chennai l tuesday l august 25, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 20 l late 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 SUCHITRA 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 CM fulfils poll promises, 1.3 cr families eligible Vijay’s Pongal gift: 3 free LPG cylinders Parandur airport project scrapped, DMK slams move B ANBUSELVAN @ Chennai C S h i v a k u m a r @ Chennai The Tamil Nadu government will provide three free LPG cylinders a year to 1.3 crore f amilies under the Annapoorani Super Six Scheme, with the cost reimbursed directly into the bank accounts of women heading the households. The scheme will be launched on Pongal in January 2027, Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay announced in the Assembly on Monday The . scheme is estimated to cost the state around `4,000 crore annually . Making the announcement under Rule 110, Vijay said families with an annual income below `2.5 lakh, all small and marginal farmers, persons with disabilities and those living below the poverty line would be eligible. “The (LPG purchase) bill will be obtained from the oil company, and the cylinder cost will be credited to the beneficiary’s bank account,” the chief minister said. Irrespective of whose name the LPG connection is registered in, the reimbursement will be credited to the bank Twenty months after vowing to stand by farmers and villagers of Ekanapuram, CM C Joseph Vijay on Monday announced the scrapping of the `27,000-crore Parandur greenfield airport project. The DMK staged a walkout after t h e a n n o u n c e - New terminal ment was made for old airport under Rule 110 in The govt will the Assembly . now identify an “As I had al- alternative site ready assured, the for the second ste ps taken to airport and build a new air- expand the port at Parandur Meenambakkam will be dropped by Airport by this government,” establishing a 5th the CM said, ful- terminal on the filling a promise north-western he had made dur- side of facility | P2 ing his public meeting at Vikravandi in October 2024 and visit to Ekanapuram on January 20, 2025. Vijay said that after consultations with sector experts and academics, a few suitable alternative sites have been shortlisted for the new airport which would avoid major impact on farmland and houses. Reacting strongly to the development, DMK chief M K Stalin said, “The decision will set the state’s development back by several years.” P7 CM C Joseph Vijay addressing the Assembly session on Monday | Express Free bus ride expanded to deluxe & express services CM Vijay on Monday announced the expansion of the ‘Vettri Payanam’ free bus travel scheme for women and transgenders to deluxe, express and limited-stop services in Chennai and other cities | P4 account of the woman head of the household. An official said a separate website would be launched for filing applications. For households without a woman head, and in the case of persons with disabilities, the beneficiary and the account to which the reimbursement will be credited will be specified in the detailed guidelines to be issued through a government order.  P7 Shah push for AI-led intel analysis to deal with security threats E x p r e s s N e 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 express news service @ 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. E x p r e s s Re a d K’taka suspends food licences of Amazon, BB Bengaluru: Karnataka Food Safety and Drug Administration Department on Monday ordered the suspension of the food licences of Amazon, Swiggy Instamart and BigBasket over online sale of poisonous Datura fruits and seeds. The order said these e-commerce platforms have been found listing and selling poisonous Datura (Dhatura) fruits and seeds for human consumption, raising serious public health concerns. Datura fruits are also used as offerings at certain pujas | P7 Stalin challenges Babu’s Kolathur win in HC Chennai: DMK president MK Stalin filed a lawsuit in the Madras HC challenging TVK MLA VS Babu’s election victory against him in Kolathur, alleging unaddressed EVM technical faults and VVPAT counting discrepancies. The former CM wanted the court to order 100% counting of VVPAT and checking and verification of all 286 EVMs used in the constituency within a specific timeframe | P2