chennai l sunday l may 31, 2026 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l vellore EDITION GT’s Shubman and RCB’s Rajat have a chance to etch history Gill aims to make statement as captain With two young Indian captains going up against each other in the Indian Premier League final in Ahmedabad on Sunday, a look… Patidar’s chance to enter exclusive list Having been dropped from the Indian T20I team, Shubman Gill has upped his intent and shown why he can be a successful batter and captain in this format. Leading from the front for the Gujarat Titans, the 26-year-old will be keen to dismantle defending champs Royal Challengers Bengaluru and lift the trophy at his IPL home ground. ■ ■ When Rajat Patidar was appointed captain of RCB, the batter from Madhya Pradesh surprised everyone with his captaincy, breaking the franchise’s 18-year IPL title drought, in Ahmedabad last year. Come Sunday, he has a chance to make history by winning back-toback titles, joining the likes of MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma | P11 TWO CSK and MI are the two other teams to win consecutive titles 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 Resilient India faces headwinds from Wasia, weak monsoon outlook: FinMin Dipak M o n d a l @ New Delhi Karnataka Congress leader D K Shivakumar with Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot and outgoing CM Siddaramaiah in Bengaluru on Saturday | special arrangement DKS to take oath on Wednesday Keep swearing-in low key, says Rahul; new cabinet to be a mix of old and new faces WITH THIS ISSUE Testing Times PLUS 12 P AGES 3 minors among eight held for attack spree in Nellai, Tenkasi EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Tenkasi/Tirunelveli In a joint operation, Tenkasi and Tirunelveli police on Saturday apprehended eight persons, including three juveniles, in connection with a two-day sickle-attack spree which left 10 people — most of them Dalits — injured in four villages across the two districts. Police are searching for five more suspects. The attacks began on Thursday in Brahmadesam village under Ambasamudram limits in Tirunelveli district when a gang of youngsters on two-wheelers attacked Manikandan, a 29-year-old SC man, injuring his left hand, police sources said. “The gang had attempted to extort money from Manikandan. Then they visited a sculpture workshop belonging to one Selva Ganesan at Vaagaikulam village with the intention of getting money from him. Unable to find him, they left the area, inflicting minor injuries on a pedestrian on their way,” sources said. On Friday evening, the same gang, with some different members, carried out its third attack at Mathakovil street in Nettur village where Dalit Christians reside.  P5 Devara j B H ireha l l i @ Bengaluru DEPUTY Chief Minister DK Shivakumar was on Saturday elected Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader and will be sworn in as Karnataka’s 18th Chief Minister at 4.05 pm on Wednesday The ceremony will be held at the . Glass House, Lok Bhavan, Bengaluru, with Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot administering the oath of office. Shivakumar fixed the auspicious date and time after consulting personal astrologers. Around 20 MLAs are expected to be sworn in as Cabinet ministers alongside him, though names are yet to be officially confirmed. At the CLP meeting, outgoing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah proposed Shivakumar’s name as new CLP leader. Senior leader Dr G Parameshwara seconded the proposal and all 135 Congress MLAs, two associate members, and one Raita Sangha MLA approved it unanimously The swearing. in was initially planned on the grand steps of Vidhana Soudha but was shifted to the more modest Lok Bhavan on the advice of Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, who preferred a low-profile event. Following the CLP meeting, Shivakumar, accompanied by Siddaramaiah and senior legislators, called on the Governor at Raj Bhavan, staking claim to form the government. The Governor issued formal permission for the swearing-in. Party general secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal said, “Under the leadership of Shivakumar, the Congress will return to power again with the support of Siddaramaiah in the 2028 assembly election in Karnataka.” According to sources, there are indications that the new cabinet will have a mix of both old and new members. Chennai: The TN government on Friday terminated Director of Prosecution G Krishnaraja from service, over complaints of alleged irregularities in the directorate, and posted advocate R Sekar Durai as the Acting Director of Prosecution | P4 HC: Prisoners entitled to treatment of choice Chennai: Observing that the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution includes access to medical treatment of one’s choice, the Madras High Court has allowed an undertrial prisoner to undergo treatment at a private hospital | P4 D K Shivakumar Encomiums for Sidda at CLP meet At the CLP meeting, newly elected leader Shivakumar moved a resolution praising the service rendered by Siddaramaiah during his tenure as chief minister, and sought the support of legislators. Five MLAs — Raju Kage, Rahim Khan, GT Patil, P Koliwad and H V Venkatesh — were not at the meeting The report said recent increase in petrol and diesel prices could trigger direct and indirect inflationary effects, while any further rise in global energy prices could erode the inflation cushion. Food inflation risks have risen after IMD projected a deficient monsoon that could compound inflationary pressures bour market remains stable and the country’s foreign exchange reserves provide a substantial buffer against external shocks. However, it cautioned that the global environment has become materially more challenging since the outbreak of the West Asia conflict, with elevated crude oil prices, tighter financial conditions and slowing growth across major econo- mies creating headwinds that India cannot fully escape. “The near-term outlook for the Indian economy is one of cautious resilience,” the report said, while warning that forecasts of a below-normal monsoon and a likely moderation in economic activity could weigh on consumption demand in the months ahead. The review noted that the conflict has disrupted energy Outgoing chief of navy charts the next frontier Javaria R ana @ New Delhi The Indian Navy’s next frontier of self-reliance lies not in shipbuilding, but in mastering critical technologies, from AIenabled combat systems and autonomous platfor ms to quantum-secure networks and sovereign design capability, outgoing Navy chief Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi told this newspaper in one of his final interviews before demitting office on Sunday . He said the Navy is currently steering about 140 major R&D projects across 25 Defence Research and Development Organisation laboratories. “The next frontier of indigenisation lies in critical technologies and sovereign design capability The Indian Navy’s . modernisation story is increasingly being written in Indian shipyards and Indian laboratories,” he said. On the subsurface domain, he said the Navy is in the final stages of procuring six next- I leave with immense confidence that the Indian Navy is stronger, more capable, more indigenous, more networked, and better prepared than ever before Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi generation conventional submarines equipped with Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) under Project-75(I). Also, a contract for 31 MQ-9B Sky/Sea Guardian high-altitude longendurance remotely piloted aircraft has been placed, with deliveries beginning in 2029. “The undersea domain remains central to maritime deterrence. It is not just about having submarines but about having underwater domain awareness and the ability to respond faster than any potential adversary,” he said. On carrier aviation, Tripathi identified the Twin Engine Deck Based Fighter as the cornerstone of India’s long-term indigenous carrier air power roadmap. “The future must be shaped by an indigenous carrier-borne fighter ecosystem to secure our national maritime interests, anytime, anywhere, anyhow,” he said. The strategic necessity of Carrier Battle Groups was aptly demonstrated during Operation Sindoor, when their deployment forced the adversary’s navy to remain confined to ports and the Makran coast, he said. Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan will succeed Tripathy as the next Navy chief.  Q&A: P7 TNPDCL forms panels to scrutinise tender costs S G U R U V A N M I K A N AT H A N @ Chennai Abhishek roughed up Trinamool Congress General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee wears a helmet after stones, shoes and eggs were hurled at him during a visit to Sonarpur in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal on Saturday to meet victims of post-poll violence | PTI | p8 e x p r ess r e a d TN sacks prosecution director G Krishnaraja Humbled to be unanimously elected as the Leader of the Congress Legislature Party ... We remain committed to serving the people INDIA’S economy remains resilient despite escalating global uncertainties triggered by the conflict in West Asia, but rising energy prices, a weakening rupee, mounting inflationary pressures and the prospect of a below-normal monsoon pose significant risks to growth and price stability, the Finance Ministry said in its Monthly Economic Review (MER) for May 2026. The ministry said the nearterm outlook for the economy is one of cautious resilience, with domestic fundamentals remaining broadly intact. Manufacturing and services activity continues to expand, the la- Food inflation risks alive and kicking In the wake of the alleged `397-crore transformer procurement scam, the Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Cor poration Limited (TNPDCL) in a first has ordered its 12 distribution regions to form three committees each to scrutinise and finalise cost estimates before tenders are floated. The decision, which aims to strengthen transparency and ensure competitive tendering practices, was taken during a review meeting chaired by Electricity Minister CTR Nirmal Kumar at the TNEB headquarters in Chennai recently . According to a TNPDCL order accessed by TNIE, all distribution regions have been directed to form three panels — Market Analysis and Estimate Validation Committee, Manufacturer Assessment Committee, and Crosscheck Committee. The Market Analysis and Estimate Validation panel will study prevailing raw material prices, prepare component-wise cost estimates and examine technical specifications against existing TNPDCL standards.  P5 Iran conflict’s positive side: India Inc goes for recycled plastic Jiten d ra C h o u b e y @ New Delhi The ongoing Iran conflict has had an unexpected positive spinoff for the environment. The beneficiary: India’s plastic recycling industry . Before the conflict began, virgin polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was the go-to packaging product for India Inc. This was despite the fact that the government had mandated adding 40% of recycled PET or r-PET to their procurement. Two important ingredients for virgin PET were imported from countries like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain. With the conflict disrupted that critical supply chain, it gave the recycled plastic industry a huge breakthrough. From a pre-conflict monthly sourcing of about 5,000 tonnes of rPET, orders has now surged to around 15,000 tonnes a month. Goutham Jain, Director General of the Association of PET Recyclers (APR) Bharat, said, “If the war crisis persists, production capacity could reach Call for strong deterrent If a company does not meet its recycled plastic usage target, it faces either no penalty or a mere `2.90/kg penalty. In contrast, penalties in the European Union exceed `50/kg, serving as a strong deterrent, said Deepak Rungta, an r-PET manufacturer 180,000 tonnes annually .” Significantly, the cost of manufacturing virgin PET has shot up from `90/kg to `135/kg, while that of food packaging- grade r-PET climbed from `95/ kg to `115/kg. The Food Safety Standards Authority has approved r-PET production capacity of around 300,000 tonnes, which represents 40% of the total PET consumption in the country This approval is based . on new regulations from the environment ministry, which mandates the inclusion of at least 40% r-PET in food packaging. However, the usage of rPET at present in food packaging is only about 20%. Experts say the regulations are slanted towards virgin plastic consumers as they allow industries to defer their recycling targets without immediate penalties or minimal penalties. markets, trade routes and supply chains, reviving inflationary pressures globally. Brent crude averaged $120.4 per barrel in April before easing to $108.3 in May, while supplychain disruptions intensified. The ministry flagged a growing divergence between retail and wholesale inflation. Consumer price inflation rose marginally to 3.48% in April, remaining below the Reserve Bank of India’s medium-term target of 4%. In contrast, wholesale price inflation accelerated to 8.3%, a 42-month high, driven by elevated energy prices, rupee depreciation and favourable base effects. The inflation outlook, it said, warrants close monitoring. ‘invoke Article 167’ AIADMK MLAs meet guv, allege poaching by TVK S K U M A R E S A N @ Chennai A delegation of AIADMK MLAs led by former minister Agri SS Krishnamoorthy met Governor RV Arlekar at the Lok Bhavan on Saturday and submitted a petition seeking his intervention against the alleged poaching of AIADMK legislators by TVK. Krishnamoorthy told TNIE that the ruling party had lured AIADMK MLAs and facilitated their induction into TVK soon after their resignation from the Assembly . He urged the governor to invoke Article 167 of the Constitution and seek an explanation from Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, the chief secretary and the Assembly secretary regarding the developments. “Under Article 167 of the Constitution, the governor has the authority to seek information from the chief minister on matters relating to the administration of the state. He should immediately take steps to prevent the ongoing horse-trading of legislators,” Krishnamoorthy said. The former minister further contended that the resignations of AIADMK MLAs who later joined TVK should not have been accepted while disqualification petitions filed against them under the 10th Schedule of the Constitution, popularly known as the anti-defection law, were still pending. He said that accepting the resignations before deciding on the disqualification proceedings amounted to a violation of established constitutional principles and required scrutiny  . P5 Phogat fails to qualify for Asian Games Vinesh Phogat was knocked out of the Asian Games selection trials on Saturday after losing to Meenakshi Goyat 4-6 in a tense semifinal bout of women’s 53kg event, dashing hopes for her comeback | P11