vijayawada l thursday l december 05, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Reserve bank increases UPI Lite’s per-transaction limit to `1,000 The Reserve Bank of India also enhanced the on-device wallet’s total limit at any point in time from `2,000 at present to `5,000 move to widen Scope of offline payments... ...and to encourage digital transactions The central bank on Wednesday amended the ‘offline framework’ issued in January 2022 to facilitate small-value offline digital payments. Till now, the upper limit for a UPI Lite transaction was `500 and the maximum amount of money you could hold on your on-device wallet was `2,000. The RBI had announced its decision on raising the limits in October ■ ■ ■ Transaction and wallet limits are being raised to encourage wider adoption of the popular instant payment system UPI Lite payments don’t require an Additional Factor of Authentication like a PIN or a password and transaction alerts are not sent in real-time UPI Lite was introduced in 2022 with a per transaction limit of `200 516 mn is the Average number of daily UPI transactions in November 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 Naidu vows to chalk out plan to tackle ‘forceful acquisitions’ E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde, and NCP chief Ajit Pawar share a light moment during a press conference, in Mumbai on Wednesday | PTI Swearing-in today; November 25 tnie report said he was the likely cm pick Ajit Pawar to be dy chief minister; suspense continues over Shinde Fadnavis to be Maha CM ‘bjp-led govt will help state grow’ Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, BJP’s central observer for the legislature party meet, said on Wednesday that BJP governments in Maharashtra and the Centre will help the state become a greater economic powerhouse in the country No room for tainted leaders, allies told According to BJP sources, Fadnavis wants to have leaders with clean image in his cabinet so that his government can deliver on the poll promises. Alliance partners Shiv Sena and the NCP have reportedly been told not to recommend ‘tainted and painted’ MLAs as ministers | P8 SUD H IR SURYAWA N S H I @ Mumbai ENDING days of speculation, Devendra Fadnavis was on Wednesday unanimously elected the leader of Maharashtra BJP Legislative Party, paving the way for his swearing in as chief minister. This newspaper had on November 25 reported that Fadnavis was likely to be picked as Maharashtra chief minister. Fadnavis will take oath on Thursday at 5.30 pm, after Governor C P Radhakrishnan invited him to form the new government in the state. Two deputy chief ministers, including NCP leader Ajit Pawar, will also be sworn in at the ceremony at the sprawling Azad Maidan in south Mumbai on Thursday . There is no clarity on whether Shiv Sena leader and outgo- ing CM and Eknath Shinde will be a part of the new government, though Fadnavis said he has requested him to join. In the joint press conference with Fadnavis and Pawar, Shinde said he has offered his support to the new government to be led by Fadnavis, but he refused to clarify whether he will become deputy chief minister. Shinde said he needs time to think over it and he will take the decision by consulting his people. Meanwhile, Shinde is facing pressure from his party to join the government. “We are hopeful that Shinde saheb will listen to us and be part of the government,” said Shiv Sena MLA and former minister Uday Samant. Sources said Shinde has demanded the home portfolio with an added condition that Rahul stopped from visiting Sambhal P r ee t h a n a i r @ New Delhi A Congress delegation led by Rahul Gandhi was on Wednesday stopped by the Uttar Pradesh police from visiting the violence-hit Sambhal district where prohibitory orders were in place. “We want to go to Sambhal and see what happened there. We want to meet the people but I’m not being allowed my constitutional right. This is a new India where attempts are on to end Ambedkar’s Constitution,” he said. Congress leaders, including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and general secretary K C Venugopal, were sent back to Delhi after a two-hour standoff at the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border. Holding up a copy of the Constitution in his hand at the Gazipur border, Rahul termed the police action as undemocratic. Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra at the Ghazipur border on Wednesday | PTI Rahul said though he was ready to go alone to Sambhal in a police vehicle, the police did not heed to his request. “I said that I am ready to go alone, I am ready to go with the police, but they did not accept BJP slams rahul The BJP on Wednesday flayed Rahul Gandhi for trying to visit Sambhal without giving prior intimation to authorities that either. Now they are saying that if we come back in a few days, they will let us go”. Violence erupted in Sambhal on November 24 over a courtordered survey of a mosque, killing four people and injuring several others. “He is different from other people. He cannot be stopped. He has the constitutional right to go and meet the victims, he should be allowed,” Wayanad MP Priyanka said. there should not be any interference in his ministry Shinde . has also handed over the list of names of probable ministers from the Shiv Sena to Fadnavis, who said he would consult the BJP’s top leadership and get back on the demands. “There is pressure over Shinde by his own MLAs and former ministers to be part of the new government. The BJP is offering urban development revenue ministry instead of home ministry We are confi... dent that he will accept the deal,” said a BJP leader. This is the third time in 10 years that Fadnavis is becoming the chief minister of Maharashtra. In 2014, he made history as the state’s first Brahmin chief minister in nearly 40 years. In 2019, he managed to form government with the help of Ajit Pawar but it lasted only a few days. express read Maths teacher found dead, murder suspected Kadapa: A probe was launched into the death of a mathematics teacher at Kothapalli Zilla Parishad Urdu High School in Annamayya district. The deceased, Ajias Ahmed (46) from Rayochoti, was allegedly attacked by three Class IX students after they were reprimanded for fighting. It is suspected that the injuries sustained may have contributed to his death | P3 Bangladesh polls only after reforms: Yunus Dhaka: Bangladesh interim government’s Chief Adviser and Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus said the Sheikh Hasina regime ‘destroyed everything’, as he pledged to hold general elections only after ushering in constitutional and judicial reforms, Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha reported on Wednesday citing an interview he gave to a Japanese newspaper | P9 Taking serious note of the alleged forceful acquisition of assets and shares in companies by mafia gangs, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu revealed that the State government will study laws in Maharashtra which address such issues. In an informal interaction with newsmen at the NTR Bhavan (TDP headquarters) on Wednesday, Naidu expressed his dismay over the rising trend of corporate crimes and alarming rise in incidents of extortion. The State government is chalking out strong laws to tackle this menace, the Chief Minister said, asserting that it is the State government’s responsibility to bring such criminals to book and ensure kspl shares row The Chief Minister enquired about the alleged forceful acquisition of shares in KSPL and KSEZ and sought to know if it could be brought under the ambit of the AP Land Grabbing (Prevention) Bill 2024 justice to victims. He mentioned that he had enquired officials about forceful acquisition of shares in KSPL (Kakinada Seaports Limited), and KSEZ (Kakinada Special Economic Zone) and sought to know if it could be brought under the ambit of the AP Land Grabbing (Prevention) Bill 2024. It is pertinent to note that the Crime Investigation Department (APCID), based on a complaint filed by Karnati Venkateswara Rao of KVR Group, a shareholder in Kakinada Seaports Limited (KSPL), registered a case against Y Vikranth Reddy, son of YSRC MP YV Subba Reddy, another YSRC MP V Vijayasai Reddy, his son-in-law Sarath Chandra Reddy PKF , Sridhar and Santhanam LLP and Aurobindo Realty and Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, its directors and others for fraudulently acquiring KSPL shares of KVR Group. Commenting on the nature of land transactions after 2019, the Chief Minister promised that genuine deals will not be affected and clarity on the matter would emerge during Revenue Sadassulu scheduled to commence on December 6. P4 Adelaide: India cricketers heckled and body-shamed E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Chennai Police in plain clothes subdue a man (in black pants)who tried to shoot Sukhbir Singh Badal | PTI The suspect being taken away by the police | PTI Sukhbir Badal narrowly escapes assassination bid ullar said, “One of the police personnel Rashpal Singh saw Shiromani Akali Dal Chaura and followed him. As (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh he tried to fire at Badal, two Badal on Wednesday narrow- other police personnel, Jasly escaped an assassination bir Singh and Parminder attempt outside the Golden Singh, overpowered him and Temple in Amritsar. the bullet hit a wall.” Badal was performBhullar said 175 poing the duty of ‘sewalice personnel in plain dar’ at the main gate clothes were deployed We demand a of the shrine when a at the site. The fore high court former Babbar Khalsa was headed by an monitored International terror- probe into the AIG - l eve l o f f i c e r. i s t N a r a i n S i n g h entire incident Chaura was arrested Chaura tried to shoot to unmask the at the spot. He was alentire him around 9.30 am, ready facing charges conspiracy but missed. in 30 cases, including behind it Standing a few meone under the Exploters away from Badal, sives Act. Bikram Singh Chaura took out a pisPronouncing punMajithia, SAD tol and tried to shoot ishment for Badal and leader Badal, but was quickother leaders for the ly subdued by the security “mistakes” committed by his personnel in plain clothes. A government in Punjab from bullet was fired, which 2007 to 2017, the Akal Takht missed Badal and hit a wall. had directed Badal to wash Amritsar Police Commis- dishes and clean shoes at the sioner Gurpreet Singh Bh- Golden Temple. H a r p r ee t B a j w a @ Chandigarh Perhaps, the organisers never expected such a crowd. The open nets session for India at Adelaide before the second day and night Test match against Australia turned carnivalesque. Almost. It turned into chaos. About 3,000 (some put that figure at 5,000) spectators descended at the practice wickets at Adelaide to watch their favourite stars going through their practice rituals. According to reports, the crowd started to laugh and tease players whenever they got out or were missing the ball. On the other hand, Australia team practice did not see a turnout of over 100 people. Things started to turn ugly as some of the spectators started to request for selfies, even while batting, and if reports are to be believed, some were even doing Facebook live from the practice centre. Reports indicated that players were even laughed and mocked at. The crowd seemed to have gone personal, attacking a certain player for fitness. What really irked the team was that the vociferous crowd distracted them and concentration while batting was getting difficult. “It was complete chaos. During the Australian training session, not more than 70-odd people turned up but during India’s session, 3,000 came. No one expected so many fans to turn up,” a senior Indian cricket board official told a news agency. The anonymity cricketers held may be in the last century is slowly changing with more engagement from the South Asians in Australia. The BCCI has banned all net sessions after this. P11 conundrum Andhra emerges as an inspiring example in natural farming... B a n d h a v i Ann a m @ Guntur A n dhr a P r a desh h a s emerged as an epitome for implementation of natural farming with over 10.37 lakh farmers trained under the Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming (APCNF) programme initiated by RySS (Rythu Sadhikara Samstha), a not-for-profit organisation under the Department of Agriculture in the State. Natural farming has been in the spotlight since the Union Cabinet on November 25 approved the launch of the National Mission on Natural Farming to reach one crore farmers and initiate the practice in 7.5 lakh hectares area across the country over the next two years. In this context, Andhra Pradesh has set an inspiring example as natural farming was practised in just a few hectares in 2016, compared to 4.7 lakh hectares currently. APC- NF has now grown into one of the largest agroecology projects in Asia with over a million f a r m e r s e n ro l l e d i n t h e programme. Welcoming the Central government’s mission to encoura g e adoption of natural farming, RySS Executive ViceChairman Vijay Kumar said the APCNF programme is proof that climate-resilient and chemical-free farming is not just a dream, but a feasible P5 reality . ...but 240 seats remain vacant in agriculture & horticulture courses K K a lya n K r i s hn a K u m a r @ Vijayawada State sets target to turn pesticide-free by 2030 Currently, over 10.37 lakh farmers trained under the APCNF programme practice natural farming in over 4.7 lakh hectares. RySS is aiming to take this programme to over 60 lakh farmers. The State government has also set an ambitious target to free Andhra Pradesh from pesticides by 2030 A total of 245 seats in agriculture and horticulture courses remain vacant across the State due to lack of awareness and inadequate publicity These va. cancies include 140 seats in private colleges affiliated to Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU) and 105 seats in colleges under Dr YSR H o r t i c u l t u r a l U n ive r s i t y (DRYSRHU). Of the 105 seats, 36 are in government and 69 in private institutions. As of November 26, out of the 1,601 total seats in 15 agriculture colleges, including nine government and six private, 1,461 have been filled. Seats were allocated based on APEAPCET (Andhra Pradesh Engineering, Agriculture and Pharmacy Common Entrance Test) ranks via counselling. Despite two rounds of web counselling and a mop-up round, officials are struggling to fill these seats. Of the remaining 140 vacancies, 26 fall under the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) category Parents believe . that poor publicity is the cause for the low enrolment in agriculture-related courses. Speaking to TNIE, Sasi Kumar, a parent from Vijayawada, urged the government to take initiatives to promote agriculture and horticulture courses, stressing that their value will see manifold growth in the fuP5 ture.
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