hyderabad l sunday l may 24, 2026 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l LATE City EDITION Don’s ‘apply from home country’ rule for green cards draws anger Democratic lawmakers and immigration advocates on Saturday demanded that the Trump administration withdraw its new green card policy democrats call it Attack on legal immigration Will help curb illegal immigration: USCIS Democratic lawmakers vowed to pursue every avenue to fight against the new policy, which they said will make legal immigration to the US much more harder. They also highlighted it will separate families when a member has to leave the US to apply for green card from their home country, a process that in some cases could stretch on months or a year ■ ■ The earlier policy allowed foreigners to change from non-immigrant to immigrant by applying for “adjustment of status” from within the US The US Citizenship and Immigration Services said the new policy cuts the need to find and remove those who “slip into the shadows” and remain in the US illegally after being denied residency REPORT: P3 6,00,000 people who are already in the U.S. apply for green card each year 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 Modi gets Trump’s invite for early visit J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi Net fuel rates up by `5/L after 3rd hike R a k e s h K um a r @ New Delhi Prices of petrol and diesel went up by up to 91 paise per litre on Saturday, the third such hike in less than 10 days, raising the cumulative retail fuel rates across the country by nearly `5 a litre. In Delhi, petrol became costlier by 87 paise — from `98.64 to `99.51 per litre. Diesel rates jumped by 91 paise — from `91.58 to `92.49 a litre. Likewise, the cost of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) went up by `1 per kg, taking its retail cost in the Capital to `81.09 per kg. The latest hike comes amid disruption in global oil and gas supplies following the conflict in West Asia. Despite the hikes, fuel retailers continue to absorb significant losses. Amid long queues and reports of shortage at petrol pumps and some outlets running dry, Indian Oil said there was no overall shortage, adding fuel outage at certain retail outlets as “highly localised”. WITH THIS ISSUE America Made in Pakistan PLUS 12 P AGES In his first visit to India as US Secretary of State to shore up ties that have come under strain in recent times, Marco Rubio met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday and handed over an invitation from President Donald Trump for an early visit to the White House. He later described India as a “cornerstone” of Washington’s Indo-Pacific strategy and said an “America First” visa schedule prioritising business professionals will deepen economic ties with New Delhi. Rubio, who arrived in New Delhi after a stop in Kolkata, held wide-ranging discussions with Modi on bilateral ties, regional security and the IndoPacific ahead of the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting scheduled in Delhi on May 26. After the meeting, Modi said the two sides discussed “sustained progress” in the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership as well as regional and global security issues. “India and the United States will continue to work closely for the global good,” Modi said on X. Speaking at the inauguration of the new US Embassy Support Annex Building here, Rubio underlined India’s growing importance in Washington’s strategic calculations. “It is at the cornerstone of this important partnership between us and India, which, as I Prime Minister Narendra Modi with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a meeting, in New Delhi on Saturday | PTI We had a phenomenal meeting today with the PM. It’s a relationship that is growing Sergio Gor, US Ambassador At Mother House Earlier in the day, Rubio visited the Mother House of Saint Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata before flying to Delhi said, is an incredibly important one,” he said. “It’s the reason why I’m here on this visit — to reaffirm those ties, to build upon them. We think in the months ahead, we’re going to have even more exciting and new announcements to make about the development and strengthening of the relationship between the two countries.” Rubio also announced a new “America First” visa schedule designed to prioritise business professionals and strengthen commercial engagement between the two countries. “We’re introducing a new America First visa schedule that prioritises business professionals that strengthen these ties,” he said. Rubio also highlighted the personal chemistry between Modi and Trump. Senior advocate killed, police suspect targeted hit-and-run “Upon learning about the incident, family members rushed In a suspected pre-planned outside and found him lying on murder, senior advocate Khaja the road. He was immediately Moizuddin (63) was killed after shifted to a nearby hospital, a speeding car rammed him where he succumbed while unoutside his residence dergoing treatment,” in Shantinagar under the inspector said. the Nampally police Police formed spestation limits on Saturcial teams to trace the day morning. vehicle involved in the Moizuddin had been incident. “The vehicle practising law at the did not have number High Court and City plates either at the Civil Court for the past front or rear,” the in35 years. spector added. Khaja Moizuddin According to NamSecunderabad DCP pally Inspector Saidulu, Moi- Rakshitha Krishna Murthy zuddin had come out to his car said police were examining and was preparing to leave for CCTV footage and that the a swimming pool when an uni- preliminary assessment sugdentified vehicle struck him at gested it appeared to be a high speed. murder. CONTINUED ON P4 Express News Service @ Hyderabad Even as the Centre prepares to roll out the new rural employment scheme, VB GRAM-G from July 1, it has been learnt that it may allocate an additional `15,000 crore to MGNREGA, raising fresh questions over the future of the existing scheme, which is to be repealed under the new framework. The development comes even as the gover nment published draft rules for the VBGRAM-G Act on Saturday for public consultation. The draft proposes that Central allocations to states under the new scheme will be determined normatively using the horizontal devolution formula recommended by the 16th Finance Commission. According to sources, the ad- ditional allocation could be released immediately to the twodecade-old UPA-era MGNREGA. However, there is still no clarity on whether the existing scheme will continue during the transition phase. The development comes amid Opposition demands for a smooth shift from MGNREGA to GRAM-G, with the government earlier assuring a six-month transition period to avoid disruption in rural employment and wage payments. Opposition leaders have also maintained that MGNREGA cannot be discontinued abruptly given its role in provid, ing rural livelihood support. In the Union Budget, the Centre allocated `95,692.31 crore for GRAM-G and `30,000 crore for MGNREGA to clear pending liabilities. Cabinet approves one lakh Indiramma houses in city M a n d a R a v i n d e r R e d d y @ Hyderabad He fought to protect Waqf lands: Son The victim’s son claimed that Moizuddin had been pursuing cases relating to the privatisation and illegal occupation of Waqf institutions and public properties meant for minorities and underprivileged sections and that this was the sixth attack on his father Draft rules in for GRam-G, Phogat wins the fresh funds for MGNREGA dangal at Delhi HC Pr e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi homelessness CURE U DAYAN K ISHO R e @ New Delhi The Delhi High Court has allowed celebrated wrestler Vinesh Phogat to participate in the upcoming Asian Games 2026 selection trials to be held from May 30 to 31, saying motherhood cannot be treated as a professional impediment. A bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia called Phogat “an internationally acclaimed athlete” and said she could not meet the Wrestling Federation of India’s (WFI) “exclusionary” selection policy only because she was on maternity leave. “It is acknowledged that motherhood cannot be treated as a professional impediment or a circumstance warranting adverse treatment. A legal and regulatory framework that either expressly or impliedly disadvantages a woman on account of pregnancy or post-partum recovery would clearly violate the principles of non-discrimination enshrined in Articles 14 (right to equality) and 21 (right to life) of the Constitution of India,” the division bench noted in its order on Friday. The order was uploaded on the court website on Saturday . The state Cabinet on Saturday approved construction of one lakh houses under the Indiramma Housing Scheme for Low Income Group (LIG) families in the Core Urban Region (CURE), covering 24 Assembly constituencies. The Cabinet also approved Phase 2 of the Indiramma Housing Scheme, under which at least 2,000 houses will be sanctioned in each Assembly constituency, taking the total to around 2.5 lakh houses statewide. The Cabinet further approved implementation of the mid-day meal scheme in all junior colleges. Along with government schools, junior college students will also be provided breakfast and milk, as announced in the Budget 2026-27. Briefing the media after the meeting chaired by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, I&PR Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy said the government had received six lakh applications for houses in the CURE region, but only 18,500 applicants owned land. “For the remaining beneficiaries, the Cabinet decided to construct apartment houses on government land where they are currently residing. Beneficiaries will also get Undivided Land Share (UDS). Each flat will measure around 400-420 sq ft,” he said. He added that the Cabinet also decided to earmark 30% of the houses for Middle Income Group (MIG) families and that modalities would be worked out shortly  . CONTINUED ON P4 Other decisions `587 crore approved for land acquisition, rehabilitation and infrastructure for the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme n  Generation Life Sciences Next Policy 2026-30 approved; government targets `25 billion investments and five lakh jobs in five years approved `1,000 croreGodavarito be for Pushkaralu-2027;300 crore released in first instalment n  Telangana DISCOMs cleared to join RDSS scheme of the Union government n  DCMSs to be merged with All MARKFED n  Telangana Rural Infrastructure Corporation (TGRIC) to be merged with HACA allotted for Assam 14 acres KarimnagarSISF group Rifles, BSF and centres in district teaching and six non20three outsourcing posts teaching regular posts, and approved for Degree College at Gangadhara 18 posts sanctioned for Firein Station at Kesamudram Mahbubabad district HILTP guidelines issued, Sridhar launches portal Express News Service @ Hyderabad The state government has operationalised the Hyderabad Industrial Lands Transformation Policy (HILTP) by issuing detailed implementation guidelines for the relocation of polluting industries located in industrial parks and standalone units within Hyderabad’s Core Urban Region (CURE). On Saturday IT and Industries Minis, ter D Sridhar Babu launched a dedicated online portal for eligible industrial units seeking benefits under the policy . The government had formulated the policy on November 22, 2025. Officials said around 9,300 acres of industrial land within the CURE are proposed to be converted into multi-use zones.  CONTINUED ON P4 HELP AT HAND Application portal: tgiic.telangana.gov.in Support portal: hiltp-tgiic.floww.ai Helpline: 7729-983215 (Monday to Saturday | 10 am to 6 pm) Processing fee Up to 1 acre Above 1 acre and up to 5 acres Above 5 acres and up to 10 acres Above 10 acres and up to 25 acres Above 25 acres and up to 50 acres Above 50 acres `20,000 `50,000 `1 lakh `2 lakh `5 lakh `10 lakh