,” he added. The minister said all decisions were taken unanimously , adding the wrestlers had also demanded the withdrawal of cases against various academies and sportspersons as well as not allowing Singh and his associates to participate in the election process. The government also agreed to the demand not to allow Brij Bhushan Singh, who has completed three terms as president, and his associates to contest the forthcoming elections. Bajrang Punia, while speaking to reporters after the marathon meeting, said that he was satisfied with the outcome and has decided to suspend the protest till June 15. If the government fails to deliver on its promise, the protest could be resumed, Punia said. Significantly, double World Championships medallist Vinesh Phogat, who had been spearheading the protest at the Jantar Mantar since April 23, skipped Wednesday’s meet.  P7 express read APCID to question Ramoji Rao, Sailaja Vijayawada: The AP Crime Investigation Department has stated that Margadarsi Chit Fund Private Limited (MCFPL) chairman Ch Ramoji Rao and MD Sailaja Kiran will be questioned again in connection with the alleged chit fund scam | P4 Water continues to rise in Southern Ukraine Kherson: Floodwaters from a collapsed dam kept rising in southern Ukraine on Wednesday, forcing hundreds of people to flee their homes in a major emergency operation that brought a new dimension to the war with Russia, now in its 16th month | P9 170 pilgrims leave for Haj from Vijayawada Vijayawada: First group of 170 Haj pilgrims left for Jeddah on ASG 5007 flight from the Vijayawada International Airport in Gannavaram on Wednesday. This is the first time that pilgrims have embarked on the pilgrimage from Vijayawada | P3 Heatwave to continue for five days E x p ress N e w s S er v i c e @ Visakhapatnam Heatwave conditions accompanied with thunderstorms and lightning in isolated places are likely to continue for the next five days due to the lower tropospheric westerly and south westerly winds prevailing over the State, according to the Indian Meteorological Department (Amaravati). The Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA) has predicted severe heatwave conditions in Naathavram mandal of Anakapalle district, Kotananduru and Rowthulapudi mandals of Kakinada district. Meanwhile, heatwave conditions are likely in 229 mandals. Maximum daytime temperature of 44°C to 47°C is expected in parts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Parvathipuramanyam, Alluri Sitama Raju, Kaki- nada, Konaseema, Godavari, Eluru, Krishna, NTR, Guntur, Bapatla, Palnadu, and Prakasam districts on Thursday . Several parts of Vizag, Anakapalli, Nellore, Kur nool, Nandyala, YSR, and Tirupati districts are likely to experience temperature between 42°C and 44°C. The temperature is expected to hover between 40°C and 41°C in parts of Anantapur, Sri Sathyasai, Annamayya, P3 and Chittoor districts.