THIRUVANANTHAPURAM l friday l august 01, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE city EDITION IMD predicts above-normal rainfall in 2nd half of monsoon The southwest monsoon season (August to September) will bring rainfall in excess of 106% of the long period average, which is 422 mm File photo a wetter september in the offing Most parts of the country, except the Northeast and adjoining areas of eastern India, are expected to record normal rainfall in August, said IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra during an online press conference. Rainfall in September is likely to be above normal, he said. India received above-normal rainfall during June and July, with flash floods in some parts ■ 42% sub-normal rain in northeast a concern ■ The country received 474.3 mm of rainfall against a normal of 445.8 mm from June 1 to July 31, a surplus of six per cent, IMD said In Northeast India, this is the fifth consecutive year of below-normal rainfall. Over the last 30 years, a declining trend in rainfall activity has been observed in the northeastern states, which is a cause of concern of india’s population is dependent on the monsoon for their water 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 Don terms India’s economy ‘dead’ will take all steps to promote national interest, says Goyal India grins and bears the dead economy barb poke-man ‘Russian Oil trade a point of irritation’ I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care Donald Trump Trump is right, says Rahul India’s purchase of Russian oil is “a point of irritation” in New Delhi’s relationship with Washington, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday, adding that it is helping Moscow’s war efforts in Ukraine Endorsing Trump’s criticism of the Indian economy, Cong leader Rahul Gandhi said everybody except PM Modi knows India’s economy is ‘dead’. “Yes, he is right... I am glad that President Trump has stated a fact,” he said | P9 P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi EVEN as US President Donald Trump doubled down his attack on India calling it a ‘dead economy’, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal told Parliament on Thursday that India would take all necessary steps to safeguard and promote national interest. Goyal’s assertion came a day after Trump announced 25% tariffs on Indian goods plus an additional penalty for doing business with Russia, with effect from August 1. In a suo motu statement in both the Houses of Parliament, Goyal said the government is examining the implications of the US move and is engaged with all stakeholders, including exporters and industry , for taking feedback of their assessment of the situation. “The government attaches utmost importance to protecting and promoting the welfare of farmers, workers, entrepreneurs, exporters, MSMEs and all sections of industry We will . take all necessary steps to secure and advance our national interest,” he said. The minister also said that in just over a decade, India has emerged the fastest growing major economy in the world and it is expected to become the third largest in a few years. Though Opposition members demanded the government’s re- sponse on Trump’s remarks, Goyal’s statement did not find any mention of it. The Opposition MPs were referring to Trump’s attack on India and Russia for their bonhomie. “I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. We have done very little business with India, their tariffs are too high, among the highest in the world,” Trump said. In response to Trump’s take, Goyal said international institutions see India as a bright spot. “India is contributing to 16% of global growth. Our exports have steadily increased. In an increasingly protectionist world, India has done mutually beneficial trade pacts with UAE, UK, Australia and EFTA countries. We are committed to similar agreements with others,” he said. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said there was no discussion on the real issues such as failure to reach a trade deal with the US, the imposition of a 25% tariff on Indian exports, and additional punitive actions for trading with Russia and Iran. “The minister wasted time in self-praise. It is quite clear that India now faces new and bigger challenges with the US. The much-touted personal friendship that PM Modi relied on has proved to be completely hollow” Ramesh said. Experts dismiss Don deal on Pak’s oil reserves B a l a C hauhan @ Bengaluru After imposing 25% tariff on India, US President Donald Trump sought to rub it in, saying he had struck a deal with Pakistan to develop its ‘massive’ oil reserves. “Who knows, maybe they’ll be selling Oil to India some day!” he quipped. But strategic experts tracking Pakistan were not impressed. “It doesn’t impress anyone for there are no proven offshore or onshore oil reserves in Pakistan,” said Sharat Sabharwal, former Indian Foreign Service officer and former diplomat to Pakistan. Trump’s reference to the oil deal with Pakistan seems to be part of his effort to ratchet up pressure on India to get his trade deal, he said. The purported oil deal remains “unclear”, said Swathi Kalyani, geospatial researcher at Bengaluru-based think tank, The Takshashila Institution. “While there are claims about surveys done regarding offshore oil reserves in India, there is no publicly available data currently to validate the same for Pakistan... If we compare the proven oil reserves, India’s global position is 23rd, much ahead of Pakistan’s 52,” Kalyani said. Kalyani added that most of Pakistan’s operational oil fields are in its north but a signifi- cant number of gas fields are along the Indus, in the Balochistan region. Kalyani said oil mining will have wider consequences for the region and the dependent population. “With American investments coming in, Pakistan may end up facing collateral damage,” she added. “The well known oil reserve of Pakistan in the Indus basin is the Sari field (World Oil Map) discovered in 1966. It is spread across Sindh majorly, and remains in Balochistan. A 2017 report by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) regarding undiscovered oil reserves in the Lower Indus Basin, too, did not say anything about offshore reserves,” she added. Nuns are innocent, says tribal girl who accompanied them ‘willingly’ ‘Amit Shah has promised steps for nuns’ bail’ E j a z K aiser @ Raipur “Disheartened” by the arrest of two Catholic nuns on charges of human trafficking and forced religious conversion, one of the three tribal girls who were spotted with them at Chhattisgarh’s Durg railway station last week said the duo are “innocent” and called for their release. The two nuns — Sisters Preethy Mary and Vandana Francis — were taken into custody along with Sukman Mandvi last Friday by Government Railway Police following a demonstration and written complaint by Bajrang Dal activists, who found three tribal girls, aged between 18 and 21, accompanying them on their way to Agra. Speaking to TNIE by phone, Kamleshwari Pradhan, 21, admitted that she and the two other girls were travelling to Agra for training and employment with the consent of their parents. “The nuns should be released from jail and justice must prevail. No one was taking us by force. There was no allurement involved. We were travelling willingly,” Kamleshwari, who was initially hesitant to talk, stressed. On the question of forced religious conversion, Kam- Sr Preethy Mary Sr Vandana My family embraced Christianity some six years ago, so where does the question of forced religious conversion arise — Kamleshwari Pradhan leshwari, who completed her 10th grade, pointed out, “My family embraced Christianity some six years ago, so where does the question of forced religious conversion arise?” She said, “The statements we issued to the police were altered. When we questioned this, the officers said they were instructed [by Bajrang Dal activists] to do so.” Kamleshwari said she feels disheartened that the falsified statements led to the framing of cases of unlawful conversion and human trafficking. “All three of us were treated badly. We were slapped by a person named Jyoti Sharma and threatened with jail if we refused to follow directions,” Kamleshwari said.  ● More on P4 P ree t ha N air @ New Delhi With the government stepping in, the two Malayali nuns arrested in Chhattisgarh over charges of forced religious conversion and human trafficking are likely to get relief soon. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in a meeting with MPs from Kerala on Thursday, reportedly assured them that the government will take immediate steps to ensure bail for the nuns this week. Indian Union Muslim League MP Haris Beeran, who attended the meeting, told TNIE that Shah has directed that the trial court be approached again for bail for the nuns. The Home Minister also assured the MPs that the Chhattisgarh government will not oppose the bail application. Parallelly, the Chhattisgarh government and the legal team of the nuns will file an appeal in the High Court against the trial court’s decision denying ● More on P4 bail.  India’s oil reserves much ahead of Pak India’s recoverable oil reserves in 2023 were 4.9 billion barrels (US EIA). In 2024, the estimated crude oil reserves in India stood at 671.40 million tonnes. On the other hand, the known energy potential of Pakistan according to a 2023 report of the Ministry of Energy, Government of Pakistan, is just 1,228.955 million (1.2 billion) US barrels gdp growth could take 20-30 bps hit, say analysts B E N N K O C H U V E E D A N @ Mumbai IF the 25% tariff on Indian goods announced by US President Donald Trump is implemented from August 1, it could pull down India’s economic growth by 20-30 basis points (bps) in the current fiscal, say experts, adding that the effective rate could come down as the trade talks are still on. “We do not see the tariff threat impacting GDP growth meaningfully… at worst, the impact is 30 bps. We expect final tariffs to settle in lower than 25%, as trade talks are on,” said British brokerage Barclays. Elara Securities also expects a 30 bps drag on India’s GDP growth if there is no deal with the US. It added that the weakening rupee will be the first line of defence and thus the probability of a 50 bps rate cut in August has risen, which could cushion the economy against exter nal shocks. But as of now, the tariff is negative on the rupee, which is speculated to reach the 88.5-89 level against the dollar. According to Japanese brokerage Nomura Securities, the net impact of US tariff on India would be lower. “Taking into account sectoral exemptions, we estimate the effective tariff rate at 20% and this will be a 20 bps downside risk to the growth forecast for this fiscal,” Nomura economists Sonal Varma and Aurodeep Nandi said. Nomura has forecast India’s FY26 GDP growth at 6.2% with a downside risk of 20 bps. “Exports to the US account for just 2.2% of the GDP and in, clude pharma, smartphones, gems & jewellery, industrial machinery, auto components, textiles and iron & steel; most of which will likely face margin pressure,” it said. Aditi Raman, associate economist at Moody’s Analytics, said the US is India’s largest trade partner accounting for 18% of total exports. However, India’s economy is more domestically oriented than most of the region and relies far less on trade, she noted. In 2024, Indian exports to the US amounted to $81 billion. Pharma, gems and textiles are the most vulnerable sectors to the US tariff heat. State govt’s proposal to shift ‘summer’ vacation to ‘monsoon’ triggers debate S O V I V I D YA D H A R A N @T’Puram In a bid to address the loss of instructional days in schools owing to the monsoon havoc, the government has proposed shifting yearend vacation in April-May to JuneJuly. Wary of the intense debate such a radical shift would generate in society the government has ini, tiated a public discussion on the proposal. In a Facebook post, General Education Minister V Sivankutty sought the views of all stakeholders on the proposal. According to the minister, education experts have repeatedly flagged the loss of instructional days during the school reopening phase in June, when the monsoon sets in in the state. “We do not want an unnecessary furore and protest over the proposal. The government will take a decision only after arriving at a consensus with all stakeholders,” Sivankutty said. The use of school buildings as relief camps for many days and the declaration of holiday by district collectors at the eleventh hour owing to rain havoc in June -July have led to loss of up to 10 instructional days on average in worstaffected districts. According to official statistics, Kerala is among INSTRUCTIONAL DAYS Karnataka Gujarat Minimum as per Right To Education Act - 220 244 243 Uttar Pradesh 233 Andhra Pradesh 233 Kerala 220 the states with least number of instructional days. Meanwhile, education experts have highlighted the changes that such a proposal would entail in school education as well as college education that commences in June across the country . “National-level entrance examinations such as NEET and CUET are held in May for which students carry out hectic preparation immediately after the final exams in March. Changing the vacation schedule to June-July would mean students have to attend such entrance exams even before their final exam,” pointed out T P Sethumadhavan, education and career expert. Experts have also suggested alternatives to the proposal if ensuring sufficient instructional days ● More on P4 was the objective.  17 years later Court acquits all 7 accused in Malegaon blast S udhir S urya w anshi @ Mumbai Accused (from top) Pragya Singh Thakur, Lt Col Prasad Purohit, Major (retd) Ramesh Upadhyay, Sameer Kulkarni and Ajay Rahirkar Bike data Lahoti said chassis tampering of the bike used in the blast could not be established. Since forensic experts failed to fully recover its serial number, it could not be traced back to Pragya Thakur Seventeen years after the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast that killed six persons, a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Thursday acquitted all seven accused, including BJP leader and former Lok Sabha MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Colonel Prasad Purohit. Pronouncing the verdict, judge A K Lahoti stated, “Terror has no religion because no religion can advocate violence…. So, the judgment cannot be based on moral and public perceptions.” Significantly, NIA special public prosecutor Rohini Salian had in 2015 resigned claiming that the agency was going out of its way to water down the case and had been given standing instructions to go easy on the ‘Hindu terror’ accused. Judge Lahoti faulted the prosecution for failing to prove that the bike used in the blast belonged to Pragya Singh Thakur. “She became a sadhvi at least two years before the blast... no cogent material against her or any other accused,” the judge said. The court also noted that since no fingerprints or DNA samples were collected on time from the spot, the subsequent forensic report could not be relied upon as the evidence was contaminated. “There can be strong suspicion but mere suspicion is not enough to punish them. The high degree of suspicion is established but not enough to convict them,” the court said, adding it has given the accused the benefit of doubt. Lahoti also found no evidence to establish that Abhinav Bharat, an outfit founded by Pragya Thakur and Col Purohit, used its funds for terror activities. The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) initially investigated the case and arrested 12 people, including Pragya and Purohit under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). The case went to the NIA in 2011. While MCOCA was lifted against the accused after the NIA took over, Lahoti said two sanction orders for invoking the UAPA, passed by ACS-Home, were defective. “Sanction 197 was not required. Hence, UAPA cannot be invoked,” he said. EXPRESS READ Vedan booked for rape on doc’s complaint Kochi: Malayalam rapper Hirandas Murali, popularly known as Vedan, has landed in fresh legal trouble after a young doctor filed a rape complaint against him. The Thrikkakara police in Kochi registered a case against the 30-year-old singer from Thrissur on Wednesday. Vedan’s team has denied the allegations, with his manager saying that the matter will be dealt with legally. P5 16 pages, including 4 pages of THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Express