tirupati l wednesday l june 19, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION U.S. delegation in India to meet Dalai Lama, discuss Tibet bill The delegation led by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul reached Himachal Pradesh’s Dharamsala on Tuesday Biden to sign legislation soon: McCaul The delegation includes ex-US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Congress members Mariannette Miller, Gregory Meeks, Nicole Malliotakis, Jim McGovern and Ami Bera. They will meet the Dalai Lama on Wednesday. McCaul said US President Joe Biden will sign the Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act, also known as Resolve Tibet Act U.S. BILL China protests visit of u.s. Delegation ■ The bill seeks to push China to hold talks with Tibetan leaders, stalled since 2010, to secure a pact that will get Beijing to respect Tibetan people’s aspirations on their historical, cultural, religious and linguistic identity ■ Meanwhile, China protested the US delegation’s visit and urged Biden not to sign the Tibet bill, which it claimed will send wrong signals to the world Treats Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces as part of Tibet 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 Now, Jagan calls for switch to paper ballots SC sets highest from EVMs; TDP terms remarks hypocritical bar on negligence E x p r ess N e w s S e r v i c e @ Vijayawada YSRC president and former chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday said Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) should be replaced with ballot papers in elections. Jagan’s remarks come days after Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk called for the elimination of EVMs while responding to reports of irregularities during polling in Puerto Rico. Musk’s tweet set off a fresh row on EVMs in India with politicians across the country in- YS Jagan Mohan Reddy @ysjagan Lokesh Nara @naralokesh Just as justice should not only be served, but should also appear to have been served, so should democracy not only prevail but must appear to be prevalent undoubtedly. In electoral practices across the world in almost every advanced democracy, paper ballots are used, not EVMs. We too must move towards the same in upholding the true spirit of our democracy. Let’s face it @ysjagan, you’re allergic to democracy. You systematically destroyed institutions, systems and practices devoted to protecting people’s rights. You struck down in one stroke what the people of AP built collectively over the years. When you won in 2019, EVMs worked beautifully. When you lose in 2024, you blame the EVMs. Such hypocrisy. Perhaps you should reflect on your failed tenure and accept that people have rejected you outright dulging in a war of words. In a post on X, Jagan said, “Just as justice should not only be served, but should also appear to have been served, so should democracy not only pre- vail, but must appear to be prevalent undoubtedly In elec. toral practices across the world in almost every advanced democracy paper ballots are used, , not EVMs. We too must move towards the same in upholding the true spirit of our democracy .” It may be pointed out that the YSRC suffered a poll debacle as it could secure only 11 of the total 175 Assembly and four of the 25 Parliament seats. The former chief minister’s comments drew sharp criticism from the ruling TDP with , leaders quickly reposting a video from 2019 when Jagan spoke in favour of the EVMs. Taking to X, TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh lashed out at Jagan and asked him to accept the fact that the people P4 have rejected the YSRC. Fire erupts in KGH IRCU, none injured E x p r ess N e w s S e r v i c e @ Visakhapatnam A fire broke out in the Intensive Respiratory Care Unit (IRCU) on the 4th floor of the CSR Block in King George Hospital (KGH) Monday midnight allegedly due to a malfunctioning ventilator. As a result, dense smoke engulfed the ward. Fort u n a t e l y, t h e r e we r e n o casualties. Prompt response of the hospital staff ensured quick containment of fire. The ventilator and its monitor were partially gutted. There were eight patients in the ward at the time of the incident. One of the patients’ attendant expressed immense relief at the swift response, while emphasising the need for enhanced safety measures to prevent such accidents in the future. Elaborating on the incident, KGH superintendent Shivanandh said as soon as smoke was detected, staff ensured all the patients were moved to other wards to receive uninterrupted medical attention. “Thankfully we have properly, equipped surgical and oncology ICUs adjacent to the IRCU. This enabled a timely transfer,” he explained. It has been learnt that the ventilators in use were supplied during the COVID-19 pandemic through PM Cares and were properly functioning without any issues since. P4 A family out in the blazing sun with their heads covered, in the Capital on Tuesday | Parveen Negi Boiling tap water, power cuts add to Delhi’s misery J i t en d r a C h ou b ey @ New Delhi “We are more worried about the boiling tap water than the blistering heat,” says Sunita, 28, a migrant from Maharashtra, living in Delhi’s Sundar Nagari. “Our sleep-dep r iv e d w o m e n i n t h e neighbourhood wake up around 5 am to start household chores and bathe early so as to avoid the boiling tap water during daytime,” she adds. Heatwave conditions during both day and night have made life miserable for those who don’t have cooling equipment at home. Excess heat has also made street dogs more irritable, possibly doubling dog bite cases. Delhi’s maximum temperature on Monday was 6-8°C above normal and so was the minimum temperature — over 6°C above normal. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) catagorises the conditions as warm night when the departure of the minimum temperature is 4.5°C-6.4°C above normal. Severe warm nights are when the departure is over 6.4°C. Normally, the difference between maximum and minimum in summer in the North is 10-15°C. But the current dif ference is just around 6-8°C. “It shows the magnitude of the heatwave conditions,” said Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, IMD chief. Warm night to severe warm night conditions have been observed in parts of Punjab, Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi and UP. Warm night conditions are prevalant in isolated pockets of Rajasthan and Bihar. Then there is the problem of frequent power cuts and Chart toppers A staffer checking the ventilator after fire accident at KGH I G Satyanarayana On 17 June, the following 4 stations reported their highest-ever minimum temperatures express read Two-day Assembly session from June 21 Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly session is likely to be conducted for two days from June 21. Although earlier it was reported that the session may commence from June 24, the government decided to conduct it from June 21 Govt renames six welfare schemes Vijayawada: The State government on Tuesday issued orders renaming six social welfare schemes, including Jagananna Vidya Deevena, Vasathi Deevena, Videsi Vidya Deevena (for SCs), YSR Kalyanamasthu, & others | P4 water scarcity in Delhi-NCR colonies. “For a week in May , our transformer burst and deprived us of electricity. Now, regular water supply is a challenge,” said Mihir Chandra, a resident of a posh colony in Gurgaon, who organised multiple protest at the Gurgaon Municipal Corporation. “I found many similar protests in Noida, Ghaziabad, and other places. I am worried about our older people and children coping with the heat,” he added. Even ACs struggle to function in the heat. “My mechanic arranged a cooler to keep my AC functional,” said a senior doctor living in Delhi’s Vasant Vihar. He works at the Government Civil Hospital in Gurgaon. “Heat-related illness cases have gone up by 25% in all OPDs. Dog bite cases have also jumped in the past one month,” he said on the condition of anonymity . Alwar: 37°C (Highest since 1969) Lakhimpur Khiri: 33°C (since 1969) Shahjahanpur: 33°C (since 1977) Varanasi: 33.6°C (since 1969) bail granted YSRC MP’s daughter held for running over man in NEET-UG exam Siddharth Prabhakar Asks NTA to take action if there is 0.001% chance of malpractice in holding the test S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Tuesday pressed the National Testing Agency (NTA) to proactively take remedial action if there was even 0.001% chance of negligence in conducting the NEET-UG examination. “As an agency, you must act fair. If there is a mistake, say yes, this is a mistake. If there is 0.001% negligence on the part of anyone, it should be thoroughly dealt with... We need timely action from you,” a two-judge vacation bench of justices Vikram Nath and S V N Bhatti said. Observing that students have to labour hard while preparing for these examinations, the court said the litigation pertaining to the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) -2024 must not be treated as adversarial. “We all know the labour which the children undergo, especially in preparing for these exams,” the bench said, adding, “Imagine a person who has played fraud on the system becomes a doctor, he is more deleterious to the society .” The bench was hearing two petitions against awarding grace marks given to students in the examination held on May 5 besides other malpractices. It sought a detailed response from the NTA and the Centre and told the petitioners @ Chennai Beeda Madhuri, the daughter of YSRC Rajya Sabha MP Beeda Masthan Rao was arrested in Chennai on Tuesday for allegedly running over a man in Besant Nagar on Monday afternoon. The victim, identified as S Sathish (22), succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment at a hospital. The accused surrendered before the Adyar Traffic Investigation Wing (TIW) on Tuesday morning and was later granted on bail, a police official said. A case has been registered under Section 304 (A) for causing death by negligence. According to police, Sathish, a resident of Oorur Kuppam and a painter by profession, was lying on a pavement reportedly under the influence of alcohol when the luxury car ran over him while reversing on Tiger Varadachari Street. Madhuri and her friend Priya were in the car when the accident happened. Sathish sustained severe injuries on his stomach, face and chest. He was shifted to the Royapettah Government Hospital, where he died at 7 pm on Monday. It has been learnt that Sathish got married only eight months ago. The incident reportedly took place around 11 pm on Monday . Subsequently around 50 resi, dents from the area, including Sathish’s friends and relatives, protested outside the Shastri Nagar police station demanding action against the car P4 driver. Aspirant in trouble over fake papers The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday said that a NEET aspirant who had alleged in that the NTA failed to declare her result and that her OMR answersheet was found torn had submitted forged documents. The court allowed the NTA to take legal action in the matter they can argue their case on July 8, the next date of hearing. There have also been allegations of question paper leaks in states like Bihar, which led to protests in several cities and petitions in various courts. Advocate Kanu Agrawal, appearing for the Union, said “let no opinion be formed till we file a counter.” Agarwal added that the NTA’s recent decision to revoke the grace marks to 1,563 students indicated it was responsive to the concerns of candidates. That decision was taken after an expert committee found flaws in the modus of awarding grace marks. The NEET-UG examination is conducted by the NTA for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country. Around 24 lakh candidates took the exam on May 5 in 4,750 centres across the country . RBI mulls better insurance coverage for green deposits Patra said in his speech. RBI had issued the framework for green deposits in April 2023, with the broad objective to develop a green finance ecosystem. Under the framework, regulated entities can offer green deposits to customers and boost the sustainability agenda, address ‘greenwashing’ (false claims on sustainability), and help increase the flow of funds to green projects. Deposit insurance is mandatory for all the banks in India, including foreign banks operating in the country However, in. surance coverage is a sticky issue. The Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation of India, a subsidiary of the RBI, covers deposits only up to `5 lakh. It steps in, in the event of a bank collapse. B E N K O CH U V E E DA N @ Mumbai WITH climate change emerging as an overarching risk to the global economy as well as financial systems, the Reserve Bank of India is exploring adequate insurance coverage for green deposits, deputy governor Michael Patra said. “We are exploring appropriate coverage for green deposits, climate-risk based differential premiums and ex-ante funding needs for climate sustainability,” Patra told the 79th executive committee meeting of the International Association of Deposit Insurers in Rome over the weekend. While Patra did not elaborate on RBI’s plans, the move is expected to bring more funds to environmentfriendly projects. Patra urged deposit insurers to brace for more complex challenges amidst the heightened uncertainty especially from the impact of climate change, which threatens to disrupt the global economy . “New challenges arising from climate changes will inevitably require effective coordination and information sharing between domestic insurers and other national safety net participants as well as with those in other jurisdictions,” Big shot King Kohli reclaims throne of India’s most valued celebrity brand U M A KA N N A N @ Bengaluru With a brand value of $227.9 million in 2023, cricketer Virat Kohli surpassed Bollywood star Ranveer Singh to claim the No 1 spot as India’s most valued celebrity He was No 2 with $176.9 . million in 2022. That’s a cool 30% jump in one year. In 2017, with a brand value of $144 million, the star cricketer had sur passed Bollywood heart-throb Shah Rukh Khan for the first time and stood No 1 that year. Since then, Kohli’s brand value soared 58% to touch the latest figure. The brand value of actor Ranveer Singh shot up 383% in the past seven years. He was at No 5 with $42 million in 2017. In 2023, his brand value stood at $203.1 million. According to Celebrity Brand Valuation Report 2023, released by global consulting firm Kroll, the overall brand value of the top 25 celebrities in 2023 is estimated at $1.9 billion, an increase of 15.5% from the previous year. Aviral Jain, MD, Valuation Advisory Services, Kroll, told this paper: “2023 marked King Kohli reclaiming the throne of being the most valued celebrity brand in India backed by his stellar and record breaking onfield performances throughout the year. He marshals a vast army of 375 million social media followers and his brand repertoire has doubled in the last five years.” Actors Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar and Alia Bhatt are at No 3, 4 and 5 with a brand value of $120.7 million, $111.7 million and $101.1 million, respectively . The report says the cumula- tive number of product brand endorsements by the top 20 celebrities increased to 484 in 2023, a jump of 14.2% from 424 product brands in 2022. The list also featured Sachin Tendulkar, M S Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya. Apart from investing in startups, these celebs have launched their own brands. They are dabbling in new areas like the food business, with ventures like Kohli-led One8 Commune’s multi-city premium restaurants, and Genelia D’Souza and Riteish Deshmukh’s Imagine Meats India. Most valued celebs (Source: Celebrity Brand Valuation Report 2023) $227.9 million $203.1 million 1 Virat Kohli 2 Ranveer Singh $120.7 $111.7 $101.1 million million million Shah Rukh Khan Akshay Kumar Alia Bhatt 3 4 5
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