BHUBANESWAR  SATURDAY  DECEMBER 21, 2024  `9.00  PAGES 12  LATE CITY EDITION GOOGLE TRIMS ITS TOP TEAM BY 10% TO IMPROVE EFFICIENCY Google has cut the number of top management roles by 10% in its push for efficiency, the US firm’s CEO Sundar Pichai told staff in a meeting MOVE TO SIMPLIFY COMPANY STRUCTURE According to a Business Insider report, Pichai told staff the process to trim the company’s top team has been going on for the past two years, adding the larger goal is to simplify the company structure by reducing layers of managers that hinder growth. The report quoting Pichai said the efficiency push included a 10% cut in managers, directors, and vice-presidents ■ The efficiency push has coincided with AI rivals such as OpenAI 12,000 SOME ROLES CHANGED TO NON-MANAGERIAL ■ A Google spokesperson said some of those roles were changed to nonmanagerial positions while others were eliminated entirely unleashing new products that threaten Google’s search business ■ In 2022, Pichai had said he wanted Google to be 20% more efficient NUMBER OF JOBS GOOGLE ELIMINATED IN JANUARY 2023, BIGGEST IN ITS HISTORY 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 Session ends, discord doesn’t B R Ambedkar issue set to resonate in the forthcoming Delhi and Bihar assembly elections P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi Firefighters douse the fire at the site of the accident on the Jaipur-Ajmer Highway, in Jaipur, on Friday. Inset: A charred vehicle | PTI TOLL MAY GO UP AS MANY ARE CRITICAL The injured were rushed to the SMS hospital in Jaipur in more than 25 ambulances. A total of 43 people were brought to the hospital, seven of whom are on ventilator support, Dr Deepak Maheshwari, Principal, SMS Medical College, said. Some people with minor injuries left the hospital after dressing. Officials at the spot indicated that the casualty count may go up FLAMES ENGULF 300-METRE STRETCH People reported witnessing flames from nearly 1 km away as thick black smoke filled the sky. The crash initially affected a nearly 300-metre stretch of the highway, leading to a long queue of vehicles. The traffic thickened with time and by afternoon choked the arterial road, leading to diversions 11 killed, 40 injured as LPG tanker hits truck and explodes R A J E S H A S N A N I @ Jaipur AT least 11 people were killed and over 40 others seriously injured when an LPG tanker exploded after colliding with a truck near Bhankrota on the Jaipur-Ajmer highway on Friday morning. Over 20 of the injured suffered more than 50% burns. Sources said they fear the toll could go up as the condition of many of the injured is very serious. The Bharat Petroleum LPG tanker was going from Ajmer to Jaipur when the accident happened. At around 5:45 am, the tanker was attempting a U-turn near Delhi Public School on the outskirts of Jaipur when another truck rammed into it. Sushant Kumar Singh, deputy general manager (fire and safety) of GAIL India, said five nozzles on the tanker broke in the impact of the collision, releasing liquid LPG all over the area. The leaked gas ignited due to a spark, leading to a massive explosion that left the entire vicinity in flames. The fire spread across a 300-metre radius, reducing dozens of vehicles to ashes. Among the destroyed vehicles were 29 trucks, two passenger buses, two gas tankers, three cars, three motorcycles, and two pickup vehicles. A nearby pipe factory and a sleeper bus were also severely damaged. Eyewitnesses reported seeing massive flames that were visible from miles away, trapping many individuals in their vehicles. Over 30 fire engines were rushed to extinguish the flames. To prevent further escalation, the LPG gas pipeline beneath the highway was shut off. Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma visited the injured in hospital. He also announced financial assistance of `5 lakh each for the families of the deceased and `1 lakh each for the injured. CM Majhi seeks special tourism package for Odisha in Union Budget EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bhubaneswar CHIEF Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday sought a special package for development of tourism sector in Odisha in the central budget for 2025-26. At the pre-budget consultation meeting, presided over by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at Jaisalmer, he said the state needs about `10,000 crore investment to create world-class tourism infrastructure. While making the demand, the CM referred to the special mention made by the union finance minister in her budget speech of 2024-25 about tourism potential of the state. The chief minister also sought support from the Centre to create an eco-system to attract investment to Odisha to implement Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to make the state growth engine of the country in the coming years. Implementation of central projects like Sagarmala, east coast economic corridor and national waterway 5 should be expedited to significantly augment Odisha’s industrialisation, he said and suggested a dedicated central scheme under ‘Purvo- daya’ initiative be introduced for critical infrastructure development in eastern states, including Odisha. Majhi urged for central support in enhancing the capacity of Paradip Port, including expansion of its container handling infrastructure. Besides, the Centre should provide assistance for fast-tracking environmental clearances for industrial infrastructure projects. Seeking financial support for industrialisation in aspirational districts, he said that a rare earths complex should be established in CONTINUED ON P5 Odisha. THE winter session of Parliament, which saw unprecedented clashes between the Opposition and the ruling BJP, came to a close on Friday with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar cautioning the members to maintain dignity and decorum of the Houses. Both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned sine die amid protests by the Opposition and treasury benches over the alleged insult to B R Ambedkar and directions by Speaker Om Birla to members against holding protests at any gate of Parliament. While Lok Sabha’s productivity was 57.87% in 20 days, passing four bills, the corresponding figure for the Rajya Sabha was 40.03% in 19 days and the passage of three bills. The session may perhaps go down in parliamentary history for setting a grim record for several reasons — from an ugly scuffle between the NDA and INDIA bloc members and a noconfidence motion by the Opposition against Upper House chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar to a bitter discourse on Constitution and daily disruption of the House proceedings by both Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other INDIA bloc MPs during their protest against home minister Amit Shah over his remarks on Ambedkar | SHEKHAR YADAV SPECIAL TEAM OF POLICE TO HANDLE RAHUL CASE A special team of the Delhi Police is expected to take over the probe into the FIR filed against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for allegedly ‘assaulting’ BJP MPs, sources said. Given the conflicting claims, the team plans to call MPs present during the scuffle to piece together the sequence of events. The police will examine CCTV footage and speak to the injured MPs | P7 sides — to name a few. The main highlight of the session — a two-day debate on the 75th year of Constitution snowballed into a major point of confrontation between the BJP and the Congress over Union home minister Amit Shah’s comment on Ambedkar in Parliament. During his speech on ED searches Niranjan’s properties WAH CHAI Your cuppa is healthy, US food, drug regulator finally agrees P R A S A N TA M A Z U M D A R @ Guwahati WITH the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recognising tea from the Camellia sinensis plant is a healthy beverage, the North Eastern Tea Association (NETA) raised a toast to it. On December 19, the FDA issued a rule to update the “healthy” nutrient content claim to help consumers identify foods that are particularly useful as the foundation of a diet that is consistent with dietary recommendations. “Fantastic news for the tea industry,” said Peter F Goggi, the president of Tea Association of the USA. EXPRESS ILLUSTRATION “Tea is now officially recognized as a healthy beverage and tea can now claim this descriptor,” he added. Bidyananda Barkakoty, adviser to NETA and former vice chairman of Tea Board of India, too expressed RECKLESS CLAIM MEA TICKS OFF YUNUS GOVT FOR AIDE’S REMARKS E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ New Delhi E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Bhubaneswar THE Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday carried out searches at the property linked to former Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Niranjan Patnaik. Sources in the central agency confirmed the raids but remained tight-lipped about the matter. “Simultaneous searches were carried out in at least five locations across the state linked to Niranjan Patnaik. More details will be shared in the coming days,” said ED sources. Though ED is yet to release a statement officially, sources said the investigation could be linked to mining business in which the senior Congressman’s kin have interests. Asked about the searches, Niranjan told the newspaper that he is involved in politics and is not a businessman. “I am a political person and not a businessman. I have nothing to do with business. ED officers had also not served any notice to me. Please ask them, what they found during the searches,” he said. Sources said ED officers questioned some of Niranjan’s family members for over 30 minutes earlier in the day. The development comes two days after ED conducted searches across four locations in Odisha and Delhi linked to opposition chief whip Pramila Mallik’s late brother Khirod Mallik over the alleged `231 crore bank fraud case. In a statement issued on Friday, the central agency said during the searches, 505 suspected benami accounts of different individuals and SHGs were CONTINUED ON P5 traced. joy. “We are extremely happy to know that tea derived from Camellia sinensis has got this recognition. Research worldwide has found the health benefits of drinking tea,” Barkakoty said terming it a “wonder drink”. The NETA urged the Centre to promote tea as a “healthy, lifestyle and wellness” beverage. Dipanjal Deka, secretary of Tea Association of India, Assam branch, said, “Ours is camellia assamica (Assam bush). I think the recognition is for tea in general. It is a good thing for us. In any case, it is scientifically proven that tea has health benefits,” he added. The FDA in a statement said, “We agree that tea is derived from the plant Camellia sinensis…We previously recognized that green tea is made from Camellia sinensis in our response to a qualified health claim petition regarding the relationship between green tea and certain cancers.” “At this time, we do not have sufficient information to determine whether herbal infusions should automatically qualify for the ‘healthy’ claim. We, therefore, extend automatic qualification for the ‘healthy’ claim to tea—derived from Camellia sinensis—and not to herbal infusions.” the Constitution, he said, “It has become the new fashion to say ‘Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar’. Had they chanted God’s name as many times, they would have found a place in heaven.” The scuffle outside Parliament on Thursday led to an FIR against Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi after the BJP filed assault charges against him for causing injury to two of its MPs. With both the Congress and the BJP escalating the issue outside Parliament, it is bound to gain more traction and dominate the narrative in the forthcoming Delhi and Bihar assembly elections. Most part of the 25 day-long session revolved around two tycoons. While Opposition members demanded a debate on the US indictment of businessman Gautam Adani, the treasury benches sought to counter it with the alleged links between the Gandhi family and US billionaire George Soros. Battle lines were also drawn over INDIA bloc’s impeachment motion against Chairman Dhankhar for his alleged partisan conduct in the House. Though it was rejected by deputy Chairman Harivansh, it was the first time that such a motion was made against an RS presiding officer. The Lok Sabha also saw the introduction of the important ‘One Nation, One Election’ legislation, amid fierce protest by the Opposition. But the bill didn’t get two-thirds majority at the introduction stage. Subsequently, it was sent to a 39-member JPC for vetting. We would like to remind all concerned to be mindful of their public comments Randhir Jaiswal, MEA spokesperson THE government on Friday informed the Lok Sabha that 2,200 cases of violence against Hindus and other minorities were reported from Bangladesh this year up to December 8. Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh gave the information in a written response, citing data from minority and human rights organisations. He said the Indian High Commission in Dhaka is closely monitoring the situation, adding that New Delhi has raised the issue with Dhaka. “The Government of India has expressed its concerns about such incidents, including the demoli- tion of the Jagannath Temple in Bangladesh, the attack on a Puja mandap in Tantibazar, Dhaka, and the theft at the Jeshoreshwari Kali temple in Satkhira during Durga Puja 2024,” he said. In another development, India has lodged a strong protest with Bangladesh over a now-deleted social media post by a key aide of Dhaka’s interim gover nment claiming certain areas of Indian territory should be part of Bangladesh. Mahfuz Alam, known for his provocative comments, had also posted on Facebook earlier a map purportedly showing parts of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam as parts of Bangladesh. He deleted CONTINUED ON P5 the post later.