BHUBANESWAR l thursday l may 21, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late CITY EDITION april core sector growth at 1.7% on back of cement, steel Production growth in eight core infrastructure sectors rose to a two-month high of 1.7% in April, driven by higher output of steel, cement next, all eyes on better iip growth ‘Gulf crisis impacted core sector growth’ Steel, cement and electricity production rose by 6.2 per cent, 9.4 per cent and 4.1 per cent, respectively, in April. Coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, and fertiliser output recorded negative growth during the month under review. Experts said April’s improved core sector growth is expected to increase the upcoming industrial production growth ■ ■ The cumulative growth rate of the 8 core sectors during AprilMarch, 2025-26 is 2.7 per cent versus same period of last year Rahul Agrawal, senior economist, ICRA, said as many as five of the eight sectors registered a contraction in output, suggesting that economic activity in some sectors was impacted by the Gulf crisis 40.2% is core sector’s share in index of industrial production 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 Odisha Plus II results Social media platforms directed improve to 85.85%; girls to block fake info on NEET-UG shine across all streams S L a l i t h a @ New Delhi Sudarsan Maharana S u c c e ss s t o r y @ Bhubaneswar Girls outshone boys across all streams in the Annual Higher Secondary Examination (AHSE) 2026, as Odisha registered an overall pass percentage of 85.85, marking an improvement of more than three percentage points over last year. The results of the Plus II examinations conducted by the Council of Higher Secondary Education were announced on Wednesday by School and Mass Education minister Nityananda Gond. This year, over 3.98 lakh students appeared for the examinations held between February 18 and April 25. Of them, around 3.41 lakh students passed successfully. The overall pass percentage increased from 82.77 in 2025 to 85.85 this year. Among the streams, Science recorded the highest success rate at 88.82 per cent, followed by Commerce at 88.07 per cent and Arts at 84.50 per cent. The Vocational stream registered a pass percentage of 77.62. Girls performed better than boys in every stream. In Arts, girls achieved a pass percentage of 89.45 compared to 77.97 among boys. In Science, girls recorded a success rate of 90.24 against 87.41 for boys. In Commerce, 90.43 per cent girls cleared the examination compared to 86.67 per cent boys. In the Vocational stream too, girls outperformed 16 Punjab 45.80C  Overall pass percentage rises to 85.85%  Girls outperform boys across all streams; highest gap in Arts (89.45% girls vs 77.97% boys)  Science stream tops with 88.82% pass rate; Commerce records 88.07%, Arts 84.50%  5,101 Science students score 90% and above; Arts (614) and Commerce (568) also shine  CHSE to hold instant & improvement exams in July boys with a pass percentage of 83.43 against 71.49. A total of 5,101 students in the Science stream secured 90 per cent and above marks. In Arts, 614 students scored above 90 per cent, while 568 students in Commerce crossed the same benchmark. District-wise, Sambalpur recorded the highest overall pass percentage at 89.48, while Nabarangpur registered the lowest at 77.14 per cent. In Science, Balasore topped with a 96.63 pass percentage, while Koraput recorded the lowest at 77.14 per cent. Boudh achieved a perfect 100 per cent result in Commerce, whereas Balangir registered the lowest at 77.25 Continued on P5 per cent.  Haryana 46.90C The great Indian frying pan 480C Banda,  East Uttar Pradesh East Madhya Pradesh 47.40C Odisha 460C 450C Coastal Andhra Pradesh Vidarbha, Maharashtra 47.10C Banda district’s 48°C was the highest in India. It was 4.5°C above normal Haryana sizzler Rohtak in Haryana sizzled at 46.9°C, which was 6.2°C above normal. Hisar was at 45.4°C e x p r e ss r e a d Meta says ‘success isn’t a given’, sacks 8,000 US wanted to instal Ahmadinejad as prez Washington: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg told staffers in a Wednesday memo about the company’s decision to lay off 8,000 employees, saying is necessary because “success isn’t a given”. Besides, about 7,000 employees will be moved into new AI-focused roles Washington: The United States and Israel were considering installing hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the president of Iran as part of the plans for regime change in the Persian Gulf nation in the early days of the war, according to a New York Times report | P9 tive in the run-up to major examinations, circulating fake paper leak claims, clickbait content and unverified information that trigger panic, anxiety and confusion among students and parents. The ministry said intelligence inputs revealed that multiple suspicious channels were being operated through a limited set of phone numbers, indicating coordinated and organised activity. Pradhan directed the social media platforms to work in close coordination with his ministry NTA and , law enforcement agencies. India, Italy form special strategic partnership  Sambalpur emerges top district overall with 89.48% pass rate 48 West Rajasthan 46.50C Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday directed social media platforms to detect and block misinformation networks ahead of the NEET-UG re-exam. Investigations into the cancelled medical entrance exam on May 3 revealed that the question paper was sold by unscrupulous individuals using such platforms to lure candidates. For the second consecutive day , Pradhan chaired a high-level review meet in connection with the re-exam on June 21. On Wednesday he interacted with Central se, curity and intelligence agencies as well as representatives of major social media platforms — Meta, Google & Telegram, a release said. “Serious concerns were raised by officials during the meet over the growing spread of misinformation related to competitive examinations, particularly through Telegram channels and anonymous online groups,” it said. Officials also noted that many such channels become highly ac- To enhance cooperation in defence, tech; trade target set at 20 billion euros by 2029 J AYANTH J A C O B @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a meeting with his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni, in Rome, Italy on Wednesday | PTI The India-Italy Joint Strategic Action Plan 2025-29 provides a practical and futuristic framework for our partnership. Bilateral trade is rapidly moving towards the target of 20 billion euros Prime Minister Narendra Modi India’s size, digital infrastructure and innovation can complement Italy’s industrial strength, manufacturing excellence, and technological integration capacity Italian PM Giorgia Meloni Melody toffee gift goes viral Ahead of the high-level bilateral engagement, a video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifting a pack of home-grown toffee brand Melody to Italian PM Giorgia Meloni went viral. More so because Melodi is a moniker coined by social media following the two leaders’ friendly engagements during COP28 event in 2023. The moniker took off after Meloni posted a selfie with Modi with the caption, “Good friends at COP28. #Melodi.” The latest viral video amassed over 8 million views within hours on X. Capitalising on the moment, Parle Products shared the video on Instagram with the caption: “Sweetening relationships since 1983.” | P10 india and Italy elevated their bilateral relationship to a ‘special strategic partnership’, deepening cooperation across trade, defence, technology, connectivity and maritime security as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held extensive talks with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome. The announcement came during Modi’s visit to Italy on the final leg of his five-nation tour and reflects growing convergence between New Delh i a n d Ro m e a m i d shifting geopolitical alignments, supply-chain disruptions and intensifying competition over technology and critical resources. The two countries also unveiled an ambitious target of raising bilateral trade from 14.25 billion euros in 2025 to 20 billion euros by 2029. “We deliberated extensively on enhancing India-Italy ties,” Modi said in a joint press statement after the talks, and added that the India-Italy Joint Strategic Action Plan 2025-2029 would Cabinet clears proposal for new Marine Fishing Regulation Bill E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i ce @ Bhubaneswar The state cabinet on Wednesday approved the proposal for enactment of Odisha Marine Fishing Regulation Act, 2026 by repealing an earlier legislation to widen the business scope of the fisheries sector and reach the target of `25,000 crore seafood export by 2036. The cabinet, presided over by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, approved the proposal to establish a robust, modern and inclusive legal framework for the marine fisheries sector as the earlier Act was limited in scope, not inclusive and inadequate to address the emerging challenges before the sector. Chief secretary Anu Garg told mediapersons that the fisheries sector faces challenges such as marine resource conservation, fishermen’s safety coastal security tech, , nological advancements and prevention of unauthorised entry of foreign fishing vessels. The proposed legislation seeks to address these issues by expanding the scope to include the regulation of deep-sea fishing and the promotion of mariculture activities, such as marine cage culture, seaweed culture, deployment of artificial reef for rejuvenation of territorial waters, Continued on P5 she said.  Banks can block financed phones for default: RBI B E NN K O C HU V E E DAN @ Mumbai BANKS may be allowed to block phones and disable other electronic devices bought on loan, in case the borrower defaults, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in its second draft guidelines on loan recovery, released on Wednesday . However, RBI clarified that banks cannot restrict the mobile phones of defaulting borrowers to recover personal, car, or home loans. According to the proposed New norms to kick in from October 1 The draft guidelines categorically state that banks may resort to disabling electronic devices only if the loan agreement has such a clause. RBI will accept public feedback till May 31 and proposes to implement the norms from October 1, 2026 norms, banks can restrict devices bought on loan if the dues are pending for more than 90 days and recovery notices have been served on time. Also, such an action may be taken only if the loan contract “expressly and unambiguously permits” it, the draft proposal noted. Restricting the targeted phones or devices could be done by deploying any technology-based mechanism. However, the bank cannot restrict essential functionalities such as access to internet, incoming calls, emergency SOS features, and receipt of emergency government notifications. Also, the restrictions must be listed within one hour of the borrower curing the default. The draft proposal also specifies conduct rules for recovery personnel. The guidelines say recovery calls and visits will be allowed only between 8 am and 7 pm, and agents will be barred from using intimidation, abusive language, public humiliation, social media shaming, or excessive calling. provide a “practical and futuristic roadmap” for cooperation across sectors. Modi was accorded a ceremonial military welcome on arrival, while Meloni hosted him for dinner and accompanied him on a visit to the Colosseum ahead of the formal talks. The two leaders have steadily built close political engagement in recent years, with Meloni saying she had met Modi seven times over the last few years and developed “a genuine friendship”. Several MoUs were signed covering agriculture, critical minerals, Ayurveda, science and technology, maritime transport and ports. A key agreement on facilitating the mobility of Indian nurses to Italy is expected to create new opportunities for skilled healthcare workers. Both sides welcomed the India-Italy Defence Industrial Roadmap aimed at promoting co-development and co-production in areas including helicopters, naval platforms, marine ar maments and electronic warfare. Rupee kissing distance away from 97 B e n n K oc h u vee d a n @ Mumbai BLEEDING for the ninth consecutive day, the rupee depreciated 16 paise to close to a fresh lifetime low of 96.86 against the US dollar on Wednesday as elevated global crude prices amid the West Asia crisis stoked inflation worries. The currency is now the most undervalued globally in 12 years, and analysts are of the opinion that more weakening of the rupee will not boost exports as such gains will be offset by rising import costs. Last May, the rupee had averaged at 85.50, marking a 11.9% year-on-year fall and close to 8% so far this year, making it the worst performing Asian currency in for the third year in a row. Traders said the RBI is spending an estimated $1 billion a day on currency intervention. While dollar demand from importers is rising continuously, there is hardly any dollar sale by exporters, leading to the mismatch. Meanwhile, the RBI has announced a $5-billion dollar-rupee buy-sell swap auction on May 26, to inject liquidity amid rising forex concerns. The rupee’s sharp decline has emerged as one of the biggest economic warning signs for policymakers, investors and businesses, the decline largely driven by capital outflow, expensive oil, widening trade deficits and a surging US dollar.