HYDERABAD l tuesday l december 02, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE CITY EDITION SC refuses to extend Waqf property registration deadline The Supreme court on Monday refused to extend the deadline for the registration of all waqf properties under the Waqf Amendment Act 2025 Petitioners can Approach waqf tribunal Court refuses to examine portal issues A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and A G Masih observed that individuals seeking to register properties under Section 3B of the Waqf Act may approach the waqf tribunal for an extension in accordance with the law. Section 3B of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 mandates the compulsory registration of waqf properties on the UMEED portal ■ ■ Kapil Sibal told the court 10 lakh mutawallis will have to go the tribunal. The court told him tribunal will decide on case to case basis When Sibal highlighted issues with the UMEED portal, through which users upload property details, the bench told him he can “approach the tribunal and say this is the reason” for missing the deadline Dec 6 the last date to upload property details on umeed portal 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 For some time now, Parliament has been used as a warm-up arena for polls or as an outlet for frustration after defeat. It is a place for delivery, not drama - Narendra Modi going after cyber crime PM is saying, ‘enjoy the weather’. What weather should the people of Delhi enjoy? At least take a peek outside... 2.2 mn Delhi kids are suffering lung damage - Priyanka Gandhi state-owned app mandated on your phone Parliament winter session: Day 1 SIR rumble rocks Lok Sabha A r s h a d K h a n @ New Delhi Oppn stages walkout in Rajya Sabha; Minister Rijiju seeks time to take call on the matter J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi The Winter Session of Parliament opened on a discordant note on Monday, with the Lok Sabha repeatedly disrupted and eventually adjourned for the day after Opposition MPs pressed for an immediate debate on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, even as the government proceeded with planned legislative business. As the House met at 11 am, Opposition members rose, raising slogans on the SIR issue. Speaker Om Birla appealed for order, reminding MPs that the House “is not for slogans” and that “there is ample space outside to do that.” The Lok Sabha functioned for only 18 minutes before the first adjournment. Despite the commotion, the government introduced three key bills — the Manipur Goods and Services Tax (Second Amendment) Bill, 2025, the Central Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2025, and the Health Security se National Security Cess Bill, 2025. But protests contin- Vice President CP Radhakrishnan’s first day as Rajya Sabha chairperson | PTI Kharge mentions Dhankar, draws protests Sparks flew in the Rajya Sabha after Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge recalled the “unexpected and sudden exit” of former V-P Dhankhar, saying that the House did not even get time to bid him farewell. The remark made in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, triggered a volley of protests | P7 ued, with Opposition MPs storming the Well and demanding a debate on SIR underway across 12 states and Union Territories, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal and Puducherry Assam, which goes to . polls in 2026, is conducting a separate revision. In the Rajya Sabha, Opposition parties staged a walkout later in the evening. TMC’s Derek O’Brien accused the government of “stonewalling” attempts to take up the matter. Responding, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju insisted the government was open to discussion but opposed being bound by deadlines set by the Opposition. “Please give (us) some time. Don’t presume THE Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has issued a new direction effective November 28, mandating all mobile phone manufacturers and importers to pre-install state-owned fraud reporting app — Sanchar Saathi — on devices used in India. The implementation must be completed within 90 days and a compliance report filed in 120 days. The move, according to the telecom ministry is aimed at pro, tecting citizens from purchasing non-genuine handsets, facilitating easy reporting of suspected telecom misuse, and enhancing the effectiveness of the Sanchar Saathi initiative. Smartphone maker Apple, which had previously pilloried the development of the anti-spam mobile app, along with Samsung, Vivo, Oppo and Xiaomi, will be affected by the new order. Under the new rules, the Sanchar Saathi Sanchar Saathi app must be prominently visible and acA government portal and cessible to users during app to protect mobile users their first device setup, with from fraud and misuse no restrictions on its funcIt lets you check all mobile tionalities. For phones alnumbers registered in your ready manufactured, manuname, block lost/stolen facturers and importers are phones and required to push the app report spam/fraud through software updates. calls (Chakshu) Users won’t have the option The app, launched in Jan to delete the app. 2025, is free and works The Sanchar Saathi initiawith OTP login tive, developed by DoT, combats cyber fraud and telecom security threats by allowing users to verify handset genuineness using the IMEI number. The Central government claimed that the app also helps report suspected fraud, lost or stolen devices, track mobile connections in one’s name, and provides trusted contacts for financial institutions. Government figures show the Sanchar Saathi app, launched in January has helped recover more than 7 lakh lost , phones, including 50,000 in October alone. However, privacy advocates criticised the push, with some calling it “dictatorial”. “Sanchar Saathi is a lost phone tracker, but if it gets embedded with no possibility of removal, it becomes a government tracker on your device…” said Nikhil Pahwa, digital rights activist and founder of MediaNama. that the government is not ready to discuss… Please don’t put conditions on timeline.” JD(U)’s Sanjay Kumar Jha, BJP MP Biplab Kumar Deb, and Union minister Chirag Paswan accused the Opposition of disrupting Parliament for political gain. Earlier, at a strategy meeting chaired by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, INDIA bloc parties resolved to continue pressing for a debate. Although the TMC skipped the meeting, its leaders said they would join the protests. The Opposition has called a joint demonstration at 10.30 am on Tuesday at Parliament’s Makar Dwar. Amid the uproar, the Lok Sabha also passed the Manipur GST Amendment Bill, replacing an Ordinance issued on October 7 to implement GST 2.0 reforms in the state under President’s Rule. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the amendment ensures the state’s GST Act aligns with decisions taken at the 56th GST Council, which rationalised rates on nearly 375 items. Rubaiya case The CBI on Monday arrested an absconder carrying a `10 lakh reward over the 1989 kidnapping of Union home minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s daughter Rubaiya | P8 ED stirs Pinarayi’s masala bond curry further E XPR E SS N E WS S E RVIC E @ T’Puram power point Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy makes a point during a public meeting as part of the Congress government’s Praja Palana celebrations at Makthal on Monday | P4 Reliance plans Vantara and more in Hyderabad M a n d a R a v i n d e r Re d d y @ Hyderabad Ahead of the Telangana Rising Global Summit – 2047, the government is receiving investment proposals in a big way In a major . development, sources said Reliance Group’s Vantara Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre is contemplating setting up a night safari in Telangana. Vantara is an initiative of Reliance Foundation. It first established such a centre in Jamnagar district in Gujarat, which was inaugurated in March this year. Officials said Vantara has held a series of talks with the state government on establishing the centre. Recently the dis, cussions concluded on a positive note. Three days ago, representatives of Vantara visited Nehru Zoological Park in this connection. Meanwhile, actor and film director Ajay Devgn is set to sign an MoU with the government to establish a world-class film city in Hyderabad. It may be recalled that in July 2025, Ajay Devgn met Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy in Delhi and discussed establishing the world-class film city in Hyderabad. Officials said the film city will be equipped with modern facilities, including animation, VFX and AI technologies. It will also provide skill development opportunities to youth in the film sector. express read Nursing student injured in chemical attack Unidentified persons on two-wheelers hurled a chemical at an 18-yearold BSc Nursing student at Kadipikonda village on Monday evening, leaving her with burn injuries on her leg. The girl told the police that she neither noticed anyone following her nor was anyone harassing her | P2 THE Enforcement Directorate has served a show cause notice to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, former finance minister T M Thomas Isaac, and the CM’s chief principal secretary K M Abraham over alleged infractions in the issue of masala bonds in 2019 by the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB). The Kerala CM is the chairperson of KIIFB, established by the state government to fund infrastructure projects. Isaac was the finance minister and vice-chairperson of KIIFB Re-denominated bond Rupee-denominated masala bonds are issued outside India. Indian entities take this route to raise funds from international investors in rupee while mitigating the risk of currency fluctuation when it raised `2,150 crore through masala bonds. Abraham is the CEO of KIIFB. The notice alleged that `466 crore worth of masala bond proceeds were used to purchase land in violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act. Rejecting the charges, Abra- ham said the deployment of masala bond proceeds was in compliance with FEMA and RBI guidelines. “Only `66 crore, not `466 crore as alleged in the notice, was spent for land acquisition. The RBI has restricted the use of funds in real estate, not for land acquisition. KIIFB’s masala bond was issued in 2019, when the regulatory position was crystal clear: land acquisition for infrastructure projects was permissible; investment in real estate business was not,” he said. He also accused the ED of “fabricating” documents. Isaac termed the show cause notice a ‘gimmick’ orchestrated by the BJP-led government. “Previously the ED sent notic, es and summons on the masala bonds ahead of the 2021 Assembly elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Now, another set of summons has been served ahead of the LSG and Assembly polls,” he said. pollution pain Want to smoke 8-10 cigarettes? Just breathe in K h yat i S h a h @ Hyderabad Delhi’s smog may seem distant, but Hyderabad is now facing a threat of its own, with air quality sliding into dangerous territory for the first time this year. In fact, Hyderabad’s AQI over the last seven days was worse than Bengaluru and Chennai. On November 28, the city woke to its worst air of the year, with pollution levels pushing near the “severe” band and large parts of the city effectively wrapped in a toxic haze. The Air Quality Index (AQI) at several stations crossed 200. This threshold, scientists say, mirrors the impact of smoking 8–10 cigarettes a day . At Hyderabad Central University the AQI rose to 209, dou, bling within four days. IITH Kandi climbed from 107 to 195, Location AQI (Latest) AQI (Earlier) HCU 28/11: 209 24/11: 105 Sanathnagar 27/11: 206 24/11: 110 Patancheru 28/11: 206 30/11: 151 Zoo Park 28/11: 204 24/11: 129 IDA Pashamylaram 28/11: 204 24/11: 108 IITH Kandi 28/11: 195 24/11: 107 while Sanathnagar reached 206 after earlier readings of 110. Zoo Park and IDA Pashamylaram each reported 204. Patancheru also remained in a high-risk bracket at 206. Until recently, the city had hovered around moderate pol- lution levels, but health experts now warn that residents are facing conditions that can strain lungs, trigger cardiac stress and accelerate long-term respiratory harm. Dr Aruna Reddy, a pulmonologist, said the city is entering a phase where “even healthy individuals may feel their breathing tighten”. She noted that outdoor activity could lead to acute distress, particularly for children and older people. The surge is driven by vehicular exhaust, construction dust, industrial emissions and cropresidue burning in the outskirts of Hyderabad. Seasonal weather patterns have strengthened the impact by trapping pollutants close to the surface. IMD scientist Srinivasa Rao said the city’s rising heat, intensified by the urban heat-island effect, is “encouraging the build-up of ground-level ozone”, adding another layer of risk. Officials have advised residents to reduce time outdoors, use masks when stepping out and monitor symptoms that may worsen quickly under such conditions. SC orders pan-India CBI probe on digital arrest S u c h i t r a k a lya n m o h a n t y @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to conduct a detailed, unified panIndia probe into cases of digital ar rest, expressing concern over the rise in the number of such cases. The court also asked Opposition-ruled states like Telangana, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Karnataka that had withdrawn general consent to the CBI for investigations to grant the consent, so that a comprehensive probe can be undertaken. “The CBI shall have a free hand to investigate the role of bankers under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act wherever they are found involved in the opening of mule accounts used in cybercrime cases,” said a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant. The court also asked the Reserve Bank of India why it is not leveraging artificial intelligence to identify mule accounts used by cybercriminals and freeze them. The two-judge bench, also comprising Justice Joymalya Bagchi, directed all telecom service providers to implement the directions of the Department of Telecommunications on the issuance of SIM cards. “In view of the negligent approach of telecom service providers in issuing multiple SIM cards in one name, we ask the Department to submit a proposal to address the misuse of SIM cards,” the order stated. tech help AI university to begin within 2 months: Sridhar E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad The state government will launch its Artificial Intelligence (AI) University within the next two months, IT and Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu proclaimed on Monday, adding that the initiative was aimed at helping software professionals and graduating students build skills in advanced and emerging technologies. He was speaking after inaugurating the Covasant AI Innovation Centre in Hyderabad, a new facility set up by Covasant Technologies to support AI engineering, cybersecurity enter, prise automation and platform innovation for global markets. Sridhar Babu said the pace of technological change has made continuous upskilling essential, and the upcoming AI University was intended to serve as a platform for reskilling and preparing the workforce for future roles in artificial intelligence. Sridhar Babu said that while Silicon Valley is known for innovation, Shenzhen for production and Singapore for governance, Hyderabad represents a combination of all three. He said the city now leads India in Global Capability Centres (GCCs), with major banking and financial institutions choosing it as a base, and is increasingly being viewed as an “AI command centre” focused on secure and responsible technology  continued on P5 .