pic: icc tadepalligudem l monday l february 03, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION India u19 women’s team on top of the world The Niki Prasad-led side beats South Africa in the final to successfully defend their title... All-round Trisha stands out for champions She was already a World Cup winner in 2023, but this time, G Trisha was the key architect behind India’s success story. With 309 runs and seven wickets, she was instrumental in India’s unbeaten run to the final. Even in summit clash, she took three wickets and scored an unbeaten 44 to help India get the better of South Africa by nine wickets on Sunday. Fittingly, she was the Player of the Match in the final and the Player of the Tournament Second title for coach Nooshin ■ ■ Revered coach Nooshin Al Khadeer added another trophy to her cabinet having won the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2023 She, along with captain Niki Prasad, had been with this batch of players for several months in the lead up to the WC with several camps and domestic tournaments being the key to putting together a strong squad 17 with 17 scalps, Vaishnavi Sharma was the leading wicket-taker 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 Will collect more taxes in FY26: FinMin official D i pa k M o n d a l @ New Delhi is levied on income. The income threshold was increased from The government is confident `7 lakh to `12 lakh, making any of achieving the income tax col- income up to `12.75 lakh tax free lection target for FY26 despite (after including the standard demassive tax cuts offered in the duction of `75,000). Budget 2025-26—a move that The new tax slab also signifiwill result in a revenue loss of cantly reduces the tax burden `1 lakh crore . As per the Budget on all with the highest tax rate estimate, personal inof 30% applicable on income tax collections come over `24 lakh from could be `14.38 lakh the earlier `18 lakh. The crore in FY26, a 14.4% new tax slab also inincrease over the recreases the basic exvised estimate of `12.57 emption limit from `3 lakh crore for FY25. The lakh to `4 lakh, which FY25 budget estimate means the first `4 lakh ‘Tax cut to would attract no taxes. for tax collection was stimulate All these changes have `11.87 lakh crore. growth’ The FY26 tax collecbeen made under the tion target is achieva- The income tax new tax regime. relief will ble, says a top finance The finance minister stimulate ministry official, addhas said that her indemand and ing: “Our estimate for come tax proposals income tax collection in propel growth would lead to a revenue in the next FY26 is conservative.” loss of `1 lakh crore. According to the offi- financial year, The move to increase Economic cial, with the tax slabs the income tax threshAffairs being revised and tax old to `12 lakh would rates having been low- Secretary Ajay also result in one crore ered for most in the ex- Seth said in an taxpayers going out of interview to isting slabs, individuals the tax net. earning over `12 lakh PTI on Sunday Meanwhile, the fibut avoid paying taxes, nance ministry official would like to come under the mentioned earlier says that tax net. with the announcements, more On Saturday, Finance Minis- taxpayers might shift to the new ter Nirmala Sitharaman an- tax regime. According to the ofnounced a slew of sops to ease ficial, 78% taxpayers have althe burden on the taxpayers. ready opted for the new tax reHer personal income tax pro- gime, and with the latest posals include an increase in changes, more taxpayers would the threshold up to which no tax join the new system. pic: pti Needed to convince officials about efficiency in collection and honest taxpayers’ voice Nirmala Sitharaman PM backed tax cut plan, took time to convince officials: FM E X P R E SS N E WS S E RVIC E @ New Delhi PRIME Minister Narendra Modi was fully behind the idea to cut taxes for the middle class but it took time to convince the bureaucrats, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Sunday . Presenting her eighth straight budget on Saturday, Sitharaman raised the personal income tax exemption to `12 lakh from `7 lakh earlier, and also rejigged the tax brackets in such a way that those earning higher could save up to `1.1 lakh. In an interview to PTI on Sunday, she said while Modi was quick to agree to the tax relief, it took a bit of convincing to get on board the officials in the finance ministry and the Central Board of Direct Taxes who are tasked to ensure revenue collection to meet welfare and other schemes. “We have heard the voice of the middle class” who had been complaining about their aspirations not being met despite being honest taxpayers, she said. Explaining the thought that went behind the big announcement, Sitharaman said the tax cuts were in the works for some time. She said the new rates would “substantially reduce the taxes of the middle class and leave more money in their hands, boosting household consumption, savings and investment”. US starts tariff war with Mexico, Canada, China; India spared j aya n t h j a c o b @ New Delhi US President Donald Trump late on Saturday imposed broad tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada, and China, sparking swift retaliation from North American neighbours. India was notably exempt despite Trump frequently labelling the country as a “tariff king.” India contributes only 3.2% of America’s overall trade deficit, but has a $35 billion trade surplus with the US. China, Mexico, and Canada are the top contributors to the US trade deficit, with Asian giant contributing the highest at 30.2%, Mexico 19%, and Canada 14%, according to the Research and Information System (RIS). Trump said a levy of 25% on Canadian and Mexican imports as well as an additional 10% tax on Chinese goods would come into effect on Tuesday . “We have big deficits with all three of them,” Trump said. In response, both Canada and Mexico said they were prepar- `3L & laptop was finalised for each team member p r ee t h a n a i r @ New Delhi TDP supremo and AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu campaigning for BJP’s Shahdara Assembly candidate Sanjay Goel | Express Naidu urges Delhiites to vote for BJP E x p r e s s Ne w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada TDP supremo and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu joined the BJP’s Delhi election campaign on Sunday canvassing support , for Shahdara Assembly candidate Sanjay Goel. Addressing the people, Naidu remarked that Delhi is the worst city in terms of development, and accused the ruling AAP of ruining the capital over the past decade. He claimed that while other cities enjoyed good governance, Delhi’s development had been neglected by the ruling party, which he accused of indulging in corrup- tion. Naidu, focusing on areas with a significant Teluguspeaking population, urged residents in Delhi to vote for BJP candidates. Speaking passionately in Telugu, he emphasised the need for stable gover nance to drive economic growth, stating that a vote for the BJP would be a vote for progress and prosperity . Strongly criticising the AAP government, Naidu alleged that the party had failed to deliver on its promises, while the Central government, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had fulfilled its commitments. Naidu accused the AAP government of failing to provide clean drinking water, asserting that the Modi-led Central government was supplying safe drinking water through various schemes. With 16 Lok Sabha MPs, TDP is the second-largest constituent of the BJP-led NDA gover nment at the Centre. He described the AAP government as incompetent, claiming it had not utilised Central funds effectively . “Who is responsible for the stench across the city?” Naidu asked, referring to the deteriorating condition of the national P4 capital.  Delhi is the worst city in terms of growth. while other cities enjoyed good governance, Delhi was neglected by AAP, which has been indulging in corruption Chandrababu Naidu, AP CM b o o s t t o t r a f f i c s u r v e i ll a n c e Solar-powered digital barricades launched in Palnadu B a n d h a v i A n n a m @ Guntur In a push towards enhancing public safety, Palnadu district police have rolled out ‘Digital Barricades’ equipped with CCTV cameras, to strengthen surveillance and bolster crowd management. Palnadu SP K Srinivasa Rao told TNIE that the primary goal of these smart barricades is to express read 5 killed as bus falls into gorge in Gujarat Dang: Five people were killed and 35 others injured when a private bus carrying pilgrims hailing from Madhya Pradesh fell into a deep gorge in Gujarat’s Dang district early on Sunday, the police said. They were heading for Dwarka when the accident occured. Injuries of 17 people are serious KLU began ‘talks’ for favourable NAAC rating 2 weeks before survey Cong sets up ‘EAGLE’ panel to monitor EC’s conduct of polls Days before the Delhi Assembly elections, the Congress on Sunday set up an eight-member panel—‘Empowered Action Group of Leaders and Experts (EAGLE)’—to monitor the conduct of free and fair elections by the Election Commission. “It is a very serious message from Congress that the Election Commission is a constitutional body, and so far, its conduct has not been in line with its constitutional responsibilities of conducting free and fair elections,” senior Congress leader Praveen Chakravarty told this newspaper. “The group will coordinate and ensure that the EC is held responsible for the conduct of free and fair elections,” Chakravarty said. Congress treasurer Ajay Maken and senior leaders Digvijaya Singh, Abhishek Singhvi, Chakravarty and Pawan Khera , are members of the panel. Other members are: Gurdeep Singh Sappal, Nitin Raut, and Challa Vamshi Chand Reddy The pan. el will first look into the alleged manipulation of Maharashtra voters’ list. Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi alleged that there has been an increase of nearly one crore voters in Maharashtra between the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls. ing similar tariffs on US goods, while China said it would take “necessary countermeasures” to defend its interests. Amid ongoing tariff threats, India has emphasised that its economic ties with the US are special and highlighted the established mechanisms between the two countries to discuss trade matters and related issues. “India-US relationship is very strong, multifaceted and the economic ties are something which is very special...We have established mechanisms between the US and India to discuss any matter or trade matters or matters related to trade,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said last week. India has been making the right noise to improve its trade relations with the US, with the the Union Budget announced a reduction in customs duties on imported motorcycles. India has also taken steps to open the nuclear sector to private investment as part of a strategic move. elevate surveillance capabilities and streamline policing. These barricades are designed to monitor traffic violations and apprehend offenders attempting to evade capture. The CCTV cameras built into the barricades will capture footage of violators, making it easier to take legal action. Each digital barricade features a tamper-proof CCTV camera with night vision and recording capabilities, as well as an integrated speaker for real-time communication. The solar-powered units do not re- quire special wiring, allowing them to be deployed quickly in various locations. Over 40 such units have already been deployed. Former DGP Ch Dwaraka Tirumala Rao had inaugurated the digital barricades last week. The cameras are linked to a central command control room. The barricades have a two-way communication feature to aid coordination among officials. 18 drones deployed Ahead of Shivaratri festivities, as many as 18 drones have been deployed to support surveillance efforts Koneru Satyanarayana and GP Saradhi Varma were informed that Rajeev Sijariya (Member Coordinator, NAAC Inspection Committee) was demanding `1.80 cr for constituting a team that would give the university a favourable rating. They agreed on `3 lakh per person, a laptop for each member, and an advance of `10L for Sijariya P h a n i n d r a Pa pa s a n i @ Vijayawada A day after 10 individuals, including KLEF (Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation), Deemed to be University (KLU) , Vice-President Koneru Raja Hareen and Vice-Chancellor GP Saradhi Varma, were arrested in connection with bribing the NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council) inspection team for favourable ratings, it has been learnt that negotiations for a favourable outcome had begun two weeks prior to the scheduled inspection. KLEF, which has been accredited with NAAC A++ for two consecutive terms, is locat- ed at Vaddeswaram in Guntur district. The institution applied for re-accreditation for the period 2024-29. The NAAC team was scheduled to inspect the university from January 29 to 31. A team, headed by Samarendra Nath Saha (Vice-Chancellor of Ramchandra Chandravansi University and Chairman of the NAAC Inspection Committee), arrived in Vijayawada on January 29. As per the FIR, KLEF President Koneru Satyanarayana and Saradhi Varma met Dr L Manjunatha Rao (exDeputy Advisor, NAAC), M Hanumanthappa (Professor and Director of IQAC-NAAC), and MS Shyamsundar (Advisor, NAAC) two weeks before the P4 scheduled inspection.