vijayawada l tuesday l january 21, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l late city EDITION National Company Law Tribunal orders liquidation of Go First Liquidator to probe financial affairs The resolution process did not take off and the tribunal has now ordered liquidation of the airline on an application by the Committee of Creditors (CoC). Dinkar Tiruvannadapuram Venkatasubramanian is the liquidator, who will continue to probe the airline’s financial affairs. He will submit a preliminary report within 75 days from the date of start of liquidation | P12 The budget carrier had stopped flying three years ago after being bogged down by financial woes and filed for a voluntary insolvency resolution Airline once Had a fleet size of 54 jets ■ ■ The airline reported a loss of `1,800 cr, including `800 cr notional loss due to accounting standards in the financial year ended March 2023 At its peak, Go First operated a fleet of 54 aircraft. In May 2024, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation de-registered all planes and by December lessors repossessed 28 aircraft and moved out of India 17 years No. of years Go First, earlier known as Go Air, remained in service 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 trump 2.0 begins National emergency declared at U.S.-Mexico border A raft of executive orders expected The golden age of America begins right now... I will very simply put America first —Donald Trump, U.S. President Donald Trump takes the oath of office during the Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the US Capitol in Washington, on Monday. As per convention, J D Vance was sworn in as the vice president just ahead of Trump | ap Guests including Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai and Elon Musk at the inauguration ceremony | ap Agen c i e s @ Washington donald Trump, 78, on Monday took his oath of office for a historic second term as US president, and pledged a blitz of immediate orders on immigration and the culture wars as he caps his extraordinary comeback. As per protocol, J D Vance was sworn in as Vice President first, followed by Trump’s taking oath as President. With one hand raised in the air and the other on a Bible given to him by his mother, the 47th US president took the oath of office beneath the huge Rotunda of the US Capitol. Trump started his inaugural speech with: “The golden age of America begins right now,” adding that the US will “flourish and be respected”. In his fiery address, he said “America’s decline is over” as changes will come “very quickly”. Hitting out at the Biden administration for the migrant crisis, he promised to clean up the mess on a war footing. He said he was declaring a national emergency at the US-Mexico border and would deploy troops there to deal with the crisis. He also listed a series of actions to be rolled out: renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, and reclaiming the Panama Canal. On the international trade front, he promised a ‘complete overhaul’ by taxing foreign countries through tar- iff to enrich US citizens. Trump is expected to issue some 100 executive orders. A political outsider at his first inauguration in 2017, now Trump is surrounded by the wealthy and powerful. While Trump refused to attend Biden’s 2021 inauguration after claiming electoral fraud by the Democrat, this time Biden has been keen to restore the sense of tradition. Biden joined for mer presidents Barack Obama, George W Bush and Bill Clinton at the Capitol. Former first ladies Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush were there but ex-first lady Michelle Obama stayed away . Unusually for an inauguration where foreign leaders are normally not invited, this time Argentina’s hard-right president Javier Milei attended the event, along with Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni. Chinese vice president Han Zheng represented his government. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar attended the ceremony as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s special envoy Con. gratulating Trump, Modi wrote on X: “Congratulations my dear friend President Donald Trump on your historic inauguration as the 47th president of the United States! I look forward to working closely together once again, to benefit both our countries, and to shape a better future for the world. Best P11 wishes...”  Biden issues preemptive pardons Hours before Trump’s swearing-in, outgoing president Joe Biden on Monday issued pre-emptive pardons to Dr Anthony Fauci, retired Gen Mark Milley, and members of the House committee that investigated the Jan 6 attack on the Capitol Putin congratulates Trump, signals thaw Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday congratulated Donald Trump just before his swearing in. “We hear Trump’s statements about restoring direct contacts with Russia, which were halted by the outgoing administration... We welcome the approach,” he said Bharat: Lokesh will be Decision on elevation Chief Minister in future after talks with allies E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada “Whether people like it or not, Nara Lokesh will become the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh in the future,” said Industries Minister TG Bharath on Monday while interacting with the Telugu Diaspora in Zurich.   It may be pointed out that Bharath is part of the delegation visiting Davos in Switzerland to att e n d t h e Wo rl d E c o n o m i c Summit. The Minister’s statement is significant, coming just hours after the TDP reportedly issued a directive to party leaders and cadre, urging them to refrain from expressing opinions on the elevation of the IT (Information Technology) and HRD (Human Re- source Development) Minister. Speaking in the presence of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Union Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu, and Lokesh, Bharath emphasised that the Telugu Desam Party will remain in power in the State for decades to come. Describing Lokesh as the future of the yellow party, he praised the IT Minister, who also serves as the TDP General Secretary, as the most dynamic youth leader and a highly-educated individual. Reaffirming that the party is in safe hands under the leadership of Chandrababu Naidu, Bharath highlighted the TDP’s blend of young and senior leaders, all with a long-term vision. S V i s w a n at h @ Vijayawada Amid increasing calls from within the party to elevate IT and HRD Minister Nara Lokesh to the position of Deputy Chief Minister the TDP high command has issued a directive instructing leaders not to make public statements on the matter.  The party leadership has indicated that any decision will be made only after consultations with alliance partners — the BJP and the Jana Sena. The directive follows a recent statement by TDP Politburo member Reddeppagari Srinivasa Reddy who proposed Lokesh’s el, evation to Deputy CM in the presence of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu during an event in Mydukur, YSR district. Subsequently, several TDP MLAs, including Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy Adireddy , Vasu, and former Pithapuram MLA SVSN Varma, voiced their support for the proposal. In light of this, the party leadership has expressed concern that it is inappropriate for TDP leaders to publicly comment on such sensitive issues and has therefore instructed them to refrain from issuing statements on the topic until discussions with alliance partners are conducted. Confirming the development, a senior leader of the Telugu Desam Party stated that the party high command has not dismissed the request. A final decision will be made only after consultations with leaders of the NDA (National Democratic Alliance). Skywatch time as rare celestial show begins R i s h i ta K h a nn a @ Bengaluru In a rare celestial event, seven planets of the Solar System will align by March this year. Six of them — Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune — will begin to come into alignment on Tuesday (January 21), while Mercury will join in on February 28. Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will be visible to the naked eye, but Uranus and Neptune will require a telescope to observe the alignment, which is called a ‘planetary parade’. Dr B R Guruprasad, Director of Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, explained that a ‘planetary parade’ is a phenomenon in which multiple planets appear in the sky at the same time from the perspective of observers from Earth, more clearly visible in the evening/night sky . Venus will be the brightest and the most eye-catching. Mars, with its red hue, will resemble a glowing bulb. Saturn will appear as a tiny dot in the western sky while , Jupiter will look similar, but positioned in the southern sky. March 8 will mark the maximum elongation, with Mercury reaching its farthest point from the Sun. By March 12, Saturn will dip below the horizon for a while, but from February 28 to March 12, the planetary alignment will be at its peak. Lifer till death for RG Kar accused S u l a gn a Seng u p ta @ Kolkata A Sealdah court on Monday sentenced Sanjay Roy the lone , accused in the horrific rapemurder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in August last year, to life imprisonment till death. The court, however, rejected the prosecution’s demand for death penalty saying it was not a “rarest of the rare” crime. Additional District and Sessions Judge Anirban Das ordered Roy to pay `50,000 as penalty and directed the West Bengal government to give the victim’s family `17 lakh as compensation — `10 lakh for death and `7 lakh for rape while at work. But the victim’s father refused to accept it. He instead demanded capital punishment of the accused. The judge said, “I don’t think money can compensate for any death. It was the liability of state to protect your daughter as she was on duty (when the Different strokes While Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and junior doctors at RG Kar were unhappy with the verdict, the National Commission for Women welcomed it horrific rape-murder happened). This is a statutory provision. If you take it, you can use it. I gave whatever I felt. You can move a higher court.” Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she was not happy with the verdict, and so did junior doctors at RG Kar. The victim’s colleagues cited unresolved questions and the absence of action against other potential suspects. They wanted a more thorough probe, including the motive and the involvement of others. However, the National Commission for Women welcomed the ruling. Roy was convicted by a special court on Saturday, nearly six months after his arrest. U’khand cabinet clears UCC rules N AR E N DRA S E THI @ Dehradun The Uttarakhand Cabinet on Monday approved the Uniform Civil Code’s (UCC) regulations, close to a year after the legislation was passed by the state assembly Chief Min. ister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the date of its implementation will be announced soon. Sources suggested it could be notified on January 26, a day after the results of the January 23 municipal elections is announced. A mock drill of a UCC portal set up by the government will be held on Tuesday Govern. ment officials tasked with managing the portal have already been given ample training. Uttarakhand’s UCC encompasses various aspects of personal law, including marriage, divorce, maintenance, property rights, adoption and inheritance. “The code recognises live-in relationships, ensuring that children born from such unions are entitled to equal inheritance rights,” an official stated. The UCC aims to establish a uniform legal framework applicable to all individuals, regardless of their religion, caste or community . However, the state’s tribals are out of its ambit. survey another round of land survey begins The State government kicked off another round of land survey (re-survey) on Monday after revenue officials are said to have received more than 2.8 lakh complaints from across the State, alleging irregularities over the previous land survey | P4