tirupati l tuesday l july 09, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Employment in 27 industries rises 3.31% in 2022-23, says new RBI data The number of persons employed in these 27 industries comprising the entire Indian economy increased by 3.31% year-on-year to 59.66 crore Agri sector employed 25 crore people Govt rebuffs citigroup’s report on jobs The 27 industries are aggregated to form six broad sectors. ‘Agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing’, one of the six sectors, employed 25.3 crore people, up from 24.82 crore in 2021-22. The other five sectors are mining and quarrying, manufacturing, electricity, gas and water supply, construction, and service. In 2021-22, the six sectors employed 57.75 crore people ■ ■ The new RBI data shows India created more than 8 crore employment opportunities from 2017-18 to 2021-22. The data’s release comes days after Citigroup said India will struggle to create jobs even with a 7% GDP growth Rebutting Citigroup’s reports, the Union labour ministry said it did not analyse all official data sources available in the public domain 57.9% India’s labour force participation rate in 2022-23, 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 4 jawans killed in Army convoy ambush in Jammu’s Kathua F aya z W a n i @ Srinagar Terrorists ambushed an Army convoy on Monday in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district, killing four soldiers and injuring six others. It comes after the two-daylong twin encounters in Kulgam in south Kashmir ended on Sunday night in which eight people, including six terrorists and two soldiers, were killed. Sources said a band of heavily armed terrorists ambushed the convoy on Machedi KindliMalhar road near Badnote village in Kathua district around Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed by Russian President Vladimir Putin at his official residence at Novo-Ogaryovo, in Moscow on Monday | PTI Modi, Putin hold informal talks ahead of summit Ye s h i Se l i @ New Delhi Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated visiting Prime Minister Narendra Modi for winning a third consecutive term in office, as the two leaders hugged when they met in Moscow on Monday and spoke over a round of tea. “Welcome to Russia, my dear friend, very happy to see you,” said Putin. “Tomorrow we will have official talks, but today we will have an informal round like one does at home,” said Putin, who hosted a dinner in the prime minister’s honour. Modi thanked Putin for inviting him to his house. “I am happy to be at your house where we can sit and chit-chat. Thank you,’’ said Modi. The PM was received at the Moscow airport by Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Dennis Manturov. While driving through Moscow, members of the Indian community waved at him, chanting ‘Modi, Modi’. This is Modi’s first visit to Moscow in five years (the last time was in 2019 when he visited Vladivostok). Modi and Putin will take part in the 22nd India Russia Summit on Tuesday . “Looking forward to further deepening the special and privileged strategic partnership between our nations, especially in futuristic areas of cooperation,” Modi posted on X after reaching Moscow. “The focus of the visit is the economic agenda, which includes energy, trade, manufacturing and fertilisers. Besides, Modi will reiterate that a solution to the Ukrainian war cannot be found on the battlefield,’’ according to a source. On Tuesday, Modi will lay a wreath on the ‘Tomb of the Unknown Soldier’ followed by a visit to the Rosatom Pavilion. He will have a restricted meeting with Putin in the afternoon before delegation-level talks. The two leaders, however, will not make any statements to the press afterwards. “No joint communication with the media is foreseen. But we expect an extended exchange of views at both the private and extended sessions, which will largely compensate for the lack of statements to the media,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by the state-owned TASS. Modi will leave for Vienna later in the evening. 3.30 pm. The terrorists fired automatic guns and lobbed grenades towards the army vehicles. “In the attack, four soldiers including a Junior Commissioned Officer were killed and six sustained injuries,” an official said. After the ambush, there was a brief exchange of gunfire before the terrorists slipped into a nearby forest. The injured were rushed to a military hospital. Doctors said the condition of three of them are critical. The Army, local police and the Central Reserve Police Chak Sajjan Patyari Saniyari Chak Charuhn Kharote Sicop Units kathua Chak Desa Parliwand Chak Bhaga Badian Pattan Force have launched a massive search operation to track down the terrorists. The team of elite para commandos rushed to the area to assist the security forces in the hunt for the terrorists. The security forces were using drones and other surveillance equipment to track down the terrorists, who are suspected to be part of a group whose two members were killed in an encounter by security forces in Kathua last week. Two terrorists and a CRPF jawan were killed in that attack. Immediately after the Monday’s attack, senior officers visited the area to take stock of the situation. “The officials are probing what kind of rifles and ammunition was used by the militants. They are also probing whether armour-piercing bullets were used to pierce the bullet-proof vests of the Army men,” sources said. In the twin encounters in Madergam and Chinigam villages in Kulgam district that began on July 6 and ended on Sunday, six terrorists of Hizbul Mujahideen and two soldiers, including a para commando, were killed. As per sources, terrorists are shifting their focus to the Jammu region after facing the heat of “Operation All Out” launched by security forces in the Valley . Cong will form govt at Centre Make NEET disclosure & in AP in 2029, says Revanth on leak: SC to NTA, CBI E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y The Congress on Monday celebrated the 75th birth anniversary of YS Rajasekhara Reddy , the former Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh, in an unprecedented manner. To mark the occasion, Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, released a video, highlighting YSR’s contributions to the grand old party . In his message, Rahul described YSR as true leader of the masses. “He was a person who believed in the people of Andhra Pradesh and lived for them. It’s a tragedy we lost him. I am absolutely certain that had he been here today Andhra , Pradesh would have been a completely different place and it would not have the tragedies and difficulties it is facing today,” the Congress leader said and exuded confidence that YSR’s daughter YS Sharmila will take forward his legacy Ra. hul also recalled that it was YSR’s padayatra that inspired him to take up the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Later in the day, a host of Congress leaders from Telangana, where the party had emerged victorious in the Assembly elections, attended a programmed in Mangalagiri. Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikra- The Supreme Court on Monday directed the CBI to file a status report on the probe into the NEET-UG paper leak case, sharply observing the sanctity of the examination process has been breached. A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud said if the segregation between the beneficiaries of the fraud and untainted candidates is not possible, then a retest has to be held. It directed the National Testing Agency (NTA) that conducted the test, to make full disclosures on the nature of the leak, the places where the paper was leaked, and the time lag between the leak and the conduct of the exam. The next date of hearing is July 11, Thursday . “If we come to the conclusion that the time lag between the leak and the actual exam is limited, that will be a circumstance which will militate against the retest,” the CJI said. The bench proposed the constitution of a multi-disciplinary team comprising renowned experts to ensure measures are taken to obviate any further breach in NEET. “The court shall decide if someone else needs to be added to the committee to ensure it has a diverse pool of domain expertise and data analytics.” @ New Delhi @ Vijayawada Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy with APCC president YS Sharmila during former united Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s 75th birth anniversary celebrations at Mangalagiri on Monday | Prasant Madugula BJP stands for Babu, Jagan and Pawan. As there is no opposition in the State, Sharmila will take up the role of the Opposition leader and become the voice of the people. She will fight for the people and State’s rights — A Revanth Reddy, Telangana Chief Minister marka, and APCC chief YS Sharmila among others were present. Speaking on the occasion, Revanth said he was representing Rahul Gandhi at the programme. Further, he asserted that the Congress will form government at the Centre as well as in Andhra Pradesh in 2029. “Rahul Gandhi will be- come the Prime Minster of India and YS Sharmila will become the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh,” he declared. He added, “I take inspiration from YSR while conducting myself in the House and by encouraging newly-elected members to speak about public isP4 sues.”  Let us not be in self-denial. Selfdenial is only adding to the problem... That the sanctity of the exam has been breached is beyond doubt. The question is how widespread is the leak Supreme Court bench The bench pose a volley of questions to the NTA and Centre as to when were the questions were framed, when were they printed, when were they transported and how were they stored prior to exams. “If the leak was on social media like Telegram, WhatsApp, it would spread like wildfire. So, we also have to see the balance with the time of leak like if it was May 5 morning before students went for exam... After all we are dealing with the lives and careers of 23 lakh students,” CJI Chandrachud said. The court said it will scrutinise whether the breach took place at a systemic level, whether it affected the integrity of the exam process and whether it was possible to segregate the beneficiaries from the untainted candidates. `50k reward announced for info on murder accused E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Visakhapatnam Manhunt for Suresh launched As no breakthrough has been achieved in the case related to the murder of a minor girl in Anakapalle district, police have announced a reward of `50,000 to those who provide information about the absconding accused. Police also released photos of the accused for identification. The police have been on a hunt to nab Bodabathula Suresh who killed a 14-year-old minor girl, studying in Class IX, with a knife in Koppigonda- Police on Monday released pictures of the accused Bodabathula Suresh. According to the police, the 26-year-old was last seen in a black T-shirt after killing the 14-yearold girl. Information can be reported on: 9440796084, 9440796108, 9440904229, 7382625531 palem village of Rambilli Mandal in Anakapalle district on Saturday . Anakapalle police said the accused is 26 years old and worked as a driver. He hails from Koppungundupalem in Rambilli mandal. Suresh is 5’7’’ and wheatish in complexion. Police also released a photo where the accused is seen in a After Vizag, kidney transplantation racket emerges in Guntur, man duped of `30 lakh E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Guntur Days after an illegal kidney transplantation racket was unearthed in Visakhapatnam, a similar case came to light in Guntur during the Public Grievance Redressal System meeting held here on Monday . During the programme, the victim of the alleged racket, G Madhu Babu of KVP Colony, informed the Guntur SP that he was promised `30 lakh for ‘do- nating’ his kidney but was paid , only `1.10 lakh. According to information reaching here, Madhu had taken hefty loans from various mobile application and local financiers. He could not rep ay t h e m a s h i s business had collapsed. It was during this time that Madhu came across a post on Facebook stating that people can make money by ‘donating’ their kidney Despite knowing . that selling organs is illegal, Madhu decided to contact the person who published the post on the social media platform as he was under a lot of pressure to repay the loans. One Bhasha from Vijayawada contacted Madhu and told him that he had also donated his kidney and had received money as promP4 ised.  red T-shirt, riding pillion on a bike along with his friend minutes before attacking the girl. After killing the girl, Suresh was seen wearing a black colour full hands T-shirt and track pants, police said and assured that the informant’s identity will be kept confidential. The accused was jailed under the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act for misconduct involving the girl. He was released on bail 10 days ago. Suresh harboured a grudge against the girl for his imprisonment, which led him P4 to commit the crime.  express read TG High Court dismisses Nimmagadda’s plea to quash CBI charges Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Monday dismissed the petition filed by industrialist and entrepreneur Nimmagadda Prasad seeking the quashing of charges levelled against him by the CBI in the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy disproportionate assets case. During the proceedings, CBI counsel Srinivas Kapadia said the probe agency had conducted a thorough probe into the allegations against Prasad | P4 People wait to catch trains at a railway station in Mumbai on Monday. The tracks are covered by flood water | PTI heavy pre-dawn rains drown Mumbai, red alert issued S u d h i r S u r ya w a n s h i @ Mumbai Heavy rains lashed Mumbai during the early hours of Monday causing severe flood, ing in many areas of the financial capital that disrupted flight and suburban rail operations and prompted the closure of schools and colleges. Some areas recorded over 300 mm of rainfall within six hours from 1 am to 7 am on Monday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. Powai area in Mumbai suburb recorded the highest rainfall over 24 hours at more than 315 mm. People were seen wading through waistdeep flood water in many parts of the city. There was heavy traffic congestion in some areas and suburban rail operations were suspended along some routes. The weather office issued a red alert for Mumbai. Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde appealed to people to stay indoors and come out only if it is neces- sary “There was heavy rain, . and therefore, the situation at some places got worsened. However, the state machinery is working to ensure those stranded get all the help needed,” Shinde said. He added the Brihanmumbai Municipal Cor poration has started draining out excess water from lowlying areas. Around 50 flights were cancelled. Airlines took to X to ask passengers to check flight status before leaving for the airport.