tirupati l thursday l may 21, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION april core sector growth at 1.7% on back of cement, steel Production growth in eight core infrastructure sectors rose to a two-month high of 1.7% in April, driven by higher output of steel, cement next, all eyes on better iip growth ‘Gulf crisis impacted core sector growth’ Steel, cement and electricity production rose by 6.2 per cent, 9.4 per cent and 4.1 per cent, respectively in April. Coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, and fertiliser output recorded negative growth during the month under review. Experts said April’s improved core sector growth is expected to increase the upcoming industrial production growth ■ ■ The cumulative growth rate of the 8 core sectors during AprilMarch, 2025-26 is 2.7 per cent versus same period of last year Rahul Agrawal, senior economist, ICRA, said as many as five of the eight sectors registered a contraction in output, suggesting that economic activity in some sectors was impacted by the Gulf crisis 40.2% is core sector’s share in index of industrial production 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 ‘AP Model of Education’ must be a national benchmark: Lokesh S Vi s w a n at h @ Vijayawada Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, along with his wife Bhuvaneswari, relishes ice apples at a roadside vendor in Kuppam constituency on Sunday | Express Govt issues advisory as mercury touches 47.6°C Express News Service @ Vijayawada With the maximum temperature soaring to 47.6°C in the State, the government has issued a strong advisory urging citizens to remain vigilant against heat-related illnesses, particularly heat stroke. Health Minister Y Satya Kumar Yadav chaired a high-level review meeting at the Secretariat on Wednesday, directing medical staff at all levels — from Ayushman Health Centres to teaching hospitals — to be fully prepared to handle emergencies. Officials infor med him that between March 1 and May 19, 2026, the State recorded 325 suspected heat stroke cases, including 96 in May alone. District-wise data showed the highest incidence in Visakhap- 16 Punjab 45.80C atnam (24 cases), followed by Kakinada (17), Vizianagaram (13), Kadapa (11), and Chittoor and Eluru (5 each). No fatalities have been reported so far, which is a significant improvement compared to 1,692 cases recorded during the same period in 2025. The Health Department has advised citizens to avoid outdoor exposure between 11 am and 4 pm, when heat intensity peaks, and consume plenty of fluids. Vulnerable groups, including children, the elderly, pregnant women, and those with chronic illnesses, require special care. To strengthen preparedness, the State has stocked 1.44 crore ORS packets, with over 2.57 lakh packets distributed last week. Emergency services, including 108 ambulances, have been P4 placed on standby  . 48 Haryana 46.90C India bakes in massive heatwave Banda district’s 48°C was the highest in India. It was 4.5°C above normal 480C West Rajasthan 46.50C Banda,  East Uttar Pradesh Minister for HRD and IT Nara Lokesh has asserted that his aim is to make the “Andhra Model of Education” a national benchmark with world-class teaching practices and student-centric reforms. Holding a review meeting with DEOs and APCs at the State Secretariat on Wednesday he said teach, ers are being sent abroad to study international methods, which will be implemented in AP schools. Lokesh laid emphasis on the bright future of children by en- suring 100% enrolment, and preventing child labour, while building a competitive and quality-driven public school system. “The government is taking concrete steps to transform public education by adopting international teaching standards and introducing technologydriven reforms,” he said. The HRD Minister said the public education system should be capable of competing with private institutions. “If quality is not improved, chil- India, Italy form spl strategic partnership To enhance cooperation in defence, tech, connectivity & maritime security; trade target set at 20 bn euros by 2029 J AYAN T H J ACO B @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a meeting with his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni, in Rome, Italy on Wednesday | PTI Odisha 460C 47.60C Piduguralla, Andhra Pradesh Vidarbha, Maharashtra 47.10C Haryana sizzler Rohtak in Haryana sizzled at 46.9°C, which was 6.2°C above normal. Hisar was at 45.4°C express read Meta says ‘success isn’t a given’, sacks 8,000 US wanted to instal Ahmadinejad as prez Washington: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg told staffers in a Wednesday memo about the company’s decision to layoff 8,000 employees, saying is necessary because “success isn’t a given”. Besides, about 7,000 employees will be moved into new AI-focused roles Washington: The United States and Israel were considering installing hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the president of Iran as part of the plans for regime change in the Persian Gulf nation in the early days of the war, according to a New York Times report | P9 india and Italy elevated their bilateral relationship to a ‘special strategic partnership’, deepening cooperation across trade, defence, technology con, nectivity and maritime security as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held extensive talks with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome. The announcement came during Modi’s visit to Italy on the final leg of his five-nation tour and reflects growing convergence between New Delhi and Rome amid shifting geopolitical alignments, supply-chain disruptions and intensifying competition over technology and critical resources. The two countries also unveiled an ambitious target of raising bilateral trade from 14.25 billion euros in 2025 to 20 billion euros by 2029. “We deliberated extensively Rupee depreciates 16 paise, kissing distance away from 97 B e n n K o c h u v e e d a n @ Mumbai East Madhya Pradesh 47.40C dren will be the ultimate sufferers. We all should work collectively to build a world-class public school education model,” he said. Lokesh revealed that when he took over as HRD Minister, the Education Department lacked even basic data regarding the number of schools and student enrolment in the State. He urged officials to treat students of government schools as their own children while taking decisions on improvement of P4 quality standards. BLEEDING for the ninth consecutive day the rupee depreciated 16 paise to , close to a fresh lifetime low of 96.86 against the US dollar on Wednesday as elevated global crude prices amid the West Asia crisis stoked inflation worries. The currency is now the most undervalued globally in 12 years, and analysts are of the opinion that more weakening of the rupee will not boost exports as such gains will be offset by rising import costs. Last May the rupee had averaged at , 85.50, marking a 11.9% year-on-year fall and close to 8% so far this year, making it the worst performing Asian Suvendu initiates steps to curb infiltration currency in for the third year in a row. Traders said the RBI is spending an estimated $1 billion a day on currency intervention. While dollar demand from importers is rising continuously, there is hardly any dollar sale by exporters, leading to the mismatch. Meanwhile, the RBI has announced a $5-billion dollarrupee buy-sell swap auction on May 26, to inject liquidity amid rising forex concerns. The rupee’s sharp decline has emerged as one of the biggest economic warning signs for policymakers, investors and businesses, the decline largely driven by capital outflow, expensive oil, widening trade deficits and a surging US dollar. West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has initiated the transfer of 27 km land to Border Security Force for border fencing and announced a “detect, delete and deport” system targeting infiltrators | P8 Banks can block financed phones for default: RBI B ENN K OCHUVEEDAN @ Mumbai BANKS may be allowed to block phones and disable other electronic devices bought on loan, in case the borrower defaults, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in its second draft guidelines on l o a n recovery, released on Wednesday . However, RBI clarified that banks cannot restrict the mobile phones of defaulting borrowers to recover personal, car, or home loans. According to the proposed norms, banks can restrict devices bought on loan if the dues are pending for more than 90 days and recovery notices have been served on time. Also, such an action may be taken only if the loan contract “expressly and unambiguously per- mits” it, the draft proposal noted. Restricting the targeted phones or devices could be done by deploying any technology-based mechanism. However, the bank cannot restrict essential functionalities such as access to internet, incom- Action must reflect in Loan agreement The draft guidelines categorically state that banks may resort to disabling electronic devices only if the loan agreement has such a clause. RBI will accept public feedback till May 31 and proposes to implement the norms from October 1, 2026 ing calls, emergency SOS features, and receipt of emergency government notifications. Also, the restrictions must be listed within one hour of the borrower curing the default. The draft proposal also specifies conduct r ules for recovery personnel. The guidelines say recovery calls and visits will be allowed only between 8 am and 7 pm, and agents will be barred from using intimidation, abusive language, public humiliation, social media shaming, or excessive calling. Melody toffee gift goes viral Ahead of the high-level bilateral engagement, a video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifting a pack of home-grown toffee brand Melody to Italian PM Giorgia Meloni went viral. More so because Melodi is a moniker coined by social media following the two leaders’ friendly engagements during COP28 event in 2023. The moniker took off after Meloni posted a selfie with Modi with the caption, “Good friends at COP28. #Melodi.” The latest viral video amassed over 8 million views within hours on X. Capitalising on the moment, Parle Products shared the video on Instagram with the caption: “Sweetening relationships since 1983.” on enhancing India-Italy ties,” Modi said in a joint press statement after the talks, and added that the India-Italy Joint Strategic Action Plan 2025-2029 would provide a “practical and futuristic roadmap” for cooperation across sectors. Modi was accorded a ceremonial military welcome on arrival, while Meloni hosted him for dinner. The two leaders have steadily built close political engagement in recent years, with Meloni saying she had met Modi seven times over the last few years and developed “a genuine friendship”. Several MoUs were signed covering agriculture, critical minerals, Ayurveda, science and technolog y, maritime transport and ports. A key agreement on facilitating the mobility of Indian nurses to Italy is expected to create new opportunities for skilled healthcare workers.