APRIL CORE SECTOR GROWTH AT 1.7% ON BACK OF CEMENT, STEEL THURSDAY 21 MAY, 2026 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard 40.2% SMART GLASSES GOOGLE TAKES ON COMPETITION IS CORE SECTOR’S SHARE IN INDEX OF INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION NEXT, ALL EYES ON BETTER IIP GROWTH Google’s glasses, expected to go on sale later this year, will challenge Meta, which has built a commanding lead with its Ray-Ban smart glasses A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 9  NEW DELHI  J8.00  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 | P10 PAGES 12 New rules soon for driverless pod systems in city, NCR towns PA R V E Z S U LTA N @ New Delhi Heatwave conditions in Varanasi, like in the national capital, on Wednesday | PTI Temp rises in Karnataka Cong, and literally in city D E V A R A J B H I R E H A L L I @ Bengaluru THE Congress high command seems to have arrived at a juncture that it can no longer put on hold the decision to clear the confusion over leadership change or cabinet reshuffle in Karnataka. Many senior Congress leaders, including some ministers, believe that the party central leadership will end uncertainty by May-end. Party sources said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar are likely to be called to New Delhi over the next few days to put an end to an issue that has raised the temperatures in the state party set-up for over a year. Talking to reporters on Wednesday Food and Civil Sup, plies Minister K H Muniyappa hinted at the high command taking the decision soon. “By this month-end, the decision will be made. Whatever must happen will happen. They (the CAPITAL’S PEAK POWER DEMAND PAST 8K MW It was another day of harsh heat in Delhi on Wednesday, as the maximum temperatures at most weather stations hovered around 45°C. The peak power demand in the city hit the season’s high and touched 8,039 MW at 3:35 pm on Wednesday. high command) will find a solution to all this...,” he said, asked whether there will be a change in leadership or cabinet reshuffle. Congress functionaries privately admit that the confusion over change in leadership that has lingered since November 2025, when the government reached the midway mark, has damaged the image of both the government and party. They suggested that the high command, especially Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, should not take more time to settle the issue. CITY FACES POWER CUTS AND HEATWAVE I P3 16 Punjab 45.80C 48 Haryana 46.90C The great Indian frying pan 480C West Rajasthan 46.50C Banda, East Uttar Pradesh East Madhya Pradesh 47.40C Odisha 460C 450C Coastal Andhra Pradesh Vidarbha, Maharashtra 47.10C Banda district’s 48°C was the highest in India. It was 4.5°C above normal AS existing regulations don’t support the implementation of automated driverless electric “Pods”, the Centre is planning to amend existing rules and frame new standards to speed up the introduction of the innovative urban transport system. Union Road Transport and Highways minister Nitin Gadkari, on Tuesday, said that the National Highways Logistics Management Limited is working on the plan of pod tax implementa- tion, and the project is expected to start soon. Considered one of the best 21stcentury urban transit systems— Metrino—has small passenger cabins called ‘Pods’, which are suspended under an overhead network of light guideways above main streets. All rides are individual and on-demand. Each unit can ferry 5-6 travellers. “The system is called Metrino, a public transport running on electricity We have started some . projects. The security standards India, Italy form special strategic partnership To enhance cooperation in defence, tech; trade target set at 20 billion euros by 2029 J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi 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 HARYANA SIZZLER Rohtak in Haryana sizzled at 46.9°C, which was 6.2°C above normal. Hisar was at 45.4°C 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.” Meta says ‘success isn’t a given’, sacks 8,000 US wanted to instal Ahmadinejad as prez Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg told staffers in a Wednesday memo about the company’s decision to layoff 8,000 employees, saying the decision was necessary because “success isn’t a given”. Besides, it said, about 7,000 employees will be moved into new AI-focussed roles. 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 report published in The New York Times | P9 INDIA and Italy elevated their bilateral relationship to a ‘special strategic partnership’, deepening cooperation across trade, defence, technology con, nectivity 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 fivenation 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 Rupee kissing distance away from 97 B E N N K O C H U V E E D A N @ Mumbai EXPRESS READ of this system are very difficult to implement. We faced difficulties in their implementation. Then, there was a lot of difficulty in making it “Make in India”. Now, once again, we will study all the standards because in the country’s law, we d o n o t h ave t h e approval of such a system,” said Gadkari. The minister, first in 2016, announced plans to implement the ambitious Personal Rapid Transit or Metrino in the National Capital Region (NCR). 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 aver, aged at 85.50, marking a 11.9% year-on-year fall and close to 8% so far this year, making it the worst perfor ming 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 con- tinuously, there is hardly any dollar sale by exporters, leading to the mismatch. Meanwhile, the RBI has announced a $5-billion dollar-rupee 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. Banks can block financed phones for default: RBI B E N N K O C H U V E E D A 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 essential functionalities such as access to internet, incoming calls, 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 emergency SOS features, and receipt of emergency government notifications. Also, the restrictions must be listed 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. SUVENDU ON 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 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 co-production in areas including helicopters, naval platforms, marine armaments and electronic warfare. P7 LEGAL PANELS SC asks Centre for stand on women’s quota S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Centre, states, and UTs for responses on a PIL seeking at least 30% reservation for women lawyers in government legal panels and law officer posts. A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant issued notice after hearing Senior Advocate Vikas Singh for the petitioner, Ladli Foundation Trust. During the hearing, Singh referred to a recent survey conducted by the Supreme Court Bar Association on difficulties faced by women advocates. He argued that adding women to legal panels alone was not enough because many were not given actual case work. He requested that the court create a mechanism to ensure that women lawyers receive proper assignments. The petition asked for directions to ensure a minimum 30% quota for women advocates on High Court panels, government law officer posts, and Central, state, and PSU empanelments. It said the demand was linked to fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 15(3), 19(1)(g) and 21 of the Constitution. SOCIAL MEDIA FIRMS TOLD TO BLOCK FAKE INFO ON NEET-UG S L A L I T H A @ 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. Investigations into the cancelled medical entrance exam on May 3 revealed that the question paper was sold by unscrupulous individuals using such platforms to lure candidates. For the second consecutive day Pradhan , chaired a high-level 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. “Serious concerns were raised by officials during the meet over the g rowing spread of misinformation related to competitive exami n a t i o n s, p a r t i c u l a rl y through Telegram channels and anonymous online groups,” it said. Officials also noted that many such channels become highly active in the run-up to major examinations, circulating fake paper leak claims, clickbait content and unverified information that trigger panic, anxiety and confusion among students and parents. “Many such links redirect users to automated bots and fake g roups designed to amplify misinformation,” they added. The ministry said that intelligence inputs revealed that multiple suspicious channels were being operated through a limited set of phone numbers, indicating coordinated and organised activity Prad. han directed the social media platforms to work in close coordination with his ministry, NTA and law enforcement agencies to curb misinformation and protect exam integrity .