kalaburagi l friday l april 18, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l city EDITION Astronomers find signs of life on exoplanet off solar system an enigma that’s 124 light-years away By analysing data from NASA and the European Space Agency’s Webb Space Telescope, researchers led by scientists at the University of Cambridge detected evidence of dimethyl sulphide and dimethyl disulphide in the atmosphere of the planet known as K2-18b. The planet is 124 light-years away; one light-year is equivalent to nearly 6 trillion miles Molecules known to be produced by marine organisms were found on an exoplanet, in a strong evidence of life outside Solar System ■ 8 further research needed, say scientists ■ “It is the strongest sign to date of any possibility of biological activity outside the solar system,” Cambridge astrophysicist Nikku Madhusudhan said during a livestream on Thursday Scientists stressed that further research is needed to rule out any errors or the possibility of other processes to produce compounds times more massive than the size of earth — the new exoplanet 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 Trump wants Fed Chair Jerome Powell sacked, hours after the latter issued a sharp warning on tariff war | P11 China in working-level communication with US on tariff, says person who ‘tied the bell’ should untie it | P11 Govt promises status quo on ‘Nuclear missile’: Waqfs, buys time from bench V-P swipe on SC 0.25% Supreme Court sets May 5 for next hearing, possible interim order on the Act Lending rate cut by the European Central Bank to 2.25%, down from 2.50%. This is its seventh cut so far S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y @ New Delhi CASTE CENSUS REPORT Cabinet meeting inconclusive, to resume on May 2 De v a r a j B H i r e h a l l i @Bengaluru The special cabinet meeting that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah convened to discuss the Socio-economic and Educational Survey-2015 (SES-2015) report, popularly known as Caste Census, remained inconclusive as no decisions were arrived at. “The cabinet discussed the report in a cordial atmosphere, but it was incomplete as we (ministers) felt that some more infor mation and technical details were required. The next cabinet meeting will be held on May 2 Chief Minister Siddaramaiah when a decision arrives for the cabinet meeting at will be taken on Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru on the report,” Law Thursday | Nagaraja Gadekal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister HK Patil told reporters after the cabinet meeting. The ministers deliberated on the parameters used to assess population and backwardness and examined the details and criteria considered during the survey process, he said. He expressed confidence that in the May 2 cabinet meeting, all the ministers will make up their mind to arrive at a decision as they will get a clearer picture of the report which stresses on the socio-economic and educational status of communities.  CONTINUED ON P4 The Centre on Thursday managed to buy more time from the Supreme Court — which wanted to issue interim orders — to explain its position on the genesis of the contentious Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. It agreed to file a preliminary response to the pleas challenging the validity of the Act within a week, adding no appointments would be made to the Central Waqf Council and the Waqf Boards till the next date of hearing, which is May 5. Also, no waqf, including waqf by user, shall be de-notified, nor will their character or status change till May 5, the government assured. “The government will not make any appointments to the Central Waqf Council as per the 2025 Waqf Amendment Act and that properties already declared wakf by user and registered under the original 1995 Act will not be disturbed,” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted. A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khan- 13,000+ rare manuscripts at Mutt to be digitised MoU inked by University of Mysore with Shri Sharada Peetham, Sringeri, aims to transform the catalogue into a fully searchable online database | P5 India rubbishes K-claim by Pak Army chief Jaya n t h Ja c o b @ New Delhi India on Thursday firmly rejected Pakistan Army chief General Asim Munir’s statement calling Kashmir the country’s “jugular vein”, dismissing it as baseless and asserting that Pakistan’s only connection to the region is its illegal occupation, which it must end. In a strong rebuttal to Munir’s remarks, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said: “How can anything foreign be in a jugular vein? This is a Union Territory of India. Its only relationship with Pakistan is the vacation of illegally occupied ter ritories by that country .” India maintains that the entire region of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of the country, with a portion currently under illegal occupation by its neighbour. The Pakistan army chief made his comments earlier this week while addressing a group of overseas Pakistanis. He referenced the two-nation theory — the ideological basis for Pakistan’s formation — saying the country’s founders believed Muslims and Hindus differed in every aspect: religion, customs, traditions and aspirations. He urged the diaspora to pass this belief on to their children, calling them “cultural ambassadors” and encouraging pride in a “superior ideology and culture”. Asim Munir “How can anything foreign be in a jugular vein? India’s only relationship with Pak is the vacation of illegally occupied territories Randhir Jaiswal, MEA na and justices Sanjay Kumar and K V Viswanthan, took the assurances on record and asked the petitioners to file their rejoinders five days after the government affidavit. “We clarify that the next hearing (May 5) will be for the preliminary objections and for an interim order,” it said. The CJI is set to retire on May 13. When the hearing began, Mehta urged the bench not to stay the provisions of Act, saying the law was enacted after taking into account many representations and suggestions. “The Union government is answerable to the people of India. The government received lakhs and lakhs of representations... Villages after villages Truckers call off strike after govt assurances E x p r e s s Ne w s Se r v i c e @Bengaluru After negotiations with Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy , truckers, who had been off the roads across Karnataka since April 14 midnight seeking a rollback of the diesel price hike, called off their strike on Thursday evening. The government assured the Federation of Karnataka State Lorry Owners’ and Agents’ Association (FKSLOA) that truck transportation charges would be fixed according to the diesel prices, similar to fares fixed for autos, cabs and maxi cabs. Addressing the media after the meeting, federation president GR Shanmugappa said, “While the diesel rates have been rising, truck owners were operating at fixed costs for many years, incurring losses. Truck charges were not increased in line with the diesel price hike, similar to how fares are fixed for autos and cabs. The transport minister agreed to fix fares for trucks based on the distance and the carrying capacity in tonnes in a month.” On removing RTO checkposts in border areas, another major issue of truckers, the minister said transport officials would take up a study on how some states have abolished checkposts, and suitable action will be taken within three months.  P4 are taken as waqf... It is a considered piece of legislation,” said Mehta. He urged the court not to take the “harsh step” of staying the Act and sought a week to file a preliminary reply along with some documents. The CJI said the court has already observed that there were some positives in the Act, but also does not want the situation prevailing now to change. Hence, a stay on certain provisions would be warranted, Justice Khanna said. “There is a thumb rule that courts won’t stay legislations ordinarily But there is another . thumb rule: when the petition is pending before the court, the situation which is prevailing should not change so that the rights of persons are not affected,” CJI Khanna added. As Mehta persisted, the CJI gave his consent provided that non-Muslim members would not be nominated to the Waqf Boards and Central Waqf Council and that registered waqfs wouldn’t be changed. The court said only five writ petitions would be considered as lead cases. The rest would be as intervening applications. Centre’s word on the new law Non-Muslims won’t be appointed to Central Waqf Councils and State Waqf Boards till the next date of hearing. The provision in the Act is contested Any such appointment made in any state in the interregnum will be treated as null and void All Waqfs, including Waqf by user, whether declared via notification or registration, will not be de-notified till May 5, the next date of hearing timeline for Prez R A J E SH K U M A R TH A K UR @New Delhi IN a stunning broadside on the judiciary, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday chided the Supreme Court for setting timelines for the President to decide on Bills referred by the Governor. Describing Article 142 (which grants plenary powers to the Supreme Court), Dhankhar said, “Article 142 has become a nuclear missile against democratic forces, available to judiciary 24 x 7.” Dhankhar’s strong words came during his speech to Rajya Sabha interns. “So, we have judges who will legislate, who will perform executive functions, who will act as super Parliament and absolutely have no accountability because the law of the land does not apply to them,” Dhankhar said. “There is a directive to the President by a recent judgment. Where are we heading? What is happening in the country? We have to be extremely sensitive. It is not a question of someone filing a review or not. We never bargained for democracy for this day President being called . Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankar speaking to interns on Thursday | PTI upon to decide in a time-bound manner, and if not, becomes law,” Dhankar said. Article 142 of the Constitution gives the Supreme Court the power to issue orders that ensure “complete justice” in any matter before it. “We cannot have a situation where you direct the President of India and on what basis? The only right you have under the Constitution is to interpret it under Article 145(3). There, it has to be five judges or more... Article 142 has become a nuclear missile against democratic forces, available to judiciary 24 x 7”, he said, stressing the need to accept the principle of separation of powers. GET READY TO BEAT THE HEAT Cloud Technology AVAILABLE ON Portable & Versatile Point Anywhere Remote Bladeless Front Grill Anti Bacterial Mesh Filter Powerful, Quiet Cooling & Select Outlets in Major Cities in the works AI to help public navigate maze of GOs, circulars A s h w i n i M S r i pa d @Bengaluru Soon, people seeking Government Orders, notifications and circulars for information on various services and schemes can get them all within a few clicks. Perhaps for the first time in the country the Karna, taka government is taking the help of Artificial Intelligence to make government documents available to the public on one platform. Most gover n- ment departments, particularly those that interact with the public directly, keep issuing Government Orders, circulars, notifications and other documents from time to time. The Centre for e-Governance (CeG) has identified four to five departments to start with, including revenue, rural development and panchayat raj, where there is more citizen engagement. Dr Dileesh Sasi, Chief Executive Officer, CeG, said these documents can be searched on each department website using keywords. “We are targeting department-wise. This is a huge task. To choose government documents, the department heads should inform us about the relevant ones. Some departments have British-era documents,” he said, adding that they want to make available all GOs, notifications and circulars on one platform. Shreevyas HM, Project Director, Artificial Intelligence Cell, CeG, said Each government website will have a pop-up window, and users can ask for the required documents.  P4 Contact us: Users can ask questions about any particular department, or place, or an issue, and he or she will get the answer along with the relevant document E-Mail : customersupport@singerindia.com marketing@singerindia.com Toll Free : 1800 103 3474 www.singerindia.com Shreevyas HM, Project Director, Artificial Intelligence Cell, CeG April 18, 2025