HYDERABAD l thursday l may 29, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE CITY EDITION Industrial output slips to 2.7% in April; mining, power laggards IIP slowed to 2.7 % in April 2025 due to poor performance of manufacturing, mining, power sectors, data released on Wednesday showed industrial production growth revised The factory output, measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), rose by 5.2% in April 2024, govt data showed. The National Statistics Office (NSO) also revised upwards industrial production growth for March to 3.9% from the earlier estimate of 3% released last month. The IIP growth was 2.7% in February also ■ 4% capital goods segment a saving grace ■ The capital goods segment growth accelerated to 20.3% in April 2025, an increase from 2.8% in the year-ago period Mining production contracted by 0.2% as against a growth of 6.8% a year ago, while power output growth also slowed to 1% in April 2025 against 10.2% in the year-ago period, official data analysis indicated growth recorded by Infrastructure sector 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 Not Dilli, not Pindi. B’desh First, says BNP Monideepa Banerjie Senior journalist Part 1 B angladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Tarique Rahman, son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, on Wednesday gave his sea of supporters in Dhaka a slogan to remember and use in elections he insisted the interim government must hold in December. “Not Dilli, not Pindi, nor any other country. Bangladesh first,” Rahman thundered to a roar of approval from lakhs of people who turned the street outside the BNP’s head office at Naya Paltan in Dhaka into a carpet of yellow BNP pennants and green and red Bangladesh flags. The Delhi dig was directed at the Awami League, which BNP has consistently claimed is in India’s pocket. The reference to Pindi is a first and directed at the growing warmth between the Muhammed Yunus government in Dhaka and the Pakistan military HQ in Rawalpindi. Last week, Army chief Waker-Uz-Zaman had reportedly made the same demand — polls by December — and though the comments were officially denied later, they triggered a near crisis. Yunus threatened to resign if pushed on the issue. Political parties rushed to placate him and he relented. But he did not budge from the six-month window — between December 2025 and June 2026 — he gave himself for holding polls. There is a rider. A panel has been set up to review and fix flaws in the electoral process. Yunus insists that the reforms must be completed and implemented before polls. The BNP, which is pressing for December polls, wants elections first and for the remaining reforms to be implemented by an elected government. This debate pushed Bangladesh on edge last week. It is still teetering there. Manipur MLAs ‘stake’ claim to form govt P r a s a n ta M a z u m d a r , RA J E SH K U MAR THAK U R & M U K E SH RA N J A N @ Guwahati/New Delhi FORTY-FOUR MLAs are ready to form a new government in Manipur, BJP legislator Thokchom Radheshyam Singh claimed on Wednesday after meeting Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla. But there was no word on who would head the new government. Singh, along with nine other MLAs — seven from the BJP two , from the National People’s Party and an independent — met Bhalla. The state has 60 Assembly seats, one of which became vacant after the death of an MLA. Asked if they would stake a claim to form government, he said, “We conveyed to the governor that 44 MLAs are ready. This is akin to staking a claim,” Singh said. He claimed that all MLAs, except the 10 from the Kuki-Zo community and five from Congress, favoured forming a government. Singh said the Centre could reimpose President’s rule if a popular government failed. Manipur has been under Central rule since February after BJP leader N Biren Singh resigned as CM, amid criticisms about his government’s handling of the clashes between Meiteis and Kuki-Zos. Foreigners who ‘censor’ Americans face visa ban Latest policy could target officials regulating US-based tech firms J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi The United States will begin imposing visa bans on foreign nationals accused of censoring Americans, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday, signalling a sharp escalation in the country’s pushback against perceived over reach by foreign governments. Rubio did not cite specific incidents or countries, but suggested the policy could target officials regulating US-based tech companies. The move follows increasing friction between the US and some of its allies over content moderation on American social media platforms. In a statement, Rubio said the new visa restriction policy will apply to foreign nationals “responsible for censorship of protected expression in the US.” He condemned foreign governments for pressuring American platforms to adopt global content rules that could infringe on US rights. “Today, I am announcing a new visa restriction policy that life in norway Biryani to podi dosa, Kerala eatery serves Indian chess stars S w a r o o p S w a m i n at h a n @ Stavanger (Norway) AFTER obliging the vast array of autograph hunters outside the playing hall at the venue, Arjun Erigaisi got into a car and made his way to an eatery that has become the rage among Indian chess players here. It’s a trip all four Indian players — R Vaishali, D Gukesh and Koneru Humpy the others — have already made at the ongoing edition of Norway Chess. Erigaisi, featuring in Stavanger for the first time, was told about the place by R Praggnanandhaa, who tasted their food last year. The players’ favourites include lamb masala, chicken biryani and, in Vaishali’s case, podi dosa. “A few of the players ordered south Indian style lamb masala,” says Nitish Kamath, one of the five owners of Spisoh. “Humpy doesn’t have a set template and we have noticed that Vaishali has picked up podi dosa on a few occasions.” Spisoh — an unlikely portmanteau between the Norwegian word spis (to eat) and the Hindi word khaao—was a product of the pandemic thanks to the imagination of several first Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla meets the MLAs on Wednesday | PTI Arjun Erigaisi with co-owner Nitish Kamath (right) at the restaurant in Stavanger generation immigrants originally from Kerala. “We came up with the concept of a ghost kitchen,” says Kamath, who has been working in the energy sector for more than a decade. Spisoh is ‘official food partner’ this time. The one-time ghost kitchen still has only one permanent employee — a chef from Tamil Nadu who was about to go back home after losing his job in an Oslo hotel after Covid. Gukesh was one of the first Indian players to try out Spisoh’s food in 2023. Less than 10 minutes after Erigaisi bested Gukesh, the former was seen exchanging a few friendly words with Kamath outside the playing hall. “I’m going there to pick up my food,” he said.  P11 US Secretary of State Marco Rubio Free speech is a birthright: Rubio “Today, I am announcing a new visa restriction policy that will apply to foreign officials and persons who are complicit in censoring Americans. Free speech is essential to the American way of life—a birthright over which foreign governments have no authority,” said US Secretary of State Rubio will apply to foreign officials and persons who are complicit in censoring Americans. Free speech is essential to the American way of life—a birthright over which foreign governments have no authority he said. ,” “It is unacceptable for foreign officials to issue or threaten arrest warrants for social media posts made on US soil,” Rubio said. “It is similarly unacceptable for foreign officials to demand that American tech platforms adopt global content moderation policies or engage in censorship activity that reaches beyond their authority and into the United States.” In a social media post, Rubio added: “Whether in Latin America, Europe, or elsewhere, the days of passive treatment for those who work to undermine the rights of Americans are over.” Though Rubio did not identify any specific individuals or nations, the announcement comes amid ongoing disputes. Brazil, for example, has clashed with platform X—owned by Trump ally Elon Musk—over court orders to remove accounts accused of spreading misinformation. The Trump administration has also sharply criticised various European countries for what it describes as censorship of online speech. Meanwhile, a section of the BJP’s central leadership dismissed the possibility of lifting President’s Rule in the short run. Some others, however, favoured government formation, citing Union home minister Amit Shah’s meeting with President Droupadi Murmu. However, the fact remains that normalcy is yet to be restored, suggesting Central rule was necessary for now. Sources in the Union home ministry said any decision on President’s Rule in Manipur would be made at the political level. As of now, they have not received any formal indication in the matter, they added. BRS offered only token schemes: CM E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad Accusing the previous BRS government of wasting public resources on what he called “token schemes” like goat, sheep and fish distribution, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Wednesday said that his predecessor’s record on education and employment was abysmal and there was no meaningful upliftment of the weaker sections. “Why didn’t the BRS take any steps to empower the weaker sections through education? For 10 years, they played with the lives of the unemployed and failed to issue a single proper job notification,” Revanth stated. Speaking after presenting awards to high-performing students from residential schools, he also accused the main Opposition party of filling posts with family members and sidelining deserving youth. “Now that they are out of power, they are trying their best to stall recruitment processes taken up by us by filing court cases,” Revanth charged. “They are hatching a political conspiracy to derail appointment orders. The same government didn’t even conduct Group-1 exams during its tenure and is now blocking progress through legal manoeuvring. This is no longer a political issue, it has become a social crisis,” he stated.  continued on P4 Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy pats a student while Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and officials look on, during a Gurukul awards distribution ceremony at the Babu Jagjivan Ram Bhavan in Hyderabad on Wednesday Trump tariffs forced India, Pak to declare ceasefire: US J AYA N TH J ACO B @ New Delhi Trump administration officials have told a US court that President Donald Trump’s emergency tariff powers were instrumental in securing a ceasefire between India and Pakistan earlier this month. “This ceasefire was only achieved after President Trump interceded and offered both nations trading access with the United States to avert a full-scale war,” read the legal documents submitted to the US Court of International Trade on May 23. The revelation is in stark contrast to India’s official position that there was no thirdparty role in the ceasefire worked out between the Directors General of Military Operations of India and Pakistan. The US assertion was part of the Trump administration’s response to a lawsuit filed by small American businesses challenging Trump’s broad use of the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The plaintiffs claim the law does not authorise the president to impose tariffs and argue Trump’s trade policies have inflicted economic harm. Early rain throws spanner in procurement process U M a h e s h @ Mahbubabad A photograph of two women farmers falling at the feet of a government official at a paddy procurement centre in Narsimhulapet mandal, Mahbubabad district, went viral on Wednesday highlighting the mounting , desperation among tillers as unseasonal rains and delayed procurement left their paddy soaked. The image, widely shared on social media on Wednesday, captured the moment Bhukya Gori and Bhukya Erri from Thimma Thanda village pleaded with Mandal Revenue Officer (MRO) Ramesh Babu to buy their crop. The women said they had been waiting for over 40 days at the procurement centre, watching their harvested grain slowly soak in the rain as each passing day brought more uncertainty . “We have been here for 43 days. The crop is getting damaged. They are ignoring us because we are small farmers,” Gori told reporters. Her companion, Erri, added, “If the procurement doesn’t happen in four days, we will have no choice but to begin sowing for the next season. But how can we move forward without even selling the last crop?” The early arrival of the monsoon, coupled with erratic showers over the past week, has worsened the situation for Weathering it! n  Monsoon advances further into Telangana n  Shear zone near Latitude: 17°N (3.1–4.5 km above MSL) and cyclonic circulation over South Chhattisgarh-Vidarbha, though weakened, may bring more rain Women farmers seen touching the feet of an MRO while appealing to him to expedite the procurement of their paddy harvest in Narsimhulapet of Mahabubabad district on Wednesday farmers in Mahbubabad and neighbouring Bhupalpally. In several villages across Narsimhulapet and Danthalapally mandals, paddy heaps lie drenched under makeshift tarpaulins, with farmers fearing irreversible damage. The MRO, who inspected the centre on Wednesday, said the state government had agreed to procure soaked paddy and assured farmers that steps were being taken to complete procurement within two days. He directed the staff to expedite the shifting of grain to rice mills.  continued on P4 Isolated places in Bhadradri Kothagudem received very heavy rain n  Mahbubabad, Rajanna Sircilla (isolated places), Adilabad, Jagtial, Jangaon, Kamareddy, Khammam, Nirmal, Nizamabad, Suryapet reported heavy rain n  Forecast (till June 2): Moderate rain, thundershowers across the state with gusts of 40–50 kmph n  Minimum temperature to drop 5–7°C below normal for 3 days n  Hyderabad will have cloudy skies with light to moderate rain; intense spells likely n  Temp in Hyderabad: Max 32°C, Min 22°C RH: 81% Heaps of harvested paddy brought to a procurement centre get soaked in rainwater despite being covered by tarpaulin (above). Farmers of Ananthapally village in Boinapally mandal show paddy that has germinated while they wait for it to be procured Sircilla farmers protest, say fine rice not being procured n a v een k u m a r ta l l a m @ Rajanna-Sircilla Farmers in Rajanna-Sircilla district staged protests on Wednesday alleging delays in paddy procurement and neglect of fine variety paddy Unseasonal rains have worsened conditions with sev. eral farmers reporting germination of stored grain. In Venkatraopet of Konaraopet mandal, a group of farmers protested with pesticide bottles at the local procurement centre, threatening suicide if their fine variety paddy was not purchased. They accused officials of procuring only coarse paddy while leaving fine grain heaps to spoil. “The delay is causing our paddy to germinate. Authorities must act immediately a farmer said. ,” Procurement centre staff said millers were refusing to accept fine varieties, which they claimed was causing the backlog. In Anathapally of Boinpally mandal, a woman farmer showed paddy that had germinated after being brought to the procurement centre nearly two weeks ago. “We have spent several sleepless nights here waiting. The government must take responsibility for the damage,” she said.  continued on P4