DHARMAPURI l tuesday l february 04, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Trump tariffs : Rupee plunges 55 paise to low of 87.17 against $ Rupee suffered significant pressure from sustained foreign fund outflows and strong US dollar demand from oil importers surge in u.s. dollar index weakens rupee fiis offloading equities led to fall Forex traders said the plunge was due to a surge in the US dollar index after US President Donald Trump levied tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, triggering fears of a broad trade war. “We expect the rupee to trade with negative bias on strong US dollar and FII outflows amid weak domestic markets,” said Anuj Choudhary, Mirae Asset Sharekhan ■ ■ Finance Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey on Monday said there is no concern over the rupee value, and the Reserve Bank of India is managing the volatility of the local currency | P10 Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth `1,327.09 crore in the capital markets on Saturday, contributing to the fall 319 points drop in the 30-share BSE Sensex on monday 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 In the works, PM-Trump talks in the US on Feb 13 Both sides exploring possibility of scheduling it after Paris AI summit J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to travel to Washington for a meeting with President Donald Trump after attending the AI summit in Paris on February 10 and 11. While there has been no official word from either the White House or the External Affairs Ministry both sides are looking at Feb, ruary 13 and 14 as the possible dates. The Indian side has been eager for an early engagement between the two leaders, hoping that their strong personal rapport would help establish a foundation for deeper collaboration, especially as the new US administration begins implementing measures such as raising tariffs and cracking down on illegal immigration. If these plans work out, the two leaders could hold discussions on February 13 to lay out the roadmap for their future cooperation. During his trip, Modi is also expected to hold meetings with business leaders. The prime minister will be attending the AI Action Summit in France on February 10-11 at the Grand Palais after which he will be travelling to Washington. According to a statement from the Élysée Palace, the AI summit will gather heads of state and government, international organisation leaders, business executives, academics, NGOs, artists, and civil society members. If the subsequent US trip is firmed up, Modi will arrive in Washington on February 12 depending on his final engagements in France. “The leaders (Modi and Trump) discussed plans for Prime Minister Modi to visit the White House, underscoring the strength of the friendship and strategic ties between our nations,” a White House read out said after a phone call between Modi and Trump on January 27. President Trump has said Modi was likely to visit the White House for a meeting in February. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, en route to Joint Base Andrews from Florida, Trump said on the day of is phone call with the Indian prime minister: “I had a long talk with him this morning. He is going to be coming to the White House, probably in February We have a very good . relationship with India.” Hosur airport: Centre promises help to tn govt E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Chennai BIAL, GoI and TN have to sit together to arrive at a consensus on construction of airport in Hosur Rammohan Naidu, union minister Rahul raps slide in manufacturing P r e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi In a departure from his usual combative mode, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi addressed the Lok Sabha on Monday touching upon all the key is, sues that currently dominate the Budget season — unemployment, border security, Election Commission, China and caste census — among others. He began his address on a conciliatory note, saying that both the Congress-led UPA governments and the BJP-led NDA failed to address the burning issue of unemployment. Though he hailed the prime minAttempt to ister for his flagship ‘Make in India’ hurt image initiative, he pointed out that NarenJaishankar dra Modi failed because manufacaccused Rahul turing went from 15.3% of GDP to of damaging 12.6% now, the lowest in 60 years. India’s image “The record of the country in orabroad. “Rahul ganising production is dismal,” he Gandhi’s lies said, adding that India has handed may have over production to the Chinese. political intent, Showing his mobile phone, Rahul but they harm said though it is assembled in India, the nation all the components including the internationnetwork are owned by China. he ally,” he said also alleged that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was sent to the US to secure an invite for the PM to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration as US President. In his pushback, Jaishankar said, “Rahul Gandhi deliberately spoke a falsehood about my visit to the US... At no stage was an invitation for the PM discussed. It’s well-known that our PM doesn’t attend such events. India is generally represented by Special Envoys.” The Tamil Nadu government is still in the process of acquiring land for Ramnad airport Murlidhar Mohol, MoS Tamil Nadu’s dream of setting up a new airport at Hosur has received a shot in the arm, with the central government promising to intervene in the existing concession agreement with the Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL). The existing concession agreement has barred building a new airport within 150 kilometre of aerial distance until 2033. At the same time, of the five airports that were identified for development under the Regional Connectivity Scheme - UDAN scheme, RCS flights have already commenced operations from Salem, and the development works at Neyveli and Vellore have been completed and the licencing process is under way . On Monday in the Rajya Sabha, Kinjarapu Rammo, han Naidu, Minister for Civil Aviation, promised that the central government would provide a “positive” approach to the state government’s bid to set up a new airport in Hosur. He, however, said the existing concession agreement with BIAL made it “a challenging and tricky situation”. Pointing out that TN is actively pursuing the construction of airport in Hosur, the minister said BIAL, GoI and TN have to sit together to arrive at a consensus. He stressed that his government wants to create as many airports as possible. P5 Congress govt will table a Bill today allocating 42% reservation for backward classes not just in local polls but also in jobs, education SC ex-panchayat chief hacked in 2011 seeks protection again T HINA K ARAN RA J AMANI @ Tirunelveli T hirt e e n - and - a - ha l f years after P Krishnaveni was brutally hacked by men belonging to dominant communities, the Dalit ex-panchayat president is once again fearing for her safety In a petition given to . Tirunelveli Collector Dr K P Karthikeyan on Monday, she sought police protection citing threats to her life from associates of the men convicted last October for attacking her. Krishnaveni told TNIE that she was reliably informed that the friend of one of the convicts was planning to kill her and she had approached Superintendent of Police N Silambarasan on January 22. Krishnaveni alleged she is facing threats from one of the convicts | Express “However, police has not provided me with protection,” she said. Recalling the brutal attack in June 2011, she said it had come when she, as president of Thalaiyoothu panchayat, had taken steps to construct a public toilet on poramboke land. “Opposing the initiative, men from the dominant communities brutally attacked me with sickles while I was returning home from the panchayat office in an autorickshaw. I sustained 24 deep wounds and underwent multiple surgeries at the Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital and Stanley Medical College Hospital,” she recalled. In October 2024, six men were convicted and sentenced to double life terms. Krishnaveni alleged that she is now facing threats from a friend of one of the convicts and from two others who secured bail from the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court.  P5 TN woman, her 2 kids drown in open sump interim order Centre, states can’t reduce forest cover: SC Express News S ervi ce @ Namakkal S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y @ New Delhi IN a stern warning, the Supreme Court on Monday restrained the Centre and state governments from reducing forest areas without providing compensatory land. The interim order came after a batch of petitions challenged amendments to the 2023 forest conservation law, which allegedly excludes nearly 1.99 lakh square kilometres of forest land from the definition of “forest”. A two-judge bench led by justices B R Gavai and K Vinod Chandran, directed the Centre to submit a status report in three weeks. The court stressed it will not allow any reduction in forest area without compensatory land being provided. The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill was passed by Parliament in 2023. The pleas challenged the constitutionality of the amended law, seeking it to be struck down. The petitioners argued that the 1996 Godavarman judgement by the Supreme Court mandated protection of forests regardless of classification or ownership. They cited the ‘India State of Forest Report 2021’, which states that total forest and tree cover accounts for 24.62% of the country’s geographical area area. 42% BC quota planned by congress in t’gana From right, Chandrika Tandon, Wouter Kellerman and Eru Matsumoto accept the Grammy for their album, Triveni | AP Indra Nooyi’s sis wins Grammy R u pa m J a i n @ Chennai Chandrika Tandon, a Chennai-born Indian-American businesswoman and musician, claimed her first Grammy at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards in 2025. She is the elder sister of Indra Nooyi, former chairperson and chief executive officer of PepsiCo. Chandrika, 71, won the prestigious award in the Best New Age, Ambient, or Chant Album category for her album Triveni. A captivating blend of Vedic chants and modern world music, Triveni is a collaboration with South African flautist Wouter Kellerman and Japanese cellist Eru Matsumoto. The album’s title, inspired by the confluence of three sacred rivers in India, symbolises the fusion of diverse musical traditions, resulting in a meditative journey of inner healing. Chandrika’s win marks the culmination of a career that spans both business and music. Born into a Tamil Brahmin family, she studied at Madras Christian College before earning an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. She went on to become the first Indian-American woman elected partner at McKinsey ...A moment that reminds me that music is love, music ignites the light within all of us, and, even in our darkest days, music spreads joy and laughter - Chandrika Tandon & Company, later founding Tandon Capital Associates. Despite her business success, Chandrika’s passion for m u s i c n e ve r w ave r e d . Trained in Hindustani and Carnatic classical music, she earned her first Grammy nomination in 2011 for her album Soul Call. Triveni, released in 2024, includes seven tracks, each representing a step in a spiritual journey with pieces like , Pathway to Light and Seeking Shakti. In her acceptance speech, Chandrika expressed her gratitude, saying, “Music is love, music is light, and music is laughter.” Her win is a tribute to her commitment to both business and art, proving it’s never too late to pursue your passions. Beyonce’s first Grammy: P9 A 29-year-old woman and her two children drowned after falling into an open, water-filled sump outside her father’s residence in Periyamanali, Kolathalupalayam village in Namakkal district on Monday . R Indhumathi, her husband Ravi and their children Aadvik Aarvin (3) and 11-month-old Navin Aadith, had visited her father’s house to celebrate Pongal, police said. While Ravi returned home to Tiruvallur, the others stayed back to attend a local temple festival. On Monday, while playing outside the house, Aarvin fell into the open sump. Seeing him fall, Indumathi rushed to rescue him while holding Aadith, but slipped and fell into the sump, police said. Her family members were out attending an event and noticed Indumathi and the children were missing when they retur ned. Police said they The three were pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital | Express checked the sump only to find Aadith’s floating body. The neighbours and family members searched the sump and recovered the bodies of Indumathi and Aarvin. They were rushed to the Namakkal Medical College Hospital where the doctors pronounced them dead on arrival, police added. Namakkal police have registered a case and further investigation is on. No political alliance with Congress: Draft CPM resolution pa r v e z s u lta n @ New Delhi IN its draft political resolution for the 24th party congress released on Monday the Commu, nist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) said its attitude to the Congress is determined by the need for broader unity among secular forces. However, it said it cannot have a political alliance with the Congress. The party acknowledged that the Congress, the main secular opposition party, has a role to play in a common struggle against the BJP and in the “broader unity to be forged among secular forces”. It pledged to continue to work with INDIA bloc on core issues as it seeks “mobilisation of all secular forces against Hindutva ideology . “CPM will cooperate with INDIA bloc in Parliament and on agreed issues outside Parliament. We will join hands with all secular forces on issues of authoritarian onslaughts against democracy use of dra, conian laws to suppress dissent and opposition to efforts to subvert the Constitution,” the resolution said. However, the draft vehemently called for strengthening the independent support base of the party. It emphasised that there should be more attention on independent political campaigns and mass mobilisations around the political platform of the party with special focus on ideological work and movement to counter the ideology and activities of the Hindutva forces. The draft was jointly released by CPM Polit Bureau members Tapan Sen, Ashok Dawle, Nilotpal Basu and its coordinator Prakash Karat in New Delhi. The resolution will be taken up in the party congress in Madurai from April 6 to 9. express read Vengaivayal case shifted out from PoA spl court ‘Fire in ADGP chamber not wilful act of arson’ 190 fall ill due to food poisoning at wedding Pudukkottai: The case regarding the mixing of human excreta in a water tank in Vengaivayal has been transferred from the special court for trial of cases under the SC/ST (PoA) Act, Pudukkottai, to the Judicial Magistrate Court in the district | P2 Chennai: Office of the Director General of Police on Monday said that, based on the probe so far, there was “no wilful act of arson” or “planned threat to the life” of ADGP Kalpana Nayak in the fire incident that gutted her chamber on July 28, 2024 | P2 Udaipur: Around 196 people fell ill due to food poisoning at a mass wedding ceremony in Rajasthan’s Udaipur district, officials said on Monday. The guests complained of vomitting and diarrhea after eating khichdi and sweets at the ceremony, A probe is on