HYDERABAD l monday l october 05, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l LATE CITY EDITION OPEC+ concurs to keep November oil output targets steady OPEC+ agreed on Sunday to keep oil production ‌targets steady for November, in line with market cues that policy shifts are unlikely until next year Exports at 60-80% of normal levels lens on future production estimates Core members of broader OPEC+ alliance of oil exporting countries are Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Kazakhstan and Oman. Gulf OPEC+ producers have been pumping well below output targets in the face of continuing export ​disruptions from the US-Israel war on Iran, with exports fluctuating at 60% to 80% of normal levels, Reuters reported ■ ■ The Iran war has delayed the group’s output capacity review—crucial to determine members’ 2027 output quotas—because it has thrown estimates of future production potential into uncertainty OPEC+ pumped 25 million barrels per day in August, up ​630,000 bpd from July, still 5 million bpd below prewar levels ​in February 2 mn bpd of output cuts in place covering most opec+ members 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 Jaishankar flags deeper US shift, says global order faces new gaps Anti-CEC protests become bigger, thousands hit streets Some structural changes are linked to current administration, others reflect long-term shifts J AYAN T H J A C O B @ New Delhi Shift in Indian strategy on Russia-Ukraine conflict the relationship today encompasses defence, nuclear cooperation, space, trade, investment, energy and resources. At the same time, he described the Russia-Ukraine war as “an unfortunate conflict” and reiterated India’s position it should end through dialogue and diplomacy “There . has to be negotiations in this regard,” Jaishankar said, noting that India had advocated this position for years and had in recent months become more directly involved in efforts to address some of the issues arising from the conflict. “We have conversations with both Russia and Ukraine in this regard,” he said. India has sought to contribute to discussions on the safety of shipping in the Black Sea as well as concerns involving grain exports, energy exports and “non-attack possibilities,” he added. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Sunday the US is undergoing deeper structural changes that extend beyond the policies of any one administration. He said the decline of US underwriting of the existing global order was creating new gaps and responsibilities for other major powers. He also stressed that India’s long relationship with Russia remains important even as New Delhi continues to push for dialogue and diplomacy to end the war in Ukraine. Speaking at the Munich Leader’s Meeting in Delhi, Jaishankar said some of the changes in US policy could be temporary or linked to the current administration, but others reflected longer-term shifts. “It is important here to distinguish the more structural trends from the behavioral ones and take both of them seriously .” Looking at the continuity of some policies across administrations, Jaishankar noted several initiatives associated with US President Donald Trump’s first administration continued under President Joe Biden. “Many policies which President Trump initiated in his first administration continued under Biden,” he said and cited Under new Act, property mutation now automatic Flydubai co-pilot likely to have acted independently, say Israel investigators V V B a l a k r i s h n a @ Hyderabad a g e n c i e s @ Tel Aviv The Core Urban Region (Integrated Governance) Act, 2026, which came into force on October 2, replacing the 70-year-old GHMC Act, will enable automatic property mutation, a single municipal bill and a unified portal for the Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Malkajgiri municipal corporations, official sources said on Sunday . At present, property buyers have to visit various offices to get their properties mutated after registration. Under the new Act, mutation will be done automatically once registration is completed. Officials will assign an identity code to every property, linked to the respective municipal office. Details of property tax, water bills, sewage charges and other dues will be provided through a single bill called ‘Cure-1’. Other municipal services, permissions and licences can be obtained through a single portal. The chief minister introduced several key changes through the new Act. The Cure Apex Governance Council, chaired by the chief minister, will prioritise city development plans. Officials from all three corporations, along with police, revenue, HMDA, Water Board, electricity Metro, RTC and HY, DRAA representatives, will jointly deliberate and finalise development plans under the council. However, the boundaries of the three corporations will remain unchanged. The mayor, deputy mayor, standing committee, commissioner and ward committees will continue as before, with their terms remaining five years. Property tax for properties measuring up to 375 sq ft will continue at `101. For other residential properties, the respective corporations will fix the tax, ranging from 0.1% to 0.5%. The tax for non-residential properties will range from 0.2% to 2%. Until new property tax rates are finalised, residential properties will continue to be taxed at 0.15%, while the rate for nonresidential properties will remain at 0.75%. Once the new rates come into effect, the annual increase will not exceed 10%. For instance, a person currently paying `10,000 in property tax will pay a maximum of `11,000 in the first year of implementation, officials explained. continued on p5 THE Omani co-pilot accused of attacking his colleague on board the Flydubai flight to Israel and trying to seize the controls most likely acted alone, Israeli sources told CNN on Sunday . Another Israeli source said that, at the moment, Israel does not know of any link to a group or government. The co-pilot in in custody in the UAE. Israel and UAE are both probing the incident. Saudi Arabia, where the plane made an emergency landing, is also conducting its own investigations. India has moved beyond advocacy in trying to resolve the Russia-Ukraine war by becoming more actively involved in discussions aimed at addressing issues arising from the war, including the safety of shipping in the Black Sea. “We’ve conversations with Russia and Ukraine,” said S Jaishankar the emergence of a US industrial policy as one example. On India’s relationship with Russia, Jaishankar said the ties had deep historical roots and expanded beyond their traditional focus on defence and security. He said Russia stood by India at critical moments when its security and territorial integrity were under threat. “That history is not forgotten,” he said, adding that Australia police probe local links A counterterrorism unit in Australia is probing local links of the Omani pilot of FZ1073. According to media reports, the Omani national studied ​at a university in Melbourne Authorities in the UAE had shared with Israel a list of passengers and crew ahead of the FlyDubai flight, regional officials said on Sunday but Israel , had not raised red flags on any passenger or member of the crew before the flight took off. Flydubai flight FZ1073 avoided disaster on its journey from Dubai on Wednesday plummet, ing 16,000 feet in 30 seconds after the attack on the plane’s captain. Despite being wounded, pilot Captain Smit Machchhar unlocked the cockpit door and signal his distress to passengers and crew, who rushed into the cockpit to regain control of the aircraft. The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Omani authorities had barred the pilot from flying over suspicions he had adopted radical ideological views. Police detain protesters demanding resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar in New Delhi on Sunday | Parveen Negi S u d h i r S u r ya w a n s h i & UDAYAN KISH O R E @ Mumbai/New Delhi Protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged election irregularities continued on Sunday, with opposition parties taking to the streets in Mumbai and multiple student groups agitating in New Delhi. In Mumbai, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray the MNS chief Raj Thackeray NCP , , (SP) state president Jayant Patil and Congress leader Vigilance Balasaheb Thorat, with probe in KL thousands, participated in Keralam Home the ‘Virat Garjana Morcha’ Minister Ramesh (Grand Roar March) which Chennithala culminated in a rally . has ordered a “We are fighting to get Vigilance probe real freedom to India that into a 2006 has been muzzled by the BJP through the Election project when CEC Gyanesh Kumar Commission and other inwas PWD secy dependent institutions that and the death of are no longer free and fair... a Malaysian 13 crore voters were denied engineer the right to vote just so the BJP could win state elections in Maharashtra, West Bengal comfortably Uddhav alleged, referring to deletions in ,” the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Raj Thackeray said the SIR should be cancelled and voting done by ballot papers. In the capital, Congress, AAP, various student organisations, and civil society groups held protests as police fortified central Delhi to bar them from reaching Jantar Mantar. AISA’s Neha Bora, and AAP’s Delhi chief Saurabh Bhardwaj were among several detained and later released. Bora was detained in a police car near Shangri-La hexagon. Protesters lay on the ground and climbed atop the car to block its movement forcing police to drive in reverse to take her away . After journo stir, Delhi cops send sex harassment complaints to CB UDAYAN KISH O R E @ New Delhi Scores of journalists sat in protest in front of Parliament Street Police Station here on Sunday demanding registration of an FIR on sexual harassment complaints of three women scribes against Delhi police personnel. The police finally transferred the plaints to its Crime Branch for “impartial enquiry”. Members of Congress, AAP and CJP joined in the journalists’ protest after three women scribes said they were sexually harassed by cops durSpat among ing detention of protesters supporters at Jantar Mantar at SaturCongress, AAP, day’s agitation against CJP and AISA Chief Election Commissupporters have sioner Gyanesh Kumar. been swiping at They alleged no women each other on X personnel had been present although AISA’s at the spot. One of the comNeha Bora and plainants claimed that an CJP’s Abhijeet Assistant Commissioner of Dipke reaffirmed Police had sexually assaulttheir support for ed her. “I asked ACP Vivek each other and Bhagat of the Delhi Police their struggle about the absence of women police personnel, following which he sexually assaulted me and pushed me back,” she said. The New Delhi district police in a statement said the complaints were transferred to the Crime Branch which would will examine the allegations. The Press Club of India pointed out that the woman journalist had spent hours at the police station on Saturday night to get an FIR registered. “Behaviour of this kind cannot be normalised in a democracy. Journalists must be allowed to work freely, without fear, and document those who gather to raise various issues,” it said in a statement. Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi questioned the delay in police action and raised concerns about the safety of women. SC judge: No amount of whataboutery can justify disenfranchising millions cellor of NALSAR, said no process could turn millions of The right of an Indian citizen people into “second-class citito vote is central to zens” by depriving the basic structure of them of their voting the Constitution and rights. any process resulting “If any process rein the wholesale dissults in disenfranenfranchisement of chising millions and citizens would be inmillions of Indian trinsically arbitrary, citizens, making Supreme Court judge them second-class Justice Ujjal Bhuyan citizens in their own Ujjal Bhuyan said on Sunday . country in the sense Delivering the valeof being citizens withdictory address at the 19th out voting rights, such a procNALSAR-Justice B R Sawh- ess is intrinsically arbitrary. ney Memorial Moot Court No amount of whataboutery Competition, 2026, at NALSAR can justify it,” he said. University of Law HERE, JusJustice Bhuyan said the tice Bhuyan, a former chan- right to vote could not be deE x p r e ss Ne ws Se r v i ce @ Hyderabad Under pressure 9% Fall in residential registrations YoY 8-10% Rise in construction costs `150-`300/ sq ft Additional project burden 10-15% Rise in steel prices n 26,068: H1 home sales | Down 13% n 49,656: H1 launches | Up 37% 1.43 lakh: Unsold homes | Up 21% n months: Inventory 29 overhang tached from the status of an Indian citizen. “From the persona of an Indian citizen, the right to vote or right to be included in the voters’ list cannot be detached. It will be like taking out the soul from the body,” he said. The constitution, he said, did not envisage two categories of citizens — those with voting rights and those without them. Any process leading to wholesale disenfranchisement would violate Articles 14 and 326 of the Constitution. “Article 326 cannot be tinkered with at all. No authority can do it; no court can condone it. No one is above the constitution,” he said. continued on p2 a games to remember Members of the Indian contingent waving the tricolour and walking during the Asian Games Closing Ceremony in Nagoya on Sunday. India finished fourth in the medal tally with 21 gold, 27 silver and 37 bronze medals (85 medals). Athletics brought 24 medals (1 gold) while boxers (3 gold), archers (5 gold) and shooters (3 gold) stole the show with stellar performances. India will look to build on the momentum and shift the focus to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles | PTI Hyd housing market walks a tightrope as costs rise K h yat i S h a h @ Hyderabad Hyderabad’s residential real estate market is entering a more complex phase, with sales slowing even as property values remain firm and construction costs rise. Residential registrations declined in August, while home sales in Greater Hyderabad in 2026 H1 fell to their weakest level in four-anda-half years. Yet higher ticket sizes and continued demand for premium housing suggest the slowdown has not translated into a broad-based price correction. Developers are also facing mounting pressure on project economics. Direct construction costs are estimated to have risen 8% to 10% due to higher steel, cement, bitumen, finishing materials and other inputs. The additional burden is estimated at `150-300 per sq ft, depending on project size, height, design complexity and scale. K Sreedhar Reddy president , of NAREDCO Telangana, said steel prices were particularly significant because steel accounts for 12% to 15% of hard construction costs. A 10% to 15% rise in steel prices can increase overall project construction expenditure by 1.5% to 3%, with the impact higher in highrise projects because of deeper foundations, basements, shear walls and stronger structural frames, he told TNIE. TMT steel prices in Hyderabad are currently `60,000-72,000 per metric tonne, up 10% to 15% from `52,000-63,000 in H1 2025. Cement prices have risen 8% to 12% to `320-470 per 50-kg bag from `290-420. River sand is now priced at `55-95 per cubic foot, compared with `50-88 earlier, while crushed stone aggregates have risen 4% to 7%. Bitumen has seen a sharper increase, with prices up 12% to 18% at `42,000-52,000 per tonne. Tiles and sanitaryware have risen 10% to 20%, while some specialised finishing products have become up to 60% costlier, adding pressure particularly during the finishing stages. The increase is being driven by higher energy and transportation costs, global freight rates, manufacturer input costs and supply constraints. Cement and steel production are energy-intensive, while higher fuel and freight costs have increased landed material costs. Structural work accounts for a significant share of project expenditure. RCC frameworks make up about 40% to 45% of direct building costs, while steel accounts for 12% to 15% of hard construction costs. The recent increase in steel prices is estimated to add `30-50 per sq ft to construction costs. The impact is significant for large gated communities. continued on p5