MADURAI l Sunday l June 22, 2025 l `12.00 l PAGES 26 l LATE CITY EDITION advance tax, high refunds hit net direct tax collections refund issuances rose by 58% in 1st quarter Advance tax, an indicator of corporate profitability and income of individuals, grew a meagre 3.87% to `1.56 lakh crore between April 1-June 19, 2025. In the same period in 2024, advance tax collection had recorded an annual growth of 27%; on the other side, refund issuances rose by 58% to `86,385 crore till June 19 this fiscal, govt data shows Net direct tax collection in Q1 dipped 1.39% to `4.59 lakh crore, on slowdown in advance tax mop-up and higher refunds corporate tax collections see a dip ■ ■ Advance tax paid by corporates saw a growth of 5.86% to `1.22 lakh crore, while those by non-corporates, including individuals, HUFs and firms, dropped by 2.68% to `33,928 crore, as per govt data During April 1-June 19, 2025, net corporate tax collection saw a slowdown of `1.73 lakh crore, a decline of over 5% year on year 12% is the rate by which securities transaction tax grew this fy 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 38 kids of hooch victims get pending state allowance after TNIE prod K r i t h i ka S r i n i vasa n & S u b a s h i n i V i j aya k u m a r @ Kallakurichi/Chennai Scars of Kallakurichi hooch horror linger full report on p2 The 38 children who had lost one or both their parents in the Kallakurichi hooch tragedy last year, and had not received the monthly allowance announced by the Tamil Nadu government for the past few months, were credited with the pending amount within three hours after TNIE brought the issue to the notice of the government. When TNIE visited Karunapuram, which accounted for 38 of the 69 people who died in the tragedy this week last year, it learnt that many of the affected children had not received the monthly allowance from the state. press clusive According to the government, four children had lost both their parents while 34 lost one of their parents. The state gover nment had announced a monthly allowance of `5,000 each for the four chil- Govt presses B’desh on review of Ganga treaty After the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, the government has now decided to renegotiate the Ganga River Water Treaty with Bangladesh, which is set to expire next year. India has communicated to its counterpart that it requires more water to meet its developmental needs. The new treaty will likely to be shorter, lasting 10 to 15 years. The shorter duration will foster flexibility and adaptability for both nations moving forward. The Ganga Water Treaty was signed on December 12, 1996 on sharing of water, particularly around the Farakka Barrage during the lean season. “Before Pahalgam, we were inclined to extend the treaty for another 30 years, but the situation changed drastically afterward,” stated a senior officer at the Ministry of External Affairs who participated in a meeting with the Bangladeshi counterpart earlier in May . “It was a routine meeting, held twice a year, but it also provided an opportunity to express our concerns regarding the increasing need for water to support domestic development, which will influence the terms of the new treaty,” the officer explained. According to internal documents for discussions, seen by this newspaper, the Farakka Ayatollah names his Operation Sindhu: successors, army 310 Indians brought brass replacements back from Iran a g e n c i e s @ Tehran Ganga Water Treaty, 1996 Availability at Farakka Share of India 70,000 cusecs or less Share of Bangladesh 50% Balance of flow 35,000 cusecs 75,000 cusecs or more 40,000 cusecs WARY of assassination, Iran’s supreme leader mostly speaks with his commanders through a trusted aide now, suspending electronic communications to make it harder to find him, three Iranian officials familiar with his emergency war plans say, The New York Times reported on Saturday . Ensconced in a bunker, the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, picked an array of replacements down his chain of military command in case more of his valued lieutenants are killed. And in a remarkable move, the officials add, the leader has named three senior clerics as candidates to succeed him should he be killed, as well. The extraordinary series of steps are being seen as an attempt to preserve the Islamic Republic ever since Israel launched a series of surprise attacks last Friday . In normal times, Ayatollah lives and works in a highly secure compound in central Tehran called the “beit rahbari” — or leader’s house — and he seldom leaves the premises. His retreat to a bunker shows how furiously Tehran has been struck in a war with Israel. Iran’s top officials are also quietly making preparations for a wide range of outcomes as the war intensifies and as President Trump considers whether to enter the fight, according to the Iranian officials, who insisted on anonymity . “It is clear that we had a massive security and intelligence breach; there is no denying this,” said Mahdi Mohammadi, a senior adviser to Iran Parliament’s speaker, Gen Mohammad Ghalibaf, in an audio recording analysing the war. “Our senior commanders were all assassinated within one hour.” 50% 70,000 cusecs-75,000 cusecs Balance of flow Subject to the condition that India and Bangladesh each shall receive guaranteed 35,000 cusecs of water in alternate three 10-day periods from March 11 to May 11 Barrage was built to continuously divert 40,000 cusecs of water into a feeder canal for the Kolkata Port Trust (now known as Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata). “The 1996 treaty has disrupted this arrangement, leading to issues such as slope failure, bed erosion, and heavy siltation in the KPT, which has reduced its navigational efficiency. Additionally, the NTPC plant there press clusive is facing water crisis,” the officer added. The current arrangement provides 35,000 cusecs of water alternately for 10 days each to both countries during the lean season, which lasts from March 11 to May 11. India is seeking 30,000 to 35,000 cusecs more during the same period to meet its emerging requirements. The Centre has the support of the West Bengal government, which is the primary beneficiary of the additional water. During internal discussions, Bihar too emphasised the need for extra Ganga water to meet its drinking and irrigation needs. An internal meeting, which included a senior officer from West Bengal, has confirmed this requirement. The emerging sense of distrust following the coup in Bangladesh last year, has put Indian diplomacy in a challenging position. In early May following the , Pahalgam attack, Indian delegates visited Bangladesh and communicated to their counterparts that the treaty needs to be re-discussed due to India’s increasing water needs. In the past, the West Bengal government has expressed concerns that the treaty compromised India’s requirements. “For any treaty made in good faith, it is the duty of the lower riparian state to respect the upper riparian state to maintain that good faith. How long can we continue to show generosity to support our neighbour when they don’t value our contribution?” remarked an official. Stalin: 3,634 PwDs will be nominated to local bodies CHENNAI: CM Stalin on Saturday announced that a total of 3,634 persons with disabilities (PwDs) will be nominated to local bodies immediately, with the application process commencing on July 1, 2025. He was addressing a felicitation event conducted by organisations of PwDs at the renovated Valluvar Kottam | P4 forward bend Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu take part in a mass yoga session to mark the 11th International Day of Yoga, in Visakhapatnam on Saturday | PTI DGCA asks AI to shift 3 officials over serious lapses E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ New Delhi Aviation regulator DGCA has ordered the removal of three top personnel of Air India in its flight operations department from all roles related to crew scheduling and rostering due to their serious and repeated lapses. After the DGCA chastened the airline for not taking strict action against J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi AS tensions between Israel and Iran entered their ninth day India intensified its evacuation , efforts under Operation Sindhu, bringing home over 800 Indian nationals stranded in the conflict zone. A special evacuation flight from Mashhad, Iran, landed in New Delhi at 4.30 pm Saturday carrying 310 Indian citizens. Earlier , in the day another flight from Ashgabat, Turk, menistan, repatriated evacuees who had transited from Iran. “This brings the total number of Indians evacuated to 827,” confirmed Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, adding that the mission is on. “Operation Sindhu continues,” he said. In a gesture of regional solidarity India also , facilitated evacuation of Sri Lankan and other South Asian nationals. Sri Lanka’s Deputy Foreign Minister Arun Hemachandra expressed gratitude for India’s assistance in evacuating its citizens. Among the evacuees were 256 Indian students, mostly from J&K, who arrived in Delhi early Saturday. Many of them described days of anxiety and disruption in Iran before being flown to safety This is the second . evacuation flight from Iran in 24 hours after the first on Friday with 290 Indian students. B AN B U S ELV AN @ Chennai WITH THIS ISSUE PLUS 12 P AGES An Indian student reunites with parents after returning from Iran as part of Operation Sindhu on Saturday | PTI Vande Bharat sleeper trains yet to receive nod e x p r ess r e a d Let’s get Personal months since October 2024. The four orphaned children included a girl and two boys, aged between 14 and 17, from the same family, who lost their parents R Suresh (41) and S Vadivukkarasi (39) in the tragedy. Vadivukkarasi had accidentally consumed a small quantity of the methanollaced liquor that Suresh had left in a cup.  P7 m i d - e a st c r isis In post-Pahalgam squeeze, India says it needs more water for growth J i t e n d r a C h o u b e y @ New Delhi dren, and `4,000 each for the 34 others. The allowances will be credited until the children turn 18, the government had said. TNIE learnt that while the four orphaned children had not received their monthly allowance for the past four months since March 2025, the remaining 34 had not received the money for the past nine them, Air India said it had complied with the directive. The DGCA named Choorah Singh, Divisional Vice President, Pinky Mittal, Chief Manager, Daily Operations, Crew Scheduling and Payal Arora, Crew Scheduling, Planning for continued non-compliance with scheduling rules. These officials did unauthorised and non-compliance crew pairings, violated mandatory licensing and recency norms and were responsible for systemic failure in scheduling protocol and oversight. Recency refers to the number of take offs and landings a pilot must have within a timeframe to operate an aircraft safely . The violations were voluntarily disclosed by Air India. “The voluntary disclosure, while noted, points to systemic failures in crew scheduling, compliance monitoring and internal accountability. Of particular concern is the absence of strict disciplinary measures against key officials directly responsible for these operational lapses,” the regulator said. It ordered immediate internal proceedings against them, adding they need to be re-assigned to non-operational roles until corrective reforms are initiated in scheduling practices. It has been over six months since the prototype of the Vande Bharat sleeper version was dispatched from the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) for trials and testing, but it is yet to receive clearance for operation. The 16-coach prototype, designed by ICF and manufactured by the Bengaluru-based public sector company BEML (formerly Bharat Earth Movers Limited), was built at a cost of `120 crore. Following its production, commissioning of the rake was delayed for a few months after ICF flagged several manufacturing defects, which BEML later addressed. Although the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) successfully completed speed trials at 160 kmph in January, the train is still awaiting approval from the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS), officials said. Sources indicate that the CRS has raised certain objections regarding the design and expressed reservations about some of the safety features incorporated in the train. However, the Railways has asserted that there are no issues with the electrical or mechanical components. ICF General Manager U Subba Rao told TNIE that the CRS had raised a few queries concer ning the prototype, which have already been addressed. “A detailed response has been sent. The clarifications pertained to minor technical aspects. There were no major flaws in the prototype,” he said. After receiving the prototype from BEML, ICF identified more than 73 design and technical issues, particularly related to safety. These included concer ns about crash buffers, fire barrier walls, and the hooks connecting the middle and upper berths. These issues led to the project missing its initial rollout deadline by a few months. Rao stated that all concerns raised by ICF had been resolved. “It’s just a matter of time before the 16-coach sleeper version is cleared for operation by the Railway Board. We have already received orders to build nine more Vande Bharat sleeper trains this financial year,” he added.  P7 Rishabh Pant made a sparkling 100 as India made 471 before being bowling bowled. The wicketkeeper dazzled and eventually brought up his 100 with a six. In reply, England had made 2/157 with an hour to go before close of play on Day Two | AP Girl snatched by leopard: Body found by sniffer dog S S e n t h i l K u m a r @ Coimbatore The frantic search for a four-year-old girl who was dragged away by a leopard on Friday evening from Pachamalai, near Valparai, ended on Saturday just before noon, with the discovery of her half-eaten mutilated body by a sniffer dog. Hundreds of tea estate workers and scores of forest department personnel joined the search operations for M Roshini Kumari, daughter of Manoj Munda and Monica Devi of Jharkhand, two migrant labourers employed at a tea estate in Pachamalai South for the past year. They were joined by AntiPoaching Watchers (APW) and watchers of the Pachamalai South Division of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR). Ignoring the presence of wild animals, they went on with the search till 3 am. After brief interval, they resumed the search by dawn. The labourers took a break from their work to join the combing operations.  P7