bhubaneswar l sunday l april 05, 2026 l `12.00 l paGEs 24 l latE City EditiOn pharMa exporTs aT $28 Bn TiLL FeB, MaY see growTh in rupee TerMs India’s pharma exports stood at over $28 billion up to February in the last financial year, recording a growth of nearly 6%, a top official said forMulations, biologicals drive groWth Despite global challenges, pharmaceutical exports have been among the few sectors to maintain growth momentum, K Raja Bhanu, Director General of the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil), said. The 5.9% year-on-year export growth was led by formulations, biologicals, vaccines and AYUSH products, he added ■ 34% tariffs led to higher procureMent in u.s. ■ Rajesh Agrawal, Secretary in the Department of Commerce, noted that exports would show growth in rupee terms as the Indian currency continues to weaken against the US dollar Tariff-related issues in 2025 led to higher medicine procurement worth $1.6 bn in the US, Pharmexcil Chairman Namit Joshi said oF india’s pharMaceuTicaL exporTs are direcTed Towards The u.s. 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 Amid search for US airman, Don issues Iran 48-hr ultimatum Both Iran and US hunt for the missing F-15E crew; 1 more jet, 2 choppers hit An apartment building struck by an Iranian missile in Petah Tikva, Israel on Saturday | ap day WITH THIS ISSUE All in Good Time PLUS 12 P AGeS Mistry petition Venu srinivasan quits Hirabai tata trust B e n n K o c h u v e e d a n @ Mumbai Power struggle within the Tata Trusts appears to have intensified with its seniormost vice-chairman Venu Srinivasan resigning from the Hirabai Tata Trust. His resignation came hours after former trustee Mehli Mistry moved the Charity Commissioner, seeking the ouster of Srinivasan and another vice-chairman, Vijay Singh, from the Bai Hirabai Tata Navsari Charitable Institution on the grounds that they are non-Parsis. while Mistry’s petition pertains to this relatively l e s s e rk n o w n trust, its implications could extend to over a dozen entities within the Tata Trusts ecosystem. In his petition, Mistry also challenged his own ouster from the trusts last october, arguing that the votes cast by Srinivasan and Singh — who he claims were ineligible — should be deemed invalid. Mistry had earlier challenged his removal before the Charity Commissioner in November but withdrew the plea within a week and resigned, stating he no longer had any interest in the trusts. Srinivasan, chair man emeritus of TVS Motor, reportedly quit the trust on Saturday, citing “preoccupation with other business commitments.” QuadruplE amputEE arCHEr payal On tOp Of wOrld Payal Nag has added another feather to the cap of India’s fabled paraarchers. Payal, from Bolangir district, defeated her para-archery idol Sheetal Devi and won gold in the women’s compound final 139-136 | P11 36 a g e n c i e s @ Washington/Dubai US President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened that hell would “reign down” on Iran if it didn’t open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours. “remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKe A DeAL or oPeN UP THe HorMUZ STrAIT,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “Time is running out—48 hours before all Hell will reign (sic) down on them,” the president said, referring to an ultimatum issued on March 26. Trump’s latest threat came as the US continued its search for a missing crew member of a US F15e fighter jet downed by Iran. It was the first a US aircraft is shot down by enemy fire in over 20 years. reports said armed Iranians have joined the hunt after the state media announced a “precious prize” for those finding the US airman. If Iran manages to capture the crew member, it would give Tehran more leverage in potential peace talks with the US. Confirming that Iran shot down the US warplane, Trump said it won’t affect peace talks. “No, not at all. No, it’s war. we’re in war,” he said. Another US aircraft and two helicopters were hit by Iran while conducting a search for the downed F-15e’s airman. A-10 warthog—a type of air- us-israeli strikes hit 30 universities US-Israeli strikes have hit more than 30 universities across Iran since the war broke out in late February, Iran’s science minister said on Saturday. “To date, more than 30 universities have been directly targeted,” Hossein Simai Sarraf told reporters during a visit to the Shahid Beheshti University in northern Tehran, which was struck on Friday 1 Several loud explosions were heard over Jerusalem on Saturday after Israeli military warned of missiles inbound 2 Iran’s atomic agency says an airstrike has hit near its Bushehr nuclear facility, killing a guard and damaging a building 3 Two buildings in Dubai were hit by debris, including one housing the US cloud computing firm Oracle craft designed for providing close air support—was downed near the Strait of Hormuz on Friday. Reuters reported that the aircraft crashed in Kuwait. As per reports, the pilot ejected and is safe. Two Black Hawk helicopters were also hit. The choppers managed to exit Iranian airspace after being hit. These incidents come days after Trump declared that Iran has no functional air defences left after intense US-Israel attacks. Mohammad Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, mocked the Trump administration, saying the “war they started has now been downg raded from re gime change to Hey! Can anyone find our pilots?” As of Friday 365 US service , members have been wounded in action, data released by the Pentagon shows. These include 247 Army soldiers, 63 Navy sailors and 19 Marines. Meanwhile, Pakistan rejected reports that its initiative to facilitate talks between the US and Iran to end the ongoing conflict had hit obstacles after the initial exchange of peace P9 proposals. sebCs to get 11.25% quota in heIs; Cabinet clears enhanced rice support e x p r e s s n e w s s e r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar IN a significant push towards social justice, the odisha Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Saturday approved 11.25 per cent reservation for Socially and educationally Backward Classes (SeBC) in admissions to medical, engineering and other higher educational institutions across the state. The revised policy also enhanced the reservation for Scheduled Tribes (ST) to 22.50 pc and Scheduled Castes (SC) to 16.25 pc, bringing the total reservation framework closer to population proportions. The new provisions will apply to universities, affiliated colleges and a wide range of professional courses including medicine, engineering, management, pharmacy and allied sciences. Highlighting the reform, the chief minister said the move corrects longstanding disparities, noting that STs and SCs had historically received lower quotas despite their higher population share, while SeBC students had no reservation in technical and professional courses. with the new policy ST medical seats , will increase from 290 to 545, SC seats from 193 to 393, and 272 seats will now be earmarked for SeBC students. Similar increases have been approved for engineering courses, significantly expanding access for disadvantaged communities. The cabinet approved distribution of additional fortified rice to beneficiaries covered under the NFSA and SFSS. The initiative ensures an extra five kg of rice per family per month, free of cost, during festive and lean seasons. The government has implemented the programme in phases, covering all districts and prioritising vulnerable regions, including tribal sub-plan areas. In total, lakhs of families across odisha have benefitted, with the state bearing the entire financial burden from its own budget. officials said the move is aimed at strengthening food security and reducing distress among economically-weaker sections. The cabinet also cleared a “Comprehensive Flood Management Scheme” with an outlay of `2,781 crore to be implemented over five years from 2025-26 to 2029-30. Given odisha’s vulnerability to floods, cyclones and storm surges, the scheme proposes a mix of structural and non-structural interventions. These include strengthening embankments, restoring drainage systems, coastal protection works, improved flood forecasting and community preparedness measures. entry of WoMen 9-judge bench to hear sabari review on tues s u c h i T r a K a LYa n M o h a n T Y @ New Delhi A nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court will start hearing a batch of petitions seeking review of its Sabarimala case verdict on discrimination against women, from April 7 (Tuesday), two days before Kerala goes to polls. The review pleas challenge the 2018 verdict, which held that the traditional ban on women aged 10–50 years to enter the Sabarimala was unconstitutional. The new bench comprises Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices B V Nagarathna, M M Sundresh, Ahsanuddin Amanullah, Aravind Kumar, Augustine George Masih, Prasanna B Varale, r Mahadevan and Joymalya Bagchi. The court in its last hearing on February 16 had indicated the timeline for the hearing. “The nine judge bench shall begin hearing the review case on April 7, 2026 at 10.30 am. The review petitioners shall be heard from April 7 to 9, 2026. The parties opposing the review will be heard from April 16-17, 2026. rejoinder submissions will be heard on April 21,” a threejudge bench headed by the CJI had said on February 16.