source: nasa BHUBANESWAR l wednesday l march 20, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late CITY EDITION Asteroid bennu has building blocks of life, say scientists Bennu’s sample show presence of glycine, the simplest amino acid, and a crucial ingredient of proteins, according to a report in Live Science water minerals found in the sample Did earth get water from outer space? The sample also has other water-bearing minerals such as carbonates, sulphites, olivine and magnetite, leading to a tangible evidence that Bennu’s parent body witnessed multiple water-related episodes before fragments coalesced into the asteroid, the report says. Scientists also found a reservoir of magnesium phosphate, a rare find in astromaterials ■ ■ Scientists have found abundant water-altered compounds called phyllosilicates, which may have been the cradles for organics, water that scientists suspect were delivered to Earth early in its history Sample of Bennu was brought by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission in a protected capsule in 2023 and kept in Houston where study is on 700 mn years ago bennu could have broken off from a larger asteroid 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 Pandian confirms SC gives govt 2 weeks to respond to alliance talks, says petitions seeking stay on CAA rules it’s beyond politics Directs the Centre to file its reply by April 2; matter to come up before court again on April 9 E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e cause. They see something @ Bhubaneswar beyond politics which is a rare mark of statesmanship,” In the clearest indication yet the bureaucrat-turned-politithat the alliance between cian said. BJD and BJP in Odisha is However, on the present very much on track, Chief status of the talks between Minister Naveen Patnaik’s the parties, Pandian said if trusted lieutenant and the anything happens everybody second in command in the re- will come to know about it. Referring to the undimingional party VK Pandian on Tuesday stated the possibili- ished popularity of the chief minister, Pandian ty of coming togethsaid the people of Oder goes beyond poliisha have great faith tics and is a mark of in him. “They see statesmanship of him as a person who two great leaders. wants to change and Speaking at a metransform Odisha. dia conclave in New The chief minister Delhi, Pandian ashas brought transforserted the alliance mation in public intalks between the stitutions like two parties is not schools and hospibecause of the potals as 70 per cent of litical consideration The two great people depend of of boosting numbers or making an leaders who share these. He wants to impact on the elec- a great friendship empower common want to come people to make them toral map. “Chief together for a able to dream for Minister Naveen greater cause. their children,” PanPatnaik does not They see need an alliance to something beyond dian said. The chairman of come back to power politics which is a rare mark of 5T initiatives in Odfor the sixth term. statesmanship isha, who is in full Similarly, Prime charge of the BJD Minister Narendra VK Pandian, organisation and Modi does not need 5T chairman spoken of as a poan alliance to betential successor of come the PM of the country for the third time. Naveen, also addressed the BJD does not need BJP to issue saying he had succeedcome to power in Odisha and ed in imbibing the principles, the BJP may not need BJD to honesty, sincerity and servform government at the Cen- ice to the people from the chief minister. “The chief tre,” he said. “There is nothing political minister has himself said in the alliance talks. The two that the people of Odisha will great leaders who share a decide his successor... and it great friendship want to will be rocking,” Pandian P3 come together for a greater said. Su c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to stay the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules sought by a batch of petitioners, but directed the Centre to file its reply by April 2. “We are not expressing any prima facie view. We have to hear the petitioners, we have to hear the other side,” said the bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta initially sought four weeks time to reply and clarified that the law “does not take away citizenship of any person”. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the Indian Union Muslim League, questioned the urgency to notify the rules four years after CAA was passed. The Act was passed in December 2021 but the rules giving effect to the law were notified only on March 11, 2024. “We are not expressing any prima facie view in the matter,” the bench said, while posted the matter to April 9. During the hearing, the petitioners sought a stay on the grant of citizenship under CAA to persons belonging minority communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, who came to India before December 31, 2014. The petitioners say CAA discriminates against Muslims and violates Article 14 of the Constitution. Senior advocate Indira Jaising, also appearing for the peti- Voting rights When senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, appearing for a Hindu immigrant from Balochistan, wondered how will anyone be affected or anyone’s rights be violated if his client is granted citizenship, senior advocate Indira Jaising said: “Because they will get the right to vote.” Forest staff brave bullets in Kuldiha wildlife sanctuary, nab two poachers E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e Lokpal orders CBI probe against Mahua Moitra The Lokpal on Tuesday asked the CBI to investigate the cash-for-query allegations against TMC leader Mahua Moitra and submit its findings within six months. The allegations against Moitra are extremely serious in nature and a deeper probe is required, the Lokpal’s order said Paras exits NDA, but BJP draws Sita Soren, ex-US envoy Sandhu @ Bhubaneswar/Balasore IN a daring encounter in Balasore’s Kuldiha wildlife sanctuary, two armed poachers were arrested by the forest staff after they allegedly opened fire at the anti-poaching squad leaving two of its members injured in the wee hours of Tuesday . The poachers, Guna Sing (30) of Nilagiri and Sania Sing (40) of Berhampur area, were nabbed following a confrontation during routine patrolling by forest staff in Panchalingeswar beat of Kuldiha range. Two country-made guns were also seized from their possession. PCCF (wildlife) Susanta Nanda said the injured staff, The two armed poachers nabbed by forest officials | EXPRESS Khitish Parida and Biranchi Jena, are receiving treatment at the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack and their condition is now stable. Regional chief conservator of forests (RCCF) Baripada Prakash Chand Gogineni said the forest staff along with the anti-poaching squad were jointly patrolling the area on Monday night when they detected movement of the two poachers in the sanctuary at 2 am and started chasing them. While the two managed to flee taking advantage of the darkness, a forest guard and two members of the anti-poaching squad continued the search and later found the poachers hiding at a spot near Dhansua Chaturi. When the team tried to nab the poachers, they opened fire leaving Parida and Jena injured. Despite facing the gunfire, the brave forest staff managed to nab the poachers. Reinforcement reached the spot and rushed the injured staff to FM Medical College and Hospital. They were later shifted to SCB Continued on P5 MCH. Su c h i t r a K a lya n m o h a n t y @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court on Tuesday directed Yoga guru Baba Ramdev and Patanjali Ayurved managing director Acharya Balkrishna to appear before it during the next hearing as the company failed to file its reply to an earlier notice on violating an undertaking on misleading advertisements and hauling it up for contempt of court. Senior lawyer Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Patanjali and Ramdev, strongly objected to the observations and remarks by the bench. “How does Ramdev come into the picture in the case,” he asked. Rohatgi claimed that the violation of the law (by the contemnors) was not contempt of court and what was being relied on in open court has to be recorded in the order. But the two-judge bench of Justice Hima Kohli and Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah passed the order for personal appearance of Ramdev and Balkrishna in the next hearing, which could most likely be in April first week. “Having gone through the adverts issued by respondent 5 (Patanjali Ayurved) in the teeth of the undertaking given to this court on November 21, 2023 and on noticing that the said adverts reflect an endorsement thereof by Acharya Ramdev, it is deemed appropriate to issue notice to show cause as to why contempt of court proceedings be not initiated against him,” the order said. express read FY24 net direct tax revenue rises 20% to `18.9L cr New Delhi: Net direct tax collections were at `18,90,259 crore for the financial year 2023-24 (FY24), compared to `15,76,776 crore in the corresponding period of FY23, representing an increase of 19.88%, according to the provisional figures released by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Tuesday. The net collection includes corporation tax (CIT) at `9,14,469 crore (net of refund) and personal income tax (PIT) including securities transaction tax (STT) at `9,72,224 crore (net of refund) | P10 R a m a s h a n k a r a n d M U K E SH RA N J A N @ Patna/Jharkhand A day after announcing its seat-sharing formula for Bihar, the NDA lost an ally though it had already accommodated the rival faction. There were rumblings within the JD(U) as well as its as its general secretary put in his papers. Union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras on Tuesday resigned from the Union ministry as the rival LJP led by Chirag Paswan was given five seats in the NDA, including the prestigious Hajipur, for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in Bihar. Paras accused the BJP of doing injustice to his LJP faction by Pashupati Kumar Paras excluding it from the seat-sharing deal. Tej Pratap Yadav, elder son of RJD chief Lalu Prasad, offered to accommodate Paras in the opposition alliance. “We will be the first to welcome him (Paras),” he said. Paras though was cautious. “We will seek the opinion of party workers before taking the call on a new pre-poll alliance,” he said. As for the JD(U), national general Sita Soren secretary Mohammad Ali Asaraf Fatmi resigned from all posts of the party . He is likely to join the RJD on Wednesday and could be fielded as candidate either from Madhabani or BJP has done injustice Darbhanga. to us. We will seek the In Jharkhand, Shibu Soren’s daughopinion of party ter-in-law Sita Soren resigned from workers before taking the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha the call on a new preand joined the BJP. Sita represents poll alliance Jama in the state assembly. She alPashupati Kumar Paras leged the at the JMM was isolating her and hatching a conspiracy against her family members. Sita is the widow of Durga Soren, the eldest son of Shibu Soren. The BJP’s acquisitions continued with former Indian ambassador to the United States, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, joining the party amid buzz on fielding him in the Lok Sabha polls from Amritsar in Punjab. tioners, said the government should not grant any citizenship under the rules while the matter is pending before SC. Sibal concurred, saying that under international law, “once citizenship is granted, you cannot take it back”. Advocate Nizam Pasha, appearing for AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, said Muslims left out of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) will be prejudiced. Mehta strongly objected to this, saying: “An effort was made earlier outside this court to mislead people that they will be ousted. The NRC is not an issue before this court.” Ramdev in SC cross-hairs as bench orders his presence India rejects China’s Arunachal claims Making a splash An aircraft takes off from the watery runway on a rainy afternoon at Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar, on Tuesday | shiba prasad sahu New Delhi: India has rejected China’s claims on Arunachal Pradesh, terming it absurd and baseless. “We have noted the comments made by the Chinese Defence Ministry spokesperson, advancing absurd claims over the territory of the Indian State of Arunachal Pradesh. Repeating baseless arguments does not lend validity to such claims. Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India,” said Randhir Jaiswal, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson | P7 MGM inks MoU with Coaching Beyond Bhubaneswar: The MGM School of Sports on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Coaching Beyond to develop cricketing talent in Odisha. The pact was signed here in presence of CMD of MGM Minerals Ltd Pankaj Lochan Mohanty and former Indian cricketer Ravi Shastri. One of the country’s leading cricket coaching academies, Coaching Beyond is the brainchild of Shastri, Bharat Arun and R Sridhar, former coaches of Team India | P11 new vertical Zomato launches exclusive fleet to tap the pure veg market E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Chennai online food delivery company Zomato on Tuesday announced the launch of a vegetarian-only delivery service to cater to those who prefer ordering from pure-veg restaurants. The Pure Veg Fleet will have green delivery boxes instead of the standard red ones. Zoma- to’s CEO Deepinder Goyal cited feedback from customers as the reason for the launch of the new service. He said the new vertical is for customers who follow a 100% vegetarian diet. The pure veg vertical will handle orders from restaurants that serve only pure vegetarian food and will exclude those serving non-veg food items. “This means a veg meal served by a non-veg restaurant will never go inside the green delivery box,” said Goyal. Most online food delivery platforms including Zomato already have a filter to search ‘pure veg’ restaurants, from where customers can order veg food. However, there have been instances of wrongful delivery of non-veg food to vegetarian customers, embarrassing the on- line platforms. “Why did we need to separate the fleets? Because despite everyone’s best efforts, sometimes the food spills into the delivery boxes. In those cases, the smell of the previous order travels to the next order, and may lead to the next order smelling of the previous order. For this reason, we had to separate the fleet for veg orders,” Goyal said. While some users welcomed Zomato’s move, many others termed it casteist. Goyal said the veg fleet will not discriminate on the basis of the delivery partner’s religion or dietary choices. He said he would roll back the service if there are negative repercussions, such as residential societies allowing only the pure-veg fleet inside their premises.
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