chennai l tuesday l june 17, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 20 l late city EDITION India women to kick-start ODI World Cup against Sri Lanka The Harmanpreet Kaur-led Women in Blue will be playing the opening match of the tournament in Bengaluru on September 30 Kaur & Co to play Pak in Colombo on Oct 5 With the ongoing agreement between India and Pakistan cricket boards, the latter will not travel to India and will be camped in Colombo for their league-stage games. India and Pakistan are scheduled to play each other in Colombo on October 5. It will be the first match between the neighbouring countries after the recent cross-border tensions ■ 2013 Home advantage for India and Sri Lanka ■ Apart from hosts India, Sri Lanka will play five of their league games in Colombo. Their two games in India are in Bengaluru and Guwahati If Pakistan advance past the round-robin stages, they will play the semifinal and final in Colombo. If they don’t, Guwahati will host that semifinal. Bengaluru will host the other semifinal and final | P15 The last time India hosted the Women’s ODI World Cup 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 Census-2027 notification finally out MUKESH RAN J AN @ New Delhi Rescue team work at the site where a missile launched from Iran struck Tel Aviv, Israel, on Monday | AP/PTI Israeli Missiles hit Iran’s state tv hq Israel on Monday struck Iran’s state TV while a live broadcast was underway, forcing the anchor to rush out as debris started falling in the studio iaea WARNS OF contamination The International Atomic Energy Agency warned of both radiological and chemical contamination at Iran’s nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz India begins to move out its citizens in Iran Students to be evacuated via Armenia, UAE Israel, Iran RAMP UP ATTACKS civilian CASUALTIES RISE J AYANTH J ACO B @ New Delhi AS hostilities between Iran and Israel intensify India has , begun relocating its nationals from high-risk zones in Iran and is mulling on evacuation plans via both land and sea routes through Armenia and the United Arab Emirates, sources said. The first batch of 110 students has reached the Armenian border, from there they will be evacuated by air. The external affairs ministry on Monday said Indian nationals, including 1,500 students—from Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, and other states—are being moved to safer areas within Iran. Embassy officials are in constant touch with local leaders and the Indian community. An estimated 10,000 Indian nationals are in Iran. Tehran, where a majority of Indian students are enrolled in institutions such as Tehran University of Medi- cal Sciences and Iran University of Medical Sciences, has seen heightened risk amid Israeli strikes. Some students are being relocated to Qom, 148 km from Tehran. Sources said land evacuation via Armenia and a sea route through the UAE are being explored as viable options. “It’s an evolving situation and we are exploring every ways and means to ensure the safety of our nationals as we have done in the past,” said a source. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has spoken to his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan and UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan to discuss the situation. It’s painful for both parties, but I’d say Iran is not winning this war. They should talk before it’s too late US President Donald Trump The Centre on Monday formally notified the much-delayed National Population Census 2027, which was due way back in 2021, but had to be put off after the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak. The Gazette notification said, “the Central Government hereby declares that a census of the population of India shall be taken during the year 2027.” The notification added that the reference date for the Census shall be 00.00 hours of the 1st day of March, 2027, except for Ladakh and snow-bound Caste enumeration definitely on, says govt The Union home ministry rubbished Congress apprehensions on caste enumeration as the notification did not mention it. “The census will include caste enumeration... It has already been mentioned in press releases dated 30 April, 4 June and 15 June, that the census will also have caste enumeration,” the govt said non-synchronous areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. As for the rest, the reference date shall be 00:00 hours of October 1, 2026. The notification was issued by Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, Registrar General and Census Commissioner. The census exercise will be held in two phases—House Listing Operation (HLO) and Population Enumeration (PE). While HLO will involve collecting data on assets and amenities in each household, the PE exercise will capture the demographic, socio-economic, cultural and other details of every person in each household. Also, caste enumeration will Under PDS, TN to door deliver essentials to the elderly, disabled B A n b u s e lv a n @ Chennai A woman holds her baby as residents evacuate downtown Tel Aviv on Monday | AP/PTI Tehran said despite the closure of Iranian airspace, “all land borders are open for crossing” and has requested India to share details of those intending to leave. The Indian Embassy in Tehran urged all nationals to stay indoors, avoid non-essential movement, and follow advisories. As the war entered the fourth day on Monday, Iran confirmed 224 deaths while the toll in Israel rose to 24. India, which maintains diplomatic ties with both nations, reiterated its call for de-escalation. “Existing channels of dialogue and diplomacy should be utilised,” said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal. However, with neither side showing intention to dialing down tensions, the region is bracing for more strikes. On Monday, Israel ordered residents of Tehran to evacuate the district immediately, warning that lethal strikes were coming.  P13 In a first for the state, the Tamil Nadu government is gearing up to launch a door-to-door delivery service of essential commodities such as rice, sugar, wheat, palmolein oil and toor dal under the Public Distribution System (PDS) to cater to those facing difficulties in accessing the fair price shops for their supplies. In the first phase, the scheme will cover around 15 lakh of the roughly 2.21 crore ration cardholders, focusing on those cardholding families that have only senior citizens aged 70 and above or persons with disabilities (PwDs) with no other family members available in a capacity to visit the shops for procurement. Beneficiaries will include both Priority Household ( P HH ) a n d N o n - P r i o r i t y First phase to cover 15L ration cardholders In the first phase, the scheme will cover around 15 lakh ration cardholders, with the proposed home delivery expected to start in July or August, implemented by the cooperation department Household (NPHH) cardholders. The proposed home delivery of commodities in Tamil Nadu, expected to start in July or August, will be implemented by the cooperation department using various vehicles such as maxi trucks, mini trucks and vans. A similar scheme, which was launched in Andhra Pradesh by the previous YSRCP govern- ment in 2021, was discontinued in May this year due to issues, including frequent failure of biometric authentication, irregularities in delivery and high operational costs. Chief Secretary N Muruganandam recently held a detailed review meeting with officials from the civil supplies and cooperation departments at the secretariat. According to official sources, the final list of beneficiaries is being finalised at the moment. An official said, “Since 2021, new ration card applications from PwDs have been categorised under PHH. With this scheme, all PwDs, whether they hold PHH or NPHH cards, will receive home delivery of their ration items.” The items will be handed over at the beneficiary’s doorstep after biometric authentication by the delivery agent, added the official.  P7 LEAGUE clears ashwin of ball-tampering TNPL dismissed the balltampering allegations made by Madurai Panthers against Dindigul Dragons skipper R Ashwin. They have given one day to submit material evidence | P15 In rare move, FATF condemns Pahalgam attack 119 IDed, 64 bodies handed over J AYANTH J ACO B @ New Delhi The process to identify victims of the June 12 AI-171 air crash picked up pace on Monday as officials said DNA samples of 119 of them have been successfully matched. At least 270 people perished in the aircrash. Ahmedabad Civil Hospital Superintendent Dr Rakesh Joshi said 64 bodies have already been handed over to the respective families. Another 24 families are expected to collect the mortal remains of their loved ones in the coming days, AS India intensifies its diplomatic push to put Pakistan on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list, the global anti-terror financing watchdog has issued a rare, strongly worded condemnation of the terrorist attack in Pahalgam. “The FATF expresses grave concern and condemns the brutal terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir, India, on 22 April 2025,” it said, noting the brutality of the incident in which 26 tourists were killed. Victims were executed after being forced to reveal their religion—an act FATF described as a targeted and horrifying assault on civilians. FATF will soon release a comprehensive report on terrorist financing risks, which, for the first time, will acknowledge ‘state-sponsored terrorism’ as a financing threat. The condemnation of the Pahalgam attack signals a shift in international willingness to call out statelinked financing of terrorism. Di l i p Si n g h K s h at r i ya @ Ahmedabad while 11 families await confirmation of DNA matches with additional relatives. Twelve families are still awaiting final DNA results. Authorities expect the identification to conclude swiftly once pending reports are in. Among the bodies identified on Sunday was that of former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani. He was cremated in Rajkot with full state honours on Monday . Probe teams scouring the aircraft debris recovered the cockpit voice recorder (CVR), the second black box. The CVR, along with a wire trailing from the aircraft’s rear section, was handed over to the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB). The first black box, called the flight data recorder, was recovered a day after the accident. Besides, human remains were found amid the debris and shifted to the Civil Hospital for postmortem. Parallelly a high-level multi, disciplinary committee led by Union home secretary Govind Mohan discussed the possible causes of the crash so as to evolve a policy roadmap for future safeguards.  P10 Monsoon havoc Debris of a house after a landslide hit Kannur in Karnataka’s Dakshina Kannada dist on Monday evening. Torrential rains have disrupted normal life in coastal K’taka be done for the first time after Independence as part of the Census, which is in its eighth edition. Overall, this is the 16th edition of the Census since its beginning in 1881. As many as 34 lakh enumerators and supervisors and around 1.3 lakh census functionaries will conduct the operation with cutting-edge mobile digital gadgets, Union home minister Amit Shah said on Sunday after chairing a high-level meeting to review the preparations for the Census exercise. Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Mritunjay Kumar Narayan and other senior officials participated. `132 cr allotted Kuruvai scheme extended to all of TN, says CM Express News Service @ Thanjavur Chief Minister M K Stalin on Monday said that the Kuruvai special package scheme being implemented in the Cauvery delta districts has been extended across Tamil Nadu. This scheme provides farmers with subsidies for mechanised paddy transplantation, certified quality seeds, bio-fertilisers, and micronutrient mixtures. The CM made the announcement, that will benefit 8 lakh TN far mers, during an event in Thanjavur, where he inaugurated several completed projects, laid foundation stones for new ones a n d d i s t r i b u t e d we l f a r e assistance. “From 2020-21, the Kuruvai special package scheme has been implemented in Cauvery delta districts and for this a total of `276.84 crore was allotted. For the current Kuruvai season, `82.77 crore has been allotted,” the CM said. “For the first time in the history of the state, this special package is now being extended to farmers cultivating paddy in other districts during the Kuruvai, Kar and Sornavari seasons and `132.17 crore has been earmarked for this purpose,” he added. During the event, the CM inaugurated new bus services under the New Comprehensive Mini Bus Scheme, 2024. He flagged off the mini buses which will ply along 3,103 routes across the state including 2,094 new routes and 1,009 extended ones. express read CM takes dig at guv for delaying assent to Bill Power cuts in Nilgiris due to incessant rain India’s exports contract 2.17% to $38 bn in May Thanjavur: Stalin on Monday took a dig at Governor Ravi for delaying assent to the Kalaignar University Bill. “We thought he would have changed after SC verdict, but he hasn’t.” | P4 Nilgiris: The district saw heavy rainfall with strong winds on Monday, leading to prolonged power disruption and traffic blockages after trees fell onto electricity poles and roads | P5 New Delhi: After marking positive growth for two months, exports slipped into negative territory, contracting 2.17% year-on-year to $38.73 billion in May over fall in petroleum goods shipments | P14 a d g p ’ s c a r u s e d i n c r i m e , s ays stat e After HC order, TN top cop taken into custody in Tiruvallur kidnapping case Express News Service @ Chennai H M Jayaram IPS Tamil Nadu Additional Director General of Police H M Jayaram IPS, currently serving as ADG Armed Police in Chennai, was taken into custody on Monday, on the direc- tion of the Madras High Court in the case of the abduction of a 16-year-old boy, being investigated by Tiruvallur district police. The senior officer’s name was included in the FIR after investigations showed that his official car was allegedly used by the accused for the crime. While issuing the directions in open court, Justice P Velmurugan said that Jayaram was a public servant and should understand the consequences of aiding a crime. The court was hearing an anticipatory bail petition moved by sitting MLA of KV Kuppam and president of Puratchi Bharatham Katchi, “Poovai” M Jagan Moorthy, who is also being investigated by Tiruvallur police in the ab- duction case. Moorthy was elected on the AIADMK’s ‘Two Leaves’ symbol. The court had directed both Moorthy and Jayaram to appear before it, and once Moorthy’s bail petition was rejected and the hearing came to a close, Jayaram was taken into custody  . P7