hyderabad l tuesday l February 24, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION President Droupadi Murmu pays tributes to C Rajagopalachari at Rashtrapati Bhavan. His bust replaced British architect Edwin Lutyens’ statue there | PIB 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 1st counter-terror IAF grounds its entire Tejas fleet policy to cut funds, arms, safe havens Launches technical review to find out how an Mk1 overshot the Guj runway during takeoff J A V A RI A R A N A @ New Delhi M U K ES H R A N J A N @ New Delhi The government on Monday announced the country’s first counter-terror policy, ‘Prahaar’, which addresses evolving threats through prevention, coordinated response and capacity building while adhering to the rule of law. The document released by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) noted that instability in India’s immediate neighbourhood has often created ungoverned spaces, adding that a “few countries in the region have sometimes used terrorism as an instrument of state policy”. However, the MHA said India does not associate terrorism with any religion. “India does not link terrorism to any specific religion, ethnicity nationality or civilisation,” , it said while emphasising that the country has always denounced terrorism “unambiguously and unequivocally” and that its policy is guided by a principled approach of ‘zero tolerance’ against terror. The strategy flows from India’s commitment to stand by the victims of terrorism. It is predicated on prevention of terror attacks, swift and proportionate responses, aggregation of internal capacities through a whole-of-government approach, ensuring human rights and rule-of-law-based processes, attenuating conditions that enable terrorism, aligning and shaping global efforts to counter terror, and strengthening recovery and resilience through a whole-ofsociety approach. The policy envisages enhanced cooperation among agencies, periodic legal reforms and further capacity building of state counter-terror units so as to deny terrorists access to funds, weapons and safe havens, while investing in technology and partnerships to counter future threats. Framework on global terrorism India will keep working on a comprehensive framework on international terrorism while pursuing ‘Prahaar’, which aims to criminalise all terrorist acts and deny access to funds, weapons and safe havens to the terrorists, their financiers and supporters THE Indian Air Force (IAF) has grounded its entire Tejas fleet as a precautionary measure following a runway incident earlier this month, even as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on Monday described the episode as a “minor technical incident”. According to defence sources, the IAF has initiated a comprehensive technical review across critical systems to determine the cause of the incident. There has been no official statement from the IAF so far on either the incident or the temporary grounding. It also remains unclear whether the airframe of the jet Mk1, Mk1-A deliveries behind schedule that skidded off the runway will be written off. It is reliably learnt that the grounding comes after an incident in early February at Naliya Air Base in Gujarat, where a Tejas Mk1 overshot the runway during take off. Sources said the jet slid into a nearby mud patch softened by prior rainfall while still in the acceleration phase of take-off. The pilot sustained injuries but is reported to be safe. HAL sought to downplay it, stating that there had been no HAL is yet to complete delivery of the IAF’s Tejas Mk-1 order. Of the 40 aircraft contracted, only 38 have been delivered so far. The delays extend to the larger Tejas Mk-1A programme as well, where deliveries of 180 aircraft are running over two years behind schedule incident involving the LCA Tejas beyond a “minor technical issue” on the ground. It further added that Tejas Mk1 continues to maintain one of the world’s best safety records among contemporary New policy Today’s Match 7pm: England vs Pakistan (Pallekele) Cabinet okays Metro takeover by March 31 Don warns of more tariffs for those ‘playing games’ The green flag ex p r ess n e ws s e rv i c e @ Hyderabad There is a need to associate legal experts at every stage of investigation, right from the registration of the first information report to its culmination in prosecution fighter aircraft. However, if the crash is confirmed, this would mark the third loss involving the Tejas Mk1. The first loss of a seriesproduction jet occurred in March 2024, when a fighter crashed near Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, shortly after participating in the tri-services exercise Bharat Shakti. The second incident took place in November last year at the Dubai Airshow, where Wing Commander Namansh Syal was killed while in an aerobatic display . Tejas is a single-engine fighter jet that is designed to undertake operations in high-threat air environments. Its capabilities include air defence and maritime reconnaissance. The state Cabinet on Monday approved a proposal to take over the existing 69-km Hyderabad Metro Rail Phase-I from Larsen & Toubro (L&T), with a decision to initiate steps to complete the acquisition by March 31. The Cabinet also approved the grant of a renewable energy distribution licence under the Clean and Green Energy Policy for data centres with capacity up to 300 MW and two new schemes for state employees — the Government Employees Accident Insurance Scheme  Land allotment for engineering colleges at JNTU Mahbubabad (70 acres) and Satavahana University (36 acres)  Allotment of 153 acres at Kapra to Defence Ministry in lieu of 42 acres acquired for Hyderabad elevated corridors  Conversion of TVVP into the Directorate of Secondary Health Care and the Cashless Employees Health Scheme. At a meeting chaired by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy at the Secretariat on Mon- The Cabinet has decided to conduct the Budget session from March 16. The session will begin with the Governor’s address to the Legislature. On March 20, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka will present the Budget for 2026-27 day the Cabinet also decided to , convene the Budget session from March 16 to March 30, with the Budget to be presented on March 20.  CONTINUED ON P4 p u s h p i ta d e y @ New Delhi JUST days after the US Supreme Court struck down the tariff regime imposed by his administration, US President Donald Trump threatened to levy significantly higher tariffs, or take tougher measures, against countries that try to “play games” with the ruling. In a social media post on Monday, Trump said, “Any country that wants to ‘play games’ with the ridiculous Supreme Court decision, especially those that have ‘Ripped Off ’ the USA for years, and even decades, will be met with a much higher tariff, and worse, than that which they just recently agreed to.” The remarks came after the European Parliament decided on Monday to postpone for a second time a vote on the European Union’s trade deal with the US. The delay follows Trump’s imposition of a new blanket 15% import tariff and discussions within the EU on slowing the ratification process of the proposed trade pact.