TIRUCHY l saturday l august 30, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION 3-member panel formed to probe landslide on Vaishno devi route Committee to submit report within 2 weeks The probe panel will be headed by additional chief secretary, Department of Jal Shakti. Jammu Divisional Commissioner Ramesh Kumar and Inspector General of Police B S Tuti are the two other members. The threemember committee will submit its report within two weeks to Sinha, who is also the chairman of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Friday constituted a three-member panel to inquire into the reasons behind the landslide ■ 34 yatra stopped before cloudburst: Board ■ ■ The committee will examine the reasons behind the tragedy, point out lapses, and suggest appropriate preventive measures The probe comes amid protests against Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board for allegedly allowing the yatra despite weather warnings The Board said it stopped the pilgrimage ahead of the cloudburst Pilgrims were killed and 20 others injured in the landslide on aUGUST 26 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 Robust govt spending boosts Q1 growth India, Japan unveil 10-yr economic roadmap GDP grows 7.8%, beats estimates AMID unprecedented global uncertainties precipitated by US President Donald Trump’s tariff war, India’s GDP grew to a 5-month high of 7.8% in the April-June quarter, beating all estimates and surprising many . Most analysts had expected India’s growth to come in below 7% during the period. Even the RBI projection for the first quarter was a moderate 6.5%, which showed the spectacular resilience of the Indian economy . The strong performance was driven by a buoyant services sector, which registered a substantial real GVA (gross value added) g rowth of 9.3%, and the manufacturing sector, which grew 7.7% during the quarter. Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran said the growth was broad-based. “Agriculture GVA rose 3.7%, which is usually expected to be modest in this quarter. Manufacturing expanded by 7.7%, while services also recorded strong growth, consistent with robust PMI services readings in recent months,” he said. Both manufacturing and construction sectors demonstrated robust growth, with 15 6 3 6.9% 6% 9.7% 9.3% 9.5% 4.8% Q2 V Anantha Nageswaran, Chief Economic Advisor 5.6% 8.4% Q3 Q4 Q1 2022-2023 Q2 Q3 Q4 2023-2024 7.8% 7.4% 6.4% 6.5% Q1 After seeing the resilience of Q1 growth, we are retaining the growth rate projections for current fiscal at 6.3-6.8% Crests and troughs 13.5% 12 9 In absolute terms, the real GDP for Q1 of 2025-26 is estimated at `47.89 lakh crore, up from `44.42 lakh crore in the same quarter last year. The nominal GDP for the quarter stands at `86.05 lakh crore, up 8.8% Q1 Q2 Q3 2024-2025 Q4 Q1 FY26 @ New Delhi Prime ministers Narendra Modi and Shigeru Ishiba | PTI world counting on India, says Modi in Japan Jaya n t h Jac o b @ New Delhi Amid a shifting global trade landscape, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday used his first foreign visit since the US imposed sweeping 50% tariffs on key Indian imports to deliver a clear message from Tokyo: the world is counting on India. “The world is not just watching India. It is counting on India,” Modi said, addressing top business leaders at the India-Japan Economic Forum alongside his Japanese counterpart China ties to stabilise Shigeru Ishiba. India and Japan unveiled a economic 10-year economic roadmap order: PM aimed at long-term stability, Given the strategic cooperation, and mu- volatility in the tual resilience. Its centerpiece world economy, is to secure critical supply it is important chains, expand AI and digital for India and cooperation, and deepening China to work private sector investment. together to Japan committed to mobils- bring stability ing 10 trillion yen (approxi- to the world mately $68 billion) in private economic order, investment in India over the Modi said | P7 next decade — a move widely seen as a vote of confidence in India’s economic trajectory at a time of global realignment. “We have laid a strong foundation for a new and golden chapter in our Special Strategic and Global Partnership,” Modi said. “This roadmap aligns with the priorities of both nations and meets the challenges of a changing world.” The summit launched the India-Japan Economic Security Cooperation Initiative, aimed at a “whole-of-nation” approach to bolster strategic sectors like semiconductors, rare earths, clean energy AI, telecom, and biotech.  , P7 Seafood containers from TN to US stranded at sea S G o d s o n W i se ly Dass @ Thoothukudi Seafood expor ters in Thoothukudi are literally caught between the devil and the deep blue sea as American importers have started cancelling the ordered consignments that are in transit, citing the new 50% tariff, leaving crores of rupees worth of seafood stranded in sea. Over 1,000 tonnes of seafood consignments (refrigerated containers or reefers) worth nearly `100 crore are current- ly in transit to the US. After the US President Donald Trump’s 50% tariff on Indian goods kicked in on August 27, the buyers are urging the exporters to either bear the difference in tariff hike or take back the consignments, Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI) - TN Region president Selwin Prabhu told Min welcomes order S U C H IT R A K A LYA N M O H A NT Y Real GDP at `47.89 lakh crore GVA rates of 7.7% and 7.6%, respectively The agriculture . and allied sector also showed healthy improvement, rising to 3.7% from 1.5%. Private consumption grew 7%, lower than 8.3% a year ago but still strong. The CEA said rural consumption had held up well. “We would even argue that urban consumption hasn’t been as weak as some indicators suggest. Rural consumption has been supported by sharply rising real wages in agriculture,” he said. Gover nment spending provided a boost, with final consumption expenditure rising 7.4% during the quarter. Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF)— spending on infrastructure and asset creation—rose 7.8%, higher than 6.7% in Q1 FY25. Economists attribute the Q1 growth to front-loaded government spending and a surge in exports to the US, which grew 22% during the three-month period. The Q1 GDP numbers were for the period before Trump imposed tariffs on Indian goods. Analysts fear GDP data for the second quarter may take a hit as the impact of the US tariffs on Indian goods is factored in. D i pak M o n d a l @ New Delhi SC bins plea against use of TN temple land for building college TNIE. Thoothukudi exports frozen seafood like vannamei (Whiteleg shrimp), squid and octopus in large quantities to the US market. Shrimp alone accounts for 85% of the export. Prabhu said though most exporters had gradually reduced the quantum of export to the US due to the tariff uncertainty over the last few months, Seafood shipments executed before August 6 attracted 10% tariff, and 25% tariff until August 26. From August 27, the tariff was hiked by another 25% as penalty — Industry sources more than 1,000 tonnes of seafood consignments are currently under transit as it takes nearly 45 days to reach the port of New York or Los Angeles. Voicing concern about buyers mailing exporters to cancel goods on transit, Prabhu said, “Buyers want exporters to bear the 50% tariff cost to accept the consignments or they are threatening to return it.We entered into agreements with buyers when the tariff on Indian goods was 10%. The 50% steep tariff has upended everything.”  P5 The Supreme Court on Friday declined to entertain an appeal against the Madras High Court’s verdict allowing the Tamil Nadu government to utilise Sri Somanathaswamy Temple’s land on lease for building a gover nment colle g e in Kolathur in Chennai. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta rejected a plea filed by T R Ramesh against the HC’s division bench judgment of February 20, 2025. The issue of use of temple land by the state for building educational institutes in Tamil Nadu has been a political ‘hot potato’, with the DMK government defending the move and opposition parties slamming the government for allegedly Chennai: HR&CE Minister PK Sekarbabu on Friday thanked the SC for dismissing the plea. After the DMK government assumed office, as many as 3,503 temples have been consecrated, and the number may go up to 4,000 by January 2026, he said | P4 misusing temple funds and resources gifted by the faithful for non-religious activities. Chief Minister M K Stalin is the legislator of the Kolathur Assembly seat where the college is proposed to be built. The Madras HC bench in October 2024 had upheld a single judge’s order which stated that the proposed long-term lease of 2.50 acres of land belonging to Sri Somanathaswamy Temple in Kolathur to Sri Kapaliswarar Temple in Mylapore for 25 Shankar Jiwal new fire commission chief, no word on next DGP yet Plea to extend SIR by a week to be heard on Sept 8, says SC S i d d har t h P ra b hakar @ Chennai S U C H IT R A K A LYA N M O H A NT Y The Tamil Nadu government is yet to announce incumbent state police chief Shankar Jiwal’s successor despite appointing him as the chairman of a newly-formed fire commission with effect from Monday, the day after his last day in office (August 31). Though TN government did not issue any orders at the time of going to press on Friday, highly placed police sources said an order appointing DGP (administration) G Venkatraman as the ‘in-charge’ chief will be issued on Sunday This . comes after the government sent the names of eight officers eligible to be appointed as the next chief to the UPSC just last week, the sources added. Going strictly by seniority, Seema Agrawal, Rajeev Kumar and Sandeep Rai Rathore from the 1992 batch would have been the top three in contention for @ New Delhi CM MK Stalin hands over appointment order to DGP Shankar Jiwal | EXPRESS being chosen for the job by the state government. The other five names submitted to UPSC include Vannia Perumal, Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal, G Venkatraman, Vinit Wankhede and Sanjay Mathur. However, top police sources indicated that owing to the delay in sending the list of eligible officers to Delhi, TN government is likely to appoint Venkatraman, a 1994 batch officer, as the incharge Head of Police Force. P5 express re a d TN announces `2,545 per quintal for paddy ‘Ungaludan Stalin’ camp petitions found in river CHENNAI: The state government on Friday announced that the farmers will be paid `2,545 per quintal of ‘grade A’ paddy and `2,500 for ‘common’ variety of paddy for this year’s kharif marketing season (KMS) that will begin from September 1 | P4 Sivaganga: Several grievance redressal petitions submitted during ‘Ungaludan Stalin’ camps were found floating on Vaigai River in Sivaganga on Friday. The district collector has ordered a probe and filed a police complaint into the issue | P4 Reliance to partner with Meta, Google to bring affordable AI solutions to Indians R A K E S H K U M A R @ New Delhi Unveiling its mega plans for the artificial intelligence space, India’s largest conglomerate Reliance Industries on Friday announced a wholly owned subsidiary, Reliance Intelligence, to bring AI solutions for users in India and select international markets. RIL will also join hands with global tech giants Meta and Google to bring cutting-edge AI tools to India. Reliance Intelligence will build gigawatt-scale, AIready data centres, powered by green energy and engineered for training and inference at a national scale. Jio listing next year Jio Platforms, the entity that houses Reliance Industries’ telecom and digital businesses, is gearing up for an initial public offering and stock market listing in the first half of 2026 | P10 Also on the cards is a joint venture with US firm Meta to build and scale enterprise AI solutions for businesses, with an initial joint investment of `860 crore ($100 million), with Reliance holding a 70% stake and Meta holding 30%. Announcing the details on Friday, RIL’s chair- man and managing director Mukesh Ambani said partnering with Meta fulfils the firm’s vision of providing AI to every Indian and enterprise by combining Meta’s most widely adopted open source Llama models with our deep expertise across multiple industries. The deal is subject to regulatory approvals. RIL announced expansion of its partnership with Google Cloud. Reliance will build a state-of-the-art cloud region in Jamnagar, along with associated network infrastructure. The facility will meet Google Cloud’s global technical specifications and standards, making it capable of handling advanced AI workloads. years to establish an arts and science college was meant for running a college and, thus, the object being a benevolent one, the petitioner can submit his written objections or suggestions against such proposed lease before the Commissioner, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department. The petitioner, Ramesh, had challenged the HR&CE commissioner’s notification issued on September 03, 2024.  P5 The Supreme Court on Friday decided to hear on September 8 the Rashtriya Janata Dal’s (RJD) plea seeking one more week for filing claims and objections on voter registration as part of the special intensive revision (SIR) in Bihar. Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the RJD, mentioned the matter before a three-judge bench of justices Surya Kant, Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, seeking a week’s extension to the September 1 deadline. Bhushan said the RJD and a few other parties have filed applications seeking the extension of the September 1 deadline. The SC in its order agreed to bunch it with other matters on September 8. Bhushan said over 1,75,000 claims and objections were made before and after the August 22 court order. The August 22 order directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to allow the 65 lakh excluded voters to submit their claims online besides physical submissions in poll-bound Bihar. The number of claims doubled from 84,305 on August 22 to 1,78,948 on August 27 in just five days, the RJD said. When the bench asked the petitioners why they hadn’t approached ECI for relief, Bhushan claimed the poll panel had not considered their request. “Unless extended, genuine electors whose names have been erroneously deleted by the EC will not be able to submit their claims and consequently will be barred from exercising their right to vote in the coming elections.” periyar portrait to be unveiled at oxford india cross chinese wall India players try to score goal from penalty corner against China in Asian Cup opener at Rajgir on Friday. India won 4-3 | PTI CM MK Stalin on Friday said he would unveil a portrait of rationalist leader Thanthai Periyar at Oxford University on September 4. Earlier, the CM said he would embark on a week-long trip to UK and Germany on Saturday to attract investments | P4