KOCHI l wednesday l december 03, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 18 l LATE city EDITION In U-turn, govt says Sanchar Saathi app is not mandatory Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday in a volte-face said the fraud reporting app can be deleted if users so wish not for snooping, says union minister phone makers not chuffed with order Many opposition leaders and critics viewed the Sanchar Saathi app as a snooping attempt, as they felt it could listen to calls and monitor messages. Scindia stepped in to defuse the crisis and denied allegations that it was an app for snooping. “If you want to delete it, then delete it... it will remain inactive till users register,” Scindia said outside Parliament | P9, 12 ■ ■ Some phone makers, such as Apple, were reportedly opposed to the mandate. Apple is keen to discuss the issue with the government for a middle path, as the ‘order cannot be implemented in its current form’ The move mimics a similar mandate by Russia in August, requiring a state-backed messaging app MAX to be pre-installed on all phones 1.5 crore people have already downloaded the sanchar saathi application 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 ‘Just & Fair plea’ another rape complaint comes up against Rahul ble physical and emotional trauma”. Meanwhile, state Putting Rahul Mamkoo- Congress president Sunny tathil in further trouble, an- Joseph said he has forwarded other woman has complained the complaint to the state poof sexual assault against the lice chief for further action. beleaguered MLA, who “There was no name, is currently abscondlocation of occurrence ing after being booked or date mentioned,” he for rape. The new comsaid. plainant, a 23-year-old According to the woman residing outwoman’s complaint, side the state, alleged she was an acquaintthat she was “grievance of Rahul. “In Rahul ously exploited, asSeptember 2023, he reMamkootathil saulted and emotionestablished contact ally abused under the through Instagram. pretext of marriage”. He first messaged respectfully , In the complaint emailed to then asked for my Telegram the KPCC president on Tues- number, saying his account day the woman stated that the was being monitored. He then , assault caused her “unbeara- expressed desire to marry me E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ T’Puram express read SC nod to use prison land for BrahMos T’Puram: The Supreme Court has approved the Kerala government’s request to allocate a portion of land from the Nettukalthery Open Prison to key central institutions. As per the verdict, 257 acres will be handed over to BrahMos Aerospace, Sashastra Seema Bal, and the National Forensic Sciences University. P7 Navy operational demo in T’Puram today T’Puram: Thiruvananthapuram city on Wednesday will witness the precision, power and operational preparedness of Indian Navy as it plays host to the operational demonstration being held as part of the Navy Day celebrations. The event will be held at Shankhumukham beach in the evening. P2 and made assurances about the future. After he became Youth Congress president, my family agreed to the marriage,” the complaint said. The woman alleged that while she was travelling home for a vacation, Rahul insisted on meeting her privately to discuss future plans. “He arrived with a friend, Fenni Ninan, who drove the car,” she said. According to the complaint, they took her to a homestay where she was sexually assaulted. Rahul ignored her objections, repeatedly claiming that such intimacy was “natural between lovers” who intend to marry, the complaint ● More on P7 said.  Putin visit to spur trade, mobility, defence relations A key economic deliverable is the India-Eurasian EconomRussian President Vladimir ic Union Free Trade AgreePutin’s visit to India on Decem- ment, for which the first round ber 4-5, his first in four years, of negotiations took place last will anchor a renewed push to year. Officials in the Ministry accelerate India-Russia eco- of External Affairs said the innomic cooperation with a se- tent is to “have the agreement ries of deals spanning trade, soon,” with the FTA expected health care, mobility, media to significantly boost market and economic cooperaaccess on both sides. tion set to be signed. Another developAlong with the ongoment is the finalisation ing dialogue on deof a pact on mobility fence, security space of skilled and semiand nuclear cooperaskilled workers. This is tion, the visit is expectexpected to ease labour ed to place emphasis movement. Vladimir Putin on narrowing the trade Coinciding with PuWe are looking gap. Bilateral trade betin’s visit, a two-day tween India and Russia at the possibility India-Russia Business of increasing surged to a record $68.7 Forum will be held in imports billion in FY25, driven Delhi, focusing on exfrom India by a sharp rise in enpanding Indian engiDmitry Peskov, ergy imports. Of this, neering exports to RusIndia exported goods Kremlin spokesman sia, scaling up Russian worth $4.9 billion, impor ts of Indian while imports from Russia pharma and food products, and stood at $63.8 billion. enhancing collaboration in digFertiliser imports remain a ital services. These discussions central pillar of India’s engage- align with the ambitious bilatment with Russia. New Delhi eral goal of achieving $100 bilcurrently sources 3-4 million lion in trade by 2030. tonnes of fertilisers annually Putin will be accompanied from Moscow, and both sides by Defence Minister Andrei are looking to further deepen Belousov and a high-level delthis supply partnership to en- egation representing business sure agricultural security . and industry . JAYA N T H JAC O B @ New Delhi SC asks EC to try and extend SIR deadline for Kerala S U CHI T RA K A LYA N M O HA N T Y @ New Delhi Opposition leaders K Kanimozhi, Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and others during a protest against the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, at Parliament complex in New Delhi on Tuesday | PTI Two-day SIR debate in LS from Tuesday To be preceded by Vande Mataram discussion on Mon P r eet h a N a i r @ New Delhi Breaking the deadlock in Parliament, the Union government on Tuesday announced that the Lok Sabha will hold a debate on the 150th anniversary of the national song Vande Mataram on December 8 (Monday), followed by a discussion on electoral reforms, including the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls underway in nine states and three Union Territories, on December 9 and 10. Both discussions have been allocated 10 hours each. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi will initiate the debate on Vande Mataram, Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal will reply to the debate on electoral reforms on December 10. The decision was taken after an allparty meeting and a Business Advisory Committee (BAC) meeting chaired by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in the afternoon as both Houses of Parliament had not been functioning over the Opposition’s demand for a SIR debate. Speaking to reporters, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the special discussion on the 150th anniver- Flights delayed at Bengaluru Airport Around 58 departures from Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru were delayed on Tuesday. IndiGo reported 29 flight delays (by 60-90 mins) till 9 pm. The delay was due to ‘operational reasons’ from the airlines | P7 House census next yr, population count in ’27 E XPR E SS N E WS S E RVIC E @ New Delhi Vande J&K A Vande Bharat Express train runs along the elevated Katra-Jammu track on a foggy morning on the outskirts of Jammu on Tuesday | PTI 18 pages, including 4 pages of KOCHI Express THE long-delayed national population census, which will include caste enumeration for the first time, will be conducted in two phases starting April 2026, the Centre informed Parliament on Tuesday . Responding to a question from Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said Phase I (House Listing and Housing Census) will take place between April and September 2026, while Phase II (Population Enumeration) is scheduled for February 2027, with March 1, 2027, as the reference date. Snow-bound areas of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Ladakh will be covered in September-October 2026. In his written response to another question from Rahul on whether the government plans to publish the draft questions and seek inputs from public or people’s representatives, Rai said the Office of the Registrar General and Census commissioner was in the process of finalising the questionnaire. Around 34 lakh enumerators and supervisors will be deployed for the exercise. The timeline has been fixed to avoid clashing with board examinations, Rai said. The last population census was held in 2011. Census 2027 will also be done through digital means Nityanand Rai strong comeback R a j e s h R a v i @Kochi Despite fears of funding winter and tougher valuations, Kerala’s startups have made a big comeback this year. They raised $14.7 million in the first nine months of 2025 — a 147% surge from $6 million during the same period last year, according to Tracxn’s Kerala Tech Ecosystem Wrap Report . The sharp rise comes despite a drop in deal volumes, indicating deeper investor bets on select high-potential ventures, according to the report by the data intelligence platform. “Kerala’s tech ecosystem is steadily maturing, supported by a strong educational foundation, emerging innovation hubs, and increasing investor participation,” said Neha Singh, co-founder of Tracxn. “The rise in early- stage funding this year reflects growing confidence in the state’s deeptech and hardware-focused startups,” she added. The latest numbers highlight the volatility of Kerala’s funding landscape over the years. Funding had peaked at $24 million in the first nine months (9M) of 2022 before cooling in 2023 and 2024, and this year’s surge marks a decisive ● More on P7 recovery  . Top-Funded Startups in 2025 Kerala’s startup funding doubles to $14.7mn in 2025 Netrasemi $12.4MN MyDesignation $1.3MN I Hub Robotics $520K AugSenseLab $500.4K FemiSafe $59K ZeroEarth $17.5K Top cities by funding T’Puram Kochi $14.2MN $579K sary of Vande Mataram will start at noon and go on for the full day On Tues. day there will be discussion on election , reforms. “When we discuss poll reforms, you can raise many issues related to it and its process. For Parliamentary democracy the election process is , extremely important. So, finally every, body agreed.” He reiterated that the SIR is an administrative exercise carried out by the Election Commission and should not be isolated from the larger debate on electoral reforms. Speaking to this paper, an opposition MP informed that the opposition and the government reached a consensus on the smooth functioning of the Lok Sabha this week. Floor leaders of the INDIA bloc will meet at 9.45 am on Wednesday in Parliament to finalise their strategy for the ongoing Winter Session. Opposition leaders claimed victory as they said a consensus was reached during the BAC meeting and the all-party meeting on holding an exhaustive discussion on electoral reforms, the SIR exercise, and the suicide of booth-level officers (BLOs). The discussion can be initiated in either House. We have decided that it will be taken up in the Lok Sabha first Kiren Rijiju, Minister Oppn strategy meet today Floor leaders from various INDIA bloc parties will meet at 9.45 am on Wednesday in the chamber of Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, to discuss their joint strategy in Parliament THE Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Election Commission to consider extending the December 11 deadline for submitting enumeration forms in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Kerala by one more week, in view of the ongoing process for local body elections. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi made the recommendation after taking note of submissions that the local body elections in the state will take place on December 9 and 11, and counting of votes on December 13. “It seems to us that the request is just and fair, and it warrants due consideration by the Election Commission of India,” the order said. The court allowed the petitioners to submit a formal representation to the Election Commission by Wednesday 5 pm seeking SIR extension. It asked the EC to consider the request sympathetically and take a decision within two days. Senior advocates Rakesh Dwivedi and Maninder Singh, appearing for the Election Commission of India, said the Kerala State Election Commission has already exempted SIR staff from election duties, adding that the SIR deadline had earlier been extended from December 4 to 11. Terming it a peculiar situation, the CJI said the state government staff should not be overburdened.