GST 2.0 boosts auto sales, affordability The tax cuts following rollout of GST 2.0 a year ago has driven a 20% surge in auto sales with passenger vehicle demand hitting new highs. Maruti Suzuki (MSIL) MD and CEO Hisashi Takeuchi said that PV sales for them grew about 36% year-on-year during April-August 2026. The reform has helped broaden the customer base, particularly by improving affordability in the entry-level market | P10 VISAKHAPATNAM l wednesday l september 23, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l LATE CITY EDITION 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 Vande mataram US Prez claims he has to decide whether to make a deal with Iran or annihilate it; berates the country for stalling an accord on Hormuz until after the midterm polls No criminal Don defends Iran war; says he’ll action on conscientious use Russia tariff tool if required objectors: SC A G E NCI E S @ United Nations S UCHITRA KA LYAN M O HANT Y @ New Delhi “WE expect no criminal consequences for conscientious objectors to Vande Mataram,” the Supreme Court on Tuesday told the Centre on Tuesday while hearing a plea filed by Carnatic musician and author, T M Krishna. Krishna’s writ petition challenges the constitutional validity of the 2026 amendment to the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act of 1971, which extends penal protection to Vande Mataram, read with the Ministry of Home Affairs’ directions mandating singing of all six stanzas of the song at official functions. The last four stanzas of the song, which refer to Hindu deities, violate the secular character of the nation, his petition contended. The Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and justices V Mohana and Joymalya Bagchi said it will examine whether the right not to sing the song, recognised in Bijoe Emmanuel, is protected under the amended law. The SC added it expects the 1986 precedent to apply ensur, ing no penal action against those who do not sing the Vande Mataram T M Krishna on religious grounds. The court said it is for the state to decide the contours of the song, but religious freedom under Articles 25 and 26 must be safeguarded. The SC judgment in Bijoe Emmanuel versus State of Kerala protected the right of individuals to refuse to sing the National Anthem on grounds of religious conscience. Opposing the challenge, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, argued that the issue should not be viewed narrowly through the lens of secularism. Senior advocate S Muralidhar, who appeared for Krishna, questioned the legal framework extending statutory protection to Vande Mataram. Krishna’s plea argued that the directions and amendment effectively compel citizens to participate in singing the last four stanzas and are violative of fundamental rights. S-G’s ‘Naxalite’ remarks draw objections During the hearing, the S-G’s remark that “law-making cannot be as per Naxalites’ idea,” drew objections from Muralidhar, who sought its withdrawal. Afterwards, Muralidhar again sought a retraction but Mehta said, “I said that is the constitutional way, not what the Naxalite wants. And I am not sorry about it.” On sanctions against Russia and AI 1 Donald Trump said he will use, if needed, sanctions to end the “disastrous war” between Russia and Ukraine 2 Trump repeated his claim that he settled the war between India and Pakistan last year 3 Signed an agreement with Denmark and Greenland aimed at strengthening Arctic and North Atlantic security 4 Told UNGA that artificial intelligence will be named “super intelligence” in all US govt documents PRESIDENT Donald Trump returned to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, defending his decision to go to war with Iran even as the conflict weighs o n h i s p a r t y ’s m i d t e r m prospects. “I have a big decision to make -- will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before, or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly?” Trump said. Trump accused Iran of stalling to make a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and negotiate an endgame to the war until after the US midterm elections. He insisted the tactic would have no effect on how he approaches the conflict. “We will get it (deal) done one way or another. We will get it done and get it done fast,” Trump said. “The terrorist regime is behaving badly because they are weak and desperate,” Trump said. “If we stand united, we will see a world free of the menace of Iranian terror.” Most of Iran’s delegation walked out of the chamber as Trump railed against the Islamic Republic. On Russia, he said he continues to seek an end to the disastrous war with Ukraine. “Last week, in honour of As president of the most extraordinary nation in history, I have no interest in leaving dangers to grow for another day. I do not believe in letting problems fester Donald Trump, US President at UNGA Senator Lindsey Graham, I signed a powerful new law passed by Congress providing me with enormous new tariff authorities - and if necessary I , will use them... “It is time to stop the killing,” Trump said. Referring to the proposal to slow down development of artificial intelligence (AI) and calls for their international supervision, Trump called them a “glo- balist scheme” to control the new technology He instead an. nounced that the US government would henceforth use the term “super intelligence” instead of AI in its communications. “It sounds much better” and “it’s much more accurate,” he added, wondering whether the rest of the world would adopt the term. He also dismissed warnings about climate change. “The very same people who said we’ll all be dead in 12 years because of global warming... are now saying that AI is going to kill us all, that robots are going to attack us, and that everything is going to be a total disaster.” The president renewed his attack on what he said were “globalist” bodies, including the United Nations and the International Criminal Court, which he urged other countries to boycott. He, however, hailed a deal with Greenland under which he said Washington would build a couple of bases in the Arctic. Later, US and Iranian officials held talks on options to end the war. Trump confirmed the talks but offered few details about how the discussions transpired or the substance of the exchange. “It was a very good meeting ... It’s to their advantage to make a deal,” he said. The Iranian side did not confirm the meeting. Express Read Lokesh sets 94% victory target Anantapur: HRD Minister and TDP national working president Nara Lokesh on Tuesday called upon party workers to work for the alliance’s victory in more than 94% of seats in the upcoming local body polls, and stressed the need for unity among the allies | P4 Probe into violence at SAAP office widens as police identify 260 & make 12 arrests Vijayawada: The police have intensified their investigation into the clashes reported at the office of the SAAP in Vijayawada during a protest on Monday. Special teams are working to identify and apprehend those allegedly involved in the violence. According to the police, around 260 persons have so far been identified in connection with the incident. Digital evidence is reportedly available against more than 220 of them. Based on the evidence gathered, cases are being registered against those found to have participated in the clashes. Twelve persons have already been arrested | P4 CM launches `11,359 cr infra projects in AP S G u r u S r i k a n t h @ Vijayawada Emphasising that urban centres serve as the primary growth engines of the State economy, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday virtually launched major urban infrastructure projects worth `11,359 crore spanning 123 municipalities and municipal corporations across Andhra Pradesh from Kuppam. Describing the simultaneous rollout of development works as a “golden chapter” in the State’s municipal history, the Chief Minister directed officials to transform and rebrand the Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) Department into an “Urban Prosperity Department” to foster long-term economic momenP4 tum.  7.34L farmers yet to enrol for PM-KISAN Y B r a h m a j i @ Vijayawada Depression in Bay intensifies, high alert in North Andhra E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @ Vijayawada/Vizianagaram N o rt h C o a s t a l A n d h r a Pradesh has been placed on high alert as the depression over the Bay of Bengal has intensified into a deep depression, with meteorologists predicting that it will cross the North Andhra–South Odisha coast between Wednesday night and the early hours of Thursday According to the India Me. teorological Department (IMD) Cyclone Warning Centre in Visakhapatnam, the system lay centred near latitude 18.0°N and longitude 85.4°E — about 140 km east-southeast of Kalingapatnam, 150 km south-southeast of Gopalpur, 210 km southsouthwest of Puri, and 220 km P4 east of Visakhapatnam.  Payment of the 24th PM-KISAN installment could be delayed for more than 7.34 lakh farmers in Andhra Pradesh if they fail to complete their Farmer Registry as the Centre proposes to make the Farmer Unique ID mandatory for future fund releases. According to the latest Farmer Registry progress report, AP has 64.71 lakh PM-KISAN beneficiaries against the registration target. Of these, 52.07 lakh farmers have completed their registration, while 12.65 lakh registrations remain pending. More importantly 7,34,215 ac, tive PM-KISAN beneficiaries are yet to be enrolled in the Farmer Registry Another 1,08,482 . cases are pending at various Revenue logins. The Farmer Registry is intended to create a verified database of cultivators by linking farmer identities with land and agricultural records. The Farmer Unique ID is expected to P4 facilitate access to various schemes.  cricket in japan Japanese announcer and baseball connect N isshin mayor Hiroki Kondo was watching the women’s cricket gold medal match between India and Sri Lanka from the sidelines with Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president PT Usha for company “We will continue playing crick. et here after the Games,” he told this daily as India went on to secure their first gold at the ongoing Asian Games. “We will have 18 days of cricket here in a year. This is Japan,” he smiled. Cricket is still an obscure sport in this country The venue . itself was a baseball practice Indraneel Das Express @ asian games Nagoya ground, which also doubles up as a public park with tennis courts as well as a football ground close by . The only permanent structures here are the toilet and the baseball dugouts. To help the crowd, the organisers also distributed pamphlets about the game in Japanese. Naofumi and Chisato are from the neighbourhood and have never watched cricket. This is their first experience. Mimi Hirayama, the official announcer at the venue, is Japanese who lives in England. Her biggest challenge is engaging the audience who can barely differentiate between bat and ball or pad and helmet. “I was mainly talking about rules, because the Japanese audience is not familiar with this sport,” she said. Apart from the pamphlets, they also had Hirayama for company throughP11 out Tuesday  . ICA-D1443(12)/2026