KOCHI l wednesday l September 23, 2026 l `10.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE city EDITION GST 2.0 boosts auto demand and affordability, spurs investment The tax cuts following rollout of GST 2.0 a year ago has driven a 20% surge in auto sales with passenger vehicle demand hitting new highs auto industry bosses remain bullish tax rationalisation proves a boon Maruti Suzuki (MSIL) MD and CEO Hisashi Takeuchi said that PV sales for them grew about 36% year-on-year during Apr-Aug 2026. Anish Shah, Group CEO & MD, Mahindra Group said since the GST rationalisation, SUVs sale grew 17%, while LCVs and tractors grew 20%. Tarun Garg, MD & CEO at Hyundai India, said 4 lakh-unit monthly sale mark is the new normal | P10 ■ ■ The executives said the reform has helped broaden the customer base, particularly by improving affordability in the entry-level market The GST Council had approved changes to the tax structure effective September 22, 2025, with petrol, LPG and CNG vehicles under 1,200 cc and diesel vehicles up to 1,500 cc moved to the 18 per cent rate 3 crore vehicles sold between October 2025 and August 2026 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 CMRL payoff case State govt nod for CB inquiry against Pinarayi US Prez claims he has to decide whether to make a deal with Iran or annihilate it; berates the country for stalling an accord on Hormuz until after the midterm polls Don defends Iran war; says he’ll use Russia tariff tool if required E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v ic e @T’Puram A G E N C I E S @ United Nations In a move that could trigger a major political storm, the state government on Tuesday directed the police to conduct a preliminary inquiry into allegations against former chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his family in the Exalogic-CMRL pay-off case. The move, which brings the allegations a step closer to a formal probe, came nearly two weeks after the government received the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) communication seeking registration of a case against the former CM. The Crime Branch will be entrusted with the probe, with Crime ADGP H Venkatesh directly monitoring it. An officer of SP rank or above will head the inquiry sources said. , The decision to authorise the preliminary inquiry was taken after Chief Minister V D Satheesan held discussions with Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala. The preliminary inquiry will be conducted without registering an FIR. If the probe establishes the commission of a criminal offence, an FIR will be registered. The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) was earlier expected to handle the probe. The choice of the Crime Branch over the VACB came as a surprise. A highly placed official justified the government’s decision, saying the ED report had recommended registration of an FIR under the Prevention of Corruption Act (PC Act) as well as provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). “Since the allegations span multiple offences, the Crime Branch was preferred over the Vigilance. The Vigilance can probe only cases registered exclusively under the PC Act. In this case, the allegations against Pinarayi, his daughter Veena T and son-in-law P A Mohamed Riyas are not confined to the PC Act, making the Crime Branch the appropriate agency for the preliminary inquiry the offi,” cial said. Though the ED report mentions a possible hawala transaction, the state police ● More on P4 cannot probe it.  PRESIDENT Donald Trump returned to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, defending his decision to go to war with Iran even as the conflict weighs o n h i s p a r t y ’s m i d t e r m prospects. “I have a big decision to make -- will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before, or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly?” Trump said. Trump accused Iran of stalling a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and negotiate an endgame to the war until after the US midterm elections. He insisted the tactic would have no effect on how he approaches the conflict. “We will get it (deal) done one way or another. We will get it done and get it done fast,” Trump said. “The terrorist regime is behaving badly because they are weak and desperate,” Trump said. “If we stand united, we will see a world free of the menace of Iranian terror.”Most of Iran’s delegation walked out of On sanctions against Russia and AI 1 Donald Trump said he will use, if needed, sanctions to end the “disastrous war” between Russia and Ukraine 2 Trump repeated his claim that he settled the war between India & Pakistan last year 3 Signed an agreement with Denmark and Greenland aimed at strengthening Arctic and North Atlantic security 4 Told UNGA that artificial intelligence will be named “super intelligence” in all US govt documents As president of the most extraordinary nation in history, I have no interest in leaving dangers to grow for another day. I do not believe in letting problems fester Donald Trump, US President at UNGA the chamber as Trump railed against the Islamic Republic. On Russia, he said he continues to seek an end to the disastrous war with Ukraine. “Last week, in honour of Senator Lindsey Graham, I signed a powerful new law passed by Congress providing me with enormous new tariff authorities - and if necessary I , will use them... “It is time to stop the killing,” Trump said. Referring to the proposal to slow down development of artificial intelligence (AI) and calls for their international supervision, Trump called them a “globalist scheme” to control the new technology He instead an. nounced that the US government would henceforth use the term “super intelligence” instead of AI in its communications. “It sounds much better” and “it’s much more accurate,” he added, wondering whether the rest of the world would adopt the term. He also dismissed warnings about climate change. “The very same people who said we’ll all be dead in 12 years because of global warming... are now saying that AI is going to kill us all, that robots are going to attack us, and that everything is going to be a total disaster.” The president renewed his attack on what he said were “globalist” bodies, including the UN and the International Criminal Court, which he urged other countries to boycott. He, however, hailed a deal with Greenland under which he said Washington would build a couple of bases in the Arctic. Express Read India for reformed multilateralism New Delhi: India has joined a group of middle powers and the European Union in launching a new platform aimed at strengthening multilateralism, defending international law and pushing for more representative global decision-making | P7 State govt plans Janakeeya Hotels revamp Kochi: Amid concerns over the survival of Janakeeya Hotels, the state is considering a revamp of the Kudumbashree-run eateries while ensuring that affordable and safe food continues to be available to all people | P5 special session of Parliament A special session of Parliament to push delimitation bill and women’s reservation could be held during Navaratri | P7 16 pages, including 4 pages of KOCHI Express National Honour President Droupadi Murmu presents Mammootty with the award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in ‘Bramayugam’ during the 72nd National Film Awards ceremony at Kevadia in Gujarat on Tuesday | PTI playing to gallery Vande mataram No criminal action Japanese announcer, pamphlets & baseball link on conscientious objectors, says SC Indraneel Das Express @ asian games Nagoya N isshin mayor Hiroki Kondo was watching the women’s cricket gold medal match between India and Sri Lanka from the sidelines with Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president PT Usha for company “We will con. tinue playing cricket here after the Games,” he told this daily as India went on to secure their first gold at the ongoing Asian Games. “We will have 18 days of cricket here in a year. This is Japan,” he smiled. Cricket is still an obscure sport in this country The venue . itself was a baseball practice ground, which also doubles up as a public park with tennis courts as well as a football ground close by The only per. manent structures here are the toilet and the baseball dugouts. To help the crowd, the organisers also distributed pamphlets about the game in Japanese. Naofumi and Chisato are from the neighbourhood and have never watched cricket. This is their first experience. Mimi Hirayama, the official announcer at the venue, is Japanese who lives in England. Her biggest challenge is engaging the audience who can barely differentiate between bat and ball or pad and helmet. “I was mainly talking about rules, because the Japanese audience is not familiar with this sport,” she said. Apart from the pamphlets, they also had Hirayama for company throughP11 out Tuesday  . Japanese pamphlet at the venue explaining cricket S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi “WE expect no criminal consequences for conscientious objectors to Vande Mataram,” the Supreme Court on Tuesday told the Centre on Tuesday while hearing a plea filed by Carnatic musician and author, T M Krishna. Krishna’s writ petition challenges the constitutional validity of the 2026 amendment to the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act of 1971, which extends penal protection to Vande Mataram, read with the Ministry of Home Affairs’ directions mandating singing of all six stanzas of the song at official functions. The last four stanzas of the song, which refer to Hindu deities, violate the secular character of the nation, his petition contended. T M Krishna The Bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices V Mohana and Joymalya Bagchi said it will examine whether the right not to sing the song, recognised in Bijoe Emmanuel, is protected under the amended law. The SC added it expects the 1986 precedent to apply ensuring no penal ac, tion against those who do not sing the Vande Mataram on religious grounds.The court said it is for the state to decide the contours of the song, but religious freedom under Articles 25 ● More on P8 and 26 must be safeguarded. ICA-D1443(12)/2026