tirupati l friday l october 10, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l anantapur EDITION exam centres to be allocated based on aadhaar addresses new policy aims to enhance fairness Candidates will no longer have the option to select preferred test cities, unlike the previous system allowing three to four choices. The policy aims to enhance fairness by reducing instances of impersonation and cheating during national-level entrance exams. Rural students will benefit from centres assigned closer to their Aadhaar-based addresses Starting from 2026-27 academic session, the NTA will assign exam centres for JEE Main, NEET-UG, and CUET-UG solely on Aadhaar card address ensure their Aadhaar details are updated; name and date of birth on Aadhaar must exactly match Class 10 marksheet, NTA has said ■ SC, ST, OBC, EWS, and PwD candidates must ensure their category certificates match both Aadhaar and Class 10 records for benefits Jan ’26 strict verification rules in the offing ■ Candidates studying away from their permanent addresses must is when The new centre allocation system will debut with JEE (Main) 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 PM calls Trump, hails Gaza truce, discusses trade J AYA N TH J ACOB @ New Delhi and Qatari officials, it marks the first phase of a 20-point USPRIME Minister Narendra backed peace framework. Modi on Thursday held a phone “We welcome the agreement conversation US President Don- on the first phase of President ald Trump, congratulating him Trump’s peace plan. This is also on the announcement of the a reflection of the strong leaderGaza ceasefire deal and review- ship of Prime Minister Netaning the status of bilateral trade yahu,” Modi said. negotiations. Modi described The Modi-Trump call also reTrump as a “friend” in a post on vives the possibility of a meetX and praised the “success of ing between the two later this the historic Gaza peace plan”. month on the sidelines of the “ I s p o ke t o m y ASEAN Summit in friend, President Kuala Lumpur. Both Trump, congratulathave been invited, and ing him on the success going by the diplomatof the historic Gaza ic calendar, it may be We hope the release of peace plan. We also rethe last multilateral hostages and viewed the progress in event this year where enhanced trade negotiations and they can meet. “This is humanitarian agreed to remain in a multifaceted relaassistance to the close contact in the tionship. We are confipeople of Gaza coming weeks,” Modi will bring respite dent of sailing through posted on X. to them and pave this phase,” said a Later, Modi called Is- the way for lasting source, adding “the peace raeli Prime Minister trade ne gotiations Benjamin Netanyahu have been going on Narendra Modi, PM and congratulated him and the next round is for the peace deal. Acbeing planned.” cording to a statement by the Trade tensions between India I s r a e l i P M O, N e t a n ya h u and the US escalated after ‘paused’ the security cabinet Washington imposed a 50% tarmeeting discussing the Gaza iff on certain Indian goods. deal to take Modi’s call. While talks have resumed, The Gaza deal—announced many sticking points remain. by Trump on Truth Social—in“The relationship is going cludes a ceasefire, the release of through an unexpected patch,” all hostages held in Gaza, a par- said a source familiar with the tial withdrawal of Israeli forc- talks, adding, “despite that, es, and a large-scale prisoner there is a strong personal equaexchange. Negotiated in Cairo tion between Modi and Trump.” Joy, relief in Gaza: P11 with the US, Israeli, Egyptian,  SC directs legal help to the 3.66 lakh SIR exclusions ‘Global stability pillar’: £350 mn missile deal part of deepening ties with the UK J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi India and the UK on Thursday cemented a new phase in their evolving relationship, unveiling a wide-ranging set of agreements across trade, defence, education and technology, as prime ministers Narendra Modi and Keir Starmer expressed a strong commitment to build on the momentum of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) signed in July and highlighted a deepening strategic alignment amid shifting global power dynamics. “India and the UK are natural partners. In today’s time of global uncertainty our growing partner, ship stands as an important pillar of global stability and economic progress,” Modi said after the meeting with Starmer. E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Kakianda Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and Pithapuram MLA, Pawan Kalyan, asserted an unwavering commitment to environmental protection, declaring that he would quit politics if he failed to deliver justice to the fishermen of Uppada, who have steadfastly supported him. Addressing a public meeting in Uppada after engaging with fishermen at the Kakinada Collectorate on Thursday, Kalyan emphasized that his role as Deputy Chief Minister is to resolve their issues amicably. “My position is not important; your support and affection are,” he affirmed. The fishermen’s troubles arise from industrial waste, particularly from pharmaceutical companies in Pithapuram express read Continue services under NTR scheme: Minister Vijayawada: Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav urged hospital managements not to halt services under the Dr. NTR Health Services scheme. He announced that the state government has cleared `3,800 crore and uploaded `670 crore for disbursement to address pending dues under the scheme | P6 laszlo krasznahorkai Lit Nobel for master of the ‘long-form’ e x p r e s s ne w s s e r v i c e @ Chennai LASZLO Krasznahorkai, a Hungarian novelist known for protracted sentences — some of which run into hundreds of pages — and whom a fellow writer termed “master of the apocalypse”, was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature on Thursday . Krasznahorkai (pronounced CRAS-now-hoar-kay), 71, who has written five major novels, hopped into limelight with his Laszlo Krasznahorkai debut Satantango in 1985. The Nobel Committee would go on to term it “a literary sensation” of its time. The book was adapted nine years later by Hungarian film-maker Bela Tarr into a Both leaders hailed the potential of CETA to double bilateral trade by 2030 through tariff cuts, greater market access, and enhanced investment. Accompanied by the UK’s largest-ever business and academic delegation to India, Starmer described India as a “global player” with a “remarkable growth story”. MBU case HC stays APHERMC’s recommendation I’ll quit politics if I fail: Dy CM Pawan 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 Thursday asked the Bihar State Legal Service Authority (BSLSA) to issue directions to its district-level bodies for assisting 3.66 lakh voters excluded from the final electoral rolls in filing appeals with the Election Commission. A two-judge bench headed by Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi on Thursday said the question of deciding appeals by voters who have been excluded after the SIR exercise of electoral rolls in Bihar within the stipulated time and with a reasoned order will be considered on the next date of hearing on October 16. “We request the chairman of Bihar legal services authority to send a communication to secretaries in local authorities to provide free legal aid to help the excluded ones to file their appeals,” SC said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his UK counterpart Keir Starmer in Mumbai | PTI A key outcome was the announcement of a £350 million defence deal under which the UK will supply Lightweight Multirole Missiles (LMMs) to the Indian Army The missiles, manufactured . by Thales in Northern Ireland, will not only boost India’s defence capabilities but also support 700 jobs in the UK. The two sides also agreed to move forward with a government-to-government framework for future defence deals and signed a military training cooperation agreement, including an exchange of flying instructors between the Indian Air Force and the UK’s Royal Air Force. In the education sector, the UK announced approvals for two new university campuses in India. Lancaster University will open in Bengaluru and the University of Surrey in Gujarat’s GIFT City . 415-minute-long film acclaimed by many. Tarr also filmed his next masterpiece The Melancholy of Resistance as Werckmeister Harmóniák (2000). This particular novel has one sentence spread over 280 pages, and is known as the book that defined his ouevre to a very great extent. Other famous books include War and War (1999), Seibo there below (2008), and Herscht 07769. Krasznahorkai describes his writing style as “reality examined to the point of madness”. Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan addressing the gathering during the public meeting in Uppada of Kakinada district on Thursday | Express and nearby areas, which pollute the sea and harm marine life, making fishing difficult. Following a two-day protest by fishermen from 16 villages around Uppada on September 23 and 24, Kalyan had assured action through a message to Pithapuram Jana Sena leaders and District Collector Shan Mohan, promising a swift visit despite official commitments. Kalyan promised to form a special committee to audit pol- lution and create a 100-day plan to address the damage, with plans to replicate the Pithapuram model across the state for sustainable development. He committed to personally inspecting polluted sea areas within three days, stating, “I’m here as one of you, to listen and act, not just talk.” He emphasized that reviewing reports from an office won’t suffice, but a ground-level inspection of polluted sites, as reported by fishermen, is essential. “I’ve directed officials to audit industries, even if they are Divis, Aurobindo, and Deccan, for pollution. Peddapuram MLA Nimmakayala Chinarajappa also pointed out an industrial unit in Peddapuram contributing to seawater pollution and contaminating local food grains. We’ll address all these issues and find solutions soon,” P6 Kalyan assured.  Get ready for DSC 2026: Notification in January, exam in March, says Lokesh E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada As per the assurance given to conduct District Selection Committee (DSC) every year for the recruitment of teachers, the State government will make arrangements to conduct the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) in November 2025 and will issue a notification for the DSC in January 2026. Minister for HRD and IT Nara Lokesh issued instructions to the officials to this effect. Chairing a meeting with higher officials of the education department on Thursday, Lokesh directed them to conduct the DSC examination in March 2026 and ensure that newly recruited teachers join their duties by the commencement of the next academic year. Lokesh called on aspirants to prepare for the TET and DSC. He wanted officials to complete the Class X syllabus by December and strive for better results with a 100-day plan. HRD Minister N Lokesh during a review meet on school education on Thursday | Express Key decisions Send 78 Best Teacher Award recipients to Singapore to study better education standards Provide student kits under the Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Vidyarthi Mitra scheme Implement the Kadapa Smart Kitchen Model for midday meals in all districts Set up computer labs and other infrastructure facilities in High Schools He emphasized the need for effective implementation of lesson plan reforms from Classes 1 to 5. Lokesh directed officials to prepare an action plan for commencing work on the 11 Jawahar Navodaya Institutions newly sanctioned to the State. Instructing officials to take measures for the successful conduct of Constitution Day on November 26, Lokesh said that the Chief Minister, Deputy CM, Assembly Speaker, and he would also participate in the School Assembly to be conductP6 ed on that day  . The High Court has instructed APHERMC to upload the court’s interim orders on its website | P5 Completed 7 of 17 Medical Colleges: Ex CM YS Jagan E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Visakhapatnam Former Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday criticized the privatization of government medical colleges, terming it a setback to public healthcare and education for underprivileged students. Jagan visited the under-construction government medical college at Makavarapalem in Anakapalle district. He arrived in Visakhapatnam at 11 a.m. and reached the college around 5 p.m., despite a three-hour delay during which , hundreds of his supporters gathered to welcome him despite the rain. Addressing a press conference, Jagan alleged that Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu was attempting to privatize medical colleges established during the previous government’s tenure for the benefit of the poor. “These colleges were set up to make quality healthcare accessible to all sections of society. When private hospitals charge high fees, the poor are left with no options. That is why we opened government medical colleges across the state,” he said, questioning the rationale behind privatizing such public institutions. The former CM stated that during his tenure between 20192024, his government had initiated the construction of 17 new medical colleges and several multi-speciality hospitals, including in the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) areas, and completed 7 of these P6 medical colleges.