DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE MONDAY, MAY 5, 2025, LUCKNOW, LATE CITY, 20 PAGES `6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 DAYS AFTER MODI GAVE MILITARY BRASS THE GO-AHEAD IAF and Navy chiefs brief PM as armed forces prepare their response to Pahalgam attack Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan launches two genome-edited varieties of rice in New Delhi, Sunday. ANI In a first, ICAR develops two genome-edited varieties of rice Superior yields, drought and salinity tolerance among their key traits HARIKISHAN SHARMA & HARISH DAMODARAN NEW DELHI, MAY 4 THE INDIAN Council of AgriculturalResearch(ICAR)said it has developed the world’s first genomeedited(GE)ricevarieties withsuperioryields,droughtand salinitytolerance,andhighnitrogen-use efficiency traits. Twoof itsaffiliateinstitutions — the Hyderabad-based Indian Institute of Rice Research (IIRR) and the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) at New Delhi — have bred improved GE mutants of the popular Samba Mahsuri (BPT5204) and Cottondora Sannalu (MTU-1010) varieties using CRISPR-CasSDN-1(Site-Directed Nucleases-1) technologies. UnionMinisterof Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Shivraj SinghChouhanreleasedthetwo rice varieties at the ICAR’s NASC Complex on Sunday. GE is different from genetic modification or GM. The latter involves introduction of genes from unrelated species into host plants.Thesecould,forexample, be genes from Bacillus thuringiensis, a soil bacterium, that code for the production of proteins toxic to various insect pests in cotton. GE,ontheotherhand,entails mere“editing”of genesnaturally present in the host plant, leading to mutation or changes in their DNA sequence. No foreign genes or DNA are incorporated. CRISPR-Cas uses ‘Cas’ enzymes, or proteins that act like molecular “scissors”, to cut and modifytheDNAsequenceofanative gene at its targeted location. Such editing is intended tobringforthdesirablealterationsinthatgene’sexpression and function. ● In this case, scientists at IIRR have used the CRISPR-Cas12proteinforediting the ‘cytokinin oxidase 2’ gene (also called Gn1a) in Samba Mahsuri rice, in order to the increasethenumberof grainsproduced from each panicle (plant earhead) of this variety. The Gn1a gene basically codes for an enzyme that regulates the number of grains per panicle, thereby indirectly influencingyields.Through“editing”, the scientists are able to reduce the expression of that gene, leading to an increase in the number of grains EXPLAINED E BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY What you wish, will happen, says Rajnath at public gathering Jaishankar on Europe: We are looking for partners, not preachers 2 found spying for Pakistan in Amritsar, held: Police AMRITA NAYAK DUTTA & JATIN ANAND EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE INDIAN AIR Force chief Air Chief Marshal A P Singh met Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday and is learnt to have briefed him on the overall preparedness of the IAF in the context of retaliatory options being weighed by the government following the Pahalgam terror attack. While there was no official statement on the meeting, Air Chief Marshal Singh and the PrimeMinisterweresaidtohave discussed the security scenario and the options on the table. The IAF chief’s meeting at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg took place hours after Navy chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi spoke to the Prime Minister on the situation in the northern Arabian Sea. Given the Navy’s ongoing drills in the Arabian Sea, all operational frontline warships of STATING THAT Europe has “entered a certain zone of reality check”, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said Sunday that Delhi is looking for partners, not preachers, “particularly preachers who do not practice at home and preach abroad”. His remarks aimed at “some of Europe” during an address at the Arctic Circle India Forum in New Delhi came two days after he spoke to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and told him that the perpetrators, backers and planners of the Pahalgamterrorattackwouldbe brought to justice. Underlining that Europe must display some sensitivity and mutuality of interest for deeper ties with Delhi, Jaishankar said India always advocated the ‘Russia realism” and KAMALDEEP SINGH BRAR & MAN AMAN SINGH CHHINA NEW DELHI, MAY 4 NEW DELHI, MAY 4 Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal A P Singh leaves after meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sunday. ANI theWesternFleetwithmaritime patrol aircraft, and fleet auxiliaries are out at sea. Defence sources said the Navyiswell-positionedtoacton any possible option as soon as the executive orders are given. Meanwhile, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, speaking at the Sanatan Sanskriti Jagran Mahotsav in New Delhi, said, “As Defence Minister, it is my duty to ensure the security of the country’s borders along with our soldiers. It is my duty to join our armed forces in giving a befitting reply (‘muh tod jawab’) to those who dare to cast an evil eye on our country.” “YouallknowPrimeMinister Narendra Modi very well, you are familiar with his work style and determination. You are also aware of the risk-taking ability he has learnt in life. I want to assure you that under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, what you wish, will happen (‘jaisa aap chahate hain, vaisa ho kar rahega’),” Singh said. The one-on-one conversations of the IAF and Navy chiefs with the Prime Minister follow CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 PAGE 1 ANCHOR there was an “important fit” and “complementarity” between India and Russia as a resource provider and consumer. He criticised earlier attempts by the West to find a solution to theRussia-Ukraineconflictwithout involving Russia, saying it “challengedthebasicsofrealism”. “Just like I am an advocate of CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 AMRITA NAYAK DUTTA NEW DELHI, MAY 4 RAM LALLA MAKESHIFT TENT, THRONE TO BE PRESERVED PAGE 3 3 SOLDIERS KILLED AFTER ARMY TRUCK FALLS INTO 700-FT GORGE IN J&K PAGE 11 ASLEWof ceasefireviolationsby Pakistan along the Line of Control over the last 10 days shows that unprovoked firing from posts across the border are no longer restricted to one or two sectors as was the norm in the past, but have simultaneously taken place all along the LoC in multiple sectors. In the past, ceasefire violations typically remained re- OVER LAST 10 DAYS Kupwara Baramulla Poonch Rawalpindi PA K I S TA N INDIA Srinagar Kargil Ladakh J&K Mendhar Rajouri Naushera Sunderbani Akhnoor stricted to one or two areas, before a period of calm was brought to J&K when India and Pargwal Pakistan agreed to a renewed ceasefire along the LoC in February 2021. Moreover, these were more frequent in the southern parts of the Pir Panjal range owing to the lay of the land, the geography of the area, among other factors, Army officers said. Ever since the Pahalgam terror attack and India’s announcement of a series of diplomatic measuresincludingsuspensionof theIndusWatersTreaty,Pakistan hasbeenviolatingtheceasefireby initiating unprovoked firing. The latest incidents took place in the sectors of Kupwara CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 AMIDRISINGtensionsfollowing the Pahalgam terror attack, the Punjab Police said it has arrested two men in Amritsar for allegedly leaking sensitive information about military installations to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The two arrested have been identified as Palak Sher Masih andSurajMasih,bothdailywage labourers with a history of substance abuse but no prior criminal record, the police said based on a preliminary probe. The police said they also recoveredamobilephonefromthe accused, which allegedly contained images of Army movements, the Cantonment and the Air Force base. Both allegedly receiveduptoRs10,000forsensitive information about movement of troops, etc., the police said. According to the police, the two were allegedly in contact with ISI through Harpreet Singh, aliasPittualiasHappy,aninmate in Amritsar Central Jail. Sources close to the investigation said the suspects had already shared the locations of some military installations with Pakistani handlers. “The seized device may help identify other associates. The police will also bring Harpreet Singh to uncover his links with Pakistan,” a senior police officer said. Confirming the arrests, Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav said a case has been registered under the Official Secrets Act, and the investigation is proceeding. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Workload, eye on future: no leadership role for Bumrah on England tour MUMBAI, MAY 4 HOUTHI MISSILE TARGETS ISRAEL’S MAIN AIRPORT, AIR TRAFFIC PAUSED P 16 External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar at the Arctic Circle India Forum 2025. PTI Pakistan violating ceasefire all along Line of Control, standoff in new locations INSIDE ‘SHRINKING INDIAN SHARE IN RIVER FLOWS’ Indus Waters Treaty needs relook with new data: Top glaciologist DEVENDRA PANDEY THE WORLD AMRITSAR, CHANDIGARH, MAY 4 INDIA’S FAST bowling figurehead and vice captain Jasprit Bumrah is unlikely to be given a leadership role on the Test tour to England starting June-end, sources in the BCCI told The Indian Express. The ace seamer had led India to their sole win on the Australia tour at the turn of the year, apart from leading in two other Tests. But since Bumrah is unlikely to feature in all the five Tests in England as part of his workload management, the selectors are likely to seek a player who will play through the tour. “We want a player who will be available for all five Test matches, and he should be given the vice-captain's role. Bumrah won’tbeplayingallfivematches, so we don’t want to appoint dif- NIKHIL GHANEKAR Unlikely to play in all five Tests ferent deputies for different games. It will be better that the captain and vice-captain be certain and play all five Tests,” the sources said. It's also learnt that the selectors want a young face, who could be groomed as a future leader, as vice-captain. From the nucleusof thecurrentteam,only two fit the category, Shubman Gill (25) and Rishabh Pant (27). Most of the other regulars, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja and K L Rahul, are in their 30s while Yashasvi Jaiswal is seen as too young at 23. The board is wary of CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 NEW DELHI, MAY 4 STRINGENT CHECK Aspirants being frisked before appearing for the NEET UG exam, which was conducted amid heightened vigil, in Kanpur on Sunday. ANI ■ Sunday’s exam was held a year after the paper leak controversy rocked the medical entrance test. ■ Officials had said there would be three layers of monitoring for the exam — at district, state, Centre levels. ■ After the paper leak last year, Centre had formed a panel that recommended holding public exams along the lines of polls. INTHEfaceof climatechange-induced retreat of glaciers feeding eastern rivers of the Indus river basin,andprojectionsof reduced water availability, the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) needs to be reviewed with the help of new data, leading glaciologist Anil V Kulkarni told The Indian Express. Following the terror attack in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 people, India has put the 65-year-old water-sharing treatywithPakistaninabeyance, invokingcross-borderterrorism. Kulkarni said studies carried out by him and his colleagues have shown that the glaciers feeding the Ravi, Sutlej and Beas rivers,locatedataloweraltitude, are retreating at a faster rate in Anil V Kulkarni is a scientist at IISC, Bengaluru comparison to the glaciers in Pakistan, located at high altitudesintheKarakoramrange.As a result, the amount of glacial meltwater is projected to be much higher than the previous decades till the middle of the century, which would be followed by a significant reduction in water availability, he said. “The glaciers located on the eastern side are located at a relatively lower altitude, and they are losing mass at a higher rate, thus retreating faster. As you go higher, in the Karakoram CONTINUEDONPAGE2 At a farmstead, cows, cars & plea for conserving indigenous breeds HARISH DAMODARAN SOHNA, MAY 4 HOW SHOULD India ensure the conservation of its indigenous cattle breeds — whether those reared for milk (Gir, Red Sindhi, Sahiwal and Tharparkar) or for bothmilchanddraughtpurposes (Kankrej, Ongole, Rathi, Deoni, Hariana, Mewati and Dangi)? “By allowing export of their frozen semen and embryos, which will make it more viable forfarmerstomaintaintheseanimals and ‘Breed in India’,” says Madan Mohan Yadav, the president of the International Federation of Indigenous Zebu Cattle of India (IFIZCI). Exports of both live bovine and their germplasm from India are under the “restricted list”, while allowed only against licence issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade on the recommendation of the Department of Animal Husbandry&Dairying.It’sthelatter restriction, on export of cattle germplasm, that Yadav is wanting to be relaxed, if not removed. Yadav and his brother Krishna Mohan have a 150-acre farm, Gir Amritphal Gaushala, spread over Harchandpur and Nimoth villages of Sohna tehsil in Haryana’s Gurugram district. It has 930 cows, calves and bulls in all — 750 Gir, 150 Nari (a dualpurpose breed native to Rajasthan and Gujarat) and 10 each of Red Sindhi, Hariana and Punganur (a dwarf hill breed believed to have descended from Ongole cattle). Theanimalsarehousedin40 acres of covered gaushala space. They are kept untied, machinemilkedandfedlargely onfodder grown in the remaining 110 acres.TheseincludeSuperNapier (a perennial grass) and jowar (sorghum) during May-July, rajka (lucerne) during AugustNovember and fodder from car- Gir Amritphal Gaushala has pure indigenous breed cattle: Gir, Nari, Red Sindhi, Hariana and Punganur. Gajendra Yadav rot, chukandar (beetroot), shalgam (turnip) and moringa during December-April. “This is a loss-making activity,” admits Yadav, whose main business is a 3,500-vehicle fleet transportation company, Deneb & Pollux Tours and Travels, apart fromaboutiquehotelinUdaipur andrestaurantinGurugram.The 51-year-old is also a collector of vintage cars — he owns 374 of them, besides 109 heritage motorcyclesand55antiquetractors. “I have two ‘C’ or ‘G’ passions: CowsandCarsorGaiandGaadi,” he declares. Milk yields from indigenous cowsareonly1,500-2,000kgper year for Kankrej, Red Sindhi and Tharparkar,2,000kg-plusforGir and 2,500 kg or more for Sahiwal, and below 1,000 kg fromotherbreeds.Theyalsotake upwards of 36 months to start giving milk. This is as against yields of 4,000-5,000 kg from crossbreeds and 7,000-8,000 kg from pure Holstein Friesian (HF) cows, with only 24-27 months age at first calving. Farmers cannot make much money from the sale of milk or dung produced by indigenous cattle. That is where rearing for breeding purposes, that is marketing of their semen and embryos, comes in. “Current guidelines virtually rule out exports. They can at least open up export of frozen embryos and semen, which will create a new market for farmers and incentivise them to rear our indigenous zebu (Bos indicus) breeds,” points out Yadav. He sees a “huge demand” for the germplasm (semen and embryos) of Indian breeds, especially in Latin American countries such as Brazil, Mexico, Bolivia,Colombia,Peru,Ecuador, Venezuela, Panama and Honduras. With modern multiple ovulation and in vitro fertilisation CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Lucknow