S&P S&P upgraded India’s to sovereign credit rating UPGRADES BBB INDIA RATING ‘BBB’ (investment-grade) with a ‘stable’ outlook The New Indian Express wishes its readers a S&P commended India’s robust economic growth, political commitment for fiscal consolidation, and conducive monetary policy to check inflation S&P said India is among “the best performing economies in the world” kottayam l friday l august 15, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l city EDITION The impact of US tariffs on India is “manageable” and won’t drag economy, the rating firm said BBB rating will cut India’s borrowing costs in int’l markets 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 ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Massive cloudburst in J&K’s Kishtwar Flash floods kill 46 J&K Kishtwar 400 Sources said 300-400 people were in the area 167 People have been rescued, according to officials Muted I-Day celebration J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah cancelled the At Home tea party and cultural programmes on Friday Top court raps local bodies, reserves order on stray dogs S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Thursday castigated the local authorities for doing nothing to address the stray dog problem, while reserving its order on a batch of petitions seeking stay on the directions by a two-judge bench to round up and shift all strays in Delhi-NCR to shelter homes. A three-judge special bench of justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and N V Anjaria said, “The whole problem is because of inaction of the local authorities. You frame rules in Parliament. The People move through the debris after a massive cloudburst at Chositi village, Kishtwar district, J&K | pti F AYA Z W ANI @ Jammu AT least 46 people, mostly pilgrims, were killed after a massive cloudburst struck Chositi village in the mountainous Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday between 12 noon and 1 pm, triggering flash flood and mudslide along the route of the ongoing Machail Mata Yatra. The toll may rise as many are still trapped under the debris. The authorities have suspended the yatra and rescue operation is on. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah assured all possible central assistance to J&K while Chief Minister Omar Abdullah decided to scale down Independence Day celebrations planned for Friday . Chositi is the last motorable village en route to Machail Mata temple in Kishtwar district. Sources said over 300-400 people were present in the area when the cloudburst occurred. Deputy Commissioner of Kishtwar Pankaj Sharma told this newspaper that relief and rescue operation was on to find the missing persons. NDRF, SDRF, police, and civilian ad- ministration personnel have launched rescue operation and the locals are helping in the effort. “There was a parking lot and langar (community kitchen) in the area. Besides, there was a paramilitary camp in the area. Locals had also set up shops in view of the yatra,” Kishtwar District Developoment Council chairperson Pooja Thakur told TNIE. The langar camp was washed away while vehicles in the parking lot were swept by the flash flood and mudslide some distance away . The Army pressed over five columns of 60 personnel each as well as medical detachments of Jammu-based White Corps into service to assist NDRF, SDRF, police and civilian agencies in the rescue operation to save lives and assist those in need. “Search for missing people is under way an army official said. ,” An official said 150 people could be rescued. Many of them had sustained injuries and they were provided medical treatment in hospitals. Some were referred to other hospitals for specialised treatment. EXPRESS READ Act instead of appealing: SC to NHAI on toll issue New Delhi: Refusing to interfere with the Kerala High Court’s order suspending collection of user fee at Paliyekkara toll plaza in Thrissur, the Supreme Court on Thursday suggested that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) should “do something” instead of filing appeals and wasting time. P4 US tariff deals huge blow to seafood export sector Kochi: The Trump administration’s decision to impose 59.73% penalty tariff on Indian seafood products has dealt a huge blow to the seafood export industry. With buyers in the US asking them to hold shipments, the exporters are exploring opportunities in alternative markets like the European Union, Japan and China. P6 government acts, rules are framed but no implementation is carried out creating problem which is standing today On the one hand, ... humans are suffering and on the other hand, the animal lovers want the animals also to be treated with dignity .” It faulted the Animal Welfare Board of India, local authorities and the government for doing nothing to address the issue. “NGOs make a lot of noise but they don’t know what they should actually be doing. They should have been here earlier for implementation of those rules. Nothing is happening,” it rued. SC directs EC to upload list of 65L SIR deletions with reasons S UCHITRA K ALYAN M OHANTY @ New Delhi The Supreme Cour t on Thursday directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to publish the list of about 65 lakh voters whose names were proposed for deletion from Bihar’s electoral rolls, with reasons, by Tuesday. The orders came during a hearing on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) drive of poll rolls ahead of state elections. The court also directed the ECI to add Aadhaar card as an acceptable document for establishing identity, going beyond its earlier suggestion to do so. The order drew cheer from the petitioners. A bench of justices Surya Kant and Joy m a lya B a g ch i s a i d , “Transparency is needed about the 65 lakh deleted voters to enable people to seek clarification or correction.” It directed the Bihar poll body to publish the detailed list of proposed deletions on the websites of the District Electoral Officers and the Chief Electoral Officer. “It must specify the reasons for deletion such as death, migration, or double registration and be searchable by EPIC numbers.” The bench also directed the ECI to put out public notices stating that individuals excluded from the rolls may submit their Aadhaar cards when filing claims for inclusion in the final list. The ECI must ensure wide publicity of this information in national newspapers (print), television, and social media, the court said and asked the Commission to ensure compliance of all the booth level and district level officers and file a compliance report by Tuesday The court . fixed the matter for further hearing on August 22. The ECI told the court that it was operating in an atmosphere of political hostility. Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi argued that the ECI will contest everything on reasonableness and rationality .