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 ■ ■ TIRUNELVELI l thursday l september 04, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l 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 5% & 18%: Just two GST Peace talks with Kuki-Zo inconclusive slabs from September 22 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. the Manipur government It is worth noting to finalise terms for renewing that the SoO pact, origithe Suspension of Operation nally signed in August (SoO) pact, sources said. 2008, has been a corHowever, they maintained nerstone in rethat there was “no concrete ducing hostiliM U K E S H R AN J AN @ New Delhi 5% tax for daily use items; no GST for health, individual life insurance P U S H P ITA D E Y & D I PA K M ON D AL Not just GST rate rationalisation, this is structural reform, easing compliance — Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman @ 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 meeting, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said efforts have been made to not just cut 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 rationalisation —slabs have been reduced to two. We are also addressing issues of compensation cess, simplifying registration, return filing, and refunds,” she said. Goods which have moved to the 5% slab from 18% or 12% rates include hair oil, toilet soaps, shampoos, toothbrush- Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, J&K CM Omar Abdullah, and others at the 56th GST Council meeting | pti Basic food items to get cheaper Basic food items have been exempted from GST: UHT milk, paneer, roti, chapati, and paratha will attract nil rate. Life-saving drugs too will remain exempt from tax, the FM said es, toothpaste, bicycles, tableware, kitchenware, and other household articles. Many food items including namkeen, bhujia, sauces, pasta, instant noodles, chocolates, coffee, preserved meat, cor n flakes, butter, ghee, etc have also been put under 5% slab from the existing 12% or 18%. The rates on washing machines, TVs (all sizes now at 18%), small cars, motorcycles up to 350cc have been reduced from 28% to 18%. Premium on individual health and life insurance have been cut to zero from 18%. Rates on 33 life-saving drugs and medicines have also been cut to zero; several others medicines have been reduced from 12% or 5% to zero. There will be a special rate of 40% for sin goods. The overall revenue loss to the government is pegged at `47,700 crore. Fadnavis, Rupala lead Starlink race for BJP president gets provisional spectrum B a l a C h a u h a n @ Bengaluru 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 heads-up 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 Fadnavis (top) the list, his candidature gained traction and Rupala as he too is backed by the RSS and is said 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. express read `820cr deals inked on 1st day of CM’s UK visit AMMK gen secy TTV quits NDA alliance Chennai: TN inked several MoUs on the first day of Stalin’s visit to the UK, including `520 crore deal with Britannia Garment Packaging & `300 crore pact with a power tech firm | P4 Chennai: AMMK chief TTV Dhinakaran on Wednesday announced his party’s exit from the NDA headed by the BJP nationally and AIADMK in TN, alleging rampant betrayal in the alliance. ENS The Elon Musk-led firm has received the spectrum to begin trial satellite broadband services in India | P10 kidney transplant ‘Can’t deny organ donation nod over friendship proof’ R S IVA K U M A R @ Chennai Wondering how family friends could be expected to establish their relationship through documents, the Madras HC has quashed an order issued by the TN Health Department’s Authorisation Committee for organ transplantation denying permission for a Thanjavur man to undergo a renal transplant. The panel, in its order dated June 27, 2025, had rejected the application of V Periyasamy of Thanjavur district, who has been undergoing dialysis since October 31, 2022, on the ground that his donor, Ganesan of Erode, had not proved his friendship through documents. The decision was based on a report submitted by the Erode collector. Referring to the report, Justice N Anand Venkatesh, in a recent order, said, “It is incomprehensible as to how family friends can establish their relationship through documents. Emotion plays a part in a relationship involving friends, and it is not determined through documentation.”  P5 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 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. TN to train first responders near accident hotspots to cut fatalities To handle all exigencies The first responders to be selected will also be trained in managing medical emergencies caused by poisoning, snake bites, drowning, and other exigencies, sources said S i n d u j a J a n e @ Chennai With the aim to strengthen the response mechanism to road traffic accidents (RTA) and reduce mortality, particularly on highways, the Tamil Nadu Health Systems Project (TNHSP) has started training 50 persons residing within a one-km radius of 50 accident hotspots across TN to act as first responders. The programme will be implemented in collaboration with EMRI Green Health Services and GVK Enterprise, which operates the 108 ambulance service. The first responders to be selected will also be trained in managing medical emergencies caused by poisoning, snake bites, drowning, and other exigencies, sources said. The programme which started last week as part of the Tamil Nadu Accident and Emergency Care Initiative is in progress in Vellore, Tiruchy and Madurai.  P5