hyderabad l sunday l september 21, 2025 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l late city EDITION actor Mohanlal to be conferred Dadasaheb Phalke Award The Malayalam actor will be honoured with the country’s highest recognition in cinema for his ‘iconic contributions’ to the field His work has set a gold standard: Ministry The Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting praised Mohanlal for setting a golden standard in Indian film history through his “unmatched talent, versatility, and relentless hard work”. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the actor’s cinematic and theatrical brilliance across mediums is truly inspiring and called him “the leading light of Malayalam cinema” ■ Sep 23 350 films in career spanning four decades ■ In a rich career spanning four decades, he has acted in more than 350 films across Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Kannada Known for his natural acting style and versatility, Mohanlal has won two National Film Awards for best actor and nine Kerala State Film Awards. He was honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 2019 When mohanlal will be presented the Dadasaheb Phalke Award 2023 CBC 15502/13/0019/2526 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 I don’t want you! Historically, the US was letting in the bottom quartile, earning $66,000 a year, often needing government assistance. It was illogical. This programme will now only admit people at the very top. If someone is that valuable, companies can pay $100,000 a year. If not, they can hire an American 2.8L Indian jobs on the line as Trump slaps $1L H-1B fee workers reporting a median annual salary of $1,23,600. Nasscom, the apex body of India’s The Trump administration on Satur- technology industry, said the steep inday imposed a fee of $1,00,000 per year crease in H-1B visa fees will have a ripon each H-1B visa holder, dealing a body ple effect on America’s innovation ecoblow to the 2,83,397 (71%) skilled tech- system and the job market. “It will also nology workers from India, as per 2024 impact Indian nationals working in the data. At 71%, India was the largest ben- US on H-1B visas for both global and Ineficiary of H-1B last year, while China dian companies. India’s technology was a distant second at 12%. services companies will face business “We need great workers, and this continuity challenges for onshore pretty much ensures that that’s what’s projects,” it said. going to happen,” Trump said at the Nasscom also flagged the timeline for Oval Office as Commerce implementation, since the Secretary Howard Lutnick new rules apply to anyone enOnly for new stood by The new rule would . tering the US after 12.01 am applicants raise the cost of sponsoring on September 21. “A one-day In a late night an Indian H-1B worker from deadline creates considerable clarification, an the current $215 to a staggeruncertainty Policy changes ... unnamed White ing $100,000 per year or up to of this scale are best introHouse official told $600,000 over a six-year visa duced with adequate transithe New York Times period. The administration tion periods,” it added. that the $1,00,000 says the fee is designed to enIT services exports to the H-1B visa fee will sure that only “extraordiUS generate around $100 bilapply only to new nary” workers are let in. lion in revenue for India, and applicants TCS accounted for over Trump’s latest move could 5,505 H-1B visas granted for disrupt this (see box). fiscal year 2025 (October 2024-SeptemAnother concern is wage pressure in ber 2025), followed by Cognizant (3,700), India’s IT industry if employees return. Infosys (2,004), LTIMindtree (1,807), and Yogeesha Channabasappa, an IT conHCL Tech (1,728). In 2025, TCS was the sultant, said, “With more people comsecond-largest recipient of H-1B visas peting for India-based roles, wage after Amazon, which received approv- growth may flatten in the short run.” als for 10,000. Although the announcement came Pew Research notes that since 2010, a after Indian markets had closed, it joltmajority of H-1B approvals each year ed Infosys’ American Depository Rewent to workers born in India. It added ceipts (ADRs), which fell 3.41% to $16.97 that since fiscal 2012, about 60% or on the New York Stock Exchange. more of H-1B workers approved each Wipro’s ADRs declined 2.10%. Analysts year held computer-related jobs. In expect the ripple effect to spill over 2023, the share was 65%, with these when Indian markets open on Monday . S a n a l S u d e v a n / D i pa k M o n d a l @ Chennai/New Delhi Infused wrong blood type, woman critical E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Warangal An alleged blood transfusion mix-up at the state-run MGM Hospital in Warangal has left a 38-year-old woman in a critical but stable condition after she was reportedly given the wrong blood group. Jyothi, a resident of Ayodhyapuram village in Kazipet mandal, Hanamkonda district, was admitted to the hospital on September 16 with a high fever. Her haemoglobin levels were low and platelet count had dropped, prompting doctors to recommend an immediate blood transfusion. According to Jyothi’s relatives, hospital staff administered a B positive blood unit on September 17 when her blood group was O positive. The alleged incident came to light on September 19 after a repeat blood test identified the mismatch. Jyothi reportedly developed severe itching and discomfort, raising alarm among her family members.  Continued on P5 @ Hyderabad Thinking Inside the Bot PLUS 12 PAGES Top H1B beneficiaries IT firms 2025 5,005 Cognizant 3,660 Infosys 2,004 LTIMindtree 1,807 HCL 1,728 Wipro 1,523 TCS U.S. revenue for major Indian IT cos % US revenue TCS Infosys HCL Tech Wipro Tech  Mahindra 48% 58% 66% 63% 51% s l a l i t h a @ New Delhi THE abrupt announcement by the US to levy an annual fee of `88.13 lakh on H1-B visa holders from September 21, with a mere 36-hour window, stunned Indian techies living in the US as well as those planning to visit the country . Plans to travel outside America or in the return direction have been abruptly cancelled or advanced by hundreds of them and their families. While many cancelled plans to travel at the last minute while waiting to board flights to India, several others already in India are scrambling to return amid lack of clarity as the US fiat comes weeks before Indian professionals and their families travel to India for Diwali and other holidays. Atal Agarwal, founder of OpenSphere, an AI company that offers Global Mobility Services for Immigrants, told this paper from Canada that he was inundated with messages for help from Indians in the US. “Never in modern history has a policy affecting 500K+ highly skilled workers been implemented with a 48-hr notice ... Airports are flooded. Flight prices are skyrocketing.” Airfares from New Delhi to the US were in excess of $4,500 on a private airline’s portal. Communication sent to staff by Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft urged employees to stay put in the US while asking those outside to return before the deadline. Individuals on H-1B visas told a news agency anonymously that the underlying emotion among H-1B visa holders and families right now is “a crazy sense of panic and worry”. Asking why the Centre was maintaining silence over the increase in H-1B visa fees by the United States, IT and Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu said Telangana would be among the states worst affected by the move. “Why is the Union government silent? Why has it not opened talks with the US through diplomatic channels? The highest number of H-1B visa holders are from India. The Centre has failed to initiate dialogue and exert pressure on the US to resolve the problem,” he said. Sridhar Babu demanded that the prime minister and the ex- INDIA vs pakistan Sports no longer tool of diplomacy s w a r o o p s w a m i n at h a n @ Chennai OVER the last few months, there has been a growing clamour for the Indian cricket team to refuse to play Pakistan and it grew before their first match in Asia Cup group stage. India comfortably won the game — there is honestly a noticeable difference in the skill levels of both teams — but what caught the eye was what happened on the sidelines. India’s refusal to shake hands or exchange pleasantries, a kind of common sporting brotherhood. After the match, Suryakumar Yadav expressed his solidarity with the families affected by the attack in Pahalgam in April. Following that attack Sunday the sporting relations between India and Pakistan nosedived. An Indian cricket Special team twice boycotted Pakistan in a meet in England. The Pakistan hockey team — usually habitual travellers to India — skipped the Asia Cup earlier this month; relationships are not the same anymore. Even in a heightened state of tension, sport has been used as a diplomatic tool to try and put peace at the forefront. From 1987, when Pakistan president, Zia-ul-Haq, travelled to India to watch a Test featuring the two countries to 1996, when the two teams joined forces to play a game in Sri Lanka to show it was safe. On Sunday, India and Pakistan will meet again at the Asia Cup. If there’s another round of snubbing extended hands, it may well be a new normal.  More on P11 Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy presents a memento to High Court Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh during a meeting at the Marri Channa Reddy Human Resource Development Institute in Hyderabad on Saturday Has humanitarian consequences: MEA j aya n t h j a c o b @ New Delhi INDIA on Saturday said it is closely studying the full implication of the US decision to impose a $100,000 annual fee on H-1B visas, warning that the move could cause “humanitarian consequences” and disrupt families. In a measured response, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said: “The full implications of the measure are being studied by all concerned, including by Indian industry which has , already put out an initial analysis clarifying some perceptions related to the H1B program.”  P7 H-1B mess will hit Telangana hardest: Sridhar E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e WITH THIS ISSUE —Howard Lutnick, US Commerce Secy Stunned techies scramble to US, scrap fly out plan ternal affairs minister take up the matter directly with US President Donald Trump. Speaking to reporters at the Secretariat on Saturday he said , the Centre should also make alternative arrangements for In- This is totally unacceptable in the historical context of Indo-American relationships. It is for the GoI to immediately set up a mechanism to resolve this amicably keeping the interests of our tech population and skilled workers who have served America for so long. The suffering for our Telugu techies will be unimaginable — A Revanth Reddy, Chief Minister dian IT employees. “Companies like HCL, TCS, Infosys and Wipro depend on H-1B visas. If the visa fee is suddenly increased to 100,000 US dollars, hiring will fall. For instance, in the US there are 1,50,000 Indians working in Infosys, 1,20,000 in TCS, 60,000 in Wipro, 57,000 in HCL and 20,000 in Mahindra on H-1B visas. These firms will reconsider renewals because of the huge burden, which could lead to unemployment,” he said.  Continued on P4 CM promises infrastructure, facilities to courts across state E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy assured Telangana High Court Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh that the government would provide court infrastructure and take up staff recruitment in the newly formed districts. On Saturday, Revanth met the Chief Justice at the Dr Marri Channa Reddy Human Resource Development Institute (MCRHRD) in Hyderabad and held discussions on strengthening the judicial system in the state. During the meeting, the Chief Justice suggested that the government should construct court buildings and provide necessary facilities in the newly formed districts, along with recruiting required staff. He also presented several proposals to Revanth in this regard. High Court judges Justice P Sam Koshy and Justice Abhinand Kumar Shavali, Chief Secretary K Ramakrishna Rao, Law Secretary Papi Reddy, and other officials were present at the meeting.