tirupati l saturday l june 21, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l anantapur EDITION Govt panel to check fairness of entrance exams, need for coaching The Ministry of Education has set up a panel to suggest ways to reduce students’ dependency on coaching centres for transition to higher education To plug Gaps in current schooling system flags proliferation of ‘Dummy schools’ “The committee will examine the gaps in the current schooling system that contribute to students’ reliance on coaching centres, particularly the limited focus on critical thinking, logical reasoning, analytical skills and innovation and the prevalence of rote learning practices,” news agency PTI quoted a senior Ministry of Education official as saying on Friday ■ ■ Many students prefer to take admission in ‘dummy schools’ so that they can focus solely on their preparations for competitive exams. They don’t attend classes and directly appear in the board exams The panel will also study the effectiveness and fairness of competitive entrance examinations and their influence on the coaching industry 9-member Committee to be headed by Higher Education Secretary Vineet Joshi 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 Declined Trump’s invite to the US to be in the land of Mahaprabhu, says Modi E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said he declined US President Donald Trump’s invitation for a recent luncheon meeting in Washington since he did not want to miss being in Odisha, the sacred land of Mahaprabhu Jagannath. Addressing a massive gathering here to mark the first anniversary of the Mohan Charan Majhi-led BJP government in the state, the prime minister said it was more important for him to be in the land what a ‘yoga’ for vizag! CM Chandrababu Naidu greets PM Narendra Modi on his arrival at Visakhapatnam airport on Friday to take part in the International Yoga Day event | Express Iran eases curbs to fly out 1,000 stranded Indians Three flights operated by Iranian airline Mahan Air to evacuate Indian nationals J aya n t h J a c ob @ New Delhi 10,000 Indians are living in Iran and those wishing to return are IN a major diplomatic move, being evacuated. Iran has eased its airspace reThe evacuation comes amid strictions to facilitate the evac- mounting regional instability uation of Indian nationals. The as the conflict between Iran decision, described as a special and Israel entered the eighth gesture by Iranian authorities, day on Friday. Iran continued allows India to operate emer- to launch ballistic missiles at gency evacuation flights to Israel, hitting buildings in Haibring its citizens home safely . fa and injuring 31. Israel said it Three special flights operat- carried out air strikes targeted by Iran’s Mahan Air will ing Iran’s missile launchers. carry 1,000 Indians, Meanwhile, several including a large EU-Iran talks I n d i a n s r e m a i n in Geneva number of students, stranded in both Iran from Iran’s Mashhad and Israel. Journalist Iranian Foreign and Ashgabat to New Raavish Zaidi, a LucMinister Abbas Delhi, sources said. Araghchi on Friday know native, had a The first flight will held talks with his narrow escape when reach India on Friday an Israeli missile British, French, at 11.30 pm. The other struck his office inGerman, and two flights will land side the Islamic ReEuropean Union at 3.00 am and 4.30 pm public of Iran Broadcounterparts, in on Saturday . Geneva, marking a casting building in The evacuation ef- fresh bid by Europe Tehran. His father fort comes under Op- to revive dialogue Amir Abbas Zaidi e r a t i o n S i n d h u , on Tehran’s nuclear rued that Raavish which successfully could not attend teh programme brought back 110 Inlast rites of his mothdian students from Iran. The er, who passed away a few days students were first moved to ago in Lucknow. Armenia, flown to Doha, and Shia cleric Maulana Saif Abfinally arrived in Delhi on bas said he was approached by Thursday morning. several families whose relaIran’s deputy chief of mis- tives are stranded in Iran. He sion in New Delhi, Mohammad said many families travelled to Javad Hosseini, on Friday reit- Iran for pilgrimage. “Unfortuerated Tehran’s commitment to nately, war broke out. Thouthe safety of foreign nationals sands are stuck... and running and highlighted the coopera- out of essentials,” he said.  P11 (With inputs from Namita tion between the two countries Bajpai in Lucknow) in times of crisis. He said about of Jagannath. “Just two days ago, I was in Canada attending the G7 Summit when I received a call from President Trump. He said since you are already in Canada, why don’t you come down to Washington? We will have lunch together and a conversation. He extended a very warm invitation. I thanked him for the invite but told him it was very important for me to visit the land of Lord Jagannath. With due respect, I declined his offer,” Modi said. Launching various projects worth over `18,600 crore and releasing the Odisha Vision Docu- AX-4 put off again, In a first, helipad proposed at Navi Mumbai’s ISRO to recall Gp Lord Venkateswara temple; awaits TTD nod Capts Shukla, Nair B M u r a l i @Tirumala B O S K Y K HA N N A @ New Delhi TWO days before the scheduled launch of the much-awaited Axiom-4 (Ax-4) Space Mission on June 22, Axiom Space on Friday announced its indefinite postponement. Axiom Space, which is spearheading the 14day Ax-4 Space Mission to the International Space Station (ISS) with four astronauts from the US, India, Poland and Hungary has not given the , next launch date. Following this, the Indian Space Research Organisation decided to recall Ax-4 mission pilot Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and reserve crew member Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair. “NASA has made the decision to stand down from a launch on Sunday June 22, and will target , a new launch date in the coming days. The space agency (NASA) needs additional time to continue evaluating International Space Station operations after recent repair work in the aft (back) most segment of the orbital laboratory’s Zvezda service module. Because of the space station’s interconnected and interdependent systems, NASA wants to ensure the station is ready for additional crew members, and the agency is taking the time necessary to review the data,” an Axiom Space statement read. The $64 million space mission is a multi-agency collaboration, involving Axiom Space, ISRO, NASA and European Space Agency (ESA). “The (Indian) astronauts will be returning. There are many technical issues that need to be addressed before the mission is launched,” said a senior ISRO scientist. Shukla and Nair are among the four Indian astronauts selected for India’s first manned space mission, Gaganyaan, scheduled to be launched some time in 2027. ISRO Chairman V Narayanan said the Ax-4 mission delays will have no impact on the Gaganyaan mission, which, he said, is progressing as per schedule. vizag’s big day pm modi to participate in Yoga Day celebrations at RK Beach today Vizag is all set to host the International Yoga Day celebrations on RK Beach Road on Saturday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan, other ministers, officials, celebrities, and citizens from the North Andhra districts are expected to attend the mega event | P4 succession Dalai may name reincarnation on July 2 B a l a C h a u h a n @ Bengaluru The ageing Dalai Lama, Tibet’s highest spiritual leader, will make an important announcement, most likely on his reincarnation on July 2, four days before he turns 90. Speaking to this paper, Penpa Tsering, president of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) revealed that the Dalai will make an “important announcement on July 2. It is likely to be on his reincarnation.” The Dalai is scheduled to meet senior leaders of the four Buddhist sects - Sakya, Kagyu, Nyingma and Gelug between July 2 and 4 at Dharamshala, the headquarters of the CTA. The identity of the Dalai’s reincarnation is keenly awaited not only by Tibetans but by people in the Himalayan region as well, from Lhasa to Arunachal Pradesh, as they look up to him as their spiritual guide. China, too, wants to know, as it sees the Dalai as a separatist leader and symbol of Tibetan resistance. ment @2036 and @2047, Modi congratulated Chief Minister Majhi for giving a fresh momentum to the development of the state. Modi said in recent years, the country has experienced the BJP’s development model. “You have seen the Congress model — delaying, obstructing and derailing projects. Now you have experienced the development model of the BJP government,” he said. Citing the example of Assam, Tripura and Odisha, the PM said a decade ago, Assam was plagued with instability. Today, it is firmly on the development path,” he said. In March 2011, the Dalai relinquished his role as the political head of the Tibetans in exile and handed it over to the CTA. He had said that his successor will be born in a free world, in a clear message to China on claim on having the sole right to choose the next Dalai Lama. “It is important to remember that the Dalai is not only the leader of all the Tibetans, but also of one million Indian Himalayans,” noted Tibetologist Claude Arpi said. It is not up to a Marxist govt in China to decide on the highly esoteric and spiritual issue of the Dalai Lama’s successor... But the succession has important implications for Beijing’s control over Tibet Claude Arpi, Tibetologist The Lord Venkateswara temple under construction in Ulwe, Navi Mumbai, is nearing completion but faces a new challenge regarding a proposed temporary helipad on its 10acre site. The donor, Raymond Consumer Care Limited, has requested the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) to consider developing a helipad on Plot No 3, Sector 12, allotted by the Maharashtra government through the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO). However, site engineers have informed Raymond that there is no provision or approval for a helipad in the commencement certificate issued by CIDCO. Raymond has urged TTD to bring the matter to the attention of its management for a decision. TTD’s Chief Engineer noted in official files that a helipad could serve as an emergency service provision and a secure entry-exit point for VVIPs, significantly reducing travel time. However, TTD Executive Officer J Shyamala Rao clarified that the proposed helipad would not be part of the core temple construction but within the temple premises. “No permission has been granted yet for setting up of helipad at Lord Venkateswara temple in Navi Mumbai, as we are evaluating all parameters, including Agama Shastras,” P4 Shyamala Rao told TNIE.