belagavi l Thursday l march 13, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l late city EDITION Trump’s 25% tariff on all steel and aluminium import kicks in The US increased tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports to 25% on Wednesday, saying this will create more factory jobs in the US Canada lines up $20bn retaliatory tariffs EU to target U.S. goods worth $28 billion President Trump says new tariffs will help steel and aluminium makers in the US. However, economists warn they will raise the cost for US manufacturers that use these metals as raw materials. Canada, the largest supplier of steel and aluminium to the US, called the measures “completely unjustified” and has lined up $20.7 bn in retaliatory tariffs ■ ■ The European Union, which will also be hit hard by Trump’s policy, announced its countermeasures targeting US goods worth $28 bn including textiles, home appliances and agriculture products Both Australia and Mexico expressed their displeasure, but said they would not announce any retaliatory measures for now 26.4 million tonnes of steel imported by the United states in 2023 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 Retail inflation below 4% for 1st time in 6 months At 3.61% in February, low CPI inflation raises hopes for another rate cut by RBI next month D I PA K M ON D AL @ New Delhi Brightening the prospects of another interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India next month, retail inflation eased to a seven-month low of 3.61% in February driven by a sharp de, cline in food prices, government data released on Wednesday showed. Notably consumer , inflation has fallen below RBI’s 4% target after a gap of six months, and is the lowest since July 2024. In January 2025, retail inflation was at 4.26%. Food inflation fell to 3.75% in February from 5.97% in January on the back of a significant cut in the prices of vegetables, eggs, meat and fish, pulses, and dairy products. Vegetable prices saw an annual drop of 1.07%, egg prices 3%, and spices 5.85%. Prices of meat and fish showed a moderate growth of 2.11%, while that of milk and milk products grew 2.68% year-on-year. Rural inflation fell to 3.79% in February from 4.59% in January Food inflation in rural re. gions also softened to 4.06% from 6.31%. Urban areas reported a similar trend, with headline inflation falling to 3.32% from 3.87%. Food inflation in cities declined to 3.20% from 5.53% in January . “In coming months, we expect food inflation to remain soft,” said Dipti Deshpande, IIP rebounds Factory output, measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), grew 5% in January against 3.2% in December 2024, driven by the robust growth of the manufacturing sector (5.5%). Mining and power output grew 4.4% and 2.4%, respectively. Within the manufacturing sector, the top three contributors were basic metals (6.3%), coke & refined petroleum products (8.5%), and electrical equipment (21.7%), data showed principal economist, Crisil. Core inflation (non-food, nonfuel inflation), on the other hand, crossed the 4% mark for the first time since November 2023, reaching 4.1% in February 2025. This was driven by surging gold and silver prices. “The CPI inflation print falling well below 4% has cemented the expectation of a back-toback 25 bps rate cut in April 2025. This may be followed by another 25 bps repo rate cut either in June 2025 or August 2025,” said Aditi Nayar, chief economist, ICRA. On state-wise inflation, Kerala topped the list of major states with the highest year-on-year inflation rate at 7.31%. 9 Indian institutions in QS rankings Nine Indian institutions figure in the world’s top 50 in the QS subject-wise rankings, though most of them saw a drop in their positions. A look Engineering-Mineral and Mining Indian School of Mines (ISM), Dhanbad: 20 IIT Bombay: 28 IIT Kharagpur: 45 Engineering and Technology IIT Delhi: 26 IIT Bombay: 28  Rank delimitation Business and Management Studies IIM Ahmedabad: 27 IIM Bangalore: 40 79 Indian universities feature 533 times across this year’s rankings, marking a 25.7% increase compared to the previous edition QS statement Agencies Pakistan military operation to rescue hostages from a train hijacked by terrorists ended on Wednesday with all hostages recovered, Dawn reported. All terrorists involved have been killed, the report said. Head of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said all hostage passengers were recovered. A total of 21 passengers were killed, he said, adding no passenger was injured in the final clearance operation. “This operation was conducted with great skill and care since terrorists were using them as human shields,” Paramedics treat an injured passenger at the Mach railway station in Balochistan | afp Chaudhry said. He said 33 terrorists were killed in the operation. The Jaffar Express carrying around 450 passengers were hijacked on Tuesday. Balochistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attack. Chaudhry said the terror- 15 popular spots in Hampi unsafe for tourists? K i ra n Ba l a n n a n ava r @ H a m p i , H os a p e te More than 15 popular tourist spots in Hampi are unsafe for tourists, according to activists. Places such as Sugriva Cave, Sita Seragu, Chakrathirtha, and behind the Elephant Stable have no security guards, they told TNIE on Wednesday Security guards and CCTV cameras . can be seen only in a few places, including Virupaksha and Vijaya Vittala temples and Hema Kuta, the activists said. Referring to the recent rape of two women in Koppal district, the activists underscored the need for security measures such as guards, CCTV cameras and streetlights at all tourist spots in Hampi. A monument protection activist said ASI officials appointed 100 security guards and the tourism department deployed 20 homeguards (Pravasi Mitra police) sometime ago, and A damaged CCTV camera Hampi tourist police staoverlooks the Vijaya tion has around 22 personVittala temple in Hampi nel. But these personnel can’t manage all tourist spots in Hampi and its surrounding areas. Both the Union and state governments should take immediate action to prevent unpleasant incidents in Hampi, he added. A senior police officer said patrolling in Hampi and other tourist spots will be intensified soon. “We held meetings recently with owners of homestays, hotels, and other stakeholders in the tourism sector on the security measures to be taken in Hampi. We will soon take all possible measures for safe tourism in Hampi,” he said. express read Will set up search panel for KPSC: CM Siddu extends support to Stalin Karnataka CM backs his TN counterpart’s move to form a JAC comprising likeminded states to oppose the Centre’s proposed delimitation exercise. According to informed sources, Siddaramaiah is likely to depute a Congress leader to attend the March 22 meeting on delimitation in Chennai | P5 Train hijack drama over, 21 passengers killed, says Pak army 10 Sambhal mosques to be covered during Holi Sambhal: To maintain communal harmony, the Uttar Pradesh administration has decided to cover ten mosques with tarpaulin in Sambhal during the Holi celebrations on Friday. March 14 marks a rare 60-year coincidence of Holi and Ramazan ‘Jumma’ falling together on the same day. Bengaluru: The state government will constitute a search committee to appoint members to the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC), Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Wednesday. He also said the government will propose conducting the KPSC examinations on par with UPSC. NEP a ‘saffron policy’, says Stalin Chennai: Upping the ante against the Centre on NEP, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Wednesday said it was not the National Education Policy but a “saffron policy” aimed at developing Hindi and not the nation. “The NEP does not accept reservation that is social justice. This policy denies assistance amount to SCs, STs and OBCs,” Stalin said. ists were in contact with their supporters and masterminds in Afghanistan during the operation via satellite phone. Earlier in the day officials , said some of the terrorists wearing vests loaded with explosives had formed groups of women and children and forced them to sit near them. Due to the presence of women and children with the suicide bombers, the operation was being conducted with utmost caution, they added. A security source earlier said that around 30 people who sustained injuries had been sent to hospitals. He said two drivers in the main engine and eight security personnel were killed during the operation. SAGAR grows into a MAHASAGAR vision J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched MAHASAGAR, a vision for security and growth for the Global South, as India and Mauritius strengthened their strategic partnership amid China’s growing influence in the region in Mauritius on Wednesday . The two sides also signed eight aggrements. “Ten years ago, the foundation of Vision SAGAR, which stands for “Security and Growth for All in the Region” was laid here in Mauritius. We’re moving ahead with the SAGAR Vision for the stability and prosperity of this region,” said Modi. “Today building upon this, I , want to say that our vision for Global South will be going be- Smart Prime Minister Narendra Modi being conferred with Mauritius’ highest honour by its president on Wednesday yond SAGAR — it will be MAHASAGAR, i.e. “Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions,” he said. MAHASAGAR shall encompass the ideas of trade for development, capacity building for sustainable growth, and mutual security for a shared future, the PM explained.