iSRAEL AGREES TO TEMP TRUCE, BALL IN HAMAS’ COURT, u.s. SAYS MADURAI l Monday l march 04, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l LATE CITY EDITION Israelis have more or less accepted to a proposal for a six-week ceasefire in Gaza and release of vulnerable hostages by Hamas, US official said 5,75,000 people are one step away from Famine in Gaza, UN says Prisoner swap ratio is key issue The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Hamas’ response is expected late Sunday or Monday. The issue is the identity of hostages who will be released and how many Palestinian prisoners will be freed in exchange, Haaretz said. Talks were held in Doha on Saturday and Cairo on Sunday. US, Qatar, Egypt are involved in talks | P9 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 Sure of third term, PM & ministers plan agenda for next government Cabinet meet discusses action plan for 100 days, strategy to make India a developed country RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR Not a moment to waste, says PM @ New Delhi Prashant Kishor speaking at Hyderabad Dialogues, an initiative of TNIE Jagan is losing big time in Andhra, says Prashant Kishor ing doles and Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT) even at the cost of incurring a lot of adACE political strategist ditional debt. This might Prashant Kishor, who played work in a low income state a key role in YSRC chief Y S but in Andhra, where urbanJagan Mohan Reddy’s mas- isation is more than 50% , sive victory in 2019, has pre- and when your government dicted that the Andhra is seen only in terms of the Pradesh Chief Minister is free benefit you are giving to going to lose big in the ensu- the masses, it may not. Being assembly elections. cause 50% (of population) is Prashant was speaking on not even eligible and you are the pre-election scenarios in not even reaching them.” India at the Hyderabad DiaPrashant Kishor met TDP logues – an initiative of chief N Chandrababu Naidu TNIE – here on Sunday. a few months back in VijayaAsked about his views on Ja- wada. Asked about what gan and TDP chief N Chan- transpired at the meeting, drababu Naidu’s he replied that he prospects, he ofhad spent three fered the opinion hours holding that, even with all talks with the I see this whole former chief minthe usual caveats about calling an assumption that ister but reiterated election, Jagan is that he was in no Jagan is too losing. “I have no way associated strong to be data or first-hand with the par ty. defeated has no Elaborating furexperience (of the legs. He is on a ther on Andhra, he situation in AP) but my gut is tell- sticky wicket. He referred to Jagan’s ing me that he is is going downhill. portrayal of the losing big. Not just Not just losing… coming elections losing… but losing as a class battle but losing big big,” he said. and felt it wasn’t Prashant Kishor Prashant, who is the right pitch. now on his own “ Yo u c a n t a l k Jan Suraaj Abhiyan in Bi- about a class battle in Bihar har and away from profes- or Jharkhand, but you can’t sional political strategising, in Tamil Nadu, Telangana offered an interesting ra- or AP. It can’t be based on tionale for his conclusion: DBT because youth look for that Jagan has made a mis- jobs, not a thousand-rupees take in putting all eggs in benefit. They are looking for one basket. “It is a function more factories, better roads, of how he ran the state. And- educational facilities. So, if hra would probably fall in I am an Andhraite, would I the middle income category take pride in the hope that . If you are not talking about Vijayawada or Vizag is comcapital creation and new in- ing up as the future city? I frastructure but only focus- will feel inferior to my couning on the distribution side terpart in Chennai, Kochi or in a middle income state, Hyderabad. It is not difficult you are taking a big strate- to make a prediction that it gic risk. His government has is very difficult for Jagan to given more priority to giv- make a comeback.” E x press Ne w s ser v i c e @ Hyderabad e x p r e ss r e a d PM Modi to witness initiation of new reactor in TN Chennai: PM Narendra Modi who will be in Tamil Nadu for around four hours on Monday will witness the initiation of core loading of India’s indigenous prototype fast breeder reactor (PFBR) of 500 MWe capacity in Kalpakkam. The PFBR was developed by BHAVINI (Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited) | P4 Confident of retaining power for the third consecutive term, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday chaired a day-long meeting of his Council of Ministers to discuss the immediate steps to be taken by the next government within the first 100 days. The meeting, probably the last such gathering before the Lok Sabha polls, also discussed the action plan for the next five years, and a blue print to make India a developed country by 2047. Sources said PM Modi kicked off the 8-hour discussion by sharing his thoughts on the comprehensive Viksit-Bharat2047 vision document and spoke for an hour about the various long-term strategies for India’s progress. This was followed by presentations by the ministers Prime Minister Narendra Modi | PTI on their respective ministries’ roadmap for 25 years with special focus on the next five years and 100 days. In the meeting, it was decided that steps will be taken to ensure the Central development schemes reach every intended beneficiary. Sources said the deliberations included steps ensure zero poverty and impart skills to the youth. The PM said the 100-day action plan must be implemented soon after the next government is formed. “India needs a sustained effort in continuation without losing even a moment to make India a developed nation by 2047”, said a source, quoting PM The vision document includes goals and action points for economic growth, ease of living and ease of doing business, social welfare, and Sustainable Development Goals. “Creating a sustainable economy to push the country to become the third-largest economy , placing equal emphasise on empowerment of women and poor with the spirit of atamnir- Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi along with alliance partners Lalu Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav at an election rally in Patna | PTI INDIA bloc leaders sound poll bugle at Patna R amasha n kar @ Patna Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said that the Modi government at the centre was ignoring 73% of the country’s population. Addressing a rally in Patna, Rahul said that farmers, youth and others are meted out injustice. “The central government is neglecting the plight of the country’s population that be- longs to marginalised sections of the society he said. ,” Launching a scathing attack on the government at the centre, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge accused the prime minister of failing to deliver on his promises. He questioned the veracity of Modi’s assurances regarding job creation, black money retrieval and pucca houses for all. He also accused BJP of betraying the trust of people and engaging in manipulative tactics devoid of factual basis. Taking a swipe at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar the Congress chief advised RJD not to ally with him if ‘chacha comes again’. Taking a dig at Nitish, Bihar’s Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav said the Bihar government should get its insurance done as it runs the risk of JD(U) president taking repeated U-turns. “They (BJP) Old-age pension funds diverted in TN dists, authorities initiate probe B A n b use lv a n @ Chennai The Commissionerate of Social Security Schemes has unearthed a major scam in which several lakhs of rupees, meant for distribution to beneficiaries of the Old Age Pension (OAP) scheme, have been redirected to other bank accounts in Pudukkottai and a few other districts. The scam came to light after officials from the commission- erate conducted an inquiry in Pudukkottai last month following an alert from the backend team of the digital surveillance system. The system was set up a few years ago to monitor the distribution of pensions and track the beneficiaries’ bank accounts. Notably , similar irregularities were flagged in other districts too, but the volume was relatively low in comparison, sources said. The inquiry revealed that OAP to the tune of `27 lakh intended for over 70 beneficiaries in Pudukkottai had been deposited for over a year in the bank account belonging to a temporary staff member at the office of the Special Tahsildar (social security schemes). In order to prevent such scams, the department of special initiatives, which implements the Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thogai, and the commissionerate of social security schemes, have introduced surveillance methods. P5 Move over IT gloom, startups fire up TN campus hiring b i n i ta ja i s w a l @ Chennai Major IT companies might have skipped on hiring from Chennai’s arts and science colleges this placement season, but startups, product companies and consultancies have more than made up for the loss. In fact, the colleges have registered a significant rise in the number of placements, with better pay packages to boot. “The highest pay package last year was `9.5 lakh per annum (LPA), but, this year it was `12.81 LPA,” said Paul Wilson, principal of Madras Christian College (MCC). As many as 518 students from MCC have been placed so far (in the current academic year), against a total of 326 students last year. Loyala College too witnessed bhar (self reliance) has been one of the primary bases of the vision document,” said a source, adding that the details and outcome of more than 2,700 meetings held across the ministries have been added in the roadmap for 2047. This newspaper has learnt that PM Modi suggested that a separate budget of `1 lakh crore be earmarked for development of technologies to accelerate the pace of progresses. It was also advised that every ministry in future should frequently organise seminars with experts and try to implement good suggestions through suitable policies. “The objective of the discussions was to ensure saturation of the government’s welfare schemes, planning of peoplecentric policies, and schemes for time-bound elimination of poverty”, said a source. record placements. According to college officials, while 430 students were placed last year, the number has surged to 680 this year, with more likely to be hired as placements continue till the end of March. “IT companies opting out of campus hiring at our college has proved to be a blessing in disguise, as we have managed to negotiate for higher pay packages for our students with startups. Previously, IT firms recruited students in bulk at a starting salary of `2.5-2.75 LPA but this year, the starting salary is `3.5 LPA,” said Princely Samuel S, director (Training and Placement), Loyola College. “The lukewarm response of IT companies this season was definitely a concern, but we noticed an interesting trend of startups, international schools and consulting firms hiring students from various departments in good numbers,” said Archana Prasad, principal of MOP Vaishnav College. College officials said they are aware the global tech industry is going through a recession, and had planned accordingly to ensure lucrative job offers for the students. P5 say ‘Modi Ki Guarantee’, but who will take the guarantee of Nitish Kumar?” he asked. Referring to Modi’s remarks on ‘parivarwad’ (nepotism), Tejashwi said, “They (BJP) call us nepotism, but they have Samrat Choudhary deputy CM, , Pashupati Kumar Paras, brother of late Ram Vilas Paswan and Jitan Ram Manjhi whose son has been made a minister in Nitish cabinet. It does not look like nepotism to them?” Shehbaz Sharif makes a statement in Pakistan Parliament after securing enough votes to become its PM | AFP New Pakistan PM mentions Kashmir in victory speech Y esh i se l i @ New Delhi Shehbaz Sharif becomes the new prime minister of Pakistan after securing 201 votes out of 336 in Pakistan’s Parliament in a vote of confidence held on Sunday amidst protests from supporters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan. He takes oath of office on Monday . Speaking in Parliament after the vote, Shehbaz, 72, brought up Kashmir in his speech and said the Parliament should pass a resolution for the freedom of Kashmiris. Also in his speech, he said he would eradicate terrorism and would maintain cordial relations with neighbours based on the principles of equality Shehbaz, who was . the prime minister till the parliament was dissolved in August 2023, takes charge at a time when Pakistan is deep in debt and where even the expenses of running the Parliament are paid through borrowed money , he said. The country was facing challenges because of its weak economy he said and promised , to put the country on the path of development. His job was difficult but not impossible, he added. Trying to sound optimistic, he said he will work towards making Pakistan a G20 member by 2030. Chinese President Xi Jingping sent congratulatory messages to Shehbaz. Shehbaz vowed to promote the upgraded version of CPEC projects and build a deeper relationship with China, an allweather Pakistan ally . dr harsh Vardhan quits politics after ticket denial The sitting BJP Lok Sabha MP from Chandni Chowk said he will return to his roots after over 30 years of a glorious electoral career Calcutta High Court judge Gangopadhyay to resign P ra n a b m o n d a l @ Kolkata Calcutta High Court justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay, who is in the crosshairs of the ruling TMC for ordering central agencies to probe at least 14 scam cases, on Sunday announced that he would step down as a judge on Tuesday . “My inner soul tells me that my tenure as judge is over. Considering the interest of deprived people, who cannot come to knock the door of the judiciary it is time , to enter bigger sphere and serve. I will tender my resignation to the CJI and the President of India on Tuesday,” he said. Gangopadhyay, 62, is scheduled to retire after three months. “For passing several judgements, many in the ruling party made insulting comments against me. They even asked me to quit my chair and face them in the field of politics. I have finally made up my mind. I congratulate the ruling party for bringing me here. In history books, we have read about the Maurya Samrajya. Right now, we are witnessing Chaurya Samrajya (empire of thieves) in Bengal,” he said. Gangopadhyay came to limelight in May 2022 when he ordered the CBI to probe irregularities in recruitment of non-teaching staff and teaching staff by the education department between 2014 and 2021.
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