DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2025, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 22 PAGES BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY SINCE 1932 FIRST-EVER VISIT OF EU COLLEGE OF COMMISSIONERS BEGINS TOMORROW EU seeks duty sops on cars, wine and whiskey, says India ‘relatively closed’ India wants more opportunities for skilled labour mobility, textile exports RAVI DUTTA MISHRA EXPLAINED FOREIGN POLICY THE UN VOTE ON UKRAINE PAGE 18 Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission President NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 25 THE EUROPEAN UNION is seeking lower tariffs on items of interest to Brussels, including whiskey, wine and cars, among others. This will be a key discussion item for the 27-member groupinginsecuringaFreeTrade Agreement (FTA) with India. According to officials in the EU, trade and technology will be amongthekeyissuesduringthis first-evervisittoIndiaof theEU’s Collegeof Commissionersledby EuropeanCommissionPresident INDIA’S EXPORTS TO EUROPE (in $bn) FY21 FY22 55.32 85.20 FY23 FY24 97.45 98.88 Top export category ■ Engineering goods ■ Petroleum ■ Electronic goods Source: Commerce and Industry Ministry Ursula van der Leyen beginning February 27-28. “Thereareanumberof issues that are outstanding [for an FTA], includingtariffs.India’smarketis relativelyclosed,especiallyonkey products of commercial interest totheEuropeanUnionandtoour memberstates’industries.These includecars,aswellaswinesand spirits,” the official said. The EU official said the European Union is seeking to drive a hard bargain to ensure IndiaandtheEUhaveacommerciallymeaningfulFTAthatcovers tariffs, non-tariff barriers, and 4 Indian firms among 30 sanctioned by US over ‘involvement’ in Iran crude oil trade NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 25 NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 25 Cosmos Lines Inc. Three of these four companies have been sanctioned for being commercial or technicalmanagersof vesselsallegedly involved in transportation of Iranian oil and petroleum products, while one — Cosmos Lines — has been sanctioned for CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 IN MALVAN, MAHARASHTRA Boy, his parents held, their shop razed after complaint over slogans during India-Pak match LAST DAY RUSH EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE MUMBAI, FEBRUARY 25 A 15-YEAR-OLD boy was apprehended,hisparentsarrestedand their scrap shop demolished by authorities in Malvan in Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg districtafterpolicesaidtheyhadreceived a complaint alleging that the boy raised “anti-national” slogansduringtheIndia-Pakistan cricket match last Sunday. Sindhudurg Superintendent of Police Saurabh Agrawal said a man, who was passing by the family’s house around 9.30 pm when the match was still on, alleged that he heard the boy raising “anti-national” slogans. According to the SP, the passerby and neighbours confronted the family. “This led to a fight between the two sides, following which police were informed. Based on the complaint by a local resident, an FIR was registered. Since the boy is a minor, we sent him to an observation home,” Agrawal said. The boy’s parents were arrested Sunday and have since been sent to judicial custody. They have been charged under BharatiyaNyayaSanhitasections 196(promotingenmitybetween different groups on grounds of religion),197 (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration) and 3 (5) (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention). CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ABHINAYA HARIGOVIND MOST OF the Indian firms on the US blackist for purported violations of energy sector-related sanctions on Iran appear to be small entities set up in recent years. It is in line with the trend observed in other countries as well. Police: FIR after passerby, neighbours confront family; MLA Rane hails action procurement commitments. “And these are just three examplesofareaswherewestillexpect India to come up with stronger commitments,” the official said. The EU’s demand for lower tariffs comes after India and the EU have concluded nine rounds of talks, with the tenth round of negotiations set to take place from March 10-14 in Brussels. Onceconcluded,theEUdealwill be the largest FTA for India, improving market access for labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, leather, and marine CBSE plan: 2 Class 10 board exams in Feb, May, can take one or both Lesser-known, new entities SUKALP SHARMA THE UNITED STATES has sanctioned four India-based companies over their alleged involvementintradeandtransportation of Iranian crude oil and petroleum products. These four are among the 30 persons and vesselsinvariouscountriesonwhich sanctions were imposed by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and the US Department of State as part of the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure campaign” on Iran. The four Indian companies are Navi Mumbai-based Flux Maritime LLP, National Capital Region(NCR)-basedBSMMarine LLPandAustinshipManagement Pvt Ltd, and Thanjavur-based `7.00 (`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, `15 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM A traffic jam in Prayagraj on the eve of Maha Shivratri, which will mark the conclusion of the Maha Kumbh. The snan on Wednesday will be the last of this year’s gathering. PTI INSIDE HYDERABAD, FEBRUARY 25 PAGES 3, 11 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Rs 2,002-cr loss to Delhi govt due to excise policy, says CAG report CMGupta:AAPfavouredbusinessmen, placedpersonalabovepublicinterest EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 25 THEDELHIgovernmentincurred a loss of Rs 2,002 crore because of issues in formulating and implementing the excise policy in 2021-22, according to the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General(CAG)thatwastabledin the Assembly Tuesday. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, whotabledthereport,fulfillinga BJP poll promise, said the purpose of the previous AAP government’s policy was to “give benefit to its favourite businessmen” and that “personal interestswereplacedabovetheinterests of the public”. The excise policy was withdrawn by the then AAP governmentafterallegationsof corruption.AAPleaders,includingthen Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, were arrested in cases lodged by the CBI and ED. The CAG report stated that the Excise Policy 2021-22 was framed to not allow the “forma- Delhi Law Minister Kapil Mishra shows CAG report in the Assembly complex on Tuesday. Praveen Khanna tion of any monopoly or cartel in the liquor trade”, introduce transparency and to ensure equitable access of liquor supply. According to the report, the Group of Ministers which oversaw formulation of the policy ignored“withoutjustification”the recommendations of the Expert Committee formed to suggest changes. The recommendations CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 RELATED REPORTS PAGE 4 Simultaneous elections: Ex-CJI Lalit flags legal challenges if Assembly terms severely reduced DEEPTIMAN TIWARY NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 25 FORMER CHIEF Justice of India UU Lalit, who appeared before the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on ‘One Nation One Election (ONOE)’ Bill on Tuesday, was said to have made some important suggestions including staggering of the entire process and also cautioning about the legal challenges that severely curtailed Assembly tenures could invite. Justice Lalit had been called to depose before the committee as an expert to help it understand whether the Bill would pass the Constitutional muster. It is learnt members had an engaging conversation on a range of clauses and issues associated with the Bill and the discussion went on for almost three hours. Parliamentary committee proceedings are privileged and details of exchanges between members during meetings are not made public. Former Law Commission of India chairperson Ritu Raj Awasthialsoappearedbeforethe committee and is learnt to have summarised the paper he had submittedtothecommitteeearlier. In his view, the Bill does not violate the Constitution or the federal structure of the country. A high-level committee, headedbyformerPresidentRam Nath Kovind, was constituted by the Modi government on ‘One Nation One Election’ and it had, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Telangana tunnel rescue: Drones, robots, 11 agencies SREENIVAS JANYALA SAJJAN GETS LIFE TERM IN ANOTHER 1984 RIOTS CASE CM STALIN CALLS ALL-PARTY MEETING ON DELIMITATION BESIDESTHEproposedschedule forthetwoboardexamsforClass 10 students from next year, the Central Board of Secondary Education(CBSE)onTuesdayreleased draft norms, according to which students can opt to take the exam once or both times. If they choose the latter, they can “optout”of subjects/papersthat they don’t want to take again. According to the proposed schedule, the first phase of the Class10boardexamswillbeheld from February 17 to March 6, whilethesecondwillbeheldfrom May5toMay20.Inbothcases,the exam period has been compressed to 16-18 days, about half the current duration of 32 days. This means students are likely to get only one or two days betweentwopapers,depending on their subject choices — considerably shorter than the current intervals, which can extend up to five or even 10 days. The results of the first exam are likely to be declared by April 20 and the second by June 30. Students who choose to appear forbothexamswillgettheirbest score in the final marksheet. The CBSE has sought public feedback on its proposal by March 9. Based on the suggestionsreceived,itislikelytobereviewed and then finalised. “We want to finalise the plan before the new academic session begins for Class 10 students in CAG REPORT TABLED IN ASSEMBLY CAMERA-MOUNTED drones capable of flying in tight spaces, sonar,andportablecamerarobots are among the devices deployed at the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel in Telangana’s Nagarkurnool district, Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Mallu Vikramarka told The Indian Express Tuesday as he promised thatthestategovernmentwould not give up until the eight men trapped inside are found. On Saturday morning, a por- tion of the tunnel collapsed, trapping the eight men inside. While rescuers have managed to cover a large part of the tunnel — 13.79 km of the 13.85 km—thelastparthasbeenchallenging because of a mix of water and slush at the collapse site. Vikramarka, who visited the spot on Tuesday, said, “We will not spare any effort to locate the eight persons. No stone will be left unturned, and we will not rest until we find them… (We will do) whatever it takes, and forhowmanyeverdaysittakes.” Hesaidthatinadditiontothe CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 FOUR DAYS, EIGHT LIVES 500 M Below surface level Length of the tunnel 13.85 KM Ventilation tube 12 KM Track accessible up to here Collapse site has sediment and debris up to 7 feet high Loco track 32 M 13.5 KM Pump station Debris and sediment Water up to 700 mm in last 2.26 km 8 men trapped End rock 40 M* *Approximate 13.79 KM Troops have reached up to this point Debris at collapse site is almost 18,000 cubic metres AIIMS performs rare surgery, removes limbs of teen’s parasitic twin PAGE 1 ANCHOR ANKITA UPADHYAY NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 25 FOR ALL his 17 years, the boy from Unnao in Uttar Pradesh, lived with the unwanted attention and the disparaging comments that came with his condition — a pair of extra legs that belongedtohisunderdeveloped twin and jutted out of his torso. Now, surgeons at the AllIndia Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, have managed to remove the remnants of his parasitic twin througha“rarestof rare”surgery and given him a chance to live the way he always wanted to. Though he cannot regain his lost childhood, the boy, who dropped out in Class 8, plans to rejoin school. “I couldn’t travel anywhere or do any physical activity. Now a new world has opened up before me. I hope to study and get a job,” he told The Indian Express. According to Dr Asuri Krishna, additional professor of surgery who led the specialist team and conducted the two- and-a-half-hour surgery on February 8, this was a rare case, only one of 40 such cases reported globally. “This surgery is being seen as a breakthrough as this involved conjoined twins withcomplexities.Whilehewas fullyformed,hewasjoinedtohis incomplete parasitic twin. Sometimes, one twin doesn’t fully develop, leading to what’s called an asymmetrical or parasitic twin. In these cases, one twin (the autosite) is more developed, while the other (the parasite) depends on the autosite for survival with partially developed body parts. These cases can vary widely in how DrAsuriKrishna,wholedtheteamthatconductedthesurgery, makesapresentationatAIIMS,Delhi,Tuesday. Ankita Upadhyay they appear,” he says. In this case, only the lower limbs, the buttocks and external genitalia of his twin were formed and were attached to his abdomen. Conjoined twins are very rare, occurring in about 1 in 50,000 to 100,000 births. The biggest challenge for the surgeons was to separate the shared tissues. The surgery involved an intricate separation of not only a mesh of blood vessels andnervesbutalsotissueseparationclosetothechestwall,bowels and liver. What complicated matters was that the extra limbs were not just stubs. These includedhisfullyformedlimbsand underdeveloped male genitalia that kept pace with his normal development. “He could also sense touch, pain, and temperature in the parasitic limb. Apart from a dull ache in his abdomen andflanks,hehadnormalbowel and bladder function, ate regularly, and had no other major health issues,” says Dr Asuri. “We performed a CT angiography to assess the blood supply to the parasitic limb and found that it was supplied by a branch of the internal mammary artery, which usually supplies the chest wall. This made the situation more challenging. A large cystic mass was also found in his ab- domen during the CT scan” says radiologist Dr Ankita Agarwal. The surgery was done in two parts. The first part involved removing the parasitic limb. The surgeons made a circular incision around the base of the limb where it was attached to his chest. “They carefully cut through the skin and tissue, identifiedandtiedthebloodvessels supplying the limb and separatedthebonyattachment.The underdeveloped testes of the parasitic twin were found in the softtissueattheattachmentsite, and the limb was completely removed,” says Dr Asuri. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2