National
17 new faces in Chandrababu Naidu’s team
Vijayawada, June 12 (IANS) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu’s 24-member ministerial team, which was sworn-in along with him on Wednesday, has 17 fresh faces as the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief has given preference to young leaders.
The remaining seven had served as ministers either in Chandrababu Naidu’s Cabinet in bifurcated Andhra Pradesh or in the united one.
All the three ministers from Jana Sena and the lone minister from BJP have been inducted in the Cabinet for the first time.
Majority of the 20 ministers from TDP are young leaders with some of them elected to the Assembly for the first time.
In all, nine of the ministers in Naidu’s Cabinet were elected to the Assembly for the first time.
The most prominent fresh face is Jana Sena leader and actor Pawan Kalyan, who is set to be appointed Deputy Chief Minister.
The 56-year-old has been elected to the Assembly for the first time.
Pawan Kalyan, who studied till Intermediate, made his electoral debut from Pithapuram constituency in Kakinada District.
The younger brother of megastar Chiranjeevi, Pawan Kalyan is among three ministers from Jana Sena in Naidu’s government.
Jana Sena won all 21 Assembly seats it contested.
Pawan Kalyan’s close aide and Jana Sena’s Political Affairs Committee Chairman N Manohar has also been inducted into the Cabinet.
The 60-year-old has become a minister for the first time. Son of former chief minister of united Andhra Pradesh Nadendla Bhaskar, he served as Assembly Speaker in united Andhra Pradesh from 2011 to 2014.
Manohar, who did MBA from Osmania University, was elected from Tenali constituency in Guntur District. A three-time MLA, he quit the Congress to join Jana Sena in 2018.
Interestingly, Chandrababu Naidu’s son Nara Lokesh, who was part of the earlier TDP Cabinet, is also a first-time MLA.
Lokesh, K. Atchannaidu, Kollu Ravindra, P. Narayana and N Md Farooq were all ministers in the TDP government between 2014 and 2019.
Kolusu Parthasarathy and Anam Ramanarayana Reddy had served as ministers in Congress governments in a united Andhra Pradesh.
Farooq had also served as minister in the TDP government in an undivided state.
Anam Ramanarayana Reddy, who hails from Nellore District, had quit YSR Congress Party to join TDP last year.
A senior minister in the Congress governments between 2004 and 2014, he was upset over his non-inclusion in the Cabinet by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
The 72-year-old was elected from Atamkur constituency in the recent polls.
He was first elected to the Assembly in 1983 as a TDP candidate. He had switched loyalties to the Congress in 1991.
Kolusu Parthasarathy had quit YSRCP to join TDP early this year and Naidu had promised him a Cabinet berth.
The senior leader, who comes from undivided Krishna District, had served as a minister in the Congress government in united Andhra Pradesh.
After the state’s bifurcation in 2014, he joined YSRCP.
Lokesh, who is TDP General Secretary, is also a first time MLA. In 2017, he was elected to the Legislative Council and served as minister for information technology and rural development in the Cabinet headed by his father.
The 41-year-old, who has done MBA from Stanford University, was elected from Mangalagiri constituency in Guntur District. He had lost from the same constituency in 2019.
Atchannaidu, who retained Tekali seat in Srikakulam District, has once again found a place in Naidu’s Cabinet. The six-time MLA is currently the President of the TDP’s Andhra Pradesh unit.
The 54-year-old, who is a graduate, served as minister of handlooms, textiles, Backward Classes welfare, empowerment and information & public relations in the TDP government between 2017 and 2019. He is the younger brother of former Union minister late K Yerran Naidu and uncle of K. Ram Mohan Naidu, who was inducted as a minister in the PM Narendra Modi-led Union Cabinet on Sunday.
Kollu Ravindra has also become a minister once again. He had served as minister for excise and BC welfare between 2014 and 2019.
The 51-year-old has studied BA, LLB. Elected from Machilipatnam constituency in Krishna District, Ravindra is a member of the TDP politburo, the highest decision-making body of the party.
Ponguru Narayana, founder of Narayana Group of Institutions, is one of the highly educated ministers. The 68-year-old had served as minister for municipal administration and urban development between 2014 and 2019. Naryana, who has done MSc and PhD, was elected from Nellore City constituency in Nellore District in the recent elections.
N. Md Farooq is the lone Muslim minister in the Cabinet. The 74-year-old was re-elected from Nandyal constituency in Nandyal District.
Farooq, who has studied up to PUC, served as a minister in Naidu’s Cabinets both in undivided Andhra Pradesh and in the bifurcated state.
A four-time MLA, he had also served as Deputy Speaker of the Assembly in united Andhra Pradesh.
Vasamsetti Subhash is among the first-time MLAs who have become ministers.
Belonging to the Settibalija (BC) community, he was elected from Ramachandrapuram constituency in Ambedkar Konaseema District.
He has studied B.Sc, LLB and he had resigned from the YSRCP to join the TDP a few months before elections.
Vangalapudi Anitha is one of the three women ministers in the new Cabinet. Elected from Payakaraopeta constituency in Visakhapatnam District, the 45-year-old is a first-time minister.
A member of the TDP politburo, she has done Masters in arts and literature.
Nimmala Rama Naidu is also a new face in the Cabinet. In the recent elections, he was elected for a third time from Palakonda in West Godavari District. The 55-year-old has done MA, M. Phil and PhD.
Payyavula Kesav is one of the key TDP leaders, who has been finally rewarded with a Cabinet berth. He had entered politics in 1994 and was recently elected to the Assembly from Uravakonda in Anantapur District for the seventh time.
He had retained the seat even in 2019 when there was a YSRCP wave.
At 42, Kondapalli Srinivas is one of the youngest ministers in the new Cabinet. He is the first-time MLA from Gajapathinagaram constituency in Vizianagaram District. Hailing from a political family, Srinivas is a software engineer who had been actively participating in social service.
Gummadi Sandhyarani is another first-time minister. She is also the first-time MLA, having been elected from Saluru constituency in Parvathipuram Manyam District. The 51-year-old has studied B.Sc. In 1999, she had unsuccessfully contested for the Assembly on a Congress ticket. She later joined the TDP but could not win the elections in 2009 and 2014.
Anagani Satya Prasad is a three-time MLA from Repalle in Bapatla District. The 52-year-old is a graduate.
Dola Balaveeranjaneya Swamy has been elected to the Assembly for a third-consecutive term from Kondapi in Prakasam District. The 54-year-old is a MBBS and worked at a primary health centre in Kondapi.
Gottipati Ravi Kumar was recently elected for the Assembly for the fourth-consecutive time from Addanki in Bapatla District. The 48-year-old has done engineering and is in the granite business. In 2009, he was first elected to the Assembly on a Congress ticket. He retained the seat as YSRCP candidate in 2014 but joined the TDP in 2016. He won the seat again in 2019 and 2024 on a TDP ticket.
Kandula Durgesh of Jana Sena is also a first-time MLA who has made it to the Cabinet. He began his political career with the Congress party and was defeated in 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Rajahmundry constituency. He joined Jana Sena in 2018. He contested unsuccessfully as Jana Sena candidate from Nidadavole in West Godavari District.
The TDP’s BC Janardhan Reddy was elected to Banaganapalli constituency in Nandyal District for a second time. The 55-year-old has studied up to eighth standard.
Satya Kumar Yadav is the only BJP representative in the Cabinet. He is a first-time MLA, having been elected from Dharmavaram constituency in Sri Sathya Sai District in the recent elections. He has done MA in political science. He served as Personal Secretary of former Vice President Venkaiah Naidu. In 2018, he was appointed National Secretary of the BJP. He is currently co-incharge of BJP in Uttar Pradesh and incharge for Andaman and Nicobar.
TG Bharath, who has done MBA in UK, is a first-time MLA. The 48-year-old was elected from Kurnool constituency. He is the son of former minister TG Venkatesh.
S Savitha was elected to the Assembly for the first time in recent elections from Penukonda in Sri Sathya Sai District. She is the daughter of former MP and minister S. Ramachandra Reddy.
Mandipalli Ram Prasad Reddy is one of the youngest ministers in the new Cabinet. The 43-year-old is a first-time MLA from Rayachoti in Annamayya District. He had quit YSRCP to join TDP in December 2023.
–IANS
ms/rad
On Wednesday, the Defence Ministry announced that 2025 will be designated as the “Year of Reforms,” with a primary focus on establishing integrated theatre commands to enhance collaboration among the three branches of the military.
These reforms are aimed at transforming the armed forces into a technologically advanced, combat-ready force capable of executing multi-domain integrated operations, the ministry stated.
The initiative will emphasize emerging domains such as cyber and space, alongside cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, hypersonics, and robotics.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh described the “Year of Reforms” as a pivotal milestone in the modernization of the armed forces.
“It will set the stage for significant advancements in the nation’s defense capabilities, ensuring the security and sovereignty of India in the face of 21st-century challenges,” he said.
A 3.2 magnitude tremor struck Gujarat’s Kutch district on Wednesday morning, according to the Institute of Seismological Research (ISR).
The district administration reported no casualties or property damage following the quake.
The tremor occurred at 10:24 am, with its epicenter located 23 kilometers north-northeast (NNE) of Bhachau, as per the Gandhinagar-based ISR.
Last month, the region experienced four seismic events exceeding a magnitude of 3, including a 3.2 magnitude tremor just three days ago, with its epicenter also near Bhachau.
Earlier tremors in the area included a 3.7 magnitude earthquake on December 23 and a 3.2 magnitude event on December 7, according to ISR reports.
Kutch was also jolted by a 4.0 magnitude earthquake on November 18, 2024. On November 15, a 4.2 magnitude quake hit Patan in north Gujarat, based on ISR data.
Gujarat is considered a high-risk earthquake zone, having experienced nine major earthquakes over the past 200 years, according to the Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority (GSDMA). The 2001 earthquake in Kutch, which occurred on January 26, was the third-largest and second-most destructive in India in the last two centuries, according to the GSDMA.
Singer and actor Diljit Dosanjh’s much-anticipated New Year’s Eve concert in Ludhiana faced legal hurdles after a complaint was filed by Punditrao Dharenavar, an assistant professor from Chandigarh.
Following the complaint, the Deputy Director of the Women and Child Department, Government of Punjab, issued a formal notice to Ludhiana’s District Commissioner, urging them to prohibit Dosanjh from performing specific songs during his live show on December 31, 2024.
The notice specifically targets songs accused of promoting alcohol, including Patiala Peg, 5 Tara Theke, and Case (Jeeb Vicho Feem Labbiya), even if the lyrics are slightly modified. The complaint points to previous warnings issued to Dosanjh by various commissions advising against performing these controversial tracks.
Despite these warnings, the singer allegedly continues to perform the songs with minor alterations. Dharenavar raised serious concerns about the influence of such music on young audiences, especially when minors are present at live events.
Adding to the controversy, Dharenavar referenced a 2019 Punjab and Haryana High Court ruling, which directed law enforcement to ensure that songs promoting alcohol, drugs, or violence are not played at public events, including concerts. This ruling underscores the legal basis for the complaint and has further intensified the scrutiny surrounding the event.
Five people sustained injuries when a vehicle in the convoy of Uttar Pradesh Minister and Nishad Party chief Sanjay Nishad overturned into a ditch near Januan village in the Khejuri Police Station area of Ballia district late last night.
Sanjay Nishad shared details of the incident, stating that the accident injured five party workers, including four women.
“I was traveling with the convoy to participate in the Constitutional Rights Yatra organized by the party on Tuesday night. Near Januan village in the Khejuri area, one of the vehicles following the convoy lost control while trying to avoid an animal and overturned into a ditch,” Nishad explained.
The injured individuals have been identified as Rakesh Nishad, Ramrati, Usha, Geeta, and Iravati Nishad.
Senior police and administrative officials quickly arrived at the scene following the incident to oversee the situation.
The mother of Suchir Balaji, a 26-year-old former OpenAI researcher found dead after accusing the company of copyright violations, has alleged that her son was “murdered” and called for a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) probe.
Poornima Rao, Suchir’s mother, claimed her son’s death was a “cold-blooded murder” that authorities wrongly ruled as suicide. She further disclosed that a private autopsy report conflicted with the findings of the initial police investigation.
Rao alleged that her son’s apartment had been “ransacked” and cited evidence of a struggle in the bathroom, including bloodstains that suggested he had been assaulted.
“We hired a private investigator and conducted a second autopsy to uncover the truth. The private autopsy does not confirm the cause of death stated by the police. Suchir’s apartment was ransacked, there were signs of a struggle in the bathroom, and it appears he was hit based on blood spots. This is a cold-blooded murder being misclassified as a suicide. Lobbying in San Francisco won’t deter us from seeking justice. We demand an FBI investigation,” Rao wrote on X.
Elon Musk reacted to Rao’s post, commenting, “This doesn’t seem like a suicide.”
Balaji was discovered dead in his San Francisco apartment months after accusing OpenAI of violating copyright laws during the development of ChatGPT, as reported by Fox News. Despite these claims, the San Francisco Police Department found no evidence of foul play and ruled the death a suicide.
On October 24, shortly before his death, Balaji voiced doubts about the “fair use” defense in generative artificial intelligence. “I recently participated in a NYT story about fair use and generative AI, and why I’m skeptical ‘fair use’ would be a plausible defense for a lot of generative AI products,” he wrote on X.
Defence Ministry: Year 2025 will be year of reforms- A 3.2 magnitude tremor struck Gujarat’s Kutch district on Wednesday morning
- Diljit Dosanjh faces legal action over concert songs
- UP Minister’s convoy overturns, 5 person injured
- Suchir Balaji’s mother alleges Murder
- Rupee weakened by 5 paise to 85.69 against the US dollar
- Huge ammunition and arm seized in Manipur
- Pushpa 2 earns RS 1085 CR in pre-release collection
- BJP opposes Nawab Malik’s candidacy
- Lee Hsien Yang seeks refuge in United Kingdom
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