chennai l Saturday l august 16, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 18 l late city EDITION high-stakes Trump-Putin meet kicks off in Alaska The summit in Alaska on Friday could determine the fate of European security as well as the war in Ukraine Pic: afp zelenskyy’s exclusion a body blow to europe alaska summit a validation for putin The exclusion of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has already dealt a heavy blow to the West’s policy of “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.” For Putin, the summit with Trump is an opportunity to negotiate a deal that would cement Russia’s gains, block Kyiv’s bid to join NATO alliance and eventually pull Ukraine into Moscow’s orbit ■ By bringing Vladimir Putin onto US soil, president Donald Trump is ■ Trump (pic) greets his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska on Saturday giving Russia’s leader the validation he desires after his ostracization following his invasion of Ukraine 3 1/2 years ago | P11 25% chance that the summit could fail, donald trump said in an interview 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 J&K cloudburst toll 60, at least 80 others missing; rescue on That generation sacrificed itself for ‘Swatantra Bharat’. This generation should dedicate itself to ‘Samriddh Bharat’ - Narendra Modi, Prime Minister faya z wa n i @ Srinagar Pic: P Jawahar India’s own iron dome PM announced Mission Sudarshan Chakra, a national security initiative to build a comprehensive, indigenous defence shield by 2035. It is designed to protect both strategic and civilian infrastructure praise FOR ‘GLORIOUS’ RSS Showering praise on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Modi hailed 100 years of RSS as a “very proud and glorious” journey of the “world’s biggest NGO” and lauded all its volunteers for their dedicated service to the nation Nari shakti in every sector Modi said every sector now “proudly acknowledges” the strength of nari shakti. “From start-ups to the space sector, from the playing fields to the armed forces, our daughters are making their mark” 10x nuclear energy by 2047 PM said India is rapidly building 10 new nuclear reactors and the plan is to raise nuclear energy capacity tenfold by 2047. Opening it to the private sector will increase the share of green energy in the electricity generation capacities, he added Study soon on alteration of demographic fabric: Modi CM: States should use constitution to restore their rights RA J ESH KUMAR THAKUR @ New Delhi E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Chennai Amid concerns over the US President Donald Trump’s tariff action on India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday signalled that India would not succumb to pressure to open up its agriculture sector. Delivering his national address on the 79th Independence Day from the ramparts of the historic Red Fort, Modi sent a strong message that his government would not do anything that goes against the interests of farmers. He also called for making India self-reliant in every field while announcing a slew of reforms for ease of doing business, simplifying GST, and a state-of-the-art defence shield. Modi said a task force would be set up to push ‘next-generation reforms’ including revision of GST laws. The task force will complete the work within a set timeframe. He launched the PM Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana to generate 3.5 crore jobs in the next two years. Of these, 1.92 crore beneficiaries will be first timers, entering the workforce. “India will always protect the interest of its farmers, livestock-keepers, and fishermen unmindful of what may come. Farmers have a huge contribution to the economy of India. The hard work of the farmers of India is paying off,” he said. Modi also flagged attempts to alter the demographic fabric of the country by ‘infiltrators’, adding that a ‘demographic mission’ will be set up to study dramatic changes in population. “When demographic changes take place, especially in the border areas, a national security crisis emerges,” he said in his record 103-minute address. “Under a well-thought out conspiracy, the demography of the country is being changed. Seeds of a new crisis are being sown. These infiltrators are snatching the livelihood of the youth...”  P9 Just two slabs in next-gen GST reforms by Diwali PUSHPITA DEY @ New Delhi In his Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the GST rates would be brought down by ushering in the ‘next-generation GST reforms’ by Diwali. Confirming the move, sources said GST regime will move away from its multiple-rate structure to a simplified one with just two rates—a lower ‘standard’ slab of 5% and a higher ‘merit’ slab of 18%. Plus, there will be a category for ‘sin goods’ such as tobacco, which is likely to be fixed at 40%. Under the new regime, 99% of the items currently taxed at 12% will move to the 5% slab. Finance ministry officials said the Centre has adopted a three-pillar approach— addressing inverted duty structures, rationalising rates to eliminate multiple tax slabs, and simplifying compliance, particularly for small and medium businesses. “Most aspirational goods like televisions and refrigerators may now fall under the 5% or 18% slabs. The restructuring is designed to benefit the middle class,” an official said. The finance ministry said the reform will boost core sectors such as agriculture, textiles, renewable energy healthcare, and in, surance. Lower GST on health and life insurance is expected to expand coverage for vulnerable groups, while reduced rates on medicines and medical products aim to strengthen the public health system.  P12 talks collapse Amid deep divisions, plastic treaty bombs A FTER three years of negotia- in the morning lacked consensus. By tions, the United Nations’ effort dawn, weary delegates conceded to craft the world’s first legally there was no deal. binding treaty to end plastic The fault lines had been visible all pollution ended in a “no agree- week. More than 100 members of the ment” here on Friday. Nearly 180 ‘High Ambition Coalition’ — includcountries failed to agree on a draft ing the EU and Africa nations— text during the final pushed for binding week of talks, with measures to cut plasdeep divisions over tic production, phase TNIE in Switzerland the treaty’s scope, out single-use plastic S V Krishna how decisions should and adopt reuse and Chaitanya be made, and whethrecycling. They also @ geneva er the deal should demanded a provitarget plastic prosion for majority duction itself. voting at the future Conference of the The collapse followed night-long Parties (COP), arguing that without consultations and a chaotic closing it the treaty risked being paralysed plenary stretching into early hours by a small minority . of Friday The Chair’s revised draft . Oil-producing states — led by Sau- Three painters die of electrocution after crane touches live wire in TN E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Namakkal Three painters died of electrocution outside an under-construction building in Namakkal on Friday, after the crane they were on collapsed and came into contact with a highvoltage power line. The deceased have been identified as V Jothi (45), S Sukumar (45), and M Mukesh Kannan (25), all residents of Erumapatti, Namakkal. According to Namakkal Town police, the three men had gone up in a crane and were engaged in painting the exterior of the upper floors of the four-floor private hospital building on Tiruchy Road. Around 9 am, one of the crane’s cables snapped, causing the crane’s boom to come into contact with a high-voltage power line, electrocuting all three workers, according to police.  continued on: p7 migrant worker falls 60ft at cmrl construction site, dies | P2 di Arabia, Iran and Russia (LikeMinded Group) — rejected these demands. They insisted the treaty focus on plastic waste management rather than upstream production, and that all decisions must be by consensus. India backed this bloc. Neelesh Kumar Sah, joint secretary in Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and part of India’s delegation, spelt out New Delhi’s stance at the plenary. “The instrument we are negotiating has very wide scope. We must ensure the mandate is drawn from the UNEA 5/14 resolution. The scope of the new instrument should be limited to plastic pollution, without overlapping with other environmental pacts.”  continued on: p7 e x p r e s s r e a d Nagaland guv and former MP La Ganesan dies in Chennai Chennai: Governor of Nagaland, former MP and Tamil Nadu BJP president La Ganesan passed away at a private hospital in Chennai on Friday evening. He was 80. Ganesan had been in the hospital since August 8 after he reportedly sustained a head injury at his residence in T Nagar. The late leader’s mortal remains will be placed at his residence for political leaders and others to pay their last respects | P9 Charging that the centre has been depriving the state government of its rightful powers in recent years, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Friday said that the only solution available is to take constitutional measures to restore the states’ share in the division of powers and finances. The CM made the remark during his Independence Day address after hoisting the National Flag on the ramparts of Fort St George in Chennai. Perhaps for the first time, a Tamil Nadu CM has made such critical remarks against the union government during the Independence Day address. Departing from a customary address, the CM underscored the importance of federal rights — invoking B R Ambedkar — and charged that the centre has been undermining the federal principle by usurping powers of the states.  P7 BRAVING inter mittent rains, rescuers intensified their search for survivors in a cloudburst-hit village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district on Friday even , as Chief minister Omar Abdullah put the death toll at 60, with 80 people still missing. Over 100 people have been injured. Among the dead are mostly pilgrims, local residents and two CISF personnel, who were on duty at the site. An official said the condition of 37 people, among the injured, is critical. Disaster struck Chisoti, the last motorable village on the way to the Machail Mata temple, around 12.25 pm on Thursday, leaving a trail of death and destruction. Rescuers pulled out 46 bodies on Thursday. Thirty bodies have been identified and handed over to the victims’ families. A large number of people had gathered in Chisoti for the annual Machail Mata pilgrimage that began on July 25 and was scheduled to end on September 5. The 8.5km trek to the 9,500-foot shrine begins from Chisoti, which is located about 90 km from Kishtwar town. The yatra remained suspended for a second day on Friday . A local resident said the disaster struck during lunch time when yatris were having lunch at a langar setup for Machail Mata Yatra pilgrims. “The langar was full of people. About 300-400 people were present at the langar camp when the cloudburst struck. Nothing is known about those trapped in the debris,” he said. Rescue-and-relief operation was suspended late on Thursday night. It resumed on Friday with with the rescuers — from police, Army, NDRF, SDRF and local volunteers — sifting through the rubble to find survivors. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with the CM and J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Friday and assured them of all help.