HYDERABAD l saturday l july 04, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 18 l late cITY EDITION Top defence panel approves Acquisition Worth `52,000 crore The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) meeting on Friday cleared major capital acquisition proposals worth around `52,000 crore | P9 Op Sindoor’s influence on priorities First meet after big shake-up at the top The approvals by the DAC, chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, pointed to how Operation Sindoor influenced acquisition priorities, as counter-drone systems, layered air defence, anti-tank weapons and persistent surveillance platforms were on the shopping list. The Army’s request for the indigenous Akash-Tarang, an anti-UAV system, was cleared ■ ■ This was the first DAC meet since a shake-up at the top, with Gen Raja Subramani taking over as Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Dhiraj Seth as Army chief and Admiral Krishna Swaminathan as Navy chief DAC’s “acceptance of necessity” is the first of the procurement steps, which includes tendering, technical evaluation and cost negotiations 2,300 indigenous anti-tank guided missiles, 100 launchers, 5 simulators okayed 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 Existing legal framework inadequate to regulate evolving tech: IT secy RAKESH KUMAR @ New Delhi With policymakers across the globe grappling with the challenges posed by artificial intelligence (AI), from disinformation to cyber security threats, the government is considering the option of bringing in a separate legislation to regulate AI, IT secretary S Krishnan said on Friday . India’s existing legal framework has managed to address the initial concerns around AI, such as deepfakes and labourrelated issues. However, as the AI technology evolves and new threats emerge, a dedicated regulation or law may be required to deal with them, Krishnan added. “In AI and cybersecurity the , regulations regarding the legal process in India have been adequate in addressing our initial concerns... We addressed these by making new rules under the existing laws. But now we feel that we may need to think more deeply and make additional regulations. We may need to make a new law,” Krishnan said. Without giving a timeframe for the proposed law, he said: “It is a conversation which has commenced... My minister (IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw) and I have both been on record earlier that we will look at AI regulation when the time is right, and it appears that the time is getting right, and we will start looking at it.” E x p r e s s Re a d No fresh probe needed in Viveka case: CBI tells HC Hyderabad: The CBI on Friday told the Court that no further investigation was required in the YS Vivekananda Reddy murder case, saying a comprehensive probe had already been completed. It sought dismissal of N Sunitha’s plea for further investigation and urged the court to expedite the trial, citing concerns over delays | P7 Govt approves filling up of 5,000 police posts Hyderabad: The Finance department on Friday approved the filling up of 5,000 posts under the director general of police through direct recruitment. The Telangana State Level Police Recruitment Board has been directed to obtain vacancy details from the departments concerned and issue the recruitment notification | P2 meta summoned over child sex abuse vids IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has directed his ministry to summon Meta officials over Instagram ads promoting child sexual abuse material. According to sources in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the govt has sought an explanation from Meta. The move follows a BBC report on paid Insta ads with the key words “rape video” and “child video”. These advertisements allegedly redirected users to Telegram channels that sell child sexual abuse material. Meanwhile, Meta representatives met MeitY officials on Friday in connection with the government’s earlier notice on the proposed “usernames” feature on WhatsApp @ New Delhi/Lucknow The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Friday broke its silence over the sensational donation theft at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, with general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale observing that the condemnable act had deeply hurt the sentiments of the entire society and demanding stringent punishment for the guilty . Emphasising the need to restore public confidence, Hosabale said the Goncalo Ramos headed Portugal into the lead in the fourth minute of stoppage time before Croatia saw a last-gasp equaliser ruled out for offside in Toronto. Earlier, Cristiano Ronaldo had helped haul his team back into the contest, burying a 68thminute penalty to cancel out Croatia’s opener The IT secretary, who was speaking on the sidelines of a CII cybersecurity event in Delhi on Friday also acknowledged , the knotty issue of VPN (virtual private network) service providers refusing to register in India and offering services from other countries. “There is a system for VPNs to register, but many do not register in India and offer services from elsewhere. We have to look at both technology solutions and legal solutions to address this issue,” he said. VPN encrypts internet connection and routes it through a remote server to enhance privacy security and access to re, , stricted content. It provides anonymity to users who can bypass government censorship and access sites that are banned in their country . Krishnan said the government has asked Google Play Store and Apple App Store to remove three Chinese apps— BAT-BMS, Lossigy and Epochi-ion—after they were found to have been misused to disable battery-operated vehicles remotely The decision was taken . after viral videos showed erickshaws being rendered inoperable through a remote shutdown feature in the BATBMS app, triggering concerns over cybersecurity risks associated with internet-connected vehicle management systems. “A couple of apps came to our notice. Both have been taken down,” Krishnan said, adding that any other app found to be similarly misused would also be blocked. 3 cheers for Spain Earlier, Spain had advanced to last 16 stage with a scintillating 3-0 win over Austria in Los Angeles. Two goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and a Pedro Porro header sealed victory for the Spaniards. Switzerland also advanced with a 2-0 win over Algeria Today’s matches: Canada vs Morocco 10.30 PM, France vs Paraguay 2.30 AM* (IST Sunday) At the point of contact, the tech shows a small spike as seen in the image | FIFA Media Tech denies Croatia Portugal were stunned when Josko Gvardiol prodded home an apparent equaliser. Yet VAR chalked off the goal after a chip embedded in the ball detected that it had brushed Croatia striker Igor Matanovic while Mario Pasalic was in an offside position in the build-up Pre-quarters from today The last-16 stage begins today with Canada facing Morocco before France’s tie vs Paraguay Bhatti denies ‘coal scam’, directs SCCL Vigiliance wing to probe Express News Service @ Hyderabad Asserting that there was no ‘coal scam’, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Friday directed the SCCL director (Vigilance) to probe the alleged disappearance of 40 lakh tonnes of coal in Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL). Speaking to reporters here, Vikramarka, who also holds the Finance and Energy portfolios, said the inquiry was aimed at putting to rest any doubts among the public. He said the SCCL Vigilance director would gather all details and submit a comprehansive report to the government, adding that the system in SCCL was foolproof and that not even a single kg of coal could leave the company unaccounted for. The move follows allegations by the BRS that a `1,600 crore coal stock scam took place in Singareni. In separate letters, BRS working president KT Rama Rao urged the Centre to intervene, alleging SCCL had paid coal cess and I-T on coal that was not physically available, while Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy asked Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to look into the allegations. Vikramarka, however, argued that the larger issue lay elsewhere. Alleging that the previous BRS government had remained in power for 10 years and initiated the construction of two thermal power plants without starting new coal mines under SCCL, he asked, “How could the new thermal power plants get coal without new mines being opened while old mines were being closed?” The deputy chief minister also turned the spotlight on the state’s debt burden, challenging BRS president and former ch i e f m i n i s t e r K C h a n drasekhar Rao to a debate in the Assembly. He alleged that Rama Rao was responsible for looting the state and said the former chief minister alone should participate in the debate. Vikramarka claimed the BRS government had raised debts of `8,21,651 crore, while the Congress government had repaid `2,08,681 crore over the past two and a half years.  Continued on page 4 4 China firms get waiver for bids in power infra projects RAKESH KUMAR @ New Delhi Exemption sought in Jan THE Centre has granted a two-year exemption to four China-linked electrical equipment makers with manufacturing facilities in India, allowing them to participate in gover nment tenders for critical power infrastructure projects. The four companies are TBEA Energy India, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Chinese company TBEA Group; Nanjing Electric India, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Chinese power equipment manufacturer Nanjing Electric; New Northeast Electric India, which has technology transfer ties with Chinese pow- The Ministry of Power had sought the exemption in January to prevent delays in key transmission and power projects. The move is expected to increase competition in procurement across the power, transmission and distribution, renewable energy, industrial automation, and infrastructure sectors over the next two years er sector companies; and Taikai Electric (India), a subsidiary of China-headquartered Taikai Group. The exemption has been granted by the finance ministry under the Public Procure- RSS raps Ram temple donation theft, seeks action against guilty RA J ESH KUMAR T HAKUR a n d N a m ita B a j pa i Ramos’ late decider PIC:SRI LOGANATHAN VELMURUGAN Govt plans separate law to address AI challenges Ronaldo & Co advance after VAR drama prevailing confusion and uncertainty must come to an end. “In this regard, we expect the temple management and the UP government-appointed special investigation team (SIT) to take all necessary initiatives.” He appealed to the Hindu community to exercise patience and restraint, urging them not to allow anti-national forces to exploit the incident. Hosabale said the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust should treat the theft as an exceptionally serious matter and take steps to rectify all shortcomings in the temple man- agement. This is crucial to ensure that the faith and reverence of crores of Ram devotees remains unbroken, he said. “We all are extremely pained and angered,” Hosabale said in a video message, recalling that the temple was a symbol of reverence and devotion owing to the sacrifices of generations of Ram devotees. The controversy has already claimed its biggest casualty with Trust general secretary Champat Rai putting in his papers. Hosabale’s statement came days before the RSS’ annual Akhil Bharatiya Prant Pracharak Baithak in Belagavi, Karnataka. ment Order (Rule 144(xi) of the General Financial Rules, 2017), which restricts companies from countries sharing a land border with India, including China, from participating in government procurement without prior approval. TNIE has reviewed the copy of the order. Following the 2020 border clashes, Chinese bidders were required to obtain political and security clearances for public contracts. In May 2026, the Centre allowed overseas firms with up to 10% Chinese shareholding to invest through the automatic route, making them eligible to bid for contracts involving critical power equipment where domestic capacity is limited. Iran in Mourning The coffin of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei carried into the Mosalla Grand Mosque ahead of his funeral ceremonies in Tehran on Friday | AP | P11 tough stance HC gives one final week for report on Owaisi college T G N a i d u @ Hyderabad Expressing strong displeasure over their continued failure to comply with its earlier directions, the Telangana High Court on Friday granted state authorities one “final” week to place all relevant records before it regarding the alleged illegal constructions within the Full Tank Level (FTL) and buffer zone of Salkam Cheruvu at Bandlaguda Kalsa, Hyderabad. Justice NV Shravan Kumar warned that appropriate orders would follow if there was any further non-compliance. During the hearing of a PIL, the School Education department informed the court that it had not granted permission to Barrister Fatima Owaisi Educational Institutions to conduct Classes 1 to 10 for the 2026-27 academic year from the disputed premises. It, however, clarified that approvals for Intermediate, undergraduate and postgraduate courses fall under the Higher Education and Technical Education departments. The court also noted that despite repeated opportunities, the institution had failed to produce any document establishing its authority to operate from the site and that, although counsel had appeared on its behalf earlier, no vakalat had yet been filed. Observing that nearly three months had elapsed since its earlier directions, the high court said no comprehensive reports or records of statutory approvals had been placed before it. Continued on page 4 A month on, textbooks yet to reach Inter students M e g h n a N at h @ Hyderabad Nearly a month into the academic year, first- and secondyear Intermediate vocational students and first-year Telugu medium students in government junior colleges are still waiting for their prescribed books. The wait has been especially frustrating for first-year Telugu medium students. This year’s revised Intermediate syllabus comes with several new chapters, leaving them with no old books to borrow and nothing to turn to once the classroom lecture ends. “Many of us come from rural backgrounds and cannot afford to buy private guidebooks. We depend completely on the free textbooks provided by the government, and also we cannot borrow the books from our seniors, as this year’s syllabus has been revised,” said first-year Telugu medium student P Lavanya. As the wait stretches on and internal examinations inch closer, students and the Telangana Gazetted Junior Lecturers Association (TGJLA) have urged the state government to expedite the distribution of the pending Telugu Academy textbooks. “We have been attending classes for almost a month without books. Our lecturers have explained the lessons, but it is difficult to understand everything without reading the textbook. We are worried about upcoming internal examinations,” said T Mohan, a second-year vocational student at a government junior college. The uncertainty extends be- yond the classroom for vocational students, whose subjects rely heavily on technical concepts and practical learning. “Vocational subjects involve technical terminology and diagrams and without books, we are unable to prepare for practical classes or revise what is taught in college,” said firstyear vocational student S Priyanka. Lecturers say the delay is affecting a crucial stage of the academic year, when students are expected to build the foundations for the months ahead. Without textbooks, they point out, students are unable to revise lessons at home, particularly those from economically weaker families who depend entirely on government-supplied books. Continued on page 2