tadepalligudem l tuesday l august 25, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION ex-diplomat Akbaruddin, two others join RBI central board Ex-diplomat Syed Akbaruddin, ex-bureaucrat Annie Mathew and Boston Consulting Group’s Janmejaya Sinha were appointed on Monday Syed Akbaruddin Annie George Mathew Janmejaya Sinha part-time, non-official directors board now has 14 members including guv They were appointed as part-time, Non-official Directors for four years. Syed Akbaruddin is a 1985-batch Indian Foreign Service officer and served as India’s permanent representative to the UN from 2016 to 2020. Annie George Mathew retired as Special Secretary of the Union Finance Ministry. Janmejaya Sinha is the Chairman of Boston Consulting Group (India) ■ ■ With the latest appointments, the board has 14 members, including governor Sanjay Malhotra and four deputy governors Industrialist Anand Mahindra and former ISRO Chairman Somanath Panicker joined last week. Other members include former Audit & Accounts Service officer Revathy Iyer and economist Sachin Chaturvedi 21 is the maximum sanctioned strength of the rbi central board 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 Putin offers to step up fertiliser supply to India PM Modi looks forward to meeting Russian prez at SCO, BRICS summits, says Jaishankar 4-fold jump in trade JAYANTH JACOB @ New Delhi RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin has offered to increase fertiliser supplies to India, signalling Moscow’s intent to deepen one of the most important pillars of the bilateral economic relationship. The offer came during when External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called on Putin in Moscow on Monday . Putin—who is expected to visit India next month for the BRICS summit—said Russia is ready to help meet India’s agricultural requirements. He highlighted fertilisers alongside fuel as an important component of Russia’s economic support to India. “One of these issues— not just fuel—is the supply of mineralisers (fertilisers). We are doing everything we can to resolve the issue for Indian farmers, for agriculture; we are increasing these exports and are prepared to continue doing so,” he said. The offer comes as fertilisers have become an important element of India-Russia economic ties. Russia has emerged as India’s largest supplier of fertilisers, particularly urea, with Indian fertiliser imports from Russia rising by almost 40% in 2025. Putin also pointed to the broader expansion in bilateral trade. Jaishankar conveyed Prime Minister Modi’s plans for future meetings with Putin, saying Modi looked forward to meeting the Russian president at the forthcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kyrgyzstan and welcoming him to India for the BRICS Summit. The two leaders are also expected to hold their annual bilateral summit at a mutually convenient time. Jaishankar said the trade between India and Russia has increased 4-fold in 5 years, from around $13 billion in 202122 to nearly $60 billion in 2025-26 S Jaishankar with Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday | PTI We are doing everything we can to meet the needs of Indian farmers and agriculture sector Vladmir Putin, Russian president CJP protest: SC panel to prioritise sex assault probe S UCHITRA KALYAN MOHANT Y @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Monday said that it has asked the High-Powered Enquiry Committee (HPEC), which had been set up to examine allegations of police violence during the NEET paper leak stir, to prioritise complaints of sexual assault faced by women protesters. A bench comprising CJI Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana issued the direction after senior advocate Shobha Gupta urged the court to take suo motu cognisance of the alleged sexual assault and molestation of women protesters during the ‘Chalo Sansad’ march on July 20. Gupta asked the court to create mechanism for alleged victims to directly send complaints. CJI Surya Kant — although he did not take suo motu cognisance— however, said, “the committee has been requested to examine it on a priority basis, and immediately submit an interim report.” Justice Bagchi pointed out that an independent writ petition was filed on the same cause, and the HPEC has been asked to examine the issue. CJP calls for Sept 5 Delhi march The Cockroach Janta Party on Monday called for a protest march in Delhi on September 5, accusing the Centre of failing to honour the promises it made. The march will begin at India Gate and proceed to Delhi Police HQ cpr launches non-GMO maize hybrid seed Vice Prez: India’s popcorn import dependence to end S G u r u S r i k a n t h @ Vijayawada Marking a major milestone in agricultural technology and value addition, Vice-President C P Radhakrishnan launched India’s first non-GMO, high-expansion popcorn maize hybrid seed at Katrenipadu, near Musunuru in Eluru district, on Monday . Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Governor S Abdul Nazeer joined the Vice-President for the launch and a tour of Gourmet Popcornica’s state-ofthe-art facility . Describing the development as a significant step towards an Aatmanirbhar Bharat in agriculture, Radhakrishnan noted that India had long relied on imported hybrid technology for high-quality popcorn maize. He commended Gourmet Popcornica and local farmers for developing an indigenous solution on Indian soil that conserves foreign exchange while strengthening the country’s capacity to compete in global markets. Highlighting the scale of the growing farmer-enterprise partnership, he said more than 17,500 farmers cultivating nearly 40,000 acres across eight States are now Vice President CP Radhakrishnan, CM Naidu and Governor S Abdul Nazeer at the launch of India’s first non-GMO popcorn maize hybrid seed in Eluru district | Express Focus on processing units: CM to farmers Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu called upon farmers and youth to focus on agricultural processing to generate wealth, outlining a vision of having ‘an entrepreneur in every family’ part of the enterprise. Underlining the vital role of the farming community, Governor S Abdul Nazeer said maize was India’s third most important food crop, with annual pro- Shah push for AI-led intel analysis to deal with security threats E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @ New Delhi UNION Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday called for greater use of artificial intelligence to analyse intelligence inputs and strengthen India’s response to emerging national security threats, while directing security agencies to take strict measures against infiltration. Speaking at the inaugural session of the ninth two-day National Security Strategies (NSS) Conference-2026 here, Shah directed agencies to develop standard operating procedures (SOPs) for tackling national security challenges based on AI-driven analyses of information available on the Multi Agency Centre (MAC) platform. Shah stressed on an integrated approach to counter terrorism and radicalisation, including cases under the UAPA. He emphasised strengthening implementation of MHA’s PRAHAAR scheme, expediting trials and making greater use of provisions allowing trials in absentia. The first day’s deliberations focused on major security challenges, including counter-terrorism, intelligence fusion, narcotics control, deportation of illegal migrants, cybercrime and Pakistan-backed proxy warfare. Held in hybrid mode, the conferences has more than 850 participants, including DGPs and domain experts from specialised fields. Before inaugurating the conference, Shah paid tribute at the Martyrs’ Column, and placed a wreath in memory of Intelligence Bureau personnel who made the supreme sacrifice. The NSS Conference has been held annually in hybrid mode since 2021. 15 flights diverted as rain pounds Delhi-NCR Allow WFH, Gurugram offices told e x p r ess n e w s se r v i c e @ New Delhi HEAVY rain forced the diversion of 15 incoming flights to Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) to Jaipur, Lucknow and Chandigarh early Monday afternoon. All flights landed safely in Delhi by evening, official sources said. Hundreds of de par ting flights faced delays throughout the day, with several of them held up by two to three hours. A source at Delhi airport said three of the 15 diverted flights were international. Twelve were sent to Jaipur International Airport, two to Chandi- Commuters walk on a waterlogged road in New Delhi’s Sangam Vihar | Parveen Negi garh and one to Lucknow, the source said. The Singapore flight was diverted to Lucknow, while those from Dubai and Sharjah went to Jaipur. The Airports Authority of India and airlines had issued advisories urging passengers to reach the airport well in advance due to the weather. The Gurugram administration on Monday advised corporate offices to allow employees to work from home on Tuesday and ordered all schools and educational institutions to conduct classes online in view of the heavy rainfall. duction exceeding 43 million tonnes. In view of emerging El Niñorelated weather risks for farming community in the State, the Governor stressed the need for drought-tolerant crop varieties as a means to protect farmers’ livelihoods. Governor Nazeer commended Gourmet Popcornica maangement for adapting tropical popcorn hybrids to Indian conditions, reversing a trend in which 70 per cent of popcorn revenues went to foreign countries and saving an estimated $125 mn in foreign exchange for India. P4 E x p r e s s Re a d Suzlon plans `10,000 cr wind projects in AP Vijayawada: Suzlon Group will launch new wind power projects in Andhra Pradesh with a `10,000 crore investment in Anantapur district. HRD and IT Minister Nara Lokesh will inaugurate new S144 rotor blade manufacturing lines at Hulikera on Tuesday. The 1,325 MW project is expected to create direct and indirect employment for 4,000 people. Suzlon plans to add another 5,000 MW of renewable capacity in the State by 2030 | P4 2 youths drown, 2 rescued at K’nada beach Kakinada: Two youths drowned after a strong wave swept four friends into the sea at NTR Beach in Kakinada on Sunday. The bodies of Padala Yuvakishore, 20, and Anasuri Veerababu, 21, were recovered on Monday. Local fishermen rescued the other two, who were shifted to Kakinada Government General Hospital. The victims had gone to the beach during the holiday and ventured into the sea away from the crowded area | P3