MADURAI l saturday l december 13, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l LATE CITY EDITION type 2 diabetes wonder drug ozempic makes india debut Ozempic is now available in India as 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg and 1 mg in ‘FlexTouch Pen’ - an easy-to-use, once-weekly pen device, at `2,200 per week popular as a weight loss drug GLOBALLY Danish pharma major Novo Nordisk’s type 2 diabetes injection Ozempic is also popular globally for its weight-loss benefits. A prescribed Ozempic injection would start with a 0.25 mg dose for four weeks at a total cost of `8,800. This is the company’s second medicine with semaglutide as the active ingredient to be launched in India after its weight-loss drug Wegovy ■ 11.4% pricing remains competitive, says md ■ On its pricing, Novo Nordisk India Managing Director Vikrant Shrotriya said, “It remains competitive to offer Ozermpic at a price like this” One reason for Ozempic being launched late in India was to do with uninterrupted supplies, Shrotriya said, adding that the injection would be directly imported from Denmark, where it is produced of indians are living with diabetes as per world health organization 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 SC: ‘Something wrong’ in the Madras HC Other big-ticket Cabinet decisions `12K cr for Census okayed The Union Cabinet approved `11,718 crore for conducting the Census of India, 2027, which would include the caste enumeration for the first time. The Census will be conducted in two phases — house-listing and housing census from April to September, 2026; and population enumeration in February 2027. This will be the first digital census, minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said | P7 S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y @ New Delhi Flagging flaws in adherence to rules in listing and hearing of cases in the Madras High Court, a Supreme Court bench hearing the Karur stampede case observed on Friday that “something wrong” is happening and sought a report from the Madras High Court and made the Registrar General of the HC a party to the case. The court also rejected the state’s demand to modify the direction regarding the composition of the Supervisory Committee constituted to monitor the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigation, and to allow the Justice Aruna Jagadeesan Commission to continue its inquiry into the stampede. It may be recalled that during the hearing of petitions seeking an independent investigation into the September 27 Karur stampede at actor Vijay’s political rally in which 41 people died, the SC bench of Justices J K Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi, on October 13, had raised questions about the manner in which the Madras High Court had intervened in the matter.   continued on P7 Cabinet clears 100% FDI in insurance PUSHPITA DEY @ New Delhi LEO AND BEHOLD Artist Swapan Kumar Das draws a portrait of football legend Lionel Messi ahead of his three-day GOAT Tour, in Kolkata, on Friday. Messi’s first stop will be Kolkata on Saturday. He will visit Hyderabad, Mumbai, and finally reach Delhi | PTI India isn’t on new US silicon supply chain grp May reflect Delhi’s AI status J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi A new US-led strategic initiative, named Pax Silica, which aims to build a secure, prosperous, and innovation-driven global silicon supply chain, has been launched without the inclusion of India amidst crucial trade negotiations between the two countries. The US State Department defined the initiative as focused on the entire silicon supply chain, “from critical minerals and energy inputs to advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, AI infrastructure, and logistics.” The inaugural Pax Silica Summit will have Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the UK, Israel, the UAE and Australia. The US State Department emphasised the group’s critical role, and said: “Together, these countries are home to the most important companies and investors powering the global AI supply chain.” The objective of Pax Silica is clearly strategic at a time when building alternative to Chineseled supply chains on critical minerals and emerging technologies are in focus. The alliance seeks “to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence, Opening nuclear sector The Cabinet is also learnt to have approved a bill that seeks to open up the civil nuclear power sector for private participation. Called the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, the proposed legislation aims to help the country achieve its target of 100 giga watts of atomic energy capacity by 2047. and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.” The initiative, which responds to “increasing risks from coercive dependencies” and a collective desire to secure all strategic “stacks” of the technology supply chain — including software, foundation models, semiconductors, and mineral refining --signals a concerted effort to establish a trusted economic order for the AI era. India’s exclusion is interesting, given that critical minerals have recently become a central focus of the bilateral relationship. In fact, the US and India in 2024 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on critical minerals supply chains, an important example of India’s bilateral cooperation in this sector, which aims to leverage “the two countries’ complementary strengths to ensure greater resilience in the critical minerals sector.” India’s absence from Pax Silica suggests that while the US and India are collaborating on mineral resilience, Delhi may not yet be perceived as a core, end-toend partner in the advanced segment of the global AI production ecosystem. There was no immediate reaction from Indian side THE Union Cabinet on Friday approved a proposal to raise the foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in insurance firms from 74% to 100%, and usher in a set of structural reforms to strengthen the sector. The move is expected to draw substantial foreign capital, increase competition, and improve customer services across India’s insurance market. The government is likely to introduce the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2025 in Parliament on Monday a senior finance min, istry official confirmed. By lifting the cap, the government aims to attract long-term global investors and deepen the sector’s capital base. “A more open market is expected to foster greater competition, leading to innovative product development, superior customer service standards, and the adoption of global best practices and technology,” said Narendra Ganpule, partner and insurance industry leader, Grant Thornton Bharat. The Centre expects that the higher ownership limit will unlock fresh global capital, enabling companies to scale operations, expand distribution, develop new products and enhance service standards. The government believes higher investment and competition will help extend insurance coverage to a wider population. Greater competition could also create jobs and improve efficiency . The reforms form part of a broader push to expand insurance penetration and align with the government’s long-term vision of achieving ‘Insurance for All by 2047’. To give effect to the changes, amendments to the Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999, and the Insurance Act, 1938 will be introduced as part of the comprehensive legislative exercise. Alok Rungta, MD and CEO of Generali Central Life Insurance, said reforms may open doors for new players, who were waiting for 100% FDI to enter the market. RA J ESH KUMAR THAKUR @ New Delhi THE Union Cabinet on Friday cleared a proposal to set up a single higher education regulator to replace multiple bodies such as the University Grants Commission (UGC). Sources said the government is likely to present a bill in the ongoing Parliament session, which concludes on December 19. The bill—previously called the Higher Education Commission of India Bill— has been renamed the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhikshan Bill. The move is in line with the National Education Policy which moots , a new unified body to subsume UGC, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE). However, medical and law colleges will remain outside the new regulator’s scope, sources said. An official told this paper that the unified regulator is expected to have three major functions: regulation, accreditation and the setting of professional standards. Funding—considered the fourth pillar—is not expected to come under the regulator at this stage, with financial autonomy proposed to remain with the administrative ministry . The regulatory system is in need of a complete overhaul to re-energise the higher education sector and enable it to thrive — NEP 2020 handbook of statistics TN fastest-growing among large states, GSDP up 16%: RBI E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Chennai Tamil Nadu has emerged as the fastest-growing economy among large states in the country with a new report , released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) pointing to a sharp acceleration in its growth momentum and a widening lead over its regional peers. According to the Handbook of Statistics on Indian States 2024-25 released on Thursday, the state’s Gross Top 5 states State Domestic Product (GSDP) in GSDP at current prices rose to `31.18 State Economy lakh crore in 2024-25 from `26.89 lakh crore in the previous year, Maharashtra 45.31 a nominal growth of 16%. This Tamil Nadu 31.18 is the steepest rise recorded among major state economies Uttar Pradesh 29.78 and marks the third consecutive year in which Tamil Nadu Karnataka 28.83 has outpaced most of its indusGujarat  26.72 trial competitors. The RBI data reaffirm MaharNote: Figures (`) in lakh crore) ashtra’s position as the country’s largest state economy at `45.31 lakh crore, followed by TN (`31.18 lakh crore), Uttar Pradesh (`29.78 lakh crore), Karnataka (`28.83 lakh crore) and Gujarat (`26.72 lakh crore). TN’s latest expansion has widened its lead over Uttar Pradesh by about `1.4 lakh crore and over Karnataka by nearly `2.35 lakh crore. The multi-year trend signals a shift in economic weight among India’s leading states. Between 2021-22 and 2024-25, TN’s GSDP increased from `20.72 lakh crore to `31.18 lakh crore, a rise of nearly `10.5 lakh crore. Gujarat and Karnataka recorded comparable absolute gains but lagged behind TN’s pace in 2023-24 and 2024-25.  No proof for deepathoon on hill: TN to HC J e g a d e e s w a r i Pa n d i a n @ Madurai Red flag on ‘birth tourism’ The US Embassy in India on Friday issued a public warning to tourist-visa applicants of a tough stance against what it called “birth tourism” | P9 Single regulator to replace UGC, AICTE & NCTE A state archaeology department team recently inspected the stone pillar in Thiruparankundram | express The Tamil Nadu government on Friday told the Madurai bench of the Madras HC that there was no evidence before the single judge to show that the stone pillar atop the Thiruparankundram hill was indeed a lamp pillar (deepathoon) used for the purpose of lighting the Karthigai Deepam. Advocate General PS Raman, representing the Madurai collector, made the argument before a bench of Justices G Jayachandran and KK Ramakrishnan which was hearing a batch of appeals filed against the order passed by Justice G R Swaminathan on December 1, directing the exe c u t ive o f f i c e r o f t h e Thiruparankundram Subramaniya Swamy temple to light the Karthigai Deepam on the said deepathoon, along with the usual places, from this year. The dispute gives rise to a question of whether there is really a ‘deepathoon’ on the hilltop, Raman argued. Taking the HC through the judgments of various courts on the issue, Raman said the Karthigai Deepam has been lit on the Uchipillaiyar Kovil Mandapam for the past 100 years.  P7 dramatic comeback In a dramatic turnaround of events, one of India’s most decorated wrestlers, Vinesh Phogat has announced her intention to come out of retirement on Friday She has posted on X that . the fire is still burning and she would take one final shot at an Olympic medal at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. Though the announcement seemed sudden, the wrestler had hinted her comeback when she moved to Bengaluru with her just-born child for training. Vinesh along with her husband Somvir Rathee welcomed a baby boy into the family in July Soon . after, she started fitness sessions at Pratap Sports School, Kharkhoda in Sonepat, Haryana. Om Prakash Dahiya, Vinesh’s childhood coach, said his ward has already moved to Bengaluru to train. “She is already in Bengaluru. Once again, the goal is to win an Olympic medal. She is accompanied by a wom- an there as she needs someone to take care of her son and training,” Dahiya said. As always, Olympic Gold Quest is supporting her. Vinesh, multiple World Championships, Asian Games and Common- ‘WITH BABY BY MY SIDE’ “...So here I am, stepping back toward LA28 with a heart that’s unafraid... And this time, I’m not walking alone my son is joining my team, my biggest motivation, my little cheerleader on this road to LA” KMUT phase ii 17L more women to get `1K/month Chennai: Chief Minister M K Stalin on Friday launched the second phase of the Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thittam (KMUT), under which `1,000 in monthly cash assistance is directly transferred to women heads of families. With the inclusion of an additional 17 lakh beneficiaries in the second phase, the total number of women receiving the amount in their bank accounts has now risen to 1.34 crore, the state government said | P6 `14,000 cr project Vinesh training in Bengaluru as she takes big step towards LA28 f i r o z m i r z a @ Chennai express read wealth Games medallist, suffered heartbreaks at the Olympics not once but thrice. From her Olympic debut at the 2016 Rio Games where she was stretchered out after suffering a knee injury on the mat to unfathomable loss at the 2021 Tokyo Games to disqualification hours before the gold medal bout for being 50 grams overweight at the 2024 Paris Games, the 31-year-old somehow always had a torturous outing at the world’s biggest stage. But the road to glory will not be easy Vinesh, who contested . and won from Haryana’s Julana constituency during the Assembly elections last year, has to start from scratch. She was an Indian Railway employee but resigned before joining politics. Now she has to earn her berth first in district and then state squad before making it to the Haryana team for the next nationals in 2026.  K’taka forms team for Mekedatu dam Bengaluru: Karnataka on Friday said it has issued an order to form a team under the director of Karnataka Engineering Research Station for the speedy implementation of the Mekedatu Project in view of “the favourable SC order”. The cost of the project is estimated to be between `9,000 crore and `14,000 crore. A project office with 30 officials, including an executive engineer, will be set up in Ramanagara | P7