HYDERABAD l sunday l june 29, 2025 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l LATE CITY EDITION DNA test identifies last victim of plane crash; FINAL toll 260 Over two weeks after the Ahmedabad plane crash, the toll now stands at 260, down from 270 reported earlier, officials said on Saturday Remains of all 260 victims handed to kin ‘dna matching process too complicated’ The bodies of all 260 victims have been handed over to the relatives. Of the 241 passengers and crew members who died, the mortal remains of 240 had been identified earlier while one body was pending for match. The matching of the DNA samples confirmed the victim’s identity on Friday. Till June 23, officials had confirmed the identity of 259 victims ■ ■ An official release said DNA matching was complicated as several bodies had to be identified since they were beyond recognition The 260 victims of the plane crash included 200 Indians — 181 passengers plus crew and 19 ground victims. The others included seven Portuguese nationals, 52 British nationals and one Canadian 2 weeks was time taken to complete identification of dna samples 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 Award will open Agniveer Remittance tax cut induction door into forces to 1% in latest big, Gallantry medal or participation in global event will make the cut MAYANK SIN G H @ New Delhi WITH THIS ISSUE The Sword Of David PLUS 12 P AGES anti-dumping Now, India imposes jute import bar from B’desh j aya n t h j a c o b @ New Delhi INDIA has imposed immediate restrictions on import of jute and allied fibre products from Bangladesh, reflecting growing tensions in bilateral relations. These new measures apply to all land and seaports across the country, with the exception of Nhava Sheva seaport in Maharashtra, a notification from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said. However, these restrictions will not apply to goods exported by Bangladesh to Nepal and Bhutan. At the same time, the “re-export” of such Bangladeshi goods from Nepal or Bhutan into India “will n o t b e allowed.” Under the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) agreement, Bangladesh’s jute exports currently enjoy dutyfree access to the Indian market. Concerns, however, have persisted for years within the Indian jute industry about the adverse impact of dumped and subsidised imports, particularly jute yarn, fibre, woven fabrics, and bags originating from Bangladesh. “This has been putting Indian industry in disadvantageous position as there is credible evidence that Bangladeshi jute exports continue to benefit from subsidies by the government,” said a source. In response, the Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties had earlier imposed anti-dumping duties on jute and related goods from Bangladesh. But those duties didn’t work to India’s benefit as expected. Parag Jain to head RAW | p7 Agniveers who participate in any international event or get gallantry medals, including the Sena Medal, will be inducted permanently into the services, as per a new document seen by this newspaper. They would be part of the 25% who make the cut for permanent induction after four years of serving as Agniveers. Over all, Agniveers will undergo four sets of evaluations. For context, the first batch of Agniveers are in their third round of assessment. “Agniveer recipients of the Sena medal and above like Ashok Chakra, Kirti Chakra, and Shaurya Chakra, will surely be retained as permanent soldiers,” the document says. These awards are given for exceptional acts of bravery cour, age or self-sacrifice. Those who get ‘Mention in Dispatches’ will get 25 extra marks. Mention in Dispatches is awarded for distinguished and meritorious service in operational areas and acts of gallantry, which are not of a suf- press clusive Three, two ka one Tests at the regimental centre include drill, physical test and firing. The recruits get three chances in each test; only the best score is uploaded in the data. In the subsequent phases of tests, they are given two chances ficiently high order to warrant gallantry awards. Similarly ex, tra marks will be given to Agniveers getting Commendation cards from the Chief, Army Commanders and the Corps Commanders. Besides, Agniveers recruited as sportspersons and others Sky is never the limit, Shux tells PM from space B o s k y k h a n n a @Bengaluru InDIA’s Group Captain Shubanshu Shukla, who is also the mission pilot of the Axiom-4 mission, during his interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, from the International Space Station (ISS), said: “Sky is never the limit, not for me, not for you, and not for the 140 crore Indians” — a progressive departure from the famed Indian Air Force motto, “Sky is the limit.” During the 18.05-minute-long conversation with the PM on Saturday, Shukla (call sign ‘Shux’) said the mission was a step towards India’s own Gaganyaan space mission scheduled for 2027, setting up the Bhartiya Antriksh Station (BAS) by 2035 and ISRO’s indigenous lunar manned mission by 2040. Shux told the PM that all the astronauts aboard the ISS hailing from different nationalities had expressed their desire to visit the BAS when it is ready and up in space. “I am absorbing all that I’ve learnt during my year-long training and what I am now learning on the ISS like a sponge. This will help India in the upcoming missions,” Shukla told Modi. The Prime Minister said: “This mission of Shukla is not just limited to space, but will speed up and channelise India’s Viksit Bharat journey .” Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, aboard ISS | PTI participating in any international event will get permanent recruitment. Also, those participating in national events will be given 10 extra marks. Participation in services level events will give them six more marks in their assessment tests. The total assessment will be of 1,000 marks, which will have to be completed and entered in the data sheet three months prior to the Agniveers completing their four-year service period and returning home. As for the first batch, the assessment data entry has to be wrapped up by October 2026. Of the four levels of assessment, the first one will be within 31 weeks of the Agniveer’s induction; the second at 18 months; the third in 30 months and the last in 42 months, just six months before exiting the unit as Agniveer. To make it transparent, the first assessment is done at the regimental centre; the second and third at the unit; and the final one by the higher formation like the division/brigade under which the unit functions. beautiful bill draft $38 bn sent home from US India was the top remittance recipient in 2024. Its total remittance receipts stood at $137.70 billion during 2024 (on a calendar year basis). As per an RBI report, 28% of India’s inward remittances came from the US – making it $38 billion D i pa k M o n d a l @ New Delhi President Donald Trump’s tax on outward remittance could pinch NRIs much less than was anticipated. In its latest update to its draft, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act seeks to impose a 1% levy against the earlier proposal of 3.5% on money sent overseas by non-US citizens. The bill had originally suggested a 5% tax, which was reduced to 3.5%, and now 1%. Senate Republicans released their updated draft of the proposed One Big Beautiful Bill Act on June 27 and have set a self-imposed deadline of July 4 to try to pass the bill. The updated Senate version significantly changes the remittance transfer provisions that were passed by House Republicans. Apart from proposing a muchreduced tax rate, the proposal exempts transfers from accounts held at banks and other financial institutions and also excludes transfers made via debit and credit cards issued in the United States. The remittance transfer tax will apply only to any remittance transfer for which the sender provides cash, a money order, a cashier’s check, or other similar physical instrument to the remittance transfer provider. This tax will apply to transfers made after December 31, 2025. “This should come as a huge relief to the NRI community in the US,” said Lloyd Pinto, Partner — US Tax, Grant Thornton Bharat. Close on the heels of the Asifabad police busting a gang involved in trafficking a tribal woman, the Adilabad police on Saturday disclosed that they have arrested three persons, including the couple who kidnapped a Class X student, and the man from Rajasthan who “bought” her for `10,000, confined her in his home and repeatedly raped her. Adilabad Deputy Superintendent of Police L Jeevan Reddy said the girl, who is under 16 years of age, was kidnapped by Nirmala Bapunya Atram (47) and her husband Bapunya Rajaram Atram (49), both residents of Kinhi village in Yavatmal district, Maharashtra. The couple allegedly sold the girl to Karan alias Bhagwat Menon of Rajasthan for `10,000. A case of kidnapping and human trafficking has been registered at Bhimpur police station against the three accused. According to Jeevan Reddy the , Class X student State, Army ink lands swap MoU E x p r e s s Ne w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Ministry of Defence and the state government on Saturday, paving the way for the construction of elevated corridors from Paradise Junction to Shamirpet (SH-01) and Paradise Junction to Dairy Farm Road (NH-44). As part of the MoU, the MoD will hand over 65.038 acres of land to the state government, which in turn will provide 435 acres to the defence authorities. The MoD granted permission for the construction of the elevated corridors on March 1, 2024. The MoU listed the modalities, timelines and methodology of transfer of defence land. The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority on be, half of the state government, inked the deal with the Headquarters, Telangana and Andhra Sub Area, on behalf of the Indian Army, for the transfer of A1 defence land required for construction of the two proposed elevated corridors in the Secunderabad area.   Continued on P5 CM to remind Shah of fund requests Busy Sunday ahead for BJP E x p r e s s Ne w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said he, along with ministers D Sridhar Babu and Ponnam Prabhakar, would meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah at Begumpet airport on Sunday to remind him of the state government’s request for Central funds for the Musi rejuvenation project, Regional Ring Road (RRR) construction, and Metro expansion. Speaking after inaugurating the PJR flyover at Kondapur, the chief minister said: “I am asking Union Minister and state BJP president G Kishan Reddy, what has Prime Minister Narendra Modi given to Telangana or Hyderabad? The people of Telangana have given eight MPs to the BJP Show me . a single project that Modi has given.” He pointed out that the Centre sanctioned Metro projects to Bengaluru and Chennai, the bullet train and Sabarmati Riverfront Development projects to Gujarat, and river rejuvenation and cleaning projects to Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. Revanth questioned why funds had not been sanctioned for the Musi Riverfront Development Project, RRR construction or Metro expansion. “Why this discrimination?” he asked. The chief minister said he had visited Delhi 30 to 35 times to meet the prime minister, home minister and other ministers to represent these issues. “We will go to Begumpet air- E x p r e s s Ne w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy at the inauguration of PJR flyover on Saturday Nag a hero for returning land: CM Describing actor Akkineni Nagarjuna as a ‘hero’, the chief minister recalled that the actor handed over two acres of land falling within the full tank level (FTL). N-Convention, owned by Nagarjuna, was demolished by HYDRAA last year after it was found to have encroached land belonging to a lake. The chief minister said: “Nalas and water bodies were encroached in Hyderabad. HYDRAA is removing structures built on water bodies and lakes. After it was found that the land belonged to the lake, Nagarjuna voluntarily came forward and handed over two acres back to the government by meeting me personally.” port to meet Amit Shah and ask for funds and projects for the state,” he said. Refers to Kancha Gachibowli Indirectly referring to Kancha Gachibowli lands, the chief minister said: “In 2003, the then gover nment allotted these lands to private parties. We fought the case in the Supreme Court and won in 2024. The government will work to set up IT companies and create employment on these lands through legal efforts.”  continued on p3 Trafficking case rocks Adilabad again: Minor sold for `10K, raped E x p r e s s Ne w s Se r v i c e @ Adilabad elevated corridors was living at her relatives’ house. On June 2, Nirmala and Bapunya, who had recently moved to the village, reportedly lured her on the pretext of taking her to a function. They took her to Kinhi in Maharashtra, then to Nagpur by bus, and from there to Kota, Rajasthan, by train. She was subsequently taken to an unidentified village and handed over to Karan. The girl’s mother and maternal uncle searched for her at the houses of several relatives before lodging a complaint at Tribal women target of traffickers A human trafficking racket targeting vulnerable women in tribal areas in Kumurambheem Asifabad district with the arrest of six persons, including a police constable, came to light in the third week of June this year. The gang lured single, widowed and financially distressed women under the pretext of marriage Bhimpur police station on June 22. Hearing about this, Nirmala and Bapunya alerted Karan. Karan handed the girl to Nirmala the next day, and she brought the girl back home on June 25. During the investigation, police found that Karan was already married. The accused were arrested at the railway station while attempting to flee. Police seized a mobile phone and `2,000 in cash from them. Jeevan Reddy stated that strict action would be taken against human traffickers. It will be a busy Sunday for the Telangana unit of the BJP , with the party expected to issue the notification for elections to the state president post and the visit of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to Nizamabad. Votes, if required, for the BJP state president post will be cast on July 1 and the result declared the same evening. The nomination process will formally begin on Sunday with the returning officer — former MLA Yendala Laxminarayana — issuing the notification. BJP sources said that nominations will be accepted on June 30 between 11 am and 1 pm and scrutinised from 1 pm to 2 pm. BJP insiders say that three to four leaders are making a spirited bid for the post — MPs Eatala Rajender, Arvind Dharmapuri and Bandi Sanjay as well as former MLC N Ramchander Rao. Meanwhile, Shah will be in Telangana on Sunday to inaugurate the National Turmeric Board headquarters in Nizamabad. Sources said that key state BJP leaders, as well as the aspirants for the party president post, are likely to meet Shah at the airport. express read Nori Dattatreyudu is now adviser to TG govt Hyderabad: Dr Nori Dattatreyudu has been appointed adviser to the state government for prevention, curative and affordable cancer care. The appointment orders described Dr Dattatreyudu as a leading authority in brachytherapy and implantation of radioactive seeds for cancer treatment. He was the first physician in the US to use a computerised brachytherapy treatment system and develop new techniques through clinical research. Born in 1947 in Krishna district, Dattarreyudu was awarded the Padma Shri in 2015.