COIMBATORE l friday l april 04, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l LATE city EDITION India and Thailand elevate ties to a strategic partnership PM Narendra Modi met his Thai counterpart on Thursday where the two countries agreed to turrn their ties into a strategic partnership ALL for development, not expansionism cooperation in tourism, education Prime Minister Narendra Modi after meeting his former Thai counterpart Thaksin Shinawatra and Thailand PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra asserted that both countries support a free, open, inclusive, and rules-based order in Indo-Pacific, and believe in a policy of development, not expansionism. Modi described the meeting as a ‘delight’ ■ ■ India emphasised cooperation in the fields of tourism, culture, and education between India’s northeastern states and Thailand The Prime Minister will later join BIMSTEC leaders from Thailand, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar and Bhutan to oversee the signing of an agreement on Maritime Cooperation in the region $16 billion is the volume of bilateral trade between india, thailand in 2023 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 Assets of all SC judges will now be made public E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi IN a big push towards transparency and propriety all Supreme , Court judges have unanimously agreed to declare their assets to the Chief Justice of India. The declaration of the assets will be uploaded on the Supreme Court’s website as soon as possible. The decision was taken by Supreme Court judges in a full court meeting held on April 1. The move follows the discovery of a huge amount of unaccounted cash from the official residence of Justice Yashwant Varma in New Delhi on March 14. In the wake of that controversy, the Supreme Court repatriated Justice Varma to the Allahabad High Court, his parent cadre. Legal experts said although the decision to declare assets by SC judges was not new, at this critical juncture, the unanimous decision to declare judges’ assets might be a good step in restoring public faith in the judiciary, keeping in view the increasing concern over transparency and accountability in the judiciary . Retired Justice S R Singh of Allahabad HC said, “It is not compulsory. But what is the problem in declaring one’s (judge’s) assets? At this time, if the Supreme Court judges do so, then it will definitely give a boost to restore public faith to a great extent.” express read Must unseat BJP govt to save federalism: Stalin Madurai: Speaking at a seminar at the CPM’s 24th party congress in Madurai on Thursday, CM M K Stalin urged all parties to come together to unseat BJP from power to safeguard federalism. “BJP government is allergic to the word federalism,” Stalin said | P4 Memorial for Mookiah Thevar, statue for Marx Chennai: Honouring Karl Marx’s contributions to humanity, Tamil Nadu government announced a statue for the socialist in Chennai. It also said a memorial for All India Forward Bloc leader P K Mookiah Thevar will be built at Usilampatti in Madurai | P4 Aavin most affordable milk brand: Minister Chennai: Aavin milk is the most affordable among all the stateowned cooperative brands, including Amul, Nandini and Milma, with the price difference ranging from `6 to `16 per litre, Minister R S Raja Kannappan told the Assembly on Thursday | P4 India brazens out Trump tariff SC upholds order Manipulation, fraud Sees opportunities amid challenges as US imposes 27% reciprocal tariff on Indian goods (Early trade figures BSE Sensex -0.42% for US markets) Hang Seng Index -1.52% Nikkei Index -2.77% MARKETS Dow Jones -3.29% S&P 500 -4.16% DIPA K M O N D A L @ New Delhi INDIA may have escaped with a milder ‘reciprocal’ tariff but the brute force of US President Donald Trump’s import levy could shake up the country’s economic prospects. Trump, in the wee hours on Thursday, announced reciprocal tariffs ranging from 10% to 49% on countries with which the US has trade deficit. He imposed a baseline tariff of 10% on all imports (effective April 5) and specific reciprocal tariffs on multiple countries (effective April 9). Some sectors, such as pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, copper, and energy products, will remain exempt from additional tariffs. India is estimated to have a trade surplus of $35 billion with the US and Indian goods will attract 27% additional tar- BLEED Nasdaq -5.38% Analysts flag global recession fears India’s FY26 GDP growth may slip 50-100 bps from expected levels Indian drug manufacturers to benefit as pharma sector excluded from tariffs WHAT TO EXPECT iff. While this is lower than 54% on China, 46% on Vietnam, 37% on Bangladesh, and 36% on Thailand, it is still higher than what was expected. “We had expected 10-15% additional tariff,” said Ajay Sahai, CEO, Federation of Indian Export Organisations. He said exports of seafood and carpets are among the most impacted. Trump had initially put the tariff for India at 26%, but the White House later clarified that this would be 27%. While in relative terms India has an edge over its Asian peers, the gains would be limited by recessionary trends triggered by the US move, say analysts. Higher tariffs are likely to be passed on to consumers, leading to an increase in prices and muted demand over the medium term, triggering a global slowdown. This will have a rub-off effect on the Indian economy as well, shaving off 50-100 basis points from the FY26 GDP growth es- timates. Most analysts and agencies have predicted India to grow at 6.5% in FY26. Meanwhile, the Indian government on Thursday said it is carefully examining the implications of reciprocal tariff. The commerce ministry said it is also looking at the opportunities that may arise due to the new development. TN leather exporters see a silver lining | P2 ICC hUNGARY DECIDES TO QUIT Union health minister J P Nadda speaks in the Rajya Sabha on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, on Thursday | PTI turn of RS to hold Marathon debate on Waqf RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR NDA comfortable in the Upper House The Rajya Sabha witnessed heated debate on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, hours after Lok Sabha passed it in the wee hours of Thursday . The debate, which continued late into the night, saw participation from more than 35 members, with both sides exchanging allegations and counter-allegations. Introducing the bill, Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju rejected the Opposition’s claims that the legislation would infringe upon Muslim rights. He asserted that the amendments were made to make the law more inclusive, adding they aimed at improving the representation of women on the Waqf Board and protecting the rights of all Muslim sects. He said the objective was to bring in transparency accountabil, ity and efficiency in the man, agement of waqf properties. However, the Opposition termed the bill “unconstitutional” and accusing the government of aiming to deprive Muslims of their rights concerning Waqf properties. Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, in his pushback re- The ruling NDA is comfortably placed in the Upper House as it has 128 members as against the Opposition INDIA bloc’s 98. The Waqf (Amendment) Bill needs at least 118 votes to pass muster as there are nine vacancies in the 245-member House. @ New Delhi jected the NDA’s claims about the bill’s benefits. “There is nothing new except the clauses that will destroy the people,” he said, dismissing it as having no real welfare provisions for Muslims. Members of the TMC, DMK, AAP, Shiv Sena (UBT), SP, RJD, and Left parties alleged that the bill was introduced with malafide intentions. Leader of the House J P Nadda said the bill was designed to assist the poor and protect the rights of Muslim women. He accused the Congress of relegating Muslim women to second-class status during its tenure in power. “We believe in real service… I stand in support of the (Waqf) Bill as its sole purpose is to bring reforms in managing the Waqf properties.” CM M K Stalin at Assembly, wearing a black badge in protest against the passage of Waqf Bill | Express DMK to challenge Waqf Bill in SC; Stalin calls it bid to ‘threaten Muslims’ K E z h i l a r a s an @ Chennai Taking strong exception to the passage of the Waqf Bill in the Lok Sabha, Chief Minister and DMK president M K Stalin on Thursday told the Tamil Nadu Assembly that DMK would file a case in the Supreme Court against the bill. Wearing a black badge in protest, Stalin said the bill would destroy the autonomy of Waqf boards and threaten the Muslim community. “Tamil Nadu will fight against it and Tamil Nadu will win. We will stop the bill through legal measures,” the CM said. All members of the DMK and its alliance parties, too, participated in the Assembly proceedings wearing black badges. AIADMK members, though they did not wear a black badge, joined the ruling party in opposing the bill amid talks of alliance with the BJP which brought , in the legislation. Urging that the bill should be withdrawn, AIADMK whip SP Velumani said the party would support the state on the issue. He also suggested that the Union government should bring an amendment after consulting with minorities to dispel their fears. Pointing to the 232 votes against the bill in the Lok Sabha and 288 votes supporting it, the CM said, “232 is not an ordinary number. This bill should not be merely opposed but should be withdrawn completely This is our stand.” . Stalin also recalled the resolution adopted in the Assembly last week urging the bill’s withdrawal which was supported by all parties except the BJP . Review e-pass for tourists in Ooty, Kodai: TN to HC R SIV A K U M A R @ Chennai The Tamil Nadu government has filed a petition in the Madras High Court on Thursday seeking a review of its order limiting the number of tourist vehicles entering the Nilgiris and Kodaikanal. The restrictions, imposed without expert opinion and accurate data, would affect the local economy and cause financial hardship to residents who depend on tourism, the petition said. Shops shut in the Nilgiris on Wednesday protesting the restrictions | express The plea, filed by Nilgiris Collector Lakshmi Bhavya Tanneeru, will come up for hearing before Justices N Sathish Kumar and D Bharatha Chakravarthy on Friday (April 4) as the bench has agreed to hear the matter after it was mentioned before it on Thursday. The state’s move follows widespread protests, including a 24-hour bandh on Wednesday called by traders against the epass system, in the Nilgiris. In an order on March 13, the court capped the number of tourist vehicles that could enter Nilgiris at 6,000 per day on weekdays and 8,000 per day on weekends. Similarly 4,000 vehi, cles per day on weekdays and 6,000 on weekends shall be allowed entry into Kodaikanal in Dindigul district through an epass system, the HC had said. “Imposition of constraints on the vehicle capacity in the absence of expert opinion and clear data has the potential to disrupt the local economy and livelihood of residents in these hill stations dependent on the revenue generated from tourists,” stated the petition. P5 The court failed to pinpoint types of vehicles allowed. It should’ve exempted 2-wheelers from the ambit of the e-pass State Hungary on Thursday said it will withdraw from the International Criminal Court, just as Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, against whom the ICC has issued an arrest warrant, arrived in Budapest invalidating 26K WB teacher jobs Su c h i t r a K a lyan M o hant y @ New Delhi IN a major setback to the Mamta Banerjee govt, the Supreme Court on Thursday in its verdict upheld the Calcutta HC’s decision to cancel 25,753 teachers appointments in West Bengal govt schools, terming the entire selection process as “vitiated by manipulation and fraud”. A two-judge bench led by the Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice PV Sanjiv Kumar refused to interfere with the Calcutta High Court’s decision of April last year. The court passed the ruling on Thursday on an appeal filed by the West Bengal government against the Calcutta HC’s order invalidating and cancelling the appointment of 25,753 teachers made by the state’s SSC in state-run govt schools. “We have gone through the facts. Regarding findings of this case, the entire selection process is vitiated by manipulation and fraud and credibility and legitimacy is denuded. No reason to interfere. Tainted candidates must be terminated and appointments were resultant of cheating and thus fraud,” the top court said in its judgment. In April 2024, the Calcutta HC had cancelled the appointment of 25,753 employees (both teaching and non-teaching) to state-aided schools. “There is no clarity on which of the 23 lakh answer sheets were evaluated and therefore, ordered re- An employee of the Bengal government breaks down after the SC order | PTI evaluation of all answer sheets,” the HC had said. Challenging the verdict, the WB govt on April 24, 2024, moved the Supreme Court by filing an appeal against the Calcutta HC’s order. The WB government, in its appeal, had said that the Calcutta High Court cancelled the appointments “arbitrarily .” Earlier, in one of the hearings, the Supreme Court had termed the alleged recruitment scam in West Bengal as “systemic fraud”, and said the authorities were duty-bound to maintain the digitised records pertaining to the appointment of 25 753 teachers and nonteaching staff.