HYDERABAD l wednesday l july 23, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE City EDITION Boeing delivers three Apache helicopters to Indian Army big push to strengthen defence might Defence Minister Rajnath Singh called it a significant step towards strengthening India’s defence capabilities. “The arrival of the first batch of Apache helicopters is a significant step towards strengthening India’s defence capabilities. These helicopters will enhance the Army Aviation wing’s operational effectiveness in challenging terrains,” Singh said on X American aerospace major Boeing on Tuesday delivered the attack choppers to the Army as part of a contract to supply six helicopters ah-64E can survive combat damage ■ ■ In 2020, Boeing had completed delivery of 22 E-model Apache helicopters to the Indian Air Force and had signed a contract to supply six AH-64Es for the Indian Army, a statement said The AH-64Es can survice combat damage, carries a 30 mm M230 chain gun, and has nose-mounted sensors that provide night vision `4,168cr is what the deal with boeing for 6 apache helicopters is worth 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 Oppn stalls Parliament on SIR; double standards, says govt Prez poser: All states get SC’s notice on bill assent timeline P r e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi LoP in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav, RJD MP Misa Bharti, DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi and others during a protest | pti Parliament logjam continued for the second day on Tuesday amid protests by the Opposition demanding a discussion on the poll roll revision in Bihar. However, the government accused the opposition of employing ‘double standards’ by asking for a debate but still disrupting the House. The Lok Sabha witnessed chaotic scenes as Opposition members refused to budge from their demand of discussion on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar ahead Karpoori Thakur son leads new V-P race NDA plans to play the BC card on Dhankhar’s successor doesn’t seem to be happening,” a senior party leader said. With the NDA commanding A day after Vice President Jag- 422 MPs across both Houses, it deep Dhankhar suddenly re- has a comfortable cushion over signed citing health reasons, the 394 votes required to elect the NDA weighed options to the next V-P Government sourc. field a candidate from the back- es indicated a preference for a ward or extremely backward consensus candidate, with a declasses as his successor. cision expected after July 26. Several NDA MPs, speaking Dhankhar’s abrupt resignaon condition of anonymity, tion came hours after he admitconfirmed that the ruling alli- ted an Opposition-backed moance is leaning toward a nomi- tion seeking the removal of nee from the backward commu- Justice Yashwant Varma, curnities. Among the names doing rently under scrutiny followthe rounds, Ram Nath ing a major cash seizure Thakur — currently at his residence. Minister of State for Some believe his deciAgriculture and son of sion to admit the motion for mer Bihar chief may have conflicted with minister and Bharat the government’s own Ratna awardee Karstrategy, which was repoori Thakur — is beportedly focused on a ing seen as a frontrunseparate course of acner. Belonging to the Outgoing V-P Jagdeep tion. The Rajya Sabha Dhankhar Nai (barber) communinotice, signed by 63 Opty which falls under the , position MPs and admitati-pichhara category Thakur’s ted by Dhankhar, instructed the , candidacy is seen as a nod to Secretary General to initiate caste dynamics ahead of up- procedural steps — a move seen coming elections. by some as independent and posAlso reportedly in the mix is sibly at odds with the ruling BJP president J P Nadda. Sen- party’s preference of joint moior party leaders suggest that a tion as it was in the Lok Sabha. cabinet reshuffle may precede Adding fuel to the fire was any formal announcement, the absence of ministers Nadda should Nadda emerge as the and Kiren Rijiju from the Busichosen one. Other contenders ness Advisory Committee meetinclude former Rajasthan CM ing chaired by Dhankhar on Vasundhara Raje, Bihar Gover- Monday. “The V-P was visibly nor Md. Arif Khan, former Un- upset,” said a senior Opposition ion minister Mukhtar Abbas figure, also pointing to a tense Naqvi and Rajya Sabha Deputy moment during a debate when Chairman Harivansh. Nadda reportedly remarked, While speculation briefly “Only what I say will go on hovered over Bihar CM Nitish record” — a statement seen by Kumar, JD(U) insiders were some as undermining the Chair. quick to dismiss it. “This Nadda later refuted any rift. Rajesh Kumar Thakur @ New Delhi Full term for new V-P His successor shall serve a full term in office. Article 67 says, “The Vice-President shall hold office for a term of five years from the date on which he enters upon his office.” Poll asap: Article 68 According to Article 68, an election to the post of V-P because of his death, resignation, removal or otherwise shall be held as soon as possible after the occurrence of the vacancy 32-day process The process starts after the EC notifies the vacancy and ends in 32 days. Its electoral college comprises Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha MPs E x p r e s s Rea d Rana Daggubati seeks alternative date to appear before ED Hyderabad: Actor Rana Daggubati has requested an alternative date from the Enforcement Directorate for examination in the betting apps promotion case. Sources stated that the actor’s legal team approached the ED on Tuesday with the request. They told the ED that Rana has a shooting scheduled and was unable to depose on Wednesday of assembly polls later this year. As Congress, TMC and DMK MPs stood up raising placards, Speaker Om Birla adjourned the House till noon. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said it was agreed on Monday that Pahalgam would be discussed. “Only the rule under which discussion will take place to be decided,” he added. Earlier, INDIA bloc members led by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi protested at the Makar Dwar of Parliament. The Upper House also saw two adjournments during the CM-led team to tap MPs on 42% BC quota Express News Service Presenting Its case During its two-day visit, the delegation, led by the CM, is scheduled to give a detailed presentation on the caste survey to the high command @ Hyderabad Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Tuesday said that a high-level delegation, led by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, will reach New Delhi on Wednesday for a two-day visit to seek cross-party support for 42% quota for BCs in Telangana. Speaking to the media at the Secretariat, Vikramarka said the delegation would meet MPs during the Parliament session to press the Centre for A moving success 200 crore free rides under Mahalakshmi scheme n `6,600 crore saved by women in 18 months n `4,000 to `5,000 per month saved by individual women 30 lakh+ women passengers per day (statewide) n lakh women avail of scheme 8 daily in Hyderabad n Initial figures: 14 lakh/day Celebrations time n Celebrations to be held on July 23 at 97 depots and 341 bus stations n MLAs, mayors, women MPs, commuters will participate n writing, rangoli, painting Essay competitions will be held n Honours for top five drivers & conductors from each depot Through free bus travel, women, especially from remote areas, are able to commute daily to cities for employment and education, saving up to `4,000 to `5,000 per month, which significantly contributes to their economic independence Ponnam Prabhakar, Transport minister GLOBAL study ‘Around 30% Indians are at obesity risk’ POINTS TO PONDER n Genetics offers early prediction, but lifestyle change is key n High-risk Indian individuals respond better to diet/ exercise interventions n Risk of weight gain rebounds if interventions are stopped Prevention is possible but must go hand in hand with behaviour change Dr Giriraj Ratan Chandak, senior geneticist at CSIR-CCMB KHYATI SHAH @ Hyderabad Long-term tracking of thousands of healthy Indian individuals has revealed that 25% to 30% became obese by adulthood, even though they showed no signs of the condition at the beginning. This finding is part of a global study that offers new genetic insights into obesity and introduces a polygenic risk score (PRS) capable of predicting the likelihood of developing obesity as early as age five. The study involved over 600 scientists across 500 institutions, including researchers from Hyderabad-based CSIR-CCMB. Led by senior geneticist Dr Giriraj Ratan Chandak, CSIRCCMB contributed to ensur- pre-lunch period, before it was finally adjourned within minutes of meeting at 2 pm. Soon after the House met for the day, Opposition members were on their feet demanding discussions on Operation Sindoor in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, besides on the Bihar SIR issue. Ghanshyam Tiwari, who was chairing the proceedings, informed the House regarding a notification by the Ministry of Home Affairs conveying resignation of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar with immediate effect. ing that the genetic data from Indian participants reflected South Asian diversity . Dr Chandak told TNIE, “The study included four Indian cohorts mainly from Mysuru, Mumbai and Pune, ranging from 2,200 to over 20,000 individuals, many of whom have been followed for nearly two decades. The long-term data allowed researchers to assess how genetics and lifestyle together influence obesity progression over a lifetime.” The study also found that individuals with a higher genetic risk are more prone to obesity but tend to respond better to lifestyle interventions, although they may regain weight more quickly when those interventions are discontinued.  continued on P2 approval of bills passed by the Telangana Assembly on BC reservations. “We will meet MPs and leaders of all parties and urge them to support the state’s request for 42% reservations for BCs,” he said. He added that the delegation would also brief the Congress central leadership on the caste survey conducted in Telangana. The state government, he said, is aiming to push for the inclusion of caste-based data in the national census.  continued on P4 s u c h i t r a k a lya n m o h a n t y @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to examine a Presidential reference that seeks the court’s opinion on questions concerning the roles, powers, and timelines for governors and the President in according assent to bills passed by state legislatures. A five-judge Constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice B R Gavai and comprising Justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, PS Narasimha and AS Chandurkar, issued notice to the Centre and all states and sought their responses by July 29 on the question whether timelines could be imposed for dealing with bills passed by assemblies. The court fixed the matter for further hearing to August 29. During the hearing, when senior advocate P Wilson, for Tamil Nadu, submitted that the matter would directly affect his client, who objected to the maintainability of the reference, the CJI said, “The issue concerns not only TN but the entire country Senior lawyer .” K K Venugopal, representing Kerala, raised objections re- Murmu’s reference The reference sought, among others, answers on options before a Governor when a Bill is presented under Article 200; and if they are bound by aid and advice of the council of ministers garding its maintainability too. On April 8, a two-judge bench comprising justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan, while hearing TN’s case against its governor, ruled that a governor does not possess any discretion under Article 200 in respect to any bill presented to them and must mandatorily abide by the advice tendered by the council of ministers. President Murmu moved the court on May 13, with 14 questions challenging the SC’s April 8 verdict that fixed timelines for governors and President to act on bills passed by state assemblies.