tirupati l saturday l august 16, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l anantapur EDITION high-stakes Trump-Putin meet kicks off in Alaska The summit in Alaska on Friday could determine the fate of European security as well as the war in Ukraine zelenskyy’s exclusion a body blow to europe alaska summit a validation for putin The exclusion of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has already dealt a heavy blow to the West’s policy of “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.” For Putin, the summit with Trump is an opportunity to negotiate a deal that would cement Russia’s gains, block Kyiv’s bid to join NATO alliance and eventually pull Ukraine into Moscow’s orbit is giving Russia’s leader the validation he desires after his ostracization following his invasion of Ukraine 3 1/2 years ago ■ Trump has warned of “very severe consequences” for Russia if Putin does not agree to end the war after a deal is clinched | P9 ■ By bringing Vladimir Putin onto US soil, president Donald Trump 25% chance that the summit could fail, donald trump said in an interview 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 J&K cloudburst toll 60, at least 80 others missing; rescue on That generation sacrificed itself for ‘Swatantra Bharat’. This generation should dedicate itself to ‘Samriddh Bharat’ - Narendra Modi, Prime Minister faya z wa ni @ Srinagar India’s own iron dome PM announced Mission Sudarshan Chakra, a national security initiative to build a comprehensive, indigenous defence shield by 2035. It is designed to protect both strategic and civilian infrastructure praise FOR ‘GLORIOUS’ RSS Showering praise on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Modi hailed 100 years of RSS as a “very proud and glorious” journey of the “world’s biggest NGO” and lauded all its volunteers for their dedicated service to the nation Nari shakti in every sector Modi said every sector now “proudly acknowledges” the strength of nari shakti. “From start-ups to the space sector, from the playing fields to the armed forces, our daughters are making their mark” 10x nuclear energy by 2047 PM said India is rapidly building 10 new nuclear reactors and the plan is to raise nuclear energy capacity tenfold by 2047. Opening it to the private sector will increase the share of green energy in the electricity generation capacities, he added Prasant Madugula Study soon on alteration of demographic fabric: Modi ‘Bearing the flood losses, why not benefit?’ Naidu R A J E S H KU M A R THAKU R @ New Delhi E xpress N ews S ervice @ Vijayawada Amid concerns over the economic fallout of US President Donald Trump’s 50% tariff on India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday signalled that the country would not succumb to pressure to open up its agriculture sector. Delivering his address on the 79th Independence Day from Red Fort, Modi sent a strong message that his government would not do anything that goes against the interests of farmers and fishermen. “India will always protect the interest of its farmers, livestock-keepers, and fishermen unmindful of what may come. The farmers of my country have a huge contribution to the economy of India. The hard work of the farmers of India is paying off,” he said. Although Modi did not directly refer to the US tariff, his strong message came amid Trump’s latest threat the he would jack up tariffs on India if his proposed meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the Ukraine war does not yield favourable outcomes. Modi also flagged attempts to alter the demographic fabric of the country by ‘infiltrators’, adding that a ‘demographic mission’ will be set up to study dramatic changes in population. “When demographic changes take place, especially in the border areas, a national security crisis emerges,” he said. In his record 103-minute address, he cautioned: “Under a well-thought out conspiracy the demography of the country is be, ing changed. Seeds of a new crisis are being sown. These infiltrators and intruders are snatching the livelihood of the youth...” Modi also sent a strong message to Pakistan, warning it against any further acts of terrorism. He said Operation Sindoor gave a befitting reply to the Pahalgam terror attack carried out by Pak-backed elements. Just two slabs in next-gen GST reforms by Diwali P U S H P I TA D E Y @ New Delhi In his Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the GST rates would be brought down by ushering in the ‘next-generation GST reforms’ by Diwali. Confirming the move, sources said GST regime will move away from its multiple-rate structure to a simplified one with just two rates—a lower ‘standard’ slab of 5% and a higher ‘merit’ slab of 18%. Plus, there will be a category for ‘sin goods’ such as tobacco, which is likely to be fixed at 40%. Under the new regime, 99% of the items currently taxed at 12% will move to the 5% slab. Finance ministry officials said the Centre has adopted a three-pillar approach— addressing inverted duty structures, rationalising rates to eliminate multiple tax slabs, and simplifying compliance, particularly for small and medium businesses. “Most aspirational goods like televisions and refrigerators may now fall under the 5% or 18% slabs. The restructuring is designed to benefit the middle class,” an official said. The finance ministry said the reform will boost core sectors such as agriculture, textiles, renewable energy healthcare, and in, surance. Lower GST on health and life insurance is expected to expand coverage for vulnerable groups, while reduced rates on medicines and medical products aim to strengthen the public health system. talks collapse Amid deep divisions, plastic treaty bombs S V Kris h n a c h a i ta n ya @ Geneva AFTER three years of negotiations, the United Nations’ effort to craft the world’s first legally binding treaty to end plastic pollution ended in a “no agreement” here on Friday. Nearly 180 countries failed to agree on a draft text during the final week of talks, with deep divisions over the treaty’s scope, how decisions should be made, and whether the deal should target plastic production itself. The collapse followed night-long consultations and a chaotic closing plenary stretching into early hours of Friday The Chair’s revised draft . in the morning lacked consensus. By dawn, weary delegates conceded there was no deal. The fault lines had been visible all on plastic waste management rather week. More than 100 members of the than upstream production, and that ‘High Ambition Coalition’ — includ- all decisions must be by consensus. ing the EU and Africa nations— India backed this bloc. pushed for binding measures to cut Neelesh Kumar Sah, joint secreplastic production, tary in Ministry of phase out single-use Environment, Forest TNIE in Switzerland plastic and adopt reand Climate Change use and recycling. and part of India’s S V Krishna They also demanded delegation, spelt out Chaitanya a provision for maNew Delhi’s stance @ geneva jority voting at the at the plenary. “The future Conference of instrument we are the Parties (COP), arguing that with- negotiating has very wide scope. We out it the treaty risked being para- must ensure the mandate is drawn lysed by a small minority . from the UNEA 5/14 resolution. The Oil-producing states — led by Sau- scope of the new instrument should di Arabia, Iran and Russia (Like- be limited to plastic pollution, withMinded Group) — rejected these de- out overlapping with other environcontinued on: p5 mands. They insisted the treaty focus mental pacts.”  Three killed, 25 injured in bus accident in Nandyal District E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Kurnool A devastating collision between two private travel buses near Allagadda on the national highway in Nandyal district on Friday resulted in the deaths of three people and injured at least 25 others. The victims who lost their lives were identified as Kusa Raju (25) from Anakapalli, Battula Venkata Sai (22) from Rajahmundry, and Ananta Gautam (23) from Hyderabad. According to the police, the acci- dent occurred when one bus slowed down and was hit by another bus traveling at a high speed, causing widespread panic. A team of police personnel, including Allagadda DSP K. Pramod, rushed to the scene and quickly shifted the injured to hospitals in Allagadda, Nandyal, and Kurnool for medical treatment. The police confirmed that 25 people sustained minor injuries and took prompt action to restore traffic flow on the busy highway, minimizing disruptions. e x p r e s s r e a d CM launches free bus travel for women Vijayawada: CM Chandrababu Naidu launched the Stree Shakti Scheme at Pandit Nehru Bus Station in Vijayawada on Friday, fulfilling another poll promise of free bus travel for women. Earlier, Naidu, along with Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, HRD Minister Nara Lokesh, BJP State president Madhav, travelled in an RTC bus with women from Undavalli village to Vijayawada city bus station | P4 Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu strongly reacted to the recent water issues related to the Banakacharla project, where the Telangana government has been continuously raising objections. During his speech at the 79th Independence Day celebration held at the IGMC Stadium in Vijayawada, the CM said, “When floods occur, if the upstream states release water, we, as the downstream state, bear the losses and difficulties. Why are there objections to using the same floodwater as the downstream state? We have to bear the flood, but how can we cope if we do not benefit from the floodwater?” He questioned the objections raised by the neighboring state, clarifying that the government decided to divert the river Godavari wastewater from Polavaram to Banakacherla to transform Rayalaseema into an agrarian region. P4 BRAVING inter mittent rains, rescuers intensified their search for survivors in a cloudburst-hit village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district on Friday even , as Chief minister Omar Abdullah put the death toll at 60, with 80 people still missing. Over 100 people have been injured. Among the dead are mostly pilgrims, local residents and two CISF personnel, who were on duty at the site. An official said the condition of 37 people, among the injured, is critical. Disaster struck Chisoti, the last motorable village on the way to the Machail Mata temple, around 12.25 pm on Thursday, leaving a trail of death and destruction. Rescuers pulled out 46 bodies on Thursday. Thirty bodies have been identified and handed over to the victims’ families. A large number of people had gathered in Chisoti for the annual Machail Mata pilgrimage that began on July 25 and was scheduled to end on September 5. The 8.5km trek to the 9,500-foot shrine begins from Chisoti, which is located about 90 km from Kishtwar town. The yatra remained suspended for a second day on Friday . A local resident said the disaster struck during lunch time when yatris were having lunch at a langar setup for Machail Mata Yatra pilgrims. “The langar was full of people. About 300-400 people were present at the langar camp when the cloudburst struck. Nothing is known about those trapped in the debris,” he said. Rescue-and-relief operation was suspended late on Thursday night. It resumed on Friday with with the rescuers — from police, Army, NDRF, SDRF and local volunteers — sifting through the rubble to find survivors. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with the CM and J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Friday and assured them of all help.