eye MCS/204/2020-22RNINO.MAHENG2002/21899 THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE ‘Choti with power is a genius idea’ MUMBAI,LATECITY OCTOBER20,2024 16+4PAGES,`6.00 DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA Shraddha Kapoor speaks on Stree 2, family, Instagram FOUR-PAGE PULLOUT WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM GROUP OF MINISTERS’ MEETING 20/10/2024 99 127 157 74 Police: 2 ITBP men killed in IED attack by Maoists in Chhattisgarh JAYPRAKASH S NAIDU Health cover for senior citizens, term life insurance may get GST waiver Final decision on recommendations to be taken by GST Council in November AANCHAL MAGAZINE NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 19 THE GOODS and Services Tax on premiums paid by senior citizens for health insurance and premiums paid by all for term life insurance may be exempted as most members of a ministerial panel set up specifically to study this agreed in favour of ex- tending such relief on Saturday. Separately, the Group of Ministers (GoM) on rate rationalisation also discussed Saturday a GST rejig for several itemsandproposedcuttingrates forsomeitemssuchaspackaged water above 20 litres (5 per cent from18percent),bicyclespriced less than Rs 10,000 (5 per cent from 12 per cent) and exercise CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE KEY RECOMMENDATIONS GST EXEMPTION ON Term life insurance premium for all, including plans with family members Health insurance premium, irrespective of cover, for senior citizens Health cover till `5 lakh exempted for others — insurance over `5 lakh to attract 18% GST RATE RATIONALISATION GST cut to 5% for packaged drinking water of over 20 litre (from 18%); bicycles priced under `10,000 (from 12%); and exercise books (from 12 %) GST hike to 28% from 18% for shoes priced above `15,000, wrist watches above `25,000 REVENUE IMPACT `22,000 crore gain from rationalisation of GST rate `2,200 crore loss from exemption on GST for senior citizens’ health insurance, `5-lakh cover for others `200 crore loss from exemption on term life insurance RAIPUR, OCTOBER 19 TWO PERSONNEL of the IndoTibetan Border Police (ITBP) were killed and two policemen injured when Maoists carried outanIED(improvisedexplosive device) blast in Abujhmad, in Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh, on Saturday, police said. According to police, a joint team of security personnel, includingtheITBP,BorderSecurity Force (BSF), Bastar Fighters, District Reserve Guard (DRG) and local police, were returning from an operation when the blast occurred in a forest area near Kodiliyar village at around 11.30 am to 12 noon. Briefing the media, Inspector GeneralofPoliceforBastarRange, Sundarraj P said: “The ITBP personnelwhodiedhavebeenidentified as Amar Panwar (36) from Satara district of Maharashtra, and K Rajesh (36) from Kadappa in Andhra Pradesh. Both were from 53rd Battalion of ITBP.” The IED weighed 4-5 kgs, police said. Acting on information about the presence of Maoists from CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE WORLD NETANYAHU HOUSE ATTACKED BY DRONE, NO CASUALTY PAGE 12 DIPLOMATS LEAVE OTTAWA, DELHI Nijjar and Pannun part of one plot… let’s keep channels open, says Canada envoy Canadian envoyto India Cameron MacKay. SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 19 AS THE Canadian diplomats left India Friday before their exit deadline ended Saturday midnight,CanadianHighCommissioner to India Cameron MacKay, wholeftthecountryinAugustaftercompletinghisterm,saidthat theUSindictmentpaintsa“compelling and detailed portrait” of “a single plot” emanating from Delhi to kill multiple targets across North America in Canada and the United States. This is the first time the Canadian envoy — officially, he is still High Commissioner — has spoken out publicly and linked the two alleged plots as one: the killing of pro-Khalistan separatistfigureHardeepSinghNijjar in Canada in June last year and the failed bid to kill proKhalistanseparatistGurpatwant Singh Pannun in the US. India has rejected the Canadianaccusationsas“absurd and politically motivated” but X/@HCCanInd has been more accommodating of US requests on information and action. MacKay’s Deputy High Commissioner Stewart Wheeler has been expelled along with five Canadian diplomats. New Delhi recalled its High Commissioner and five more diplomats —theCanadiangovernmentsaid that they have been expelled. Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Verma will leave Ottawa Saturday evening (Ottawa time) and theremaining Indian diplomats have left Ottawa for India. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 VIKASH YADAV’S FAMILY SAYS NOT SEEN HIM IN A YEAR PAGE 10 VALLABH OZARKAR & SADAF MODAK MUMBAI, OCTOBER 19 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 L-G puts stamp of approval on Omar Govt’s resolution seeking statehood ‘Dispute between govts, let people not pay price... normalcy will take long’ Accused out on bail in Lankesh killing case joins Shinde Sena AN ACCUSED in the 2017 murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh has joined the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde ahead of the Assembly elections in the state. ShrikantPangarkar,whowas arrested in August 2018 in the Lankesh case, was granted bail by the Karnataka High Court last month. He is also an accused in the 2018 Nalasopara arms haul case, in which he was granted START OF HEALING PROCESS: OMAR GOVT Shrikant Pangarkar (wearing garland) joined the Shinde Sena in the presence of party leader and former state minister Arjun Khotkar (left). Express J&K Lt Governor Manoj Sinha administers oath to NC MLA Mubarak Gul as the pro-tem Assembly Speaker, Saturday. PTI QUAD POWER NavalshipsofIndia,USA,AustraliaandJapanduringtheseaphaseofExerciseMalabar2024.This year’seditionofthequadrilateralexercise,whichbeganonOctober8andconcludedonFriday,saw participationofwarships,theirintegralhelicopters,long-rangepatrolaircraftandsubmarines. PTI ‘LIVE ON SENSE OF HOPE’ SC people’s court, does not mean play role of Opp in Parliament: CJI ‘Divide… SC wonderful if decision in favour, denigrated when against’ As 7 cubs deal with tick infestation, Kuno officials wait & watch PAVNEET SINGH CHADHA PANAJI, OCTOBER 19 STRESSING THAT the role of the Supreme Court as “the people’s court” must be preserved, Chief Justiceof IndiaDY Chandrachud saidSaturdaythisdoesnotmean that the apex court has to fulfil the role of the Opposition in the Parliament. Speaking at an international legalconferenceorganisedbythe Supreme Court Advocates-onRecord Association (SCAORA) in South Goa, CJI Chandrachud, whoretiresonNovember10,said the access to justice paradigm of the Supreme Court, which has been developed over the last 75 years, is something “which we should never lose track of”. “Otherwise,associetiesgrow and societies evolve into more prosperity and affluence, there The cubs were born to female cheetahs Asha and Gamini. File NAVEED IQBAL SRINAGAR, OCTOBER 19 THE RESOLUTION passed by the Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet, urgingtheUnionGovernmentto restore statehood to J&K, has been cleared by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. After Raj Bhawan’s clearance of the resolution, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah will visit the nationalcapital“inthecomingdays” to meet the Prime Minister and Union Ministers in this regard. L-G Sinha also administered the oath of office to National is a perception that you should be looking at only the big-ticket items. Ours is not a court like that. Ours is a court which is a people’s court. And I think the role of the Supreme Court as a people’s court must of course be preservedforthefuture,”hesaid. “Now,beingapeople’scourtis not to say that we fulfil the role of CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ANAND MOHAN J BHOPAL, OCTOBER 19 WILDLIFE OFFICIALS at Kuno NationalParkarekeepingaclose watch on seven cheetah cubs who have a tick infestation, especiallysincethey“havenoprior experience of anesthetising them in the open forest” and apprehend that the mothers will abandon the cubs following medical intervention, The Indian Express has learnt. Thecubswereborntofemale CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Shooters were told to target Baba Siddique or son: Mumbai police MOHAMED THAVER MUMBAI, OCTOBER 19 CJI D Y Chandrachud in Panaji on Saturday. PTI Conference leader Mubarak Gul asthepro-temSpeakeroftheJ&K Legislative Assembly at Raj Bhawan on Saturday. Besides Omar, others present on the occasion included Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary, Cabinet ministers, Chief SecretaryAtalDullooandAdvisor to the CM Nasir Aslam Wani. GulhadwonfromtheEidgah constituency in Srinagar in the recently-held Assembly elections. As pro-tem Speaker, Gul will administer oath to the newly-elected MLAs of J&K Assembly on October 21 THE MUMBAI police crime branch on Saturday said that the shooters opened fire at NCP leader and former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique as he parkedhiscarnearly200metres fromhissonZeeshan’sKherwadi office and walked the rest of the waytointeractwithyoungparty workers. The police said that Zeeshan too was on their radar but since he got into the vehicle right outside his office, the accused decided to target his father. An officer said police have NCP’s Baba Siddique was shot dead on October 12 found photographs of Zeeshan and his vehicle number on the snapchat account used by one of the accused. When questioned about it, the accused told them that they were asked to kill either the father or son. “During theirrecce,theyfoundthatitwas easier to attack Baba Siddique in the 200-metre stretch when he walked to and from his vehicle,” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Consent presumed: Experts clear new plan for cornea donation in hospital deaths ANONNA DUTT NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 19 THE UNION Health Ministry is considering an “opt-out” method of cornea donation, whereby anyone who dies at a hospital will be presumed to be a cornea donor unless they register their dissent, according to the minutes of a meeting of experts with the Union Director General of Health Services. At present, India follows an opt-in system for harvesting any organ — including tissue like cornea — from deceased donors, meaning the patient and their family members haveto provide their consent to the donation. “Experts were of the opinion that the opt-out method — where everyone who dies in a hospital is presumed to be a donor — is likely to increase the numberof cornealdonation.This suggestionhasbeenacceptedinprinciple” said an official. The official added that the proposal is being considered by legalteamsasthiswouldrequire changing the current law governing organ and tissue transplantation in the country. The move is aimed towards increasing the availability to corneas or the dome-shaped front layer of the eye. Patients with damaged cornea — bulging outward, thinning, tearing, swelling, ulcers, and complications from previous surgeries — require cornea transplant to relieve symptoms and restore vision. An estimated 2 lakh corneas are needed each year in E E X P L A I NE D PAGE 1 ANCHOR An estimated 2 lakh corneas are needed each year in India with only 50% of the demand being met. File Advantage ● cornea CORNEAS ARE identified for “opt-out” consent because: it doesn’t need blood supply so can be harvested even 6 hours after death; not key in medico-legal cases; easy to harvest; and removal does not change facial features. India with only 50% of the demand being met. One of the experts consulted is Radhika Tandon, professor of ophthalmology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. “From the point of view of medical professionals and those waiting forcorneatransplant,an opt-out method is beneficial,” said Tandon, “because it is likely to increase the number of donations while preserving the autonomy of the deceased and their family members by allowing them the choice to opt out. But, of course, people may be hesitant or emotional about the issue, that needs to be looked into. In any case, this would require a change in the law.” There are several reasons why the government is consideringaseparatepolicyforcornea donation as compared to the opt-in method followed for donation of other organs. One, cornea is a tissue that does not need blood supply unlikeotherorgansandcanbeharvesteduptosixhoursafterdeath. Two, cornea can be easily harvested by technicians even at CONTINUED ON PAGE 2