COIMBATORE l wednesday l october 29, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE CITY EDITION severe cyclonic storm Montha makes Landfall off Andhra coast The landfall process, which began off the Kakinada coast around 7 pm on Tuesday, crossing with wind speed of 90-100 kmph and gusting up to 110 kmph Standing crops on 38,000 hectares hit in AP Life out of gear in 15 districts in oDISHA Under the influence of the severe cyclonic storm, Nellore district in Andhra recorded the highest amount of rainfall on Tuesday. Standing crops spread over 38,000 hectares and horticulture crops in 1.38 lakh hectares were destroyed in the state, said a press release from the Andhra CM’s office. A woman died in Konaseema district after an uprooted tree fell on her ■ ■ The AP government has set up 488 control rooms at the mandal level. Nearly 76,000 people have been shifted to relief camps, and 219 medical camps have been set up at various locations Normal life was affected in 15 districts of neighbouring Odisha too with heavy rains causing landslides, damaging houses Montha Thailand gave the name, which means ‘fragrant flower’ in Thai language 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 ED flags new cash-for-jobs scam, asks TN cops to initiate probe press clusive S i d d h a r t h P r a b h a k a r @ Chennai Citing evidence unearthed during a raid conducted earlier this year, the Enforcement Directorate has written a letter to the Tamil Nadu police on Monday alleging a cash-for-jobs scam in the selection of officers and staff to 2,538 posts in the state Municipal Administration and Water Supply (MAWS) department. The appointment orders were handed over to the candidates by Chief Minister MK Stalin on August 6. In the communication sent under Section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to the Tamil Nadu Head of Police Force (HoPF), the ED has said that bribes of `25 lakh to `35 lakh were collected per post by powerful politicians and entities close to them for rigging the examination process in mid-2024 and awarding appointment orders in favour of at least 150 candidates in August 2025. The agency has also sought a probe against the officials of Anna University which conducted the exams. Along with the letter, the ED has also provided a 232-page dossier with the names of the suspected lynchpins of the alleged scam, detailing their role in it. The dossier also explains the modus operandi of the alleged exam rigging and details of 150 candidates in whose favour the process was manipulated and ‘`35L for each post in recruitment for 2,538 posts’ Bribe of `25 lakh to `35 lakh collected for each post for rigging the recruitment process for selecting candidates for 2,538 posts in MAWS department, ED said. The agency said filing of case by TN police would enable it to start an independent investigation under PMLA the evidence for chain of collection and payment of bribes through middlemen. When contacted, MAWS secretary D Karthikeyan said he was not aware of the ED’s letter, and 8th Pay Commission announced SJ-100 Deal with Russia to MAnufacture passenger jet Cabinet clears panel’s terms of reference; revised salaries, pensions likely wef Jan 1, 2026 MUKESH RAN J AN @ New Delhi In a big boost to around 48 lakh central government employees and 67 lakh pensioners, the Centre on Tuesday announced the long-awaited 8th Central Pay Commission and approved its terms of reference (ToR). Briefing the media after a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, information and broadcasting minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the panel, to be headed by former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, has been given 18 months to submit its report. The revised pay structure is expected to come into force on January 1, 2026. The commission will examine existing salary slabs, allowances, grade pay structures, pension formulae and other financial components that shape government compensation. The review is expected to take into account macroeconomic realities, fiscal considerations and employment competitiveness. “The 8th Central Pay Commission will be a temporary body. The Commission will comprise one Chairperson; One Member (Part Time) and o n e M e m b e r- S e c r e t a r y, ” Vaishnaw said. IIM Bangalore Professor Pulak Ghosh has been named as the member of the panel and Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas Secretary Pankaj Jain as the member-secretary . Miffed Rahul skips event Though the Oppn tried to showcase unity during the manifesto’s release, the absence of Congress’ Rahul Gandhi told a different story. Rahul was miffed that RJD boss Lalu Yadav declined to meet Cong leaders K C Venugopal, Ashok Gehlot and Ajay Maken on Saturday to discuss joint campaign and other issues, said sources The government had in principle decided to constitute the panel in January Commenting . on the delay in the rollout of the process, Vaishnaw said: “The Narendra Modi government has taken the decision in a record time, as it required wider consultations before finalising the ToR and the panel with a whole range of stakeholders, including large ministries like Defence, Home and Railways, as well as state governments and unions.” The pay commission recommendations are important as it will affect not just central government staff but also influence the compensation frameworks across state governments, public sector units, autonomous institutions and even private sector pay-benchmarking in some segments. The announcement comes ahead of the Bihar elections, to be held on November 6 and 11. Justice Ranjana Desai to head the commission Ramashankar and Preetha N a i r @ Patna/ New Delhi The Opposition INDIA bloc on Tuesday released its joint manifesto that had a large photograph of chief ministerial candidate and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav on its cover, and spoke of his vows for total transformation, ahead of the upcoming Bihar assembly election. It dwarfed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s thumbnail image on the top-left corner of cover page. The manifesto pledged to enact a law within 20 days of forming the new government to ensure one government job per family. The process of job distribution would begin within 20 months of assuming power, it assured. It said Jeevika Didis would be granted permanent status as government employees with a monthly salary of `30,000; all contractual and outsourced workers would be made permanent; and the old pension scheme would be restored. The manifesto also pledged to resist any “unconstitutional law” imposed by the Centre and to protect the constitutional rights of all minority communities. The grand alliance promised that the Waqf Amendment Act would be put on hold and the management of Waqf properties will be made more welfareoriented and beneficial by making them transparent, while the management of Buddhist temples in Bodh Gaya will be handed over to the people of the Buddhist community . Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s no-show at the event became a talking point. He apparently was cross because RJD boss Lalu Yadav declined to meet a party delegation, saying it could be done only after the Chhath festival. Rahul was also upset about the allies are fighting against each other in at least 11 seats. These ‘friendly fights’ indicate the failure to arrive at a consensus despite several rounds of talks. Rahul will begin campaigning from Wednesday . MAYANK SINGH @ New Delhi The panel’s chair, former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, is also the chairman of the Press Council of India. She has headed major panels, including Delimitation Commission for UT of J&K In a first of its kind deal for India, Russia moved beyond joint defence manufacture to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on building a twin-engine narrow-body passenger aircraft for short-haul flights in the country. The deal comes ahead of Russia President Vladimir Putin’s scheduled visit to India and US squeeze to end the Ukraine war. The MoU between Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Russia’s Public Joint Stock Company-United Aircraft Cor poration (PJSCUAC) for production of civil commuter aircraft Superjet (SJ)-100 was signed in Moscow on Monday . The HAL called it the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the Indian aviation industry as, “The manufacturing of the SJ-100 aircraft will also be the first instance wherein a complete passenger aircraft will be produced in India.” The last such project was HAL’s production of AVRO ‘ToR cleared after consulting states’ Information and broadcasting minister Ashwini Vaishnaw the ToR of the panel has been finalised after consultation with various ministries, state governments and staff side of joint consultative machinery ‘will fight sir’ cm calls eci’s move anti-democratic Urging the ECI to either drop the SIR or conduct it properly with adequate time, CM M K Stalin said the DMK would “confront the ECI’s anti-democratic move legally” | P6 HS-748, which started in 1961 and ended in 1988. As on date, more than 200 SJ-100s are under operation by more than 16 commercial airline operators. The aircraft can be a game changer for short-haul connectivity under the UDAN scheme in India. Under the agreement, HAL will have the rights to manufacture SJ-100s for domestic customers. As per HAL’s estimates, “over the next 10 years, the Indian aviation sector will require over 200 jets in this category for regional connectivity and an additional 350 aircraft for the Indian Ocean region to serve nearby international tourist destinations.” HAL saw it as a step towards fulfilling the dream of ‘ atmanirbhar Bharat’ in the A civil aviation sector. Manufacturing will also strengthen the private sector and create direct and indirect jobs in the aviation industry HAL’s . Prabhat Ranjan and PJSCUAC’s Ole g Bogomolov signed the MoU. SJ-100’s maiden flight was in 2008. Sharp rise in students dropout rate in TN schools S u b a s h i n i V i j aya k u m a r @ Chennai Tejashwi stamp on Oppn’s manifesto the recruitment was done “perfectly fine” without any irregularities. The alleged irregularities pertain to appointment of 2,538 assistant engineers, town plan- Tamil Nadu has recorded a sharp increase in school dropout rates across all levels — primary (Classes 1–5), upper primary (6–8) and secondary (9–10) — in 2024–25, according to the latest Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) data released by the Union Ministry of Education on Monday . In primary and upper primary levels, the dropout rate rose from 0% for both to 2.7% and 2.8% in 2024-25 respectively— school dropout percentage the highest in the last five years since 2020–21. At the secondary level, it has increased from 7.7% in 2023–24 to 8.5% in 2024–25. For a state that has long ning officers, junior engineers, and sanitary inspectors by MAWS department in August this year for which around 1.12 lakh had applied in early 2024. In the letter, ED said these details tumbled out while they were investigating the money laundering aspect of a bank fraud case related to True Value Homes (TVH) linked to MAWS Minister KN Nehru’s brother N Ravichandran.  P7 Year Primary Upper Secondary Primary 2019-20 1.1% 0.4% 9.6% 2020-21 0.6% 0.6% 6.4% 2021-22 0% 0% 4.5% 2022-23 2.3% 0% 10.3% 2023-24 0% 0% 7.7% 2024-25 2.7% 2.8% 8.5% maintained some of the lowest dropout rates in the country, the latest figures have raised concerns and confusion among educators. The School Education Department is yet to pro- vide an explanation for the rise in dropouts. When contacted, a senior official said they would respond after examining the UDISE+ data in detail. As per the UDISE+ definition, dropout rate represents the proportion of students enrolled at a particular level who are no longer enrolled in any grade the following year. Tamil Nadu now trails its southern counterparts in the primary category, with Kerala (0.8%), Karnataka (0%), Andhra Pradesh (1.4%) and Telangana (0%) all recording lower dropout rates.  P7 Mehli Mistry voted out of Tata Trusts B ENN KOCHUVEEDAN @ Mumbai IN a dramatic shake-up within Tata Trusts, Mehli Mistry— once known as Ratan Tata’s closest confidant—has been voted out of the board, marking an abrupt end to his rapid rise in the $180-billion Tata conglomerate’s power structure. A majority of trustees on Tuesday voted against Mistry’s reappointment, ending his first three-year term as trustee of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the Sir Ratan Tata Trust. Tog ether, these two cornerstone entities hold 5 2 % o f Tat a Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group. Mehli Mistry Mistry, handpicked by Ratan Tata in October 2022, was a contender for a future seat on the Tata Sons board. His unceremonious exit signals a clear consolidation of control by Noel Tata, who now firmly asserts himself as the chairman of all Tata Trusts that owns 66.6% of Tata Sons. Sources said a bloc led by Noel, Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh, along with another unidentified trustee, voted against Mistry’s continuation. This follows the September 11 episode when trustees led by Mistry voted to oust Srinivasan and Singh from Tata Sons. For Noel, his authority over the dozen-odd Trusts is now undisputed, but he faces a likely legal challenge from Mistry . India in cross-hairs Inside the Centre’s huddle on information warfare S u m i t K u m a r S i n g h @ New Delhi Behind closed doors at Sushma Swaraj Bhawan last week, some of the country’s top bureaucrats gathered for what insiders described as a “crucial and unusually candid” discussion. The task before them: to draw up a coordinated strategy against ‘misinformation’ — the new battlefield where foreign entities are said to be targeting India. The day-long meeting on October 25 brought together all Union government secretaries. It was chaired by the Prime Minister’s Principal Secretaries, P K Mishra and Shaktikanta Das, along with Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan and Information and Broadcasting Secretary Sanjay Jaju. The objective, according to officials, was to ensure that every ministry speaks in one voice and that communication reflects what they called a “whole-of-government and whole-of-society” approach. A messaging rethink Sources said the meeting was part of a wider effort to align the government’s communication with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “Reform, Perform, Transform and Inform.” Somanathan, they added, called this the “guiding principle” in the thrust towards a Viksit Bharat — a developed India. Beneath the polished phrasing, however, was a clear sense of concern. Officials acknowledged that ‘misinformation’ campaigns — especially those believed to be orchestrated by foreign actors — are becoming more sophisticated and targeted. One example was of Operation Sindoor, cited as an instance of coordinated information warfare aimed at undermining India’s image abroad. From coordination to credibility The first part of the meeting dealt with tightening coordination among ministries to ensure a swift and unified response to false or misleading narratives. The second explored new digital tools and emerging technologies that could help the government tell its story better — and more directly to citizens. Officials stressed the importance of simplicity and authenticity in communication. “Policies must be explained in the language people understand,” one participant said. “It’s not just about visibility anymore — it’s about trust.” Reducing the middlemen The meet also turned inward, examining how the government itself handles outreach. Participants discussed cutting down on the use of private agencies for official publicity The Ministry of . Information and Broadcasting, they suggested, should take the lead in crafting and disseminating communication material across platforms. The underlying message, one senior official summed up, was that the age of one-way communication is over. “Public messaging has to be credible, consistent and connected,” he said. “That’s the only way to win the information war.”