KOttayam l thursday l july 16, 2026 l `10.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION ICC makes significant changes to 2027 50-over World Cup With less than 15 months to go, governing body changes competition format to be played in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia ‘Super Series’, 2 groups of 6 and Super 7s changes in t20 World Cup format as well Earlier, the event had two seven-team groups followed by a Super 6s and semifinals. Now, 12th, 13th, and 14th teams will play Super Series with only one of them joining the other 11 teams. From there, top seven teams will move to Super 7s, to be played in round-robin before semifinal and final. The ICC said this change will ‘enhance consequence at the early stage’ ■ ■ Instead of four five-team groups, the 20-team tournament in 2028 will see five groups of four teams with top two advancing to Super 10, with five teams per group (2026 edition had a Super 8 stage) The top team from each group in the Super 10s will enter semifinal, while second and third will play eliminator for a spot in the last four 57 total number of matches in new 50-over World Cup format 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 L1.27 lakh crore Semicon 2.0 gets Cabinet’s stamp Major boost to domestic semiconductor chip design and manufacturing ecosystem R A K E S H K U M A R @ New Delhi L62,500 crore for mobile phone making in a major push to India’s semiconductor ambitions, the CabiIn a bid to make India a net on Wednesday approved an global hub for mobile phone outlay of `1.27 lakh crore for manufacturing, the govt the second phase of the Semiapproved the Mobile Phone con India programme (Semicon Manufacturing Scheme with India 2.0) to strengthen the doan outlay of H62,500 crore. mestic chip ecosystem. The scheme will be Allocation for the second implemented over 5 years, phase of the mission is higher from FY27 to FY31 | P10 than the `76,000 crore earmarked under the first phase launched in December 2021 to 28 nm to 90 nm chips. attract global semiconductor Minister for Electronics and companies to set up manufac- Information Technology Ashturing facilities in India. wini Vaishnaw said incentives Semicon India 2.0 aims to under Semicon India 2.0 will be build the entire semiconductor in proportion to the investvalue chain. The programme ments made by the companies. will support semiconductor T he gover nment expects fabs, advanced packaging, around `4 lakh crore in investequipment manufacturing, ma- ments, `2 lakh crore worth of terials, specialty chemicals and semiconductor and electronics gases, research and develop- production, and `1 lakh crore ment, talent development, chip exports boost in coming years. design and capital equipment. Under the new scheme, The first phase atthe government will tracted global and doprovide a 30% incenmestic players, with tive for manufacturMicron Technology ing semiconductor commencing comequipment, materimercial production als, specialty chemiat its packaging facals and gases; 40% cility in Gujarat for silicon semiand Tata Electronconductor fabricaics, in partnership tion plants; 35% for with Taiwan’s Powdisplay fabs and erchip Semiconduccompound semitor Manufacturing conductor fabs; 35% Corporation, setfor advanced packting up India’s first aging facilities; The Made-in-India chip commercial semiand up to 75% conductor fabrica- showcased by Union minister funding, with state Ashwini Vaishnaw | PTI tion plant to make support, for R&D. 100% Kudankulam N-plant ‘data’ on dark web E x press N e w s S er v i c e @ Bengaluru Amid reports of a major leak of project-related files linked to the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu, the Anil Ambaniled Reliance Group confirmed a limited cybersecurity incident following an attempted ransomware attack on infrastructure operated by its third-party data centre service provider, Yotta Data Services. Reliance Group, one of the contractors associated with the plant, claimed the incident was swiftly contained and did not affect its core systems or business operations. The disclosure came after Kudankulam plant files were part of a large data dump on the dark web by ransomware group World Leaks. According to a Reuters report, the leaked material includes engineering drawings, supplier information, inspection records and insurance-related documents spanning several years. Their authenticity, however, has not been independently verified. Tata Group to invest 9,911 more MBBS seats this year `10k cr in state for shipbuilding facility K a v ita B a j e l i - D att @ New Delhi E x press N e w s S er v i c e @T’Puram In a major boost to Kerala’s maritime ambitions, the Tata Group is set to invest Rs 10,000 crore to establish a state-of-the-art shipbuilding facility in the state, Chief Minister V D Satheesan has said. This marks the Tata Group’s entry into the shipbuilding industry . In an interaction with TNIE, Satheesan said talks with the Tata Group are expected to be finalised within a month. He said the government would provide the required land and act as a proactive facilitator for the project and other highvalue investments. The landmark proposal comes close on the heels of the Mediterranean Shipping Company’s (MSC) Rs 13,000 crore investment proposal for Vizhinjam port, billed as the single largest foreign private investment in India’s port infrastructure. Both initiatives align with Mission Samudra, the chief minister’s flagship initiative unveiled in his maiden budget. Aimed at transforming Kerala into a global maritime and economic powerhouse, the mission seeks to drive a port-led economy by integrating multiple sectors and attracting mega-invest● More on P4 ments to the state.  tariff proposed by a bill brokered by a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators against 5 countries, including India & China, for purchasing oil from Russia | P10 India-UK trade pact: Goods worth $140mn shipped on Day 1 P U S H P I TA D E Y @ New Delhi AS the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between India and the UK kicked in on Wednesday 50 , consignments of goods worth over $140 million were shipped to the UK on the first day of the agreement’s implementation, the Union commerce ministry said. “CETA will give fresh momentum to our farmers, entrepreneurs and MSMEs. Several sectors will gain stronger access to the UK market. It will also deepen cooperation in technology, professional services and innovation, while supporting greater mobility for skilled Indian talent,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a social media post on Wednesday . With the free trade agreement (FTA) taking effect, several labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, apparel, handicrafts, engineering goods, and gems and jewellery are expected to gain zero-duty access to the UK market. Exporters from sectors including textiles, gems and jewellery, and marine products have already dispatched consignments at zero duty on the first day of the agreement. Reliance Group said the matter has been reported to the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), which is examining the incident. The Kudankulam facility is India’s largest nuclear power plant and forms a key part of the country’s long-term nuclear energy expansion plans. Reliance Infrastructure, a Reliance Group company, secured a contract in 2018 to develop infrastructure for Units 3 and 4 of the project, which are expected to become operational by 2027. Experts cautioned that even if reactor systems are untouched, the exposure of infrastructure layouts, supplier information, etc., could pose security risks. Spain punch final ticket La Roja dished out a masterclass against France as they beat them 2-0 to advance to their second World Cup final, to be held in New York. A look at how they won... Midfield superiority Lack of transition threat Spain had the midfield advantage, both in terms of numbers (3 vs 2) and quality. Their passing networks were superior as Rodri, Fabian Ruiz and Dani Olmo suffocated the French Whenever Spain lost ball, they were already in shape and there was no room to run-in behind. This denied Les Bleus the oxygen they so craved anti-drug fight ‘Jilla’ moment: Mohanlal, Vijay to lend star power to Op Toofan E x press N e w s S er v i c e @ T’Puram The stars are aligning in Kerala. Twelve years after their power-packed performance as Sivan and Sakthi in the hit movie ‘Jilla’, superstars Mohanlal and Vijay are set to ‘bump shoulders’ again. This time, not for a film but as part of ‘Operation Toofan’. Extending support to the state’s anti-drug campaign, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay will soon come to Kerala and attend a mega event along with Mohanlal, the first ‘Toof a n Wa r r i o r ’ . Chief Minister V D Satheesan is also expected to attend the programme. Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, who met the TN chief minister at his office in Chennai on Wednesday said Vijay , has agreed to take part in the anti-drug campaign. Chennithala said the two states have a g reed to strengthen cooperation in the fight against narcotics trafficking. During the meeting, Vijay appreciated the activities being carried out under Operation Toofan and promised his state’s full support .   ● More on P4 Mohanlal and Vijay in ‘Jilla’ Ahead of the NEET-UG results, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has announced a 7% increase in MBBS seats, which will takes the total strength of India’s undergrad medical seats to over 1.36 lakh. Announcing the seat matrix (excluding Institutes of National Importance like AIIMS) for 202627, the NMC said 1,36,939 MBBS seats will now be available across 823 medical colleges and institutes — 441 government and 382 private colleges — in the country from this year. In 2025-26, there were 1,28,976 MBBS seats across 818 colleges. Of them, 1,27,028 were renewed, which works out to a net addition of 9,911 this year. Karnataka got the highest share with 75 medical colleges having 15,395 total seats, up by 1,300 this time. Tamil Nadu followed with 78 colleges and 13,999 seats, an increase of 950. The other states are: UP (88 colleges with 14,000 seats), Maharashtra (86 colleges with 13,099 seats), and Telangana (66 colleges with 10,250 seats), Rajasthan (8,080 seats), Gujarat (7,750), Andhra Pradesh (7,465), West Bengal (7,200), MP (6,020), Kerala (5,704), Bihar (4,160), Haryana (2,960), Odisha (2,950), Punjab (1,850), Uttarakhand (1,475), and Chandigarh (200 seats). e x p r e ss r e a d HC restrains Waqf Board from taking key decisions Kochi: The Kerala HC has restrained the state Waqf Board from taking any major decisions, incurring capital expenditure or any policy decisions until the court decides on petitions challenging the board’s constitution. P4 High-speed rail: State to conduct fresh study T’Puram: CM V D Satheesan has said that the government will conduct a comprehensive fresh study on the H60,000-crore Kerala High-Speed Rail proposal. P5