DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PATNA, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE FRIDAY, AUGUST 29, 2025, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 22 PAGES `7.00 (`8 RAIPUR, `15 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 SPECIAL INTENSIVE REVISION FROM JAPAN, MODI WILL HEAD TO CHINA FOR SCO SUMMIT DAMINI NATH AI, semiconductors on his Tokyo table NEW DELHI, AUGUST 28 AS PART of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) have so far found discrepancies in documents of about 3 lakh electors, and begun issuing notices asking that they appearbeforethemwithinseven days,TheIndianExpresshaslearnt. This number is likely to increase as the EROs of Assembly constituencies are still scrutinising the documents, according to officials aware of the development. According to the Election Commission, 7.24 crore electors had made it to the draft electoral WHAT WILL NOT roll published on August 1. They have time until September 1 to submit eligibility documents from a list of 11 indicated by the NEW DELHI, AUGUST 28 SCHOOL ENROLMENT has dropped for the third consecutive year, with the government’s latest data showing a dip of 11 lakh in enrolment over 202324. The drop in enrolment is led by government and government-aidedschoolswhileenrolment in private schools went up in this period. The Education Ministry’s UDISE+ data — which tracks and monitors school education parameters from the pre-primary 4 PM Narendra Modi leaves for Tokyo on Thursday. PTI CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BENGAL REVISION: EC SETS STAGE PAGE 6 to the higher secondary levels — shows that total enrolment in 2024-25 dropped to 24.69 crore from 24.80 crore in 2023-24 and 25.18 crore in 2022-23. The first year that UDISE+ data showed a fall in enrolment was in 2022-23 — when schools opened after the pandemic induced lockdown. Ministry officials had then attributed the drop — of over a crore compared to the average of the previous four years — to a change in the data collection method. From 2022-23 onwards, UDISE+ data is being collected as records of CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Talks with US on, but removal of 25% penalty holds key: Officials Govt working on measures to address liquidity crunch faced by exporters COUNTINBIHAR School enrolment drops for third year in a row; ‘falling birth rates’ cited ABHINAYA HARIGOVIND LookforwardtomeetingXi,Putin, saysPM,flagssharedchallenges SHUBHAJIT ROY CANBERRA, AUGUST 28 SETTING OUT on a two-nation visit that is being keenly tracked, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Thursday that he will be meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit which is beingheldinTianjinnearBeijing from August 31 to September 1. Modi, who left New Delhi for Tokyo Thursday night, will travel to China from Japan after a twodayvisit—thiswillbehisfirstvisit CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 RAVI DUTTA MISHRA NEW DELHI, AUGUST 28 THENEGOTIATIONSoveratrade deal with the US may resume only after the additional 25 per cent oil penalty is addressed, according to a senior Commerce and Industry Ministry official. WashingtonDCwastosenda team to New Delhi to continue discussions on August 25, but the talks were ‘halted’ by the US after President Donald Trump Modi’s war, says Trump advisor; House Dems slam ‘sabotaging’ of ties BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY RAVI DUTTA MISHRA & DIVYA A NEW DELHI, AUGUST 28 INDIA, CANADA NAME NEW ENVOYS PAGE 6 A DAY after the US raised tariffs on Indian products to 50 per cent, Peter Navarro, trade advisor to President Donald Trump, described the Russia-Ukraine war as “Modi’s war”, and said “the road to peace runs, at least White House trade advisor Peter Navarro partly,rightthroughNewDelhi”. “Everybody in America loses because of what India is doing. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 projected New Delhi’s purchase of oil from Russia as a big deal breaker. Trump had on August 6 announcedtheadditional25per cent tariffs over and above the reciprocal tariffs of 25 per cent. TheUS’s50percenttariffson exports from India became effective on Wednesday. The official said the government continues to engage with the US and that only the round of negotiations scheduled for August 25 has been deferred. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 E E X P L A I NE D 3 lakh and counting: Notices in Bihar over ‘discrepancy’ in papers Tightrope walk for ● New Delhi INDIA WAS one of the first countries to begin talks with the US. It was proceeding very well, but suddenly went off track with non-trade issues such as India’s oil purchases from Russia taking centrestage. It will be a tightrope walk for India as it stands up to Trump, while also keen to get the US on its side. RSS workers free to join agitations for Kashi and Mathura, says Bhagwat ‘Only a matter of three (sites)... other side should offer for brotherhood sake’ DEEPTIMAN TIWARY & VIKAS PATHAK NEW DELHI, AUGUST 28 ON THE third and final day of his three-day lecture series in Delhi, RSS Sarasanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat indicated that the Sangh supported the demand that the sites of the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi and the Eidgah at Mathura be given to Hindus. Sangh swayamsevaks were free to associate themselves with any movement for these sites, and the other side could respond by giving up their claims as it was a “matter of just three”, said Bhagwat. Thursday marked the end of the Sangh’s lecture series ‘100 Years of the Sangh’s Journey – RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in New Delhi Thursday. Express RELATED REPORT PAGE 6 New Horizons’, and Bhagwat tookup218questionsforwarded by those who had attended the event. 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