Chennai l thursday l february 20, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 22 l late city EDITION 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 Powerful quantum computers coming soon Majorana 1 powered by ‘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!” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella wrote on X ■ ■ To build the new chip, Microsoft developed topoconductor, a breakthrough material. The topoconductor can create an entirely new state of matter – not a solid, liquid or gas but a topological state. This will produce qubits that fast and small, the company said Qubit is the basic unit of information in quantum computing 20 years the time it took microsoft to develop topoconductors 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 BJP crosses gender Bulk of aid went to Rekha for CM choice US health initiatives 64% routed via USAID; $20 mn to spur democratic participation 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 U.S. foreign assistance by country between 2021-24 200 110 280 160 250 250 210 230 550 410 390 240 11 9.17 15 2024 14 2023 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 pharma firms 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 FY24, 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. Pharmexcil’s director-general Raja Bhanu said Indian pharma firms supply a substantial proportion of drugs to the US, with four out of 10 of all prescriptions filled in the US being supplied by domestic firms. According to Namit Joshi, chairman of Pharmexcil, no major threat to generics exports is expected. “The competitiveness of Indian exports will ensure the impact of any duty hikes will be low,” he said. At present, there is no import duty on Indian pharmaceuticals in the US. White House’s efforts to reduce the size of the federal government, had previously called the Under the Joe Biden adminis- USAID “a criminal organizatration, the US provided $720 tion” and claimed that Trump million in assistance to India in had agreed to shut it down. the past four years, with 64% Sanjeev Sanyal, the governallocated to health initiatives, ment’s economic advisor, had mostly managed by the now- accused USAID of playing a sedefunct USAID, and $20.1 mil- cret role in influencing policy lion for democratic participa- in the health and social sector. tion and civil society — a sector “Those concerned about USthat is currently sparkAID’s interference in ing political controverIndian elections sy in India over spendshould be equally coning on voter turnout, analysis cerned about USAID’s according to an analytentacles in India’s sis of US government medical system and data by this newspaper. social policies. USAID Ranked between 4th effectively ran India’s and 5th among 15 South National Family and Central Asian counHealth Survey from tries, India’s share of the 1990s till it was US aid over the past stopped two years four years was 35% less ago,” he said. than Pakistan’s $970 Musk’s figure of $21 Why are we million, and significantmillion spent on the giving USD 21 ly higher than China’s Indian elections aligns $49.7 million during the million to India? with the US data on They got a lot of same period. However, money earmarked for money there in South Asia, Banglademocratic participaDonald Trump desh received $1.89 biltion and civil society lion, nearly 162% more efforts in India. than India. However, in 2022, In the 2024 election year, the India received $20 million more US allocated $5.5 million tothan Pakistan, totalling $250 ward voter turnout initiatives, million in aid, primarily due to with an additional $6.1 million post-COVID initiatives. spent in 2023 under the same The health sector received a category. Over the past four total of $462 million in the past years, the total commitment for four years for various pro- democratic participation was grammes, including fighting $20.1 million, of which $13.25 H I V- A I D S a d m i n i s t e r e d million was disbursed. Howevthrough USAID. er, the data does not specify the Elon Musk, involved in the end beneficiaries. J aya n t h J a c o b & J i t e n dr a C h o ube y @ New Delhi 2022 A R SHA D K HAN @ New Delhi To take oath of office at the Ramlila Maidan today 2021 Fresh 25% tariff may hit Indian pharma Cos (in million USD) India Pakistan Bangladesh China 3,629.7 Total foreign assistance by country during the Biden govt Dad hacks boy, girl to death in fit of rage; wife, younger girl critical E x pre s s Ne w s Ser v i c e @ Coimbatore Pope has pneumonia in both lungs Pope Francis, hospitalised last week for bronchitis, has developed pneumonia in both lungs, the Vatican said, adding the 88-year-old is in “good spirits” | P15 In a domestic dispute over an extramarital affair, a man went on a killing spree and allegedly hacked his son, two daughters, and 38-year-old wife with a sickle near Attur in Salem district early on Wednesday While . son Arulprakash (5) and daughter A Vidyadharani (13) died on the spot, wife Dhavamani (38), and second daughter A Arulkumari (10) are being treated for near-fatal injuries at the government medical college hospital in Salem. The accused, Ashok Kumar (42), is also undergoing treatment at the same hospital after he tried to end his life by injuring himself, police said. The family was residing at Krishnapuram village at Gangavalli taluk in Salem district. Ashok Kumar, a daily-wage labourer at Neyveli in Cuddalore district, used to quarrel with his wife whenever he retur ned home. On Tuesday evening, he returned home and started quarrelling again, police said.  P7 Mom, kids lay in a pool of blood In the early hours of Wednesday, Dhavamani’s neighbours heard screams from the house. When they rushed there, they found children & their mother lying in a pool of blood i P h o n e f i rm c a l l s c h e n n a i Japan firm Murata enters India with TN plant E x pre s s n e w s s er v i c e @ Chennai Japanese electronics giant and key iPhone components manufacturer Murata Manufacturing is setting up a factory at OneHub Chennai Industrial Park to produce multilayer ceramic capacitors, marking its entry into Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu Industries Minister TRB Rajaa, in a post on ‘X’, said, “We’ve been in discussions with Murata for about a year, and after multiple meetings, we are thrilled to see them kickstart production in Tamil Nadu! The company plans to fully scale up operations by the financial year 2026. With this, Murata aims to gain hands-on experience in factory operations in India, laying the groundwork for future manufacturing expansion in the country-there’s much more to come!” Addressing concerns that India’s part in manufacturing is being seen as limited to assembly operations, he added, “Watch how the supply chain shift is unfolding!” Murata’s entry into Tamil Nadu follows arrival of major global players like Corning and Jabil, reinforcing the state’s growing status as a hub for advanced electronics manufacturing.  P7 A representational image of the proposed Murata unit at OneHub Chennai Industrial Park | Express R A J E SH K U MA R THA K U R @ 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 Rekha Gupta after being elected the BJP’s new chief minister of Delhi | Parveen Negi all MLAs. She is 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. Lokayukta clean chit to Siddu, wife B K L a k s h m i k a n t h a @ Mysuru Lokayukta Police gave a clean chit to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, wife Parvathi and two others in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land allotment scam, citing lack of evidence. In a letter to complainant Snehamayi Krishna, an RTI activist, Lokayukta police said it conducted a detailed investigation against Siddaramaiah, Parvathi, her brother Mallikarjuna Swamy and , land owner Devaraj but found no evidence to substantiate the charges against them. The final probe report will be submitted to the Karnataka HC. The notice said further probe will be conducted into allegations of MUDA providing compensatory plots in the ratio of 50:50 from 2016 to 2024 and an additional final report will be submitted to the High Court after completing the probe. Reacting to the notice, Krishna said, “The Lokayukta notice states there is no proof to substantiate my allegations. Then, did I give them garbage? The CM is accused No 1.”