THIRUVANANTHAPURAM l tuesday l august 25, 2026 l `10.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION ex-diplomat Akbaruddin, two others join RBI central board Ex-diplomat Syed Akbaruddin, ex-bureaucrat Annie Mathew and Boston Consulting Group’s Janmejaya Sinha were appointed on Monday Syed Akbaruddin Annie George Mathew Janmejaya Sinha part-time, non-official directors board now has 14 members including guv They were appointed as part-time, Non-official Directors for four years. Syed Akbaruddin is a 1985-batch Indian Foreign Service officer and served as India’s permanent representative to the UN from 2016 to 2020. Annie George Mathew retired as Special Secretary of the Union Finance Ministry. Janmejaya Sinha is the Chairman of Boston Consulting Group (India) ■ ■ With the latest appointments, the board has 14 members, including governor Sanjay Malhotra and four deputy governors Industrialist Anand Mahindra and former ISRO Chairman Somanath Panicker joined last week. Other members include former Audit & Accounts Service officer Revathy Iyer and economist Sachin Chaturvedi 21 is the maximum sanctioned strength of the rbi central board 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 Putin offers to step up fertiliser supply to India PM Modi looking forward to meeting Russian prez at SCO, BRICS summits, says Jaishankar J AYA N T H J A CO B @ New Delhi 4-fold jump in trade RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin has offered to increase fertiliser supplies to India, signalling Moscow’s intent to deepen one of the most important pillars of the bilateral economic relationship. The offer came during when External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called on Putin in Moscow on Monday . Putin—who is expected to visit India next month for the BRICS Summit—said Russia is ready to help meet India’s agricultural requirements. He highlighted fertilisers alongside fuel as an important component of Russia’s economic support to India. “One of these issues— not just fuel—is the supply of mineralisers (fertilisers). We are doing everything we can to resolve the issue for Indian farmers, for agriculture; we are increasing these exports and are prepared to continue doing so,” he said. The offer comes as fertilisers have become an important element of India-Russia economic ties. Russia has emerged as India’s largest supplier of fertilisers, particularly urea, with Indian fertiliser imports from Russia rising by almost 40% in 2025. Putin also pointed to the broader expansion in bilateral trade. Jaishankar conveyed Prime Minister Modi’s plans for future meetings with Putin, saying Modi looked forward to meeting the Russian president at the forthcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kyrgyzstan and welcoming him to India for the BRICS Summit. The two leaders are also expected to hold their annual bilateral summit at a mutually convenient time. Jaishankar said the trade between India and Russia has increased 4-fold in 5 years, from around $13 billion in 202122 to nearly $60 billion in 2025-26 S Jaishankar with Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday | PTI We are doing everything we can to meet the needs of Indian farmers and agriculture sector Vladmir Putin, Russian president 15 flights diverted as heavy rain pounds Delhi-NCR e x p r e s s n e w s s e r v i c e @ New Delhi HEAVY rain forced the diversion of 15 incoming flights to Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) to Jaipur, Lucknow and Chandigarh early Monday afternoon. All flights landed safely in Delhi by evening, official sources said. Hundreds of departing flights faced delays throughout the day, with several of them held up by two to three hours. A source at Delhi airport said three of the 15 diverted flights were international. Twelve were sent to Jaipur International Airport, two to Chandigarh and one to Lucknow, the source said. The Singapore flight was diverted to Lucknow, while those from Dubai and Sharjah went to Jaipur. The Airports Authority of India and airlines had issued advisories urging passengers to reach the airport well in advance due to the weather. Allow WFH, Gurugram offices told The Gurugram administration on Monday advised corporate offices to allow employees to work from home on Tuesday and ordered all schools and educational institutions to conduct classes online in view of the heavy rainfall. CJP’s Delhi protest: SC panel to prioritise sexual assault probe SUC H I T R A K A LYA N MO H A N T Y @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Monday said that it has asked the HighPowered Enquiry Committee (HPEC), which had been set up to examine allegations of police violence during the NEET paper leak stir, to prioritise complaints of sexual assault faced by women protesters. A bench comprising CJI Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana issued the direction after senior advocate Shobha Gupta urged the CJP calls for Delhi march on Sept 5 The Cockroach Janta Party on Monday called for a protest march in Delhi on September 5, accusing the Centre of failing to honour the promises it made. The march will begin at India Gate and proceed to Delhi Police Headquarters court to take suo motu cognisance of the alleged sexual assault and molestation of women protesters during the ‘Chalo Sansad’ march on July 20. When homes fail, crime may fill the void A s w i n A s o k K u m a r @ T’Puram Abhi (name changed) had never experienced affection at home. What he mostly witnessed were parental figures forming gangs and engaging in illegal activities. When he had the chance to get help, he was amply supported by the right set of authorities, who provided counselling and proper care. He initially responded positively to the support he received. But all of it went in vain when Abhi lethally injured a batchmate. Authorities KAVAL SCHEME: Rehab & social integration of CCLs 3,116 Total number of children currently under the Kaval scheme Children supported through individual counselling 1,146 E x p r e s s Ne w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi UNION Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday called for greater use of artificial intelligence to analyse intelligence inputs and strengthen India’s response to emerging national security threats, while directing security agencies to take strict measures against infiltration. Speaking at the inaugural session of the ninth two-day National Security Strategies (NSS) Conference-2026 here, Shah directed agencies to develop standard operating procedures (SOPs) for tackling national security challenges based on AI-driven analyses of information available on the Multi Agency Centre (MAC) platform. Shah stressed on an integrated approach to counter terrorism and radicalisation, including cases under the UAPA. He emphasised strengthening implementation of MHA’s PRAHAAR scheme, expediting trials and making greater use of provisions allowing trials in absentia. The first day’s deliberations focused on major security challenges, including counter-terrorism, intelligence fusion, narcotics control, deportation of illegal migrants, cybercrime and Pakistan-backed proxy warfare. Held in hybrid mode, the conferences has more than 850 participants, including DGPs and domain experts from specialised fields. 16 pages, including 4 pages of THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Express The Onasadya Malayalis once knew No sambar, avial or rasam. The Onasadya was not always the elaborate spread we know today. Some of its most ubiquitous dishes, historians say, arrived relatively late. Sambar, rasam and even avial were not part of the traditional sadya of Kerala of the yore. The cornerstone of the traditional feast was the ‘naalu-curry’ (four curries) – ‘kalan’, ‘olan’, ‘erissery’ and ‘pulissery’. These were accompanied by ‘upperi’, pickles and pappadams, while ‘payasams’ provided the sweet finale. K P Padmanabha Menon’s History of Kerala, written as annotations to Jacob Canter Visscher’s Letters from Malabar and published in four volumes in 1937, offers an intriguing 1,849 the 17th-century Maratha royal kitchens of Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu, though its exact history remains debated. According to one popular account, it was associated with the Maratha ruler Sambhaji. “It would have taken centuries to migrate across the Western Ghats. Before sambar, the traditional Onasadya was a feast dictated purely by hyperlocal, seasonal produce, with a heavy reliance on curd and coconut milk. Before sambar, there were ‘olan’, ‘kalan’ and ‘erissery’,” she says. Local historian Rameshan Thampuran says ‘naalu-cur ry’ formed the backbone of the tradition● More on P4 al sadya.  1,148 176 Kids supported Kids supported through family referred for through de-addiction intervention preventive 252 Children referred for intervention for substance psychiatric services use were confused. Who should be blamed: the troubled minor or the people who created the environment that he found himself in? Figures from the Kaval Shah push for AI-led intel analysis to deal with security threats glimpse into the evolution of Kerala’s culinary traditions. Writing about sambar, Menon describes it as “purely an East Coast curry recently introduced into Malabar”. He lists its principal ingredients — dal, brinjal, drumstick and bitter gourd — along with tamarind, coriander, cumin, mustard and asafoetida. Intriguingly, he adds that it was essentially the same as the Malabar pulinkari, “with a slight variation”. Dr Tanya Abraham, curator and author of ‘Eating with History: Ancient Trade Influenced Cuisines of Kerala’, says culinary historians generally trace the origins of sambar to 1,570 Those supported through parent management training Before sambar & avial... Ra j e s h Ra v i @Kochi Gupta asked the court to create mechanism for alleged victims to directly send complaints. CJI Surya Kant—although he did not take suo motu cognisance — however, said, “the committee has been requested to examine it on a priority basis, and immediately submit an interim report.” Justice Bagchi pointed out that an independent writ petition was filed on the same cause, and the enquiry committee has been asked to examine the issue. scheme — run by the state’s women and child development department for the rehabilitation and social integration of children in conflict with law (CCL) — offer a perspective. Ac- cording to data with the State Child Protection Society (SCPS), around 60% of kids who are currently part of Kaval, which translates to protection, lacked a proper support system within their families. The total number of children currently receiving psychosocial support under the scheme is 3,116, of which 1,849 were supported through family intervention measures, including counselling. Of the total, close to 90% come from families without any history of vio● More on P4 lence. E x p r e s s Re a d CPM hardens stand on deputy LoP T’Puram: The CPM has hardened its position against the CPI’s demand for the post of Deputy Leader of the Opposition, following CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam’s public criticism of former CM Pinarayi Vijayan, leaving its junior partner with a difficult choice. The CPM state leadership has decided not to backtrack from its declared position, with senior leaders telling TNIE that Pinarayi’s statement was only a reiteration of the party’s stand by its senior-most leader. P4