KOCHI l thursday l march 19, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 18 l LATE city EDITION Govt approves L33,660-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 L2,585 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 D1 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 I2,585 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 I3.6 cr per MW The Cabinet also approved more than I1,718 crore to help the Cotton Corporation of India provide direct price support to cotton farmers A6,969 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 Caspian Sea Gulf oil sites on edge as Iran’s gas field hit Congress 2nd list delayed as seniors spar over candidates Israeli strike prompts Tehran to warn UAE, Saudi, Qatar As disputes between the V D Satheesan-Ramesh Chennithala group and K C Venugopal faction reached deadlock, final decision on candidates for the contentious seats was referred to the Congress Central Election Committee (CEC) on Wednesday The CEC meeting . had not concluded at the time of printing. “The Satheesan-Chennithala faction, which suffered setbacks in the first list, came prepared and remained adamant during the meeting held earlier in the day The group raised . objections on every seat,” said a Congress leader. “Despite cajoling by working presidents A P Anil Kumar, P C Vishnunath and Shafi Parambil, they did not concede. Hence, it was Th Amid complaints about airlines levying high additional Israel 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 passenger-friendly 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 o u t c l e a r, transparent policies for carrying pets on board. Besides, they must ensure that carriage of sports equipment and musical instruments on board are facilitated in a transparent and passenger-friendly 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. ed eR S ea Assembly elections ‘Kerala needs a strong leader like Stalin and Mamata Banerjee’ I P5 ‘Wafer-thin seats’ have fronts in tizzy I P4 Will leaders’ exodus impact LDF? I P5 Age n c ies 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 Arabian Sea 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 P11 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 Lottery baron son’s party Vijay in play amid trouble in Pondy NDA De b j a n i D u tta @ Puducherry 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 K S S R E E J I T H @T’Puram Afghanistan S L a lith a @ New Delhi Pakistan No extra fee for Turkey 60% of seats on domestic flights Syria 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 our plan soon N Rangasamy, CM decided to refer the matter to the CEC,” he said. Discussions over candidates for Kochi and Perumbavoor seats saw a heated debate. While Satheesan argued in favour of his confidant, DCC president Mohammed Shiyas, the Venugopal faction backed Deepti Mary Varghese. “The two sides remained firm,” said a leader. “Satheesan cannot afford to lose Shiyas in Ernakulam, as it would alter power equations in the district.” In Perumbavoor, dispute arose after the high command decided to drop sitting MLA Eldhose P Kunnappillil. Satheesan staked claim to the seat by proposing his loyalist Ullas. However, several leaders, including MP Benny Behanan, have demanded the ticket be allotted to former district panchayat president ● More on P6 Manoj Moothedan.  express read Kerala hotels, restaurants mull shutdown on March 23 Kochi: The Kerala Hotel & Restaurants Association (KHRA) is mulling a statewide shutdown to protest against the LPG shortage. The KHRA had also planned a protest march to the BPCL plant in Ernakulam on March 19, but called it off after BPCL said steps would be taken to distribute cooking gas as per the KHRA’s request | P5 US intel undercuts Trump on Iran nuke rebuild Washington: US intelligence concluded that Iran was not rebuilding nuclear enrichment capacities destroyed in a 2025 US-Israeli attack, contradicting President Donald Trump’s justifications for his ongoing war. Tulsi Gabbard, a Trump ally and director of national intelligence, shared the conclusion in written testimony but did not repeat it when speaking to senators | P11 18 pages, including 4 pages of KOCHI Express