Modi, netanyahu discuss Gaza, ties tirupati l thursday l january 08, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l anantapur EDITION Benjamin Netanyahu Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on phone, with the latter briefing him on the implementation of the Gaza peace plan. Both leaders reiterated their commitment to combating terrorism and strengthening the India-Israel strategic partnership | P7 Narendra Modi 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 Economy to grow at 7.4% in FY26 despite tariff heat Govt’s first advance estimate says services sector will drive growth DIPA K M O N DA L @ New Delhi E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Polavaram Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has asserted that raising objections to the Polavaram project is unjustified as the Godavari river has abundant water. After inspecting the ongoing Polavaram project construction works on Wednesday, he told the media that water flowing into the sea should be harnessed for development. He urged Telangana leaders not to politicise water issues, stressing that Telugu people are one community and should , adopt a spirit of cooperation rather than rivalry . Naidu reminded that projects such as Devadula, Kalwakurthy , and Madhav Reddy lift schemes were initiated to benefit both States, and recalled supplying water from Jurala to Mahabubnagar when RDS faced shortP4 age.  9.70% 7.60% 9.20% 6.50% 7.40% 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26 2020-21 Don’t politicise water issues: CM to TG leaders GROWTH PROJECTIONS 8.0% 7.3% -5.80% polavaram link india’s economy is pressing ahead amid external challenges, including punitive US tariffs, with the GDP projected to grow at 7.4% in the current financial year (FY26), government data released on Wednesday showed. The first advance estimate by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) pe gged the GDP growth in FY26 at 7.4%, up from 6.5% in the previous year. It is also better than RBI’s estimate of 7.3%, indicating the economy has not only surmounted the obstacles to growth but also emerged stronger. The growth is propelled by the robust performance of the services sector, which saw a 9.1% growth in real gross value added (GVA). Within services, the financial, real estate & professional services and public administration, defence & other services segments recorded a remarkable 9.9% growth at constant prices, data showed. Industrial sectors also performed better than expected with the manufacturing GVA in real terms growing at 7%, higher than 4.5% in the previous year. The secondary sector, comprising manufacturing and construction, is estimated to grow at 6.6% compared to 6.1% in the previous year, indicating steady industrial activity . in fast lane Real GDP is estimated at `201.9 lakh crore in FY26 against `187.97 lakh crore in FY25—a growth of 7.4% The primary sector—agriculture and mining—showed moderation, with growth at 2.7% in real GVA terms compared to 4.4% last year. On the expenditure side, private consumption is expected to grow at 7% compared to 7.2% in the previous year. Investment, as reflected in gross fixed capital formation, is estimated to rise 7.8% compared to 7.1%. “India’s growth momentum has sustained despite elevated global uncertainty due to tariff tensions, riding on accommodative monetary and fiscal policies, robust corporate balance sheets, and favourable developments such as above-normal monsoons and low crude oil prices,” said Dhar makirti Joshi, chief economist, Crisil. Meanwhile, nominal GDP is projected to grow at 8% in FY26, Nominal GDP growth in FY26 Projected real GVA growth Growth in the services sector estimated at 9.1% Real private final consumption expenditure expected to grow at 7% reaching `357.14 lakh crore. This is lower than the budget estimate of 10.1%. “The lower nominal GDP growth has implications for GoI’s gross tax revenues (GTR). In the first eight months of the current fiscal, the realised growth of GTR was 3.34%. The relatively lower nominal growth combined with a relatively lower than budgeted buoyancy of 1.07 over the revised estimates of 2024-25 may result in lower revenue in 202526 than the budget estimates,” said D K Srivastava, chief policy advisor, EY India. MoSPI said a revision of the national accounts base year from 2011–12 to 2022–23 is underway, which may lead to updates in subsequent estimates. The second advance estimates for FY26 will be released on February 27, 2026. Unholy Maha micro pacts embarrass BJP, Cong S u d h i r S u r ya w a n s h i @ Mumbai Unholy micro level political alignments became a major talking point after Maharashtra’s recent local body polls, embarrassing the BJP and the Congress leaderships. At the Akot Nagar Parishad, the BJP joined hands with Owaisi’s AIMIM to cut the Congress and Prakash Ambedkar’s party out of the power matrix. In Ambernath, the BJP did a deal with the Congress to keep its NDA partner Shiv Sena led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde out of power. In Ambarnath, Shinde’s Sena was the single largest party with 23 councilors, BJP followed with 14, Congress had 12 and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s NCP 4. Yet, BJP’s Tejshashree Karanjule got elected as president because of the opportunistic alliance called Ambarnath Vikas Aghadi. The local BJP unit defended it, saying it was against the corrupt Sena, which was running Ambarnath for 20 years. Akot, too, threw up a hung house with the BJP on 11, Congress 6, AIMIM 5 among others. The BJP formed the Akot Vikas Manch with the support of 23 councilors, including AIMIM. After public outcry, state BJP president Ravindra Chavan issued the show cause notice to its Akot unit. As for the Congress, it expelling its 12 corporators in Ambarnath and dissolved the local unit. express read Piduguralla College MBBS admissions Vijayawada: The Government of AP has cleared the way for MBBS admissions at the newly established Piduguralla Government Medical College for the academic year 2025-26. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has approved key proposals from the Health Department, including expansion of teaching hospital and recruitment of staff | P3 X reply on Grok dirt ‘inadequate’ E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is learnt to have found the response from X to its advisory over the spread of obscene and sexual content on its social media platform inadequate. The advisory had warned X about the misuse of its artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, which users are allegedly using to create sexual and obscene images of women and minors. X was given additional time till Wednesday, 5 pm, to submit a detailed Action Taken Report. Agency reports said the reply was detailed but missed key information, including takedown details and specific action taken on the matter. The m i n i s t r y h a s n ow sought further details. On Sunday, X’s official “Safety” handle said the platform takes action against illegal content, including Child Sexual Abuse Material, by re- moving such content, permanently suspending accounts, and cooperating with local governments and law enforcement agencies when required. X also said that anyone who uses or prompts Grok to create illegal content will face the same consequences as users who upload such content directly On Janu. ary 2, the ministry had directed X to remove all vulgar, obscene, and unlawful content, especially generated through Grok. LARGE, MID OR SMALL? MULTI CAP FUND IS FOR ALL! SIP for life An open-ended equity scheme investing across large cap, mid cap & small cap stocks Exposure across many sectors/industries Suitable for long-term investors | Visit https://www.hdfcfund.com/information/key-know-how to know more about the process to complete a one-time Know Your Customer (KYC) requirement to invest in Mutual Funds. 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