HYDERABAD l Wednesday l march 04, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE CITY EDITION Nitish kumar agrees to let son Nishant enter politics jubilation at jd(u) headquarters in patna Eschewing aversion for “dynasty politics”, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday agreed to launch his only son Nishant in politics The announcement came from state Rural Development Minister and senior party leader Shrawon Kumar, who has been a close aide of the JD(U) supremo since the Samata Party days, in the 1990s. Party workers distributed sweets, smeared each other’s faces with ‘gulaal’ and raised slogans to express delight over the political entry of their supremo’s son ■ 48-yr-old an engineer keen about public affairs ■ Five Rajya Sabha seats from Bihar are going to polls and the BJP and JD(U) hold two seats apiece. Nishant, known to be reticent but with a good grasp of public affairs, may replace Harivansh Narayan Singh Former state BJP president Dilip Jaiswal said, “If Nitish Kumar’s son enters politics, it’s great... time for a new generation to emerge” nishant is single and has a degree in engineering 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 787 The latest war toll in Iran, according to the Iranian Red Crescent 153 Countries affected in some way or the other by the war 1,039 Attacks by US, Israel across Iran. Qatar joined the pounding Thoughts on education, public service, dissent and AI enliven TNIE’s conclave E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @ Chennai Presents An explosion in UAE’s Fujairah after drone debris fell on a part of the oil industrial zone | AP/PTI Wboth sides go full blast Asia burns as a g e n c ies @ Tehran, Tel Aviv THE West Asia war is showing no signs of abatement. Iran stepped up its attacks on economic targets and US missions across West Asia on Tuesday as President Donald Trump warned it was “too late” for the Islamic republic to seek talks. As drones and missiles crashed into oil facilities and US embassies in the Gulf, Israel bombarded targets in Iran and pushed troops deeper into Lebanon to battle the Tehranbacked militia Hezbollah. US President Donald Trump on Tuesday boasted of wide damage on Iran. “Just about everything’s been knocked out,” Trump said. Later, he said “someone from within Iranian regime might be the best choice to take over after the war.” As if to underline Trump’s new stance, loud blasts echoed around downtown Tehran. According to Iranian media, US-Israeli strikes targeted the ‘Assembly of Experts’ building in Qom, housing the panel electing Iran’s new supreme leader. Israel’s military said its air force struck industrial sites “throughout Iran” used to produce ballistic missiles, to pre-empt their use. Iran soon struck the US Embassy in Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh and in Kuwait City with a drone. The strike in Riyadh caused part of its roof to collapse. In Kuwait City the vicinity of , the US embassy was hit by two drone s t r i ke s f r o m I r a n , w i t h n o casualties. With Iran bombing Gulf monarchies on whim, the US ambassador in Israel asked Americans to move out on their own. “The US Embassy is not in a position at this time to evacuate or directly assist Americans in departing Israel,” Mike Huckabee wrote on X. Earlier Tuesday IAEA said Iran’s , Natanz site sustained “some recent damage”, but “no radiological consequence was expected.” Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar urged foreign capitals to cut all ties with Tehran. China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned Saar that Beijing opposes the strikes. Govt sets up inter-ministerial group to monitor, manage crisis itoring and follow-up to ensure continuity in trade flows. THE Ministry of Commerce held a Some of the measures include consultation meeting on Tuesday flexibility in export-related authoriwith key ministries, logissation and steps to prevent tics operators, and trade cargo bottlenecks. AI operates facilitation bodies to asWith the ongoing Iranrelief flights sess potential risks to exIsrael conflict, exporters Air India on Tuesday ports and imports due to deployed a wide-body fear severe disruptions in the ongoing geopolitical aircraft with 350 seats logistics, spike in freight turmoil. An Inter-Ministe- to Jeddah and another cost and longer transit rial Group for Supply plane with 300 seats time. As a big share of InChain Resilience has also to Dubai to bring back dia’s crude oil passes been created to aid Indian through the Strait of Horstranded passengers exporters amid the growmuz, fuel prices can rise. ing geopolitical crisis. However, government sources The group comprises members said India has crude oil reserves and from the ministries of finance, ex- refined petroleum products that ternal affairs, shipping, and petro- could weather disruptions for up to leum, to facilitate coordination mon- eight weeks. P U S H P I TA D E Y @ New Delhi West Bengal Gover nor Dr C V Ananda Bose on Tuesday recalled a quote from the Kothari Commission Report, “destiny of India is being shaped in her classrooms”, to underscore the relationship between education, public service, and nation-building at the ThinkEdu Conclave 2026 held in Chennai on Tuesday . Speaking on the second day of the event presented by the Tata Group and Tata ConsulTHINKEDU t a n cy S e r v i c e s TNIE Editorial Director Prabhu Chawla and Editor Santwana Bhattacharya presenting a memento to West Bengal Governor CONCLAVE (TCS) with RaDr CV Ananda Bose at ThinkEdu Conclave; (right) Bihar Governor Arif Mohammed Khan | P jawahar, Ashwin Prasath jalakshmi Group of Institutions as title sponsor, V-C, MGR Medical University, brought the discussion closer eignty. Prof Pawan Goyal of Dr Bose said that Viksit Bharat also highlighted the need for home, highlighting the power, IIT Kharagpur, and author 2047 mission can be achieved value-driven education. pains, and representation of Sairam Surenderasan exonly through the path of Dr Santishree Dhulipudi youth in TN’s charged political plained how AI is already diseducation. Pandit, Vice-Chancellor of landscape. rupting education. Bihar Governor Arif Mo- JNU, Dr Sunaina Singh, former Advocating for the ‘DravidiSenior BJP leader K Anhammed Khan reflected on the V-C of Nalanda University and an Model’, Tamil Nadu School namalai called for a major , controversial Shah Bano case, Dr Thangam Meganathan, Education Minister Dr Anbil overhaul in the civil services, and spoke on what it means to Chairperson, Rajalakshmi Mahesh highlighted the state’s while former TN chief secrebe a “Liberal Muslim” in India Group of Institutions, stressed strides in inclusive education, tary V Irai Anbu batted for purtoday . on the importance of responsi- while IT Minister Dr Palanivel pose-driven public servants. Swami Suddhidananda, pres- ble dissent. Thiyaga Rajan outlined its ecoThinkEdu 2026, with over 30 ident of Advaita Ashrama, iniSachin Pilot, senior Congress nomic success story . riveting sessions and 45 speaktiated the day’s discussions with leader, commented on the fleetDriving the importance of ers across two days, representa reminder that education must ing nature of political ideolo- self-reliance in emerging tech- ed the continuation of a 14-year also enrich the spiritual and gies in India. Senior BJP leader nologies, Prof V Kamakoti, Di- legacy of championing the exmoral centres within students. Dr Tamilisai Soundarajan and rector of IIT Madras, explored cellence of Indian thought. Dr Sudha Seshayyan, former DMK MP Dr Kanimozhi Somu India’s roadmap to AI soverFULL COVERAGE: P5 saudi arabia US embassy hit by drones An attack from two drones on the US Embassy in Riyadh caused a “limited fire”. The embassy urged Americans to avoid the compound israel Tel Aviv hit injures 7 At least seven people were seriously wounded after a salvo of missiles fired from Iran hit the capital city Tel Aviv qatar Loud blasts heard in Doha AFP journalists in the Qatari capital of Doha heard more explosions on Tuesday, as Iran carried out a fourth day of attacks in Gulf countries uae Intercepts 11 missiles UAE said it intercepted 11 ballistic missiles and 123 drones Tuesday, while one missile landed within the country sans any casualties iran Urges UNSC to stop the war Iran urged the United Nations Security Council to take action to stop the war. “ If UNSC wishes, it can certainly act to stop the war” CM orders facial recognition for sops, WhatsApp helpline for pothole filling E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @ Hyderabad Directing officials to introduce a dedicated WhatsApp number for citizens to report potholes and accident-prone stretches, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Thursday asked them to expand facial recognition technology across all welfare schemes. He said the use of facial recognition in Aasara pensions had led to the removal of nearly 3 lakh ineligible beneficiaries and would now be extended to prevent misuse in other schemes. Reviewing the preparations for implementation of the 99day action plan with collectors of all districts at the Secretariat, he asked officials to encourage adoption of solar energy, particularly among farmers. “Farmers should be encouraged to shift from conventional agricultural pump sets to solar pump sets, with awareness created on the benefits of solar motors. The Electricity department must conduct village-level awareness programmes on rooftop solar installations, usage of solar power, and income generation through grid connectivity,” the chief minister said. He directed that details of beneficiaries under newly issued ration cards, fine rice distribution, Indiramma houses, free electricity up to 200 units, loan waivers and `500 LPG cylinder schemes be displayed at grama and ward sabhas. The cumulative benefits at village, mandal, constituency and district levels should be explained to the public, the chief minister added. He asked officials to involve ward members, sarpanches, municipal ward members, chairpersons, corporators and mayors in the 99-day programme, and to conduct oneday training sessions at district headquarters to brief them on their roles. Revanth said services of all 35 government medical colleges must be fully utilised. PHCs, CHCs and other local health institutions should refer cases to these colle ges, which are equipped with advanced facilities and faculty he added. , In the transport sector, he called for complete digitisation of departmental data. Regular fitness tests must be conducted for school buses and other vehicles. Eye-screening camps should be organised for RTC bus drivers, lorry drivers and other commercial vehicle operators at major congregation points. The chief minister also directed strict action against dumping of garbage and construction debris along the Outer Ring Road and its service roads. Vehicles involved should be seized, fines imposed and cases registered, with accountability fixed on the agency concerned. Revanth instructed that monthly bills of midday meal agencies be cleared without de- Action mode Praja Palana – Pragathi Pranalika Duration: March 6 to June 12 Nodal department: Planning Themes Schedule April 2: Village level April 16: Mandal level May 2: Constituency level May 22: District level June 2: State level Clearance of pending files from village to state level n  Health n  Alive, Arrive road safety campaign n  Welfare n  Child welfare and eradication of drugs n  Farmers’ welfare and agriculture n  Education n  Youth and sports n  Women n  Environment lay to ensure uninterrupted supply of food to students. He asked for a comprehensive action plan for effective implementation. Details of working women’s hostels, and boys’ and girls’ hostels in cities and towns, must be registered, he added. CONTINUED ON P4 Nod to plan for 60 transport aircraft Ja v a r ia Ra n a @ New Delhi Today’s Match 7pm: South Africa vs New Zealand (1st Semi-Final)(Kolkata) SA vs NZ: First semis in Kolkata On Wednesday, South Africa face New Zealand in the first semifinal of the T20 World Cup. The African side has an advantage over their opponents after remaining unbeaten until now. To add to that, they even got the better of Kiwis in the group stage. More importantly they seem to be a well-rounded unit and the conditions here suit them better. P11 The Defence Procurement Board (DPB) has cleared the acquisition of 60 medium transport aircraft for the IAF, setting in motion a long-pending plan to renew its tactical airlift fleet. Sources said the DPB, chaired by Defence Secretary R K Singh, met on Monday and cleared the proposal. The board vets capital acquisition proposals before they move to the Defence Acquisition Council for Acceptance of Necessity, following which the process moves to tendering, trials, negotiations and contract award. The acquisition, estimated at around `1 lakh crore, will be pursued under the ‘Buy and File pix of C-390 Millennium Make’ route, with 12 aircraft to be acquired in flyaway condition and the remaining 48 to be manufactured in India in partnership with the domestic industry sources said. , The requirement centres on replacing the An-32 fleet. The new aircraft are also expected to take on some roles of the ageing Il-76. The aircraft being sought must be capable of operating in high-altitude environments and from short, semi-prepared or unpaved surfaces, including Advanced Landing Grounds in Ladakh and the Northeast. A three-way contest is taking shape, with each contender offering a different mix of capability and industrial alignment. Sources said the contest is expected to be closely fought between Brazil’s Embraer, which has partnered with Mahindra Defence for this bid and US-based Lockheed Martin, which has a long-standing manufacturing partnership with Tata Advanced Systems. Embraer has offered the C-390 Millennium, a jet-powered aircraft with a payload of around 26 tonnes, placing it at the upper end of the IAF’s requirement. Lockheed’s C-130J Super Hercules (20 tonnes) and Airbus’ A400M Atlas (30+ tonnes) are also in the race. picture perfect The ‘Blood Moon’ glows over the Hussainsagar as the lunar eclipse unfolds, in Hyderabad on Tuesday | SRI LOGANATHAN VELMURUGAN