$ Foreign institutional investors are exiting India as they find US and European markets, with rising interest rates, more attractive May* 17,144 * Till May 24 April March February tirupati l wednesday l may 25, 2022 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION FIIs pull out $21 billion from India so far in 2022 January BIG PULLOUT 34,966 41,123 35,592 Outflow (H crore) 33,303 Total 1,62,128 Source: NSDL Highest ever sale by foreign investors Selling spree likely to continue So far in 2022 (calendar year), FIIs have pulled out a whopping $21.3 billion (`1.62 lakh crore) from India, making it the highest ever net sale by foreign investors in Indian stock markets in less than five months. It has also dragged half the Nifty 50 shares into a bear market. A financial asset slips into a bear market when it falls more than 20% from its recent highs ■ ■ Analysts expect FIIs to continue their selling spree, at around `32,000-33,000 crore a month, till the US Fed pauses rate hikes Meanwhile, fund flows into domestic equities via participatory notes (P-notes) rose to `90,580 crore in April from `87,979 crore in March as investors shifted base from China to India | P10 `52,987 cr Amount pulled out by fiis FROM INDIA DURING THE 2008 FINANCIAL CRISIS 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 Amalapuram burns over renaming dist after Ambedkar E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Kakinada BJP fumes as Rahul meets known India baiter Corbyn E x p r e ss N e ws Se r v i c e @ New Delhi CONGRESS leader Rahul Gandhi’s meeting with British MP Jeremy Corbyn, who is known for his ‘anti-India’ views, in London has snowballed into a controversy back home. Rahul, who is on a visit to the UK, had met Corbyn on Monday and the Indian Overseas Congress shared a photo of the two along with Sam Pitroda, a close aide of the Gandhis. Demanding a clarification from the Congress, the BJP on Tuesday alleged the photo is Rahul’s endorsement of Corbyn’s position on Kashmir. “Rahul Gandhi meets UK MP and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn who is known for his hatred and dislike for India, advocates Kashmir’s secession. Or how long and how much one can go on against one’s own country tweeted Union minis,” ter Kiren Rijiju. BJP’s national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said Rahul is a leader whose statement was once quoted by Pakistan in the dossier submitted to the UN against India. “The picture in which Rahul Gandhi is seen with Corbyn shows how Gandhi scion loves to be with those who nurture anti views against India”, Bhatia said. Defending the meeting, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said there is nothing unsual in political leaders having divergent meeting. Surjewala also shared a picture of Corbyn with PM Modi and asked, “Does it mean PM has endorsed Jeremy Corbyn’s views on India?” NATIONWIDE May 23 May 24 Fresh cases Recoveries Deaths 2,022 2,099 46 000 0000 000 Agitators set the house of minister Viswarup on fire during their demand to let the district name as Konaseema I Express India-US thrust on critical and emerging tech committed to make the IndiaUS partnership the closest on Amid US President Joe Biden earth,” Biden said. assuring Prime Minister Both leaders reviewed the Narendra Modi during their progress made in the India-US meeting in Tokyo that he is Comprehensive Global Stratecommitted to make the bilat- gic Partnership wherein they eral partnership the closest on are committed to strengthen earth, the two sides announced their defence partnership and the launch of a new initiative collaborate on health and panon critical and emergdemic preparedness. i n g t e c h n o l o g i e s China-Russia “Even though trade air drama (iCET) by their respecand investment betive National Security tween the two counChinese and Councils. tries is expanding it Russian India also joined the still is much below our warplanes on Combined Maritime potential, the India-US Tuesday Forces (CMF) based in conducted joint Strategic Partnership Bahrain as an associis a partnership of air patrols over ate member. The CMF the Sea of Japan, trust. Our shared valis a naval coalition of ues and our common the East China over 30 countries that i n t e re s t s. . . h ave Sea and the upholds rules-based strengthened the West Pacific order by countering Ocean during the bonds of this trust,” non-state actors on the Quad summit in Modi said adding that high seas and promotwith the India-US InTokyo, in a ing security, stability message of unity vestment Incentive and prosperity across Agreement he hoped the world’s most important to see concrete progress. shipping lanes. “The US has overlooked InA White House readout of dia’s stand on Russia, primarithe talks said both also noted ly to strengthen its position in the establishment of the Indo- the Indo-Pacific where they Pacific partnership for mari- want to counter China and the time domain awareness, which threat it is posing to countries plays a critical role in econom- like Taiwan. Indo, too, has been ic security and responding to putting forth its point on the humanitarian crises. Chinese military built up “There is so much our coun- around the LAC,’’ said an exP7 tries can do together and I am pert on India-US ties.  May 23 11,91,382 doses May 24 Total doses Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Quad Summit, in Tokyo on Tuesday | AFP Centre removes import duty on soybean, sunflower oil for two years to cool prices E x p r e ss N e ws Se r v i c e @ New Delhi AS part of its efforts to tackle mounting inflationary pressure, the Centre on Tuesday exempted import levy and cess on crude soybean oil and sunflower oil on a quantity of 20 lakh tonnes a year for two years. At the moment, there is a 5% agricultural infrastructure and development cess for importing these items. The latest move could bring relief to consum- `1,000 cr for pellet plant ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India has confirmed an investment of `1,000 crore for the brown-field expansion of its Vizag pellet plant to increase the production capacity by 35%, to 11 MTPA. Ye s h i Se l i @ New Delhi Take your shot 1,92,65,52,757 ap to be green energy hub: CM Want our ties to be closest on earth: Biden Jab-o-meter 11,38,116 doses THE PROTEST against renaming Konaseema after Dr B R Ambedkar turned violent with a mob setting ablaze the residences of Transport Minister P Viswarup and M Mummidavaram MLA P Satish in Amalapuram town and several vehicles on Tuesday . The violent incidents left 20 police personnel, including a DSP in, jured. A protestor, too, was injured. Hundreds of youngsters reportedly belonging to a newly formed outfit, ‘Konaseema Parirakshana Samithi’, defied prohibitory orders and took to the streets, indulging in arson and rioting. The organisation was formed after the govern- ment issued an order on May 19, proposing to rename Konaseema district and inviting objections, if any in 30 days. The men took out a rally from Subakalasam Centre to the district collectorate, but was prevented by the police citing the Section 144 CrPC that was promulgated on Monday A heated argument ensued . between the police and the agitators, broke through the barricades and continued their rally . The mob resorted to stone pelting when the police took some of the protestors into custody and shifted them to a bus. The policemen were injured in the incident. The mob also targeted the vehicle P4 of district SP Subba Reddy . ers as it will cool cooking oil prices. The government has already scrapped base customs duty on almost all edible oils, including palm oil and soybean oil, and imposed inventory limits to curtail hoarding. “Duty free import of 20 lakh MT per year for two FYs (2022-23, 2023-24) of crude soybean oil and crude sunflower oil will provide significant relief to the consumers,” a government statement read. The decision comes in the backdrop of oil prices jumping as much as 17% last month. The overall retail inflation in April was 7.8%. India is one of the top importers of vegetable oil in the world. Prices of edible oils skyrocketed after the Ukraine-Russia war started and Indonesia put a ban on palm oil exports. In the past one year, retail soybean and sunflower oil prices rose 15% each. In the open market, packed soybean oil is sold at `175 a kg while sunflower oil costs around `200 a kg. Camaraderie on display AP Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy meets Telangana IT Minister KT Rama Rao in Davos | Express CM Mann sacks health minister over corruption H a r p r ee t B a j w a @ Chandigarh Giving a dramatic push to probity in public life, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday sacked his health minister Dr Vijay Singla and got him arrested for seeking cut money for awarding government contracts and clearing payments. Singla was later produced before a local court, which remanded him in three-day police custody For his part, Singla said, “It is . conspiracy to defame the AAP and Bhagwant Mann government.” Both Singla and his Officer on Special Duty (OSD) Pardeep Kumar were booked by the police under the Prevention of Corruption Act based on a complaint from Rajinder Singh, Superintending Engineer in the Punjab Health Systems Corporation. The FIR said Singla’s OSD Kumar had demanded that the officer fetch 2% commission for a construction contract worth `41 crore the minister had already cleared and for a separate payment of `17 crore made to contractors in March. Since the total amount involved was `58 crore, 2% works out to `1.16 crore. When Rajinder Singh brought the harassment to Mann’s notice, he was asked to gather proof. The officer then taped a meeting he had with Singla and Kumar, where they reiterated their demand for bribe and said the cut money should be paid to his nephew. Mann is learnt to have then confronted the minister with the recording and asked if the voice on the tape was his. Singla reportedly replied in the affirmative and was sacked. He is a first-time MLA and minister, as are most ministers in the Punjab ministry . Mann put out a video message making the announcement. “We found substantial proof of his corruption. I do not care if the opposition wants to use this to hit out at us,” he nonchalently claimed. During a meeting, Telangana IT Minister KT Rama Rao called AP CM Jagan a brother. The duo met weeks after KTR remarked that a ‘neighbouring’ State did not have proper roads and power supply E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada On day three of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and the government’s initiatives towards decarbonising economy received high praise. Stating that Andhra Pradesh is set to emerge as a model for green energy and decarbonised economy, the chief minister said, the 5,230me ga watts inte g rated pumped storage renewable project in Kurnool was the first step in that direction. In his opening remarks at a session held to discuss the transition to decarbonised economy in Andhra Pradesh, Jagan said, “Decarbonised mechanism is the need of the hour and in fact, ESG (Environmental, social, and governance) Compliance emphasises the same today. It has become even more imperative and it is our responsibility to achieve it. Andhra Pradesh will become a torch bearer to showcase this.” Other panelists, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, Arcelor Mittal CEO Aditya Mittal, GreenKo MD and CEO Anil Kumar Chalamsetty and Dassault Systemes Executive Vice-President F lorence Verzelen, discussed policies regarding green energy and decarbonisation policies, which are being adopted by several countries. Stating that he had laid the stone for the world’s largest integrated renewable energy storage project at Kurnool, the CM explained that the plant has a capacity of 5,230MW in a single location which includes pump storage, solar and wind energy . “The integrated project has 1,650 MW of pump storage and 3,000 MW solar power and 960 MW wind energy The size . and scale speaks volumes about the direction in which P4 we are going,” he said.  express read Tomatoes sold at `130/kg in Mercury shoots up in Samalkot Kurnool, highest in district as it records 44.5 0 Celsius Kurnool: For the first time ever, the price of one kg tomatoes has crossed past `100 as it was sold at `130/kg at various retail markets, particularly in Yemmiganur, Adoni and Kurnool city. Due to scarcity of the vegetable, traders have been forced to export them from Madnapalle and Karnataka | P2 Vijayawada: Even as rains IMD has predicted rainfall in Andhra Pradesh, the day time temperatures soared above 40 0 Celsius at several places. In the 24-hours ending 8:30 am on Tuesday, Samalakot in Kakinada district recorded the highest daytime temperature of 44.5 degrees celsius | P3 Forest dept moots `60L plan to curb red sanders smuggling in 2 districts Fishermen are natives of Andhra & TN B-Grade red sanders are abundant in the reserve forest spread over nearly 48 sq. km around the reservoir. A few fishermen support smugglers and woodcutters to store logs in the reservoir. They identify red sanders, cut them and store them in the shallow waters of the Somasila project. We have beefed up vigilance on roads to curb smuggling of red sanders logs. We have plans to form a team consisting of officials from Kadapa and Nellore districts Senior forest official E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Nellore A SPECIAL team comprising forest officials of Kadapa and Nellore districts will formed to curb the smuggling of red sanders. The forest department has also sent a proposal for purchasing a boat to patrol the Somasila reservoir, spread over the two districts. Fishermen have been chopping down red sanders and storing the logs in the reservoir, before smuggling them out of the State and country over , the past couple of decades. The Somasila project is surrounded by the hills of Penusila Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Wildlife Sanctuary . B-Grade red sanders are abundant in the reserve forest spread over nearly 48 square kilometers around the reservoir. The Veligonda range separates Nellore from Kadapa and Kurnool is the backbone of the Eastern Ghats starting from Nagari in Chittoor district. Recently, forest officials led by Y Srinivasa Reddy visited Udayagiri and prepared a sur- veillance plan for Somasila reservoir, and sent proposals to the government for the estimated `60 lakh project. Woodcutters and smugglers identify red sanders trees, cut the logs and dump them in the shallow waters of Somasila project and later shift them after confirming that the routes are clear of forest and police patrol parties. Some of the fishermen, originally from Tiruvallur, Chengalpattu, Vellore and Salem districts of Tamil Nadu and East Godavari of Andhra Pradesh, have registered themselves as indigenous fishermen. They have been supporting the smuggling for sometime, officials said. Though several fishermen had backed off after authorities started cracking down on them, a few others are still supporting the smugglers. “We have beefed up vigil on roads to curb red sander smuggling. We have planes to form a team consisting of officials from the two districts,” a senior forest official said. The forest department is also facing a shortage of guards.