MADURAI l saturday l august 02, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l LATE city EDITION Vice Presidential election to be held on September 9 Election to the office of the Vice President was necessitated following a surprise resignation by Jagdeep Dhankhar on July 21 citing ill health election commission issues schedule how does the electoral college look like As per the schedule announced by the ECI, a notification calling the election to the post of the Vice President of India would be announced on August 7 and the last date of making nomination would be August 21, with the scrutiny of the nominations scheduled to take place on August 22. The ECI said the last date for withdrawal of nominations is August 25 ■ ■ The Electoral College consists of 788 MPs, including 233 elected and 12 nominated members of Rajya Sabha and 543 Lok Sabha lawmakers; 5 vacancies in RS and 1 in LS means 782 MPs can vote The election is conducted through proportional representation through single transferable vote; each vote carries equal value | P9 293 with 293 lok sabha mps and 133 in rajya sabha, bjp has clear edge 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 Start date of the levies pushed to August 7 41% Syria 40% India bunched with small nations in high US duty rates D i pa k M o n d a l @ New Delhi New Reciprocal Tariff 39% Laos, Myanmar (Burma) 35% Switzerland Iraq, Serbia Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Libya and South Africa 30% Brunei, India, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Tunisia Bangladesh, Taiwan, Sri Lanka , Vietnam 25% 20% 19% 18% 15% Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand Afghanistan, Angola, Bolivia, Botswana, Cameroon, Chad, Costa Rica, Côte d� Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Fiji, Ghana, Guyana, Iceland, Israel Nicaragua With the US embarking on a massive ‘protectionism’ era, India stands to be the biggest collateral damage of this exercise. The newly modified tariffs announced by the US government on Friday placed India among the major economies facing the highest duty rates — 25% or more. Other countries in this bracket are mostly smaller or geopolitically isolated nations such as Syria, Laos and Iraq. However, he pushed its start date toAuguts 7, injecting a little more uncertainty . What is particularly concerning is that most ASEAN and South Asian countries — key competitors in labourintensive exports such as textiles and leather — have been spared the steep hikes. Vietnam, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Cambodia now fall in the 19–20% tariff range. While China has been excluded from the latest tariff list, an earlier executive order on May 12 mandated a 34% tariff on its goods. The current executive order says the May 12 order remains in force. This means India still technically enjoys a lower tariff than China. However, the margin has narrowed, and given China’s well-known strength in low-cost manufacturing, that slight rate difference could easily be offset by sheer scale and pricing efficiency . What has baffled many trade experts is that Vietnam, with which the US had a trade deficit of $113 billion in 2024—the largest in Asia after China—has managed to stay within the 20% bracket. That said, the order clarifies that any trans-shipments through third countries like Vietnam will attract a 40% duty . Bangladesh, another direct competitor to India in textiles, has also been placed in the 20% tariff slab. The textile sector has already sought financial help to prevent massive job losses. Pakistan, which doesn’t pose significant competition in most export sectors, has received a 19% tariff rate — a development that is seen as more of a diplomatic win for India’s western neighbour than a commercial threat. Negotiations are on, but India is unlikely to yield on issues such as GM foods and dairy products. For now, India is staring at a 25% tariff wall, unless it chooses to bend over backwards to accommodate Trump’s whims and fancies. Economists hope that developed markets like the EU and UK would help India absorb some of the shock from US tariffs. “I remain hopeful that FTAs with other large economies will help offset some of the losses... Together, the UK and Eurozone account for over 18% of India’s export value,” says Debopam Chaudhari, chief economist, Piramal Group. Draft roll out; EC pans Vasanthi Devi Manonmaniam Rahul’s vote theft charge former V-C ofUniv dies at 86 Sundaranar mukesh ranjan & P r e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi THE Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday published the draft electoral rolls of Bihar after completing the first phase of collecting enumeration forms as part of its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in the state. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said in a message to voters, “The draft electoral rolls of Bihar are being published on Friday, August 1, at https://voters.eci.gov.in/ download.” “Physical as well as digital copies will also be given to all recognised political parties in Bihar in all 38 Districts by all the 38 District Election Officers (DEOs) of Bihar.” There were 7.93 crore registered voters in Bihar before the roll revision process began last month. It is yet to be known how many vot- ers are there in the just-published draft rolls. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a broadside said his party has foolproof evidence to prove “vote theft” by the ECI for the BJP remarks that evoked , a sharp response from the poll panel that termed his allegations as “baseless and wild allegations”. “I have said vote chori is happening and now we have proof that the Election Commission is involved in ‘vote chori’. I am saying this with 100 per cent proof. As soon as we release it, the whole country would know that EC is indulging in vote chori. It is doing it for the BJP ,” Rahul alleged. The ECI in a statement said it has chosen to ignore Rahul Gandhi’s “baseless allegations”. “It is very strange that he is making wild allegations, and threatening ECI staff.” express read EPS’s AIADMK gen secy post: Court to hear plea Custodial death: Two forest staff suspended CHENNAI: A Chennai court rejected EPS’s plea to not hear a petition against his election as AIADMK general secretary. “EPS has not stated that he was elected as per party bylaw,” the court said | P2 TIRUPPUR: After a 58-year-old tribal man allegedly died due to suspected custodial torture at the Udumalaipet forest range office, two forest staffers were suspended on Friday | P4 Renowned academician known for her contributions to the education sector, Dr Devi died after suffering a cardiac arrest at her home in Velachery, Chennai, on Friday afternoon | P2 Ex-MP Prajwal convicted for rape R a k s h i t h G o w d a @ Bengaluru Prajwal Revanna Videos did him in The case came to light after pen drives containing explicit videos of Prajwal were circulated in Hassan, ahead of Lok Sabha polls in 2024 A special court on Friday found former Member of Parliament from Hassan Lok Sabha constituency Prajwal Revanna guilty in a rape case filed by a domestic worker. The quantum of punishment will be pronounced on Saturday . Prajwal, grandson of former prime minister HD Deve Gowda and nephew of Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy was , accused of raping the 47-yearold woman from KR Nagar in Mysuru, while she was working as a domestic help at his farmhouse in Holenarasipura in Hassan. The woman, who filed her complaint with the cyber crime police of CID on May 5, 2024, had alleged that Prajwal raped her multiple times at his Gannigada farmhouse in Holenarasipura and at Basavanagudi in Bengaluru. She had also alleged that he video-recorded the act. The state government had constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe this and three other cases registered against Prajwal and others, including his parents: former minister and Holenarasipura MLA HD Re v a n n a a n d B h av a n i Revanna. The SIT filed a 1,632-page chargesheet in September 2024, listing 113 witnesses. Judge welfare schemes HC bars use of CM’s name, TN govt asks court to tweak order R SI V AKUMAR @ Chennai A day after the Madras High Court ordered that names of living personalities (which may include CM) and photos of former CMs or ideological leaders should not be used in government schemes, the state has filed a modification petition on Friday seeking HC’s nod to continue with the present nomenclature for ‘Ungaludan Stalin’ and ‘Nalam Kaakum Stalin’ schemes. Both the schemes have the names of the incumbent CM. After Advocate General PS Raman made a mention before Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava on Friday afternoon, and sought clarification regarding the order with respect to the ‘Nalam Kaakum Stalin’ programme, the CJ promised to look into the issue on Monday if the government filed a modification petition. Subsequently on Friday evening, Public Secretary filed , a modification petition praying the court to permit ‘Ungaludan Stalin’ and ‘Nalam Kaakum Stalin’ schemes to proceed with the nomenclature. The interim order, passed by the first bench of Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava on Thursday on a petition filed by former AIADMK minister CVe Shanmugam against the use of Stalin’s name in ‘Ungaludan Stalin’ scheme, had also barred the use of party insignia/emblem/ flag in government schemes. The ‘Nalam Kakkum Stalin’ programme, a public health scheme, is scheduled to be rolled out on August 2.  P5 Various political leaders paid homage to Kavin’s body in Thoothukudi | v karthik alagu Kin accept Kavin’s body 5 days after ‘honour killing’ Express News Service @ Thoothukudi/Tirunelveli Five days after the brutal killing of IT employee C Kavin Selvaganesh (26) allegedly for caste pride, his family members agreed to receive the body on Friday The body which was . , preserved at Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital (TvMCH) after postmortem, was handed over to Kavin’s father C Chandrasekar and taken to his native village, Arumugamangalam in Thoothukudi, amid tight police security . The body was taken in a procession, in which a large 71st National Awards First best actor honours for SRK, Massey, Rani A k s h ay K u m a r @ Chennai Superstar Shah Rukh Khan won his maiden best actor award for Jawan, and shared the honour with Vikrant Massey for 12th Fail, at the 71st National Awards that were announced on Friday. Another first-time winner was Rani Muker ji, who bagged the best actress award for Mrs Chatterjee Vs. Norway. Hindi films were the big winners of this edition as Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s 12th Fail bagged the best feature film, and Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahani won the best popular film Santhosh Gajanan Bhat of the special court for trial of criminal cases against MPs/MLAs, concluded the trial on July 18 and held Prajwal guilty of the charges. The minimum punishment for the offences committed by Prajwal is 10 years. Soon after the judge pronounced the verdict, Prajwal bowed his head and broke down. He was later escorted back to the prison under tight security His father HD Revan. na refused to react. Special Public Prosecutor Ashok Nayak said the prosecution examined 26 witnesses. “The most crucial evidence came from the victim herself that was compelling ... This is a victory against abuse of power and privilege.” for wholesome entertainer award. Interesti n g ly, t h e R a nve e r Singh and Alia Bhattstarrer also won choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant her second national award after her maiden win in 2000 for Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’s Dhol Baaje. The awards were for films released in 2023. Sam Bahadur and Animal were the other significant winners. While the Meghna Gulzar film won the prizes for best costume, best make-up, and best film for promoting national, social, and environmental values, the Sandeep Reddy Vanga directorial won the awards for best music director — background score (Harshavardhan Rameshwar), best sound design (Sachin Sudhakaran and Hariharan Muralidharan), and a special mention for re-recording mixing by M R Rajakrishnan. The polarising Sudipto Sen film, The Kerala Story, won him his maiden award for best director and a best cinematographer nod for Prasantanu Mohapatra. Jawan also won Shilpa Rao her first award for best singer. The South representation was quite strong this year, too, as in addition to the best regional films, there were multiple winners in the major categories. number of people took part, to a crematorium on the outskirts of Arumugamangalam and was cremated around 3pm, sources said. According to sources, Kavin’s family members, who were initially reluctant to receive the body demanding the arrest of the prime suspect’s parents, were convinced to conduct the funeral, following a decision taken by family elders and community leaders. They have received the body trusting that the government will take stringent action against all the accused as promised, said Kavin’s relative.  P5 2 brothers killed, bodies buried at same spot in TN Express News Service @ Thoothukudi The bodies of a visually impaired man and his brother, who were allegedly beaten to death and buried three days ago in a dispute with their relatives, were recovered by the Thoothukudi police on Friday after locals found a hand projecting out of the soil at a desolate place on the outskirts of Koilpillai Nagar in Thoothukudi town. The deceased are C Arul Raj (32) and his elder brother C Maripandi (35), natives of Bandukarai, Koilpillai Nagar. Three persons, including Rithan (26) of Koilpillai Nagar, a relative of the deceased, were detained in connection with the crime.  P5