tirupati l wednesday l april 29, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l anantapur EDITION Terror epicentres not immune to ‘justifiable punishment’: Rajnath Targeting Pakistan, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said Operation Sindoor demonstrated statebacked ‘terror epicentres’ are no longer safe havens ‘End double standards in terror fight’ Need consistency, not selective response Speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Kyrgyz capital Bishkek in the presence of Pak Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Singh called on the influential regional grouping to not lose sight of “state-sponsored” cross-border terrorism, stressing that there is no place for any “double standards” or ambiguity in combating the global menace ■ ■ Without naming Pakistan, Singh said “terrorism has no nationality and no theology”, adding that the credibility of regional groupings such as the SCO would depend on consistency, not selective responses He urged the SCO not to hesitate in seeking appropriate action against those who “abet, shelter and provide safe havens” to terrorists | P7 2001 When the grouping was founded. India and Pakistan became members in 2007 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 Aviation industry SOS Decisive poll phase in West Bengal today as jet fuel prices zoom Operations unsustainable, warn Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet UAE exits oil cartel, Don cold to Iran proposal A r s h a d K h a n @ New Delhi a G E N CI E S @ Dubai/Washington Alarmed by the steep rise in aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices, IndiGo, Air India and SpiceJet have warned of shutting down operations unless the government intervenes to save the aviation sector, which is already bleeding due to the frequent airspace closures amid the war in West Asia. The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), which represents the three airlines, have written to the civil aviation ministry seeking its urgent intervention to set the same fuel pricing mechanism unifor mly across both domestic and interday national operations. The letter pointed out that this was done in 2022 through the establishment of the ‘crack band’ mechCrack anism (pricing framework band linked to fair refining margins, FIA has called or ‘crack spread’, between for a pricing crude oil and ATF). This was framework set at $12–22/barrel in 2022. based on the As global jet ATF prices more ‘crack band than doubled to $180-190/barrel mechanism’ since the war broke out in West ($12–22/bbl), Asia on February 28, the Indian which was government last month limited implemented in the hike to `15 per litre for doOctober 2022, mestic operations. However, for claiming this international operations, the leaves room for price rose by `73 per litre. a reasonable ATF prices account for and fair margin around 40% of an airline’s for oil marketing overall operating cost. Followcompanies ing the April hike, this percentage band increased to 55-60%. The letter said the ‘irrational increase’ in ATF prices will result in ‘insurmountable losses’ for airlines, grounding of aircraft and cancellation of flights. “In order to survive, sustain and continue operation, we request your urgent intervention for immediate and meaningful financial support to tide over the current situation,” said the letter dated April 26. The airlines are also seeking a temporary suspension of excise duty (currently set at 11%) on ATF and VAT rates in key states. THE United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday announced its exit from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the wider OPEC+ alliance. A longtime member of OPEC, the UAE’s membership ends on May 1 and will not be renewed. The announcement came on a day when oil prices climbed again as the prospects of reopening the Strait of Hormuz appeared dim with the Trump administration not showing interest in Iran’s latest offer to reopen Hormuz after the US blockade is lifted. The UAE said the decision follows careful consideration of its national interest and its stature in the global energy market. OPEC and “This reflects the UAE’s longterm strategic and economic OPEC+ vision and evolving energy OPEC was profile... and reinforces its comformed in 1960 mitment to a responsible, reliby Iran, Iraq, able role in global energy marKuwait, Saudi kets,” it stated. Arabia, and The move comes amid the Venezuela to Emirates’ frosty relations with break the cartel neighbour and OPEC heavyled by Western oil firms. OPEC+ weight Saudi Arabia. UAE has been trying to leverage its own is a broader alliance formed foreign policy amid pushback from Saudi Arabia under an asin 2016 to sertive Crown Prince Mohaminclude nonmembers to set med bin Salman. The UAE is one of the world’s oil production top oil producers and its exit policies from Vienna-based OPEC could weaken the oil cartel which controls global oil prices through production cuts. However, the withdrawal won’t necessarily have any immediate effects in markets as oil supplies are already constrained by the Iran war. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump on Tuesday claimed that Tehran “has just” informed Washington that it is in a “state of collapse”. “They (Iran) want us to “Open the Hormuz Strait,” as soon as possible, as they try to figure out their leadership situation,” Trump posted on social media. 60 Singham vs Pushpa side show Amid fears of widespread violence, a side show played out with the EC’s police observer Ajay Pal Sharma warning potential troublemakers of “appropriate treatment”. The TMC called out the Prayagraj ACP, who earned the moniker Singham for his crackdown on criminals, for voter ‘intimidation’. TMC’s Jahangir Khan retorted, “If he is Singham, I am Pushpa,” alluding to the award-winning Telugu action film by the same name where the protagonist’s most popular dialogue is “Pushpa will not bow, damn it.” S U BH E N D U MAITI @ Kolkata After weeks of rhetoric, roadshows, and a political temperature that rose in tandem with the summer heat, it’s time for the real thing. As West Bengal goes to polls for the second and final phase on Wednesday , appellate tribunals upheld the appeals of just 1,468 of the over 20 lakh voters who were removed from the supplementary list following the controversial special intensive revision of poll rolls. The final phase, covering 142 assembly constituencies, is widely seen as the decisive one. It is here, in the traditional stronghold of the Trinamool Congress in south Bengal, that the party’s decade-long dominance faces its sternest test. At the centre of attention is Bhabanipur, where the contest has Polling officials check election crystallised into the materials for voting in the most closely watched second phase in Kolkata | PTI face-off of the phase: Mamata Banerjee versus Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari— once an insider in her political circle, now her most prominent challenger. Their battle is as much personal as it is political, emblematic of the broader struggle playing out across the state. Around them, an array of senior leaders and emerging figures are in the fray—ministers such as Firhad Hakim, Arup Biswas, Sobhandeb Chatterjee, Chandrima Bhattacharya and Sashi Panja; BJP’s Swapan Dasgupta; Left leaders including Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya; and younger candidates like Meenakshi Mukherjee and Dipsita Dhar. E x p r e s s Re a d 20 medical students caught for malpractices Vijayawada: Strict surveillance at NTR University of Health Sciences has exposed widespread malpractices during ongoing annual medical examinations. The university’s newly set up Integrated Command Control system, equipped with advanced cameras, has caught 20 students attempting to cheat using slips of paper, mobile phones, and smart watches. Officials revealed that 14 male and six female students were apprehended across MBBS, PG, Dental and Ayush streams | P4 No bulk supply of diesel for Amaravati works Vijayawada: The Union Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas has advised the AP government to withdraw communications directing Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) to supply diesel in bulk at retail price for Amaravati capital city project works. Petroleum Secretary Neeraj Mittal wrote to Chief Secretary G Sai Prasad, citing the Petroleum Rules, 2002 and guidelines of the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO). South Coast Railway Zone to be notified on June 1 E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Visakhapatnam The Union Government will officially notify the South Coast Railway Zone (SCoR), headquartered in Visakhapatnam, on June 1, 2026, Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw announced on Tuesday . The announcement was made during the groundbreaking ceremony of Google Cloud India AI Hub held at Tarluvada. South Coast Railway Zone will be the 18th railway zone in the country, and is expected to strengthen railway administration, improve operational effi- ciency and enhance infrastruc, ture development across Andhra Pradesh. The Union Minister detailed a series of infrastructure and railway development initiatives for Andhra Pradesh, stating that the railway budget allocation for the State currently stands at `10,134 crore, compared to `886 crore earlier for the erstwhile undivided Andhra Pradesh. Railway projects worth `1.06 lakh crore are presently under execution in the State. In all, 74 railway stations in Andhra Pradesh are being modernised under the ‘Nava Nirman’ Hyderabad to Amaravati in just 70 minutes! Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw outlined the proposed highspeed rail connectivity projects, including a bullet train corridor between Amaravati and Hyderabad, which is expected to reduce travel time to 70 minutes, and another proposed rail line between Amaravati and Chennai with a travel time of 112 minutes Reliance to set up 1.5 GW data centre in Vizag CM: Google set to be growth engine for Indian economy U s h a Pe r i @ Visakhapatnam Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday said Google, which began as a search engine, is set to emerge as a growth engine for the Indian economy with the establishment of its data centre in Visakhapatnam. He described April 28, 2026 as a significant milestone in the country’s digital technology journey marking the foun, dation of the $15 billion Google data centre project. The Chief Minister laid the foundation stone for the largescale Google Cloud India Artificial Intelligence (AI) Hub at Tarluvada in Visakhapatnam, in the presence of Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Google Cloud Vice-President Bikash Koley Bharti Enterprises , Vice-Chairman Rakesh Bharti Mittal, US Consul General in Hyderabad Laura Williams, and Adani Group representatives Karan Adani and Jeet Adani, among others. The project, being executed in partnership with AdaniConneX and Nxtra by Airtel, forms part of Google’s proposed $15 billion (approximately `1.35 lakh crore) investment in India between 2026 and 2030. The AI hub will span 601.4 acre across three strategic locations, including Rambilli in Anakapalli, and Adavivaram and Tarluvada in Visakhapatnam district. Of the total extent, 266.6 acres are located in Tarluvada, 174.8 acres in Rambilli, and 160 acres in Adavivaram. The project is expected to generate around 3,000 direct technical jobs upon completion. Addressing the gathering, Naidu said the project is expected to be completed by September 2028 and would serve as a catalyst for economic growth in the State, similar to the role played by Cyberabad P4 in the past. S V i s w a n at h @ Vijayawada Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu in conversation with Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw during the foundation-stone laying ceremony of Google Cloud India AI Hub, in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday | express South panchayats outperform North on multiple parameters: Govt data J i t en d r a C h o u b e y @ New Delhi A new study has revealed that the South outperformed northern states in rural local governance across various parameters, including health, education, poverty alleviation, water and sanitation, and developments focused on women and children. West Bengal did not participate in the study . Most of the panchayats in the ‘Achiever’ category are from states like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Odisha. In the Northeast, Tripura leads the charts. On the flip side, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan are at the lower end of the ranking table. The report, titled the Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI) 2.0 for 2023–24, documents rural and social development based on 112 indicators aimed initiative, alongside the construction of 832 flyovers and underpasses and the laying of 1,039 km of new railway lines, he highlighted. Andhra Pradesh, he said, has also achieved 100% railway electrification, with 16 Vande Bharat services and 22 Amrit Bharat services currently operating in the State. The government plans to upgrade the East Coast Railway double-line corridor from Kolkata to Chennai into a four-line system and expand connectivity with the addition of around 500 passenger, container, and freight train services, he said. at strengthening grassroots governance. Released by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, the report covers a total of 3,313 panchayats that fall under the ‘ chiever’ category for poverty A reduction and livelihood gen- Record participation in the evaluation PAI 2.0 saw record nationwide participation, from 27 states and 6 on 8 UTs. Works out to 97.30%, compared to 80.79% of the 2.67 lakh panchayats in PAI 1.0. All panchayats were told to display their scorecards outside their offices for transparency and accountability eration. Additionally 1,015 pan, chayats are recognised for exemplary achievements in promoting healthy living. The report offers a detailed analysis of more than 250,000 panchayats across the country . Each one is assessed based on over 150 parameters. However, the previous report, PAI (1.0) for 2022-23, was based on a much larger set of 516 parameters, making a direct comparison difficult. “We considered 112 parameters. While data for seven parameters was questioned, and the rest overlapped with other indicators,” said Sushil Kumar Lohani, Additional Secretary at the ministry. This report is claimed to be the first nationwide framework for measuring rural development progress using verifiable indicators. It has also been presented to the UN as part of efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goals. Coinciding with the groundbreaking ceremony for the $15 billion Google Cloud India AI Hub, the news regarding the reported decision of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) to invest `1.6 lakh crore to set up a 1.5 GW AI-focused data centre cluster in Visakhapatnam broke out on Tuesday . According to sources, the proposal of RIL was already cleared by the State Investment Promotion Board. Reports indicate that RIL is planning to build a 1.5 GW capacity cluster spread over 935 acres, located near the upcoming Bhogapuram International Airport. About 300 acres will be utilised for the first phase of the project and 635 acres for the second phase. Phase 1 (500 MW) of the project is scheduled to go live by October 2028, and it is expected to be completed fully by 2030. The cluster will be supported by a dedicated captive solar and battery storage system. Google was among the first to announce a major investment of $15 billion in Visakhapatnam for a 1 GW facility. With RIL proposing to set up a 1.5 GW data centre in the Port City , it will be the largest in India.