chennai l friday l september 18, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l vellore EDITION Centre tells SC it is ready to cut NEET-SS qualifying percentile The Centre’s plan to lower qualifying percentile for Super Speciality seats from 50% to 30% is due to 1,857 vacant seats after counselling 6,000 candidates will become eligible plea against diversion of tN’s seats In a note filed before the Supreme Court on Thursday, the Centre said many seats remain vacant in highly specialised medical and surgical disciplines. Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, representing the Centre, told the court that the lower percentile would make roughly 6,000 additional candidates eligible — nearly thrice the vacant seats ■ ■ Centre also cited the Supreme Court’s earlier orders on Tamil Nadu, saying 40 vacant in-service seats in the state would be reverted to the state government to let it conduct its stray vacancy round The govt’s submission was in response to a plea against “diversion” of 152 vacant SS seats — reserved for TN doctors — to all-India quota | P5 2 weeks in which medical counselling committee has to fill vacant seats 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 Russia curbs bill could impact ties, India warns US in strong pushback Energy security of 1.4B citizens top priority while protecting trade. economic interests: MEA J aya n t h J a c o b a n d P u s h p i ta D e y @ New Delhi E x p r e s s Re a d Former union minister Nachiappan dies at 78 Sivaganga: Senior Congress leader and former union minister E M Sudarsana Nachiappan died at his house in Sivaganga on Thursday following a brief illness. He was 78. Nachiappan was union minister of state for commerce and industry from 2013 to 2014. His last rites will be held at Eriyur at 3 pm on Friday | P4 SC asks TN to rethink its stand on Navodaya New Delhi: The SC on Thursday refused to recall its earlier order directing TN to identify land for setting up a Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya in every district. The court also asked the state to reconsider its opposition over three-language policy, stating that Hindi can’t be completely excluded from the state | P5 India on Thursday pushed back against the latest US sanctions legislation targeting buyers of Russian energy warning , that the measures could have implications for both bilateral ties and global energy markets. New Delhi said the immediate priority was to ensure energy security for its 1.4 billion citizens while protecting trade and economic interests. It further said that India would continue to pursue this objective through “diversified sourcing and on the basis of evolving market dynamics”. Responding to the passage of the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act in the US Congress, the External Affairs Ministry said India was monitoring the developments and had already raised its concerns with Washington at senior levels. The statement indicated that the issue has been discussed extensively between Indian and US officials in recent months. “Its potential implications for not just the bilateral relation- Monitoring the situation, says commerce ministry Officials from the Ministry of Commerce said that they are currently monitoring the situation, adding necessary steps will be taken accordingly. Currently, both the countries are involved in negotiations to conclude a Bilateral Trade Agreement ship but also the international energy market have been very clearly articulated by the Indian side,” the MEA said. The ministry also made clear that New Delhi was prepared to respond to any economic consequences arising from the new US measures. “The Indian side has also made clear its determination to take all necessary measures to protect its trade and economic interests,” it said, adding that the government would work with Indian trade and industry bodies to address the implications. Earlier in the day, the US House of Representatives passed a sweeping sanctions package aimed at increasing economic pressure on Russia over its war in Ukraine. The legislation, which was approved by the House by a 262159 vote after clearing the Senate 86-11, has been sent to President Donald Trump, who has said he will sign it. Among other provisions, the legislation gives the US president authority to impose tariffs of up to 100% on countries that continue significant purchases of Russian oil and gas. China and India, two major buyers of Russian energy could , potentially face such measures. India is the world’s third-largest oil importer and has significantly increased its purchases of Russian crude in recent years, making the issue particularly important for its energy policy and trade relations with Washington. However, opposition within the US Congress also remains. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, described the bill as “deeply flawed”, arguing that its tariff provisions could give the White House broad authority over US import taxes. Multiple survivors identified in Pocso case on bizman Veeramani uled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, we are taking steps to provide financial asPolice investigating the Poc- sistance to the survivors,” the so case against GEM Group officer said. chairman R Veeramani (85) Meanwhile, an Egmore court have now identified multiple on Thursday granted the Greatsurvivors who were allegedly er Chennai Police three-day sexually assaulted by him. Sev- custody of Veeramani, who eral of them were minors at was arrested following allegathe time of the alleged offenc- tions that he sexually assaulted es. Their statements have also a minor girl in 2019. Citing his been recorded before a age and health condicourt, a senior city potion, the court directed lice of ficer said on the police to question Thursday . him on the court “Some of the survipremises and allowed vors in this case were him to meet his lawyer minors at the time of once a day during the the alleged sexual ascustody, which ends on sault, while some of Sunday evening. them are still under 18 R Veeramani Veeramani was aryears of age,” the officrested along with his er told TNIE. The investigation associate Shanthi (60) and her also revealed that almost all husband Mahendra Simhan the survivors are from impov- (63) on August 29. The trio were erished families, he said. subsequently remanded in juPolice have also invoked pro- dicial custody . visions of the Scheduled Castes The Anti-Trafficking Cell of and Scheduled Tribes (Preven- the Central Crime Branch tion of Atrocities) Act, 1989, (CCB) registered the case on after establishing that one of October 7, 2025, after receiving the survivors belongs to a a USB drive containing a video Scheduled Caste community. purportedly showing the sexu“Under the provisions of the al abuse of a minor girl at a Scheduled Castes and Sched- house in Teynampet.  P5 e x pr e s s n e w s s e r v i c e @ Chennai Divine renewal Priests perform the Maha Kumbabishekam at the golden vimanam of the main sanctum of the Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple in Madurai on Thursday, marking the temple’s consecration after a 17-year gap | Express UPI fleecing won’t be allowed: Govt P USH P ITA DEY @ New Delhi AMID concerns that consumers will end up bearing the cost of the newly introduced Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on UPI transactions, finance ministry officials said a monitoring mechanism will be put in place to ensure that merchants do not pass on the MDR burden to customers. MDR on UPI payments will be effective from October 15. In a bid to allay the concerns, officials from the Department of Financial Services clarified Unnatural deaths report in Manipur relief camps shocking, says SC bench SUCHIT R A K A LYAN M OHANTY @ New Delhi EXPRESSING shock and displeasure over the 25 alleged unnatural deaths in relief camps — set up for the victims and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the 2023 Manipur violence cases — the Supreme Court on Thursday directed Manipur Chief Secretary to file a status report. “We direct the Chief Secretary to submit report about all the 25 unnatural deaths reported in the newspapers...along with post-mortem report iden- Special report The order came after the bench perused reports of the Justice Mittal committee and an IAS officer about unnatural deaths in the relief camps in Manipur housing internally displaced persons from the 2023 Manipur riots tifying the cause and what preventive steps have been taken in (camps for IDPs),” said a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana. The court took note of a report by an IAS officer from Manipur stating that 25 deaths had occurred in relief camps, but post-mortems were conducted in only 20 cases. “The state is also obliged to explain as to why only `20,000`30,000 as compensation was paid to internally displaced persons who met with unnatural deaths while sheltered in relief camps,” the bench said. The bench also directed the Manipur State Legal Services Authority (MSLSA) to file a separate status report on the issue of unnatural deaths. on Thursday that monitoring will be done on a regular basis to ensure the MDR is not passed on to the end-consumers. The officials clarified that if any challenges arise regarding GST on the MDR, it will be eventually taken up by the GST Council. MDR on UPI transac- tions will attract a GST of 18% as it is considered as a service. The officials claimed there will be no additional revenue for the government from the GST on MDR as businesses can set it off via input tax credit. However, only regular GST assessees can use this provision. Officials said the introduction of MDR will help small businesses that don’t have a credit history and thus no CIBIL score. “With more formalisation of UPI, we are trying to make an alternative of credit history they said. ,” Events begin amid chaos With just one day to go for the Games, excitement is ramping up. A few issues have dominated the buildup even as events have already started. A look... Accommodation issues continue Cricket takes centrestage For the first time, a senior Indian team will play Japan in an international cricket match on Friday. The Harmanpreet Kaurled team will take on Japan in the quarterfinal match. On Thursday, Bangladesh women advanced based on ranking after tie against China was abandoned while Pakistan beat Thailand As this daily reported, accommodation has been chaotic for athletes. It continued on Thursday with rooms meant for two being shared by three at the Costa Serena cruise ship. With no Games Village for this event, around 17,000 athletes and officials are being accommodated at various locations, including the cruise ship, shipping-container style wooden huts at the dock area & hotels across Aichi prefecture Doubles pair loses in Teqball Declan Gonsalves and Anas Baig were out of medal contention in the men’s doubles Teqball event on Thursday. The Indians first lost 10-12, 8-12 against Vietnam’s Truong Giang Ba and Anh Khoa Le before going down 4-12, 7-12 against South Korea’s Junsuk Lee and Taebeen Lee It’s Tata vs Tata over Chandra’s reappointment BENN K OCHUVEEDAN @ Mumbai THE boardroom war at Tata Sons deepened on Thursday with four out of six directors of the group holding company voting to re-appoint N Chandrasekaran as executive chairman for five more years and clearing the proposal to list the company mandated by the Reserve Bank of India. Both proposals were opposed by Tata Trusts, the largest shareholder of Tata sons with 66% stake. Tata Trusts chairman Noel N Tata termed both decisions illegal. Noel said the trusts and the board had unanimously decided against listing Tata Sons and alleged he was kept in the dark about the board’s communications with RBI about listing. In a detailed statement, Noel said Tata Trusts would file an RTI application to obtain details of the board’s communications with RBI. According to the statement, Noel told the board that there is nothing in the September 11 RBI communication that says Tata Sons should be listed. He said if RBI doesn’t accept the firm’s demand to not be treated as a regulated entity then it should seek three years , to comply with the listing requirement. According to Noel, listing will destroy SP group’s Tata Sons’ character. Earlier, the Tata Sons board said four of liquidity plan its six members voted to give another five- Noel Tata tabled year term to Chandrasekaran, who had on a proposal to August 12 said he was not seeking a third provide `25,000 term beyond February 2027, when his cur- crore of liquidity rent term ends. The board said Chandraseka- to the debt-laden ran accepted the reappointment proposal Shapoorji Pallonji after the board requested him to continue. Group by buying Soon after the board meeting on Thursday out a portion of , Noel said Chandrasekaran’s decision not to its holding in the seek another term had already been accept- Tata Group’s ed and, therefore, the reappointment by vote holding company, was illegal. Tata Sons “Tata Trusts maintains that Chandra’s decision not to offer himself for reappointment at the end of his current tenure had already been accepted and had attained finality as his decision was freely taken, clearly expressed and not the outcome of any process of review,” he said, adding that Chandra had decided not to seek another term without prior intimation to or deliberations with Tata Trusts. “Once such a decision has been publicly communicated, it has consequences which cannot be afterwards undone, since the group’s employees, its lenders and counterparties, the market and the majority shareholder have all proceeded on it,” he said, and asked the board to finalise the search panel to find his successor at the earliest. Vettri to ration shops Oils, spices and soaps at 20% below market price Products from across TN B ANBUSE LVAN @ Chennai Consumers will soon be able to buy essential commodities, including pulses, oils, spices, soaps and detergents, at 10-20% below market prices through fair price shops, cooperative supermarkets and other cooperative outlets under the new ‘Vettri’ brand. The cooperation department is tentatively planning to launch the brand in October, with products worth around `1,500 crore expected to be sold during 2026-27. The move comes after the department abolished the joint Mangalam turmeric powder from Erode, groundnut and gingelly oils from Tiruchengode, pepper from Kolli Hills and coconut oil from Pollachi will be made available via fair price shops, cooperative supermarkets and other cooperative outlets across TN procurement committees (JPCs), which had procured groceries and other essential commodities from registered traders for distribution through fair price shops and cooperative stores. The department has instead introduced an online procurement system that will allow cooperative marketing societies to source commodities directly from farmers and self-help groups (SHGs). Procurement will be carried out through the Tamil Nadu Consumer Cooperative Federation (TNCCF), according to an order issued by the registrar of cooperative societies on September 3. Training was conducted in Chennai on Tuesday for TNCCF officials and other stakeholders. Subsequently, Cooperation Minister V Gandhiraj held a review meeting at the secretariat on Thursday to facilitate its rollout. The system will enable consumers in Chennai and other parts of the state to access products that are currently sold mainly in their local markets.  P5