The Editorial Page: RBI holds rates, taps other tools to boost capital flows, support the currency 8 SaTURDaY, JUne 6, 2026 JournaliSM of Courage AhMeDABAD, lAte CItY, 20 PAGeS ₹6.00l 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 lMera Yuva Bharat, under the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, will organise the ‘Youth for Viksit Bharat – MY Bharat Youth Convention’ in Delhi. It is expected to bring together over 6,000 young participants. Track This and more on www.indianexpress.com Business as Usual By eP UnnY To draw funds, prop rupee, govt scraps Fii capital gains, withholding tax on bonds Re under pressure, BoP deficit likely to be around $50-60 bn, move expected to result in good foreign fund inflows Siddharth upasani New Delhi, June 5 AMIdpreSSUretoattractforeignfundsandalsostabilisethe rupee, the Centre on Friday scrapped the capital gains tax, bothlong-termandshort-term, oninvestmentbyForeignInstitutional Investors (FIIs) in government bonds as well as the withholding tax they must pay on their interest income from these debt instruments. At present, FIIs pay 12.5% tax on long-termcapitalgains,30%on short-term capital gains, and around20%withholdingtaxon interest income. The decision, taken after at leasttwomonthsofinternaldiscussions, is expected to bring tens of billions of dollars in foreignfundintogovernmentdebt over the coming years, and bridgetosomeextentthelooming balance of payments (Bop) deficitthateconomistsestimate could even touch $60 billion in 2026-27. In an ordinance promulgated to amend the Income Tax Act, 2025, after president CjPfounder landsinDelhi today,police saykeeping closewatch Differential rates ondeposits beyondRBInorms notacceptable, saysGovernor fIIs hOLD rs 3.75 LaKh CrOre, Or 3.34%, Of rs 112 LaKh CrOre GOvt DeBt »CONtINueD ON PaGe 2 l Foreigninvestmentin FY26 growth estimate raised to 7.7 per cent; momentum strong: PM Siddharth upasani debtpositive,butfalling New Delhi, June 5 l Equity The INdIAN economy ended 2025-26 on an unexpectedly strong note, with the Gdp estimatedtohavegrown7.7%onthe backofhighergrowthininvestments,theMinistryofStatistics and programme Implementation (MoSpI) said on Friday. l Debt (in $ mn) 18,306 124 6,634 1,342 -18,909 2024 2025 -28,202 2026 Note: FPI INVeStMeNt IN DeBt INCluDeS GeNerAl, VoluNtArY reteNtIoN, AND FullY ACCeSSIBle routeS; SourCe: NSDl E. explained Gdp growth in the last quarter of the year, or JanuaryMarch 2026, declined slightly to 7.8% from 8% in october-december 2025 — revised upwards from 7.8% — despite the WestAsiawaroverlappingwith the final month. Marginal revisions were also made to the Gdp growth »CONtINueD ON PaGe 2 RBI eases norms for PSUs, banks to get foreign fund inflows George Mathew Addressing concerns Mumbai, June 5 To assuage global investors, the government and the RBI have in unison announced a string of decisions to attract foreign money. In the last couple of years, heavy pullout by FPIs from equities and poor net FDI inflows have exerted pressure on the rupee. To eNCoUrAGe foreign capital inflows, the reserve Bank of IndiaonFridayeasednormsfor state-owned enterprises to borrow overseas and for banks to mobilise foreign current deposits.Themovecomplements the government’s decision to »CONtINueD ON PaGe 2 rBi Governor sanjay malhotra in mumbai, Friday. PtI akash Mandal Mumbai, June 5 debris being cleared at the site of the gutted B&B facility in hauz rani, south delhi, on Friday. AMIt MehrA Owner of B&B where 21 died was held last year in fake passport case Police: Bajaj took money to let Bangla nationals use his Delhi home address Mahender Singh Manral & alok Singh New Delhi, June 5 lAvKeSh BAJAJ, the 60-yearold owner of Flourish Stays B&B in South delhi’s hauz rani, where 21 people died in a fire Wednesday morning, was first arrested by delhi police last year in a fake passport case involving Bangladeshi nationals in central delhi. he was chargesheeted in the case and subsequentlygrantedbail,The Indian Express has learnt. Bajaj was arrested Wednes- The Big PicTure A neighbourhood called Hauz Rani PAge 15 day evening by a team led by Assistant Commissioner of police ritu raj. on Thursday, the Southdistrictpolicesoughthis custody before a delhi court to »CONtINueD ON PaGe 2 Three killed, homes set ablaze in LauNCheS PrOjeCtS wOrth rS 18,000 Cr IN State attack on Kuki village in Manipur PM Modi in Gujarat: Congress spread ‘cockroach Janta Party’ founder abhijeet dipke Sukrita Baruah Mahender Singh Manral & jatin anand Three people, including a couple, were killed on Friday morninginanattackonaKukiZo village in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district, amidst continuing tensions in the state’s hills. A senior police official confirmed that an attack by “unidentified gunmen” took place on loibol Khullen village in Kangpokpi on Friday morning, andthatthreebodieshavebeen Guwahati, June 5 New Delhi, June 5 delhI polICe has issued a series of instructions to its personnel for the planned protest by supporters of the online satirical platform ‘Cockroach Janta party’ (CJp) at Jantar Mantar on Saturday. The 2,000-odd personnel who will be deployed in the Newdelhidistricthavebeendirected to avoid confrontation with the protesters and to try to keep them calm through persuasion, sources said. The district will be divided into 12 zones, each of which will beheadedbyadCp-rankofficer. police will step up deploymentoutsidethehomesofvIps including prime Minister Narendra Modi, home Minister Amit Shah, and education Minister dharmendra pradhan, who has been targeted by the protesters. Abhijeet dipke, who started the ‘Cockroach Janta party’ Instagram and X handles that became a phenomenon within daysoftheirlaunchlastmonth, is expected to arrive in delhi from the United States on Saturday morning. on Friday evening, spokespersonsforthe“youthpressure group” gave a call for a protest »CONtINueD ON PaGe 2 recovered from there. Kuki-Zo groups in the district have identified those killed as letkhongam haokip (34), his wife Tinmary haokip (30), and Jangminlan haokip (34). They have also reported that seven homes were set ablaze. While Kuki-Zo groups have alleged that Naga armed groups are responsible for the attack, the official said that the matter is under investigation. “Kuki Inpi Manipur unequivocally denounces this barbaric act of violence against unarmedcivilians.Thedeliberate killing of innocent persons and the destruction of homes and livelihoods constitute a seriousviolationofhumandignity and fundamental human rights. The deliberate targeting of civilians and the destruction of homes can never be justified under any circumstances,” the Kuki Inpi Manipur, a top body of the community, said in a statement. »CONtINueD ON PaGe 2 Facing rebellion, Mamata overhauls TMC, brings in old-timers, loyalists atri Mitra & ravik Bhattacharya Kolkata, June 5 BeSIeGed BY the rebellion — firstbythenewlyelectedMlAs, and followed by growing murmurs of an imminent split among her Mps — Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee, in a desperate bid to keep her flock together, on Friday announced a major organisational reshuffle in the party, packing it with loyalists and old-timers. While Mamata has retained nephew Abhishek Banerjee as the party’s national general secretary despite widespread criticism, she has appointed two The Tmc chief is set to visit delhi on June 8 for an india bloc meet jointnationalsecretaries–rajya Sabha Mps derek o'Brien and dolaSen—toassisthim,signalling to the rebels that the decisionwillbetakenjointlyandnot unilaterally by Abhishek. The announcement was made after the national working committee meeting of the party, which, according tosources, was attended by a handful of leaders at the TMC chief’s Kalighat residence in Kolkata. The reshuffle comes two days after 60 of the newly elected 80 TMC MlAs defied Mamata Banerjee and party number two Abhishek Banerjee to choose expelled MlA »CONtINueD ON PaGe 2 chaos, its parasitic politics won’t work rBI GoverNor Sanjay MalhotrasaidFridaythatbanksare permitted to provide differential interest rates on deposits in certain cases like senior citizens, but the central bank has very clear policies and conditions for such instances. he saidbanksmustbetransparent by clearly displaying rates to everyone, and offering undisclosed preferential rates is “certainly not acceptable”. “We have a very consistent and very clear policy on deposits,astowhentheycanhave differentialrates.Ithinkforcertain categories of people like senior citizens, or depending ontenure…(insuchcases)then youcanhavedifferentialrates,” Malhotra said at the post monetary policy press conference. declining to comment on anyspecificentity,hesaid,“But they (banks) have to be transparent at the same time. You have to display them (the rates) toeveryoneclearly,andanydifferential rate beyond that, if someone is giving, is certainly not acceptable.” Malhotra’s remarks were in response to questions on the legality of banks providing loans with differential interest rates after The Indian Express reported last week that hdFC Bank’sinternalrecordsshowed the bank had made interest payments of rs 45 crore to the »CONtINueD ON PaGe 2 Murderattempt caseagainstKhan Sirfor‘asking guardstoshoot’ Kamal Saiyed himanshu harsh prIMe MINISTer Narendra Modi on Friday accused the Congress of “spreading chaos and uncertainty” and said that people were dissatisfied in the party-ruledstatesashereferred to the change of Chief Minister in Karnataka. pM Modi was addressing a publicmeetingafterinaugurating and laying the foundation ofprojectsworthoverrs18,000 crore in Gujarat at a programme in Surat. “For the past 12 years, the Congress has been sowing chaos and uncertainty and looking for opportunities for itself, but the people of the country are giving it a befitting reply,” he said. pM Modi said, “everyone was talking about West Bengal, and the recent Assembly electionresultstheregivesenthusiasm and energy to the people. In the elections in West Bengal, Assam and puducherry, the BJp and the NdA have got a hugemandate.Apartfromthis, in the local body elections such as panchayats and corporations, held across the country, the BJp is getting victories. The countrydoesnotlikechaos,uncertainty and disappointment. In Gujarat, the people have pushed the Congress into a funny situation. Apart from BIhAr edUCATor and YouTuber Faizal Khan has been booked for attempted murder and under the Arms Act days after his two security guards allegedly told police that he ordered them to open fire during violence outside his coaching institute in patna on June 2. Surat, June 5 Patna, June 5 Prime minister narendra modi in surat, Gujarat, on Friday. Union minister c r Patil, Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel and deputy cm harsh sanghavi are also seen. PtI anoTher rePorT, P3 this, in states where the Congress is in power, the people are fedupwiththatparty.recently, in the local body elections in himachal pradesh and haryana, the Congress lost badly. The people of punjab too have given a clear message to the Congress. The message is that Congress'sparasiticpoliticswill not work. The Congress's politics of seeking opportunities in chaos will not work. There is widespread anger amongthepeopleofKarnataka against the Congress government there. This is why the Congress resorted to the process of changing the CM in Karnataka.” Addressing a large gathering at the Indoor Stadium in Surat, in the presence of Guja- rat Chief Minister Bhupendra patel, deputy CM harsh Sanghavi and Union Jal Shakti MinisterCrpatil,thepMsaid,“one lakh people have launched a five-day cleanliness campaign in Surat city. This is the biggest gift for me. It is not just a cleanlinesscampaignbutafestivalof culture for a healthy future.” pMModisaid,“June5iscelebrated as World environment day, and I am happy that today I am in Surat, inaugurating development projects in the city that has been ranked the cleanest in the country. In the past, Surat was affected by an epidemic... the plague. But today, it is known for cleanliness. Surat is not a city; Surat is a spirit.” he also appealed to the »CONtINueD ON PaGe 2 Bihar educator and YouTuber Faizal khan The case came days after Khanclaimedthat“8-10rounds ofgunfire”werefiredoutsidehis coachinginstitute,KhanGlobal Studies (KGS), during violence outside the centre in patna’s Musallahpur.registeredThursday, the latest FIr invokes BNS Section109(attempttomurder) and relevant provisions of the Arms Act against two guards, »CONtINueD ON PaGe 2 l inaccUraTe india maP, no resPonse To qUesTions on conTenT, claims PUBlisher Penguin pulls plug on Joe Sacco’s book on 2013 Muzaffarnagar communal riots ritu Sarin 135 pages, it chronicles the 2013 Muzaffarnagar communal clashes that left over 60 Joe SACCo, the acclaimed dead and 40,000 displaced. graphic novelist whose illusreaders in India hoping to trated dispatches find it at their local from Gaza, palesbookstore will be page 1 tine, and the Baldisappointed: penkans have explored guin random new facets in war house India has journalism and comics repor- pulled the plug on distributing, turned his unflinching ting the title, The Indian Exeye on India in his latest work, press has learnt. The Once and Future Riot. In The book, published last New Delhi, June 5 anchor The book, published last year, was expected to hit indian shelves by aug-sept year, was expected to hit Indian shelves by August-September. But, Gaurav Shrinagesh, Ceo of penguin random house (prh) India, confirmed that the title was red-flagged during a precheck and legal scrutiny process. “We had highlighted certain things on the Joe Sacco title but they (penguin UK) did not get back to us,” he said. “one problem was a map in the book showing inaccurate boundaries of India. Besides that, we had raised some content questions and asked for citations which never came.” The publisher added, “We are very clear about this: if we know there is an inaccurate map and no changes are forthcoming, we will not do it. We have decided there will be no distribution of the book due to these red flags not being attended to.” how many content queries were raised beyond the map issue remains unclear. The book is available in India on some online platforms which source copies from UK-based wholesalers — a parallel distribution channel that prh India has no control over. Some South delhi bookstores, tired of waiting, have imported copies directly from the UK. Sacco, who dedicated the book to India’s “hardworking rural journalists” — several assisted him as translators Ahmedabad and researchers and also feature in its pages — visited Muzaffarnagar a year after the riots. In a recent interview for prism magazine, he reflected on what drew him to the story. “It’s a question of looking at the lies and presenting them as lies,” he said. “‘She said, he said’ is not journalism. That’s just quoting people. In this case, it was possible to make an effort to find out what actually happened.” In the book’s final chapter, “The Future riot,” Sacco dwells on the politics behind the riots. The 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots occurred just months before the 2014 general elections. “Communal violence, planned or not, can confer some electoral advantage,” he writes, “and bloodshed, properly framed, is nothing but a political building block.”