HYDERABAD  WEDNESDAY  MAY 29, 2024  `9.00  PAGES 16  LATE CITY EDITION BIG TECH LOBBY GROUP OPPOSES INDIA’S EU-LIKE ANTITRUST PROPOSAL A US lobby group representing Google, Amazon and Apple has asked the Indian government to rethink its plan to have EU-like competition law RETHINK DIGITAL COMPETITION BILL: USIBC PROPOSED LAW SUPPORTS START-UPS In its letter to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC) said regulations against data use and preferential treatment of partners could raise user costs. The USIBC’s letter was in response to the draft Digital Competition Bill, which it said is “much further in scope” than the European Union’s stringent Digital Markets Act 2022 ■ The draft of the bill, released in March for public feedback, aims to crack down on anti-competitive practices of big tech firms. It seeks to ban firms from using users’ data and promoting own services over competitors’ ■ While small tech firms and startups support the bill, the USIBC warns that the targeted companies are likely to reduce their investments in India 10 million DIGITAL COMPETITION BILL COVERS BIG FIRMS WITH THAT MANY USERS IN INDIA 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 T20 World Cup tickets for even India-Pak match still available S W A R O O P S W A M I N AT H A N @ Chennai THE International Cricket Council (ICC) may have a new problem in their hands. There are only three days to go for the opening night of the T20 World Cup — one of the governing body’s flagship white-ball properties — but a lot of tickets are still up for grabs. While the ICC, in a statement in March, said that “more than three million ticket applications were received during the ballot”, tickets for all games are still available on the official website. This includes the India vs Pakistan match, scheduled to be played at the Nassau County Inter- A car damaged after a shed fell on it following Cyclone Remal’s landfall in Guwahati on Tuesday | PTI CYCLONE REMAL WREAKS HAVOC, KILLS 31 IN N-E Toll in Mizoram touches at least 27 after multiple landslides `909.9 `906.96 28 days 30 days 29 days `1,308.55 `1,356.42 `1,391.36 `1,578.61 15 days 26 days 14 days `723.59 `923.53 `634.82 Jan, 2024 Mar, 2024 `861.2 Dec, 2023 Feb, 2024 14 days 14 days OD, WMA and SDF 20 days 30 days 20 days 31 days Month Wise Details of `883.6 CYCLONE Remal wreaked havoc in parts of the Northeast on Tuesday killing at least 31 peo, ple in Mizoram, Meghalaya and Assam. The rains, which were accompanied by gusty winds, uprooted trees, electric poles, triggered landslides and disrupted power and internet services. There is no power in parts Assam and Mizoram since Monday midnight. With 27 confirmed deaths in four landslides, Mizoram was the worst affected. Locals said there had been a series of incidents of landslides and the toll could go up further. Fourteen people were killed when a stone quarry collapsed at a place between Melthum and Hlimen on the outskirts of the state capital Aizawl. Five locals and 2-3 non-locals were reported missing after the collaspse. Landslides elsewhere killed 13 people — Hlimen (4), Salem (3), Falkawn (2), Lungsei (1), Kelsih (1) and Aibawk (2). The state government said it would be difficult to say how many people were missing after the incidents. Aizawl and its surrounding areas are vulnerable to landslides, primarily because of `884.77 P R A S A N TA M A Z U M D A R @ Guwahati OD WMA SDF *Average amount availed (`crores) *No. of days availed State forced to borrow `12,358 crore from RBI M A N DA RAV I N D E R R E D DY @ Hyderabad STRUGGLING with a financial crisis, the state government is continuing to depend on Overdrafts (OD), Ways and Means Advances (WMA) and Special Drawing Facility (SDF) from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to meet its expenditure. From December 2023, when it came to power, to March 31, 2024, the Congress government in Telangana has raised `12,358.48 crore through these avenues. According to the RBI, from December 2023 to the end of March this year, the state government raised `5,629.94 crore through WMA, a facility allowed by the RBI to states for meeting temporary cash mismatches. The state government availed this facility for 105 days. Similarly in the same pe, riod, the government availed OD facility for 57 days, raising `3,143.14 crore. As per RBI rules, OD can be availed by state gover nments beyond their WMA limits. Similarly, from December 2023 to March 31, 2024, the Congress government in the state availed Special Drawing Facility (SDF) almost every day, except in December when it availed the facility for 20 days. In these four months, the state government raised `3,585.4 crore through SDF, availing the facility every single day in January February and March. , SDF is a facility that state governments can avail against the collateral of Consolidated Sinking Fund, Guarantee Redemption Fund & Auction Treasury Bills (balances and other investments in government securities. Interestingly the Con, gress government used to criticise the BRS regime for raising funds through the WMA and OD. Even the white paper on state finances released by the Congress administration soon after assuming power harshly criticised the BRS regime for relying heavily on WMA. For 214 of the 244 days it was in power in financial year 202324, the then BRS government had utilised OD and WMA — from April 1 to November 2023. After the Congress came to power, it utilised OD and WMA for 105 of the 122 days — from December 2023 to March 31, 2024. “loose” soil, the locals said. Chief Minister Lalduhoma announced ex-gratia of `4 lakh each for the next of kin of those who died. The state government had ordered the closure of all government offices on Tuesday except those rendering essential services. Three persons were killed in Assam and one in Meghalaya. A wall collapsed in East Jaintia Hills district of Meghalaya, killing one person. Four others were injured in a landslide in the district. In Assam, the deaths occurred in Kamrup, Kamrup (Metro) and Morigaon districts. national Cricket Stadium in New York on Sunday . While the cheapest tickets for that match have been sold out ($300 if you are wondering), packages worth an eye-popping $10,000 (`8.3 lakh) have not found many takers. The perks for this ticket includes free parking, pitch report 15 minutes before the start of the game as well as a private champagne with lunch while taking part in an analysis of the game by a cricketing legend. Most of the tickets for other ties, too, are yet to find takers. Not just India’s, even tickets for the Australia versus England match P11 are available. Tapgate: Cops worked for KCR’s win EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE Money seized from Revanth’s friends ACCORDING to the confessional statements of former ASPs Mekala Thirupathanna and N Bhujanga Rao, phone-tapping case accused, two WhatsApp groups — ‘POL-2023’ and ‘KMR’ — were created and the task of the police officials, who were in these groups, was to see that money belonging to Opposition parties was frozen with the help of either Task Force, Cyberabad or local police and also to keep an eye on BJP and Congress candidates in Kamareddy Assembly segment. The WhatsApp group KMR was formed to exclusively track the movements of Opposition leader K Venkata Ramana Reddy of the BJP and Kondal Reddy, brother of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy during the Assembly elections in Kamareddy . Venkata Ramana Reddy and Revanth Reddy contested against BRS chief K Chan- M Thirupathanna’s confessional statement said huge amounts of cash were seized from Congress leaders, including from friends of Revanth Reddy @ Hyderabad  `90 L from Gali Anil Kumar (Revanth’s friend) at Kolluru  `1,99,85,000 from K Vinay Reddy (Revanth’s friend )  `7.5 cr from Raghava Infra (Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy)  `3 cr from Raghava Infra (Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy)  `1 cr from Choppari Venu (belonging to K Rajagopal Reddy)  `1.18 cr from Madhu and Srihari (of Rajagopal Reddy)  `42.66 L from Madhu and Srihari (of Rajagopal Reddy)  `50.45 L from Visakha Industries (Kandula Ravi Kishore)  `35 L from Giridhar Reddy (Uttam Kumar Reddy’s friend)  `40 L from Jhansi Reddy  `50 L from BBR hospital (Jhansi Narender Reddy)  `20 L related to Jadcherla segment  `70 L seized at Taramati Baradari  `10 L in Khammam from pesticide shop owner (known to Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy) The Nampally City Court on Tuesday rejected the bail petition filed on behalf of former Task Force OSD Radhakishan Rao and ex-ASP Bhujanga Rao drasekhar Rao in Kamareddy . Through KMR WhatsApp group, the officers used to directly monitor and scuttle the political activities of BJP and Congress in Kamareddy to help In these seizures, our team members followed the target as instructed by me while others in the group saw that they were apprehended with the help of frontal police agencies and got criminal cases registered at respective police stations Thirupathanna’s confessional statement KCR win. “However, BRS and KCR lost in Kamareddy to our utter shock,” Bhujanga Rao said in his confession. Thirupathanna, in his confession, said: “We seized huge Major trafficking racket busted, 15 kids rescued P R I YA R AT H N A M @ Hyderabad MEDIPALLY police arrested three women involved in child trafficking and rescued 15 children from couples who purchased them for amounts ranging from `50,000 to `1 lakh. The Child Welfare Committee (CWC) has taken the rescued children to a shelter and is collaborating with Rachakonda police to identify their biological parents based in Delhi and Pune. Giving details, Rachakonda Police Commissioner Tarun Joshi told reporters that the people who bought the children bypassed the legal adoption process, which typically takes about two years. “Unable to conceive and unwilling to wait, they chose the illegal route,” Joshi said. The three accused—Shobarani, a Registered Medical Practitioner, Hemalatha and Shaik Saleema—worked with eight Rachakonda Police Commissioner Tarun Joshi hands over a baby rescued from the traffickers to Child Welfare Committee officials at the Commissionerate on Tuesday agents to procure children from parents in Delhi and Pune, paying between `50,000 and `1.5 lakh. Agents in Delhi would buy the babies shortly after birth, shift them while ensuring they were fed bottled milk and deliver them to buyers within a couple of days. Authorities are tracing the network back to Delhi. Police, acting on a tip-off, rescued a girl during an exchange and uncovered the child trafficking operation. Investigations revealed the accused sold approximately 60 children over three years. The agents were identified as Bandari Hari Hara Chethan, Bandari Padma, Balgam Saroja, Mudavath Raju, Pathan Mumtaz, Jaganadam Anuradha and Yata Mamatha. Among them, Bandari Padma is facing charges in Ghatkesar police station, Balgam Saroja in Munagala police station and Mudavath Sharda in Intezarganj police station in Warangal, Eluru police station in Andhra Pradesh and Kanjurmarg police station in Mumbai. A police officer said that the agents will be arrested soon. The rescued children, purchased by couples in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, have been handed over to the CWC and are currently housed at Shishu Vihar at Ameerpet. Authorities identified five more children sold to couples in Andhra Pradesh, who have been instructed to surrender the kids to the police. Efforts are underway to identify and reunite the children with their biological CONTINUED ON P5 parents. cash from persons related to the Congress. The cash seized during Assembly elections at different places by officers who were members of POL-2023 WhatsApp group from either sympathisers or fundraisers of the Congress.” The statement continued: “It is all done by us at the behest of Prabhakar Rao, retired IGP, who worked as Chief of Operations at SIB during Assembly elections in 2023 to facilitate the BRS retain power. These operations were carried out on the instructions of superior officers, who worked in the interests of the BRS.” Thirupathanna added: “I was given 300 targets for technical interceptions and allotted three systems to my team, nine loggers (eight constables and one head constable), to monitor the movements round-the-clock in three shifts. I used to collect CDRs, IPDRs, CAF from my official mail ID. I went to Munugode on the day of election to monitor Naxal movements.” EXPRESS READ ECI suspends special secretary in Odisha CMO Bhubaneswar: The ECI on Tuesday directed the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) to place DS Kutey, the special secretary to the chief minister under suspension for unduly interfering in conduct of election. The headquarters of Kutey has been fixed at the office of the resident commissioner of Odisha at New Delhi where he will report by 3 pm on May 29 | P5 PM to meditate at Vivekananda Memorial Chennai: After a prolonged campaign, Prime Minister Modi will delve deep into meditation at the ‘dhyana mandapam’ of the Vivekananda Rock Memorial located on a rock around 400 metres off the Kanniyakumari coast for over 45 hours from Thursday evening. The rock is surrounded by the Laccadive Sea where the Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean, and the Arabian Sea meet. External, internal challenges keep C’garh candidates on their toes H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh FOR voters of Chandigarh constituency, Lok Sabha polls mean a familiar face or two on the ballot. But it is an entirely different scenario this time as there are no repeat candidates. Cong ress leader and former Union minister Manish Tewari, who is contesting from Chandigarh for the first time, is pitted against the BJP’s Sanjay Tandon, who is eyeing his Parliament debut from this seat. To field Tewari, the Congress has benched former Union minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, who was the party’s Chandigarh candidate in the past four elections. The BJP, too, has dropped sitting MP Kirron Kher, who has represented the seat twice. Tewari, 58, hopes to spoil the BJP’s chances with the support of the AAP whereas Tandon, 60, believes his ‘local man’ status will help him. Tandon is the former chief of BJP’s Chandigarh unit. As the fight gets fiercer, both have a common problem to deal with – bickering in their respective camps. Denying ticket to Bansal caused a mini revolt in the Congress with many lo- cal leaders resigning. They were triggered after Congress’s Chandigarh unit chief H S Luck y alle g edly mocked Bansal on the ticket issue. Fo r t h e re co rd , Bansal maintains he is a Congress loyalist but is hardly seen campaigning for Tewari. All is not well with the BJP either as former MP Satya Pal Jain, who was keen to contest again from Chan- digarh, is hardly campaigning for Tandon. Not just Jain, many other party leaders and councillors have been conspicuous by their absence in Tandon’s campaign. Despite these challenges, both the candidates have their Manish hopes up. The full support Tewari (L), of the AAP will also come Sanjay in handy for Tewari while Tandon the Modi factor will boost Tandon’s prospects. Among other things, The Congress is highlighting BJP MP Kirron Kher’s long absence from the constituency to show the saffron party in poor ILLUSTRATION: MANDAR PARDIKAR CONTINUED ON P5 light.