The New Indian Express wishes its readers a HYDERABAD l wednesday l january 01, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late cITY EDITION India’s Core sector production improves to 4.3% in November Output of cement, coal, steel, electricity, refinery products, and fertilisers showed positive growth in November, commerce ministry data showed Cement sector emerges top performer Output Growth hits four-month high Coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement, and electricity are the eight infrastructure industries collectively known as the core sector. The cement sector grew 13% in November, followed by coal at 7.5%, steel 4.8%, electricity 3.8%, petroleum refinery products 2.9%, and fertilisers 2%. Crude oil and natural gas output contracted 2.1% and 1.9% ■ ■ The latest data for November shows a four-month high in terms of positive growth in core sector output. In August 2024, overall core sector growth showed a contraction of 1.6%. In September and October, the growth was 2.4% and 3.7% (revised), respectively In November 2023, the core sector had recorded 7.9% growth 40.27% Core sector’s contribution to the index of Industrial production 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 quash petition HC reserves orders, bars ACB from arresting KTR T G N a i d u @ Hyderabad Happy new year 2025 Citizens give an exuberant welcome to 2025 at the Police Hockey Ground at Rasoolpura, Begumpet in Hyderabad in the early hours of Wednesday | Vinay Madapu Punjab twist Farmer on fast seeks talks with Centre, SC grants time S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y @ New Delhi the Supreme Court on Tuesday granted three more days to the Punjab government to comply with its December 20 order to provide medical aid to 70-year-old farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who has been on a fast-unto-death strike since November 26, and shift him to hospital. The court was hearing a contempt petition against the Punjab chief secretary and DGP for not complying with its order to shift Dallewal to hospital. A vacation bench of justices Surya Kant and Sudhanshu Dhulia accepted the Punjab government’s plea for three more days after Punjab Advocate General Gurminder Singh told the court that Dallewal has agreed to accept medical aid if the Centre is ready to hold talks with the protesting farmers. The protest is over non-fulfilment of farmers’ demands, including a legal guarantee for minimum support price for crops. “We will not comment on what is going on, about negotiations... As of now we are only concerned with the compliance of our orders,” Justice Kant said. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that he has no instructions on the submissions made by the Punjab AG. “Taking into the consideration the totality of circumstances and keeping the interest of justice in view, we are inclined to accept the request to afford some more time for compliance with the directions issued by the court,” the bench ruled while posting the matter to January 2, 2025 for further hearing. Sorry I feel regret and I want to say sorry to the people of the state for what happened since May 3 last year CM apologises for loss of lives due to ethnic strife Urges people to forgive and forget past mistakes P r a s a n ta M a z u m d a r @ Guwahati On the New Year’s eve, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh apologised to the people of the state for the loss of lives during the ethnic violence. “I feel regret and I want to say sorry to the people of the state for what happened since May 3 last year. Many people lost their loved ones. Many people left their homes. So, I really feel regret and would like to apologise to all natives,” Singh said at a press conference. Pointing out that there has been some progress towards peace in the last three-four months, he said he was hopeful about the return of normalcy and peace on the New Year. “Whatever happened has happened. We have to forgive and forget the past mistakes and make a new beginning for a peaceful and prosperous Manipur,” the CM said, adding, “We all recognise 34-35 tribes. We should live together in the future.” While over 200 people died in the ethnic violence, 12,247 FIRs were registered and 625 accused arrested. Also, 5,600 arms and 35,000 ammunitions were recovered. “So, there is a good progress in tackling the issue. Centre provided enough security personnel and funds to help the displaced families. Altogether 2,058 families with a population of 7,549 persons have been resettled,” Singh said. Meanwhile, several Kuki women were injured on Tuesday when central armed police forces (CAPF) allegedly used force to disperse protesters at Saibol village in the Kangpokpi district. The trouble began when the local women allegedly resisted the “forceful occupation of community bunkers” by the central forces. Condemning the assault, the women wing of the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum claimed that more than 30 women were injured during their “peaceful protest against the violence in Saibol-Twichin area of Kangpokpi district”. The organisation demanded that CAPF immediately cease its “intrusive operations” and allow the people to celebrate the New Year in peace. “The government must stop being Biren Singh, Manipur CM biased and take concrete steps to prevent such incidents and ensure that those responsible for the violence are held accountable,” the organisation further stated. After the chief minister’s outreach, the Congress wondered why Prime Minister Narendra Modi hasn’t gone there yet. In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, “Why can’t the Prime Minister go to Manipur and say the same thing there? He has deliberately avoided visiting the state since May 4, 2023, even as he jets around the country and the world.” Manipur accounted for 77% of violence in northeast last year MU K ESH RAN J AN @ New Delhi Central outreach During his stay in Manipur, Shah held more than 15 meetings with govt officers, officers of security forces, netas and over 100 members of civil society Strife-torn Manipur accounted for about 77% of all violent incidents in the Northeast in 2023-24, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in its annual report. It attributed the spike in violence in Manipur as compared to 2022, to ethnic clashes between the majority Meiteis and the KukiZo community Of the 243 violent incidents in the . Northeast that year, 187 were in Manipur alone. “The counter-insurgency operations in Manipur resulted in killing of 33 insurgents and arrest of 184 insurgents besides recovery of 49 weapons. Further, 80 cadres of insurgent outfits surrendered with 31 arms,” the report read. While the state government is primarily responsible for dealing with violence, the MHA took a series of “immediate and sustained” measures to manage the situation. During his visit to the state between May 29 and June 1, 2023, Union home minister Amit Shah held more than 15 meetings with various stakeholders, it said. Barring the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) from arresting former minister KT Rama Rao in the Formula-E case until further orders, Justice K Lakshman of the Telangana High Court on Tuesday reserved orders on the criminal petition filed by the BRS working president. Rama Rao, Accused No. 1 (A-1) in Crime No 12/ROC-CIU ACB2024, faces allegations of criminal breach of trust and violation of Acts related to funds transfer. More specifically the ACB, Hy, derabad, registered a case under Section 13(1)(a) read with Section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and Section 409 read with Section 120B of the IPC against Rama Rao. The judge also extended interim protection to KTR from arrest until the pronouncement of the orders. Arguing for Rama Rao, senior counsel Sidd h a r t h D ave contended that the allegations lacked the necessary ingredients for charges under Section 405 IPC, which defines criminal breach of trust. He ar- I will be available gued that there at the Telangana Bhavan on was no evidence of misappropri- Wednesday, New Year’s Day to ation or convermeet and greet sion of entrustparty workers ed property as KT Rama Rao, BRS required under working president the provision. Dave also disputed the application of Section 13(1)(a) of the PCA, stating that the FIR does not cite any specific acts of corruption or misuse of office. He pointed out that the state government had entered into an agreement with a private company for organising the FormulaE race, and payments were made per the a g reed ter ms and conditions. Dave further pointed out that M Dana Kishore, the complainant, is an IAS officer and part of the state government apparatus, and there was no anonymous or external complaint. Citing several Supreme Court judgments, Dave sought quashing of the FIR. Senior counsel CV Mohan Reddy, appearing for Dana Kishore, and Advocate-General A Sudarshan Reddy, representing the state government, opposed the quash petition. continued on p4 9/11 plea deal back on table as US def secy loses bid to reject it Defence chiefs to get aides from other services MAYAN K S I N G H @ New Delhi TAKING a crucial step in the process to integrate Armed Forces personnel, the personal staff officers of the service chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Force will be appointed from other services with effect from January 1, 2025. Till now, the chiefs were getting Aides-de-Camp (ADCs) from their own units. “This change has been adopted by all the three service chiefs, signalling some major changes in 2025. It may appear a small step but it is a big message for transforming the defence forces,” sources said. To begin with, the Army chief will get ADC also from the Air Force, the Air Chief from the Indian Navy and the , Navy chief from the Army . This is part of the several Aides-de-Camp such changes that will roll out Aides-de-Camp over the next year. Sources said (ADCs) are the the initiative is led by the Chief personal staff of of Defence Staff, General Anil defence chiefs, Chauhan, who is working on a usually in the ranks of long-term plan to move the forcCaptain/Major or es towards the Integrated Theaequivalent ranks from tre Commands. other services. The Under the human resources ADCs serve the three reforms being undertaken, the service chiefs, force first set of cross-posting of juncommanders, and ior officers was executed in midcorps commanders. 2023, with mid-level and senior Defence personnel officers being placed in imporposted with t a n t b i l l e t s ove r s eve r a l governors are months. also ADCs A special Joint Division has been created at the Defence Services Staff College to foster a collaborative and interservice approach to ensure jointness and integration in warfare and focus on inter-service understanding and cooperation. This, sources said, will empower them to function effectively in the era of Theatre Commands. “Due impetus has been given towards developing greater tri-services synergy and enhancing jointness and integration under eight key domains—operations & intelligence, operational logistics, capability development, communications & infotech, training, maintenance & support services, human resources, and administration & legal aspects,” sources elaborated. India will be the first democratic country to adopt theaterisation through consensus building among the three services, they added. A military appeals court ruled against US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin’s effort to throw out the plea deals reached for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two other defendants in the 9/11 attacks. The ruling was announced on Monday night | P9 HI C HI C HURRAH Prabhas joins CM’s war on drugs Liquor sales in Dec alone cross `3.5K cr mark Aj ay T o m a r @ Hyderabad Baahubali fame Prabhas released a video message on New Year’s Eve, appealing to people to firmly say “no” to drugs. Extending support to the Telangana government’s anti-drug awareness programme, the actor also urged people to contact the government helpline. In the video message, the Baahubali star says: “We have many sources of joy and entertainment in life. When we have our loved ones and people who live for us, why do we even need drugs? Let us quit drugs today If any of your . acquaintances are addicted to drugs, call the toll-free number 8712671111. The Telangana government will take steps toward their complete recovery .” The video went viral on social media platforms with widespread praise from people as they lauded Prabhas’s efforts to create sensitisation. The actor’s message is first after a delegation from the Telugu film industry, popularly called Tollywood, met Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on December 26. The chief minister reportedly requested the film fraternity to take on social responsibilities such as contributing to drug awareness and women’s campaigns. Prabhas’s message is likely to inspire more people to join the fight against drug abuse. Guzzling it up Customers throng a liquor store in Hyderabad on New Year’s Eve IML December 2022 December 2023 December 2024 32,52,965 cases 43,59,188 cases 35,47,447 cases | Vinay Beer December 2022 December 2023 December 2024 39,57,225 cases 46,22,273 cases 42,52,705 cases Money’s worth? December 2022 December 2023 December 2024 `3,376.10 crore `4,297.00 crore `3,523.21 crore Madapu Day-wise sale `192.67 crore `196.93 crore `191.59 crore `186.75 crore `191.06 crore `51.15 crore `402.62 crore December 23 December 24 December 26 December 27 December 28 December 29 December 30 B K a r t h e e k @ Hyderabad Tipplers consumed liquor worth `3,523.21 crore in December 2024 alone. However, this is a 15% decrease compared to the same period last year. In December 2023, liquor sales amounted to `4,147.18 crore. According to a report accessed by TNIE, liquor sales spiked during the final week of December. The daily sales figures were: `192.67 crore on December 23, `196.93 crore on December 24, `191.59 crore on December 26, `186.75 crore on December 27, `191.06 crore on December 28, `51.15 crore on December 29, and `402.62 crore on December 30. The monthly average daily sale was `117.44 crore. The report revealed that 35,47,447 cases of IML and 42,52,705 cases of beer were sold in December 2024. Comparatively IML sales in Decem, ber 2023 were 43,59,188 cases, while December 2022 recorded 32,52,965 cases. Similarly, beer sales in December 2023 were 46,22,273 cases, compared to 39,57,225 cases in December 2022.