hyderabad l tuesday l june 17, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE City EDITION India women to kick-start ODI World Cup against Sri Lanka The Harmanpreet Kaur-led Women in Blue will be playing the opening match of the tournament in Bengaluru on September 30 Kaur & Co to play Pak in Colombo on Oct 5 Home advantage for India and Sri Lanka With the ongoing agreement between India and Pakistan cricket boards, the latter will not travel to India and will be camped in Colombo for their league-stage games. India and Pakistan are scheduled to play each other in Colombo on October 5. It will be the first match between the neighbouring countries after the recent cross-border tensions ■ ■ Apart from hosts India, Sri Lanka will play five of their league games in Colombo. Their two games in India are in Bengaluru and Guwahati If Pakistan advance past the round-robin stages, they will play the semifinal and final in Colombo. If they don’t, Guwahati will host that semifinal. Bengaluru will host the other semifinal and final | P11 2013 The last time India hosted the Women’s ODI World Cup 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 Census-2027 notification finally out MU K E S H RAN J AN @ New Delhi Rescue team work at the site where a missile launched from Iran struck Tel Aviv, Israel, on Monday | AP/PTI Israeli Missiles hit Iran’s state tv hq Israel on Monday struck Iran’s state TV while a live broadcast was underway, forcing the anchor to rush out as debris started falling in the studio iaea WARNS OF contamination The International Atomic Energy Agency warned of both radiological and chemical contamination at Iran’s nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz every ways and means to ensure the safety of our nationAS hostilities between Iran als as we have done in the and Israel intensify India has past,” said a source. , begun relocating its nationExternal Affairs Minister als from high-risk zones in S Jaishankar has spoken to Iran and is mulling on evacu- his Armenian counterpart ation plans via both land and Ararat Mirzoyan and UAE sea routes through Armenia Foreign Minister Sheikh Aband the United Arab Emir- dullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan ates, sources said. to discuss the situation. The first batch of 110 stuTehran said despite the clodents has reached the Arme- sure of Iranian airspace, “all nian border, from there they land borders are open for will be evacuated by air. crossing” and has requested The external affairs minis- India to share details of those try on Monday said Indian intending to leave. nationals, including The Indian Em1 , 5 0 0 students— bassy in Tehran from Jammu and urged all nationals Kashmir, Karnatato stay indoors, ka, and other avoid non-essential It’s painful for both states—are being movement, and folparties, but I’d say moved to safer areas low advisories. Iran is not winning within Iran. Embas- this war. They should As the war entalk before it’s sy officials are in tered the fourth too late constant touch with day on Monday, local leaders and the Iran confirmed 224 US President Indian community. deaths while the Donald Trump An estimated 10,000 toll in Israel rose to Indian nationals are 24. in Iran. India, which maintains Tehran, where a majority diplomatic ties with both naof Indian students are en- tions, reiterated its call for rolled in institutions such as de-escalation. “Existing chanTehran University of Medi- nels of dialogue and diplocal Sciences and Iran Univer- macy should be utilised,” sity of Medical Sciences, has said MEA spokesperson Ranseen heightened risk amid Is- dhir Jaiswal. raeli strikes. Some students However, with neither side are being relocated to Qom, showing intention to dialing 148 km from Tehran. down tensions, the region is Sources said land evacua- bracing for more strikes. On tion via Armenia and a sea Monday, Israel ordered resiroute through the UAE are dents of Tehran to evacuate being explored as viable op- the district immediately, tions. “It’s an evolving situa- warning that lethal strikes tion and we are exploring were coming.  P9 J AYANTH J AC O B @ New Delhi The Union home ministry rubbished Congress apprehensions on caste enumeration as the notification did not mention it. “The census will include caste enumeration... It has already been mentioned in press releases dated 30 April, 4 June and 15 June, that the census will also have caste enumeration,” the govt said non-synchronous areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. As for the rest, the reference date shall be 00:00 hours of October 1, 2026. The notification was issued by Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, Registrar General and Census Commissioner. The census exercise will be held in two phases—House Listing Operation (HLO) and Population Enumeration (PE). While HLO will involve collecting data on assets and amenities in each household, the PE exercise will capture the demographic, socio-economic, cultural and other details of every person in each household. Also, caste enumeration will 119 IDed, farmers, 9 days, 64 bodies `9,000 crore handed over D i l i p S i n g h K s h at r i ya E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @ Ahmedabad @ Hyderabad A woman holds her baby as residents evacuate downtown Tel Aviv on Monday | AP/PTI Caution is the buzzword for expats in Israel S i dd h a r d h a G at t i m i @ Hyderabad Indian nationals in Israel are maintaining caution amid the ongoing tensions. Speaking to TNIE over telephone from Tel Aviv on Monday Israel Telangana Associa, tion president Soma Ravi said that while Iran has been launching attacks, the situation in Tel Aviv remains under control. “People are alert and following safety protocols. Whenever sirens sound or mobile alerts are received, we immediately take shelter in bunkers,” Ravi revealed. “The Indian Embassy is in constant touch with the expatriate community and is closely monitoring developments,” he said. Meanwhile, Suhail Amin Banday, a fourth-year MBBS student at Urmia University of Medical Sciences, told TNIE that the embassy was relocating around 110 Indian students, mostly from Kashmir, from Urmia in Iran to Armenia. “Students from other universities in Tehran, especially those near the Tajrish area, are being moved to Qom for safety he said. ,” Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Monday announced that his government will disburse `9,000 crore to farmers under the Rythu Bharosa Scheme over the next nine days. A total of 70,11,984 farmers will receive the assistance, covering 1.49 crore acres across the state. “The aim is to ensure the we l l - b e i n g o f f a r m e r s, ” Revanth stated, adding that his regime has spent `1,01,782 crore on farmer welfare over the past 18 months, including expenditure on paddy procurement. The chief minister was taking part in ‘Rythu Nestham’, a video conference initiative enabling farmers to interact with agricultural experts and scientists at the Agriculture University He also held an interaction . with farmers through video link. Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, Agriculture Minister Thummala Nageswara Rao and officials were present. During the video conference, the chief minister accused the previous BRS government of failing to fulfil promises made to farmers. He claimed that the BRS government did not fully implement its loan waiver commitment. Of the total `11,500 crore released for waiving farm loans, `8,500 crore went towards interest payments, leaving only `3,000 crore as direct benefit to farmers, Revanth al- Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, Deputy CM Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and Agriculture Minister Thummala Nageswara Rao at the Rythu Nestham programme on Monday `2,350 crore released on Day 1 Hyderabad: The state government on Monday released `2,349.83 crore to farmers owning up to two acres of land. Agriculture Minister Thummala Nageshwara Rao said that `2,349.83 crore was credited into the accounts of 41.25 lakh farmers for 39.16 lakh acres. He added that the remaining amounts would be deposited over the next nine days. Under the Rythu Bharosa scheme, the government is providing financial assistance of `6,000 per acre per season to farmers. leged. He alleged that during its 10 years in power, the BRS regime spent only `16,000– `17,000 crore on f ar mer welfare. Revanth alleged that former ch i e f m i n i s t e r K C h a n drasekhar Rao had asked farmers not to cultivate paddy while cultivating paddy himself on his 150 acres. “In contrast, the people’s government is encour- ACB grills KTR in E-Prix case Hyderabad: The ACB on Monday questioned BRS working president and former minister KT Rama Rao for the second time in connection with alleged irregularities in the conduct of the Formula E race held in Hyderabad during the BRS regime. Rama Rao appeared at the ACB office around 10 am and was questioned for nearly seven hours | P4 aging paddy cultivation and procurement of every grain produced,” he added. The chief minister stated that his government was providing a bonus of `500 for superfine paddy, enabling poor families to access quality rice. Telangana, he said, had become the leading state in paddy production with 2.8 crore metric tonnes.  Continued on p5 Tapgate: Mahesh to depose Hyderabad: TPCC president and MLC B Mahesh Kumar Goud is scheduled to appear before the investigating officer as a witness in the ongoing phone-tapping case at 11 am on Tuesday. Sources said that Mahesh, who was serving as Congress working president in November 2023, was a target of the alleged phone-tapping purportedly carried out by the then BRS government. Uttam asks Centre to reject AP request for appraisal of Banakacherla Centre hasn’t taken any decision yet on Godavari-Banakacherla: Kishan Hyderabad: Insisting that the Centre has not taken any decision on the Godavari-Banakacherla (G-B) project proposed by the Andhra Pradesh government, Union Minister G Kishan Reddy on Monday said that the Pre-Feasibility Report submitted to the Ministry of Jal Shakti is under examination. Addressing a press conference at the BJP state office, Kishan confirmed that the Telangana government has raised several issues and objections to the project, which he said were being looked into. “The Central Water Commission (CWC) will study these concerns and submit a report, based on which the Centre will make a decision. As of now, nothing has been finalised,” Kishan said. Continued on p4 be done for the first time after Independence as part of the Census, which is in its eighth edition. Overall, this is the 16th edition of the Census since its beginning in 1881. As many as 34 lakh enumerators and supervisors and around 1.3 lakh census functionaries will conduct the operation with cutting-edge mobile digital gadgets, Union home minister Amit Shah said on Sunday after chairing a high-level meeting to review the preparations for the Census exercise. Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Mritunjay Kumar Narayan and other senior officials participated. Rythu Bharosa target India begins to move out its citizens in Iran Students to be evacuated via Armenia, UAE Israel, Iran RAMP UP ATTACKS civilian CASUALTIES RISE The Centre on Monday formally notified the much-delayed National Population Census 2027, which was due way back in 2021, but had to be put off after the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak. The Gazette notification said, “the Central Government hereby declares that a census of the population of India shall be taken during the year 2027.” The notification added that the reference date for the Census shall be 00.00 hours of the 1st day of March, 2027, except for Ladakh and snow-bound Caste enumeration definitely on, says govt E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @ Hyderabad Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Monday requested Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav not to undertake any appraisal of the Polavaram-Banakacherla project proposed by the Andhra Pradesh government and reject outright the request to grant ToR in the upcoming meeting of EAC. In a letter to the Union minister, Uttam said that the AP government submitted the proposal to the Ministry of Environment and Forest requesting terms of reference (ToR) for the Polavaram-Banakacherla link project to divert 200 tmcft of floodwaters. This proposal was included as an agenda item for the 33rd meeting of the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) on river valley projects scheduled on June 17, 2025. “In this regard, it is to state that Andhra Pradesh has no locus standi for undertaking such a link project as the proposal submitted by it is totally against the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal, 1980. The Telangana government, in its earlier protracted correspondence to MoEF/MoJS/ CWC/GRMB/PPA, has explicitly stated that AP has no right to unilaterally proceed with such a huge project which will alter the water dynamics of the River Godavari infringing on the water rights of Telangana state,” Uttam wrote to Yadav in the letter. The Ministry of Jal Shakti too on its part assured Telang ana that Central Water Commission (CWC) would duly examine such a proposal in accordance with extant guidelines, existing awards, inter-state agreements and various provisions under Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, Uttam recalled. The letter also pointed out that the AP submitted the PreFeasibility Report (PFR) of the project proposal to the Project Appraisal Directorate of the Central Water Commission (CWC) on May 23, 2025. The PFR was then forwarded to KRMB, GRMB and co-basin states on June 11, for their comments, he wrote.  Continued on p4 The process to identify victims of the June 12 AI-171 air crash picked up pace on Monday as officials said DNA samples of 119 of them have been successfully matched. At least 270 people perished in the aircrash. Ahmedabad Civil Hospital Superintendent Dr Rakesh Joshi said 64 bodies have already been handed over to the respective families. Another 24 families are expected to collect the mortal remains of their loved ones in the coming days, while 11 families await confirmation of DNA matches with additional relatives. Twelve families are still awaiting final DNA results. Authorities expect the identification to conclude swiftly once pending reports are in. Among the bodies identified on Sunday was that of former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani. He was cremated in Rajkot with full state honours on Monday . Probe teams scouring the aircraft debris recovered the cockpit voice recorder (CVR), the second black box. The CVR, along with a wire trailing from the aircraft’s rear section, was handed over to the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB). The first black box, called the flight data recorder, was recovered a day after the accident. Besides, human remains were found amid the debris and shifted to the Civil Hospital for postmortem. Parallelly a high-level multi, disciplinary committee led by Union home secretary Govind Mohan discussed the possible causes of the crash so as to evolve a policy roadmap for future safeguards.  P8 FATF condemns Pahalgam attack J AYANTH J AC O B @ New Delhi AS India intensifies its diplomatic push to put Pakistan on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list, the global anti-terror financing watchdog has issued a rare, strongly worded condemnation of the terrorist attack in Pahalgam. “The FATF expresses grave concern and condemns the brutal terrorist attack in Pahalgam,” it said. Victims were executed after being forced to reveal their religion, which FATF described as a targeted assault. FATF will release a comprehensive report, which, for the first time, will acknowledge ‘state-sponsored terrorism’ as a financing threat. The condemnation attack signals a shift in international willingness to call out state-linked financing of terrorism.