HYDERABAD  SATURDAY  FEBRUARY 08, 2025  `9.00  PAGES 18  LATE CITY EDITION MODI TO MEET TRUMP NEXT WEEK DURING TWO-DAY U.S. VISIT: MEA Prime Minister Narendra Modi will reach the US on February 12 for a two-day working visit, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday TRIP COMES AS INDIA FACES DON’S TARIFF THREAT PRIME MINISTER TO VISIT FRANCE ON MONDAY Foreign secretary Vikram Misri said the visit will give further direction and momentum to the India-US relationship. “There is a clear convergence of interests between the two in several areas,” he said. It also comes as India faces Donald Trump’s tariff heat. The Republican has launched a global trade war by raising tariffs on goods from China, Canada, and Mexico | P11 ■ ■ “The fact that the Prime Minister has been invited to visit the US within barely three weeks of the new administration taking office shows the importance of the India-US partnership,” Misri said Prior to his US visit, Modi will be in France from February 10-12 to co-chair the AI Action Summit with President Emmanuel Macron Sept 21 WHEN PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI LAST VISITED THE U.S. 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 CYBER SECURITY FIGURED OUT GROWTH RBI forecasts FY26 growth at 6.7% on better Rabi harvest, tax relief INFLATION Inflation rate pegged at 4.2% in FY26 CHEAPER LOANS Home, auto, small business loans to see a drop in interest rates Banks to have ‘bank.in’ and non-bank financial entities ‘fin.in’ domain names to check cyber security threats RBI tango with FM gives 1st rate relief in five yrs Interest rate cut by 25 bps; guv says RBI will support growth while keeping inflation down B E N N K O C H U V E E D A N @ Mumbai SEEKING to build on the feelgood factor generated by the Budget, which announced significant tax cuts, the Reserve Bank of India on Friday cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 6.25%. This is the first repo rate cut in five years and, together with the income tax relief, could give a big boost to consumptiondriven growth. The immediate impact of the rate cut is that it will make home, auto, and small business loans cheaper; loans on floating interest rates will automatically come down by 25 bps. The latest cut brings curtains on the second longest high interest rate regime since the rate revision on October 22, 2008 ended a 5.1-year wait for the repo to fall from 8% after the global financial crisis that began in September 2007. Friday’s rate correction comes after five years, as the last cut was in May 2020 when RBI cut rates by an unconventional 50 bps to 4% during the peak of the pandemic. While industry as well as the markets were not im- pressed by the nominal 0.25% repo rate cut as they expected more, what is striking in the policy announcement this time is the tone of new governor Sanjay Malhotra’s statement; it says the monetary policy should be more accommodative to growth concerns than inflation. This signals a shift in approach by the central bank as taming inflation is the legal mandate of the monetary authority . RBI expects economic activity to improve with agricultural output remaining upbeat, while manufacturing is set to recover in the second half of 2025. Accordingly, Malhotra said the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is confident of the economy growing at 6.7% next fiscal compared to 6.4% in FY25. On inflation, the MPC sees prices moderating and finally aligning to the lower end of the target through the year. It sees inflation closing this fiscal at 4.8% and 4.2% in FY26. On the tax cuts in the Budget, Malhotra said household consumption would improve on the back of better employment P12 conditions. FOUR-MEMBER SPECIAL INVESTIGATION TEAM FORMED IN PUNJAB TO PROBE THE RACKET; FIR REGISTERED Cuffing avoidable, shared concerns with US: GOI J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi AMID widespread outrage over mistreatment of 104 deportees from the US, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Friday said India has registered concerns with the US authorities, adding handcuffing was avoidable. “It is a valid issue to raise and we continue to emphasise to the US authorities that there should be no mistreatment. We will continue to take up any instances of mistreatment that come to our attention. Action needs to be taken across the system against the underlying ecosystem that thrives on promoting illegal immigration,” the foreign secretary said. Asked whether India, like Brazil and Colombia, had protested the use of handcuffs and chains on deportees, Misri said, “We have been in touch with the US and have regis- 487 MORE INDIANS FACE DEPORTATION In a related development, the US has notified about 487 other individuals, believed to be Indian nationals, against whom removal orders have been issued. Of these, the nationality verification process is underway for 295. Identifying details have been supplied to India on 298 individuals, Misri said tered our concern.” Responding to yet another question of whether there is any record of the government of the day (Congress-led UPA) protesting the use of restrains since 2012, the foreign secretary said there was none. Misri stressed that while the deportation process itself was not new, the latest one was “somewhat different” from previous repatriations, as it was classified by the US as a “national security operation”, while answering a question why a military aircraft was used. “This deportation is differ- THE High Court of Karnataka on Friday dismissed a petition filed by Mysuru-based social activist Snehamayi Krishna seeking its direction for a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities in allotment of 14 compensatory MUDA sites to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife B M Parvathy . The material on record nowhere indicates that the inves- tigation conducted by the Lokayukta police is partisan, lopsided or shoddy for the case to be referred to CBI for further investigation or re-investigation, Justice M Nagaprasanna said while delivering the verdict dismissing Krishna’s petition. Granting liberty to the Lokayukta police to place its probe report before the special court to try criminal cases against sitting and former H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh ALMOST all of the 104 Indians deported by the US entered it in January via Mexico, and while most of them were helped by travel agents based in Dubai, some went through agents in Delhi and the UK. As per officials who questioned the deportees at the Amritsar airport, many of them got in touch with the agents in Dubai through their local partners in India. Most of them paid several lakhs of rupees to these agents and travelled for months through multiple countries before reaching the US. Mandeep Singh, 29, from Punjab contacted a Dubai-based agent who had earlier helped him reach Spain. After paying `1 crore, he landed in Dubai. From there, he travelled to Ar- EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Hyderabad CHIEF Minister A Revanth Reddy on Friday made it clear that there would be no Cabinet expansion anytime soon. He, however, said that the high command will take a final call while maintaining that he has not recommended any names for berths. The chief minister’s comments came soon after Revanth, accompanied by TPCC chief B Mahesh Kumar Goud, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy, met AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and AICC general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal at Parliament House in Delhi. NOT INTERESTED IN ARRESTING OPPOSITION LEADERS, SAYS CM Asked about cases against Opposition leaders, the chief minister said that the law will take its own course. He said that he does not have any interest in arresting Opposition leaders, referring to BRS working president KT Rama Rao, who is facing charges in the Formula-E race case During the meeting, the state leaders discussed proposals for the appointment of the TPCC executive committee. It is learnt that the Congress high command has finalised the names, and the executive committee is expected to be announced soon. The chief minister also briefed the party’s central lead- MPs/MLAs, which passed an order to register an FIR, the high court said it is for the petitioner to avail all such remedies under the law. The court said the investigation reports by the Inspector General of Police of Lokayukta and the Additional Director General of Police should be placed before the special court. In the considered view, the case needs no re-investigation, further investigation or denovo ership on the Socio-Economic, Education, Employment, Political and Caste Survey (Comp re h e n s ive D o o r- t o - D o o r Household Survey) and the decision to implement the recommendations of the panel on SC sub-categorisation. Revanth also invited AICC leaders, including senior Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, to attend the public meetings the party plans to organise in the state. These will be held at Suryapet and Gajwel to highlight the success of the BC caste census and SC subclassification. During an informal conversation with the media later in the day, the chief minister scoffed at rumours of differences between him and Rahul Gandhi. He said that there was camaraderie between him and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. Stating that the state government carried out a meticulous exercise for the enumeration of caste-wise data, Revanth said that he has been working on finding permanent solutions to long-pending issues. Come, see what Hyd has to offer: Sridhar to Open AI CEO E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Hyderabad investigation by CBI, the court added. Krishna said he would challenge the ruling in the Supreme Court. “We will file an appeal in the Supreme Court,” the petitioner said. IT and Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu on Friday invited Microsoft-backed Open AI CEO Sam Altman to visit Hyderabad and witness firsthand the changes in the AI landscape. Sridhar Babu posted on X: “Hey Sam Altman ... the real AI action is unfolding in Hyderabad, India! Skill upgrading, capability building, innovation, and startup confidence in AI are booming here! We’d love to have you visit Hyderabad and witness firsthand how we’re changing the AI landscape and leading the way And, . of course... Irani Chai, Bun Maska, and a dash of Biryani”. SCIENCE TO THE RESCUE Rapist sentenced to 25 years RI Cops send ‘dyed’ cat hair to lab after based on DNA test of aborted fetus woman accuses neighbour of theft C H I T H A LU R I R EVA N T H @ Hyderabad TAKING cognisance of a DNA test of an aborted fetus, the Nampally court has sentenced a man, aged 45 at the time, to 25 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a minor girl. After registering the case in 2020, the Bahadurpura police sent blood samples of the survivor, then 17, the accused, and the fetus for DNA analysis. The complainant, the girl’s mother, told the police that Md Fareed was employed in the flour mill operated by her husband in their home. The complainant stated that on December 2, 2020, when her daughter complained of stom- ach ache, she took her to a private hospital where the doctor advised a scan. The scan revealed that the girl was four months pregnant. Upon questioning, the girl revealed that Fareed had raped her in September 2020 when her parents were away, after gagging her. He then threatened her with a knife, warning her not to disclose the matter to anyone. Approximately two menia, and then to Serbia. From there, he reached Tijuana in Mexico. He then walked for over 100 km through jungle, and finally entered the US, only to be detained by the border police. Robin Handa, 26, from Haryana paid an agent `43 lakh that his parents got by selling one acre of land. He started his journey on July 24 and, after travelling through multiple countries, reached the US on January 22. He was detained at the border and send to a camp. In Punjab, the police have begun a crackdown on “fake travel agents”. A four-member Special Investigation Team has been constituted to look into the issue. The police registered a case on Friday against a person on a complaint filed by one of the deportees, who alleged that he paid `60 lakh to migrate to the US through the legal route, but was cheated. No Cabinet expansion for now: Revanth HC junks plea for CBI probe in MUDA case YAT H I R A J U @ Bengaluru ent. In the US system, it was described as a national security operation. We will consider any alternatives,” he said. A US military aircraft carrying 104 illegal immigrants landed in Amritsar on Wednesday, marking the first group of Indians deported under the Trump administration’s crackdown. Misri dismissed the US classification that India was uncooperative. “Every country seeks assurance that those being deported are its citizens, as there are legal and security considerations at play .” MOST OF DEPORTEES ENTERED U.S. IN JAN VIA AGENTS IN DUBAI weeks later, he raped her again when her parents had gone to visit a relative. During the investigation, the Bahadurpura police requested the Government Maternity Hospital at Petlaburj to preserve the aborted fetus and sent it to the state Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) for DNA analysis, along with blood samples of the girl and the accused. The FSL confirmed that the fetus’s allelic pattern matched that of the blood samples of the accused and the victim. “From the evidence of the doctor who conducted the DNA analysis and the DNA report, it is clear that the accused was the biological father of the aborted fetus,” the court noted. A S E S H A C H A R Y U L U @ Nalgonda ACTING on a complaint by one Pushpalatha, Nalgonda Two Town police have sent the hair of a cat to the Forensic Sciences Laboratory for analysis to determine its owner. In her complaint, Pushpalatha alleged that her neighbour stole her pet cat and dyed it to avoid detection. She claimed that she had been raising the animal for the past three years, but it went missing last year. Earlier this week, Pushpalatha spotted her neighbour with a cat that looked just like her own, but with a different coat. An argument ensued, with both laying claim to the animal. With her neighbour unre- The white cat, and the one with brown streaks on its coat, which the complainant claims is dye. The police have sent the cat hair to the FSL for test to determine ownership lenting, Pushpalatha approached the police. In her complaint, she stated that when she went to her neighbour’s house, the cat recognised her. She told the police that her cat was white, while the one with her neighbour had brown streaks. However, the neighbour insisted that he owns the cat, and five others as well. When contacted, the police confirmed that the cat hair had been sent to the lab and that ownership would be determined after receiving the report. Farmer finds Kakatiya-era sword in field B S AT YA N A R AYA N A R E D D Y @ Khammam A sword, believed to be from the Kakatiya era, was found in the agriculture fields of Tumburu village in Satthupalli mandal of Khammam district. While ploughing his field with a tractor, Ch Ranga Rao came upon the rusted sword and took it to Gubbala Mangamma Thalli temple nearby . This is not the first time Ranga Rao has discovered a relic from the Kakatiya era in his field. A few years ago, he found an idol of Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy puja material, and even , gold ornaments there. The farmer handed over the treasure to local revenue officials. “I always feel ecstatic upon discovering valuable items from the Kakatiya era in my field,” said Ranga Rao. He urged the government to survey the area, as more relics might be discovered. The local officials have informed the Archaeological Survey of India about the sword. INSIDE CONGRESS, BJP TO SQUARE OFF IN MLC POLLS I P4