hyderabad l Thursday l April 02, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION IAF, HAL to hold critical review meet as tejas mk1a delay drags on Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and the Indian Air Force will hold a critical programme review this month to finalise a revised induction timeline Meet to assess progress on key requirements Sources in the defence establishment said senior IAF and HAL officials will meet in New Delhi to assess the progress made on mandatory operational requirements. “The outcome of the review will be decisive... The IAF is seeking clarity on when the first aircraft, already over two years behind schedule, will finally be inducted,” a source said | P7 180 Air force grapples with squadron shortage ■ ■ Beyond delays in the supply of GE F404 engines from the United States, the integration and certification of the Israeli EL/M-2052 AESA radar has added to the programme’s timeline pressures The delays come as the IAF grapples with a squadron shortfall, operating just 29 squadrons against a sanctioned strength of 42.5 Tejas Mk1A aircraft ordered by the Indian air force 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 April 16-18 special session coming to add LS seats for women quota P R EETHA NAI R @ New Delhi Indian tanker Jag Vasant, owned by Great Eastern Shipping Company Ltd, after clearing the Strait of Hormuz, is seen anchored at the LPG discharge terminal, in Mumbai on Wednesday | PTI Shield citizens: PM 33 to CCS as war rages 25% day Costly fuel J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday chaired the meeting of Cabinet Committee on Security to review India’s preparedness amid the ongoing West Asia conflict, directing officials that “all efforts must be made to safeguard citizens from the impact of this conflict.” The second such review in recent days held at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg focused on mitigating disruptions across key sectors including energy agriculture, ship, ping, aviation, logistics and MSMEs. The government assessed supply chains and explored contingency measures to ensure stability in essential commodities and services. Supply diversification for LPG and LNG, fuel duty reduction and power sector measures were reviewed to ensure stability of essential supplies. A key focus area was energy security Cabinet Secre. tary T V Somanathan briefed the meeting about the action taken to ensure supply of petroleum products, particularly LNG/LPG, and sufficient power availability . Measures such as exempting certain gas-based power plants from pooling mechanisms and increasing coal supplies to thermal stations were reviewed to ensure uninterrupted electricity during peak summer demand. The government noted that “enough coal stock exists” to meet power needs in the coming months. Price hike cap on aviation turbine fuel on domestic routes announced to prevent steep rise in airfares, though ATF rates have more than doubled to `2.07 lakh due to West Asia crisis `195.50 Hike in cost of commercial LPG rates per cylinder `2 per litre Jump in XP95, Power95, and Speed fuels `51 More for 5 kg mini LPG cylinder Trump says war to be over in 2-3 wks a g e n c i e s @ Washington, London, Tel Aviv President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the US could end its operations in Iran in two-three weeks with or a without a deal. However, a third US aircraft carrier, USS George H W Bush, set sail for West Asia on Tuesday Trump is expected . to address the nation on Wednesday night (Thursday 6.30 am IST). He sharply escalated his confrontation with Europe over the war, saying he is strongly considering pulling his country out of NATO. “Oh yes, I would say it’s (US exit from NATO) beyond reconsideration,” he told a reporter. In a further sign of stress on the transatlantic alliance, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain needed to forge a “closer partnership” with the EU on defence, security and the economy. He vowed not to let the UK get dragged into the war against Iran. inside SC sceptical on bid to limit birthright citizenship | p9 MPs, Kishan spar over ‘unkept vows’ @ Hyderabad with an eye on the upcoming assembly polls, the Centre may convene a special session of Parliament from April 16-18 to bring a bill to increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 so that 273 of them could be reserved for women in Lok Sabha, sources said. While the Budget Session is scheduled to conclude on Thursday, the government may prorogue it and convene a ‘special session’ ahead of the Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu on April 23, and West Bengal polls on April 23 and 29. “The House will not be adjourned sine die but will be adjourned with the announcement that it will meet again on a specific date.... this month,” said a source, indicating the third week of April. The government recently proposed an early delimitation exercise to fast-track the implementation of the Women’s Reservation Act. The proposed changes include linking the Act’s implementation based on the 2011 Census for a quicker rollout and potentially increasing the number of Lok Sabha and Assembly seats by 50% on a proportional basis. Though Home Minister Amit Shah held discussions with some NDA allies and some non-Congress opposition floor leaders last week, consultations with the Congress and TMC were yet to take place. The Opposition has demanded an allparty meeting to discuss the roadmap. The Congress also opposed the proposal to raise the size of the Lok Sabha by 50% saying such a move would “disadvantage” smaller states in the South, North- The proposal Budget session supposed to end on Thursday But session unlikely to be adjourned sine die Govt planning to summon it again for 2-3 days in April 3rd week Plan to raise LS seats to 816, with 273 reserved for women Constitutional amendment bill to amend Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam to be brought Another bill to tweak Delimitation Act Redrawing of constituencies to be based on 2011 census east, and West. The provision to provide 33% reservation to women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies was brought by amending the Constitution in 2023, but it will come into effect after the completion of the delimitation exercise. According to the broad contours available, the number of Lok Sabha seats would be increased from the present 543 to 816, with 273 seats reserved for women. The reservation will also be done on a “vertical basis” with seats allocated for SCs and STs. The redrawing of the constituencies will be done on the basis of the 2011 census rather than the proposed 2027 census. A similar exercise will be carried out for state assemblies where seats will be reserved on a pro-rata basis. While a Constitution amendment bill will tweak the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, commonly known as women’s reservation law, another ordinary bill will amend the Delimitation Act. M a n da Rav i n d e r R e d dy The Lok Sabha witnessed a heated exchange on Wednesday between Congress MPs from Telangana and Union Minister G Kishan Reddy over the alleged failure of the NDA government to implement promises under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act (APRA). The exchange saw sharp accusations during the debate on the APRA (Amendment) Bill. Congress members used the occasion to press the Centre on unfulfilled commitments. | P5 TG hikes MeeSeva user charges 50% E x pr e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Hyderabad The state government has increased user charges for all services offered through MeeSeva by 50%, with citizens also required to pay 18% GST over and above the revised rates. The orders issued by Chief Secretary K Ramakrishna Rao say that the existing user charges for bill payments set at `20, `25 and `30 have been revised to `35, `44 and `53. User charges for services related to TGNPDCL and TGSPDCL have also been increased.