Team India all-rounder, Nitish Kumar Reddy participated in practice sessions with his Andhra Premier League (APL) team Bhimavaram Bulls, on Saturday. The fifth season of APL is scheduled to begin at Dr. YSR ACA-VDCA International Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on June 9.

Nitish, who was selected in the one-off test and also for the One Day International (ODI) series with Afghanistan, beginning June 6, will not be available for the APL. However, he has involved in training with the APL teams, offering experience and mentorship that uplifted the squad’s preparedness.

Officials from Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) appreciated Nitish Reddy for his active support to the APL. His collaboration with the Andhra Cricket Association and his visible encouragement for APL have boosted local interest and inspired young cricketers across the state, the authority said.

It may be also noted that Nitish Reddy had a good IPL season this year for his team Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), which lost in the Eliminator to Rajasthan Royals. He had scored 302 runs at a strike rate of 171.59. He has also scalped eight wickets.

Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan on Monday (May 25, 2026) directed Rajamahendravaram Municipal Corporation authorities to prepare an action plan to prevent the release of untreated sewage and effluents from Andhra Paper Limited’s mill into the river Godavari in Rajamahendravaram city.

Accompanied by Mission Director of the Mission for Clean Krishna, Godavari Canals G.C. Kishore Kumar and Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board chairman P. Krishnaiah, Mr. Pawan Kalyan inspected the sites from where untreated effluents and sewage water are being allowed into the Godavari river.

Sailing on a punt, Mr. Pawan Kalyan, Civil Supplies Minister Nadendla Manohar and Minister for Tourism and Culture Kandula Durgesh inspected the river Godavari along the ghats between Pushkar Ghat and Kotligalaghat, where Andhra Paper Limited releases its effluents into the river.

Asked about the levels of water pollution in the river Godavari, Rajamahendravaram Municipal Commissioner Rahul Meena claimed that only 15% of the 55 million litres per day (MLD) of sewage water is being treated near Kotilingala Ghat. The water samples collected from the Godavari river were also reviewed. The sewage water generated from the entire city is also let into the river through sewage drains.

Mr. Pawan Kalyan directed Mr. Rahul Meena to come up with an action plan with a permanent solution, preventing entry of effluents and untreated sewage water into the river Godavari. “The Godavari Pushkarams-2027 will be a global event. It will be an occasion to commit to achieving ‘zero pollution’ of river Godavari. The fund flow can be pursued if the action plan is ready,” he said.

On the return journey, Mr. Pawan Kalyan reviewed the ongoing Godavari beautification works at Pushkar Ghat and other ghats. East Godavari District Collector Kirthi Chekuri, Rajamahendravaram City MLA Adireddi Srinivas, Rajamahendravaram Rural MLA Gorantla Butchaiah Chowdary and other officials were present.

Andhra Pradesh Minister for MSMEs, SERP, and NRI Empowerment Relations, Kondapalli Srinivas, has welcomed the Centre’s decision to introduce the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) 5.0 to support the industries affected by the ongoing conflict in West Asia.

In a statement issued on Friday, the Minister said the scheme would ensure crucial financial assistance for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) by extending additional credit facilities backed by a Central government’s guarantee.

He said the initiative would help industries overcome liquidity stress and strengthen their operations amid the global uncertainty.

Andhra Pradesh currently has around 20.77 lakh MSME units. Of these, about 4.98 lakh units, constituting nearly 24 per cent, are engaged in the manufacturing sector, while nearly 10 lakh units, accounting for 48 per cent, operate in the services sector. Another 5.74 lakh units, representing 28 per cent, are involved in business and trading activities.

Mr. Srinivas said the ECLGS 5.0 scheme offers 100% credit guarantee coverage for MSMEs in the event of loan default, while non-MSME sectors would receive up to 90% guarantee coverage.

Eligible borrowers can avail of additional working capital assistance of up to 20% of the highest working capital utilised during the fourth quarter of the 2025-26 financial year. Under the scheme, each borrower can receive additional loans up to ₹100 crore. The scheme will apply only to loans sanctioned before March 31, 2027 and disbursed by June 30, 2027, he said.

The Minister clarified that only borrowers maintaining regular repayment records with banks and financial institutions would be eligible for the scheme.

He added that the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited (NCGTC) would independently implement and monitor the programme. Mr Srinivas urged MSMEs affected by the West Asian crisis to utilise the facility to strengthen their businesses.

Two second-year engineering students of SRM University-AP, Amaravati, allegedly duped several fellow students by promising high returns on investments and campus placements in private companies. The police have launched an investigation acting on several complaints in this reagard.

Mangalagiri Rural Police Station SI Chirumamilla Venkateswarlu on Thursday told The Hindu that two students, identified as P. Vijay Narasimha and E. Varun Sai, allegedly collected nearly ₹1 crore from their fellow students from the university by promising lucrative returns on investments and employment by the time they completed their four-year engineering courses.

The police said that the duo had reportedly repaid a portion of the money as returns to some students who had initially invested after believing their claims.

Mr. Venkateswarlu said police were verifying the bank accounts of the accused, tracing financial transactions, and gathering more information. A portion of the amount had also been recovered from the accused, he said.

According to the police, the accused were not from affluent backgrounds but allegedly projected themselves as wealthy before their fellow students.

Meanwhile, the university authorities confirmed that it had constituted a disciplinary committee to inquire into the allegations and that an internal investigation was in progress. The university has so far identified five victims and summoned both the students and their parents for inquiry.

The university stated that appropriate and stringent action would be taken based on the recommendations of the disciplinary committee.

The Andhra Pradesh government has unveiled an ambitious cluster-based development strategy for the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector, identifying 45 potential industrial clusters across districts at an outlay of ₹200 crore to strengthen infrastructure, boost employment, and promote regional economic growth.

Under the Andhra Pradesh Cluster Development Programme (AP CDP), launched through G.O. Ms. No. 17 dated January 10, 2026, the State aims to establish Common Facility Centres (CFCs) to support MSMEs with shared infrastructure, technology, and services. The programme will extend financial assistance of up to 80% of project cost for machinery, particularly within MSME parks.

Minister for MSME Kondapalli Srinivas told The Hindu that the programme is expected to benefit 1,688 MSME units and create employment for nearly 7,032 people between 2026 and 2030.

The State has mapped district-specific industrial strengths to develop specialised clusters across three economic regions: Visakhapatnam, Amaravati, and Tirupati Economic Regions. North coastal Andhra districts have been earmarked for sectors such as cashew, mango jelly, polymer and packaging, printing, oil, jaggery, dairy, coconut sweets, and automobiles. Central coastal Andhra districts focus on food processing, carpentry, stone carving, handloom, engineering fabrication, and agricultural implements.

Rayalaseema districts have been identified for rice mills, spices, leather puppets, wooden toys, power looms, kalamkari, wood carving, saree designing, and stone processing, aiming to build local industrial ecosystems based on traditional strengths and market potential.

The initiative is expected to accelerate balanced industrial development and improve the competitiveness of MSMEs across Andhra Pradesh.

Adhering to the directives of party president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) organised a unique protest rally here on Monday,condemning the TDP-led alliance government’s failure to reduce fuel prices.

Led by YSRCP district president K.K. Raju, party leaders and cadres marched from their party offices to the tehsildar offices using bullock carts, donkey, rickshaws, and autos to register their protest

The protesters used donkey to turn it into a ‘Donkey Cycle’ that drew attention of onlooker at the Clock Tower opposite Jagadamba Junction in the city.

Speaking on the occasion, K.K. Raju strongly condemned the government, stating that despite promising to slash fuel rates before the elections, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has betrayed citizens. “With petrol touching ₹113.62 per litre and diesel at ₹101.24 due to high state VAT and cesses, Andhra Pradesh now records one among the highest fuel prices in the country,” Raju said.

He noted that the price hike imposes an staggering annual burden of ₹3,391 crore on the public (₹1,201 crore on petrol and ₹2,190 crore on diesel).

He criticized the government for asking people to use cycles or carpool instead of offering relief, demanding an immediate rollback of VAT.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has written separate letters to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on the hardships being faced by Flue-Cured Virginia (FCV) tobacco farmers in Andhra Pradesh because of the revised taxation policy on cigarettes.

The Chief Minister said the revised tax regime, effective from February 1, 2026, had adversely affected tobacco farmers in the State. He said the increase in GST on cigarettes from 28% to 40%, and a steep hike in excise duty ranging from ₹2,050 to ₹8,500 per 1,000 cigarettes depending on category and length, was affecting the interests of tobacco growers.

Mr. Naidu said the cumulative impact of GST, excise duty, and National Calamity Contingent Duty had slowed market purchases, creating uncertainty in the tobacco sector. He said the opening auction price of tobacco had fallen from ₹280 per kg last year to ₹250 per kg this season.

The Chief Minister also said that tobacco-buying companies had reduced procurement volumes, causing losses to farmers. Exporters were facing difficulties because of prevailing geopolitical conditions.

He warned that the livelihoods of nearly 43,000 tobacco farmers and lakhs of workers dependent on the sector were at risk. Mr. Naidu cautioned that excessive taxation on legal cigarettes could lead to an increase in illicit tobacco products in the market, and urged the Centre to review the revised tax policy and excise duty to protect farmers’ interests and stabilise the market.

Exports of tobacco and its products recorded a steep decline in April 2026 compared to the previous year, according to a recent Press Information Bureau (PIB) report. Tobacco exports stood at ₹1,690 crore in April 2025 and ₹1,102 crore in April 2026, a 34.81% decline.

Aqua sector also flagged

Mr. Naidu has separately written to the Union Ministers on the crisis facing the State’s aquaculture sector after the U.S. imposed a steep tariff on shrimp imports from India. He said the tariff had resulted in a nearly 60% tax burden on Indian exports, severely affecting aqua products exported from Andhra Pradesh.

“The tariff burden on shrimp exports is severely affecting aquaculture farmers and exporters in Andhra Pradesh and putting exports worth nearly ₹25,000 crore at risk,” he said in the letter, according to a release.

Mr. Naidu said about 2.5 lakh aquaculture farmer families and more than 30 lakh workers dependent on the sector were facing a livelihood crisis. Prices of aquaculture products in the domestic market had already declined by up to 25% amid the crisis, he said.

The State government had reduced shrimp feed prices by ₹9 per kg and was supplying electricity to the aquaculture sector at ₹1.50 per unit to support farmers, he said. Mr. Naidu sought an increase in working capital limits by 30%, a 240-day moratorium on interest payments, and temporary exemption from 5% interest and 5% GST.

Mr. Naidu also urged the Centre to hold talks with the U.S. to reduce tariffs and to expand exports to alternative markets such as Russia, the European Union, and Australia. He requested that shrimp be included in the food menu of the Indian Armed Forces, that the Kisan Credit Card limit be raised to ₹1 lakh for aquaculture farmers, and that a special railway facility be set up for transporting shrimp from southern to northern States.

(With inputs from PTI)

Eleven persons were taken seriously ill after consuming fritters allegedly prepared using contaminated all-purpose flour (maida) at Pippara village in Ganapavaram mandal in West Godavari district on Wednesday.

According to preliminary reports, the maida used for preparing the food had reportedly been stored for nearly a year in workers’ sheds at aqua farms and is suspected to have developed fungal contamination or mold. Officials said the food was prepared at homes for personal consumption and later shared among neighbours, clarifying that the incident was not linked to any commercial food outlet or catering activity.

Of the affected persons, five have been admitted to Imperial Hospital, another five are undergoing treatment at Bhimavaram Hospital, while a two-year-old boy was shifted to Varma Hospital. Hospital authorities said some patients remain in critical condition and are under intensive medical supervision.

Health department teams led by District Medical and Health Officer officials have been stationed at the hospitals and are continuously monitoring the condition of the victims. The person who prepared the food also reportedly fell ill after consuming it.

West Godavari District Collector Chadalavada Nagarani visited the hospitals and reviewed the treatment being provided to the patients. She directed officials to ensure round-the-clock monitoring and provide the best possible emergency medical care.
Authorities have launched an inquiry into the incident and are investigating the exact cause of the suspected food contamination.