VIJAYAWADA l wednesday l october 23, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Foreign Institutional investors withdraw `82,000 cr from India This is the highest outflow of funds in a single month. The FIIs offloaded equities worth `2,261 crore on Monday alone, provisional data showed Large investors shifting focus to China? Indian markets tank amid sell-off According to market watchers, Indian stocks may be falling out of favour with FIIs, which are reportedly re-routing their funds to Chinese stocks. The foreign investors’ focus seems to have turned to Beijing after President Xi Jinping announced his plan to create a ‘high-quality market’ that gives the best bang for investors’ buck, followed up by a stimulus package unveiled this month | P10 ■ ■ Amid the massive sell-off, the Indian stockmarkets tanked on Tuesday, with the Sensex falling 930.55 points, or 1.15%, to settle at 80,220.72 Data showed the market cap of BSE-listed firms shrank `9,19,374 crore to `4,44,45,649 crore ($5.29 trillion) on Tuesday. This is interpreted as erosion of `9.19 lakh crore in investors’ notional wealth in a single day `61,973 cr The previous highest monthly FII outflow, recorded in March 2020 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 Modi, Xi talks today B  ilateral dialogue before BRICS Summit opens at Russia’s Kazan, says government N  eed to restore mutual trust to go back to status quo ante: Army Chief Gen Dwivedi We are trying to restore the trust. That will happen once we are able to see each other and reassure each other that we are not creeping into buffer zones that have been created Gen Upendra Dwivedi billion+ countries India and China have a population of over a billion. “Anybody who is predicting developments of this century cannot leave India and China out of that equation,’’ External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said economic ties up Economic ties are improving. China is India’s largest trade partner with $118.4 billion twoway trade in 2023-24. This was slightly higher than the bilateral trade between India and the US at $118.28 billion in the same year Naidu vows to develop Andhra as drone hub K K a lya n K r i s h n a K u m a r @ Vijayawada Y e s h i S e l i a n d MAYAN K SINGH @ New Delhi Setting all speculation to rest on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping holding a bilateral meeting in Russia’s Kazan, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said it will be held on Wednesday ahead of the BRICS Summit. “I can confirm that there will be a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Jinping tomorrow,” Misri said. This will be their first meeting after bilateral relations went south following a bloody clash of soldiers at Galwan in eastern Ladakh in 2020. Their meeting will not only signal to the world that the BRICS grouping is more powerful than perceived but also show India in a much stronger collaborative position with the China, Russia, and Iran. Back home, Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi pointed to trust issues with China, saying, “We want to go back to the status quo of April 2020. Thereafter we will be looking at disengagement, de-escalation and normal management of LAC... This has been our stand since April 2020.” Gen Dwivedi was delivering the Colonel Pyara Lal Memorial Lecture on Indian Army’s Decade of Transformation in Delhi. He felt that both sides need to reassure and convince each other to move forward with the subsequent phases of disengagement. This newspaper had on Monday brought out the trust concerns with China as several sources said there was nothing on the ground to suggest China was willing to blink. The new agreement addresses two key friction points, Depsang and Demchok. The military has remained consistent in its interpretation of the disengagement processes from areas such as Galwan, Gogra, Hot Springs, and the north and south banks of Pangong Tso, while also asserting that this does not affect India’s claim over the LAC alignment. According to sources, previous disengagements were carried out on the principle of mutual and equal security with no prejudice , to either side’s claims over the LAC. However, the standoff at Depsang remains significant, as Chinese troops have blocked access to Patrol Points (PPs) 10, 11, 11A, 12, and 13, which cover an area of approximately 952 sq km. These PPs, located east of the strategic SubSector North road, are not directly on the LAC but lie within Indian territory Sub-Sec. tor North is crucial due to its terrain, which allows large-scale armoured operations. rolls out red carpet for investors Russian President Vladimir Putin embraces Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their meeting on the sidelines of BRICS Summit at Kazan on Tuesday | AP/PTI Iran Prez seeks support to end conflict in bilateral talks tional North South Corridor. Discussions were also held on Afghanistan and humanitarian Prime Minister Narendra assistance provided to the peoModi on Tuesday held bilateral ple there. “Had a very good meetings with Iran’s new Presi- meeting with the President of dent Masoud Pezeshkian and Iran, Mr Masoud Pezeshkian. Russian President We reviewed the full Vladimir Putin upon range of relations behis arrival in Kazan, tween our countries. ahead of the 16th We also discussed All our efforts BRICS Summit. ways to deepen ties in give priority to “Prime Minister futuristic sectors,” Modi had his first-ever humanity; India is Modi later said. meeting with Presi- ready to provide As for the first bilatall possible dent Pezeshekian after eral, Putin joked that cooperation to he won the elections in Russia-India ties are end Ukraine war Iran. The two leaders so strong that he felt Narendra Modi, spoke about the need Modi would underprime minister to de-escalate tensions stand his comments in West Asia. Iran without a translator. sought India’s help in the resoOn the war in Ukraine, Modi lution of the conflict as it was said, “I have been in touch with acquainted with leaders across Putin. I would want a peaceful the world,” Foreign Secretary resolution keeping in mind the Vikram Misri said. humanitarian crisis. India will Modi also spoke about the extend all possible support for Chabahar port and the Interna- the peace process.” Express News Service @ New Delhi Asserting that the State government is committed to develop Andhra Pradesh as the hub for drone technology , Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu rolled out the red carpet for investors and pitched himself as the best ambassador for the drone industry .   Naidu and Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu inaugurated the two-day Amaravati Drone Summit at CK Convention in Mang alagiri on Tuesday . Speaking at the inaugural session of the summit, Naidu offered 300 acres of land at Orvakal in Kurnool district to the Centre, seeking the establishment of a drone hub. Strategically located near Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Amaravati, he noted, the site aims to position the State at the forefront of India’s drone ecosystem. Highlighting the transformative potential of drones, especially in agriculture, infrastructure, and healthcare, the Chief Minister pointed out that drones were effec- While other countries use drones for war, we will use them for peace & security by monitoring criminal activities & ensuring public safety. The State govt will release a drone policy in 15 days to establish a businessfriendly environment for manufacturers and innovators Drone technology is a game changer. We are inviting drone companies to give us their use cases, so we can test them here. Further, we are planning to issue 20,000 drone pilot certificates to build a skilled workforce and achieve 80% indigenisation in drone manufacturing. The government is also planning to train 35,000 drone pilots N Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister tively used to deliver food and drinking water to stranded residents during the recent Vijayawada floods. “While other countries use drones for warfare, we will use them for peace and security by monitoring criminal activities and ensuring public safety he remarked. ,” Terming data new wealth, Naidu noted that 400 million TB data is generated daily. “When combined with AI, this data has the potential to drive innovations that were previously unimaginable,” he P4 opined.  A spectacular show with 5,500 drones was organised at Punnami Ghat in Vijayawada on Tuesday ; (Top) Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu with Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu during the inaugural session of the Amaravati Drone Summit held at CK Convention in Mangalagiri | EXPRESS / Prasant Madugula 40 more flights get bomb threats State govt, Meta ink MoU SHE K HAR SINGH & U J WAL J ALALI @ New Delhi HOAX bomb threats continued to keep the security agencies on their toes and inconvenience passengers on Tuesday as about 40 more flights received threat emails. Three CRPF schools, including the one in Rohini where an explosion happened two days ago, also received threats on Tuesday. On Tuesday, a CRPF school in Dwarka and another one Hyderabad also received hoax bomb threats. The emails, reportedly sent late in the night on Monday, indicated a potential bomb explo- CYCLONe sion in classrooms at 11 am on Tuesday. Officials said a detailed probe is underway, with senior officers of the CRPF, Intelligence Bureau, and Delhi Police reviewing the situation. Between Monday and Tuesday at least 70 flights belonging , to Air India, Vistara, IndiGo, and Akasa Air faced fresh 3 schools targeted A CRPF school in Delhi’s Dwarka, another one in Rohini where an explosion happened two days ago, and a third CRPF school in Hyderabad also received hoax bomb threats through emails bomb threats through social media, bringing the total number of such threats in the past eight days to 160. Sources put the security threats for Air India at 13, Vistara 11, and Akasa Air 12 on Tuesday. Meanwhile, IndiGo said 23 of its flights—both domestic and international— were targeted on Monday and Tuesday. It said three Jeddahbound flights were diverted to Riyadh, Medina, and Doha. A Vistara spokesperson said that a few of their flights received security threats through social media. An Akasa spokesperson also confirmed receiving security alerts on Tuesday . to improve governance d e e p i k a k o l l u r u @ Vijayawada The State government on Tuesday entered into a strategic partnership with Meta Platforms Inc. to revolutionise public service delivery through advanced digital solutions. The collaboration aims to bring governance to the fingertips of citizens by leveraging Meta’s WhatsApp Business Solution and cutting-edge opensource generative AI technologies like Llama. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in the presence of Minister for Human Resource Development, IT, Electronics and Communi- The MoU was signed in the presence of IT Minister Nara Lokesh and Meta India V-P Sandhya Devanathan in New Delhi cations (ITE & C) Nara Lokesh and Meta India Vice President Sandhya Devanathan at Janpath in New Delhi. The partnership fulfils a promise made by Lokesh during his Yuva Galam Padayatra to make government servi c e s e f f i c i e n t a n d u s e rfriendly . Hailing the agreement as a historic milestone in addressi n g t h e l o n g - d r aw n - o u t processes citizens face in obtaining important certificates, including caste and income documents, Lokesh explained that the partnership with Meta will enable citizens to request and receive certificates digitally through WhatsApp API (Application Programming Interface), thereby eliminating the necessity to navigate multiple government offices. P4 15 CID teams raid eight distilleries in State & seize documents Landfall on Thursday night or early Friday P h a n i n d r a Pa pa s a n i IMD said cyclonic system Dana would intensify into a severe cyclone by October 23 night and cross Odisha, West Bengal coasts sometime between October 24 night and October 25 morning. Heavy rain is likely to lash parts of AP for next three days | P5 Sleuths of the Andhra Pradesh Crime Investigation Department (APCID) conducted inspections at eight ldistilleries in the State on Tuesday. As many as 15 teams, comprising 30 CID police personnel, carried out the searches and seized documents related to production and supply of liquor. The teams were headed by officers of the ranks of addition- @ Vijayawada During the inspection, CID officials verified records pertaining to procurement of raw material in distilleries, manufacture of liquor, dispatch of the stocks, purchase orders and demand orders, bank accounts of the manufacturing companies | Express The State government is ready to offer 300 acres at Orvakal in Kurnool district for the Centre to establish a drone hub. Strategically located near Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Amaravati, the site aims to position Andhra Pradesh at the forefront of India’s drone ecosystem al superintendent of police (ADSP) and deputy superintendent of police. Sources in the CID said the raids were conducted based on complaints received over the past few years, alleging irregularities at a few liquor manufacturing units, supply of substandard liquor to outlets and sale of liquor through syndicates. In Krishna district, searches were carried out at a bottling unit in Auto Nagar, a private distillery in Davuluru village, a bottling plant operat- ing in a biotech manufacturing unit in Gandepalli, and a beverage unit in Chintala Narava village. The sleuths also inspected distilleries and bottling units at Pedavegi in Eluru, Kasimkota in Anakapalli, Renigunta in Tirupati, Koppavaram in East Godavari, Karakambadi and Thimmasamudram in Chittoor, Old Singarayakonda in Prak a s a m , a n d i n YS R a n d Nandyal. Officials verified records pertaining to procurement of raw material in distilleries. Have more kids to prevent demographic challenges: CM Express News Service @ Vijayawada Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu once again voiced his concerns over the future demographic shift in the country and called on people to have more children. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Amaravati Drone Summit on Tuesday, Naidu highlighted the importance of population management in India and said that South India, being an early adopter of population control measures, must now re-evaluate its strategies. Citing Europe, China, Russia, and Japan as examples of nations struggling with ageing populations, he opined, “Ageing is becoming a global challenge. If India can manage its population well, it will hold a dominant position globally for hundreds of years.” On a query about Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin’s statement on the need for South Indian States to enhance their population, he stressed that southern States must continue reforms while addressing demographic challenges through foresight and collaboration.