visakhapatnam l tuesday l december 30, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION IIP growth at 2-year high of 6.7% in Nov on robust manufacturing Factory output, based on the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), grew at 6.7% in November, driven by the manufacturing and mining sectors strong growth on back of GST cuts Metals, Pharma boost manufacturing The Goods and Services Tax rates were cut on a host of consumer items to boost demand and consumption. This led to a piling up of manufacturing orders to take advantage of the GST rate reduction. The data showed that the manufacturing sector’s output grew by 8%, up from 5.5% in the yearago month. Mining production rose by 5.4%, against 1.9% a year earlier ■ ■ ■ “The growth is led by manufacture of basic metals, fabricated metal products, pharma and vehicles,” the National Statistics Office said In manufacturing sector, 20 of 23 industry groups recorded growth The data also showed that power production contracted by 1.5% in November 2025 compared to 4.4% expansion in the year-ago period 11.9% The highest iip growth recorded in recent times. It came in nov 2023 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 stays its Nov 20 fiat on Aravallis, SC stays Delhi HC to set up high-powered committee order suspending 2017 unnao rape case Bench says its previous order invited applications and pleas questioning the 100-metre rule s u c h i t r a k a lya n m o h a n t y Interim win, say environmentalists @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court on Monday put its November 20 order that accepted an elevationlinked defintion of the Aravallis on hold after environmental groups raised serious concerns that the new definition could lead to unbridled mining in one of the world’s oldest mountain ranges. A vacation bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant and comprising justices J K Maheshwari and Augustine George Masih said the court’s November 20 order had “critical ambiguities” that needed to be cleared up. The bench proposed forming a panel of experts to study the issue more carefully . “We direct that recommendations of the committee and findings of the Supreme Court shall remain in abeyance till then. The case to be taken up on January 21, 2026,” said the three-judge bench. The court had on November 20 accepted a uniform definition of the Aravalli hills and ranges and banned fresh mining leases. The SC Environmentalists objecting to the new definition of Aravallis welcomed the Supreme Court’s move on Monday. Environmentalist Bhavreen Kandhari said, ”This judicial intervention was much needed... the committee which is going to be formed should have ecologists, environmentalists and not just bureaucrats.” Neelam Ahluwalia, founder member of the People for Aravallis collective, termed the directive of Monday as an “interim win”. Security officials outside the Supreme Court in New Delhi Monday | Shekhar Yadav A committee of experts will be constituted to study environmental impact and assessment of the recommendations made by an earlier committee that comprised of bureaucrats — CJI-led SC bench had also accepted the recommendations of a committee of the Environment Ministry that had recommended that “Aravalli Hill” be defined as any landform with an elevation of 100 metres or more above its local relief, and an “Aravalli Range” as a collection of two or more such hills within 500 metres of each other. In its order on Monday, the court said, “It seems prima facie that both the committee’s report and the judgment of this court have omitted to expressly clarify certain critical issues.” The court said that the ministry’s definition might create a problem where protected areas become smaller while unprotected “non-Aravalli” areas become larger. The bench issued notice in the matter and requested the Attorney General R Venkataramani to assist the Court, including in the composition of the expert panel. The problem started because Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat each had their own definitions of what counts as Aravalli Hills and Ranges, leading to loopholes that allowed P7 illegal mining.  C.A.T. removes 2 B’deshis harassed, Brahmos Chief refused treatment by Bhubaneswar hosp from post yam Nambi Naidu, alleging he was superseded during In a rare development, the the selection. Hyderabad bench of the CenThe tribunal, referring to tral Administrative Tribu- the Standard Operating Pronal (CAT) on Monday direct- cedure (SOP), said the Secreed that the sitting Director tary DDR&D and Chairman , General and Chief Executive of the DRDO can approve Officer (CEO) of BrahMos one of the names in the panAerospace, Jaiteerth R Joshi, el submitted by the selection be removed from the post. committee for appointment The CAT also asked the de- to the position of director fence ministry to reconsider general. But, as per CAT, the claim of the senior-most they cannot ignore the entire scientist Sivasubramaniam service record of the other Nambi Naidu for the scientists in the top post. This newspanel. paper was the first to The case was filed report on December on November 29. Ac2, 2024 that the apcording to sources, pointment was chalthe CAT has sought a lenged in the Central detailed response Administrative Trifrom DRDO within bunal ( C AT ) , four weeks and has Jaiteerth R Joshi Hyderabad. scheduled the next CAT, in its order, hearing on December directed the ministry and 30. Jaiteerth R Joshi took Defence Research and Devel- over the charge on Decemo p m e n t O r g a n i s a t i o n ber 2, 2024. Sources said (DRDO) to reconsider Joshi’s Naidu, a ‘Distinguished Sciappointment within four entist’, is seven years senior weeks. And, till a decision is to Joshi and has served as an taken on the appointment, ‘Outstanding Scientist’ since the CAT asked the ministry 2017, a position Joshi curand DRDO to make an in- rently holds. charge arrangement, but not “When the Distinguished to include Joshi in it. Scientists are available, The crisis stemmed from there is no question of such the appointment of Joshi as a post of DG being offered to the CEO. The decision was Scientist H,” the tribunal contested by Sivasubraman- said. M aya n k S i n g h @ New Delhi E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Bhubaneswar TWO Bangladeshi nationals travelling to Bhubaneswar for medical treatment were subjected to police verification on arrival at the Biju Patnaik International Airport on Sunday night after the locals raised suspicion on their identity . Furthermore, the hospital concerned also reportedly refused admission fearing trouble and both were forced to return to Mumbai from where they had flown to Bhubaneswar for treatment. According to police sources, the two brothers, aged 49 and 35, arrived from Mumbai after flying in from Dubai, where they were employed as a driver and a labourer, respectively The elder sib. ling, who is suffering from a cardiac ailment, was scheduled to undergo treatment at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar. The hospital had arranged an ambulance to receive them at the airport. However, it failed to arrive due to some communication gap. As the ambulance did not turn up, the two attempted to hire a taxi. When the cab driver enquired about their nationality and learnt they were Bangladeshi citizens, he alerted others present at the airport. Locals gathered and informed the police raising suspicion that they were illegal immigrants. The two were then taken to the Airport police station where their travel documents, including passports and visas, were checked and found to be valid. “After thorough verification, they were cleared,” inspector-in-charge Rabindranath Meher said. However, police sources said the hospital later declined to admit the ailing man, citing concerns over possible backlash in the wake of recent tensions over killing of Hindus in Bangladesh. 2 new districts in AP, HQ status for M’palle S V i s w a n at h @ Vijayawada The State Cabinet, which met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, took a key decision to form two new districts and to make Madanapalle the headq u a r t e r s o f A n n a m ay ya district. This move will increase the number of districts in Andhra Pradesh to 28 from the existing 26 with the formation of Markapuram and Polavaram as new districts. Rampachodavaram will be the headquarters of Polavaram district. The changes in districts, revenue divisions and mandals will come into effect from December 31. The government had issued a preliminary notification on November 27, inviting suggestions and objections from the public and took the decision to constitute two new districts based on the feedback received from the people. Disclosing the details of the Cabinet’s decision to the media, Ministers Anagani Satya Prasad (Revenue), Nadendla Manohar (Civil Supplies) and Satya Kumar Yadav (Medical and Health) said that a lengthy discussion was held on the reorganisation of districts. The Ministers stated that changes were made with regard to revenue divisions and mandals in 17 districts, while no changes were made in nine districts, including Vizianagaram, Parvathipuram Manyam, Visakhapatnam, Eluru, NTR, Krishna, Guntur, Palnadu and P4 Anantapur. Minister in tears Minister for Transport Ramprasad Reddy was seen weeping while coming out of the Cabinet meeting following the decision of Annamayya district headquarter Sengar’s life term express n e w s serv i ce @ New Delhi STRESSING that even the “finest judges are prone to errors” and judicial scrutiny is part of the system, the Supreme Court on Monday stayed a December 23 High Court order suspending the life sentence of expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the 2017 Unnao rape case. The top court said Sengar shall not be released from custody . A vacation bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices J K Maheshwari and Augustine George Masih, which was hearing the CBI’s plea challenging the high court order, said “substantial questions of law have arisen in the matter that require consideration”. The court issued notice to Sengar seeking his response in four weeks. The bench said it was conscious of the fact that ordinarily when a convict or an under, trial was released on bail after an order passed by a court, such order shall not be stayed by it without hearing that person. It noted that Sengar was also convicted and sentenced in a separate case and was still in custody in that matter. “In the peculiar circumstances of the case, we stay the operation of the impugned order dated December 23, 2025, passed by the high court,” it said. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the CBI, urged the bench to stay the high court order, saying it was a “horrific rape” of a child. The Delhi HC had, in its December 23 order, held Sengar was convicted under Section 5 (C) (sexual assault by a public servant) of POCSO Act but an elected representative does not fit the definition of a “public servant” under the IPC. The bench observed it was worried that a constable or a ‘patwari’ will be a ‘public servant’ in such an offence but a MP or MLA may be exempted if this interpretation was construed to be correct. express read Tatanagar - E’kulam exp catches fire, 1 dead Visakhapatnam: One passenger, Chandrasekhar Sundar, died after a fire broke out in the TatanagarErnakulam Express near Elamanchili, Andhra Pradesh. The fire engulfed two AC coaches, and despite evacuation efforts, 70-year-old couldn’t escape | P3 Task Force to curb infectious diseases Vijayawada: The State govt forms a 24-member Task Force to tackle diseases like dengue, malaria, and TB. Chaired by Health Commissioner, it includes national experts and officials, meeting every 3 months to review disease control measures and recommend action | P3