S&P S&P upgraded India’s to sovereign credit rating UPGRADES BBB INDIA RATING ‘BBB’ (investment-grade) with a ‘stable’ outlook The New Indian Express wishes its readers a S&P commented India’s robust economic growth, political commitment for fiscal consolidation, and conducive monetary policy to check inflation S&P said India is among “the best performing economies in the world” hubballi l friday l august 15, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 20 l city EDITION The impact of US tariffs on India is “manageable” and won’t drag economy, the rating firm said BBB rating will cut India’s borrowing costs in int’l markets 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 Massive cloudburst in J&K’s Kishtwar mining min’s kin Quarry lease holders fined for norm violations Yath i r a j u @ Bengaluru THE Mines and Geology Department has imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 each on 26 quarry lease holders, including three leases held by M/s GMM Enterprises belonging to the family members of Mines & Geology and Horticulture Minister SS Mallikarjun in Davanagere district, for violating lease conditions. The de partment’s move comes after Upa Lokayukta Justice B Veerappa registered suo moto cases after an inspection in July . SS Ganesh, brother of Mallikarjun, is a partner of G M M E n t e rprises, which is operating the quarries in three survey numbers (144, 145 and 148) in Hebbal village of Davanagere. At these three sites, lease conditions, including environmental clearance, are violated. The lease holder was not maintaining a 7.5 mtr buffer zone from the periphery of the lease area, not fixing the boundary pillars and not fencing the area are the other violations. Therefore, in all Rs 75,000 fine (Rs 25,000 on each quarry) has been imposed on GMM Enterprises. Identical violations have been found with the other 23 leaseholders in the Davanagere district, and hence a fine of Rs 25,000 each has been imposed on them also.  P4 Flash floods kill 46 J&K Kishtwar 400 Sources said 300-400 people were in the area 167 People have been rescued, according to officials Muted I-Day celebration J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah cancelled the At Home tea party and cultural programmes on Friday People move through the debris after a massive cloudburst at Chasoti village, Kishtwar district, J&K | pti F AYA Z W A N I @ Jammu AT least 46 people, mostly pilgrims, were killed after a massive cloudburst struck Chasoti village in the mountainous Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday between 12 noon and 1 pm, triggering flash flood and mudslide along the route of the ongoing Machail Mata Yatra. The toll may rise as many are still trapped under the debris. The authorities have suspended the yatra and rescue operation is on. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah assured all possible Central assistance to J&K while Chief Minister Omar Abdullah decided to scale down the Independence Day celebrations planned for Friday . Chositi is the last motorable village en route to Machail Mata temple in Kishtwar district. Sources said over 300-400 people were present in the area when the cloudburst occurred. Deputy Commissioner of Kishtwar Pankaj Sharma told this newspaper that relief and rescue operation was on to find the missing persons. NDRF, SDRF, police, and civilian ad- ministration personnel have launched rescue operation and the locals are helping in the effort. “There was a parking lot and langar (community kitchen) in the area. Besides, there was a paramilitary camp in the area. Locals had also set up shops in view of the yatra,” Kishtwar District Developoment Council Chairperson Pooja Thakur told this newspaper. The langar camp was washed away while vehicles in the parking lot were swept by the flash flood and mudslide some distance away . The Army pressed over five columns of 60 personnel each as well as medical detachments of Jammu-based White Corps into service to assist NDRF, SDRF, police and civilian agencies in the rescue operation to save lives and assist those in need. “Search for missing people is underway an army official said. ,” An official said 150 people could be rescued. Many of them had sustained injuries and they were provided medical treatment in hospitals. Some were referred to other hospitals for specialised treatment. SC directs EC to upload list of 65L SIR deletions with reasons S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Election Commission of India to publish the list of about 65 lakh proposed deletion of voters in Bihar, with reasons, by Tuesday . The orders came during a hearing on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) drive of poll rolls. The court also directed the ECI to add Aadhaar card as an acceptable document for establishing identity, going beyond its earlier suggestion to do so. A bench of justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said, “Transparency is needed about the 65 lakh deleted voters to enable people to seek clarification or correction.” It directed the Bihar poll body to publish the detailed list of proposed deletions on the websites of the District Electoral Officers and the Chief Electoral Officer. “It must specify the reasons for deletion such as death, migration, or double registration and be searchable by EPIC numbers.” The bench also directed the ECI to put out public notices stating that individuals excluded from the rolls may submit their Aadhaar cards when filing claims for inclusion in the final list. express read Top court raps local bodies, reserves order on stray dogs new delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday castigated local authorities for doing nothing to address the stray dog problem, while reserving its order on a batch of petitions seeking stay on the directions by a two-judge bench to shift all strays to shelter homes. P10 SC cancels bail, Darshan, Pavithra back in prison E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi/ Bengaluru In a major setback to Sandalwood star Darshan Thoogudeepa, his friend Pavithra Gowda and five others, the Supreme Court on Thursday set aside the Karnataka High Court’s order granting bail to them in the Renukaswamy murder case. Following cancellation of bail, all seven accused were arrested on Thursday afternoon. “The order (Karnataka High Court) is set aside, and bail granted to the accused is set aside,” said a two-judge Bench of the top court, headed by Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan. The court, which had earlier reserved judgement on July 24, pronounced the order after hearing an appeal filed by the Karnataka government, challenging the High Court order granting bail to Pavithra Gowda, Darshan and five others in the sensational murder case. It may be recalled that 33-year-old S Renukaswamy a chemist from Lakshmi Venkateshwara , Layout in Chitradurga, and a fan of Darshan, was reportedly kidnapped and murdered at a shed in Pattanagere in RR Nagar on June 8, 2024. The incident came to light the next day when his body was found in a storm water drain at Summanahalli.  CONTINUED ON P5