HYDERABAD l wednesday l may 27, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE CITY EDITION Pradhan discusses CBSE payment gateway overhaul with psu banks Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan held detailed discussions with senior officials of SBI, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank and Indian Bank Banks told to help set up robust system The meeting was held in the backdrop of concerns over the recent payment and technical issues faced by students during the CBSE post-result and re-evaluation processes. During the interaction, Pradhan asked the banks to assist the CBSE to establish a robust, reliable and student-friendly digital payment ecosystem, particularly for post-examination services ■ Experts Real-time monitoring to fix glitches fast ■ The banks were asked to work closely with CBSE to strengthen the payment gateway infrastructure through advanced technical safeguards, real-time monitoring, and faster grievance redressal Pradhan urged officials to accord the highest priority to this initiative to ensure that students do not face technical glitches in future From iit-Madras and IIT-Kanpur have begun testing CBSE portal for glitches 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 Siddu agrees to quit Siddaramaiah seeks Governor’s appointment at 2 pm on Thursday, calls CLP meeting the following day; no clarity yet on successor though Deputy CM Shivakumar is the front-runner US Secretary of State Marco Rubio with foreign minister S Jaishankar | ap Quad sharpens Indo-Pacific focus, unveils new initiatives J AYA N T H J AC O B @ New Delhi THE Quad grouping sharpened its strategic focus on the IndoPacific on Tuesday as the foreign ministers of India, the US, Japan and Australia unveiled a set of initiatives aimed at strengthening regional energy resilience, maritime security, critical mineral supply chains and port infrastructure. The Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, held amid rising geopolitical competition and growing concerns over economic and energy vulnerabilities, signalled a broader push to institutionalise cooperation in major sectors while ensuring the bloc doesn’t get the label of a security alliance. At the heart of the announcements was the launch of the Quad Initiative on Indo-Pacific Energy Security, a framework to deepen cooperation in energy technology policy coordina, tion, and emergency response. A joint statement said the initiative would seek to “recognize and leverage the unique resources and capabilities of each country’s energy sector”. External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar described the discussions as “substantive and productive,” stressing the strategic importance of maritime collaboration among the four democracies. “Because we are four maritime democracies located at different ends of the Indo-Pacific, the exchange of perspectives was an exercise of considerable value,” Jaishankar said after the meeting. The broad package of initiatives reflects the Quad’s evolving role into a platform for strategic economic coordination, resilience-building and infrastructure development across the Indo-Pacific. Critical minerals pact India and the US signed a framework agreement on critical minerals and rare earths to reduce dependence on China-dominated global supply chains. Separately, Quad partners India, US, Japan and Australia announced plans to mobilise up to $20 bn to strengthen critical mineral supply chains If not DKS: Who’s in race P r eeth a N a i r , B a l a Ch a uh a n , N a u s h a d B i j a p u r & De v a r a j B H i r eh a l l i @ New Delhi/Bengaluru Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah late on Tuesday night agreed to step down, confirmed sources privy to the marathon meetings held earlier in the day in New Delhi. Although Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar is the front-runner for the CM’s post, no decision has been taken either on who would succeed him or on when Siddaramaiah would tender his resignation as chief minister. But sources said Siddaramaiah has sought time to meet Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot at Lok Bhavan on May 28 at 2 pm, and called for the Congress Legislature Party the following day . AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal and AICC General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka, Randeep Singh Surjewala, are scheduled to arrive in Bengaluru on Wednesday . Sources informed this newspaper that senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi asked Siddaramaiah to step down to resolve the prolonged tussle between him and Shivakumar. They said the CM agreed after a late evening huddle with MLAs supporting him. Shivakumar had been insisting that the high command hand over the CM’s post to him, based “The Congress high command could go in for a complete makeover of the party in the state and appoint a young, dynamic leader with a clean image to lead the party in the 2028 Assembly elections,” sources said Byre Gowda: Chart topper Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah (C) and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar (L) with AICC general secretary K C Venugopal after a meeting with the high command in Delhi | Parveen Negi The name of Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda is at the top, besides Minister for Large & Medium Industries and Infrastructure Development MB Patil. Both have a clean image and are known for their good work on an agreement of sharing twoand-a-half years that he is said to have struck with Siddaramaiah after the party came to power in the 2023 Assembly polls. The half-way mark arrived in November last year, but Siddaramaiah refused to yield. Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar were summoned to Delhi on Monday where Rahul is said to , have told the CM that the party wanted the transition to take place smoothly. However, Siddaramaiah sought time to respond to the high command’s suggestion that he move to the Rajya Sabha to play a “larger role” at the national level, according to sources. After marathon meetings — from 11.35 am to 6 pm — a visibly Venugopal and Surjewala. Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar were consulted separately at the party headquarters. Following the discussions, Rahul and Venugopal are said to have briefed senior leader Sonia Gandhi on the meetings, before having a closed-door meeting with Siddaramaiah where he offered the latter a larger role at the national level, while asking him to step down as CM. For the record, Venugopal dismissed all talk on change in leadership as mere speculation. Asked if there was any discussion on leadership change, Siddaramaiah, too, said “No”. On a possible cabinet reshuffle, the CM said, “It did not come up for discussion.” upset Siddaramaiah huddled with his coterie of cabinet colleagues at Karnataka Energy Minister K J George’s New Delhi residence and conveyed the message of the high command to them. He agreed to step down after this meeting, sources said. No wonder, Shivakumar and his supporters looked upbeat. Siddaramaiah was carrying a letter of support by 100 party MLAs (Congress has 134 of 224 seats in the assembly) to convince the high command about his support. Sources said he will hold a meeting with all these MLAs at George’s Bengaluru residence on Wednesday . The day saw a series of meetings attended by Rahul, AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, Kanugolu likely to join Revanth’s team I r e d d y S r i n i v a s Re d d y @ Hyderabad With the Congress government nearing the halfway mark of its term and groupism continuing within the party Chief Minister A , Revanth Reddy is reportedly planning to induct political strategist Sunil Kanugolu into his core team to improve coordination among ministers, MLAs, MLCs, MPs and party leaders. According to sources in ministerial and party circles, Kanugolu may be appointed public affairs adviser to the chief minister or given another key role to act as a bridge between ministers and Congress leaders. Orders regarding his appointment are likely in the first week of June or after the Rajya Sabha elections for four vacant seats in Karnataka. The post was earlier held by Vem Narender Reddy who was recently , elected to the Rajya Sabha. Kanugolu is currently serving as an adviser to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Congress leaders said Kanugolu played a key role in the party’s victory in the 2023 Telangana Assem- press clusive bly elections through political strategy and social media outreach. He had also worked for the Congress in Karnataka. Despite implementing most flagship schemes, the Congress leadership reportedly feels the government has lagged in effectively publicising them. Party leaders are also of the view that the Congress social media network is weaker than those of the BRS and BJP . Sources said several leaders raised the issue with the chief minister and sought a revamp of the party’s communication and publicity machinery. Following this feedback, Revanth is said to have decided to induct Kanugolu into the core team. Congress leaders believe Kanugolu’s understanding of Telangana politics could help the party in the upcoming elections to the municipal corporations of Hyderabad, Cy- berabad, Malkajgiri, Warangal, Siddipet and Khammam, as well as the ZPTC and MPTC polls, which are seen as important ahead of the next Assembly elections. Kanugolu is also said to have experience in handling internal Congress affairs and maintains close contact with the AICC leadership in Delhi. Party leaders believe this could improve coordination between the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee and the All India Congress Committee. Sources said the proposal to induct Kanugolu into the Telangana government was discussed by Rahul Gandhi’s core team amid concerns that the party had failed to sustain political momentum despite taking several major decisions and resolving long-pending issues. A senior Congress leader said that Kanugolu joining the chief minister’s team would be beneficial to the party He said he expects . Kanugolu to help the party counter “the negative narrative being spread at the grassroots level by Opposition parties, as ministers, MLAs, MPs and other leaders were neglecting publicity in mainstream and social media”. high-level panel Unnatural demographic change under the lens M U K E S H RA N J A N @ New Delhi The government on Tuesday constituted a high-level committee to study how illegal infiltration and other factors lead to unnatural demographic changes across the country . Chaired by Justice (Retd) Prakash Prabhakar Nawlekar, the panel’s members include Census Commissioner Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, former IAS officer Durga Shankar Mishra, retired IPS officer Balaji Shrivastava and educationist Shamika Ravi. Union home minister Amit Shah said illegal infiltration and other reasons leading to unnatural demographic change are a very big challenge. The new panel is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement on August 15, 2025 to constitute a highpowered demography mission, he said. Describing the issue as one that goes beyond population data, Shah said demographic change has direct implications for sovereignty law and , order, social structure and the preservation of tribal communities. He said the initiative reflects a proactive effort to protect the country’s integrity and social fabric through “wellinformed and decisive action”. The committee has been tasked with submitting its report within a year. It will consult all stakeholders and propose comprehensive policy measures to address emerging concerns. Terms of reference Comprehensively deliberate upon the challenges arising from demographic changes, including illegal immigration Study possible causes, such as cross-border activities, economic opportunities, and other socioenvironmental factors Identify underlying factors like illegal immigration, abnormal settlement patterns and orchestrated migration Analyse structural population changes at the level of religious or social communities, particularly where they deviate from broader trends Recommend a streamlined and permanent operational mechanism for the legal, fair, and time-bound identification, detention, and deportation of illegal immigrants residing in the country Recommend appropriate institutional mechanisms to strengthen border management, population stabilisation, and identification systems for the continuous monitoring of such trends Police get 2-day custody of Bandi’s son in POCSO case E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad A court in Malkajgiri on Tuesday granted Pet Basheerabad police two days’ custody of Bandi Sai Bhageerath, son of Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar, in a POCSO case. Bhageerath was arrested on May 16 in connection with the case registered on May 8 following a complaint by the victim’s mother. He is currently lodged in Cherlapally prison as an undertrial. Police said statements of the accused, the girl, her mother and friends were recorded, and evidence was collected during the investigation. Officials said Bhageerath would be questioned further during custody based on the statements and evidence gathered. Bhageerath allegedly attempted to sexually assault the minor several times over the past year, the complaint says. Police registered a case under Sections 64(2), 74 and 75 of the BNS and Section 5(1) read with 6 of the POCSO Act. Shamirpet tahsildar held with `2L bribe E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad ACB sleuths caught Shamirpet tahsildar T Sucharitha while allegedly accepting a `2 lakh bribe on Tuesday afternoon. According to ACB officials, Sucharitha, who also serves as executive magistrate and joint sub-registrar of Shamirpet mandal in Medchal-Malkajgiri district, was trapped by the ACB Rangareddy range officials around 2 pm after she allegedly demanded `30 lakh from a complainant for processing and approving applications related to NALA conversion of 30 acres of agricultural land. Officials said Sucharitha had been working as Shamirpet tahsildar for the past one-and-a-half years and had earlier served in Quthbullapur for two years.  continued on P5 Shamirpet tahsildar T Sucharitha who was caught by the ACB on charges of accepting a bribe of `2 lakh on Tuesday