Commuters try to avoid hailstones amidst a spell of heavy rain in Hyderabad on Tuesday | HYDERABAD l wednesday l april 16, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE CITY EDITION Expect above-normal rainfall this Southwest monsoon: IMD Vinay Madapu below-normal rains for TN, Bumper for TG India will experience above-normal cumulative rainfall in the upcoming southwest monsoon, the India Meteorological Department said on Tuesday Large parts of Tamil Nadu and Northeastern may get below-normal rainfall, while Marathwada and Telangana may witness above-normal showers. Meanwhile, the Telangana government has declared heatwave as a state-specific disaster and decided to offer ex gratia of `4 lakh to the families of persons who die due to heatwave or sunstroke ■ 26% EL nino conditions unlikely to develop ■ Mohapatra said El Nino conditions, which results in weaker monsoon in the Indian subcontinent, are unlikely to develop this time As per the IMD, the sea surface temperatures in western and eastern sides of the Indian Ocean are roughly the same, and the snow cover in Northern Hemisphere is low—both of which point to normal monsoon chance of excess precipitation, IMD director general Mohapatra said 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 at 67-mth low Declines to lower-than-expected 3.34% due to fooD price correction 8 Raises hopes of further repo rate cut by 50 bps in this calendar year 7.79 Retail Inflation (%) 7 6 5 4 Business class CM leaves for 7-day investment tour of Japan Feb-25 Nov-24 Aug-24 Feb-24 Nov-23 Aug-23 Feb-23 May-23 Nov-22 Aug-22 May-22 Nov-21 Feb-22 Aug-21 Feb-21 May-21 Nov-20 Aug-20 May-20 Nov-19 Feb-20 Aug-19 3 May-24 3.34 3.28 D i pa k M o n d a l @ New Delhi Retail inflation in March fell to lower-than-expected 3.34%, the lowest since August 2019, vindicating the Reserve Bank of India’s decision to effect a 25-basis points repo rate cut in the April monetary policy . The sharp decline in consumer inflation during the month also raised hopes of at least another 50-basis points interest rate cut in the calendar year. The March inflation nu m b e r p e g g e d at 3.34% was lower than February’s 3.61%, and 4.85% in the same month last year. The sharp fall in overall retail inflation was driven largely by a huge correction in food price inflation. Food inflation crashed to 2.7% in March compared to 8.5% in the same month last year. A large part of the drop in food inflation was, therefore, due to high base effect. The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementa- tion, which tracks the consumer price inflation, attributed the significant decline in headline inflation and food inflation during the month of March to the drop in inflation of vegetables, eggs, pulses & products, meat & fish, cereals & products and milk & products. According to D K Joshi, chief economist, Crisil Ltd, the Indian Meteorological Department’s forecast of an above-normal monsoon for the year — and Skymet’s of a normal one — adds to the happy tidings on the food inflation front. However, weather disruptions such as heat waves, could play spoilsport. Joshi said a sharperthan-expected fall in crude oil prices will help keep non-food inflation comfortable as well. The RBI has pegged the FY26 inflation at 4%. If inflation remains at these levels, the chances of more rate cuts brighten. It has already reduced the repo rate by 50 bps; experts believe further 50 bps cut is possible. Revanth to MLAs: Talk of Cabinet expansion futile, AICC word final E x p r e s s Ne w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad e n s @ Hyderabad Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Tuesday began a seven-day visit to Japan, where he is scheduled to meet representatives of various multinational companies, industrialists, and investors to attract investments to Telangana. Notably, the CM will meet representatives of the Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation for Transport and Urban Development and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The CM will lead the official delegation at the Osaka World Expo 2025. IT Minister D Sridhar Babu and officials are accompanying the CM. They are scheduled to return to Hyderabad on April 23. The itinerary  April 16: Arrival in Tokyo  April 17: Meetings with Sony Group, JICA, JETRO, Japan Bio Industry Association  April 18: Meetings with CEOs of Toyota, Toshiba, Aisin, NTT Corp; visit to Sumida Riverfront Stating that it would not benefit them in any way as the party high command’s word was final on the matter, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Tuesday advised his party MLAs not to speak publicly about Cabinet expansion. Incidentally, Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy, G Vivek and K Premsagar Rao — the MLAs who had recently spoken publicly about the Cabinet expansion — were not present at the CLP meeting where the chief minister issued his caution. Addressing the CLP meeting here, Revanth said that if MLAs spoke against the party line, it could cause difficulties for the party . The meeting was held to discuss the implementation of flagship prog rammes and schemes, including the rollout of the Telangana Bhu Bharati (Record of Rights in Land) Act, 2024, distribution of fine rice, implementation of the Indiramma Housing Scheme, and SC sub-classification. Expressing concern over the functioning of certain MLAs,  April 19: Visit Mount Fuji and Arakurayama Sengen Park  April 20: To meet Kitakyushu mayor on Eco-town project  April 21: Inauguration of the World Expo in Yumeshima. Business Round Table meeting  April 22: Hiroshima Japan– India Chapter business lunch, visit HIT and Mazda Motors Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy signs the attendance register as he arrives for the Congress Legislature Party meeting in Hyderabad on Tuesday. If MLAs speak against the party line, it could cause difficulties for the party. Talking about the party’s internal matters in public is not good; the high command’s word is supreme – A Revanth Reddy, chief minister the chief minister stated that the benefits of all welfare schemes being implemented by the people’s government should reach the people. He said the government’s efforts would be ineffective if not publicised. Broad publicity of government schemes was essential for winning the next elections. Stating that the effectiveness of government programmes would diminish without adequate awareness, Revanth said: “It is the responsibility of all MLAs to reach out to the public and explain the key decisions made by the gover nment. MLAs should visit every village in their Assembly constituencies from tomorrow until June 2. I will also allocate time to meet the public from May 1 to June 2.”  continued on p4 e x pr e s s r e a d 2 from TG murdered in Dubai Rahul reboots Cong in Gujarat Adilabad/ Nizamabad: Two men from Telangana — one from Nirmal district and the other from Nizamabad — were allegedly killed by a Pakistani national in a bakery in Dubai where they worked together. Another Telugu man sustained injuries in the incident, reports said | P2 Ahmedabad: In a significant push to resurrect Congress’s grassroots machinery, Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, on Tuesday kick-started the ‘Sangathan Sirjan Abhiyan’ in Gujarat, which aims to aggressively shake up the state organisation | P8 Heat on gandhi family ED chargesheets Sonia, Rahul in $400 Natl Herald case million S h e k h a r S i n g h @ New Delhi The Enforcement Director at e ( E D ) h a s f i l e d a chargesheet against Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi in a Delhi court in the National Herald money laundering case. Also named in the chargesheet are Sam Pitroda, the party’s Overseas Department Chief, veteran journalist Suman Dubey, and several others. The case revolves around financial transactions linked to the now-defunct National Herald newspaper and its parent company As, sociated Journals Limited. Justice Vishal Gogne of the Rouse Avenue Court examined the chargesheet filed on April 9. He said the court will consider on April 25 whether to take cognisance of the complaint. The court said a fresh prosecution complaint under sections 44 and 45 of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2002 for commission of offence of money laundering as defined under Section 3 read with Section 70 and punishable under Section 4 of PMLA, 2002 filed by the ED, has been received by way of assignment. “Let the complaint be checked and registered. The ED is directed to file a soft copy of the complaint and documents in readable/OCR Johnson & Johnson said it expects $400 million in tariffrelated costs Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi | PTI file Majority shareholders in Young Indian Sonia and Rahul are majority shareholders of Young Indian with 38% shares held by each one of them. They were questioned by the ED in this case a few years back. Young Indian owns AJL, which is the publisher of the National Herald platform. format by the next date,” the court said. For its part, the Congress slammed the Centre over the chargesheets against Sonia and Rahul, saying it was playing vendetta politics. “Filing charg esheets against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and some others is nothing but politics of vendetta and intimidation by the prime minister and the home minister gone completely berserk,” Congress general secretary incharge communications Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X. Vadra quizzed for 8 hours in money laundering case M u k e s h R a n j a n @ New Delhi The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday questioned businessman Robert Vadra, the husband of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, for over eight hours in connection with its probe into money laundering linked to a Gurugram land deal. His statements were recorded under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, sources said. Vadra walked from his residence at Sujan Singh Park in central Delhi to the ED headquarters on APJ Abdul Kalam Road, a stretch of about 2 km. Before entering the agency’s premises, he said, “This is nothing but political vendetta. Whenever I speak for minorities, they try to stop me, crush us... they tried to stop Rahul (Gandhi) in Parliament too. This is misuse of agencies and this is political vendetta.” He said he will not be intimidated and will continue to cooperate with the agency . The probe pertains to a land deal in February 2008 where a company linked to Vadra—Skylight Hospitality Pvt Ltd— purchased a piece of 3.5 acre land in Shikohpur village in Gurugram from Onkareshwar Properties for a price of `7.5 crore. It is alleged that the mutation of this land was done within hours. Mentally disabled deprived of treatment by rules that serve little purpose Beyond reach Stumbling blocks n  Patients deprived access to long-term psychiatric care n  govt Only facility for extended psychiatric treatment is the Institute of Mental Health, Erragadda n  Private hospitals unaffordable; public hospitals lack infrastructure for long-term mental healthcare n  Psychiat rist referral n  Police FIR n  Aadhaar n  Magistrate’s order n  of the patients Many have Aadhaar but cannot retrieve it as retrieval is based on OTPs D Vanaja, the organiser of Annapoorna Charitable Trust Ashramam, is shaving a mentally disabled person at her shelter in Suryapet Long-term treatment for mentally ill persons is only possible after an FIR and magistrate certification. For milder cases, patients may be admitted as inpatients for up to a month An official at the Institute of Mental Health, Erragadda A Se s h a c h a r y u l u @ Nalgonda Over the past five years, hundreds of mentally disabled persons in the erstwhile Nalgonda district have passed away deprived of treatment due to rules that are seen more as hurdles than serving any purpose. Most of these unfortunate human beings had spent their last days in various charitable trusts and ashrams in the district, abandoned by their families or having left their homes unaware of their actions. D Vanaja and D Srinivas, who run the Annapurna Charitable Trust, told TNIE that vol- unteers frequently bring mentally disabled people from the streets to their facility, where they are provided daily care, food and basic medical attention. However, the lack of access to long-term treatment is the main stumbling block to providing the patients a fighting chance. Vanaja and Srinivas said that the Institute of Mental Health at Erragadda in Hyderabad is the only government facility offering longterm psychiatric treatment. However, admission requires a complex legal process, includ- ing a referral from a psychiatrist, a police FIR, a magistrate’s order, and crucially, an Aadhaar card. This invariably renders a majority of the homeless mentally disabled ineligible for admission as they are often unaware of their origins and lack identification. An official from the Erragadda Mental Hospital told TNIE that longterm treatment for mentally ill persons, particularly those requiring care for over a month, is only possible after a police FIR and magistrate certification. For milder cases, patients may be admitted as inpatients for up to a month, but beyond that, legal documentation is essential. Here is where the crux of the problem lies. Efforts to obtain Aadhaar cards for these individuals are invariably futile. Srikanth, a Seva Bharathi volunteer, explained that many were rejected due to already having Aadhaar cards issued in the past. Reissuing these cards requires an OTP sent to the mobile number registered during the initial enrolment—a piece of information often lost, Srikanth says.  continued on P5 China orders its airlines not to take any further deliveries of Boeing US commerce dept probing how import of computer chips and products that contain them affect national security Trump hints at easing of 25% auto tariff Hospital to lose licence if newborn is trafficked: SC S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Tuesday laid down strict guidelines for all states to prevent child trafficking and the offences arising out of it, warning that any laxity in implementing them could be treated as contempt of court. A two-judge bench comprising justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan ordered lower courts to complete trials in such cases within six months. It added that if any newborn infant is trafficked from any hospital, its licence should be suspended immediately over and above other actions in accordance with law. When any woman comes to deliver her baby in a hospital, it is the responsibility of its administration to protect the newborn in all respects, the bench said. The court issued the directions after hearing petitions against anticip at o r y b a i l granted by the Allahabad High Court to 13 accused in trafficking cases in Ut- t a r Pradesh. It cancelled the bails, saying the “cry of the collective for justice, its desire for peace and har mony” couldn’t be trivialised. The bench advised parents to remain extremely vigilant and careful with their children. The pain and agony a parent may have to face when a child dies is different from that when they lose their children to such gangs engaged in trafficking, the court observed. The court directed all state governments to go study a 2023 report by the Bharatiya Institute of Research and Development on human trafficking and implement it at the earliest. The court slammed both the Allahabad High Court and the UP government for the manner in which they dealt with the matter. “The HC dealt with bail applications callously It led to . many accused to abscond.” It chided the UP government for not filing any appeal against the HC verdicts. Whiplash for remark against rape victim Taking strong exception to a recent Allahabad HC remark against a rape victim that she had “invited trouble”, the SC cautioned judges against making such inappropriate observations | P7