VIJAYAWADA  TUESDAY  NOVEMBER 18, 2025  `9.00  PAGES 12  LATE CITY EDITION 16th FINANCE COMMISSION SUBMITS REPORT TO PRESIDENT MURMU The 16th Finance Commission on Monday submitted its report on devolution of taxes between the Centre and states to the President FISCAL ROADMAP FOR NEXT FIVE YEARS REPORT CLOSELY WATCHED BY STATES Members of the commission, led by chairman Dr Arvind Panagariya, handed over the report to President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The 16th Finance Commission was constituted on December 31, 2023, with a mandate to determine the formula for the states’ share of central taxes and the grants-in-aid for five financial years from 2026–27 ■ ■ A majority of states had asked the commission to increase their share of central taxes to 50% from the current 41% The commission has also reviewed the present arrangements for financing disaster management initiatives with reference to the funds constituted under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 Four MEMBERS IN THE 16TH FINANCE COMMISSION 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 45 Indians killed in Saudi bus crash The trial in absentia is a farce orchestrated by a kangaroo court controlled by opponents — Sheikh Hasina B A L A K R I S H N A V V & J AYA N T H J A C O B @ Hyderabad/New Delhi The conviction affirms a fundamental principle: no one, regardless of power, is above the law Md Yunus, Interim adviser Protesters outside Mujibur Rahman’s home in Dhaka after the verdict | PTI It’s death for Hasina Bangladesh seeks extradition of ex-PM from India after conviction J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi BANGLADESH’s de posed prime minister Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal for crimes against humanity committed during last year’s July Uprising, a student-led revolt that culminated in her ouster. Former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, now a fugitive, received the same sentence, while former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah AlMamun, who turned approver was handed five years prison. The tribunal also ordered the confiscation of properties belonging to Hasina and Kamal. The three-member bench, led by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder, began delivering the 453-page judgement shortly after noon amid sweeping security measures across Dhaka. Hasina, 78, was tried in her absence. She is living in exile in India to source 10% of annual LPG imports from the US India. Prosecutors filed five counts against the trio including failure to prevent murder and sought the maximum punishment. Hasina, represented by a lawyer, denied all charges and earlier dismissed the proceedings as a “foregone conclusion.” Her son and adviser Sajeeb Wazed told news agency Reuters they would not appeal unless a democratically elected government took office with Awami League participation. The judgment is appealable in the Supreme Court, though Hasina’s absence might complicate the legal process ahead. In her first response to the sentence, Hasina dismissed the verdict and said the death sentence exposes the “murderous intent” of extremist elements within the interim government. “The verdicts announced against me have been made by EXPRESS READ Annadata: `3,135 cr to be released tomorrow Vijayawada: The State government will deposit `3,135 crore into the accounts of 46.85 lakh farmers on November 19 under the second installment of the Annadata Sukhibhava–PM Kisan scheme. Each eligible farmer will receive `7,000, including `2,000 from the Centre and `5,000 from the State. CM Chandrababu Naidu will participate in the Statelevel event at Kamalapuram | P4 R A K E S H K U M A R @ New Delhi AMID pressure from the US to fix the imbalance in bilateral trade, India’s state-owned oil companies have finalised a oneyear contract to import 2.2 million tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from the US. Announcing the contract on Monday Union petroleum min, ister Hardeep Singh Puri said 10% of India’s annual LPG imports in 2026 will be sourced from the US Gulf Coast. This is the first structured contract for US LPG in the Indian market. The deal also comes at a time when India cut oil imports from Russia due to US sanctions on two largest Russian oil firms— Rosneft and Lukoil—which had been major suppliers to India. “One of the largest and the world’s fastest-growing LPG markets opens up to the United States. In our endeavour to provide secure and affordable supplies of LPG to the people of India, we have been diversifying our LPG sourcing,” Puri said in a social media post. India is one of the world’s largest LPG consumers, primarily used for household cooking. With domestic production covering just 35% of demand, India relies on imports. After the US imposed 50% tariffs on Indian goods, New Delhi diversified its crude oil purchases to West Asia and the US. In fact, India has substantially increased its energy imports from the US, including crude, LNG, and now LPG. a rigged tribunal established and presided over by an unelected government with no democratic mandate. They are biased and politically motivated ... they reveal the brazen and murderous intent of extremist figures within the interim government to remove Bangladesh’s last elected prime minister, and to nullify the Awami League as a political force,” Hasina said in a statement. Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry has requested that India hand over former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, describing her as a “fugitive accused”. India on Monday said it noted the verdict and that it will engage constructively with all stakeholders considering peace, democracy and stability in the neighbouring country.. “As a close neighbour, India remains committed to the best interests of the people of Bangladesh, including in peace, democracy inclusion and stabili, ty in that country it said. ,” NSTR launches plan to boost tiger prey base Ongole: The Forest department is preparing a major grassland development programme in the Nagarjuna Sagar–Srisailam Tiger Reserve (NSTR) to increase populations of deer, sambar, chinkara and other herbivores essential for sustaining tigers. Despite spanning 5.95 lakh hectares, Nallamala forests host only around 18,000 herbivores— insufficient for long-term ecological balance. Experts say NSTR can support up to 300 tigers, but prey shortages limit growth | P4 As many as 44 Umrah pilgrims from Hyderabad, including 18 from one family, and one from Karnataka were charred to death near Madinah in Saudi Arabia when a diesel tanker collided with the bus in which they were travelling, triggering a massive fire. A group of 54 pilgrims flew from Hyderabad to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia on November 9 and was to retur n on November 23. Forty-six of them were on the bus and only one survived. Of the remaining eight, four chose to travel separately to Madinah, and the other four stayed in Makkah. The victims include 18 members of a family across three generations. Of the 18, nine were children. The accident happened at around 1.30 am near Mufrihat, about 25 km from Madinah. The bus had stopped on the side of a road when an oil tanker rammed into it, resulting in an explosion and a fire that engulfed the bus, sources said. The one pilgrim who survived the crash is currently receiving treatment at a hospital. The Consulate General al of India in Jeddah has established a 24×7 emergency helpline (See box). Telangana Minority Welf are Minister Mohd Azharuddin met the families of the victims. . ch “We are in constant touch with Saudi authorities and s are extending all possible assistance to the families. Our priority is to help the relatives in every way he said. ,” As the bodies were charred beyond recognition, the Saudi authorities are likely to conduct DNA tests. A team led by Azharuddin will fly to Saudi Arabia soon along with relatives of the victims. The Telangana government TERROR PLOT PROBE Another Umar aide planned drone attacks EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE@ New Delhi/Chandigarh/Srinagar THE conspirators of the Red Fort blast in Delhi were planning to weaponise drones with explosives and rockets, officials of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said on Monday a day af, ter arresting a key associate of alleged suicide bomber Dr Umar un Nabi. Jasir Bilal Wani aka Danish, a Kashmiri resident, was arrested from Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday NIA officials . RED D FORT T found during investiATTACK K gations that Jasir had allegedly provided technical support for carrying out terror attacks by modifying drones and attempting to make rockets ahead of the deadly blast near Red Fort that killed 15 people in total, as of Monday . “The accused, a resident of Qazigund in Anantnag, was an active co-conspirator behind the attack and had worked closely with Umar un Nabi to plan the carnage,” NIA said. The agency told a Delhi court that another key accused, Amir Rashid Ali, arrested on Sunday, arranged a safe house and provided logistical support to the bomber. Meanwhile, Delhi Police summoned Javed Ahmad Siddiqui, chairman of Al Falah University, for questioning. Siddiqui’s statement is key to resolve inconsistencies in Al-Falah’s functioning and activities of those linked to it. AP CS unhappy over neglect of welfare hostels, warns officials of stringent action EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Vijayawada CHIEF Secretary K Vijayanand has expressed strong dissatisfaction over recurring incidents in welfare hostels and questioned the accountability of hostel wardens. Taking stock of the public perception and the performance of various departments during a review from the RTGS Centre at the State Secretariat on Monday the Chief Secretary , while referring specifically to the recent incident where several girl students fell ill at the Rajendrapalem Tribal Girls’ Ashram School in Alluri Sitarama Raju district, he expressed dissatisfaction on officials for their negligence. “What exactly is happening in welfare hostels?” he ques- tioned. “When incidents keep repeating, why aren’t strict actions being taken? What are the wardens doing if they are not ensuring cleanliness, hygienic food, and the health of the students?” Expressing anger over the lack of responsibility he asked , the officials to know why daily water quality tests were not being carried out, despite the availability of necessary facilities. He warned that the government will not remain silent if such negligence continues and assured that stringent action will be inevitable against those failing in their duties. The Chief Secretary directed officials to urgently improve hostel conditions and ensure there is no shortage of toilets or bathrooms. He instructed that works under Swachh Andhra funds must be completed on a priority basis. Vijayanand expressed satisfaction over the timely completion of the Data Lake at RTGS, noting that it will significantly enhance data-driven governance and departmental efficiency . The review meeting was attended by IT Secretary Bhaskar Katamneni, RTGS CEO Prakhar Jain, RTGS Deputy Secretary Malika Garg, and other officials. When incidents keep repeating, why aren’t strict actions being taken? What are the wardens doing if they are not ensuring hygienic food, and the health of the students K Vijayanand, CS, AP Syed Naseeruddin with family at Hyderabad airport. Eighteen of the family, including Naseeruddin, died in the accident | X SAUDI ARABIA Accident took place ~25 km before Madinah Madinah Makkah PM EXPRESSES GRIEF Narendra Modi conveyed condolences to the families of the deceased. “My thoughts are with the families who have lost their loved ones. I pray for the swift recovery of all injured,” he wrote HELPLINE: 8002440003, 00966122614093, 00966126614276, 00966556122301 has announced an ex-gratia payment of `5 lakh to the kin of the deceased. The Consulate General of India in Jeddah said it is committed to ensuring the swift han- dling of the remains in accordance with the wishes of the families, who will have the option of repatriating the bodies of their loved ones or opting for burial there itself. HC: No matter pooled land is used or not, authorities must pay lease CRDA asked for details The High Court directed CRDA officials to submit complete details of payments made to all four petitioners whose land was taken under LPS for the expansion of Gannavaram Airport. The matter was posted to November 24 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Vijayawada THE Andhra Pradesh High Court has made it clear that once land is taken under the land pooling scheme, authorities are obligated to pay the promised annual lease amount to the landowners, regardless of whether the land was utilised or not. Justice Gannamaneni Ramakrishna Prasad issued the order on Monday while hearing a petition filed by four farmers from Azzampudi village in Krishna district - Mannam Krishnamurthy Vemuri Venka, ta Koteswara Rao, Kesaboyina Ramprasad, and Veeramachineni Sridhar. The petitioners stated that their 59.18 acres of land was taken under the land pooling scheme for the expansion of Gannavaram Airport. They alleged that the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) had failed to follow the guidelines of the land pooling scheme and had not paid the annual lease as mandated unP4 der law.