DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PATNA, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE MONDAY, AUGUST 18, 2025, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES `7.00 (`8 RAIPUR, `15 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 DEFENDS S.I.R. EXERCISE, REJECTS ALLEGATIONS OF DISCREPANCIES IN VOTER LIST Give affidavit in 7 days or apologise to nation: CEC to Rahul as his Bihar yatra hits the road ‘Unsuccessful bid to mislead public by using wrong words like vote chori’ Supreme Court takes up plight of cadets disabled in ‘SIR latest conspiracy to steal election... will military training not allow this theft’: Rahul targets poll panel BJP’s Anurag Thakur said same things I did... why no affidavit from him?: LoP NEW DELHI, AUGUST 17 SASARAM, AURANGABAD, AUGUST 17 DAMINI NATH NEW DELHI, AUGUST 17 ON THE day Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi launched the “Voter Adhikar Yatra” in pollbound Bihar accusing the Election Commission (EC) of “vote chori”, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday asked the Congress leader to either submit his allegations in a sworn affidavit within seven days or apologise to the nation. In his first press conference sinceassumingofficeinFebruary, Kumartermedrecentallegations of discrepancies in the electoral roll made by Opposition leaders, particularly Gandhi’s press conferenceonAugust7,as“misinformation”,sayingthattherewasno evidence. Gandhi had presented findingsof theCongress’ssix-month study of electoral rolls of Mahadevapura Assembly segment of Bangalore Central Lok CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY BEFORE SETTING off on his 16day, 1,300-km “Voter Adhikar Yatra(Voter Rights March)” from SasaraminBihar’sRohtasdistrict on Sunday, Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi targeted the Election Commission (EC), allegingthatits“latestconspiracy”was to “steal the election” in Bihar through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. With Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, at a press conference in Delhi, asking the Congress leader to either submit his allegations in a CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EC UPLOADS LIST OF 65L DELETED NAMES Bihar CEO Sunday published list of 65 lakh names deleted from the draft rolls in first phase of SIR. Names can be searched on Bihar CEO’s website using EPIC numbers. The list also has the reasons for deletion. PAGE7 With RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav at the wheel, Rahul Gandhi in Bihar’s Sasaram on Sunday. PTI As voters scramble for one of 11 papers, officials hit on a workaround — family tree as ‘12th document’ SANTOSH SINGH MUZAFFARPUR, AUGUST 17 BYJUNE25,whenthefirstphaseof Bihar’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) came to a close, not more than 15-20 per cent of the state’s eligiblevotershadattachedanyof the EC-mandated 11 documents to establish their identity. As volunteersnowscrambletohelppeo- ple get the documents, and with merelytwoweekstogobeforethe September1deadline,severaldistrictadministrationshavefounda way around the problem — the “parivarik suchi” or family tree as aninformal“12thdocument”. According to several Booth Level Officers (BLOs) The Indian Express spoke to, electoral officers in all 38 Bihar districts have been reportedly asked to con- WHAT WILL NOT COUNTINBIHAR sider the family tree of a voter and establishher/his closest link to the 2003 list. “Weweretoldatadistrictsubdivision meeting that for those without any of the 11 EC-mandateddocuments,wecan findawaytodrawupafamilytree linking them to their parents or grandparentsinthe2003electoral roll. Even if a grandparent or CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 GST restructure plan: In new regime, online gaming likely to be placed in top bracket NEW DELHI, AUGUST 17 ‘In the name of being secular, you can’t be making controversial films. But biased films finding an audience is worrisome’ JOHN ABRAHAM ACTOR-PRODUCER PAGE 16 THE WORLD EUROPEAN LEADERS TO JOIN ZELENSKYY FOR TRUMP MEET 327 KILLED IN FLASH FLOODS IN PAKISTAN PAGE 12 WITH THEGovernmentproposing to overhaul the GST regime with a special rate of 40 per cent on “sin and demerit goods”, the top slab is likely to see the inclusion of pan masala, tobacco, cigarettes, luxury cars, SUVs — and online gaming. According to sources, the Departmentof Revenuehaskept in mind the country’s “social ethos” while tagging goods and services in the “sin and demerit” category, and online gaming is seen to be fitting that definition. If this move is finalised, it is likely to cause an upheaval among online gaming companies,rangingfromfantasysports and real gaming platforms, which have previously complained of the 28 per cent GST levied on them. The latest consideration also comes amid growing concerns withintheCentralandstategovernments over the amount of money being spent on these platforms, and the ease with which these companies enable automatic deductions for payments, sometimes without consent, during consecutive rounds of a game. The 40 per cent rate, which is likelytoberecommendedbythe GST Council, could also benefit the Central and state governments fiscally, with substantial revenue gains expected. Thesectorhasshownfairlyinelasticdemandpreviously,when theGSTratewassetat28percent from October 1, 2023. Prior to that, many online gaming CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 WELCOME HOME AstronautShubhanshuShukla isgreetedbyUnionMinister forScienceandTechnologyJitendra Singh and Delhi CM Rekha Gupta at the Delhi airport on Sunday. PTI REPORT,PAGE7 The August11Express reports ontheplightof thecadets ically discharged from top institutes, such as National Defence Academy (NDA) and Indian Military Academy (IMA) since 1985, due to varying degrees of disability incurred during training. At the NDA alone, around 20 such cadets were medically dischargedinjustthepastfiveyears, between 2021 and July 2025. According to rules, these cadets are not entitled to the status of ex-servicemen (ESM), CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Maharashtra Governor C P Radhakrishnan is NDA candidate for Vice-Presidential polls NEW DELHI, AUGUST 17 Reason: Time & ● money A KEY consideration behind the move is concerns among policymakers over the time and increasingly higher amounts of money being spent by domestic users on online gaming platforms. THE SUPREME Court will hear on Monday a suo motu writ petition titled “Cadets disabled in military training struggle” after taking cognizance of reports published in The Indian Express on the plight of officer cadets who were discharged from the nation’s top military training institutes on medical grounds — and have since been battling severe disability with shattered dreams and poor benefits. A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and R Mahadevan will hear the matter. Sources said that a bench presided by Justice Nagarathna took cognizance of The Indian Express reports and placed the matterbeforeChiefJusticeofIndia B R Gavai. The Chief Justice then decided that the bench presided by Justice Nagarathna will hear the petition, the sources said. In its series of two reports published August 11, The Indian Express found that around 500 officer cadets have been med- JATIN ANAND E E X P L A I NE D SOUMYARENDRA BARIK & AANCHAL MAGAZINE Takes note of Express reports on cadets with shattered dreams, poor benefits EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE ASAD REHMAN CEC Gyanesh Kumar (centre) with ECs Sukhbir Singh Sandhu (left) and Vivek Joshi in New Delhi on Sunday. Amit Mehra SUO MOTU PLEA TO BE HEARD TODAY THE BJP on Sunday announced Maharashtra Governor C P Radhakrishnan, a former president of the party’s Tamil Nadu unit and RSS veteran, as the rulingNDA’scandidatefortheVicePresidential election to be held on September 9. A former Lok Sabha MP who previously served as the Governor of Jharkhand, Radhakrishnan is credited for “laying the foundation of the party in the south” during his tenure as the Tamil Nadu BJP president from 2004 to 2007, sources said. In addition to his experience in organisational as well as gubernatorial duties in southern states, including Kerala, From TN, he has held key roles in the BJP GOVT & POLITICS EX-CHIEF OF BJP’S TAMIL NADU UNIT, OLD RSS HAND PAGE 7 Telangana and Puducherry, sources said the BJP top brass had “more or less zeroed in” on him as the successor of Jagdeep Dhankhar — who stepped down last month citing health reasons — ahead of the party’s ParliamentaryBoardmeetingon Sunday to discuss the candidate. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 In industrial belt near Delhi, Trump’s tariffs WHY THE WORRY cloud outlook for export of engineering goods 25.2% SOUMYARENDRA BARIK & RAVI DUTTA MISHRA GHAZIABAD, AUGUST 17 TRUMP’S 50% TARIFF TENSION ON THE GROUND PART-5: ENGINEERING GOODS IN ONE of the many cavernous sheds dotting Ghaziabad, the industrial suburb on the outskirts oftheCapital,agiantstandssilent. The massive metal forging machine, hauled from China only months ago at a cost of Rs 20 crore,glintsunderthedimfactory lights, its steel body collecting a fine coat of dust. It was meant to bethefuture:sleek,electric-powered, capable of shaping metal with precision and scale. Yet, in its shadow, the old ritualcontinues.Aknotof workers, sleevesrolled,facesflushedwith heat, gather around a much smaller press, striking molten metal with steady, rhythmic blows. The clangs echo through the workshop like the heartbeat of an older era. For GhaziabadbasedCDIndustries,a manufacturer of metal flanges feeding oil and gas exploration rigs across the US, the dormant machinery was supposed to answer the shifting demands of its overseas clients. Instead, it waits, inert. “Baalmundwaatehiolepadne CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Share of engineering goods in total exports during FY24 TOP 5 EXPORT destinations: US, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Germany HEAT ON industries like auto components and metal works North Block is leaving the building, with files, stationery and nostalgia PAGE 1 ANCHOR DAMINI NATH NEW DELHI, AUGUST 17 IN ITS 94-year existence, North Blockhasseenalot.Itwastheseat of power of the colonial British government, the site of spontaneous celebrations when India became Independent in 1947, and, ever since, has been a witness to successive governments shaping policy for the nation. Thesedays,however,thecorridors of the building are nearly deserted,withsectionsropedoff, andlockeddoorsthattillrecently hid a flurry of activity. The building is in the process of being emptied as part of the government’s plan to redevelop the Central Vista area — the stretch from India Gate to RashtrapatiBhavan.NorthBlock nowistoberepurposedasamuseum, with key ministries that haveoperatedoutof itsince1931 whenitsconstructionfinished— including Union Ministries of Home Affairs and Finance, and theDepartmentofPersonneland Training (DoPT) — to be moved to a set of ‘Kartavya Bhawan’ buildings down the road. However,theworkof shifting agovernmentcan’tbehurriedup. And in this case is being coordinated by a ministry — Housing and Urban Affairs, which is also spearheadingtheCentralVistaredevelopment. Other ministries have appointed a nodal officer each for the exercise, which began around a month ago. Under their watch, files are being sorted into marked boxes, computers are being packed, andofficesuppliesaregoinginto cardboard containers. Artwork, including many, many photographs of Mahatma Gandhi, is being bubble-wrapped. The packing is being done by office Workers carry boxes out of North Block as key ministries are being moved to Kartavya Bhawan buildings. Damini Nath staff, aided by a team of workers hired for the job. Once packed, the boxes are carried by workers down the stairs to a side entrance, and loadedontotemposandgovernment cars. These then cover the shortdistancetothenewaddress. An official working in North Block says the move has been fairly smooth so far, particularly whenitcomesto files,giventhat nearlyall,savethesensitiveones, are now on the government’s E-Office portal. Officials in the know say the DoPT has almost entirely moved out. Jitendra Singh, the Minister of State for Prime Ministers’ Office, Science and Technology and Personnel, is expected to shift soon, sources said. The Home Ministry has been allotted three floors of the sixfloor Kartavya Bhawan 3, and Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan and the Intelligence Bureau were some of the first ones to shift. According to sources, the shifting of some offices to KB3, as the building is referred to,beganbeforeitsformal inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 6. The Finance Ministry, however, is yet to begin shifting. An officer in the middle of shifting says: “I’m soaking in the last few days at this building. Many of my former colleagues who have worked here have been dropping by to see the offices one last time.” Like the South Block that stands across it, North Block, designed by British architect Herbert Baker in red sandstone, incorporating Indian features likejaali,chajjaandchhattri,isas much a regal structure as a functional one, with plenty of light and ventilation. The new buildings, in comparison, look like any modern corporate office, with glass cabins for officers, open plan seating CONTINUED ON PAGE 2