The New Indian Express Wishes its readers a Vinayaka Chavithi Our offices and press will remain closed today and there will be no issue of the paper on Tuesday vijayawada l monday l september 14, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Ladakh groups open to dropping statehood demand, with rider Elected body with legislative powers The proposed UT-level body would be elected and will have legislative powers with respect to land, culture and language, forest, environment, natural resources, and any other subject reserved under Article 240. “We have agreed to discuss in principle this model of governance. If it is satisfactory, we will accept it,” said Sajjad Kargili, co-chairman of KDA The Kargil Democratic Alliance and Leh Apex Body are closely looking at MHA’s UT-level elected body to meet aspirations of the people new arrangement only for ladakh ■ ■ The UT-level elected body under Article 371 was conceptualised in a meeting in Delhi on September 9, and will only apply to Ladakh The two groups — KDA and LAB — have now climbed down from their earlier demands and have dropped their Sixth Schedule demand for constitutional safeguards under Article 371 | P8 `15 lakh Each being given by l-g to THE kin of 4 PERSONS DIED in 2025 violence 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 Don’t weaponise minerals, tech: PM Modi says BRICS must strengthen the ability to anticipate and deal with crises; calls for inclusivity in new tech adoption J AYA N T H J AC O B @ New Delhi PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on the concluding day of the BRICS summit warned that the “weaponisation of technology and critical minerals” could hinder shared global progress, while calling for greater inclusivity in the adoption of new technologies and stronger cooperation with the Global South. Addressing the BRICS session on Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability Modi said on Sunday India’s , presidency had focused on translating these four pillars into practical cooperation, particularly as conflicts, pandemics, climate disasters and supply-chain disruptions increasingly affect economies and ordinary people across borders. “The weaponisation of technology and critical minerals can hinder our shared progress. Therefore, we have emphasised inclusivity in the adoption of technology Modi said. ,” His remarks come as critical minerals assume growing strategic importance for clean-energy systems, advanced manufacturing and emerging technologies, making access to reliable and diversified supplies an increasingly important element of economic and geopolitical resilience. He said the interconnected nature of the world requires BRICS members to strengthen on p7 ‘Might makes right’ logic does not hold, says Xi their ability to anticipate and respond to crises, pointing to initiatives including an integrated early-warning system for infectious diseases, disaster-management data guidelines and a logistics supplychain cooperation framework. On innovation, he highlighted the BRICS Incubator Network, the proposed BRICS Startup Innovation Fund and the BRICS Network on Digital Agriculture, which aims to connect artificial intelligence, geospatial technology and digital public infrastructure with the needs of farmers. Modi stressed that BRICS cooperation should extend beyond governments and involve entrepreneurs, farmers, researchers, women, youth and ordinary citizens. “Our endeavour has been to ensure that BRICS cooperation does not remain limited to governments alone,” he said, citing initiatives aimed at skills development, women’s workforce participation, social security capacity building and sup, port for small businesses. On the subject of sustainability Modi said development and , environmental protection should not be viewed as competing priorities. “In Indian civilisation, nature has been accorded the status of a mother,” he said, adding that India had long believed that development and the environment were “not alternatives to each other, but are complementary .” J aya nt h J a c ob @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at the Bharat Mandapam during the BRICS Summit on Sunday; Chinese President Xi Jinping waves before boarding his aircraft upon concluding his India visit | PTI Pandemics, climate disasters, and supply-chain disruptions have shown that in today’s interconnected world, no crisis remains confined to a single region — Narendra Modi, Prime Minister INDIA’S BILATERAL OUTREACH ACROSS GLOBAL SOUTH Smugglers ram vehicle into interceptor, four forest staff hurt E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Tirupati Four Forest Department personnel were injured when a gang of red sanders smugglers rammed their vehicle into an interception team during an anti-smuggling operation near Bommayagaripalli village in Rompicherla mandal of Annamayya district on Sunday . Despite the violent resistance, forest officials managed to apprehend two suspects and seize a haul of red sanders logs. The incident occurred during ‘Operation Aranya’ when a forest task force team attempted to block a vehicle carrying illegally felled red sanders logs. In a bid to evade capture, the smugglers crashed their vehicle directly into the forest department’s interceptor. Forest Section Officer K Prakash Kumar, Forest Beat Officers P Reddy Prasad and K Pratap, along with driver Charan, sustained injuries in the collision. Following the impact, forest personnel overpowered two suspects, while three others managed to flee into the surrounding terrain. Alongside the logs, officials seized the getaway vehicle, a weighing machine, saw blade, and axes. Responding swiftly to the incident, Deputy Chief Minister (Environment and Forests) K Pawan Kalyan spoke with senior officials to review the situation. Commending the crew for their courage, he directed the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests to ensure top-tier medical care for the injured staff. Xi urges member countries to defend rules-based international order, proposes five-point agenda for greater BRICS cooperation A world without rules is like a crossroads without traffic lights... Fairness and justice is a universal aspiration, and international rules must be written by all countries — Xi Jinping, Chinese President Malaysian prime minister sings at brics gala dinner India, Vietnam step up defence, industrial ties Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Sunday that “the logic of ‘might makes right’ does not hold, and should have been discarded long ago,” urging the BRICS countries to defend a rules-based international order and strengthen the voice of the Global South. Addressing the concluding session of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi, Xi said the world was undergoing “changes unseen in a century” as the collective rise of the Global South accelerated the shift towards a multipolar order. He urged BRICS to “seize the historical initiative” and become “an active, stabilising and positive force in international affairs”. He called on developing countries to uphold sovereign equality, non-interference in internal affairs and the peaceful settlement of disputes, while strengthening the authority of the United Nations and pushing for reforms that ensure greater participation of developing countries in global institutions. Xi called for reform of the international financial architecture to increase the representation and voice of developing economies, and urged BRICS to support reform of the World Trade Organization and the continued development of the New Development Bank. The Chinese president said BRICS should use its ties with emerging markets and developing countries to safeguard industrial and supply chains and build a large integrated market. He proposed a five-point agenda covering artificial intelligence, trade and investment, digital industries, intelligent manufacturing, and science and technology talent. BJP to make summit success a political asset for state polls FILE PHOTO load relief Rural Andhra reels under power outages E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada Severe heat and dry weather driven by El Niño conditions have triggered widespread power disruptions across rural Andhra Pradesh, leaving farmers, patients, and households facing unscheduled outages lasting up to six hours a day . With the power consumption surging past peak summer levels due to a 37% rainfall deficit in parts of the State, power distribution companies (Discoms) have begun imposing unannounced load shedding under the name of Emergency Load Relief (ELR). While major cities like Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Kakinada continue to receive stable supply rural and Agency , mandals are bearing the brunt of the deficit. In a glaring instance of the crisis in rural healthcare, medical staff at the Community Health Centre (CHC) in Bhadragiri, ParvathipuramManyam district, were forced to treat a five-year-old burn victim, Biddika Jeevan, under cellphone flashlight when power snapped and the facility’s backup generator failed to P4 function.  Shah sure UCC will be rolled out in all NDA states by 2029 s u d h i r s u r ya w a n s h i @ Mumbai UNION Home Minister Amit Shah said on Sunday that he was confident the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) would be implemented in all 21 NDA-ruled states and Union territors before the next Lok Sabha elections in 2029. Shah was in Mumbai to launch the 30-day Seva Sankalp Abhiyan, aimed at encouraging public participation in the government’s vision of a developed India by 2047. He said the Centre had already introduced UCC in several states and expressed confidence that all NDA-led states TTD: No cap on private vehicles on Tirumala E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Tirumala Refuting widespread rumours circulating on social media, the Tir umala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) and the Tirupati District Police issued a joint clarification on Sunday, confir ming that no restrictions or daily caps have been placed on private vehicles ascending the Tirumala Hills. The clarification follows viral online posts claiming that the TTD had capped private ve- hicular traffic at 15,000 per day , and that additional vehicles would be halted at foothill checkpoints. Terming the reports completely false and baseless, the TTD and police urged pilgrims not to believe or forward unverified social media messages. Tirupati District Superintendent of Police L Subbarayudu stated that a preliminary investigation revealed deliberate dissemination of misinformation to mislead devotees ahead of the annual Brahmotsavams.  P4 Home Minister Amit Shah at a press conference in Mumbai on Sunday | PTI would follow suit before 2029. Uttarakhand became the first state to pass a UCC law, in February 2024, and has fully enforced it since January 2025. Gujarat followed last year, and Assam became the first northeastern state to pass the UCC Bill, in May 2026. Madhya Pradesh is the latest to come on E x p r e s s Re a d APIIC allots 3,246 plots to small units with `9,162 cr investment Vijayawada: Under the State’s MSME Policy 4.0, inter-departmental interventions are driving a wider infrastructure push that has seen the APIIC hand over 3,246 industrial plots, spanning 1,954 acres, to small enterprises between June 2024 and September 2026. These allotments represent a proposed investment of `9,162 crore with a potential of more than 1.15 lakh jobs | P4 59 Urban Local Bodies get final lists of polling stations Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh State Election Commission on Sunday published the finalised lists of polling stations for 59 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), marking a key administrative step toward conducting the second ordinary elections to municipal bodies. The completion of this exercise clears the groundwork for the SEC to notify the formal election schedule | P4 National song sung at int’l match for 1st time e x p r e s s ne w s s e r v i c e @ Bengaluru IN a first, both the national song and the national anthem were played before the start of an international cricket match. After Vande Mataram and Jana Gana Mana reverberated around Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium, Afghanistan’s national anthem was played. Curiously enough, even though the national song was played, for the purposes of record-keeping, Afghanistan will be the home team for the entirety of the three-match T20I series (the other two matches will also be held in the national capital). This is in line with a new directive issued by the Union Home Ministry from earlier this year to celebrate the 150th year of the song. “It is not possible to give an exhaustive list of occasions on which the singing (as distinct from playing) of official version of the national song can be permitted,” the order had said. “But there is no objection to the singing of the national song accompanied by mass singing so long as it done with due respect as a salutation to the motherland and proper decorum is maintained.” Interestingly, this is not the first time of the national song preceeding the national anthem at the Arun jaitley Stadium. board, with its cabinet unanimously approving the code at a special meeting in July . The UCC laws in Gujarat, Assam and Madhya Pradesh are awaiting Presidential assent. Maharashtra, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh, meanwhile, have set up drafting committees. Asked whether 1951 would be used as the baseline year for implementing the National Register of Citizens in Manipur, Shah said the matter was under discussion. “We are discussing these issues with our allies and also with the political parties of Manipur. Whatever decision is taken, we will inform you,” he said.