HUBBALLI l Thursday l October 15, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l CITY EDITION Wholesale inflation rises to record 11.39% in sEPTember India’s Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation rose to 11.39% in September, compared to 9.92% in August, official data showed Costlier food, fuel basket behind surge The rise in the prices of food, manufactured items, fuel and power contributed to September’s higher figure. Inflation in the food index rose to 8.66% in September from 7.05% in August. In manufactured items, WPI was at 9.76%, higher than 8.37% in the previous month. In the fuel and power basket, it was 25.85% in September, up from 22.93% in Aug | P12 2.13% on a steady climb since start of iran war ■ ■ The WPI has been on an upward trajectory since the start of this fiscal year as the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz pushed up crude and fertiliser costs with a spillover effect on food and commodities Amid hardening food inflation and no respite so far on global energy and commodity prices, analysts expect WPI inflation to hit 12% in Oct Was the wpi inflation in February when the west Asia war began 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 Fairfax to buy 61% stake in IDBI Bank Canada-based firm to invest `52,878 crore at `81 per share P U S H P I TA D E Y @ New Delhi Rahul backs CJP protests, signals shift in stance P r eetha Nai r @ New Delhi IN his first show of support to the CJP protests, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday called the jailing of young people for peacefully waving the Tricolour “an act of cowardice” soon after its leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were remanded in judicial custody for five days. This is a significant shift in the Congress approach, which so far had maintained a distance from CJP and its anti-NEET stir that resulted in Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation as education minister. “Waving the Tricolour at Jantar Mantar in a peaceful protest is not a crime... Students. Youth. Journalists. The INDIA bloc... All protests are one: citizens demanding their constitutional rights,” Rahul wrote on X. “Jantar Mantar belongs to the people of India. We will reclaim it.” CJP leader Abhijeet Dipke thanked Rahul for the support. The police action was condemned by INDIA bloc leaders, as well as DMK and AAP . At a press conference, Rahul urged PM Narendra Modi not to stand in the way of protesting students. He had met with students, including from Congress student wing NSUI, who were injured in the protests. The remand comes a day after INDIA bloc leaders and civil society groups met at tea hosted by Rahul to discuss their campaign against alleged ‘vote chori’ and CEC Gyanesh Kumar. Congress absence from Saturday’s CJP protests raised eyebrows as Delhi Police cracked down on protesters, detaining four former CMs. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on Wednesday with students injured in alleged police action during the protests against CEC Gyanesh Kumar | Parveen Negi THE Centre has approved the sale of a controlling stake in IDBI Bank to M/s 10955230 Canada Inc, a subsidiary of Canada-based Fairfax Financial Holdings. The proposed transaction is valued at `52,878 crore—the largest foreign investment in an Indian bank — with the government and Life Insurance Corporation of India selling a combined 60.72% stake at `81 per share, against the reserve price of `75.99. “This is a strategic restructuring, as the government would remain invested,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. Founded by Indian-origin billionaire Prem Watsa, Fairfax currently holds a 40% stake in CSB Bank through its subsidiary FIH Mauritius Investments Ltd. Fairfax will have to either sell its stake in CSB or merge the Kerala-based bank with IDBI within two years as RBI regulations don’t allow an entity to own two banks. The share purchase agree- D ra m at i c t u r n a ro u n d Once known for bad loans and asset quality problems, IDBI Bank was under RBI’s PCA framework between 2017 and 2021. Its started turning around after LIC invested `21,624 crore for a 51% stake. In FY26, its net profit stood at `9,513 crore | P12 ment of the IDBI restructuring will be signed and executed by the end of 2026. The government and LIC currently hold 94.71% stake in the bank. After the transaction, the gover nment and LIC’s shareholding will be 15% and 19%, respectively, with the LIC’s stake set to be reduced further to 15% within two years. The bank will be rebranded within three years under its new promoter. The strategic disinvestment process began in 2022, but the initial bidding process in 2025-26 failed to attract a successful bid. The reserve price for the initial round was `94.42 per share. The government arrived at the latest reserve price of `75.99 per share by taking the average valuation of two methods—the Market Multiple Method and the Asset Valuation Method. “The stock market price of IDBI Bank was not used directly to determine its intrinsic value, citing volatility in the relatively thinly traded stock. Its share price fluctuated between `61.01 and `118.38 during the valuation period, moving both above and below the bid offer price,” the finance ministry said. Government sources said the transaction would not affect depositors, borrowers or staff. IDBI Bank’s gross non-perfor ming assets (NPAs) declined from 31.78% in September 2018 to 2.32% in March 2026. Net NPAs fell from 17.30% to 0.15%. The government infused around `25,000 crore into the bank between 2010 and 2020.  P12 `2,000cr bonus for 11 lakh railway staff R A J E S H K U M A R T H A K U R @ New Delhi THE Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved a productivity-linked bonus (PLB) equivalent to 78 days’ wages worth `2,009.61 crore to around 11 lakh railway employees ahead of the festive season. Payment of PLB to eligible railway employees is made each year before the Dussehra and Diwali holidays. The Cabinet also extended the National Social Assistance Programme for another five years till 2030-31, with an outlay of `53,428 crore. The programme will be renamed the Pradhan Mantri Samajik Sahayata Yojana. Under the revised provisions, monthly assistance under the disability pension scheme will be `375 for beneficiaries aged up to 79 years and `625 for those above 80 years. The minimum benchmark disability requirement will be reduced from 80% to 40%. As part of restructuring of welfare programmes, the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme has been renamed to Pradhan Mantri Vridhavastha Pension Yojana and the Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme to Pradhan Mantri Vidhawa Pension Yojana. express read SC raps EC over missing Sringeri counting video New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday slammed the Election Commission for claiming inability to trace 2023 video recording of counting of votes in Sringeri assembly constituency where the victory margin was only 201 votes | P4 Blue drum murder: Accused get death Meerut (UP): A Meerut court on Wednesday sentenced Muskan Rastogi and her partner Sahil Shukla to death for the murder of her husband Saurabh Rajput whose body was dismembered and cemented inside a blue drum. The merchant navy officer was killed on March 3, 2025 | P10 Farmers end road blockade, start padayatra towards Joshi’s residence Rubio to visit India amid tensions over Russian oil purchase E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e J aya n th J a c o b @ New Delhi Farmers temporarily suspended their highway blockade in different parts of North Kar nataka on Wednesday even as they intensified their stir demanding a minimum support price of Rs 5,500 per tonne of sugarcane. They launched a massive padayatra from the Hattargi toll plaza towards Union Minister Pralhad Joshi’s residence in Hubballi, warning of a statewide escalation if their demands are not met. Meanwhile, the Centre constituted a joint committee under former NITI Aayog member Prof Ramesh Chand to look into the demands of sugarcane farmers, particularly from Karnataka and Maharashtra. The farmers decided to shift their protest from the highways to the minister’s residence after the authorities failed to respond despite a five-hour deadline. Even those farmers, who had blocked the Hubballi–Belagavi highway in Dharwad for the past 32 hours, ended the logjam and decided to continue their protest in a roadside tent until their counterparts from different places reach the spot in a couple of days. They will then join the padayatra and proceed towards Joshi’s house. Farmer leaders said they ended road blockades as they did not want to disturb the general public. Meanwhile, Dingaleshwara Swamiji of Shirahatti Fakeereshwar Mutt expressed anger against Joshi and said he will not consume sugar till the MSP gets fixed according to the wishes of farmers. He called upon all religious heads to take part in the struggle. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will begin a fiveday visit to India and Uzbekistan on Saturday with , energy cooperation, trade negotiations and bilateral ties likely to feature prominently in discussions amid persistent differences over tariffs and India’s purchases of Russian oil. Rubio will visit Mumbai and Jamnagar in India before travelling to Samarkand in Uzbekistan. In Mumbai, he will meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for discussions on bilateral relations and areas of cooperation. The visit comes as New Delhi and Washington seek to advance trade negotiations despite strains over US tariff policies, President Donald Trump’s repeated claims of having brokered an IndiaPakistan ceasefire and a US military attack on a vessel off Oman that killed three Indian seafarers. India has also expressed concern over US legislation that could allow tariffs of up to 100% on imports from countries purchasing Russian oil and gas, as Washington seeks to increase pressure on Moscow over its war in Ukraine. Jaishankar said on Wednesday that India-US trade negotiations were moving towards a resolution, even as Wash- @Hubballi/ Dharwad/ Belagavi Thousands of sugarcane farmers gather at Hattargi toll plaza on the Karnataka-Maharashtra border on Wednesday. Later, they called off the blockade and undertook a padayatra to Union Minister Pralhad Joshi’s residence in Hubballi | EXPRESS Karnataka adds 226 taluks in drought-hit list, highest ever E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @Bengaluru With the state government adding nine more taluks to the drought-hit list on Wednesday, 226 out of 240 taluks are in distress mode, the highest-ever number in the state. Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara said the final memorandum with details on the losses caused by the drought is being prepared and is likely to be completed within a week. The number is expected to be more as the state government is conducting assessment of the remaining taluks. In 2023, 223 taluks were declared drought-hit. The last five years were drought-free. In 2016, 136 taluks; in 2017, 139 taluks; and in 2019, 100 taluks were hit by drought. This year the state only had a 32% rain deficit, lowest since 1918 Karnataka registered a 32% rainfall deficit this southwest monsoon season, data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has revealed. This is the highest deficit the state has ever recorded since 1918 (47%) | P4 total rainfall of 545.2 mm from June to September as against 852 mm normal rainfall. As per the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Management Centre (KSNDMC), gross capacity of all 14 reservoirs is 895 tmcft, of which at present, only 553 tmcft is available as against 827 tmcft last year. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, the DCM said ground truthing process for nine taluks has been completed and with this, 226 taluks has been declared as drought- hit and in remaining taluks, assessment is being done and if they qualify, they will take up ground truthing in these remaining taluks too. Once the final memorandum is ready, a decision will be taken on the visit of a delegation comprising Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister and others to Delhi. K a r n at a k a h a d s o u g h t around Rs 18,000 crore in drought relief last year. This year losses have occurred across almost the entire state, said the DCM. “If more taluks qualify, the overall loss will increase further. Therefore, the amount of relief sought from the Centre this year is also likely to be higher,” he said. He also said that they have requested the Centre to relax guidelines for drought relief. CCB detains 2 over sting op video against Siddu; HDK says JDS worker targeted E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @Bengaluru Sleuths of the Central Crime Branch (CCB) picked up two persons for questioning in connection with an alleged sting operation video linking the name of former chief minister Siddaramaiah. While the police refused to divulge any information, Janata Dal (Secular) leader and Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries HD Kumaraswamy accused the police of targeting the party’s social media workers in the case. While Siddaramaiah on Tuesday secured an injunction order restraining media houses and social media platforms from publishing or circulating unverified defamatory videos or content against him, the Cyber Crime police registered a case. Senior police officials confirmed that a case had been registered, but declined to comment more on the case when questioned about the detention, citing the ongoing investigation. Home Minister Priyank Kharge too told reporters on Wednesday that he cannot disclose any details as the investigation is ongoing. Kumaraswamy alle ged that a par ty w o rk e r h a d b e e n picked up without registering a case in connection with the sting operation video. He said the police took Shankar, a member of the JDS social media wing, into custody on Wednesday morning. He alleged that after the party’s legal wing filed a complaint at the Annapoorneshwari Nagar police station, Shankar called his wife and told her that the CCB police had taken him away and disconnected the call. Kumaraswamy also alleged that the police visited the residence of another JDS social media team member, Mohan, and disturbed and harassed his family members. Questioning the grounds for the alleged detention, Kumaraswamy accused the government of targeting JDS workers instead of acting against those responsible for conducting the sting operation against Siddaramaiah and attempting to tarnish his image. He alleged that an individual, whom he described as a me- dia professional, is moving around freely, while the police are targeting the party’s social media team. Saying that he has demanded a CBI inquiry, Kumaraswamy challenged the police to confront him directly instead of harassing party workers. Warning that there could be further action against party workers, he said the party will not remain silent and is prepared to fight the harassment through political and legal means. Marco Rubio S Jaishankar ington’s changing economic policies compel countries to reassess their engagement with the US. “The United States has repositioned itself,” Jaishankar said, adding that countries needed to “recalculate and reset” their relationships with Washington. Rubio’s visit follows his four-day trip to India in May, when he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Jaishankar to discuss trade, energy defence, mar, itime security and regional developments. During his May 24 meeting with Jaishankar, Rubio expressed confidence that the two countries could reach a durable trade agreement. India has called for an early conclusion to an interim trade agreement as a step towards a broader bilateral pact first envisaged during Modi’s February 2025 visit to Washington. Energy cooperation is expected to be an important part of the engagement, particularly as the two countries navigate differences over Russian oil purchases and sanctions. arson Three Indians killed in Germany, 1 held Three Indian nationals were killed and five others injured in in suspected arson at a residential building in Bochum, Germany, early Tuesday, local media reported on Wednesday. The deceased were two women aged 25 and 27, and a 26-yearold man. Police have arrested a 41-year-old Romanian national who lived in the building on suspicion of murder