tirupati l sunday l august 30, 2026 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l anantapur EDITION deal with Venezuela to take control of oil reserves: don President Donald Trump said the US has entered a deal with Venezuela to take control of 65 billion barrels oil reserves of the country 9 months after maduro’s capture will lower gas prices in u.s.: rubio Trump in a social media post announced the agreement he said was negotiated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez. The announcement of the deal comes nearly nine months after the US armed forces captured Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro ■ ■ Venezuela has one of the largest oil reserves in the world, with an estimated 303 billion barrels of crude oil. That’s about 17 per cent of the world’s supply, according to the US Energy Administration Rubio said on X the agreement would usher in $100 billion in private investment into Venezuela and lead to lower gas prices in US 1% of world’s oil output comes off venezuela despite vast reserves 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 Toll 675, India steps up HDFC Bank boss on way out, rescue, forensic support won’t seek reappointment 88 Indians rescued in Nepal so far; 128 PIOs reported missing E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi India on Saturday stepped up rescue and relief assistance to Nepal following the devastating flash floods, with 88 Indian nationals rescued so far while 287 remained uncontactable. Four Indian nationals were rescued from a hydropower project in Nepal’s Rasuwa district and are expected to reach Kathmandu shortly , the External Affairs Ministry said. Besides, 128 persons of Indian origin (PIOs) are missing. As many as 120 Indian nationals crossed into Nepal from China on Saturday the , MEA said. India is also deploying specialised expertise to support Nepal’s search and identification efforts. Six forensic expert teams from India are expected to reach Kathmandu to assist Nepalese authorities in analysing DNA samples and identifying mortal remains. “Forensic expert teams from India (six) are expected to reach Kathmandu today to assist in analysis of DNA samples for identification of mortal remains,” the MEA said. India has also moved to bolster tunnel-rescue operations in the flood-hit areas. An Indian technical team for tunnel-rescue reconnaissance reached Kathmandu on Friday Based on . its assessment, a specialised tunnel-rescue team equipped with necessary equipment is in Nepal. The Indian assistance comes as Nepal mounts a massive search operation. 10 bodies from Nepal recovered in UP’s Gandak N a m i ta B a j pa i @ Lucknow At least 10 bodies have been recovered from river Gandak in eastern UP in Maharajganj and Kushinagar districts over the past two days, with authorities yet to identify the deceased or trace their families. Originating from Nepal, Gandak flows into India. Official sources said all 10 were natives of Nepal and were adults. The bodies were bloated and in an advanced state of decomposition. They were taken to mortuaries in Maharajganj and Kushinagar, where they would be kept for 72 hours, said the district administration authorities. The details of jewellery and other belongings found on the bodies were recorded along with distinctive physical features such as tattoos and other identifying marks. Photographs of the deceased have also been circulated in nearby areas. According ADM Maharajganj, four of the bodies — three women and a young man — had been found in the district. B enn K o c h u v ee d a n @ Mumbai SASHIdhar Jagdishan, chief executive and managing director of HDFC Bank, who was handpicked by the bank’s founding CEO Aditya Puri to succeed him in 2020, has decided not to seek reappointment when his current term ends in October, bringing to an end his nearly three-decade career with the country’s largest private sector bank. “Despite persuasion, Jagdishan reiterated his decision to not seek reappointment when his term ends on October 26, 2026. The board deeply appreciates his commitWITH THIS ISSUE Private Eye PLUS 12 P AGES Interim fee structure for Viable alternative to pvt medical colleges out GO No. 3 soon, CM S G u r u S r i k a n t h @ Vijayawada The Andhra Pradesh Health, Medical and Family Welfare Department has issued orders notifying an interim fee structure for undergraduate, postgraduate, and super-speciality medical and dental courses in private unaided professional colleges for the academic year 2026–27. The fee structure has been revised by enhancing existing rates by 10% for undergraduate courses, and 15% for postgraduate and super-speciality programs over the fees notified for 2025–26. The government stepped in to notify the temporary fee structure after the Andhra Pradesh Higher Education Fee Regulatory and Monitoring Commission (APHEFR&MC) communicated its inability to process and recommend regular fee structures for the 2026–29 block period. The commission stated that it is currently not fully constituted, and is awaiting detailed rules and regulations governing its revised statutory functions from the State government. Following consultations with the Finance Department, the government issued G.O.Rt.No. 785, G.O.Rt.No. 786, and G.O.Rt. No. 787 on August 29, 2026, under Section 7 of the AP Educational Institutions Act, 1983. Under the updated structure for underg raduate MBBS courses, the annual interim tuition fee for A-Category (Competent Authority Quota) seats has been fixed at `18,150, B-Category (Management Quota) seats at `14,52,000, and C-Category (NRI Quota) seats at up to `43,56,000. For BDS courses, the fee stands at `15,730 for ACategory `4,84,000 for B, Category and `14,52,000 , for C-Category seats. For postg raduate medical clinical degrees, the revised interim annual fee is `5,71,320 for A-Category, `11,42,640 for B-Category, and `66,12,500 for C-Category. Fee for postgraduate dental clinical deg rees have been fixed at `3,92,783 for A-Cate gory, `7,85,565 for B-Category, and `15,87,000 for C-Category . The interim annual tuition fee for pre-clinical degree courses (such as Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry) , has been fixed at `80,937 for ACategory, `1,61,874 for B-Category and `10,58,000 for C-Cate, P4 gory seats.  assures ASR tribals U s h a Pe r i @ Visakhapatnam Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday announced that the State government would soon bring in an alternative to GO No. 3 to ensure that employment opportunities in tribal areas are made available to local people. Addressing a public meeting at Gannela in Alluri Sitarama Raju district after launching the Sanjeevani pilot project, Naidu recalled that his government had introduced GO No. 3 to ensure that jobs in tribal areas were reserved for local residents. The order was subsequently struck down by the Supreme Court. He attributed the outcome to the negligence of previous administration, and announced that the government would bring in an alternative that would be acceptable to all stakeholders. Naidu outlined a five-point plan for the development of tribal areas, with a focus on livelihoods, connectivity, healthcare, education and basic infrastructure. The objective, he noted, was to improve the standard of living of tribal families. “Under the ‘ davi Thalli Bata’, 905 km of roads A have been taken up at a cost of `1,000 crore. The government also plans to provide piped drinking water to 1.6 lakh tribal households and install rooftop solar systems,” he said. On livelihoods, the Chief Minister announced that the government was encouraging the cultivation of Araku Coffee over an additional one lakh acres to create employment and income opP4 portunities for tribals.  Take stringent measures to curb pollution, APPCB directs major industries in Vizag E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Visakhapatnam The Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) has directed industries and port operators in Visakhapatnam and surrounding industrial areas to take immediate measures to control air and water pollution, after expressing concern over deterioration in air quality in the Port area, Pedagantyada, Gajuwaka, Lankapalem and Parawada. The directions were issued during a review meeting held in Vijayawada on August 25 under the chairmanship of the APPCB Chairman and Member Secretary, with the top management and representatives of major industries in the Visakhapatnam industrial bowl and surrounding areas. The Board reviewed environmental compliance and the measures being implemented and proposed by industries to control air and water pollution. It also reviewed pollution-control measures being taken by the Visakhapatnam Port Authorityand inexpress illustration dustries in the industrial belt. Visakhapatnam had recorded ‘Moderate’ to ‘Poor’ air quality during November and December 2025, prompting the APPCB to intensify inspections. Following the inspections, show-cause-cum-environmental compensation notices were issued to industries and port entities. The APPCB has since been conducting reviews with the district administration to monitor dust-suppression and improve air quality P4 . Air quality ‘Moderate’ to ‘Poor’ Visakhapatnam had recorded ‘Moderate’ to ‘Poor’ air quality during November and December 2025, prompting the APPCB to intensify inspections. Representatives of industries informed APPCB that they had prepared short and longterm measures to curb pollution ment, leadership, contribution to the growth and stability of the bank and his role in the successful completion of one of the largest mergers in corporate India,” the bank informed the stock exchanges on Saturd ay. Ja g d i s h a n’s b i g g e s t achievement at the bank was arguably the merger of parent Housing Development Finance Cor poration (HDFC) with HDFC Bank in July 2023. Valued at around $44 billion, the transaction was one of the largest M&A deals in corporate India. However, the merger also brought a host of challenges, particularly on the asset-liability and margin fronts. The bank also faced several other issues during Jagdishan’s tenure, the most significant of which was in March 2026 when non-executive chairman Atanu Chakraborty resigned citing concerns over the bank’s functioning. The bank also faced allegations of mis-selling low-investment-grade bonds to NRIs through its Dubai branch, with customers allegedly promised higher returns that were not received. In a separate case involving the alleged mis-selling of Additional Tier-1 (AT1) bonds issued by failed Swiss lender Credit Suisse, American investors reportedly threatened to initiate a class-action lawsuit against the bank. Cong leader blocks Kerala CM’s convoy E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Thiruvananthapuram The Congress on Saturday expelled Thiruvananthapuram District Congress Committee leader Anil Kumar alias Chenthi Ani from the party’s primary membership, hours after he was booked for blocking Chief Minister VD Satheesan’s motorcade. On Saturday mor ning, Sreekaryam Police arrested Ani for blocking the CM’s convoy and misbehaving with him for refusing to attend the Sree Narayana Guru Jayanthi celebrations at Chenthi the previous night. Satheesan was on his way to Chempazhanthy to attend the event. On the way, a group of people organising another Sree Narayana Guru event at Chenthi signalled the CM’s vehicle to stop, police said. Satheesan stepped out of the vehicle following their request and was seen in television visuals arguing with Ani.