DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA, PATNA ● REG.NO. MCS/067/2018 - 20 RNI REGN. NO. 1543/57 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 2025, MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES `5.00 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 ‘STRUCTURAL FORCES DRIVING INDIA-U.S. RELATIONSHIP’ 90 118 145 78 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY On China, says ties can improve step by step; warns Pak on terror AGGAM WALIA Hopeful of a trade deal with US before tariff pause ends July 9: Jaishankar Indus treaty: More storage for projects in first stages, no change Week after UK deal, EU in others, says Govt and India wrap up IPR, talks on carbon tax left DIVYA A & RAVI DUTTA MISHRA RAVI DUTTA MISHRA NEW DELHI, JUNE 10 CONFIRMING THE progress on an interim trade deal between IndiaandtheUS,ExternalAffairs MinisterSJaishankarhassaidthe governmentis“hopefulof reaching an agreement before the tariff suspension ends on July 9”. OnApril2,theUSannounced 26 per cent reciprocal tariffs on NEW DELHI, JUNE 10 External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in Belgium. PTI Indian goods and later effected a 90-day pause period that ends July 9. In an interview with French daily Le Figaro, Jaishankar, who is on an official visit to Belgium and France until June 14, said, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 A WEEK after India announced its trade deal with the UK amid tariff threats from US President Donald Trump, the European Union and India have made significant progress in their trade talks between May 12 and May 17, closing as many as five chapters including the challenging area of intellectual property rights (IPR), a status report released Tuesday by the EU said. Theconclusionof theUKdeal isan“importantfactor”inDelhi’s tradenegotiationswithBrussels, a government official told The Indian Express, since UK’s exit from the EU single market in 2020 had given rise to tensions between London and Brussels overnewchecks,paperworkand CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Recount castes, earlier data old: Cong brass to its Karnataka govt MANOJ C G & AKRAM M NEW DELHI, BENGALURU, JUNE 10 THE CONGRESS high command directed the party’s government inKarnatakaTuesdaytoconduct a recount of castes, two months after the findings of a report on a 10-year-old survey created a rift in the party and drew criticism from the politically dominant Vokkaliga and Lingayat communities and some nonKuruba backward classes. The decision on a recount wastakenatameetingCongress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi held with Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar in Delhi. AICC general secretary (Organisation) Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah, Deputy CM D K Shivakumar and K C Venugopal in New Delhi on Tuesday. Anil Sharma K C Venugopal and AICC general secretaryin-chargeof Karnataka Randeep Surjewala were also present. Apart from the caste census conundrum, Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, who is also the Karnataka Congress president, had been summoned by the leadershiptoDelhitodiscussthe political fallout of the recent stampede in Bengaluru which claimed 11 lives. The Opposition CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BHUPENDRA PANDEY & P VAIDYANATHAN IYER AYODHYA, JUNE 10 Introduces local category — MML MUMBAI, JUNE 10 INAmovesettosignificantlyimpact liquor prices across Maharashtra, the state cabinet on Tuesday approved a hike in excise duty on Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), country liquor,andimportedalcohol.The government also cleared the introduction of a new category Maharashtra Made Liquor (MML) in a bid to expand the state’s revenue base. The excise duty on IMFL has been increased by 50 per cent from three times the manufacturing cost to 4.5 times, specifically affecting products with a manufacturingcostof Rs260per bulk litre. The duty on country liquor has also gone up from Rs 180 to Rs 205 per proof litre. The decision is expected to raise the state’s annual excise collection by approximately Rs UNION POWER Minister Manohar Lal said Tuesday that India will plan more water storageforhydroprojectsinJ&Kthat are still in the initial stages, but no changes will be made for projects already in the pipeline. At a media briefing, the Minister said, “Where Indus Waters Treaty is concerned, no changes will be made for projects that are in the pipeline, because the technical details have been finalised. There are some projects that are in the initial stages, for which we can plan morewaterstorageandelectricity generation.” Following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, the government put in abeyance the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan, which restricts hydroelectric projects in the Indus river basin from including any significant water storage capacity.Now,thegovernmentislikely to increase storage capacity for new projects. Currently, there are four hydro projects in J&K that have been concurred by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), the country’s apex power planning body, but are yet to be taken up for construction. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 14,000 crore. Prices of IMFL and premium foreign liquor brands are likely to increase by at least 50 per cent, officials said. A 180 ml bottle of country liquor will now cost a minimum Rs 80, up from Rs 60–Rs 70, while IMFL prices will rise to Rs 205, up from Rs 115–Rs 130. Premium foreign liquor may now cost Rs 360, up from Rs 210. This is the first revision of excise duty in Maharashtra since 2011. The state also approved a policy allowing liquor vending (FL-2) and on-premise sale (FL3) licence holders to operate on lease with an additional 15% and 10% of the annual licence fee, respectively. The newly announced Maharashtra Made Liquor (MML) category aims to fill the pricing gap between country liquor and IMFL. It will be made from grain-based alcohol, and onlyproductsmanufacturedand CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 OBSERVING THAT there are “limits” to correcting historical wrongs, Nripendra Misra, Ayodhya Ram temple’s officerarchitect-in-chief, has said that once people “realise that the time has gone by and once they realise the dream of the future while living in the present, soci- BHOPAL, JUNE 10 SONAM RAGHUVANSHI allegedly intended to pass off her husband Raja Raghuvanshi’s murderasarobberygonewrong in Meghalaya and was planning on living as a widow for some time before trying to convince her family to let her marry Raj Kushwaha, the alleged mastermindof thehoneymoonmurder, E ● Why Pak is worried MORE THAN two years before it decided to put the IWT on hold following the Pahalgam terror attack, India sent Pakistan a notice seeking “review and modification” of the 1960 treaty. Pakistan has now expressed willingness to hold a discussion because India has indicated it has plans, short-term and long-term, to utilise the waters and increase storage. This can change the situation on the ground in Pakistan. TRUMP SENDS MARINES, STEPS UP MIGRANT RAIDS ISRAEL DEPORTS GRETA, 17 KILLED NEAR GAZA AID SITE SET FOR LIFT-OFF The Axiom-4 mission, with India's Shubhanshu Shukla and three other astronauts, is expected to be launched on Wednesday. @SpaceX REPORTS,PAGES 8,12 ety will be more positive and look towards the issues of development.” Misra, who served as the Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his entire first term, and was appointed the Chairman of the temple construction committee in February 2020, also said the Ram Mandir “was accepted by all only because it was (a judgement) by the Supreme Court”, but one “cannot seek justice for THE EXPRESS INTERVIEW NRIPENDRA MISRA AYODHYA RAM TEMPLE’S OFFICER-ARCHITECT-IN-CHIEF the past” in all such conflicts. In an interview with The Indian Express two days after the consecration of the statue of Ram as the king of Ayodhya, Misra said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was emphatic that the message people take away from the temple is not “negative”. “Nowhere have we used the name that such and such came and destroyed the temple.Themessagewas,please CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Meghalaya honeymoon murder: MP woman wanted to pass killing as robbery, say police ANAND MOHAN J Power Minister Manohar Lal in New Delhi on Tuesday. PTI THE WORLD Liquor prices to go We can’t seek justice for the past, it has to be forgotten, says Ram temple’s top officer up as Maharashtra govt hikes excise duty on IMFL by 50% ALOK DESHPANDE NEW DELHI, JUNE 10 EXPLAINED 11/06/2025 HYDEL PROJECTS IN JAMMU & KASHMIR investigatorshavetoldTheIndian Express. The special investigation team (SIT) probing the murder of Raja, an Indore resident who ran a transport business, first grew suspicious of Sonam when they heard her audio call with her mother-in-law, informing her about a fast that she undertook for her husband’s health. When the SIT tracked down theownerof thehotelwherethe couple stayed, they found this Raja Raghuvanshi, Sonam was a lie and that she had eaten there. This revelation raised suspicions, and when the Meghalaya police decided to mount technical surveillance on Sonam, they found that she was in constant touch with Kushwaha, police said. Superintendent of Police, EastKhasiHills,VivekSyiemtold The Indian Express, “We found thatshehadconsumedfood.We also found that she was in touch CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 PAGE 14 Accused in Baba Siddique murder case held in Canada, say Mumbai Police EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE MUMBAI, JUNE 10 ZEESHAN AKHTAR, one of the mainaccusedinthemurdercase of NCP leader and former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique, has been detained in Canada, said sources in the Mumbai Police, though an official confirmation is awaited. A senior officer said, “While there has been no official communication from Canada, our sources indicate that Zeeshan Akhtar has been detained in Canada. We are awaiting an official confirmation.” The Mumbai crime branch had mentioned Zeeshan Akhtar as one of the wanted accused in the chargesheet filed by them in the Baba Siddique murder case. Asperthepoliceprobe,gangster Anmol Bishnoi had contractedAkhtarandoneShubham Lonkar to carry out the hit on Baba Siddique was shot dead on October 12, 2024. Baba Siddique. While other accused, including the shooters weretracedandarrested,Akhtar and Lonkar managed to flee. An officer said that Akhtar had been traced to Nepal but he went missing after that. Siddique was shot dead on October 12, 2024, in Bandra East, outside the office of his son and former MLA Zeeshan Siddique. While two men were arrested from the spot, the main shooter fled and was arrested later by the crime branch. Police have so far made 26 arrests in the case. Meet first woman ADC to President: ‘Never dreamt this would be possible’ PAGE 1 ANCHOR DIVYA A NEW DELHI, JUNE 10 BETWEEN MAY 7 and 10 last month, as Colonel Sophiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh took centrestage to brief the nation on Operation Sindoor, another quiet change happened away from the spotlight, at the country’s highest office. On May 9, Lieutenant Commander Yashaswi Solankee (27) became the first woman of- ficer to be appointed as an Aidede-Camp (ADC) to the President of India. While the President, typically, has five ADCs — three from the Army, and one each from the Navy and Air Force — none of them have been a woman officer so far. “The thought started with PresidentDroupadiMurmu herself, as the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces,” Major General V Parida, Military Secretary to the President,toldTheIndianExpress. “Shespeaksaboutwomen'sempowerment, gender parity and inclusivitysomuch.So,thisisher thought, which has been implemented,” he said. With the Naval ADC completing his tenure at the time, a panelof threeNavalofficers—all women — was called for selection. The three officers stayed at the Presidential Estate for 15 days,duringwhichtheywereassessed, including an interview with the President herself. Besides physical criteria, their basic intelligence and adaptability were also put to test. Solankee, originally from Bharuch in Gujarat, was selected in April, after which she underwent a month-long orientation beforereceivinghercovetedaigu- Lieutenant Commander Yashaswi Solankee. Praveen Khanna illette from Murmu on May 9. Sources said the criteria for selection of a woman ADC remained the same, including the height and physical fitness requirement — at 173 cms, Solankee, earlier a district-level badmintonandvolleyballplayer, made the cut. The only concession was that they allowed women officers without permanent commission, too. ThePresident’sADCservesas the bridge to the First Citizen — liaisoningherappointmentsand call-ons, being present with her at all presidential ceremonies and events, facilitating communication with various branches of the government and military. Assignedadutyroomnexttothe President's room, the ADC is just a call away at all times. Sometimes, they are on duty for 24 hours, on rotation. Solankeehasbeenappointed for a tenure of two-and-a-half to three years. While the first month was all about getting maximum exposure and building a rapport with the President, she said she now feels more informed. But, as ADCs, they can never feel over-confident. “We prepare for all the engagements and take up-to-date information about who is coming to meet the President, be- causewehavetobrief herbefore every engagement, and she can ask anything,” she said. “I had never dreamt of getting selected as the ADC to the President. This was never on my bucket list, because I didn't know this may be possible,” she said. Solankee was earlier posted with the Naval Armament (Defence Production), in Hyderabad. “I am a technical officerandinitially,myknowledge was quite siloed, because that was my portfolio. I did have general knowledge, but that was quite general. But now, I need to be updated at all times. Like, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2