KOCHI l wednesday l july 09, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE city EDITION Only 53% of Class 6 students know tables up to 10: govt Representational image half of class 3 kids know subtraction The findings were a part of a survey by Education Ministry covering 21,15,022 students in Grades 3, 6 and 9, spread across 74,229 schools in India Class 9 govt schools shine in languages According to the survey, only 55% of students in Class 3 can arrange numbers up to 99 in ascending or descending order while 58% can perform addition and subtraction of two-digit numbers. In Class 6, 53% of students know addition and multiplication tables up to 10 and can apply the four basic operations on whole numbers to solve daily life problems ■ ■ In Class 6, an additional subject ‘The World Around Us’, which covers environment and society, was introduced alongside Language and Mathematics. Students scored lowest in Mathematics (46%) In the case of Class 9, students from Central Government schools performed the best across all subjects, with a clear lead in languages 36 states were covered in the learning survey by the centre 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 Ahead of election, Nitish tweaks job quota for women Restricts 35% reservation for women in govt employment to only those who hail from Bihar too, were appointed as teachers in government-run schools in Bihar With Bihar assembly elections under the quota. less than four months away the Ni, The decision to restrict the quotish Kumar government on Tues- ta came amid intense push for imday restricted the 35% quota in plementing the domicile policy by place for women in all government the Opposition. Leader of Opposijobs since 2016, to only those who tion Tejashwi Prasad Yadav had hail from the state. supported the domicile demand of The decision was seen as an at- job aspirants for teaching positempt by Nitish to further consoli- tions in government schools, who date his already strong female took out a protest march and held vote-bank. a demonstration in Patna A final call to enforce the recently . domicile criteria was taken This is the first instance at a meeting of the state of domicile policy being cabinet chaired by Chief implemented by the state Minister Nitish Kumar. government in the recent “Only women native of past. Union minister NityBihar will be eligible for anand Rai said, “The deciNitish Kumar 35% horizontal reservation sion will ultimately make in direct recruitment women from the state selfacross all government service cad- reliant and embolden them.” res in Bihar,” said S Siddharth, adIn another pre-poll sop, the the ditional chief secretary after the cabinet decided to set up a Bihar , meeting. Youth Commission to enhancejob Till now, women from outside opportunities for them. JD(U) the state, too, were beneficiaries of spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said the 35% reservation in govern- it will make the youth self-reliant, ment jobs. skilled and job-oriented. Siddharth said, “Women from However, Tejashwi accused the other states applying for Bihar Nitish government of ‘stealing’ government jobs will be treated as the promises made by the RJD. general category They will not get “The 20-year-old tired government . the benefit of 35% women’s reser- has no vision of its own. People vation.” Earlier, candidates from want to get rid of the government,” neighbouring UP and elsewhere, he told the media. R a m a s h a n k a r @ Patna fatal crash The mangled remains of a school van that was hit by a train at Semmankuppam near Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu. Three students, including a girl and her brother, died on the spot when the Villupuram-Mayiladuthurai passenger train rammed the van as it was passing through the manned level crossing on Tuesday. According to locals, the gate, which is not interlocked with the signalling system unlike the modern gates, was not closed by the gatekeeper | Sriram R | P5 Months after testing negative, 2 Nipah survivors remain in coma P o o j a N a i r @ Kozhikode Emphasising the agonising nature of Nipah outbreaks in the Malabar region, two individuals, once hailed for surviving the deadly infection, remain in a vegetative state, months after being declared virus-free. The cases have raised profound concer n among families and healthcare professionals, revealing a terrifying, often unseen, aftermath of the battle with the virus: A brain that simply refuses to wake up. These aren’t just statistics; they are lives suspended in a cruel limbo, highlighting the devastating and often unpredictable long-term neurological impact of Nipah. The reg i o n , s t i l l re e l i n g f ro m outbreaks in August 2023 and May 2025 across Kozhikode and Malappuram districts, now faces a new, agonising question: What does “survival” truly mean when the mind remains trapped? Tito Joseph is a 25-year-old Malayali from Mardala in Mangaluru. For 19 agonising months, Tito has been confined to a hospital bed, a silent ‘Vegetative state’ A 42-year-old woman from Valanchery in Malappuram tested positive for Nipah in May 2025 She turned negative after 2 weeks of hospital treatment Currently, she is in a vegetative state, and takes treatment at a hospital in Perinthalmanna Tito Joseph, a nurse, contracted the virus in August 2023 while caring for a Nipah patient at a hospital in Kozhikode He tested negative in Sept 2023 After completing his quarantine in November, he started experiencing headaches and other discomfort In December 2023, Tito developed encephalitis and went into coma stage. He has been hospitalised for the past 19 months testament to Nipah’s insidious power. His brother, Shijo, voices the family’s despair. “We thought the worst was over when the virus test turned negative. My brother has not opened his eyes in over 19 months. We just want to know, will he ever wake up?” Tito’s case is particularly perplexing. During his initial month of Nipah treatment, he endured the ordeal alone, showing no severe health concerns apart from fleeting high temperature. “Our family was relaxed,” Shijo recalls. “But the post-Nipah period completely changed our lives. We have been living in the hope of seeing him return to life.” According to doctors treating Tito, his condition is believed to be the first of its kind in the country for a Nipah survivor. Adding to this sombre reality is the case of a 42-year-old woman, whose family seeking , privacy has chosen to keep her , identity hidden. She remained on ventilator support in the intensive care unit of EMS Memorial Hospital, Perinthalmanna, before being transferred to her residence. Despite receiving two doses of monoclonal antibodies and other critical medicines as part of the state’s Nipah treatment protocol, her condition remains stable, with no signs of improvement or deteriora● More on P4 tion.  e x p r e ss r e a d Registrar row: All eyes now on guv ‘Kuttanad Safari’ to roll out soon T’Puram: With the Vice Chancellor and Syndicate in Kerala University refusing to budge from their respective stances in the Registrar issue, all eyes are now on the course of action Governor Rajendra Arlekar would adopt on the matter by exercising his powers as Chancellor. VC Ciza Thomas had submitted a report before governor stating the Syndicate meet-ing that reinstated the Registrar was ‘invalid’ | P4 Alappuzha: The government is all set to launch the ‘Kuttanad Safari’, a unique backwater experience inspired by the desert safaris of the Gulf, as part of the water transport department’s budget tourism initiative. The safari aims to present the entire scenic charm of Kuttanad in a single boat journey, offering tourists a cultural and immersive experience unlike any other | P5 16 pages, including 4 pages of KOCHI Express THE business value of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has jumped by over 10 per cent in the last year, according to the global investment firm, Houlihan Lokey HL, who have come . out with yearly IPL brand valuation studies, held that IPL’s current business value stands at $18.5bn (over `155,000 cr; in 2024, it was $16.4bn). The firm said that the IPL’s brand value has also surged from $3.4bn to $3.9bn (over `32,000 cr). “This g r ow t h u n d e r s c o r e s t h e league’s expanding commercial appeal, global reach and deepening fan engagement,” the report said. The 18th edition of the league, Kings, who had a blowout season, fell down to third place. In fact, out of all 10 teams, the franchise registered the lowest percentage gain (less than 2%) on a year on year basis. Punjab Kings, who advanced to the final, registered a whopping Brand values have increased for all 10 teams IPL continues Teams 2025 2024 change RCB MI CSK KKR SRH 269 227 18.5% 242 204 18.6% 235 231 1.7% 227 216 5.1% 154 132 16.7% Teams 2025 2024 change DC RR GT PBKS LSG 152 146 142 141 122 131 16% 133 9.8% 124 14.5% 101 39.6% 91 34.1% All figures in $mn All data from Houlihan Lokey’s IPL Valuation Study 2025 (a copy of the report is with this daily) to show increased brand and business values (in $bn) 3.2 3.4 3.9 15.4 16.4 18.5 2023 2024 2025 Business Brand With the US government sending letters to over a dozen countries informing them of the reciprocal tariff they are likely to attract on exports to the US, the suspense over the trade deal with India continues. Even as President Donald Trump on Monday hinted that the US is hours away from announcing a deal with India, back home the government is in a wait-and-watch mode. “The ball is in the US court, we negotiated with the US officials, now it is up to them,” said an official, who refused to be identified. Citing the Vietnam trade deal announced by the US, the official said Trump has been unilaterally making a lot of announcements, which are later refutDonald Trump ed by the respective countries. The Indian government was confident of signing a limited deal by July 9, but with the US issuing a new deadline of August 1, the announcement may get delayed. The Indian government has maintained that it is not desperate for an early trade deal at the cost of the country’s interest. FATF: Terrorists abused e-comm sites E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi THE protracted debate on loss of the Indian Air Force’s Rafale combat jets, which Pakistan claimed to have shot down, was debunked by the CEO of Dassault, which manufactures the fighter aircraft. Dassault Aviation Chairman and CEO Eric Trappier was quoted as saying that no Rafale was shot down in combat, but India had lost one aircraft due to technical failure, and a probe into it is currently on. Trappier was quoted by French website Avion De Chasse as saying that there was no enemy engagement in the loss of a Rafale. The incident “occurred at an altitude of over 12,000 metres during an extended training mission, with no enemy involvement or hostile radar contact,” the report said. Terror financing watchdog FATF cited the February 2019 Pulwama terror attack to point out that e-commerce platforms were misused by terror outfits. FATF said aluminium used in IED used in the 2019 attack was procured through Amazon by terror outfits Speaking specifically on Pakistan’s allegations that three Indian Dassault Rafales were reportedly shot down during the four-day Operation Sindoor launched by India, Trappier said the allegations were “inaccurate and unfounded”. Trappier took on Pakistan for false claims in a press conference on June 15, which Avion De Chasse reported. During the press conference, Trappier formally refuted the idea of an operational failure, 39.6% jump in brand value. The IPL’s principal stakeholders like to compare themselves with the US’ Big Four and the EPL and HL maintain that they are expected to become bigger in the years to come as there are several built in advantages. “When benchmarked against global peers like EPL and NBA teams,” the report added, “that wrestle with high player transfer fees, variable wages and high stadium operating costs (including servicing stadium debt), IPL franchisees operate with an asset-light, revenue-guaranteed model, a structure that not only cushions downside risk but also amplifies operating leverage on the upside.” quoting the Spectra electronic warfare systems that had not recorded any hostile engagements during the time slot in question. Further, the friend/foe identification devices and the flight logs transmitted to Dassault indicated no losses in actual combat, he said. As per the French Intelligence and military officials, it was China which was behind the smear campaign against the Rafale fighters. General strike today IPL’s business value worth over `1,55,000 cr won by Bengaluru franchise for the first time last month, helped the franchise become the No. 1 in terms of brand value in the 10-team league. Its brand value in 2025 stands at just under $270mn, up by 18.5% in the last 12 months. Chennai Super D i pa k M o nd a l @ New Delhi Dassault rubbishes Pak propaganda, says only one IAF Rafale crashed R C B p i p cs k S w a r o o p S w a m i n at h a n @ Chennai Suspense on, Trump says deal hrs away Normal life is set to be disrupted in the state on Wednesday with a large section of shops and establishments remaining closed and public transport services staying off the roads following the general strike called by central trade unions. 24 hr Dies non The state government as well as the KSEB and the KSRTC have declared 'dies non' (no work, no pay) to deal with the 24-hour general strike | P4 TU stir is against ‘‘anti-worker & anti-farmer policies of Centre’’ WHAT'S OFF Schools  Private buses Most KSRTC buses PSU banks Most shops & establishments Autorickshaws WHAT’S ON Hospitals  Private banks Milk supply Newspaper services Kochi Metro Rail Water Metro State Water Transport services Trains Ride-hailing services Essential KSRTC services such as to hospitals Body of trapped migrant worker recovered from quarry debris E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Pathanamthitta After more than 24 hours of a perilous rescue operation, amid recurring rockslides and logistical hurdles, the body of the migrant worker who was trapped under boulders at the Chengalam quarry in Payyanamon near Konni was recovered on Tuesday night. Ajay Kumar Rai, 38, of Simarla village in Bihar’s Begusarai district, was operating an excavator along with a co-worker when a massive rockfall buried them beneath r ubble on Monday . Rai’s body was retrieved using a long-boom excavator brought in from Alappuzha. The machine’s extended arm was crucial in reaching the remote and steep parts of the quarry that borders a forested area. The body of the co-worker, Mahadev Pradhan, 51, from Odisha, was recovered from the accident site on Monday night by the fire force special task force. The rescue mission, led by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the district fire and rescue services team, had resumed on Tuesday morning, after a temporary suspension caused by continuous rock movement at the site. However, the operation hit another major delay in the afternoon, lasting nearly six hours, as officials awaited the arrival of heavyduty equipment. Initially, a crane expected from Karunagappally failed to reach the site on time due to logistical setbacks. Transportation of a hook required for its functioning from Kochi also encountered delays, further stalling the operation.  ● More on P4