HYDERABAD  SUNDAY  DECEMBER 22, 2024  `12.00  PAGES 24  LATE CITY EDITION LANKA OUT OF SOVEREIGN DEFAULT RATING AFTER FITCH’S UPGRADE The island nation’s finance ministry said it officially ended its debt default after Fitch upgraded its credit rating, paving way for easier borrowing FINANCE MINISTRY HAILS IT AS A MILESTONE Mahinda Siriwardana, a finance ministry bureaucrat, said December 20 marked a major milestone in the country’s economic recovery process as Sri Lanka officially exited sovereign default. Fitch upgraded Sri Lanka’s long-term foreign-currency default rating to CCC+ from restricted default after creditors approved the nation’s $12.55 billion debt ■ Nov 26 MEDIUM TERM INTEREST FOR GOVT TO BE HIGH ■ Despite the debt restructuring the “general government debt/GDP and the interest/revenue ratio are likely to stay high in the medium term,” Fitch Ratings said In 2022, Sri Lanka plunged into an economic crisis, defaulted on its foreign debt due to its high debt burden amid the Covid pandemic DATE WHEN LANKA ANNOUNCED RATIFICATION OF DEBT RESTRUCTURING 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 Rule tweak cuts access to certain poll documents Film personalities queued up to express solidarity with Allu Arjun. What did he lose? Did he lose his eyes, legs or hands or suffered any kidney ailment? Congress says it will challenge it in court P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi A Revanth Reddy, chief minister Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy speaks in the Assembly on the last day of the session CM: Ye kaisa insan hain Allu Arjun? where AIMIM Legislative Party leader Akbaruddin Owaisi raised concerns about the film CHIEF Minister A Revanth star’s insensitive remarks Reddy once again took Tolly- about his movie being a “hit,” wood actor Allu Arjun to task even after the stampede. for the stampede that occurred Akbaruddin Owaisi also at Sandhya Theatre. During the asked whether the actor conpremiere of Pushpa-2, a wom- ducted a road show after the an lost her life, and her 8-year- stampede. old son suffered asResponding to the phyxiation. He has query Revanth Red, NO SPECIAL been battling for life dy wondered what PRIVILEGES IF in hospital. DEATH HAPPENS type of human Allu The CM said that Arjun was, referChief Minister Allu Arjun acted inring to the latter’s A Revanth Reddy humanely even after road show even afstated that his the death of a womter the uncontrollagovernment would an. He also exble situation at the not grant special pressed unhappitheatre. privileges to film ness with film “Allu Arjun didn’t industry in cases personalities exlisten when an ACP involving loss of life tending solidarity to asked him to leave Allu Arjun rather the theatre. Zabthan supporting the child un- ardasti se hamara DCP vo hero dergoing treatment. ko law and order situation dekh “Film personalities queued kar baahar le ke aaye. Baahar up to express solidarity with gaadi mein baithne ke baad, Allu Arjun. What did he lose? jate waqt phir rooftop nikal kar Did he lose his eyes, legs or phir logon ko wave kar raha. hands or suffered any kidney Bhai hey kaisa insan hain? ailment?” he questioned. Hum log kya bolna (Our DCP, This response came during a noticing the law and order situshort discussion on ‘Rythu ation, had to step in and force Bharosa’ in the state Assembly the hero to come outside. Even , EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Hyderabad It’s attempt to assassinate my character: Allu Arjun C H I T H A L U R I R E V A N T H @ Hyderabad ASSERTING that the stampede at Sandhya Theatre on December 4 was purely an accident, actor Allu Arjun on Saturday said that there was no fault on part of anyone. Responding to Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s comments in the state Legislative Assembly earlier in the day over the stampede, the Pushpa 2 actor told reporters in the evening that there was a lot of misinformation to assassinate his character. Claiming that he earned a good reputation, Allu Arjun said that false allegations were levelled against him over his behaviour at the theatre. He recalled that he visited the injured fans of Chiranjeevi and others in Vijayawada and other places. CONTINUED ON P4 after he was brought out from the theatre, he waved at the people from his vehicle by opening the rooftop. Man, what kind of person is he? What can we say?” And, I can’t sit quietly in the (CM’s) chair,” he remarked. He informed the Assembly THE GST Council on Saturday decided to formalise a procedure for states to levy special cess to raise money for disaster relief. This was decided after Andhra Pradesh sought the Council’s permission to levy a 1% cess on goods and services in the highest rate bracket of 28%. AP’s request for cess will be referred to a Group of Ministers (GoM) as was done previously for a similar request by Kerala in 2018. Addressing a press briefing after the GST Council meeting, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that since similar requests h ave b e e n made earlier as well, “we are of the view that there should be a laid-out procedure to deal with such requests in future.” Besides floods, several states wanted drought to be brought under the definition of disaster, she added. Andhra Pradesh finance minister Payyavula Keshav told the media that the state in August and September faced unprecedented rains and flood, which caused severe financial loss to the state. “…we will need a sum of `15,000 crore to come back to normalcy Therefore, we re. quested the Council to allow us to levy a cess of 1%,” said Keshav, adding that most states were supportive of AndP10 hra’s demand. RTI activist: Huge setback for transparency Prominent RTI activist Anjali Bharadwaj said it is a huge setback for transparency. Rule 93(2) was amended to restrict access to poll-related records after court orders disclosure. “Applications we filed under Rule 93(2) in May 2024 for copies of Form 17C are still pending,” she said Revanth breathes fire, dares BRS to debate on Rythu Bandhu PLAN TO FORMALISE SPECIAL CESS FOR DISASTER RELIEF D I PA K M O N D A L @ Jaisalmer that the crew of Pushpa-2, including Allu Arjun, visited the theatre despite police rejecting permission on December 3 in response to a request. The CM also said that Allu Arjun behaved rudely with the police officials when they went to arrest him. CONTINUED ON P4 IN a move that drew sharp criticism from the Opposition parties and RTI activists, the Centre on Friday amended the ‘Conduct of Election Rules’ to prevent public scrutiny of certain electronic documents such as CCTV footage and video recordings of polling. Based on the Election Commission’s (EC) recommendation, the Union Law Ministry amended Rule 93 of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, to restrict certain documents that were to public inspection till now. Rule 93(2)(a) earlier stated that “all other papers relating to the election shall be open to public inspection”. The amended version says “all other papers as specified in these rules relating to the election shall be open to public inspection.” Acting upon a complaint filed by advocate Mehmood Pracha, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has recently directed the EC to provide videog raphy, security camera footage, and copies of documents related to votes polled at a polling station during the recent Haryana assembly elections. Pracha had sought video and CCTV footage, and copies of Forms 17-C Parts I and II related to the polls. Coming down heavily on the amendment, the Congress said it would challenge it in court. In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that the tweak was a “vindication” of its assertions regarding the “rapidly eroding integrity” of the electoral process managed by the Election Commission in recent times. For their part, the Law Ministry and EC officials said documents such as nomination forms, appointment of poll agents, results and election account statements are mentioned in the Conduct of Election Rules, but electronic documents such as CCTV footage are not. “There have been instances where such electronic records have been sought, citing the rules. The amendment ensures that only papers mentioned in the rules are available for public inspection,” an EC official said. He added that the misuse of CCTV footage from inside polling booths could compromise voter secrecy and could be used to generate fake narratives using AI. “All such material is available to candidates, including footage. After the amendment, too, it will be available to them.” B K A R T H E E K @ Hyderabad CHIEF Minister A Revanth Reddy on Saturday breathed fire at BRS on several issues including Rythu Bandhu, crop loan waiver, hostel issues, state debt position, Musi Riverfront Development and challenged the latter’s leaders T Harish Rao and KT Rama Rao to a debate. He was speaking in the state Assembly during the short discussion on Rythu Bharosa. He delved deep into Rythu Bandhu, the crop input subsidy which was implemented by the previous BRS government. The chief minister intervened in the midst of the discussion to give clarifications to the points raised by BJP MLA Payal Shankar in the debate. Speaking on the Rythu Bharosa, the CM accused BRS of gross financial indiscipline in implementing the Rythu Bandhu scheme. He said that the BRS government had given Rythu Bandhu to the uncultivable lands such as hillocks, roads, industrial areas, stone crusher units, real estate ventures, mining lands, nalas converted into agriculture lands, and those with bogus pattas. He also alleged that BRS leaders fraudulently availed Podu pattas and claimed Rythu Bandhu. “Preliminary estimates put the amount disbursed under Rythu Bandhu under the BRS regime at `72,816 crore of which a total of `22,606 crore went to the lands which were not under cultivation. Should we continue the same policy?” he asked, and pointed out that Rajiv Rahadari (SH-1) was also given Rythu Bandhu benefit in Gajwel constituency . Although around 70 to 80 per cent of land in the 50 km radius of Hyderabad is not under cultivation and IT other industries came up on some of them, the owners received the crop input Should we give input subsidies to feudal landlords, surrendered ceiling lands, Adani or FEO’s CEO? BRS is not a model for us to follow. We follow the farmer and not the BRS – Revanth Reddy subsidy. He said that the BRS regime flouted its own GO and its stated objectives of the scheme. “Should we give input subsidies to feudal landlords, surrendered ceiling lands, Adani or FEO’s CEO? BRS is not a model for us to follow. We follow the farmer and not the BRS,” he said. He demanded that the BRS clarify in writing its stand on Rythu Bharosa. Stating that the then BRS government had paid `11,909 crore towards crop loan waiver, he said that `8,515 crore was paid towards interest and just a sum of `3,384 crore was adjusted towards principal loan amount. “BRS had not waived the principal amount,” he said. Pegasus liable in WhatsApp suit: US court EXPRESS NEWS SERVI CE @ New Delhi WITH a US court finding Israel’s NSO Group — which sells spyware Pegasus — liable in a lawsuit filed by WhatsApp in 2019 flagging breaches in devices, snooping is back on the front burner, including in India. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton in Oakland, California, on Friday granted a motion by Mark Zuckerberg-owned WhatsApp and found NSO liable for hacking and breach of contract, Reuters reported. In 2019, WhatsApp sued the NSO Group accusing it of accessing WhatsApp servers without permission to install the Pegasus software on mobile devices. The suit alleged the intrusion allowed the surveillance of 1,400 people. The US Supreme Court last year turned away NSO’s appeal against the lower court’s decision, allowing the lawsuit to proceed. The ruling assumes significance as over 300 mobile numbers in India, including those of ministers in the Modi government, Opposition leaders, journalists and business magnates were allegedly infected with Pegasus in 2021. Soon, several petitions were filed in the Supreme Court seeking a probe. The court set up a committee of technical experts, which found no conclusive evidence on the use of the spyware in phones examined by it. WITH THIS ISSUE DELIVERY OF INSTANT GRATIFICATION PLUS 12 PAGES CONTINUED ON P4 WEDDING BELLS Love-all start: Sindhu-Sai set for match close to heart A J AY T O M A R @ Hyderabad THERE is always a sprinkling of condiments to add flavour to a celebrity marriage. The brouhaha it generates is sometimes bewildering. When P V Sindhu announced her engagement and marriage to a Hyderabad entrepreneur, interest grew as date of marriage neared, especially surrounding the identity of her to-be-husband Venkata Datta Sai. As Udiapur gets decked up for the marriage on Sunday, Sindhu would be ready for a different match. Something close to her heart and soul. As the two went about inviting guests, the man who stole Sindhu’s heart was in the limelight as well. Sai is a Hyderabad-based IT professional and Executive Director at Posidex Technologies. His father G T Venkateshwar Rao is the managing director at the same company . “The two families are friends and have known each other for a long time,” Sindhu’s father P V Ramana told this newspaper over the phone from Udaipur. He explained that the pre-andpost wedding dates have been finalised keeping in mind the next season. “He is an avid sports follower and an active supporter. Who doesn’t follow sports these days?” asked Ramana. Sai’s career has been equally dynamic and has a sporting touch too. He has a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and Finance and a Master’s degree in Data Science and Machine Learning from the International Institute of Information Technology Bengaluru. , Sai began at JSW as an intern and later worked as an inhouse consultant (2018-19). He then became the managing director of Sour Apple Asset Management while also contributing to Posidex since December 2019. Sai also managed the Delhi IPL team. Reflecting on the experience, Sai writes: “My BBA in finance and economics pales in comparison to managing an IPL team...” Match, court, love the words Sindhu would have grown up hearing will now be part of her life when she ties the knot in a royal wedding apparently with Rajasthani flavour in Udaipur – the venue of many a high-profile destination weddings. A reception is slated in Hyderabad a couple of days later. CENTENARIAN’S SPIRIT Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Kuwait-based retired Indian Foreign Service officer Mangal Sain Handa, 101, upon his arrival in Kuwait, on Saturday. On Friday, Handa’s granddaughter Shreya Juneja had requested the PM to meet her Nanaji | PTI FOREST COVER Forest cover in the state has TELANGANA LOST A HUGE decreased by 105.87 sq.km, FOREST AREA SINCE 2021 according to a report | P5