KOCHI l friday l November 29, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 18 l LATE city EDITION TRAI assures no delay in OTP delivery as new rules to kick in New regulations to take effect on Dec 1 The regulator said the new regulations meant to improve message traceability and combat fraud will not affect the delivery of bank OTPs The new norms, likely to take effect on Sunday, will require telecom service providers to trace the origin of bulk messages, including one-timepasswords. Some reports had said this would delay delivery of messages, including OTPs. “This is factually incorrect. It will not delay delivery of any message,” the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India said in a post on X ■ TRAI Oct deadline pushed on telecos’ request ■ TRAI has directed telecom providers, including Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, to implement traceability in their systems October 31 was initially fixed as the date for the new regulations to kick in. But this deadline was extended amid concerns raised by telecom operators about potential for service disruptions | P12 had proposed to increase scrutiny of users sending over 50smses a day 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 Will religious practices crumble if elephants aren’t paraded, asks HC Bangladesh Buzz on tough talk as Jaishankar meets Modi PR E E T HA N AIR @ New Delhi AMID escalating tensions in Bangladesh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the situation. There is speculation that Jaishankar may make a statement in both Houses of Parliament on Friday if there , are no disruptions. In response to this newspaper’s query on the possibility of the government making a statement on the issue, Jaishankar said, “We haven’t decided anything yet”. Sources said Jaishankar’s meeting with Modi lasted for half an hour. The meeting comes in the wake of the recent arrest of Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das and the increasing attacks on minorities in Bangladesh. Meanwhile, MoS for external affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said in the Rajya Sabha that it is the responsibility of the Muhammad Yunus-led administration to protect the minorities. In a written reply to a question, he said New Delhi has expressed its concerns to Dhaka. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said officials of the foreign ministry will brief the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs on Bangladesh on December 11. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed concerns over the attacks on religious minorities in Bangladesh but said she will abide by the Centre’s decision. In a relief to ISKCON, the Bangladesh High Court on Thursday rejected a petition filed by a lawyer seeking a ban on the group’s activities the country. The petition was moved after a prosecutor was killed in clashes between security personnel and supporters of Chinmoy, who was earlier linked to ISKCON. Priyanka makes debut Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi takes pictures of sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra after she took oath as a Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad, holding a copy of the Constitution and clad in traditional Kerala saree, on Thursday. (Inset) The photo Rahul shot and shared on Instagram. Parliament remained paralysed for the third day over Manipur and Adani row | PTI | P9 Declining to relax the 3-metre distance rule between elephants during parades, the Kerala High Court on Thursday orally observed, “Will religious practices crumble if elephants are not paraded during temple festivals? How is it an essential religious practice?” A division bench comprising Justice A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Gopinath P made the observation while hearing an application filed by the Cochin Devaswom Board seeking certain exemptions from the guidelines issued by the court, for the Vrishchikolsavam 2025 at Poornathrayeesa Temple in Tripunithura, which begins on Friday . The court declined to modify its interim guidelines mandating a minimum 3-metre distance between elephants dur- Mahayuti leaders discuss Maha power-share formula with Shah Eknath Shinde, Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar hold talks with the Union home minister S u d h i r S u r ya w a n s h i @ Mumbai Eight days after the ruling Mahayuti’s thumping victory in Maharashtra, its leaders Devendra Fadnavis, Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar held talks with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi amid indications that the final call on chief ministership could be made in a day or two. The meeting is also expected to discuss cabinet berths. Highly placed sources said out of total 42 ministerial slots in the outgoing government, the BJP wants to retain at least 50% while giving the Shiv Sena 30% and the NCP 20%. Sources said the RSS wants a senior party leader elevated as chief minister, adding the message has been conveyed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “RSS was silent in Lok Sabha polls, therefore BJP’s tally crashed from 23 to 9 in Maharashtra. But in the state polls, its cadre was active and that changed the final outcome. We have to promote a strong and young leader, therefore this is the best time to elevate Fadnavis as CM and later project him as the face of the BJP at the Centre,” said sources requesting anonymity . However, the BJP top brass is considering other names as well. “Fadnavis is a Brahmin. In the state elections, OBCs voted unitedly for the Mahayuti as did Marathas in large numbers. So, the BJP leadership is evaluating if they have a suitable OBC or Maratha candidate in the party for the top post, hence the delay in the final call,” said top sources. Ajit Pawar is certain to retain his position as deputy 50:30:20 BJP proposes a 50:30:20 formula for portfolio sharing with Shiv Sena and NCP Ajit Pawar hoping to keep all plum portfolios he had in the outgoing government BJP uneasy with Shinde’s proposal on promoting his son as deputy chief minister chief minister (DCM) and wants to keep the weighty portfolios he held in the previous government. He is pushing for finance, agriculture etc. Shinde wants Home and Urban Development if he is not made the chief minister. “Shinde proposed that his son Shrikant Shinde be elevated as DCM but the BJP is lukewarm, as it would weaken its campaign against dynasts. Shinde, however, argues that it is for the Shiv Sena to decide its DCM candidate, not the BJP. The flux has prompted many senior Sena leaders to enter the DCM ring,” said sources. Sources said many senior NCP and Sena ministers in the last government are unsure whether they will be part of the new dispensation. “Keeping everyone happy this time around will be tough because the number of MLAs is more. The massive mandate is good for stability but it is not easy to keep everyone in good humour,” said a senior NCP leader requesting anonymity . study findings Kerala topped growth in regular-wage jobs over last 5 years R a j e s h R a v i @ Kochi Labour Dynamics in Kerala 24.4 40.5 38.9 39.4 36.2 39.7 33.9 26.1 20.6 20 40.3 33.6 26.4 30 23.6 40 Self employed Regular wages/salary Casual labour 41.7 34.7 (%) 50 38.6 32.7 28.7 Amid a gloomy national employment outlook, a study by India Ratings and Research says that Kerala achieved the highest growth in regular-wage jobs among all major states over the last five years. Kerala registered a 6.2 percentage points (pp) increase in salaried or regular-wage earners between 2018-19 and 2023-24, during which period the national average fell 2 pp. The ‘State Labour Force Digest’, published by the Fitch File pic E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Kochi 10 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 subsidiary provides a compre, hensive analysis of labour dynamics across 28 states, covering various employment and Proportion of workers according to broad status of employment (%) * Source-State Labour Force Digest- Mapping Labour Dynamics Across Indian States : India Ratings and Research wage parameters. The report draws on data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), NSSO, and other sourc- es, offering insights into subnational labour trends from the second quarter of FY20 to the first quarter of FY25. At 38.9%, Kerala had a much higher share of regular wage/ salaried workers in 2023-24, Paras Jasrai, senior analyst at India Ratings and Research, said. “During 2018-19, the share of regular-wage/salaried workers in total jobs for Kerala stood at 32.7%. This was a record high for the state, indicating that workers are finding regular-wage jobs. Notably this was , much higher than the national average of 23.2%,” he told TNIE. Paras said the share of the private sector in non-agriculture jobs in Kerala has increased gradually to 8.2% in 2023-24 from 6% in 2018-19 (preCovid period). Over the same time, the share of workers in the public sector inched up to 12.7%. The proportion of workers engaged in agricultural activities in the state stood at 27% in 2023-24. This was followed by trade, transportation & storage and construction at 21.3% and 13.4%, respectively ● More on P4 . ‘Comply with guidelines’ The Cochin Devaswom Board (CDB) sought certain exemptions from guidelines, including 3-metre distance rule, during elephant parades for Vrishchikolsavam at the Poornathrayeesa temple in Tripunithura, beginning on Friday. The court directed the devaswom to comply with all the conditions in the guidelines. ing festival parades, highlighting that the directive was essential to ensure the welfare of elephants, in compliance with constitutional mandates. “Until the devaswom board proves that religious practices cease to exist without elephants, there is no question of it being an essential religious practice,” said the court. Regarding the petition filed by the CDB to reduce the 3-metre distance rule, Dr P S Easa, an elephant expert and wildlife biologist, who appeared online, said captive elephants used in festivals are reportedly suffer from stress, which can lead to aggression. He said attempting to accommodate more elephants in a small space could result in significant issues. “If the personal comfort space is invaded, elephants may exhibit symptoms of withdrawal or aggression. Most of the incidents of elephants running amok in Kerala reportedly occurred when the animals were forced to stand too close together,” he noted. ● More on P4 Mild-intensity blast in Delhi’s Rohini area, second in forty days UJWAL JALALI @ New Delhi chemical cocktail Preliminary examination suggested traces of ammonium nitrate, hydrogen peroxide and some sulphur compounds. They were in a polythene bag It is probably similar to what was found last time outside CRPF school. Its composition will be examined thoroughly FSL official A mild-intensity explosion at the entrance of a park near Delhi Police’s Crime Branch office in Rohini on Thursday cocked a snook at the security apparatus in the national capital at a time when Parliament is in session. This was the second blast in Rohini’s Prashant Vihar area in the past 40 days. On October 20, a mysterious blast had taken place near Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) school in Rohini. Its probe is still underway . Thursday’s blast took place just 2 km away from the site of the earlier explosion outside the CRPF school. It left the driver of a milk distribwution van injured. He was identified as Chetan Khushwaha, 27. There was no damage to his van, though. “He was taken to Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital from where he was discharged after first aid,” a senior officer said. A Delhi Fire Service officer said a call regarding an explosion near Bansi Sweet Shop, Prashant Vihar, Rohini was received at 11.48 am following which four fire tenders were rushed to the spot. Senior police officers also reached the site followed by multiple security agencies, including the bomb disposal squad of the National Security Guard (NSG) and National Investigative Agency (NIA). Investigators gathered fragments of ‘white powder’ from the site and sent them to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL). They also recovered small wires, which indicate that they could have been used to detonate the bomb. NSG personnel at the site of the blast in Delhi’s Rohini on Thursday | Parveen Negi 18 pages, including 4 pages of KOCHI Express