DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA ● REG.NO. MCS/067/2018 - 20 RNI REGN. NO. 1543/57 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2025, MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES `5.00 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 CABINET NOD FOR CONTINUING WITH `3,500/TONNE SUBSIDY 84 112 137 75 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY Govt extends special subsidy on DAP, weakening rupee upsets calculations Immediate priority: Ensuring fertiliser availability for next kharif season HARISH DAMODARAN NEW DELHI, JANUARY 1 THECENTREhasextendedaspecialsubsidyof Rs3,500pertonne on di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), which was to end on December 31, for a further oneyearperiodfromJanuary1,2025. The decision, cleared by the Union Cabinet Wednesday, is aimed at containing any surge in farmgatepricesof India’ssecond most-consumed fertiliser. That pressure is more, given the rupee’s recent slide against the US dollar. The Modi government has informallyfrozenthemaximum retail prices (MRP) of all nonurea fertilisers. This is despite them being “decontrolled” on paper, unlike urea whose MRP has been statutorily fixed at Rs 266.50 per 45-kg bag (after neem-coating and goods and services tax) since November 2012. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Reunion calls from NCP groups: Sharad Pawar is our deity, Rs 824.77 cr fund for tech says Praful Patel E EXPLAINED 02/01/2025 What industry is ● flagging THE GOVERNMENT said its decision to extend the special subsidy on DAP will help farmers, but concerns are rising over the impact of the falling rupee. The industry is underlining that DAP imports will not be viable unless the government increases the subsidy or allows it to revise the MRP upward. infusion, extension for 2 crop insurance schemes HARIKISHAN SHARMA NEW DELHI, JANUARY 1 THEUNIONCabinetWednesday approved continuation of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme until 2025-26. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who chaired the Cabinet meeting, said, “Ours is a Government fully committed to furthering the welfare of farmers. We are proud of all our farmer sisters and brothers who work hard to feed our nation. The first Cabinet of 2025 is dedicated to enhancing prosperity for our farmers. I am glad that CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Air India first airline to roll out Wi-Fi for select flights in country Maharashtra will be free of Naxalites soon: Fadnavis in Gadchiroli SUKALP SHARMA EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE AIR INDIA on Wednesday rolled out Wi-Fi internet connectivity services on board domestic flightsoperatedbyselectaircraft initsfleet—AirbusA350,Boeing 787-9andsomeAirbusA321neo. The Tata Group-owned airline was already offering internet connectivity on international flights operated by these aircraft as part of a pilot programme. AirIndiaisthefirstIndianairline to offer internet connectivityondomesticflights.Inastatement, the airline said Wi-Fi will be offered free of charge for a limited introductory period, but did not specify the duration. “The deployment of Wi-Fi on domesticroutesfollowsanongoing pilot programme on international services operated by the Airbus A350, select Airbus A321neo and Boeing B787-9 aircraft serving international destinations including New York, London, Paris and Singapore. As with the domestic offer, Wi-Fi is complimentary for an introductoryperiod.AirIndiawillprogressivelyrollouttheserviceonother aircraft in its fleet over time,” the airline said in a statement. On-board internet services are fast becoming a standard offering,particularlyamongmajor full-service carriers globally. Air India has ambitions to be countedamongtheworld'sforemost full-service carriers. BesidesthenewA350planes, whichAirIndiastartedoperating in2024,theotheraircraftareunderstoodtobethoseof erstwhile Vistara, which merged with Air India in November. All these aircraft are equipped with special hardwarethatisrequiredtooffer internet connectivity on board. Vistarahadbeenofferinginternet connectivity on select international flights prior to the merger. MAHARASHTRA WILL be Naxalfree soon, said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday,afterspendingaday in Gadchiroli, where 11 Maoists, including senior cade Vimla ChandraSidamaliasTarakka,surrendered in his presence. The 11 Naxalites, including eight women, who were collectively carrying a bounty of Rs 1 crore, were involved in Naxal activitiesfor34years.Fadnavisalso felicitatedC-60commandosand officers for bravery in anti-Naxal operations, while Rs 86 lakh was provided to the surrendered Naxalites. Speaking on the occasion, Fadnavis said Maharashtra will soon become free of Naxal menace given the rise in the number of Maoists laying down their arms and the movement failing to attract recruits. “North Gadchiroli has become Naxal-free. Soon, South Gadchiroli will also become Naxal-free.Inthepastfouryears, not a single youth has joined them, which is a huge accomplishment towards combating the menace,” he said. He said Maoist cadres have disassociated themselves from the movement as they have realised its “hollow ideology”. “They are convinced that they will get justice only through the NEW DELHI, JANUARY 1 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EXPRESS NETWORK ED MAY BOOK ITS SHIMLA OFFICER NAMED IN BRIBERY CASE PAGE 6 MUMBAI, JANUARY 1 AHEAD OF MAHA KUMBH People arrive for the Maha Kumbh Mela, to be held from January 13 to February 26, in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj Wednesday. PTI New turn to Battle of Begums: Bangladesh rewrites textbooks on 1971 liberation war ‘Khaleda husband Ziaur Rahman, not Sheikh Mujib, declared independence’ ARJUN SENGUPTA NEW DELHI, JANUARY 1 TEXTBOOKS IN Bangladesh will now state that Ziaur Rahman — not ‘Bangabandhu’ Sheikh MujiburRahman—declaredthe country’s independence in 1971, The Daily Star reported on Wednesday. The new textbooks have also removed Mujib’s title of ‘Father of the Nation’. “The new textbooks for the 2025academicyearwillstatethat ‘onMarch26,1971,ZiaurRahman declared the independence of Bangladesh, and on March 27, he made another declaration of independence on behalf of Bangabandhu’,”ProfAKMReazul Hassan,chairmanof theNational Curriculum and Textbook Board, Sheikh Hasina, Khaleda Zia told The Daily Star. Ziaur was the founder of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and husband of current BNP chief Khaleda Zia. Mujib, father of recently deposed Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, led the Bangladesh liberation struggle. This is not the first time that Bangladesh textbooks have CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 AFTER ASSEMBLY POLLS THE WORLD TRUCK RAMS INTO CROWD IN NEW ORLEANS, 10 DEAD RUSSIA’S GAS ERA IN EUROPE COMES TO AN END PAGE 12 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MANOJ MORE PUNE, JANUARY 1 AMONG THE many prayers made on New Year’s Day, one stands out in Maharashtra. On Wednesday, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's mother Asha Pawar visited the temple town of Pandharpur and, in her own words, prayed for the reunion of Ajit and his uncle and NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar. “All disputes should end… Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar shouldreunite,”AshaPawartold reporters after visiting the Vithal-Rukmini temple in the temple town, adding that she hadalsoprayedfor“allwishesof Ajit Pawar” to come true. While some would argue that the two wishes are irreconcilable, Asha isn't the only one wishing for “reunion” less than a month after the Maharashtra election results gave Ajit an edge overSharadPawar,underwhose shadow the nephew had long stayed — and finally rebelled against. Praful Patel, a senior member of the NCP led by Ajit, said: “Sharad Pawar is our deity. We have a high degree of respect Sharad Pawar, Ajit Pawar for him. If the Pawar family comes together, it will make us extremely happy. I consider myself a member of the Pawar family.” Narhari Zirwal, an NCP MLA, echoed the same, saying “it felt oddtohaveleftSharadPawarsaheb (after the split in June 2023)". “Many feel likewise. Now I will go to him and urge him (and Ajit) to come together. Pawar saheb has been relentlessly working for people from different sections of the society. And he continues to do so.'' NCP spokesperson Amol Mitkari said the uncle-nephew duocouldcometogetherif “both make the effort”. But, he added, some NCP (SP) leaders like Jitendra Awhad (Sharad Pawar’s key aide) and Rohit Pawar (Sharad Pawar’s grand nephew) might be a “hurdle” in that. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Eight Pak men get 20-yr jail for carrying 232 kg heroin off Gujarat coast in 2015 SADAF MODAK MUMBAI, JANUARY 1 A SPECIAL court in Mumbai on Wednesday awarded a jail term of 20 years to eight Pakistani nationals who were caught carrying 232 kilograms of heroin on a fishing boat off the coast of Gujarat in 2015. The court said thatinsuchcasesimportingnarcotic drugs in India for distribution and sale is “required to be considered as an attack on the Indian society and economy”. The convicts were also directed to pay a fine of Rs 6 lakh each. The convicts were identified as Alibaksha Sindhi (48), Maksud Akhtar Masim (54), Mohammad Baksh Sindhi (55), Mohammad Ahmad Inayat (37), Mohammad Yunus Sindhi (44), Mohammad Yusuf Abdulla Gagawani (58), Mohammad Gulhasan Baloch (40) and Gulhasan Siddhiq Sindhi (50). Since the men have already been in jail for nearly a decade, that period will be taken into account and they will now have to spendanother10yearsinprison. Special judge SE Bangar found the men guilty under charges pertaining to the NarcoticDrugsandPsychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. “Accused persons have been foundwithhugequantityof narcotic drugs classified as commercial quantity worth crores of rupees and it would have been certainly distributed for sale in India to the Indian citizens compromisingtheirhealth,economic condition and would certainly have affected enormously the younger generation, which is CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Nagpur engg student Only hope for Kerala nurse on Yemen held for killing parents death row — pardon from victim’s kin ‘over career choice’ SHAJU PHILIP EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE MUMBAI, JANUARY 1 A25-YEAR-OLDengineeringstudent was arrested on Wednesday after he allegedly killed his parents in Nagpur over choice of career and left their bodyinthehouseforsixdaysbefore foul smell led to the discovery of the crime. According to police, the accusedUtkarshDhakoleallegedly killed his parents — social worker Liladhar Dhakole, 55, employed with a thermal plant, and Aruna, 50, a private school teacher — over his decision to continue with engineering despite repeatedly failing in the subjects and his parents asking him to quit the course. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JANUARY 1 WITH YEMEN President Rashad al-Alimi approving the death sentence for 37-year-old Indian nurseNimishaPriya,forherfamilyinKerala,anyhopeof reprieve now hangs by a thread — a pardon from the family of Talal Abdo Mehdi, the Yemeni citizen whose murder she has been convicted of. Nimisha Priya was convicted in murder case According to the prosecution's case, Nimisha, who worked as a nurse in Yemen, allegedly murdered Talal in July 2017 by “injecting him with sedativestogetherpassportthat was in his possession’’. Samuel Jerome Baskaran, a social worker who is currently involvedinthenegotiationswith government officials in Yemen andTalal'sfamily,toldTheIndian Express that the President’s order reached the prosecutor on Monday, December 30. “The key to Nimisha’s life now rests with the family of Talal. She will live if they forgive her. Our job is to convince the family to do that,’’ he told The Indian Express. Samuel, however, said the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 A network of doctors in J&K brings ‘golden hour’ to remote areas PAGE 1 ANCHOR NAVEED IQBAL SRINAGAR, JANUARY 1 IN 2016, a 35-year-old pilgrim undertaking the long trek to the Amarnath cave suffered a heart attack in the Baltal area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Ganderbal district. As he was broughtintothemakeshiftmedical bay set up for pilgrims, a young doctor — unsure of administering drugs to thrombolyse the patient — called his sen- ior,cardiologistDrImranHafeez, for assistance. “He was a bit unsure, but I told him to stay on the call and administer the drug. Once the pain settled, the patient was brought over to the Sher-eKashmir Institute of Medical Sciences(SKIMS)inSrinagarand saved just in time,” Dr Hafeez told The Indian Express. The incident was the spark that led to the creation of a network of doctors across J&K that has been working on ensuring that patients on the peripheries of the state’s healthcare infrastructure get the required treatmentwithinthe“goldenhour”— the first 60 minutes after a heart attack,duringwhichpropertreatment can significantly improve chances of survival. The network, Save Heart Foundation, connectsover 1,200 doctors from 130 hospitals across J&K over WhatsApp, allowingeventhosewithlittlecardiology experience to provide life-saving treatment to patients at makeshift medical camps and primary health centres by tapping into the expertise of senior cardiologists. According to its members, over 6,000 lives have been saved through early intervention via their WhatsApp group since the The network connects over 1,200 doctors from 130 hospitals across J&K over WhatsApp network started in 2017. Currently, the network covers nearly all hospitals in Kashmir, large parts of Jammu and some areas of Ladakh. Every few minutes, Dr Hafeez’s phone lights up as his colleagues interact on the WhatsApp group, uploading ECGs and seeking the expertise of cardiologists on the platform. “In remote corners, say at a primary health centre, the setupincludesamedicalofficerand consultants. So, when a patient with heart complications comes in, whether or not the person on duty is a cardiologist, they upload the ECG on our WhatsApp group and the cardiologist available at the time responds and guides the doctor on further treatment before they are referred to SKIMS or a district hospital if required,” he said. SKIMS is the Valley’s premier health institute and caters to a majority of Kashmir’s patient load. Dr Hafeez, who has been a cardiologist here for 20 years, said, “In cardiology, time is muscle. So, ideally, the sooner a patient reaches us, the better the chancewehavetosavetheheart. With our topography and the distances involved, a patient can sometimes take even four hours before reaching the hospital.” In places like Kupwara and Kulgam, which have remote villages that often face issues of connectivity,theexpertiseof the cardiologists on the group has helped save several lives. Dr Aijaz Ahmad Bhat, posted at the Sub-District Hospital in Kupwara, said that while he has been posted at the hospital for the last 19 years, he first conducted thrombolysis on a patient with assistance from doctors on the group in 2017 and since then, “thousands of patients have been saved through early intervention of the doctors on the group”. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2