HYDERABAD l saturday l march 07, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 18 l late cITY EDITION Red or black to change of hotel, it’s all happening in ahmedabad India, who lost the last match against South Africa & 2023 ODI World Cup final to Aussies, are not taking any chances for T20 World Cup final PIC: DEBADATTA MALLICK divine intervention and focus on soil ricky martin in the house for final Two days before India took on England in semis in Mumbai, the team deferred its training session by an hour due to Lunar Eclipse. Now, the team has changed the hotel in Ahmedabad ahead of the final. The team had stayed in a different hotel previously. The Motera strip is made of three soils — red, black and a mixture. India might not go for black this time ■ ■ Puerto Rican Grammy award-winning singer Ricky Martin will be the star performer before T20 WC final on Sunday. Falguni Pathak and Bollywood playback singer Sukhwinder Singh, too, will be part of it With airfares soaring, Western and Central Railways to operate several special trains to facilitate travel to Ahmedabad | P13 1,00,000 The number of spectators expected at the stadium 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 Presenting Partner Silver Partner Luxury Mobility Partner March 7 2026 Raajkutir, Kolkata - IHCL SeleQtions 6 pm Associate Partners Celebration Partner Prosenjit Chatterjee, Actor, Padmashri Awardee will be presenting the awards Turkmenistan M e g h n a N at h @ Hyderabad For India to buy stranded Russian oil RAKESH KU M AR @ New Delhi Israel sovereignty to a foreign power. Government sources, meanwhile, clarified that India had not stopped buying Russian oil despite US overtures. In February, Russia was India’s largest crude oil supplier. Sources said despite the US waiver, Indian refiners are seeking a legal opinion on purchasing the Russian oil stranded at sea, which may include shipments from sanctioned entities and vessels. “So far, refiners have bought only non-sanctioned oil,” said a petroleum ministry official, adding that oil companies want to avoid complications including payment problems if they buy sanctioned oil. After the Russia-Ukraine war started, New Delhi had consistently raised purchases from Russia from 0.2% of total oil imports in December 2021 to as much as 40% in July 2025. S ea @ Hyderabad The government has fixed the annual tuition fee for engineering courses such as Bachelor of Engineering (BE) and B a ch e l o r o f Te ch n o l o g y (BTech) in all private unaided engineering colleges in the state for the academic period 2025–28. Orders were issued by the Higher Education department on Wednesday fixing the mini, mum annual tuition fee at `45,000. The Finance department has approved revised annual fees for 160 unaided private colleges. Status of major Gulf energy sites Basra Mina AI Ahmadi Kuwait Kharg Island AI Zour IRAN Juaymah Strait of Hormuz Ras Tanura Iranian warship docked in Kochi New Delhi: Days before the US sank Iranian frigate IRIS Dena, Iran had approached India seeking urgent docking permission for IRIS LAVAN with 183 crew members, in Kochi. Sources said request was made on Feb 28 and permission given on March 1. The ship remains docked in Kochi since March 4 Oil facilities Ras Laffan qatar Gas facilities Ruwais Jebel Ali Fujairah UAE Oman Saudi Arabia Duqm Recently damaged E x p r e s s N e w s SE r v i c e @ New Delhi THE Centre on Friday invoked its rarely used emergency powers to direct all oil refiners operating in India to ramp up LPG production in view of supply disruptions due to the ongoing war in West Asia. As much as 85% of India’s LPG imports pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which is now effectively closed. To ensure seamless supply of cooking gas, the government issued an order under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 (ESMA) asking refiners to maximise LPG Shut down Yemen Gulf of Aden production and supply it only to the three state-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) — Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation, and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation. The order further stated that refiners must use all available propane and butane to produce LPG and should not use the two chemicals to make petrochemical products or other downstream derivatives. “All Public sector OMCs shall ensure that LPG so procured is supplied/marketed solely to consumers of domestic LPG only the order read. ,” ‘Pragathi Pranalika’ rolled out across tg Express News Service @ Hyderabad Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy admires a parrot after inaugurating the Eco Hill Park at Kothwalguda in Hyderabad on Friday Bound by rules  Only approved annual tuition fee (lump sum or instalments)  Capitation fees & donations strictly prohibited  Unauthorised collection to be treated as violation  Fee may be revised if discrepancies are found in data given by colleges As many as 33 colleges will charge more than `1 lakh per year, while two colleges will charge `1 lakh annually . The fee structure has been finalised based on recommendations of the Admission and Fee Regulatory Committee (TA- FRC). The revision factors in parameters such as NAAC accreditation, placement performance and academic quality . Chaitanya Bharathi Institute of Technology has been allowed the highest annual tuition fee at `1.83 lakh, followed by Vasavi College of Engineering at `1.75 lakh. Other institutions in the higher fee category include G Narayanamma Institute of Technology and Science for Women, CVR College of Engineering, Gokaraju Rangaraju Institute of Engineering and Technology and B V Raju Institute of Technology, among others.  continued on p5 The state government rolled out its 99-day programme — ‘Praja Palana - Pragathi Pranalika’ — across Telangana on Friday, with Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy launching two key projects in Hyderabad. Several special initiatives will be undertaken during these 99 days and implemented from village to state level. The chief minister laid the foundation for the Budvel trumpet interchange project and inaugurated the Eco-Hill Park at Kothwalguda. Addressing the gathering, he said that he was in touch with businesspersons closely associ- Rapper-politico Balen on Nepal landslide course Voters across the nation align with spirit of Gen Z revolution, chuck all major parties Gulf of Oman Govt invokes ESMA, asks OMCs to raise LPG output State fixes tech college fees for ’25-’28 Express News Service Iraq ed eR with the Iran-Israel/US war starting to impact crude supply and setting prices on fire, the US on Friday said it would issue a 30-day waiver for Indian refiners to buy Russian oil stranded at sea. The Strait of Hormuz, the crucial chokepoint through which 20% of global oil and gas shipments pass through, is currently under threat due to the war. Announcing the decision, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the temporary waiver is to ensure oil continues to flow into global markets. The announcement, however, kicked off a political storm in India with the opposition parties questioning how the US can decide where India should buy from, accusing the Narendra Modi-led government of “surrendering” the country’s Th As many as 20 candidates from Telangana figured in the list of those selected in the Union Public Service Commission’s Civil Services Examination 2025, the results of which were announced on Friday. Among them, Deputy Superintendent of Police Gudelli Srujana from Peddapalli district secured All India Rank 55. Other candidates from Telangana who secured ranks include Tharun Teja Atla from Warangal (AIR 123), Banoth Laxmi Rachana from Rangareddy (178), M Ve n k a t e s h Prasad Sagar from Mahbubnagar (358), M e r u g u Kaushik from Medchal Malkajgiri (399), Vikram Bethi from Warangal Gudelli Srujana, AIR 55 (472) and Yashwanth S from Nalgonda (475). Congratulating the successful candidates, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy recalled that the state government had provided `1 lakh financial assistance to 202 candidates who appeared for the Civil Services Mains examination under the Rajiv Gandhi Civils Abhaya Hastam scheme. Of these, 51 candidates qualified for the interview stage and 20 were selected in the final results, he said. The scheme was introduced to support economically weaker aspirants preparing for the Civil Services Examination. Gudelli Srujana, who is currently undergoing training at the Police Academy, told TNIE this was her seventh attempt at the examination. “This was my seventh attempt at the examination. Despite the challenges and repeated attempts, I remained determined and continued my preparation since 2018,” she said.  continued on p5 30-day u.s. ‘waiver’ Syria Pakistan 20 from TG clear UPSC; DSP Srujana gets AIR 55 Turkey Afghanistan Caspian Sea toppers all Hospitality Partner ated with Donald Trump who could invest in the Future City , which would be developed as one of the best cities in the world. The 99-day action plan will continue till June 12. This is the third such programme after the Congress came to power in the state. Praja Palana was conducted from December 28, 2023, to January 6, 2024. Again, a threeday Praja Palana programme was conducted in January 2025. During the 10-week programme, priority will be given to one item every week, starting with rural development in the first week. The focus will be on the health sector in the second week.  continued on P4 Balendra Shah India bullish on new govt India, through foreign ministry spokesperson Arabian Randhir Jaiswal, Sea said, “We look forward to working with the new Government of Nepal to build on the robust ties between our two countries and peoples for mutual benefit” Top choice in Gen Z protest Balendra was a popular choice to lead the interim government after Gen Z youths toppled the Oli-led coalition government in September last year. But Balen declined, saying he would rather contest the parliamentary elections for a full term J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi RAPPER-turned-politician Balendra Shah’s Rastriya Swatantra Party is on course for a historic landslide in Nepal’s first post-Gen Z protest general elections, toppling decades of dominance by the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML (Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist). Shah, 35, a former mayor of Kathmandu, joined the three-year-old RSP in January as its prime ministerial candidate. Early counting trends from the Election Commission, covering 144 of 165 constituencies, show the RSP has already won three seats and is leading in 104 others. By contrast, the Nepali Congress has secured two seats and leads in 12, while the CPN-UML leads in 10 constituencies. In its manifesto, Shah’s RSP promised bold economic and social reforms, pledging to create 1.2 million jobs, curb forced migration, and double Nepal’s per capita income from $1,447 to $3,000 within five years. The party also vowed to expand the national GDP to $100 billion and provide universal healthcare insurance. Voter turnout reached approximately 60%, reflecting strong engagement in a politically fragile nation that has seen 14 governments in 18 years. The RSP’s dominance is evident in Kathmandu, where it leads in all 10 constituencies. Shah was leading in Jhapa-5 against four-time prime minister Oli, securing 6,551 votes to Oli’s 1,428. Other RSP victories include Ranju Darshana in Kathmandu-1 with 15,455 votes. Analysts caution that much of Shah’s success will depend on the team he surrounds himself with to tackle a corruptionprone bureaucracy and aspiration of youth who voted for change. Shah, popularly known as ‘Balen’, owes part of his appeal to a strong social media presence, boasting over 3.5 million followers, which allows him to engage directly with younger voters who spearheaded the anti-corruption, proreform protests last year. E x p r e s s Re a d Digital frauds: RBI raises compensation to 85% Mumbai: Acting swiftly on what Governor Sanjay Malhotra had indicated at the last post-policy press conference, the Reserve Bank has proposed stronger safeguards for victims of digital financial fraud. Under the revised draft guidelines, the RBI has raised compensation to 85% of the loss, while capping payout at `25,000 for the first instance of fraud. The new rules will take effect from July 1, 2026. On February 6, Malhotra had said the RBI planned to compensate 70% of losses or up to `25,000 in the first instance of small-value digital frauds | P12 RS e l e c t i o n s Inclusion triumphed party heft in call on Tilak ticket voured the candidature of Dr A Chellakumar, a former MP from Tamil The Congress announceNadu who has held sevment of M Christopher eral organisational reTilak as its Rajya Sabha sponsibilities in the parcandidate from Tamil ty However, the proposal . Nadu sparked quiet disdid not find wider accussions within party M Christopher ceptance during the ficircles, with sources in- Tilak | P JawahaR nal round of discusdicating that the decision sions, with Congress followed intense internal con- president Mallikarjun Kharge sultations amid differing views and a section of the leadership within the top leadership. backing the idea of fielding a Sources said Leader of Oppo- Dalit representative. The leadsition in the Lok Sabha Rahul ership eventually settled on Gandhi and former party presi- Tilak. dent Sonia Gandhi had faSenior leaders, including Preetha Nair & Rajesh A b r a h a m @ New Delhi Kharge, Sonia and Rahul, were closely involved in consultations on both seat sharing with the DMK and the selection of the Rajya Sabha nominee. According to sources, Rahul and Sonia argued that the nomination should reflect organisational experience and merit, pointing to Chellakumar’s long association with the party and his earlier tenure as a Lok Sabha member from Tamil Nadu. However, another view emerged, with some leaders emphasising the importance of social representation. Kharge and a section of the leadership are learnt to have felt that nominating a Dalit would align with the party’s broader political messaging on social inclusion. Committed organisational worker Party insiders said the choice of Tilak reflected a balance, along with the need to ensure coordination with the DMK. Regarded within Congress circles as a committed organisational worker, Tilak is expected to strengthen the party’s outreach in the state