tadepalligudem l tuesday l february 24, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l city EDITION President Droupadi Murmu pays tributes to C Rajagopalachari at Rashtrapati Bhavan. His bust replaced British architect Edwin Lutyens’ statue there | PIB 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 1st counter-terror IAF grounds its entire Tejas fleet policy to cut fund, arms, safe havens Launches technical review to find out how an Mk1 overshot the Guj runway during takeoff J A V A RI A R A N A @ New Delhi M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi The government on Monday announced the country’s first counter-terror policy, ‘Prahaar’, which addresses evolving threats through prevention, coordinated response and capacity building while adhering to the rule of law. The document released by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) noted that instability in India’s immediate neighbourhood has often created ungoverned spaces, adding that a “few countries in the region have sometimes used terrorism as an instrument of state policy”. However, the MHA said India does not associate terrorism with any religion. “India does not link terrorism to any specific religion, ethnicity nationality or civilization,” , it said while emphasising that the country has always denounced terrorism “unambiguously and unequivocally” and that its policy is guided by a principled approach of ‘zero tolerance’ against terror. The strategy flows from India’s commitment to stand by the victims of terrorism. It is predicated on prevention of terror attacks, swift and proportionate responses, aggregation of internal capacities through a whole-of-government approach, ensuring human rights and rule-of-law-based processes, attenuating conditions that enable terrorism, aligning and shaping global efforts to counter terror, and strengthening recovery and resilience through a whole-ofsociety approach. The policy envisages enhanced cooperation among agencies, periodic legal reforms and further capacity building of state counter-terror units so as to deny terrorists access to funds, weapons and safe havens, while investing in technology and partnerships to counter future threats. Framework on global terrorism India will keep working on a comprehensive framework on international terrorism while pursuing ‘Prahaar’, which aims to criminalise all terrorist acts and deny access to funds, weapons and safe havens to the terrorists, their financiers and supporters THE Indian Air Force (IAF) has grounded its entire Tejas fleet as a precautionary measure following a runway incident earlier this month, even as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on Monday described the episode as a “minor technical incident”. According to defence sources, the IAF has initiated a comprehensive technical review across critical systems to determine the cause of the incident. There has been no official statement from the IAF so far on either the incident or the temporary grounding. It also remains unclear whether the airframe of the jet @ Rajamahendravaram/Vijayawada New policy that skidded off the runway will be written off. It is reliably learnt that the grounding comes after an incident in early February at Naliya Air Base in Gujarat, where a Tejas MK1 overshot the runway during take off. Sources said the jet slid into a nearby mud patch softened by prior rainfall while still in the acceleration phase of take-off. The pilot sustained injuries but is reported to be safe. HAL sought to downplay it, stating that there had been no HAL is yet to complete delivery of the IAF’s Tejas Mk-1 order. Of the 40 aircraft contracted, only 38 have been delivered so far. The delays extend to the larger Tejas Mk-1A programme as well, where deliveries of 180 aircraft are running over two years behind schedule incident involving the LCA Tejas beyond a “minor technical issue” on the ground. It further added that Tejas MK1 continues to maintain one of the world’s best safety records among contemporary fighter aircraft. However, if the crash is confirmed, this would mark the third loss involving the Tejas MK1. The first loss of a seriesproduction jet occurred in March 2024, when a fighter crashed near Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, shortly after participating in the tri-services exercise Bharat Shakti. The second incident took place in November last year at the Dubai Airshow, where Wing Commander Namansh Syal was killed while in an aerobatic display . Tejas is a single-engine fighter jet that is designed to undertake operating in high-threat air environments. It capabilities include air defence and maritime reconnaissance. Today’s Match 7pm: England vs Pakistan (Pallekele) Tainted milk leaves 4 dead, 10 in hosp Don warns of more tariffs E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e There is a need to associate legal experts at every stage of investigation, right from the registration of the first information report to its culmination in prosecution Mk1, Mk1-A deliveries behind schedule A suspected case of milk adulteration has created havoc in East Godavari district, leaving four elderly people dead and 10 others hospitalised with severe kidney-related complications. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, calling the incident ‘extremely painful,’ announced an ex gratia of `10 lakh each to the families of the deceased and assured that the government will bear the entire medical expenses of those undergoing treatment.The tragedy has cast a pall of gloom over Chow- for those ‘playing games’ `10L ex gratia to kin of deceased announced p u s h p i ta d e y @ New Delhi Calling the incident ‘extremely painful,’ CM Chandrababu Naidu announced an ex gratia of `10 lakh each to the families of the deceased and assured that the government will bear the entire medical expenses of those undergoing treatment deswari Colony Swaroopnagar, , and nearby areas, where victims reported symptoms of vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal swelling, and anuria (absence of urine output). Nine of the 12 patients are in ICU, with two on ventilator support. Dialysis is being administered in several cases, and doctors have noted elevated levels of urea and serum creatinine in blood samples, pointing to acute renal complications.  P4 JUST days after the US Supreme Court struck down the tariff regime imposed by his administration, US President Donald Trump threatened to levy significantly higher tariffs, or take tougher measures, against countries that try to “play games” with the ruling. In a social media post on Monday, Trump said, “Any country that wants to ‘play games’ with the ridiculous Supreme Court decision, especially those that have ‘Ripped Off ’ the USA for years, and even decades, will be met with a much higher tariff, and worse, than that which they just recently agreed to.” The remarks came after the European Parliament decided on Monday to postpone for a second time a vote on the European Union’s trade deal with the US. The delay follows Trump’s imposition of a new blanket 15% import tariff and discussions within the EU on slowing the ratification process of the proposed trade pact.