HYDERABAD l Thursday l march 13, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE CITY EDITION Trump’s 25% tariff on all steel and aluminium import kicks in The US increased tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports to 25% on Wednesday, saying this will create more factory jobs in the US Canada lines up $20bn retaliatory tariffs EU to target U.S. goods worth $28 billion President Trump says new tariffs will help steel and aluminium makers in the US. However, economists warn they will raise the cost for US manufacturers that use these metals as raw materials. Canada, the largest supplier of steel and aluminium to the US, called the measures “completely unjustified” and has lined up $20.7 bn in retaliatory tariffs ■ ■ The European Union, which will also be hit hard by Trump’s policy, announced its countermeasures targeting US goods worth $28 bn including textiles, home appliances and agriculture products Both Australia and Mexico expressed their displeasure, but said they would not announce any retaliatory measures for now 26.4 million tonnes of steel imported by the United states in 2023 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 Retail inflation below 4% for 1st time in 6 months At 3.61% in February, low CPI inflation raises hopes for another rate cut by RBI next month DIPAK MO N DAL @ New Delhi Food prices cool Pulses & products Vegetables EGG -5.85% -3.01% -1.07% -0.35% Spices Brightening the prospects of another interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India next month, retail inflation eased to a seven-month low of 3.61% in February driven by a sharp de, cline in food prices, government data released on Wednesday showed. Notably consumer , inflation has fallen below RBI’s 4% target after a gap of six months, and is the lowest since July 2024. In January 2025, retail inflation was at 4.26%. Meanwhile, another set of data showed the factory output, measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production, grew 5% in January against 3.2% in December 2024, driven by the robust performance of the manufacturing sector. The Consumer Food Price Index, which measures changes in retail prices of food items, fell to 3.75% in February from 5.97% in January on the back of a significant drop in prices of vegetables, eggs, meat, etc. Rural inflation fell to 3.79% in February from 4.59% in January Food inflation in rural re. gions also softened to 4.06% from 6.31%. Urban areas reported a similar trend, with headline inflation falling to 3.32% from 3.87%. Food inflation in cities declined to 3.20% from 5.53% in January . “In coming months, we ex- pect food inflation to remain soft,” said Dipti Deshpande, principal economist, Crisil. Core inflation (non-food, nonfuel inflation), on the other hand, crossed the 4% mark for the first time since November 2023, reaching 4.1% in February 2025. This was driven by surging gold and silver prices. The low inflation print has also raised hopes for a rate cut. “CPI inflation print falling well below 4% has cemented the expectation of a back-to-back 25 bps rate cut in April 2025. This may be followed by another 25 bps repo rate cut in June 2025 or August 2025,” said Aditi Nayar, chief economist, ICRA. On state-wise inflation, Kerala topped the list of major states with the highest year-on-year inflation rate at 7.31% in February 2025, followed by Chhattisg arh (4.89%), Kar nataka (4.49%), Bihar (4.47%), and Jammu & Kashmir (4.28%). Starlink appears set for India entry Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday posted a message on X welcoming Elon Musk's Starlink to India “Starlink, welcome to India! Will be useful for remote area railway projects,” he posted on X The minister later deleted the tweet It came as SpaceX made separate deals with Mukesh Ambani's Jio Platforms and Sunil MIttal's Bharti Airtel to bring Starlink's high-speed Internet service to India Starlink is the world's largest lowearth-orbit (LEO) constellation operated by SpaceX Starlink can help Bharti and Jio provide connectivity to previously underserved areas, especially areas currently with limited to no coverage The deals come weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Musk, seen as very close to Donald Trump, in Washington | P10 Train hijack drama over, 21 passengers killed, says Pak army A g en c i e s Pakistan military operation to rescue hostages from a train hijacked by terrorists ended on Wednesday with all hostages recovered, Dawn newspaper reported. All terrorists involved have been killed, the report said. Head of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said all hostage passengers were recovered. A total of 21 passengers were killed, he said, adding no passenger was injured in the final clearance operation. “This operation was conducted with great skill and care since terrorists were using them as human shields,” Paramedics treat an injured passenger at the Mach railway station in Balochistan | afp Chaudhry said. He said 33 terrorists were killed in the operation. The Jaffar Express carrying around 450 passengers were hijacked on Tuesday. Balochistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attack. Chaudhry said the terror- Budget session: Guv focus on BC, SC bills E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad Confirming that the state government will be introducing bills increasing reservations for BCs to 42% based on the caste survey and another bill on subcategorisation of SCs based on the recommendations of the Justice Shameem Akhtar Commission, Governor Jishnu Dev Varma on Wednesday signalled the commencement of the Bills on Mar 17, Budget session of the Telan- Budget on 19 gana Legislature. The governor’s address to The BAC on both Houses of the State Leg- Wednesday islature focused on welfare decided to hold and development. It high- the Budget lighted the government’s session till March commitment to inclusivity 27. While the BC and fairness and avoided quota and SC subquota bills will be partisan finger-pointing. Describing the Budget as a tabled on March critical road map for Telan- 17, the Budget will gana’s continued transfor- be presented on mation, Varma stated: “Tel- March 19. angana stands at the threshold of an extraordinary transformation. The Budget is not just about financial allocations — it is about shaping a stronger, more resilient Telangana.” He stressed that the Budget would be a commitment to justice and a promise to all citizens that their aspirations matter. The Budget, the governor stated, would serve as a guide to progress and a means of ensuring equitable distribution of resources across various sectors — agriculture, empowerment of women and youth, education, healthcare and industrial development.  Continued on P4 express read Mercury crosses 400C mark in states Hyderabad: As many as 11 districts across Telangana recorded temperatures over 40°C on Wednesday, signalling heatwave conditions in March | P3 SAGAR grows into a MAHASAGAR vision J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched MAHASAGAR, a vision for security and growth for the Global South, as India and Mauritius strengthened their strategic partnership amid China’s growing influence in the region in Mauritius on Wednesday . The two sides also signed eight aggrements. “Ten years ago, the foundation of Vision SAGAR, which stands for “Security and Growth for All in the Prime Minister Narendra Modi being conferred with Mauritius’ highest honour by its president on Wednesday Region” was laid here in Mauritius. We’re moving ahead with the SAGAR Vision for the stability and prosperity of this region,” said Modi. “Today building upon this, I , want to say that our vision for Global South will be going beyond SAGAR — it will be MAHASAGAR, i.e. “Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions,” he said. MAHASAGAR shall encompass the ideas of trade for development, capacity building for sustainable growth, and mutual security for a shared future, the PM explained. The objective was also to bring the voice of the Global South to the high table... In advancing Vision MAHASAGAR, we are signaling once again our commitment to the Global South Vikram Misri , foreign secretary ists were in contact with their supporters and masterminds in Afghanistan during the operation via satellite phone. Earlier in the day officials , said some of the terrorists wearing vests loaded with explosives had formed groups of women and children and forced them to sit near them. Due to the presence of women and children with the suicide bombers, the operation was being conducted with utmost caution, they added. A security source earlier said that around 30 people who sustained injuries had been sent to hospitals. He said two drivers in the main engine and eight security personnel were killed during the operation. Financial cancer is KCR’s parting gift to TG: Revanth E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad Accusing former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao of leaving a ‘financial cancer’ as his parting gift to the state, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Wednesday said that his government inherited debts and blunders committed by the KCR regime. “My government has to pay `6,500 crore every month merely to service debts and interest on loans taken by the BRS regime,” Revanth told the gathering at the Ravindra Bharati after handing over appointment letters to 1,292 newly recruited junior lecturers and 240 polytechnic lecturers. Smart “The state government is receiving `18,000 to `18,500 crore per month as income. Of this, `6,500 crore is paid towards salaries of employees and pensions. Another `6,500 crore is being paid as principal and interest on the loans taken by the BRS government. With the remaining `5,000- `5,500 crore, we have to implement welfare schemes. To implement all our schemes, an additional `18,000 crore is required,” he stated. Stating that ‘some people’ were talking about stature, Revanth said, “Some people are claiming that they have stature. Our MLAs are saying that the public sent the person who has stature to a stretcher. The public could send him to the mortuary tomorrow.”   Continued on P4