visakhapatnam l thursday l may 21, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION april core sector growth at 1.7% on back of cement, steel Production growth in eight core infrastructure sectors rose to a two-month high of 1.7% in April, driven by higher output of steel, cement next, all eyes on better iip growth ‘Gulf crisis impacted core sector growth’ Steel, cement and electricity production rose by 6.2 per cent, 9.4 per cent and 4.1 per cent, respectively, in April. Coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, and fertiliser output recorded negative growth during the month under review. Experts said April’s improved core sector growth is expected to increase the upcoming industrial production growth ■ ■ The cumulative growth rate of the 8 core sectors during AprilMarch, 2025-26 is 2.7 per cent versus same period of last year Rahul Agrawal, senior economist, ICRA, said as many as five of the eight sectors registered a contraction in output, suggesting that economic activity in some sectors was impacted by the Gulf crisis 40.2% is core sector’s share in index of industrial production 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 ‘AP Model of Education’ must be a national benchmark: Lokesh S V i s w a n at h @ Vijayawada Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, along with his wife Bhuvaneswari, relishes ice apples at a roadside vendor in Kuppam constituency on Sunday | Express Govt issues advisory as mercury touches 47.6°C E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada With the maximum temperature soaring to 47.6°C in the State, the government has issued a strong advisory urging citizens to remain vigilant against heat-related illnesses, particularly heat stroke. Health Minister Y Satya Kumar Yadav chaired a high-level review meeting at the Secretariat on Wednesday, directing medical staff at all levels — from Ayushman Health Centres to teaching hospitals — to be fully prepared to handle emergencies. Officials infor med him that between March 1 and May 19, 2026, the State recorded 325 suspected heat stroke cases, including 96 in May alone. District-wise data showed the highest incidence in Visakhap- 16 Punjab 45.80C atnam (24 cases), followed by Kakinada (17), Vizianagaram (13), Kadapa (11), and Chittoor and Eluru (5 each). No fatalities have been reported so far, which is a significant improvement compared to 1,692 cases recorded during the same period in 2025. The Health Department has advised citizens to avoid outdoor exposure between 11 am and 4 pm, when heat intensity peaks, and consume plenty of fluids. Vulnerable groups, including children, the elderly, pregnant women, and those with chronic illnesses, require special care. To strengthen preparedness, the State has stocked 1.44 crore ORS packets, with over 2.57 lakh packets distributed last week. Emergency services, including 108 ambulances, have been P4 placed on standby  . 48 Haryana 46.90C The great Indian frying pan 480C West Rajasthan 46.50C Banda,  East Uttar Pradesh East Madhya Pradesh 47.40C Odisha 460C 47.60C Piduguralla, Andhra Pradesh Vidarbha, Maharashtra 47.10C Banda district’s 48°C was the highest in India. It was 4.5°C above normal Minister for HRD and IT Nara Lokesh has asserted that his aim is to make the “Andhra Model of Education” a national benchmark with world-class teaching practices and student-centric reforms. Holding a review meeting with DEOs and APCs at the State Secretariat on Wednesday he said teach, ers are being sent abroad to study international methods, which will be implemented in AP schools. Lokesh laid emphasis on the bright future of children by en- suring 100% enrolment, and preventing child labour, while building a competitive and quality-driven public school system. “The government is taking concrete steps to transform public education by adopting international teaching standards and introducing technologydriven reforms,” he said. The HRD Minister said the public education system should be capable of competing with private institutions. “If quality is not improved, chil- India, Italy form special strategic partnership To enhance cooperation in defence, tech; trade target set at 20 billion euros by 2029 J AYA N TH J AC O B @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a meeting with his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni, in Rome, Italy on Wednesday | PTI The India-Italy Joint Strategic Action Plan 2025-29 provides a practical and futuristic framework for our partnership. Bilateral trade is rapidly moving towards the target of 20 billion euros Prime Minister Narendra Modi India’s size, digital infrastructure and innovation can complement Italy’s industrial strength, manufacturing excellence, and technological integration capacity Italian PM Giorgia Meloni Melody toffee gift goes viral Haryana sizzler Rohtak in Haryana sizzled at 46.9°C, which was 6.2°C above normal. Hisar was at 45.4°C Ahead of the high-level bilateral engagement, a video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifting a pack of home-grown toffee brand Melody to Italian PM Giorgia Meloni went viral. More so because Melodi is a moniker coined by social media following the two leaders’ friendly engagements during COP28 event in 2023. The moniker took off after Meloni posted a selfie with Modi with the caption, “Good friends at COP28. #Melodi.” The latest viral video amassed over 8 million views within hours on X. Capitalising on the moment, Parle Products shared the video on Instagram with the caption: “Sweetening relationships since 1983.” | P10 Meta says ‘success isn’t a given’, sacks 8,000 US wanted to instal Ahmadinejad as prez Washington: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg told staffers in a Wednesday memo about the company’s decision to lay off 8,000 employees, saying is necessary because “success isn’t a given”. Besides, about 7,000 employees will be moved into new AI-focused roles Washington: The United States and Israel were considering installing hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the president of Iran as part of the plans for regime change in the Persian Gulf nation in the early days of the war, according to a New York Times report | P9 india and Italy elevated their bilateral relationship to a ‘special strategic partnership’, deepening cooperation across trade, defence, technology con, nectivity and maritime security as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held extensive talks with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome. The announcement came during Modi’s visit to Italy on the final leg of his fivenation tour and reflects growing convergence between New Delhi and Rome amid shifting geopolitical alignments, supply-chain disruptions and intensifying competition over technology and critical resources. The two countries also unveiled an ambitious target of raising bilateral trade from 14.25 billion euros in 2025 to 20 billion euros by 2029. “We deliberated extensively on enhancing India-Italy ties,” Modi said in a joint press statement after the talks, and added that the India-Italy Joint Strategic Action Plan 2025-2029 Rupee kissing distance away from 97 B enn K o c h u v ee d a n @ Mumbai express read dren will be the ultimate sufferers. We all should work collectively to build a world-class public school education model,” he said. Lokesh revealed that when he took over as HRD Minister, the Education Department lacked even basic data regarding the number of schools and student enrolment in the State. He urged officials to treat students of government schools as their own children while taking decisions on improvement of P4 quality standards. BLEEDING for the ninth consecutive day the rupee depreci, ated 16 paise to close to a fresh lifetime low of 96.86 against the US dollar on Wednesday as elevated global crude prices amid the West Asia crisis stoked inflation worries. The currency is now the most undervalued globally in 12 years, and analysts are of the opinion that more weakening of the rupee will not boost exports as such gains will be offset by rising import costs. Last May the rupee had aver, aged at 85.50, marking a 11.9% year-on-year fall and close to 8% so far this year, making it the worst perfor ming Asian currency in for the third year in a row. Traders said the RBI is spending an estimated $1 billion a day on currency intervention. While dollar demand from importers is rising con- tinuously, there is hardly any dollar sale by exporters, leading to the mismatch. Meanwhile, the RBI has announced a $5-billion dollar-rupee buy-sell swap auction on May 26, to inject liquidity amid rising forex concerns. The rupee’s sharp decline has emerged as one of the biggest economic warning signs for policymakers, investors and businesses, the decline largely driven by capital outflow, expensive oil, widening trade deficits and a surging US dollar. Banks can block financed phones for default: RBI B E N N K O CH U V E E DA N @ Mumbai BANKS may be allowed to block phones and disable other electronic devices bought on loan, in case the borrower defaults, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in its second draft guidelines on loan recovery released , on Wednesday . However, RBI clarified that banks cannot restrict the mobile phones of defaulting borrowers to recover personal, car, or home loans. According to the proposed norms, banks can restrict devices bought on loan if the dues are pending for more than 90 days and recovery notices have been served on time. Also, such an action may be taken only if the loan contract “expressly and unambiguously permits” it, the draft proposal noted. Restricting the targeted phones or devices could be done by deploying any technologybased mechanism. However, the bank cannot restrict essential functionalities such as access to internet, incoming calls, New norms to kick in from October 1 The draft guidelines categorically state that banks may resort to disabling electronic devices only if the loan agreement has such a clause. RBI will accept public feedback till May 31 and proposes to implement the norms from October 1, 2026 emergency SOS features, and receipt of emergency government notifications. Also, the restrictions must be listed within one hour of the borrower curing the default. The draft proposal also specifies conduct rules for recovery personnel. The guidelines say recovery calls and visits will be allowed only between 8 am and 7 pm, and agents will be barred from using intimidation, abusive language, public humiliation, social media shaming, or excessive calling. Suvendu on infiltration West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari initiated the transfer of 27 km land to BSF for border fencing and announced a “detect, delete and deport” system targeting infiltrators | P8 would provide a “practical and futuristic roadmap” for cooperation across sectors. Modi was accorded a ceremonial military welcome on arrival, while Meloni hosted him for dinner and accompanied him on a visit to the Colosseum ahead of the formal talks. The two leaders have steadily built close political engagement in recent years, with Meloni saying she had met Modi seven times over the last few years and developed “a genuine friendship”. Several MoUs were signed covering agriculture, critical minerals, Ayurveda, science and technology maritime , transport and ports. A key agreement on facilitating the mobility of Indian nurses to Italy is expected to create new opportunities for skilled healthcare workers. Both sides welcomed the India-Italy Defence Industrial Roadmap aimed at promoting co-development and co-production in areas including helicopters, naval platforms, marine ar maments and electronic warfare. `176 cr outlay Centre clears coastal erosion mitigation proj U s h a Pe r i @ Visakhapatnam The Centre has approved a `176-crore coastal erosion mitigation project for vulnerable stretches along the Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region (VMR) under the National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF), paving the way for a series of structural and ecological interventions across erosionprone coastal areas. The project, titled “Enhancing the Coastal Resilience in Visakhapatnam”, was initiated by the Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority (VMRDA) to address increasing shoreline erosion affecting several coastal stretches within the metropolitan region. A preliminary DPR prepared with NCCR, Chennai, initially estimated the project cost at `203 crore. The SC-NEC approved the revised `176-crore proposal on February 19, 2026, followed by HLC approval on March 30, 2026. Under the approved funding pattern, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) will provide `158.40 crore, while the State government will contribute `17.60 crore, following a 90:10 cost-sharing ratio.  P4 social media firms told to block fake info on Neet-UG S L a l i t h a @ New Delhi Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday directed social media platforms to detect and block misinformation networks ahead of the NEET-UG re-exam. Investigations into the cancelled medical entrance exam on May 3 revealed that the question paper was sold by unscrupulous individuals using such platforms to lure candidates. For the second consecutive day Pradhan , chaired a high-level review meet in connection with the re-exam on June 21. On Wednesday, he interacted with Central security and intelligence agencies as well as representatives of major social media platforms — Meta, Google & Telegram, a release said. “Serious concerns were raised by officials during the meet over the g rowing spread of misinformation related to competitive exami n a t i o n s, p a r t i c u l a rl y through Telegram channels and anonymous online groups,” it said. Officials also noted that many such channels become highly active in the run-up to major examinations, circulating fake paper leak claims, clickbait content and unverified information that trigger panic, anxiety and confusion among students and parents. “Many such links redirect users to automated bots and fake g roups designed to amplify misinformation,” they added. The ministry said that intelligence inputs revealed that multiple suspicious channels were being operated through a limited set of phone numbers, indicating coordinated and organised activity Prad. han directed the social media platforms to work in close coordination with his ministry, NTA and law enforcement agencies to curb misinformation and protect exam integrity .