KOZHIKODE l thursday l march 13, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l city EDITION Trump’s 25% tariff on all steel and aluminium imports 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 Guv bypasses protocol, joins CM to meet FM E X PRESS NE W S SER V ICE @Kochi At 3.61% in February, low CPI inflation raises hopes for another rate cut by RBI next month DIPAK MONDAL @ 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 Business and Management Studies IIM Ahmedabad: 27 Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at a meeting with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Governor Rajendra Arlekar in New Delhi on Wednesday Arlekar bats for The constitutional obligations of the governor ‘Team Kerala’ At a time when Centredo not include attending Kerala relations have hit a these meetings. What Arlekar has low, Governor Arlekar has done is in the true spirit of initiated steps to help them reconnect | P4 federalism — Sebastian Paul, ex-MLA Train hijack drama over, 21 passengers killed, says Pak army 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,” 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 terrorists 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. 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 express read KSRTC’s men-only tour sparks outrage Kozhikode: The KSRTC’s Ramadan Ziyarat Yatra, launched as part of its budget tourism initiative, has sparked a controversy over its exclusivity. The pilgrimage, which began from the Malappuram depot, is open only to men, drawing strong opposition from various quarters | P7 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 Prime Minister Narendra Modi being conferred with Mauritius’ highest honour by its president on Wednesday 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 beyond 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. The objective was also to bring the voice of the Global South to the high table... In advancing Vision MAHASAGAR, we are signaling once again our commitment to the Global South Vikram Misri , foreign secretary Bypassing protocols, Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar joined Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for an informal meeting with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at Delhi’s Kerala House on Wednesday to raise the state’s pressing demands, including the release of central funds and a special financial package for landslide-hit Wayanad. Gover nor Arlekar’s participation assumes significance as he had hosted a dinner for Kerala MPs and Pinarayi on Tuesday evening, where he told the parliamentarians to “stand united” for the cause of the state, sources said. Going a step further, Arlekar also attended a closed door meeting where Kerala additional chief secretary Dr A Jayathilak, who is in charge of finance, briefed Sitharaman on the financial distress caused to the state due to the absence of GST compensation and reduced central grants. The meeting was also attended by Pinarayi and K V Thomas, the special representative of the Keral a g o ve r n m e n t i n Delhi. The unprecedented act by the governor surprised political analysts who said Arlekar’s move is in stark contrast to the hostile stance adopted by his predecessor Arif Mohammed Khan. “The constitutional obligations of the governor do not include attending these meetings. But, what he (Arlekar) has done is in the true spirit of federal- Smart ism,” said political observer and former legislator Sebastian Paul. “We were used to the hostile stance and public criticisms of Arif Mohammed Khan. That’s why Governor Arlekar’s moves stand out,” he said. Prof Thomas told TNIE that the two back-to-back meetings (dinner with Kerala MPs and Wednesday’s breakfast meeting) attended by the governor have helped project an image that the state is united for the cause of its people. “The governor, in fact, told the MPs that they should not address him as ‘His Excellency’, and asked them to consider him as one of them. That he took the pains to host the meeting itself is unprecedented. I don’t think any other previous governors have gone to such lengths to help the state,” Tho● More on P4 mas said.