Sw monsoon rainfall to be below normal tirupati l tuesday l april 14, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Ramanathi Dam in Tamil Nadu’s Tenkasi, which has a storage capacity of 84 feet, has completely dried up, exposing large areas of cracked land | V KARTHIKALAGU This year’s southwest monsoon rainfall is likely to be below normal, the India Meteorological Department said on Monday. India is expected to receive 80 cm of rainfall during the season - the long period average (1971-2020) of the seasonal rainfall over India is 87 cm. “Quantitatively, the seasonal rainfall over the country as a whole is likely to be 92 per cent of LPA,” Dr M Mohapatra, DG of Meteorology, at IMD, said | P7 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 Charges of conversion at TCS Nashik PA D M INI D H R U V A R A J @ Bengaluru WITH the sexual harassment case at the Nashik office of Tata Consultancy Services taking a religious turn with allegation of forced conversion, the company said the matter would be probed by Chief Operating Officer Aarthi Subramanian. Calling the alle g ations “gravely concerning and anguishing”, Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran said the matter was being treated with the utmost seriousness. In a statement, Chandrasekaran said action had already been initiated against the accused staff. “Appropriate and stringent action will be taken against those found guilty. Any necessary process improvements or corrective measures will be promptly implemented and strictly enforced,” he added. Last week, police formed a special investigation team to probe the complaints lodged by eight employees. US block of ports begins, Iran warns Tehran says it will hit all ports in Gulf; France-UK to hold meet to get Strait of Hormuz opened A g e n c i e s @ Dubai, Washington THE US on Monday walked the talk on blocking all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports from 7.30 pm IST, the deadline it had set for the exercise. President Donald Trump warned that any Iranian attack boats that approach the naval blockade will be “eliminated”. The US Central Command said US forces would not impede vessels transiting the Strait to and from non-Iranian ports. Trump’s warnings set the stage for an ex- traordinary showdown that poses serious risks for the global economy and raises the spectre that the ceasefire could collapse and the war could resume. Talks aimed at ending the conflict, which began February 28 with day US and Israeli strikes on Iran, failed to reach an a g re e m e n t t h i s past weekend in Pakistan. Top-ranking Iranian officials threatened retaliation. Ebrahim Rezaei, a spokesperson for the Iranian parliament’s National 45 express read Adi Godrej’s son Pirojsha to take over as group chief Mumbai: Two years after the Godrej group split between Adi Godrej-led Godrej Industries Group and Jamshyd Godrej-led Godrej Enterprises Group, Godrej Industries Group on Monday announced a leadership transition. Adi Godrej’s younger brother Nadir Godrej will step down as chairman in August upon turning 75 and Adi’s son Pirojsha will take over. . In a regulatory filing on Monday, Godrej Industries, announced the leadership transitions. “Nadir will step down from the boards of Godrej Industries, Godrej Agrovet, Godrej Consumer Products, and Godrej Properties by then... “ Nadir has also stepped down as chairperson and non-executive director of Astec,” it said Security Commission, dismissed US warnings as bluster while war ning that “Tehran was prepared to respond if the situation escalates militarily Iranian . parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, addressed Trump in a statement: “If you fight, we will fight... Tehran will not bow to any threats.” Meanwhile, Russia said it stands ready to take in Iran’s highly enriched uranium as part of a future peace deal with the US, the Kremlin said on Monday . Globally, leaders urged restraint. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said a ceasefire between the United States and Iran was “holding”. Qatar’s foreign minister and Premier Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told his Iranian counterpart that Iran and US should engage positively . France and Britain will co-host a conference this week involving more than 40 nations to discuss a multinational mission to restore shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. CM set to launch Amaravati quantum centres S V i s w a n at h @ Vijayawada Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu is all set to launch the much-publicised Quantum Computer at the SRM University in Amaravati on Tuesday . The Chief Minister will also inaugurate India’s first open- access quantum characterisation facility at the Medha Towers at Gannavaram through virtual mode marking World Quantum Day . During the separate programmes held at SRM University and Medha Towers on Monday officials and techno, logical experts asserted that the launch of Amaravati IS and IQ will mark the start of the Amaravati quantum valley initiative to establish a domestic, open-access quantum research ecosystem. India will open sovereign quantum technology infrastructure with the setting up of Amaravati Quantum Refer- ence Facility (AQRF). Charting a significant course for AP’s progress, Amaravati will be the anchor node of a national quantum hardware network, well-positioning India to design, test, certify and manufacture quantum technology systems for the entire P4 world.