tirupati l saturday l october 24, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION record play: BEst-ever show for India at Para Asian Games More reward with lesser strength Despite 168 para-athletes for this edition, which was nearly half of the contingent size that went to the Hangzhou Games in 2023, India returned with 114 medals, including 30 gold. In the previous edition, India had sent 309 para-athletes and they finished fifth on the medal tally with 101 medals, including 29 gold, 31 silver and 51 bronze As the continental event comes to a close on Saturday, the country registers historic haul to occupy fourth place as of Friday. A look... Highest single-day haul on Friday ■ ■ On the last day of their competition on Friday, India collected nine gold medals, their highest single-day haul in the ongoing edition, with top finishes registered in archery, shooting, badminton and athletics Athletics, as always, ended up being the driving force snaring 65 medals in all, 12 more than 2023 | P11 114 medals won by india including 30 gold, 35 silver and 49 bronze 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 PLA patrol deviation tied to Net FDI inflows LAC disturbances, says govt state of the economy Festive cheer eludes Street as went up 44% equities bleed during Apr-Aug Express News Service @ Vijayawada The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has intensified its probe into the disappearance, and alleged custodial death of Gade Sai Krishna, a resident of Krishna Lanka in Vijayawada, by seeking permission to search the houses of two accused in the case.   CBI officials filed a petition in the court seeking warrants to conduct searches at the houses of Suresh, listed as A4, and Venkataraju, A7. After hearing the petition, the court on Friday granted permission to the investigating agency to carry out searches.   Meanwhile, a CBI team arrived in Vijayawada, and launched a detailed investigation into the case following orders from the Andhra Pradesh High Court.  The CBI had registered an FIR, and initiated the probe under the supervision of an Additional Superintendent of Police.  The CBI team is camping in Vijayawada as part of the investigation, and is expected to visit the house of Sai Krishna’s mother Vijayalakshmi, to gather information. The team also inspected the Krishna Lanka police station to probe the circumstances surrounding Sai Krishna’s death in custody   .  The CBI is likely to reconstruct the scene to establish the sequence of events leading to Sai Krishna’s death.    The CBI searches at the houses of the two accused are expected to form part of the evidence-gathering process in the Sai Krishna death case. ARSHAD K HAN @ New Delhi DIPA K M ONDA L @ New Delhi INDIAN equities continue to bleed through the festive season when buying sentiment is typically strong. The benchmark indices—BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50—settled in the red in all four trading sessions of this week, with the broader indices facing a much steeper decline. On Friday, the 30-share BSE Sensex opened higher but later plunged 797.02 points, or 1.08%, to hit an intraday low of 72,452.37. It later recouped some losses to settle at 73,123.83, down 125.56 points, or 0.17%. The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 87.65 points, or 0.39%, to close at 22,600 after tumbling 315.65 points, or 1.39%, to a low of 22,372 on Friday The . Nifty Midcap 100 declined 2.21% and the Nifty Smallcap 100 fell 2.94%. Investors lost over `20 lakh crore this week as the market capitalisation of all BSE-listed firms came down from `473.46 lakh crore to `452.40 lakh crore. Friday’s The decline is 74,000 73,249.39 close primarily attribPrevious 73,123.83 uted to elevated close crude oil prices 73,000 amid g rowing tensions in West Asia. At about $116 per barrel, 72,000 am 9 11 am 1 pm 3 pm 4 pm Brent crude oil Change is trading near a -125.56 (-0.17%) six-month high. For India, persistently high crude prices pose risks to imported inflation, corporate margins, and currency stability If oil prices remain . high, it could also lead to foreign fund outflows, further hurting domestic equities. “Indian markets are currently seeing selling pressure primarily due to global factors with elevated geopolitical tensions, rising bond yields and the sharp rise in crude oil prices, which increased concerns around inflation, margins and the current account. At the same time, tighter global liquidity and higher interest rates have reduced risk off sentiment,” said Shweta Rajani, associate director, Anand Rathi Wealth Ltd. Rajani explained that historically, the festive season that starts from the Navratri days till the end of Diwali has been favourable for equities. The Nifty50 and Sensex have fallen by around 14% since the beginning of this year. If the bearish trend continues till December, it would be the first time in the past 10 years that Indian equities give negative returns in a calendar year. According to Sudeep Shah, head of technical and derivatives research at SBI Securities, the sharp correction in AI- and data centre-related stocks across global exchanges has deepened market volatility . amid the exodus of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) from Indian equity markets, net foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows have provided a silver lining, rising 44% year-on-year to $13.8 billion during April-August 2026, up from $9.6 billion in the first five months of last fiscal. According to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) October bulletin released on Friday, net FDI stood at $3.3 billion in August, supported by sustained gross FDI inflows and a moderation in the pace of outward FDI. The RBI data showed that gross FDI inflows rose 20% y-o-y to $11.1 billion during the AprilAugust period, while net outward FDI increased 26.5% to $17.7 billion, compared with a 41.9% rise a year ago. In August, outward FDI flows moderated, with more than half directed towards Singapore, the Netherlands and the US. India recorded negative net FDI Net foreign direct and flows from Auportfolio investment gust to Decem2024-25 ber 2025 before Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 recovering in the Net FDI 6.2 -2.8 -2.8 0.4 final quarter of the previous fiNet FPI 0.9 19.9 -11.4 -5.9 nancial year. In 2025-26 (Provisional) the current fiQ1 Q2 Q3 Q4 nancial year, net FDI again Net FDI 5.2 2.1 -5.1 4.5 slipped into negNet FPI 1.6 -5.7 -0.2 -13.5 ative territory in 2026-27 (Provisional) May and June as outward investQ1 Q2 ments exceeded Net FDI 3.1 10.7* inward inflows. Net FPI -9.6 -0.3 Financial serv(Figures in $ bn) *Data for July-August ices, communication services, computer services and manufacturing accounted for 73% of total FDI equity inflows during April-August 2026. Singapore, Japan, Mauritius, the United Arab Emirates and the US were the major sources of inward FDI, together accounting for around 81% of total inflows. The rebound in FDI comes amid a sustained sell-off by FPIs to the tune of $9.8 billion during April-August, data showed. RBI also reported a sharp rise in its net dollar purchases in August, buying $43.26 billion on a net basis, more than double the $18.65 billion purchased in July The increase came amid sig. nificant inflows of NRI deposits into banks. India received around $136 billion under the RBI’s special dollar swap window, with Foreign Currency Non-Resident (Bank), or FCNR(B), deposits crossing $127 billion in August. Meanwhile, RBI flagged concerns over rising inflationary pressures stemming from the West Asia crisis and recurring trade tensions, alongside multi-decade-high sovereign bond yields and elevated public debt. However, it noted that sustained domestic demand and the services sector continued to support economic growth. BSE sensex Source: RBI bulletin Sai case: CBI to search houses of two accused Despite Odisha’s boycott call, 20 file papers for 5 MPTC seats in Kotia s r e e n u b a b u pat i v a d a @ Parvathipuram-Manyam At least 20 nominations were filed for five Mandal Parishad Te r r i t o rial Constituency (MPTC) seats in Salur mandal despite Odisha’s local poll boycott campaign in the disputed Kotia region. The TDP filed 11 nominations for the five MPTC seats, the YSRCP nine and the CPI one. The disputed Kotia group of 21 villages have around 4,349 residents, and over 1,600 registered voters in the five MPTC segments, including Ganjaibhadra, Kurukuti, Sarika, Tonam and Kodama in Salur mandal. Ku m a r i Habi Rashid, Deputy Commissioner, Odisha, camped in Kotia, and conducted field visits to several villag- es, including Ganjaibhadra, Eguva Sembi and Neredivalasa on the Andhra Odisha Border (AOB) to gauge public sentiment regarding the MPTC polls. During her visit, she interacted with locals, and enquired about their franchise in the local body elections conducted by the Andhra Pradesh State Election Commission. Former Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal supremo Naveen Patnaik had written to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, urging decisive intervention to safeguard Odisha’s territorial integrity after the Government of AP released notification for the local body elections. Former Odisha Higher Educat i o n Minister Rabi Narayan Nanda led an aggressive doorEXPRESS ILLUSTRATION to-door campaign in the disputed Kotia region, urging residents not to participate or cast their votes in Andhra Pradesh’s local body elections. He said villagers should boycott the neighbouring State’s democratic exercise as they come under Odisha’s purview. High friction broke out at Pattuchennuru, where BJD activists reportedly confronted YSRCP leaders of AP during the latter’s election campaign. They raised provocative “Go Back Andhra” slogans, allegedly stormed the campaign site and destroyed food prepared for workers and locals. This led to friction between the two sides. The people of the disputed Kotia villages urged the AP government officials to take all the necessary steps for smooth conduct of the MPTC and Panchayat elections as they want to exercise their franchise in a free and fair manner without yielding to any pressure from Odisha. j aya n t h j a c o b @ New Delhi INDIA and China continue to use established diplomatic and military mechanisms to resolve outstanding issues and prevent misunderstandings along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday, amid a row over remarks by Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) chief Shatrujeet Kapur about an ongoing faceoff in Arunachal Pradesh. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, responding to questions about Kapur’s reported comments, said disturbances along the India-China border occur when Chinese troops deviate from “established patrolling patterns.” He, however, did not provide specific details about the reported face-off in Arunachal Pradesh and referred questions on operational matters to the Ministry of Defence. Arunachal standoff On ITBP chief Shatrujeet Kapur’s lowdown on the face-off in Arunachal, MEA didn’t elaborate on locations involved, nature of the confrontation or whether the situation was still on “We have noted in the past, the situation in the India-China border areas gets disturbed from time to time when Chinese forces diverge from established patrolling patterns,” Jaiswal said. “Both sides continue to use existing diplomatic and mili- Bay system likely to intensify into cyclonic storm by October 26 U s h a P e r i @ Visakhapatnam Andhra Pradesh is bracing for heavy to extremely heavy rainfall from October 27 as a low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal is likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm, and move towards the North Andhra Pradesh and adjoining South Odisha coasts. The probability of the system making landfall between Machilipatnam and Vizianagaram on October 28 is estimated at 60-70%, according to the latest weather update. According to the India Meteorological Department, the low-pressure area formed over the eastcentral and adjoining southeast Bay of Bengal at 5.30 am on Friday under the influence of an upper-air cyclonic circulation. The system is expected to intensify into a depression on October 24, and a deep depression on October 25 before developing into a cyclonic storm over the westcentral Bay of Bengal by the morning of October 26. tary mechanisms to resolve outstanding issues and avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation along the Line of Actual Control,” he added. Jaiswal also said the two countries had agreed to discuss ways to improve their understanding of the LAC in appropriate areas to strengthen border management. The MEA’s remarks came after Kapur reportedly referred to a continuing face-off at multiple locations in Arunachal Pradesh during an address to ITBP personnel at a felicitation ceremony in Alwar, Rajasthan, on Thursday . “In recent days, there was a situation in Arunachal Pradesh where there was a face-off at different locations, which is still continuing. There our Shaurya commando teams did really exceedingly well,” Kapur reportedly said, praising the performance of ITBP’s elite Shaurya platoon. express read 23 MoUs signed at Anantapur meet Anantapur: The Fourth Regional Conference of the 31st CII Partnership Summit, held at JNTU Anantapur on Friday, secured 23 MoUs worth `5,217.39 crore with a huge job potential | P3 Dec 2028 deadline set for 36 projects The cyclone will be named ‘Arnab’. The system is then likely to intensify further while moving west-northwestwards towards the North Andhra Pradesh and adjoining South Odisha coasts over the following two days. While the projected landfall window and probability indicate a significant weather threat to the State, the system’s eventual track and intensity will determine the distribution of rainfall and the impact along the coast. The effects are expected to become pronounced from October 27, with Visakhapatnam and Anakapalli districts likely to receive extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places. P4 Vijayawada: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu directed officials to complete construction of 36 identified priority projects operational by December 2028 | P4 TDP counters YSRCP claims Vijayawada: Claiming that the YSRCP’s alleged false propaganda on nominations had been exposed, TDP leaders said the YSRCP had filed more nominations than TDP in ZPTC polls | P4 In the eye of a storm Keralam’s vigilance bureau review finds no lapses in ’07 suicide probe that gave Gyanesh a clean chit S h a n A S @ T’Puram Possible next steps In possible relief to embattled Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, Keralam’s Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) has found no lapses in its 2007 preliminary inquiry against him following the suicide of a Malaysian engineer involved in a road-widening project in the state. Kumar was given a clean chit in the probe at the time. Sources said the preliminary inquiry against Kumar, then secretary of public works department, was found to be in line with rules and vigilance protocols. Earlier this month, the UDF government ordered a relook into the 2007 inquiry after a Congress leader filed a complaint alleging that past probes were compromised or stopped due to pressure. The move came amid protests de- The Keralam government might ask the Crime Branch to form a special team to probe all angles, other than graft, in Lee’s death. Sources said the move could bring to the fore the suicide note naming Gyanesh Kumar. After Lee’s death, the state police attempted to get its copy from Malaysia but was unable to do so Protesters at a march against the CEC in New Delhi on Friday | Sayantan ghosh manding the CEC’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Lee See Been, who served as chief project manager for PATI-BEL, an Indo-Malaysian consortium involved in a road project, ended his life in Kuala Lumpur in 2006 allegedly after his bid to get bills cleared was stonewalled by officials. Kumar’s name was mentioned in one of his suicide notes, which alleged that systemic corruption was plaguing the project’s implementation. In the wake of the government’s order, the VACB scrutinised the preliminary inquiry . Sources said the assessment did not reveal any lacunae and “it appears there is no scope for any further vigilance action”. They said the complainant did not produce any fresh evidence against Kumar to compel the agency to revisit its clean chit. The VACB found that two other preliminary inquiries were conducted against Kumar in this period, but neither could make out a case against him, sources said.