tirupati l thursday l july 16, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION ICC makes significant changes to 2027 50-over World Cup With less than 15 months to go, governing body changes competition format to be played in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia ‘Super Series’, 2 groups of 6 and Super 7s changes in t20 World Cup format as well Earlier, the event had two seven-team groups followed by a Super 6s and semifinals. Now, 12th, 13th, and 14th teams will play Super Series with only one of them joining the other 11 teams. From there, top seven teams will move to Super 7s, to be played in round-robin before semifinal and final. The ICC said this change will ‘enhance consequence at the early stage’ ■ ■ Instead of four five-team groups, the 20-team tournament in 2028 will see five groups of four teams with top two advancing to Super 10, with five teams per group (2026 edition had a Super 8 stage) The top team from each group in the Super 10s will enter semifinal, while second and third will play eliminator for a spot in the last four 57 total number of matches in new 50-over World Cup format 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 `1.27 lakh crore Semicon 2.0 gets Cabinet’s stamp Major boost to domestic semiconductor chip design and manufacturing ecosystem RAKESH K U M AR @ New Delhi `62,500 crore for mobile phone making in a major push to India’s semiconductor ambitions, the CabiIn a bid to make India a net on Wednesday approved an global hub for mobile phone outlay of `1.27 lakh crore for manufacturing, the govt the second phase of the Semiapproved the Mobile Phone con India programme (Semicon Manufacturing Scheme with India 2.0) to strengthen the doan outlay of `62,500 crore. mestic chip ecosystem. The scheme will be Allocation for the second implemented over 5 years, phase of the mission is higher from FY27 to FY31 | P10 than the `76,000 crore earmarked under the first phase launched in December 2021 to 28 nm to 90 nm chips. attract global semiconductor Minister for Electronics and companies to set up manufac- Information Technology Ashturing facilities in India. wini Vaishnaw said incentives Semicon India 2.0 aims to under Semicon India 2.0 will be build the entire semiconductor in proportion to the investvalue chain. The programme ments made by the companies. will support semiconductor T he gover nment expects fabs, advanced packaging, around `4 lakh crore in investequipment manufacturing, ma- ments, `2 lakh crore worth of terials, specialty chemicals and semiconductor and electronics gases, research and develop- production, and `1 lakh crore ment, talent development, chip exports boost in coming years. design and capital equipment. Under the new scheme, The first phase atthe government will tracted global and doprovide a 30% incenmestic players, with tive for manufacturMicron Technology ing semiconductor commencing comequipment, materimercial production als, specialty chemiat its packaging facals and gases; 40% cility in Gujarat for silicon semiand Tata Electronconductor fabricaics, in partnership tion plants; 35% for with Taiwan’s Powdisplay fabs and erchip Semiconduccompound semitor Manufacturing conductor fabs; 35% Corporation, setfor advanced packting up India’s first aging facilities; The Made-in-India chip commercial semiand up to 75% conductor fabrica- showcased by Union minister funding, with state Ashwini Vaishnaw | PTI tion plant to make support, for R&D. 100% Kudankulam N-plant ‘data’ on dark web E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Bengaluru Amid reports of a major leak of project-related files linked to the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu, the Anil Ambaniled Reliance Group confirmed a limited cybersecurity incident following an attempted ransomware attack on infrastructure operated by its third-party data centre service provider, Yotta Data Services. Reliance Group, one of the contractors associated with the plant, claimed the incident was swiftly contained and did not affect its core systems or business operations. The disclosure came after Kudankulam plant files were part of a large data dump on the dark web by ransomware group World Leaks. According to a Reuters report, the leaked material includes engineering drawings, supplier information, inspection records and insurance-related documents spanning several years. Their authenticity, however, has not been independently verified. `1,300 cr Pattiseema 9,911 more MBBS seats this year stabilised 13L acres in Krishna delta: CM K a v i ta B a j e l i - D at t @ New Delhi S G u r u S r i k a n t h @ Vijayawada Highlighting the transformative impact of river interlinking, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday stated that the Pattiseema Lift Irrigation Scheme has stabilised the Krishna delta, and generated wealth for the State, transferring 450 TMC of surplus Godavari water since 2015. Dressed in traditional attire, Naidu performed Jalaharathi at the Pavitra Sangamam in Ibrahimpatnam, NTR district, where the Godavari and Krishna rivers converge. Following special rituals, he paid floral tributes to the legendary engineer KL Rao on his 124th birth anniversary . Addressing a public gathering, he unveiled a mission to spend `35,000 crore over the next three years to complete 36 priority irrigation projects, working toward a long-term vision of linking all major rivers from Vamsadhara to Penna. Defending the `1,300 crore Pattiseema project against past political criticism, Naidu stated that it successfully stabilised 13 lakh acres in the Krishna Delta by reliably delivering 80 TMC annually “By utilising the Polavaram Right Canal . to divert Godavari floodwaters to the Krishna delta, we saved critical water upstream at Srisailam, allowing us to supply water to the P4 drought-prone Rayalaseema,” he noted.  tariff proposed by a bill brokered by a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators against 5 countries, including India & China, for purchasing oil from Russia | P10 Floristic study Sacred groves of AP come under pressure U s h a P e r i @ Visakhapatnam Andhra Pradesh’s centuriesold sacred groves, also known as Pavithravanas, continue to serve as important refuges for native biodiversity, with a recent study documenting 378 plant species in a single sacred grove in Anantapur district. The findings underline the ecological significance of these traditionally protected forests even as researchers caution that many such sites across the State are gradually coming under pressure from d eve l o p m e n t and changing c u l t u r a l practices. A floristic survey of Penna Ahobilam Sacred Grove in Anantapur District documented 378 wild and naturalised plant species belonging to 220 genera and 54 families. The species include 49 tree species, 56 shrubs, 235 herbs and 38 climbers. The study, “A Preliminary Floristic Exploration in Penna Ahobilam Sacred Grove”, was published in the European Journal of Ecology Biology and , Agriculture based on fieldwork conducted from 2018 to 2026. P4 Reliance Group said the matter has been reported to the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), which is examining the incident. The Kudankulam facility is India’s largest nuclear power plant and forms a key part of the country’s long-term nuclear energy expansion plans. Reliance Infrastructure, a Reliance Group company, secured a contract in 2018 to develop infrastructure for Units 3 and 4 of the project, which are expected to become operational by 2027. Experts cautioned that even if reactor systems are untouched, the exposure of infrastructure layouts, supplier information, etc., could pose security risks. Spain punch final ticket La Roja dished out a masterclass against France as they beat them 2-0 to advance to their second World Cup final, to be held in New York. A look at how they won... Midfield superiority Lack of transition threat Spain had the midfield advantage, both in terms of numbers (3 vs 2) and quality. Their passing networks were superior as Rodri, Fabian Ruiz and Dani Olmo suffocated the French Whenever Spain lost ball, they were already in shape and there was no room to run-in behind. This denied Les Bleus the oxygen they so craved Goods worth $140 mn shipped on Day 1 of UK free trade pact P U SH P ITA D E Y @ New Delhi With the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between India and the UK kicking in on Wednesday 50 , consignments of goods worth over $140 million were shipped to the UK on the first day of the agreement’s implementation, the Union commerce ministry said. “CETA will give fresh momentum to our farmers, entrepreneurs and MSMEs. Several sectors will gain stronger access to the UK market. It will also deepen cooperation in technology, professional services and innovation, while supporting greater mobility for skilled Indian talent,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a social media post on Wednesday . With the FTA taking effect, several labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, apparel, handicrafts, engineering goods, and gems and jewellery are expected to gain zero-duty access to the UK market. Exporters from sectors including textiles, gems and jewellery and marine , products have already dispatched consignments at zero duty on the first day of the agreement. The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) said that around 30 exporters shipped gold, diamond, silver and platinum jewellery worth $10 million to the UK on Wednesday The industry . body expects exports to the UK to touch $2.5 billion over the next three years. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said the CETA and the Agreement on Social Security have come into force. Ahead of the NEET-UG results, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has announced a 7% increase in MBBS seats, which will takes the total strength of India’s undergrad medical seats to over 1.36 lakh. Announcing the seat matrix (excluding Institutes of National Importance like AIIMS) for 202627, the NMC said 1,36,939 MBBS seats will now be available across 823 medical colleges and institutes — 441 government and 382 private colleges — in the country from this year. In 2025-26, there were 1,28,976 MBBS seats across 818 colleges. Of them, 1,27,028 were renewed, which works out to a net addition of 9,911 this year. Karnataka got the highest share with 75 medical colleges having 15,395 total seats, up by 1,300 this time. Tamil Nadu followed with 78 colleges and 13,999 seats, an increase of 950. The other states are: UP (88 colleges with 14,000 seats), Maharashtra (86 colleges with 13,099 seats), and Telangana (66 colleges with 10,250 seats), Rajasthan (8,080 seats), Gujarat (7,750), Andhra Pradesh (7,465), West Bengal (7,200), MP (6,020), Kerala (5,704), Bihar (4,160), Haryana (2,960), Odisha (2,950), Punjab (1,850), Uttarakhand (1,475), and Chandigarh (200 seats). express read Urban growth: AP signs MoU with UN-Habitat Vijayawada: The AP government has signed an MoU with United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) to promote sustainable urban development in the State | P4 Lokesh lays stone for Dalmia Cement unit Kadapa: IT Minister Nara Lokesh laid the foundation stone for the Line-2 expansion unit of Dalmia Bharat Cement at Chinnakomerla in Mylavaram mandal of Kadapa district on Wednesday | P4