hyderabad l saturday l november 22, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION Govt reopens tourist visa access for Chinese nationals VISA AI Image People-centric steps key to strong ties Issuance of visas to Chinese nationals was suspended following the start of a military stand-off along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh that began in May 2020. This follows efforts by India and China to rebuild ties after the resolution of the eastern Ladakh military stand-off. The two nations have agreed on several people-centric steps of late In further signs of thaw, Chinese nationals will now be able to apply for tourist visas through Indian missions and consulates around the world visa applications spike at embassies ■ ■ Visa applications were received at the Indian embassy in Beijing and the consulates in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong this week Some other diplomatic efforts between neighbours include resumption of Kailash Manasarovar Yatra, resumption of direct flights, commemoration of 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations 2020 in may of that year, the stand-off at ladakh marked a new low 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 Unions growl, India Inc weighs 4 Labour Codes’ notification Minimum wage and social security for all, including gig workers; retrenchment rules eased for employers E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ New Delhi THE Centre on Friday notified the four Labour Codes pending since 2020, ushering in several workerfriendly measures such as universal social security and timely minimum wage, while also trying to make life easy for companies in terms of compliance and paperwork. In all, 29 older labour laws were streamlined into four Labour Codes—the Code on Wages, 2019; the Industrial Relations Code, 2020; the Code on Social Security 2020; and the , Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020. According to the government, these codes will bring improvements in wages, workplace safety social se, curity equality and employee rights , , across several sectors. In a first, gig workers have been formally brought under the social security framework. Towards this, aggregators such as Zomato, Swiggy, and Uber will have to contribute 1-2% of their annual turnover. Among the other key reforms are mandatory appointment letters to workers to ensure formalisation and job security, expanded rights and safety for women, including nightshift work and mandatory grievance committees, and free annual health check-ups for workers above 40. Migrant workers in the textile sector will get equal wages and welfare benefits. They can raise claims for up to three years to settle pending dues, and overtime must be paid at double the wage rate. As for companies, their compliance burden has been eased with the number of returns to file, number of records to keep, and the number of licences to obtain being cut down to size. Also, the retrenchment rules have been relaxed, triggering angry reactions from trade unions. A joint platform of 10 central trade unions called for a nationwide protest on November 26 demanding the withdrawal of the codes, terming them “anti-worker” and “pro-employer”. Some trade unions welcomed the reforms. While the government claims the move will go a long way in ease of doing business, it will also increase the operating costs for companies Big-bang labour reforms 1 29 labour laws streamlined into CODE OF WAGES 4 comprehensive Labour Codes Establishes a statutory right to minimum wages for all, including those in unorganised sector Review of minimum wages every 5 years 2 Equal remuneration to male and female workers CODE ON SOCIAL SECURITY Benefit of pension scheme to all workers of organised, unorganised and self-employed sectors Employees engaged on fixed term (contract) to get same social security benefit as permanent employees Social security fund for the unorganised sector 3 OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY, HEALTH AND WORKING CONDITIONS CODE Creating safe working conditions in businessfriendly environment Mandatory, free annual health check-up of workers Database of migrant workers 4 INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS CODE Allows direct, time-bound contracts with full parity in wages, benefits; gratuity eligibility after one year Re-skilling fund to train retrenched employees; amount equal to 15 days’ wages for every worker retrenched due to higher minimum wages and greater accountability on safety and working conditions. The next step is framing the rules. As labour is a concurrent subject, the Centre and states have to frame laws and rules.  P10 E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Hyderabad Two major film studios in Hyderabad have declared only small portions of their built-up areas for trade licences, according to senior GHMC officials. Requesting anonymity, the officials said that Annapurna Studios occupies about 1.92 lakh sq ft but, for nearly 10 years, declared 8,172 sq ft. This kept its annual fee at `49,032 instead of the revised `11.52 lakh. The pending amount is about `11 lakh. Suresh Productions operates over 68,000 sq ft but declared 1,903 sq ft. Its annual fee remained at `7,614 instead of the payable `2.73 lakh. After receiving a notice, the company issued a cheque for about `2.65 lakh. Officials said the notices were routine, but the difference between the declared and operational areas in both cases was unusually large. The studios have been directed to update their declarations to match their plinth areas. * Data as provided by GHMC top studios and tricks of the trade Danam, Kadiyam weigh exit as disqualification risk builds Ir e d d y Sr i n i v a s R e d d y @ Hyderabad A fresh churn is underway in Telangana politics, with Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender moving closer to resigning to avoid possible disqualification. Senior figures in the ruling Congress, as well as members of Nagender’s core group, said he has concluded that stepping down is the safest option to protect his political future. Nagender is preparing to quit and contest the byelection. A formal announcement is likely within the next three days. His visit to Delhi on Friday set off another round of speculation inside the party and among legislators. Within the Congress, discussions around his move have intensified. Alongside him, Station Danam Ghanpur MLA KadiNagender yam Srihari is weighing his response to notices served on him. Those familiar with the matter said Srihari remains uncertain whether to file an affidavit without resigning or vacate the seat before Kadiyam the Speaker reaches a Srihari decision. Srihari, a former deputy chief minister, met Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar at the latter’s residence on Friday seeking additional time to reply to the notices. His camp has not confirmed any move, but sources said he is considering resignation in the next few days. Political circles believe both constituencies could see major developments before November 26. Hearings in the cases of eight defected MLAs have been completed. Nagender and Srihari are yet to submit their affidavits or responses to petitions filed by BRS legislators over their switch to the ruling Congress. Congress leaders and political observers said the disqualification risk is sharper for Nagender, who was elected on a BRS ticket before contesting the Lok Sabha elections on a Congress ticket. His dual path is now one of the key points raised against him. A disqualification would prevent him from contesting for the next few years.  continued on P4 Annapurna Suresh Studios Pvt Ltd Productions Pvt Ltd Total plinth area: 1,92,066 sq ft Declared plinth area: 8,172 sq ft Proposed plinth area: 1,92,066 sq ft Existing trade fee: `49,032 Proposed trade fee: `11,52,396 Fee difference: `11,03,364 Plinth area difference: 1,83,894 sq ft Total plinth area: 68,276 sq ft Declared plinth area: 1,903 sq ft Proposed plinth area: 68,276 sq ft Existing trade fee: `7,614 Proposed trade fee: `2,73,104 Fee difference: `2,65,490 Plinth area difference: 66,373 sq ft legend of the don Ashes, Bradman and power of imagination R R a j e s h K u m a r @ Sydney T he Ashes is upon us. Cricket’s most storied rivalry inevitably brings to mind the greatest batter the game has known. Donald Bradman—whom even Nelson Mandela regarded as “one of the divinities”—made an unparalleled 5,028 runs in these Tests. This included, of course, that famous second-ball duck in his final innings. That small failure meant that the rarest of Nature’s creatures, a genius with an eye for business—as R.C. Robertson-Glasgow summed him up—finished with 6,996 runs at an average of 99.94. Another four runs and the Don’s average would have read an even 100. The travesty! What many Indian readers may find heart-stirring is how the destiny of the cricket’s champion bat was forged far from the grand stadiums we know today—in Bowral, a quiet, almost meditative town around 116 km from Sydney . Walking through Bowral recently one could sense how , the rhythms of the place shaped the boy who would make batting immortal. At 52 Shepherd Street, lovingly restored by a Wing Commander Namansh Syal sustains fatal injuries former owner to recreate the Don’s early life, Bradman honed his skills in the most home-grown of ways. He practised by throwing a golf ball at the curved water tank in the backyard and hitting it on the rebound with a cricket stump he had fashioned into a bat. “The golf ball came back at him at lightning speed and it helped him develop amazing reflexes,” Australian cricketer Arthur Mailey observed of the Don’s childhood. Bowral was also where his mother, Emily Bradman, sent down left-arm deliveries to her young son—an image that feels instantly familiar to countless Indian households where cricket dreams begin in bylanes and backyards. Continued on: P11 Combo videograbs of IAF’s Tejas Mark 1 Light Combat Aircraft crashing in a ball of fire during an aerial display at the Dubai Air Show on Friday | PTI Tejas crash at Dubai show MAYAN K SIN G H @ New Delhi A showpiece Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mark 1 of the Indian Air Force crashed during an aerial display on the last day of the Dubai Air Show-2025 on Friday The pilot, identified . as Wing Commander Namansh Syal, sustained fatal injuries in the accident. The IAF mourned his untimely loss. A court of inquiry is being constituted to ascertain the cause of the accident. The plane crashed around 2.10 pm local time (3.40 pm IST) during the demonstration flight. The aerial display of Tejas was scheduled to last eight minutes. Videos of the accident showed the Tejas suddenly dropping height after a low-altitude manoeuvre. It failed to recover from the dive, hit the ground and was engulfed in a ball of fire within the airfield of the Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central. A post from the @PIBFactCheck handle on Thursday had dismissed claims that a Tejas at the Dubai Airshow 2025 had suffered an oil leak. The post said “intentional draining of condensed water from the aircraft’s Environmental Control System (ECS) and On-Board Oxygen Generating System (OBOGS)” was erroneously interpreted as an oil leak. At the time of going to print, it was not clear whether the plane in question was the same one that crashed on Friday. There were two Tejas planes in Dubai, one static and the other for aerial display . Manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, the Tejas is a platform for air combat and offensive air support. Reconnais- sance and anti-ship operations are its secondary roles. Friday’s accident is the second involving Tejas in two years. The first one crashed in Jaisalmer in Rajasthan on March 12, 2024 while returning from a tri-services exercise in the Pokhran desert. However, that pilot managed to eject safely . Tejas is set to be the mainstay of the IAF, which has already inducted 36 of the 40 LCA Tejas Mk1 that were initially ordered. In 2021, the IAF ordered 83 more LCA Tejas Mk 1A at a cost of `46,000 crore. In November 2023, the defence ministry gave initial approval to procure an additional batch of 97 Tejas jets for the IAF. The Congress mourned the tragedy with Rahul Gandhi posting on X: “Deeply saddened by the loss of our brave IAF pilot in the Tejas crash in Dubai.” Deeply anguished by the loss of a brave and courageous IAF pilot during an aerial display in Dubai Air Show. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family. The nation stands firmly with the family in this tragic hour Rajnath Singh, Union defence minister