HYDERABAD l Thursday l July 23, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 18 l LATE CITY EDITION after major legal victory, lalit Modi plans India visit Relief from Appellate Tribunal Former IPL commissioner, Lalit Modi, who has been living away from the country for over 15 years, “wants to move on in my life” after relief ‘I have fought for 16 years’ A tribunal has set aside penalties imposed by ED over long-running case with respect to SAFEMA ACT over conducting IPL in South Africa in 2009. It held that the foreign remittances in question were current account transactions and did not require prior RBI approval. It also ruled that Lalit Modi was not responsible for ensuring the BCCI's compliance with FEMA ■ ■ After the ruling, Lalit Modi said: “Sixteen years I have fought and whatever I have been saying to the media and to everybody has finally emerged as the truth” On social media, the 52-year-old added: “I’m going to move on in my life and I’m looking forward to coming back to India” 2010 lalit Modi moved to london after BCCI suspended him in 2010 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 Trump threatens 200% tariff on generic drugs P USH P ITA D EY @ New Delhi US President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened to impose tariffs of up to 200% on generic pharmaceutical imports unless manufacturers shift production of those drugs to the US. Under the proposed pharmaceutical tariff regime, generic drug exporters worldwide have been given two years to shift production to the US, failing which a 100% tariff will be imposed from August 2028 and 200% from August 2029. “Effective August 1, 2026, all Generic Drugs being brought into the United States will continue to have a tariff of zero percent for a two-year period, after which the tariff will be raised to 100% for a one-year period, and 200% thereafter. This is done in order to re-shore Generic Pharmaceutical Production into America, with a penalty to those Companies that decide not to build Plant and Equipment within the stated period of time given to them,” Trump said in a social media post. In September last year, the Trump administration had announced plans to im- Lok Sabha Speaker asks Parliamentary affairs minister to issue a statement following repeated House disruptions over police action against student protesters, urges Opposition MPs to engage in debate instead of creating ruckus d ay ' s d e v e l o p m e n t s 1 CJP made it clear that it will hold talks with the Centre only at or near Jantar Mantar Members of the Opposition stage a protest on the ongoing NEET controversy in the Lok Sabha during the Monsoon Session in New Delhi on Wednesday | pTI p r e e t h a n a i r @ New Delhi AS Parliament remained paralysed for the third consecutive day over the NEET controversy , the government on Wednesday said it is prepared for a detailed discussion in the Lok Sabha, even as the Opposition refused to relent unless Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigns. As proceedings in the Lower House were disrupted as soon as it reassembled at noon following an earlier adjournment, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla asked Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju to issue a statement. However, Congress leader K C Venugopal intervened to reiterate the Opposition’s demand for Pradhan’s resignation. “Our demand is simple. When the entire nation is feeling the pain of our students, all other business of the House should be set aside and this Adilabad: A 14-year-old boy died after a mobile phone battery exploded while he was reportedly experimenting with it at his house in Gudem village of Chintalamanapally mandal in Komaram Bheem Asifabad district on Wednesday. The victim, Nikade Lokesh, was an eighth-class student of the Gudem Zilla Parishad High School. According to his father, Ganesh, Lokesh was experimenting with the mobile phone battery when it exploded, causing severe injuries to his face and mouth. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but succumbed to his injuries on the way. Police have launched an investigation. F aya z W a n i @ Srinagar In the first terrorist attack in Kashmir since last year’s Pahalgam massacre, a policeman posted on Amarnath Yatra security duty was shot dead in Anantnag on Wednesday . The police said a gunman fired from close range at head constable Ashiq Hussain Qureshi in the Lal Chowk area of Anantnag around 12.30 pm. Qureshi was shot from behind. He was rushed to the Government Medical College, Anantna g, where doctors deAshiq Hussain Qureshi clared him brought | Zahoor Punajabi dead. The Resistance Front (TRF), an off-shoot of Lashkar-e-Toiba, has claimed responsibility for the attack. Soon after the attack, the security forces launched a massive anti-terror crackdown across the Valley detaining over , 2,000 suspected overground workers. The attack was caught on CCTV. In the video grab, a gunman wearing a black cap is purportedly seen firing on a policeman. A major manhunt is on to locate the attacker. Spotlight on Commonwealth Games Pared-back edition of quadrennial international multisport event to begin with Opening on Thursday 6 Centre has shifted 20 additional CRPF companies from West Bengal to Delhi amid protests Cockroach Janta Party supporters surrounded by a haze of tear gas late on Wednesday night during the protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi | Parveen negi Passing the baton to India India will receive Games’ flag during the Closing Ceremony as they are the next hosts in 2030 (Ahmedabad). Prime Minister Narendra Modi may attend Closing Ceremony India’s strength 78 men Nadda: Don’t indulge in selective outrage Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday accused the government of destroying India’s education system saying that there was not one conviction though 152 cases of paper leak happened in past 10 years. Gandhi said the education system is not only rigged, but also unaffordable Union minister J P Nadda on Wednesday accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of playing politics over the NEET paper leak. “Why are you so selective. Why did you not discuss about the paper leaks that took place in the Congress and INDI alliancegoverned states?” he said burning issue should be top priority for Parliament,” Venugopal said. Referring to the alleged police action against the protesting students on Monday, Venugopal said their demand is that Pradhan should resign first. After the minister’s resignation, the issue can be discussed through an ad- Revanth leads Congress protests in TG Express News Service 48 women Dates: July 23 to August 2 | 10 Sports, 6 para sports in 4 venues | 215 medal events journment motion, he said. In his response, Rijiju said the government is willing to debate the NEET paper leak issue in detail. He said the Speaker would hold consultations with floor leaders of political parties to decide the rule under which the discussion would take place, along with its date and duration. Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav expressed displeasure that while BJP and Congress members were allowed to speak, he was not given an opportunity . He maintained that when the interests of youth and students are affected, the Opposition is justified in taking the protest to the streets as well. “This is not an issue of Congress, SP BJP , ... this is an issue of students, youths. The way the government has behaved... students were thrashed. We were compelled to hold a protest outside the PM’s residence. Why can’t the PM give a statement in the House when he can make statements outside?” he asked. Addressing the House, Birla said he had heard the views of all sides and noted the government’s willingness to discuss the issue with an open mind. He urged Opposition members to participate in a debate instead of disrupting proceedings. Demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on moral grounds over the NEET question paper leak, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy urged people to vote out Prime Minister Narendra Modi and elect Rahul Gandhi as the next PM. Addressing a Congress dharna in Kodangal on Wednesday to protest the detention of Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi in Delhi, Revanth described the Centre’s treatment of the senior leaders as reprehensible, saying they were only supporting students protesting the NEET paper leak. Stating that the leak had jeopardised the future of lakhs of students, Revanth said political parties across the spectrum had backed the students’ protest at Jantar Mantar. He alleged that BJP leaders in states ruled by the party were selling question papers and playing with students’ futures. He questioned the Centre’s reluctance to remove Pradhan from the Union Cabinet. Drawing a parallel with Telangana, Revanth alleged that irregularities in the Intermediate examination results in 2019, when the BRS was in power, led to the deaths of 27 students by suicide. He claimed that the contract had been awarded to private firm Globarena, which he described as a proxy company linked to B R S wo rk i n g p r e s i d e n t KT Rama Rao, despite allegedly lacking the required experience and qualifications.   Continued on P4 CM sees plot to delete cong voters | p4 REDCO engineer in ACB net for `150 cr assets @ Hyderabad Weightlifting, a medal-rich discipline for the country, could be the main source for gold this time thanks to the likes of Mirabai Chanu, India’s flag-bearer for the Opening Ceremony. In athletics, Neeraj Chopra is bound to grab eyeballs | P13 No. of athletes 5 A total of 17 metro stations, including Rajiv Chowk, were shut citing security issues Rahul: 152 exam paper leaks, no convictions C h i t h a lu r i R eva n t h Nation’s eyes on weightlifting & athletics 13 disciplines 4 Delhi Police is using facial recognition system to identify suspects at the protest site Govt offers NEET talk in LS, Oppn says sack education minister first Boy, 14, dies after cell phone battery explodes Policeman on Amarnath Yatra duty shot dead 3 Sonam Wangchuk to end his hunger strike if Centre assures no action against youth @ Hyderabad pose a 100% tariff on imported branded and patented medicines. However, the proposal was later revised. In April this year, the Trump administration announced tariffs of up to 100% on specified branded medicines and key pharmaceutical ingredients under the Section 232 national security framework, while exempting generic medicines. Trump’s latest announcement, aimed at boosting domestic manufacturing, has raised concerns among Indian drug manufacturers, which are among the largest exporters of generic medicines to the US market. In its initial response to the development, the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance said tariffs alone will not help build a sustainable generic drug manufacturing base in the US. According to Dr Reddy’s Laboratories’ CEO Erez Israeli, the move will increase drug prices in the US and it is not practical to move operations there. India expor ted phar maceuticals worth $25.8 billion in 2025, of which drugs worth $9.7 billion were shipped to the US. e x p r ess r e a d Terror attack 2 Delhi HC asks police to preserve CCTV footage of alleged brutality against protesters The ACB on Wednesday conducted searches at the residence of Renewable Energy Development Corporation (REDCO) Divisional Engineer Muthyam Venkata Ramana and seven other locations and allegedly uncovered disproportionate assets worth `27.65 crore based on document value. Officials said the market value of the assets could be around `150 crore. Venkata Ramana was earlier trapped in 2019 while accepting a bribe of `25,000. According to the ACB, the as- sets include flats in Serilingampally and Kukatpally valued at `1.23 crore, a G+3 commercial building at Anjaneya Nagar in Kukatpally worth `1.82 crore, and a G+5 commercial building at Guttala Begumpet in Serilingampally valued at `2.90 crore. Further investigation revealed that Venkata Ramana had invested in the construction sector through four firms registered in his wife’s name. Officials alleged that he constructed 10 residential apartment buildings at Anjaneya Nagar, Moosapet and Kukatpally with an estimated investment of `20 crore. continued on p7 ACB officials conduct searches at REDCO engineer Muthyam Venkata Ramana’s residence over a case of disproportionate assets Peace along LAC a pre-requisite for normal relations, India tells China Cabbie held for raping IndiGo employee u ns a f e r i d e J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday told Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) remains the “pre-requisite” for normal India-China ties, even as he called for addressing long-standing concerns over market access, trade imbalance and supply chain predictability . The meeting, held on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit (EAS) and ASEAN Regional Forum in Manila, came as New Delhi and Beijing contin- S Jaishankar meets Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Manila, Philippines | PTI ue efforts to stabilise bilateral relations following the prolonged military standoff in eastern Ladakh. Reviewing the trajectory of ties since the October 2024 meeting between Prime Minis- ter Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in Kazan, Jaishankar said relations had been “gradually normalising”. “Peace and tranquility in the border areas is obviously the pre-requisite for normal ties. Since October 2024, both sides have engaged to ensure that this important objective is met. This will continue to need our constant attention,” he said. He said important economic issues still needed attention. “Fair market access and a trade balance rank high in that regard. There are also concerns about predictability of supply chains,” Jaishankar said. According to police, the cab belonged to the airline and was assigned to pick up and drop A 23-year-old cab driver was ar- crew members. While ferrying rested for allegedly rapthe woman from her ing a 37-year-old IndiGo residence to the airAirlines cabin crew port, the driver allegmember after diverting edly diverted the vehithe vehicle to a secludcle, claiming there was ed location near Rajiv a shortcut route. He Gandhi International then drove to an underAirport (RGIA) on the construction building pretext of attending nanear a private school, Errapogu ture’s call on Monday . saying he needed to atThe accused, identi- Prashanth Kumar tend nature’s call. fied as Errapogu PrashanPolice said the accused th Kumar, a resident of stepped out of the vehicle and Shamshabad and a native of Wa- returned within two to three naparthy district, was arrested minutes. He then allegedly apby the RGIA Outpost police. proached the woman from beExpress News Service @ Hyderabad hind, restrained her despite her attempts to resist, threatened her and sexually assaulted her. During the assault, the woman bit Kumar’s hand, managed to free herself and ran out of the vehicle. She raised an alarm, following which the accused fled the spot. T he survivor later approached police, who filed a case based on her complaint. Using technical evidence, investigators traced and apprehended the accused before producing him before a local court. Police shifted the woman to a Bharosa Centre for counselling and recorded her statement as part of the investigation.