TIRUPATI  SATURDAY  NOVEMBER 14, 2026  `9.00  PAGES 12  LATE CITY EDITION AFTER MASSIVE GLOBAL OUTAGE, MICROSOFT RESTORING SERVICES Microsoft said on Friday it was working to get back its services amid an outage that disrupted public services and businesses globally ELEVATED LOAD CAUSED IT, SAYS TECH CO INDIGO, AKASA AIR EMAIL SERVICES HIT The outage, which hit several Microsoft products, disrupted health care services, delayed corporate earnings reports and left schools struggling to communicate. A top UK trade union said the disruptions were having a “serious impact” on the country’s health care service. Microsoft attributed the disruption to “elevated load” on its technology infrastructure ■ ■ In India, airline IndiGo said its email support services were impacted, while Akasa Air said its email services were experiencing delays. Air India said its flight operations remained unaffected Microsoft said it did not have any indication that the global outage was caused by any kind of malicious activity or threat actors 43 crore PEOPLE GLOBALLY USE SERVICES OF MICROSOFT ON A DAILY BASIS 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 US promises India trade tariff edge over rivals P U S H P I TA D E Y @ New Delhi THE US has promised to give India a comparative tariff advantage over its competitors under the proposed trade deal, a senior official said on Friday . The legal text of the agreement will include safeguards to ensure that the US cannot impose additional tariffs beyond its commitments once the deal is concluded, the official added. The US team visited India in the first week of November for discussions. India’s major competitors include Vietnam, Bangladesh and Brazil, with which the US is actively engaged in tariff discussions and trade negotiations. Vietnam currently faces 12.5% general duties on its exports to the US under Section 301, while Bangladesh faces a 10% duty Section 301 of the US . Trade Act of 1974 grants the Office of the United States Trade Representative the authority to take retaliatory action against foreign government policies or practices that violate US trade agreements. India and the US have been negotiating the trade deal since it was announced in February 2026. During the negotiations, the US imposed an additional 10% ad valorem import duty on Indian goods under Section 301, effective July 24, 2026. The final tariff framework will depend on the outcome of the ongoing Section 301 investigation. Delhi corners Dhaka with water diplomacy India plans to let Ganga Water Sharing Treaty expire, but will release water as goodwill gesture J I T E N D R A C H O U B E Y @ New Delhi THE Centre plans to let the India-Bangladesh Ganga Water Sharing Treaty expire when the 30-year pact concludes next month. However, water sharing will continue for now as per existing terms, officials aware of the matter told this paper. India intends to demonstrate goodwill by maintaining the same volume of water allocation to Bangladesh as per the existing treaty even after its lapse. The water card is apparently a diplomatic tool to enhance bilateral relations. The treaty was signed on December 12, 1996 to govern the sharing of Ganga water between India and Bangladesh, particularly around the Farakka Barrage during the lean season. The agreement was scheduled to be renewed with mutual consent after 30 years. Sources said the Centre wants to renegotiate the terms to obtain additional water to meet India’s developmental initiatives. These include supporting operations at Kolkata’s Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, meeting the water requirements for NTPC’s thermal power plant, and addressing salinity issues in the Sundarbans and other regions. The current arrangement stipulates that each country receive 35,000 cusecs of water alternately for 10 days during the lean season, which runs from March 11 54 rivers flow into Bangladesh from India. A few of them are governed by bilateral treaties 35,000 cusecs for 10 days each during lean season is the current bilateral arrangement 5,000 cusecs additional water sought in lean season to maintain India’s port, NTPC P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi to May 11. ty was hurting their states’ interIndia needs 40,000 cusecs of ests, also attended the meeting. water to keep its developmental “We need at least 5,000 cusecs work on at the Kolkata port. In extra water to flush out sedithis context, the Central Water ments at Kolkata Port in the lean Commission presented the tech- season and also to stop saline innical details to the Ministry of trusion in Sundarban deltas and External Affairs last month. adjoining agricultural suitable “ We were areas,” said the asked to give all official. PRESS technical details Taking a dig at CLUSIVE Bangladesh’s poa n d p re s e n t a tions associated litical confrontawith the Treaty tion with India, and how India can get more wa- an MEA official said: “On any ter during the lean season,” said treaty made in good faith, it is the an official. Officials of West Ben- duty of the lower riparian state gal and Bihar governments, to respect the upper riparian which complained that the trea- state to maintain that faith.” Earlier, India set up a panel to examine the restoration and future management of the Teesta Barrage Project in West Bengal. This move came amid growing Chinese involvement in Bangladesh’s plans for the Teesta river. An estimated 54 transboundary rivers flow into Bangladesh from India. Experts see the need for multiple treaties to govern these rivers. Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina claims she wants to return home in December. New Delhi may use the water treaty as leverage to negotiate the proper handling of Hasina, who is known for a proIndia approach. Naidu allays concerns over water needs of data centres EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Visakhapatnam AMID growing concerns over the water and power requirements of the proposed data centres in Visakhapatnam, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has maintained that water availability will not be a constraint, citing the State’s capacity to draw water from the Polavaram Irrigation Project, and adopt alternative technologies. Speaking on the sidelines of the second day of the 31st CII Partnership Summit in Visakhapatnam on Friday the Chief , Minister said the proposed data centres would require around 3.5 TMC of water, while the State has the potential to bring up to 100 TMC to Visakhapatnam annually through the Polavaram project. He also pointed out that con- AP gets `9.89L cr investments Vice-President CP Radhakrishnan, Governor S Abdul Nazeer and Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu take part in the Partnership Summit in Visakhapatnam | EXPRESS siderable quantity of river water currently flows into the sea, and could be put to productive use. Referring to concerns over the high water consumption associ- ated with data centre operations, the Chief Minister cited desalination and emerging air-cooling technologies as possible alternatives to reduce dependence on TTD permits ASI to document and digitise Tirumala temple inscriptions E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Tirupati THE Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has granted permission to the Epigraphy Branch of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to document and digitise inscriptions engraved on the walls of the Sri Ve n k a t e sw a r a t e m p l e a t Tirumala. Permission has been accorded to a team of 21 ASI officials, including Director of Epigraphy K Munirathnam Reddy, to under- take the inscription-copying work on the second Prakaram (enclosure) of the temple from December 1 to 11. The project aims to digitise the inscriptions and upload them on the BharatSHRI website, making their estampages, transcripts and summaries accessible online to the general public and researchers. The temple walls contain around 750 inscriptions of the rulers belonging to various dynasties, including the Pal- Temple walls contain 750 inscriptions The Tirumala temple walls contain around 750 inscriptions of the rulers belonging to various dynasties, including the Pallavas, Cholas, Pandyas, Kadavarayas, Yadavas, Telugu Cholas, and Vijayanagara kings. These inscriptions provide valuable information about the temple and its patronage ‘Taxpayers fund stats body with little oversight’ lavas, Cholas, Pandyas, Kadavarayas, Yadavas, Telugu Cholas and Vijayanagara kings. The TTD has directed its officials to make necessary arrangements for the ASI team during the 11-day exercise. Munirathnam Reddy thanked the State gover nment, TTD Chairman and Executive Officer Muddada Ravichandra, and Additional Executive Officer Ch Venkaiah Chowdary for granting permission to undertake the work. The initiative is expected to preserve the invaluable epigraphical heritage of the temple in digital form, and facilitate wider access to its historical records for future generations. Andhra Pradesh has secured investment commitments worth `9,88,957 crore through 303 MoUs at the 31st CII Partnership Summit 2026, with the potential to generate 3,48,309 jobs across various sectors. “With these commitments, the cumulative investment intent received by the State since June 2024 has increased to `32.49 lakh crore,” CM Naidu noted conventional water resources. Naidu maintained that the State had sufficient resources and technological options to meet the requirements of the proposed facilities in Visakhapatnam. The Chief Minister also highlighted the wider economic opportunities expected from the data centre investments, stating that their benefits would extend beyond direct employment. He stated that the projects could support the development of an ecosystem around artificial intelligence, the knowledge economy and data-driven decision-making. The State government has been positioning Visakhapatnam as a major destination for data centre investments, with several large-scale proposals in the pipeline. The long-term resource requirements and the proposed arrangements for sustainable operations, however, remain important aspects of the development plans. SANJEEV Sanyal, member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, on Friday backed the Centre’s proposed overhaul of the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) Bill on grounds that the premier institution relies on taxpayer funding but its governance rests with a 1,200-member society with little public oversight. However, Opposition members, including Congress MP P Chidambaram and Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Sougata Roy strongly opposed the overhaul at the meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, sources said. Introduced in the Lok Sabha during the Monsoon session, the bill was sent to the standing committee after objections from the Opposition and the academic community alleging it would undermine the ISI’s autonomy , . In his submission, according to sources, Sanyal told the panel only five of the institute’s 33 council members are from the govWhat is the ISI ernment, adding that the institute bill about? is audited by an approved auditor The Indian and had no direct oversight by the Statistical Institute Comptroller and Auditor General. Bill, 2026, seeks to “Two review committees have replace the ISI Act of pointed out that a Council with 33 1959 and convert members is too large. The second the Kolkata-based review committee (1983) proposed institute, founded in 12 and the fourth review committee 1931, from a (2021) proposed 19. Both asked for a registered society majority of external members in into a body order to avoid conflict of interest corporate, with the and ensure independent oversight. President as Visitor. Peer bodies like IITs have around The bill was brought nine members while IIMs and IISto the LS in the ERs have 11 members. A worrying Monsoon session sign is the recent drop in NIRF ranking,” sources quoted him as saying. Sanyal said leaving decisions on reform to a management elected by serving faculty or to the society’s general body risked a conflict of interest. Roy said repealing the ISI Act, 1959 and converting the institute into a statutory body corporate would concentrate power in the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. Chidambaram and Roy also objected to replacement of the 33-member Council, which includes elected representatives of teaching and nonteaching staff, with an 11-member Board of Governors (BoG). Former NITI Aayog vice-chairperson Suman Bery told the panel the bill gives the proposed BoG excessive powers, which could make it harder for the ISI to attract and retain a top director. He said this could affect efforts to bring talent back to India from overseas. HANDLING OF CUBS Tiger waste on human bodies angers activists B O S K Y K H A N N A @ Bengaluru SOMEWHERE in a forest, a bureaucratic rulebook imagines a forester in a tiger mask and striped work robes, doused in big-cat urine and faeces, moving towards an orphaned cub. Conservationists say the picture is less wildlife science and more indignity . The instruction comes from the National Tiger Conservation Authority under the Union Min, istry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change. Its ‘standard operating procedure’ for handling orphaned or abandoned cubs and old, injured tigers in rewilding (rehabilitation) centres says handlers must wear a tiger mask and striped clothing “smeared with tiger urine and faeces” to mini- Stiff opposition The Karnataka forest department had proposed to create one rewilding centre in Bhadra Tiger Reserve, but the plan was dropped following opposition from locals. The forest department is now scouting for another location mise human imprinting “to the extent possible”. Wildlife experts called the directive ‘inhuman’. The row has sharpened because Karnataka has approved its first rewilding centre. Critics say if the rule is in force at Madhya Pradesh’s Kanha Tiger Reserve, home to the first rewilding centre, it must stop. Some conservationists said they will approach courts if it is enforced. Former state wildlife board member S Girijashankar wrote to Karnataka Forest, Environment & Ecolog y Minister Ramalinga Reddy stating that , tigers rely on highly sophisticated olfactory au, es and n ditory and cognitive cues and an diss cannot be fooled by a human disn proco guise. He said the inhuman procpped. d ess in the SOP must be stopped. Chi e f i Additional Principal Chief ildlife) ife) Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) he SOP O Bishwajit Mishra said the SOP l contains many rules, and not all meara of it can be followed. The smearing rule is not followed at any rescue centre, he said.