visakhapatnam l saturday l may 17, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION IPL RESUMES AFTER BREAK due to BORDER TENSIONS Royal Challengers Bengaluru host Kolkata Knight Riders in Bengaluru today. The league was temporarily suspended on May 8 RCB’s Virat Kohli during a practice session on Friday | Vinod Kumar T Matches in six venues, Final on June 3 ■ Delhi, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Lucknow and Mumbai will host the remaining 12 matches, with venues for the play-offs yet to be decided ■ 17 DEPLETED SQUADS FOR SEVERAL TEAMS ■ Due to forecast of rains in Southern India, IPL decided against hosting matches in Chennai and Hyderabad, with Bengaluru hosting two matches | P11 ■ Several IPL teams will have depleted squads in the home stretch because of important assignments like the WTC final. South African players, for example, will not feature in the playoffs However, sides have been allowed to name ‘temporary’ replacements to supplement their roster. Mumbai will be one of the hardest hit side NO OF REMAINING TIES (12 LEAGUE, FOUR PLAY-OFF FIXTURES & FINAL) 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 Teams to visit 40-50 countries, many of them Islamic, to expose Pak terror footprint Mega diplomatic push via multi-party teams rajnath: Pak using IMF money for terror P r ee t h a N a i r a nd r a je s h K um a r T h a ku r @ New Delhi Minister for Education, IT, and Electronics Nara Lokesh lays the foundation for the ReNew hybrid renewable energy project at Bethapalli village in Anantapur district on Friday. (Right) ReNew Power CEO Sumanth Sinha with Lokesh | express Lokesh lays stone for `22k cr ReNew green energy project E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Anantapur Andhra Pradesh marked a significant step toward a sustainable future with the groundbreaking ceremony of a `22,000 crore, 4.8-gigawatt hybrid renewable energy project by ReNew Power in Bethapalli village, Guntakallu constituency Anantapur district. , Minister for Education, IT, and Electronics, Nara Lokesh, laid the foundation stone on Friday and hailed the project as a cornerstone of India’s clean energy revolution, signalling the return of industries that had previously left the state. Addressing the gathering, Lokesh hailed the project as a testament to bold decision- express read liquor scam Two ex-officials ‘held’ by SIT Vijayawada: In a major development in the multi-crore liquor scam during the YSRCP regime, two accused, Dhanunjaya Reddy and Krishna Mohan Reddy, were allegedly taken into custody on Friday and are expected to be produced in the AntiCorruption Bureau (ACB) court in Vijayawada on Saturday. However, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) did not officially confirm the duo’s arrest or court production ‘Op Sindoor’ Shah hails PM’s war against terror New Delhi: Inaugurating a new Multi-Agency Centre (MAC) at the North Block on Friday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said ‘Operation Sindoor’ is a testament to India’s strong political will, accurate intelligence of our agencies and the impeccable combat capability of the three Armed Forces. “Operation Sindoor is a unique symbol of Prime Minister Modi’s resolute political will,” Shah said ReNew Power project to generate 10k jobs ReNew Power project, being set up in Anantapur district, is expected to generate 10,000 jobs, boost local economy, create opportunities for youth and farmers. m a k i n g a n d s u s t a i n abl e progress. “This is not just an industry, it’s a movement that will power the grid, ignite the aspirations of unemployed youth, and pave the way for a brighter future,” he said. He underscored the state’s abundant sunlight and clean air, advocating a shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy and dismissing the need to seek solutions beyond Earth. The project aligns with Andhra Pradesh’s Integrated Clean Energy (ICE) Policy, launched in October 2024 under Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s visionary leadership. Lokesh described the policy as a blueprint for India’s green revolution, positioning Andhra Pradesh as a trendsetter. He highlighted the return of ReNew Power, a major investor before 2019, noting, “Six years later, ReNew has retur ned stronger, reflecting confidence in our governance.” State Power Minister Gottipati Ravi Kumar reinforced this, stating, “Companies that fled during the previous government are now returning under this people’s government, drawn by our investor-friendly P4 policies.”  Voda’s SOS to govt: Need timely help on AGR dues, else will have to shut shop RA K E SH K U M AR @ New Delhi Vodafone Idea (Vi) has said it will be forced to shut shop if the government doesn’t help. India’s third-largest telecom operator urged the Centre to waive its adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues, warning that it may not be able to continue operations beyond FY26. According to sources, the telecom company has sought the government’s intervention to meet AGR obligations and mitigate insolvency risk. Vi also warned that the value of the gover nment’s equity stake could fall to zero, resulting in no recovery on the `1.18 lakh crore of spectrum dues. Currently, Vi’s total liabilities are pegged at `2 lakh crore, including `1.19 lakh crore in spectrum usage charges and `83,400 crore in AGR dues. The company is required to pay `18,000 crore annually in AGR dues over the next six years. According to Vi, this figure exceeds its operating cash flows, which have averaged between `8,400 crore and `9,200 crore over the past three years. The gover nment had in March converted `36,950 crore of the firm’s dues into equity, increasing its stake to 49%. Meanwhile, the beleaguered firm has filed a fresh petition in the Supreme Court seeking waiver of `30,000 crore in AGR dues, pertaining to interest, penalty and interest on penalty , components. Vi’s fresh petition comes in the wake of the SC’s ruling in February rejecting a batch of pleas by several telcos against the Department of Telecommunications (DoT)’s formula to calculate AGR. The SC upheld the DoT’s calculation, which included telcos’ revenue from non-telecom businesses as well and not just core telecom operations. According to Vi, timely support from the Government of India is needed on AGR relief, otherwise the ongoing discussions with banks regarding funding will stall. If the situation leads to operational disruption, approximately 200 million users could be affected. D i l i p S i n g h K s h at r i ya With the Centre set to send nearly a dozen multi-party delegations to various important countries to exert diplomatic pressure on Pakistan, it was learnt that the lists of Opposition and ruling coalition’s MPs were prepared by the Prime Minister’s Office and conveyed to respective political parties. While MPs from various political parties were consulted by Union minister Kiran Rijiju, sources said the selection was done based on certain parameters, such as domain knowledge, articulation skills and representation of women and Muslims. The delegations will brief the hosts on Pakistan’s role in perpetrating cross-border terror in the April 22 Pahalgam attack, Operation Sindoor and the efforts by some countries to hyphenate India and Pakistan. “There will be a briefing by the MEA before we leave. We may also present dossiers on Pakistan’s links to the terror attacks,” said an MP . The delegation may travel to 40-50 countries and are likely to start from May 22 or 23 for a period of 10 days. The focus will be more on Islamic countries, said an MP. The government is considering 7-8 eight delegations with 5-6 members each, said a source. The likely representatives from Congress will be Shashi Tharoor, Manish Tewari, Salman Khurshid and Amar Singh, while DMK’s Kanimozhi, CPI (M)’s John Brittas and AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi are likely to be part of the INDIA on Friday called upon the International Monetary Fund to reconsider its $1 billion assistance to Pakistan, stressing that Islamabad can use it for funding terror. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who arrived at the Bhuj Air Force station Friday morning to review the overall security situation, said India does not want funds it gives to the IMF to be used to create a terror infrastructure in Pakistan. “India would like the IMF to reconsider its assistance of $1 billion to Pakistan and refrain from g iv i n g a ny kind of assistance in future,” he said. He lauded Rajnath Singh the Air Force for spearheading the campaign against terrorism effectively . “The current ceasefire is not a peace agreement — it’s probation,” Singh declared. “If Pakistan’s behaviour improves, good. If not, the harshest punishment will follow ...” he said. Singh further said Pakistan has started rebuilding its destroyed terror infrastructure, and has collected taxes from its citizens to lend it to Masood Azhar, head of Jaish-e-Mohammed and a UN-designated terrorist. “Pakistan plans to divert public funds — roughly `14 crore — to Masood Azhar of JeM,” Singh said. Pakistan has announced financial aid to LeT and JeM in Muridke and Bahawalpur, he said. @ Ahmedabad Union home minister Amit Shah with others during the inauguration of an upgraded multi agency centre for intelligence sharing, in New Delhi on Friday | PTI delegations. While former Union minister Anurag Thakur, Aparajita Sarangi and Samik Bhattacharya and V Muralidharan are among the BJP MPs, TMC’s Sudip Bandyopadhyay , JD(U)’s Sanjay Jha, BJD’s Sasmit Patra and NCP-SP’s Supriya Sule and J&K’s Ghulam Nabi Azad are also likely to be part of the delegations. Several Opposition parties welcomed the move. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said Rijiju contacted party chief Mallikarjun Kharge on the matter, adding the latter will decide which MPs are to be sent. Such diplomatic initiatives have been taken in the past as well. In 1994, the then PM Narasimha Rao deputed a team comprising opposition leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Farooq Abdullah, Salman Khurshid, and India’s then ambassador to the UN, Hamid Ansari, to a UN session in Geneva to present India’s case on the Kashmir problem and to defeat a Pakistan resolution to censure New Delhi. After the Mumbai attack in 2008, PM Manmohan Singh sent a multi-party delegation to various countries with dossiers on Pakistan’s links to the terror attacks. @ Vijayawada Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu asserted that the 11th International Yoga Day celebrations in Visakhapatnam should be conducted in a record-breaking manner. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to participate in this year’s celebrations on June 21 in Visakhapatnam, the Chief Minister stressed that the event must be historic and unforget- table. Chairing a meeting with the officials at his residence in Undavalli on Friday, Naidu while noting that this year’s theme is “Yoga for One Earth, One Health”, and directed them to take every initiative for the grand success of the International Yoga Day . “This is a prestigious event. The Prime Minister’s presence makes it even more special. It must be conducted spectacularly and mark the beginning of a widespread yoga movement across the state. Every citizen should be made a stakeholder. The programme must This is a prestigious event. The Prime Minister’s presence makes it even more special. It must be conducted spectacularly and mark the beginning of a widespread yoga movement across the State. N Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister Each multi-party group of 5-6 MPs from both the LS and RS is expected to leave by May 22-23 on its 10-day diplomatic mission. These teams will visit the US, UK, and several Islamic nations to share India’s stance on Pak-sponsored terror Official details expected today A senior government source said that the MPs will be thoroughly briefed and equipped with evidence of Pakistan’s involvement in the Pahalgam terror attack. Official details on the mission are expected to ne announced on Saturday Owaisi may lead team to S Arabia Asaduddin Owaisi, who sharply condemned Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack, is likely to lead a delegation to Saudi Arabia and Qatar. In all, over 35 MPs are expected to participate in the diplomatic outreach Muttaqi-Jaishankar call fresh Taliban attempt to normalise ties with India J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi op sindoor success rally CM N Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan, and BJP State president D Purandeswari hold the national flag during the ‘Tiranga Rally’, held to mark the success of ‘Operation Sindoor’ on the MG Road in Vijayawada on Friday | Prasant Madugula CM wants Intl Yoga Day fete to be a record-breaking event E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e 10-day mission by multiple teams reach at least two crore people. The state-wide campaign should be launched under the theme ‘Yogandhra-2025,’” the Chief Minister said. As a run-up to the event, a ‘Yoga Month’ will be observed from May 21 to June 21. During this period, yoga practice sessions will be conducted across the State. Yoga trainers, associations, and experts should be involved as partners. People should be offered both online and offline training for a month. Those who complete the training should be given certificates of recognition. Registrations for Yoga Day participation should be facilitated through the village and ward secretariats. Students from schools and colleges should also be actively involved. Officials presented plans for the PM’s programme and crowd arrangements at RK Beach. They informed that yoga participants will be spread from P4 RK Beach to Bheemili.  THE Taliban-led government in Afghanistan is making a fresh push to normalise relations with India as part of its broader campaign for international legitimacy, sources familiar with the development said. Acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s phone call with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday was the highest-level contact between New Delhi and Taliban since the group seized power in August 2021. “The phone call ahead of Muttaqi’s scheduled visits to Iran and China signals Kabul’s growing interest in re-engaging India on critical bilateral issues,” said a source. These include trade facilitation, visa processes, the repatriation of Afghan prisoners, and strengthening collaboration on the strategic Chabahar port — a key project that India has backed to enhance regional connectivity and helping landlocked Afghanistan get sea access bypassing Pakistan. “There is a consistent con- Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Muttaqi versation between Indian and Taliban officials,” a source said. This includes a meeting between Muttaqi and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri in Dubai in January apart from a re, cent visit to Kabul by an Indian diplomat overseeing Afghanistan relations, shortly after the Pahalgam terror attack. Taliban officials strongly condemned the Pahalgam attack and dismissed Pakistani military reports alleging Indian missile strikes on Afghan soil as “baseless.” These efforts are part of a broader Taliban effort to distance itself from regional instability and present a more responsible image on the world stage. Beyond India, Muttaqi is expected to visit Tehran and Beijing in the coming weeks. Salman25 years in prison Rushdie assailant gets An American-Lebanese man was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Friday for trying to kill novelist Salman Rushdie with a knife at a New York cultural center in 2022 | P9