NEW DELHI: After Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) disappointing run in IPL 2025 continued with a five-wicket loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), former India batter Ambati Rayudu said that the five-time champions would now become highly attentive about evolving with the modern style of T20 cricket.
Despite making several changes to their playing XI at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, CSK’s search for a victory remained unsuccessful, leaving them stuck at the bottom of the points table in tenth place.
“I know it’s the lowest of lows, but it’s also a great learning for CSK. If you rest on your laurels and don’t keep an eye on the future, this is what can happen. From here on, they’ll be very, very vigilant about evolving with the game. Even MS Dhoni has acknowledged that the game has moved on, and I’m sure he’s already thinking about building a team for next year,” Rayudu said on JioStar.
“We’ve seen some shining lights in the batting line-up, particularly Brevis and Mhatre — those are real positives. Sometimes, it takes a season like this to ground a team and remind them that the game is always bigger than us. You have to stick to the basics and stay humble,” he added.

The only bright spots for CSK were Ayush Mhatre’s 30 and Dewald Brevis’ 42 on debut for the franchise. Rayudu also spoke about CSK’s continuous struggles with the bat this season.
“I don’t think there’s confusion in shot selection — if anything, there aren’t enough shots being played. The batters are taking more time than they should.”

He further commented on the changes made by the franchise: “The change in personnel was needed, and what we’re seeing now is more of a trial run for next season. I don’t think CSK can carry forward most of their current squad — at best, seven or eight players might be retained,” Rayudu said.
Looking ahead to Saturday’s IPL 2025 clash, Shreyas Iyer will lead Punjab Kings against his former side Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens. PBKS had earlier defeated KKR by defending 111 in New Chandigarh.
“He’ll carry great memories of the ground and of KKR, having won the IPL with them last season. There’ll be a bit of fire in the belly — he wasn’t retained, and now he’s captaining Punjab. I think he’ll be focused and motivated. Punjab looks the stronger side this season, and I see them as serious contenders for the playoffs,” Rayudu concluded.

NEW DELHI: The United Nations Security Council on Friday condemned the recent terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir on 22 April, which left at least 26 dead and scores injured.
In a press statement released, Council’s President Jerome Bonnafont expressed deep solidarity with the victims’ families and the governments of India and Nepal, while also wishing a swift recovery for the injured.
“The members of the Security Council underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of this reprehensible act of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice,” the statement read.
“They stressed that those responsible for these killings should be held accountable, and urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with all relevant authorities in this regard,” it added.
The Council reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms remains one of the gravest threats to global peace and security. The statement highlighted the indiscriminate nature of such violence, stressing that no ideology or motive justifies the targeting of innocent civilians.
The statement also reiterated that terrorism is unjustifiable under any circumstances, regardless of political, ideological, or religious motivations. The UNSC stressed the importance of a comprehensive approach, urging member states to combat terrorism within the framework of international law, including human rights and humanitarian obligations.
By referencing the UN Charter, the Council also stressed on the necessity of lawful and coordinated measures to address security threats while safeguarding fundamental freedoms.
The attack, carried out by terrorists at Baisaran meadow in Pahalgam on April 22, is one of the deadliest in the Valley since the 2019 Pulwama strike in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed. The attack was one of the biggest terror attacks in the region after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.

NEW DELHI: Maruti Suzuki has decided to go slow on land acquisition for a planned Rs 35,000-crore second factory in Gujarat due to poor growth in car sales. This factory was aimed at taking the company’s production capacity to four million (40 lakh) units by 2030-31.
When asked whether the company has gone slow on the project, Maruti chairman R C Bhargava said, “There is no delay, (but) there is no hurry about doing anything there because market growth is 1-2%. Why would I put up another million units in a hurry? Unless the market shows there is a need.”

Bhargava said Maruti has sufficient expansion work going in its present factories at Haryana and Gujarat. “I have enough capacity to come up in Kharkhoda (Haryana). Some are coming up in Manesar, (and) some are coming up in Gujarat’s first plant. There is no hurry about the Gujarat’s second plant. The site has not yet been finalised.”
The despondent mood at the country’s biggest carmaker highlights the worry in the broader car industry. The industry had enjoyed strong growth in the post-Covid period but is increasingly finding the going tough as higher prices of vehicles and uncertainties around the economy and stock markets are keeping buyers away.
Companies are having a relook at new investment plans as they fear overcapacity may come to haunt businesses if the slowdown persists.
Bhargava said to kickstart demand, there is a need for govt support for creation of an all-new segment of entry-level cars – smaller than the Alto. This, he said, will prompt more two-wheeler buyers to upgrade to cars, something which is not happening today as car prices, even in the entry segments have gone up by around Rs 90,000 due to govt mandates on safety and emissions.
“There is an example of Japanese kei cars. They have different sets of regulations compared to other cars and taxes (on them) are much lower. They are smaller and cheaper and more affordable. That’s how Japan switched from two-wheelers to cars. We need to do a similar thing here.”
He added that developing a highly-affordable mini car is quite challenging, even for a mass-maker like Maruti, and thus there is a need for govt support. “Today no one can develop at that cost, not even the Chinese.”
On whether the income tax relief in the Union Budget will help in boosting car sales, he said it looks difficult as car prices have moved up substantially and people will also use the additional income for other household work. “People have other expenditure and will not use it (income tax relief) to buy cars. They have other priorities.”

NEW DELHI: Over the past decade, India has significantly reduced poverty with extreme poverty declining from 16.2% in 2011-12 to 2.3% in 2022-23, lifting 171 million people above the poverty line, a World Bank report said on Friday.
Rural extreme poverty dropped from 18.4% to 2.8% and urban from 10.7% to 1.1%, narrowing the rural-urban gap from 7.7 to 1.7 percentage points – a 16% annual decline, according to the multilateral agency’s Poverty and Equity Brief.
“India also transitioned into the lower-middle-income category. Using the $3.65 per day LMIC (lower middle income country) poverty line, poverty fell from 61.8% to 28.1%, lifting 378 million people out of poverty,” said the report.
It said rural poverty dropped from 69% to 32.5%, and urban poverty from 43.5% to 17.2%, reducing the rural-urban gap from 25 to 15 percentage points with a 7% annual decline.
The five most populous states – Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh – accounted for 65% of the country’s extreme poor in 2011-12 and contributed to two-thirds of the overall decline in extreme poverty by 2022-23, according to the report.
“Nevertheless, these states still accounted for 54% of India’s extremely poor (2022-23) and 51% of the multidimensionally poor (2019-21). As measured by the multidimensional poverty index (MPI), non-monetary poverty declined from 53.8% in 2005-06 to 16.4% by 2019-21,” it said.
The World Bank’s Multidimensional Poverty Measure is at 15.5% in 2022-23. India’s consumption-based Gini index improved from 28.8 in 2011-12 to 25.5 in 2022-23, though inequality may be underestimated due to data limitations. In contrast, the World Inequality Database shows income inequality rising from a Gini of 52 in 2004 to 62 in 2023.
It said employment growth has outpaced the working-age population since 2021-22. Employment rates, especially among women, are rising, and urban unemployment fell to 6.6% in Q1 FY24/25, the lowest since 2017-18. “Recent data indicates a shift of male workers from rural to urban areas for the first time since 2018-19, while rural female employment in agriculture has grown,” said the report.

NEW DELHI: Dr Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan, an eminent space scientist, educationist and the guiding force behind India’s space and education milestones, passed away on Friday in Bengaluru at the age of 84. A former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) and the chief architect of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, Kasturirangan had been battling age-related ailments following a heart attack he suffered in Sri Lanka in July 2023. He breathed his last at 10:43 am at his Bengaluru residence.
His mortal remains will be kept at the Raman Research Institute, Bengaluru, on April 27 for people to pay their respects. He is survived by two sons.
Kasturirangan-led Isro from 1994 to 2003, a period marked by major milestones, including the operationalisation of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle and the successful flight-test of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle. Under his stewardship, Isro pursued technological self-reliance and began planning ambitious missions such as Chandrayaan, despite facing international sanctions following India’s 1998 nuclear tests.
PM Narendra Modi said, “I am deeply saddened by the passing of Dr K Kasturirangan, a towering figure in India’s scientific and educational journey. His visionary leadership and selfless contribution to the nation will always be remembered.” He praised Kasturirangan’s pivotal role in elevating Isro and said India would always be grateful for his contributions to education.
President Droupadi Murmu acknowledged his integral role in shaping both India’s space programme and the NEP.
Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan remembered him as an “intellectual titan”, saying, “To me, he was far more than a mentor — he was a guiding light, a wellspring of wisdom, compassion, and quiet strength.”
Science and technology minister Jitendra Singh called him “a visionary scientist and a guiding force behind India’s space programme”. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said he made significant contributions in India’s space exploration and contributed in various positions in key policy making.
Prior to heading Isro, Kasturirangan directed the Isro Satellite Centre and was responsible for overseeing development of next-generation satellites including INSAT-2 and IRS-1A & 1B. As project director for BHASKARA-I and II, India’s first experimental Earth observation satellites, he laid the groundwork for the nation’s remote sensing capabilities.
An accomplished astrophysicist, Kasturirangan’s research spanned high-energy X-ray and gamma-ray astronomy. He played a key role in conceptualising India’s first space-based high-energy astronomy observatory and authored over 200 research papers in leading national and international journals. He also edited six books.
After his illustrious space career, Kasturirangan pivoted to education policy and led the drafting committee of the NEP-2020, introducing a transformative vision for Indian schooling and higher education. Later, he spearheaded the development of the National Curriculum Framework.
He had famously stated, “The vision of India’s new education system is to ensure that it touches each and every citizen’s life and creates a just and equitable society.”
Kasturirangan was awarded all three of India’s top civilian honours — Padma Shri (1982), Padma Bhushan (1992), and Padma Vibhushan (2000). He was also Member of Rajya Sabha (2003–09), Planning Commission member, National Institute of Advanced Studies director (2004–2009) and JNU chancellor.
Born on Oct 24, 1940, in Ernakulam, Kerala, he earned his physics degree from Bombay University and his PhD in experimental high-energy astronomy from the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad. Kasturirangan leaves behind a legacy that spans the cosmos and classrooms.