VILLUPURAM l saturday l december 27, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l CITY EDITION President confers PM Rashtriya Bal Puraskar on 20 children Cricketing sensation Vaibhav Suiryawanshi (pic), singer Esther Lalduhawmi Hanamate, and judoka Yogita Mandavi among 20 awarded on Friday President Droupadi Murmu confers the award on ten-year-old Shravan Singh, who delivered water and milk to soldiers during Op Sindoor champions across six fields awarded of x factor, and the supreme sacrifice The award is in recognition of exceptional achievements in the fields of bravery, social service, environment, sports, art & culture and science & technology. President Murmu said it is owing to talented children such as Vaka Lakshmi Pragnika that India is considered a chess powerhouse. Ajay Raj and Mohammed Sidan P, who saved lives of others, were feted too ■ ■ Cricketer Vaibhav Suryawanshi was feted for making “a name for himself in a highly competitive sport”, the President said Nine-year-old Coimbatore resdident Vyoma Priya, awarded posthumously, had lost her life while trying to save a six-year-old during an electrical accident in their gated community park | P7 9 awardees among the 20 are sportspersons 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 Only Aadhaar-verified users can book rly tickets on 1st day of advance reservation Visa hassle India presses US to resolve H-1B delay B AN B U SELV AN @ Chennai J AYANTH J ACO B @ New Delhi INDIA on Friday said it has taken up with the US the issue of delays, cancellations and difficulties in scheduling H-1B visa appointments amid mounting concerns that recent regulatory changes have affected thousands of Indians. “India has received several representations from Indian nationals who are facing delays or problems with the rescheduling of their visa appointments,” said Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). “While we understand that visa-related issues pertain to the sovereign domain of any country we have , flagged these concerns of our nationals to the US side, both in Delhi and in Washington.” The latest disruptions follow a series of policy changes, including a steep fee of $100,000 for first-time H-1B visa applicants and a move away from the random lottery system towards prioritising applicants with higher skills. From December 15, the US also expanded social media vetting to all H-1B and H-4 visa applicants, a step that has led to widespread appointment cancellations and rescheduling months later. Jaiswal said India is actively engaging with US to address the issues faced by Indians. Reports say thousands of Indians have been affected with several people who travelled to India specifically to renew their visas being stranded. A hotel owner in West Bengal’s Siliguri pastes a notice banning Bangladeshis | PTI MEA: Relentless attack on B’desh Hindus worrying Shares deep concern over unremitting hostilities against minorities in the country J AYANTH J ACO B @ New Delhi Unremitting hostilities against the minorities in Bangladesh is a matter of grave concern — MEA 2,900 cases of violence The MEA said that over 2,900 incidents of violence against minorities, including cases of killings, arsons, land grab have been reported during the tenure of the interim government INDIA on Friday expressed deep concern about the “unremitting hostilities” against Hindus in Bangladesh and condemned attempts to dismiss the continuing violence against religious minorities as media exaggeration or political violence. New Delhi also reacted cautiously to the return of Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Tarique Rahman to Dhaka after 17 years of exile, stressing that the development should be viewed in the context of ensuring inclusive polls. He reiterated India’s stand that the upcoming parliamentary elections there must be free, fair, and inclusive. “The unremitting hostilities against the minorities in Bangladesh including Hindus, Christians and Buddhists are a matter of grave concern. We condemn the recent killing of a Hindu youth in Bangladesh and expect that the perpetrators of the crime will be brought to justice,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. The comments came in the wake of a string of incidents targeting religious minorities in Bangladesh amid a rapidly evolving political landscape following the ouster of former PM Sheikh Hasina. Two Hindu men were lynched in two separate incidents in a span of a week. Jaiswal said India is closely monitoring the developments across the border and underlined that protection of minorities is integral to democratic credibility . Referring to the lynching of Dipu Chandra Das on December 18, Jaiswal said New Delhi has unequivocally condemned the incident and sought swift accountability. On the killing of another Hindu man, Amrit Mondal, on December 24, Jaiswal appeared to link it to hostilities towards minorities. When asked about BNP’s acting chairman Rahman’s return, Jaiswal struck a measured note, saying it should be seen in the context of ensuring inclusive elections. He refrained from commenting on Bangladesh’s internal political rivalries. T N a w ait s c entre n o d Cost of power from new KKNPP units may be 45% higher S G U R U V AN M IKANATHAN @ Chennai The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) in Tirunelveli has conveyed that the tentative tariff for the power it will be supplying to Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (TNPDCL) from its upcoming 3rd and 4th unit will be `5.95 per unit. TNPDCL presently has an allocation of 1,152 MW out of the 2,000 MW generated by units 1 and 2 of KKNPP, which is bought at a cost of `4.10 per unit. With the assurance from Union Ministry of Power (MoP) that the allocation of power to TNPDCL from units 3 and 4 with a total capacity of 2,000 MW will be 50% besides unallocated share, the state’s discom is expected to pay 45% more per unit. A senior official, however, said that the tariff is yet to be finalised. The union government’s Department of Atomic Energy determines the tariff for nuclear power plants in consultation with MoP . A top official source in the state-run power utility said the decision about the tariff has been conveyed to TN, but formal clearance from the centre is still awaited. According to the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), which operates KKNPP, unit 3 with 1,000 MW capacity is expected to be commissioned by December 2026 and the unit 4 of same capacity a year later. The increased tariff is believed to be due to the significantly higher project cost for units 3 and 4 compared to the other two. In 2023-24, TNPDCL bought 8,381 million units of power from KKNPP at a total cost of `3,784 crore. P5 Nearly six months after making Aadhaar verification mandatory for booking tatkal etickets, the Indian Railways has also made that mandate a prerequisite for booking general reservation tickets on the first day of the advance reservation period through the IRCTC portal. The new rule, which comes into effect on January 12, has been introduced to ensure that advanced bookings are done only by genuine passengers. However, passengers booking paper tickets at reservation counters can continue to do so as usual by submitting the reservation form along with any new rule from jan 12 The rule, which takes effect on January 12, is aimed at curbing bulk booking by agents. Bookings by verified users will be allowed from 8 am to 4 pm from Jan 5 Aadhaar OTP made mandatory for tatkal e-tickets from July 1 valid identity document. According to an order issued by the Railway Board, passengers who have not completed Aadhaar verification on the IRCTC portal will not be allowed to book tickets on the opening day of reservations, which begins 60 days before the scheduled departure of a train. The booking window opens at 8 am. The notification further stated that from December 29, only Aadhaar-validated users will be permitted to book tickets between 8 am and noon. This restriction will be extended from 8 am to 4 pm, starting January 5. From January 12, ticket Pil in Delhi HC to cut GST for air purifiers Stay off legislative turf, Govt to HC on GST nudge Udaya n k i s h or e @ New Delhi THE Centre on Friday opposed a PIL seeking reduced air purifier rates, telling the Delhi High Court that judicial intervention would violate the principle of ‘separation of powers.’ “This will open up a Pandora’s box,” the Centre told a vacation bench of justices Vikas Mahajan and Vinod Kumar after the court questioned why the rates couldn’t be brought “within reach of the common man”. Additional Solicitor General N Venkataraman, for the Centre, said there was already a legislative process involving parliamentary standing committee reports and GST Council deliberations. “How can this process be scuttled through a court process?” he asked. On the court’s suggestion for a virtual GST Council meeting given Delhi’s air pollution crisis, the Centre said it was “not possible” as regu- lations require physical presence of all members. “This is not a PIL at all. GST is only a ruse...We are scared from the constitutional perspective,” the ASG said, adding the gover nment couldn’t commit to a Council meeting date. The bench had noted that air purifiers are pricey rang, ing from `10,000-12,000 `60,000. “It is beyond the reach of a common man. Why not bring it down...What is the difficulty in the GST Council meeting?” it asked. e x pre s s rea d Will fight saffron party’s communal discord: CM HC pulls up state, grants ‘Savukku’ Shankar bail CEO, two others held for alleged gang-rape Kallakurichi: Continuing his tirade against the BJP’s “politics of religious hatred”, CM MK Stalin on Friday said that the Dravidian model government is against the “communal disruption brought by the saffron party” in TN, and as long as the DMK government is here, there is no room for such politics in the state | P4 Chennai: The Madras High Court on Friday granted three months’ interim bail to YouTuber ‘Savukku’ Shankar, who was incarcerated in an extortion case, on the grounds of past medical history of cardiac problems and diabetes. The court also pulled up state authorities for ‘curtailing his personal liberty’ through ‘repeated targeting’ | P4 JAIPUR: Three persons, including the owner and CEO of GKM IT Pvt Ltd, have been arrested in connection with the alleged gangrape of the company’s female manager in a moving car after a birthday party in Udaipur. Police said a local court on Thursday sent all three the accused to fourday police custody bookings from 8 am to midnight will be available exclusively to Aadhaar-validated users. The Railway Board, in its December 18 order, said the expansion of Aadhaar verification for general class reservations aims to ensure that tickets are purchased only by genuine passengers. Official sources justified the move, noting that tickets on high-demand routes continue to sell out within minutes of the booking window opening at 8 am. “On popular routes such as Chennai-Howrah, Chennai-New Delhi, ChennaiJaipur/Jodhpur, ChennaiMangaluru, and others, tickets are quickly exhausted,” an official said.  P5 Ramadoss slaps legal notice on son, Anbumani expels GK Mani E X P RESS NEWS SER V ICE @ Chennai The tug of war between the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) factions reached a flashpoint on Friday, as party founder S Ramadoss, through a legal notice, warned his son Anbumani Ramadoss against using the party’s name, flag, or symbol. In retaliation, Anbumani expelled GK Mani, a Ramadoss loyalist and former PMK chief, from the party . The notice issued on behalf of the PMK founder said, according to the verdict of the Delhi HC dated December 4, Anbumani has no right to claim the position of PMK president, nor any rights to use the party’s name, flag or symbol. “Even after the court’s ruling, any attempt by a person expelled from the party to project that the PMK is under his control by using the party’s name constitutes an illegal political act intended to deceive the public,” the legal notice that appeared in daily newspapers said.  P5