tirunelveli l Thursday l October 29, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Cabinet approves 3% hike in DA/ DR for central govt employees The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a three per cent hike in Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) with effect from July 1 Representational image ‘diwali gift’ for 1.17 cr staff and pensioners `10,000 crore impact on exchequer The decision will benefit more than 1.17 crore Central government employees and pensioners. Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw described it as a “Diwali gift”. The hike amounts to “an increase of 3% over the existing rates of 60% of the basic pay/pension, to compensate against price rise,” an official release said ■ ■ The combined impact on the exchequer on account of the increase in both DA and DR would be `10,016.10 cr per annum, the release said The DA and DR for Central government employees and pensioners are revised twice a year, one with effect from January 1 and the other from July 1. The latest announcement pertains to July 1 increase 48.5 lakh Current employees and 68.7 lakh pensioners to benefit 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 Puri named for RS seat vacated by L Murugan RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR @ New Delhi The BJP on Wednesday named Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri as its candidate for the November 12 by-election to one Rajya Sabha seat from Madhya Pradesh. The decision to nominate Puri appears to signal the BJP’s intention to retain him in the Union cabinet. It offers a clear indication of his political future amid the recent controversies surrounding him. According to sources, the BJP’s central election committee approved Puri’s candidature after deliberating on various aspects. Puri, 74, is currently the Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Hardeep Puri Gas. His term as Rajya Sabha member from Uttar Pradesh is scheduled to end on November 25. The by-election in Madhya Pradesh was necessitated by former Union Minister L Murugan’s resignation. With the BJP in power in Madhya Pradesh, its candidate is expected to have a smooth passage in the by-election. Puri’s nomination comes after the Congress and several other Opposition par ties accused him of lying about his interactions with Jef frey Epstein and called for his resignation. express read Monday after Deepavali declared holiday in TN Chennai: The TN government has declared November 9, the day after Deepavali, a local holiday for all government offices, PSUs, and educational institutions across the state. To compensate for this, Saturday (November 28) has been declared a working day. ENS SC denies anticipatory bail to 2 in school scam New Delhi: The Supreme Court has dismissed the anticipatory bail pleas of ex-MLA Muthukumar and S Dinesh, an office-bearer of Salem District Private Schools Association, in the alleged `100 crore scam to grant recognition to private schools in Tamil Nadu | P4 7 dead as arnab batters Andhra E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada/ Visakhapatnam/Puducherry Seven people lost their lives across the coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh in rain-related incidents triggered by the landfall of Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Arnab in the early hours of Wednesday. The devastating storm unleashed intense galeforce winds and torrential downpours across 14 districts in Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry’s Yanam enclave. Normal life and economic activity were severely disrupted on Wednesday across Yanam and the coastal Andhra Pradesh districts of Kakinada, Dr BR Ambedkar Konaseema, East Godavari, West Godavari, Eluru, Krishna, NTR, Guntur, Bapatla, Anakapalle, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam, alongside the tribal belts of Parvathipuram Manyam and Alluri Sitarama Raju. The impact of Cyclone Arnab has left fishermen in Palmanpet and Korlayapeta villages of Payakaraopeta mandal in Anakapalli Fire and rescue personnel remove trees uprooted by cyclonic winds in Anaparthi in East Godavari district on Wednesday | Express district facing losses, with 16 traditional fishing boats washed away and another 19 damaged due to rough sea conditions. Paddy crops across 101 hectares in Yanam were damaged, over 500 trees uprooted, houses, electricity poles, and market stalls near the ferry point were damaged, fishing boats and nets were swept away. There has been no loss of human life or cattle casualties, said PWD Minister Malladi Krishna Rao, who is camping in Yanam, attributing it to the precautionary power shutdowns tak- kasvhi, the en by the administration. Yanam received more than 15 cm of rainfall, and seawater inundated low-lying areas, including Savithri Nagar and Guirampeta, where water had accumulated to a height of four to six feet in some places.  P7 youngest to get picked in wpl At 15, Karnataka and India U19 all-rounder Uma Kashvi became the youngest to be signed in Women’s Premier League. She was picked by Delhi Capitals for `10 lakh | P13 SC grills EC over use of Congress draws Form 6 by deleted voters blank in MLC Advises panel to reach out to Delhi voters struck off, extend deadline S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court on Wednesday came down heavily on the Election Commission of India (EC) over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Delhi, questioning why deleted voters were asked to fill Form 6 which is meant for first-time voters. The court told the EC to devise a way to reach out to 47 lakh of 1.45 crore Delhi voters, whose names were deleted in the draft voter list during the ongoing SIR and suggested the deadline for the process be extended. The bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices V Mohana and Joymalya Bagchi said Form 6 requires a declaration that the applicant had never enrolled anywhere before. If voters already on the rolls in 2026 filled the form it would amount to a false declaration, exposing them to prosecution, the court said. The petitioners submitted that of the 47 lakh deleted voters, 43 lakh were marked absent or permanently shifted, although many had not received enumeration forms. The SC said a person going out for work for a few months could not be treated as perma- ‘Logical discrepancy’ legality not yet decided The SC on Wednesday said it had yet to adjudicate the legality of the ‘logical discrepancy’ category used by the EC to scrutinise voters during the SIR of electoral rolls and it had only permitted its use in West Bengal as an interim arrangement nent change of residence. “It cannot delete names of migrant workers, street vendors, daily wagers on that ground,” the judges said. The court advised the EC not to fix a deadline and to accept enumeration forms from deleted voters instead of asking them to fill Forms 6, 7 and 8. Urging the EC to find a way to reduce the gap of 43 lakh deletions, the court suggested it publish a list of those voters, asking them to contact the EC. The EC said it would consider accepting late enumeration forms and will extend the October 30 deadline if needed. “Your job is to act with due diligence... A voter comes and says, please put in these papers. You say, put in Form 6. How does he file Form 6?... This is structural incongruity... if he has not filled an enumeration form and draft roll having been published, he has not shifted... will you say the person forever loses the right to come in roll?” Justice Bagchi asked. “The right to vote is vital and it cannot be forfeited even if a voter is absent,” the SC said, adding that if a person had only changed their address they should be allowed to use Form 8 instead. Asking the EC to devise an effective mechanism to reach out to deleted voters, the court fixed the matter for hearing after two weeks. The SC was hearing a plea against issues in the SIR in Delhi moved by Anjali Bhardwaj and Amrita Johri. The petitioners have questioned the ‘logical discrepancy’ category in the SIR and said making deleted voters fill Form 6 forces them to make a false declaration. polls in 4 states theni jailbreak 4 more caught, all undertrials back in prison J E YA L A K S H M I R A M A N U J A M @ Theni Of the eight seats in Bihar, the BJP won three while the JD(U), RJD-1, and Jan Suraaj THE Congress suffered a won one seat each. The remajor setback in the bien- maining two seats went to nial Legislative Council elec- independents. tions as the party could not Notably Prashant Kishor, win a single seat, led Jan Suraaj Party while the BJP and made its debut in the its allies won 16 of Bihar Legislative the 28 seats that Council with its canwent to polls on Ocdidate Suresh Prastober 23 in Karnataad Rai defeating sitka, Maharashtra, ting Congress MLC Bihar and Uttar MLC polls Madan Mohan Jha Pradesh. in Darbhanga TeachThe Congress con- Indirect, ballot- ers’ constituency . tested in 12 seats and based elections In Uttar Pradesh, to elect drew a blank, drawwhere results have members of ing a swipe from been declared for Legislative Prime Minister nine of the 11 seats, Councils of six the BJP won six Narendra Modi. In Congress-ruled bicameral state seats while the Salegislatures— Karnataka, the BJPmajwadi Party seUP, Bihar, led NDA swept all cured three. Results Maharashtra, four seats. The Jaof two seats are Karnataka, nata Dal (Secular) awaited. wrested the Ben- Telangana, and The grand old pargaluru Teachers’ Andhra Pradesh ty’s dismal performconstituency from ance drew a jibe Congress, while the BJP re- from Prime Minister Narentained the other three seats. dra Modi. “MLC elections in Out of the five MLC seats 28 seats across 4 big states. in Maharashtra, the BJP Elections held using ballot and NCP-SP won two seats papers. Guess how many each, while the Shiv Sena seats Congress won?” Modi won one seat. said in a post on X. E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bengaluru/Mumbai/Patna/Lucknow The manhunt following the jailbreak from Thekkampatti in Theni district came to an end on Wednesday, with police managing to secure all 17 prisoners within two days of their escape. Police managed to secure 13 prisoners by Tuesday night. On Wednesday morning, police arrested two more escapees — Rejin and Ponmuthu Selvam. The duo were taken to the hilly terrain to identify their escape route and the places where they had sought shelter. In the evening, Madurai-based brothers Thirupathi and Meenakshi Sundaram, who had been on the run since Monday night, surrendered at Cumbum police station and were arrested. Earlier, with uncertainty looming over their whereabouts, their mother K Arumugathammal made an emotional appeal in a video online, asking the state government and police to bring them back alive and unharmed. “My daughter-in-law, wife of Meenakshi Sundaram, is eight months pregnant and has been crying continuously. We want to give her some good news at this difficult time,” she said in the video.  P2 DPDP Act does not curtail freedom Now, pay over 90% less for some cancer meds of press, but open to amend law: Govt E XPR E SS N E WS S E RVIC E @ Chennai R A K E S H K U M A R @ New Delhi Union Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday said the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act does not infringe investigative journalism, asserting that the Constitution guarantees press freedom. He invited editors and media professionals to engage with the government to address concerns. The minister’s pushback came a day after the Digital News Publishers Association, which represents 21 mainstream media outlets, challenged the Act in the Supreme Court. The publishers argued that the absence of exemption for journalistic activities could impede investigative reporting and threaten press freedom. The Supreme Court has Ashwini Vaishnaw sought the Centre’s response and scheduled the next hearing for November 17. According to the publishers, the provisions governing notice, consent and the deletion of personal data could make it difficult for journalists to report on public-interest matters, particularly investigations into wrongdoings. They also raised concerns about the confidentiality of journalistic sources. Vaishnaw said the Constitu- tion guarantees journalistic freedom and that the government had no intention of restricting it. “The privacy law absolutely maintains, fully maintains the journalistic freedom the Constitution guarantees. I am inviting all editors, media persons to come and have a clear, open dialogue with us. We will be very happy to explain, and if there is any doubt, we are happy to take on record any suggestion and act if there is a need to,” said Vaishnaw, who also holds the Information and Broadcasting portfolio. Sources indicated that the Centre is open to amending the law to explicitly safeguard journalistic activities. Vaishnaw noted that the DPDP Act was enacted following a Supreme Court judgment that recognised the right to privacy as a fundamental right. The national drug price regulator on Wednesday revised the maximum retail prices of as many as 543 cancer drugs brands, slashing some of them by more than 90%. Quite a few of the generic and biosimilar brands have drastically become cheaper while expensive cancer medicines like blockbuster immunotherapy Keytruda by MSD Pharma, remain unchanged, as per the list released by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Control Authority (NPPA). The price of Palbociblib, used to treat certain breast cancers has been reduced to `2,270 from `40,421 for one brand and pack size. The cost of chemotherapy drug Thiotepa manufactured by Samarth Life Sciences Pvt Ltd has been reduced from `80,072 to `7,150 for a 100 mg vial. Dasatinib, Lenvatinib, Strength & Company Name Drug Name Dosage Form Brand Name Samarth Life 100 MG Sciences Pvt Thiotepa SAMTEPA Injection Ltd Revised Pack Size Old MRP MRP (in `) (in `) 80,071.86 7,150.33 RPG LIFE 50 MG Fulbreca 5 ml vial 26,072.16 SCIENCES LTD Fulvestrant Injection RPG LIFE 60 MG Debrumab 1 ml PFS 22,031.25 SCIENCES LTD Denosumab Injection 60 mg Abbott Healthcare Bevacizumab 100 mg/4 ml BEVACIZAB 4 ml vial 21,767.70 Injection Pvt. Ltd. HETERO 50 MG HEALTHCARE Fludarabine vial 14,235.00 Injection FLUDANOX LTD 5,491.00 Abiraterone and Olaparib, used in the treatment of different c a n c e r s a l s o h ave b e e n reduced. However, Ribociclib used to treat breast cancer, remains unchanged at `24,435. The cost of other originator brands, including Tagrisso, Tecentriq, Darzalex and Imfinzi, too, remain unchanged. The new prices will take effect on November 9, following 1 vial 5,941.00 5,930.13 2,432.00 the NPPA’s decision to cap trade margins at 30% of MRP for 137 non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs. The pricing was reduced after the Supreme Court questioned the high cost and the margins charged in the cancer treatment supply chain. The revised prices list reflects the information submitted by companies up to October 27. It will be updated as and when manufacturers submit their revised prices of nonscheduled anti-cancer drugs. S Srinivasan, Co Convenor of All India Drug Action Network (AIDAN), said, even after reducing the prices the costlier medicines continue to stay that way. Many cancer patients in India still cannot afford them. Today the prices have been fixed based on the Drugs (Prices Control) Order 2013 (DCPO 2013), in which the ceiling price is calculated with a simple average formula. It ends up justifying the high cost of many medicines. Reducing the trade margin price alone will not help. “The price should be reduced based on the cost based formula of DCPO 1995,” Srinivasan suggested. The regulator slashed the prices after it announced trade margin rationalisation (TMR) of 137 non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs in public interest on October 17 to make cancer treatment more affordable.