HYDERABAD l sunday l july 06, 2025 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l LATE City EDITION On the eve of his 90th birthday, Dalai Lama says he’s not done yet The Dalai Lama on Saturday put to rest rumours surrounding the announcement of his successor, saying he hopes to live for another 30-40 years 15,000 Rijiju to attend birthday celebrations Speaking at a prayer ceremony ahead of his 90th birth anniversary on Sunday at the main Dalai Lama temple in McLeodganj, Tenzin Gyatso said that he has “clear signs and indications” that the blessings of the Avalokiteshvara are with him. The Dalai Lama’s birth anniversary celebrations on Sunday will be attended by cabinet minister Kiren Rijiju | P8 The Dalai Lama at a prayer ceremony in McLeodganj on Saturday | PTI people expected to join the birthday celebrations on sunday 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 State mulls lower stamp duty for women E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad The state government is considering reducing stamp duty on immovable properties registered in the names of women. The proposal forms part of a wider legislative and policy review, which includes a revision of property valuations and amendments to the Stamp Act, 1899, as applicable to the state. Alongside this, the government is preparing to restructure the stamp duty framework more broadly. A key element under consideration is the differentiation of stamp duty rates for old and new buildings, including residential apartments. At present, no distinction is made between the two, but the proposed changes would reduce stamp duty on older properties, calculated from their original registration dates. Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy said on Saturday that a final decision would be made following Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s approval. The measure is intended to improve women’s social and economic security by making property ownership more accessible, particularly in urban areas where land prices are high.  continued on P5 TG allows commercial establishments to raise work hours to 10 E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad The state government has permitted an increase in daily work hours at commercial establishments (excluding shops) from eight to 10 as part of its Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) reforms. Weekly work hours remain capped at 48. The move aligns with similar measures in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Karnataka is also proposing a 10-hour daily limit for private sector employees. Employees may work beyond 48 hours a week on overtime pay subject , to a cap of 144 overtime hours per quarter. The government may revoke exemptions without notice if conditions are violated. The order was issued by Labour, Employment, Training and Factories Principal Secretary M Dana Kishore, on Satur, day Kishore told TNIE the or. der followed Government of India EoDB guidelines, adding, “Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have already done this. There will be a rest interval of at least 30 minutes; employees ADR knocks SC’s door over Bihar spl poll roll revision Calls ECI order impractical, flags possible disenfranchising of lakhs Test of endurance n Daily work hours shall not exceed 10; weekly hours shall be 48 Amid mounting concerns, the Association For Democratic Reforms (ADR) on Saturday moved the Supreme Court challenging the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar. It claimed that the Election Commission of India (ECI)’s exercise was violative of Articles 14, 19, 21, 325, 326 of the Constitution, provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. “The SIR order, if not set aside, can arbitrarily and without due process disenfranchise lakhs of voters from electing their representatives, thereby disrupting free and fair elections and democracy in the country the petition said. ,” It pointed out that the documentation requirements, lack of due process as well as the unreasonably short timeline for the electoral roll revision would result in removal of names of lakhs of genuine voters from the poll rolls. The petition charged that the Fight goes to top court S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y n Overtime pay applies beyond 48 hours, with a 144-hour quarterly cap n employee may work No more than six hours without at least a 30-minute break n Work periods, including breaks, shall not exceed 12 hours a day n Exemptions may be revoked at any time without prior notice for non-compliance can choose to work 10 hours.” The government, under Section 73(4) of the Telangana Shops and Establishments Act, 1988, has exempted all commercial establishments (other than shops) from Sections 16 and 17 of the Act, allowing daily work hours of 10 within a 48-hour weekly limit. @ New Delhi Spl Summary Revision already over between Oct 29, 2024 and Jan 6, 2025. Why fresh iteration with new parameters? 1 Exclusion of Aadhaar or ration cards as id proof makes the poor vulnerable to exclusion from poll roll, says ADR 2 The petition claims that the ECI shifted the onus of being on the voters’ list from the state to the citizens ECI shifted the onus of being on the voters’ list from the state to citizens. It excluded identification documents such as Aadhaar or ration cards, which makes marginalised communities and the poor more vulnerable to exclusion from voting. “The Declaration as required under the SIR process is violative of Article 326 in so far as it requires a voter to provide documents to prove his/her citizenship and also citizenships of his/her mother or father, failing which his/her name would not be added to the draft electoral roll and can be deleted from the same,” the ADR said. It termed the ECI’s order as unreasonable and the timeline 3 Over 3 crore people could be excluded from voting due to the the requirements as mentioned in the SIR order 4 Petition says ECI fiat lacks recorded reasons supported by evidence or transparent methodology impractical to conduct SIR in Bihar where elections are due in November 2025. There are many who may be able to procure the documents but the short timeline mentioned in directive may preclude them from being able to supply the same within the time period, the ADR said. “Bihar is a state with high poverty and migration rates where many lack access to documents like birth certificates or parental records. As per estimates over 3 crore voters and more particularly from marginalised communities could be excluded from voting due to the stringent requirements as mentioned in the SIR order.” WITH THIS ISSUE Desi Cool The Age of Authenticity and Cultural Nationalism is here PLUS 12 P AGES No mercy for those who abuse kids: CM E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said on Saturday that abuse of children on social media must be dealt with strictly , and offenders should not be shown any leniency He stated . that his government was prepared to take all necessary steps to ensure justice and compassion for children, not only in courts but also at police stations, child centres and at every stage of the process. Addressing the inaugural session of the State-Level Stakeholders’ Consultation Meet – 2025 on Voice for the Voiceless: Rights and Protection of Children of Sexual Abuse, the chief minister said We must ensure procedures help child victims, not hurt them. We must also work to end child pornography and impose strict punishments A Revanth Reddy, chief minister Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy addresses the State-Level Stakeholders’ Consultation Meet–2025 at the MCHRD in Hyderabad on Saturday the POCSO Act and Juvenile Justice Act were progressive legal instruments, but they present challenges. “We must ensure procedures help child victims, not hurt them. We must also work to end child pornography and impose strict punishments,” the chief minister said. Supreme Court Judge Justice Surya Kant said the child protection framework in the country remains fragmented and inadequately equipped. He called for a shift in approach, one that treats the child not as a passive witness in a criminal trial but as a person in need of sustained and holistic care. “The work is far from complete until children experience meaningful restorative justice, where the systems meant to protect them do not retraumatise them,” he said. Justice Surya Kant stressed that the system should prioritise the healing of children both within and outside the courtroom while ensuring accountability He added that justice for . a child begins not in the courtroom but the moment the child feels safe and secure in their environment. Reintegration, the judge said, should be the foundation of the response, not an afterthought.  continued on P4 nature’s canvas Dark clouds over the Hussainsagar at twilight, and a lone flag flapping in the breeze, makes the evening picture perfect | Vinay Madapu On Neeraj’s big night, 20 years on, Thackeray cousins bury the hatchet Chopra wins S w a r oo p S w am i nathan @ Bengaluru 86.18 Neeraj Chopra won NC classic with a 86.18m throw Two-time Olympic medallist & World No 1 javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra lets out a roar at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, Bengaluru on Saturday | vinod kumar T IN sport, there are no satisfaction guarantees. This truism, though, has had several exceptions. From an Indian context, the one modern athlete who has come closest to shattering this maxim has been Neeraj Chopra. The 27-year-old guarantees wins or podium places. Since June 2021, 24 meets ago, he has only known two sporting pincodes. First or second. Whatever the magnitude of the competition — Olympic Games, World Championships, top-tier invitations or low-key season openers — the Indian has risen to the occasion. Shortly after 7.30 pm on a cool but windy evening at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru, Chopra, already a two-time Olympic medallist, added another line to an already glittering CV As soon as . Sahil Silwal hurtled down the runway to mark the beginning of the NC Classic, the javelin ace entered into the history books for the sheer scale and ambition of conceptualising, ideating and organising a world-class athletics event in India. And Chopra’s role in this shouldn’t be understated — Saturday ushered in the birth of Chopra the administrator. It was all about putting in place the building blocks towards securing a legacy off the field. Moving forward, the NC Classic could see multiple disciplines. At least that’s what he hopes. With chief minister Siddaramaiah and 1000s of others in attendance, the competition belatedly caught fire when the familiar frame of Chopra stood at the top of the runway for his third throw of the night. Batting a bit of a crosswind, he cut across seven of the eight lanes and past the timer before launching the spear into the Bengaluru night sky . A few seconds later, ‘86.18m’ had flashed on the screen. After two below par throws, the titular character had finally grazed the occasion. His occasion. It stayed that way for the rest of the night. ‘A satisfaction guarantee’. s u d h i r s u r ya w an s h i @ Mumbai SHIV Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said he and his cousin, MNS chief Raj Thackeray, have joined forces in the interest of ‘Marathi pride’ while sharing a political stage with him after nearly 20 years. Uddhav sounded bullish when he said he and Raj will capture power in the Mumbai civic body elections and Maharashtra together. “We have come together to stay together,” he asserted. At the public rally titled ‘ waj Marathicha’ to celebrate A the rollback of two government resolutions on introducing Hindi as a third language from Class 1 in state schools, Uddhav said, “We won’t let the government impose Hindi on us.” MNS leader Amit Thackeray, Raj’s son, was seen sharing a hug with Uddhav’s son Aaditya on the stage. Uddhav alleged that the people who are in power in Maharashtra, are “slaves of two Gujaratis. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde are in power, not to serve the interest of Maharashtra and Marathi manoos, but of their PNB fraud case Nirav Modi’s brother held in US on charges of laundering M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi MNS chief Raj Thackeray and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray | PTI bosses in Delhi. We will never tolerate Hindi in Maharashtra. We will fight to safeguard our culture and language.” On the rollback of the threelanguage formula in Maharashtra, both brothers said the BJP-led government had no other option. “The government rolled back the decision on the three-language formula due to the strong unity shown by Marathi people. This decision was a precursor to the plan of separating Mumbai from Maharashtra,” the MNS chief said, with Uddhav seated next. Raj, in a lighter vein, credited Fadnavis with bringing him and Uddhav together, a feat even Balasaheb Thackeray could not accomplish. “Your power is in the legislature, ours on the streets,” Raj said to thunderous applause. US authorities have arrested fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi’s younger brother, Nehal Modi, following extradition requests from the ED and CBI, officials said on Saturday . Nehal, who is the subject of a Red Notice issued by the Interpol, was taken into custody on Friday US officials told In, dian authorities. The next hearing in the matter is scheduled for July 17, during which Nehal Modi, a Belgian national, may seek bail — a Nehal Modi move expected to be contested by US prosecutors, officials said. Nehal (46) is an accused in the `13,000 crore Punjab National Bank fraud. He was arrested a day after he walked out of a US prison after serving a nearly three-year sentence in a cheating case following India’s request.