TIRUNELVELI l Thursday l march 14, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l CITY EDITION Investors lose `13.47 lakh cr in single day as markets crash Nifty plummeted 1.51% to 21,997.7 and Sensex fell 900 points as the markets witnessed selling pressure amid a sharp fall in smallcaps, midcaps file photo sTreet sees red as sectoral indices tank spooked by SEBI’s statement on froth Utility, energy and metal stocks witnessed heavy losses. Though the benchmark indices began on a positive note, post lunch all sectoral indices closed in red. Power Grid, NTPC, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, JSW Steel, Airtel, Titan, RIL, HUL were the losers in the Sensex. The BSE Smallcap gauge fell by 5.11% and midcap index fell by 4.2%. Only 400 stocks advanced ■ ■ A few days ago, SEBI chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch had said that there are “pockets of froth” in the small- and mid-cap stocks Banking veteran Uday Kotak tried to assuage investors saying there may be some ‘early froth’ but the markets are not out of control. Froth is the market condition that appear prior to a bubble 3,516 STOCKS FELL on Wednesday as the markets witnessed heavy selling 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 Nitish in, Rohini panel report on back burner OBC sub-categorisation was earlier seen as counter to caste census P reetha N a i r @ New Delhi With the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government back in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the Modi government seems to have put the much vaunted Rohini commission report on ‘revising the reservation percentage of OBCs’ on the back burner. It was widely believed that the Centre would implement the Rohini panel report on subcategorisation of OBCs to counter the Bihar government’s caste survey data which was published in October last year. The Bihar caste data, which pegged the backward caste population at 63%, sparked a renewed demand from the Opposition for a nationwide caste census and review of reservation for the backward classes. While the Union government was noncommittal in a national caste census, it was looking to woo the most backward classes by implementing the Rohini committee report and conferring some benefits on them, a source said. However, the Rohini panel report, which was submitted to the government in July last year, is yet to be published. It is learnt that the report revealed that less than 1% of dominant backward castes Justice (Retd) G Rohini Terms of reference The terms of reference of the Rohini committee included examining the extent of inequitable distribution of benefits of reservation among OBCs in the Central List and to work out a scientific mechanism, criteria, norms and parameters for sub-categorisation within the OBC community have cornered 50% of the reservation benefits in admissions to central educational institutions and recruitment to central services. Of the 2,600 communities in the central OBC list, 938 sub-castes have no representation in the reserved seats. For equitable distribution of benefits, the commission has proposed to divide OBCs into subgroups with sep- arate reservation percentages. However, sources said that with Nitish Kumar’s re-entry into the NDA, the BJP is confident of defusing the caste challenges from the Opposition. “The BJP’s main worry was the consolidation of the Extremely Backward Caste (EBC) vote bloc in Bihar. With Nitish, a Kurmi leader, back in the NDA, the party need not worry about the political ramifications of caste census. So the government will keep the Rohini panel report in cold storage for the time being. The gover nment is aware that the Rohini panel report will lead to political realignments as it subcategorises all OBC groups,” said a leader. The Rohini commission was tasked with putting together a comprehensive pool of scientific data on sub-categories to as to ensure equitable redistribution of the 27% quota benefits for the OBCs among all subcommunities. According to sources, in its recommendations, the commission is learnt to have adopted a balanced approach to ensure fair distribution of reservation benefits among various castes, Though the panel was to submit its report by January 2, 2018, it was given 14 extensions since then. Friday date for SC hearing against EC search panel suchitra kalyan mohanty @ New Delhi T HE S u p r e m e C o u r t o n Wednesday agreed to hear on Friday a batch of petitions filed challenging the Chief Election Commissioner Act, 2023, which had dropped the Chief Justice of India (CJI) from the selection committee to pick the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners (ECs). The Act was challenged by various petitioners, including the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), Congress leader Dr Jaya Thakur and others. The hearing comes at a time when the government is expected to fill two vacancies of election commissioners soon to ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. The search panel would include the prime minister, a cabinet minister nominated by the PM and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha. CJI was excluded from the new law which came into force in January . Last week, election commissioner Arun Goel put in his papers three years before his tenure was to end. Mystery shrouds his exit as he was in line for promotion as the chief election commissioner after incumbant Rajiv Kumar’s retirement in February next year. Last month, his colleague Anup Chandra Pandey had retired. Earlier, the court had refused to stay the Election Commissioner Act, 2023, but said it would examine the matter next month. But the petitioners moved the court again following Goel’s exit. Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for ADR, sought urgent listing and hearing of its petition since fresh appointments were expected shortly Justice Sanjiv . Khanna, who led a three-judge bench, said, “I just got the message from the CJI that it will be listed on Friday .” Tata Motors inks pact to set up `9k cr facility in Ranipet, generate 5,000 jobs C S h i v akumar @ Chennai Tata Motors has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Tamil Nadu government, committing an investment of `9,000 crore to establish a cutting-edge vehicle manufacturing facility in the state, Industries Minister T R B Rajaa said on Wednesday. The proposed facility to be set up on 500 acres in Ranipet district would generate 5,000 jobs (direct and indirect), an official release said. “With this investment, Tamil Nadu further solidifies its position as the unrivaled automobile capital of India, reminiscent of the transfor mative impact of Hyundai’s investment during Kalaignar’s tenure,” Chief Minister M K Stalin later said in a post on ‘X’. Tata Motors CFO PB Balaji Tata Motors CFO PB Balaji and MD of Guidance Tamil Nadu V Vishnu exchange documents in the presence of Chief Minister M K Stalin on Wednesday. Industries Minister TRB Rajaa and commerce secretary Arun Roy are also seen | Express and V Vishnu, MD&CEO, Guidance Tamil Nadu, exchanged documents in the presence of the CM. Industries Minister TRB Rajaa, commerce and industries secretary Arun Roy, and senior officials of the Tata Motors Group were present. Tata Motors Limited, a $42 billion organisation, is a leading global automobile manu- facturer of cars, utility vehicles, pick-ups, trucks, and buses, offering an extensive range of integrated, smart, and e-mobility solutions. With ‘Connecting Aspirations’ at the core of its brand promise, the company is India’s market leader in commercial vehicles and ranks among the top three in passeng er vehicles segment. Ponmudy back as MLA, CM asks guv to administer ministerial oath to him T M uru g anan d ham @ Chennai Following the Supreme Court’s interim order suspending his conviction and sentence in a disproportionate assets case, DMK leader K Ponmudy’s membership in the Tamil Nadu Assembly was restored on Wednesday and he is set to become a minister again. Of ficial sources said Chief Minister MK Stalin has written a letter to Governor RN Ravi, attaching a copy of the Supreme Court order, regarding swearing-in of Ponmudy as minister either on Wednesday or Thursday . Sources said as per the itinerary fixed earlier, the governor is scheduled to leave for New Delhi on Thursday at 6.20am by flight. The governor is expected to stay in the national capital for two or three days. Since the CM has written a letter about Ponmudy’s swearing-in ceremony it is still not clear , whether the governor will postpone his visit to Delhi or Ponmudy will be sworn in at a later date. On March 5, the Tamil Nadu Assembly Secretariat notified the Thirukoyilur Assembly constituency as vacant from December 19, 2023 — the date on which the Madras High Court had set aside the trial court’s order acquitting Ponmudy in the disproportionate assets case. However, since the Supreme Court, in its interim order dated March 11, suspended the conviction and sentence awarded to Ponmudy, the Assembly Speaker issued another notification on Wednesday nullifying the notification published on March 5 declaring Thirukoyilur constituency as vacant. continued on: p7 Addressing reporters in Chennai, the minister said the facility will be a greenfield plant and the first manufacturing facility of Tata Motors in Tamil Nadu. “We have offered good incentive for the company But incentive alone . is not a factor. Companies like Tata Motors also look at the available eco-system. Tamil Nadu is a rich state in automobile eco-system,” the minister said. Tata Motors said it would also employ women at the manufacturing plant. This is the first time the state has attracted two big automobile investments within a span of two months, the minister said. Earlier, VinFast, Vietnam’s leading electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer, signed an MoU to invest $2 billion for setting up an integrated electric vehicle facility in Thoothukudi. P7 express read List out central projects scuttled by TN: CM to PM Pollachi: The CM has asked the PM to list out special projects given to TN by the centre that were scuttled by the state government. Questioning the PM on ‘Modi’s guarantee’, Stalin sought his reply on the PM’s ‘old guarantees’ of depositing `15 lakh in citizens’ accounts and two crore jobs | P4 ACU’s commandos to check pitch invasion Chennai: The Indian cricket board’s Anti-Corruption Unit has put in place a plan to curb pitch invasion during IPL. The project had already started and it will see some 20-25 commandos manning the inner ground to check people getting into the playing arena. They will be under an SLO | P13 Gadkari, Goyal, Anurag Thakur in BJP second list RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR @ New Delhi yearning to go home Sriharan alias Murugan and Jayakumar, two of the freed convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, arrive at the Sri Lankan deputy high commission office in Chennai on Wednesday for personal interview for Sri Lankan passport | P Jawahar The BJP repeated three Union ministers and fielded one minister for the first time in the Lok Sabha elections, in its second list of candidates for 72 seats in 10 states. Union Minister Piyush Goyal will make his début from the safest of Lok Sabha seats — North Mumbai. The party repeated Union ministers Nitin Gadkari from Nagpur, Anurag Thakur from Himachal Pradesh’s Hamirpur No relief for Cong as HC junks plea against `100 cr tax recovery E X P R E S S N E W S S E R VI C E @ New Delhi IN a setback to the Congress, the Delhi High Cour t on Wednesday upheld the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT)’s decision not to stay the tax demand notice to the grand old party for recovery of over `100 crore dues for the 2018-19 assessment year. A division bench of judges Yashwant Var ma and Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav said there appears to be no fundamental infirmity in the ITAT order of March 8 and rapped the Congress for its lackadaisical approach to the tax demand. The tax department’s proceedings against the Congress had started in 2021 but the party did not do anything for two years, the court noted. “An assessee in default can neither be permitted nor ex- pected to adopt such a casual or lackadaisical approach while faced with a tax demand which had remained outstanding right from 2021 and in respect of which no protective measures were sought or adopted for almost two years between 2021 and 2023,” the bench said. The HC, however, allowed the Congress to move a fresh stay application before the ITAT bringing to its notice the tax recovery of `65 crore. S e n i o r a dvo c at e Vive k Tankha, appearing for Congress, said the action will affect the party ahead of polls and it needs protection from courts. Advocate Zoheb Hossain, appearing for the I-T department, said it is wrong to say the proceedings have begun just before elections. He told the court that the original tax demand was `102 crore and together with interest it rose to `135.06 crore. Exemption Congress had declared ‘nil’ income for AY2018-19 claiming exemption of `199 cr under Section 13A, which allows political parties to accept donations without tax liability. But I-T dept rejected it as return was filed late and cash donations was above `2K and Pralhad Joshi from HubaliDharwad. Rajya Sabha MP Anil Baluni will enter the fray from Garhwal in Uttarakhand. As expected, outgoing Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar got the Karnal LS ticket. Besides, for mer chief minister of Karnataka B S Bommai has been fielded from Haveri. Delhi and Karnataka saw the maximum changes in the second list. In Delhi, the party dropped six of its seven sitting MPs while in Karnataka the axe fell on leaders like Anant Hedge and Pratap Simha. In Delhi, two new candidates — Harsh Malhotra from East Delhi and Yogendra Chandolia from North West Delhi — have been fielded to deflect antiincumbency. Sources said the dropped MPs would be made prominent players in the assembly elections against AAP candidates because of their deep and strong local influences. In Karnataka, former chief minister B S Yediyurappa’s son B Y Raghavendra will enter the fray from Shimoga while youth wing head Tejasvi Surya has been repeated from Bengaluru South. Yaduveer Krishnadatta Wadiyar, who belongs to the erstwhile Mysore royal family , is the replacement for Pratap Simha in Mysore. Pankaja Munde from Beed in Maharashtra and Shobha Karandlaje from Bangalore North are among the prominent women faces on the list.
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