visakhapatnam l thursday l october 17, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Diwali bonanza for Central govt staff/pensioners as DA/DR up 3% The government’s decision is with effect from July 1 this year and will benefit more than 1 crore employees and pensioners ahead of Diwali DA/DR now at 53% of basic pay/pension cABINET CLEARS HIGHER MSP FOR RABI CROPS Earlier, the Centre had hiked DA/DR by 4 percentage points to 50% from January 1 , 2024. With the latest hike, DA and DR are now 53% of the basic pay/pension of central government employees / pensioners. The DA hike is based on the 12-month average of All India Consumer Price Index-Industrial Workers, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said after the Cabinet meeting ■ ■ The Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also cleared the price hikes for six rabi crops, with increases ranging from `130 to `300 per quintal for 2025-26 marketing season beginning April 2025 The Minimum Support Price for wheat has been increased by `150 to `2,425 per quintal, a move that comes ahead of key state elections | P7 `9,448 crore Estimated Financial implication of the da/DR hike on the Central government 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 violated Naidu unveils 5-yr plan for 20L jobs sovereignty of Canada: Trudeau S g u r u s r i k a n t h @ Vijayawada US, UK, and other members of the Five Eyes group ask India to probe Canadian charges Y e s h i S e l i @ New Delhi of suspects. The RCMP felt it had reached the threshold as it Canadian Prime Minister was soon turning to be a threat Justin Trudeau on Wednesday to public safety he added. , said there were clear indicaTrudeau said that when he tions that India had violated apprised Prime Minister NarenCanadian sovereignty alluding dra Modi in September 2023 (on , to the murder of Khalistani the sidelines of the G20 Summit radical Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Delhi) about the informain British Columbia last year. tion, he said that there were CaHe was testifying before a nadians who were involved in federal commission probing hate speeches and India would into foreign interferlike them arrested. “I ence in the country. told Modi that the Trudeau named gangpeople in Canada had ster Lawrence Bishfreedom of speech noi jailed in India, as and we would work one of the conduits with India if it came for criminal activito terrorism.’’ ties in Canada at the Earlier in the day, India asked alleged behest of the Canada’s allegations for proof Modi government. found resonance in Trudeau said Indi- Trudeau said they the Five Eyes intellian diplomats were engaged with the gence alliance it is collecting informa- Modi govt as they part of. The grouping tion of Canadians wanted to know if includes the UK, the who were opponents Indian agencies US, Australia, and of or in disagreement were involved in New Zealand. “When with the Modi gov- harming Canadians it comes to the Canaernment. They passed as they needed to dian matter, we have the information to be accountable. made it clear that the their gover nment, But India sought allegations are exw h i c h e m p l o y e d evidence, he said tremely serious and criminals like the they need to be taken Lawrence Bishnoi gang to seriously And we wanted to see . harm Canadians, he alleged. the government of India coopThe Royal Canada Mounted erate with Canada in its invesPolice (RCMP) wanted to dis- tigation,” State Department rupt this chain, which is why spokesman Matthew Miller they went public on Monday he told reporters. “Obviously they , , said. “We wanted to question have not,” he said. “They have the Indian diplomats but since chosen an alternate path.” they didn’t agree we asked As for Britain, its Foreign them to leave the country .’’ Commonwealth and DevelopTrudeau alleged that Indian ment Office said, “The Governdiplomats were involved in cov- ment of India’s cooperation ert, clandestine activities, and with Canada’s legal process is were withholding family visas the right next step.” Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday unveiled a comprehensive industrial and economic policy with six components to boost industrial growth with focus on job creation, fostering entrepreneurship, addressing climate change, and ultimately generating wealth for the State. The new policies — Industrial Development Policy, MSME & Entrepreneur Development Policy Food Processing , Policy, Electronics Policy, Private Parks Policy and Integrat, ed Clean Energy Policy — were discussed and approved during the State Cabinet meeting, chaired by Naidu, on Wednesday . Briefing mediapersons on the policies and decisions taken, the Chief Minister said the TDP-led NDA government in the State will forge ahead with the slogan ‘Think Globally and Act Globally’ to achieve its ultimate goal of creating 20 lakh jobs over the next five years. “In the knowledge economy, distance is not a criterion. We Cabinet nod for three sub-committees Cabinet approves 6 policies with timeline of five years Food Processing Policy Industrial Development Policy Electronics Policy Private Parks Policy Integrated Clean Energy Policy MSME & Entrepreneur Development Policy have to think and act globally to succeed,” he remarked. Reiterating that people should aspire to be job givers and not job seekers, Naidu said ‘One Family - One Entrepreneur’ is the cornerstone of the new industrial policies of Andhra Pradesh. “This is possible The Cabinet approved setting up of three cabinet sub-committees. IT Minister N Lokesh will head the subcommittee tasked with creating 20 lakh jobs, while Civil Supplies Minister Nadendla Manohar will head the panel which will look after the price stabilisation of essential commodities. Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha will work to free the State from ganja and other narcotics. A special Anti-Narcotics Task Force will also be created ‘One Family - One Entrepreneur’ is the cornerstone of the new industrial policies of Andhra Pradesh as we believe that people should aspire to be job givers instead of job seekers N Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister with focus on MSMEs and proper skill training. A special corpus of `500 crore each will be set up for MSMEs and the food processing industry,” he explained. Further, he stressed that unlike previous policies where the volume and value of invest- ments were prioritised, the coalition government’s focus will be on generating a large number of jobs. The government has set a target to attract investments to the tune of `30,000 crore in the food processing industry and generate three lakh jobs. P4 AIS officers duty-bound to serve wherever they are posted: TG HC rains wreak havoc in Rayalaseema As the low pressure system in Bay of Bengal intensified into a depression, Sullurupeta in Tirupati district recorded the highest rainfall at 22 cm. In Nellore, 900 people were relocated to 14 relief centres page 3 E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ Hyderabad The Telangana High Court on Wednesday dismissed all seven writ petitions filed by All India Service (AIS) officers and directed them to report to their respective State cadres by the end of the day in compliance with the orders of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). Justices Abhinandan Kumar Shavili and Laxmi Narayana Alishetty were hearing the writ petitions challenging the DoPT directive, which ordered their reassignment to their originally allotted State cadres. AIS officers Ronald Rose, Vani Prasad, Amrapali Kata and Karuna Vakati were originally allocated to Andhra Pradesh, but were working in Telangana. AP officers relieved Dr Gummella Srijana, Sivasankar Lotheti, and Chevvuru Hari Kiran were relieved from Andhra Pradesh and asked to report to Telangana Chief Secretary A Santhi Kumari Likewise, Hari Kiran, Srijana Gummala and Sivasankar Lotheti, who were originally allotted to Telangana, were serving in Andhra Pradesh. They were ordered to join their respective State cadres by October 16. These officers had moved the High Court, seeking suspension of the directive of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) until November 4, 2024, when their case would be heard by the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) P4 in Hyderabad. Terrorism won’t boost trade, Jaishankar’s veiled dig at Pak YE S HI S ELI @ New Delhi Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif (R) greets EAM S Jaishankar in Islamabad | PTI Informal Talks Foreign minister S Jaishankar and his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar held casual talks on two occasions since Tuesday evening, sources said Taking a jab at Pakistan’s policy of nurturing and exporting terror, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday that three evils—terrorism, extremism, and separatism—are holding back regional cooperation initiatives. Speaking at the 23rd Shanghai Corporation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Islamabad, Jaishankar said these evils should be rooted out before any progress can be made on trade and people-topeople connect. “ O u r e n d e avo u r s w i l l progress only when our commitment to the SCO Charter remains firm… this means be- ing firm and uncompromising in countering the ‘three evils’. If activities across borders are characterized by terrorism, extremism and separatism, they are hardly likely to encourage trade, energy flows, connectivity and people-topeople exchanges in parallel,” Jaishankar said in remarks that were seen as directed towards Pakistan. In a veiled reference to China, with which India has an ongoing border dispute, Jaishankar said that trade and connectivity initiatives must recognise territorial integrity and sovereignty, and it is essential to have an “honest conversation” on lack of trust. “If trust is lacking or coop- eration inadequate, if friendship has fallen short and good neighbourliness is missing somewhere, there are surely reasons to introspect and causes to address,” he added in an indirect reference to China’s assertive behaviour. Jaishankar also emphasised the need for comprehensive reform of the UN Security Council to make the global body more representative, transparent and efficient. “The SCO must be in the lead of advocating such change, not hold back on a matter of such importance,” he said. Ahead of the deliberations, Pakistan PM Shebaz Sharif shook hands with Jaishankar and received him. Blindfold off from SC’s new Statue of Justice @ New Delhi A new Statue of Justice unveiled in the Supreme Court library for judges does not have the iconic blindfold and the sword. The new open-eyed statue instead holds a copy of the Constitution of India in the left hand. There, however, is no change in the scales of justice in her right hand. Commissioned by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, the idea behind removing the blindfold was to send a message that the law is not blind in the country The blindfold in the co. lonial era statue signified equality before the law. And the sword had represented authority and the power to punish injustice. A well placed source said Justice Chandrachud believes that India should move forward from the British legacy. According to the CJI, the law is never blind; it sees everyone equally . Quoting the CJI, the source said, “the statue should have the Constitution in one hand and not a sword, so that a message goes out to the country that she dispenses jus- Boy held for hoax bomb threats to three flights S HE K HAR S INGH & U J WAL J ALALI @ New Delhi colonial legacy Purged S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y New beginning Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha being greeted by Chief Ministerdesignate Omar Abdullah before the latter’s swearing-in, in Srinagar | PTI | P8 tice according to the Constitution.” While the sword is a symbol of violence, courts deliver justice according to constitutional laws, Justice Chandrachud reasoned. The court complex already has a mural on the Lady of Justice in classical Indian attire with more or less the same theme. Holding the scales of justice in her right hand and looking upward at the scales, she stands atop a lotus. On the other hand is the Constitution of India. Murals of Mahatma Gandhi and the Chakra complete the iconography in that restricted section of the court. AT least 20 flights had to be grounded at different airports in and outside the country in the past 48 hours following hoax bomb threats, prompting the Ministry of Home Affairs to seek a report from the civil aviation ministry . Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu on Wednesday chaired a high-level meeting of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security and CISF. “I am deeply concerned over the recent disruptive acts targeting Indian airlines, affecting both domestic and international operations... our law enforcement agencies are pursuing all the cases,” he said. Senior aviation ministry officials said that the threats targeted four IndiGo flights, two SpiceJet, and one Akasa Air, causing disruption and concern among passengers. “Six hoax threats were received on Monday seven on Tuesday and , as many on Wednesday an of,” ficial told this newspaper. Multiple FIRs have been filed by law enforcement agencies of different states, which include three cases being registered by Mumbai Police and eight by Delhi Police. Meanwhile, the Mumbai Police has detained a 17-year-old boy from Chhattisgarh’s Rajnandgaon for allegedly sending threats to three flights. The boy reportedly created a social media account in his friend’s name to send the threats. Notice issued to Sajjala in TDP office attack case E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ Guntur Mangalagiri police on Wednesday issued a notice to senior YSRC leader Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy in connection with the attack on TDP’s central office in 2021, asking him to appear for investigation at 10.30 am on Thursday . Sajjala, who had served as the government advisor under the previous YSRC regime, has been listed as accused number 131 in the case pertaining to the attack on the Telugu Desam Party headquarters in Magalagiri, Guntur district. It may be pointed out that the High Court of Andhra Pradesh had directed the police not to take any coercive action against Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy till October 25. Subsequently, the court had posted the matter of his anticipatory bail plea for hearing on the same date. On October 4, the High Court gave Sajjala interim protection from arrest while directing him to cooperate in the investigation of the case. According to Mangalagiri Rural Circle Inspector (CI) Srinivasa Rao, over 65 people have been interrogated and 28 accused have been arrested in the case. Earlier this week, Guntur SP issued a Look Out Circular (LOC), following which Sajjala was stopped by immigration officials at the New Delhi Airport on Monday. He was returning from an overseas trip and was P4 heading to Hyderabad. express read Two charge memos against ABV withdrawn Vijayawada: The State government has withdrawn two charge memos served on former Intelligence chief and retired IPS officer AB Venkateswara Rao, giving him a major relief from appearing before the commission of inquiries further | P4 UK weighing sanctions against Israel ministers London: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the government was considering sanctions against far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich. He said there are obviously abhorrent comments and really concerning activities in West Bank | P9
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17-10-2024 of The New Indian Express-Vishakapatnam