coimbatore l sunday l august 25, 2024 l `12.00 l PAGES 26 l LATE city EDITION iNFOSYS dragged TO u.s. COURT BY cOGNIZANT UNIT for alleged theft TriZetto accused the Indian IT major of stealing trade secrets and information related to healthcare insurance software Infosys rubbishes all allegations Trizetto, in the lawsuit, said Infosys illegally accessed data from its software — Facets and QNXT — and used it to develop and market a competing product. It also alleged that Infosys created software to extract data from QNXT that contained confidential information. For its part, Infosys denied the allegations and said it will defend its position in court Aug 23 cOGNIZANT SEEKS MONETARY DAMAGES ■ Cognizant asked the court for an unspecified amount of monetary damages and an order for Infosys to stop misusing its trade secret, Reuters reported ■ Interestingly, a few top leaders of Cognizant have come from Infosys, including current CEO Ravi Kumar S, PTI reported. Earlier this week, Infosys executive Rajesh Varrier was named Cognizant India’s CMD The day the case was filed in a Texas court by Cognizant 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 offer by Pension wrinkles off in new scheme Loadedsupport PDP to UPS will benefit as many as 23 lakh govt employees who joined service under the National Pension System M o n i k a Ya d a v @ New Delhi 11 more TN fishers held, Stalin writes to union min Amid ongoing protests by the non-BJP ruled states regarding the New Pension Scheme (NPS), the Union Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Saturday approved a Unified Pension Scheme (UPS), designed to offer guaranteed pension benefits, family pensions, and a minimum assured pension for government employees. Under this new scheme, the government will ensure that employees receive a pension equivalent to 50% of their salary The government’s contribu. tion to the pension scheme has increased from 14% to 18.5%. This newspaper had earlier reported that the new pension scheme will be based on Andhra Pradesh’s guaranteed pension scheme, under which, pension- ers receive 50% of their last drawn basic salary along with dearness allowance or DA. Union minister Ashwani Vaishnaw said the scheme will benefit 23 lakh Central government employees and will be implemented on April 1, 2025. It will allow employees the flexibility to choose between the National Pension System (NPS) and the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS). This choice will be final for both current and future employees. The UPS guarantees government employees a pension equal to 50% of their average basic salary from the last 12 months preceding retirement, provided they have completed a minimum of 25 years of service. In the event of the pensioner’s death, their family will receive 60% of the pension amount that was being disbursed at the time of passing. The scheme guarantees employees a minimum monthly pension of `10,000 after retirement, provided they have completed a minimum of 10 years of service. All schemes will be adjusted for inflation. A lump sum will be given at the time of superannuation, in addition to gratuity Employees will . get 1/10th of their monthly salary (plus pay and DA) for every six months of completed service. This lump sum will not affect the amount of the guaranteed pension. The provisions of the UPS will also apply to employees who have already retired under the NPS. Retirees will receive arrears for the previous period, along with interest. E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ Dindigul @ Nagapattinam WITH THIS ISSUE Bitten by the Bug PLUS 12 PAGES 50% of the average basic pay drawn over the last 12 months prior to superannuation upon minimum 25 years of service Assured family pension @ 60% of pension of the employee immediately before her/his demise Assured minimum pension of `10,000 on retirement after minimum 10 years of service Junior doctors protesting outside the RG Kar Medical College demanding justice for a trainee doctor whose body was found on the premises on August 9 | Express Ex-principal of RG Kar, 6 others take lie detector test S u l a g n a S e n g u p ta @ Kolkata The CBI on Saturday re-registered a case against Dr Sandip Ghosh, former principal of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital here over financial irregularities, after taking over the probe from a state-constituted Special Investigation Team (SIT) on the directions of the Calcutta High Court. Ghosh resigned as principal of RG Kar two days after a 31year-old postgraduate trainee doctor’s body was found inside the seminar hall of the college on August 9. Hours later, he was appointed as principal of the Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital, drawing adverse reactions from all quarters. The high court directed the CBI to submit its progress report on the investigation within three weeks and scheduled a followup hearing on September 17. In a related development, the CBI subjected Ghosh and four other doctors to a lie detector test. The four doctors had dinner with the victim on August 8. Ghosh arrived at the CBI’s office at CGO Complex in Salt Lake in the morning for the ninth day consecutive day and was taken for the test, the officials said. , The CBI also conducted a polygraph test of Sanjoy Roy and another friend of Roy Curiously the probe agency’s note to the . , trial court seeking judicial custody of Sanjoy Roy makes no mention of gangrape or possible involvement of more than one person in the August 9 crime. Healthcare services continued to be affected for the 16th consecutive day at state-run hospitals in West Bengal as junior doctors refused to withdraw their ceasework protest. Senior doctors attended to patients at the emergency services at government hospitals. Everybody is free to follow their own beliefs and the Dravidian model is no hindrance to these practices, said Chief Minister M K Stalin in his address during the inauguration of the Anaithulaga Muthamizh Murugan Maanaadu in Palani on Saturday morning. Addressing the event through video conferencing, Stalin said the motto of the Dravidian model is ‘Everything for Everyone’. “We focus on overall development. One should remember that the DMK has its roots in the Justice Party During the . Justice Party’s time, it was the express read Hema report: Calls grow louder for KL filmmaker to step down T’Puram: A day after Bengali actor Sreelekha Mitra raised allegations of sexual misconduct against him, focus has now shifted from the Hema Committee report to filmmaker and Kerala Chalachitra Academy’s chairman Ranjith. With demands mounting from various corners for Ranjith’s resignation, the state government has come under pressure | P7 Maoists will be eliminated across the country by 2026, Shah says Raipur: Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday asserted that the outlawed CPI (Maoist) will be eliminated from the country by March 2026 with a revised plan of action against the rebels. He announced the deadline after chairing a review meet of the inter-state coordination committee here focussing on strategy and assessment of operations against the left wing extremists | P10 Phased release One year on, cheetahs to be set free into the wild A n u r aa g S i n g h @ Bhopal Namibian and South African cheetahs housed in big enclosures at Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park since last year’s monsoon following the death of three cheetahs, are set to be released into the wild again after the present rainy season is over. The release will be in phases. Out of the 25 cheetahs, including 12 adults (one male adult is already in the wild) and the 12 cubs currently housed in enclosures, the adults will first be released into the wild, possibly in October, as the monsoon mostly withdraws from The Unified Pension Scheme ensures dignity and financial security for government employees, aligning with our commitment to their well-being and a secure future —Narendra Modi rationalist and former chief minister Panagal Raja who introduced the Hindu Religious Endowments Bill to preserve cultural symbols such as temples. The bill was the foundation for reforming Hindu temples. The bill also says Tamil language should be given preference during religious worship. There must be a secular society, where there is no bias against people inside the sanctum sanctorum.” He recalled that the Kundrakudi Adigal and Thirumuruga Kirupanandha Variyar had appreciated the governance and public welfare activities of former chief minister M Karunanidhi. P7 large areas of MP by then. At present, a Namibian male Pawan aka Oban is in the wild. “The cheetahs will be released in the wild in phases and the male coalitions could be the first ones to be released in the forest after the monsoon is over,” Rajesh Gopal, who heads the Cheetah Project Steering Committee told this newspaper over phone on Saturday . The two male coalitions currently in the enclosures are Prabhas and Pavak and Agni and Vayu. They are likely to be the first ones to be released in the free ranging forests. “Subsequently, the other adults will be released into the wild in phases. The mothers and their cubs, however, will be released into the wild in or after December,” Gopal added. The decision to release the cheetahs was taken following the recent visit of Rajesh Gopal and an NTCA member to the KNP. The team was satisfied with the arrangements there, including the prey base availability. Also, the animals have been administered vaccines to safeguard them against disease and given prophylactic medicine to prevent infection. In 2023, the cheetahs were initially released into the wild but were brought back to their enclosures by August after the death of three — a female named Tbilisi (from Namibia) and two South African males, Tejas and Sooraj due to septicemia. The condition arose from wounds under the cheetahs’ winter coats on their backs and necks, which became infested with maggots. The cheetahs will be released into the wild in phases. The male coalitions could be the first to be let out after the monsoon Rajesh Gopal, Steering panel head NC-Cong alliance fayaz w a n i @ Srinagar dravidian model places no bar on beliefs: Stalin A n to n y F e r n a n d o Eleven more fishermen from Nagapattinam district, including seven from Akkaraipettai, three from Nambiyar Nagar and one from Kallaar, were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy on Friday night for allegedly crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line. The fishers have been remanded to Jaffna Prison till September 6. Chief Minister MK Stalin, once again, raised the issue with Union External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar in a letter on Saturday pointing , out that 324 TN fishers had been arrested and 44 fishing boats seized by the Lankan Navy this year alone. Expressing ‘grave concern’ over the arrests, he urged the union minister to take swift diplomatic action to ensure immediate release of the fishers and their boats. Sources said the 11 fishers ventured into sea on a mechanised boat from the Nagapattinam fishing harbour on Thursday night. The boat was registered under the name of one P Santhi from Akkaraipettai in 2012.  P7 Salient features Rationalist legacy It was the rationalist and ex-CM Panagal Raja who introduced the Hindu Religious Endowments Bill to preserve cultural symbols such as temples, said Stalin After the National Conference and the Congress finalised pre-alliance for Jammu and Kashmir polls, PDP chief and former J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday released her party manifesto and said that she would extend complete support to the alliance if it accepts her agenda, including peaceful resolution of Kashmir issue and restoration of Article 370 and 35A. “The PDP will not fight the Assembly elections just for the seats. We will extend our complete support to the alliance formed by NC and Congress if they agree to follow our party’s agenda, which includes the resolution of the Kashmir issue and restoration of Article 370,” Mehbooba told reporters. She said that power and seats don’t matter for the PDP. “If the party’s agenda is accepted, we will extend our support to the alliance in J&K.” When asked whether she We will extend our complete support would align with the BJP as to the alliance the party had done after 2014 formed by NC and Assembly polls, the PDP Congress if they chief asserted that “there is agree to follow our party’s agenda, no possibility of PDP alignwhich includes the ing with the BJP .” resolution of “We had aligned with the Kashmir issue and BJP government in Delhi restoration of and not with the BJP in 2015 Article 370 with a condition that they Mehbooba Mufti would not tinker with Article 370. Till the coalition government was there, Article 370 was not touched. We had formed the alliance to save Article 370 and now there is no Article 370,” she said. She has been very critical of the reading down of Article 370 and was among the top leaders booked under the stringent PSA. NC and Congress leaders did not contact the PDP leadership, which was also interested in the alliance, before finalising the pre-poll alliance. The PDP has been weakened after its alliance with BJP for 2014 Assembly polls.