tirupati l saturday l july 06, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l anantapur EDITION Ahead of Modi’s Russia trip, Army gets 35,000 ‘Kalashnikov’ rifles Indo-Russian Rifles Pvt Ltd has delivered the first batch of made-in-India Kalashnikov AK-203 assault rifles to the Indian Army Amethi-based JV to make 6 lakh ak-203s Made in India with Russian technology IRRPL, located in Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi, is a joint venture of Indian defence PSUs with Concern Kalashnikov and Rosoboronexport of Russia. The first phase of the project has been completed with the production and transfer of 35,000 rifles to the Army, Rosoboronexport said. The JV plans to make over 6 lakh assault rifles for the Indian defence forces ■ “The Kalashnikov AK-203 assault rifle is a version of the AK-200 rifle chambered for the 7.62x39mm cartridge used in the Indian Army. The weapon has the traditional advantages of Kalashnikov assault rifles: reliability and ease of maintenance,” Rosoboronexport said in a statement ■ AK-203s are manufactured in India in compliance with Russian technologies `1,26,887 cr Overall value of defence production in iNDIA in FY24, ACCORDING TO GOVT DATA 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 CMs of AP & TG to discuss division of assets between states, power dues Naidu-Revanth meeting today S V i s w a n at h @ Vijayawada After his two-day tour to New Delhi, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu arrived in Hyderabad on Friday evening for a meeting with his Telangana counterpart A Revanth Reddy, which is scheduled to be held on Saturday . This is Naidu’s first visit to Hyderabad after becoming Chief Minister. He was accorded a grand welcome at the Begumpet airport. He also took part in a massive roadshow from the airport to his residence in Jubilee Hills. The two Chief Ministers are set to hold discussions on issues related to the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. It has been learnt that the delegation from Andhra Pradesh will comprise Chief Minister Naidu and three Ministers — Anagani Satya Prasad (Revenue), BC Janardhan Reddy (Roads and Buildings) and Kandula Durgesh (Tourism and Cinematography). Secretaries of Finance and other departments are also likely to attend the meeting. Some of the key issues that are expected to come up during the meeting include the division of institutions listed under Schedule IX and X of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, as well as division of institutions that are not mentioned in the Act. The duo are also likely to discuss issues pertaining to the AP State Fi- Naidu’s demands 90% grant component in Central govt schemes, covering but not limited to micro irrigation, drinking water, irrigation, horticulture, being implemented in Rayalaseema, Prakasam and North Coastal regions of Andhra Pradesh Handholding from Centre till State finances improve Addl borrowing space to meet accrued debt service obligations following the bifurcation Early approval of funds for completion of Polavaram irrigation project Assistance for development of Amaravati capital city Incentives for industrial development in the State & required infrastructure for 4 identified industrial nodes Creation of an ecosystem for the defence sector in Andhra Pradesh S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y @ New Delhi Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu greets his supporters at the Begumpet airport in Hyderabad on Friday | Express nancial Corporation (APSFC ), apportionment of debt of 15 externally-aided projects between Andhra and Telangana, exchange of employees, division of labour cess and reimbursement of expenditure on common institutions. The issue of power dues, a sticking point for both the Telugu States, is most likely to come up during the meeting. While Telangana has claimed that Andhra owes it `24,000 On a day the Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi continued to allege that compensation has not been paid to the next of kin of Agniveer Ajay Kumar who died in a landmine blast in J&K in January it emerged that , around 20 Agniveers lost their lives in less than a year of their induction. The first batch of Agniveers joined the Army in August 2023. Around 18 Agniveers who passed away are from the Army Most of them died in ac. tion or due to some ailment. The latest is of death by suicide in the Air Force, a first for an Agniveer in the IAF. Srikant Kumar Chaudhary, 22, allegedly died by suicide crore, the AP gover nment maintains that it should receive `7,000 crore from the neighbouring Telugu State. Last year, the Centre had directed the Telangana government to clear power dues to the tune of over `6,000 crore to Andhra Pradesh. However, the Telangana High Court quashed the Centre’s order, stating that the same was issued “without following principles of natural justice”. My intention is to ensure that equal justice is rendered to both the Telugu States. Discussions will be focused on resolving the pending issues of the State bifurcation and the future of both States N Chandrababu Naidu, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister With regard to institutions under Schedule IX, the Sheela Bhide Expert Committee (EC) had recommended division of headquarter assets for 89 out of 91 institutions. According to sources, Andhra Pradesh was ready to accept the recommendations for all 89 institutions, but the Telangana government was ready to accept recommendations for only 68 institutions. Similarly out of the 142 insti, tutions under Schedule X, issues related to 30 institutions like Telugu Academy, Telugu University, Ambedkar University among others are yet to be P4 resolved. bail ap out of precarious finances, cm urges centre E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @ Vijayawada Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu wrapped up his twoday visit to New Delhi on Friday. He held meetings with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP national president and Health Minister JP Nadda among others. He sought the Centre to bail Andhra Pradesh out of the precarious financial condition it is in owing to the inefficient governance of the previous YSRC government. During his meeting with Sitharaman, Naidu appealed to the Finance Minister to rescue Andhra Pradesh as it is in a deep debt. Stating that the debt rate of the State reached to 33.32% of GSDP in financial year 2023-2024, he said the debts were 31.02% of GSDP in FY201920. Over 20 Agniveers dead within a year of induction M AYAN K S INGH @ New Delhi Govt, NTA affidavits oppose demand to scrap NEET-UG while on sentry duty at the Air Force Station in Agra late on Tuesday night. He hailed from UP’s Ballia district. A Board of Inquiry has been set up to probe his death. Incidentally, the first death of an Agniveer within the Army was also by suicide. It had stirred a controversy as a military funeral was not accorded to him since it’s the Army’s policy not to glorify deaths by suicide. After Rahul Gandhi alleged in the Lok Sabha that Agniveer Ajay Singh’s family wasn’t given compensation, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh hit back, saying `1 crore compensation is paid to to families of Agniveers who die in the line of duty . The Finance Minister assured Naidu that possible financial aid will be extended to the State. Further, the Chief Minister sought handholding from the Centre till Andhra Pradesh’s finances improve. He requested Union Minister responded positively on several issues raised by the State. As people gave their mandate to the NDA, we will strive to reverse the damage caused to the State N Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister for support in terms of additional borrowing space to meet the accrued debt service obligations following the bifurcation. Besides urging Sitharaman to provide for a 90% grant component in Central government schemes covering but not limited to micro irrigation, drinking water, irrigation, horticulture, etc., being implemented in Rayalaseema, Prakasam and North Coastal regions of Andhra Pradesh, Naidu also wanted the Centre to approve funds for completion of Polavaram national irrigation project as soon as possible. Additionally, he sought assistance for development of the Amaravati capital city and incentives for industrial development in the State. During his talks with Rajnath Singh, Naidu requested for creation of an ecosystem for the defence sector in Andhra Pradesh to give an impetus to industrial growth in the State. He called on JP Nadda and highlighted the need for Centre’s support in upgrading health infrastructure in AndP4 hra Pradesh. Days before the Supreme Court begins its hearing on petitions seeking the scrapping of the NEET-UG on July 8, the Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA) on Friday filed separate affidavits opposing its cancellation, arguing it would be counterproductive and seriously jeopardise the efforts of lakhs of honest candidates who took the test. “Scrapping the exam in its entirety would seriously jeopardise lakhs of honest candidates who attempted the question paper in 2024,” the affidavit filed by the Union Ministry of Education said. It said demands for cancellation and the retest based on surmises and conjectures must be rejected. NEET-PG on August 11 The NEET-PG 2024 will be held on August 11 in two shifts, the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences announced. Scheduled to be held on June 23, it was put off a day before the exam For its part, the NTA, which conducted the exam, said the entire NEET-UG 2024 was carried out fairly and with due confidentiality without any illegal practices. It sought to rubbish the claim of mass malpractice during the exam, arguing it was “completely unfounded, misleading, and lacks any basis”. “It is submitted that the present case is not a case wherein the entire examination process conducted across 4750 centres in 571 cities (including 14 cities abroad) has Probe irregularities in allotment of houses in Pulivendula: Govt E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @ Vijayawada The State government has decided to probe into the alleged irregularities in the allotment of houses to beneficiaries under the Jagananna Housing Scheme in Pulivendula Municipality. It may be pointed out that YSRC president and former chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy represents the Pulivendula Assembly constituency . The development comes following TDP MLC Bhumireddy Ramagopal Reddy’s complaint. On June 13, Ramagopal Reddy wrote a letter to Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, alleging irregularities in allotment of houses under the scheme. “Former chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, when in power, approved construction of 8,000 houses for the poor. However, ineligible people were selected as beneficiaries,” he claimed. He alleged that the houses were allotted to rich persons, employees and even people from other regions. He added that though several complaints were lodged with the authorities concerned, no action was taken. The MLC sought action against the then Kadapa district Joint Collector, Pulivendula Municipal Commissioner and other officials responsible for the scandal in the allotment of houses. The MLC also urged Naidu to register criminal cases against the ineligible beneficiaries and officials for misuse of public money . Subsequently CM’s secretary , Pradyumna PS wrote to the Special Chief Secretary (Housing) and sought action on the issue at the earliest. express read Flash flood alert sounded for next 24 hrs Tiger moves into Veligonda forest New Delhi: The IMD on Friday issued an alert on flash floods in next 24 hours due to prevailing strong monsoon systems as it predicted widespread intense rains in northwest & east India and northeast region | P8 Nellore: Forest department officials confirmed the entry of a male tiger into the Veligonda forest area in Nellore district. The wild cat is believed to have migrated from the Nallamala forest in Prakasam district | P3 Labour Party ends Conservative era in Britain Look where it crossed 400 y E S HI s E L I @ New Delhi AFTER sitting on the opposition benches for more than a decade, the Labour Party on Friday stormed to power in the UK, ending 14 years of Conservative rule. Labour leader Keir Starmer assumed charge as the 58th prime minister after his customary audience with King Charles III at Buckingham Palace. “Our country has voted decisively for change, for national renewal and a return of politics for public service,” said Starmer in his inaugural address from a lectern outside 10 Downing Street, the official residence of the British PM. Starmer, 61, noted that people have become disillusioned and cynical about politics and his priority is to restore their faith in government. Total seats 650 28 BRITISH-INDIANS WIN iN ELECTION Majority mark 326 412 (+211) Britain’s Labour Party Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria at 10 Downing Street in London | AP/PTI Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Starmer adding that he looks forward to a constructive collaboration to strengthen India-UK relations. Modi also thanked outgoing prime minister Rishi Sunak and lauded his leadership. Labour Party 9 (-38) Scottish National 121 7 (-251) 29 LABOUR: Preet Kaur Gill, Kanishka Narayan, Navendu Mishra, Satvir Kaur Tan Dhesi, Seema Malhotra, Valerie Vaz, Lisa Nandy, Jas Athwal , Kanishka Narayan, Baggy Shanker, Harpreet Uppal, Warinder Juss, Gurinder Josan, Sonia Kumar, Sureena Brackenbridge, Kirith Entwistle, Jeevun Sandher, Sojan Joseph CONSERVATIVE: Rishi Sunak, Suella Braverman, Priti Patel, Claire Coutinho, Gagan Mohindra, Shivani Raja LIBERAL DEMOCRAT: Munira Wilson IND: Shockat A Patel, Iqbal Mohamed (+63) Sin Fein (+15) Others 71 Conservative Party (Figures in brackets are increase/ decrease from 2019 election) suffered systematic failure, as it has not been vitiated by all pervasive factors of unfair means or paper leak etc,” the agency said. It added that the alleged irregularities were confined to certain centres in two cities — Patna and Godhra. The NTA said other individual instances of the alleged use of unfair means are very few and do not have any co-relation with the malpractices referred to by the petitioners. In all, 63 cases of use of unfair means were reported, and a committee submitted its recommendations for action. The panel recommended withholding the results of 33 candidates, debarment of 22 up to three years and declaring the result of nine. Exam functionaries of NEET (UG) 2024 have also registered 13 FIRs in cases of unfair means at different exam centres, the NTA said. U.P. stampede Rahul blames it on lapse by administration Rahul Gandhi consoles a woman, whose family member was a victim of the Hathras stampede, in a village | PTI N a m i ta B a j pa i @ Lucknow Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday said there were administrative lapses that led to the recent Hathras stampede, which killed 121 people, but added that he did not want to make it a political issue. “There have been mistakes and those should be looked into. The most important thing is that the bereaved families from the poor and deprived sections of society must be given more and more compensation in this difficult hour,” he said. Rahul urged UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to arrange generous financial relief. “It will be insignificance if delayed and paid after six months, a year,” said Rahul, who visited Aligarh and Hathras to meet the injured getting treatment in hospitals. Both the UP and the Central governments have already announced ex-gratia of `2 lakh each to the next kin of the deceased and `50,000 to the injured. So, each family that lost its kin would get `4 lakh and the injured would get `1 lakh. Rahul, who met the relatives of the victims in a park, later said most of the injured had complaints about the administration. “The required police mobilisation to handle such a gathering was not there.” Most of the victims seems annoyed with the Bhole Baba, who held the congregation but fled after the stampede.
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