TIRUNELVELI l thursday l august 07, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l city EDITION RBI keeps repo rate unchanged at at 5.5% with a ‘neutral’ stance The six-member Monetary Policy Committee, headed by RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra, decided to maintain the repurchase rate at current level GDP growth forecast retained at 6.5% UPI not free, someone is paying costs: Guv RBI maintained India’s GDP growth forecast at 6.5% for FY26. “Despite a challenging external environment, economy is navigating a steady growth path with price stability. Monetary policy has appropriately used the policy space created by the benign inflation outlook to support growth without compromising on the primary objective of price stability,” Malhotra said ■ ■ RBI also revised its inflation forecast lower by 60 bps to 3.1% Malhotra said while the popular Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is free for users, someone is covering the operational expenses. UPI payment services cannot remain free forever but it’s for the government to decide who should foot the bill, RBI guv added | P14 19.47 BN UPI TRANSACTIONS WORTH `25.08 lakh RECORDED IN jULY, ACCORDING TO NPCI DATA 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 SCO summit Modi set to visit China this month J ayanth J acob @ New Delhi IN a major diplomatic move aimed at recalibrating ties with China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit Tianjin, China from August 31 to September 1 to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. This marks his first trip to the country since the 2020 Galwan Valley clash that strained IndiaChina relations. The PM is likely to travel to Japan first for a bilateral meeting. From there, he will fly to China, sources said. This will be Modi’s first visit to China since 2019. His last direct interaction with Chinese President Xi Jinping took place on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan in October 2024, where both leaders acknowledged the need to stabilise Narendra Modi ties and prioritise peace along the Line of Actual Control. “Maintaining peace and tranquillity over the border should remain our priority Modi had ,” told Xi during that meeting. Xi, in turn, had emphasised the need for “more communication and cooperation”. The upcoming SCO summit will be held against a complex geopolitical backdrop. India faces intense pressure from the US and other Western partners over its oil trade with Russia. The summit is expected to focus on terrorism, regional security, and economic cooperation among its 10 member states, including China, Russia, India, Pakistan, and newly joined Belarus. DOUBLE TRUMP-LE It is extremely unfortunate that the US should impose additional tariffs on India for actions that several other countries are also taking in their own national interest Trump slaps additional 25% tariff on Indian products, taking the total to 50%; new levy to kick in from Aug 27; Ministry of External Affairs terms it unfair, unjustified D I PA K M O N D A L & J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi US President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order to double the tariff on Indian goods, taking it to 50%, in response to New Delhi’s ‘continued purchase of Russian oil’. The additional 25% tariff will kick in from August 27, while the 25% tariff on Indian products announced earlier is scheduled to take effect from August 7. “India is directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil. Accordingly, and as consistent with applicable law, articles of India imported into the customs territory of the United States shall be subject to an additional ad valorem rate of duty of 25%,” the executive order read. The order says any other country importing Russian crude directly or indirectly might face a similar fate. However, India seems to have been singled as it has been handed the highest tariff. No other country apart from Bra, zil, has got a 50% tariff burden. The tariff on China, which imported $62.6 billion worth of Russian oil in 2024 compared with India’s $52.7 billion, is only 34%. The Trump administration, however, justified the tariffs as part of its broader response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine. India reacted sharply to the tariff action, calling it “unfair, unjustified, and unreasonable.” The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said India’s energy imports were driven by market realities and national interest. “The United States has in recent days targeted India’s oil imports from Russia. We have already made clear our position… our imports are based on market factors and aimed at ensuring energy security for 1.4 billion Indians,” said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, adding: “India will take all necessary steps to protect its national interests.” The additional tariff would not be applicable on goods categorised under Annexure II of April 2, 2025. These goods include metals like steel, copper and other base metals, semiconductor, pharma, etc. However, this puts India in a disadvantageous position as many ASEAN and Asian economies have much lower tariffs of 15-20%. Analysts expect the higher tariff would result in Indian exports to the US, which is the biggest buyer of Indian goods accounting for 20% goods exports, falling by a massive 40-50% in FY26. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal New Delhi’s diplomacy in action Tariff on India is the peak US levy on any country in the world. The tariff on China, a bigger importer of Russian oil, is just 34% No idea about US imports from Russia, says Trump US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he was not aware of the fact that the US was importing a number of products including uranium and fertilisers from Russia. “I don’t know anything about it. I have to check, but we’ll get back to you then,” he said in response to a question by a reporter about the US imports of fertilisers, uranium, and chemicals from Russia. “President, India says that the US imports Russian uranium, chemicals, fertilisers while criticising their (Indian) energy imports. Your response to that, sir?” the reporter had asked NSA Ajit Doval is currently in Russia to discuss defence cooperation and energy ties. Doval’s visit will be followed by a broader diplomatic engagement with foreign minister S Jaishankar’s visit in the third week of August Goods in transit exempt The executive order says all Indian imports will face a 25% ad valorem tariff on top of existing duties. The new tariff will take effect after 21 days, on August 27. Goods already in transit before that date will be exempt, if they reach US before September 17 SSI tries to solve family dispute, hacked to death police station and a native of Udumalaipet, was on patrol duty A Special Sub-Inspector of Po- when he received a call about a lice (SSI), M Shanmugavel (57), family dispute turning violent. was brutally hacked to death late Moorthy (65), and his elder on Tuesday night while sons Manikandan and attempting to resolve a Thangapandian of dispute between a man Dindigul, were residing and his two sons at a coand working on the cococonut farm owned by an nut farm owned by MaAIADMK MLA in Sikkadathukulam MLA C Manuthu village near Gudihendran. On Tuesday, mangalam in Tiruppur. around 11 pm, a drunken Six special police M Shanmugavel brawl among them teams have been formed turned violent when to nab the three suspects who Manikandan attacked Moorthy are on the run and a solatium of with a sickle. Hearing of this, `1 crore has been announced for the MLA dialed Gudimangalam the officer’s family The officer, SI Saravana Kumar, who alerted . attached to the Gudimangalam Shanmugavel.  P7 P S R I N I V A S A N @ Tiruppur 34 All over in 34 seconds secs was all the swollen Khirganga river took to swallow Dharali (pic) in Uttarkashi 140+ people evacuated so far, 15 of them residents of Dharali | P10 230 families resided in Dharali. Most of them were away at a mela in Mukhwa. It saved their lives 9 Army personnel still missing in Harsil village First draft treaty text by Friday, ‘scope’ remains contentious in closed-door talks TNIE in Switzerland S V Krishna Chaitanya @ geneva A first consolidated draft text of the global plastics treaty is expected to emerge by Friday as the contact groups work around the clock to bridge entrenched differences. But behind closed doors, the definition of the treaty’s “scope” —particularly the interpretation of the “full life cycle of plastics” — remains a flashpoint in negotiations, according to sources privy to Contact Group 1 (CG1) discussions. Speaking to this newspaper, on the sidelines of an informal meeting with Indian industry representatives on Wednesday , Ambassador Luis Vayas Valdivieso, Chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC), maintained a diplomatic stand when asked whether the definition of the full life cycle was being revisited amid mounting tensions. He replied: “Negotiations are going. You have seen what’s happening in the contact group... My job as Chair is to keep the negotiations on track... What the text will say on August 14 is up to the members.” The Chair said he had requested a compiled text by Friday to serve as a working draft, while maintaining momentum in the contact groups. “We are still negotiating. The idea is to assemble a text with provisions that have a high level of convergence, while continuing informal work on the more difficult issues,” he said, emphasising that the treaty must be forward-looking, credible, and flexible. The stocktake, expected after the release of the draft, will help negotiators assess how far they have come and identify the remaining areas of divergence. The ambiguity over the scope of the treaty stems from a fundamental disagreement: what constitutes the full life cycle of plastics?  SC junks HC order banning use of CM name in schemes E x pr e s s N e w s S e r v ic e @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Wednesday quashed the Madras High Court’s interim order that restrained the Tamil Nadu government from using Chief Minister M K Stalin’s name and image in the ‘Ungaludan Stalin’ welfare outreach programme. Terming the plea by AIADMK MP C Ve Shanmugam “totally misconceived” and an abuse of process of law, the apex court imposed a `10 lakh fine on him, to be paid to the state within a week. A threejudge bench led by Chief Justice of India B R Gavai, and comprising Justices K Vinod Chandran and N V Anjaria, said the practice of naming welfare schemes after political leaders is common across the country, and selectively challenging one such scheme reflects political motive rather than genuine concern. “We do not appreciate the anxiety of the petitioner to choose only one political party and one political leader,” the bench observed. “If the peti- Petitioner fined `10L Terming the petition by AIADMK MP C Ve Shanmugam “totally misconceived” and an abuse of process of law, the apex court imposed a `10 lakh fine on him, to be paid to the state within a week tioner was so concerned about the misuse of public funds, he could have challenged all such schemes.” The court noted that even during the AIADMK’s tenure, many schemes were branded after CM J Jayalalithaa as “Amma” initiatives. Senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the DMK and the state government respectively cited , similar schemes in support of their case.  Bihar poll rolls SC seeks detailed ECI info on 65L deletions E x pr e s s N e w s S e r v ic e @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought a response from the Election Commission of India (ECI) on allegations that it failed to disclose details of 65 lakh voters removed from Bihar’s electoral rolls during a Special Intensive Revision (SIR). A bench of justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan and N K Singh issued a notice on an application filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for ADR, claimed the ECI had not made public the names or reasons behind the deletions in the draft roll published on August 1. “The draft roll says 65 lakh voters’ names have been omitted. They have not given a list of those names. They say people are dead, have migrated... They should disclose who the 65 lakh,” Bhushan submitted. He also questioned whether the deletions were made with proper oversight from Booth Level Officers (BLOs). The ECI’s claimed the draft rolls had indeed been shared with political party representatives as per the laid down procedure. “If you have supplied [the list], please give a list of parties to whom you have, so that Bhushan’s client can collect information from those authorised representatives,” Justice Kant said. He directed the poll body to file its detailed reply by Saturday. e x p r e ss r e a d SL navy arrests 14 TN fishers, seizes two boats ED fined over delay in filing counter affidavits RAMANATHAPURAM: The Lankan Navy on Wednesday impounded two boats and arrested 14 TN fishermen from Ramnad for allegedly violating IMBL. Fishers were taken to Kankesanthurai and Puthalam for investigation. CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has imposed costs of `10,000 each, for three petitions, on the ED for failing to file counter affidavits to petitions moved by a film producer and businessman in the alleged Tasmac scam | P4 no way out Quarry ring-fences family of 11 on farmland B a g ala v an P e ri e r B @ Villupuram Surrounded by deep quarries and stone crushers, a lone patch of green now feels like a prison. A family of 11, including four school-going children and an elderly woman, has been stuck for the past one week in the isolated land where they have farmed and lived for decades in Nalmukkal village, around 15 km from Tindivanam, after a quarry owner blocked all access routes by erecting fences as part of an alleged tactic to pressurise them into selling their property . The seven-acre plot owned by brothers E Selvam (47) and E E Selvam and E Ravichandran along with other members of their family | Sriram R Ravichandran (51) is located a kilometre from the main village where around 700 families live. The quarry owner, K Paramasivam, has bought all adja- cent parcels of land, including a few leased earlier by the brothers for cultivation, by paying prices disproportionately higher than the market value. Last week, he fenced off a mud road – the family’s last remaining access to the outside world – effectively marooning them. “He has quarried most of the land to the maximum extent possible, some to depths beyond 300 feet. Now he wants our land too, since stones are found just 10 feet below the surface. But we are firm not to sell since this was bought by our father 60 years ago and it has fed us ever since,” said Ravichandran. The family, including the wives of two brothers, their mom and sister, cultivates paddy, watermelon, and seasonal rainfed crops.