hyderabad l saturday l july 11, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION pushback against tag on calls from 140/1600 series as spam ‘only customers can block promo calls’ In a press note on Friday, TRAI said under Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulation, any tagging, blocking or filtering calls originating from 1600 series numbers is not permitted. It also said customers have the right to allow or block promotional calls from 140 series numbers by registering their preference on DND registry TRAI tells Trucaller caller ID applications or telecom operators cannot tag calls originating from 140 and 1600 number series as ‘spam’ ■ 5.25 lakh 1600 for service calls, 140 telemarketers ■ TRAI said it has mandated use of 1600 series for service calls by banking, financial and insurance entities and by govt entities for govt-to-citizen communication; while 140 is for telemarketers In response, Truecaller CEO Rishit Jhunjhunwala said both 140 and 1600 series numbers are used by spammers, hence they are blocked users of truecaller label such calls as spam daily 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 Mileage 5% low but E20 blend only option: Govt Relentless and unstoppable Kylian Mbappe and Co beat Morocco to book a spot in thirdconsecutive semifinal. A look... Oil ministry cites logistical constraints to rule out E10, pure petrol RAK E S H KUMAR @ New Delhi State song first, then nat’l song in govt events: MHA MUK E S H RA N J A N @ New Delhi THE Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has clarified that state songs must be played or sung first in government functions, followed by the National Song (Vande Mataram) and National Anthem (Jana Gana Mana), in that order. Union Territory (UT) administrations and central ministries, the Union home ministry directed the states and the UTs to strictly adhere to the sequence. “In some states, State Song is also sung along with National Anthem/National Song. It is stated that whenever State Song is sung or played with National Song/ National Anthem, both the National Song and National Anthem shall be sung and National Song will be sung or played first followed by National Anthem,” the MHA said in its order dated July 9. THE Union petroleum ministry on Friday acknowledged that the use of E20 (20% ethanolblended petrol) can reduce vehicle mileage by up to 5%, but ruled out offering consumers a choice between pure petrol, E10, and E20, citing logistical a n d i nv e s t m e n t - r e l a t e d constraints. In a detailed explainer, the ministry said stocking three different grades of petrol at over 1 lakh retail outlets across the country would create enormous logistical challenges, raise handling costs, complicate inventory management, and cut operational efficiency . The ministry also pointed to the massive investments made in India’s ethanol ecosystem. It said public sector banks have financed nearly `1 lakh crore annually for ethanol production and related infrastructure, including dedicated ethanol plants, distilleries, storage facilities and logistics networks. “If, after creating this capacity, we were to arbitrarily revert to E10, what happens to these investments? What happens to the surplus production capacity? What happens to thousands of crores invested by farmers, cooperatives, entrepreneurs, financial institutions and public sector companies in good faith based on a national policy?” it said. It maintained that E20 is Ethanol programme saved `1.9 lakh cr in forex: Govt The government on Friday said the ethanol-blended petrol programme has helped the sugar economy, boosted farmer income, and saved the country over `1.90 lakh crore in foreign exchange since 2014-15. Joint Secretary in the food ministry Ashwani Srivastava said ethanol has become central to the agricultural economy by creating new markets for surplus crops and reducing India’s dependence on imported crude oil cleaner and more efficient than both pure petrol and E10. However, it acknowledged that E20 is currently more expensive to produce than pure petrol when international crude oil prices are around $70 per barrel. It becomes more economical only if crude prices rise to $120-130 per barrel, as ethanol is procured at a relatively stable price of about `71 per litre. The ministry’s explanation comes as global crude prices have largely remained in the $70-80 per barrel range over the past year, except for a brief spike to around $125 per barrel during the West Asia conflict. India’s crude basket averaged $70.99 per barrel in FY26, fall- ing to $62.20 per barrel in December and $63.03 per barrel in January . “Nearly 20% of every litre of petrol sold in India today is domestically produced ethanol. That ethanol is procured at around `71 per litre, a price that does not fluctuate every morning with Brent crude, geopolitical conflicts or shipping disruptions,” it added. The ministry said the transition to higher ethanol blending was undertaken after extensive consultations with automobile manufacturers. The roadmap for E20, prepared by an InterMinisterial Committee, has been in the public domain since 2021. Ethanol blending has risen steadily from 8.1% in the 202021 ethanol supply year to 10% in 2021-22, 12.1% in 2022-23, 14.6% in 2023-24, 19.2% in 202425, before achieving the 20% target in the current ethanol supply year. To counter concerns over vehicle compatibility, the ministry cited field data from automakers. It said Maruti Suzuki serviced 2.84 crore vehicles in FY26, including 1.5 crore nonE20-compliant vehicles, without reporting E20-related corrosion, abnor mal wear or reduced component life. Hero MotoCorp has reported similar field experience. “This real-world evidence is far more reliable than isolated anecdotes,” the ministry said. BJP central leadership upset with affairs in TG unit I r e d d y S r i n i v a s Re d d y @ Hyderabad The reported blocking of the induction of a BRS MLA and two former MLAs into the BJP is said to have irked the party’s central leadership, triggering intense discussions within the Telangana unit and exposing its internal fault lines. According to party sources, the issue gained prominence af- ter the recent visit of BJP national president Nitin Nabin and Union Health and Family Welfare Minister J P Nadda, a former party president. During the visit, Nadda reportedly expressed displeasure over the functioning of the Telangana BJP unit, prompting discussions among state leaders over who was responsible for stalling the proposed inductions. Sources said the central leadership is believed to have questioned why the induction of the BRS MLA and the two former legislators had been blocked despite efforts to strengthen the party ahead of future elections. It is learnt that the central leadership also expressed con- cern that factionalism within the Telangana BJP was preventing the party from attracting influential leaders from rival parties. According to the sources, the leadership observed that while public support for the BJP was growing in Telangana, the state unit had failed to capitalise on the opportunity because of internal rivalries and differences among senior leaders.  Continued on page 4 Hasina to return in dec to revive awami league Bangladesh’s deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who is living in India after she fled Dhaka following the collapse of her government, is preparing to voluntarily return to Dhaka by December to revive her Awami League | P9 n a m i ta b a j pa i @ Lucknow A police officer, assisted by locals, rescues children after flash floods hit Mendhar in Poonch dist, Jammu & Kashmir on Friday | PTI friends forever Kerala man travels 1,200 km to repay 31-yr-old loan Three decades after borrowing money from a friend in Saudi Arabia, a man from Kerala travelled more than 1,200 km to Jagtial district to repay the debt. Mohammed Ismail journeyed from Palakkad in Kerala to Dharmapuri in Jagtial district to repay the money he had borrowed from his friend 31 years ago while the two were working Lachanna’s family with Md Ismail for a construction company in Saudi Arabia. Facing financial difficulties at the time, Ismail had sought Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele were on target as France surged past Morocco 2-0 to book their place in the World Cup semifinals on Thursday. The win sends the 2018 champions into last four for the third straight World Cup. They will play the first semifinal on Tuesday Messi chases another WC semifinal Three Lions face Haaland threat Live on Unite8 and Zee5 (IST Sunday*) Today’s matches England’s quest to end 60 years of WC pain will face another test when the team takes on Erling Haaland’s Norway. They have Harry Kane but England would hope to overcome defensive deficiencies Norway vs England @ Miami Stadium | 2.30 AM* Argentina vs Switzerland @ Kansas City Stadium | 6.30 AM* BJP may implement delimitation, but Cong will still win: CM E x p r e ss N e ws Se r v i c e @ Khammam Predicting that the number of Assembly constituencies in Telangana would increase from 119 to 182 following delimitation, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Friday said the next Assembly elections would be held in May/June 2029 and asserted that the Congress would win 117 seats to retain power. After launching e-pattadar passbooks and disbursing the final phase of Rythu Bharosa assistance at Jagannadhapuram in Chintakani mandal, the chief minister addressed a Rythu Aseervada Sabha, where he claimed that the BJP-led Centre was moving ahead with the Delimitation Bill and that Telangana could see an increase in both Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies. Alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah had weakened parties such as the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Revanth said they were attempting to consolidate political support for the Delimitation Bill. “There is a possibility that they may succeed in their sinister plan. Telangana’s As- After a high-intensity contest against Egypt, Lionel Messi’s Argentina will want to bring their A game vs Switzerland in the last quarterfinal poll reform ‘One Nation, One Election’ mechanism by ’29: JPC head p r ee t h a n a i r @ New Delhi sembly seats may also be increased,” he said. He said the next Assembly elections would not be held in December 2028 but in May/ June 2029, after the number of Lok Sabha seats in the state increased from 17 to 26 and Assembly seats from 119 to 182. He asserted that the Congress would win 117 of the 182 Assembly seats and form the government for a second consecutive term. Rejecting BRS working president KT Rama Rao’s claim that an internal Congress survey had projected 78 seats for the BRS, Revanth questioned how any survey could predict electoral outcomes when candidates and party strategies had not yet been finalised. “The Congress will win 117 Assembly seats. I vow on Bhadrachalam Rama,” he declared.  Continued on page 4 E x p r e s s Re a d SIR won’t affect welfare schemes: CEO Bill One service for all municipal tax payments Hyderabad: As Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls gathers pace across Telangana, Chief Electoral Officer C Sudharshan Reddy has dismissed concerns linking the deletion of voter names with welfare schemes, saying such matters are entirely outside the Election Commission’s jurisdiction and fall under the state government | P4 Hyderabad: In a major step towards simplifying municipal governance and improving citizen services, the Commissioner and Director of Municipal Administration (CDMA) has introduced “Bill One”, a unified municipal payment system that allows citizens to pay multiple civic dues through a single platform across 133 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) | P3 A Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) examining the proposed legislation on simultaneous elections is working to create a mechanism that could make the ‘One Nation, One Election’ reform fully operational by the 2029 general elections, said panel head P P Chaudhary on Friday . Addressing reporters on the sidelines of the panel’s two-day meeting in Goa, Chaudhary said that nearly 99% of civil society stakeholders consulted so far have backed the proposal, which aims to curb an estimated `7 lakh crore economic loss caused by frequent polls. On the timeline for implementation, he said the committee was examining vario u s o p t i o n s, indicating that the refor m could become operational by P P Chaudhary the time the next general elections are due in 2029. He said there is also a possibility of bringing some states into alignment before 2029 if political parties and the chief ministers of those states voluntarily agree to synchronise their electoral cycles. Highlighting the economic rationale behind the proposal, Chaudhary cited findings placed before the high-level committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind. He quoted a study submitted to the Kovind panel estimating that holding polls separately across the country results in an economic loss of nearly `7 lakh crore, while synchronised elections could generate equivalent gains for the economy . Small notes, big pain: Donation counting staff quit Rescue op n a v een k u m a r ta l l a m @ Jagtial Les Bleus march on help from his colleague, Edla Lachanna of Dhar mapuri. Without hesitation, Lachanna lent him 3,000 Saudi riyals. Soon afterwards, the two retur ned to their respective hometowns and gradually lost contact. While Lachanna went back to Saudi Arabia for work, Ismail remained in Palakkad. Despite the passage of time, the unpaid debt continued to weigh on Ismail’s conscience.  Continued on page 5 As many as 23 people hired from an external agency by the State Bank of India branch in Ayodhya for counting donations at the Ram Mandir there resigned en masse on Friday amid the ongoing investigation into the alleged embezzlement of offerings, reducing the strength of counting personnel to a little more than a dozen. Earlier, there were 40 counting personnel at the temple. Those who quit said the counting at the temple had become more time consuming and tedious as the number of `10 and `20 denomination notes being offered by devotees had increased significantly after the donation theft came to light. As per sources, the counting staff, deputed by SBI, had a common refrain that they used to collect 70 to 80 bundles of `500 notes earlier, allowing quick completion of the counting process. Now, they barely manage 15 bundles of `500 notes a day . Earlier, the work was carried out in two shifts. The employees said each staff member earlier worked a six-hour shift, but the system has now been changed to a single shift from 9 am to 6 pm. While their salaries have remained unchanged, their working hours h ave i n c r e a s e d , prompting them to resign, they said. They further said that while donations were earlier counted on tables and chairs, the exercise is now conducted while sitting on the floor. Security and vigilance at the counting centre have been tightened considerably . Sources said the Ram temple trust is now preparing to introduce QR code-enabled identity cards with digital security features, a common uniform for all outsourced employees at the temple and a digital entry-exit tracking system to maintain a record of every employee’s movement. sc to hear donation theft case on july 13 The Supreme Court will hear on July 13 a batch of PILs seeking an independent and time-bound investigation into irregularities in donations collected for the Ram temple in Ayodhya. The petitioners have urged the court to order an SIT inquiry or a court-monitored probe into claims of diversion of temple funds, citing lack of transparency in the collection and accounting process.