tirupati l friday l august 29, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l late city EDITION State govts can’t move SC against Prez AND guv on Bills, SAYS Centre sc: How can Assent be withheld forever? The Supreme Court’s five-judge Constitution bench hearing a Presidential Reference seeking clarity on whether timelines could be imposed on the President and governors for deciding on bills passed by the State legislatures, said the term ‘as soon as possible’ used in Article 200 of the Constitution will serve no purpose if consent is withheld for “eternity” State governments cannot file such writ petitions by claiming to be a repository of the rights of the people, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told SC ■ Art 200 Prez, Guv not bound by timeframe: s-g ■ Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Tamil Nadu, said governors and the President are ‘titular heads’ who have no discretion on executive decision-making, except a very few ones S-G Mehta said the Constitution does not envisage judicial directions binding the President or Governors to act within a timeframe Deals with guv’s Assent, withholding, returning, or referring bills to prez 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 Trump’s top Talks still on aides double at multiple down on India levels: Govt J AYA N TH J ACO B @ New Delhi 15 SDRF teams and 5 NDRF teams deployed in Kamareddy and other districts; 100 Army personnel engaged in rescue, relief in Medak welfare benefits express read Family Cards on lines of Aadhaar to all in ap soon `53,922 cr investments of 30 projects cleared E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada In a transformative step to ensure every family in Andhra Pradesh benefits from welfare schemes, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has announced the introduction of a Family Card system. During a review meeting of the Family Benefit Monitoring System at the State Secretariat on Thursday the Chief Minister , directed officials to establish a robust and field-level information system to identify eligible households, and deliver welfare benefits transparently . Naidu emphasised that the Family Card will assign a unique score to each household, reflecting its socio-economic needs, and the government benefits it receives. “Every family should have a Family Card that records the welfare schemes they access, ensuring transparency and accountability Like an Aad. haar card, it will help families meet their needs while promoting economic stability The card will serve as a comprehensive tool . to track benefits, and ensure that all eligible families are covered under the development programmes,” he explained. Naidu stressed the importance of accurate data collection to support this initiative. “We need complete, interconnected data from every department to deliver better services. Precise fieldlevel information will help us make informed decisions for the P4 economic uplift of marginalised communities,” he said.  Vijayawada: The 10th State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB) meeting, chaired by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, approved investments worth `53,922 crore across 30 projects. The projects are expected to generate 83,437 jobs | P4 West Bengal readies for poll body’s SIR rollout Kolkata: In an indication of the SIR of poll rolls kicking in soon in Bengal, the state administration on Wednesday instructed the appointment of all electoral registration officers and assistant electoral registration officers within 24 hours | P8 IndiGo lease of Turkish planes extended New Delhi: In a significant development, DGCA has given a six-month extension till February 28, 2026 to IndiGo to operate two leased Boeing 777 aircraft from Turkish Airlines with certain conditions AP poised to be India’s major IT & electronics hub K K a lya n K r i s h n a K u m a r @ Vijayawada The TDP-led NDA government has unveiled an ambitious roadmap to transfor m Andhra Pradesh into India’s major hub for information technology and electronics. Spearheaded by HRD, IT and Electronics Minister Nara Lokesh, the government’s push for large scale investments and rapid industrial development has started yielding results. To support its Swarna Andhra vision, the gover nment has launched a slew of policies for 2024-29. These include the IT & Global Capability Centre Policy , Electronics Manufacturing Policy, Semiconductor & Display Fab Policy, Data Centre Policy, and Innovation & Startup Policy . Collectively, these policies aim to build a robust digital and electronics ecosystem by offering capital subsidies, rental and power incentives, support for co-working spaces, job creation subsidies, and employee welfare schemes. For IT companies, the government is offering hiring subsidies of up to `3 lakh per employee, with additional benefits for women and disadvantaged groups. Employees may also receive direct housing and education allowances. Electronics EXPRESS ILLUSTRATION projects are eligible for capital subsidies ranging from 20% to 30%, with customised packages for large scale investments. Since April 2024, Andhra Pradesh has seen a surge in industrial activity, with several leading national and international companies getting land allotment for major projects. These include Tata Consultancy Services, Cognizant Technology Solutions, LG Electronics, Daikin Air Conditioning India, Premier Energies, and Wingtech Mobile ComP4 munications.  4,472 Village Health Clinic buildings to come up at a cost of `1,129 cr in one year E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada The State government has approved the construction of 4,472 Village Health Clinic (VHC) buildings at an estimated cost of `1,129 crore with a one year deadline. After reviewing the rural health infrastructure in the State with senior officials on Thursday Health Minister Y Satya Kumar Yadav said , the new initiative aims to provide permanent and fully equipped buildings for Ayushman Arogya Mandirs as majority of which are now functioning in rented premises. Out of the total 10,032 VHCs in 26 districts, only 1,086 got own buildings. Nearly 80% of the project cost will be borne by the Centre, the P4 Health Minister said.  No. of VHC buildings Anakapalle 69 trains were cancelled in in Telangana, while 18 other trains were partially cancelled due to water overflowing on the tracks Nellore 171.3 mm rainfall received at Ramareddy village in Kamareddy district between 8.30 am and 4 pm WITH the 50% tariffs officially coming into force, New Delhi has intensified efforts to mitigate the fallout. According to a senior commerce ministry official, discussions are on with exporters as well officials of the Trump administration. “Engagements with exporters are going on. Official-level engagements between the two countries are also on,” the official said. The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the Ministry of Exter nal Affairs (MEA), and the Ministry of Commerce are jointly coordinating efforts to cushion the impact on exporters. Speaking to this newspaper, an official said the government is trying to find a way out of the tarUnwavering and iff mess and seriously unequivocal pursuing engagements at support for the multiple levels – diplomatgovernment’s ic, political and commerstance on not cial. The official said the yielding to the unreasonable and strategies include putting unethical pressure pressure on the Trump of the reciprocal administration using the tariffs imposed on Democrats and businessIndia by the United es there. “Businesses are States the ones who are suffer—Sudhir Sekhri, ing even in the US,” said chairman, AEPC the official. Meanwhile, separate meetings between ministries and industry representatives are being held. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has initiated dialogues with key trade bodies to address liquidity and financial concerns triggered by the new tariffs. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra had earlier promised exporters that all measures would be taken to deal with the emerging situation. On Thursday a delegation from the Federa, tion of Indian Export Organisations met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. According to the federation, Sitharaman assured them that the government would safeguard workers’ livelihoods and urged industry leaders to reassure employees about job continuity despite global turbulence. Exporters, despite being concerned about the impact on their businesses, have largely backed the government’s stance of dealing with tariff pressure from Washington. Prakasam Police personnel rescuing ST Residential School students trapped in floodwaters at Sarampalli village in Kamareddy district in Telangana on Wednesday. Around 300 of those children were shifted to safer locations | Express Hardening their stance against India over New Delhi’s energy trade with Russia and refusal to open up its markets for American corporations, US President Donald Trump’s two top economic advisers, Kevin Hassett and Peter Navarro, have issued sharp warnings against India. Hassett, director, National Economic Council, tied Washington’s steep tariffs on Indian goods to New Delhi’s stance on Russia. “If the Indians don’t budge, I don’t think President Trump will,” he said, calling trade negotiations with India complicated and criticising India’s ‘intransigence’ in opening up markets. White House Trade Advisor Navarro bluntly accused India of enabling Russia’s war. In an interview to Bloomberg, Navarro dubbed the Ukraine conflict ‘Modi’s war’, Peter Navarro blaming India for prolonging the fighting by continuing to buy Russian oil. The duo’s sharp remarks signal a renewed hardline posture from the Trump administration as it links trade policy with geopolitical alignment. Kevin Hassett “This isn’t just about trade,” Hassett said. “Part of it has been tied to the pressure we’ve been trying to put on Russia in order to secure a peace deal and save millions of lives. Then there’s the Indian intransigence about opening their markets to our products.” Taking a more provocative line, Navarro said: “Everybody in America loses because of what India is doing… Consumers lose, businesses lose, workers lose because of high Indian tariffs. And the taxpayer? They fund Modi’s war.” Navarro also lashed out at India’s insistence on sovereign decision-making in energy policy calling it “arrogant,” and accused the , country of siding with authoritarians. “India, you’re the biggest democracy in the world. Act like one. Side with the democracies,” he said, lumping India’s Russia and China ties into a broader critique of its foreign policy alignment. Bapatla Police lifeline PUSHPITA D E Y @ New Delhi Parvathipuram Page 11 If Indians don’t budge, I don’t think President Trump will: Hassett Chittoor Storms into Worlds quarters after beating China’s Wang Zhi Yi On the issue of Hindu Rashtra, Bhagwat said there is no need to declare Bharat a Hindu Rashtra. “It already is. Rishis and munis have already declared it. It does not need any official proclamation,” he said, adding the Sangh cannot change its stance that Hindustan is a Hindu nation. Addressing concerns over foreign funding, he said that there should be no issue if they are used for service work. “But they should be used for that purpose alone. The problem arises when such funds are used for religious conversions. That is why restrictions became necessary .” Commenting on the language debate, Bhagwat said that all of Bharat’s languages are national languages. “All the languages of Bharat are national languages. But, there should be one common link language and it should never be a foreign language.” Krishna stuns world no 2 in Round of 16 Centenary event Alluri Sitarama Raju sindhu Clearing the air over his recent remark on retirement at 75, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday said it wasn’t aimed at himself or anyone else, alluding to the speculation on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “I never said that I will retire or someone else should retire... We are ready to retire anytime in life and ready to work for as long as the Sangh wants us to do so,” he said on the final day of the Sangh’s three-day lecture series to mark the centenary celebrations of the RSS. Reacting to ongoing attempts to reclaim Hindu sites of worship in Kashi and Mathura, he denied the Sangh’s participation in it, but added that its volunteers (swayamsevaks) were free to make their own decisions. Bhagwat also suggested that every Indian family should have three children to keep the population sufficient and under control. “To keep a civilisation alive, India’s population policy suggests 2.1 (average number of children), which basically means three. But resources have to be managed too, so we must restrict it to three,” he said. Konaseema India and Canada on Thursday named senior diplomats Dinesh K Patnaik and Christopher Cooter as their new high commissioners, filling posts that had remained vacant for over 10 months amid one of the most serious diplomatic crises between the two countries in recent decades. Patnaik, a 1990-batch Indian Foreign Service officer and currently India’s ambassador to Spain, will take up his assignment in Ottawa shortly, the Ministry of External Affairs said. Canada’s Foreign Minister Anita Anand confirmed the appointment of Cooter as high commissioner to India, calling it an “important step towards restoring necessary diplomatic services to citizens and businesses in both countries.” The appointments mark a cautious step toward normalising ties that had sharply deteriorated following allegations by then Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau in September 2023 that Indian government agents were involved in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey British Columbia. India , had dismissed it as “absurd and politically motivated”. In the aftermath, both countries halted trade talks, expelled diplomats, and downgraded the functioning of their missions. Though Canada follows a 120day process to finalise the agrément—a formal diplomatic approval process—for incoming foreign envoys, in Patnaik’s case, the process was expedited. While the deeper political tensions remain unresolved, the restoration of high-level diplomatic representation suggests both sides are now seeking to stabilise the relationship and move toward normalcy . RA J E SH K UMAR THA K UR @ New Delhi Eluru J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi Bhagwat clears the air on retiring @ 75 Nandyal India, Canada thaw as both name envoys Srikakulam Important step 284 272 263 242 240 239 229 211 205 203 203 200