chennai l tuesday l july 07, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 20 l late city EDITION India’s crude basket at lowest level since start of west asia war India’s crude oil basket averaged $67.88 per barrel so far in July, below the $69.01 per barrel recorded in February, before the start of the West Asia war Down sharply from $113.49 per barrel in mar July purchase price lower than fy26 avg Crude oil prices had surged sharply during the West Asia conflict that began on February 28, with the crude oil basket averaging $113.49 per barrel in March. It moderated to $106.23 per barrel in May and further declined to $83.22 per barrel in June. It has averaged $67.88 per barrel in July, the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) data showed | p14 ■ ■ According to the PPAC data, India’s average purchase price of crude oil so far in July is lower than the FY26 average of $70.99 per barrel Though the crude purchase price has fallen, a cut in fuel prices is unlikely to happen soon with the government indicating prices must be stable at the pre-war level for months before that can happen $62.20 per barrel in December was the lowest purchasing price in fy26 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 Lift on Balogun ban sparks outcry Early exit for Selecao USA’s Folarin Balogun was set to play the last 16 tie against Belgium despite being sent off in 2-0 win against Bosnia thanks to “phonecalls,” before Brazil got eliminated. A look... Belgium appeal rejected FIFA has dismissed Belgium’s challenge over the eligibility of Balogun after they decided to suspend his one-game ban. “The RBFA is not a party to the proceedings and, has no standing to appeal the decision,” FIFA stated i started this process, says Trump US President Donald Trump said that he called FIFA boss Gianni Infantino to review red-card decision on Balogun. Then, FIFA stated that his red card has been lifted and instead ordered a probationary period of a year under Article 27 of FIFA’s Disciplinary Code Retain 35kg rice for AAY card holders, CM urges PM E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v ic e @ Chennai The centre must reconsider its proposal to cap the allocation of foodgrains for Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) ration card holders to seven kg per person through an amendment to the National Food Security Act (NFSA), Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay said in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday The plan would af. fect nearly 58.51 lakh people in Tamil Nadu, the CM said. The draft amendment Bill, published by the Union Food Department on June 24, proposes to allocate seven kg of foodgrains per person per month, subject to a cap of 35 kg per AAY household. Considering the possibility of reduction in allocation to less than 35kg for families that have fewer than five members, the CM has urged the centre to retain the existing entitlement of 35kg for every family irrespective of the number of members. TN has 18.64 lakh AAY ration cards covering 69.27 lakh beneficiaries. Vijay pointed out that of the 18.64 lakh AAY cards, 15.75 lakh cards covering 58.51 lakh people belong to households with fewer than five members. “If the amendments come into force, TN’s monthly allocation of foodgrain for AAY card holders would decline from 65,261 tonnes (MT) to 42,040 MT, pushing lakhs into poverty mal, nutrition and hunger,” he said. The CM’s letter said TN is predominantly a rice-eating state, where it is consumed in the form of idli, dosa and pongal for breakfast or dinner, and as the staple food for lunch by almost the entire population.  P7 A late brace from Erling Haaland against Brazil sealed Norway their first quarterfinal spot with a 2-1 win. Following elimination, superstar Neymar announced his international retirement. Haaland and Co will face England in the quarterfinals, who beat a strong Mexico side at the daunting Estadio Azteca in Mexico City Today’s matches (Round of 16): Argentina vs Egypt | 9.30 PM; Switzerland vs Colombia | 1:30 AM* ( *IST Wednesday) PIL against sharing court proceedings and recordings on social media u d ayan k i s hor e @ New Delhi Express exclusive ‘AI won’t kill jobs, only professions’ J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi I NDIA is yet to meaningfully benefit from the global ‘China+1’ supply chain shift and remains a difficult place for foreign investors to do business, according to Ruchir Sharma, chairman of Rockefeller International. Speaking to TNIE in a wide-ranging interview, he said the world risks overestimating the transformative power of artificial intelligence (AI). “We are in an AI bubble,” said Sharma, adding that and one of the biggest misconceptions about AI is that it will ‘kill jobs’. “Technology doesn’t kill jobs. It kills professions,” the prominent global investor and author said. “Every technological revolution destroys certain professions but creates entirely new ones. We tend to focus on what’s b e i n g d e s t r o ye d rather than what’s being created.” He pointed to historical technological shifts Five years from now, the belief that the entire world order is going to be built solely on AI will look wrong Ruchir Sharma, chairman, Rockefeller Int’l and the Jevons Paradox— technological progress increases efficiency and so over, all consumption goes up rather than decreases—as reasons to believe AI will create new forms of work even as it automates existing roles. “I don’t believe the world is going to be defined by an ‘ I or A bye-bye’ mindset.” He then clarified: “I am a huge believer in AI as a technology It is go. ing to be transformative. But the current view is far too unifocal.” On India’s AI ambitions, Sharma said partnerships with countries from France to Japan are impor tant but can’ t quickly bridge India’s infrastructure gap. “The winners are the count r i e s p ro ducing AI infrastruc- ture (from semiconductors to data centres)”, he said. While India’s strength has been “software, not hardware,” AI leaders invest 3-4% of GDP in technology and R&D, compared with about 1% in India. On manufacturing, Sharma offered a blunt assessment of India’s performance in attracting global supply chains. “The big beneficiaries of China+1 (a supply chain strategy where companies keep part of their manufacturing operations in China but move some production to another country) have been Vietnam and South Korea. We have not seen anything really on that front in any meaningful way .” He said India’s biggest obstacle is the domestic business climate. “At the end of the day , India is a very tough place to do business,” Sharma said, citing coordination challenges across different levels of gover nment. He also war ned against complacency . “There is this underlying attitude that ‘where else will the money go?’ It has to come to India because the market is so large. I think that prevents the most efficient policymaking.”  (Edited excerpts of interview on op-ed page on Thursday) YouTube is a dynamic platform where millions of videos are uploaded every hour. It is impossible to proactively monitor the videos uploaded on the platform Google, in Delhi HC Behind the petition Lawyer Vaibhav Singh had filed the PIL against unauthorised sharing of court proceedings on April 13 by several Opposition leaders and journalists, in which Arvind Kejriwal had sought recusal of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma in the liquor policy case. The other respondents in the case include Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, AAP leaders Sanjeev Jha, Mukesh Ahlawat, and Jarnail Singh, and journalist Ravish Kumar SOCIAL media behemoths Google and Meta on Monday informed the Delhi High Court that they cannot be burdened with an obligation to police millions of videos uploaded on their platforms worldwide. They submitted that they were only intermediaries and neither create nor control third-party content, and cannot be “compelled to proactively monitor their platforms for unlawful content”. While Google said it was impossible for it to proactively monitor “millions of videos uploaded on the YouTube every hour throughout the world”, Meta said there were over 2.9 billion users of Facebook, and over 1.5 billion users of the Instagram Service worldwide and it was “impracticable (if not impossible) for Meta to locate or identify the contents posted on them without URLs.” The submissions were made in affidavits filed by the social media companies before a bench of justices V Kameswar Rao and Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora in a PIL concerning circulation of videos of hearing in Arvind Kejriwal’s recusal plea on April 13. The court had earlier ordered takedown of the video from YouTube and Facebook/Instagram, owned by Google LLC and Meta respectively, which was complied with. The petitioner later moved the court alleging that the video in question was resurfacing on the platforms, and sought a direction to prevent their recurrence. Both Google and Meta opposed the submission, claiming that YouTube and Facebook/Instagram were merely intermediaries under the IT Act, and that the liability if any “rests with the publisher , , or uploader of the content”. Meta in its submission termed monitoring of content on Facebook or Instagram as “impracticable”. The bench deferred hearing on the petition till August 27. Govt crackdown on aides of environment minister Yadav S u m it K u m ar Singh @ New Delhi E x p r e s s Re a d Liquor price may go up by `10-`50 per bottle in TN Chennai: The state government is likely to increase liquor prices by `10 to `50 per bottle for ordinary and mid-range liquor brands, IMFL products and beer. The proposal for price revision, which may take effect by the end of this week, is expected to be finalised at the Tasmac board meeting scheduled to be held on Tuesday | P2 Can’t police videos: Meta, Google to HC gone with the rain Debris blocks a newly-opened section of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway following a landslide amid heavy rainfall in Pune and neighbouring districts on Monday. The weather office issued a ‘red alert’ for the district, warning of further rains ahead | PTI | P10 In a significant crackdown, the Union government recently purged the private secretary and two additional private secretaries from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. All three were part of minister Bhupender Yadav’s team. Mass transfers/sacking of a minister’s aides does not happen frequently Sources . said a similar action is afoot against the aides of three other ministers. Three separate office orders issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on July 3 to effect the changes. The first order “terminated with immediate effect” the appointment of Ayush Saran, Additional Private Secretary to Yadav. The second order repatriated Shailesh Kumar Singh, a Central Secretariat Service officer, who also served as Additional Private Secretary to minister Yadav, to his parent cadre at the Department of Personnel and Training, with what the order described as an “extended cooling off ” period be- fore further posting. The third order sent Amar Singh, an Indian Revenue Service officer from the 2010 batch, who served as the minister’s Private Secretary, back to his parent cadre at the Department of Revenue “on administrative ground”. The orders were copied to the Prime Minister’s Office, the Cabinet Secretariat, the Department of Personnel and Training and others. In Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s second innings from 2019 to 2024, around 102 officers and personal staff of various ministers were removed and transferred, sources said. Trust president Nritya Gopal Das (R) on his way to the meeting in Ayodhya| PTI Rai resignation okayed, interim gen secy named N a m ita B aj pai @ Lucknow THE Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust on Monday accepted the resignations of Champat Rai as its general secretary and member Anil Mishra in the wake of alleged embezzlement of donations. Trustee Krishna Mohan has been named as interim general secretary . Trust Treasurer Swami Govind Dev Giri announced the decision after a crucial meeting on Monday and named trustee Krishna Mohan as interim general secretary. Both leaders had resigned on June 27 following allegations of theft of Ram temple donations. Krishna Mohan, 74, a former Indian Forest Service officer and RSS’s eastern UP Kshetra Sanghchalak from Hardoi, had filed the police complaint that led to the FIR and arrests. Giri said the temple Trust would meet again on July 22 to decide on the appointment of a new trustee. He also announced the formation of a three-member panel to identify a CEO for the Trust, comprising retired judge Pramod Kohli, retired Lt Gen Vishnukant Chaturvedi and trustee Suresh Haware. Meanwhile, special invitee Gopal Rao Nagarkotte, who has been in the eye of a storm over the theft controversy, was debarred from the Trust. Giri described the donation theft as a matter of “deep embarrassment” for the Trust, saying the controversy had cast a shadow over a temple built after a centuries-long struggle. However, he rejected claims of missing valuables, and said detailed records of donated items exist. “Some people claimed that many valuable items donated have disappeared. We have registers of about 2,800 donated items. These records are available, and we are prepared to show them,” he said. balaji fails to appear before police The DMK MLA and his brother RV Ashok Kumar did not turn up on Monday for inquiry related to alleged `35-crore bribery attempt targeting TVK’s Uthangarai MLA N Ilaiyaraja | P4 Karur stampede: SC to hear DMK’s TN gives free Pongal garments a premium spin plea on ‘witness tampering’ today a f te r a d e c a d e SU C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Monday decided to list and hear on Tuesday an application filed by the DMK alleging “active influencing” of witnesses by Tamil Nadu ministers in connection with the Karur stampede last year that left 41 dead and 142 injured. A Partial Court Working Day Bench (previously known as va- cation bench) of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Sheel Nagu agreed to list the matter after senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, appearing for one of the respondents, sought urgent hearing. “This court earlier directed a CBI probe. Now, some accused are attempting to actively influence the witnesses,” Ahmadi told the bench. Taking note of the submissions, the bench said the matter would be heard on Tuesday It . clarified that the hearing will cover allegations of witness tampering as well as other reliefs sought in related petitions, including the recent DMK plea seeking to curb Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay and other accused ministers from making public statements on the stampede probe. Ahmadi said the application was filed in the pending special leave petition arising from the stampede at a TVK rally in Karur on September 27, 2025.  P7 S KUM A R ES A N @ Chennai The Tamil Nadu government has decided to introduce highquality dhotis and sarees with more cotton content and colour options under the Pongal gift scheme for 2027, marking the first major upgrade in their design and quality in more than a decade. According to officials, the redesigned garments will be relatively more durable, comfortable and attractive. They also said the new specifications would support higher yarn production in cooperative spinning mills and help speed up manufacturing. Under the revised plan, sarees will be woven using improved 60s policot yarn — which has polyester and cotton in the ratio of 80:20 compared to the earlier 90:10 ratio — with silver or copper-coloured polyester borders. This higher cotton mix will make it comfortable for wearing during summers Apart from usual blue & white, sarees will also be available in green colour | file pic and the colour of the saree will also be brighter. Apart from the usual colours of light blue, pink and ivory white, the new free sarees will also be available in green colour. The new dhotis, too, will be made from improved 40s grey poly-cotton yarn with 65:35 polyester-cotton mix compared to the 80:20 mix earlier. The dhotis will have coloured polyester borders, measuring two metres in length and 50 inches in width. Unlike earlier, the dhotis will be supplied after being washed. The sarees, as usual, will be 5.5 metres long and 45 inches wide.  P7