HYDERABAD l sunday l november 23, 2025 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l late cITY EDITION U.S. bankruptcy court orders Byju’s to pay $1 Bn to debtors A US court has ordered Byju Raveendran to pay back default amount of $1.16 billion to BYJU’s Alpha and US-based lender GLAS Trust LLC Byju Raveendran not complying with orders proves costly The Delaware Bankruptcy Court found that Raveendran failed to comply with its discovery order and continued to be evasive on several occasions. BYJU’s Alpha was incorporated when Raveendran was running the management of edtech firm Think and Learn Private Limited. The judgment follows a dispute between Byju’s and US based lenders ■ $10K ‘not allowed to present valid defence’ ■ The court said it found Raveendran’s behaviour had a strategic pattern of willful failure to comply with its orders Raveendran’s counsel said it is a default judgment, meaning the court issued it without Byju being permitted to present its defence, and instead deprived Byju of a valid defence a day is penalty that raveendran pays to the u.s. court 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 MLC offer for Danam as he lobbies for Cabinet post I r e d dy S r i n i vas R e d dy @ Hyderabad Senior leaders in the state Congress are keenly watching every move of Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender, waiting for him to make a decision on his immediate political future. For many of these leaders, Nagender’s decision will influence their own political strategies. Having been elected to the Rules issued for reservation of sarpanch, ward member seats E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ Hyderabad The state government has set out rules for allocating reservations to ST, SC and BC communities for the forthcoming sarpanch and ward member elections, keeping the overall cap within 50%. Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Principal Secretary N Sridhar issued GO 46 on Saturday detailing the reservation framework. Under the order, reservations for sarpanch posts will be based on the 2011 Census for ST and SC communities, and on the state’s 2024 Socio-Economic, Education, Employment, Political and Caste (SEEEPC) survey . For ward members, reservations for all three categories will be drawn from the 2024 SEEEP survey . The order states that if reservations for any community cannot be assigned due to the absence of population in the required number of gram panchayats, the allocation will first be made in descending order in panchayats where the community is present, with the remaining seats decided through a draw of lots. Women will be treated as a separate category across all segments, including unreserved seats. Gram panchayats reserved for women in the previous election will, as far as possible, not be reserved for women again this time. If the number of eligible gram panchayats is insufficient after exclusions, the remaining panchayats will be reserved directly for women, with a lottery for the balance.  continued on p4 Assembly on a BRS ticket in 2023, Nagender contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections on a Congress ticket, leaving him open for disqualification from the membership of the Telangana Assembly With options . running out, he is reportedly actively considering resignation which would help him avoid being bar red from contesting again. Nagender was camped in Delhi through Friday where he , insisted on both the ticket to contest the byelection which would be necessitated once he resigns, as well as a Cabinet post upon reelection. However, a hitch in his plans is the Congress high command’s reluctance to play ball — @ Hyderabad AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday approved the appointment of presidents for 36 District Congress Committees in Telangana, assigning several MLAs and corporation chairpersons to key organisational roles. The appointments follow district-level reviews carried out by AICC observers as part of the party’s “Sangathan Srijan Abhiyan”. The observers met party functionaries and local stakeholders before submitting detailed assessments to who have been eyeing a spike in their own career graphs have been manoeuvring for the Khairatabad ticket. Among them is Khairatabad DCC president C Rohin Reddy, who is preparing to contest should the seat fall vacant. The matter has also become entangled with the pending decision on Mohammad Azharuddin’s MLC post, which remains unresolved at the Governor’s office.  continued on p4 PM Modi @G20: Let’s weaken the drug-terror link Proposes knowledge repository, Africa skills multiplier; global healthcare response team public-health emergencies. “We are stronger when we PRIME Minister Narendra work together in the face of Modi on Saturday called for a health emergencies and natural coordinated global push to dis- disasters,” he said. With Africa mantle the drug–terror nexus, hosting the G20 Summit for the strengthen health-emergency first time, Modi said “Now is the responses, creation of a Global right moment for us to revisit Traditional Knowledge Reposi- our development parameters tory and accelerate skills and focus on growth that development across Afis inclusive and sustainrica, in his address to able.” India also proposed world leaders at the 20th a G20-Africa Skills MultiG20 Summit in Johan- We’re stronger plier Initiative, aimed at when we work creating 1 million certinesburg on Saturday . In a warning on the together in the fied trainers in Africa rise of lethal synthetic face of health within the next decade. emergencies drugs, Modi said: “To and disasters The G20 leaders also overcome the challenge adopted a joint declaraof drug trafficking, espe- Narendra Modi, tion addressing terrorcially the spread of sub- On setting up of ism and climate change a global stances like fentanyl, Inand broader global chalhealthcare dia proposes a G20 lenges on the opening Initiative on Countering response team day of the summit. The the drug–terror nexus. document was finalised Let us weaken the wretched without the US. drug-terror economy .” Earlier, South African PresiThe proposed platform, he dent Cyril Ramaphosa welsaid would integrate finance, comed Modi at the Summit vengovernance and security tools ue with a ‘namaste’. Modi was to choke networks that channel seen interacting informally narcotics revenue into global with global leaders such as terrorism. Further, the PM UK Prime Minister Keir Starmcalled for creation of a G20 Glo- er, Italian Prime Minister Giorbal Healthcare Response Team, gia Meloni, and UN Secretary designed for rapid deployment General Antonio Guterres during natural disasters and among others. j aya n t h j a c o b @ New Delhi Head-lining act Australian batter Travis Head’s 69-ball century helped them beat England within two days in the first Ashes Test in Perth | afp | P11 U n d e r - 1 7 p a l e s ti n i a n t e a m of seeking solace and finding joy in football c h a n d r a p r a b h u @ Chennai On Saturday evening, as the U17 Palestinian men’s football team held on to a 1-1 draw against India U17 at the EKA Arena in Ahmedabad, in the AFC U17 Asian Cup 2026 Qualifiers tournament, they walked off the field with their heads held high. The result may not be what they wanted, but for them reaching Ahmedabad and taking the field itself was a struggle. Amidst the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine over the last two years or so, sport had taken a backseat. For this team, the prepa- ration had been far from ideal. They did not win any matches at the the West Asian Football Federation’s (WAFF) U17 Championship last month. Out of 23 total players selected, 18 were from West Bank, but only 11 from the region turned up. Several players had their lives uprooted and displaced because of the conflict, losing their documents in the process. Mohammed Joma Suleiman, the team manager, claimed that bringing in the players with Palestinian roots from other countries to their homeland proved to be a big hindrance. “Because of the express read 37 Maoists, including top cadre, surrender SIR fallout Alleged Bangladeshi infiltrators wait to return home, following the special intensive revision (SIR) of poll rolls in North 24 Parganas, West Bengal on Saturday | PTI Mom, 2 others arrested in baby-selling racket Hyderabad: 37 underground cadres, including three State Committee members, surrendered before the Telangana police on Saturday. Among them, seven cadres belonging to the KM Division Committee handed over eight firearms to the police | P3 Karimnagar: Two Town police on Saturday arrested three persons, including a mother, and detained 16 others for their alleged involvement in a baby-selling racket. The woman allegedly sold her baby boy for `6 lakh. She is separated from her husband and lived in Kukatpally, Hyderabad | P5 Kharge okays 36 DCC chiefs for Telangana E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e Nagender was reportedly told to broach the subject of the ticket and post with Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy . Political sources indicated that state leaders have suggested an MLC post for Nagender instead of the bypoll ticket. However, the Khairatabad MLA is believed to be firmly opposed to the MLC proposal and is insisting on both the ticket and a ministerial role. Meanwhile, some leaders the national leadership, the AICC said in a statement. Ahead of the announcement, AICC general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal held discussions with Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy TPCC presi, dent B Mahesh Kumar Goud, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy and AICC Te, langana in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan. According to party sources, 13 posts were given to BCs, seven to Reddys, six to STs, five to SCs, five to women, and two to Muslims. the appointees Adilabad Dr Naresh Jadhav Asifabad Athram Suguna Bhadradri Kothagudem Thota Devi Prasanna Bhongir Beerla Ilaiah Gadwal M Rajeev Reddy Hanamkonda Engala Venkat Ram Reddy Hyderabad Syed Khalid Saifullah Jagtial Gajengi Nandaiah Jangaon Lakavath Dhanvanthi Jayashankar Bhupalpally Battu Karunakar Kamareddy Mallikarjun Ale Karimnagar Medipally Sathyam Karimnagar Corporation V Anjan Kumar Khairatabad Motha Rohit Mudiraj Khammam Nuthi Satyanarayana Khammam Corporation Deepak Chowdary Mahbubabad Mahbubnagar Mancherial Medak Medchal Malkajgiri Mulugu Nagarkurnool Nalgonda Narayanpet Nirmal Nizamabad Nizamabad Corporation Peddapalli Rajanna Sircilla Secunderabad Siddipet Suryapet Vikarabad Wanaparthy Warangal Dr Bhukhya Uma A Sanjeev Mudiraj Pinninti Raghunath Reddy Shivannagari Anjaneyulu Goud Thotakura Vajresh Yadav Paidakula Ashok Dr Chikkudu Vamshi Krishna Punna Kailash Netha Kollukuduru Prashanth Kumar Reddy Vedma Bhojju Katpally Nagesh Reddy Bobbili Ramakrishna MS Raj Thakur Sangeetham Srinivas K Deepak John Thumkunta Anksha Reddy Gudipati Narsaiah Dhara Singh Jadav K Shiva Sena Reddy Mohammed Ayub current situation, we could not bring players to train together, and our preparation was not that good,” Suleiman told this daily. “There is a player from Gaza, we cannot bring anyone from Gaza also because of the war and the genocide is happening there (Israel have repeatedly denied any and all accusations of genocide),” he added. For the team, football is a way of resistance and bringing joy to the kids back home. “They know what it means to carry the Palestinian flag on their crests. Since the start, they know this is a mission and this way, they can share the happiness to Palestinian kids,” said Suleiman. P11 drone drops Global arms trafficking module tied to ISI busted e x p r e ss n e w s s e r v i c e @ New Delhi DELHI Police’s Crime Branch has busted an international arms trafficking module allegedly linked to ISI-backed arms network with the arrest of four people. They recovered high end Turkiye (PX-5.7) and China (PX-3) made weapons smuggled from Pakistan through drones. Ten foreign made semi-automatic pistols along with 92 live cartridges were also seized. The seized weapon PX-5.7 is only used by Special Forces. Police said they got a tip-off on November 19 on a cross-border arms trafficking module involved in supplying sophisticated illegal weapons in Delhi/ NCR. It was found that they would come to Rohini to deliver the arms consignment. A trap was laid in Rohini Sector-28 and four people were apprehended with foreign-made semi-automatic pistols and live cartridges, DCP (Crime) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav said. Those arrested are Mandeep Singh (38) Dalvinder Kumar (34), both residents of Punjab; Rohan Tomar (30) and Ajay (37). The module was involved in smuggling weapons using drones. Yadav said the consignment is dropped at locations near the border, where receivers on the Indian side retrieve them. The network relies on local collaborators who monitor police movement, facilitate pickups, and transport it to safe houses. Payments are routed through hawala channels. WITH THIS ISSUE Divine Tragedy PLUS 12 P AGES ICAR gags scientists after row over performance of two new GE rice varieties duction, climate adaptability, and water conservation”. AgriThe Indian Council for Agri- culture minister Shivraj Singh cultural Research (ICAR) is Chouhan hailed the effort. evolving organisational guideBut a platform of scientists, lines for scientists after a re- farmer leaders, medical excent controversy over data re- perts, consumer rights activlated to genome-edited ists, and members of (GE) rice varieties. the Coalition for a GMThese guidelines reFree India rubbished strict scientists from the claim, citing data sharing their research mined from ICAR’s own findings with the media All India Coordinated and journals, this newsResearch Project on paper has learnt. They Rice for 2023 and 2024. Developing also direct scientists to The Coalition said ICtwo new GE avoid publishing any reAR’s own limited data varieties is an search papers in interdidn’t support its pubexceptional national journals until achievement lished report. ICAR they are fully confident pushed back with a of ICAR about their findings. point-by-point rebuttal. It all began after the Shivraj Chauhan “Seeking research government on May 4 credits, scientists are alannounced the release of two ways in a rush to get their works GE rice lines developed by published, which sometimes are ICAR — Pusa DST-1 and DRR not backed by robust data,” said Dhan 100 (Kamala), which it a scientist. “The new fiat will said “have the potential to lead to fewer publication of rebring about revolutionary search papers. But it will enchanges in terms of higher pro- hance credibility .” J i t e n d r a C h o u b e y @ New Delhi