FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms Vol. XLII No. 199 | INDORE | THURSDAY | DECEMBER 25, 2025 | Pages 18 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. 38281/83 FREE www.freepressjournal.in Sports Bihar batting blitz shatters World Record P.16 ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: INDORE UJJAIN MONEY PRESS PUNE BHOPAL NASHIK MUMBAI E-paper Edit Trade deals, the way forward P.12 UNION BUDGET FY26-27 SHOULD PRIORITISE WIDENING TAX BASE Cinema Red-hot Christmas glam P.15 MINISTERS FALTER| Two years on, performance audit exposes missing ministerial reports and weak departmental grip. Oppn cites fertiliser crisis, land demarcation delays & officer dominance as key failures Kansana, Panwar, Nagar fail to file reports, ministers under scanner Nitendra Sharma UNDERPERFORMERS LAGGING Aidal Singh Kansana (Agriculture), Nagar Singh Chouhan (SC Welfare), and Karan Singh Verma (Revenue) have shown little impact in their departments. Narayan Singh Panwar, Narayan Singh Kushwaha, Inder Singh Parmar, Dileep Jaiswal, and Krishna Gaur have not delivered significant departmental outcomes. does not regularly review the functioning of the department, and such a severe shortage of fertiliser has occurred in the state this year. The performance of the Minister for SC Welfare, Nagar Singh Chouhan, was not visible. He has not shown much interest in the department in the past two years. Since the day Chouhan was deprived of the Forest and Environment Department, he has been taking care of only the SC Welfare Department, but he has not done anything out of the ordinary. Revenue Minister Karan Singh Verma was in the cabinet earlier. Although there are BHOPAL Twenty-eight ministers took oath on December 25, 2023. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav completed two years in office on December 13, but other ministers are doing so on Thursday. The ministers are presenting their performance reports following instructions from the state government. But there are a few ministers who have failed to present their performance report. Agriculture Minister Aidal Singh Kansana has yet to lay hold of his department. He claims that the revenue department is improving, the ground reality tells a different tale. The people are facing problems in getting their lands demarcated and divided. Similarly, the Fishermen’s Welfare Department of Narayan Singh Panwar is in the grip of officers. Panwar takes more interest in his constituency than the department. So, his performance has not been up to the mark. Among other ministers, Narayan Singh Kushwaha, Inder Singh Parmar, Dileep Jaiswal, and Krishna Gaur have not done anything special. CAUGHT IN ROW few ministers have courted controversies in two years. The Minister for the Tribal Welfare Department, Vijay Shah, raised controversies by issuing statements. His remark on Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Ladli Behna kicked up a dust. Minister of State Narendra Shivaji Patel also hogged the limelight because of disputes. Whether it was related to creating a ruckus in a res- A taurant in Gwalior or threatening the cops at a police station, Patel drew attention. Similarly, the minister of state Pratima Bagri hogged the limelight for her brother’s involvement in ganja trafficking and for demanding a probe into a road construction. Deputy Chief Minister Jagdish Devda and Minister Govind Singh Rajput have also been in discussion for raising disputes. Three new airlines poised for take-off Dhairya Gajara MUMBAI ISRO’s Bahubali puts six-tonne sat in orbit PTI SRIHARIKOTA In a historic Christmas Eve mission, ISRO on Wednesday successfully launched a 6,100 kg US communication satellite, the heaviest ever placed into orbit by an Indian launch vehicle, marking a major milestone for the country’s space programme. The LVM3-M6 rocket, nicknamed ‘Bahubali’ for its heavy-lift capability, lifted off at 8.55 am from the second launch pad at Sriharikota after a 24-hour countdown. After a flight of about 15 minutes, the BlueBird Block-2 satellite was successfully separated from the launch vehicle and injected into its intended orbit, triggering celebrations at the Mission Control Centre. 4Continued on | P8 Heaviest ever launch ISRO launch vehicle LVM3-M6 lifts off from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, on Wednesday, carrying the BlueBird Block-2 communication satellite of AST SpaceMobile, US. Russia plans N-power plant on moon by 2036 Agencies MOSCOW Russia plans to put a nuclear power plant on the moon in the next decade to supply its lunar space programme and a joint Russian-Chinese research station, as major powers rush to explore the earth's only natural satellite. Ever since Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to go into space in 1961, Russia has prided itself as a leading power in space exploration, but in recent decades it has BRASILIA/NEW DELHI Lula likely to visit India Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva may visit India end-January or early-February 2026 to boost ties in trade, investment and defence. fallen behind the United States and increasingly China, Reuters reports. Russia's ambitions suffered a massive blow in August 2023 when its unmanned Luna-25 mission smashed into the surface of the moon while attempting to land, and Elon Musk has revolutionised the launch of space vehicles, once a Russian speciality. Russia's state space corporation, Roscosmos, said in a statement that it planned to build a lunar power plant by 2036. 4Continued on | P8 Shah to attend Abhyudaya MP Growth Summit today Co-op banks weakened by fake farmer loan waiver: Sarang Our Staff Reporter Rs 300 cr aid given, says min BHOPAL/GWALIOR Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Union Home Minister Amit Shah will attend Abhyudaya Madhya Pradesh Growth Summit in Gwalior on Thursday, coinciding with the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. CM Mohan Yadav will also be present on the occasion. During the programme, incentives will be offered to investors under the Industrial Promotion Policy, and land will be allocated for investment proposals exceeding Rs 2 lakh crore. Dedication and foundation stones will be laid for industrial projects worth more than Rs 10,000 crore. The summit theme, “Nivesh Se Rojgar – Atal Sankalp, Ujjawal Madhya Pradesh”, aims to set a new direction for development in the state. Representatives of major industrial houses such as Godrej Industries, Gautam Solar, JK Tyre, Torrent Power and Dabur India are expected to attend. Rewa farmers’ convention: Union Home Minister Amit Shah and CM Mohan Yadav will visit Rewa on Thursday to attend a farmers’ convention. Cooperative and Sports Minister Vishwas Sarang said cooperative societies became financially weak due to fake farmer loan waivers carried out by former 15-month-old Congress government. To help cooperative banks recover, the BJP-led state government provided Rs 300 crore, distributed among six cooperative banks at an average of Rs 50 crore each. This doubled their loan distribution capacity to Rs 600 FUTURE PLANS KHELO MP YOUTH GAMES 2025: Scheduled from January 10–31; participants will get priority for state team selection. SPORTS TOURISM: Initiatives underway to promote sports tourism and boost the state economy. crore. Sarang was speaking to media while presenting two years’ achievements of cooperative and sports departments on Wednesday. He said that farmers have been adversely affected by scams or irregularities by officials. 4Continued on | P8 CAT 2025 result declared: 12 candidates score 100%ile PERCENTILE NO. OF STUDENTS 100 12 26 99.99 (2 from MP) 26 99.98 (2 from MP) INDORE STUDENT DEVAL MAHESHWARI was among two state toppers with an outstanding 99.99 percentile. A large number of candidates from Indore also crossed the 99 percentile mark, raising hopes of Deval Maheswari calls from premier IIMs. Merry Christmas Young girls celebrate at Red Church in Indore on Wednesday night Tea, oath & an assassination in Iran: Nitin Gadkari recalls FP News Service MUMBAI Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has offered a chilling, almost cinematic account of how he brushed past one of the Middle East’s most audacious assassinations— hours before it happened. Speaking at a book launch “My Idea of Nation First: Redefining Unalloyed Nationalism” by Uday Mahurkar  on Wednesday in New Delhi, Gadkari revealed that he had crossed paths with Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, shortly before Haniyeh was killed inside what was supposed to be one of Iran’s most secure military facilities. Gadkari said his presence in Iran was at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who asked him to represent India at the swearing-in ceremony of Iran’s newly elected President Masoud Pezeshkian. The trip, intended to be a routine diplomatic engagement, took a dramatic turn even before the formalities Nothing seemed amiss during the swearing-in. Hours later, atmosphere changed abruptly Gadkari & Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh began. On the eve of the ceremony, Gadkari recalled being at a five-star hotel in Tehran where world leaders and senior dignitaries had gathered informally over tea and coffee. Amid presidents, prime ministers and ministers, one figure stood out—not because he led a nation, but because he led a cause. That man was Haniyeh. 4Continued on | P8 Patwari slams Sarang Congress State President Jitu Patwari criticised Minister Vishwas Sarang for calling farmers under the Rs 2 lakh loan waiver “fake”. Patwari said 26 lakh farmers benefited under Kamal Nath’s scheme and demanded that Sarang apologise to the farmers for his remarks in the Assembly. The Indian aviation sector is set to expand soon as three new airlines are set to enter the commercial passenger aviation industry and dismantle the current duopoly in India’s domestic skies. After Shankh Air, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has granted no objection certificates (NOCs) to two more aspiring airlines, including Alhind Air and FlyExpress. The Indian aviation sector is set for expansion as three new airlines prepare to enter the commercial passenger market, challenging the current duopoly in domestic skies. After Shankh Air, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has granted no objection certificates (NOCs) to two more aspiring carriers, Alhind Air and FlyExpress On Tuesday, Union Civil Avi- US: Arunachal is ‘core interest’ for China WASHINGTON, DC A Pentagon report submitted to the US Congress has highlighted China’s assertion that India’s Arunachal Pradesh falls under Beijing’s expanding list of “core interests.” The report situates this claim within China’s long-term national strategy of achieving the “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation” by 2049, with 2049 also marked as a centenary milestone of the People’s Republic. According to the document, China’s leadership has widened the definition of its “core interests” to cover Taiwan, maritime disputes in the South China Sea, the Senkaku Islands, and Arunachal Pradesh—India’s northeastern state. Chinese officials have portrayed the unification of contested territories, especially Taiwan, as a “natural requirement” for national reju- venation, aligning territorial consolidation with national identity and strategic ambition. The assessment outlines three non-negotiable “core interests” central to China’s rejuvenation: the continued control of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), sustained economic development, and the defence and expansion of China’s territorial and sovereignty claims. The report stresses that the CCP is highly sensitive to perceived threats to its rule, including domestic criticism or external narratives that challenge its legitimacy. Unfriendly political voices in Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Tibet, and Taiwan’s leadership are labelled by Beijing as “separatist elements” backed by “external forces,” viewed as unacceptable risks to party authority. 4Continued on | P8 ation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu announced that the ministry has granted NOCs to both airlines, while Shankh Air has received the NOC earlier and is expected to commence operations early in 2026. The announcement comes at a critical time for the industry as recent massive operational disruptions at IndiGo, which saw over 4,500 flight cancellations earlier this month, have intensified calls for greater competition and more robust consumer choice. The three airlines will bring different regional focuses and business models to the table. The Noida-based Shankh Air’s key focus will be on flying regionally from Uttar Pradesh, which will also be the first scheduled full-service airline from the state. It plans to link Lucknow, Varanasi and Gorakhpur to major metros. 4Continued on | P8 NGT halts tree felling for 10-lane project till Jan 8 Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL National Green Tribunal (NGT), Central Zone Bench, has ordered an immediate stay on tree felling for the proposed 10-lane widening of Ayodhya Bypass Road in Bhopal until the next hearing on January 8, 2026. Order came during a special hearing held on Wednesday. The bench comprising Justice Pushpa Satyanarayana and Expert Member Sudhir Kumar Chaturvedi heard the matter. Project involves widening a 16-km stretch from Asaram Tiraaha to Ratnagiri Tiraaha, which may require felling 8,000–12,000 trees. Over 1,500 trees have already been cut by NHAI. 4Continued on | P8 RAINING RUNS The first day of the 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy saw records falling like nine pins as swashbuckling batsmen went on a run riot on Wednesday. VIRAT KOHLI Playing for Delhi against Andhra, Kohli (131) scored 58th ListA ton to pip Sachin Tendulkar as the fastest player to reach 16,000 runs in the format. He took 330 innings against Tendulakar's 391. VAIBHAV SURYAVANSHI With a massive 190 against Arunachal, the 14-year-old Bihar sensation became the youngest ListA centurion (off 36 balls) and smashed AB de Villiers' 64ball record to reach 150 in 59 deliveries. ROHIT SHARMA The Mumbai star smashed 155 against Sikkim to hit his ninth 150+ score in the format and equal David Warner's record. ISHAN KISHAN The Jharkhand skipper (125) narrowly lost the record to Gani after hitting a 100 in 33 balls against Karnataka. SAKIBUL GANI The Bihar captain (128 not out) hit the fastest List-A century by an Indian, reaching the threefigure mark in 32 balls. SEE SPORTS