villupuram l saturday l july 05, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Air India Express delayed Airbus engine fix, forged records: report DGCA rapped the budget carrier in March about not changing engine parts of an Airbus A320 on time, and forging records, Reuters reported European safety norms flouted: DGCA Quoting a DGCA memo, the news agency on Friday reported that Air India Express falsified records to show compliance with the European Union’s aviation safety agency’s norms on timely replacement of engine parts. It added that the carrier acknowledged the error to the Indian watchdog and claimed to have undertaken “remedial action and preventive measures” Papers doctored to show compliance ■ The European Union Aviation Safety Agency in 2023 issued an ■ airworthiness directive to replace some components such as engine seals and rotating parts to address some manufacturing deficiencies DGCA’s surveillance revealed the modification was not done within the prescribed time, but records were altered to show compliance VT-ATD aircraft, which operates on domestic and some in’tl routes, needed the fix 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 India fires fresh After Rijiju flutter, govt says it has salvo against no position on religious matters US trade tariffs Proposes retaliatory tariffs on imports of select US auto parts under WTO norms India further emphasised that the US failed to formally INDIA has formally notified notify these safeguard measthe World Trade Organization ures to the WTO—a require(WTO) about its intention to ment under WTO rules for impose retaliatory tariffs on transparency and accountabilselect automobile parts im- ity India maintains that the US . ports from the US. actions violate the General This move comes as a direct Agreement on Tariffs and response to the US decision on Trade 1994 and the Agreement March 26 to implement on Safeguards. a 25% tariff on imports This is not India’s of passenger vehicles, first instance of WTOlight trucks, and cersanctioned retaliation. tain automobile parts Last month, India suboriginating in India, mitted a similar notifieffective May 3, 2025, cation to the WTO conand continuing indeficerning tariffs imposed nitely. India asserts by the US on steel, aluthat these US measures minum, and their deare inconsistent with rivative products. In The WTO WTO agreements and notification is a 2019, India also raised are causing significant tariffs on 28 US prodlegal and strategic step, har m to its trade ucts following the rebut whether interests. moval of its GeneralIn its notification to India will follow i z e d S y s t e m o f the WTO, India stated through remains Preferences status and uncertain that the proposed susthe continuation of pension of concessions metal tariffs, though Ajay Srivastava, or other obligations founder of Global those duties were rolled Trade Research would involve an inback in 2023 as part of a Initiative crease in tariffs on sebilateral truce. lected US products. The current escalaThis suspension is slated to tion in trade tensions comes take effect 30 days after the ahead of the July 9 deadline, date of the notification. which marks the end of a 90The US tariffs will impact day pause on the US plan to im$2.895 billion imports of Indi- pose country-specific reciproan-origin auto products annu- cal tariffs. ally, with duties totalling All eyes are now on the po$723.75 million. Therefore, In- tential announcement of an dia will suspend trade conces- interim trade deal between the sions of equivalent value. two nations. R A K E SH K UM A R @ New Delhi J aya n t h J a c o b a n d R A J E SH K UM A R TH A K UR @ New Delhi India on Friday said it neither takes a position nor comments on matters concerning beliefs and practices of faith and religion, responding to the Dalai Lama’s recent statement on the continuation of the Dalai Lama institution, which had drawn a sharp reaction from China. “We have seen reports relating to the statement made by the Dalai Lama about the continuation of the Dalai Lama institution. The Government of India does not take any position or speak on matters concerning beliefs and practices of faith and religion,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. “The government has always upheld freedom of religion for all in India and will continue to do so,” he further said. The statement came a day after Union minority affairs minister Kiren Rijiju asserted that the decision regarding the reincarnation would rest solely with the established institution and the Dalai Lama himself, Tibetan students from Belgium practice ritual dance ‘cham’ in HP | PTI which was widely read as the official Indian position because there were no disclaimers. On Thursday, Rijiju walked back on his byte, clarifying that his comments were personal and made as a devotee of the Dalai Lama. “There is no need for any confusion on the Dalai Lama issue. All the people across the world who believe in Buddhism and follow the Dalai Lama want him to decide (on his succession). There is no need for me or the government to say anything. Who would be the next Dalai Lama will be decided by him,” Rijiju said. Soon enough, China rebutted, urging India to act cautiously on Tibet-related issues to avoid its impact on the improvement of bilateral ties. The official Indian response came days after a landmark announcement by the 14th Dalai Lama, who, ahead of his 90th birthday, formally declared that the centuries-old institution of the Dalai Lama would continue after his death. The announcement ended decades of speculation surrounding the future of Tibetan Buddhism’s highest spiritual seat. “In accordance with all these requests, I am affirming that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue,” the exiled Tibetan leader stated in a message posted on social media and his official website. He emphasized that only his personal institution, the Gaden Phodrang Trust, holds the legitimate authority to identify and recognise his reincarnation, warning that no external entities, including governments, have any right to interfere in the sacred process. Teacher held under Pocso for assaulting 21 students E x p r e s s Ne w s Se r v i c e @ Madurai The Madurai district police on Thursday arrested three men, including the a friend of a 19-year-old girl, on the charge of gang-rape of a girl on July 2 (Wednesday). According to police, Deepanraj (25), who claimed to have been in a relationship with the girl, allowed his friends — M Thirumaran (22) and S Madhan (20) — to rape the girl and take revenge against her for getting into a relationship with another man. All three accused, who are residents of a village in the Melavalavu police station limits, have been booked under Section 70(1) of BNS. According to police sources, the gruesome incident happened on July 2, when the girl went to meet Deepanraj at a secluded spot in the village around 8.30pm. Unable to overpower the rapists on the spot, she left the place after the brutal attack and later alerted the police control room by calling ‘100’ around.  P5 Monsoon mayhem Trucks being swept away in floodwaters following heavy rainfall, in Jabalpur district on Friday | PTI Husband kills municipal councillor for talking to men @ Chennai A 28-year-old woman councillor of Thiruninravur Municipality in Tiruvallur district was allegeldy murdered by her husband in a public place on Thursday night over suspicion of infidelity . The woman, being a people’s representative, had to frequently interact with members of the general public as part of her job responsibility and this led to frequent dis- Kiren Rijiju, Union minorities minister @ New Delhi Chennai: TVK chief Vijay on Friday declared that his party would never ally with the BJP, which is a “divisive force” and an “ideological foe”. The party’s first state executive committee meeting held on Friday resolved that the actor will be TVK’s CM candidate in 2026 poll | P4 E x p r e s s Ne w s Se r v i c e I speak as a devotee, I have faith in the Dalai Lama. Those who follow the Dalai Lama wish that he decides his successor China used the four-day Operation Sindoor as a ‘live lab’ to test its weapons, as it provided Pakistan with ‘live inputs’ about key Indian positions, Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Capability Development & Sustenance) Lt Gen Rahul R Singh said on Friday . The senior military officer said 81% of Pakistan’s military hardware is of Chinese make and that Pakistan was just the front face with China providing all support. “We had one border and two adversaries, actually three. Pakistan was in the front. China was providing all possible support,” said Lt Gen Singh, adding that Turkey gave Pakistan Bayraktar drones. “When DGMO-level talks were on, Pakistan had the live updates of our important vectors, from China,” he said. Lt Gen Singh made the com- Lt Gen Rahul Singh ments during a speech at the New Age Military Technologies’ event organised here by FICCI on Friday . Sharing the other lessons from Operation Sindoor, he said controlling the escalation ladder was an important consideration. “We should always be on the top of the escalation ladder. When we reach a military objective, we should try and put a stop to it,” he said. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 in response to the terrorist attack in Pahalgam on April 22, with an aim to destroy the terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK). SUCHITR A K A LYA N MOH A NTY Vijay to be TVK’s CM face in 2026 Assembly poll Girl gangraped: Friend, his two pals held in TN Randhir Jaiswal, MEA spokesperson M AYA N K SINGH @ New Delhi SC allows TN to restart hiring for over 2,500 posts, stays HC order e x p r e ss r e a d Coimbatore: The Nilgiris police arrested a teacher (51) under Pocso Act on the charge of sexually assaulting 21 girl students at a government higher secondary school near Ooty. The issue came out during a personal safety awareness programme conducted by police for students | P2 The government of India does not take any position or speak on matters concerning beliefs and practices of faith and religion China helped Pak during Op Sindoor: Army putes with her husband, sources said. Both the victim and her husband were associated with the Vi d u t h a l a i C h i r u t h a i g a l Katchi (VCK). The victim, S Gomathi, represented Ward 26 — reserved for women — and was elected in 2022 as an independent candidate backed by VCK and its ally, the DMK. Her husband, A Stephen Raj (32), is the Thiruninravur VCK town secretary . Police said the incident took place near the Thiruninravur S Gomathi and A Stephen Raj | express subway when Gomathi was returning home after speaking to a man. Stephen Raj, accompanied by his friends A Ajith (25) and R Johnson alias Anthony (25), confronted her and an argument broke out between them. During the altercation, Stephen Raj allegedly attacked her with a knife, and Gomathi died on the spot. After passersby alerted the police, cops recovered Gomathi’s body and sent it for postmortem. Stephen Raj and two others were arrested and remanded in custody . Police sources said the couple, who got married 10 years ago, had frequent domestic disputes. The couple has four children. The Supreme Court on Friday stayed an order of the Madras HC that halted the recruitment for 2,569 vacancies across 16 different posts in the Municipal Administration and Water Supply (MAWS) Department in Tamil Nadu. A two-judge bench of Justices Manoj Misra and N Kotiswar Singh allowed the recruitment process to proceed, barring final selection for four posts. The bench issued notices to the petitioners, including S Sivakumar on whose plea the HC had passed the order on April 3. “The effect and operation of the interim order dated 03.04.2025 passed by the Madras HC, to the extent it stays the entire selection process, shall remain stayed,” the bench said. The Madras HC had earlier stalled the recruitment process on grounds that the state had failed to select four eligible can- didates under the Persons Studied in Tamil Medium (PSTM) quota. Senior Advocate P Wilson, appearing for the TN government, argued that the recruitment notification was issued on February 2, 2024, and attracted as many as 2,00,499 applicants. Following written examinations, document verification, and interviews, the counselling process was completed in April 2025. Wilson further informed the court that the vacancies under recruitment constituted nearly 40% of the sanctioned posts in the department and were critical for the smooth functioning of the civic administration. SC to examine hc stay of nine v-c laws The SC on Friday agreed to examine the TN’s plea challenging the validity of the Madras HC’s May 21 order that stayed the operation of nine laws related to the appointment of V-Cs in state universities. The nine Acts were formally notified by the state government after the SC on April 8 granted ‘deemed assent’ to the bills by invoking its powers under Article 142 | P5 SC verdict reserved, Centre notifies Waqf management rules P r ee t h a Na i r @ New Delhi set for historic meet The much-awaited Neeraj Chopra Classic, an event which will feature top-class javelin athletes, will be held in Bengaluru today | P11 Even as petitions challenging the validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 are pending before the Supreme Court, the Centre notified the “Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Rules, 2025”, dealing with the portal and database of waqf properties. The Supreme Court reserved its verdict on petitions chal- lenging the constitutionality of the Waqf Amendment Act. According to the new rules, to ensure tracking and monitoring of waqf properties of all states, a centralised portal and database will be set up. It will be supervised by a Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Minority Affairs in charge of the waqf division. The portal will automatically generate unique identification numbers for each waqf and its associated properties. All states have to appoint an officer not below the rank of Joint Secretary as a nodal officer and set up a centralised support unit, in consultation with the Centre for streamlining uploading details of waqf and properties. This will ensure smooth registration, maintenance of accounts, audit and other related activities of the waqf and the Board. The rules have been framed under Section 108B of the 1995 Act, which was inserted as per the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025. The Act came into effect from April 8, 2025. The rules also deal with provisions of maintenance to widows, divorced women or orphans. The new rules say that the ‘mutawalli’ has to mandatorily enroll on the portal and database by using his mobile number and e-mail id through authentication by one-time password. The ‘mutawalli’ can file details of his property dedicated to the waqf only after registering with the portal. According to the rules, any inquiry into wrongful declaration of a property as waqf must be completed by the designated officer within a year of reference from the District Collector.