thirteen-year-long Test career comes to an end Pujara, who last played for India in the 2023 World Test Championship final, announced his retirement on Sunday. “Wearing the Indian jersey, singing the anthem, and trying my best each time I stepped on the field - it’s impossible to put into words what it truly meant. But as they say, all good things must come to an end, and with immense gratitude I have decided to retire from all forms of Indian cricket,” the 37-year-old posted on social media I P11 vijayawada l monday l august 25, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION 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 First flight-test of home-grown air New India-Japan defence weapon system successful framework on AI, economic security India’s air defence shield poised to get major upgrade to defend against aerial threats M AYA N K S I N G H @ New Delhi IN a big boost to India’s air defence capabilities, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully conducted the maiden flight-test of the Integrated Air Defence Weapon System (IADWS), the Ministry of Defence said on Sunday . IADWS is a multi-layered air defence system comprising the quick reaction surface to air missiles (QRSAM), very short range air defence system (VSHORADS) missiles, and a high-power laser-based directed energy weapon (DEW). The indigenous air defence system was flight-tested at 1230 hours off the coast of Odisha on Saturday “During the flight. tests, three different targets including two high-speed fixedwing unmanned aerial vehicle targets and a multi-copter drone were simultaneously en- Navy, Coast Guard to get 76 helicopters DRDO conducts maiden flight-tests of Integrated Air Defence Weapon System | PTI gaged and destroyed completely by the QRSAM, VSHORADS and High Energy Laser weapon system at different ranges and altitudes,” the defence ministry said. It added that all the weapon system components, including the missile systems express read Pension notice leads to tragedy in Srikakulam Tallest Matti Ganapathi in South India Srikakulam: A couple, Kolli AppaRao (40) and Lalitha (35), took their own lives, after facing financial crisis. AppaRao, a blind person, lost his job as a lecturer and relied on a monthly pension of Rs 6,000. He received a notice canceling his pension, leading to the tragic decision | P3 Guntur: Guntur is set to host a 99-feet tall eco-friendly Matti Ganapathi idol, the tallest in South India, on Vinayaka Chaviti. Crafted from sacred clay from the Ganga’s banks, the idol promotes sustainable celebrations. Over 120 artisans worked for 21 days to create the structure | P3 and drone detection and destruction system, command and control mechanism along with communication and radars, performed “flawlessly”. The performance of the system was confirmed by the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur. The The Ministry of Defence on Sunday issued a Request for Information (RFI) to procure 76 naval utility helicopters for the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard. Fiftyone helicopters will go to the Navy and the remaining for the Coast Guard. These twin-engine choppers, which will replace the Chetak helicopters, will be procured under ‘Buy and Make (India)’ category. RFI is the first step in the procurement process missiles intercepted and neutralised the indigenously developed, SHIKRA aerial targets, manufactured by Anadrone Systems. These targets fly at high speeds of 650 kmph with operational altitude of 9000m and ranges up to 200 km. J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi india and Japan are in the process of finalising a new bilateral framework to strengthen cooperation in economic security with a focus on securing , stable supply chains for critical goods coinciding with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Japan on August 29 and 30. The framework is expected to cover key sectors including semiconductors, essential minerals, communications, clean energy, artificial intelligence (AI), and pharmaceuticals, sources said. Both sides are also preparing to announce a dedicated AI Cooperation Initiative, aimed at supporting collaboration between startups and tech firms in the emerging artificial intelligence space. The initiative aims to pro- mote ties between Japanese and Indian firms. “Such cooperation is a win-win and mutually beneficial and can contribute to the growth of the Japanese economy,” a source said. The announcement is set to coincide with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to Japan. Modi may also travel to Sendai to see an experimental bullet train and visit a leading chipmaking equipment manufacturer. Japan is home to major players in the global semiconductor industry, including Kioxia, Renesas Electronics, Sony Semiconductor Solutions, and Toshiba Electronic Devices. Sendai, where Modi is expected to visit, is part of a region that has been increasingly focusing on semiconductor innovation, positioning itself as a hub for next-generation tech. `40 Cr Scam: Diagnostics firm accused, probe ordered S T r im u r th u l u @ Kakinada The Director of Medical Education (DME), Dr. DSVL Narasimham, has ordered a probe into allegations that SL Diagnostics Private Limited, a Hyderabad-based company, collected `300 to 900 per CT scan film from patients across four government hospitals in Kakinada, Tirupati, Anantapur, and Visakhapatnam over the past five years. It is estimated that the amount collected illegally might exceed `40 crore. As per a 2017 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the previous TDP government, the state agreed to pay SL Diagnostics `799 per scan. The company was responsible for installing CT machines and equipment, while the hospitals provided infrastructure. Although the company adhered to the agreement for three years, sources claim that it deviated from the terms in 2020 under the management of Bonam Satish. Satish, who was appointed at Kakinada’s unit, allegedly manipulated records by billing the gover nment `2,397 for three scans instead of `799 for one. This inflated the monthly bills at Kakinada Government General Hospital P4 (GGH) to `20-24 lakh. BJP, JD(U) to contest equal number of seats in Bihar r amashanka r @ Patna SEAT-sharing talks between allies of the NDA for the upcoming Bihar assembly election are in the final stages with sources pointing towards BJP and JD(U) expected to contest an equal number of seats, likely around 100 each. However, both parties are likely to face a challenge in satisfying smaller allies like Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustan Awam Morcha (HAM), which are demanding 40 and 20 seats, respectively . A senior LJP (RV) leader on a condition of anonymity said, “We have made it clear to contest not less than 40 seats in the elections.” Even if Chirag’s LJP (RV) relents, it is not expected to contest less than 30 seats, sources added. On the other hand, a senior HAM leader said, “My party would not settle for less than 20 seats. We should not be offered fewer seats than what LJP gets. We have four legislators in the state assembly while the LJP has none.” Bihar JD(U) president Umesh Kushwaha confir med seatsharing talks are underway, and it will be finalised at the appropriate time. Sources said the seat-sharing negotiations among NDA allies is likely to be finalised either by the end of August or the first week of September.