Double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker pays tribute to her coach Jaspal Rana at his residence in Dehradun. Rana breathed his last in Delhi on Friday | PTI HYDERABAD l saturday l june 13, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE CITY EDITION Indian shooting’s father figure Jaspal Rana passes away One of the shooters responsible for putting India on the global map in the sport, died following cardiac complications after a heart attack champ shooter, coach: man of many hats From Uttarakhand, he burst into the limelight as a teen at the Asian Games in 1994. His rich medal hauls inspired his peers to achieve similar feats. Then, he donned the role of coach-cum-mentor to ready India’s next generation of shooters. Manu Bhaker, who won two Olympic medals in 2024, was a protege of Rana’s. He also oversaw India’s junior programme ■ 13 he helped shape Indian shooting: Bindra ■ Abhinav Bindra, who was a former teammate of Rana’s, said he was part of a generation that helped shape Indian shooting. He was gifted, and carried the pride of the country A teenager (Rana after his 1994 Asiad gold) had shown the whole country that an Indian could rule this sport: Gagan Narang | P11 he won 13 gold across asian (4) and Commonwealth games (9) 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 2.2 lakh Startups creating employment and innovation opportunities for the youth Giving Wings to Aspirations of Youth Proj Kusha an armour like Govardhan Hill: Rajnath E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad Stating it had already demonstrated its capabilities during Operation Sindoor, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday described the indigenous Project Kusha air defence system as a potential game changer for India’s security architecture. Addressing the inaugural ceremony of the Advanced Weapon System Complex at the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) here, Singh said, “I believe Project Kusha will be a game changer for India’s security It . can be compared to the Govardhan Hill from Hindu mythology .” “Just as the Govardhan Hill protected the people of Braj during the Dvapara Yuga, our air defence system provided a protective shield during Operation Sindoor,” he said, adding that no further proof of its ef- Retail inflation at 16-month high, touches 3.93% in May PUSHPITA D E Y @ New Delhi rETAIL inflation rose to a 16-month high of 3.93% in May primarily due to the in, crease in fuel prices and cost of services such as restaurants and accommodation, data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Friday showed. Despite the uptick, inflation remained well within the Reserve Bank of India’s target of 4%. According to MoSPI, the rise in headline inflation was driven by higher prices in food and beverages, personal care, social protection, restaurants and accommodation services, as well as tobacco and intoxicants. While rural inflation rose to 4.25% in May from 3.85% in April, urban inflation increased to 3.53%. Food inflation, measured by the All India Consumer Food Price Index, touched 4.78%. Soumya Kanti Ghosh, group chief economic advisor at State Bank of India, attributed the increase to higher fuel prices and supply-side disruptions. “The impact of increased petrol and diesel prices was clearly visible, with transport inflation rising by 176 basis points to 1.8% in May while a slight , LPG shortage pushed inflation in restaurants and accommodation services up by 154 basis points to 5.7% from 4.2% in April.” He said the impact of exchange-rate fluctuations and external shocks, such as supply-chain disruptions, is now beginning to reflect in India’s CPI. fectiveness was required. He commended the Missile Systems and Strategic Systems Cluster of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for its contributions to technological advancement, strategic autonomy and national security He said the perform. ance of indigenous missile systems during Operation Sindoor reflected the growing strength of India’s defence research and development ecosystem. “The systems developed by DRDO, including Akash and BrahMos, have demonstrated India’s ability to compete in the global defence technology arena. Strength is essential for peace, and self-reliance is the strongest foundation of that strength. DRDO has proven this time and again,” Singh said. “When aerial threats loomed over borders, our air defence system completely thwarted the enemy’s intentions,” he said. CONTINUED ON P4 CBC 63101/13/0002/2627 10,000+ Atal Tinkering Labs connecting 1.1+ crore students with science and technology US-Iran deal close Signing ceremony may be held in Geneva AG E N CI E S @ Dubai/Washington THE White House is signaling optimism about a prospective peace deal with Tehran, voicing confidence that it will wrap up the deal with support from Iran and Israel after weeks of negotiations on the most intractable issues, including the future of Iran’s nuclear program. Donald Trump, A senior US administration official, on condiUS President tion of anonymity said the deal was 80% to 85% , done and that the US side believes “most of the people who have authority” in the Iranian government want to sign onto the deal. Sources say a signing ceremony could be held in Geneva, Switzerland, as early as Sunday. A signed proposal would trigger a 60-day period for “technical” negotiations on how to implement Abbas Araghchi, the deal and resolve remaining issues, according Iran Foreign to a US official. Plans for the next round of peace Minister talks are already underway . Separately Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz , Sharif said Friday that the final text of a US-Iran peace deal had been agreed upon. Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi had suggested progress in the negotiations, saying the “Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding has never been closer”. Shehbaz Sharif, “Pending its finalisation, the media should rePakistan PM frain from entering speculation about its content,” he said in a social media post, without providing any details. President Trump shared Araghchi’s post on his own social media timeline, but without giving further details.  P9 US diplomat summoned again J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi US President Donald Trump on Friday blamed Iran for the attacks on Indian ships leaving the Strait of Hormuz, describing the incident as “totally unacceptable.” In a post on Truth Social, he said: “....Their (Iran’s) totally rebuffed drone attack last night against Indian ships leaving the Hormuz Strait is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE.” Trump’s remarks came hours after New Delhi summoned US Chargé d’Affaires Jason Meeks for the second time on Friday to lodge a strong protest over recent attacks on vessels near that killed three Indian seafarers off the coast of Oman. The government conveyed its deep concern reiterated India’s opposition to the use of force against civilian shipping. The developments added a new layer of diplomatic complexity with , Washington publicly blaming Iran while India has raised concerns with the US over the attacks. Today's matches (IST) (Jun 14, Sunday) Group B: Qatar vs Swiss 12.30am; Group C: Brazil vs Morocco 3.30am; Haiti vs Scotland 6.30am; Group D: Australia vs Turkiye 9.30am Nabin, RO conspired to steal RS seat: Revanth Cabinet Secy reviews NEET-UG re-test prep E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Friday accused BJP national president Nitin Nabin and the Returning Officer (RO) in Madhya Pradesh of conspiring to prevent AICC general secretary Meenakshi Natarajan from entering the Rajya Sabha, alleging that they had “stolen a seat” through a politically motivated decision. Interacting with the media in New Delhi, Revanth alleged that the RO acted in a biased manner and rejected Meenakshi’s nomination despite there being no case against her. He also blamed BJP national president Nitin Nabin and party leaders for what he described as a larger conspiracy to ensure her defeat. “The BJP has been stealing votes for years. Now it has gone on to steal a Rajya Sabha seat,” the chief minister alleged. Claiming that the BJP’s decision to field three candidates for the RS seats from Madhya Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy with Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on Friday Pradesh was part of a preplanned strategy Revanth said , the saffron party leaders and election officials had worked together to block the Congress nominee. He described Meenakshi as a Gandhian leader and alleged that the BJP had acted in an anti-democratic and antiwomen manner. Revanth maintained that the private complaint cited against Meenakshi had no connection to her. He said the issue pertained to a period when Man- ickam Tagore was the party’s state affairs in-charge and arose from a dispute between Srilatha and Shivakumar. Questioning how either the state affairs in-charge or Meenakshi could be held responsible for a dispute between two individuals, Revanth argued that a private complaint does not automatically make a person an accused. “Just because a court issues a notice does not mean a person is guilty When there is no FIR, . where is the case?” he asked. He further alleged that the BJP was suppressing democratic processes and political opposition. “Until now, people believed the BJP followed Nathuram Godse’s ideology Now it . is following the methods of Kim Jong Un,” he remarked. Targets Kishan again The chief minister also renewed his attack on Union Minister G Kishan Reddy, alleging once again that he was obstructing central approvals and funds meant for Telangana.   CONTINUED ON P4 SC dismisses Meenakshi’s plea S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y Parvez Sultan & S Lalitha @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a writ petition filed by senior Congress leader and AICC Telangana in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan challenging the rejection of her nomination for the Rajya Sabha election from Madhya Pradesh. A bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and AS Chandurkar declined to entertain the plea but granted her liberty to raise the issue through an election petition under the Representation of the People Act. Rejecting arguments by senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi that the court should intervene in cases involving “glaring and manifest” errors in the rejection of nomination papers, the bench said such an exception was not envisaged under Article 329 of the Constitution.   REPORT ON P7 FOUR weeks after the NEETUG paper leak scandal forced its cancellation, the government on Friday signalled it was leaving nothing to chance, with the Cabinet Secretary chairing yet another review and the NTA quietly rolling out a series of candidate-friendly changes for the June 21 NEET reexamination. Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan, who has now held three rounds of preparatory meetings since June 1, reviewed examination readiness with NTA Director General Abhishek Singh and warned that wrongdoers would face the full force of law. “The full might and weight of law will fall on any person trying in any manner to distort, disrupt, or tamper with the integrity…of the re-examination,” he said. Central and state govern- @ New Delhi ments, district administrations and central armed forces are all being co-opted for the exercise, a note from the government said. The Ministry of Home Affairs has specifically asked the CRPF and CISF to guard question paper consignments in transit. For its part, the NTA has made quiet but meaningful changes to the exam format. Rough sheets per booklet have been doubled from two to four, with the additional sheets now split between the front and back portion of the booklet. This was done keeping in mind nearly 15% of candidates who are left-handed and who previously struggled with sheets bunched at the booklet’s end. Based on feedback from students, the exam will run 15 minutes longer, from 2 pm to 5.15 pm, with PwDs getting 4 hours and 20 minutes in total. Longer wait for final AI-171 crash report S L a l i t h a @ New Delhi Family members of the AI 171 crew, who died in the air crash, pay tribute during a memorial service on the first anniversary of the tragedy, in Mumbai on Friday; and (inset) a distraught relative | PTI Exactly a year after Air India flight 171 crashed during takeoff at Ahmedabad, killing 260 passengers and crew, there was no closure for the family members of the victims as the much-awaited final probe report remained elusive. Instead, the Aircraft Accident Investigations Bureau put out an interim statement, saying “The Final Report will be released upon completion of all investigative activities and the requisite international review and consultation processes prescribed under ICAO (International Civil Aviation Significant progress in probe, claims AAIB AAIB’s interim statement claimed significant progress in the examination and analysis of AI-171’s systems, flight recorder data, engine-related components, maintenance and operational records, and other relevant evidence. “The evidence gathered and the results of various examinations are currently being analysed” Organisation) Annex 13.” The final report will take two-three more months for wrap-up, said a source familiar with the developments. Asked about ICAO’s recommendation on the final probe report into any major accident within 12 months of the incident, the source said, “It only encourages the submission of the report. It is not binding on us. Interim reports also can be submitted or statement on the progress too can be furnished, which is what we have done.” When asked what part of the report was pending, the source said since there was massive condemnation after the preliminary report was released on July 12, 2025, which attrib- uted the accident to human error, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had decided to carry out an inspection of the Boeing’s Fuel Control Switch (FCS) in the US to be doubly sure as multiple reports and experts repeatedly spoke of its malfunctioning. AI-171’s fuel switch moved to OFF shortly after take-off, resulting in the crash. Another Air India Boeing flight AIC 132 was grounded on Feb 2, 2026, after pilots reported that the FCS slipped from RUN to CUT OFF when pushed slightly as it did not lock securely “The DGCA visit . will happen soon,” he added.