20 more cheetahs to arrive between Feb-Sept The third batch of 20 cheetahs will arrive at Madhya Pradesh’s Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary between February 25 and September 25. The cheetahs will undergo a 15-day quarantine before their release into the wild, officials said. A separate enclosure has been created at the sanctuary to house them during the quarantine period COIMBATORE l thursday l january 23, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l LATE CITY EDITION File Photo 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 CHENNAI DEVIS ARE ALL SET TO SPARKLE Presents Dr Preetha Reddy Vice Chairperson of Apollo Hospitals will be presenting the awards Presenting Partner State Partners Associate Partners Celebration Partner Gifting Partner Entertainment Partner Content Partner cinemaexpress.com DEVI AWARDS Streaming Partner indulgexpress.com Best Academy for Civil Services Exam Coaching Sebi moots mini SIPs at `250 a month 12 killed as they jump off train, hit by another S u d h i r sur ya w a n sh i @ Mumbai B E N K O C H U V E E D A N @ Mumbai Seeking to increase financial inclusion among the underserved sections and inculcate the habit of systematic saving, capital markets regulator Sebi has proposed that fund houses launch sachet-sized systematic investment plans (SIPs) starting `250. These small-ticket SIPs would be offered at lower costs but the discounted rates would apply only for three plans per investor. According to Sebi’s consultation paper, released on Wednesday the scheme is to help small , investors who are new to the mutual fund industry. Therefore, existing investors and those who opt for large SIPs would be excluded. The proposal caps annual investment at `50,000 per investor, per mutual fund, without PAN. However, Aadhaar verification is mandatory . Investors are expected to make a commitment for five years (60 instalments), though there will be no restriction on closing the plan early . The paper also suggests ways to help the asset management companies (AMCs) to recover the additional costs they incur by subsidizing these sachetsized SIPs. It says the AMCs can be compensated from the investor education and awareness fund maintained by the mutual fund industry Sebi esti. mates that AMCs will be able to break even within two years. Sebi will accept industry feedback till February 6. A crowd at the site of the accident, near Pachora railway station | PTI At least 12 rail passengers were killed and 55 other injured after they jumped off their train reportedly over a false fire alarm and were hit by another speeding train around the same time while crossing the tracks in Maharsht r a ’s J a l g a o n d i s t r i c t o n Wednesday . Reports said someone on the Pushpak Express, which was traveling from Lucknow to Mumbai, pulled the chain, raising a false alarm. As the locopilots applied break to slow down the fastmoving train, sparks either from the hot axle or brake-jamming and the smoke spread into the cabin. It triggered panic among passengers who assumed a fire had broken out on the train. In an attempt to save themselves, some passengers jumped off the Pushpak Express unaware that the Karnataka Express was fast approaching from the opposite direction. As they tried to cross the track, many of them were mowed down by the Karnataka Express.The accident took place between Maheji and Pardhade stations near Pachora, more than 400 km from Mumbai. Both trains later @ New Delhi It’s that time of the year when speculation mounts over the possible recipients of the Bharat Ratna, India’s highe s t c iv i l i a n h o n o u r. Among the awardees this year could be towering politicians. There could also be a surprise element on the list that is released around Republic Day . While all sorts of names are doing the rounds, sources said industrialist Ratan Tata and reached their respective next stations and the accident site was cleared, a police official said. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, expressing grief over the incident, said, “The tragic incident of the loss of lives in a very unfortunate incident near Pachora in Jalgaon district is deeply distressing. I pay my heartfelt tributes to them,” he said. “We are monitoring the situation. I am in touch with the district administration,” Fadnavis said, adding, Jalgaon General Hospital and nearby private hospitals are being kept ready for treating the injured passengers. Irregular migration Central team visits TN to inspect rain-hit paddy a concern: US to India E x press Ne w s S erv i ce @ Thanjavur/ Tiruchy Rubio tells Jaishankar US wants to bolster bilateral ties J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi IN his first bilateral meeting after taking charge as US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio told External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar that the Trump administration is keen to strengthen the US’ strategic partnership with India and urged him to address concerns of ‘irregular migration’. Jaishankar-Rubio meeting was held at the headquarters of the State Department on Tuesday. That Rubio, a China hawk and an ardent advocate of India-US relationship, chose to have his first bilateral meeting with his Indian counterpart is seen as a signal that the Trump administration is keen to bolster ties with India. During the meeting, they discussed ways to expand the strength and scope of their relationship and a possible meeting between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a ‘mutually convenient, earliest date’. In a briefing post-meeting, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said both sides vowed to strengthen the bilateral relationship. “Secretary Rubio also emphasized the Trump Administration’s desire Exchanged views on a wide range of regional and global issues — S Jaishankar, EAM Quad meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with US Secy of State Marco Rubio | pti to work with India to advance economic ties and address concerns related to irregular migration,” he said. Illegal and irregular migration was a key issue Trump raised during his campaign. In October last year, the US Department of Homeland Security deported over 1,100 Indian nationals as part of its efforts to target unauthorised migration. Across the globe, 495 repatriation flights retur ned 1,60,000 peope to 145 countries, including India. India has maintained that it supports legal migration. In a strong signal to China, foreign ministers from Quad countries opposed any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion | P9 Trump on H-1B visa Trump said he likes ‘both sides of the argument’ on H-1B foreign guest workers’ visa, noting that he likes “very competent people” coming into the country” Speculation rife on Bharat Ratna picks RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR Ta m i l Na d u January 28, 2025, 7 pm ITC Grand Chola, Chennai former prime minister Manmohan Singh are in the preliminary shortlist for the most coveted award, albeit posthumously. The demand for conferring it on Tata picked up pace after his demise in October. The Maharashtra cabinet, too, passed a resolution recommending it. The demand for honouring Manmohan Singh came from the Congress and a few NDA partners, after he passed away on December 26. The government in its outreach offered two plots within the Rashtriya Smriti Sthal to build his memorial. Another legacy could be up for grabs if Dalit icon and BSP founder Kanshi Ram figures on the list. Among the other names that are doing the rounds are SP’s Mulayam Singh Yadav, Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar, educationists Jyotirao Phule and Savitribai Phule, Bihar’s first CM Shri Krishna Singh, B P Mandal, whose Mandal Commission report triggered social engineering and gave reservations to OBCs, and former Odisha CM Biju Patnaik. Before or after R-Day The Union government could recommend three-four names for the Bharat Ratna before Republic Day or like last year after February 5, when Delhi is scheduled to go for assembly elections express read CM slams EPS, says 389 poll promises fulfilled EC transfers Erode East RO ahead of by-election NGT warns of trawling ban amid spike in death of Olive Ridleys Sivaganga: CM Stalin on Wednesday slammed AIADMK leader EPS and said TN became a revenue-deficit state under the latter’s rule. Of the DMK’s 505 poll promises, 389 have been fulfilled and only 116 are left to be executed, the CM said | P4 Erode: The EC transferred Returning Officer of Erode East seat N Manish and posted H S Srikanth as the new RO. The action comes after collector submitted a report to the EC on the erraneous approval of the nomination of a Bengaluru candidate for the bypoll | P4 Chennai: The southern bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) warned of a complete ban on trawling during Olive Ridley nesting season after four trawl boats were spotted 2-3km off the shore at Thiruvanmiyur beach on Wednesday violating the TN Marine Fisheries Regulation Act. Frequent violations have led to turtle deaths, prompting demand for stricter enforcement of rules | P2 A four-member team of officials deputed by the union government’s food and public distribution department to assess the moisture content of paddy affected by the unseasonal rainfall in delta districts began its four-day tour by visiting the farmlands in Thanjavur on Wednesday The team also collected . samples of paddy brought by farmers to Direct Procurement Centres (DPC) for testing their moisture content in a laboratory . According to sources, over 3.40 lakh hectares of paddy crop across the region is yet to be harvested and the crops face the risk of being rejected at the procurement centres if the mois- ture norms are not relaxed by the union government, sources said. Farmers want the moisture norm for paddy to be hiked from 17% to 22% to qualify for government procurement and minimum support price. In Thanjavur and Tiruvarur districts, of the 2.73 lakh hectares of samba and thalady paddy crops, 2.25 lakh hectares are yet to be harvested.  P7