chennai l Thursday l march 19, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l vellore EDITION Govt approves `33,660-cr scheme to develop 100 industrial parks The Cabinet on Wednesday approved the Bharat Audyogik Vikas Yojna (BHAVYA) to develop 100 plug-and-play industrial parks across the country Plug-and-play model for faster growth `2,585 cr to boost small hydro projects Under the scheme, industrial parks ranging from 100 to 1,000 acres will be taken up for development with financial support of up to `1 crore per acre. BHAVYA’s plug-and-play model with pre-approved land, ready infrastructure, and integrated services, will significantly reduce entry barriers for investors, the government said in a press release | P12 ■ ■ Other decisions include a new `2,585 crore scheme to support the development of small hydro projects with capacities between 1 and 25 megawatts, by providing 30% of the project cost or `3.6 cr per MW The Cabinet also approved more than `1,718 crore to help the Cotton Corporation of India provide direct price support to cotton farmers `6,969 cr to build 4-lane access-controlled Highway in Uttar Pradesh 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 Turkmenistan CPI settles for 5 seats, CPM weighs solo run inIsrael poll TN P r a b h a k a r Ta m i l a r a s u & S K u m a r e s a n @ Chennai Th After days of negotiations, the CPI settled for five seats, one less than the number of seats it contested in the 2021 Assembly elections, as a part of the DMKled Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) on Wednesday . However, the state committee of CPM, the other Left ally of the DMK, has decided not to accept anything less than the six seats that the party had contested in 2021. The party said it may even go it alone if the seat count goes below six. The CPM committee, which met on Wednesday, discussed the DMK’s offer of five seats. A member, speaking on anonymity, said that none of the state committee members were in favour of accepting five seats. The committee also discussed the probability of contesting alone. “If our demand is not met, the committee has decided not to accept any seats from the DMK and to contest on its own in a limited number of constituencies where its winnability is high,” a committee member told TNIE. The member also referred to the 1998 Lok Sabha elections when the party contested in two seats and supported the DMK-led alliance in the remaining 37 seats. The member said it was not new for the party to contest in such a manner and support the alliance elsewhere. CPM, which originally demanded seat in two digits, later lowered its demand to seven seats. Earlier on Wednesday, DMK president and Chief Minister MK Stalin and CPI state secretary M Veerapandiyan signed the seat-sharing agreement at the DMK headquarters.  P5 ed eR S ea Assembly elections madurai central may see a tough fight I P6 Major setback to Assam Congress I P7 Gulf oil sites on edge as Iran’s gas field hit Syria Israeli strike prompts Tehran to warn UAE, Saudi, Qatar Ag e n c i e s World’s largest natural gas deposit @Tehran /Tel Aviv/Dubai/ Washington in a major escalation in the ongoing war in West Asia, Israel on Wednesday bombed Iran’s huge South Pars natural gas field, prompting an angry Tehran to threaten to retaliate by striking the energy assets in United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar “in the coming hours”. The strike on South Pars has the potential to set off a chain reaction that could stifle the entire Gulf region’s economic lifeline amid disruption in oil production and movement. A Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson ter med the strike—carried out by Israel with the concurrence of the US—a “dangerous and irresponsible” escalation that put global energy security at risk. Iran’s Tasnim news agency, quoting Iranian officials, said Tehran would strike Saudi Arabia’s Samref refinery and Jubail petrochemical complex, UAE’s Al Hosn gasfield, and Qatar’s Ras Laffan refinery and Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding Company . South Pars, located off the coast of southern Iran’s Bushehr province, is the world’s largest natural gas deposit, which Iran shares with Qatar. Targeting Iran’s energy infrastructure is seen as a major escalation as the US and Israel have till now held back on any move that could invite an Iranian retaliation against other producers in the region, which could set oil prices on fire. On Wednesday, Brent prices hovered over $108 per barrel— up from $70 just weeks ago. Israel on Wednesday said it also eliminated Iran’s intelligence minister Esmail Khatib in overnight strikes. On Tuesday, Iran’s national security chief Ali Larijani was killed in a targeted Israeli strike. In a first, Israel publicly stated that all senior Iranian officials would be its military’s targets from now on. “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have authorised the Israel Defense Forces to target any senior Iranian official for IRAN South Pars gas field Strait of Hormuz qatar day 19 Gulf of Oman UAE Oman Saudi Arabia Yemen Gulf of Aden Smoke rises from a building following an Israeli strike in central Beirut, Lebanon on Wednesday | AP whom an intelligence and operational opportunity arises, without the need for additional approval,” Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz said. Meanwhile, in a body blow to US President Donald Trump’s justification for starting the war with Iran, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said that Iran was not trying to rebuild its nuclear enrichment capacities that were destroyed in a June 2025 US-Israeli attack, under Operation Midnight Hammer. “As a result of Operation Midnight Hammer, Iran’s nuclear enrichment programme was obliterated. There have been no efforts since then to try to rebuild their enrichment capability,” Gabbard said in a written testimony to the Senate intelligence committee. Day’s developments l Iran confirms assassination of top intelligence official Esmail Khatib in an Israeli strike l India to prioritise domestic fuel demand amid requests from neighbours lIndian vessel ‘Jag Laadki’ carrying over 80,000 MT crude oil reaches Gujarat’s Mundra Port Vijay in play amid trouble in Pondy NDA The ruling NDA in Puducherry is facing trouble from within, as Chief Minister N Rangasamy visited Salem to seek spiritual guidance from his guru, Appa Paithiyam Swamigal, before taking the final call on the alliance’s future. He parallelly reached out to actorturned-politician Vijay for a possible electoral understanding with the latter’s TVK. The current impasse revolves around dissonance over the BJP’s bid to induct a party floated by lottery baron Santiago Martin’s eldest son Jose N Rangasamy Vijay Charles Martin, into the NDA. Martin’s Lakshya Jananayaga Katchi (LJK) was floated in December last. However, Rangasamy does not want moneybag Martin’s party anywhere near him. He also wants clarity on Puducherry’s statehood, which he S L a l i t h a @ New Delhi Amid complaints about airlines levying high additional charges for allocating seats on flights, the Union civil aviation ministry on Wednesday directed that a minimum of 60% of seats on all domestic flights be allocated free of charge. In another passengerfriendly measure, the ministry asked airlines to ensure that passengers traveling on the same PNR (Passenger Name Record) are seated together. “Passengers travelling on the same PNR are to be seated together, preferably in adjacent seats,” the ministry said in a release. The airlines were also directed to bring out clear, transparent policies for carrying pets on board. Besides, they must ensure that carriage of Arabian Sea Lottery baron son’s party D e b j a n i D u t ta @ Puducherry No extra fee for 60% of seats on domestic routes for fliers Afghanistan Turkey Pakistan DMK alliance Caspian Sea flagged during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit, but hasn’t got a clear word yet. Meanwhile, a few LJK functionaries have submitted their nomination papers. BJP MLA Vivilian Richards (son of BJP minister John Kumar) filed his papers as an LJK candidate from Bahour and so did his brother Villiam Regan from the same seat. Their mother J Justine filed her LJK papers from Nellithope. Senior BJP leaders from Pondy are in Delhi for talks with the party high command to break the deadlock. Efforts are on to soften Rangasamy . We have already made our stance clear. They (BJP) are currently holding internal discussions within their party. I have not received any communication from Delhi yet. We will reveal out plan soon N Rangasamy, CM sports equipment and musical instruments on board are facilitated in a transparent and passengerfriendly manner without compromising on applicable safety and operational regulations. Additionally, all airlines must strictly adhere to the passenger rights framework, particularly in cases of delays, cancellations, and denial of boarding. The rights of passengers must be prominently displayed across the airline’s websites, mobile applications, booking platforms, and airport counters, the ministry said. “60 per cent seats free of charge, assured seating together for families, and clear, transparent norms for carriage of sports equipment, musical instruments & pets,” Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said in a post on X. express read Vijay: No alliance talks, committed to secularism Chennai: Ruling out the possibility of alliance with NDA, TVK chief Vijay on Wednesday dismissed as “false campaign” claims of “alliance talks” for Assembly polls. “The government will be led by us. We won’t compromise on secularism and social justice,” said the actor at an Iftar event. Vijay’s declaration on commitment to secularism is seen as a clear hint that TVK will not align with NDA | P4 HC orders statewide drive to eradicate Seemai Karuvelam Chennai: The Madras HC has ordered the state to implement a project, Sezhumai Karuvoolam (prosperous treasure), for eradication of invasive species ‘Seemai Karuvelam’ (prosopis juliflora) across TN. Private land owners must remove the invasive plant within 30 days, failing which the state will remove it and recover the cost from landowners. Two former HC judges will monitor the exercise | P2