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 The central bank on Wednesday amended the ‘offline framework’ issued in January 2022 to facilitate smallvalue 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 RBI had announced its decision on raising limits in Oct chennai l thursday l december 05, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 18 l late city EDITION 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 india tour of oz team india heckled & body-shamed Sukhbir Singh Badal shot at, escapes unhurt E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Chennai Devendra Fadnavis, Eknath Shinde, and Ajit Pawar share a light moment during a press conference, in Mumbai on Wednesday | pti Fadnavis to be Maha CM Swearing-in today; TNIE had earlier reported he was likely CM pick ‘bjp-led govt will help state grow’ Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, BJP’s central observer for the legislature party meet, said BJP govts in Maharashtra and Centre will help the state become a greater economic powerhouse in the country No tainted leaders, allies told According to BJP sources, Fadnavis wants his ministers to have clean image. Alliance partners Shiv Sena and NCP have been told not to recommend ‘tainted and painted’ MLAs as ministers | P10 S U D H IR S U R YA W A 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 confir mation on whether Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde will be a part of the new government, but reports said he would also take oath as deputy CM. 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 also facing pressure from his party to join the government. “We are hopeful 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 there should not be any interference in his ministry Shinde . has also handed over the list of names for ministers from 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 confident that he will accept the deal,” said a BJP leader. 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 3000 (some put that figure to 5000) 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 more than 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 also indicated that players were even laughed and mocked at. The crowd also seemed to have gone personal attacking 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, 3000 came. No one expected so many fans to turn up,” a senior Indian cricket board official told a news agency  . P13 H a r p r ee t B a j w a @ Chandigarh Police in plain clothes subdue the attacker (in black pants). Inset: the suspect | PTI We demand a probe to unmask the conspiracy Bikram Singh Majithia, SAD leader Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Wednesday narrowly escaped an assassination attempt outside the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Badal was performing the duty of ‘sewadar’ at the main gate of the shrine when a former Babbar Khalsa International terrorist Narain Singh Chaura tried to shoot him around 9.30 am, but missed. Standing a few meters away from Badal, Chaura took out a pistol from his pocket and tried to shoot Badal, but was quickly subdued by the security personnel in plain clothes. A bullet was fired, which missed Badal and hit a wall. Detailing the incident, Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said, “One of the police personnel Rashpal Singh saw Chaura and followed him. As he tried to fire at Badal, two other police personnel, Jasbir Singh and Parminder Singh, overpowered him and the bullet hit a wall.” Bhullar said 175 police personnel in plain clothes were deployed at the site. The fore was headed by an AIG-level officer. Chaura was arrested at the spot and his gun was seized by the police. He was already facing charges in 30 cases, including one under the Explosives Act. Pronouncing ‘tankhah’ (religious punishment) for Sukhbir Singh Badal and other leaders for the “mistakes” committed by his government in Punjab from 2007 to 2017, the Akal Takht had on Monday directed Badal to wash dishes and clean shoes at the Golden Temple in Amritsar as a ‘sewadar’. Badal has a Z-plus security cover, which means both Punjab Police and the central forces are part of his protection detail. express read Forces trying to exploit people’s woes: Stalin Adani firm may win TN smart meter project bid Mahavishnu row: Rigid rules for school events Rahul stopped from going to Sambhal Chennai: After laying foundation for 79 projects worth `1,383 crore on Wednesday, CM said, ‘‘Steps taken by us minimised cyclone losses but a few political forces are trying to exploit people’s suffering for their gain’’ | P5 Chennai: Adani Energy Solutions Limited may secure TNEB’s first package for smart metering project, sources said. TNEB floated tenders in August 2023 to install three crore smart meters across the state | P7 Chennai: Three months after the Mahavishnu controversy, the school education department issued guidelines, forming state and district vetting committees to regulate who can be invited for events in schools | P6 Lucknow: A delegation led by Congress leader and the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on its way to violence-hit Sambhal was stopped by Uttar Pradesh Police at Ghazipur border on Wednesday | P10