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 ■ ■ tirupati l thursday l september 04, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Rained-out north pleads for mercy Jammu and Kashmir PUNJAB DELHI HIMACHAL PRADESH Heavy rain led to the deaths of a woman and her daughter, while 40 people were left trapped in a flooded village in Akhnoor. Major rivers, including the Chenab and the Jhelum, are flowing above the danger level. Thousands of people have been evacuated Punjab was officially declared a disaster-affected state on Wednesday, with 37 deaths reported and 3,55,000 people affected across 1,655 villages. Approximately 4,32,000 acres of farmland have been submerged, causing severe losses to crops and livestock | P8 A man gingerly trying to use a makeshift bridge in a low-lying area at the Yamuna floodplain in Delhi on Wednesday. Delhi was lashed by intermittent showers for the third consecutive day. The city is predicted to receive more showers in the next few days | Photo: Parveen Negi In Kullu, two persons including a National Disaster Response Force jawan are feared dead after two houses collapsed Peace talks with Kuki-Zo inconclusive 5% & 18%: Just two GST outcome” and that a fresh round of talks would take Ahead of Prime Minister place, with the date and venue Narendra Modi’s expected vis- to be decided later. Sources said it to the ethnic violence-hit the ministry’s Northeast advisstate of Manipur later this er, A K Mishra and Intellimonth, the Union home gence Bureau officials PM’s ministry held a meeting held discussions with Manipur representatives of on Wednesday with representatives of the Kukithe Kuki-Zo insurvisit Zo insurgent groups and gent groups. It is worth noting the Manipur government to finalise terms for renewing that the SoO pact, origithe Suspension of Operation nally signed in August 2008, has been a cor(SoO) pact, sources said. However, they maintained nerstone in rethat there was “no concrete ducing hostiliM U K E SH RA N J A N @ New Delhi ties between Kuki-Zo armed groups and security forces. However, its renewal was halted after ethnic violence erupted between the Kuki and Meitei communities in May 2023, leaving Manipur deeply fractured. Many in the corridors of power believe that extending the SoO pact could be one of the most important confidence-building measures in the troubled state. Sources indicated that if the prime minister visits Fadnavis, Rupala lead race for BJP national president’s post B a l a C h a u h a n @ Bengaluru Fadnavis (top) and Parshottam Rupala Nadda on extended tenure The BJP chief’s election has been delayed beyond a year, with incumbent J P Nadda on an extended tenure since June 2024 As the BJP prepares to elect its new president, names of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and former Union minister from Gujarat, Parshottam Khodabhai Rupala, emerged as top contenders for the hot seat along with that of Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan. According to informed sources, who didn’t wish to be named, Fadnavis has been given a headsup that he may be asked to step down as CM after the Bihar elections. “The message has been conveyed but there is no discussion yet on his future role. He is likely to be considered for the BJP chief post. He is young, has the support of the RSS and the confidence of the party leadership,” said sources. Though Rupala is a new entrant into the list, his candidature gained traction as he too is backed by the RSS and is said MSP: Onion farmers get much relief K M a d h u S u d h a k a r @ Kurnool The Andhra Pradesh government has begun procuring onions at a Minimum Support Price (MSP) of `1,200 per quintal, providing the much needed relief to farmers of Kurnool, following a slump in prices. The Kurnool Agricultural Market Yard, a major onion trading hub in the State, is now bustling with activity as the crop arrivals have picked up. Just a few days ago, farmers were hit hard by a market slump, with prices plummeting to `200 per quintal due to low quality of yield following heavy rainfall, weak export demand and glut. “My brother-in-law Maddileti dumped 75 quintals of onions on the roadside last week due to lack of remunerative price. He retur ned home devastated,” said Boya Ponnakallu Naidu from Guduru. “Today, I sold 35 quintals of onions at `1,200 MSP . Though it is not a profit, but the MSP has saved me from P4 debt,” he added.  to be trusted by the party top brass. His proximity to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he was Gujarat chief minister, is well known. Rupala’s anti-Kshatriya comments during Parliament elections in 2024 did cast a cloud on his political career but he is a “loyalist, and a trusted conduit between the Sangh and the party leadership”, said sources. The name of Dharmendra Pradhan continues to be among the contenders. His late father Dr Debendra Pradhan was a life member of the RSS and had joined the BJP in 1980. The party needs to undergo an organisational overhaul in at least 50% of its 37 organisational state units to constitute the electoral college before it can begin the process of electing its national president. Since its inception, the BJP has always chosen a consensus candidate as its president in ‘coordination’ with the RSS. Manipur in the second or third week of this month, the renewal of the SoO pact could signal a significant outreach to the tribal Kuki-Zo community and is viewed as a step towards restoring normality . The ministry resumed talks with the Kuki-Zo SoO groups on June 9 this year after a twoyear hiatus to renegotiate the SoO pact under stricter ground rules. One of the conditions includes reducing the number of SoO camps from 14 to seven, relocating them away from Meitei-dominated areas. Make local bodies self-reliant: Naidu E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has directed officials to ensure the rapid development of local bodies by effectively utilising the funds being extended by the Centre and the State government. Local bodies lagging behind in development with low per capita income should be categorised so as to extend special support to them, he said. Chairing a meeting of the 5th State Finance Commission, along with Deputy Chief Minister (Panchayat Raj and Rural Development) K Pawan Kalyan at the State Secretariat on Wednesday, he instructed the officials to take steps to make the local P4 bodies achieve self-reliance. Starlink gets provisional spectrum The Elon Musk-led company has received provisional spectrum to begin trial satellite broadband services in India | P10 slabs from September 22 5% tax for daily use items; no GST for health, individual life insurance PUSHPITA D E Y & DIPA K M O N DAL @ New Delhi THE 56th GST Council meeting held here on Wednesday cleared all the proposed changes in the Goods and Services Taxes (GST), including the two-rate tax structure.   Taxes on most daily use items, which were earlier in the 18% and 12% slabs, have been cut to 5%. Many goods in the 28% slabs were also brought down to 18%. All these rates will come into effect from September 22. Addressing the media after the GST Council meeting that went past 9 PM, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said efforts have been made to not just reduce the rates on items for the common man but also ease the compliance burden for businesses. “We have corrected inverted duty structure problems, resolved classification-related issues, and ensured stability and predictability in GST. There has been a rationalisation of rates—slabs have been reduced to just two. We are also address- Not just GST rate rationalisation, this is structural reform, easing compliance — Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, J&K CM Omar Abdullah, and others at the 56th GST Council meeting | pti ing issues of compensation cess, simplifying registration, return filing, and refunds,” the finance minister said. Goods which have moved to the 5% slab from 18% or 12% rates include hair oil, toilet soaps, shampoos, toothbrushes, toothpaste, bicycles, tableware, kitchenware, and other household articles. Many food items including namkeen, bhujia, sauces, pasta, instant noodles, chocolates, cof- fee, preserved meat, cor n flakes, butter, ghee, etc have also been put under 5% slab from the existing 12% or 18%. The rates on middle-class aspirational goods such as washing machines, TVs (all sizes now at 18%), small cars, motorcycles up to 350cc have been reduced from 28% to 18%. The finance minister said the labour-intensive industries have received strong support. “Farmers will benefit.”