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The raids over alleged corruption in the STP resulted in a cash seizure of Rs 41 lakh along with incriminating documents and digital evidence, officials said.

The scam pertains to irregularities in the DJB, over augmentation and upgradation of 10 sewage treatment plants (STPs) namely Pappankala, Nilothi, Najafgarh, Keshopur, Coronation Pillar, Narela, Rohini and Kondli.

According to ED officials, the costs adopted by DJB for upgradation and augmentation were treated at par, though the cost of upgradation is usually lesser than the cost for augmentation.

The ED searches were carried out on the basis of FIR lodged against a private company M/s Euroteck Environmental Pvt Ltd for conspiring to secure tender at inflated rates.

According to the ED statement, the four tenders valued at Rs 1943 crore were given to various Joint Venture (JV) entities in October 2022. Three JVs participated in four STP tenders mutually to ensure that each one got the tender.

ED investigation found that four tenders related to STPs valued at Rs 1,943 crore were awarded by DJB to three JVs at inflated rates, causing substantive loss to the exchequer.

Moreover, the three JVs were found to have submitted the same experience certificate issued from a Taiwan Project to DJB for securing the tenders and the same was accepted without any verification. All three JVs then subcontracted the work to Hyderabad-based firm M/s Euroteck Environment Pvt Ltd.

Also, the tender documents showed that the initial cost of the four tenders which stood at Rs 1,546 crore was revised to Rs 1943 crore without following due process.

--IANS

Offering condolences to the bereaved family, CM Majhi said: “Naik was a very popular leader and efficient administrator. He was very popular among the common public. Naik both as an MLA and minister made significant contributions towards the development of Odisha in various sectors. His death is a major loss for the state.”

Speaker Surama Padhy, Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari, and Commerce and Transport Minister Bibhuti Bhushan Jena also expressed grief over the death of Naik.

“He (Naik) has done a lot of work by taking important decisions for the all-round development in Kakatpur area as well as Odisha,” said Speaker Surama Padhy in her message.

The Chief Minister, Speaker Surama Padhy and other senior leaders paid floral tributes to Naik on the premises of the Odisha Assembly on Friday.

Naik first won from the Kakatpur assembly constituency in Puri district in 1971 contesting the elections on a ticket from Utkal Congress, the party founded by Biju Patnaik in 1970. Later, he contested on the Janata party ticket and won again in the 1977 assembly polls.

The 87-year-old leader represented the Kakatpur constituency in the Odisha assembly thrice from 1985 till 2000 as a member of the Janata Party and Janata Dal. He was elected from the same assembly seat in 2000 and 2004 on Biju Janata Dal tickets.

The veteran leader held many important portfolios including Ministers of Excise, Revenue, Agriculture, School and Mass Education departments etc. during his several decade-long political career.  

Naik also held the Deputy Speaker post in the Odisha assembly from 1977 to 1980.

--IANS

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According to reports, the tech giant will soon begin commercial production through partnerships with Foxconn and Dixon Technologies' subsidiary Padget Electronics.

The company has already started trial production in Tamil Nadu with Foxconn, a major maker of Apple devices.

When contacted, Google India did not immediately comment.

As per reports, Google might make the formal announcement of this development in H2. The base variant of the Pixel phone would be made by Dixon Technologies, while Foxconn would manufacture Pro variants.

The commercial production will likely commence in September and the export might start once the production stabilises.

This move is in line with the government's production-linked incentive (PLI) programme, which aims to boost domestic manufacturing, the reports mentioned.

Meanwhile, Apple exported iPhones worth over Rs 16,500 crore in the first two months of the current financial year -- accounting for more than 80 per cent of the country's total production/assembly of iPhones.

Foxconn led total exports at about 65 per cent.

For FY 24, Apple saw a total iPhone production of around $14 billion.

The company has increased iPhone production and one out of seven iPhones in the world is now being manufactured in India, according to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

As per the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) data, mobile phone production surged from Rs 18,900 crore in 2014-15 to an estimated Rs 4.10 lakh crore in FY24, registering an increase of a massive 2,000 per cent, driven by the PLI scheme.

--IANS

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