HYDERABAD l Thursday l may 21, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late cITY EDITION april core sector growth at 1.7% on back of cement, steel Production growth in eight core infrastructure sectors rose to a two-month high of 1.7% in April, driven by higher output of steel, cement next, all eyes on better iip growth ‘Gulf crisis impacted core sector growth’ Steel, cement and electricity production rose by 6.2 per cent, 9.4 per cent and 4.1 per cent, respectively, in April. Coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, and fertiliser output recorded negative growth during the month under review. Experts said April’s improved core sector growth is expected to increase the upcoming industrial production growth ■ ■ The cumulative growth rate of the 8 core sectors during AprilMarch, 2025-26 is 2.7 per cent versus same period of last year Rahul Agrawal, senior economist, ICRA, said as many as five of the eight sectors registered a contraction in output, suggesting that economic activity in some sectors was impacted by the Gulf crisis 40.2% is core sector’s share in index of industrial production 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 In GCC push, TG eyes growth corridors beyond CURE Express News Service On the horizon @ Hyderabad The Telangana government is preparing an aggressive push to position Hyderabad and its surrounding growth corridors as the country’s next major destination for Global Capability Centres (GCCs), while also attempting to spread investments beyond the city’s core urban limits. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Wednesday directed officials to formulate a dedicated GCC policy that would incentivise companies to establish operations outside the Hyderabad Core Urban Region (CURE) zone, particularly along the Nizamabad, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy along with Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu reviews the Industries Department on Wednesday Karimnagar and Warangal corridors. Reviewing the Industries department along with IT and Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu, Revanth said the govern- Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a meeting with his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni, in Rome, Italy on Wednesday | PTI The India-Italy Joint Strategic Action Plan 2025-29 provides a practical and futuristic framework for our partnership. Bilateral trade is rapidly moving towards the target of 20 billion euros Prime Minister Narendra Modi India’s size, digital infrastructure and innovation can complement Italy’s industrial strength, manufacturing excellence, and technological integration capacity Italian PM Giorgia Meloni Melody toffee gift goes viral Ahead of the high-level bilateral engagement, a video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifting a pack of homegrown toffee brand Melody to Italian PM Giorgia Meloni went viral. More so because Melodi is a moniker coined by social media following the two leaders’ friendly engagements during COP28 event in 2023. The moniker took off after Meloni posted a selfie with Modi with the caption, “Good friends at COP28. #Melodi.” The latest viral video amassed over 8 million views within hours on X. Capitalising on the moment, Parle Products shared the video on Instagram with the caption: “Sweetening relationships since 1983.” | P10 n Dedicated GCC policy for ‘Beyond CURE’ areas n on Nizamabad, Karimnagar Focus and Warangal corridors n Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities to be developed as GCC hubs n ‘Invest Telangana’ agency for end-to-end investor support n City and Health City AI planned in Future City n acres earmarked for housing 500 for public representatives, officers & journalists ment’s focus was now on steering the next phase of investments towards Tier-2 and Tier-3 locations India, Italy form special strategic partnership Cooperation in defence, tech; 20 bn euros trade target J AYAN T H J ACO B @ New Delhi india and Italy elevated their bilateral relationship to a ‘special strategic partnership’, deepening cooperation across trade, defence, technology , connectivity and maritime security as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held extensive talks with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome. The announcement came during Modi’s visit to Italy on the final leg of his five-nation tour and reflects growing convergence between New Delhi and Rome amid shifting geopolitical alignments, supply-chain disruptions and intensifying competition over technolo g y and critical resources. The two countries also unveiled an ambitious target of raising bilateral trade from 14.25 billion euros in 2025 to 20 billion euros by 2029. “We deliberated extensively on enhancing India-Italy ties,” Modi said in a joint press statement after the talks, and added that the India-Italy Joint Strategic Action Plan 2025-2029 Rupee closes in on 97 mark B e n n K o c h u v e e d a n @ Mumbai BLEEDING for the ninth consecutive day the rupee depreciated 16 paise to , close to a fresh lifetime low of 96.86 against the US dollar on Wednesday as elevated global crude prices amid the West Asia crisis stoked inflation worries. The currency is now the most undervalued globally in 12 years, and analysts are of the opinion that more weakening of the rupee will not boost exports as such gains will be offset by rising import costs. Last May, the rupee had averaged at 85.50, marking a 11.9% year-onyear fall and close to 8% so far this y e a r, m a k i n g i t t h e w o r s t performing Asian currency for the by developing strategic clusters in “Beyond CURE” areas. Apart from GCCs, these locations are also being considered for data centre expansion as the state attempts to decentralise growth and create new investment hubs outside Hyderabad’s traditional IT belt. The government is also planning to strengthen its investment outreach through the proposed ‘Invest Telangana’ agency envis, aged as a dedicated platform to provide end-to-end support for investors and companies setting up operations in the state. During the meeting, the chief minister suggested adopting best practices from other states while third year in a row. Traders said the RBI is spending an estimated $1 billion a day on currency intervention. While dollar demand from importers is rising continuously there is hardly any dollar , sale by exporters, leading to the mismatch. Meanwhile, the RBI has announced a $5-billion dollarrupee buy-sell swap auction on May 26, to inject liquidity amid rising forex concerns. The rupee’s sharp decline has emerged as one of the biggest economic warning signs for policymakers, investors and businesses, the decline largely driven by capital outflow, expensive oil, widening trade deficits and a surging US dollar. would provide a “practical and futuristic roadmap” for cooperation across sectors. Modi was accorded a ceremonial military welcome on arrival, while Meloni hosted him for dinner and accompanied him on a visit to the Colosseum ahead of the formal talks. The two leaders have steadily built close political engagement in recent years, with Meloni saying she had met Modi seven times over the last few years and developed “a genuine friendship”. Several MoUs were signed covering agriculture, critical minerals, Ayurveda, science and technology, maritime transport and ports. A key agreement on facilitating the mobility of Indian nurses to Italy is expected to create new opportunities for skilled healthcare workers. Both sides welcomed the India-Italy Defence Industrial Roadmap aimed at promoting co-development and coproduction in areas including helicopters, naval platforms, marine armaments and electronic warfare. Express Read Social media firms told to block fake info on NEET-UG New Delhi: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday directed social media platforms to detect and block misinformation networks ahead of the NEET-UG re-exam. Investigation into the cancelled exam on May 3 revealed that the question paper was sold on social media | P7 City’s cybercops crack `102 cr countrywide case, catch 66 Hyderabad: Over a seven-day operation across 13 states, Hyderabad Cybercrime police arrested 66 persons allegedly linked to 76 cybercrime cases involving fraud worth `101.87 crore nationwide. Under Operation Octopus 3.0, Hyderabad police deployed 18 teams targeting the “Ghost SIM” networks | P5 Banks can block phones for loan default: RBI B ENN K OCHUVEEDAN @ Mumbai BANKS may be allowed to block phones and disable other electronic devices bought on loan, in case the borrower defaults, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in its second draft guidelines on loan recovery released , on Wednesday . However, RBI clarified that banks cannot restrict the mobile phones of defaulting borrowers to recover personal, car, or home loans. According to the proposed norms, banks can restrict devices bought on loan if the dues are pending for more than 90 days and recovery notices have been served on time. Also, such an action may be taken only if the loan contract “expressly and unambiguously permits” it, the draft proposal noted. Restricting the targeted phones or devices could be done by deploying any technology-based mechanism. However, the bank cannot restrict essential functionalities such as access to internet, incoming calls, emergency SOS features, and receipt of emergency government notifications. Also, the restrictions must be lifted within one hour of the borrower curing the default. The draft proposal also specifies conduct rules for recovery personnel. The guidelines say recovery calls and visits will be allowed only between 8 am and 7 pm, and agents will be barred from using intimidation, abusive language, public humiliation, social media shaming, or excessive calling. New norms to kick in from October 1 The draft guidelines categorically state that banks may resort to disabling electronic devices only if the loan agreement has such a clause. RBI will accept public feedback till May 31 and proposes to implement the norms from October 1, 2026 designing the governance structure for the agency. Senior officials from departments such as Energy and Finance may be included as “special invitees” to facilitate faster clearances and coordination, while officials from the IT and Industries departments would serve as regular appointees. A society would be formed for ‘Invest Telangana’, with the agency expected to function as a dedicated investment promotion body for the state. Revanth also proposed appointing escort officers to assist prospective companies from the time they arrive in Hyderabad till the grounding of operations.  continued on p4 Bhatti seeks `5K cr SASCI funds E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Hyderabad Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Wednesday urged Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to sanction an additional `5,000 crore to Telangana under the Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI) scheme, under which loans are extended interest-free for 50 years. During a meeting with the Union minister in Delhi on Wednesday, Bhatti thanked the Union government for extending 50-year interestfree loans to states under the scheme. Referring to the `4,208 crore already sanctioned to Telangana during the 2025–26 financial year, he said additional financial support was necessary to sustain the state’s ongoing development and welfare programmes. The deputy chief minister said Telangana was progressing rapidly in development, but was facing fiscal pressure due to debt servicing commitments arising from borrowings raised through various Special Purpose Vehicles between 2014 and 2023. Despite these constraints, the state government continued to invest substantially in education, healthcare, rural infrastructure and human resource development, Vikramarka added.  continued on p4 Centre has no objection to Metro Phase-2, ready to share 50% of the cost with Telangana, Union Urban Development Minister Manohar Lal Khattar tells Kishan Reddy in Delhi | P3