vijayawada l thursday l september 12, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l late city EDITION Kamala puts trump on the DEFENSIVE in their first debate Kamala Harris and Donald Trump engaged in a fiery debate on Tuesday, their first and the only direct face-off before the US elections Don rattled by Sharp attacks from V-P voters feel harris bested Trump Harris went on the offensive right from the start of the ABC News debate, attacking Trump on various issues. One of their most intense exchanges was on abortion. She slammed Trump’s push to end the federal right to abortion. Trump tried to defend saying the states should determine abortion policy. He tore into Harris as too liberal and a continuation of the current administration ■ ■ Harris promised tax cuts for the middle class while Trump said his proposed tariffs would help the US stop being cheated by allies A CNN snap poll conducted soon after the debate had 63% of registered voters saying Harris did better than Trump. Conservative Fox News too agreed, calling Harris “a clear winner” of the debate | P11 Nov 5 when the U.S. will hold the presidential election 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 India to drive global semicon industry: PM It’s Rahul’s turn N am i ta B aj pa i @ Lucknow Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said India is poised to play a significant role in driving the global semiconductor industry forward. He was speaking after inaugurating SEMICON India — 2024, a three-day exhibition, at the India Expo Mart in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The prime minister said his government will do everything to make India a semiconductor powerhouse, adding that it is a dream to have an Indian-made chip in every device in the world. He said India is building a robust semiconductor workforce comprising 85,000 technicians, engineers, and research and development experts. The country, he added, must prepare its students and professionals to contribute to the growth of the sector. India has attracted investments exceeding `1.5 lakh crore for its semiconductor sector in a short span of time, Modi said adding that the country possessed a “three-dimensional power” — a reformist government, a rapidly expanding manufacturing base and a large, aspirational market appreciating and embracing technology — that can propel the growth of the chip industry . 2-day visit IMCT begins assessment of flood loss Drawing an analogy between the semiconductor industry and a diode, where energy flows in only one direction, Modi said India’s semiconductor sector was unique, featuring special “diodes” where energy flew in both directions. He explained that while industries invested and generated value, the government reciprocated by offering stable policies and promoting the ‘Ease of Doing Business.’ Modi said the goal is to have India make not just the chips but the finished products too. The prime minister stressed the need to have supply chains that are resilient from shock events like Covid-19. “Resilience of the supply chain is very important,” he said. “Whether it is mobile manufacturing, electronics, or semiconductors, our focus is clear — we want to build a world that doesn’t stop or pause in times of crisis but keeps moving forward,” the prime minister said, adding that, “When the chips are down, you can bet on India.” Modi said India is one of the largest consumers of semiconductors, which enabled the creation of world-class digital public infrastructure. This small chip, played a crucial role in ensuring last-mile delivery across the country, he said. The second phase of the Centre’s chip policy, Semicon 2.0 is expected to be in place in 3-4 months, Union Information and Broadcasting minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said Shah, Mayawati, Shinde criticise statement on abolishing it ‘when India is a fair place’ @ New Delhi 6 million jobs With India’s electronics sector now valued at over $150 billion, the Prime Minister outlined a goal to grow the country’s electronics sector to $500 billion and create as many as 6 million jobs by the end of this decade Prime Minister Narendra Modi inspects an exhibit during the inauguration of SEMICON India 2024, in Greater Noida | PTI It is our dream to have an Indian-made chip in every device in the world. We will do everything that is needed to make India a semiconductor powerhouse Narendra Modi tion works will be taken up to avoid recurrence of floods in future. He explained that Chief Minister N Chandrab- drones were used to assess the abu Naidu on Wednesday an- strength of canal bunds and nounced that the State gov- said no more breaches were e r n m e n t w i l l p a y a found. compensation of `10,000 for Speaking in Rajupalem, he every acre of crop damaged said families who have lost due to the rains and floods. their belongings will be proNoting that several houses vided with an assistance of were also damaged, `10,000 each. He addNaidu said the goved that the governernment will take ment will also prothe responsibility of vide clothes to the constructing new flood victims. The Urea & potassium will be given to houses for the flood Chief Minister asfarmers to protect victims. Until then, sured the people compensation will standing crops. Any that the government be provided to take person who lost an will try to provide auto rickshaw will up repairs for the the compensation be given an aid of damaged houses, he before September 17 `10,000 added. after completing a He made the an- N Chandrababu Naidu, survey to enumerate Chief Minister nouncements durlosses. ing his visit to the Further, he said flood-affected regions of Elu- the State government will ru and Kakinada districts. support vendors who lost Naidu conducted an aerial their push carts to the deluge. survey of the affected areas in The Chief Minister said new Kolleru region and also visit- carts will be provided and ed Rajupalem village in Kir- `10,000 will be spent on each lampudi mandal of Kakinada one of them. “Similarly, any district, where a breach to the person who lost an auto rickYeleru Canal inundated near- shaw or a rickshaw (tri-cycle) by villages. He assured the will be given a compensation people that Yeleru modernisa- of `10,000,” Naidu said. E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada @ Vijayawada CM Chandrababu Naidu interacting with flood victims of Rajupalem village in Kakinada district | Express new app for direct contact with cm Revealing that an application will be developed for people to contact him directly, the Chief Minister said, “Individuals can directly reach out to me with their problems through a message. The same would be resolved at the earliest.” Bhagwat’s comment that the reservation policy could do with a ‘social review’ kicked up UNION home minister and the a huge controversy forcing him , BJP’s principal election strate- to clarify that he did not mean gist Amit Shah on Wednesday to say practice should end. made a blistering attack on On Wednesday, BSP chief Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Mayawati and Maharashtra for his comment that the Con- CM Eknath Shinde also hit out gress will think of scrapping at Gandhi for his remark. reservation when India is a fair “Rahul Gandhi’s views replace. Rahul, who is currently flect his petty mentality It has ... on a trip to the US, been Cong ress’s had made the rehabit to do politics mark on Tuesday in the name of reliwhile answering a gion and caste,” question posed by Shinde said. students of the Mayawati said Georgetown Unithat when not in versity in Washingpower, the Conton DC. gress talks about ‘Not against “By speaking SC, ST and OBC; reservation’ about abolishing but when in power, reservations in the Claiming that his it works against c o u n t r y, R a h u l statement was their interests, addGandhi has once “misrepresented”, ing, “People should again brought the Rahul Gandhi said on be cautious of this Congress’s anti- Wednesday that he is conspiracy .” reservation face to not against reservation Shah also acthe forefront. The and will try to take it cused the Congress thoughts that were beyond the 50% cap leader of making in his mind eventustatements aimed ally found their way out as at hurting the country’s image words,” Shah posted on X, add- and meeting people who work ing that nobody will be able to against India’s interests. scrap reservation as long as the On Tuesday, Rahul had met BJP is around. some US lawmakers, including Reservation is a touchy sub- Ilhan Omar, a known India-critject and several leaders have ic who made a controversial come under attack in the past trip to Pakistan-occupied Kashfor expressing their opinion on mir in April 2022—an act India it. In 2015, weeks before the Bi- considers as a violation of its har elections, RSS chief Mohan sovereignty . RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR CM announces `10k aid for every acre of crop damage E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e The six-member Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) arrived in Vijayawada on Wednesday for a two-day visit to assess the damage caused by rains and floods. The team met higher officials of the State government at the AP State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA) headquarters in Tadepalli on Wednesday and took stock of the situation. Special Chief Secretary (Revenue) RP Sisodia informed the IMCT that primary estimates of the losses have been pegged at `6,880 crore. The six-member team, led by Joint Secretary of Union Home Ministry Anil Subrahmanyam, comprised Director of Farmers Welfare of Maharashtra AL Vagmer, Chief Engineer of Surface Transport Rakesh Kumar, Finance Department Consultant RB Koul, Rural Development Deputy Secretary Pradeep Kumar and National Remote Sensing Centre (ISRO) scientist SVSP Sharma. They held a two-and-a-half hour meeting with various Heads of Departments (HoDs) of the State government. The officials explained that 337 villages in 108 mandals of seven districts — Eluru, Krishna, NTR, Guntur, Bapatla, Palnadu and Prakasam — were affected. They elaborated on damage caused by the floods through a presentation and photo exhibition. The officials also highlighted the relief and rehabilitation measures implemented over the past 10 days. Water Resources Department engineer-in-chief Venkateswara Rao explained that the extent of destruction was massive in sectors like agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry aquaculture, roads , and irrigation. The IMCT was informed that the River Krishna logged record inflows due to the torrential rains that lashed Vijayawada under the influence of a low pressure in the P4 Bay of Bengal.  to get into the quota firing line Semicon 2.0 soon 2in J&K encounter; operation ongoing terrorists killed Two terrorists affiliated with Jaish-e-Mohammad were killed in an operation in upper reaches of Basantgarh in Jammu & Kashmir’s Udhampur on Wednesday | P9 The standoff between the protesting junior doctors and the West Bengal government continued on Wednesday with the latter rejecting the demands for Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s presence and a live broadcast as pre-conditions for talks to resolve their month-long agitation. Thousands of junior doctors from across the state continued their sit-in protest — more than 28 hours since September 10 — outside the Swasthya Bhavan (the state health department headquarters) against the horrific rape-murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical Col- E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Guntur Accusing the TDP-led NDA government of trying to divert people’s attention from core issues by arresting YSRC leaders in false cases, party president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy asserted that his government had investigated the case related to the attack on TDP’s office in Mangalagiri and that the attackers were identified based on mobile phone signals. Notices were issued against the accused under CrPC Section 41-A, he maintained. lege and Hospital on August 9, with students from several Kolkata colleges joining them on Wednesday . Responding to the chief secretary’s mail for a meeting at the state secretariat at 6 pm, the students insisted on the CM’s presence during the talks, a delegation of 30, instead of 12-15 RG Kar hearing of 51 doctors put off Authorities at RG Kar on Wednesday deferred the hearing of the 51 doctors who were issued notice for allegedly promoting a culture of intimidation, endangering the democratic atmosphere of the institution M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi Ahead of the Assembly elections in Haryana and J&K, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved `5 lakh free health coverage for all senior citizens aged 70 years and above under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), irrespective of their income. The free health cover will benefit approximately six crore senior citizens in 4.5 crore families at an annual cost of `3,437 crore. “With this approval, all senior citizens of 70 years and above irrespective of their socio-economic status would be eligible to avail the benefits under the scheme. Eligible senior citizens would be issued a new distinct card,” Union Information and Broadcasting minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said. Senior citizens from families already covered under the scheme will get an additional top-up cover up to `5 lakh per year, which they do not have to share with the other members P5 of the family, he said.  ‘Govt resorting to diversion politics’ Jagan on Wednesday met former MP Nandigama Suresh, who was arrested and lodged in a prison in Guntur for his alleged role in the attack on the West Bengal govt rejects terms set by junior docs for talks E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Kolkata Nod for free health cover for all aged over 70 Junior doctors during their dharna, in Kolkata on Wednesday | PTI proposed by the government, live telecast of the interaction for transparency immediate ar, rest of other accused in the rape-murder of the doctor, resignation of the city Police Commissioner, suspension of the Director of Medical Education as well as the Director of Health Services, and disciplinary action against ex-principal Sandip Ghosh. Reacting to the students’ demands, minister of state for health Chandrima Bhattacharya urged the students not to get provoked by unnecessary politics. The junior doctors, however, said, “We will continue our movement demanding justice for the victim.” TDP office. Terming the politician’s arrest illegal, he claimed, “The government is making arrests at a time when a chaotic situation is prevailing in the State due to the rains.” Speaking to mediapersons outside the prison, the former Chief Minister said TDP’s official spokesperson had used unparliamentary language against him while addressing a press meet in 2021. “People who love me were offended and staged a protest in front of the TDP office. The protestors were P4 attacked,” he said.  express read SEB dissolved, Excise Dept restructured Vijayawada: DGP Ch Dwaraka Tirumala Rao issued orders rescinding the SEB, and restructuring the Prohibition and Excise Department. The move came after the Cabinet’s decision to dissolve the SEB & reconstitute the Excise Department | P4 Seven labourers killed, 2 hurt in road accident Rajamahendravaram: Seven labourers were killed and two others injured when a mini-truck veered off the road and overturned at Chilakavaripakalu village in East Godavari district in the early hours of Wednesday | P3