saturday Google trims its top team by 10% to improve efficiency 21 Google has cut its number of top management roles by 10% in its push for efficiency, the US firm’s CEO Sundar Pichai told staff in a meeting december, 2024 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard Some roles changed to non-managerial  A Google spokesperson said some of those roles were changed to nonmanagerial positions while others were eliminated entirely  The efficiency push has coincided with AI rivals such as OpenAI unleashing new products that threaten Google’s search business X.com/TheMornStandard Hungary GRANTS asylum to Polish politico Move to simplify company structure Hungary has given political asylum to a Polish opposition politician wanted on suspicions of corruption, triggering a diplomatic spat that worsened. A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS Page 9 l New Delhi l J8.00 l 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 PAGES 12  In 2022, Pichai had said he wanted Google to be 20% more efficient 12,000 Number of jobs Google eliminated in January 2023, biggest in its history 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 HC steps in to protect personality rights of actor E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ New Delhi The Delhi High Court on Friday passed an interim order protecting the personality and publicity rights of Telugu actor Mohan Babu. The court restrained social media platforms, AI chatbots and e-commerce websites from unauthorised use of the actor’s name, image or voice. Justice Mini Pushkarna observed that Mohan Babu presented a prima facie case deserving immediate relief. The court said that without such protection, the actor could face irreparable damage from misuse of his personality rights in the digital landscape. “The defendants, their associates, servants, and related persons are restrained from creating, publishing, or communicating any content that infringes the plaintiff ’s personality rights,” the court ruled. It directed that no content using AI, Metaverse, or other mediums could exploit the actor’s voice, image, or likeness without explicit authorisation. P l a t f o r m s l i ke G o o g l e and Meta were instructed to remove content flagged by Mohan Babu as violative of his personality rights. The court also barred the sale of goods leveraging the actor’s persona without consent. The case is set for its next hearing in May 2025. 11 killed, 40 injured as LPG tanker hits truck and explodes R a j e s h As 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. 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 biggold, `10 cr haul 52 kg cash seized in mp An MUV packed with bags containing more than 52 kg gold bullions (bricks) worth over `40 crore and around `10 crore cash was found parked at a desolate place on the outskirts of Bhopal on Thursday-Friday intervening night. | P8 DND flyover to remain toll free: SC S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y @ New Delhi In a major relief to commuters on the Delhi-Noida-Direct (DND) flyway, the Supreme Court on Friday rejected the appeal of Noida Toll Bridge Company Ltd (NTBCL) against an order of the Allahabad High Court, which scrapped user fee collection for it. The SC slammed Noida authority for allowing an agreement to perpetually fleece the commuters. Observing that NTBCL has recovered the project costs and substantial profits, eliminating any justification for the continued imposition of tolls, a twojudge bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan said, “No tax will be levied on the DND flyway for Noida Toll Bridge Company Ltd has recovered costs and profits, eliminating any justification for the continued imposition of tolls WHAT THE COURT SAID The blatant misuse of power and breach of public trust by Noida authority, and UP and Delhi governments is shocking. The governmental action disproportionately favoured the private entity at the expense of public welfare Noida administration overstepped its authority in delegating power to levy fees to NTBCL through concession agreement and regulations commuters. We dismiss the appeal of NTBCL against the Allahabad High Court order.” The SC said if a governmental action disproportionately favours a private entity at the expense of public welfare, it is liable to be struck down as invalid. NTBCL had approached the SC against an Allahabad HC order quashing user fee collec- tion from vehicles on the 9.2km DND flyway The HC had in . its 2016 order passed after hearing a PIL filed by the Federation of Noida Resident Welfare Association, also struck down the concessionaire agreement. The bench also said that Noida “overstepped its authority” by delegating its power to levy toll to NTBCL. 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 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 R e c k l e ss c l a i m mea ticks off Yunus govt for aide’s remarks India has lodged a strong protest with Bangladesh over a now-deleted social THE government on Friday media post by a key aide of informed the Lok Sabha that Dhaka’s interim govern2,200 cases of violence ment claiming certain areas against Hindus and other of Indian territory should minorities were reported be part of Bangladesh. from Bangladesh this Mahfuz Alam, year up to December known for his pro8. Minister of State vocative comments, for External Affairs had also posted on Kirti Vardhan Singh Facebook earlier a gave the information map pur por tedly in a written response, showing parts of citing data from miWest Bengal, Tripura nority and human and Assam as parts rights organisations. of Bangladesh. He He said the Indian deleted the post later. High Commission in Alam is a de facto Dhaka is closely We would like minister in the Muto remind all monitoring the situahammad Yunus-led concerned to tion, adding that New be mindful of interim government Delhi has raised the of Bangladesh. their public issue with Dhaka. “We would like to comments “The Government remind all concerned of India has ex- Randhir Jaiswal, to be mindful of their pressed its concerns MEA spokesperson public comments. about such incidents, While India has reincluding the demolition of peatedly signalled interest the Jagannath Temple in in fostering relations with Bangladesh, the attack on a the people and the interim Puja mandap in Tantibazar, government of Bangladesh, Dhaka, and the theft at the such comments underline Jeshoreshwari Kali temple the need for responsibility in Satkhira during Durga in public articulation,” MEA Puja 2024,” he said. s p o ke s p e r s o n R a n d h i r In another development, Jaiswal said. E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ New Delhi 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 Easter n 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 di- etary recommendations. “Fantastic news for the tea industry,” said Peter F Goggi, the president of Tea Association of the USA. “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 joy “We are . extremely happy to know that tea derived from Camellia sinensis has got this recognition. Research worldwide has found Express Illustration 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.” 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. | P7 SC asks Punjab govt to shift fasting farm leader to hosp S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y & Harpreet Bajwa @ New Delhi/Chandigarh The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Punjab government to shift farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal to a nearby makeshift hospital at the Khanauri border where he is on a fast unto death protest. A two-judge bench, comprising Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan, sought reports from the Punjab chief secretary and health officials on the medical condition of Dallewal by January 2. It said the Punjab government could approach the court, if a need arose. The order came in view of the deteriorating health condition of Dallewal. It made it clear that it was the duty and responsibility of the Punjab government to look after the health of Dallewal. Punjab’s Advocate General Gurminder Singh informed the bench the far mer leader has undergone tests on Thursday. The bench then asked the government to file an undertaking about shifting Dallewal to the makeshift hospital near the protest site. The 70-year-old convener of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (NonPolitical) has been on a fast-unto-death since November 26 demanding a legal guarantee to MSP for crops. Meanwhile, Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha requested the SC to direct the Centre to act on the report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture recommending a legislation on MSP The letter includes a mes. sage from Dallewal. “I came to know that you are very concerned about my health, I respect your sentiments. I would like to request you that the lives of those farmers who committed suicide were more important than my life.”