NAGAPATTINAM l saturday l june 07, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l CITY EDITION Elon Musk’s Starlink gets India licence for broadband internet Elon Musk’s Starlink has bagged a licence for satellite internet services, a milestone towards launching commercial operations in India licence hours after trump-musk spat strict security rules await foreign co Starlink is the third company after Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio Satellite Communications to get a licence from the Dept of Telecommunications to provide satellite internet services in the country. A fourth applicant, Amazon’s Kuiper, is still waiting for approvals. Notably, the licence came hours after an ugly, public spat between Musk and Donald Trump | P12 ■ ■ TRAI last month recommended that satcom companies like Starlink pay 4% of their adjusted gross revenue as spectrum charges to govt—a rate steeper than what these firms had lobbied for India’s rules mandate satcom firms to demonstrate capabilities with respect to security aspects, including monitoring, before operations 550 km above earth is world’s largest low Earth orbit used by starlink 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 Double delight: RBI cuts repo by 50 bps, CRR 1% Signals pause in rate cut cycle for the time being; releases `2.5L cr into banking system policy certainty. He said RBI could have done the rate cut in The Reserve Bank of India tranches, but it wanted to give a (RBI) has ‘frontloaded’ the dose sense of certainty to the market of relief for borrowers. On Fri- with a 50 bps cut. day the central bank’s rate-set, Malhotra said the Monetary ting panel surprised the Street Policy Committee’s decision with a 50 basis point cut was taken in view of duin the repo rate—the rable disinflation and the benchmark lending need to boost private rate—to 5.5% against the consumption and investexpectation of a 25 basis ment. “Inflation has sofpoint reduction. The tened, with headline CPI panel also shifted its polfalling to 3.2% in April— icy stance from ‘accombelow the 4% target,” he modative’ to ‘neutral’, said. “We now project insignalling an end of rate flation for FY26 at 3.7%, MPC will cut cycle for now. With down from our earlier Friday’s cut, RBI has carefully assess forecast of 4%.” data to chart lowered the repo rate by On reverting to the out future a cumulative 100 basis ‘neutral’ stance from ‘accourse of points (bps) in 2025. monetary policy commodative’, he clariTo ease liquidity confied this change indicates ditions, RBI also an- Sanjay Malhotra, a “very limited space” RBI guv nounced a 100 bps cut in for further monetary polthe cash reserve ratio icy action. A neutral (CRR) from 4% to 3%, to be im- stance will mean rates in future plemented in four tranches can go either way . starting September 6. This is ex“It will depend on how the pected to release `2.5 lakh crore data comes in. If growth is into the banking system. weaker, it can mean it will go Speaking to the media, RBI down. If growth is good, inflaGovernor Sanjay Malhotra said tion is going up, the repo rate the move was aimed at ensuring can go up,” he said. D i pa k M o nd a l @ New Delhi 7 Highs and lows 6 5 4 3 40 50 50 50 35 Repo Rate (%) 25 0 Change (bps) -25 4.4 4.9 5.4 5.9 6.25 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.25 may ’22 june aug sep -25 6 dec feb ’23 june sep ’24 dec feb ’25 apr ‘2 mn will be hit’ HC rejects plea for NEET-UG re-examination E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Chennai The Madras High Court has dismissed the petitions filed by 16 candidates seeking re-conduct of the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET)2025 for admission to undergraduate (UG) courses in medicine. The candidates had prayed for a re-exam stating that they were affected by power outage at their exam centres due to sudden storm, rain and gusty winds. Concurring with the submission of the National Testing Agency (NTA) that an expert committee, which conducted an analysis of the performance of the centres concerned and the students, had found out that the performance was not affected, Justice C Kumarappan said the level playing field of about two million candidates would be affected if a reexam is ordered. “Therefore, when the authority themselves had arrived at a reasonable conclusion that there are no grounds for re-exam, the same needs to be accepted unless the report is tainted with malafides,” the judge said in the order passed on Friday . “If any re-exam is permitted on trivial grounds, it will seriously affect the level playing field of more than 2 million students. Hence, this court does not find any merits in the writ petitions,” the judge said, and dismissed all the petitions. The petitions were filed by 16 candidates who took the exam on May 4. P5 -50 5.5 june PM dedicates Projects worth `46,000 crore to nation India’s Operation Sindoor will haunt Pakistan forever, says Modi in J&K RA J E S H K U M AR T H AK U R & F AYA Z WA N I @ Katra / Srinagar Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday lit into Pakistan, accusing the ‘unfortunate neighbour’ of conspiring to derail the economy and empowerment of Jammu and Kashmir through the brutal terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22. “Pakistan attacked both insaniyat (humanity) and Kashmiriyat (Kashmir’s social harmony) in Pahalgam. It wanted to spark communal riots in India and rob Kashmiris of their livelihood,” Modi said in his first visit to J&K after the April 22 terror attack. His comments came while addressing a rally after inaugurating the world’s highest single-arch rail bridge over the Chenab river, India’s first cable-stayed Anji bridge, and flagging off Vande Bharat trains to mark the completion of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla railway link that providies direct train connectivity to the Kashmir Valley . In all, Modi inaugurated development projects worth `46,000 crore for the region. “On the night of May 6, doom was let loose on Pakistan’s terrorists,” Modi said, adding that Pakistan will be reminded of its shameful defeat whenever it hears the name Operation Sindoor. “The edifice of terror that Pakistan built over the years was reduced to rubble in minutes. Development and peace of J&K is the Modi guarantee which nothing ‘Livelihood hit’ Praise for Adil PM praised the courage of Syed Adil Shah, who was killed by terrorists when he tried to save tourists from bullets Top: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, MoS Jitendra Singh, J&K L-G Manoj Sinha, and CM Omar Abdullah during inauguration of Chenab rail bridge; Above: Vande Bharat flagged off by PM, crosses the rail bridge on Friday | PTI can hamper,” he said. He also lauded people of J&K for standing fir m against terrorism. Reaffirming the Centre’s commitment to J&K’s all-round development, he said improved railway connectivity would transform the region with all-weather connectivity . Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who was present on the occasion, praised the successful completion of the rail link—a feat he said even the British attempted but failed.He also used the occasion to reiterate his demand for restoration of statehood to J&K. He expressed confidence that J&K would regain statehood under Modi’s watch. Express N e ws Se rvi ce @ Bengaluru ternational Airport when he was, allegedly trying to escape. , The other three are employees of the DNA Entertainment Networks Private Limited. Its director and vice- president Sunil Mathew, manager Kiran Kumar and Sumanth, working in the ticketing section, were also arrested from the airport. RCB officials at the Cubbon Park police station in Bengaluru on Friday | PTI Fresh fir B’luru: Another FIR was filed against RCB, DNA Entertainment and Karnataka State Cricket Association express read DMK slams EPS on delimitation (From left to right) Kamal Haasan, P Wilson, IS Inbadurai and M Dhanapal Kamal, 5 others file papers for Rajya Sabha election E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Chennai Actor-politician Kamal Haasan has declared `245.86 crore in movable and immovable assets in his nomination papers filed for the Rajya Sabha polls on Friday. The value of his assets has gone up by 39% (`70 crore) compared to the `176 crore asset value declared in his nomination papers for the 2021 Assembly poll. His overall liability, however, has remained the same at `49 crore over the last four years. Six candidates, four from DMK alliance and two from AIAD- MK, filed the papers for the six RS seats from Tamil Nadu. DMK Rajya Sabha candidates — P Wilson, Rajathi (a) Poet Salma, and SR Sivalingam — joined the Makkal Needhi Maiam chief in filing their nomination papers for four RS seats with the assembly additional secretary B Subramaniyam in Chennai. Chief Minister M K Stalin, Deputy CM Udhyanidhi Stalin and leaders of alliance parties were present. Kamal’s income as per his tax returns for 2023-2024 was `78.9 crore, up from `22.1 crore in 2019-2020.  P5 CHENNAI: Hours after EPS said that he had told Union Minister Amit Shah, during their meeting in Delhi, that TN’s rights should not be affected by delimitation, DMK minister Regupathy questioned EPS’s claim, accusing him of acting as BJP’s ‘mouthpiece’ | P4 ‘TN can impose 100% penalty’ CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has ruled that the state government has the power to impose 100% penalty on the value of minerals quarried without obtaining environmental clearance | P2 India launches pre-feasibility study to divert Chenab water J i tend r a Ch o u b ey @ New Delhi Modi said the Pahalgam attack directly impacted local workers in J&K—horse riders, porters, guides, shopkeepers and guest house owners Bengaluru stampede: Four held IN connection with the death of 11 persons in a stampede outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium during the IPL title triumph celebration of RCB, four persons, including the marketing head of the RCB franchise, were arrested in a joint operation by the Central Crime Branch(CCB) and Cubbon Park police, when they were reportedly flying to Mumbai on Friday . Nikhil Sosale, the marketing head of RCB franchise, was arrested at the Kempegowda In- Omar raises statehood issue Carney invites Modi to attend g7 summit J aya nth J a c o b @ New Delhi IN a major signal of improving ties between India and Canada following erosion of diplomatic relations under former Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday confirmed his participation in the upcoming G7 Summit, to be held in Kananaskis, Alberta, from June 15–17. Confirming his attendance, Modi said he looks forward to meeting the newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney . Taking to X on Friday, Prime Minister Modi said. “Glad to receive a call from Prime Minister @MarkJCarney of Canada. Congratulated him on his recent election victory and thanked him for the invitation to the G7 Summit in Kananaskis later this month. As vibrant democracies bound by deep people-to-people ties, India and Canada will work together with renewed vigour, guided by mutual respect and shared interests. Look forward to our meeting at the Summit.” INDIA has launched a prefeasibility study for the construction of the ChenabRavi-Beas-Sutlej link canal project aimed at diverting water from the Chenab currently flowing into Pakistan under the currently inactive Indus Water Treaty (IWT). The project proposes to channel 15-20 million acrefeet (MAF) of water from the Chenab to Indian states of Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan, as part of a broader effort to strengthen domestic water infrastructure and assert greater control over Indus basin resources. The move follows the effective suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty under which India was permitted to use 20% of the basin’s water. Additionally, a team has begun assessing the existing canal structures across Jammu, Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan. An officer involved in planning the study at the Ministry of Jal Shakti stated, “We need to evaluate if the water diverted from the Chenab through these canals is being delivered in proper condition and determine investment required for restructuring the canal system.” In addition to the Chenab-Ravi-Beas-Sutlej link canal project, India is fast-tracking several new storage and run-of-river projects to support these initiatives. Under the IWT, India was allowed to use up to 20% of the water, but plans to demand 40% of the water in case of renegotiations.