vijayawada l friday l january 03, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Professor Debapratim Das (left) with a research student Targeted drug release can cut side effects Researchers developed an advanced injectable hydrogel for localised cancer treatment with fewer side effects than conventional treatments Tumour shrinks 75% within 18 days Hydrogel is a water-based, three-dimensional polymer network that can absorb and retain fluids. It can act as a stable reservoir for anti-cancer drugs. It responds to high glutathione (GSH) levels, a molecule found in cancer cells. Upon encountering high GSH levels, it releases the drug in a targeted manner, not affecting nearby cells, leading to fewer side effects IIT-Guwahati develops injectable hydrogel for cancer treatment ■ ■ “In preclinical trials, a single injection of the hydrogel, loaded with the chemotherapy drug Doxorubicin, resulted in a ~75% reduction in tumour size within 18 days,” professor Debapratim Das of IIT-G said The research was conducted in collaboration with Bose Institute, Kolkata. It has been published in the journal Materials Horizons 8,00,000 New cancer cases in india each year, according to govt estimates 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 Head coach Gambhir’s ambiguous reply gives new twist to Rohit not figuring in the playing XI for Sydney Test saga rested? g o m e s h S @ Sydney With less than 24 hours to go for the Sydney Test, the India team did not know who would come out for toss. Or so it seems. “The answer remains the same.” That was what India team head coach Gautam Gambhir had to say when he was asked whether Rohit Sharma will be in the playing XI for the fifth and final Test between India and Australia that begins on Friday “We are . going to take a look at the wicket and probably announce our playing XI tomorrow,” Gambhir said moments earlier. Probably for any other player this would have been an apt answer but for a captain who has been appointed for a series this seemed little ambiguous. Whether resting was the decision of the team management or Rohit’s was also not clear. India begin their last match of the tour amid speculation of dressing room drama and Gambhir’s stern warning to players over not performing well. Even before a ball was bowled there seemed to be intrigue over Sharma’s position in the team. There were multiple indications, including his time in the nets, that suggest he is all set to be replaced. In fact, there are indications that he has told the team about his decision to opt out. This could be one of those rare instances when a captain has been dropped on poor form and for India this could be one of the first instances when a captain has been dropped or opted out. Gambhir made it clear during the briefing that performance alone matters. “Indian cricket’s transition is in safe hands as long as there are honest people in the dressing room. Only criteria to be in that dressing room is performance,” he said. In that case, Shubman Gill What next for Rohit? Rohit Sharma’s future, with England visiting India for a whiteball series (five T20Is and three ODIs) in January before the Champions Trophy, depends on him and what he decides. His ODI numbers have been exceptional and he could lead the team against England after a possible meeting with selectors. Bumrah likely to captain India Jasprit Bumrah, the vice captain, has been the team’s top performer with 30 wickets in four outings at an astonishing 12.83 average, is expected to take over if Rohit sits out. Under Bumrah’s captaincy that India won the first Test in Perth. is set to walk in at No 3 and in-form Jasprit Bumrah will lead in the absence of Sharma, who has been out of form, scoring only 31 runs at an average of 6.2 from five innings so far. He lost two Tests after joining the team in Australia. With the home series loss against New Zealand, pressure was mounting on the Indian captain. If nets were any indication, Sharma, who was not much involved for the better part while India were training. He could be seen chat- ting with Washington Sundar, Bumrah, Gill before batting briefly along with the backup batters towards the end. It was not until most of the drill was over that Sharma and Gambhir were seen together alongside Bumrah. If Sharma gets dropped, which is most likely as of Thursday evening, MCG Test could be his last as a Test player. For India, a win in Sydney would help retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and keep World Test ChampionP11 ship hopes alive.  Cabinet approves launch of ‘Thalliki Vandanam’ from next academic year S . V i s w a n at h @ Vijayawada The State Cabinet has decided to launch ‘Thalliki Vandanam’ — a scheme offering `15,000 in financial aid to mothers of school-going children — from the next academic year. During a meeting chaired by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu at the State Secretariat on Thursday, the Cabinet also approved the implementation of the ‘Annadata Sukhibhava’ scheme to provide financial support to farmers, along with the next instalment of funds to be deposited by the Centre under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme. As part of this initiative, the TDP-led NDA government had promised to extend `20,000 to farmers per year. E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada While Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu was keen on implementing the free bus travel scheme for women from Sankranti, it has been learnt that Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) officials have requested express read Stir in MP town Bhopal: Protests erupted at Pithampur industrial town in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday, hours after truckloads of toxic waste was brought from the defunct Union Carbide factory in Bhopal | P8 E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Chennai The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) examining the Waqf Amendment Bill may miss the next deadline of the Budget session of Parliament, scheduled to begin on January 30, according to sources. The committee headed by BJP MP Jagadambika Pal is scheduled to present its report on the last day of the Budget session after missing the first deadline of the just concluded winter session of Parliament. The Budget session is expected to conclude on February 12. The Centre may now push the report for the Monsoon session as the committee will not be able to complete its work by the stipulated deadline, said people aware of the developments. Another key reason, according to sources, is the strong opposition from NDA allies Telugu Desam Party and the Janata Dal (United) over the proposed legislation. Several Muslim groups in Andhra Pradesh and Bihar have been opposing most of the amendments, including the appointment of non-Muslims as members of the Central Waqf Council and state Waqf Boards. “The government has not given any assurance to TDP or JD (U) on bringing any changes in the contentious proposals. The JD(U) does not want to risk its electoral prospects in view of the impending assembly elections in Bihar,” said a party leader, adding that the TDP and JD(U) enjoy a strong support base of minorities in their states. Though the government had listed the Waqf bill for passage during the winter session, the panel sought an extension after a showdown with the Opposition. Speaking to this paper, a panel member said it is impossible for the committee to meet the deadline as it will take a long time to record the concerns of lakhs of witnesses. “The chairman is under pressure from the Opposition to hear out stakeholders who have real concerns. The committee has not followed due process till now,” said an Opposition member. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, along with Ministers P Narayana and BC Janardhan Reddy, held a review meeting with officials at the State Secretariat on Thursday on the issue of funds for the metro rail project. He also approved the double-decker metro system project for an extent of 66 km in Vijayawada and for 76.9 km in Visakhapatnam Both schemes were part of the Six Guarantees promised by the TDP and its allies ahead of the elections. While the government launched Deepam 2.0 on Diwali, it is expected to introduce the free bus travel scheme for women from Ugadi. Additionally, the Cabinet approved investment proposals amounting to `1.82 lakh crore, which were cleared by the State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB). Elaborating on the decisions made during the meeting, Min- CM keen to launch free bus travel from Sankranti, but RTC officials seek time Work not over yet, Waqf Manu Bhaker and JPC could miss Budget Gukesh among 4 to receive Khel Ratna session deadline as well P r ee t h a N a i r @ New Delhi Naidu gives nod for double-decker metro rail As 2024 was an Olympic year, there were exceptions to the number of Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna 2024 awardees and also the Arjuna Awards list. Expectedly the list— released by the sports min, istry on Thursday—is dominated by Olympic and Paralympic winners. D Gukesh, who became the youngest world chess champion in December, too is in the list. Speculation over Manu Bhaker not being considered for Khel Ratna turned out to be false. India men’s hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh, who won bronze in 2024 Olympics—his second medal after Tokyo 2020—too featured among the four chosen for the country’s highest sports awards. Para athlete high jumper Praveen Kumar is the fourth name. There were reports that Manu was not on the list but the sports ministry’s official announcement included her name. Interestingly, Manu had not applied. It is not clear whether Gukesh’s name was added after his spectacular win on December 12. It is learnt that the national awards committee met a couple of days after the chess final. It is understood that the panel had taken cognisance of applications but the final list was made after the sports ministry included two more names as per the latest rules. more time to execute the plan. Sources said officials have asked the Chief Minister for a few more months to study the modalities and best practices of similar schemes implemented in other States. It is worth noting that the free bus travel for women was one of the six guaran- tees announced by the TDP during the election campaign. Naidu had promised to launch the scheme immediately upon taking office. However, despite the TDP-led NDA forming the government in the State eight months ago, the promise remains P4 unfulfilled.  ister for Information and Public Relations Kolusu Parthasarathy stated that the Cabinet has resolved to undertake engineering works worth `2,723 crore in Amaravati by inviting fresh tenders as per the guidelines set by the World Bank, HUDCO (Housing and Urban Development Corporation), and other financial institutions that are providing loans for the development of the capital city . Parthasarathy also noted that the Cabinet cleared the proposal for a draft ordinance amending the Andhra Pradesh Metropolitan Region and Urban Development Authorities (AP MRUDA) Act of 2016. The Cabinet also approved the establishment of an AM Green Ammonia (India) Private Limited unit in Kakinada.  P4 yarraji selected for Arjuna Award Vizag’s 25-year-old athlete Jyothi Yarraji has been selected for the Arjuna Award. Yarraji made history as the first Indian woman to qualify for the 100m hurdles at the Paris Olympics | P3