tirupati l sunday l march 09, 2025 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l late city EDITION Women trailblazers take over Prime minister’s social media a/c Women leaders from chess, science, rural entrepreneurship, empowerment and inclusive development posted their winning strategies titans from diverse fields join hands all-women security cover at pm event While Anjlee Agarwal, an advocate for universal accessibility, called for a stronger push towards a more inclusive India under the ‘Sugamya Bharat’ initiative, scientists Elina Mishra and Shilpi Soni highlighted the importance of women’s participation in science, urging more women to pursue careers in nuclear and space technology ■ ■ A security cover comprising only women police personnel was deployed at a mega event addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Gujarat’s Navsari on Women’s Day on March 8 The bandobast included 2,100 constables, 187 SIs, 61 inspectors, 16 DSPs, five SPs, one IGP and one Additional DGP rank officer 2,372 women police personnel deployed for modi’s security on march 8 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 unbeaten india’s one final push for desert glory G o m e s h S @ Chennai In sports, more often than not, history is written by winners. No matter what a team does or how far a team progresses in a tournament, holding aloft the trophy defines it. No other team knows this better than India. In the last three ICC white ball tour naments, India have reached the final three times, lost one and won one. How the third final against New Zealand in the ICC Champions Trophy would end will be known on Sunday night. The win will also lay to rest the controversies surrounding the scheduling. One thing, however, is clear that the brand of cricket India are playing is something unique. One that head coach Gautam Gambhir spoke about from the moment he took over: winning brand of cricket, a philosophy they would want to follow. India, however, have not been able to live up to it, especially in the longest format. Home series loss after 12 years, Border-Gavaskar Trophy loss after ten years have added pressure on Gamb- hir as well as captain Rohit Sharma. A victory in Dubai is ever more important. The opponents on Sunday are New Zealand, the team India had beaten in the Group stages. The Black Caps have troubled India before and going by the records India should not slumber into complacency . Yet, for India the four-spinner theory has worked on the deviously slow wicket of Dubai International Stadium. Varun Chakravarthy is the mystery man, the guiley Ravindra Jadeja, crafty Kuldeep Yadav and ‘all-rounder’ Axar Patel will play their part again. When both teams set foot on the ground, a lot will be at stake. But for Rohit, a victory could propel him to a new height.  P11 Govt to create 1L entrepreneurs E x p r e s s Ne w s Se r v i c e @ Ongole A vehicle in flames after protesters clashed with security personnel in Kangpokpi district on Saturday | PTI Manipur erupts amid bid to restore free movement in state P r a s a n ta M a z u m d a r @ Guwahati Free travel: Dist as unit may pose challenges P h a n i n d r a Pa pa s a n i @ Vijayawada APSRTC staff and the employees’ unions have raised serious concerns over the TDP-led NDA government’s move to implement the free bus travel for women scheme as part of fulfilment of its Super Six by taking a district as a unit, stating that it will create a lot of confusion among bus conductors and beneficiaries due to jurisdictional issues. When TNIE spoke to women, conductors and RTC union leaders, they are of the view that the implementation of the scheme by taking the district as a unit will be of no use as m o s t of the bus services are inter-district. “For instance, if a woman beneficiary wants to travel to Guntur from Vijayawada under the scheme, she needs to pay full bus fare as the jurisdiction of NTR district ends at Kanaka Durga Varadhi. Same is the case if they want to travel to other places like Machilipatnam and Eluru. This will create a lot of confusion, and conductors face the ire of women if they charge ticket price as per norms,” said APSRTC Employees Union president P P4 Damodar.  WITH THIS ISSUE the naked truth Maha Kumbh: The Secret Life of Naga Sadhus PLUS 12 PAGES Clashes broke out in Manipur’s Kuki-majority Kangpokpi district on Saturday as the Centre tried to restore free movement for people on all roads in the ethnic violence-hit state. Over a dozen protesters were injured, one of whom reportedly succumbed to injuries. The protesters attacked a state-run bus and torched at least one private vehicle. At a high-level Manipur security review meeting held in New Delhi on March 1, Union home minister Amit Shah had issued directions to restore free movement and take action against anyone attempting to create obstructions. Acting on that directive, the Manipur State Transpor t (MST) operated two buses, one on the Imphal-Kangpokpi-Senapati route and another on the Imphal-Bishnupur-Churachandpur route, with security cover by personnel of the Central Armed Police Forces. Similarly the Federations of , Civil Society (FOCS), a conglomerate of 20 Imphal Valleybased organisations, took out a peace expedition from Imphal to go to Senapati which is a Naga-majority district. The participants, who were travelling in some vehicles, were stopped at Sekmai in the Imphal West district by security forces and they returned to Imphal. Meanwhile, crowds were building in different parts of Kangpokpi district to thwart the march by FOCS and the movement of the MST bus. They erected bar ricades on a highway . When the MST bus entered Kangpokpi district, the protesters attempted to prevent its movement by pelting stones. This led to a confrontation and the security personnel used force to restore normalcy leading to clashes. The other MST bus travelled up to Kangvai, a small town in Kuki-majority Churachandpur district bordering Meitei-majority Bishnupur district, and returned. indefinite shutdown The Kuki-Zo Council condemned the decision to “impose” free movement despite being “fully aware” of potential violence, and announced an indefinite shutdown across all KukiZo areas from Saturday night 16 protesters were reportedly injured and one protester succumbed to injury. Two vehicles of the security forces were also burnt by the protesters Manipur Police Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has unveiled plans to create one lakh women entrepreneurs within a year, backed by agreements with 24 organisations to support women’s businesses and market their products, besides a 45% investment subsidy for financial independence. He made the announcement at the International Women’s Day celebrations in Markapuram on Saturday On the occasion, he launched . ‘Shakti App’ for women’s safety, promising a 7-minute response, and strict action against harassers. “Since the NDA government has taken over, we’ve curbed abusive language on TV in the As, sembly, and on social media, with legal action against offenders to maintain civility, and protect the future generations. Ganja menace, rampant for five years, is being tackled with the Eagle system, and deployment of drones. Anyone harming girls faces severe consequences,” the P4 Chief Minister warned.  Dealing with US push in agri market j aya n t h j a c o b @ New Delhi AS India and the US begin trade talks, New Delhi has conveyed that it has been reducing applied tariffs in agreements with developed countries, while emphasising a “mutually beneficial” approach and “sensitive handling of sectors l i ke a g r i c u l t u re ” , a ke y focus of the Trump administration in seeking greater market access. A team of Indian officials, led by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal visited Washington from March 3 to 6 and engaged the US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and their teams. President Donald Trump said India has agreed to cut its tariffs “way down now” because somebody is finally “exposing” them, evoking sharp reactions from opposition parties in the country . Reducing “average applied tariff significantly” has been a key aspect of India’s recently concluded mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreements with a slew of developed countries such as Australia, the Key objectives for India at U.S. talks Increasing market access, reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers, deepening supply chain integration, ensuring India does not turn dumping ground for products, and increasing investments are key objectives UAE, Switzerland, Norway and the ongoing talks with the European Union and United Kingdom. But the “tone and substance of the talks” and “understanding each others’ concerns to get to an agreement” is the new focus. “The teams will now get into sector wise, issue-wise specifics,” said a source. Asked about various statements coming out of Washington on tariffs and trade negotiations, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said at a press briefing: “We have in recent times entered into bilateral trade agreements based on tariff liberalisation with several partners.... The ongoing discussions should be seen in that context.” Trump’s tarif f against India rolls out April 2.