THIRUVANANTHAPURAM l monday l december 02, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION GST mop-up increases 8.5% to K1.82 lakh crore in November over 11% increase in Net collection The Central GST collection stood at I34,141 crore, State GST at I43,047 crore, Integrated GST at I91,828 crore, and Cess at I13,253 crore. Refunds worth I19,259 crore were issued during the month, registering a 8.9% decline over the same period last year. After adjusting for refunds, net GST collection shot up by more than 11% to I1.63 lakh crore Gross GST collections increased to L1.82 lakh crore in November on higher revenues from domestic transactions, official data showed Tax from domestic transactions up 9.4% ■ ■ GST from domestic transactions grew 9.4% to I1.40 lakh crore in November, while revenues from tax on imports rose 6% to I42,591 cr The month’s GST mop-up is 8.5% higher than the I1.68 lakh crore collected during the same month last year. On a sequential basis, it is 2.6% lower than the I1.87 lakh crore collected in October A2.1 L crore GSt collection recorded in april 2024 is the highest ever 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 Donald Trump threatens BRICS with 100% tariffs US President-elect warns against trying to undercut the dollar Trump picks Kash Patel as new FBI chief Y E S HI S ELI @ New Delhi NDRF personnel use an earthmover to shift residents to safety amid flooding following heavy rain triggered by Fengal, at Krishna Nagar in Puducherry | Sriram R Nine killed as Fengal floods Pondy, V’Puram Slow-moving cyclonic storm Fengalbrought unprecedented rainfall to Villupuram in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, where it made landfall shortly before Saturday midnight. Torrential rains lashed Puducherry, resulting in the UT recording 49 cm of rainfall, the highest in its history Official sources said at least four people died in rain-related incidents in Puducherry, and three in Tiruvannamalai and one each in Vellore and Chennai districts in Tamil Nadu. 7 trapped in landslide At least seven persons, including five children, are feared trapped inside a house following a landslide near the lower slopes of Annamalaiyar Hill in Tiruvannamalai district in TN on Sunday. P5 Heavy rain forecast in Kerala; red alert in 4 dists T’Puram: Cyclonic storm Fengal, which has reduced to a deep depression, is expected to trigger heavy rain in Kerala. The IMD has forecast widespread heavy rain across the state on Monday, with a red alert issued for Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, and Kannur districts. 7 Maoists killed in encounter with cops in Telangana U M a h e s h @ Mulugu Seven Maoists were killed in an alleged encounter with the Telangana Police in the Chalpaka forest area of the state’s Mulugu district near the Chhattisgarh border on Sunday morning. Acting on a tip-off about Maoist movement, a search party comprising Greyhounds, a special force unit of the Telan- gana Police, launched a combing operation in the area. Speaking to the media, Superintendent of Police (SP) Dr P Shabarish said the police encountered a group of 12 to 13 Maoists in olive green uniforms armed with weapons. Despite being warned to sur render, the Maoists opened fire, triggering a retali- atory response in which seven Maoists were killed, the police claimed. The dead were identified as members of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), including JMWP DVC and State Committee member Kursam Mangu alias Bhadru, and Egolapu Mallaiah alias Madhu, a Divisional Appointment of NEW BrahMos chief CHALLENGED IN tribunal M AYANK S IN G H @ New Delhi IN a rare instance, the appointment of BrahMos Aerospace chief has been challenged in the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Hyderabad. The leadership dispute comes at a time the organisation is working on the country’s biggest defence supply order to the Philippines. The crisis stems from the appointment of Jaiteerth R Joshi as Chief Executive Officer, a decision contested by Sivasubramanyam Nambi Naidu, alleging he was superseded during the selection. The case was filed on November 29 and the first hearing took place on November 30. According to sources, the CAT has sought a detailed response from DRDO within four weeks and has scheduled the next hearing on December 30. The petitioner has made DRDO and Joshi as respondents. Sources said that Naidu, a Distinguished Scientist, is seven years senior to Joshi lifesavers Pledge to donate organs and tissues Jaiteerth R Joshi and has served as an Outstanding Scientist since 2017, a position Joshi currently holds. With only three years left in service compared to Joshi’s six, Naidu’s plea is to consider his seniority and experience. The organisation is currently engaged in advanced negotiations with three to four countries, with the next stages of deliveries to the Philippines also coming up under a $375 million contract. These negotiations are critical for establishing India as a reliable defence exporter and the deliberations demand steady leadership to avoid de- top Registrations No of pledges Rajasthan 40,382 U n n i k r i s h n a n S @ T’Puram Maharashtra 31,125 Karnataka 25,351 Despite its high public awareness about organ donation, Kerala fairs poorly in the national organ donation pledge campaign. Kerala stands at 13th position, with only around 3,113 individuals from the state having signed up through the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation’s (NOTTO) online platform. In contrast, Rajasthan leads Madhya Pradesh 21487 13,599 Kerala 3,113 in Kerala Alappuzha 254 Kottayam 252 Kozhikode 220 Thrissur 212 Kannur 190 (Source: NOTTO) EXPRESS READ Health hubs to attract out-of-state patients Kochi: With the intention of attracting patients from other parts of the country and abroad to its healthcare facilities, the Kerala government will launch health hubs next month at four medical college hospitals (MCHs) and the Ernakulam general hospital. Health Minister Veena George said the aim is to raise the quality of infrastructure and services to global standards and attract patients to the state for various treatments. P5 B’desh stops ISKCON members visiting India Dhaka: Dozens of ISKCON members who possessed travel documents were turned back on Sunday by Bangladesh’s immigration police from Benapole border crossing when they tried to cross into India. Imtiaz Ahsanul Quader Bhuiyan, officer-in-charge of the Benapole Immigration Police said, “We consulted the special branch of police and received instructions from the higher authorities not to permit them to cross the border” Ag e n c i e s Donald Trump ‘Unrealistic threat’ Trump’s threat is unrealistic, think tank The Global Trade Research Initiative said on Sunday. It said tariffs of this scale would harm the US consumers only as it would push prices on imports, disrupt global trade, and risk retaliation from key partners at Russia and China. The topic had come up during the recent summit of the BRICS, where Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the US of “weaponising” the dollar to target rivals. “It’s not us who refuse to use the dollar,” Putin had said at the time. “But if they don’t let us work, what can we do? We are forced to search for alternatives.” Russia is pushing for the creation of a new payment system that would offer an alternative to the global bank messaging network, SWIFT, and allow Moscow to dodge Western sanctions and trade with partners. BRICS is an intergovernmental organisation comprising nine countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates.  (With inputs from agencies) net gains for shuttlers lakshya & SINDHU Sen-sational run Lakshya Sen won the Syed Modi International men’s singles title in Lucknow The 23-year-old, who was the No 1 seed, lived up to his billing. He won all his matches in straight games After narrowly missing out on an Olympic medal in Paris, this is a welcome result for him with 40,382 pledges, followed by Maharashtra (31,125) and Karnataka (25,351). NOTTO launched the online pledging system to make it easier for people to commit to organ donation. However, the pledging process received a lukewarm response in Kerala. Within the state, most pledges came from Alappuzha, Kottayam, Kozhikode and Thrissur districts, with the most number of participants aged between 30 and 45 years. The Kerala State Organ and Tissue Transplantation Organi- sation (K-SOTTO) has launched an aggressive campaign to address public and medical community’s hesitancy towards cadaver organ donation. K-SOTTO began the campaign addressing the public, college students and doctors, dispelling concerns about organ donation. Besides creating awareness, demonstration of the registration procedures are also done at the meetings. “There are 10-15 fields to fill in, and the registration is done Three cheers PV Sindhu bagged the women’s singles crown with an equally impressive run She beat China’s Wu Luo Yu to lift the trophy for the third time, having also won in 2017 & 2022 Form had evaded her in recent times and this win could spur her to rediscover her old touch via Aadhaar-based OTP. We have started demonstrating the registration process to help volunteers understand the steps more clearly,” said Dr Noble Gracious, Executive Director of K-SOTTO. In both online and offline campaigns, QR code facility is arranged to encourage people to register on the website, which can be accessed at https://notto. abdm.gov.in/register. In countries where the deceased organ donation is popular, pledge forms are simpler US President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday tapped Indian American Kahyap ‘Kash’ Patel, 44, to head the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). If confirmed, Patel would replace Christopher Wray, who was chosen by Trump in his first term as president in 2017. FBI directors are appointed to 10-year terms to insulate the bureau from politics. A fierce Trump loyalist and a vocal critic of ‘deep state’, Patel is expected to cut down the FBI’s footprint. In a recent interview, he said he would close down the FBI’s headquar ters in Washington, DC, and “reopen it the next day as a museum of the deep state”. He said he send the 7,000-odd employees working in that building across America to chase criminals. Patel served in several posts during Trump’s first term, including as Chief of Staff to Secretary of Defense. A son of Indian immigrants, Patel has commented on the developments in India. Earlier this year, he had voiced support for the Ayodhya Ram Temple. He has also alleged there is a disinformation campaign in Washington targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Over 6,000 on police list of child-porn viewers S h a n A S @ T’Puram Kerala lags in national organ donation pledge campaign State Telangana lays. On the domestic front, the Army and Air Force are in the midst of more BrahMos procurements. However, leadership ambiguity raises concerns about meeting these strategic priorities. Alexander Maksichev, codirector of Brahmos Aerospace, recently said active discussions are on with countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam and United Arab Emirates for potential contracts of this missile system. The dispute pits two accomplished scientists against each other. Naidu, a key figure in India’s Prithvi missile programme, is recognised for his managerial expertise at Bharat Dynamics Limited, press clusive where he oversaw large-scale missile production. His experience aligns with BrahMos’ operational and export ambitions. In contrast, Joshi is known for his contribution to the Long-Range and MediumRange Surface-to-Air Missiles (LRSAM and MRSAM). Committee member and Area Commander. Other slain Maoists included Area Committee members Mussaki Deval and Mussaki Jamuna, as well as cadres Jaisingh, Kishore and Kamesh. The police claimed to have recovered two AK-47 rifles, one .303 rifle apart from one shotgun, one country-made revolver, a G3, kit bags, and literature from the encounter spot. US President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday threatened to impose a 100% tariff on the BRICS bloc nations, which include India, if they try to undermine the US dollar. “The idea that the BRICS countries are trying to move away from the Dollar while we stand by and watch is over. We require a commitment... that they will neither create a new BRICS Currency, nor back any other Currency to replace the mighty US Dollar or, they will face 100 percent Tariffs and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful U.S. Economy,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. Trump said there is “no chance” BRICS will replace the US dollar in global trade and any country that tries to make that happen “should wave goodbye to America.” The statement comes in the backdrop of the BRICS summit held in October in the Russian city of Kazan discussing ways to boost non-dollar transactions and local currencies. India is not in favour of a common BRICS currency. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has more than once clarified that there is no plan to go for a common BRICS currency . In October, while answering a question on de-dollarisation at an event hosted by Washingtonbased think tank Carnegie Endowment, Jaishankar said India has no policy to target the dollar, adding that it only looks at alternative currencies while dealing with trade partners who do not have access to dollar. In that context, Trump’s message is seen as mainly targeted with participants just need to click the ‘yes’ or ‘no’ button to express their willingness. However, experts say the NOTTO’s registry is useful in the long run. The national campaign aims to build a re pository of potential organ donors. The registration is done by including the contact number of those making the organ donation pledge. This facility helps a relative verify if the person concerned has pledged to donate organ if he or she is declared brain dead. The Counter Child Sexual Exploitation (CCSE) unit of the state police has prepared a list of 6,146 offenders suspected of being involved in viewing child sexual abuse materials (CSAM). The unit began preparing the list following its formation in 2017. Cases have been registered against 1,758 people on obtaining evidence from examining their digital gadgets. The unit has also seized more than 3,000 electronic devices from suspects and about 400 people have been arrested till date, sources said. The CCSE unit adds around 400 people to its suspect list every three months, sources said. Further details of these suspects are collected following which raids are conducted with the help of district police chiefs. The unit, which operates under the cyber division, collects information using its own software and other open-source tools. It also receives information from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), which has access to the tipline reports available with the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), USA. Sources said offenders often resort to erasing the data from their phones using special software and also change devices, which hampers evidence collection and weakens the case ● More on P4 against them.