Microsoft announces quantum computing leap with new chip The US tech giant on Wednesday unveiled Majorana 1, the world’s first quantum chip that uses a new type of material called topoconductor. The new chip, Majorana 1, will help build quantum computers capable of solving industrial-scale problems in years, not decades, Microsoft said. “Imagine a chip that can fit in the palm of your hand yet is capable of solving problems that even all the computers on Earth today combined could not!” bengaluru l thursday l february 20, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 20 l late city EDITION 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 MUDA case Lokayukta clean chit to Siddu, wife B K L a k s h m i k a n t h a @ Mysuru Karnataka Lokayukta has given a clean chit to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his wife Parvathi, and two others in the alleged scam in allotment of sites by Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA). A notice was sent to complainant Snehamayi Krishna, an RTI activist, on Wednesday stating that he may challenge the Lokayukta probe report within a week before the designated magistrate. The notice stated that the Lokayukta police conducted an investigation under various Sections of IPC, Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988, and the Karnataka Land Grabbing Prohibition Act, 2011, against Siddaramaiah, Parvathi, Mallikarjuna Swamy (Parvathi’s brother) and land owner Devaraj and found that the case came under civil dispute. P4 express read Milk price likely to go up by `5 after budget Bengaluru: The price of Nandini milk is likely to be hiked by Rs 5 a litre after the state budget on March 7. The quantity of milk will also be reduced from the existing 1,050 ml to one litre. The cost of a litre of Nandini milk will increase to Rs 47. KMF MD B Shivaswamy told TNIE the final decision now rests with the chief minister. P4 25% tariff BJP crosses gender Bulk of aid went to Freshhit Indian may Rekha for CM choice US health initiatives pharma firms 64% routed via USAID; $20.1 mn allocated to spur democratic participation To take oath at Ramlila Maidan today ARSHAD K HAN @ New Delhi RA J ESH K UMAR THA K UR J aya n t h J a c o b & J i t e n d r a C h o u b e y @ New Delhi In a loaded prediction, a senior BJP leader had on Monday told this journalist, “Delhi me vikas ka ek naya ‘rekha’ kichna hai prime minister sahib ko” (The PM has to draw a new line of development in Delhi). The wordplay barely concealed the name of the eventual pick as chief minister-designate Rekha Gupta. How sure was he about it? The senior leader was emphatic: “Go, write it on a 100 rupee note.” He recalled that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been urging the party to set an example for Nari Shakti by assigning a woman to lead the national capital. Gupta’s name was in circulation ever since exit polls predicted a stunning BJP victory . On Wednesday, the BJP Legislative Party elected her as the leader of the House. She will take her oath of office at Ramlila Maidan on Thursday . A first-time legislator, Gupta has a strong RSS background. She also earned the respect of party MLAs and has experience in governance. She cut her political teeth as a student leader of the Delhi University before becoming councillor. “She was found suitable for the post of chief minister, as the right candidate must have the respect of all MLAs. She is Under the Joe Biden administration, the US provided $720 million in assistance to India over the past four years, with 64% allocated to health initiatives, mostly managed by the now-defunct USAID, and $20.1 million for democratic participation and civil society — a sector that is currently sparking political controversy in India over spending on voter turnout, according to an analysis of US government data by this newspaper. Ranked between 4th and 5th among 15 South and Central Asian countries, India’s share of US assistance over the past four years was 35% less than Pakistan’s $970 million, and significantly higher than China’s $49.7 million during the same period. However, in South Asia, Bangladesh received $1.89 billion, nearly 162% more than India. However, in 2022, India received $20 million more than Pakistan, totalling $250 million in aid, primarily due to postCOVID initiatives. The health sector received a total of $462 million in the past four years for various programmes, including fighting H I V- A I D S a d m i n i s t e r e d through USAID. Elon Musk, involved in the White House’s efforts to reduce the size of the federal govern- @ New Delhi Rekha Gupta after being elected BJP’s new CM of Delhi | Parveen Negi also a good listener,” sources said. Gupta’s connect with the people and her performance as general secretary of the party’s Mahila Morcha worked her favour. Other contenders for the role, such as Parvesh Verma, Satish Upadhyay Ashish Sood, Pawan , Sharma, and Shikha Roy have , less legislative experience than Gupta. Also, the Shalimar Bagh MLA enjoys popularity across various communities, including Jats (10% population), Vaishyas (8%) and others. Sources said by giving her the baton, the BJP also sought to send a message to Bihar, where elections are due later this year. Baniyas in Bihar comprise around 30.26 lakh or 2.3% of the state’s population, which gives them clout. Major sector-wise U.S. assistance to India from 2021-24 (in million USD) Sector 2021 2022 2023 2024 Total 61 190 130 81 462 5.5 8.7 11 17 42.2 8 6.3 9 10 33.3 Education 1.9 5.6 6.3 7.5 21.3 Social protection 3.4 6.1 7.3 9.5 26.3 Health & population Environmental policy and administrative management Energy generation, renewable sources —technologies, policy ment, had previously called the participation and civil society USAID “a criminal organiza- efforts in India. tion” and claimed that Trump In the 2024 election year, the had agreed to shut it US allocated $5.5 mildown. lion toward voter Sanjeev Sanyal, the turnout initiatives, analysis with an additional $6.1 government’s economic advisor, had accused million spent in 2023 USAID of playing a seunder the same catecret role in influencing gory. Over the past policy in the health and four years, the total social sector. commitment for dem“Those concer ned ocratic participation about USAID’s interferwas $20.1 million, of ence in Indian elections which $13.25 million should be equally conwas disbursed. Howcerned about USAID’s ever, the data does not Why are we tentacles in India’s medspecify the end giving USD 21 ical system and social beneficiaries. million to India? policies. USAID effec- They got a lot of “Why are we giving tively ran India’s Na$21 million to India? money there tional Family Health They have a lot more Donald Trump Survey from the 1990s money. They are one till it was stopped two of the highest taxing years ago,” he said. countries in the world in terms Musk’s figure of $21 million of us; we can hardly get in spent on the Indian elections there because their tariffs are aligns with the US data on mon- s o h i g h , ” T r u m p t o l d ey earmarked for democratic reporters. US President Donald Trump’s plan to introduce 25% tariff on imports of automobiles, semiconductors, and pharma could be bad news for India. While the impact on Indian semiconductor sector is expected to be negligible as the industry is still at a nascent stage, the tariffs could inflict pain on phar ma fir ms for whom the US is the largest export market. As for India’s auto industry, only 0.2% of car exports go to the US. However, higher levies on auto parts could deal a blow as the auto components segment grew 7% to $11.1 billion in the first half of FY25, with North America accounting for 31% of exports. Pharma exports to the US reached $8.73 billion in Financial Year 24, accounting for 31% of the industry’s total exports, according to the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil) data. Indian drugmakers expect some impact as the industry heavily relies on American demand for growth. Sun Pharma generated 32% of its total revenue from the US in fiscal 2024. Similarly, North America contributed 47% of Dr. Reddy’s total sales and 30% of Cipla’s revenue during the same period. At present, there is no import duty on Indian pharmaceuticals in the US.