KOCHI l friday l November 15, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE city EDITION Developed nations told to honour climate finance pledges at Cop29 $1 tn needed per year to cope with warming Brazil, South Africa, India and China (BASIC) said developed nations must not dilute their obligations to provide climate finance under the Paris accords. It comes as a new report by the Independent High-Level Expert Group on Climate Finance said $1 trillion will be needed every year by 2030 to help developing countries cope with the effects of global warming A group of developing countries including India told developed nations to honour commitments to provide climate finance during COP talks in Baku Earth remains on track to get 2.7°C hotter ■ ■ ■ An analysis showed for the third straight year, efforts to fight climate change haven’t lowered projections for how hot the world will get The Earth remains on a path to be 2.7°Celsius warmer than pre-industrial times by 2100, Climate Action Tracker said The UN climate talks in Baku entered its fourth day on Thursday 1.3 Degrees celsius is how much the world has warmed since pre-industrial times 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 Second edition of the RNG Sahithya Samman today Pa r ami ta G h os h @ New Delhi I deally, works of literature should never have to compete, but what would literary prizes be without such competition? The second edition of the prestigious Ramnath Goenka Sahithya Samman instituted by The New Indian Express group will on Friday unveil the names of winners across three categories from among some of India’s most exciting voices in fiction and non-fiction. At the ceremony to be held at Bharat Mandapam in Delhi, a citation, a trophy and a cash prize will be award, ed to each of the three winners. The selection process kicked off in July with a long list of prospective winners based on suggestions and submissions from senior editors from each of TNIE’s 30-plus centres across the country — in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, and The Morning Standard and Sunday Standard in Delhi — as well as from publishers. The list was finally whittled down to a shortlist by an internal jury . In the non-fiction category four books were , in the fray — The Day I Became A Runner by Sohini Chattopadhyay The Yellow Sparrow by , Santa Khurai, H-Pop: The Secretive World of Hindutva Pop Stars by Kunal Purohit, and Neerja Chowdhury’s How Prime Ministers Decide. The fiction section had three contenders — Acts of God by Kanan Gill, The Scent of Fallen Stars by Aishwarya Jha and Western Lane by Chetna Maroo. Decisions on these two segments apart, the jury had also the task of zeroing in on one among a shortlist of literary luminaries for a Lifetime Achievement Award, the top honour instituted in the name of the group’s iconic founder Ramnath Goenka by TNIE Chairman and Managing Director Manoj Kumar Sonthalia. Chaired by Pavan K Varma, former Ambassador and author, the external jury consisted of former foreign secretary and writer Vikas Swarup and the popular writer on history Manu S Pillai. They were joined by an internal jury comprising Editor Santwana Bhattacharya and Consulting Editor Ravi Shankar for extensive deliberations. The non-fiction prize, in particular, was most keenly contested and led to a nail-biting finish. Await the names to be unveiled at the award ceremony today! AFSPA back in 6 areas of Manipur Situation continues to be volatile with intermittent firing in parts of the troubled state, says Centre M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi With the situation in Manipur continuing to be grim, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs on Thursday re-imposed the tough Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in six police station areas in the Imphal valley after declaring them as disturbed areas. The announcement came on a day when there was no trace of six Meiteis — three women and three children — missing after Monday’s gunfight in Jiribam district that left 10 ‘militants’ dead. The police said search operations were continuing even as political parties joined various organisations in demanding the release of the six captives. Till now, most of Manipur was in the disturbed areas category except for 19 police stations in the Meitei-dominated Imphal valley . The geography of the disturbed areas has now been extended to the jurisdictions of Sekmai and Lamsang police stations in Imphal West, Lamlai in Imphal East, Moirang in Bishnupur, Leimakhong in Kangpokpi, and Jiribam police station in five districts. The imposition of AFPSA is warranted to carry out well-coordinated operations to maintain the security situation and contain the activities of insurgent groups there, the ministry said in its notification. A truck damaged after militants set it on fire, in Jiribam district | PTI The ministry said Manipur continues to be volatile with intermittent firing in violence prone areas in the fringe areas of Bishnupur-Churachandpur, Imphal East-Kangpokpi-Imphal West and Jiribam districts. There was active participation of insurgent groups in heinous Sarin’s virtues in EP’s view Outstanding young man As refined as pure gold Excellent candidate for Palakkad Pride of Palakkad A man with a generous heart Forced by CPM, EP gives Sarin fake 5-star review A b d u l N a z e r M A @Palakkad Presumably egged on by the party , CPM stalwart E P Jayarajan on Thursday dashed to Palakkad, where the byelection is scheduled for November 20, and waxed eloquent on the virtues of LDF candidate P Sarin, a day after his reported autobiography landed him and the party in trouble on polling day in Wayanad and Chelakkara. “Sarin, who quit a revered and lucrative profession to dedicate himself to serve the public, is an excellent candidate,” Jayarajan said in a speech that bordered on flattery during the campaign. “Born into a middle-class peasant family Sarin rose to become a , doctor by dint of sheer talent and hard work. He held a high-ranking job in the government, but continued to stay connected with the people. Though he didn’t formally embrace left politics, he possessed a left-leaning mindset, and always supported farmers and workers,” he said. “It’s rare for some- one with such potential to make money in any field to abandon all of that for politics,” Jayarajan said. The CPM has chosen “the most capable, deserving, and young candidate” for Palakkad constituency he added. , The PDF version of the book, Kattan Chayayum Parippu Vadayum - Oru Communistinte Jeevitham, attributed to Jayarajan, which was widely circulated on Wednesday has uncharitable , reference to Sarin’s candidature. However, the CPM central committee member said, “Just as a doctor takes care of a patient, Sarin seeks to address and heal the unhealthy tendencies present in the society to create a new Palakkad,” Jayarajan said. Asked about the controversy over his autobiography Jayarajan said he sus, pected a conspiracy behind it. “It’s still work in progress, and I haven’t entrusted any publisher,” he added. Jayarajan said he has filed a police complaint, and was waiting for the investigation to get over. Highly-qualified candidate Dedicated young man devoted to public service Resigned job to serve people Consistently holds leftoriented view Always stands with farmers and workers Publishers have approached me, but I haven’t signed a contract. The book will reach readers as soon as possible E P Jayarajan P Sarin acts of violence. AFSPA empowers officers of the armed forces to “fire upon or otherwise use force, even to the causing of death” after giving due warning against “any person who is acting in contravention of any law or order for the time being in force in the disturbed area” if they are of the opinion that it is necessary to maintain public order. The law protects officers from prosecution. “No prosecution, suit or other legal proceeding shall be instituted, except with the previous sanction of the Central Government, against any person in respect of anything done or purported to be done in exercise of the powers conferred by this Act.” Autopsy report The autopsy report of a 31-year-old tribal woman killed in Jiribam district on November 7, revealed that she was subjected to thirddegree torture and suffered 99% burns House panel not to summon Buch for its next meeting P REETH A N A I R @ New Delhi THE Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament, headed by senior Congress leader K C Venugopal, has decided not to summon Sebi chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch for its next meeting on November 19. Buch, who is in the eye of a storm over allegations of conflict of interest raised by US-based short-seller Hindenburg, was asked to appear before the House panel on October 24, but she skipped the meeting at the last hour citing personal reasons. The meeting was postponed after officials informed the PAC about Buch’s inability to attend the meet. Venugopal later said the Sebi chairperson had sought exemption but he denied the request. Although her no-show could be considered as contempt of the Parliamentary panel, Venugopal said the committee took a lenient view on grounds of her being a lady . According to the schedule published on Lok Sabha website, the PAC has decided to call representatives of the Ministry of Coal on the financial scam involving Dewan Housing Finance Corporation for its next meeting on Tuesday . It has no mention of summoning Buch and Sebi officials, though it was widely expected. While PAC members did not cite any reason for the omission, sources said the upcoming polls in Maharashtra and Jharkhand on November 20 may be a factor. Venugopal’s move to call Buch last time had sparked a political row after BJP members accused him of taking unilateral decisions. The BJP MPs also complained to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla against the Congress MP’s “politically motivated actions”. No provision to declare nat’l disaster: Centre on Wayanad E X P RE S S N E W S S ER V I C E @Kochi There is no provision to declare any calamity as ‘national disaster’, the Union government has informed Kerala government in response to its plea to declare the July 30 landslides in Wayanad that left over 400 dead, as one. The Centre’s response drew flak from political parties, with Priyanka Gandhi, the Congress general secretary and the party’s Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll candidate, terming it a “shocking injustice to those who suffered unimaginable loss.” Ruling out the ‘national disaster’ declaration, which would help the state government get more central aid, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityananda Rai said the primary responsibility of disaster management rests with state governments. The Centre provides requisite logistics and financial support to the governments’ efforts, he said in a November 10 letter to Prof K V Thomas, Kerala government’s representative in New Delhi. Rai wrote that state governments provide financial relief to affected people in the event of 12 notified natural disasters, which include floods and landslides, from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF). “In the event of a disaster of a serious nature, additional financial aid is extended from the NDRF, as per laid down procedure, which includes an assessment based on the visit of an Inter-Ministerial Central Team,” said the let● More on P4 ter.  Dalla extradition to be sought by India India said it will seek the extradition of Arsh Dalla, the de-facto chief of the Khalistan Tiger Force, after his arrest in Canada. He was designated a terrorist by India in 2023 | P7 16 pages, including 4 pages of KOCHI Express Kerala’s out-of-pocket med spend highest among states Karnataka SIT to investigate Covid scam against BSY Expense chart A N N A J O S E @Kochi hospitalised treatment (365 days)* Category Per household Per person Expenses Out-of-pocket Expenses Out-of-pocket spending spending Rural J10,929 J8,655 J2,991 J2,368 Urban J13,140 J10,341 J3,734 J2,939 non-hospitalised treatment (30 days)* Category Per household Per person Expenses Out-of-pocket Expenses Out-of-pocket spending spending Rural J1,193 J1,177 J326 J322 Urban J1,190 J1,163 J338 J330 *avg spending Source: Comprehensive Annual Modular Survey 2022-23 Increased incidence of lifestyle diseases and high cost of diagnostic tests, coupled with the disappearance of not-forprofit hospitals and people’s reluctance to opt for government medical institutions have pushed Kerala’s out-of-pocket expenses in healthcare to the highest among states, a recent survey has revealed. Out-of-pocket expenses are costs a patient pays for medical care not covered by their health insurance. As per the Comprehensive Annual Modular Survey 2022-23 by the National Sample Survey Office under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Kerala’s out-of-pocket expenditure for hospitalised treatment per household is `8,655 in rural and `10,341 in urban areas, while per person, it is `2,368 and `2,939, respectively. The national average per household is `4,129 (rural) and `5,290 (urban) and per person is `950 and `1,446, respectively . The out-of-pocket expenditure for non-hospitalised treatment is also high in Kerala with each household in rural and urban areas spending `1,177 and `1,163, respectively, and a per- son spending `322 and `330, respectively. Though the state’s growing elderly population is a reason, experts argue that prevalence of lifestyle diseases among the working group is a major contributor to the rise in spending. “Incidence of lifestyle diseases among people aged between 19 and 69 years is a major factor contributing to the increase in hospital care expense,” said M M Abbas, a Kochi-based health activist. Dr D Narayana, an economist and statistician, said Kerala also has a high percentage of people with non-communi● More on P4 cable diseases.  express read Ecological concerns TN Police tell HC Poll announcement Seaplane: Greens to move HC New norms for outside arrests Bypoll in 31 wards on Dec 10 T’Puram: Forest authorities and environmental and animal rights groups are escalating their opposition to the seaplane service in Mattupetty, an ecologically sensitive region known for its wildlife diversity. The Coexistence Collective Kerala has decided to move the Kerala High Court against the project | P5 Kochi: Identifying lapses on part of officers of Puliangudi police station in Tenkasi, in arresting an Ernakulam resident, Tamil Nadu DGP on Thursday informed the Kerala High Court that new guidelines have been issued for investigations and arresting individuals outside the state | P5 T’Puram: By-election to 31 local body wards in 11 districts will be held on December 10, the State Election Commission said on Thursday. The bypoll will be held in 23 grama panchayat wards, three municipal wards, four block panchayat wards and one district panchayat ward | P5 Commission’s report, including import of 3 lakh PPE kits at inflated pricTHE Siddaramaiah-led Karnataka es from China. Recently reports citing , government on Thursday decided to leaked portions of the D’Cunha report set up a Special Investigation Team said it recommended prosecution of (SIT) to probe the alleged irYediyurappa and Sriramulu. regularities in the Covid-19 Both BJP leaders rejected management and misapprothe charges claiming they priation of funds by the preonly tried to save lives. vious BJP gov ernment. The state government had Briefing reporters after formed the commission to the Cabinet meeting here on probe the alleged irregulariThursday, the state’s law ties in Covid-19 procureminister H K Patil said the ments. It submitted the inball in decision to set up the SIT is terim report on September Siddu’s based on the interim report 1. Subsequently, a cabinet court submitted by Justice John sub-committee headed by Karnataka Michael D’Cunha Commisdeputy CM D K Shivakumar Chief Minister sion. Constituting the SIT examined the report and suggests the Congress gov- Siddaramaiah will presented its views before soon take the ernment intends to prosethe cabinet on Thursday . cute BJP leaders, including steps to form the Based on the recommenSIT, law minister former chief minister B S dation of the sub-committee, Patil said Yediyurappa and ex-health the Cabinet decided to form minister B Sriramulu for the SIT, Patil told reporters. their purported role in the alleged He claimed the Public Accounts Covid scam in 2020. Committee headed by him had discovThe SIT will have three police offic- ered the nexus between the politiers headed by an IGP. The team will cians and officials, resulting in peruse the charges in the D’Cunha corruption. E X P RE S S N E W S ER V I C E @ Bengaluru