FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms Vol. XLI No. 276 | INDORE | FRIDAY | MARCH 14, 2025 | Pages 14 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. 38281/83 FREE www.freepressjournal.in EDITIONS: PRESS ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE INDORE UJJAIN PUNE MONEY Sports Creators should take India story to world: Piyush Goyal India’s paralympic powerhouse P.12 CM approves two wildlife sanctuaries In Omkareshwar & Jahangarh Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said that for conservation of wildlife, two wildlife sanctuaries will be established in Omkareshwar and Jahangarh. He gave approval to both wildlife sanctuaries during the 28th meeting of State Wildlife Board held at Samatava Bhawan at CM House on Thursday. Rhino, giraffe in offing The CM directed to search the possibilities to bring rhino from Kaziranga National Park of Assam and to bring giraffe from South Africa. He also said to take care of all kind of wild animals whether they are terrestrial, aquatic or birds. He said that Omkareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary will be developed on 614.0709 square km forest area situated close to Dewas and Khandwa district. Likewise, Jahangarh Wildlife Sanctuary will be developed on 6.328 square km area in Sheopur district. 4Continued on | P8 BHOPAL HINDI VS TAMIL | Move comes amidst political firestorm after Tamil Nadu government rejected National Education Policy TN govt changes ` symbol with Tamil letter in budget PTI RUPEE SYMBOL CREATOR REFUSES TO BE DRAWN INTO CONTROVERSY CHENNAI Intensifying the language tussle with the Centre, the Tamil Nadu government on Thursday replaced the Devanagari rupee symbol with a Tamil letter in its logo for the budget 2025-26, in an unprecedented move signalling its unrelenting stance against the three-language formula under the NEP. The move comes amidst a political firestorm over the issue after the Tamil Nadu government rejected the National Education Policy with Chief Minister M K Stalin accusing the Central government of trying to impose Hindi in the state under it and claimed that NEP was a "saffron policy" aimed at promoting and developing Hindi and not the nation. The DMK has also asserted that Tamil Nadu IIT Guwahati Professor D Udaya Kumar, who had designed the Indian rupee symbol, on Thursday refused to be drawn into the controversy over language and said it is a mere coincidence that his father was a DMK MLA. "I don't have any reaction. It's the government which suddenly felt that there was a need for a change and they wanted to implement their own script. This is up to the state government. So, I don't have anything to say about that. It's entirely up to the government," Kumar said. FM: Promotes secessionist sentiments DMK-led Tamil Nadu government move to replace the rupee symbol signals a dangerous mindset that weakens Indian unity and promotes secessionist sentiments under the pretence of regional pride, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said would not tolerate 'Hindi colonialism' replacing British colonialism, while the Union government has accused the state government of being "dishonest" and "ruining the future of the students" in the state for politics. The logo for the budget, released by the government on Thursday, carried 'ru', the first letter of the Tamil word 'Rubaai', which denotes the Indian currency in the vernacular language. Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu is scheduled to table the budget on Friday. The logo also had the caption "everything for all", indicating the ruling DMK's assurance of an inclusive governance model. Eight killed, two injured as gas tanker hits two vehicles FP News Service Political slugfest The symbol change triggered a political slugfest, with the BJP leaders attacking the DMK, and the ruling party members asking if any rule barred such a depiction. DMK MLA Ezhilan Naganathan justified the move and said there was nothing wrong with using the mother tongue. Slamming the Stalin government's move, BJP TN chief K Annamalai asked the chief minister how stupid he could be to do it. 4Continued on | P8 Prez approves filing of FIR against Sisodia, Satyendar Jain PTI DHAR/ BADNAWAR NEW DELHI fp Briefs NEW DELHI Brook banned for 2 seasons after IPL pullout England batter Harry Brook has been handed a two-season ban from the Indian Premier League (IPL) following his lastminute withdrawal from the 2025 edition.This decision, enforced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), highlights the league's stringent rules regarding player availability. The BCCI's decision sends a clear message to international players about the importance of adhering to IPL commitments. HOLIDAY NOTICE The Free Press offices will be closed on Friday on account of Holi and there will be no edition on Saturday. Readers can keep abreast with happenings across the globe through www. freepressjournal.in Eight persons were killed and two others injured after a gas tanker collided with two fourwheelers (car and jeep) in Dhar district, police said on Thursday. As per reports, the incident took place around 11 pm on Wednesday when the gas tanker was heading from the wrong side on a road near Bamansuta village on BadnawarUjjain highway. It hit a car and a jeep coming from the opposite direction, Dhar SP Manoj Kumar Singh said. Four persons died on the spot, while four others succumbed to injuries later in hospital, he said. After receiving information, senior officials reached the spot President Droupadi Murmu has given her approval for the registration of an FIR against AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain in an alleged scam of Rs 1,300 CLASSROOM 'SCAM' Car destroyed due to impact of collision. FP Photo to launch the rescue operation. Locals helped in the operation during which trapped persons were pulled out of the vehicles using a crane, the SP said. The injured persons were admitted to a hospital in neighbouring Ratlam district, he said. Among the deceased were four occupants of the car and four travelling in the jeep, according to police. The victims belong to Ratlam, Mandsaur (in MP) and Jodhpur (Rajasthan) districts, the SP said. The truck driver fled from the spot after the accident. crore in the construction of classrooms in Delhi government schools, sources said. In 2022, the Delhi government's vigilance directorate recommended a probe into the alleged scam and submitted a report to the chief secretary. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 happy holi ‘81.35 crore to continue getting free foodgrains’ IANS The government has decided to continue to provide free foodgrains to about 81.35 crore beneficiaries for a period of five years from January 1, 2024, with an estimated financial outlay of Rs 11.80 lakh crore, show official documents. The Public Distribution System (PDS) is implemented under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013 in all States/UTs. The Act provides coverage up to 75 per cent of the rural population and up to 50 per cent of the urban population for receiving foodgrains. E-paper Edit Happy days for Internet users P.6 Cinema Pooja’s Holi nostalgia P.14 Extortion rampant at border check posts: Singhar Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar launched a scathing attack on the government, alleging that extortion continues unchecked at transport check posts on state borders. He claimed that agents are collecting money in exchange for allowing unauthorised vehicle passage. Singhar made these remarks while speaking on the vote of thanks motion for the Governor’s address in the assembly on Thursday. Criticising the government on industrialisation and development issues, Singhar said that authorities have stopped maintaining records of unemployed youth on the MP Employment Portal. He said that the state ranks fourth in malnutrition, as per the National Family Health Survey, and over three lakh complaints remain unresolved on the CM Helpline. He said that Madhya Pradesh ranks second in the hunger index after Bihar and has nearly 80,000 to 90,000 vacant posts in various departments. He also highlighted discrepancies in government announcements, stating that while the Governor spoke about providing electricity connections to farmers for Rs 5, this assurance was notably absent from the Finance Minister’s speech. Chief minister Mohan Yadav addressing media persons in Vidhan Sabha on Thursday. BJP state president VD Sharma, MLA Bhagwandas Sabnani were also present. Wheat MSP to be Rs 2,700 per quintal next year: Yadav Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has said the government is procuring wheat at Rs 2,600 a quintal now, but the farmers will get Rs 2,700 a quintal next year. Yadav made the statement in the House on Thursday when he was replying to the Governor’s address. After the formation of MP in 1956, the Congress was in power up to 2003, but the BJP government did much more development works than the Congress, Yadav said. It was during the Congress rule that all the factories, which were in operation in the state before the independence, were closed; and the present government is paying each and every penny to the workers of those closed mills, Yadav said. He said the government was finding a solution to the problem of quota PTI NEW DELHI A British woman was allegedly raped and molested by two men at a hotel in Delhi's Mahipalpur area, a police official said on Thursday. Police have arrested both men and informed the British High Commission about the incident that happened on Tuesday night. The British national came to India a month ago and stayed in Maharashtra for some time, before travelling to Goa. On Tuesday, she came to Delhi allegedly to meet the 24-yearold Kailash who had befriended her on Instagram recently, a senior official said. AP Our Staff Reporter technologies, providing infrastructure and support to startups and researchers working on medical devices, diagnostics, biotechnology and digital health solutions. The goal is to translate lab discoveries into real-world applications that can revolutionise healthcare in India and beyond. IIT Indore's selection as a TTRP host reflects its growing prominence in healthcare technology research. The institution has been actively involved in biomedical engineering, AI-driven diagnostics and medical device development, making it a natural choice for spearheading healthcare-focused translational research. With government backing and industry partnerships, the research park is ex- pected to attract both domestic and global investors, fostering an environment where deep-tech startups can thrive. Apart from IIT Indore, three other institutions—IIT Kanpur (cybersecurity), IISc Bangalore (robotics & autonomous navigation), and ISM Dhanbad (mining)—will also establish similar technology parks. These hubs are designed to bridge the gap between research and commercialisation, ensuring that India’s advancements in science and technology translate into impactful realworld solutions. Congressmen killed tigers and ate them After Bhopal and Indore, Jabalpur and Gwalior will also be made metro cities in promotion of employees. “If we get the support of everyone, we will find a way out,” he said. If there are promotions, there will be vacancies in lower positions, so the government will be able to recruit fresh candidates, he said. 4Continued on | P8 Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that he agrees in principle with a US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, but he emphasised that the terms are yet to be worked out and noted that any truce should pave the way to lasting peace. "The idea itself is correct, and we certainly support it," Putin told a news conference in Moscow. "But there are issues that we need to discuss, and I think that we need to talk about it with our American colleagues and partners and, perhaps, have a call with President Trump and discuss it with him." President Donald Trump said there have been "good signals" coming out of Russia and offered guarded optimism about Putin's statement. He reiterated that he stood ready to speak with Putin and underscored that it was time to end the war. Putin "put out a very prom- She was allegedly first molested by a housekeeping staff in the hotel's lift. Later, she met Kailash who allegedly raped her in a hotel room, he said. "Separate cases have been registered in both matters. They are not related to each other," Deputy Commissioner of Police (South West) Surendra Chaudhary said. She visited a hospital on Wednesday and police were then informed about the incident, a police officer said. 4Continued on | P8 ISRO achieves de-docking of SpaDeX satellites PTI NEW DELHI MOSCOW INDORE CMSPEAK Government is finding solution to quota in promotion BRITISH WOMAN RAPED IN DELHI HOTEL; TWO HELD Emphasises that terms are yet to be worked out IIT-I to lead healthcare with New Tech Park startups and strengthening industry-academia collaboration. The research park at IIT Indore will serve as a hub for cutting-edge healthcare MUMBAI PUTIN AGREES IN PRINCIPLE WITH CEASEFIRE PLAN NEW DELHI offgrid In a major boost to India’s deep-tech ecosystem, Indian Institute of Technology Indore has been selected for new Technology Translation Research Park (TTRP), focusing on healthcare innovations. It is among one of the four premier institutions to house TTRP on its campuses. The announcement was made by union minister Dr Jitendra Singh during a high-level review meeting aimed at fostering deep-tech NASHIK TRUMP ENVOY IN MOSCOW US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived at Moscow's Vnukovo airport on Thursday, Russian state media reported. The Gulfstream G650 jet plane had taken off from Doha's Hamad International Airport and around 8:40 GMT, entered Russian airspace from the direction of Latvia, TASS reported citing flightrader tracking data. ising statement, but it wasn't complete," Trump said Thursday at a start of a meeting at the White House with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. "Now we're going to see whether or not Russia's there. 4Continued on | P8 ISRO on Thursday said it has accomplished de-docking of the SpaDeX satellites, clearing the way for future missions such as exploring the moon, human spaceflight, and building its own space station. Union Minister Jitendra Singh announced the successful de-docking of satellites in a post on X. "SpaDeX satellites accomplished the unbelievable dedocking. This paves the way for smooth conduct of ambitious future missions including the Bharatiya Antriksha Station, Chandrayaan 4 & Gaganyaan," Singh said. "Congrats team ISRO. And heartening for every Indian," he said. Singh said Prime Minster Narendra Modi's continuous patronage keeps the spirits soaring. The SpaDeX mission was launched on December 30 last year when the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) placed in orbit two satellites -SDX01 and SDX02 -- to demonstrate the docking experiment in space. After several attempts, the space agency successfully docked the two satellites on January 16.