DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PATNA, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE BY UNNY Govt clears free medical treatment for officer cadets disabled during training Can tap ex-servicemen scheme to get care in military, empanelled hospitals AMRITA NAYAK DUTTA NEW DELHI, AUGUST 29 EXPRESS NETWORK PUTIN TO VISIT INDIA IN DECEMBER: KREMLIN PAGE 6 THEMINISTRYof Defence(MoD) onFridaysanctionedthegrantof free medical facilities under the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) to officer cadets who are medically discharged forsufferingvaryingdegrees of disabilities during military training. The decision comes as a huge relief for these cadets who were not eligible for ECHS benefits so far.Asperrules,theyarenotentitledtothestatusofex-servicemen (ESM)sincetheirdisabilitiestook place during training before they CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EXPRESS IMPACT GDP surprise: Services Victory... strengthens our pushes up Q1 growth to faith in fairness: Chorus in families of the affected 5-quarter high of 7.8% AMRITA NAYAK DUTTA NEW DELHI, AUGUST 29 Order follows The Indian Express report flagged by Supreme Court AGRI STEADY, MANUFACTURING RISES WELCOMINGTHEgovernment's decision to extend ECHS benefits, officer cadets who were medically boarded out of military training institutions after suffering disabilities during training said the move would go a long way in reducing their monthly medical expenditure. They, however, pointed out that the larger battle remains — getting disability pension and exservicemen status. “This is a huge step for all cadets. Private medical facilities (non-empanelled ones) are expensive, with exorbitant prices for medical tests and medicines, andmanyof themaredifficultto trust,” said Bharati Joshi, mother of former NDA cadet Kishan Kulakarni (25) who has been bedridden since July 2020, with his medical report showing more than 90 per cent nerve damage in the brain. “Take Kishan’s case. Since he has been bedridden, we have to call the ambulance for a simple CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Downside risk due to tariffs, but hopeful will be resolved: CEA SIDDHARTH UPASANI NEW DELHI, AUGUST 29 STRONG SERVICES sector activity helped GDP growth comfortably beat expectations for the second quarter in a row, rising to afive-quarterhighof 7.8percent forApril-June2025,accordingto data released by the statistics ministry on Friday. It is more than the January-March 2025 growth rate of 7.4 per cent, and first quarter 2024-25 growth rate of 6.5 per cent. E ● All engines firing ALL SECTORS, from manufacturing to services, fired the economy in the first quarter of 2025-26. Services growth rate was at a 2-year high, farm sector expanded 3.7%, and manufacturing 7.7%. If the US trade talks work, the momentum will continue. Clarify if there’s certain Amid US chill, warmth in Tokyo: back bias in suspecting 10-tn yen investment, digital ties Opposition statesseek GST rate cut, but Bengali-speakers to be We are launching security compensation for losses foreigners: SC to Govt economicPM after initiative: ANANTHAKRISHNAN G NEW DELHI, AUGUST 29 DSPL-229 THE SUPREME Court Friday asked the Centre to respond to a petition which alleged that Bengali-speakingmigrantworkers from West Bengal were being detained by authorities in various states on the suspicion of being Bangladeshi citizens. The bench of Justices Surya Kant, Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, while acknowledging that there is a problem of il- legal infiltration in the country, asked the Centre to clarify whether authorities are using a “particular language” as a “presumption of the speaker being a foreigner.” Justice Bagchi said, “We would like you to clarify if certain bias in respect of the exercise of power by authorities, as sought to be demonstrated by this petition, namely the use of a particular language as a presumption of being a foreigner, whether at all this is correct.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 talks with Ishiba AANCHAL MAGAZINE SHUBHAJIT ROY & DIVYA A EIGHT OPPOSITION-ruled “likeminded” states — Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and West Bengal — which met in New Delhi on Friday said they explicitly and unambiguously supported the Centre’s GST rate rationalisation proposal, but were concerned about revenue loss. In a joint statement, the states projected revenue loss of NEW DELHI, AUGUST 29 CANBERRA, NEW DELHI, AUGUST 29 CHARTING WHAT Prime Minister Narendra Modi called “aroadmapforthenextdecade”, India and Japan Friday agreed to raise the Japanese investment target in India to 10 trillion yen, launch initiatives on economic CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in Tokyo on Friday. AP RELATEDREPORTS,P6 Global economy volatile, India and China must work to bring stability: Modi P6, 15 between Rs 85,000 crore and Rs 2 lakh crore a year and sought “protection of revenue interest and fiscal stability in a federal structure”. They said states should be compensated for revenue loss — anything lower than 14percentrevenuegrowth—for a minimum five years. States were also worried if benefits of rate rationalisation will actually reach the common people or lead to “windfall profits” for just a few companies. In his Independence Day address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 The rapid growth in the first quarter of the current financial year further consolidates India’s position as the world’s fastest growing large economy amid a particularly turbulent time that has seen the US tariff war buffet global economic prospects and push policymakers into a tight spot. On August 27, Indian goods into the US started facing a CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 RUPEE AT ALL-TIME LOW PAGE 13 Patel, who fell out with Govt as RBI chief, now picked for IMF SIDDHARTH UPASANI NEW DELHI, AUGUST 29 THE GOVERNMENT has named former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel as Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), nearly four months after it cut short Krishnamurthy Subramanian’s three-year term. “TheAppointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Dr Urjit Patel,EconomistandFormerRBI CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 OIPR-12197/13/0008/2526 BUSINESS AS USUAL `7.00 (`8 RAIPUR, `15 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 EXPLAINED SATURDAY, AUGUST 30, 2025, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 22 PAGES