COIMBATORE l FRIday l september 06, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l LATE CITY EDITION Sebi staffers protest demanding chairperson Buch’s resignation A large number of employees protested outside the Securities Exchange Board of India’s headquarters in Mumbai on Thursday Regulator’s press release sparks anger The protesters demanded the resignation of Sebi chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch. They are also wanted the capital markets regulator to withdraw a press release issued on Wednesday refuting allegations of toxic work culture at its offices. Last month, some 500 Sebi employees signed a joint letter to the finance ministry highlighting the alleged harassment faced by them ■ 1st Over 200 employees took part in protest ■ The protesting employees, numbering over 200 as per one estimate, assembled in front of Sebi headquarters in the morning and stood there for about 90 minutes. None of them spoke to the media In the press release, Sebi claimed that some “external elements” were misleading and instigating its employees to further its interests Madhabi puri Buch is the first female chaiperson of SEBI 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 Putin proposes Want to create many Singapores in India: Modi India mediation on Ukraine war $60 bn COMMITMENT Y e s h i S e l i @ New Delhi China and Brazil, too, could be go-betweens; botched ’22 deal could be the starting point Y e s h i S e l i @ New Delhi Are we ready to negotiate with them? We have never refused to do so, but not on the basis of some ephemeral demands, but on the basis of those documents that were agreed and actually initialled in Istanbul —Vladimir Putin Meet today on fresh aid to Ukraine Pentagon will on Friday host a meeting in Germany of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, comprising over 50 nations that have funded and armed Ukraine to discuss fresh aid for the war Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said that he trusted partners like India to resolve the ongoing war with Ukraine. “India, China, Brazil are countries we have trust and confidence in and they will provide us a helping hand in resolving the conflict with Ukraine,’’ President Putin said while fielding questions during a discussion at Russia’s Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok. Putin was in conversation with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Chinese Vice President Han Zheng. He said he was in touch with these countries and and they had confidence in one another. Putin said the basis of the talks could be an aborted deal reached between the two sides in Istanbul in 2022. Its terms were never made public. “We managed to reach an agreement, that is the whole point. The signature of the head of the Ukrainian delegation who initialled this document testifies to this, which means that the Ukrainian side was generally satisfied with the agreements reached,” Putin said. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Ukraine on August 23, he had urged President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to sit across the table with President Putin to resolve the matter, adding India was ready to play an active role to restore peace in the region. Days later, he briefed Putin on the outcome of his dialogue with Zelenskyy . Separately, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, referring to the “highly constructive, even friendly relations” between Modi and Putin, said the Indian PM can “lead the line on getting first-hand information from the participants in this conflict”, as he “freely communicates with Putin, Zelenskyy and the US.” He, however, said there are “no specific plans” on Modi mediating on the issue. Ukraine had earlier said it wouldn’t directly engage with Russia but was looking at a coalition of intermediaries to end the war. Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his Singapore counterpart Lawrence Wong during their visit to AEM Holdings Ltd, in Singapore, on Thursday | PTI Singapore is India’s biggest investor, at $160 billion. During an interaction with Modi, CEOs of Singapore companies pledged to invest `5 lakh crore ($60 billion) over the next few years in India this front together. Our ministerial roundtable is a path breaking mechanism for cooperation in skilling, digitalisation, mobility, semiconductor and cyber security said Modi, ,’’ who met his counterpart for the first time since the latter became Singapore PM in May . During the bilateral talks, both leaders reviewed the progress of India-Singapore relations and agreed that elevation of the relationship to a Pa r t y p o s i t i o n s i n c a n a d i a n H o u s e o f C o m m o n s Conservatives: 119 Liberal Party: 154 Total: 338 | Simple majority: 169 Bloc Quebecois: 32 Greens: 2 NDP: 24 Independent: 3 Vacant: 4 Yr before federal poll, Trudeau govt reduced to a minority Y e s h i S e l i @ New Delhi With the left-wing New Democratic Party (NDP) led by Khalistani sympathiser Jagmeet Singh snapping ties with Canada’s ruling Liberal Party Prime Minister Justin , Trudeau’s government has been reduced to a minority . The simple majority mark in the House of Commons at present is 167 since there are four vacancies. Trudeau’s Liberals with 154 MPs are 13 short of a majority. It was NDP with 24 MPs that had propped up the Liberals since 2022, forcing Trudeau to bend over backwards to keep it happy by taking a soft line on Khalistanis, annoying New Delhi in the process and making the country a sanctuary for anti-India forces. This break-up has increased the chances of a snap federal election, which was scheduled in October 2025. Singh accused Trudeau of taking credit for their ideas. He said that they introduced the pharmacare framework and instilled the idea of a Palestine state with Trudeau. “We’ve torpedoed our reputation, sold off our ideas,’’ Singh lamented. CM MK Stalin during the MoU signing in Chicago, with Industries Minister TRB Raaja and Trilliant’s Chief Commercial Operations Officer Mike Mortimer | Express Tn seals `2K cr deal with smart energy solutions company According to the Indian diaspora, Trudeau’s popularity has dipped due to his position on temporary migrant workers — which has a big percentage of Indians. ‘The Canadian government is looking at send back 70,000 foreign workers who are caregivers, truck drivers, workers. There is an increasing level of uncertainty and a lot of bias. Trudeau must go,’’ an Indian expat living in Brampton told this newspaper on condition of anonymity. He said most Asians in Canada live in constant fear of deportation. Ex p r e ss N e ws S e r v i c e @ Chennai Udhaya rebuts guv, says TN syllabus best in India 9-day-old baby’s body exhumed in suspected TN infanticide case Ex p r e ss N e ws S e r v i c e @ Chennai r a j a l a k s h m i s a m pat h @ Vellore In a suspected case of infanticide, the body of a nine-day-old girl buried by the parents in their own farm at Pommankuttai village in Vellore district was exhumed by police and revenue officials and sent to Vellore Government Medical Coll e g e a n d H o s p i t a l fo r a postmortem examination on Thursday According to police . sources, the couple – S Jeeva (30) and S Dayana (23) – had gone missing after police started the investigation into the mysterious death of the child. On August 27, Dayana gave birth to the baby at the Odukathur Primary Health Centre. The couple already has a twoand-a-half-year-old daughter. According to health officials, both the mother and the baby were discharged on the same day But since Dayana had suf. fered a mild postpartum haemorrhage, she was referred to the Vellore GH for treatment. For six days, she was treated at the hospital for anaemia, and the baby’s health condition was normal, sources said. After staying for two days at her maternal home, Dayana returned to her husband’s house at Pommankuttai. However, on Wednesday, she informed her father P Saravanan (43) that her daughter died around 12.30 pm. Without informing anyone, the couple allegedly buried their newborn in their property When Dayana’s parents vis. ited, she told them that the baby was bleeding through her mouth and nose and died. INDIA and Singapore on Thursday elevated their ties to a ‘comprehensive strategic partnership’ after the bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Singapore PM Lawrence Wong. The two sides also signed four MoUs for cooperation in the semiconductor industry, digital technologies, skill development, and healthcare. Modi extended an invite to Wong to visit India, which he accepted. “Singapore isn’t just a partner country; Singapore is an inspiration for any developing country. We in India also want to create many Singapores within itself. I am happy to state that we will progress on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership would give a boost to India’s Act East Policy . The two leaders reviewed existing cooperation in the fields of defence and security, maritime domain awareness, education, AI, fintech and science and technology . Modi also announced the setting up of an Invest India office in Singapore, which will be a handholding office for investors in Singapore in various areas identified in the six pillars. India and Singapore will be celebrating 60 years of bilateral relations in 2025. Modi also announced that India would open its first Thiruvalluvar Cultural Centre in Singapore. KISS OF HARMONY Pope Francis, right, kisses the right hand of Nasaruddin Umar, grand imam of Istiqlal Mosque, after an interreligious meeting, in Jakarta on Thursday | AP | P11 Taking umbrage to the comments of Governor R N Ravi on the quality of the school education syllabus of the state government, Sports and Youth Development Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Thursday said the remark was an insult to teachers and students. “A good syllabus promotes independent and rational thinking. In that sense, Tamil Nadu’s syllabus is the finest in the country and will continue to nurture talented students,” Udhayanidhi said. Speaking at a Teachers’ Day event in Vandalur, where he conferred the Dr Radhakrishnan Award on 386 teachers from government and private schools, Udhayanidhi edu quality poor: guv Governor RN Ravi on Thursday claimed that the quality of education in TN is on a sharp decline and teaching standards in government schools have fallen below the national average | P4 said the state has produced numerous prominent personalities, including ISRO scientist P Veeramuthuvel. “Government school students hold top positions in the IT industry both in , India and abroad. Given this, we cannot accept such criticisms of our education system. It insults our students and teachers. Our CM and the government will not tolerate this,” he said. The minister said the DMK-led gover nment consistently places a special focus on teachers. Trilliant Networks, a USbased smart energy communications firm, will be investing `2,000 crore in Tamil Nadu to set up its development and global support centre and a production facility. The company signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Guidance Tamil Nadu in Chicago on Thursday in the presence of Chief Minister MK Stalin, who is on a twoweek visit to the US to attract investments. The state has signed MoUs worth `3,500 crore with various companies so far. A press note from the state government said Trilliant Networks deals with advanced metering infrastructure, smart grid, smart cities, and industrial Internet of Things (IIoTs). The North Carolina-headquartered firm also offers solutions for energy efficiency reliability , and integration of renewable energy resources. The CM and the TN delegation also met the executives of Nike and Optum. While Nike is a leading footwear and apparel manufacturer, Optum is a subsidiary of leading health insurance company UnitedHealth Group. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the CM said he had productive talks with Nike on expanding its footwear manufacturing facility and establishment of a potential product creation and design centre in Chennai. The state government’s press note said the delegates held talks with Nike executives on expanding the company’s nonleather footwear production in Tamil Nadu, creating a system for apparel manufacturing, and collaborating with the state’s ‘Naan Mudhalvan’ skill development initiative. P7 express read ED attaches `55-cr worth assets of Jaffer Sadiq Chennai: The ED said it has provisionally attached `55.3-crore properties belonging to Jaffer Sadiq and his associates under PMLA. The assets include 14 immovable properties, such as the JSM Residency Hotel, and seven luxury cars. Sadiq is jailed in a drug case | P2 TN accepts Karandlaje’s apology, HC quashes FIR Chennai: The Madras High Court on Thursday quashed the FIR against Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje over her comments against Tamils in connection with the Bengaluru café blast. The state said it has accepted her apology tendered through an affidavit in the court | P2 Commerce ministry ranking Kerala tops in ease of doing business reforms; TN missing on the list E X PRE S S NE W S S ER V ICE @ Kochi kERALA, which has been trying hard to shake off its antiindustry image, got a major boost on Thursday with the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry ranking it the top state in the country in ‘ease of doing business reforms’. This is the first time that Kerala has been ranked number one in creating an industryfriendly environment. According to the ranking, Andhra Pradesh is at the second spot, followed by Gujarat. Maharashtra is at 14th. Curiously, India’s most industrialised state Tamil Nadu does not figure in the list. Kerala topped in implementing seven citizen-centric reforms and two categories of business-centric reforms. Andhra Pradesh performed well in implementing five citizen-centric reforms and five business-cen- tric reforms, while Gujarat excelled in implementing three citizen-centric reforms and two business-centric reforms. The two categories of busi- ness-centric reforms that Kerala topped are 1) obtaining utility permits-business, and 2) paying taxes. The seven citizencentric reform areas where Pecking order 1 Kerala 9 2 Andhra Pradesh  5 8 Haryana 3 Gujarat 3 3 9 Odisha 4 Rajasthan 5 Tripura 3 6 Uttar Pradesh 3 Top achiever numbers 7 Andaman & Nicobar  2 10 Assam 12 Karnataka 1 2 13 Madhya Pradesh 1 2 14 Maharashtra 1 15 Manipur  1 16 Puducherry 1 17 Punjab 1 1 11 Dadra & Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu  1 Kerala came first are 1) online single window system 2) certificates (urban local bodies) 3) certificates—department of revenue 4) obtaining utility permits 5) public distribution system—department of food and civil supplies, 6) transport and 7) employment exchange. The ranking was announced by Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal at ‘Udyog Samagam’, a conference of industries and commerce ministers of states, in Delhi on Thursday. Goyal handed over the award to Kerala Industries Minister P Rajeeve, who was accompanied by the top officials of the state industries department. “Out of 30 reform areas, Kerala got top achiever status in nine categories. This is the first time that we are topping in industry-friendly ranking in the country said Rajeeve. ,” “In the last such ranking on an industry-friendly environment, Kerala made a big leap from 28th spot to 15th spot,” the minister added.