BHUBANESWAR l saturday l august 29, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l LATE CITY EDITION Industrial PRODUCTION MODERATES TO 6.7% in July AS mining contracts National Statistics Office data released on Friday showed that mining & quarrying shrank 0.9% in July against 1% growth in June and 10.7% a year ago Index for June revised from 7.3% to 8.8% Manufacturing slows but holds firm The Index of Industrial Production for June was revised from the provisional estimate of 7.3% to 8.8%. According to NSO, the July headline number of 6.7% was “supported by 7.3% growth in manufacturing and strong growth of 8.7% in electricity & gas supply”. Growth in manufacturing, which carries the largest weight in the index, moderated to 7.3% in July from 9.5% in June ■ ■ In the manufacturing sector, 19 out of 23 industry groups have recorded a positive year-on-year growth in July 2026, data showed Top 3 contributors in July are: ‘Manufacture of electrical equipment’ (28.3%), ‘Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers & semi-trailers’ (22.2%), and ‘Manufacture of machinery and equipment’ (12.1%) 5.4% The Index of Industrial production recorded in july 2025 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 Missing Odias rise to 4; Bargarh woman, child untraceable E x p re s s N e w s Servi c e @ Bhubaneswar/Sambalpur Relatives look at photos (above) of flash flood victims displayed outside a morgue for identification, in Kathmandu on Friday; and Minister S Jaishankar with TN tourists who arrived in Delhi from Nepal | PTI 320 Indians missing, toll tops 580 Around 400 Indians stranded but safe in Tibet; tunnel specialists being sent for rescue ops E x p re s s N e w s Servi c e @ New Delhi At least 320 Indian nationals remain uncontactable and around 400 others are stranded but safe on the Chinese side following devastating flash floods along the Nepal-Tibet border as India stepped up efforts to trace its citizens and offered Kathmandu a range of rescue and relief assistance. The floods have killed at least 584 people, 579 in Nepal and five in Tibet, while Nepalese authorities put the number of missing around 1,900. The scale of destruction has complicated rescue operations, with fears of further flooding disrupting efforts in several areas. “The damage is just incredible,” Lila Pieters Yahia, the UN resident coordinator for Nepal, said on Friday, adding that more than 40 bridges had been Infosys Public Services CEO Gopisetty unreachable Infosys Public Services CEO Lax Gopisetty has been unreachable after devastating Nepal floods, the company said in a statement. The company said it was working with relevant agencies to gather information and establish contact with him. “We remain in close communication with the family and are providing all necessary support during this difficult time,” Infosys said destroyed or badly damaged and “over 40 km of road completely destroyed.” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said 400 Indians stranded on the Chinese side were in touch with their families. The Indian embassy in Beijing is coordinating with Chinese authorities on their evacuation, he added. By Friday evening, 153 Indian nationals had safely crossed from the Chinese side into Nepal by land, officials said. Jaiswal said 320 Indians remained uncontactable while Deal done for US Javelin anti-tank missile system @ New Delhi Pathbreaker Pragg After trailing 9-3 in the summit clash of the four-man Grand Finals, the 21-year-old showed his gumption and class by taking the lead in the Rapid section of the final before sealing the win in the Blitz format. Infrared guidance The big draw of the Javelin is its guidance. Its imaging infrared seeker locks on to the target before launch, allowing the gunner to fire and immediately withdraw simulation rounds and spares. Lt Gen Ajay Kumar, former Director General of Infantry, said in October 2025 that the Army was pursuing 12 launchers and 104 missiles. A Congressional notification records approval for a possible sale and not the quantity . The Javelin can be set to attack from above, where the armour of a tank is thinnest and carries a tandem warhead intended to defeat explosive reactive armour. What’s more remarkable is that he has spent the majority of the last month on tour in the US playing two GCT events before advancing to the final. In all, he has played over 50 games and 70 hours $404,354 The money Pragg earned by winning the GCT this year express read Defence export norms eased Noel, Mistry discuss SP’s Tata to cut procedural delays stake monetisation New Delhi: The defence ministry has liberalised India’s defence export regime, expanding the coverage of the Open General Export Licence (OGEL) from 41 countries to almost the entire world, barring countries on the negative or sensitive list and those facing UN Security Council sanctions or arms embargoes | P7 @ Bengaluru IN a major setback to the Congress government in Karnataka, Planning and Statistics Minister B Nagendra resigned on Thursday, just 25 days after being inducted as a minister. Chief Minister D K Shivakumar has been facing pressure to drop Nagendra ever since the latter was inducted as minister in the cabinet expansion on August 3. Nagendra said he is stepp i n g down to avoid embarrassment to the party and the CM. He added that he will also resign from the Assembly and dared BJP leaders, who were calling for his ouster, to contest against him. He categorically denied all allegations made against him in the `187 crore Maharshi Valmiki ST Cor poration scam. This is the second time that Nagendra is resigning as minister over the same issue. The first time was on June 6, 2024 when Siddaramaiah was chief minister. A m arnat h Parida @ Paradip One month on tour The Grand Chess Tour is a series of elite events between the world’s best players before the top four players of the preliminary stages advance to the final. It’s held across all three established time controls (Classical, Rapid and Blitz) D EVA RA J B H I R E H A L L I Survivors recount terrifying last moments of the doomed vessel MV Ocean Winner On Thursday, R Praggnanandhaa became the first Indian to win the Grand Chess Tour 2026. A look at how he won it... Explaining the GCT Karnataka govt blinks, minister Nagendra quits Gone in five minutes Keeping nerve against Fabiano in the final JAVA R I A RA N A indian Army has signed a formal contract with the US to procure the FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank guided missile system, a weapon it has been seeking since 2009. “BIG news! India plans to buy the battle-tested Javelin anti-tank system,” US envoy to India Sergio Gor wrote on X. He said the purchase could open the way to co-production of the missile in India. Gor linked the development to remarks made by the US defence secretary Pete Hegseth at the Shangri-La Dialogue earlier this year, where Hegseth said India would acquire the system. The purchase is being processed under the Army’s emergency procurement powers, which allow Service Headquarters to conclude urgent acquisitions within a delegated financial ceiling of `300 crore. The quantities are limited. In November last year, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of a possible sale to India of 100 Javelin rounds, one fly-to-buy missile and 25 launch units at an estimated cost of $45.7 million, together with trainers, around 100 additional people of Indian origin were also out of contact. Some of the latter may have been travelling for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra but hold other nationalities. Meanwhile, 21 from Tamil Nadu rescued from the flood-hit areas arrived in New Delhi on Friday. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar received them at the Delhi airport. The rescued group told Jaishankar about the sudden flooding and expressed gratitude to the Nepal Army for bringing them out. “We are still very much focused on contacting all the Indians there,” Jaishankar said. India has also intensified humanitarian assistance. A third military flight carrying 10 tonnes of relief supplies departed for Kathmandu on Friday, taking India’s emergency assistance since Wednesday night to 47.5 tonnes. The latest consignment includes portable generators, dignity kits, food packets and water-purification tablets. An 11-member team of doctors, paramedics and tunnel-rescue specialists was also sent. Jaishankar said tunnel specialists were being sent because people could potentially be trapped at a hydropower project. He also reviewed the crisis with senior officials, with India’s ambassadors in Kathmandu and Beijing joining virtually . Two members of a family from Bargarh district are reportedly missing in Nepal following the devastating flash flood on Wednesday taking the number , of people from the state whose whereabouts remain unaccounted for to four. The missing persons have been identified as Gunnam Sai Bindu Kumari, wife of Gunnam Jayakrishna, and their two-year-old daughter. They are residents of Sarla Jampali village in Bargarh. The family of Jayakrishna had initially approached the district administration after the couple could not be contacted despite repeated attempts. Addressing the media on Friday afternoon, Bargarh collector Aditya Goyal said preliminary information suggested that three people from the district were missing. “People from several parts of India are reported to have gone missing. Preliminary information suggests that three of them are from Bargarh. We are in touch with the family members of the missing people here and have informed the state government. Our efforts are underway to find and rescue them,” Goyal said. Later in the evening, however, Jayakrishna was traced and found to be safe. There was still no information about his wife and daughter. Jayakrishna works for Haryana-based manpower company Integrated Workforce Solutions Private Limited, which had deployed him at a hydropower project in Nepal. The project is located around 40 km from Timure, one of the worst-affected areas. Pritish Panda, the state government’s nodal officer to assist people stranded in Nepal, said the company had informed Jayakrishna’s family in the evening that he was safe. The whereabouts of his wife and daughter, however, remain unknown. “It is yet to be ascertained in which area Jayakrishna’s wife and child were during the flash flood. We are waiting for information from the Ministry of External Affairs,” Panda said. There was also no trace of the NRI couple Sandeep Mohapatra and Sidhharthi Kumari. Their last known GPS location was Timure on Wednesday, after which their mobile phones were found to be switched off. Efforts are underway to trace them, he said. Meanwhile, the trekking team including Baripada’s Kulsum Nigar is safe. She has contacted her family and will be returning soon. The six footballers from Odisha, who were earlier reported safe, also played a football match in Pokhara and won, Panda said. Valmiki scam Mumbai: Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata has met SP Group chairman Shapoor Pallonji Mistry and reportedly discussed ways to help the Mistrys unlock value from their 18.4% stake in Tata Sons and gain liquidity, as the cash-strapped SP Group grapples with high debt and leverage, according to a source familiar with the discussions | P10 It took just five minutes. To completely vanish from the surface of the sea, taking 22 lives with it. A week after the tragedy the mystery surrounding the disap, pearance of Panama-flagged bulk carrier MV Ocean Winner, around 290 miles off the Paradip coast in the Bay of Bengal, has been unravelled with horrifying details beginning to emerge. Two Chinese crew members who survived the sinking have now recounted their terrifying ordeal, from the moment the ship’s master The ship raised the alarm to the crew members’ despersuddenly lost ate attempt to save their lives. control and The two survivors Pan Tonglai and Chen began drifting Jianh were rescued from the sea and brought before tilting to Paradip aboard Indian Coast Guard ship heavily towards Varad on Thursday They later shared details . its right side. It of the tragedy with representatives of the sank within four to five minutes shipping agency, immigration officials, Coast after it started Guard personnel and Paradip Port Authority tilting. That officials. night will According to the survivors, the master of remain MV Ocean Winner alerted all 24 crew memunforgettable bers at around 10.30 pm on August 22 that the for us vessel was in severe distress. He instructed Survivors them to rush to the upper deck and abandon the ship by jumping into the sea as the vessel began sinking. The crew was scattered across cabins, work areas and other sections of the vessel at the time. Of the 24 members on board, only 10 managed to reach the upper deck in time. They released the lifeboats and jumped into the sea. The survivors said their lifeboat managed to land safely in the water. But eight other crew members were not as fortunate. Their lifeboats were caught in a powerful ocean whirlpool and CONTINUED ON P5 sucked in by the strong oceanic current. Why Penguin pressured Sonia to purge loaded political portions of her memoir E x p re s s N e w s Servi c e @ New Delhi The central point of contention between Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and Penguin Random House India (PRHI) was the publisher’s demand to retract passages containing her “frank” assessment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and references to mishandling of “Chinese incursion” during his tenure, a senior party function- ary said. According to the functionary, the passages were not based on ‘hearsay’ but on Sonia’s ‘relevant interactions’ and assessment. The functionary described the remarks as “candid” saying Sonia had written about what she had observed and experienced in her dealings with the prime minister as “both as the leader of a political party and a person in public life”. The functionary said the is- sue was not about routine factchecking but with “substantive changes to the political content of the memoir”. The concern, according to the functionary, was that substantially “altering” or “removing” those passages would change the “character” of Sonia’s account and “assessment” of contemporary political events. PRHI, however, denied that it decided against publishing the memoir because Sonia refused Nov 10 release Alfred A Knopf, an imprint of Penguin, had recently announced that Belonging will be released worldwide on Nov 10 editorial changes, and said it is “not the publisher of the book in India”. “Any suggestion that Penguin Random House India decided not to publish Belonging because the author declined editorial changes does not accurately reflect the circumstances,” PRHI said on Friday It main. tained that fact-checking and making editorial recommendations are a normal part of its role. “It is both our prerog- ative and our responsibility to fact check and provide authors with recommendations that are in the best interests of their books,” it said. Senior Cong ress leader Ashok Gehlot alleged that Penguin India wanted changes to portions concerning “Modi, the RSS and China’s ‘occupation of Indian territory.’ Penguin Worldwide is ready to publish the book worldwide in its original form, but Penguin Random House India wants changes in India, he said. “The real issue is that pressure was put on Penguin India to remove the portions related to Modi, the RSS, and the occupation of Indian territory by China during Modi’s rule. This is the murder of democracy,” Gehlot alleged. Following the controversy, HarperCollins is reportedly close to finalising an agreement to publish and distribute the book in India.