CRE SCO DIT RE BHUBANESWAR  TUESDAY  MARCH 04, 2025  `9.00  PAGES 12  JEYPORE EDITION WOMEN BORROWERS GROW 22% OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS: REPORT The report, released by NITI Aayog CEO B V R Subrahmanyam on Monday, showed bulk of the loans was for meeting consumption demand SELF-MONITORING CREDIT HABIT SEES SPIKE WOMEN MAKE UP 35% OF BUSINESS LOANS The report, published by TransUnion CIBIL, Women Entrepreneurship Platform of NITI Aayog and MicroSave Consulting said as of December 2024, 2.7 crore women were monitoring their credit, a 42% spike from the previous year. Women’s share of the total self-monitoring base increased to 19.43% in December 2024, up from 17.89% in 2023, it said ■ ■ The report released on Monday said that among the women borrowers, 60% were from semi-urban and rural areas Since 2019, women’s share in business loan has increased by 14% and their share in gold loans has grown by 6%, with women accounting for 35% of business borrowers by December 2024, the report said 15 crore JOBS WILL BE CREATED IF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS PROMOTED 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 Bear children soon, so TN won’t lose seats: CM Stalin to couples Call comes ahead of all-party meet in the state on delimitation E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Nagapattinam CHIEF Minister M K Stalin on Monday encouraged newly-married couples to bear children as early as possible, citing the proposed delimitation of parliamentary constituencies that is expected to be done on the basis of population. His comment comes ahead of the March 5 all-party meet he has called for to discuss the issue. Solemnising a wedding organised by DMK’s Nagapattinam district secretary N Gowthaman’s family Stalin said it is no longer neces, sary to advise newly-married couples to postpone childbearing. “A scenario has currently developed where parliamentary constituencies are delimited on the basis of population and the number of MPs would be higher when the population is high. Hence, I would not ask the couples to postpone their childbearing like in earlier times and, rather, would encourage them to bear children as early as possible,” the CM said. The DMK and other parties in south India have raised Chief Minister concerns about a proportional M K Stalin loss of representation when delimitation is done, according to the 84th amendment, on the basis of the first census completed after 2026 (the 2021 census has not yet been conducted). With the number of Parliamentary and Assembly seats set to be allocated in proportion to a state’s population, political parties in the south fear that their states, which have slowed population growth, may end up with a smaller share of representation while northern states may have more than at present. Rework formula on population skew: TDP P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi WITH the d elimitation row intensifying, the NDA government’s key ally Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Monday said the current delimitation formula needs rework to address the concerns of the South. He expressed confidence that the Centre has taken cognizance of the issue, adding Union home minister Amit Shah’s recent ‘pro rata’ statement was a signal in the right direction. TDP parliamentary party leader Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu said the reconfiguration of parliamentary seats based on the current census data could drastically cut their representation in the Lok Sabha. “If the number of seats is increased on the existing formula of population census, Southern states will lose a considerable number of seats. That will invariLavu Sri Krishna ably reduce our bargaining power in the foreseeable future in Devarayalu Parliament. We are seeing it after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. Our bargaining power has been reduced compared to a big state with big numbers,” he said. Amit Shah had recently assured that after delimitation, on pro rata basis, not a single seat will be reduced in any southern state. “The government needs to rework the formula in such a way that seats are not increased only the basis of population. For example, like they give weightage to economically backward states when distributing central funds,” he said. CONTROVERSIAL SHIFT State to celebrate Panchayati Raj Divas on April 24, not on March 5, Biju Babu’s birthday Addressing a media conference here, BJD leaders Debi Mishra and IN a move that has ruffled feathers Sajay Dasburma said Biju Patnaik’s in state politics, the BJP government birthday has been celebrated as the on Monday announced that March 5, Panchayati Raj Divas for the last 32 the birthday of former chief minis- years in recognition of his contributer Biju Patnaik, will not be celebrat- tion to strengthening panchayat ined as Panchayati Raj Divas from this stitutions. After Biju Patnaik was year. The Panchayati Raj Divas will became the chief minister for the be observed on April 24 in second time in 1990, he inline with the National Pantroduced the three-tier panchayati Raj Day . chayat system in the state. The Mohan Majhi gov“Because of the initiaThe decision has ernment has also scrapped tive taken by Biju Babu been taken to the state holiday on March gram panchayat, panchay5, though it has announced avoid overlapping at samiti and zilla parishad of government that the birth anniversary system was introduced in programmes. of Biju Patnaik will be obOdisha and laws were enMarch 5 will be served at all levels with celebrated as the acted accordingly The BJP . pomp and ceremony . government has shown birth anniversary The chief minister’s ofgreat disrespect to Biju of Biju Patnaik fice said the National PanBabu by not celebrating CMO chayati Raj Day is celebratPanchayati Raj Divas on ed on April 24. On the day, March 5,” they alleged. panchayat representatives from difCongress legislature party leader ferent states are given awards like Rama Chandra Kadam also supportthe Rashtriya Gaurav Gram Sabha ed the BJD on the issue saying PanAward and the Mahatma Gandhi As- chayati Raj Divas should be observed sured Employment Scheme Award. on March 5 as per custom. “In fact, “The decision has been taken to after the Congress returned to power avoid overlapping of government in 1995 under JB Patnaik, the celeprogrammes on these two dates. The bration had continued,” he said. government has decided to celebrate However, BJP MLA Amar Nayak March 5 as the birth anniversary of defended the state government and Biju Patnaik, a great son of Odisha, said that no disrespect has been in a grand manner,” a release from shown to Biju Patnaik. In fact, the the CMO stated. BJP government has shown respect The Opposition BJD and Con- to many great persons like Godabargress, however, attacked the govern- ish Mohapatra, Madho Singh and ment over the decision to observe others by launching schemes in their Panchayati Raj Divas on April 24. name, he said. E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Bhubaneswar U.P. WOMAN ON DEATH ROW IN U.A.E. EXECUTED ON FEB 15 S H E K H A R S I N G H @ New Delhi A 33-year-old woman from Uttar Pradesh’s Banda district on death row in the United Arab Emirates was executed on February 15, but it was communicated to the Indian embassy only on February 28, the Ministry of External Affairs told the Delhi High Court on Monday. The submission was made during the hearing of a plea filed by the woman’s father seeking to know her whereabouts. “The authorities are providing all possible assistance; her cremation will be held on March 5,” Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma said, adding that arrangements were being made to enable the woman’s family to travel to Abu Dhabi to perform her last rites. With no legal recourse left, Justice Sachin Datta disposed of the plea, calling the entire episode a “sad and unfortunate” incident. Shahzadi was working as a caregiver in Abu Dhabi when her employer’s infant son passed away on December 7, 2022, after a routine vaccination. Thereafter, a video surfaced showing her confessing to the crime. However, her father alleged it was obtained through torture by her employer. The employer’s family handed her over to the Abu Dhabi police on February 10, 2023 . She was sentenced to death on July 31, 2023 and the appellate court dismissed her appeal on February 28, 2024. The MEA said the Indian embassy extended all help including filing mercy petitions. BUCH BREATHER HC STAYS FIR AGAINST EX-SEBI CHIEF Bombay High Court to hear on March 4 pleas by former Sebi chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and five others in case of alleged stock manipulation | P8 WILDLIFE SAFARI Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a lion safari at Gir Wildlife Sanctuary, on the occasion of the World Wildlife Day, in Gujarat’s Junagadh district on Monday | PTI SILLY POINT Congress spokesperson gets no (K)Shama for body-shaming Rohit Sharma P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi THE Congress on Monday distanced itself from its national spokesperson Shama Mohamed’s ‘body shaming’ remarks on India cricket captain Rohit Sharma, saying that the party “does not endorse any statements” that undermine the legacy of sporting icons. A day before India versus Australia Champions Trophy semifinal match in Dubai, a needless controversy erupted after Shama, in her now-deleted post, said Sharma is “fat for a sportsman” and “Need to lose weight! And of course the most unimpressive Captain India has ever had!” The Congress was quick to respond after strong backlash from cricket fans and BJP leaders. In a statement on X, Congress leader Pawan Khera asked Shama to delete her social media posts and exercise greater caution in future. “Dr. Shama Mohammed, National Spokesperson of the Indian National Congress, made certain remarks about a cricketing legend that do not reflect party’s position,” he said. “She has been asked to delete the social media posts from X and has been advised to exercise greater caution in the future. The Indian National Congress holds the contributions of sporting icons in the highest regard and does not endorse any statements that under- mine their legacy,” he added. The BJP has also waded into the controversy and accused Congress of , ‘body-shaming’ and disrespecting the World Cup champion. Responding to a post praising Sharma, Shama asked what was so world class about the current captain when compared to his predecessors like Saurav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, M.S. Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Kapil Dev, Ravi Shastri and the rest. “What is so world-class about him when compared to his predecessors? He is a mediocre captain as well as a mediocre player who got lucky to be the captain,” she wrote. INDIA VS AUSTRALIA India are 100 overs away from advancing to their fourth straight ICC final. Australia, however, could be tricky opponents. A look at the the first Champions Trophy semis... SPIN IT TO WIN IT On some tired Dubai decks, India’s spinners have had a lot of fun. They will deploy the same strategy against Australia, who has only one frontline spinner in Adam Zampa. Both teams, however, have depleted pace bowling P11 attacks. Live: 2.30 PM IST, Dubai SC lifts job bar on visually-impaired in lower judiciary S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi IN a landmark verdict, the Supreme Court on Monday ruled that visually-impaired persons cannot be denied the opportunity of employment in judicial services and struck down provisions of the Madhya Pradesh Judicial Service Rules that excluded them. The court said, “It is high time that we view the right against disability-based discrimination, as recognised in the RPwD Act (Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act) 2016, in the same stature as a fundamental right, thereby ensuring that no candidate is denied consideration solely on account of their disability .” The court’s two-judge bench, headed by justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan, pronounced the judgment on a batch of petitions — including a representation from a visually-impaired candidate’s mother from Madhya Pradesh — for denying quota to these candidates in judicial services of certain states. The candidate’s mother had last year written to the then CJI challenging a rule in the Madhya Pradesh Judicial Services (Recruitment and Service Conditions) Rules that prevented visually impaired candidates from being appointed in the state judicial services. The court converted the letter into a suo motu petition and decided to hear it. In the 122-page judgment, Justice Mahadevan held that visually impaired candidates cannot be said to be ‘not suitable’ for judicial service and they are eligible to participate in selection for posts in judicial service. The verdict said the amendment made in Rule 6A of the Madhya Pradesh Judicial Service (Recruitment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 1994, “falls foul of the Constitution, and is hence, struck down to the extent that it does not include visually impaired persons who are educationally qualified for the post to apply”. It also said that the provision to Rule 7 relating to additional requirements violated the equality doctrine and the principle of reasonable accommodation. “Any indirect discrimination that results in the exclusion of PwDs, whether through rigid cut-offs or procedural barriers, must be interfered with...,” the court said.