THIRUVANANTHAPURAM l tuesday l april 08, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION LPG cylinder to be costlier by K50, CNG price up K1 per kg from today Hike comes amid crash in crude prices The price hike comes amid a drop in crude prices—from $70 to about $60 per barrel. Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said oil firms are incurring losses and prices could be cut only if international rates stay at low levels. LPG will now cost I553 per cylinder in Delhi for Ujjawala users and I853 for general users. The rates vary from state to state depending on local taxes The increase in cooking gas price, effective April 8, will be for the Ujjawala—poor beneficiaries who got LPG connection free of cost—and general users Excise duty hiked on petrol, diesel ■ ■ The government also hiked excise duty on petrol and diesel by I2 per litre each to raise about I32,000 crore additional tax revenue However, there will be no change in retail prices of either petrol or diesel as the increases will be adjusted against the price cut that was warranted because of falling international oil prices Mar 2024 LPG prices were last revised a year ago, when prices were cut by K100 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 ASIAN MARKETS CRUMBLE -13.22% -9.7% -7.83% -7.34% -3.24% Nikkei 225 Shanghai Composite ■ 75,364.69 ■ sENSEX Previous close BLOODBATH ON D-STREET 0% NIFTY (22,161.60) BSE marketcap shrinks to K390 L cr Realty and Metal Indices fall 6-7% ■ Trent shares down 15%, highest in Nifty50 pack -5% E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Kochi -10% 73,137.90 73,325 mONDAY’S close 3:30 PM 73,105 72,794 9:33 AM 10:52 AM Dow -13% 72,830 72,760 -15% S&P 2:33 PM 11:37 AM 72,378 12:48 PM -20% 72,124 9:20 AM -16.1% U.S. STOCKS on a free fall in Trump era Nasdaq -21.1% Feb 1 Mar 1 Panic Monday APR 1 Sensex, Nifty crash 3% each; investors lose `14 lakh crore A RSH A D K H A N @ New Delhi Indian stock markets on Monday witnessed one of the worst trading sessions in recent times as fears of an escalating trade war and a global economic slowdown—sparked by recent US tariff hikes— rattled investors. The crash is attributed to the reciprocal tax imposed by US President Donald Trump last week. The market tremors are likely to escalate as Trump late on Monday threatened to slap an additional 50% tariff on China and halt trade negotiations if Beijing does not withdraw its 34% retaliatory tariff by Tuesday . Investors’ panic was palpable during early trading hours on Monday as the BSE Sensex plunged 4,000 points to 71,725 while the Nifty 50 tumbled 1,150 points to 21,744. At closing, the Sensex and NSE Nifty50 were down by about 3% each. Investors lost a whopping `14 lakh crore as the total market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms fell from `404 lakh crore on Friday to `390 lakh crore on Monday . The sell-off echoed across SC rap: Complete breakdown of the rule of law in UP S u c h i t r a K a lyan Mo h anty @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Monday came down heavily on the Uttar Pradesh police for converting multiple civil disputes into criminal cases, calling it a “complete breakdown of rule of law in Uttar Pradesh”. “Converting a civil matter into a criminal case is not acceptable. There is a complete breakdown of the rule of law in Uttar Pradesh. It’s strange that it’s happening day in and day out in UP Law. yers have forgotten there is some civil jurisdiction also,” a three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and justices Sanjay Kumar and K V Viswanathan said. The remarks came after hearing a plea filed by accused Debu Singh, who said that his civil case — of cheque dishonour and allegedly failure to return money to the complainants — was illegally converted into a criminal one by the UP police. The appalled bench said, “This is wrong. What is happening in UP? Everyday civil suits are being converted to criminal cases.” The court directed the DGP and the station house officer of a Gautam Budh Nagar police station to file affidavits on the case details in two weeks. It warned that it could initiate contempt proceedings against the probe officer. In an earlier Sharif Ahmad vs State of UP case, the Supreme Court had held that the investigating officer must complete entries of all columns in the chargesheet so that it is clear which crime has been committed by which accused and what is the material evidence available in the case. “This is missing in this case,” the bench pointed out. The court directed the compliance of the Sharif Ahmad case order in the present one. The SC has fixed the matter for further hearing in May . EXPRESS READ Actor assault case: HC refuses to order CBI probe Rana’s plea for stay on extradition rejected Kochi: The Kerala High Court has rejected the plea of actor Dileep, the eighth accused in the 2017 actor assault incident, seeking a CBI probe in the case. The court observed that the trial before the Principal District and Sessions Court in Ernakulam was nearing completion. P5 New York: The US Supreme Court has rejected 26/11 Mumbai terror attack accused Tahawwur Rana’s appeal seeking a stay on his extradition to India, moving him closer to being handed over to Indian authorities. Rana, 64, is currently lodged at a detention centre in Los Angeles. 16 pages, including 4 pages of THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Express Asian markets. Taiwan’s exchange operators halted trading to pause panic selling. Abhishek Jaiswal, fund manager at Finavenue, said the crash in India is due to global concerns. “The real worry lies in how such policy moves could fuel inflation, disrupt supply chains, and trigger a slowdown or even recession over the coming years,” Jaiswal added. Trivesh, COO of Tradejini, said that the steep correction was sparked by China’s announcement of a 34% import tax on all US goods. Anand K Rathi, co-founder of MIRA Money said it is chal, lenging to predict how each country would respond to tariffs. The market is declining, assuming a global recession, but circumstances can change quickly depending on how and when the tariffs are implemented, added Rathi. Investors are now keenly waiting for the RBI’s monetary policy action. A rate cut may provide short-term support to equities, particularly in rate-sensitive sectors such as banking, NBFCs, real estate, and auto. The Kerala High Court on Monday granted permission to the inquiry commission, headed by former High Court judge C N Ramachandran Nair, to resume its proceedings on the Munambam land dispute. While admitting the appeal filed by the state government challenging the single judge’s judgment quashing the order of the government appointing the commission, the bench observed, “As an interim arrangement, the commission can be permitted to continue its functioning and submit its report.” However, the court said the government cannot act on the commission’s recommendations without its permission. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice S Manu also stayed the operation and implementation of the judgment of the single judge and posted the appeals for hearing on June 16. Advocate General K Gopalakrishna Kurup submitted that the writ petition filed by Kerala Waqf Land Samrakshana Vedhi before the single judge had no locus standi as it was not directly affected by the land issue. The commission was only a fact-finding authority and the report to be drawn , up by it only intended to furnish the government with material to act upon. The cause of action for the petitioner would arise only when the government decides on the recommendations to be made by the com- Residents stage hunger strike in Munambam | file photo Waqf Tribunal to implead residents in case Kozhikode: The Waqf Tribunal on Monday decided to implead the residents of Munambam in a case filed by the management committee of Farook College. The tribunal allowed the petition filed by the representatives of the Munambam residents to hear their side too when the hearing begins in the case. P4 mission. He said the ongoing dispute pertained to the property and it was a definite mat, ter of public importance. The bench observed that nothing has been shown to it to demonstrate how the personal rights of petitioners including the Waqf Land Samrakshana Vedhi and others are affected. The inquiry conducted by the commission by itself will neither determine the legal rights of the parties concerned nor encroach upon the jurisdiction of the adjudicatory mechanism under the Waqf Act. The mere initiation of an inquiry by the commission cannot, by itself, be construed as interfering with jurisdiction of court or tribunal, it said. SC declines urgent hearing of petitions on Waqf Act S u c h i t r a K a lyan Mo h anty @ New Delhi A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna on Monday declined urgent hearing in a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the recent Waqf (Amendment) Act, saying it will be listed for hearing in due course. “There’s a robust system of listing in place. The matter will come up in due course,” the CJI told senior lawyers Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi and others appearing for various petitioners. These senior advocates had mentioned the matter and sought early hearing. At least 10 petitions have been filed so far challenging the Act. When Sibal, appearing for Maulana Arshad Madani, the president of Jamiat Ulemai-Hind, sought early hearing, the CJI asked why he was making an oral mention when there is a robust system in place to seek urgent listing through email. Sibal said the email has already been sent. The CJI then assured Sibal that he would do the needful after examining the plea in the afternoon. In a related development, the DMK and Congress MP Imran Pratapgarhi on Monday filed petitions challenging the constitutionality of the Waqf (Amendment) Act. In his plea, Madani said the Act was destructive of wakf administration and jurisprudence in India and an effort to redefine the nature of waqfs existing in the country . 22% Class VIII students in state schools fail to get pass mark A n u K u r u v i l l a @Kochi The results of Class VIII examinations of the state syllabus have come as a shocker with 86,309 (nearly 22%) out of 3,98,181 students getting ‘E’ grade, or failing to get the pass mark, in at least one subject. This is the first annual exam results since ‘all pass’ for students have ceased to exist in high schools in the state. Students who score less than 30% in a subject get the ‘E’ grade. The high number of students failing to get pass marks has raised concerns in the state administration with Education Minister V Sivankutty promising additional support classes in the respective subjects for students from April 8 to 24. The re-exam will be held from April 25 to 28 and the results will be declared on April 30. Of those who failed to get pass mark in at least one subject, the highest number of students got the ‘E’ grade in Hindi. The number of students who got the ‘E’ grade in all subjects Falling grade? Taiwan Weighted Munambam panel gets HC approval to resume proceedings 86,309 out of 3,98,181 Re-exam Hang Seng How Don spooked global investors The re-examination will be held from April 25 to 28 and results will be declared on April 30. Class VIII students get ‘E’ grade in at least one subject 5,516 get ‘E’ grade in all subjects is 5,516. This is 1.3% of total students who wrote the examination, said Sivankutty The di. pr o j e c t X Schoolteachers to receive sex edu training to combat child abuse Unn i k r i s h nan S @T’Puram As many as 1,000 lower and upper primary school teachers are set to undergo training in sex education to respond better to the rising number of Pocso (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) cases in the state. The initiative, called Project X, is being launched with the participation of educators from 500 government and aided schools in Thiruvananthapuram. Despite the state witnessing over 4,500 Pocso cases annually , a recent survey has revealed that many teachers lack adequate training and essential knowledge on sex education. This leaves them unprepared to handle instances of abuse that students may disclose. The survey conducted by the , NGO Kanal Innovations among 220 teachers, found that a significant number of them were unfamiliar with basic concepts Sex education teacher training modules Psycho-social development for ages 4-12 Effective communication with children on sex education, focusing on appropriate language use Gender relations, including addressing toxic masculinity Child protection laws (Pocso, Juvenile Justice Act, IT Act, BNS) such as the age of consent, gender identity, and even the names of sex organs. Project X — spearheaded by the Thiruvananthapuram district administration in collaboration with Kanal Innovations, general education department, and Guidehouse India — aims to address the gap in knowledge and provide teachers with the tools necessary to support students effectively The survey . Pocso cases in Kerala 2021 3,559 2022 4,586 2023 4,641 2024 4,594 2025 888 (till February) carried out in Thiruvananthapuram has led the district administration to expand the scope and recommend the project for statewide implementation. “Empowering our teachers with the right knowledge and tools is one of the most effective steps we can take to protect our children,” Thiruvananthapuram Collector Anu Ku● More on P4 mari told TNIE.  rector of public education has issued an order appointing officials to monitor support classes in each district. Sivankutty clarified that the classes are being conducted with the cooperation of the teachers, parents and public representatives of each school. “Students will have to attend the additional support classes only in subject/ subjects in which they did not get the prescribed marks,” said an official. An official with the State Council for Education Research and Training (SCERT) said: “As to what went wrong (in the results) will be clear after going through the answer papers. After identifying the issues, a comprehensive plan will be prepared to ensure a good Hindi lear ning experience for students.” Martin T G, former secretary of Kerala Principals Forum, said the all-pass system being followed from the lower classes, leading to poor foundation, is the main reason behind this disastrous result.  ● More on P4 New rules to make builders pay for debris disposal J I T E N D R A CH O U B E Y @ New Delhi in a bid to mitigate construction dust, a byproduct of building activities and a major air pollutant, the Union environment ministry has notified the Environment (Construction and Demolition) Waste Management Rules, 2025. The new rules, which will become effective on April 1, 2026, will replace the extant regulations and put the onus of collecting, storing, and transporting debris on the bulk waste generators including builders. The rules provide detailed guidelines for the management, utilisation, and monitoring of processed waste, as well as procedures for the storage of processed construction and demolition waste. Notified on April 4, the new norms aim to bring environmentally sound management of construction and demolition waste throughout the country through proper segregation, collection, recycling, treatment, and disposal practices. In a first, the notification also introduces a financial mechanism to support extended producer responsibility. This means, waste generators will now be accountable for paying recyclers to provide tradable credits as set by the Central Pollution Control Board. Under the guidelines, credits gained from in-situ (on site) disposal will carry more weight than those from exsitu (off site) management. The existing rules were found ineffective as they promoted ad-hoc waste management and failed to create a robust market for recycled products among construction agencies.