HYDERABAD l saturday l april 04, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE CITY EDITION A photo taken by Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman from a window of the Moon-bound space capsule, shows a curved slice of Earth | AP/PTI | P9 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 First US jet downed in Iran F-15E shot down; US forces rescue one crew member; search on for the second A g e n c i e s @ Tehran/Dubai INS Aridhaman ahead of its commissioning ceremony | pti With INS Aridhaman, India gets 3rd n-sub J A V A R I A R A N A @ New Delhi iNDIA on Friday commissioned its third nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), INS Aridhaman, in a key step towards establishing continuous at-sea nuclear deterrence and strengthening the most survivable leg of its strategic triad. There was no official word yet on the commissioning of Aridhaman but sources confirmed it. Reports said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi attended the commissioning ceremony held at a frontline naval base. With this, India has three operational SSBN fleet. INS Arihant (commissioned in 2016) and INS Arighaat (2024) are the other two SSBNs. This meets the minimum requirement for sustained deterrent patrol cycles, with at least one submarine deployed at all times while others undergo maintenance. Aridhaman can carry up to eight K-4 submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) or a greater number of shorter-range K-15 missiles depending on requirements. SSBNs are considered the most dependable second-strike capability given their stealth and survivability . Earlier in the day Navy’s new warship INS , Taragiri was commissioned at Visakhapatnam. In his address, the defence minister described INS Taragiri as a symbol of India’s growing technological prowess. China has six SSBNs, Pak none China has 6 Jinclass SSBNs and 6-8 Shangclass nuclearpowered attack submarines, alongside a conventional submarine force of 50 vessels. Pakistan does not possess nuclearpowered submarines IN the first known loss of a US fighter jet inside Iran since the start of the war, Iran reportedly shot down an F-15E on Friday The number of persons on . board was not immediately known but reports said the jet had a weapons-systems officer, apart from the pilot. Iranian media said the pilot appeared to have ejected, as no body parts were recovered from the site. A local television chanday nel also broadcast visuals of the downed jet. Tehran immediately offered a bounty for the pilot and urged people to hand the “enemy” over to police. In parallel, the US launched a high-risk search and rescue mission deep inside Iran. Iranian media shared images of US fleet, including planes, helicopters, and drones, flying over Iran’s Kohkilouyeh and BoyerAhmad province. Multiple reports said one crew member was rescued by the US team and efforts were on 35 to locate the other. If Iran gets hold of the second person, it could change the course of the war as Tehran could use the US citizen as a bargaining chip and extract concessions from Washington. The Trump administration has not officially confirmed the loss of the aircraft or commented on the fate of the crew. US Central Command, which is responsible for military operations in West Asia tried to play down the damage claiming all its aircraft were accounted for, but major US media outlets reported that an F-15E jet went down. The F-15E Strike Eagle is a high-speed, two-seat fighter jet with increased fuel capacity for extended combat. Around the same time the US jet went down on Friday afternoon, blasts rocked Tehran. The downing of the US fighter jet comes on the eve of the UN Security Council voting on a draft resolution proposed by Bahrain on reopening the Strait of Hormuz. T G N ai d u @ Hyderabad Debris of a purported F-15E shot down in Iran. US and Iranian forces are searching for the pilot who bailed | X Missile launchers: 50% intact US intelligence estimates that around half of Iran’s ballistic missile launchers are still intact. Some of them are unusable as they are buried under rubble. Besides, Iran has thousands of attack drones stockpiled and ready for use Fired: US army chief chucked US Army Chief of Staff Randy George was on Friday fired by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Gen Christopher LaNeve will be stepping in as acting Army chief of staff, the Pentagon said LPG: Tanker on way to India A ship with 44,000 kt of LPG is en route to India after crossing the Strait of Hormuz. Two other vessels — Green Asha and Jag Vikram — are expected to arrive in the coming days | P10 E x p r e s s Re a d It’s not words but power, ‘Aridhaman’ Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in a cryptic post on X in Hindi, hinting at the commissioning of INS Aridhaman Naxalite-affected districts across India down to 2 New Delhi: Ahead of the March 31 deadline set for eliminating the Naxal footprint, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs had convened a high-level review meeting to assess the status of Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) across the country. What followed was a revised categorisation of LWE affected districts under the Security Related Expenditure (SRE) Scheme, which determines the allocation of Central funds and security resources, sources said | P8 Reimbursement delay: HC allows direct fee collection Price of medicines could rise sharply Hyderabad: The conflict in West Asia has triggered a sharp rise in the prices of raw materials used to manufacture medicine, with costs reportedly increasing by 50% to 180%. This could lead to an increase in medicine prices. The Bulk Drug Manufacturers Association of India says that raw material prices have surged and that the fresh stock of medicines may be priced higher | P2 The Telangana High Court has allowed educational institutions that had approached it to collect tuition fees directly from students belonging to SC/ST/EBC/BC/MW and other eligible categories, pending disposal of a batch of writ petitions. Justice J Sridevi passed the order while hearing multiple petitions filed by the institutions challenging GOs that bar direct fee collection under the fee reimbursement scheme. The matter has been adjourned to April 30, 2026. The petitioners contended that the state government prohibited them from collecting fees from eligible students, and had failed to reimburse tuition and special fees for several ‘Unable to years. They submitted that pay staff’ even amounts for which toThe petitioners kens were generated have submitted that not been released, affecteven amounts ing routine operations, infor which cluding payment of staff tokens were salaries. generated have The Special Government not been releaPleader acknowledged that sed, leaving payments are due and them unable to sought time to file counter even pay affidavits. salaries to staff The court noted that despite repeated adjournments, no counter affidavits had been filed and there was no clarity on when the dues would be cleared and formed a prima facie view that significant amounts remain unpaid. As an interim measure, the court permitted the petitioners to collect tuition fees directly from eligible students without reference to the impugned GOs, pending final adjudication of the writ petitions. The judge made it clear that the arrangement is subject to the outcome of the cases, and any collections made would be governed by the final decision.