THIRUVANANTHAPURAM l thursday l october 10, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE city EDITION Trio win Nobel chemistry Prize for work on protein structure David Baker, Demis Hassabis and John Jumper were honoured for their work in predicting and even designing the structure of proteins David Baker John Jumper Demis Hassabis Baker awarded for designing new proteins Baker designed a new protein in 2003 and his research group has since produced several new proteins, including those that can be used as pharmaceuticals, vaccines, nanomaterials and tiny sensors. “David Baker has succeeded with the almost impossible feat of building entirely new kinds of proteins,” the Nobel Committee said in its statement | P9 ■ 2020 Using AI to predict protein structure ■ Hassabis and Jumper created an artificial intelligence model that has been able to predict the complex structure of over 200 million proteins The shape of proteins is key as it determines their function. Heiner Linke, chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, said the two solved a 50-year-old problem: predicting proteins’ complex structures when Hassabis and Jumper first used AI to predict protein structure 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 Knives out for Congress from INDIA bloc allies after Haryana debacle Shiv Sena (UBT), AAP, TMC lead the attack, say grand old party’s arrogance led to defeat PR E E T HA N AIR @ New Delhi 28 December 1937 — 9 October 2024 tata, ratan P T I @Mumbai Tata Group’s chairman emeritus and industrialist Ratan Tata died at a Mumbai hospital late on Wednesday night. Tata, who led the saltto-software conglomerate to new heights, was 86. A recipient of Padma Vibhushan, he breathed his last at south Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital at 11.30 pm, a top police official told PTI. He was admitted to the hospital for the past few days. In a statement, Tata’s family said,”We his brothers, sisters, and family take solace and comfort in the outpouring of love and respect from all who admired him. Actor T P Madhavan passes away E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Kollam Veteran Malayalam actor T P Madhavan, known for his character roles, passed away on Wednesday. He was 86. Madhavan acted in over 600 films during a career spanning five decades. He was the first general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) and also served as its secretary . Madhavan breathed his last at 10.46am at NS Hospital in Kollam where he was undergoing treatment. In the last week of September, he experienced severe vomiting and was rushed to EMS Hospital in Pathanapuram. Though he was discharged after a day, Madhavan’s condition worsened after which he was admitted to NS Hospital. He underwent stomach surgery on October 3, and was placed on ventilator support. “He was suffering from gastrointestinal issues, and a cyst was found in his intestine, necessitating surgery. After the operation, his condition worsened, and he passed away,” said Susan Thomas, General Superintendent at Gandhi Bhavan, an old-age home in Pathanapuram where Madhavan spent ● More on P4 his last years.  16 pages, including 4 pages of THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Express While he is no longer with us in person, his legacy of humility, generosity and purpose will continue to inspire future generations.” In a statement, Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran said, “It is with a profound sense of loss that we bid farewell to Ratan Naval Tata, a truly uncommon leader whose immeasurable contributions have shaped not only the Tata Group but also the very fabric of our nation.’ Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a post on social media platform X, condoled the death of Tata saying he was “extremely pained by his passing away”. THE Congress on Wednesday came under fire from its INDIA bloc allies who squarely blamed the grand old party for the poll debacle in Haryana, with several leaders accusing it of being ‘arrogant, overconfident and entitled’ and giving less space to its regional allies. Launching a scathing attack, the Shiv Sena (UBT) attributed the Congress’s poor show to the ‘overconfidence and arrogance’ of the party’s state leadership. In an editorial of Sena’s mouthpiece Saamana, it asked the Congress leadership to introspect and learn from its mistakes. The jibe comes at a time when Congress and the alliance partners are engaged in seatsharing talks ahead of the Maharashtra elections, scheduled for later this year. “The INDIA alliance could not win in Haryana because the Congress felt they would win Congress leaders Pawan Khera, Ashok Gehlot, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Jairam Ramesh, K C Venugopal and others after meeting the Election Commission of India | Parveen Negi on their own and they did not need any other partner in power. If they had shared seats with the SP, AAP or other smaller parties, the results would have been different,” said Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut. The Congress’ Haryana unit had unit refused to accommodate the AAP and the SP though , senior leader Rahul Gandhi was in favour of it. The party suffered another setback as its Uttar Pradesh ally Samajwadi Par ty on Wednesday released a list of six candidates for the upcoming Assembly bypolls. Sources said Congress leaders were upset about the SP’s unilateral move as it came in the middle of ongoing talks. Meanwhile, leaders of AAP and TMC were unsparing towards the Congress. AAP leaders also ruled out any truck with the Congress in Delhi assembly elections, scheduled for early next year. Taking potshots at Congress, AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha penned a poem on X: “If you had cared about my wishes, it would have been a different matter, If you had taken care of our desires, it would have been a different evening. Today he too must be regretting leaving me, If we had walked together it would have been something else.” Several Opposition leaders including Congress’ Jammu and Kashmir ally Omar Abdullah, the Left parties, and Bihar ally RJD targeted the Congress and asked it to introspect and change its strategies. “Congress will have to go deep into it and find the reasons for its defeat,” Abdullah said. TMC MP Saket Gokhale said the attitude of not accommodating regional parties even in places where they felt they were winning, led to the shocking electoral setback. RBI keeps repo rate unchanged for 10th time Benn K o c h u v ee d a n @ Mumbai The Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday kept the repo rate unchanged at 6.5%, for the 10th time in a row, but changed its stance to ‘neutral’ that may lead to a cut in the forthcoming policies. According to analysts, the change in stance is the first step towards a rate cut and signals the beginning of easing cycle as early as December. H o w e v e r, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das, who completes his fiveyear term in Shaktikanta Das December, refused to accept the policy stance change is a pivot. “The prevailing and expected inflation-growth balance has created conditions for a shift in the monetary policy stance as there is greater confidence on last mile of disinflation,” he said. The retail inflation projection was retained at 4.5% for 2024-25. Guv’s charge baseless, says Pinarayi; CM lacks credibility, retorts Khan E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @T’Puram The chief minister and the governor sparred for the second day straight with Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday conveying his “protest” to the Raj Bhavan over Arif Mohammed Khan’s allegation that the CM had something to hide on alleged anti-national activities. Shortly after, Khan asserted his allegation and said Pinarayi lacked credibility . In a hard-hitting reply to the governor’s letter, Pinarayi said Pinarayi Vijayan Arif Mohammed Khan the allegation “of having something for me to hide is wholly unwarranted. I take strong exception to the said statement and, with utmost respect, place my protest before your good- self for making such farfetched and baseless allegations.” The CM said he had not issued any statement on anti-national or anti-state activities in the controversial interview that appeared in an English newspaper. “The daily has publicly acknowledged their error and expressed regrets for the same. Thus, it is now in public domain that I have not made any such statement in the interview. The denial on the part of my office and expression of re- gret by the newspaper are also in the public domain. In the said circumstances, I am of the opinion that there is no point in raking up a comment, which was not mine,” he said. Pinarayi said he did not mention about any anti-national activity at the press conference either. He only gave some statistical details on the interception and seizure by state police of smuggled gold, which has come through some of the airports in Kerala. It was the ac- tion taken by the police authorities in this regard that was explained before the media. “Gold smuggling is an activity which jeopardises the national economy and also is one of the causes of tax leakage to the Union and the state. I made a general statement in the press briefing that the said activities are crimes against the nation and that the state government is determined to take ster n and stringent action against such tendencies,” he ● More on P4 said. Kerala’s 1st woman IPS R Sreelekha joins BJP, mum on electoral foray E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @T’Puram R Sreelekha, the first woman IPS officer from Kerala and also the state’s first woman officer to adorn the Director General of Police (DGP) post, joined the BJP on Wednesday . She is the third ex-DGP-rank officer to have joined the BJP in the state, after T P Senkumar, who joined the party after his retirement in 2017, and Jacob Thomas, who became a BJP member in 2021 and contested unsuccessfully from the Irinjalakuda assembly constituency on a BJP ticket the same year. Sreelekha received the party membership from BJP state Former DGP R Sreelekha joins BJP in the presence of party state president K Surendran on Wednesday | B P Deepu president K Surendran at her residence at Easwara Vilasam in the state capital. Sreelekha, who retired from service in December 2020, said she joined the party owing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s charisma and BJP’s ideology She said . BJP leaders had approached her to join the party and she took the decision after contemplating on it for three weeks. “I had been an impartial officer in my 33-and-a-half years of service. After retirement, based on my experience, I realise this (joining the BJP) is my best way to serve the people,” she told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram. She refused to comment on whether she would enter parliamentary politics or not. Surendran said Sreelekha’s credentials as a top ranking police official were known to all. He said he was proud to hand over the party’s membership to Sreelekha during the Navaratri season, when women are worshipped as an epitome ● More on P4 of ‘Shakti’.  Curious looks A monkey approaches a girl eating snacks inside a vehicle parked at the Parambikulam Tiger Reserve in Palakkad | E Gokul due procedure Drama over Atishi’s ‘eviction’ from official house An u p Ve r m a @ New Delhi The never-ending political tussle between Delhi’s AAP government and the Lieutenant Governor has a new flashpoint: the Delhi chief minister’s official residence. Delhi Chief Minister Atishi’s office on Wednesday alleged that her official residence at 6, Flagstaff Road was forcibly vacated by Lieutenant Governor (L-G) V K Saxena on orders from the BJP . “For the first time in the history of the country, the Chief Minister’s residence was vacated. On the instructions of the BJP, L-G forcibly removed CM A man carrying goods on a cart leaves the residence of Delhi CM | PTI Atishi’s belongings from the CM residence. LG is preparing to allot the CM residence to a big BJP leader. The BJP which , has been out of power in Delhi for 27 years, is now trying to oc- cupy the CM residence,” the Chief Minister’s Office alleged in the statement. AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said, “Despite official correspondence, the CM residence had not been allotted to Atishi, who is the rightful allottee as CM of Delhi. Although a temporary office was set up at the residence and meetings were held, the staff was later evacuated, and it was declared that the office would not operate from there.” Sources at the L-G’s office, however, said the owner of the CM’s residence is the Public Works Department, which takes possession of the resi- dence after it is vacated, makes inventory of goods kept there, and then, allots it to the next chief minister. “This house has not been allotted to CM Atishi yet and her allotted residence is still 17 AB Mathura Road. CM Atishi herself kept her belongings in that house without allotment and then removed it herself. This bungalow will be allotted to the CM immediately after duly preparing the inventory,” the sources said. The BJP claimed that the bungalow was not handed over to the Public Works Department and its keys were still with Kejriwal. Court orders probe against CM over 2023 remarks E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Kochi The Ernakulam Chief Judicial Magistrate Court has ordered an inquiry under Section 202(1) of the CrPC against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for his remarks on the assault on Youth Congress workers last year. The probe was ordered on the basis of a complaint filed by Ernakulam DCC President Mohammed Shiyas. In November last year, YC workers were beaten up by DYFI men for waving black flags at the vehicle carrying the CM to a venue of Nava Kerala Sadas, the government’s public outreach programme. The next day Pinarayi had defended the , DYFI, saying they were trying t o s ave t h e l ive s o f YC activists. Shiyas alleged Pinarayi’s remarks incited criminal activities and hence, a case had to be registered against him. He said following the remark, YC workers were attacked regularly. The court, while considering the plea on October 3, ordered the Ernakulam Central police to conduct an investigation and file a report on December 7. Police said they are awaiting the court’s direction to proceed with the probe. They said an inquiry will be conducted into the complaint and a report filed in court, based on which a decision would be taken on registering an FIR.