hyderabad l friday l october 17, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 36 l late city EDITION D cause for concern as India gets D rating in global pension index The Mercer Global Pension Index 2025, built on adequacy (40%), sustainability (35%) and integrity (25%)—ranked India at 43.8 points score of 43.8 versus global avg of 64.5 low income replacement level for seniors The global average score of the pension index was 64.5. This year’s top performers included The Netherlands (85.4), Iceland (84.0), Denmark (82.3), Singapore (80.8), and Israel (80.3)—all earning an ‘A’ grade for robust and sustainable pension systems. India’s pension system continues to face structural gaps that undermine retirement security for most | P10 ■ ■ Adequacy remains India’s weakest link, earning an ‘E’ grade (34.7). This reflects extremely low income replacement levels for retirees On Sustainability, India scored 43.8 (‘D’ grade), indicating concerns about the system’s long-term resilience; in Integrity, India’s pension system fared slightly better with a ‘C’ grade (58.4) 29% of india’s elderly get pension, 71% remain financially vulnerable 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 SC refuses to intervene in stay on enhanced BC quota in local body polls E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad/New Delhi In a setback to the state government, the Supreme Court on Thursday refused to interfere with the Telangana High Court’s interim stay on Government Order (GO) 9, which raised BC reservations in local body elections from 25% to 42%, taking the total quota to 67%. A bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta dismissed the state’s Special Leave Petition (SLP) challenging the HC’s order. The apex court said the State Election Commission (SEC) could go ahead with the polls based on the existing reservation pattern, as it stood before GO 9. It also directed the high court to decide the main petition on its merits, without being influenced by the observations made during the SLP hearing. The bench questioned the state on the timing of the hike in quotas. “If they are increasing reservations here (for BCs), they have to reduce for other categories,” it said, pointing out that the 50% cap on reser- vations cannot be breached. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the state, said the move followed a unanimous Assembly resolution and the Governor’s consent. “Such unanimity is rare in today’s politics. But in the Telangana High Court, we were heard without pleadings and orders were passed, leaving the state aggrieved,” he argued. Meanwhile, senior advocate Gopal Sankar narayan submitted that as per the apex court’s landmark ruling on the subject, increasing reservations beyond 50% is allowed only in exceptional circumstances to Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities in Fifth Schedule states, adding that Telangana’s move also violated the ‘triple test’ for fixing political reservations for BCs in local bodies. On October 9, the Telangana HC had stayed the GO and asked the state to file its counter-affidavit within two weeks. Following the stay the SEC put , the local body election process on hold pending fur ther directions. ‘ambitious’ OSD dragging Surekha into a quagmire? Minister’s future in question Speculation grew in the TPCC on Thursday over the future of minister Konda Surekha after a series of controversies involving her former OSD N Sumanth. She met AICC state in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan and TPCC chief B Mahesh Goud and explained the allegations against Sumanth and the police visit to her house. With the issue coming at a sensitive time for the party, discussions have begun on possible disciplinary steps, including the minister’s resignation or removal from the Cabinet | P4 E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad Environment, Forests and Endowments Minister Konda Surekha appears to be slipping into deeper trouble, with a fresh set of allegations emerging against her former Officer on Special Duty (OSD) N Sumanth. According to sources, Sumanth allegedly threatened senior executives of several cement factories and contractors involved in major projects, including the Medaram Sammakka Saralamma temple construction, demanding large sums of money in return for facilitating transfers and postings. It is also being widely discussed that Surekha had appointed him as OSD despite the General Administration Department (GAD) earlier rejecting his appointment proposal. Sumanth, who was appointed on a contractual basis by the Pollution Control Board in 2023, was supposed to serve until December this year. However, his services were terminated prematurely following multiple corruption complaints. Government sources said that Sumanth had been repeatedly warned about his conduct in departments under the minister’s purview. Senior officials had reportedly cautioned Surekha about him, but she allegedly ignored the warnings. Sources told TNIE that Sumanth is Surekha’s most trusted aide, to the extent that even after the controversy erupted, he was seen travelling with her in her car. Attempts to contact Sumanth were unsuccessful — his phone was switched off and text messages unanswered.  continued on p4 Govt denies Trump-Modi phone call on ending Russian oil procurement MEA says safeguarding the interests of consumers in a volatile energy scenario is priority J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi India on Thursday clarified that no phone call took place between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump on Wednesday regarding the country’s oil imports from Russia and reiterated that its energy sourcing policy remains consistently focused on safeguarding the interests of Indian consumers, while responding to Trump’s claim that Modi had assured him of halting such purchases. “On the question of whether there was a conversation or a telephone call between Prime Minister Modi and President Trump, I am not aware of any conversation yesterday between the two leaders,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. The clarification came after Trump, speaking from the Oval Office on Wednesday, claimed Supplies very beneficial to India, says Russian envoy Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov on Thursday stressed the importance of Russia’s oil supplies to India in the context of US pressure to stop it, describing them as “very beneficial” and aligned with India’s national interests. “The Indian government is acting having in mind the national interests, and our cooperation is very much in tune with those interests,” Alipov said that Prime Minister Modi had assured him that India would stop buying Russian oil. “I was not happy that India was buying oil, and he assured me today that they will not be buying oil from Russia. That’s a big step,” Trump said. “Now we’ve got to get China to do the same thing,” the US president said. “India is a significant im- Green signal TO growth n Approval for the construction of 5,566 R&B roads under the HAM model in Phase I at a cost of `10,547 crore n Nod for formation of panel headed by CS to examine viability of expanding Metro network n Approval for setting up agriculture colleges at Huzurnagar, Kodangal and Nizamabad n Allocation of 10 acres to Enkur Market Yard at Julurupadu in Bhadradri Kothagudem district n Allocation of seven acres to NALSAR and a hike in the local candidates quota from 25% to 50% n Transfer of 435.08 acres to the Ministry of Defence in exchange for land provided for elevated corridors from Paradise Junction to Shamirpet and Paradise to Dairy Farm Road n Agreement to bear `438 crore for acquiring 845 hectares for the Krishna–Vikarabad broad-gauge railway line n Approval to share one-third of the cost for the Mannanur–Srisailam Elevated Corridor porter of oil and gas. It has been our consistent priority to safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer in a volatile energy scenario. Our import policies are guided entirely by this objective,” Jaiswal said in a statement earlier on Thursday. He also pointed out that India is also expanding its energy export from the US. “Where the US is concerned, Cabinet orders detailed report In view of the Supreme Court dismissing the Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by the state government against the Telangana High Court’s interim stay on enhanced BC reservations, the Cabinet has directed officials to submit a detailed report on the issue with the opinions of legal experts within two days. After detailed discussions, the Cabinet decided to proceed based on the advice of the senior advocates who argued the case and other experts. n Nod for nine-day Praja Palana Vijayotsavalu, marking two years of Congress government Cabinet scraps two-child rule for local body polls E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad The state Cabinet on Thursday decided to scrap the rule disqualifying candidates with more than two children from contesting local body elections. I&PR Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy said the decision followed representations from various sections to the chief minister and ministers seeking the rule’s repeal. The restriction, introduced in 1994 during the undivided Andhra Pradesh era, applied to candidates contesting Gram Panchayat, ZPTC and MPTC elections. The Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy at the Secretariat, also discussed several other key issues. Endowments and Forest Minister Konda Surekha was absent following the controversy surrounding her terminated OSD, N Sumanth. The Cabinet approved the formation of a committee headed by the Chief Secretary to examine the financial and technical viability of expanding the Hyderabad Metro network. The panel will also study preliminary discussions with L&T regarding a possible takeover of Phase 1 operations. Members include the Special Chief Secretary (Finance), Secretary (Municipal Administration), Law Secretary, MD of Hyderabad Metro Rail and the Advisor for Urban Transport. The committee will submit its report to the Cabinet Subcommittee on Resource Mobilisation, headed by Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka. On the issue of paddy purchase, Srinivasa Reddy said the government is committed to procuring every grain produced by farmers. continued on p4 Bihar drama: Mad scramble for India bloc seat deal RA M ASHA N K AR @ Patna THE Congress released the party’s first list of 48 candidates late on Thursday night — a day before the deadline for filing nominations for the first phase of Bihar elections—even as INDIA bloc is yet to announce its seat-sharing formula. Five women and two Muslim candidates figure in the Congress’ list of candidates released by All India Congress Committee (AICC) general-secretary K C Venugopal. The deadlock over seat-sharing among INDIA bloc partners may have been broken after senior Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikar jun Kharge spoke to Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad over phone on Thursday. However, the final seatsharing deal has not yet been made official. According to sources, the demand for higher seat allocation by influential regional parties including Mukesh Sahani-led Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) and the pushback by the others was one of the reasons for the stalemate. While Sahani, an ex-minister, demanded 24 seats, RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav was reportedly ready to give only 15 seats to VIP . Meanwhile, senior Congress leaders including AICC incharge of Bihar Krishna Allavaru, the party’s state unit chief Rajesh Kumar and Congress Legislature Party leader Shakeel Ahmed met RJD chief Lalu Prasad to reach a consensus. Later, Gandhi and Kharge spoke to Lalu. Poll body slams charges on SIR deletions in SC New Delhi: The ECI on Thursday strongly defended the Bihar poll roll revision and told the Supreme Court that the petitioners were making “false allegations” to discredit the robust exercise. The ECI told a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi that not a single appeal has been filed by any voter against name deletion since the publication of the final roll. Taking strong exception to the charge that there was a “disproportionate exclusion of Muslims”, it said the “communal approach” must be deprecated, adding that the electoral rolls database does not capture any information about electors’ religion. we have for many years sought to expand our energy procurement. This has steadily progressed in the last decade. The current administration has shown interest in deepening energy cooperation with India. Discussions are ongoing,” Jaiswal said. He further outlined India’s broader energy approach, noting that stable prices and secure supplies remain the twin goals of its policy This . includes diversifying sources of supply and adapting to changing market conditions. India has increased its oil imports from Russia over the past two years, citing competitive pricing amid global volatility. The government has repeatedly said that these decisions are based on economic considerations rather than political pressure. The Trump administration had imposed 50% tariff on key Indian imports, including 25% additional penalty linked to Russian oil purchases. express read HC rejects BRS plea on bogus voters in JH Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Thursday dismissed a petition filed by the BRS over alleged irregularities in the Jubilee Hills constituency voters’ list, noting that the ECI had already initiated an inquiry | P4 SCCL accused of poor quality coal supply Hyderabad: TG Genco has accused the SCCL of dispatching poor-quality coal to its thermal power stations while sending higher-grade coal to other states | p2 All ministers quit, Guj govt shake-up today Caste, region comes into play D i l i p S i n g h K s h at r i ya Caste and regional equations are at the heart of the reshuffle. While the CM and BJP state president hail from Ahmedabad, Saurashtra is expected to get a larger slice of power. Representation of Patidars is likely to increase as well All 16 ministers in the Gujarat Cabinet submitted their resignations to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel ahead of a sweeping ministerial reshuffle and expansion on Friday The oath. taking ceremony is scheduled for 11.30 am. All BJP MLAs and outgoing ministers have been directed to remain stationed in Gandhinagar. A BJP legislative party meeting was held at the CM’s @ Ahmedabad residence on Thursday evening. While Union home minister Amit Shah arrived in Gandhinagar, party president JP Nadda is expected to fly in on Friday . The new team may have 27 ministers — the peak permitted strength since Gujarat has a 182-member assembly A dep. uty chief minister could also be named. Earlier in the day, national (organisation) general secretary Sunil Bansal got into a huddle with key state leaders.