HYDERABAD l Sunday l June 22, 2025 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l late cITY EDITION advance tax, high refunds hit net direct tax collections refund issuances rose by 58% in 1st quarter Advance tax, an indicator of corporate profitability and income of individuals, grew a meagre 3.87% to `1.56 lakh crore between April 1-June 19, 2025. In the same period in 2024, advance tax collection had recorded an annual growth of 27%; on the other side, refund issuances rose by 58% to `86,385 crore till June 19 this fiscal, govt data shows Net direct tax collection in Q1 dipped 1.39% to `4.59 lakh crore, on slowdown in advance tax mop-up and higher refunds ■ 12% corporate tax collections see a dip ■ Advance tax paid by corporates saw a growth of 5.86% to `1.22 lakh crore, while those by non-corporates, including individuals, HUFs and firms, dropped by 2.68% to `33,928 crore, as per govt data During April 1-June 19, 2025, net corporate tax collection saw a slowdown of `1.73 lakh crore, a decline of over 5% year on year is the rate by which securities transaction tax grew this fy 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 Govt presses B’desh on review of Ganga treaty In post-Pahalgam squeeze, India says it needs more water for growth J ite n d r a Ch o u b e y @ New Delhi After the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, the government has now decided to renegotiate the Ganga River Water Treaty with Bangladesh, which is set to expire next year. India has communicated to its counterpart that it requires more water to meet its developmental needs. The new treaty will likely to be shorter, lasting 10 to 15 years. The shorter duration will foster flexibility and adaptability for both nations moving forward. The Ganga Water Treaty was signed on December 12, 1996 on sharing of water, particularly around the Farakka Barrage during the lean season. “Before Pahalgam, we were inclined to extend the treaty for another 30 years, but the situation changed drastically afterward,” stated a senior officer at the Ministry of External Affairs who participated in a meeting with the Bangladeshi counterpart earlier in May . “It was a routine meeting, held twice a year, but it also provided an opportunity to express our concerns regarding the increasing need for water to support domestic development, which will influence the terms of the new treaty,” the officer explained. According to internal documents for discussions, seen by this newspaper, the Farakka Share of India Share of Bangladesh 50% 50% 70,000 cusecs-75,000 cusecs Balance of flow 35,000 cusecs 75,000 cusecs or more 40,000 cusecs Balance of flow 70,000 cusecs or less * Subject to the condition that India and Bangladesh each shall receive guaranteed 35,000 cusecs of water in alternate three 10-day periods from March 11 to May 11 Barrage was built to continuously divert 40,000 cusecs of water into a feeder canal for the Kolkata Port Trust (now known as Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata). “The 1996 treaty has disrupted this arrangement, leading to issues such as slope failure, bed erosion, and heavy siltation in the KPT, which has reduced its navigational efficiency. Additionally, the NTPC plant there press clusive is facing water crisis,” the officer added. The current arrangement provides 35,000 cusecs of water alternately for 10 days each to both countries during the lean season, which lasts from March 11 to May 11. India is seeking 30,000 to 35,000 cusecs more during the same period to meet its emerging requirements. The Centre has the support of the West Bengal government, which is the primary Ayatollah names his Operation Sindhu: successors, army 310 Indians brought brass replacements back from Iran a g e n c ies @ Tehran Ganga Water Treaty, 1996 Availability at Farakka m i d - e a st c r isis beneficiary of the additional water. During internal discussions, Bihar too emphasised the need for extra Ganga water to meet its drinking and irrigation needs. An internal meeting, which included a senior officer from West Bengal, has confirmed this requirement. The emerging sense of distrust following the coup in Bangladesh last year, has put Indian diplomacy in a challenging position. In early May following the , Pahalgam attack, Indian delegates visited Bangladesh and communicated to their counterparts that the treaty needs to be re-discussed due to India’s increasing water needs. In the past, the West Bengal government has expressed concerns that the treaty compromised India’s requirements. “For any treaty made in good faith, it is the duty of the lower riparian state to respect the upper riparian state to maintain that good faith. How long can we continue to show generosity to support our neighbour when they don’t value our contribution?” remarked an official. WARY of assassination, Iran’s supreme leader mostly speaks with his commanders through a trusted aide now, suspending electronic communications to make it harder to find him, three Iranian officials familiar with his emergency war plans say, The New York Times reported on Saturday . Ensconced in a bunker, the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, picked an array of replacements down his chain of military command in case more of his valued lieutenants are killed. And in a remarkable move, the officials add, the leader has named three senior clerics as candidates to succeed him should he be killed, as well. The names of his successors were not revealed, but Khamenei’s son Mojtaba was not among the contenders. The extraordinary series of steps are being seen as an attempt to preserve the Islamic Republic ever since Israel’s attacks on June 14. In normal times, Ayatollah lives and works in a highly secure compound in central Tehran called the “beit rahbari” — or leader’s house — and he seldom leaves the premises. His retreat to a bunker shows how furiously Tehran has been struck in a war with Israel. Iran’s top officials are quietly making preparations for a wide range of outcomes as the war intensifies and as President Trump considers whether to enter the fight, according to the Iranian officials. “It is clear that we had a massive security and intelligence breach; there is no denying this,” said Mahdi Mohammadi, a senior adviser to Iran Parliament’s speaker, Gen Mohammad Ghalibaf, in an audio recording analysing the war. “Our senior commanders were all assassinated within one hour.” E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @ New Delhi WITH THIS ISSUE PLUS 12 P AGES AS tensions between Israel and Iran entered their ninth day India intensified its evacuation , efforts under Operation Sindhu, bringing home over 800 Indian nationals stranded in the conflict zone. A special evacuation flight from Mashhad, Iran, landed in New Delhi at 4.30 pm Saturday carrying 310 Indian citizens. Earlier , in the day another flight from Ashgabat, Turk, menistan, repatriated evacuees who had transited from Iran. “This brings the total number of Indians evacuated to 827,” confirmed Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, adding that the mission is on. “Operation Sindhu continues,” he said. In a gesture of regional solidarity India also , facilitated evacuation of Sri Lankan and other South Asian nationals. Sri Lanka’s Deputy Foreign Minister Arun Hemachandra expressed gratitude for India’s assistance in evacuating its citizens. Among the evacuees were 256 Indian students, mostly from J&K, who arrived in Delhi early Saturday. Many of them described days of anxiety and disruption in Iran before being flown to safety This is the second . evacuation flight from Iran in 24 hours after the first on Friday with 290 Indian students. I r e d d y S r i n i v as Re d d y @ Hyderabad Age-old practice An International Yoga Day programme is organised at the historic Naganna stepwell in Lingampet in Kamareddy on Saturday Arrested for ‘extortion’, BRS MLA gets bail U M A H E S H @ Hanamkonda BRS MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy was arrested late on Friday at the RGI Airport at Shamshabad in connection with an alleged extortion case and released on bail within 18 hours. The Special Judicial Magistrate of First Class for Railway Cases in Kazipet, Ch Leela Naga Susmitha, rejected the police request for remand and granted bail on a personal bond of `20,000 and surety from two persons. The arrest followed a complaint lodged on April 21, 2025, at Subedari police station by Katta Umadevi, wife of Manoj Reddy a resident of Excise Col, ony, Hanamkonda. In her complaint, Umadevi said that her husband, who runs a granite business in Vangapally of Kamalapur mandal, had been under mental stress for 20 days. The complainant claimed that Manoj Reddy revealed to her that Kaushik Reddy threatened and extorted `25 lakh from him to allow the continuation of his granite business in Huzurabad.  CONTINUED ON P4 In a major development in the alleged phone-tapping case, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) recently recorded the statements of former Chief Secretary A Santhi Kumari and former General Administration Department Principal Secretary M Raghunandan Rao. While Santhi Kumari headed the committee informally referred to as the “tapping review committee”, which approves requests for surveillance, Raghunandan Rao was one of its members. SIT sources stated that, based on the statements of the main Dial 112 Single point of contact for quick, reliable emergency support across TG Dial 112 will be the go-to number for any emergency. It’s similar to 911 in the US – VB Kamalasan Reddy, TGICCC director accused and former SIB chief T Prabhakar Rao, the investigators recorded the statements of Santhi Kumari and Raghunandan Rao as witnesses. The sources said that the former CS was examined after Prabhakar Rao allegedly claimed that he acted as per instructions from the “review committee” and higher officials of the Police department. The sources stated that during her examination, Santhi Kumari told the SIT that when she reviewed the list of phone numbers submitted by the SIB or Intelligence for surveillance, she expressed doubts over several numbers. To this, the accused officers rehelp at hand n   emergency assistance 24x7 n  Faster response through Rishabh Pant made a sparkling 100 before India lost their last seven wickets for 41 runs to get bowled out for 471. In reply, Ollie Pope hit an unbeaten century as England finished the day with 209/3 on board. Jasprit Bumrah took all three wickets on Day two for India | AP Dog defies distance to reunite with elderly couple Na v ee n K uma r Ta l l am Joy has returned to the home of an elderly couple in Vegurupalli village, Manakondur mandal, in the form of their panting and loyal dog, Lorio. Like a scene from a tearjerker, Lorio and his owners — or family members, as they insist — Punnam Mallaiah (60) and Ramnamma, were forced apart by society. But neither forest nor distance could keep the devoted guardian from finding his way back. His astonishing return on June 12 has become a miracle that has touched the hearts of people across the district. Lorio had been a loyal companion to the elderly couple for several years, more than just a pet; he was the couple’s constant shadow, accompanying them to their fields every day and guarding their home. But the bond came under strain after a few villagers alleged they had been bitten by the dog. Facing mounting pressure and threats from the community to remove him, the couple made the painful decision to let him go. On June 7, they drove Lorio to a forested area near Ramagundam, about 80 km away and , left him there. “We loved him like a family member,” Mallaiah told TNIE. “But we couldn’t withstand the pressure from the villagers. Leaving him there broke our hearts.” Five days later, to their astonishment, Lorio returned to their doorstep. He was dusty and tired, portedly told her that the numbers belonged to persons suspected of having links with Maoists and terror-related organisations. The sources also said that the former chief secretary told the SIT that the accused officers misled the committee, adding that she did not believe this was done intentionally . The sources confirmed that the former CS and Raghunandan Rao were asked if there was any pressure on them to approve the list of numbers to be surveilled. The sources, however, refused to divulge details of the answers given by the former chief secretary and Raghunandan Rao to this question.  CONTINUED ON P4 GPS-enabled vehicles n  Seamless coordination with Police, Fire, Medical, and Disaster Services n  Support for women and children in distress n  Multi-lingual communication support bound by love @ Karimnagar Let’s get Personal J aya n th J a c o b @ New Delhi Tapgate accused misled review panel, Santhi Kumari tells SIT DGCA asks AI to shift 3 officials for serious lapses Aviation regulator DGCA has ordered the removal of three top personnel of Air India in its flight operations department from all roles related to crew scheduling and rostering due to their serious and repeated lapses. After the DGCA chastened the airline for not taking strict action against them, Air India said it had complied with the directive. The DGCA named Choorah Singh, Divisional Vice President, Pinky Mittal, Chief Manager, Daily Operations, Crew Scheduling and Payal Arora, Crew Scheduling, Planning for continued non-compliance with scheduling rules. These officials did unauthorised and non-compliance crew pairings, violated mandatory licensing and recency norms and were responsible for systemic failure in scheduling protocol and oversight. Recency refers to the number of take offs and landings a pilot must have within a timeframe to operate an aircraft safely . The violations were voluntarily disclosed by Air India. “The voluntary disclosure, while noted, points to systemic failures in crew scheduling, compliance monitoring and inter nal accountability,” the DGCA said. An Indian student reunites with parents after returning from Iran as part of Operation Sindhu on Saturday | PTI but as lively and determined as ever. “We never imagined he would find his way back,” says Ramnamma. “When we saw him, we couldn’t believe our eyes. It was overwhelming.” Lorio’s journey has left the village awestruck. The couple has since resumed their routine, with their loyal companion back by their side, more cherished than ever. Other ways to reach ‘112’ n   India App (download from 112 Google Play / App Store) n   112 SMS n   power button three Press times (on Android phones) n  Long-press ‘5’ or ‘9’ on keypad phones (if enabled)