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 ■ ■ HYDERABAD l sunday l september 13, 2026 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l late cITY EDITION The existing pyramid of privilege structure in global governance must give way to a platform of partnership where every country has a voice, every member has a stake — Narendra Modi, Prime Minister BRICS countries should... oppose the Cold War mentality and bloc confrontation, reject violations of other countries’ sovereignty and interference in their internal affairs — Xi Jinping, Chinese President A police official keeps vigil outside Bharat Mandapam as security arrangements were beefed up for the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on Saturday | PTI Let us establish instruments to manage national currency risks and reciprocal settlements in the bloc since current financial system is vulnerable to political shocks — Masoud Pezeshkian, Iranian President We express serious concern over deliberate attacks on civilian infrastructure and peaceful nuclear facilities under full IAEA safeguards, in violation of international law — New Delhi Declaration India bridges Iran-UAE differences on West Asia conflict after marathon negotiations till 4 am; declaration calls for restraint while not assigning responsibility BRICS adopts landmark Delhi Declaration J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi BRICS countries on Saturday adopted the New Delhi Declaration after marathon negotiations that continued until 4 am, overcoming sharp differences over the language in the West Asia conflict, particularly between Iran and the UAE. The adoption marks a significant diplomatic breakthrough for India, the host of 18th BRICS Summit, with New Delhi playing a key role in bridging competing positions among members and ensuring that differences over West Asia did not derail the summit outcome. The declaration, while not assigning responsibility for the conflict, calls for restraint, protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, and respect for the “sovereignty and territorial integrity of the States”. “We express deep concern over the continued escalation of tensions in Middle East/ West Asia and, recalling our respective national positions, call for exercising maximum restraint, as well as avoiding actions that could further aggravat e t h e s i t u at i o n , ” t h e declaration said. It also called for greater use of “dialogue and diplomacy” towards a longterm understanding that can contribute to peace, security and stability in the region. The final declaration adopted broader language, expressing “serious concern” over deliber- on p7 turn Global South into a rule-shaper, urges Modi Retro look, modern trap? Cops caution on pic editing apps Express News Service @ Hyderabad Nostalgia could come at a price, warn cyber cops, referring to photo-editing apps promising to turn ordinary photographs into retro snapshots. Telangana Cyber Security Bureau (TGCSB) director Shikha Goel cautioned citizens against clicking on attractive offers for retro photo-editing apps, saying fraudsters were using the trend to trick users into downloading malicious apps. The bureau said fraudsters are resorting to offering free or unlimited access to apps that give photographs an old-school 1980s look. Users clicking on the accompanying links may instead be directed to download APK files from unverified sources. Once installed, these malicious apps can seek permissions far beyond what a photo-editing tool would normally require, giving fraudsters access to SMS, contacts, notifications, device information and other personal data, as well as banking and financial information. This exposes the user to unauthorised transactions, identity theft and other cybercrimes. “An attractive photo-editing offer can be a trap. Think before you click, verify before you install, and never trust unknown APK files,” Goel said. WITH THIS ISSUE Heart Break PLUS 12 P AGES PLUS 12 P AGES ate attacks on civilian infrastructure and peaceful nuclear facilities under full IAEA safeguards, and stressing that nuclear safeguards, safety and security must be upheld even during armed conflicts. Tehran had sought an explicit reference to what it described as a unilateral attack on Iran and a violation of the UN Charter. A “clear direction from our leadership” and sustained engagement at multiple levels helped India overcome differences, India’s BRICS Sherpa Sudhakar Dalela said. Dalela said negotiations involved extensive consultations. “Engagement at various levels” eventually enabled the grouping to arrive at a consensus. “Tehran’s concern was that the reference to the unilateral attack and the alleged violation of the UN Charter should not be diluted or ‘subsumed into a generic formulation’,” a source familiar with the negotiations said. On Gaza, BRICS expressed deep concern over continued violence despite the October 2025 ceasefire and called for its maintenance and full, unhindered humanitarian access. The declaration opposed policies aimed at the forced displacement of Palestinians and reaffirmed support for Palestinian self-determination, the right of return and full UN membership in the context of the two-state solution. Serious concern over rise of unilateral tariff Declaration condemns 1 New Delhitariffs, calls carbon border unilateral adjustment mechanisms protectionist, demands fairer global trade rules 2 Condemns Pahalgam terror attack, calls for zero tolerance on cross-border terrorism 3 Calls for immediate restoration of fully functioning WTO dispute settlement system 4 Bloc-wide grain trading platform and four new farmer-focused initiatives covering seeds, agro-inputs, agro-ecology and digital agriculture endorsed 5 Declaration urges the developed world to provide finance for biodiversity conservation 6 Resolves to remain committed to aims of the Paris Agreement Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Bharat Innovates Exposition | PTI Cautious thaw in China ties on a steadier footing J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi PRIME Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday sought to put the cautious thaw in IndiaChina ties on a steadier footing, stressing the need to prevent differences from becoming disputes and to preserve peace along the border. Iran President, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince hold talks But the border remains a critical test of the normalisation process. PM Modi emphasised that peace and tranquillity in the border areas remain an “essential basis” for continued development of bilateral relations, the MEA said. Xi said China sees India as a “cooperation partner rather than a rival” and that the devel- opment of one country should be viewed as an opportunity rather than a threat for the other. Describing the recent improvement in ties as a shift from a “new start” to a “new elevation,” Xi said: “This situation has not come easily and is worth cherishing,” a readout quoted by Chinese state media said. India, UAE seek to expand strategic ties in def, space The two leaders met on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi, nearly a year after their previous meeting in Tianjin in August 2025. PM Modi said the relationship should be guided by “mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interest” while reiterating that “differences should not become disputes.” MEA: unified payment, not BRICS currency on table a feast of Indian flavours at gala dinner for leaders Ponguleti: Section 22-A a legacy issue, Mandatory listing only no undue increase in prohibited lands option for Tata Sons RBI blow to Noel Tata G R a m M o h a n @ Hyderabad B e n n K o c h u v e e d a n @ Mumbai IN a major setback for Tata Sons Chairman Noel Tata, the Reserve Bank of India is learnt to have rejected its application seeking to deregister as a non-banking financial company nearly 30 months after it was filed. The , RBI has now directed Tata Sons to comply with norms applicable to an NBFC in the upper layer, paving the way for its mandatory listing. In a letter to Saurabh Agarwal, CFO of Tata Sons, RBI advised the company to take actions to ensure full compliance with its guidelines and instructions. Request for The latest direction means Tata Sons will surrender of the remain classified as an Upper Layer NBFC, Certificate of a category subject to enhanced regulatory Registration to requirements, including mandatory listing. be classified as The RBI first classified Tata Sons as an Upan unregistered core investment per Layer NBFC in September 2022, with Company cannot such entities required to list within three be acceded to years. The original deadline for Tata Sons was September 30, 2025. Tata Sons had RBI letter around `22,000 crore of public debt when it applied to surrender its NBFC licence. It subsequently repaid the debt and became net debt-free by March 2023. The development is significant for Tata Group’s largest outside shareholder, the SP Group, which holds an 18.6% stake in Tata Sons and has been seeking a public listing of the holding company The group has substantial debt obligations and . an IPO could provide an avenue for raising funds. Seeking to dispel what he called “falsehoods” being spread by the Opposition over lands on the prohibited list under Section 22-A of the Registration Act, minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy on Saturday described the issue as a legacy problem and questioned what the BRS had done during its nine-and-a-half-year tenure. Participating in a discussion in the Assembly on Section 22-A lands, Srinivasa Reddy cited figures to contend that there had been no undue increase in the extent of land under the prohibited list since the Congress government assumed office. “On the date the Congress came to power, 96,61,026 acres were under Section 22-A. This included 42,53,532 acres of forest land, 24,63,940 acres of assigned land and 29,35,554 acres of other government land, including shikam land. Private lands accounted for 3,95,852 acres, taking the total extent in the prohibited list to 1,02,52,690 acres. As of August 30, 2026, the extent of land under Section 22-A has come down to 1,02,05,250 acres from 1,02,52,690 acres. Of this, 96,36,777 acres is government land and 3,73,980 acres is private land. This represents a reduction of 47,440 acres Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy, Revenue Minister As of August 30, 2026, the total had come down to 1,02,05,250 acres, with 96,36,777 acres of government land and 3,73,980 acres of private land under the list. This represented a reduction of 47,440 acres,” he said. Srinivasa Reddy attributed the reduction to the removal of private lands from the prohibited list after revenue authorities were given the power to do so. He said there were records to track such removals, but no verifiable paper trail for changes made to the list during the BRS government. He alleged that BRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao, as chief minister, took unilateral decisions and abolished revenue administration at the field level by removing Village Revenue Assistants and Village Administrative Officers without making alternative arrangements. “During KCR’s first term, the revenue minister was a rubber stamp and during the second term, KCR himself held the portfolio. This affected the poor and led to many people ending their lives. Dharani was brought in, but the rules for its implementation were delayed for two-and-a-half years. The site itself was restrictive and prevented others from accessing the records, facilitating mismanagement from the backend,” he said.  continued on p4 asian games Engineer, marketing exec, content editor India’s teqball crew g o m e s h s @ Chennai The name doesn’t ring a bell at all nor there are any trailblazing tales. Teqball it is. And the game is part of the Asian Games to be held in Nagoya from September 19 to October 4. The sport and its sportspersons are shrouded in a veil of mystery They come . from obscure and varied backgrounds. If one is a digital marketing planner, the other is a content manager and one is an engineer — a motley crew that will represent India in Nagoya. They are part-time professionals and part-time players. Juggling their work and game, the found their way into Asiad. Teqball, founded in Hungary around 2014, is a fast-growing sport that combines the agility of football and nuances of table tennis. Played on a curved TT table with a football, each match is decided by best-of-three sets, with the first to get to 12 points (From left) Quimcy Dsouza, Anas Baig and Declan Gonsalves | special arrangement winning the set. Much like table tennis, it is played in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles categories. And similar to football, the players are not allowed to use their arm or hand. The sport first came to India around 201819, but in the last few years te- qball has started to take wing, and a late addition to the Asian Games meant India will take part in three categories. The players are Anas Baig, Declan Gonsalves and Quimcy Dsouza. “We started this sport back in 2022,” Quimcy tells this daily. “We started this sport when nobody knew it, honestly For the . last four years, we haven’t been seen. We are doing this for the love of the game,” she adds.  Xi laid out a four-point framework for better ties. He called for an objective assessment of the relationship, economic cooperation, political wisdom in managing differences and stronger coordination on regional and global issues. The two leaders also agreed to deepen coordination through BRICS, the UN, SCO and G20. Full story: newindianexpress.com. festival services TGSRTC cites ’03 GO to justify premium fares E x p r ess N e ws S e rv i c e @ Hyderabad The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC) has clarified that it is permitted to charge up to 50% more than regular fares on special buses operated during festivals under GO Ms No. 16, issued in 2003. The order, issued by the Transport department (R&B), permits the APSRTC (later bifurcated into APSRTC and TGSRTC) to revise fares for special services operated to meet additional passenger demand during festival periods. Officials said the provision was intended to help the transport corporations meet the additional operational costs of running special services, including buses that often return empty after dropping passengers at their destinations. The additional fare, capped at 50% over the regular ticket price, is intended to cover minimum diesel and maintenance costs incurred during the return journey they said. , The clarification came after former minister T Harish Rao alleged on Saturday that the TGSRTC was increasing fares and burdening passengers. In a post on X, Harish Rao said the AC bus fare between Hyderabad and Hanamkonda had increased from `410 on August 20 to `570 on September 11, an increase of `160. He questioned the government over what he described as fare increases without prior notice and demanded that the revised fares be rolled back. He also alleged that the government was offering “freebies” on one hand while increasing transport fares on the other, and warned that the BRS would not remain a silent spectator.