COIMBATORE l wednesday l February 25, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l LATE CITY EDITION Nationwide HPV drive for u-14 girls to prevent cervical cancer It’s in line with WHO’s recommendations The programme directed at girls under 14 years of age, will use a singleshot Gardasil, a quadrivalent HPV vaccine that provides protection against HPV types 16 and 18, which cause cervical cancer, as well as types 6 and 11. It is in line with WHO recommendations, which identify HPV vaccination as a central pillar of the Global Strategy to Eliminate Cervical Cancer | P9 In a major step towards eliminating preventable cancers among women, the govt will soon launch a human papillomavirus vaccination programme 3 doses of Gardasil for girls above 15 ■ ■ It would be a special vaccination campaign but not under the Union government’s Universal Immunisation Programme, sources said HPV vaccine offers maximum benefit for girls under 14, which is well before potential exposure to the virus. For those above 15, three doses of the shot are required. Gardasil-4 is manufactured by MSD India `3,927 Cost of two-dose Gardasil-4 vaccine in the open market 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 The Keralam story gets Cabinet’s nod Decision to change name comes ahead of Assembly poll MUKES H RA N J A N @ New Delhi E x p r e s s Re a d DGCA grounds planes of VSR Ventures New Delhi: After finding serious compliance lapses, aviation regulator DGCA on Tuesday grounded four aircraft of VSR Ventures, whose plane crashed at Baramati last month, killing Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar and four others. The multi-disciplinary audit team found several noncompliances of approved procedures in the organisation. IIT-M prof appointed to UN’s int’l AI panel Chennai: Professor B Ravindran of IIT-M has been appointed to United Nations’ Independent International Scientific Panel on AI. The panel was formed through a resolution of the UNGA in 2025. The panel of 40 experts will examine how AI is transforming governance and everyday life | P2 Sasikala floats own party, unveils flag Madurai: Expelled AIADMK leader V K Sasikala on Tuesday floated a new political party without revealing its name and unveiled its flag at Pasumpon in Ramanathapuram. The announcement marks her formal re-entry into active politics after nine years | P4 V-C suspension: Anna univ files plea in HC Chennai: The Anna University has moved the Madras HC seeking to quash the order of governor-chancellor revoking suspension of former V-C R Velraj, who is facing action for allegations of corruption in granting affiliation to selffinancing colleges | P2 THE Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday cleared the Kerala government’s proposal to rename the state as Keralam. The move comes ahead of the Assembly elections in Kerala, expected in April or May . The decision was taken following a resolution passed by the Kerala Assembly in 2024 and forwarded to the Centre. It noted that the state is called ‘Keralam’ in Malayalam, while it has been officially listed as ‘Kerala’ in the First Schedule of the Constitution. Explaining the process, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said it would now be forwarded to the President. The President will then refer it back to the Kerala Legislative Assembly for its views and formal passage. Thereafter, with President’s approval, the proposal will return to the Centre, and Parliament will take up the constitutional amendment to effect the name change. Officials noted that while Article 3 grants Parliament the authority to change a state’s Historical roots In Malayalam, the state is called ‘Keralam’, a form rooted in Dravidian linguistic tradition, ancient political history, and early historical records including the inscriptions of Emperor Ashoka The name ‘Keralam’ will manifest the state’s heritage with all its authenticity and uphold its pride Home Minister Amit Shah name through legislation, the process includes specific safeguards. A Bill for such a change can’t be introduced in either House of Parliament without President’s recommendation. If the proposal affects a state’s name or boundaries, the President must first seek the views of the state legislature within a stipulated time frame. The proposal to rename Kerala was examined by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. Following approval from Home Minister Amit Shah, a draft Cabinet note was circulated to the Department of Legal Affairs and the Legislative Department for their expert opinion. Both de par tments, functioning under the Ministry of Law and Justice, concurred with the proposal, paving the way for the next constitutional steps in the renaming process The resolution adopted by the Kerala Assembly underscored the cultural and linguistic basis for the demand for name change. It also highlighted that since the days of the freedom struggle, there has been a sustained demand for a united Kerala for Malayalamspeaking people. The equation for T20 WC semifinal qualification With two matches to go in the Super 8s, a look at different scenarios for India to qualify.. Scenario 1 South Africa beat West Indies and India to win against Zimbabwe and WI — India and SA qualify Scenario 2 South Africa lose to WI and Zimbabwe; India beat WI and Zimbabwe — WI and India qualify Scenario 3 SA lose to WI and Zim, India beat Zimbabwe but lose to WI — WI go through, three teams on two points and it will come down to NRR Scenario 4 SA beat WI and Zim, India lose to Zim but beat WI — SA go through, other three teams on two points and will come down to NRR Suryakumar Yadav during a practice session ahead of T20 World Cup match against Zimbabwe at MA Chidambaram Stadium, on Tuesday | Ashwin prasath Today’s Match 7pm: New Zealand vs Sri Lanka (Colombo) Tata Sons board bid to hand Chandra a third term runs into Noel trouble Voting put off Sources said Chandrasekaran himself proposed deferring the vote on his reappointment saying an institution of Tata Group’s stature can function effectively only if Tata Sons and Tata Trusts are aligned in decisionmaking B E N N KOC H U V EEDA N @ New Delhi IN a new twist to the Tata Group’s power struggle, the board of Tata Sons on Tuesday deferred a decision on granting a third term to chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran. According to informed sources, the move follows objections by Noel Tata, chairman of Tata Trusts which owns 66.4% of the holding company of the $120-billion Tata conglomerate spanning software, semiconductors and airlines. Noel Tata was the only board member who did not support Chandrasekaran’s reappointment, while the remaining di- In a game of one-upmanship between DMK and AIADMK on populist pledges ahead of the Assembly polls, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Tuesday gave five more poll promises, including a one-time cash assistance of `10,000 to all families in Tamil Nadu “to offset the rising living cost due to multiple taxes levied by the DMK government”, and `1,000 cash aid for Pongal. Palaniswami, who had earlier made 10 poll promises in two installments, announced the third set of assurances on the birth anniversary of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa during a press briefing at the AIADMK headquarters in Chennai. Palaniswami charged that the DMK regime led by Chief Minister M K Stalin has levied multiple taxes, causing a sharp rise in the prices of essential commodities over the past five years, severely affecting the people. Taxes such as property house , and water tax, and hike in electricity charge have increased the daily financial burden of families. “To reduce this hardship, assistance of `10,000 will be provided to every family,” Palaniswami said. The AIADMK leader said graduates who have registered with employment exchange and ‘DMK inclined to share power at local body level’ E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Chennai Ahead of formal alliance negotiations, the Tamil Nadu Congress in-charge Girish Chodankar on Monday said the ruling DMK has, in principle, shown openness to sharing power at the local body level, even as seat-sharing talks for the upcoming Assembly election are yet to begin. Tamil Nadu Congress in-charge Girish Chodankar, in an interview to TNIE’s Prabhakar Tamilarasu, said the issue was discussed during recent interactions between senior leaders of the two parties, including a meeting between Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal and Chief Minister M K Stalin. “In principle, they (DMK) did not have any problem regarding power-sharing at the panchayat, corporation and local body levels,” he said. At the same time, Chodankar made it clear that the Congress has not dropped its larger demand for a share in power at the state level. While the DMK has begun discussions with some alliance partners, Chodankar said the Congress is still awaiting a formal invitation for talks, though informal consultations are under way He also acknowl. edged political communication across party lines, including with actor Vijay’s TVK, calling such engagements routine during election season.  FULL Q&A ON P4 EPS hints at hiking tax PIC: Ashwin prasath await jobs will be provided a monthly assistance of `2,000. Those who have studied up to Class 12 and registered with employment exchange will get a monthly aid of `1,000, he said. Reiterating his promise made on Sunday at a public meeting in Ponneri, Palaniswa- sual, given that the trusts he works with closely had greenlighted another term for him as far back as October 2025. If the third term is approved, the board would need to amend a clause that sets the retirement age for top executives at 65. Another term would have seen Chandrasekaran complete his tenure in 2032 at the age of 69. Noel Tata is learnt to have set four conditions for supporting the reappointment. First, Tata Sons should not pursue listing. Second, the company should remain debt-free. Third, its coffers should not be strained by excessive capital expenditure in high-risk ventures. And fourth, deep losses from acquisitions such as Air India and BigBasket must be contained. c h o d a n k e r t o t n ie EPS’s poll bonanza: `10K for families, `2K for unemployed grads T M u r u g a n a n d h a m @ Chennai rectors backed a third term. Typically, Tata Sons’ shareholders and board approve the appointment or reappointment of a chairman one year in advance to ensure stability and continuity, or to provide sufficient time for a new leader to settle in and chart strategy . Chandrasekaran, 62, who has led the group since February 2017 and completes his second term in February 2027, is learnt to have requested that the board defer the decision to allow for wider consultation and consensus following the differences. The development is seen as unu- On whether the AIADMK, if voted to power, will hike taxes to fulfil poll promises, EPS said there are many ways to increase tax revenue. “Through finance experts, we will explore all possible avenues. By increasing taxes wherever feasible, we will mobilise the necessary funds to implement the announced schemes,” he said mi said that during the fishing ban period, the relief assistance given to fishers will be increased from the current `8,000 to `12,000. The AIADMK chief said that along with the annual gift hamper given for Thai Pongal, `1,000 cash will also be provided. He also announced that the existing free electricity supply for handloom weavers will be increased from 300 units to 450 units. For powerloom weavers, it will be enhanced from 1,000 units to 1,400 units. Palaniswami said loans obtained from cooperative banks by small traders running pavement shops in urban areas will be waived. When reporters asked whether `10,000 cash assistance will be given to all families, Palaniswami replied in the affirmative and clarified that it will be a one-time assistance.  P5 Crash-landing The wreckage of a Pawan Hans helicopter that crashed into the sea 300 metres away from its scheduled landing place at Mayabunder helipad in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on Tuesday. All seven on board were safely rescued | PTI SC allows deployment of judges from J’khand, Odisha for Bengal SIR unmapped categories to be decided in the state. The bench led by CJI Kant The Supreme Court on Tues- said, “If the CJ of Calcutta HC day expanded the pool of judi- is of the opinion that further cial manpower to conduct the human resources would be reSpecial Intensive Revision (SIR) quired, he is at liberty to apof electoral rolls in West proach the CJs of Orissa and Bengal, allowing CalcutJharkhand High Courts ta High Court Chief for serving and former Justice Sujoy Paul to judicial officers from deploy additional civil those states, who shall judg es, over and then undertake the above the 250 district pending exercise.” judges who are alThe last date of publiready on the job. cation of the final elecIf Aadhaar has It also opened a toral roll is February 28. window to requisi- been fraudulently “If the verification exprocured on an tion judicial officers ercise undertaken in reindustrial scale, from Jharkhand and spect of logical discrepthen it requires to Odisha to participate ancies/unmapped be statutorily in the exercise. regulated. RP Act remains incomplete, the Calcutta HC Chief was amended, and ECI may publish the fiJustice Sujoy Paul Aadhaar brought nal list on February 28, had on February 22 in to prove identity followed by supplement written to Chief Juslists,” the court said. - Supreme Court tice of India (CJI) Invoking its extraorSurya Kant that even dinary powers under if one judicial officer decides Article 142, the court declared 250 matters a day, it will take at that voters enlisted in such least 80 days to complete the subsequent supplementary SIR in West Bengal. He said lists shall be deemed to have that there were around 50 lakh been part of the final list to be cases of logical discrepancy/ published on February 28. SUC H ITRA KALYA N MO H A N T Y @ New Delhi