vijayawada l tuesday l february 04, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l late city EDITION Trump tariffs : Rupee plunges 55 paise to low of 87.17 against $ Rupee suffered significant pressure from sustained foreign fund outflows and strong US dollar demand from oil importers surge in u.s. dollar index weakens rupee fiis offloading equities led to fall Forex traders said the plunge was due to a surge in the US dollar index after US President Donald Trump levied tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, triggering fears of a broad trade war. “We expect the rupee to trade with negative bias on strong US dollar and FII outflows amid weak domestic markets,” said Anuj Choudhary, Mirae Asset Sharekhan ■ ■ Finance Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey on Monday said there is no concern over the rupee value, and the Reserve Bank of India is managing the volatility of the local currency | P12 Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth `1,327.09 crore in the capital markets on Saturday, contributing to the fall 319 points drop in the 30-share BSE Sensex on monday 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 In the works, PM-Trump talks in the US on Feb 13 Both sides exploring possibility of scheduling it after Paris AI summit J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to travel to Washington for a meeting with President Donald Trump after attending the AI summit in Paris on February 10 and 11. While there has been no official word from either the White House or the External Affairs Ministry both sides are looking at Feb, ruary 13 and 14 as the possible dates. The Indian side has been eager for an early engagement between the two leaders, hoping that their strong personal rapport would help establish a foundation for deeper collaboration, especially as the new US administration begins implementing measures such as raising tariffs and cracking down on illegal immigration. If these plans work out, the two leaders could hold discussions on February 13 to lay out the roadmap for their future cooperation. During his trip, Modi is also expected to hold meetings with business leaders. The prime minister will be attending the AI Action Summit in France on February 10-11 at the Grand Palais after which he will be travelling to Washington. According to a statement from the Élysée Palace, the AI summit will gather heads of state and government, international organisation leaders, business executives, academics, NGOs, artists, and civil society members. If the subsequent US trip is firmed up, Modi will arrive in Washington on February 12 depending on his final engagements in France. “The leaders (Modi and Trump) discussed plans for Prime Minister Modi to visit the White House, underscoring the strength of the friendship and strategic ties between our nations,” a White House read out said after a phone call between Modi and Trump on January 27. President Trump has said Modi was likely to visit the White House for a meeting in February. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, en route to Joint Base Andrews from Florida, Trump said on the day of is phone call with the Indian prime minister: “I had a long talk with him this morning. He is going to be coming to the White House, probably in February We have a very good . relationship with India.” Rahul raps slide in manufacturing P r ee t h a N a i r @ New Delhi In a departure from his usual combative mode, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi addressed the Lok Sabha on Monday touching upon all the key is, sues that currently dominate the Budget season — unemployment, border security, Election Commission, China and caste census — among others. He began his address on a conciliatory note, saying that both the Congress-led UPA governments and the BJP-led NDA failed to address the burning issue of unemployment. Though he hailed the prime minAttempt to ister for his flagship ‘Make in India’ hurt image initiative, he pointed out that NarenJaishankar dra Modi failed because manufacaccused Rahul turing went from 15.3% of GDP to of damaging 12.6% now, the lowest in 60 years. India’s image “The record of the country in orabroad. “Rahul ganising production is dismal,” he Gandhi’s lies said, adding that India has handed may have over production to the Chinese. political intent, Showing his mobile phone, Rahul but they harm said though it is assembled in India, the nation all the components including the internationnetwork are owned by China. He ally,” he said also alleged that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was sent to the US to secure an invite for the PM to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration as US President. In his pushback, Jaishankar said, “Rahul Gandhi deliberately spoke a falsehood about my visit to the US... At no stage was an invitation for the PM discussed. It’s well-known that our PM doesn’t attend such events. India is generally represented by Special Envoys.” railway budget: aP gets `9,417 cr, up by `266 crore S G u r u S r i k a n t h @ Vijayawada In last 10 years, 1,560 km of new tracks have been laid in the State, which is more than the entire rail network of Sri Lanka Unveiling a budget with an outlay of `2,52,200 crore for the financial year 2025-26, Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw announced the allocation of `9,417 crore for Andhra Pradesh, an increase of a whopping `266 crore from `9,151 crore allocated in the previous financial year. Vaishnaw highlighted that this amount is 11 times more than what united Andhra Pradesh received under the UPA regime (`886 crore). Ashwini Vaishnaw In contrast, the neighbouring Telugu State of Telangana was allocated `5,337 crore. Track Speaking during a media conference in New Delhi upgrades on Monday he revealed that `84,559 crore is being in, Railways plans vested in ongoing infrastructure projects in the State. to upgrade He explained that 73 railway stations are being redetracks to run veloped and fully modernised in Andhra Pradesh. trains at speeds Highlighting the State’s achievements, Vaishnaw said, of 160 km/h on “Total electrification has been completed in the State. key sections & In the last 10 years, 1,560 km of new tracks have been 130 km/h on laid in the State, which is more than the entire rail other routes. network of Sri Lanka. Electrification was carried out Entire network at a rate of 177 km per year, compared to just 37 km per will be capable year under the UPA regime.” of supporting Appreciating Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, trains at Vaishnaw said there has been excellent coordination 100 km/h and cooperation between the State and the Centre. P4 Congress govt will table a Bill today allocating 42% reservation for backward classes not just in local polls but also in jobs, education | P7 TDP wins big in civic body polls, tension grips Tirupati E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @ Vijayawada The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) made a clean sweep in the Urban Local Body (ULB) elections held on Monday to fill vacant posts. TDP leaders secured key positions, including Deputy Mayors in Eluru and Nellore Municipal Corporations, as well as Chairpersons and Vice-Chairpersons in several municipalities. Despite the YSRCP having a stronger presence in ULBs, the TDP emerged victorious as several corporators and councillors switched allegiances or engaged in cross-voting, tipping the balance in their favour. Meanwhile, elections to the Tirupati Municipal Corpora- Heavy deployment of police force at SV University in Tirupati for Deputy Mayor election on Monday| Madhav K tion, Nandigama, Tuni, Piduguralla Municipalities, and Palakonda Nagar Panchayat were postponed to 11 am on Tuesday due to a lack of quorum. Tension gripped Tirupati as the highly-anticipated Deputy Mayor election was postponed for the same reason. A special meeting held at the SV University Senate Hall required 50% attendance, but only 22 out of 50 members were present. This prompted the Joint Collector and Presiding Officer, Shubham Bansal, to reschedule the election for Tuesday . YSRCP in-charge Bhumana Abhinay Reddy alleged that coalition leaders had confined corporators in hotels against their will to disrupt the voting process. Despite police arrangements, YSRCP leaders claimed that their corporators had been kidnapped and demanded their release before participating in the election. Tensions escalated when a bus carrying YSRCP corporators was allegedly intercepted and its members takP4 en away in cars.  A’palle tribal hamlets light up after 77 years interim order Centre, states can’t reduce forest cover: SC Us h a Pe r i @ Visakhapatnam S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y @ New Delhi IN a stern warning, the Supreme Court on Monday restrained the Centre and state governments from reducing forest areas without providing compensatory land. The interim order came after a batch of petitions challenged amendments to the 2023 forest conservation law, which allegedly excludes nearly 1.99 lakh square kilometres of forest land from the definition of “forest”. A two-judge bench led by justices B R Gavai and K Vinod Chandran, directed the Centre to submit a status report in three weeks. The court stressed it will not allow any reduction in forest area without compensatory land being provided. The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill was passed by Parliament in 2023. The pleas challenged the constitutionality of the amended law, seeking it to be struck down. The petitioners argued that the 1996 Godavarman judgement by the Supreme Court mandated protection of forests regardless of classification or ownership. They cited the ‘India State of Forest Report 2021’, which states that total forest and tree cover accounts for 24.62% of the country’s geographical area area. 42% BC quota planned by congress in t’gana From right, Chandrika Tandon, Wouter Kellerman and Eru Matsumoto accept the Grammy for their album, Triveni | AP Indra Nooyi’s sis wins Grammy R u pa m J a i n @ Chennai Chandrika Tandon, a Chennai-born Indian-American businesswoman and musician, claimed her first Grammy at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards in 2025. She is the elder sister of Indra Nooyi, former chairperson and chief executive officer of PepsiCo. Chandrika, 71, won the prestigious award in the Best New Age, Ambient, or Chant Album category for her album Triveni. A captivating blend of Vedic chants and modern world music, Triveni is a collaboration with South African flautist Wouter Kellerman and Japanese cellist Eru Matsumoto. The album’s title, inspired by the confluence of three sacred rivers in India, symbolises the fusion of diverse musical traditions, resulting in a meditative journey of inner healing. Chandrika’s win marks the culmination of a career that spans both business and music. Born into a Tamil Brahmin family, she studied at Madras Christian College before earning an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. She went on to become the first Indian-American woman elected partner at McKinsey ...A moment that reminds me that music is love, music ignites the light within all of us, and, even in our darkest days, music spreads joy and laughter - Chandrika Tandon & Company, later founding Tandon Capital Associates. Despite her business success, Chandrika’s passion for m u s i c n e ve r w ave r e d . Trained in Hindustani and Carnatic classical music, she earned her first Grammy nomination in 2011 for her album Soul Call. Triveni, released in 2024, includes seven tracks, each representing a step in a spiritual journey with pieces like , Pathway to Light and Seeking Shakti. In her acceptance speech, Chandrika expressed her gratitude, saying, “Music is love, music is light, and music is laughter.” Her win is a tribute to her commitment to both business and art, proving it’s never too late to pursue your passions. Beyonce’s first Grammy: P11 After decades of living in darkness, tribal residents of Neelabanda in Rolugunta mandal and Sompurambandha in Ravikamatham mandal, Anakapalli district, finally have access to electricity Marking the . occasion, villagers celebrated with traditional Dhimsa dances and community gatherings. Neelabanda, a hilltop village in Aarla panchayat, is home to three families from the Kondh community a Particularly Vul, nerable Tribal Group (PVTG), with a total population of about 25. Sompurambandha, located in Cheemalapadu panchayat, has two families with around 15 residents. Despite being 77 years post-Independence, these villages had remained without electricity prompting residents , to repeatedly submit petitions and stage protests. Their efforts, coupled with media reports highlighting their plight, Electrification works underway at Neelabanda village | Express led to the long-awaited electrification of their homes. “For the first time, our nights are no longer filled with darkness. Now, we can continue our chores after sunset, and children can study without difficulty,” said villagers Gemmili Chinna and Gemmili Apparao P4 from Neelabanda.  No political alliance with Congress: Draft CPM resolution pa r v e z s u lta n @ New Delhi IN its draft political resolution for the 24th party congress released on Monday the Commu, nist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) said its attitude to the Congress is determined by the need for broader unity among secular forces. However, it said it cannot have a political alliance with the Congress. The party acknowledged that the Congress, the main secular opposition party, has a role to play in a common struggle against the BJP and in the “broader unity to be forged among secular forces”. It pledged to continue to work with INDIA bloc on core issues as it seeks “mobilisation of all secular forces against Hindutva ideology . “CPM will cooperate with INDIA bloc in Parliament and on agreed issues outside Parliament. We will join hands with all secular forces on issues of authoritarian onslaughts against democracy use of dra, conian laws to suppress dissent and opposition to efforts to subvert the Constitution,” the resolution said. However, the draft vehemently called for strengthening the independent support base of the party. It emphasised that there should be more attention on independent political campaigns and mass mobilisations around the political platform of the party with special focus on ideological work and movement to counter the ideology and activities of the Hindutva forces. The draft was jointly released by CPM Polit Bureau members Tapan Sen, Ashok Dawle, Nilotpal Basu and its coordinator Prakash Karat in New Delhi. The resolution will be taken up in the party congress in Madurai from April 6 to 9. express read Naidu terms AAP govt ‘half-engine sarkar’ Better engg education needed, says Lokesh 190 fall ill due to food poisoning at wedding Vijayawada: Urging the citizens of Delhi to vote for the BJP to ensure development through a doubleengine government, TDP supremo and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu labelled the AAP government a ‘half-engine sarkar’ | P4 Vijayawada: HRD Minister Nara Lokesh stressed the need to improve quality of engineering education in the State. He met representatives of Engineering Colleges and assured them that the government is committed to bring reforms in education | P4 Udaipur: Around 196 people fell ill due to food poisoning at a mass wedding ceremony in Rajasthan’s Udaipur district, officials said on Monday. The guests complained of vomitting and diarrhea after eating khichdi and sweets at the ceremony, A probe is on