PIC: p RAVI KUMAR KOTTAYAM l friday l march 15, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l city EDITION Centre bans 18 ott platforms FOR VULGAR and obscene CONTENT Multiple warnings by I&B ministry ignored The ministry said all the banned entities were given multiple warnings before action was taken against them. Those on the banned list include Dream Films, Yoovi, Yess Ma, Uncut Adda, Tri Flicks, X Prime, Neon X VIP, Besharams, Hunters, Rabbit, Xtramood, MoodX, Mojflix, Hot Shots VIP, Chikooflix, Prime Play, Nuefliks and Fungi The information & broadcasting ministry blocked 18 OTT platforms, 19 websites and 10 mobile apps for exhibiting obscene and vulgar content wide consultation before crack down ■ ■ The content on the platforms showed nudity, sexual acts in various inappropriate contexts such as relationship between teachers and students and incestuous family relationship, the ministry said Before banning, inputs from various ministries, domain experts in media, entertainment, women’s rights, child rights were taken 57 social media handles of ott platforms blocked 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 A high-level committee suggests curtailing tenure of state legislative assemblies for synchronisation with LS polls Nati n Electi n panel recommends simultaneous polls Here’s how to make it work 1 Two-stage formula, single poll roll In the first stage, polls to LS and all the assemblies can be held together. Next, elections to municipalities and panchayats can be held within 100 days of simultaneous LS and assembly polls. Single electoral roll and Elector’s Photo Identity Card shall be prepared for all polls 2 Fix ‘appointed date’ to curtail assembly tenure For synchronisation, President shall notify the date of the first LS sitting after a general election as the ‘appointed date’. The tenure of all assemblies after the ‘appointed date’ and before the expiry of the full LS term, will only be till the next parliamentary polls Historic day for democracy. Today, the High-Level Committee on One Nation, One Election presented its report to the President Amit Shah, BJP They want to dismantle Ambedkar’s Constitution and with what objective -- ‘one nation, no election’ that is what they want Jairam Ramesh, Cong Governments will no more have to worry about people’s Fresh polls due to hung House, no-trust motion fury for five years. It will be the death If fresh polls areChennaI tuesday september 26, 2023a`9.00 pagesLSLate city edition held to constitute new 22 in the event of a knell for Indian World for shooting tEam gold for aSiaN GaMeS:a no-confidence motion,rECordtenure will be “only for theWomEn’s CriCkEt sidE ShootiNG hung House or the Captain Harmanpreet Kaur, back after serving a two match suspension, The men’s 10m air rifle team kept the hosts at bay with a world record StarS aNd GoldeN GirlS marshalled the bowling troops well to beat Sri Lanka by 19 runs federalism in the score to win the team gold. Their combined 1893.7 eclipsed the record 3 l l l l l FIVE ■ unexpiredrifle team and the women’s term of the immediately all three finished in the top eight in term Opting to bat first on a tricky surface, they made 116 before The men’s 10m air (remaining) final. of held by China (1893.3). In fact, preceding full restricting the Islanders to 97. For India, Titas Sadhu excelled with the cricket side won India the first gold medals in rowerS fiNiSh oN a hiGh the qualifying but Divyansh didn’t advance as only the top two from ball, picking 3/6 Hangzhou. Amendments to Articles NOC could feature in172 proposed in this regard in her four overs | each 83 and the final. In the final, Aishwary won bronze Asaduddinwith five MedalS AIMIM Owaisi, the House”.A look at Monday’s haul P17 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 Law paneL’s ‘one poLL’ report to suggest 2029 roLLout P r e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi Ram Nath Kovind, chairman of a high-level committee on one nation, one election, presents the report to President Droupadi Murmu, in New Delhi on Thursday | PTI LAYING the groundwork for the Centre’s ‘One Nation, One Poll’ proposal, the 22nd Law Commission will submit its final report on the feasibility of holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, according to top sources in the law ministry. The commission headed by Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi has been working on the final re- port since February this year. The first meeting of a highlevel committee on simultaneous polls headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind was held last Saturday . The Justice Awasthiled panel held extensive consultations with political parties, bureaucrats, academicians and experts. “I won’t say that there was consensus among parties on the idea,” an official said, adding that the government may send the Law Commission’s report to the Kovind-led committee for their perusal. Speaking to this newspaper, the official said the law panel would recommend synchronised elections in the next five years so that the simultaneous poll rollout will start in 2029. To synchronise Moving a step closer to the Centre’s ‘one nation, one election proposal’, a high-level committee led by former President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday recommended simultaneous elections for Lok Sabha and state assemblies and local bodies, in its report submitted to President Droupadi Murmu. The voluminous report, which runs into more than 18,000 pages, proposes several constitutional amendments to hold synchronised elections across the country Most of the . proposed amendments do not need ratification by states. The report, which was prepared after extensive consultations with stakeholders, said simultaneous polls will spur development and social cohesion, deepen “foundations of the democratic rubric” and help realise the aspirations of “India, that is Bharat”. To synchronise the terms of the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, the panel has proposed the insertion of Article 82A into the Constitution. It says that the new government which takes charge after the Lok Sabha election should set an ‘appointed date’ to effect the constitutional changes. All the state Assemblies that are formed after the ‘appointed date’ would have their terms expire with the Lok Sabha. This newspaper was the first to the elections, the process has to begin from this year, the official said. He also dismissed the possibility of holding simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies in 2024. The commission has drawn most of its recommendations from the draft report of the pre- vious Law Commission led by Justice B S Chauhan, submitted in 2018, said the source. “We have taken many recommendations of the Justice Chauhan committee report into consideration. On the same lines as the previous law commission’s report, we have recommended synchronisation of elections in the next five years,” he said. The suggestions of the previous Law Commission included advancing or postponing elec- Sr IPS officer must probe slapgate: SC THE Supreme Court on Mon- dhi, who sought an independent, time-bound probe and registration of FIR. In his plea, Gandhi alleged the child’s family is under pressure to strike a compromise with the offender. He told the court that the police charged the teacher only under Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act, and Sections 323 and 504 of the IPC that deal with cruelty to child and intentionally causing hurt, and not Section 153A of the IPC for promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, caste and language. The bench said the IPS officer nominated by the state shall decide on invocation of Section 153A in the FIR. ‘EnsurE ProfEssional CounsElling’ p jawahar AIADMK makes break-up official, exits BJP-led NDA Bhopal: PM Narendra Modi on Monday tore P12 P12 f i r o z M i r z a @ Chennai eXPreSS NewS ServiCe @ Chennai The decision was taken in deference to the views of more than two crore AIADMK cadre who were outraged by the criticisms of BJP’s state leadership P17 KP Munusamy, AIADMK leader tured in TN, followed by TVS Motor (1.12 lakh) and Ather Energy (77,764). All plants are located in Krishnagiri district. Industries Minister TRB Rajaa told TNIE that this is the result of the state’s inherent strengths as an auto manufacturing hub and the targeted efforts in the past couple of years to boost EV manufacturing. “We have expedited projects secretary Raama Sreenivasan described the AIADMK’s move as unfortunate. “But the BJP will form its own alliance and face the Lok Sabha elections as we did in 2014,” he added. An AIADMK veteran told TNIE, “The general secretary has made a shrewd move though it is a belated one.” P7 Senior BJP leaders in Tamil Nadu reacted to the AIADMK’s decision with caution, although certain younger functionaries made sharp comments on social media. BJP state general secretary Raama Sreenivasan told TNIE that though the AIADMK’s decision was unfortunate, the BJP would form its own alliance by joining hands with like-minded parties P6 and face the 2024 Lok Sabha elections like it did in 2014. ausPiCious bEginning Union defence minister Rajnath Singh draws an Om as part of the puja ceremony to induct the first C-295 MW transport aircraft into the Indian Air Force at Hindon Air Force station on Monday | parveen negi FOR the first time, a deaf lawyer argued her case before the Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, paving the way for more physically-challenged lawyers to defend their cases. Sarah Sunny on Friday argued her case with the help of an Indian sign language interpreter. Senior advocate Sanchita Ain made a plea to Chief Justice Chandrachud to let Sa- Protest, controversy, death March 7: Kerala University Youth Festival begins March 8: Protest breaks out at Thiruvathira contest venue against judgement March 9: Bribery allegations come up; four, including margamkali judge P N Shaji, taken into custody March 10: KSU stages protest, Mar Ivanios College principal files complaint before KU vice-chancellor March 11: VC suspends youth festival March 13: P N Shaji found dead at home March 14: VC disbands university union; complaint filed seeking police probe KU union disbanded The SFI-controlled KU union has been disbanded in the wake of violence and bribery charges. The VC has turned down the union’s request to extend its tenure. P6 case,” Anil alleged. The family said Shaji didn’t eat anything on the day and went to his room. His family learnt of his death when they found him lying in the room in the evening. He was rushed to the nearby hospital, but could not be saved. From his room, police recovered a suicide note. The note in Malayalam, written on the back of the paper provided to fest’s judges for writing their remarks on performances, said, “I am innocent. I didn’t take any money. This is (the) truth…truth…truth. I gave (marks) only to the eligible. My mother knows I did not do anything wrong. May God save those who are ● More on P6 behind this.” canada’s 2nd india traveL advisory out Y e S h i S e l i @ New Delhi CANADA on Monday updated its citiChain Pvt Ltd boughtthem to stay travel advisory for its caubonds worth `410 zens in India asking vigilant and exercise tion in the wake of the and the “negacrore. The pollsentiment” towardsrecent developmentssecond advisoryin tive panel shared is its Canada. This the data within a week. sought to flag the threat of terrorist attacks across the country “Avoid non-essential travelinto 337 . rah argue her case with an in- Gaming And Hotel Services Future lore, and her interpreter, Sau- Sarah’s determination has tions. Ittwo parts. The firstItrisk of terrorism and insurgencyAssam and set running to and avoid involves reaching out Manipur due to terpreter. He immediately gave rav Roychowdhury too appear- broken down more barriers. to persons with disabilities , his assent. ing virtually . when he took his poappeared toAsbe thecame, her in- The CJI,in Novemberto year, who visit the Supreme Court, all travelname ofsaid. duepurchaser biggest donor last oath soliciting their feedback, and civil unrest, Jammu and Kashmir to unpredictability, pages shows the to kidnapping,” it the This historic moment would Sarah’s turn of office The advisory currently in not have taken place as the con- terpreter stepped forward and had said, “My work, not words, assessing the nature and extent litical parties, a bridge between willdata on pur-of the challenges they face. and denomination added that Canadian citizens10 km of the of bonds, while the India should avoid all travel to areas within trol room responsible for acted as the SBI’s speak.” border with Pakistan—which includes the states of Gujarat, managing virtual hearher and the world. In the In line with his commitment, The ultimate goal of this inito the presence of landmines ings hesitated to accomprocess, he received praise established the “SC rethat chase of electoral bondshesince 2019Com- tiative is to ensureand comprisingRajasthan—due“The level shows the other tojustice Punjab and 426 pages of tension between and unexploded ordnance. modate Sarah and her from Solicitor General mittee on Accessibility,” is accessible to all gain a interpreter. With the Tushar Mehta who by Justice R Bhat. vealed on Thursday. said bought Sbondsdeep understanding of the Indiadifficulties when denomination of It chairedcommittee’s mission is hardships faced by differently- ence and Pakistan may change between the two countries,” political parties and travelling suddenly. You could experiCJI’s approval, the the speed at which the This it said. The advisory noted that the security situation control room accominterpreter is interpret- to conduct comprehensive ac- abled individuals in their interthe border with Pakistan, especially along Conmodated Sarah, who ing in sign language cessibility different Supreme with bonds worth `1,368 crore under twoaudits of its opera- actionsthe the Supreme encashed by them. the Line ofalong trol, remains volatile. is based in Bangais amazing. Court premises and Court of India. Big corporates like Anil Agarwal’s sets of companies. Future Gaming was Vedanta Ltd bought `398 crore worth of probed by the ED in March 2022. The data was uploaded by the Election bonds, while Sunil Mittal’s three comCommission on its website so as to com- panies together purchased `246 crore ply with the Supreme Court’s directions. worth of bonds. Steel magnate Lakshmi The second big donor was Hyderabad- Niwas Mittal bought `35 crore worth of based Megha Engineering & Infrastruc- bonds in his individual capacity as did ture as it bought bonds valued at `966 Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Varun Gupta, B crore. Mumbai-based Qwik Supply K Goenka and Jainendra Shah. th r l M U K E S aHn oR AeN JgA a s s@ eNew Delhi k e n N c iling bro Sh ruti Ka KKar @ New Delhi ufacturing and EV R&D, TN will soon be an unparalleled global EV hub. We will be hosting an international EV Conclave on November 21 to prom o t e T N ’s b o o m i n g E V industry,” said Rajaa. According to the industries department, `50,000 crore is expected to be invested in EV manufacturing by 2025, resulting in the P7 creation of 1.5 lakh jobs. `1,368 cr: Future Gaming tops list of electoral bond buyers unfortunatE, WE Will form oWn PaCts: tn bJP P N Shaji Congress is now run by urban Naxals, says Modi t M u r u G a N a N d h a M @ Chennai Varsity youth fest judge’s death puts SC hears spotlight back on SFI arguments from deaf lawyer for the first time The death of P N Shaji, a judge at the Kerala University arts festival, has put the spotlight back on the SFI, already on the back foot after the tragic end of Pookode veterinary college student J S Sidharthan. Shaji, 51, was found dead in his home in Kannur on Wednesday evening. The issue turned political with state Congress president K Sudhakaran and Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan accusing the SFI of abetting the death, even as Higher Education Minister R Bindu blamed ‘infiltrators’ for the incident. The family of the dance teacher alleged that there were bruises on his body suggesting he was beaten up brutally. There were reports that Shaji, who was booked in a bribery case, was beaten up in the office of the fest’s organising committee in Thiruvananthapuram before he was handed over to the police. Shaji and two others were taken into custody last week following a complaint lodged by the fest organisers alleging that he had taken bribe to favour a team in the margamkali competition. He was released on bail and was asked to appear before the police in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday . P Lalitha, Shaji’s mother, said he was visibly upset when he reached home. “He fell on my legs and cried, saying he didn’t do anything wrong. He kept on wailing and said he was betrayed by some people. He repeatedly said he never accepted any bribe. There were bruises on his face and shoulder,” she said. Anil Kumar, his brother, said Shaji was completely broken after the incident. “He said some people approached him to help a particular team but he didn’t oblige. People known to Shaji trapped him in the If simultaneous elections cannot be conducted, all elections falling due in a calendar year should be conducted together, the panel had suggested. It would require at least five Constitutional amendments. The official further said, “The previous commission gave suggestions for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. We have considered its suggestions on hung House and no-confidence motion, etc,” he said. day Uttar Pradesh report on September 26, 2023,directed theappoint a sen- The SC took exception to the factfor elec- notification shallinto the itcalled the Nadu, which are the victim was due be Congress, government to likening to ‘rusted that counselling of ior IPS officer to monitor the iron’ and alleging that the probe its functioning has that the 22nd Law Commission into the Muzaffarnagar 2026, should have beenofficer, their Appointed date,” the panel’s retions in done bythis district welfare done will have saying incident where a Muslim stubeen outsourced to by a professional counsellor and that dent ‘urban Naxals’. He said Congress is too for all the by involved AIADMK general secretary EPS at party headquarters on timeline for was slapped by his classwill suggest a 2029 Monday | terms cut short studentstwo years if port said. mates, on the instruction of no longer run by its leaders | the class teacher, as a punishsynchronised polls to the Lok for poor performance. Lok Sabhaallegations madeare held RTE Act & rules The committeeWill do caste census if polls by the comply with in recommendment “If Terming the incident as se- victim’s parents are correct, framed there under,” the bench Cong wins, a bench of S Sabha and state assemblies. rious,and PankajJustices Are- thispunishmentkind of physi- said incourt also directeded a two-step approach says Rahul 2029. Whileis the worst imparted by The its order. Karnataka, Chhatto holdRaipur: Congress MP Oka Mithal cal the Rahul marked that the UP govern- the teacher… There can’t be UP government provide The rollout of simultaneous primatisgarh, and Telangana whichtovictim as simultaneous Gandhi said ing elections. PM Modi is denying ment facie failed to com- any quality education if a stucounselling to the SCs, STs & OBCs their ply with the provisions of the dent is sought to be penalised well as the other students infair share by Right ground the incident. elections will begin in 2029 if to Educationtoofpolls intheparticularwill loseinfour came While the Lok Sabharefusing asgo Act and the only on a2028 that he be- volved SC’s order on a and to do the caste Uttar Pradesh Right Chil- longs to commuThe census. He said dren prima the newly elected government to Free and Compulsory nity. There is aof the facie fail- plea by Mahatma Gandhi’s years, elections instate to great grandson Tushar GanPunjab, Ut- sembly elections shouldCongpower | be held will do it if voted to Education Rules. ure on part in 2024 accepts the Kovind com- tarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh together in the first step, elecDravidian major cites constant criticism of TN manipur wushu player assures medal, tn’s municipalities and mittee’s recommendations and due in 2027 will all have to cur- tions to e-vehicle revolution: BJP, says will form own alliance for LS polls introduces constitutional tail their tenure. father’s sacrifice 40% of evs sold inconductpanchayats should be india Munusamy told reporters after recalls sleepless nights, the meeting chaired by general THE uneasy relationship bethat nipur. After being assured of a her. Days later, she learnt ed amendments secretary Chennai. K Palanin in Edappadi Parliament. “For synchronisation of elec-sell land to within 100 days of its comtween the AIADMK and BJP, iswami medal in the 60 kg (sanda) cat- her father had to Indian headlines which for four recalled Munusamy said resoluThehadtoendured political tion adopted by therequire biggestwere at the shoot-the ,House. ofsome fund her travel. was phys- are made in the state amendments don’tthemeeting THE Twotions to egory Roshibinadaily theThough Roshibina pletion. To hold simultaneous People on Day years due various of those to this in June, and the cricket compulsions, came to an past advantagE tn a nod fromend on said that for thehas been criti- ing rangeandpoignant she triedshego home but could icallyelsewhere. She thoughts state state leadership,year the ground. The mostat the Xia- not.Legislative camp in Srinagar, the national StateAfter selection trials was Im- were present in her saidelections for local bodies, the Assemto Monday with the Dravidian BJP’sgovernments. with ulSome of the natural All managed she story, though, was major unambiguously calling terior motives, it quits. The AIADMK the AIADMK’s ideals Once the ex-also an- is enforced, state hostingSports Centre,as phal, Manipur’s Leikai, a usedfamily a lot thinking about TAMIL NADU, India’s produc- advantages thatvast the to law cising and leaders, including oshan Guali Wushu. Eventhe Committee her to cry members and their tion hub for electric vehicles, is sector in TN are aid blies, a Kwasiphai Mayai capital. recom- panel proposed amendments venue nounced that it had Naorem Roshibina Devi was a nondescript village in Bishnu- safety when ited the BJP-led NationCN Annadurai, and J assemblies formed between of calm, she held sto-that the President Manipur was in steadilylatest data, 40%base. As availability anda trained Armends pur, seemed a distant place due turmoil. The of want- per the expanding its of elec- competent of highly 23-year-old include the introduction of picture al Democratic Alliance Jayalalithaa. Besides, tric vehicles sold in India this workforce, and to the tension that had been af- ed to travel back to see her famries. Of a dad’s sacrifice. Of (NDA) and would form the BJP’s state leader(January It . many sleepless nights worry- flicting the state since May this ily Sensing the daughter’s ticle 324A.to September) recommended its own alliance to face ship belittled the AIAD2024 and 2028 will have theirabout the safety of her may, She recollected how her iousness to go home fromanx- year manufactured inalso wide & India par- year. by notification, iswere TN. network the ing the 2024 Lok Sabha MK’s historic state-level Quoting the Ministry of Road supply ents. And the anguish of not father Naorem Damu Singh camp, her father sold a piece of elections. conference held on Autenure curtailed to necessitate able tosued on the date of tothe land to fundsit- Article 325 of the Constitution Transport and Highways’ Vachain been visit family in Ma- had to come to Imphal meet first her travel. The AIADMK’s decigust 20 and has been han Dashboard data, sources in sion, just seven months criticising the party’s synchronised elections in the ting of the House of the People be amended vehicles the state industries department before the parliamentato enable a single general secretary . said 10.44 lakh electric ry polls, is seen as a setIn Coimbatore, BJP were registered with and back for Lok Sabha polls. at the state president K An2029 the BJP it was after a general election, bring electoral roll road at asingleensured that Electransport offices till September national level as fast pace and namalai said his party’s 20, one of the few key allies scale national leadership For party. into force the provision of Ar- tor’s and of these, 4.1 lakh were EVproduction quicklyandthe Photo Identitycompanies start . With the manufactured in the state. of the saffroninstance, states such as up Card by would respond to the deOla Electric accounted for foundational advantages of our “The decision to leave velopment. “I will talk 1.75 lakh vehicles the 4.1 the NDA was West taken sector about and Tamil this later,” he Kerala, and in Bengal,BJP state general ticle 82A, and that date of the Election vehiclesofmanufac- automakingandelectronics manCommission. in the progress we lakh electric unanimously are said. deference to the views and feelings of more than two crore AIADMK cadre who were outr a g e d by t h e c o n t i n u e d criticisms of the BJP’s state leadership. The AIADMK will face the Lok Sabha elections by forming an alliance with likeminded parties” the party’s deputy general secretary KP E x p ress N e w s S er v i c e @Kannur tion timings in certain states, such that polls to all state assemblies and the Lok Sabha may be held together. If assembly elections are due before Lok Sabha elections, it said that the term of these assemblies may be extended to synchronise it with the Lok Sabha elections, by amending the Constitution. “We have also made proposals on similar lines. It is up to the government to take the final call,” the official said. YOU READ IT FIRST here: TNIE broke the story last year on one nation, one poll synchronisation in our Septembere x p r e s edition 26th s r e a d S h r u t i K a K K a r @ New Delhi Preeth a N a ir @ New Delhi PrEss ClusivE West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress head Mamata Banerjee after she was injured, at a hospital in Kolkata | PTI Mamata injured in fall, stable after treatment Pr a n a b M o n d a l @ Kolkata West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee on Thursday evening sustained a deep cut on her forehead and injured her nose after she tripped and fell at her Kalighat residence in south Kolkata. She was rushed to the state-run SSKM Hospital, where doctors attended to her injuries and closed her wound with four stitches. She was discharged after the doctors found her to be stable. On her way back home, the 69-year-old politician could be seen sitting on the front seat of her vehicle with bandage on her forehead. TMC sources said the accident happened shortly after she returned from an event to inaugurate her political mentor Subrata Mukherjee’s statue in south Kolkata. “She fell on the floor and her head hit against the corner of a show- case. The mishap occurred when she tripped while going from one room to another. She was taken to the hospital by her nephew Abhishek Banerjee,” said a TMC leader. F rom SSKM Hospital, Mamata was taken to Bangur Institute of Neurology for further tests. A medical board comprising eight doctors was formed to assess the chief minister’s condition. According to sources in the hospital, Mamata underwent CT scan to ascertain whether there was any internal haemorrhage. “We have also examined her whether there was any fluctuation in her bloodpressure that might have led to the mishap,” said a doctor. Vice President Jadgeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K Stalin, and his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal, and Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar were among those who wished her a speedy recovery . Top companies that bought electoral bonds Name Amount (InH) Name Amount (InH) Future Gaming and Hotel Megha Engineering 1,368 cr 966 cr Services and Infrastructure Ltd Qwik Supply Chain Private Ltd 410 cr Vedanta Ltd 400 cr Bharati Group Haldia Energy Ltd 377 cr 247 cr Essel Mining and Western UP Power 224 cr 220 cr Industries Ltd Transmission Keventer Foodpark Infra Ltd 194 cr Madanlal Ltd 185 cr Yashoda Super DLF Group 170 cr 162 cr Speciality Hospital Jindal Steel and Utkal Alumina International 145.3 cr 123 cr Power Ltd Rungta Sons Birla Carbon India 105 cr 100 cr Piramal Enterprises Dr Reddy’s 80 cr 60 cr Group Navyuga Engineering 55 cr Shirdi Sai Electricals 40 cr Edelweiss Group 40 cr Cipla Ltd 39.2 cr Lakshmi Niwas Mittal 35 cr Grasim Industries 33 cr Bajaj Auto Jindal Stainless 30 cr 25 cr Sun Pharma Laboratories 25 cr Mankind Pharma 24 cr Bajaj Finance 20 cr Maruti Suzuki India 20 cr EXPRESS READ S m ar t a g r i PM to campaign in Pathanamthitta today Malayali scientist’s E-Crop device promises to revolutionise farming Pathanamthitta: The district is all set to receive PM Narendra Modi on Friday, who will attend a public event as part of the NDA’s Lok Sabha campaign. Over one lakh BJP workers from Pathanamthitta and Mavelikkara LS constituencies are expected to attend the event at the District Stadium. NDA candidates V Muraleedharan, Anil Antony, Sobha Surendran and Baiju Kalasala, BJP leaders Padmaja Venugopal and P C George, and BDJS leader Thushar Vellappally will also be present. P6 Loadshedding looms large as KSEB faces power deficit T’Puram: The KSEB will be forced to go for loadshedding if the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) does not provide the first installment arrears of J500 crore to the board. At a highlevel committee chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday to address the power crisis in the state, a conclusive decision on providing J2,300 crore arrears the KWA owes to KSEB or additional borrowing of resources could not be taken. Pinarayi has allowed the KSEB to borrow J500 crore in April. P9 K S S R E E J I T H @T’Puram Now, farmers will get periodic SMSes about water and nutrient content in soil, facilitating timely intervention to address challenges, thanks to a scientist from Kerala. Electronic Crop (E-Crop), developed by Santhosh Mithra of the Central Tuber Crops Research Institute (CTCRI), promises to revolutionise the farming sector at a time when low yield, lack of nutrients in soil and climate changes are making life miserable for farmers. E-Crop, an IoT (Internet of Things) device, can simulate crop growth in real time by calculating calculate nutrients and water requirements in the soil and generating agro -advisory for the crop on a daily basis. Mithra said the crop simu- The E-Crop device lation model-based device provides periodical advice as SMS to growers about water and nutrient (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) requirements. The Indian Patent Office on March 14, granted patent to E- Crop with retrospective effect from 2014. “I have been studying and developing crop simulation models for almost a decade,” Mithra, CTCRI principal scientist (computer applications), told TNIE. “We developed the device in 2014 and had been testing it. The patent is the official approval for the device,” he said. As a computer expert, Santhosh wanted to improve yield of tuber crops at first. For this, he collected data from studies done by plant physiologists on how changes in weather, soil nutrients affected the growth of various plant species. “We converted this data into a mathematical equation and compiled a software. We could scientifically predict the complete weather condition of a crop ● More on P6 season,” he said.
Express Network Private Limited publishes thirty three E-paper editions of The New Indian Express newspaper , thirty two E-paper editions of Dinamani, one E-paper edition of The Morning Standard, one E-paper edition of Malayalam Vaarika magazine and one E-paper edition of the Indulge - The Morning Standard, Kolkatta.