No ethanol link to sugar price: Govt The government on Friday rejected claims that diversion of sugar for ethanol production was driving a sharp rise in its price | P7 It instead blamed the industry for jacking up prices despite the country having sufficient stock to meet domestic demand The Centre has asked States to take action against hoarding and black marketing of sugar It is also considering reducing the stock that dealers can hold SAMBALPUR l saturday l august 22, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l CITY EDITION 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 Revanth cancels US leg of trip after govt denies political nod China stake ease draws `5K cr FDI proposals j aya n t h j a c o b @ New Delhi P u s h p i ta D e y @ New Delhi TELANGANA Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s proposed visit to the United States was denied political clearance as the programme was “not considered appropriate to the office he holds and the stated purpose of the visit”, the External Affairs Ministry (MEA) said on Friday . The clarification came hours after the Telangana Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) announced that Reddy had been forced to cancel the US leg of his ongoing foreign tour after the Centre declined permission for the visit. “Let me say that the visit of chief ministers, as indeed of other dignitaries, are assessed by the Ministry of External Affairs in order to accord political clearance,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. “The programme proposed, in such cases, should be appropriate to the office held and the purpose of the visit. In this particular case, that was not so in respect of US... clearance was denied.” Reddy is currently in London as part of his “Telangana Rising” tour. He was scheduled to travel to the US from August 23, with planned engagements in Boston and New York aimed at exploring partnerships between Telangana and leading American educational institutions. Reddy’s office said he would now return to Hyderabad from London instead of proceeding to the US. “The CM will return from London to Hyderabad on August 23 instead of leaving for Boston, NY,” the statement said. According to the Telangana government, it had sought the Centre’s nod for the UK and US visits in accordance with “policy and protocol”, but clearance was granted only for the UK leg. Reddy had said the proposed US visit was aimed at exploring the possibility of bringing leading American universities and educational institutions to Telangana. Despite the cancellation, Reddy instructed state officials accompanying his delegation to proceed with the planned US engagements and pursue deals with institutions including Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northeastern University and Virginia Tech. Within months of relaxing rules for investments involving Chinese beneficial ownership, India has received 29 foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals worth `4,895.65 crore as of August 20 across various sectors, including information technology, artificial intelligence, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, data centres and transport services, the government said on Thursday . Rules were relaxed in March to ease investment procedures with up to 10% beneficial ownership by Chinese investors. The change in rules aimed at providing greater cer tainty to foreign investors and reducing the time required to complete investment transactions. Investments have also been proposed from various other jurisdictions, including Mauritius, the United States, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Luxe m b o u r g a n d C ay m a n Islands. Under the revised framework, investors are required to report relevant information to the government but do not need prior approval, provided they comply with sectoral caps, entry routes and other applicable conditions. After 6-hr Rahul sit-in, FIR filed on use of pellet guns Rahul: First step towards justice; BJP calls protest diversionary ploy P r ee t h a n a i r & n i t i n r a w at @ New Delhi DELHI Police on Friday registered a first information report (FIR) over pellet injuries suffered by a 19-yearold student during the July 20 Jantar Mantar protest after a nearly sixhour dharna by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at Parliament Street police station demanding action in the case. The day saw high drama with Rahul first accompanying injured student Sahil Lochab to Mandir Marg police station, and later moving to Parliament Street police station after his demand for an FIR was not accepted. While Rahul refused to budge until the FIR was registered, he was joined by several Congress leaders, including Priyanka Gandhi, Salman Khurshid, Jairam Ramesh and many others. “This is the first step towards justice and a case has been registered,” Rahul said after the FIR was lodged, asserting that he would continue to fight for justice for Lochab and other students injured during the Jantar Mantar protests. Police said a case was filed under Sections 118(1), relating to voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means, and 125, concerning acts endangering life, of the BNS. Lochab had suffered pellet injuries in his eye and abdomen in police action during the CJP-led march to Parliament demanding the resigna- Rahul Gandhi at Parliament Street police station on Friday | Parveen Negi CJP team bashed up CJP co-convener Ashutosh Ranka and party volunteers were allegedly assaulted on Friday while travelling to inspect a dilapidated government school in Jaipur’s Bagru Assembly constituency. Ranka described the attack as preplanned, and demanded the arrest of the culprits within 48 hours | P8 tion of then education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on July 20. Rahul alleged that police officers at the station were willing to register the case but had been stopped. Earlier, after talks with DCP Sachin Sharma failed, Rahul began his sitin and showed Lochab’s medical reports to prove his point. Union minister J P Nadda and other BJP leaders called the Congress protest as “diversionary” politics. Legendary Odia singer Pranab Patnaik no more E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar Legendary Odia playback singer and the last surviving member of the golden generation, Pranab Patnaik passed away at his Bhubaneswar residence on Friday. He was 88 and survived by his wife Kasturi Patnaik and two sons. The celebrated singer, who was the part of the golden troika of Akshaya Mohanty and Prafulla Kar, ruled the heart of Odia people for over five decades. Born on January 20, 1938, Patnaik received formal training in music under Guru Kunal Adinarayan before beginning his professional career. He made his debut in 1958 with the Odia film ‘Maa’ and went on to lend his voice to more than 200 films. Apart from playback singing, Patnaik was also devoted to Odissi music, folk, bhajans, semi-classical compositions, Hindi songs and ghazals. He was also closely associated with All India Radio. Patnaik’s musical collaborations crossed regional boundaries. He also shared the microphone with great singers like Vani Jairam, Hemlata, Usha Mangeshkar, Bhupinder Singh and S Janaki. His last rites were conducted at Khananagar crematoriOBIT ON PG2 um in Cuttack with full state honours.