The Editorial Page: Without great powers on board, G20 is adrift 10 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2025 JOURNALISM of COURAgE LUCKNOW, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES ₹6.00 l www.indianexpress.com DA I LY F R O M : A H M E DA B A D , C H A N D I GA R H , D E L H I , J A I P U R , KO L K ATA , L U C K N O W , M U M B A I , N AG P U R , PAT N A , P U N E , VA D O DA R A Happening today GOVT WILL release GDP data for the July-September quarter (Q2). The Q1 GDP growth rate was at a five-quarter high of 7.8%. Economists see it declining to 7.3% in Q2. For FY26, RBI sees GDP growing 6.8%. ● GOVT WILL also release industrial production data and Central government finances for October. ● PRESIDENT DROUPADI Murmu will attend a Brahma Kumaris event in Lucknow. She will also attend a Bharat Scouts & Guides Diamond Jubilee programme later in the day. ● PM NARENDRA Modi will visit Goa and Karnataka. In South Goa district, he will inaugurate a 77-foot bronze statue of Lord Ram. And in Udupi district, he will visit the Sri Krishna Math. ● TMC DELEGATION will meet the Election Commission in New Delhi over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal. ● Business as Usual By EP UNNY INDEX RECORDS 86,055.86 IN THURSDAY EARLY TRADE, CLOSES AT 85,720.38 After 14-month turmoil, Sensex breaches 86,000 mark first time Behind turbulence: Trade & geopolitics abroad, GST & insurance Bill at home George Mathew, Hitesh Vyas & Sandeep Singh Mumbai, November 27 AFTER A long wait of 14 months,theSensexattheBombay Stock Exchange breached the86,000markforthefirsttime duringThursdaymorningtrading, hitting a record high of 86,055.86 before finishing at 85,720.38—up0.13percentfrom the previous close of 85,609.51. The broader Nifty 50 also New Delhi, November 27 p 6, 12 whAt wENt INto mAkINg of rAm tEmpLE hoNg koNg towEr INfErNo toLL rISES to 83 SlOwROADTO86K (intradayhighsover14months) 90,000 86,000 85,978.25 75,925.72 82,000 86,055.86 82,410.52 80,775.71 78,000 74,000 70 ,000 27 Sept 2024 27 Jan 2025 (NOTE: CLOSING FIGURE ON THURSDAY: 85,720.38) cember 2023, when it surged from 68,000 to 85,000 over the next ten months. 27 May 2025 28 Aug 2025 27 Nov 2025 Havinggained17,000points — nearly 25 per cent — betweenDecember2023andSep- tember2024,thesubsequent14 months proved elusive for Indian markets. During this period, the Sensex oscillated between71,000and85,000,hittingalowof71,425inApril2025 and the high of 85,978 in September 2024. This turbulent movement indicates that while global factors kept the Indian markets under check, there were concerns on the domestic front about overvaluation of Indian equity markets. Hence, when global concerns arose on account of tariffs and oil prices, the Indian markets moved »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SC for autonomous Disruptions a disaster for Opp: online regulator, Govt Rijiju ahead of House session says amending rules ‘If agenda driven on digital obscenity by one or two Ananthakrishnan G INSIDE scaled a lifetime peak of 26,310.45 during intraday trade but settled to end at 26,215.55, marginally higher than Wednesday’s close of 26,205.30. Thepreviousall-timehighs, on an intraday basis, for the Sensex was 85,978.25 and Nifty 50 26,250.90, both on September 27, 2024. Itwasexactly14monthsago thattheSensexfirstcrossedthe 85,000 milestone following a strong run that began in De- ● OBSERVING THAT “selfstyled” mechanisms “will not be effective” in regulating onlinecontent,theSupremeCourt Thursdaysuggestedthatanautonomous body “free from influence” oversee social media platforms while ensuring protection of free speech. It also suggested using the Aadhaar number or income tax PAN to verify the age of the user. These suggestions were madebythebenchofChiefJusticeofIndiaSuryaKantandJustice Joymalya Bagchi while hearingpleasbyYouTuberRanveer Allahabadia and others challenging the FIRs against themoverallegedobscenecomments in Samay Raina’s India’s GotLatent show. TheMinistryofInformation and Broadcasting, in a note to the court, said it is planning to amend the Code of Ethics published with the Information TechnologyRules,2021toincorporate guidelines on obscenity foralldigitalcontent,onaccessibilityforonlinecuratedcontent and on AI and deep fakes. The proposals include rating of online content for different age groups and a bar on anti-national digital content. It saidthiswasbeingproposed“in accordancewithArticle19(1)(a) and the reasonable restrictions imposed under Article 19(2).” The note said an insertion will be made in Rule 2 – “obscene digital content” meansanydigitalcontentshall be deemed to be obscene if it is lasciviousorappealstotheprurient interest or if its effect, or (where it comprises two or more distinct items) the effect of any one of its items, is, if taken as a whole, tend to deprave and corrupt persons who are likely, having regard to all relevant circumstances, to read, see or hear the matter contained or embodied in it. The bench, also hearing a plea by M/s SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy) Cure Foundation accusing satirists Samay Raina, Vipun Goyal, Balraj Paramjeet Singh Ghai, Sonali Thakkar and Nishant Jagdish Tanwar of mocking persons withdisabilities(PwDs)ontheir show, told Solicitor General »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 failed leaders, it is very difficult…’ Express News Service New Delhi, November 27 AHEAD OF the coming Winter Session of Parliament, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister KirenRijijuhassaidtheOppositionshouldgiveupfrequentdisruptionofproceedings,claiming that such measures have proved to be “a disaster politically” for it. Speaking at The Idea Exchange session of The IndianExpress,Rijijusaid:“Bydisruptingparliamentaryproceedings, they are losing election after election… Misusing the Parliament forum for driving a Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister kiren Rijiju at the Idea Exchange session on Thursday. RENUKA PURI politicalagendadoes notnecessarilybring political dividends.” WiththeOpposition expected to raise the Election Commission’s ongoing Special IntensiveRevision(SIR)ofelectoral rolls in the House, Rijiju said:“Thediscussionaboutany constitutional authority which is clearly an autonomous body (the EC) is not advisable, number one, because the government cannot speak on behalf of the authority. Suppose you want to discuss the Supreme Court’s functioning… it is different from judicial reforms… So that is why, when there are matters sub judice or »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 fUELLED BY JAUNDICE SCARE, CLEANLINESS CONCERNS Behind violent VIT protests: Fact, fiction, months of anger Anand Mohan J Sehore, November 27 CENTRAL EMPOWERED COMMITTEE Before SC stepped in, Ministry was told to let Law Commission decide future of green committee Nikhil Ghanekar New Delhi, November 27 A FORTNIGHT before the November 19 direction of the Supreme Court that the Central EmpoweredCommittee(CEC), which advises it on environmental issues, can only be disbanded with its approval, the Cabinet Secretariat had asked the Environment Ministry to refer the matter of the CEC’s future to the Law Commission, The Indian Express has learnt. The CEC, a statutory body since 2023, was originally formedin2002ontheSupreme Court’s order. It advises the courtonwritpetitionsrelatedto environment and forest matters,andassistsinmonitoringandcomplianceofitsorders. The Cabinet Secretariat is learnttohavecitedtheexample of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), and said that with both NGT and CEC functional, du- plicity of agencies may be leadingtoadelayindecidingthejurisdiction between the two. It is learnt to have stated in its communication to Tanmay Kumar, Secretary, Environment Ministry, that the NGT is nowastableadjudicatorybody, with expert members of its own, and hence it should be considered whether the CEC should continue functioning with a stronger Environment »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SECURITY GUARDS and wardens watched in disbelief on Tuesday night as teenagers tore through hostel gates, uprooted elevator doors and torched vehicles — angry over the alleged lack of clean water and food and a jaundice contagion scare at Vellore Institute of Technology in Madhya Pradesh’s Sehore. It was the culmination of weeksofanger,whichhadbeen brewingoverwhatstudentssay are legitimate concerns, even thoughthesparkwasarumour: That three people had died of jaundice after 23 fell ill in the past two weeks. The administration had time to dispel the rumours, but by most accounts, failed to take the students into confidence. On Thursday, University A vandalised room at Vellore Institute of Technology in MP’s Sehore. Registrar K K Nair broke his silenceonthedeathsandclarified they were not due to jaundice. “As regards the death of a student, Ms Neha, it occurred on November24duetoTBwhileat her home in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. It has nothing to do with jaundice. We are processing a feerefund.Regardingthedeath of Dr Sangram Kesari Das, faculty, it was a natural death after prolonged illness. He has been onmedicalleavesinceMay2025 andreturnedafewdaysago.He was found dead at home; he died of typhoid,” Nair said. »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 HOUSE PANEL HEARING ON DEC 4 Basic structure not violated: Law panel firms up view on joint election Bills mission is also learnt to have found that there is no requirement to give the Model Code of Conduct statutory recognition. The committee on the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024 and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment),known as the Damini Nath One Nation One Election Bills, New Delhi, November 27 is set to meet on December 4. Representatives of the Law AHEAD OF its scheduled briefingbeforetheJointCommittee Commission and the Election of Parliament on the simulta- Commission are scheduled to neous elections Bills on De- brief the committee, according cember 4, the 23rd Law Com- to the meeting notice. The two Bills were intromissionislearnttohavefirmed up its view that the Bills do not duced by Law Minister Arjun disturb the basic structure of Ram Meghwal in December the Constitution, when it last year and referred to the comes to federalism and the committee. The Bills provide for synchronising right of the voter. theLokSabhaand The commisEXPRESS Assembly elecsion’s view, it is tionsbycurtailing learnt, is that the the terms of state Bills, which will Assemblies that enable simultaneous elections to the Lok are elected after a particular SabhaandStateandUnionTer- Lok Sabha to end with the term ritory Assemblies, do not need of that Lok Sabha. Once the ratification by states as they do terms of the legislatures align, not propose to make any thenextgeneralelectionwould changes to subjects under Ar- be held simultaneously. In the commission’s view, it ticle368(2),clauses(a)to(e),relating to subjects that require islearnt,theBillsaffectthedurationorfrequencyofvotingand ratification by states. Inresponsetoaquerybythe nottherighttovote,whichdoes committee, which is chaired by not violate the basic structure. »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BJPMPPPChaudhary,thecom- Not in favour of statutory backing for Model Code of Conduct exclusive 10 YRS AfTER DEATH Of PHD SCHOLAR Up to 3 yrs jail, fine on institutes: Karnataka’s Rohith Vemula Bill to curb campus caste bias To be tabled in House Winter Session Nikhila Henry Hyderabad, November 27 l bIllPROVISIONS NEARLY 10 years after the death of Dalit PhD scholar Rohith Vemula by suicide at the UniversityofHyderabad(UoH), theSiddaramaiah-ledCongress government in Karnataka has comeupwithaBillnamedafter himinordertocurbcaste-based discriminationandharassment in public and private colleges and universities in the state. The Siddaramaiah government is likely to table the Bill in the state Assembly during its Winter Session to be held during December 8-19. The legislation is being brought following a nudge from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. The Bill, called The Karnataka Rohith Vemula (Prevention of Exclusion or Injustice) (Right to Education and Dignity)Bill,2025,seekstoaddress the “caste realities” in higher educationalinstitutions(HEIs). Some academic and legal experts, who have gone through THE TABLING of the Bill will come months after a nudge by Cong leader Rahul Gandhi IT SEEKS to curb “discrimination, harassment and atrocity on the basis of caste” in higher educational institutions E. AN AGGRIEVED person can be a student, faculty member or nonteaching staff BILL PROPOSES penalty for individual offenders, ranging from written apology to 3 years in prison and fine ALSO IMPOSES penalty on institutions for violations, which includes a cut in govt aid the Bill, say that upon its enactment, this law would curb “discrimination, harassment and atrocity on the basis of caste”. The proposed legislation »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 l LIST INCLUDES SEVEN INDIAN NAMES FOR GEOLOGICAL FEATURES ON MARS, INCLUDING CRATER NAMED AFTER RENOWNED GEOLOGIST M S kRISHNAN On Martian surface, a slice of Kerala: Periyar river, Varkala beach, ISRO birthplace Anjali Marar geological features on Mars, accordingtoanannouncementby theInternationalAstronomical WHAT’S COMMON to Kerala’s Union (IAU) on November 24. In all, seven Indian names largest river, its largest fort, its most popular beach and two of featureinthelatestlistprepared by the IAU’s Working its towns that helped PAGE 1 Group for Planetary propel India’s space System Nomencladreams?Theyallnow ture.Thenameoftwo have a second adother locations on dress — 225 million Mars honours the renowned kilometres away on Mars. All these places — Periyar geologist M S Krishnan, the first river, Bekal fort, Varkala beach, Indiantobecomethedirectorof and Thumba and Valiamala — theGeologicalSurveyofIndiain areamongthenewestnamesfor 1951. The crater named after Bengaluru, November 27 anchor Krishnan measures 77 km in diameterandisbelievedtobeover 3 billion years old. And a plain surface to the southeast of this crater,about50kmindiameter, willbeknownasKrishnanPlaus. Accordingtothenomenclature rules for Mars, large craters, of the size 50 km or larger, are named after scientists, while smaller craters are to be named after small towns and villages anywhere in the world with populations of about100,000orless.“Thiscategoryissimplyalargesourceof Valiamala Krishnan Varkala Bekal Krishnan Palus Thumba Periyar Vallis The newly named geological features. INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION crater names. No commemoration of specific towns or villagesisintended,”therulessay. There are more than 2,000 featuresonMarsthathavebeen named until now, according to the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature maintained by the US Geological Survey, one of the most authoritative databases on the subject. About 50 ofthemhaveIndianreferences, including names of Indian towns and villages. For naming stars or planets or geological features on the planets,theIAUissuesa‘Callfor Proposal’ seeking names from requestors worldwide. Along withthename,itsoriginanddescriptionofthefeatureneedsto besubmittedalongwithashort scientificexplanation.Thesubmission must also include the annotated and unannotated images of the feature, the feature type, latitude or longitude in the correct coordinate system, and its size, if known. In some cases, there are country-specific groups to whom the names are first sub- mitted after which it is sent to the IAU. In some other cases, the proposer sends the names totheIAU.Thefinalselectionis done by the highest officials of the IUA after deliberation and committee-level meetings. In case of the latest Martian crater naming, the proposal was sent by scientists at the Indian Institute of Space Science andTechnology(IIST)basedon their ongoing research. In the latest addition, the IAU has chosen a 9-km wide »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Lucknow