THIRUVANANTHAPURAM l tuesday l SEPTEMBER 10, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION U.S. announces partnership with India on semiconductors The US announced on Monday it is entering into a partnership with India’s Semiconductor Mission launched by the Centre in 2022 to grow and diversify global chip industry The two countries will work together to boost the growth and diversification of the global semiconductor ecosystem amid increasing reliance on chips and concerns over the resilience of their supply chains. As a first step, a detailed assessment of India’s existing semiconductor ecosystem will be done that will form the basis for future joint initiatives, the US State Department said ■ $500 mn partnership under biden’s chips act 2022 ■ The partnership will come under the International Technology Security and Innovation (ITSI) Fund created through the CHIPS Act of 2022 — an initiative of President Joe Biden’s administration One of the aims of the CHIPS Act is to diversify the semiconductor supply chain to minimise the risk of large-scale disruptions is how much the ITSI Fund provides the u.s. state department each year 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 India confirms mpox case, govt issues advisory Patient isolated & stable: Health ministry young males with a median age of 34. The states and UTs must The Centre on Monday wrote spread awareness about the disto all states and Union Territo- ease and prevent any undue ries (UTs) asking them to panic. “While all states are requestscreen, test, and trace contacts of all suspected mpox patients. ed to undertake appropriate acIt comes after India reported tivities to make communities its first mpox case — after the aware about the disease, its latest WHO alert — in a man mode of spread, need for timely who arrived from a country ex- reporting and preventive measures, any undue panic periencing mpox transmisamongst the masses sion. However, lab tests must be prevented,” he showed the man is inwrote. fected with the older Chandra said health clade 2 strain of the viunits at points of entry rus, and not the deadli(airports) have been iner and faster-spreading structed to strengthen clade 1b that has led to clade 2 the health screening of a surge in cases worldstrain travellers. Regarding wide and prompted the the confirmed case, the WHO to declare a pubLab tests showed Union health ministry lic health emergency . the mpox patient Union health secre- is infected with the said, “This case is isotary Apurva Chandra, older clade 2 strain lated, similar to the of the virus, and earlier 30 cases reportin a letter to all the not the deadlier ed in India from July states and UTs, asked clade 1b that has 2022 onwards”. The pathem to identify isolaled to a surge in tient is isolated and is tion units in hospitals for both suspected and cases worldwide and stable, it added. “The good news is confirmed cases. They prompted the WHO must also review pub- to declare a public that the strain of conhealth emergency cern, clade 1b, is yet to lic health preparedbe detected in India. ness, particularly at Clade 1b was the strain for the health facility level. He said sexual contact is the which WHO declared a public . most commonly reported way health emergency That was beof transmission, followed by cause it was relatively new, person-to-person non-sexual originating from a different contact. “Among cases where at part of Africa than clade 2, was least one symptom is reported, spreading faster, and was more the most common symptom is severe,” Dr Rajeev Jayadevan, rash, followed by fever,” he for mer president of IMA, wrote adding most cases are Cochin, said. K avi ta B ajeli - D at t @ Delhi E X P R E S S R EAD Malayali makes it to Australian cabinet Kottayam: Scripting history, a member of the Malayali community has been elected to the Australian cabinet for the first time. Jinson Anto Charls, originally from Pathanamthitta and the nephew of Congress MP Anto Antony, has become a member of the new cabinet. P5 In US, Rahul launches attack on BJP, RSS New Delhi: In his first trip to the US after assuming the role of Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on the BJP and the RSS on Monday calling them downright patriarchal. P8 16 pages, including 4 pages of THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Express RSS ‘prominent’ for Shamseer, but ‘communal’ for Balagopal E x p r e s s N e w s Se r vi c e @ T’Puram Aggravating the troubles for the CPM, already struggling to explain its government’s deafening silence over the controversial ADGP-RSS meet, differences within the party leadership came to the fore on Monday with Speaker A N Shamseer openly justifying M R Ajith Kumar meeting parivar leaders and Finance Minister K N Balagopal terming RSS “communal”. LSG Minister M B Rajesh reminded the speaker that the Sangh fountainhead was banned post-Mahatma Gandhi assassination. “A senior police officer met an RSS leader. The RSS is a prominent organisation in the country. The officer himself has clarified that he was accompa- The officer himself has clarified that he was accompanied by a friend. There’s no need to take this seriously, and I don’t find anything wrong with the meeting — A N Shamseer, Speaker Suicide rate high among married men in Kerala L ak s h mi At h i r a @ Kozhikode As another World Suicide Prevention Day comes along, Kerala is grappling with a serious issue — an alarming rise in suicide cases, particularly among men. According to the State Crime Records Bureau, the male-female suicide ratio in Kerala stands at a staggering 80:20. The number of suicides reported in the state increased from 8,490 in 2022 to 10,972 in 2023 — with men accounting for 8,811 cases. Family issues are cited as the major reason behind this tragic trend. A closer look at the data reveals that 56% of those who ended their lives were above 45 years of age. Of them, 76.6% were married people, highlighting a high number of suicides among married men in particular. “Kerala is facing a dangerous situation,” said senior consultant psychologist Dr P N Suresh Kumar. “In Western countries, suicides are more common among unmarried individuals. However, in our state, marriage itself seems to be a risk factor. According to the National Crime Records Bureau data, the national suicide rate in 2022 was 13 per 100,000 people, while it was 28.81 in Kerala. This is a warning for the state to adopt urgent preven● More on P4 tive measures,” he said.  Apex court sets 5pm deadline for WB doctors to resume work S u c h i t r a K alyan M o h an t y @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Monday gave the protesting junior doctors in West Bengal 24 hours to join work, failing which they will not get any judicial protection. “Protest cannot be at the cost of duty a bench headed by Chief Justice ,” D Y Chandrachud observed. It directed them to get back to work by 5 pm on Tuesday and assured that there will be no adverse action if they resume duty . The junior doctors have been on protest since August 9, demanding justice for the rape-murder of a trainee doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. The direction came after West Bengal’s counsel said 23 people have died in the state due to the mass abstention of resident doctors. The court noted that funds have been sanctioned by the state government for setting up additional CCTV cameras Protesting junior doctors of RG Kar watch the live proceedings of the Supreme Court hearing on the rape-murder of a trainee doctor, in Kolkata | PTI and for the safety of doctors. It also directed the state government to coordinate with the CISF — tasked with providing security at RG Kar — for giving them suitable accommodation and providing security gadgets to its personnel. But the junior doctors in West Bengal said they will continue their ceasework since they do not feel secure enough in their places of work. Stage adaptation 70 years after Uroob’s novel, KPAC to bring alive ‘Ummachu’ today B I J U E PA U L @Alappuzha Having successfully performed 66 plays on more than three lakh stages inside and outside the state, the Kerala Peoples Arts Club (KPAC) is bringing alive a theatrical adaptation of Uroob’s celebrated 1954 novel ‘Ummachu’. KPAC will premiere the play at Vadakara in Kozhikode district on Tuesday . Into the 75th year since its establishment, the theatre group is all set to stage its 67th play with ‘Ummachu’, KPAC secretary A Shajahan told TNIE. “This year also marks the birth centenary of Thoppil Bhasi, one the founders of KPAC. We are celebrating the platinum jubilee and the cen- A scene from the rehearsal of the play ‘Ummachu’ at the KPAC headquarters in Kayamkulam, Alappuzha | Express tenary, the celebrations for which were inaugurated in May at Thiruvananthapuram,” Shajahan said. While dramatist Suresh Babu Sreestha has adapted the work, Manoj nied by a friend. There’s no need to take this seriously and , I don’t find anything wrong with the meeting,” said Shamseer in Kozhikode, indicating that it was a personal visit and the whole controversy was unnecessary . Shamseer’s remarks came at a time when Narayanan is the director. Kalesh K, Anitha Shelvi and Shinil Vadakara will enact the lead roles of Mayan, Ummachu and Beeran, Shajahan said. “Sreekumaran Thampi has penned the songs and Udayakumar Anchal is the music director. Artist Sujathan has created the art scenes for the play the KPAC secretary said. ,” The novel — which depicts the complexities of human relationships, love and longing, and loss and suffering — was adapted into a film in 1971, with Madhu and Sheela in the lead. “Human relationships and sentiments are depicted clearly in the novel and we have tried to show those relationships in the two-hour play,” ● More on P4 Shajahan said.  the Left leadership, including LDF convener T P Ramakrishnan, has termed it a “serious matter”. While CPM state secretary M V Govindan has distanced the party from the ADGP’s meeting, CPI secretary Binoy Viswam has demanded action on the issue. The Speaker’s nonchalant response, that too at a time when the entire party leadership has been on a balancing act, has irked many in the LDF and the party. Balagopal said in Delhi that RSS is an organisation that promotes communalism. The CPM state secretariat member, however, said officials meeting people — personally or professionally— is not something of importance. In an apparent reference to Shamseer’s remarks, Rajesh pointed out that the CPM has always opposed the ideological leanings of the RSS. He further reminded that the party has a clear position about the Sangh ● More on P4 parivar.  New GoM on insurance premium GST M O N I K A YA D A V @ New Delhi AMID calls for a reduction in the tax rate on health and life insurance premiums, the GST Council meeting on Monday decided to form a Group of Ministers (GoM) to deliberate on the issue. The GoM will submit its report next month and the Council will take a call on this in its upcoming meet in November. Monday’s GST Council meeting, chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, took several key decisions. The Council also recommended the formation of a separate GoM to study the future of compensation cess. By January 2026, the Centre is expected to clear back-toback loan payments to states related to GST compensation, with total cess collections projected to reach Nirmala Sitharaman at the GST Council meeting in Delhi on Monday | ANI MAJOR DECISIONS GoM to look into GST on life insurance and health insurance GST on cancer drugs cut from 12% to 5% GST on helicopter services on seat-share basis cut to 5% from 18%; chartered services to attract 18% No decision on plan to levy 18% GST on small transactions below K2,000 `8.66 lakh crore and an estimated surplus of `40,000 crore after repayments, the FM said. The Council exempted supply of research and development services by a government entity, university, college or other institutions notified under Section 35 of the Income Tax Act. It may be recalled that IIT Delhi had got a show cause notice from the Directorate General of GST Intelligence over `120 crore. “GST exemption on public & private research grants to higher education institutions is a major boost that shall not only increase research outcome but also achieve global tax parity. Indian academia is hugely relieved,” said S Vaidhyasubramaniam, VC of SASTRA University, which is among the institutions that had received show cause notice.