vijayawada l thursday l march 13, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 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 DIPAK MO N DAL @ New Delhi Food prices cool Pulses & products Vegetables EGG -5.85% -3.01% -1.07% -0.35% Spices 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%. Meanwhile, another set of data showed the factory output, measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production, grew 5% in January against 3.2% in December 2024, driven by the robust performance of the manufacturing sector. The Consumer Food Price Index, which measures changes in retail prices of food items, fell to 3.75% in February from 5.97% in January on the back of a significant drop in prices of vegetables, eggs, meat, etc. 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 ex- pect food inflation to remain soft,” said Dipti Deshpande, 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 low inflation print has also raised hopes for a rate cut. “CPI inflation print falling well below 4% has cemented the expectation of a back-to-back 25 bps rate cut in April 2025. This may be followed by another 25 bps repo rate cut 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% in February 2025, followed by Chhattisg arh (4.89%), Kar nataka (4.49%), Bihar (4.47%), and Jammu & Kashmir (4.28%). Starlink appears set for India entry Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday posted a message on X welcoming Elon Musk's Starlink to India “Starlink, welcome to India! Will be useful for remote area railway projects,” he posted on X The minister later deleted the tweet It came as SpaceX made separate deals with Mukesh Ambani's Jio Platforms and Sunil MIttal's Bharti Airtel to bring Starlink's high-speed Internet service to India Starlink is the world's largest lowearth-orbit (LEO) constellation operated by SpaceX Starlink can help Bharti and Jio provide connectivity to previously underserved areas, especially areas currently with limited to no coverage The deals come weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Musk, seen as very close to Donald Trump, in Washington | P10 Train hijack drama over, 21 passengers killed, says Pak army A g en c i e s Pakistan military operation to rescue hostages from a train hijacked by terrorists ended on Wednesday with all hostages recovered, Dawn newspaper 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- No future to Jagan if he doesn’t break free from coterie: Vijayasai E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada In a surprising disclosure, former MP V Vijayasai Reddy revealed that he parted ways with the YSRCP after its president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy expressed a lack of trust in him, accusing him of succumbing to temptations. “I was deeply hurt, and left the YSRCP convey, ing to Jagan that if he no longer valued me, there was no reason for me to stay in the party Despite . his request for me to remain, I declined. There’s no going back, no chance of Ghar Vapsi,” Vijayasai Reddy told the press outside the CID office in Vijayawada on Wednesday . The former MP was summoned for questioning with regard to the alleged illegal transfer of shares of Kakinada Seaports Limited (KSPL) and Kakinada SEZ (KSEZ). Vijayasai accused the coterie surrounding Jagan of leading him astray warning that the YS, RCP chief ’s future could be grim unless he broke free from its influence. He said Vikranth Reddy , son of YSRCP MP YV Subba Reddy was the mas, termind behind the KSPL deal, asserting that he was not involved in the matter. He described his link with KV Rao as a mere acquaintance, denying any social, economic or political ties. Vijayasai cautioned that Jagan’s political survival depends on how he deals with P4 this influential circle.  express read JSP plenary ‘Jaya Ketanam’ tomorrow Vijayawada: The Jana Sena Party (JSP) is set to mark its 12th Foundation Day with a massive plenary at Chitrada in Pithapuram Assembly constituency on Friday. JSP chief and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan has named the plenary as ‘Jaya Ketanam’. Over 5 lakh people are expected to attend it | P4 SAGAR grows into a MAHASAGAR vision J aya nt 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 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. HC: Don’t let Tirumala become a concrete jungle E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada Expressing serious concern over the increasing construction activity in Tirumala, the Andhra Pradesh High Court on Wednesday made it clear that the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) should exercise utmost caution regarding the new structures on the hill shrine. Hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by T Mahesh of Tirupati seeking a direction to the TTD to prevent the illegal constructions in the name of mutts and rest houses, the HC Bench headed by Chief Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Cheemalapati Ravi, took strong exception to the construction of buildings, and expressed con- Smart cern over the diminishing forest area. “Necessary steps should be taken to prevent the beautiful Tirumala from becoming a concrete jungle. If the construction activity continues at this rate, the Tirumala forest area will disappear in the near future,” the court opined, adding that it will not allow construction of mutts without proper planning. Later, it directed the Endowments Department, TTD EO and TTD vigilance officials to file their counters, and posted the matter to May 7. Petitioner’s counsellor Uday Kumar informed the court that the TTD had failed to initiate action against religious institutions constructing mutts and other buildings without obtaining necessary permissions.