hyderabad l friday l june 27, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 38 l LATE City EDITION iran delivered a slap on face of u.s., says iran’s supreme leader In his first comments since a ceasefire with Israel after 12 days of war, Ayatollah Khamenei on Thursday warned US against further attacks recorded speech full of warnings iaea chief, hegseth concur on u.s. strikes Khamenei spoke in a recorded video broadcast on Iranian state television, his first appearance since June 19. The 86-year-old looked and sounded more tired than he did only a week ago, speaking in a hoarse voice and occasionally stumbling over his words. The 10-minute speech was filled with warnings and threats directed toward the United States and Israel ■ ■ Khamenei’s threats were preceded by IAEA director Rafael Grossi saying US attacks on Iran had largely destroyed its nuclear facilities US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth insisted Thursday that American strikes on Iranian nuclear sites were a success. “President created the conditions to destroy Iran’s nuclear capabilities,” Hegseth said | P11 1,054 iranians died in the 12-day war, as per a u.s. based think tank 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 Rajnath refuses to sign draft SCO joint statement Pak blocked mention of Pahalgam, terror attacks in document M AYA N K S I N G H @ New Delhi India on Thursday declined to sign a joint declaration at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ meeting in Qingdao, China, as it failed to address the country’s concerns on terror. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who represented the country at the meet, sought the inclusion of explicit language condemning terror, particularly cross-border terrorism. However, the proposal was blocked by “one particular country,” Pakistan. Also, there was no mention of the recent Pahalgam terror attack in the draft. Sources said Pakistan wanted to include Balochistan in the joint statement, which was not acceptable to India. As the draft failed to address India’s core concer ns, Rajnath refused to put India’s name on the Shux scripts history, first Indian in ISS B O S K Y K H A N N A @ Bengaluru Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla became the first Indian to set foot on the International Space Station (ISS) as he floated into the space lab at 5.54 pm IST on Thursday The Axiom-4 . mission’s spacecraft capsule, Grace, carrying three other astronauts, docked with the space lab at 4.01 pm, 29 minutes ahead of schedule. Upon docking, mission commander Peggy Whitson of the USA, who is a former NASA astronaut and current director of Axiom Space (human space flight), sent a message to Mission Control Huston ground station and to the 11-astronaut team already on the ISS: “Grace happy to be on Harmony”. Harmony is the module on the ISS that provides international docking adapters. Shukla was the second to enter the ISS after Peggy The en. tire docking exercise, in slow capture mode, was completed autonomously by Grace, with mission pilot Shukla’s services required only if any maneuvering glitches had occurred. All the four Ax-4 mission crew members, also including Ax-4 mission specialists Stawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary, were warmly greeted with hugs and cheers by the astronauts of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Roscosmos already aboard the ISS. Incidentally soon after dock, ing, Ax-4 astronauts experienced a minor technical glitch with their communication system, needing five extra minutes before commencing the hatch opening procedures to enter the ISS. The entire docking exercise was completed in 13 minutes. The docking took place when the ISS was over the North Atlantic at an altitude of 400 km. Over the next two weeks, the Ax-4 mission crew members will under take 60 listed experiments. Pak wanted inclusion of Balochistan India demanded mention of the Pahalgam terror attack where 26 people were killed after religious profiling, but the proposal was blocked by ‘one particular country’. Sources said Pak wanted to include Balochistan in the joint statement, which was not acceptable to India. document. In his address, Rajnath called on all SCO members to unite in combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. He reiterated that the perpetrators, organisers, financers and sponsors of terrorism, including cross-border terrorism, need to be held accountable and brought to justice. He emphasised that there can be no double standards in the global fight against terror. “I understand that the defence ministers could not Centre mulls water tax to cut wastage for farming use J i t en d r a Cho u bey @ New Delhi Dragon spacecraft 2 1 1 ISS crew greet Shubhanshu Shukla (C) and other astronauts after the docking of their spacecraft | PTI 2 Screengrab of the docking TO reduce wastage and misuse of groundwater, the Union government now plans to impose a tax on water usage for agricultural purposes. In collaboration with state governments, the Union government will soon launch 22 pilot projects across different states. Under this initiative, farmers will receive sufficient water and would be taxed based on its usage. “We are in the process of finalising pilot projects,” said C R Patil, Union Minister for Jal Shakti. “These will provide adequate water at a central location with enough pressure so that different farmers can utilize it according to their needs. Users will be taxed based on the quantity of water they consume,” he explained. According to the Annual Groundwater Extraction report, the farm sector accounts for 87% of 239.16 billion cubic meters (BCM) of water extracted. Indiscriminate extraction has led to severe depletion of groundwater. The Centre has allocated `1,600 crore for this scheme. States would determine the tax. “It is essential to prevent misuse. Local water user associations, rather than the state, should levy taxes to control water wastage,” said Ashok K Meena, additional secretary, Dept of Drinking Water and Sanitation. Kaleshwaram loans at risk of becoming NPAs VV B A L A K R I S H N A @ Hyderabad The Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) Ltd has warned the Irrigation department that loan accounts linked to the Kaleshwaram Irrigation Project Corporation Limited (KIPCL) and Telangana Water Resources Infrastructure Development Corporation (TSWRIDC) risk being classified as Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) if overdue payments are not cleared this month. In a letter to Principal Secretary (Irrigation) Rahul Bojja, the REC said the total dues from the two special purpose vehicles (SPVs) stand at `1,393.65 crore, which have been pending since March 31, 2025. Of this, critical overdues are `319.74 crore for TSWRIDC and `229.75 crore for KIPCL. The letter stated that unless payments are made by June 28 INSIDE Loan details Dues by entity (` in crore, as on June 2, 2025) Borrower Principal Overdue KIPCL `407.35 `465.18 TSWRIDC `256.66 `237.62 Interest `872.53 `494.28 and June 29 respectively the ac, counts could slip into NPA status. “Both the borrower accounts have already been reported as SMA-2, as per RBI guidelines, and classified as Stage-2 under the Companies Act, 2013. This delay in serving the dues will have a negative impact on the financials and rating of the utilities and state as a whole,” the REC wrote. The public sector lender urged the Irrigation department to arrange funds to clear the dues immediately. The accounts had already crossed the 60-day overdue threshold, which falls under the Special Mention Account-2 (SMA-2) Car on track hits Rail traffic I P2 Telangana is paying all instalments and there is no question of any loan becoming NPA Sandeep Kumar Sultania, Principal Secretary (Finance) category used by banks to monitor stressed assets. The REC had sanctioned `30,536.08 crore to KIPCL. In October 2024, the state government had requested that interest on all term loans be consolidated and capped at 9% per annum. Subsequently, in December, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy wrote to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman seeking the restructuring of loans availed from the REC and the Power Finance Corporation (PFC). These loans are now being serviced through the state’s Consolidated Fund. What’s SMA-2 Account? As per Reserve Bank of India guidelines, an SMA-2 account is one where principal or interest has remained overdue for more than 60 days. This is considered an early warning signal of possible default and potential classification as an NPA. AI crash Black box analysis on I P9 adopt a joint statement. Certain member countries could not reach consensus on specific issues, and hence the document could not be finalised. India wanted concerns on terrorism to be reflected in the statement, which was not acceptable to one particular country,” said Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson at the Ministry of Exter nal Affairs. Rajnath mentioned Operation Sindoor and asserted that it was launched in response to the heinous terror attack in Pahalgam. “During the Pahalgam terror attack, 26 people were shot dead after they were profiled on religious identity . The Resistance Front, a proxy of UN-designated terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba claimed responsibility for the attack.” Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, actors Ram Charan and Vijay Devarakonda at a stall during an International Day Against Drug Abuse event in Hyderabad on Thursday CM launches EAGLE to keep hawk’s eye on drugs E x p r ess N e w s S e r v i c e @ Hyderabad Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Thursday announced the formation of the Elite Action Group for Drug Law Enforcement (EAGLE) to replace the Telangana Anti-Narcotics Bureau, stating that the new entity will intensify surveillance and enforcement against drugrelated activities. Speaking at a programme to mark the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking held at Shilpakala Vedika, Revanth said, “Telangana has begun efforts to curb drugs and ganja. Even if one ganja plant is grown or drugs are brought into the state, EAGLE will monitor it. Be cautious.” He reiterated his aim of making Telangana a drug-free state, asserting that no drugs would be allowed to enter its borders. “From Komaram Bheem to Chakali Ilamma, Doddi Komuraiah and Sarvai Papanna, many have inspired the people through various movements. Universities and colleges once served as platforms for the statehood struggle. Now, the state is facing a different challenge. We must ask ourselves if Telangana becoming a hub of ganja is a matter of self-respect or shame,” Revanth said.  Continued on P2