HYDERABAD  WEDNESDAY  OCTOBER 30, 2024  `9.00  PAGES 16  LATE CITY EDITION AFTER INDIA, NOW BRAZIL OPTS OUT OF CHINA’S BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE WILL COOPERATE IN OTHER WAYS, SAYS OFFICIAL Brazil, headed by President Lula da Silva, will instead seek alternative ways to collaborate with Chinese investors. Brazil wants to ‘take the relationship with China to a new level, without having to sign an accession contract’, Celso Amorim, special presidential adviser for international affairs, told Brazilian newspaper O Globo. India was the first BRICS country to publicly oppose BRI Brazil has decided not to join China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), becoming the 2nd BRICS member after India to opt out of the project REALPOLITIK, TRUMP FACTOR IN PLAY ■ ■ Explaining that Brazil does not want to take Chinese projects as ‘an insurance policy’, the official said, “We are not entering into a treaty” The prevailing opinion in Brazil is that joining the project would not only fail to bring any tangible benefits for Brazil in the short term but could also make relations with a potential Trump administration more difficult Nov 20 CHINA HAD HOPED TO BRING BRAZIL ON BOARD DURING PREZ XI JINPING’S VISIT 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 Charles, Camilla on secret B’luru trip for treatment SUBHASH CHANDRA NS & R I S H I TA K H A N N A @Bengaluru KING Charles III is on his first secret visit to Bengaluru after his coronation as king of the United Kingdom on May 6, 2023, at Westminster Abbey, London. He arrived in Bengaluru on October 27 and will be at the Soukya International Holistic Health Centre (SIHHC) in Whitefield for wellness treatment till Wednesday night, when he is expected to fly to London. Sources privy to his secret visit informed this newspaper that King Charles arrived in Bengalu- ru directly from Samoa where he attended the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting from October 21-26. His visit to Bengaluru was strictly kept under wraps and he was directly taken to SIHHC where he was also joined by his wife Queen Camilla. According to sources, the couple’s day begins with a morning yoga session, followed by breakfast and rejuvenation treatment before lunch. After a brief rest, a second round of therapies follows, ending with a meditation session before dinner and lights out by 9 pm. They have Charles and Camilla in one of their previous visits for wellness treatment | SOURCE: SIHHC been enjoying long walks around the campus, visiting the organic farm and cattle shed. Considering the high-profile secret visit, a high-security ring was thrown around SIHHC. The health centre, founded by Dr Issac Mathai, is located in Sam- ethanahalli, Whitefield, on Bengaluru’s outskirts. This integrative medical facility combines traditional systems of medicine, including Ayurveda, Homeopathy , Yoga, and Naturopathy, along with over 30 complementary therapies like Reflexology, Acupres- India to slap penalties on GE over fighter jet engines delay INJURED IN BLAST DURING KERALA TEMPLE FIREWORKS EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Kasaragod Delivery schedule running late by two years; first batch expected by March 2025 WAY PAST DEADLINE Air Force ordered 83 LCA Tejas Mk1As from HAL for `46,000 crore in 2021; delivery was to start in March 2024 but delayed due to non-receipt of engines from GE Aerospace STRICTER NORMS The government is working on a new procurement system under which sensitive information about the arms and equipment could be safeguarded M AYA N K S I N G H @ New Delhi THE Centre has decided to impose penalties on US manufacturer GE Aerospace for delays in the delivery of jet engines for Indian Air Force’s indigenous light combat aircraft, Tejas Mk-1A. The government is also tightening the procurement norms to safeguard the sensitive details of defence contracts, highly placed sources told this newspaper. The penalty clause against GE Aerospace has been invoked for the delay in the supply of GE-404 engines contracted by India for the Mk-1A series. All defence contracts carry a penalty clause to make the contractors follow a fixed timeline; in case of breach of this timeline, they will have to pay a reasonable compensation. Sources said GE Aerospace shifted delivery schedule multiple times, cumulatively lead- ing to a delay of two years. The delivery was supposed to start in 2023; it has now been pushed back to March 2025, goi n g by t h e G E ’s l a t e s t schedule. GE has been contracted to manufacture and deliver 99 jet engines (GE-404) and not even one has been delivered, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) sources told this newspaper. The deal, signed between HAL and GE Aerospace in 2021, was worth $716 million. Flagging the inordinate delays, Chief of Air Staff A P Singh had earlier said: “It is a known fact that Tejas has been Revanth: Musi works from 1st week of Nov B K A R T H E E K @ Hyderabad DISCLOSING that works related to the Musi rejuvenation project such as inviting tenders to construct a channel to bring Godavari waters from Mallannasagar to Gandipet will commence in the first week of November, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Tuesday said that the first phase of the project will be taken up near Bapu Ghat at Langar Houz. This phase would include a world-class comprehensive riverfront development project housing wellness, educational, investment and recreational centres on the banks of the rivulets Esa (Esi) (11.5 km) and Musa (9.5 km) which converge to form the Musi. “If Musi dries up, there will be no life for Hyderabad,” Revanth said during an informal conversation with reporters, asserting that he would not turn back from Musi Riverfront Development Project despite the financial crunch faced by the government. “The government is exploring all possible avenues, including Public Private Partnership (PPP), Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) and other models to fund the Musi project,” the chief minister said. “I am selling a concept. There is no money in the treasury KCR told us . the debt was `3.5 lakh crore but it was actually `7.5 lakh crore,” he said. The chief minister said that the Musi project was interlinked with various other development projects for which the government will call tenders next month. The aim is to complete the project in two years, he said. CONTINUED ON P5 delayed. There is no doubt. There is also a promise that the production rate will be increased to 24 aircraft per year. If that promise is kept, the delays can be caught up with. The first aim is not to let our aircraft strength go down.” Sources in the know said the delays are purely a logistics matter involving GE Aerospace, which is facing some issues with its suppliers, and that HAL could not be faulted for this. The delays were also flagged at the highest levels with Prime Minister Narendra Modi raising the issue during his visit to the US in September. The government is also working on a new procurement system to protect sensitive information. “We are working to get hold of a model so that we are not hauled to courts and asked to reveal national secrets,” a senior of ficial told this newspaper. SPEED BUMPS MAUD asks ACB to probe e-Prix funding E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Hyderabad THE controversy surrounding the funding for the Formula E World Racing Championship held in Hyderabad last year has resurfaced, with reports emerging that the Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) has written to the Anti-Corruption Bureau requesting an investigation into the allocation of funds for the event. Allegations of financial mismanagement and procedural violations first cropped up soon after the change of government in the state. The second edition of the event was slated for February this year, but it was called off after the Congress government did not respond to Formula E Operations’ (FEO) requests to host the race. Senior IAS officer Arvind Kumar was issued a memo by the state government seeking an explanation for sanctioning `46 crore (plus `9 crore in tax) from HMDA funds. The expenditure was reportedly approved without the consent of the HMDA Board or the Finance department. Arvind Kumar was also asked to clarify why the agreement was executed when the model code of conduct was in force in Telangana. CONTINUED ON P4 PM launches drone service at AIIMS-Bibinagar E N S @ Yadadri Bhuvanagiri PRIME Minister Narendra Modi launched the Bibinagar AIIMS drone service on Tuesday virtually from the All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) in Delhi. AIIMS officials conducted a test, sending two drones to Bhuvanagiri district hospital and Kondamadugu PHC about 14 km away, collecting TB patient samples to retur n to AIIMS. As part of Ayurveda Day Modi , also virtually attended a meeting organised by Ayurveda Innovation for Global Health at the AIIA along with AIIMS director Vikas Bhatia, officials and BJP leader G Narayana Reddy . AIIMS-Bibinagar staff gather for the virtual launch of drone services by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Delhi on Tuesday sure, Acupuncture and Dietetics. Although this is his first visit as a monarch, Charles has visited the centre on nine earlier occasions, and celebrated Deepavali on three occasions there. The royal couple has earlier taken wellness treatments, including antia g i n g , d e t ox i f i c at i o n a n d rejuvenation. On November 14, 2019, the couple celebrated the then Prince Charles’ 71st birthday at SIHHC, an event which attracted a lot of publicity unlike this visit. Formerly the Prince of Wales, Charles became King after the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II on September 8, 2022. Smoke seen at Anjoottambalam Veerarkavu temple REVELRY gave way to horror on Tuesday after an explosion during a fireworks display at a temple in Kerala’s Kasaragod district left 102 people injured, seven of them critically. The injured have been admitted in K a s a r a g o d , K a n n u r, Kozhikode and Mangaluru hospitals. Sources said the firecrack- ers had been kept near the temple compound. T he Nileshwar police booked eight persons, including seven temple committee members. Three have been arrested. District Police Chief Shilpa D said permission had not been obtained for bursting the crackers. “There were no safety measures, including fire extinguishers,” she said. The incident occurred around midnight during the ‘Theyyam Mahotsavam’ at the Anjoottambalam Veerarkavu temple in Nileshwar. A large number of people from across the district had turned up for the event, as it was the first theyyam performance to be held this year in a temple in the north Malabar region. During the fireworks display sparks flew into the stor, age room nearby where more firecrackers were kept, resulting in the explosion.