tirupati l friday l november 22, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l anantapur EDITION mass federal job cuts in doge’s blueprint for mega U.S. reforms Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy provided the blueprint for an unprecedented US government reform in an op-ed on the Wall Street Journal Crackdown coming on work from home driving change through executive action The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) will suggest job cuts after identifying the minimum number of employees required at each federal agency, Musk and Ramaswamy wrote. Federal employees will not have the option of work from home. “If federal employees don’t want to show up, American taxpayers shouldn’t pay them,” they wrote ■ ■ DOGE, they wrote, will present a list of ‘illicit’ regulations to President Donald Trump, who can then pass executive orders to pause them The 2022 US Supreme Court ruling that restricted the Environment Protection Agency’s power to regulate carbon emissions will be a reference in their crackdown on regulations, the two wrote | P9 $500 bn how much doge hopes to help the U.S. government save each year 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 war Crimes The defendants orchestrated an elaborate scheme to bribe Indian govt officials to secure contracts worth billions of dollars and lied about the bribery as they sought to raise capital from US - US Attorney Breon Peace International court issues arrest warrant against Bibi US court indicts Gautam Adani Bribery charges against Adani Group chairman, 7 others $250 million kickbacks to Indian govt officials to sign power supply contracts $200 mn paid in Andhra alone AGENCIE S @ The Hague THE International Criminal Court on Thursday issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defence minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas’ military chief Mohammed Deif, accusing them of crimes against humanity in connection with their war that began more than a year ago. The warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant focus on allegations Israel has used food as a weapon in its campaign against Hamas in Gaza, a charge Israeli officials deny . The warrants were issued by a three-judge panel in a unanimous decision. The panel said there were reasonable grounds to believe they “intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival”, including food, w at e r, m e d icine, fuel and electricity . The decision came six months after ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan requested the warrants. Reacting sharply Netanyahu , said Israel “rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions”. He said: “There is nothing more just than the war that Israel has been waging in Gaza.” The ICC is a court of last resort that only prosecutes cases when domestic law enforcement authorities cannot or will not investigate. Israel is not a member state of the court. Despite the warrants, none of the suspects is likely to face judges in The Hague anytime soon. Member countries are required to detain suspects facing a warrant if they set foot on their soil, but the court has no way to enforce that. Kenya cancels Adani projects Kenyan President William Ruto said that he has cancelled multimillion-dollar airport expansion and energy deals with Adani after US indictments. He said the decision was made ‘based on new information’ Rahul demands immediate Arrest Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Thursday demanded immediate arrest of Gautam Gautam Adani. “Why is he roaming around like a free man?” he asked, demanding his arrest ICBM retaliation A video grab shows flashes over the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, which Kyiv claimed was attacked by a Russian intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). It was in apparent retaliation to Ukraine firing longer range missiles at Russia, sourced from the US and the UK. Russia deploying an ICBM — designed to carry nuclear warheads — for the first time in history would be a major escalation of the war | AFP | P9 ysrcP denies all allegations YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSR Congress Party strongly condemned the allegations by USSEC and maintained that the accusations are incorrect | P4 ARS HAD K HAN & B S N MALLE SWARA RAO @ New Delhi / Vijayawada THE US Department of Justice (DoJ) has indicted Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani and seven others on bribery charges involving over $250 million in payments to Indian government officials to secure solar energy contracts. The US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York charged Adani and others with conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud, as well as substantive securities fraud, for their involvement in a multi-billion dollar scheme to deceive US investors and global financial institutions with false and misleading statements. The indictment alleges that between 2020 and 2024, the accused conspired to pay bribes to officials in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Jammu & Kashmir to secure lucrative solar energy supply contracts. These con- tracts were expected to generate post-tax profits exceeding $2 billion over an estimated 20year period. The prosecutors said the Adanis raised more than $3 billion in loans and bonds by hiding their corruption from lenders and investors. Following the reports, Adani Green Energy cancelled plans to raise $600 million in US dollardenominated bonds. The other executives who are indicted are Vneet S Jaain (ex-CEO of Adani Green), Ranjit Gupta, Rupesh Agarwal, Saurabh Agarwal, and Deepak Malhotra. An indictment is the formal charges prepared by prosecutors and returned by a grand jury to start criminal proceedings. It is not a conviction and the accused remains innocent until proven guilty in court. Adani Group denied the allegations and called them baseless, adding that it will take all possible legal steps. “The Adani Group has always upheld YSRC leaders demanded shares in IT firms: Min S V i s w a n at h @ Vijayawada Minister for Human Resource Development (HRD) and Information Technology (IT) Nara Lokesh on Thursday alleged that investors deserted Andhra Pradesh as a few leaders in the previous YSRC government had demanded shares in tech companies. Replying to a question in the State Legislative Assembly, Lokesh revealed that representatives of IT companies told him that some leaders of the YSRC regime sought shares in IT companies. Pointing out that he held talks with several IT companies in the last five months, the Minister said as a result of those discussions Tata Consultancy Services has agreed to set up its office in Visakhapatnam. He added he has also requested Infosys to set up another campus. He maintained that the State govern- Move to relocate APGB headquarters to Amaravati from Kadapa draws criticism S N a g a r a j a R a o @ Kadapa The decision of relocating Andhra Pragathi Grameena Bank (APGB) head office from Kadapa to Amaravati has sparked widespread opposition from a cross section of locals. The relocation is part of Centre’s amalgamation initiative for Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) under the One StateOne RRB policy . The four rural banks that would be merged into a single entity are, Andhra Pragathi Grameena Bank, Chaitanya Godavari Grameena Bank, As stated by DoJ itself, “the charges in the indictment are allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.” All possible legal recourse will be sought - Adani Group Saptagiri Grameena Bank, and AP Vikas Grameena Bank. This initiative aims to minimize overhead costs, optimize technology usage, strengthen capital bases, and enhance operational efficiency. The plan, developed in consultation with NABARD and state govern- ments, seeks to reduce the number of RRBs in India from 43 to 28, with a head office established in the state capital for amalgamated banks. Established in 2006, APGB’s head office in Kadapa serves the districts of Kadapa, Anantapur, Kurnool, Nellore, and Ongole. It operates with nearly 2,800 staff members and was set up with an investment of `25 crore. With a business volume of `46,344 crore, APGB is not only the largest rural bank in the State but also one of the largest P4 RRBs in India.  ment has set a target of providing five lakh jobs in five years in the IT sector. Further, he highlighted his discussions with representatives of various data centres during his recent visit to the US. He stated that as the previous government did not focus on setting up data centres in the State, they moved to neighbouring States of Karnataka and Telangana, besides Mumbai. Lokesh announced that at least two data companies are going to set up their units in the Port City in a couple of months. He added that efforts are on to get NICSI (National Informatics Centre Services Inc) to Vizag. The IT Minister felt that if a national-level data policy is adopted, data compa- At least two data companies are going to set up their units in Vizag in a couple of months. Efforts are on to get NICSI to the Port City Vizag — N Lokesh, IT Minister nies will certainly come to the State with massive investments. The Minister declared that of the total $300 billion invested in the sector annually, the State has set a target of attracting at least $100 billion. He asserted that the issues raised by the representatives on data security and taxation are being resolved. Exuding confidence that his discussions with the top 100 IT companies in the country will be fruitful, Lokesh said these organisations will be invited to invest in Vizag.  P4 Ready for With the five-Test series between India and Australia getting underway in Perth on Friday, a look at some key talking points... thunder Down Under pace vs pace captains face-off In the absence of a fulltime captain Rohit Sharma, vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah will step in to lead the side for the second time in his career. While India lost to England, but the times have changed since then. After a long time, two pacers- Bumrah and Pat Cummins, his Australian counterpart, would lead their sides. chance for youngsters to steal the show In Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan, Devdutt Padikkal and Dhruv Jurel, India have batting stars who have not yet played the longest format in Australia. This is their opportunity to make an impact in the series. Jurel, who played in the A series, managed to impress many, but for others, this is the golden opportunity to prove their mettle ‘baggageless’ India seek quick turnaround India are going into the series after a 0-3 loss against New Zealand on home soil. Multiple players, including Kohli, Sharma, and Bumrah, could not make their mark in the series. “We are not carrying any baggage from the New Zealand series,” said captain Bumrah ahead of the Perth Test. It is time to show that in Perth. Eyes ON WTC table In the five-match series, both teams’ eye would also remain on the World Test Championship points table where currently five teams are fighting to make it to the final of the event. India need to win at least four matches in their last series of the cycle to make it to their third consecutive WTC final in England. and is steadfastly committed to maintaining the highest standards of governance, transparency and regulatory compliance across all jurisdictions of its operations,” it said. Adani shares crashed up to 23% on Thursday . In his pushback, Tamil Nadu electricity minister V Senthil Balaji said the electricity corporation run by his government does not have any commercial ties with Adani’s firm. In another investigation, the US Securities and Exchange Commission said that hundreds of thousands of dollars were paid or promised to officials in Odisha to buy 500 MW power from the Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) to which Adani Green Energy was supplying power. SEC also alleged that Adani paid $200 million to Andhra officials following his meeting with the then chief minister. YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSR Congress Party strongly condemned the allegations, saying they were false. Express read High Court bench to come up in Kurnool Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly adopted a resolution to set up the High Court Bench in Kurnool. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu made an announcement in the Assembly on Thursday and stated that the High Court bench will soon be set up in Kurnool as promised by the NDA during the elections | P4 Assembly resolves to provide 33% BC quota Vijayawada: The Legislative Assembly resolved to provide 33% reservation to Backward Classes (BCs) in the legislative bodies. Minister for BC Welfare S Savitha introduced the resolution. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said the TDP has been most supportive of BCs since its inception, and advocated their political empowerment | P4 NGEL-NREDCAP pact to set up `1.87 L cr projs Vijayawada: NTPC Green Energy Limited (NGEL), a subsidiary of National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), has joined hands with the New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (NREDCAP) to set up renewable energy projects worth `1.87 lakh crore. An agreement was signed at the Secretariat on Thursday | P3 India demands $600 billion in grants as climate finance from developed nations S V Krishna Chaitanya EXPRESS IN BAKU Y ear after year, COP after COP, we keep discussing what needs to be done without addressing how it is to be done,” said Leela Nandan, deputy leader of the Indian delegation at COP29 and secretary of the Union environment ministry . Talking at an open-ended ‘Qurultay’ summit convened by the COP29 presidency after it released a set of decision draft texts, including the one on New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), Nandan said the climate talks began with a clear focus on enablement through the NCQG. “However, as we approach the conclusion, we see a troubling shift towards mitigation without the cor responding means of implementation. This is unacceptable. Mitigation ambitions are meaningless without the financial support to make them a reality .” The NCQG must reflect fi- nance as the critical enabler for developing nations to formulate and implement their ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). This requires specificity—on structure, quantum, quality, timeframes, access, transparency and review. “We demand a mobilisation goal of $1.3 trillion, with at least $600 billion in grants or grant-equivalent resources. Proposals to expand the contributor base, introduce macroeconomic and fiscal conditionalities, or push for carbon pricing and private sector-driven investment flows Leela Nandan are contrary to the NCQG mandate. This goal is about financial support, not an investment target,” Nandan said. India also said climate action in developing countries must remain country-driven, aligned with national priorities and cir- cumstances, and rooted in sustainable development goals and poverty eradication. On mitigation, India said it rejects the prescriptive approach in the draft. Introducing targets for 2030, 2035, and 2050 in a manner that shifts responsibility onto developing nations while ignoring the historical emissions of Annex I countries creates a crisis of climate leadership. Annex I parties must shoulder their obligations. Their emissions continue to rise, and they have yet to close the pre-2020 mitigation gap. On just transition, the draft text unacceptably reinterprets the shared understanding. Transitioning must begin globally, with developed countries taking the lead in mitigation. Domestic transitions in developing nations cannot succeed when constrained by the inaction of developed countries, India said in its statement. India said this is the Finance COP—the enabler COP. “If we fail to achieve a meaningful outcome, we fail in our fight against climate change. Developed countries have a clear responsibility to fulfill their commitments. Climate justice and the survival of millions depend on it,” Nandan said. Latest negotiating text rejected by all The latest negotiating draft text on the NCQG for climate finance has once again failed to specify a concrete funding target. This has frustrated developing nations, which had hoped for a firm commitment to address their escalating needs for climate adaptation, mitigation, and loss and damage. The NCQG, set to replace the $100 billion per year commitment under the Paris Agreement, is critical to scaling up financial support from developed to the developing nations post-2025. | P9