tadepalligudem l wednesday l july 29, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION FDA suspends food licences of Cricket Club of India, MIG CC Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has suspended the food business licences of the CCI & MIG CC for violations. A look... File pic violation of food safety, hygiene an issue cockroaches, cobwebs at mig cricket club “The CCI’s kitchen lacked segregation between vegetarian and nonvegetarian food preparation areas, and FDA inspectors also found a large number of cockroaches and flies near food handling and waste disposal areas,” the FDA statement said. It also cited the absence of colour-coded chopping boards which increases the risk of cross-contamination ■ ■ The food licence of MIG Cricket Club was suspended as an unauthorised catering agency without a valid FSSAI licence was operating from the premises, the FDA said The inspection at MIG Cricket Club also found live cockroaches and cobwebs in the kitchen, it said Three other clubs, apart from cci and mig cc, were also suspended 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 High-voltage debate in Lok Sabha on anti-paper leak bill Govt pushes reforms; Oppn flags systemic failures, calls for accountability P r e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi THE Lok Sabha on Tuesday witnessed acrimonious debate on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026 with the gover nment defending the tougher law as a necessary deterrent and the Opposition dismissing it as a belated attempt to salvage the Centre’s credibility after the NEET-UG paper leak controversy . The 10-hour marathon debate mostly shifted beyond the provisions of the bill, with Opposition members attacking the government over the alleged police action against protesting students and demanding that Union home minister Amit Shah order an SIT probe into the violence. However, Treasury bench members maintained that the government had acted swiftly to protect students’ interests by bringing in a tougher law after the recent controversy . Opening the discussion, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said incidents of question paper leaks and examination-related malpractices have occurred across different states over the years, highlighting the need for a comprehensive national legal framework. The government introduced the Bill in the Lok Sabha on Monday days after student pro, tests over the NEET fiasco led to Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation as education minister, to provide for stricter punishment of up to 10 years in jail and a heftier fine of `50 lakh for paper leaks. MeitY summons Meta over PM post takedown The Centre on Tuesday summoned Meta’s public policy head after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Facebook post of July 23—addressing India’s youth and promising stringent measures against paper leaks—was restricted by the social media giant. IT Secretary S Krishnan said while Meta has apologised for the mistake, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has sought more details. According to Meta, a glitch in its automated content filters restricted the prime minister’s post | P10 a p, A s t r a Z e n e c a s i g n m o u Amaravati to get Genomics Solution Centre S G u r u S r i k a n t h @ Vijayawada Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Union Minister Pralhad Joshi speaking in the Lok Sabha | pti If the prime minister wants to win over the Gen Z, then he needs to change his ‘dil ka angle’, not the angle of cameras Priyanka Gandhi CJP warning The CJP on Tuesday warned of a fresh agitation, alleging the Centre was avoiding giving a promised written assurance on withdrawing FIRs against all protesters The House witnessed noisy scenes after Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra made some strong remarks about the new education minister Pralhad Joshi, prompting Treasury bench members to seek an apology The remarks were later ex. punged from records. In a strongly worded speech, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accused the government of betraying the trust of young Indians. She said Modi and Home Minister Shah must answer as to who authorised the use of pellet guns and AK-47s on protesting students. “Are the students terrorists? Every ‘lathi’ blow on any boy or girl hits the government’s prestige more than the backs of students.” Congress deputy leader Gaurav Gogoi, who opened the debate from the Opposition side, said the proposed amendments exposed the government’s failure to prevent repeated paper leaks despite the existence of a law. He alleged successive examination leaks had exposed serious administrative lapses and said the Centre must accept responsibility for repeated failures instead of portraying the amendments as a solution. Responding to the criticism, BJP MP Tejasvi Surya said the recurrence of paper leaks across the country underscored the need for a stronger legal framework. Taking a swipe at the Congress, he said the previous UPA government had failed to enact similar legislation despite having the opportunity. He also criticised the Congress’ education record, saying India continued with an outdated system for decades because no new education policy had been introduced during its tenure. Defending the government’s handling of the crisis, Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Eknath Shinde said the Centre had acted responsibly by ensuring accountability. He said the government conducted the NEET re-examination within 37 days and declared the results within 25 days. The Lok Sabha will continue the discussion on the Bill on Wednesday . Panel coming to probe charges of police excesses, indicates SC s u c h i t r a k a lya n m o h a n t y @ New Delhi Delhi and other states may proceed with investigation of FIRs; however, no coercive measures ... against the protesting students Supreme Court THE Supreme Court on Tuesday, while hearing a batch of petitions against police excesses, said prima facie a case is made out for an independent and transparent inquiry by a commission to probe police excesses on student protesters in several states and UTs. “Why should there not be an independent probe into these allegations? Whoever has committed excesses, committed atrocities on innocent people, law will take care of them. For that, there needs to be a completely independent and fair investigation. Probe is meaningless if no responsibility is fixed,” said a bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant. The court called for framing a protocol to meet situations like the Delhi protests in the future. That apart, the bench restrained states from taking any coercive action against protesters and directed them to release those under 18 on the condition that none of them should have criminal antecedents. Observing that “agitations in a democracy are bound to happen,” the bench indicated it will order the constitution of a high-powered committee to probe incidents of violence in Delhi and elsewhere. It directed the preservation of all CCTV footage, drone footage, bodyworn camera recordings, wireless communication and PCR logs. It also told the states to ensure that personal information and digital data of protesters are not placed in the public domain for now. Permanent commission for women in Coast Guard J a v a r i a r a n a @ New Delhi flying high India’s Sarvesh Anil Kushare (pic) celebrates after winning silver in high jump. Sharmila Dhankar (gold) and Shilpa K Shyla (bronze) added to tally in para athletics (shot put F57) | pti ENDING years of resistance that had drawn sharp censure from the Supreme Court, the Defence Ministry on Tuesday cleared permanent commission for women officers in the Indian Coast Guard (ICG). The move brings the maritime force in line with the Army Navy , and Air Force (IAF), where women have long been eligible for full-tenure careers. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh unveiled the policy, alongside a second reform easing ex-gratia to families of personnel missing at sea. The women’s commission policy ensures equal opportunities for career progression right from the ab-initio training phase. It also throws open a window to those already in service. Existing women officers on Short Service Appointment (SSA) will be given the option to convert to Permanent Appointment (PA), while serving PA women officers will be considered for promotion to higher ranks. In a major push to advance cancer research and precision medicine, the Andhra Pradesh government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with global pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca India to establish an Integrated Genomics Solution Centre in Amaravati. NGS, AI tools to The facility, which aims to detect cancer introduce precision oncology care to public healthcare, will The project will focus on advanced genetic sedeploy Nextquencing and biomarker testGeneration ing for lung and breast Sequencing (NGS) cancer. and artificial The MoU was signed on intelligence (AI) Tuesday in the presence of tools to detect Chief Minister N Chandrabacancer at an early stage and customise bu Naidu and senior officials treatment protocols. from the Health Department. Under the agreement, AsAs part of rollout, traZeneca India will set up the AI-enabled X-ray centre in collaboration with machines will be Reliance-backed Strand Life installed in GGHs Sciences and health-tech firm Qure.ai. The initiative will be integrated with Amaravati’s Quantum Valley framework to offer targeted cancer therapies based on individual genetic profiles. The project will deploy Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) and AI tools to detect cancer at an early P4 stage and customise treatment protocols.  Express read 2 AI Centers of Excellence come up in AP Vijayawada: Early-stage DeepTech startups in Andhra Pradesh will now have access to high-performance GPU computing, AI sandboxes, and specialised mentorship following the launch of the AI Centers of Excellence in Amaravati and Vizag on Tuesday. The twin centers, which operate under Ratan Tata Innovation Hub, will strengthen multi-sectoral collaboration among academia, industry, and research institutions | P3 AP turns to age-old rituals for rains Visakhapatnam: From frog weddings in villages to special pujas for Lord Varuna, Andhra Pradesh is witnessing a revival of centuries-old rain-invoking rituals as an unusually weak southwest monsoon leaves much of the State waiting for relief. Andhra Pradesh has recorded a 54.33% rainfall deficit between June 1 and July 28, with every district reporting either Deficient or Scanty rainfall | P4