hyderabad l friday l june 26, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 36 l LATE City EDITION Amazon CEO meets Modi; set to invest $13 bn more in cloud, aI Amazon will invest an additional $13 billion in India, taking its planned capital commitment to $48 billion between 2026 and 2030 india an important market for amazon Eyes $80 billion in e-commerce exports Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy said on Thursday after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Amazon India’s business is seeing strong momentum, driven by robust customer demand across e-commerce and Amazon Web Services (AWS), its cloud-computing division. Jassy described India as one of their most important growth markets globally ■ ■ Amazon has invested heavily in India over the past decade, building out logistics networks, technology infrastructure and digital services as it seeks to deepen its presence in the country By 2030, Amazon plans to support 3.8 million jobs, enable $80 billion in e-commerce exports and bring AI’s benefits to 15 million businesses 100 last-mile delivery stations to be launched by amazon this year 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 Passport proof: Govt, Oppn spar Venezuela quake: 164 dead, 24K missing Agen c i e s @ Caracas Can be issued to non-citizens as well under certain situations, says govt in its pushback E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi The Centre on Thursday sought to defuse the controversy over whether an Indian passport can be treated as proof of citizenship, asserting that the position being cited in recent debates is neither new nor a policy shift. Government sources said there was no change in stance and rejected suggestions that the clarification issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) marked a fresh interpretation of law. “It was not decided yesterday that a passport is not proof of citizenship. It was not even decided in the last 12 years. A passport has never been considered conclusive proof of citizenship,” a government source said. The clarification came after political criticism and an online debate over whether the government was diluting the evidentiary value of one of the country’s most trusted documents. In a post on X, Congress leader K C Venugopal said the government excels in creating panic and helplessness among ordinary citizens. “By declaring that even a Passport doesn’t certify one’s citizenship, they are laying the groundwork to arbitrarily deny citizenship rights to Indians who they disagree with,” he wrote. Echoing the concern, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal sought to know which document qualifies as proof of citizenship. “A passport is a travel document, and not a document of citizenship. Which document then is proof of citizenship? BLO can doubt my citizenship. Deprive me of my vote. Result, BJP wins the election. Over to the Supreme Court!,” wrote Sibal on X. However, officials pointed to the legal framework governing issuance of passports. “The Passports Act, 1967 clearly provides that passports may be issued to non-citizens under certain circumstances,” a source said. The government further cited judicial precedents to back its position. “Judgments of the Bombay High Court since 2013 have also made it clear that a passport, by itself, is not proof of citizenship,” the source said. VISA No change in position Govt sources said the interpretation was being misread, adding the position has remained unchanged for decades. “A passport is issued after due verification, but it is not, in law, a conclusive determination of citizenship,” a source said Pricey passport A fresh passport or its reissue for applicants aged 18 years and above will cost `2,500 under the normal category, up from `1,500. Corresponding Tatkal fee, inclusive of the normal fee is `5,000 | P7 Today's matches Group I (12.30 AM): Norway vs France; Senegal vs Iraq Group H (5.30 AM): Cape Verde vs Saudi Arabia, Uruguay vs Spain brazil march on Vinicius Junior scored twice as five-time champions Brazil beat Scotland 3-0 to clinch first place in Group C and enter knockout stage on Wednesday | ap Direct impact HC stays parts of GO 9 in fee sop case T G N a i d u @ Hyderabad The Telangana High Court on Thursday directed the state government not to give effect to certain clauses of GO 9 until further orders while hearing a batch of writ petitions filed by private educational institutions over the non-release of fee reimbursement dues. Justice Jukanti Sridevi issued the interim direction while hearing 89 petitions filed by private colleges, which alleged that fee reimbursement amounts approved by the government for SC, ST, BC, EBC and minority students had remained unpaid for the academic years from 2020-21 to 2024-25. Justice Sridevi directed the respondents to file their counters and posted the matter to June 30.  continued on P5 Group G (8.30 AM): NZ vs Belgium; Egypt vs Iran Live on United8 Sports & ZEE5 (*IST Saturday) A heavily damaged apartment building following an earthquake in Catia La Mar, La Guaira state, about 30 km northwest of Venezuela capital Caracas | AFP Centre must find a permanent solution to Tungabhadra: CM E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad/Hosapete Expressing confidence that the Centre would resolve the long-pending dispute, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Thursday urged Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil to find a permanent solution to the interstate Tungabhadra river water-sharing issue. Revanth made the appeal after attending the inauguration of the newly installed 33 spillway crest gates of the Tungabhadra Dam at Hosapete, alongside Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Patil. Priority should be Addressing the gathering, given to resolving Revanth described the day as water issues rather a “red-letter day”, saying it than prolonging disputes. I hope marked the first meeting of the three chief ministers today’s meeting chaired by the Union minister paves the way for a lasting to discuss the Tungabhadra settlement of water-sharing issue. He said water-sharing political parties should rise issues above politics and work for A Revanth Reddy, the benefit of farmers. Revanth said that farmers Chief Minister were able to utilise only 5 to 6 tmcft of Telangana’s allocated 17.9 tmcft from the Rajolibanda Diversion Scheme, leaving about 10 tmcft unutilised due to various reasons. Shivakumar described the occasion as “a historic event for South India” and said the three states had reached a consensus on measures, including de-silting the reservoir and examining a balancing reservoir at Navali. Naidu called for interlinking rivers across the country urging the Centre to take up the Goda, vari-Cauvery river-linking project to reduce floods, droughts and interstate water disputes. Patil said the Centre planned to de-silt major reservoirs. “De-silting would enhance Tungabhadra reservoir’s storage capacity he said. ,” CO of Rashtriya Rifles, other ranks booked for bashing cops f aya z w a n i @ Srinagar JAMMU and Kashmir police on Thursday booked 40 army men from 17 Rashtriya Rifles, including its Commanding Officer, a Major and a Naib Subedar for allegedly “assaulting police officers and damaging public property” in a police station in the mountainous Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir. The FIR names Commanding Officer Colonel N Arun Gandhi, Major Vikas Sharma, Naib Subedar Shankar Gurkhe, Sepoys Raj Kumar, Rahul Kumar, Anoop Singh and Omkar Ingale, and other unidentified Army personnel of 17 RR. Sources said the trouble was caused after DC Kishtwar Pankaj Sharma’s convoy while passing through a road for a public outreach programme encountered a private car driven by a soldier of RR. When the DC’s escort asked the soldier, who was not in uniform, to stop his vehicle and let the convoy pass, an argument took place. Subsequently police impound, ed the car and towed it to the Atholi police station. The FIR states that a group of about 30 to 40 army men from 17 RR Camp Kijaiyee led by Major Vikas Sharma and Naib Subedar Shankar Gurkhe under the command of Commanding Officer N Arun Gandhi entered the police station by scaling the main gate and boundary walls and launched a “pre-planned attack”. “The army men armed with lathis, iron rods and weapons attacked policemen at the station. “Government property main gate of , the police station were damaged by the army men.” ‘Murderous intention’ SHO Inspector Amrit Kotach of Atholi police station, where the soldier’s car was taken after confiscating it, said the “intention of RR soldiers was to kill police personnel” Matter being probed: Army Jammu-based Army PRO Lt Col Suneel Bartwal said the matter is being probed. “Appropriate action will be taken based on the outcome of investigation” At least 164 people were killed and over 1,000 injured after two powerful earthquakes ripped through Venezuela in the wee hours on Thursday The quakes, . with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, hit a minute apart on Wednesday around 6 pm local time (Thursday 3.30 am IST). The second tremor was the strongest to hit Venezuela since 1900. “At the moment, the figure we have registered is 164 deaths, 971 injured,” Acting President Delcy Rodriguez was quoted as saying by El Nacional newspaper, adding that there were as many as 30 aftershocks. A website set up by leaders from the country’s opposition parties to track the missing people showed more than 24,000 people as unaccounted for, a Reuters report said. Local media said frantic rescue efforts were on in the state of La Guaira, near capital Caracas and home to the city’s airport. Visuals showed panic all around as ceilings came down in the airport and rubble from destroyed buildings along the seafront. “Dozens of buildings have collapsed, and we are currently carrying out very intense rescue efforts to save as many lives as God allows us to save,” Rodriguez said on state television. According to the US Geological Survey’s predictive modelling to estimate the death toll, the total casualties could run into thousands, with a substantial probability of exceeding 10,000 fatalities.  P9 E x p r e s s Re a d Teething troubles surface as SIR commences in Telangana Why are Enumeration Forms only in Telugu outside city: HC Hyderabad: Non-availability of forms, manpower challenges and action against a “negligent” officer marked the commencement of the enumeration phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Telangana on Thursday. As many as 35,985 Booth Level Officers (BLOs) were deployed across the state on the first day | P4 Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Thursday questioned the Election Commission of India over the distribution of Enumeration Forms exclusively in Telugu outside Greater Hyderabad during the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls. Justice Pulla Karthik was hearing a petition filed by MA Mujeeb Ayyub, who challenged the Telugu-only forms | P4 FIR against 8 in Ram temple scam, 2 held N A M I TA B A J PAI @ Lucknow TWO days after the SIT submitted its preliminary probe report on alleged swindling of Ram temple donation funds and valuables, an FIR was lodged against eight persons on Thursday . The FIR named key a ccused Ramshankar Yadav alias Tinnu, Lavkush Mishra, Anukalp Mishra, Avinash Shukla, Manish Yadav, Ramashankar Mishra, Subhash Chandra Srivastava, and Karunesh Pandey The charges include theft, . criminal breach of trust, cheating and criminal conspiracy . The names of temple Trust general secretary Champat Rai, Trust member Anil Mishra, and temple construction incharge Gopal Rao do not figure in the FIR, lodged by Ayodhya police based on a complaint by Krishna Mohan, a member of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. Two of the accused in the FIR—Anukalp and Lavkush, who were involved in counting the cash and valuables received as donations—have been reportedly arrested after money was recovered from them, while the others are being questioned. Officials indicated that more arrests would be made.