THIRUVANANTHAPURAM 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 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 ■ 40.2% ‘Gulf crisis impacted core sector 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 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 UDF govt pulls the plug on SilverLine E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ T’Puram L65.72 cr spent No more haunting yellow survey stones. For thousands of families across Kerala, the yellow markers of the SilverLine semi-high-speed rail project — that symbolised uncertainty, protests and emotional confrontations — will now become a thing of the past. In a major poll promise that would bring relief to many across the state, the UDF government has decided to scrap the previous government’s ambitious `64,000-crore project, popularly called K-Rail. Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Wednesday said the SilverLine project will be denotified and that the police cases related to the public protests will be withdrawn. According to a written response given by the office of then chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan in February 2023, a total of D65.72 crore was spent by the government on the project. Consultation fee: K33 cr EIA/ Feasibility study: K79.39 lakh Residents of Kundungal in Kozhikode express their joy over the UDF government’s decision to denotify the SilverLine project on Wednesday | Vincent Pulickal The Pinarayi government’s insistence on implementing the project against the people’s will had triggered widespread protests in the state. It was in 2019 T’Puram: Former IPS officer A Hemachandran, who headed the special team that probed the Solar scam, will be appointed advisor to Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala. An order will be issued shortly. Sources said he will attend the high-level meeting of police officers convened by Chennithala on Saturday. 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 US wanted to install Ahmadinejad as prez This visit of yours is an honour for us... It is not going to be the last one in this long book that you are writing together with resolution, doing our work in the best possible way Italian PM Giorgia Meloni Melody toffee gift goes viral Washington: The United States and Israel were considering installing hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the president of Iran as part of the plans for regime change in the Persian Gulf nation in the early days of the war, according to a New York Times report | P9 Ahead of the high-level bilateral engagement, a video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifting a pack of home-grown 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.” 16 pages, including 4 pages of THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Express 48 Haryana 46.90C The great Indian frying pan 480C Banda,  East Uttar Pradesh Odisha 460C 45 C 0 Vidarbha, Maharashtra 47.10C K6.60 cr Establishing land acquisition units: K19.50 cr north, ran into fierce resistance — from residents fearing displacement, Opposition parties and environmentalists. The UDF mounted massive street protests. J AYA N TH J ACOB @ New Delhi T’Puram: Gearing up for the rollout of free bus travel for women, KSRTC on Wednesday reintroduced gender ticketing to assess the likely impact of the move. The corporation has reintroduced it to get more data and arrive at a reliable passenger average. Current estimates suggest that the free travel scheme could lead to an additional burden of around D60 crore on the carrier. East Madhya Pradesh 47.40C General work: To enhance cooperation in defence, technology; trade target set at 20 billion euros by 2029 KSRTC reintroduces gender ticketing West Rajasthan 46.50C K1.62 cr India, Italy form special strategic partnership Hemachandran to be Chennithala’s advisor Punjab 45.80C K3.42 cr that the LDF government presented the project. The 530-km semi-high-speed rail corridor, connecting the state capital in the south to Kasaragod in the EXPRESS READ 16 Survey work: Boundary stonerelated work: When revenue officials, backed by police, moved in to install survey stones despite resistance from affected communities, the use of force and the resultant tensions drew sharp public criticism. With the BJP leadership also conveying its opposition, the project never secured the Union government’s approval despite repeated attempts by the state. In the run-up to the recently concluded assembly elections, the LDF quietly wound down all project-related activity, without formally abandoning it or saying so. On Wednesday Satheesan said , the notifications issued for land acquisition will be cancelled and the yellow poles erected to mark the alignment of the corridor ● More on P4 will be removed.  Coastal Andhra Pradesh Banda district’s 48°C was the highest in India. It was 4.5°C above normal Haryana sizzler Rohtak in Haryana sizzled at 46.9°C, which was 6.2°C above normal. Hisar was at 45.4°C Suvendu on curbing infiltration West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari initiated the transfer of 27 km land to BSF for border fencing and announced a “detect, delete and deport” system targeting infiltrators | P8 india and Italy elevated their bilateral relationship to a ‘special strategic partnership’, deepening cooperation across trade, defence, technology connectivity and mari, time 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 technology 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 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 codevelopment and co-production in areas including helicopters, naval platforms, marine armaments and electronic warfare. council of ministers Two days after the V D Satheesan cabinet was sworn in, the government on Wednesday issued the gazette notification allotting portfolios to the ministers. A look at the major portfolios assigned. 1 V D SatheesanFinance, Lotteries, Ports, Law, General Administration 2 Ramesh Chennithala Home, Vigilance, Fire and Rescue Services, Prisons, Coir 3 Sunny Joseph Electricity, Environment, Parliamentary Affairs 4 K Muraleedharan Health, Medical Education, Ayush, Devaswoms 5 A P Anil Kumar Land Revenue, Survey and Land Records, Land Reforms 6 P C Vishnunadh Tourism, Culture 7 M Liju Co-operation, Excise 8 Roji M John Collegiate Education, Technical Education 9 T Siddique Agriculture 10 K A Thulasi Development of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes 11 Bindhu Krishna Labour, Animal Husbandry, Woman & Child Development NEET-UG: Social media firms told to thwart fake info S L a l i t h a @ New Delhi Union Education Minister Dhar mendra Pradhan on Wednesday directed social media platforms to detect and block misinformation networks ahead of the NEET-UG re-exam. Investigations into the cancelled medical entrance exam on May 3 revealed that the question paper was sold by unscru- pulous individuals using such platforms to lure candidates. For the second consecutive day, Pradhan chaired a highlevel review meet in connection with the re-exam on June 21. On Wednesday, he interacted with Central security and intelligence agencies as well as representatives of major social media platforms — Meta, Google & Telegram, a release said. “Seri- ous concerns were raised by officials during the meet over the growing spread of misinformation related to competitive exams, particularly through Telegram channels and anonymous online groups,” it said. Officials said many such channels become highly active in the run-up to major exams, circulating fake paper leak claims, clickbait content and unverified information that trigger panic and confusion among students and parents. “Many such links redirect users to automated bots and fake groups designed to amplify misinformation,” they added. Pradhan directed the social media platforms to work in coordination with his ministry, NTA and law enforcement agencies to curb misinformation. LOAN RECOVERY Banks can block financed phones for default: RBI ACTION MUST REFLECT IN LOAN AGREEMENT The draft guidelines categorically state that banks may resort to disabling phones and other electronic devices only if such an action is clearly mentioned in the loan agreement. The Reserve Bank of India will accept public comments to the draft proposal till May 31 B E N N KOCHUV E E DA N @ 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 technologybased mechanism. However, the bank cannot restrict essen- tial functionalities such as access to internet, incoming calls and emergency SOS features. Also, the restrictions must be listed within one hour of the borrower curing the default. The 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 or excessive calling. 12 O J Janeesh Sports, Youth Affairs, Registration, Archaeology 13 P K Kunhalikutty Industries & Commerce, Information Technology, Artificial Intelligence 14 N Samsudheen General Education, Wakf and Haj Pilgrimage, Minority Welfare 15 K M Shaji Local Self-government, Rural Development 16 P K Basheer Public Works Department 17 V E Abdul Gafoor Fisheries, Social Justice 18 Mons Joseph Irrigation, Water Supply & Sanitation, Housing 19 Anoop Jacob Food & Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs, Legal Metrology 20 Shibu Baby John Forests & Wild Life Protection, Skill Development 21 C P JohnRoad Transport, Motor Vehicles, Water Transport P4 Rupee kissing distance away from 97 Benn K o c h u v ee d a n @ Mumbai BLEEDING for the ninth consecutive day the rupee depreci, ated 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 year, making it the worst performing Asian currency in for the 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.