hyderabad l friday l august 22, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 36 l late city EDITION French President Macron dials Prime Minister narendra Modi The two leaders on Thursday discussed efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the war in Ukraine and Gaza conflict, apart from bilateral relations review of indo-france bilateral ties call for peaceful resolution of conflict The two leaders reviewed progress in bilateral cooperation, including in trade, defence, civil nuclear cooperation, technology and energy. “They reaffirmed joint commitment to strengthen India-France Strategic partnership and mark 2026 as ‘Year of Innovation’ in a befitting manner,” the PMO said. The call was initiated by the French side ■ ■ Macron was among a host of European leaders who accompanied Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his talks with US President Donald Trump this week in Washington DC Modi reiterated India’s consistent support for peaceful resolution of the conflicts and early restoration of peace and stability, PMO said 2026 is when india gets presidency of brics and france of g7 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 China firmly with India on Regulation panel to fix fees for pvt colleges Don’s unfair trade squeeze M e g h n a N at h @ Hyderabad Ambassador Xu Feihong says silence only emboldens the US bully J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi In a striking show of solidarity, Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong on Thursday condemned the United States’ recent tariff hike on Indian goods, calling it “bullying” and pledging that China “will firmly stand with India” against what he described as unfair trade practices. Speaking in New Delhi, Xu said Beijing “fully opposes” the US move, noting that tariffs on Indian goods could soar to 50% if Washington follows through on its 25% penalty for importing Russian oil and further escalation could still be on the table. “… the US has long benefited greatly from free trade but now uses tariffs as bargain chips to demand exorbitant prices from various countries. The US imposed tariffs of up to 50% on India, and has even threatened for more. China firmly opposes it. In the face of such acts, silence only emboldens the bully . China will firmly stand with India to uphold the multilateral trading system with the world trade,” he said. Xu’s unusually direct comments come at a time of heightened global trade tensions and just weeks ahead of Prime MinXu Feihong, Chinese envoy ister Narendra Modi’s visit to China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit. The Chinese envoy framed the US-India tariff row as an opportunity for Beijing and New Delhi to close ranks, urging both Asian powers to move beyond competition and build “strategic mutual trust.” “India and China are not rivals, we are partners. We must manage our differences through dialogue and strengthen cooperation,” Xu said. Pointing to the global implications of their relationship, Xu added: “India and China are the double engines of economic growth in Asia. Our unity benefits not only Asia, but the world at large.” He also emphasised the need for both countries to play a leading role in shaping a more equitable global order. “As major developing countries, India and China have a responsibility to promote a multipolar world. Unity and cooperation are the only way forward,” he said. no rationale behind penalty levy: Jaishankar J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi In a pointed diplomatic signal amid escalating US pressure, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday, reinforcing India’s strategic ties with Moscow even as Washington doubles down on tariffs and warnings over New Delhi’s energy trade with Russia. The high-level meeting, part of a broader effort to finalise President Putin’s visit to India year-end came hours after Jaishankar held wide-ranging discussions with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The talks focused heavily on boosting bilateral trade and shielding their energy partnership from potential US penalty . At a joint press briefing with Lavrov, Jaishankar publicly questioned the rationale behind reS Jaishankar, foreign minister cent US tariffs and criticism targeting India’s oil purchases from Russia. “We are not the biggest purchasers of Russian oil; that is China. We are not the biggest purchasers of LNG; that is the European Union. We are not the country which has the biggest trade surge with Russia after 2022; I think there are some countries to the South,” he said. The US recently imposed a punitive 25% reciprocal tariff on Indian goods, along with an additional 25% duty specifically targeting India’s Russian oil purchases. “We have done everything asked of us in the past to stabilise the global energy market, including buying oil from Russia,” Jaishankar noted, pointing out that India also imports significant volumes of oil from the US. “We believe that relations between India and Russia have been among the steadiest of the major relationships in the world after the Second World War,” Jaishankar said. The state gover nment on Thursday authorised the Telangana Admission and Fee Regulation Committee (TAFRC) to fix fees for private unaided professional colleges. The committee has also introduced new parameters, including scrutiny of colleges’ fee structures, rankings, quality of education and internal quality assurance systems. The amendment follows the constitution of a 10-member expert committee headed by TGCHE chair man Prof V Balakista Reddy. The committee was tasked with revising parameters for fee fixation after the state’s fee regulatory body flagged that the current proposals for the 2025–28 block period deviated from legal guidelines. The committee was asked to submit a detailed report within six weeks. To ensure accuracy and depth, four subcommittees — Legal and Best Practices, Infrastructure, Academic, and Accounts & Audit — were formed. After review, a comprehensive report was submitted to the government, paving the way for fee fixation from the next academic year. Prof Balakista said the ear- lier model was focused mainly on income and expenditure, but the revised framework includes factors such as college ranking, placements and academic performance. “We have discussed with subcommittees, analysed the details and submitted our report. Based on this, the government issued GO MS No. 33,” he said. A senior official said the TAFRC will call for proposed fee structures from each institution in advance, along with supporting documents hearings from Aug 25 Around 160 colleges will be covered in personal hearings on BE/BTech fee structure in private unaided colleges from August 25 to September 3, with sessions at 11 am and 2.30 pm daily. Tollywood strike ends on CM push B H H a r s h @ Hyderabad The Telugu film workers’ strike that began on August 4 came to an end on Thursday, August 21, after negotiations between producers and employees’ unions. The stakeholders also agreed on a wage hike for workers. The announcement was made at a joint press meet by representatives of the Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce (TFCC) and the Telugu Film Industry Employees’ Federations (TFIEF), in the presence of Telangana State Film Development Corporation (TFDC) chairman Dil Raju and additional labour commissioner Gangadhar Eslavath. Sources said Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy was keen on a resolution, given his vision for the film industry. Backchannel talks were held, and the deadlock was broken following his intervention. Dil Raju told the media, “CM Relief for workers  Of the total 24 unions, 13 fall under low-wage category  Hike for low-wage workers: 15% (Year 1) + 2.5% (Year 2) + 5% (Year 3) = 22.5% total  Workers earning `2K–`5K daily wage: 7.5% (Year 1) + 5% (Year 2) + 5% (Year 3) Revanth Reddy requested us to treat this matter with urgency and provide a quick resolution. He has a strong vision that film shoots of the entire Indian film industry should continue to happen in Hyderabad in a healthy manner. Taking his views into consideration, we take it as our responsibility to develop Hyderabad as a film hub.” TFCC secretary KL Damodar Prasad added, “We want to thank CM Revanth Reddy for his intervention in this matter. If not for him, one wonders how long the strike would have continued.” Eslavath explained the terms of settlement. Of the 24 unions, 13 fall under the low-wage category. For them, producers agreed to a 15% hike in the first year, followed by 2.5% and 5% hikes over the next two years, totalling 22.5%. For workers with daily wages between `2,000 and `5,000, the hike will be 7.5% in the first year and 5% each in the next two years. He said a committee would be constituted to resolve other issues concerning small films within a month. He confirmed that the 1.5 call-sheet system will apply to big films on all Sundays, while for small films, it will be implemented only on the second and fourth Sundays. Both parties also agreed to the producers’ request to hire crew members from outside. GoM supports GST rejig but seeks revenue loss solution P U SHPITA DEY @ New Delhi Farmers wait in a queue for urea in Kuravi of Mahbubabad district on Thursday Multiple factors behind shortage of urea in state M a n da Rav i n d e r R e d dy @ Hyderabad Farmlands in Telangana are running short of urea at the peak of Kharif, sparking a fierce political battle between Congress, BRS and BJP The scarci. ty driven by factors like delays , in imports, rising consumption, expansion of cultivation, black marketing and disruptions in domestic production, has left farmers anxious even as political leaders play the blame game. According to official data, the Union government allocated 9.8 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of urea to Telangana for Kharif 2025, of which 8.3 LMT was required till August. However, the state has so far received only 5.42 LMT, leaving a shortfall of 2.88 LMT. Officials pointed out that several states are facing similar shortages due to global supply constraints. Rising natural gas prices have pushed up international prices, while supply chain disruptions caused by tensions in West Asia worsened the crisis. Adding to this, China has curtailed fertiliser exports to India in recent years. Meanwhile, some reports suggest that China has eased curbs on urea shipments to India. Telangana Agriculture Minister Thummala Nageswara Rao accused the Centre of failing to import urea from China despite urgent demand. Domestic production, too, has been inconsistent. Ramagundam Fertilisers and Chemicals Limited (RFCL) has functioned on only 78 out of 145 scheduled days between April and August due to gas leaks and technical glitches. The Talcher Fertiliser Plant in Odisha has been running below capacity while Na, garjuna Fertilisers and Chemicals has not been producing urea at all. continued on p4 The Group of Ministers (GoM) on rate rationalisation on Thursday accepted the Centre’s proposal to simplify the GST into a two-slab structure of 5% and 18%. However, it sought ways to make up for the revenue loss from the GST rejig. “When states lose revenue, E x p r e s s Re a d HC seeks clarity on PC Ghose Commission report release Hyderabad: The high court directed the A-G to obtain instructions from the govt on whether it intends to act on the Commission report on KLIS now or after placing it before the Assembly | P3 5 of family from Karnataka die in suspected suicide pact Five members of a family from Kalaburagi district were found dead at their residence here on Thursday in what police suspect to be a suicide pact | p5 that ultimately affects har deputy CM Samrat the common people,” Choudhary and has said West Bengal’s fimembers from UP, Ranance minister Chanjasthan, West Bengal, drima Bhattacharya. Karnataka, and Kerala. Finance Minister Under the revamp Nirmala Sitharaman, plan, essential goods Nirmala who addressed the will attract 5% GST and GoM, stressed the need Sitharaman, FM most of the rest the for rationalisation to standard 18% rate. provide relief to the common “A 40% GST on luxury and man. The GoM is chaired by Bi- sin goods has been proposed. Govt expedites disciplinary action against erring employees Express News S ervi ce @ Hyderabad The state gover nment on Thursday announced a time schedule to expedite disciplinary cases against government employees. Observing that considerable time was being consumed in processing such files at various levels, the government felt it necessary to ensure prompt action while following due procedure. Chief Secretary K Ramakrishna Rao issued fresh guidelines through GO 175. Recently the Vigilance Com, mission had recommended action against 57 engineers, both serving and retired. As per the latest order, there should be no undue delay between the occurrence of an offence or irregularity and the framing of charges. Preliminary investigation or enquiry should be completed quickly and if seri, ous lapses are revealed, charges must be framed without delay . The government also directed that the disciplinary cases initiated against the employees shall be dealt with on a priority basis to avoid delay. The connected file shall not be held back by the officers concerned for more than three days and whenever the files are circulated to ministers, they need to clear them within a week.   continued on p5 NDA allies JD(U), TDP cagey on bills to remove arrested ministers PREETHA NAIR @ New Delhi The NDA’s key allies TDP and JD(U) appear to be treading cautiously on the three bills that seek to remove PM, CMs and ministers under arrest for 30 consecutive days on serious charges. The bills have been sent to a Joint Committee of Parliament (JPC) comprising 31 members for further scrutiny . When asked about the party’s stand on the contentious bills, JD (U) MP Sanjay Kumar Jha declined to state the party position. “The party is yet to discuss the issue. I cannot give an official statement now,” he said. Another JD(U) leader said the party will discuss the issue as it has been referred to the JPC. While the Opposition parties allege that the bill is to keep allies Nitish Kumar and N Chandrababu Naidu in check, the TDP dismissed such claims. When asked about the bill, TDP leader and Union Minister Rammohan Naidu said the bill will be studied at the JPC and the concerns will be addressed, if there are any . “When Vote Chori is on everyone’s minds, When Rahul- Gandhi ji’s Yatra is getting unparalleled support, When Opposition Governments need to be targeted, When allies like Chandrababu Naidu garu and Nitish Kumar ji need to be threatened… The Home Minister brings this dangerous Bill that strikes at the heart of the Constitutional principles of federalism,” Congress member KC Venugopal posted on social media. Opposition V-P poll candidate Sudershan Reddy files papers PREETHA NAIR @ New Delhi RFCL urea production delayed by one more week Peddapalli: Urea production at Ramagundam Fertilisers and Chemicals Limited, which has been halted for the past few days due to technical problems, may take another week to resume. Authorities had earlier said the production would restart by Friday or Saturday. Sources said a permanent repair would cost `200 crore, which needs high-level committee approval. Otherwise, only temporary repairs may be carried out | P4 But it’s too early to say anything about revenue loss,” said Suresh Kumar Khanna, finance minister of UP . The next GST Council meeting, expected to be held in September, will take up the proposal for GST overhaul. The GoM on insurance that met on Wednesday proposed exempting health and life insurance premiums from GST. and accounts. College managements will also have to submit a notarised affidavit affirming the accuracy of the data provided. Any distortion of facts will invite penal action. The TAFRC will be free to approve or modify proposed fees, giving weightage to factors such as quality of education, student progression (attendance, academic perfor mance, placements), adoption of best practices (facial-recognition attendance, Aadhaar-authenticated payments), promotion of research and innovation, start-ups, publications, awards, national and international rankings, and alignment with the state’s perspective plan for technical education. B Sudershan Reddy files his nomination papers in Delhi on Thursday as Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Sharad Pawar look on | PTI THE battle lines for the upcoming Vice Presidential election were drawn on Thursday when the Opposition’s pick former Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy filed his nomination papers. In a show of strength, several top Opposition leaders, including Congress’ Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, SP leader Ramgopal Yadav, DMK’s Tiruchi Siva, TMC’s Satabdi Roy, Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Sanjay Raut and CPI(M)’s John Brittas accompanied Reddy during the filing of nomination papers. The elections will be held on September 9, where Reddy will face NDA candidate Maharashtra Governor C P Radhakrishnan. After filing his papers, the retired judge said if elected, he would discharge the role with impartiality, dignity, and a steadfast commitment to dialogue and decorum. Later in the evening, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal called on Reddy at his Delhi residence and said his party will support his candidature. The electoral college for the vice presidential election comprises members of both Houses of Parliament. Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha can also cast their votes. The effective strength of the electoral college is 781 and the majority mark is 391. Justice Reddy’s judicial career is very inspiring... such a person will be helpful for the vice-president’s post, and I request everyone to vote for him, keeping party affiliations aside —Arvind Kejriwal, AAP