vijayawada l friday l september 04, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l late city EDITION Days After hiring Varthaman, FLY91 Orders 40 New Aircraft FLY91, which recently welcomed former Air Force Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman as pilot, on Thursday ordered 40 new ATR 72-600 aircraft $1 bn order one of largest for atr planes second INNINGS FOR iaf VETERAN It is the single-largest order for ATR turboprop planes by a regional carrier globally, valued at $1 billion. “The landmark order for 40 aircraft will provide the scale to build a much larger regional network and connect more unserved and underserved cities across the country,” the airline said in a release. Varthaman joined the airline as a commerical pilot in August ■ ■ Varthaman downed a Pakistani jet amid an aerial combat during ‘Operation Bandar’ in 2019. He was held captive for three days by Pakistan. In 2021, he was honoured with the Vir Chakra award The 43-year-old took premature retirement from the Indian Air Force in March, after completing more than 20 years in service 280 WEEKLY FLIGHTS CURRENTLY OPERATED BY FLY91 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 10-year plan to HC raps DGP for ‘tardy’ probe into missing case strengthen def diplomacy, arms trade footprint E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Thursday came down heavily on Director General of Police (DGP) Harish Kumar Gupta for the ‘poor handling’ of the case involving the disappearance of a 15-year-old girl from Guntur. A division bench comprising Justice Battu Devanand and Justice Gedela Tuhin Kumar, questioned the DGP’s decision to constitute a Special J a v a r i a R a n a @ New Delhi India on Thursday unveiled its first consolidated public blueprint for defence diplomacy , with defence minister Rajnath Singh releasing the ‘RAKSHA’ framework, a 10-year roadmap aimed at expanding military partnerships, defence capacity building, indigenous manufacturing, arms exports and maritime security The framework rests on four pillars: . strategic partnerships, capacity building, indigenous defence manufacturing and exports, and maritime security. The defence ministry said it “marks a shift in India’s strategic engagement”, linking national security objectives with greater international defence cooperation. The document sets a “10-year roadmap to strengthen global security partnerships” and seeks to “position India as a key defence manufacturing hub”, as India looks to leverage its expanding domestic defence industry to build deeper strategic relationships and increase exports. Defence exports reached an all-time high of `38,424 crore last year, rising 62.66% from `23,622 crore in the previous financial year. Defence public sector undertakings accounted for 54.84% of exports and private companies for 45.16%. Exports by DPSUs rose 151% year-on-year, while private-sector exports increased 14%. India now exports defence equipment to more than 80 countries and has set a target of `50,000 crore in annual defence exports by 2029. The maritime-security pillar focuses on strengthening India’s role as a “Net Security Provider and First Responder” in the Indian Ocean Region. It builds on the Navy’s sustained operational presence in the region, including mission-based deployments, antipiracy operations, humanitarian assistance and disaster-relief missions. Capacity building, meanwhile, covers military training, exchanges, institutional cooperation and assistance to partner countries, particularly in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). Army Chief Gen Dhiraj Seth, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, Secretary (Defence Production) Sanjeev Kumar, MEA Secretary (East) Rudrendra Tandon, Vice Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, Vice Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Ajay Kochhar and Chief of Integrated Defence Staff Air Marshal Tejinder Singh were among those present at the launch. Investigation Team (SIT), observing that it appeared to be merely an eyewash. The court remarked that whenever SIT was constituted in a case, it often meant that the case was being pushed into “cold storage”. The bench rapped the police for their failure to trace the girl and produce her before court as directed earlier. The court also objected to the inclusion of Guntur and Pattabhipuram police personnel in SIT, which was headed by Guntur SP (Crimes) K Su- The girl, a 10th class student of Bhashyam School, went missing on June 10. Her father Vasu lodged a complaint with Pattabhipuram police the same day. After police ‘failed’ to trace the girl despite obtaining certain clues, her father filed a habeas corpus petition praja. It observed that Pattabhipuram police had registered the missing case nearly three months ago but had failed to trace the girl. The bench questioned how officers who had failed to locate the missing girl could be made part of the fresh investigation team. It further questioned whether the DGP had obtained a report from the Guntur district SP before constituting SIT. The bench also questioned why a report was obtained from the CID and what connection it had with the case. The court expressed strong dissatisfaction over the memo filed by the police, stating that it contained lengthy narratives. It said the disappearance of a minor girl was being treatP4 ed as a routine matter.  Counter YSRCP’s ‘false Law students out of BCI’s ambit: SC propaganda’ on water: CM whiplash against bar body S U CHITRA K A LYA N M O HA N T Y @ New Delhi Defence minister Rajnath Singh releasing the RAKSHA document on defence diplomacy | PTI In a major setback to the Bar Council of India, the Supreme Court on Thursday said taking disciplinary action against law students was beyond the statutory body’s remit. The court quashed two BCI notifications to bar the enrolment of NALSAR University graduates and seeking a probe against the students and faculty for their campaign against the Chief Justice of India, saying they were bad in law. This was despite the BCI itself withdrawing them within The August 13 mess The controversy had erupted on August 13 after the BCI directed State Bar Councils not to enrol NALSAR’s 2026 grads as advocates until further orders following allegations of a campaign against CJI Kant’s proposed visit to the university hours of their issuance. The bench said it is the institution’s job to take action against students. The BCI has no power over them till they enrol as advocates. “We are of As defence diplomacy is a core pillar of India’s foreign policy, this document provides a clear, actionable vision for the next decade, ensuring that India remains an anchor of peace, stability, and rulebased order in an evolving global landscape ‘Are we slaves?’ Kenya orders Tata Chem out Defence ministry IN a setback for Tata Chemicals, Kenyan President William Ruto said on Thursday that he has directed the firm to cease operations in the country saying its presence at Lake Magadi in , Kajiado County did not benefit his country . He said his government would bring in new investors. They should establish a glass processing plant and a chemical processing facility locally he added. , He said the Tata firm was asked to leave because it had been exporting raw soda ash rather than processing it domestically . The announcement escalates an ongoing dispute that began weeks ago. In an earlier That Tata regulatory disclosure to stock company had that exchanges, Tata Chemicals contract for 100 said its subsidiary Tata Chem- years. They have not built anything icals Magadi Ltd (TCML) re- in Kajiado... Are ceived a notice on July 28 from we slaves to other Kenya’s mining ministry to people? suspend mining operations. Later, in a separate order, the William Ruto, company was asked to halt Kenyan president soda ash exports. TCML has been mining natural soda ash from the trona deposits at Lake Magadi since 1911 and is Africa’s largest soda ash producer. When contacted, Tata Chemicals said: “We respect the authority of the Government of Kenya and remain committed to constructive engagement through the appropriate legal and regulatory channels to resolve the outstanding matters.” Strategic ties The new framework focuses on strategic partnerships, capacity building, indigenous manufacturing, exports and maritime security Captain courageous Nepal’s first female helicopter Captain Priya Adhikari during relief and rescue operations in flood-hit Rasuwa on Thursday. She has reportedly flown around 100 rescue sorties in less than a week | PTI D IPA K M O N D A L @ New Delhi Dollar deposits After $ deluge, RBI fights excess liquidity B E N N K O CH U V E E D A N @ Mumbai the exceptionally high dollar haul of $137.34 billion through Reserve Bank of India’s special dollar-rupee forex swap facility has created a problem of plenty for the banking system, which is now loaded with `10 lakh crore of excess liquidity . Analysts say RBI needs to drain the surplus liquidity before it puts downward pressure on short-term interest rates or creates inflationary pressures. They suggested a combination Girl vanishes on June 10, dad files habeas corpus plea of liquidity-management tools, including VRRR (variable rate reverse repo) auctions, raising the cash reserve ratio (CRR), and deploying the Market Stabilisation Scheme and Open Market Operation sales. Aditi Gupta, economist at Bank of Baroda, said system liquidity moved from a surplus of `1.6 lakh crore initially to `6.7 lakh crore by August-end and further to `9.7 lakh crore as of September 2. Radhika Rao, senior economist at DBS Bank, suggested a temporary CRR hike. Upasna Bhardwaj, chief economist at Kotak Mahindra Bank, said Cash Management Bills and Treasury bills could be more effective tools. So are sell-buy forex swaps. Action taken RBI has been absorbing the excess liquidity, having already announced VRRR auctions totalling `53.5 lakh crore between August 6 and September 2 to manage the liquidity surplus, said Aditi Gupta, economist at Bank of Baroda the opinion that the Advocates Act, 1961... does not confer any express or implied power upon the BCI or any State Bar Council to take any disciplinary action against the students of law. Such a power is preceded by registration of a law graduate as an advocate under the said Act. So far as students are concerned, it is their parent institution or the authority prescribed under the regulations/ byelaws of such institution which alone are competent to take disciplinary action,” the bench said. S V i s w a n at h @ Vijayawada Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday accused the YSRCP of trying to take credit for the projects inaugurated by the NDA government. “The coalition government’s achievements should reach the people. Ministers should remain available to the public to explain the facts,” he said. Interacting with his colleagues after the end of the Cabinet meeting at the Secretariat, Naidu directed them to effectively counter the YSRCP’s ‘false propaganda’ and explain the actual situation regarding water availability and release for Kharif crops to the public. “The opposition is spreading misinformation alleging that water is not being released to crops despite enough storage in reservoirs, P4 which should be countered,” he said.  ‘Complete local polls’ CM Naidu said all local body elections in the State should be completed by the end of this year. He directed officials to facilitate elections in 23 municipalities facing court cases, besides ensuring that polls are held to remaining 100 urban bodies