$67mn, $111mn chennai l wednesday l march 25, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 22 l late city EDITION RR was picked for $67mn while RCB was signed for $111mn before 1st ipl SIGNED and SEALED: IPL teams RR and RCB sold for huge amounts After months of negotiations, defending champions and inaugural winners will have new owners post IPL. Deal subject to BCCI approval RR for `15,200 cr, RCB for `16,700 cr If both deals are cleared, the owners are expected to take charge post the IPL. While RR was bagged for $1.63 bn, RCB was purchased for just over $1.78 bn. While the former was picked by a consortium fronted by US-based entrepreneur, Kal Somani, the latter was fronted by a consortium led by Aditya Birla Group 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 E x p r e s s Re a d Free fridge, oil, dal part of AIADMK’s poll vows Chennai: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Tuesday released the party’s election manifesto, featuring 297 poll promises, including a free refrigerator, one kg of dal and one litre of cooking oil for all rice category ration cardholders if his party is voted to power | P4 DMK closes seat deal: DMDK gets 10, VCK 8 Chennai: The protracted seat negotiations within the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance came to an end on Tuesday with 10 seats allotted to new ally DMDK, eight going to long-time friend VCK, and Kamal Haasan’s MNM, peeved over paltry seat share, deciding not to contest elections | P4 Assembly elections dmk allots one seat to vck in pondy I P4 ideology more important than seats: CPM secy I P5 Harish departs days after SC Nod to euthanasia Harish Rana, the first person in India to be allowed passive euthanasia, passed away on Tuesday at AIIMS-Delhi PM: LEAST POSSIBLE IMPACT ON India TrUMP likes Pak’s mediation offer The PM underlined efforts to reduce dependence on a single source of energy. “The crisis has shaken the global economy. Continuous efforts are being made to ensure that India suffers the least possible impact” US President Donald Trump on Tuesday endorsed Pakistan’s offer to be the host to facilitate talks to end the West Asia conflict by re-sharing Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif’s post on the Truth Social platform Don dials Modi on de-escalation Both leaders discuss the importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz secure and accessible to all j aya n t h j a c o b @ New Delhi US President Donald Trump on Tuesday spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, focusing on the urgent need to deescalate tensions in West Asia and keeping the critical global shipping route of the Strait of Hormuz open, safe and accessible for the whole world. “Received a call from President Trump and had a useful exchange of views on the situation in West Asia. India supports de-escalation and restoration of peace at the earliest. Ensuring that the Strait of Hormuz remains open, secure and accessible is essential for the whole world. We agreed to stay in touch regarding efforts towards peace and stability,” Modi wrote on X. US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, too, highlighted the maritime safety asday pect, saying “President Donald Trump j u s t s p o ke w i t h Prime Minister Modi. They discussed the ongoing situation in the Middle East, including the importance of keeping the Strait open.” The phone conversation is the first between Modi and Trump since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28. 25 Serious consequences if war continues, says PM Amid a deepening global energy crisis, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday addressed the Rajya Sabha and said prolonged instability could lead to unavoidable and serious consequences. “If the global circumstances created by this war persist for a long time, serious consequences are inevitable. Therefore, India is accelerating the resilience-building measures it has undertaken in recent years,” he said. “During the great crisis of the pandemic, the Centre and the states together presented an excellent model of COVID management. We must continue to work in the same spirit”, he asserted Washington has signalled cautious diplomatic engagement with Tehran. It has emerged that the US has engaged Pakistan, Egypt and Turkiye in backchannel for looking at solutions for ending the war with Iran. India has also engaged with regional leaders. Over the weekend, Modi spoke with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian. On Tuesday shortly after his , call with Trump, Modi spoke to Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake about the energy crisis due to the war. Rupee slumps 23 paise The rupee Tuesday dropped 23 paise to close at 93.76 against the dollar as a stronger greenback, high global crude prices, and FPI outflows weighed on the local currency Pvt sector growth slips to 3.5-year low as war hits demand E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Mumbai PRIVATE sector business activities, as measured by HSBC Flash India PMI Composite Output, fell to a three-and-a-half-year low in March amid a drastic drop in demand and a spike in costs due to the ongoing West Asia conflict. The index slipped to 56.5 in March, marking the weakest growth since October 2022. The composite PMI was 58.9 in February . HSBC attributed the poor show to the West Asia conflict, weaker domestic demand, market instability, and inflationary pressures. “Output growth eased across both manufacturing and services as the energy shock unfolds. Softer domestic demand weighed on new orders, which rose at the slowest pace in more than three years, despite a record surge in new export orders. Cost pressures intensified, but companies are absorbing part of the increase by squeezing margins,” said Pranjul Bhandari, chief economist at HSBC India. The slowdown was more pronounced in the manufacturing sector, where output growth eased amid global uncertainties. Factory output expanded at its slowest pace since August 2021. The manufacturing PMI dropped to 53.8 in March from 56.9 in February, a four-and-a-half-year low, while the manufacturing output index fell to 55.1. Services activity also moderated, with the business activity index easing to 57.2 from 58.1, marking the weakest growth since January 2025. Scheduled Caste status ends with conversion: SC U D AYAN K I S HO R E @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Tuesday held that only those belonging to the Hindu, Sikh, or Buddhist faiths can be considered members of a Scheduled Caste, and conversion to any other faith will result in losing the SC status. “No person who professes a religion other than Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist shall be a member of Scheduled Caste. Conversion to any other religion results in immediate and complete loss of the Scheduled Caste status,” the court said, while upholding an order of the Andhra Pradesh High Court. A bench of justices P K Mishra and Manmohan passed the order on an appeal filed by Pastor Chinthada Anand, who alleged that he faced caste discrimination from one Akkala Ramireddy and others. Anand filed a complaint against Ramireddy under the SC/ST Act and the police lodged an FIR. Ramireddy then approached the Andhra Pradesh HC, which quashed the FIR on the ground that Anand had lost his SC status upon conversion to Christianity and, therefore, cannot claim protection under the SC/ST Act. The Supreme Court upheld the HC order.