● REG.NO. MCS/067/2018 - 20 RNI REGN. NO. 1543/57 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE MONDAY, APRIL 21, 2025, MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 20 PAGES `5.00 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 HAR GHAR JAL SCHEME UNDER JAL JEEVAN MISSION: NEW TIMELINES, OUTLAY Jal Shakti wants `2.79 lakh cr more for 8.40 flagship water scheme, panel clears half GIVE A MISSED CALL ON 8879840089 Expenditure Secretary-chaired panel says gap in funding, estimated at over `1.25 lakh cr, should be borne by states HARIKISHAN SHARMA NEW DELHI, APRIL 20 21/04/2025 88 116 142 60 SHARPLY HIGHER COSTS amid concerns that some states may have approved inflated work contracts to provide tap water connections to rural households undertheJalJeevanMissionhave ledanExpenditureSecretary-led paneltoproposea46percentcut intheCentre’sfundingassistance to the Jal Shakti Ministry’s demand for four years ending December 2028. Theonustobridgethisliability — estimated to be over Rs 1.25 lakh crore over the four years — mayfallonstates,whichmaythen approachtheUniongovernment, said officials closely involved in the discussions. “As many as16 states are ruled by BJP and its alliesandthismayforcetheCentre’s CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 HAR GHAR JAL 3.23crore Tapconnections asonAug15,2019 12.17crore Justify increase in cost of tap to `1,37,500 from `30,000, says Finance TapsaddedfromAug 2019toDec2024 SHYAMLAL YADAV TargetadditionfromDec 2024toDec2028 NO SOONER did the Jal Shakti Ministry propose a revised outlayof Rs9.10lakhcrorefortheJal Jeevan Mission (JJM) and sought more funds in February this year than the Finance Ministry raised many red flags, asking it to first 3.96crore 19.36crore Totalrural households NEW DELHI, APRIL 20 justify the sharp increase in the cost of installing a tap connection to Rs 1,37,500 now from Rs 30,000 during 2019-24. The JJM, launched by the Prime Minister on Independence Day in 2019, aimed to provide tap water connections to 16.36 crore households by December 31, 2024. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 NEW DELHI, APRIL 20 PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi will host a dinner for US Vice-President J D Vance on Monday, as he begins his fourday visit to India. Vance, who will be travelling withhisfamilyincludingIndianorigin wife Usha Vance, is expected to discuss issues related to tariffs and the bilateral trade deal during his meeting with Modi.Sourcessaidheisexpected topressIndiaontheissueof buying US defence equipment. Vance, wife Usha and their threechildren—Ewan,Vivekand Mirabel — are scheduled to land at the Palam airbase at 10 am on Monday, where they will be receivedbyaseniorUnionminister. According to sources, Vance is expected to be accompanied by at least five senior officials, includingfromthePentagonand the State Department. Vance’sfirstvisittoIndiaafter assuming office as V-P comes in the backdrop of the sweeping JNU Professor Kadam left ICHR before completing term, denies wrongdoing RITIKA CHOPRA NEW DELHI, APRIL 20 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY The ICHR in New Delhi; (left) Prof Umesh Ashok Kadam rently back at JNU, his parent institution, at the Centre for Historical Studies. When contacted, he denied any wrongdoing and said he had “given all... (his) responses to ICHR”. This is probably the first instance of the government uncovering financial irregularities of this scale at ICHR. The Education Ministry, it is learnt, asked ICHR to submit a FirstStageAdvice(FSA)tothevigilance division of the ministry. This effectively means ICHR was askedtoreviewtheauditfindings CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 NEW HOME THE EDITORIAL PAGE WHERE THEIR MOUTH IS BJP chief J P Nadda is right in calling out his MPs’ crude targeting of the judiciary — he needs to do more PAGE8 EXPRESS NETWORK OPP TARGETS BJP OVER MPs’ JUDICIARY REMARKS: ATTACK ON CONSTITUTION P5 Traffic warden dies after he fell into sea while chasing tempo on Coastal Road EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE MUMBAI, APRIL 20 A 38-YEAR-OLD traffic warden died in Mumbai after he fell into the sea while chasing a tempo whose driver allegedly violated traffic rules on the Coastal Road on Saturday evening. The deceased was identified as Rafiq Wazeer Shaikh, who was a traffic warden on the Coastal Road — traffic wardens are hired on contractual basis to Edited excerpts from an interview to The Indian Express: US universities can’t be global, foster excellence, innovation if they can’t bring in world’s best students, faculty: Guriev EXPRESS NETWORK FLASHFLOODS AND LANDSLIDES IN J&K, THREE KILLED PAGE 6 The scooter on which the deceased was travelling. assist traffic police personnel. According to police, when Shaikh spotted a tempo moving on the Coastal Road, he signalled the driver to stop as heavy vehicles are banned from using the road. As the tempo driver fled withoutstopping,Shaikhstarted chasing him on his scooter. However, police said, Shaikh’s scooter skidded and it rammedaconcreterailingof the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ‘Being neutral (on campus) helps everyone feel safe, allows different people to have different views’ MUMBAI, APRIL 20 AS PREMIER US universities face an unprecedented attack from Washington, from funding-cuts to student visa crackdowns, Sergei Guriev, economist and Dean, London Business School E ● Key issues US VICE-PRESIDENT J D Vance’s visit comes at a time when India-US ties face challenges from the tariff regime announced by President Donald Trump — paused for 90 days — and the recent deportations of illegal immigrants in shackles as well as abrupt revocation of Indian students’ visas. India is working on pushing through an interim trade deal, with a team headed to Washington DC in a few days. tariff regime announced by US President Donald Trump — which has been paused for 90 days — against most countries, including India. New Delhi and Washington CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav releases six-year-old cheetahs Prabhash and Pavak into the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary on Sunday. The two South African cheetahs were relocated from the Kuno National Park. Express PAGE6 DIVERSITY A NECESSITY: LONDON BUSINESS SCHOOL DEAN SANDEEP SINGH US Vice-President J D Vance with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Sunday. AP REPORT,PAGE12 SHUBHAJIT ROY Govt audit red-flags financial irregularities, role of former member secretary at ICHR AN INTERNAL audit by the Education Ministry has uncoveredfinancialirregularitiesof almost Rs 5 crore at the Indian Council for Historical Research (ICHR), prompting the government to identify more than 10 officials of the body for disciplinary action, including former member-secretary Umesh AshokKadam,whoiscurrentlya professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), The Indian Express has learnt. The ministry is learnt to have written to ICHR — an autonomous organisation dedicated to funding historical research in India — on March 5, referring to a Lokpal complaint alleging financial irregularities in several of the Council’s decisionsandsubsequentfindingsof a special audit conducted for the period from April 2021 to March 2023, which described “a reckless spending spree neglecting rules and regulations” after Kadam took charge as member -secretary in August 2022. Kadam resigned in less than 10 months in May 2023, before completing his term, and is cur- Vance begins 4-day India visit today: Trade deal on table at meeting with PM EXPLAINED DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA (LBS), frames the challenge. Underlining that student and facultydiversityarea“necessity” forexcellenceandinnovation,he saysonewaytoensurethatisfor academic leadership to be neutral. For, being neutral allows everyone (wherever you come from) to feel safe and different people to have different views. THE EXPRESS INTERVIEW SERGEI GURIEV ECONOMIST AND DEAN, LONDON BUSINESS SCHOOL What’s your view of what’s unfolding on US campuses? The (university’s) capacity to focusonacademicexcellenceand bring together diverse groups of students is not a luxury but a necessity—toconcentrateonexcellence in academic research and teaching… At LBS around 95% of students are international and 90% of faculty are international and it cannot compromise on its capacity to bring people from aroundtheworld.Itisanecessity for the global business community. If you want to run a global company, you need to understand how to work with people from different cultures, different sectors as well. Luckily, the UK government supports us being a global business school…Indian students are the biggest national group in LBS, accounting for about 20% of the student body. For us, freedom of speech is very important. The UK government actually obliges us to CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ‘Some protests are happening but a much wider section of society is convinced by Waqf reform’ BAIJAYANT PANDA, BJP NATIONAL VICE-PRESIDENT PAGE 7 Human detection radars, seismic sensors to track tunnels: MHA’s hi-tech security at Pak border DEEPTIMAN TIWARY NEW DELHI, APRIL 20 AMIDAspikeinencounterswith foreign terrorists in Jammu, where over 50 Army personnel have died in the last couple of years, Union Home Minister AmitShahsaidearlierthismonth thatthegovernmentwasdeployinganelectronicsurveillancesystem along its border with Pakistan to thwart infiltrations. Sourcessaidthissurveillance system includes an integrated network of human-detection radars, thermal imaging and high-resolution cameras, comprehensive floodlighting along the fences, tech-enabled vigil of riverine stretches and seismic sensors to detect tunnels. Sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said some Basic security infrastructure such as border fencing is also being bolstered. File of these systems have already beeninstalledincertainstretches while some new high-tech equipmentandsecuritysystems are being experimented with to dealwithsomeof thevulnerabilitiesontheborderwithPakistan. According to officials engaged in the project, human-detection radars integrated with CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Extra-cover for IPL: How cops track snatchers, punters, dogs at Chepauk PAGE 1 ANCHOR VENKATA KRISHNA B CHENNAI, APRIL 20 AROUND 35,000 people flocked to the MA Chidambaram Stadium — also known as Chepauk — to watch the M S Dhoni versus Virat Kohli duel on March 28. During the match, the Greater Chennai Police received a notification of a stolen mobile phone through the QR code pasted in different parts of the stadium. To pick from the crowded stands was a difficult task. But police not only found the offender but also recovered 84 stolen phones, including those picked from the stadium, in just two days. Behind the mystery-solving was forensic combing powered by the Greater Chennai Police's AI-driven security platform Chennai Singam, a face recognition software and surveillance cameras, apart from the hundreds of policemen scattered in and around the arena. Their eyes A control room in Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium (left) gets real-time updates through an AI-driven platform areall-pervasive,watchingevery step a spectator, or even a dog or cat, takes in the stadium. The colour of their clothes are taken note of. So are the words on the banners and posters as well as those showing any suspicious behaviour,whocouldpotentially be a punter, pickpocket, or a chain-snatcher. Crowd control, obviously, goes on routinely. Using the example of the stolen mobile complaint, Dr Vijayakumar,JointCommissioner, GreaterChennaiPolice(East),explainstheprocess.“Whenwegot the alert through QR code, we used specific cameras to identify suspects.Wegottheleadthrough theanalytics.Hewasdressedlike a proper fan, and wore a CSK tshirt,” the officer says. Most of the fans, Vijayakumar says, come in groups or in pairs. If someone comes alone and is not enjoying the game or not talking to those around him, police begin to monitor him. “This person wasn't interested in the game. He was looking for something else. He became a point of interest andafterfurtherscrutinywefigured he belonged to a gang that was seated across the stadium. We identified them the next day and nabbed them a couple of days later from Vellore,” Vijayakumar says. Toensurebettercrowdmanagement, the Greater Chennai Police ahead of this IPL season put in a request with the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association to increasethenumberof CCTVcameras. Following this, 120 more cameras were added to the 250 already installed. The Chennai Singam app provides real-time visuals and CONTINUED ON PAGE 2