vijayawada l tuesday l april 01, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION IMD predicts April-June may be hotter than usual Photo: S Dinesh above-normal heatwave in these states India is likely to experience hotter-than-usual temperatures from April to June, with more heatwave days in central and western plains normal monsoon forecast for india States likely to see above-normal heatwave days include Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and the northern parts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, IMD chief Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said in an online press conference on Monday ■ ■ IMD observed that the neutral trend of El Nino during the monsoon increases the chance of a normal monsoon this year for India April may witness up to 11 days of heatwaves, compared to the maximum normal of 7 days. Elevated temperatures during heatwave days risk lives of vulnerable populations like the elderly, children | P7 536 heatwave days recorded in india in 2024, the highest in 14 years 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 Succession speculation on Modi trashed by Fadnavis New Money Rules from TODAY With the new financial year starting on April 1, a series of financial changes will take effect Rubbishes Raut’s claim, says the PM would lead India beyond 2029 S u d h i r S u r ya w an s h i & R A J E SH K U M A R TH A K UR @ Mumbai/New Delhi New I-T slabs Under the new tax regime, no tax to be paid for salaried individual earning up to `12.75 lakh a year (Nil tax till `12 lakh + `75,000 standard deduction) Unified Pension Scheme Under this, Central government employees will get fixed pension equal to 50% of their average basic salary of last New 12 months MF rules Fund houses New UPI must deploy funds rules raised through new fund If offers within your 30 business mobile days number is inactive or unused for a long time, update it with your bank before April 1, to avoid losing access to UPI payments Goods and Services Tax Multi-factor authentication will be made mandatory for taxpayers for better security on the GST portal NDRF in Mandalay Personnel of the National Disaster Response Force at work at an earthquake-hit site in Myanmar. On Monday, they recovered seven bodies from quake-flattened buildings in the Mandalay region, where they were tasked with launching relief work | PTI Cong call for quota in pvt insts E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi Expressing concern over the under-representation of the backward classes in institutes of higher learning, the Congress on Monday asked the Centre to bring a law to provide reservation for SCs, STs, and OBCs in private educational institutions. Congress general secretary in-charge of communication Jairam Ramesh said a Parliamentary panel has recommended a new legislation to implement Article 15(5). The article empowers the state to introduce reservation in admission into educational institutions, including private ones, to uplift the marginalised sections. Ramesh noted that the Congress is committed to bringing legislation to implement Article 15(5) in private, non-minority educational institutions in the country . Explaining the chronology of legislation to implement Article 15 (5), Ramesh said the Central Educational Institutions (Reservations in Admission) Act, 2006 was passed in Parliament and reservations for SC, ST and socially and educationally backward classes in central educational institutions introduced with effect from January 3, 2007. Citing the case of Ashoka Kumar Thakur vs Union of India on April 10, 2008, he said Article 15(5) is constitutionally valid for state-run and stateaided institutions and reservations in private unaided institutions left open to be decided in the appropriate course. In the IMA Vs Union of India May 12, 2011, he said, by 2-0 margin, Article 15 (5) is upheld for private unaided non-minority educational institutions. Citing another case, Ramesh said, “Pramati Educational and Cultural Trust versus Union of India Jan 29, 2014. By 5-0 margin Article 15(5) is, for the first time, upheld as it is explicitly . This means reservation in private educational institutions is valid, he said. P4 will ensure major social change: CM 20 lakh poorest families to benefit from P4 E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada Describing the P4 initiative as an extraordinary programme designed for the economic uplift of the underprivile g ed, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has said it is destined to leave a long lasting mark in the history . Launching the P4 (PublicPrivate-People Partnership) initiative at Amaravati on Sunday on the occasion of Ugadi, he said it is set to reshape the society He unveiled the logo of . P4 initiative, along with Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan. Addressing the gathering, Naidu termed P4 a revolutionary step towards eradicating poverty, timed with the auspicious Telugu New Year. “Starting a venture on Ugadi ensures its triumph,” he remarked, attributing the programme’s promise to his collaboration with Pawan Kalyan, who envisions a thriving State, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who strives to elevate In- Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan unveiling the logo of P4 at Velagapudi on Sunday | Express dia globally. “We’re fortunate to have such a visionary Prime Minister at this pivotal moment,” Naidu observed. He advocated for utilisation of wealth for societal good, stating, “Wealth doesn’t follow us beyond life — what matters is whether we lived for ourselves or others.” P4 embodies this ethos, aiming to equip eve- ry poor family with essentials. Under Swarna Andhra Vision-2047, Naidu projected a rise in the State’s per capita income from `2,66,995 in 2024-25 to `2,98,065 in 2025-26, reaching `5,42,985 by 2028-29, and soaring to `55 lakh by 2047. “By 2047, India will lead globally, and Telugus must be at the P4 forefront,” he declared. Using data analytics, surveys and Gram Sabha inputs, 20 lakh of the poorest families have been identified. A platform (https:// zeropovertyp4. ap.gov.in/) enables Margadarsi to pledge support to the poor, earning certificates upon commitment. Progress will be tracked digitally, with updates by the next Ugadi, Naidu said Central team meets CM on revival of VSP Married man murders lover, tries to project it as suicide E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Parvathipuram-Manyam @ Vijayawada In a significant step to revitalise Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), a delegation from the Union Ministry of Steel held discussions with Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu at his Undavalli residence on Monday . Union Minister of State for Steel Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma, who participated in the talks, expressed gratitude to the Chief Minister for the State government’s proactive role in enhancing security at the facility through the deployment of Special Protection Force (SPF). Naidu emphasised the emotional bond Andhra Pradesh shares with the steel plant (Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd), underscoring the urgent need P4 to protect it.  E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e In a gruesome incident, a 19year-old girl was allegedly killed by her boyfriend for asking him to marry her on March 27. He took the girl’s body nearly 150 km on a motorcycle, and tried to project it as a suicide by hanging her from a tree. District ASP Ankita Surana told mediapersons here on Monday that Perumalla Rambabu of Dattivalsa, a married person, was in love with a woman of Nadimivalasa. When she insisted him to marry her repeatedly he stran, gulated her, and shifted her to a private hospital, where she was declared brought dead. Then he took the body on his bike to Gadepallevalasa village in Salur mandal with the help of his friend, and another accomplice who helped them in a refill of petrol. Then they tried to project it as a suicide by hanging her from a tree. Police arrested Rambabu, based on the CCTV footage, and search is on for his two accomplices. On being informed by locals, Salur rural police reached to the spot, where the girl’s body was hanged from a tree, along with the clues team, and collected the evidence. They suspected it a murder as there were two strangling marks on h e r n e ck , a n d l a u n ch e d investigation. Based on the call data record, police detained Rambabu, and collected the technical evidence, including the CCTV footage, containing the body on his bike from Vizag to Salur, the ASP said, and appreciated the team work of Salur urban, rural and Pachipenta police in cracking the murder case. Prime accused held, two at large Perumalla Rambabu, who left his wife, was residing alone in Arilova in Vizag by working as a driver in a gas company. “We have arrested the prime accused Rambabu, and launched a manhunt for the remaining two accused. The duo will be nabbed soon,” said District ASP Ankita Surana Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday rubbished speculation about Narendra Modi’s successor, a day after the latter visited the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) headquarters in Nagpur. He added that Modi would continue to lead the country beyond 2029, when the next Lok Sabha polls are due. Fadnavis was reacting to Uddhav Sena leader Sanjay Raut’s statement earlier in the day that Modi’s visit to the RSS HQ was to “announce his retirement” and discuss his succession plan. “In 2029, we will see Modi as the prime minister again,” Fadnavis told the media in Nagpur. “There is no need to search for his successor. He (Modi) is our leader and will continue,” t’gana Probe into free ipl tickets issue he asserted. “In our culture, when the father is alive, it is inappropriate to talk about succession. That is Mughal culture. The time has not come to discuss it,” Fadnavis said. Raut had claimed that Modi’s successor would be from Maharashtra. Separately, former RSS general secretary Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi, too, said he was not aware of any talk of the prime minister’s replacement. “It appears that Modi’s successor will be decided by the RSS which is why Modi was called (to Nagpur) and discussions took place. Sangh’s discussions are held behind closed doors. The indications are very clear. The Sangh will decide the next leader, who could be from Maharashtra,” Raut claimed. As for choosing a successor for BJP’s national president J P Nadda, the party is reportedly in the process of shortlisting candidates. Among the frontrunners are Union ministers Manohar Lal Khattar, Dharmendra Pradhan and Bhupendra Yadav, along with three women—finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, BJP Parliamentary Board member Sudha Ya d a v, a n d D a g g u b a t i Purandeswari, party president of the Andhra Pradesh unit. The final decision is expected by mid-April, with the official announcement at the upcoming BJP National Council meeting in Bengaluru. A high-stakes controversy has engulfed the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) over allegations of blackmailing the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) IPL team management for free tickets. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has ordered a vigilance probe into the matter. The controversy surrounds the allocation of complimentary tickets | P5