DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2024, LUCKNOW, LATE CITY, 20 PAGES BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY ‘DEEPLY HONOURED AND HUMBLED BY THE RESPONSIBILITY’ NoelTatanamedTataTrustschairman: ‘Lookforwardtocarryingonlegacy’ Ratan Tata’s half brother, married into Mistry family, keeps low profile GEORGE MATHEW MUMBAI, OCTOBER 11 The Indian Express wishes its readers HAPPY DUSSEHRA We are closed today. There will be no edition of the newspaper on Sunday, October 13, 2024. `6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 NOEL NAVAL Tata was Friday named the successor of Ratan Tata at Tata Trusts, the majority owner of Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata group. He will now guide the $165 billion conglomerate at a time when the group faces several challengesgloballyanddomestically. In a statement issued on Friday, Tata Trusts said, “The trustees of various Trusts that comprisetheTataTrustsmetata jointmeetingheldinMumbaitoday.Theycondoledthedemiseof Mr Ratan N Tata, Chairman, Tata Trusts, and recalled his yeoman services not only to the Tata Groupbutalsotonationbuilding. Inseparatemeetingsheldimmediately, thereafter, it was unanimously decided to appoint Mr. His brief is to protect legacy Noel Naval Tata, 67 Noel Naval Tata as the Chairman of the various Trusts that constitute the Tata Trusts and also des- NOEL TATA may have lacked the stature of Ratan Tata in India’s industrial landscape, but he has proved his mettle by running companies such as Trent and Tata International. He has strong familial ties too. He is expected to guide the $165 billion group . ignate him as Chairman, Tata Trusts. His appointment comes into effect immediately.” Noel Naval Tata, 67, is the son of Naval Tata and Simone Tata (nee Simone Dunoyer), and is married to Cyrus Mistry’s sister Aloo Mistry. Tata group insiders say Noel maintains a low profile and is rarely seen at public events or corporate summits. Unlike his brother, Noel is not part of any policy-making forum of the government or regulatory bodies. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF JP NARAYAN Withdraw support to NDA: Akhilesh to Nitish after ‘entry denied’ at JP Centre MAULSHREE SETH LUCKNOW, OCTOBER 11 SAMAJWADI PARTY (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Friday garlanded a bust of Jayaprakash Narayan mounted atop a vehicle outside his residence in Lucknow amid sloganeering by hundreds of his party workers after he was denied entry to the JP International Centre on the birth anniversary of the late socialist ideologue. Amid heavy barricading outsidethecentrehousingamemorial,andalsohisresidence,Yadav later addressed the crowd and made an appeal to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to withdraw support to the NDA government at the Centre reminding him how he himself was a product of the JP Movement and now socialists were being stopped from offering respects to the late leader. “On the birth anniversary of Jayaprakash Narayan ji, we go to the JPNIC museum to celebrate. But I don't know why this government stops us. This blockade by the BJP is not the first. It has blocked all good work," Yadav said. "Today, standing on the road, we are paying tributes to the 'Jan Nayak'. This government wants CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 TRIAL RUN An Indian Air Force aircraft makes a successful test landing at the Navi Mumbai International Airport Friday. The airport is scheduled to begin operations from March 2025. Amit Chakravarty Trump targets India on high tariffs, vows to reciprocate RAVI DUTTA MISHRA NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 11 SP chief Akhilesh Yadav after paying tribute to JP Narayan, outside his residence in Lucknow on Friday. Vishal Srivastav Withdraw case against 32 in 2015 communal clash: UP govt to officials MANISH SAHU LUCKNOW, OCTOBER 11 THE UTTAR Pradesh government has directed the Kanpur district administration to file a plea in the concerned court to withdraw a 2015 communal violence case in which 32 people —allfromtheHinducommunity — have been chargesheeted. Thecaserelatestoviolencein PAGE 1 ANCHOR the Fazalganj area of Kanpur on October24,2015,adayafterareligious poster was allegedly torn during a Muharram procession. Confirming the direction to the Kanpur district administration, a government counsel told The Indian Express: “We have received a letter instructing us to file a plea in the concerned court for withdrawal of the case. However, we have not yet AFTER CALLING India a “tariff king” and a “trade abuser” in the run-up to the US presidential elections, Republican nominee and former president Donald Trump has now vowed to introduceareciprocaltaxagainstIndia if elected to office next month. Speaking in Detroit, Trump said the US is liberal when it comes to tariffs, but countries like China, Brazil and India impose high tariffs. He said India imposes the highest tariffs and CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 HAPPY DUSSEHRA ‘India can be more active… convince Israel for a ceasefire or de-escalation’ DIVYA A NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 11 AS THE conflict in West Asia drawsinIran,LebanonandSyria, Iranian Ambassador to India Iraj Elahi talks about how India can play a more active role towards a ceasefire and the humanitarian challenge on both sides. Edited excerpts from an interview to The Indian Express: When the Israel-Hamas conflict started last October 7, there were apprehensions it may escalate. One year down the line, it’s coming INTERVIEW IRAJ ELAHI IRAN’S AMBASSADOR TO INDIA true. In the beginning, the tension was very limited. Hamas launched an operation, which Had brief exchange with Modi, pointed to work that needs to be done: Trudeau No substantive talks, Canada must act on anti-India activities: Govt sources DIVYA A NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 11 PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi met his Canadian counterpartJustineTrudeauonthesidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Vientiane, Laos, on Friday – their second meeting since Trudeau alleged India's involvement in the killing of a Canada-based Khalistan separatist. Trudeau, who made the meeting public, described it as a “brief exchange”.“Iwon'tgointo details about what we talked about but what I've said many times is that the safety of Canadians and upholding the rule of law is one of the fundamental responsibilities of any Canadiangovernmentandthat's what I'll stay focused on,” Trudeau told reporters in Laos. “I emphasised that there is work that we need to do,” he said. India's ties with Canada have suffered a setback since September last year when Trudeau alleged the Indian government’s “potential” involvement in the killing of a Canadabased Khalistan separatist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, on June 18, 2023. India had rejected the charges as “absurd” and “motivated”. In Laos on Friday, Trudeau said he stands behind his allegation. He said national security and law enforcement agencies “continue to be deeply engaged on this issue”. Canada has arrested four Indian nationals in the course of its investigation INSIDE Israel called a terrorist act. Some countries supported that, while some other countries like Iran, Syria, Lebanon and Iran called it resistance…it was a limited operation against Israel but Israel tried to change it to an excuse for its strategic plan. What would that be? To eradicate Hamas from Gaza, to push Gazan people out of their homeland, towards the south, and to occupy all of Gaza. At the same time, it increased its pressure on West Bank citizens, even destroying the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 RAIPUR, OCTOBER 11 SAURABH CHANDRAKAR, the alleged kingpin in the Mahadev app gambling platform case, has beenarrested, The Indian Express has learnt. The arrest followed an Interpol red notice to law enforcement agencies worldwide tolocateandprovisionallyarrest Chandrakar. The CBI had taken over the case in August. TheEnforcementDirectorate’s counsel Saurabh Kumar Pandey said the process to arrest ChandrakarbeganonSeptember 4, when a special court in Raipur issued a non-bailable warrant against him and Uppal. “This warrant was used to issue a red corner notice based on which he (Chandrakar) has been arrested. Yesterday (Friday), we A court in Raipur had issued arrest warrant on September 4 approached the special court again to receive the necessary documentstocompletetheextradition process. Now, this documentwillbesenttotherespective PM Narendra Modi, Canada’s PM Justin Trudeau with Thailand’s PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra in Vientiane, Laos. PTI, Reuters into the Nijjar case. This was the second meeting between the two leaders since Trudeau raised the allegations – they met on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Apulia, Italy, in June this year. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) had tweetedaphotographof thetwo leaders shaking hands then. On the latest meeting, sources in New Delhi said there was “no substantive discussion” between the two leaders in CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MORE REPORTS PAGE 10 Crown gifted by Modi to Bangla temple stolen, India seeks probe OMAR STAKES CLAIM TO FORM GOVT, OATH LIKELY ON OCT 16 YATI ‘AIDE’ARRESTED IN GHAZIABAD PAGES 10 & 4 Mahadev betting app case ‘kingpin’ Saurabh Chandrakar held in Dubai on Interpol notice JAYPRAKASH S NAIDU CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE EXPRESS ON SIDELINES OF LAOS SUMMIT court in Dubai. On our part, we’ll be sending this document to the central government,” he said. First having come to the light under the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government in Chhattisgarh, the Mahadev bettingappisanonlinebettingplatform that enabled illegal gambling on various games, includingpoker,cardgames,and cricket, and even extended to CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 PM Modi gifted the crown during his visit in 2021. PTI DIVYA A NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 11 EXPRESSING “DEEP concern” over the reported theft of a crown gifted by Prime Minister NarendraModitoJeshoreshwari Kali temple in Bangladesh, India onFridayaskedDhakato“investigate” the matter. In a post on X, the Indian HighCommissioninDhakasaid: “We have seen reports of theft of the crown gifted by PM Modi to Jeshoreshwari Kali Temple CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Maharashtra Ladki Bahin scheme throws a curveball for farmers PARTHA SARATHI BISWAS LATUR, OCTOBER 11 YASHODA GAVIT’S calendar is full till December-end. The 43year-old from Nagzari village in Maharashtra’s Latur district has her hands full as an agricultural labourer, beginning with harvesting of soyabean this month. It will be followed by planting of sugarcane in NovemberDecember, for which she had “advancebooking”fromfarmers in Latur and the neighbouring Dharashiv (formerly Osmanabad) district. “There’s no time for rest,” says Gavit. But it isn’t just a bumper kharif crop and equally bright prospects for the upcoming rabi (winter-spring) season, on the back of above-normal monsoonrains,thatisthesource of her happiness. Gavit has also received Rs 6,000 in four monthly instalments under the Maharashtra government’s Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana (MMLBY). This scheme, launched by the ruling Eknath Shinde-ledMahayuticoalitionin July, provides a direct benefit transferof Rs1,500permonthto women aged 21-65 years from families with annual income below Rs 2.5 lakh. For farm labourers like Gavit, the money from MMLBY, announced just months before Assembly elections, is a bonus over and above the rain god’s bounty that has created plenty of harvesting and planting work demand. Butthenewschemeissomething that Mujahid Ali is not happy about. For the last one week, this farmer from Sonala village in Buldhana district’s Sangrampur taluka has been going out in search of labourers to harvest his cotton that will be ready for its first picking by the Mujahid Ali, a farmer from Buldhana district, is looking for labourers to harvest his cotton. Partha Sarathi Biswas middle of this month. “Right now, I am not getting confirmationfromanybody.The bollshavefullyformedandsome have even burst. My kapas (raw un-ginned cotton) yields are going to be good, but all that will come to naught if there’s no one to harvest it,” says the 37-yearold,whocultivatesthefibrecrop in 18 acres. Like Ali, several farmers across Maharashtra’s cotton and soyabean-growing belts of Vidarbha and Marathwada are blaming MMLBY for what they claim is one of the reasons for an unprecedented labour shortage, which has even put the brakes on harvesting. “The women who have already started getting the money are not interested in coming to our fields. The ones who are yet togetthemoneyarebusyorganising documents and going to the Nagrik Suvidha Kendra (Common Services Centre) to avail of the scheme’s benefits,” says Ali. Ramesh Patil, a farmer from Latur, agrees there is a paucity of labour in his area. “Labour is short in supply and we had to make arrangements from other districts,” he says, adding that the Ladki Bahin scheme has pushed up the labour cost. InAkola,LalitPatil,leaderof a farm union called Shetkari Sanghatana, says they had to bring labour from Baitul and other areas of Madhya Pradesh. “Labour in Maharashtra is extremely short in supply and this year the condition is really bad,” he says. Patil mentions how most women who pick cotton are now busy collecting documents to get the direct cash transfer. “The ones who have got the money are either asking for higher rates which farmers would not be able to afford, or plainly refusing to come to work on the fields.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Lucknow