HYDERABAD l saturday l june 06, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE CITY EDITION Worried anthropic suggests global freeze on ai development recursive self-improvement a threat Given enough computing power, an AI system could be able to design and develop its own successor, known as “recursive self-improvement”. Self-building AI would be a major technological milestone that would bring benefits in science, healthcare and other areas, Anthropic said, but it “also might increase the risks of humans losing control over AI systems” The largest AI company by market capitalisation warned that the technology is improving so quickly there’s a risk humans would lose control pause to enable alignment research ■ ■ Anthropic’s post comes after a warning this week from researchers at University of Toronto who showed how AI tools could be used to create a new kind of AI “worm” that adapts its hacking strategy Anthropic researchers said the pause would enable “societal structures and alignment research” to keep up with AI advances | P10 $ 1 trillion could be anthropic’s worth after its forthcoming ipo 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 Rollicking GDP before war pain Real GDP estimated to reach `323.12 lakh crore in 2025-26, against the First Revised Estimate of GDP for 2024-25 of `299.89 lakh crore Nominal GDP or GDP at current prices is estimated at `346.36 lakh crore in 2025-26, against `318.07 lakh crore in 2024-25. Growth rate: 8.9% 6.6 Q1 8.3 7.6 7.5 7.5 7.1 Q2 Q3 2023-24 7.8% Economy expansion in January-March quarter, exceeding forecasts Q4 Q1 8% Growth in third quarter in FY26 7.0 6.6 GDP Growth Rate (%) 8.0 7.4 Q2 Q3 2024-25 7% Expansion of the economy a year ago Q4 7.7% 6.8 Q1 Full-year growth, up from 7.1% in FY25 Impact of Iran war to be visible in the current April-June quarter 7.8 Q2 Q3 2025-26 Q4 7.9% Growth in gross value added (GVA) in Q4. GVA removes volatile components like indirect taxes and subsidies to capture economic activity tax axe to heal Capital gains levy chucked to draw foreign investors RBI expects 5.1% inflation, keeps rates unchanged D i pa k M o n d a l @ New Delhi D i pa k M o n d a l @ New Delhi After days of speculation, the government on Friday announced tax relief for foreign investors. It took the ordinance route to grant exemptions on interest income and capital gains earned from investments in government securities by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs). However, no relief was extended to investments in equities. Hours later, the RBI unveiled a slew of measures aimed at attracting foreign capital. Together, these steps are expected to support the rupee, which has been under pressure in recent months. The ordinance amends the I-T Act, 2025 to exempt interest earned on government securities, as well as capital gains arising from their sale, exchange or transfer, from income tax for FIIs, subject to the furnishing of prescribed information to tax authorities. It takes effect retrospectively from April 1, 2026. At present, FIIs or Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) face a 20% withholding tax on interest income earned from Indian debt securities, including government bonds and rupee-denominated bonds. Long-term capital gains on government securities are currently taxed at 12.5%, while short-term capital gains attract a 20% tax. The tax relief is expected to make government bonds attractive for foreign investors at a time when India is seeking deeper integration with global debt markets. Rajesh H Gandhi, Partner, Deloitte India, said the tax exemption would increase returns for FPIs investing in Indian government securities by 15-20% and improve the return differential between Indian sovereign bonds and those of other countries. As for the RBI, it expanded the universe of securities eligible under the Fully Accessible Route (FAR) by including all new issuances of 15-year, 30-year and 40-year government bonds. In another significant relaxation, it increased investment limits for NRIs and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) in listed equity instruments without requiring registration with the SEBI. The same facility has now been extended to all Persons Resident Outside India as well. The RBI on Friday sprung no surprises, keeping the repo rate unchanged at 5.25%, even as it acknowledged that global economic conditions had deteriorated amid the continuing conflict in West Asia. The central bank lowered its growth forecast for FY27 to 6.6% from 6.9% and raised its inflation projection to 5.1% from 4.6%, citing rising energy prices, supply-chain disruptions and heightened geopolitical uncertainty . Announcing the Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) decision, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said the global environment had worsened since the previous policy review, with the ongoing conflict exerting pressure on commodity prices and disrupting supply chains. The RBI now expects India’s GDP growth to moderate to 6.6% during the current financial year - down from 7.7% in FY26 - reflecting the impact of higher input costs and weaker global demand. “The rise in prices of energy and other inputs, coupled with supply disruptions, is likely to weigh on economic activity,” the governor said, adding that prolonged geopolitical uncertainty could delay supply-chain normalisation. Despite the downward revision, the RBI maintained that the domestic economy remains resilient. Private consumption continues to be supported by discretionary spending, investment activity has retained momentum, and both manufacturing and services sectors continue to expand. Merchandise exports recorded robust growth in April despite elevated freight and insurance costs, while services exports remained strong. The RBI, however, cautioned that downside risks to growth remain significant due to volatile commodity prices, financial market uncertainty , supply-chain disruptions and other factors. At the same time, the RBI raised its inflation forecast for FY27 to 5.1% from 4.6%, reflecting the sharp increase in global crude oil and other commodity prices. Malhotra noted that international crude oil prices have averaged around $110 per barrel in recent months, significantly higher than the $85 per barrel assumption used in the previous policy review. Ex-MLA held in `1K cr land grab bid case C h i t h a lu r i R eva n t h @ Hyderabad A day after the Telangana High Court refused to grant him interim protection, former YSRCP MLA Bolla Brahma Naidu was arrested by Cyberabad police in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, on Friday in connection with an alleged attempt to grab 10 acres of government land w o r t h around `1,000 crore in Gandipet village using fake GOs and B Brahma Naidu f o r g e d records. Five other accused have already been arrested. The case was registered by Narsingi police on May 23 based on a complaint by Gandipet tahsildar Srinivas Reddy that five fake GOs were circulated on social media to show that government land in Survey No. 18 had been regularised in favour of private persons.  continued on p4 RBI’s measures, along with tax benefits provided by the govt this morning, should help attract foreign capital for govt borrowing Sanjay Malhotra, RBI guv Neutral policy stance While retaining the MPC’s “neutral” policy stance, the RBI said future monetary policy decisions would depend on how inflationary pressures evolve Equity markets disappointed There was disappointment in the equity market as the government announced no tax relief for equity investments. Benchmark indices ended in the red Bridge-cum-barrages on Krishna soon, says Revanth E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Jadcherla Asserting that Telangana would utilise its rightful share of river waters, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Friday announced plans to construct a barrage near Jurala and several bridge-cum-barrages across the Krishna river. He said funds for the projects would be released through the green channel. Addressing a public meeting before concluding his twoday tour of the erstwhile Mahbubnagar district, where he reviewed ongoing irrigation works, Revanth also expressed confidence that the Congress would retain power in the state. “Aur ek baar... Congress sarkar,” he declared, recalling that the TDP Congress and BRS had each ruled , for two consecutive terms between 1994 and 2024. “The Congress will be in power beyond 2034,” he said. On the irrigation front, Revanth said Telangana was proposing to construct bridge-cum-barrages on the Krishna river in coordination with Karnataka. He said Karnataka had built similar structures on the Krishna and Bhima rivers and was utilising around 100 tmcft of water. “The Congress is in power in Karnataka. Both states will share the construction cost of the bridge-cum-barrages. Telangana will seek 60% water from them,” he said. Revanth said the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme would be completed from the headworks up to Uddandapur by June 2027, with works up to Lakshmidevpalli to be completed six months later. He alleged that the previous BRS government spent around `1.81 lakh crore on irrigation without providing adequate water to farmers. According to him, the BRS government paid `84,503 crore towards principal and interest on irrigation loans during its tenure, while the present government has paid `52,120 crore in the last 30 months. The chief minister said Telangana was seeking 90 tmcft for the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme and 20 tmcft for the Dindi project. After safeguarding Telangana’s share in Krishna waters, the government would discuss projects being taken up by neighbouring states, he said.  continued on p4 Congress is in power in Karnataka. Both states will share the construction cost of the proposed bridgecum-barrages. We will seek 60% water from them A Revanth Reddy, Chief Minister Target set for PRLIS works Revanth said that the PRLIS will be completed from headworks up to Uddandapur by June 2027, with works up to Lakshmidevpalli to be completed six months later Woman among three Kuki-Zos killed in Manipur ENS @ Guwahati In fresh violence in Manipur, three Kuki villagers, including a woman, were killed in an alleged militant attack on Friday . Seven houses were torched. The attack was perpetrated at Loibol Khullen village in Kangpokpi district at around 4 am. Kuki organisation Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM) alleged that the attack was carried out by armed members of National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-IM) and its “proxy” Zeliangrong United Front (Kamson faction). Stating that such attacks can never be justified under any circumstances, the Kuki organisation called upon the Centre to apprehend the perpetrators without delay .