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 ■ ■ KANNUR 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 crossing a makeshift bridge at a low-lying area in 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. 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 S H RA N J A N @ New Delhi 5% tax for daily use items; no GST on health, individual life insurance P U S H PI TA D E Y & D IPA K M O N D A L @ New Delhi THE 56th GST Council meeting held in Delhi on Wednesday cleared all the proposed changes in the Goods and Services Taxes (GST), including the tworate 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 addressing 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, coffee, preserved meat, cor n flakes, butter, ghee, etc have express read No pay, MGNREGS workers upset Kollam: MGNREGS workers in several panchayats in the state have little to cheer this Onam, what with their wages still pending. Many families have been forced to borrow money to celebrate the festival. Officials blame the situation on the delay in release of central share | P5 ‘Gifted’ booze seized from excise offices T’Puram: The Vigilance and Anti Corruption Bureau seized 21 bottles of liquor and unaccounted money to the tune of J2.4 lakh during a statewide raid at 69 excise circle offices. Sixteen of the liquor bottles were recovered from the Kozhikode excise office | P4 Visuals reveal 2-yr-old custodial assault Thrissur: A disturbing video has emerged showing a Youth Congress leader, K Sujith, being brutally assaulted by at least five cops inside a police station in Thrissur. The incident occurred in 2023, but the CCTV footage surfaced recently after a two-year legal battle | P5 Not just GST rate rationalisation, this is structural reform, easing compliance — Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister AYYAPPA SANGAMAM Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, J&K CM Omar Abdullah, and others at the 56th GST Council meeting | pti What gets cheaper oppn states wary of revenue loss Basic food items have been exempted from GST: paneer, ultra-high temperature milk, and all Indian breads—roti, chapati, and paratha—will attract a nil rate. Life-saving drugs too will remain exempt from tax, the FM said Before the Council meeting, opposition-ruled Himachal, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab, TN, Telangana and Bengal had their own meeting to formalise their strategy to demand revenue protection 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 FM said the labour-intensive industries have received strong support. “Farmers will benefit.” Taxes on agriculture goods such as tractors, horticultural and forestry machines, harvesting/threshing machines, composting machines, etc have been cut from 12% to 5%. 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 and super-luxury goods, including caffeinated or flavoured carbonated beverages with added sugar, fruit drinks, and other specified beverages. The overall revenue loss to the government is calculated to be around `47,700 crore. Starlink gets provisional spectrum The Elon Musk-led company has received provisional spectrum to begin trial satellite broadband services in India, ahead of a full-scale commercial launch | P10 NO RETHINK YET ON SC Affidavit, SAYS VASAVAN ‘a world 1st’ Docs treat boy with deadly brain infections E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @T’Puram Doctors at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital (MCH) successfully treated a 17-year-old boy from Kollam who was simultaneously suffering from amoebic meningoencephalitis and Aspergillus flavus, two rare, and often fatal, brain infections. The student from Sooranad was discharged in full health after nearly three months of treatment. Follow-up examinations confirmed full recovery , The case is believed to be the world's first reported instance of a patient surviving the dual infections, Health Minister Ve e na G ero g e s ai d in a statement. Doctors credited timely diag- nosis and prompt medical intervention for the feat. Around three months ago, the boy developed symptoms of brain fever, including loss of consciousness and paralysis on the left side, a week after swimming in a pond. He was first admitted to Alappuzha MCH where tests detected the presence of the disease-causing amoeba in his cerebrospinal fluid. Immediate treatment was initiated as per the state’s protocol for amoebic meningoencephalitis, resulting in gradual improvement in consciousness and motor function. However, due to worsening vision, increased intracranial pressure and formation of pus in the brain, he was transferred to Thiruvananthapuram MCH, where an MRI scan revealed multiple abscesses in the brain. An emergency surgery was done to remove the infected tissue. However, the disease flared up again, necessitating a second surgery . Analysis of the tissue removed during the second procedure confirmed Aspergillus flavus, a rare fungal infection ● More on P4 of the brain.  86 cases of amoebic meningoencephalitis confirmed in state since 2024 21 deaths reported in state 24% mortality rate in two years 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. Fadnavis, Rupala lead race for BJP national president’s post B a l a Ch a uh a n @ Bengaluru K S SR E E J I T H @T'Puram With calls for withdrawal, or at least amendment, of the affidavit it filed in the Supreme Court on the issue of women’s entry at Sabarimala getting shriller, the state government on Wednesday clarified that it has had no occasion to rethink the matter. “The government has had no reason to think of such a step. It has to consider it only if the court seeks its response on any of the issues (related to the case). Unless it is asked, the state cannot interfere,” Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan told TNIE when pointed out that the Opposition UDF has also joined the BJP in demanding withdrawal of the affidavit. Earlier in the day, Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan demanded that the state government clarify whether it intends to withdraw the affidavit favouring entry of women of all ages at Sabarimala. “Will the government withdraw cases registered against Ayyappa devotees for participating in the Namajapa procession? There are still cases pending,” he told reporters. Vasavan asserted that the affidavit is in no way linked to the Global Ayyappa Sangamam. “The meet is being organised to discuss the development of Sabarimala — making it a global pilgrimage centre and improving the facilities. Other issues are not on the agenda,” he said. On the demand to withdraw the cases registered following the stir in 2018-19, Vasavan said the CM had made it clear that only those of a serious nature would stay, and all other cases would be withdrawn, pending courts’ nod.  ● More on P4 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 (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 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.