FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. 15 No. 98 | BHOPAL | SUNDAY | SEPTEMBER 21, 2025 | Pages 18 ` 4 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 www.freepressjournal.in Sports Shanaka fifty takes Lanka to 168/7 against Bangladesh P.16 ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: BHOPAL WORLD Russia’s large-scale attack on Ukraine kills 3, hurts dozens UJJAIN PUNE INDORE NASHIK Cinema Deepika begins King shoot P.15 GREAT AMERICAN DREAM TURNS TOO EXPENSIVE PTI ‘Engaging with US admin, IT industry to find way forward’ In a sudden move that will hugely impact skilled Indian professionals in the US, President Donald Trump has ordered a steep hike in the annual H-1B non-immigrant visa fee to USD 100,000. As the Presidential proclamation that takes effect at 12.01 am EDT on September 21 sparked panic and outcry, Immigration attorneys and companies asked the H-1B visa holders or their family members currently outside America for work or vacation to return within the next 24 hours or risk being stranded and denied entry into the US. There were reports of Indian professionals who were heading home for festivities disembarking from aircraft at the San Francisco International Airport after Trump's announcement to overhaul H-1B visa programme for highskilled foreign workers. Trump on Friday signed the proclamation 'Restriction on entry of certain nonimmigrant workers', saying the abuse of the H-1B visa programme is a "national security threat", a decision that came as a rude shock to Indian and American technology companies and also caused uncertainty to foreign fp Briefs GUWAHATI Zubeen’s death to be probed Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said his government would conduct an inquiry into singer Zubeen Garg's death. The chief minister said that he has directed Director General of Police Harmeet Singh to transfer multiple FIRs lodged across the state over Garg's death to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and to register a consolidated case for a thorough investigation. MUMBAI Int’l cruise terminal open Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the Mumbai International Cruise Terminal virtually during the 'Samudra se Samriddhi' event in Bhavnagar, Gujarat, marking a major milestone for the Mumbai Port Authority (MbPA) and India's growing cruise tourism sector. NEW DELHI Army conducts ‘Amogh Fury’ The Sapta Shakti Command of the Indian Army conducted a major Integrated Fire Power Exercise, codenamed ‘Amogh Fury’, at the Mahajan Field Firing Ranges (MFFR) in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan. The Indian government is engaging with the IT industry and the US administration to find a way forward on H-1B issue, sources said on Saturday noting that the application fee increase hits American companies even harder as they are significant users of these visas for highlyskilled professionals. US President Donald Trump on Friday signed a proclamation that will raise the fee for H1-B visa applications to a steep USD 100,000 annually. The H1B visa fee ranges from about USD 2,000 to USD 5,000, depending on employer size and other costs. ‘Return within 24 hrs, don’t leave’ Nasscom urges » Meta advised its H-1B visa and H4 status holders to stay in the US for at least two weeks, "till practical applications" are understood, and asked those currently residing outside to consider returning within 24 hours » Microsoft, on the other hand, "strongly" asked its employees in the US to stay put to avoid denial of re-entry. It also asked the workers outside the country to "do best to return". » JP Morgan issued similar guidance to its global workforce, underscoring the disruption the policy is expected to cause » Amazon has also circulated a similar advisory, cautioning its H-1B and H-4 staff against international travel for now (See PG-7) professionals, especially in the Information Technology(IT) sector. Indians make up an estimated 71 per cent of all approved H-1B applications in recent years, according to US Citizenship and Immigration cos to bring staff back to US Nasscom has urged its member companies to urgently get their H-1B employees who are currently outside America, to return to the US, amid the tight one-day countdown to visa fee hike implementation, Shivendra Singh, Vice President of the apex industry body said on Saturday. Singh referred to the H-1B visa as a critical cog in the operations of both US and Indian companies Services (USCIS). China is the next biggest group. The Trump administration's action that will significantly affect Indian technology professionals who are hired by tech companies and others on H-1B visas comes at a time just as the India-US trade talks appeared to regain momentum. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal is expected to visit the US next week. Currently, the H-1B visa fee that companies pay to sponsor H1-B applicants ranges from about USD 2,000 to USD 5,000, E-paper Nation H-1B Visa cost will dampen demand P.7 VISA SHOCK | Trump announces $100,000 H-1B visa fee, citing abuse of visa programme a national security threat; hike to impact Indian professionals in US NEW YORK/WASHINGTON MUMBAI Crime Branch busts MD drug racket Three arrested in inter-state trafficking case Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL depending on employer size and other costs. The H-1B visas, which are very popular among Indian tech professionals, are valid for three years and can be renewed for another three years. Industry body Nasscom on Saturday said the US move will impact India's technology services companies as business continuity will be disrupted for onshore projects that may require "adjustments". The Indian apex body also flagged concerns over the September 21 timeline for implementation, saying a one-day deadline creates considerable uncertainty for businesses, professionals, and students across the world. The US move will impact Indian nationals that are on H-1B visas working for global and Indian companies, it said in a statement. The Indian government said this measure is likely to have humanitarian consequences by way of disruption for families. Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi described the H-1B visa fee hike as a "reckless attempt to cut America off from high-skilled workers who have long strengthened our workforce, fuelled innovation, and helped build industries that employ millions of Americans." Crime Branch on Saturday cracked an inter-state MD drug trafficking racket and arrested three persons with 56.96 grammes of MD powder. The total seizure, including vehicles, phones and equipment, is valued at around Rs 50 lakh, officials said. The accused were identified as Afzal Khan (32), a photo album maker from Devki Nagar; Kifayatullah Khan (51), a chicken shop owner from Agar Malwa; and Manzoor (37), a Rapido driver from Shahjahanabad. Afzal was caught with 22.45 grammes of MD and a motorcycle, while Kifayatullah had 31.21 grammes of MD, an Alto car, two mobile phones, and an electronic weighing scale. Based on their information, police later arrested Manzoor with 3.30 grammes of MD, a phone, and a motorcycle. During questioning, Afzal revealed he initially sourced the drug from his jailed friend Arbaaz in Indore. After Arbaaz’s arrest, he began dealing through Arbaaz’s father-in-law, Kifayatullah, who had brought the consignment from Rajasthan. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 India, Canada to work towards ‘new chapter’ PTI NEW DELHI India and Canada have agreed to adopt a collaborative approach towards a new chapter in bilateral ties, including working closely to combat terrorism and transnational crimes, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Saturday. National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and his Canadian counterpart Nathalie Drouin held wide-ranging talks in New Delhi on Thursday with a focus on repairing the bilateral relations that came under severe strain following a diplomatic spat over the killing of a Sikh separatist in 2023. The MEA came out with broad outcomes of the talks on Saturday. "The two sides agreed to WII seeks Rs 30L ‘From chip to ship, make it in India’ for snake census Amid tariff war, PM says, our biggest enemy is dependency on other nations Rajan Raikwar PTI BHOPAL BHAVNAGAR Now, it’s official as Madhya Pradesh is set to witness its firstever snake census. On the request of the forest department, the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has agreed to conduct the enumeration and has sought around Rs 30 lakh to undertake the exercise. A senior Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer toldFree Press that forest department will handle budgetary allocation for the census. The counting will be done randomly, focusing only on protected areas like national parks and tiger reserves, rather than the entire state. The WII team is expected to arrive in the state in October or shortly thereafter to begin work on what officials say is a first-ofits-kind project, possibly not just for India but globally. Wildlife enthusiasts are keen to learn what methodology will be adopted, given that snakes live in holes, behind rocks and even on trees, making them especially difficult to count. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said India's main adversary is its dependence on other nations as he made a strong pitch for "aatmanirbharta" and called for indigenous production of everything from semiconductor chips to ships. Speaking at the 'Samudra se Samruddhi' event, where he inaugurated and laid foundation stones of projects worth Rs 34,200 crore, Modi said all the problems of India have only one solution, and that is self-reliance. "India is moving forward with the spirit of global Idea born at IFS meet It was during the Indian Forest Service Meet held in January at Pandit Khushilal Ayurveda College that Chief Minister Mohan Yadav made a formal request to Union Forest Minister Bhupendra Yadav for a snake census in state. He believed it could also help reduce snake bite cases. This wasn't the first time CM Yadav had spoken about a snake census. In previous programmes held for various occasions, he had raised the same demand. He even suggested conducting a study on King Cobra presence, to find out whether the species ever existed in the state and to identify potential habitats suitable for its release. Forest dept to fund census Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife), L. Krishnamurthi, told Free Press that WII has provided a detailed estimate for the project. The forest department will include the required funds in its upcoming budget to support the initiative. How will snakes be counted? Former Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, JS Chouhan, expressed interest in the project's execution, saying, “I am eager to know about the methodology that they would be adopting to estimate the snake population. The snake population estimation has never been done in India, at least to the best of my knowledge.” In a heart-warming moment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi responded with a salute to a child who was saluting him during the roadshow in Bhavnagar on Saturday. brotherhood and India has no major enemy in the world today, but in true terms, India's biggest adversary is dependence on other nations," stated the Prime Min- ister, emphasising that this dependence must be collectively defeated. He said greater foreign dependence leads to greater national failure. "For global STF freezes Rs 250 crore, issues LOC against Lavish in fraud case Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Madhya Pradesh STF has taken strong action in a major investment fraud case by freezing over Rs 250 crore deposited across several company accounts. A Look Out Circular (LOC) has been issued against prime accused Nawab, alias Lavish Chaudhary, with process for an Interpol Blue Notice underway. The case was registered at STF Police Station, Bhopal, following a complaint by Eshan Saluja of Indore. Saluja alleged he was duped of Rs 20.18 lakh by YORKER FX and YORKER CAPITAL, which promised monthly assured returns of 6 to 8 percent through BOTBRO. The FIR was filed under sections of BNS, Chit Fund and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, and Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act. Investigations revealed five firms—Rainet Technology Pvt Ltd, Kindent Business Solution Pvt Ltd, NPay Box Pvt Ltd, Capter Money Solution Pvt Ltd, and Mool Business Solution Pvt Ltd—had suspicious transactions amounting to nearly Rs 3,200 crore. Of this, Rs 250 crore has been frozen. Nine accused, including directors of these companies, have been arrested -- Deepak Sharma, Madan Mohan, Mahboob Alam, Krishan Kumar Mohan, Ritesh Jha, Vijay Rawat, Manoranajan Rai, Rahul Yadav, and Pankaj Kumar Gunjan. 4Continued on | P8 offgrid Drones made by Satna boy pass test at army camp FP News Service SATNA A resident of the Kitaha area in the Satna district, Anshuman Shukla, has made two drones for the Indian Army to destroy the enemy. The drones passed the test on the campus of 609 EME Battalion, Meerut district, Uttar Pradesh.  Now, Anshuman is working on increasing their range. Besides Shukla, his two friends, Abhijit Patel and Akhilesh Singh Rathore, are also involved in the project. The Government of India has said Operation Sindoor is underway. The manufacturing of these drones is part of Operation Sindoor. One of the drones has been made to attack the enemies, and the other is for estimating the losses. Son of a contractor, Anil Shukla, Anshuman got the idea of making a drone from the Russia-Ukraine war. Anshuman is doing BE (mechanical) at the Institute of Engineering Technology, Indore. Anshuman and his friends handed over the project to Lieutenant Colonel of 609 Battalion, Nitin Verma. They completed the project from August 10 to September 5. They stayed at the army camp to complete the work. Both drones are equipped with the modern system. SIM cards have been in- stalled in both of them, and they can be activated from any part of the world with the help of short message service. Their maximum range is 20 km, but the range of present drones is just 5 km. Its velocity is 180 km an hour, Anshuman said, adding that after ruining the enemies, the drone will also destroy. 4Continued on | P8 peace, stability, and prosperity, the world's most populous country must become self-reliant," Modi said, and cautioned that reliance on others compromises national self-respect. "The future of 140 crore Indians cannot be left to external forces, nor can the resolve for national development be based on foreign dependence. The future of the coming generations cannot be left to others. If the country with a population of 140 crore is dependent on others, it compromises national self-respect," he added. 4Continued on | P8 NSA Ajit Doval with his Canadian counterpart Nathalie G. Drouin work closely on the way forward and adopt a collaborative approach towards a new chapter in bilateral relations," it said.In June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney on the margins of the G7 summit at Kananaskis in Canada. 4Continued on | P8 Cyberattack hits European airports AP BRUSSELS A cyberattack targeting check-in and boarding systems has snarled air traffic and caused delays at some of Europe's top airports, officials said on Saturday. The Brussels airport says the attack means that only manual check-in and boarding were possible there, and the incident was having a "large impact" on flight schedules. "There was a cyberattack on Friday night, 19 September, against the service provider for the check-in and boarding systems affecting several European airports, including Brussels Airport," it said in a statement. (See World) OP SINDOOR JeM, Hizbul shift bases from PoK to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa PTI NEW DELHI Pakistan-based terror groups Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) have begun relocating their bases to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province from Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir in the wake of India's Operation Sindoor, sources in the defence and military establishment said on Friday. The decision reflects a significant "tactical adaptation" by these groups, which now view Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) as vulnerable to Indian strikes, while KPK offers greater depth due to its proximity to the Afghan frontier, they said. Under Operation Sindoor, India destroyed terrorism centres in Bahawalpur, Muridke, Muzaffarabad and several other places. In response to the Pahalgam terror attack, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terrorist infrastructure in territories controlled by Pakistan. The strikes triggered four days of intense clashes that ended with an understanding on stopping the military actions on May 10. "The inputs indicate that this movement by the terror groups is being conducted with full awareness and direct facilitation of Pakistan's state structures," said one of the sources The sources also cited holding of JeM gatherings in certain places in Pakistan recently under police protection and the "tacit involvement" of political-religious outfits like Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI). 4Continued on | P8