THE SUNDAY INTERNATIONAL CHESS DAY Vol. 36 No. 43 | Sunday, July 20, 2025 28 Pages | `5 & for State `6 | Reg. No. MCS/048/2021-23; RNI No. 46955/1988 M.p.c.s. office Mumbai-400001 FREE PRESS JOURNAL INDIA EDITION | www.freepressjournal.in ● Leader in E-paper circulation WEEKEND Weekend What does the Tiranga really mean to Gen Z? Play & Pause Anuvab Pal on his upcoming workshop Shagun Sodhi shares her journey as a professional playback singer Sunday Read Naseer@75: Ketan Mehta on working with him NEW CLAIM | US President makes unsubstantiated remarks without clarifying either the make of the aircraft or the countries they belonged to ‘Five jets were shot down during India-Pak conflict’ FPJ News Service MUMBAI BJP, Cong, spar over downed jets Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar NEW DELHI Air Force (IAF) aircraft, terming it “absolutely incorrect”. He told Bloomberg TV which had asked him “whether or not Pakistan downed an Indian jet or in fact more than that”. “I think what is important is not jet being down but why..,” he responded. Pressed if he meant IAF jets were indeed downed to which he responded saying he was talking about why “they” were downed. 4Contd on | Nation Superdam Much gas in EU’s construction oil sanction threat underway PTI BEIJING China on Saturday formally started the construction of a $167.8 billion dam over the Brahmaputra River in Tibet, close to the Indian border in Arunachal Pradesh. The hydropower project, regarded as the biggest infrastructure project in the world, raised concerns in the lower riparian countries, India and Bangladesh. Chinese Premier Li Qiang announced the start of the construction of the dam at a groundbreaking ceremony in the lower reaches of the Brahmaputra River, locally known as Yarlung Zangbo, at Nyingchi City, official media reported. The groundbreaking ceremony took place at the dam site of Nyingchi's Mainling hydropower station in Tibet Autonomous Region, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. The project will consist of five cascade hydropower stations, with a total investment estimated at around 1.2 trillion Yuan (about $167.8 billion), the report said. According to a 2023 report, the hydropower station is expected to generate more than 300 billion kWh of electricity 4Contd on | Nation Ashwin Ahmad NEW DELHI India has reacted strongly to the sanctions announced by the European Union preventing countries from importing oil and gas from Russia. The sanctions package which is the 18th round of sanctions imposed by the 27-member bloc, targets Russia’s shadow fleet, Chinese banks that enable sanctions, and an Indian oil refinery. Located in Gujarat, Nayara Energy owns Vadinar oil refinery that has Russia’s energy giant Rosneft as the main shareholder. According to Reuters, Rosneft has a 49.13% stake in the refinery. Describing the sanctions as one of the “strongest sanctions package against Russia to date,” Kaja Kallas, the EU High Representative for For- eign Affairs and Security Policy, also announced that the dynamic price cap on Russian oil set 15 percent below the average market price of Russian crude, effectively lowering the cap from $60 per barrel, to about $47.6. “For the first time, we’re designating a flag registry and the biggest Rosneft refinery in India. We will keep raising the costs, so stopping the aggression becomes the only path forward for Moscow,” said Kallas. Ministry of external affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal released a statement which stated that “India does not subscribe to any unilateral sanction measures. We are a responsible actor and remain fully committed to our legal obligations.” 4Contd on | Nation name of India nor said that those five planes belonged to India. Then why did the prince of Congress accept him as belonging to India? Why did he not accept him as belonging to Pakistan? Does he sympathise more with Pakistan than his own country?" Malviya added that, "The truth is that Pakistan has not yet recovered from Operation Sindoor... but Rahul Gandhi is in pain! Whenever the country's army teaches a lesson to the enemy, Congress gets irritated. Anti-India sentiment is no longer a habit of Congress, it has become its identity. Rahul Gandhi should make it clear - is he an Indian or a spokesperson of Pakistan?" 4Contd on | Nation S Balakrishnan MUMBAI FPJ News Service WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday ridiculed BRICS referring to it as “a little group that's fading out fast” as he repeated his threat to slap a 10% tariff on imports from members of the BRICS group of developing nations and said the group would end very quickly if they ever formed in a meaningful way. Incidentally, India is taking over the leadership of the grouping for the year next year. Trump claimed that "nobody showed up" at the BRICS meeting a day after he threatened to slap 10% tariffs. "When I heard about this group from BRICS, six countries, basically, I hit them very, very hard. And if they ever really form in a meaningful way, it will end very quickly," Trump said without naming the countries. "We can never let anyone play games with us." The BRICS group expanded last year beyond Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to include members such as Iran and Indonesia. 4Contd on | Nation The crisis brewing within the Sangh Parivar following RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's recent remark that those who attain 75 years of age should make way for others has taken a new turn with senior BJP M.P. Nishikant Dubey claiming that minus PM Modi the BJP will not win even 150 seats in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. Dubey, who is a four-time M.P. from Godda in Jharkhand, is known to have a powerful political antenna with close proximity to the powers that be in Delhi and his claim made during a pod interview given to news agency ANI appears to be a direct counter to Bhagwat's remark. Modi is turning 75 coming September and Bhagwat's observation is widely perceived to be aimed at the PM. Dubey said Modi should continue for several more years. “As long as his body permits we will need his leadership to achieve our goal of a developed India by 2047," he said, referring to the PM. Dubey's statement is a clear indication that Modi has no plan to step down when he attains 75 years. Sources in the RSS said Modi may be allowed to continue in office till Vijaydashami (October 2, 2025) scrutiny, poses long-term fiscal risks, according to recent disclosures in the state legislature. During the just-concluded Monsoon session, two crucial documents were tabled: the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report for 2022-23 and a statement detailing state guarantees for loans raised by various state undertakings. Both highlight the growing re- Ravikiran Deshmukh MUMBAI A troubling financial pattern is emerging in Maharashtra, where off-budget borrowings—intended to fund infrastructure and development—are increasingly being used to repay previous loans and clear arrears. This cycle of debt to service debt, bypassing legislative liance on loans not for capital creation, but for debt servicing—a trend that experts warn is fiscally unsustainable. The CAG report reveals that the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) raised ₹3,500 crore from HUDCO for land acquisi- tion for the Pune Ring Road and another ₹2,140 crore for the Jalna-Nanded Expressway connector. These were funded through HUDCO, a central government entity. More strikingly, MSRDC Tunnels Ltd borrowed ₹17,500 crore from the Rural Electrifi- Bengaluru vendors hide scanners, demand cash ED summons Meta, Google FPJ News Service MUMBAI The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned representatives of tech giants Meta and Google in connection with a money laundering investigation into several illegal online betting platforms, official sources said on Saturday. The executives have been asked to appear before the agency in New Delhi on July 21 to record their statements under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources added. There was no immediate response from either company. Off-budget borrowings now fuel loan repayments and arrears, warns CAG Vinay Madhava Gowda The art world’s favourite fruit snack is back in the headlines — and yes, it’s been eaten. Again. A cheeky visitor to the Pompidou-Metz museum in France took a literal bite out of Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan’s conceptual pièce de résistance: a banana duct-taped to a wall, famously titled Comedian. The banana, which last sold for a very ripe $6.2 million to crypto mogul Justin Sun, met its untimely demise last Satur- 4Contd on | Nation 4Contd on | Nation Hungry museum-goer devours fruit worth $6.2 mn, skipping the duct tape garnish. day when the unnamed guest decided art was best served fresh. Fortunately, the museum’s security staff swiftly intervened — no fruit fight ensued — and the banana was “reinstalled within minutes,” as per Cattelan’s own rotatable banana protocol. The artist, clearly disappointed by the diner’s lack cation Corporation (REC) for prepayment of existing debts and to complete the missing link in the Mumbai–Pune Expressway expansion. The state government has committed to provisioning repayments for these loans in the annual budget—effectively shifting private borrowings onto public shoulders. 4Continued on | P11 5th round of trade talks with US over PTI NEW DELHI votes Hon’ble @narendramodi — she doesn’t eat dhoklas & never will,” Moitra posted on X, triggering a fresh round of political barbs between the BJP and the TMC. India and the US teams have concluded the fifth round of talks for the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA) in Washington on July 17, an official said. The negotiations were held for four days (July 14-17) in Washington. "The Indian team is coming back," the official said. India's chief negotiator and special secretary in the Department of Commerce Rajesh Agrawal led the team for negotiations. These deliberations are important as both sides are looking at finalising an interim trade deal before August 1, which marks the end of the suspension period of Trump tariffs imposed on dozens of countries, including India (26 per cent). On April 2 this year, US President Donald Trump announced these high reciprocal tariffs. The implementation of high tariffs was immediately suspended for 90 days till July 9 and later until August 1, as America is negotiating trade deals with various countries. Issues related to agriculture and automobiles are learnt to have figured during the fifth round of negotiations. Matters related to ways to deal with non-market economies, and SCOMET (Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment, and Technologies) also came up for discussion. 4Contd on | Nation 4Contd on | Nation Street vendors and small traders across Bengaluru have abruptly stopped accepting UPI payments and are insisting on cash transactions after the Commercial Tax Department issued notices to over 14,000 individuals whose digital transactions crossed ₹40 lakh annually. In the initial crackdown, over 5,500 traders—including petty shop owners, vegetable vendors, and bakery operators—received notices demanding 18% Goods and Services Tax (GST) on their total UPI transaction value. Fearing heavy tax burdens, many vendors are now discreetly removing QR scanners from their stalls and urging customers to pay in cash, reverting to pre-UPI practices. 4Contd on | Nation Comedian’s laugh gag: Banana art eaten again No Dhokla for Kali, MUMBAI when the Sangh will complete 100 years of its founding and after which the 75 years rule will be applied. Though many in the BJP are not in alignment with Dubey's assertions, they feel that the open defiance of Bhagwat's suggestion will not be taken kindly by the rank and file of the Sangh Parivar. ``Discipline is at the core of our organisation. And everybody should fall in line, however high the office they are holding," an RSS observer noted. BENGALURU going bananas FPJ News Service Dubey’s statement is a clear indication that Modi has no plan to step down when he attains 75 years. MAHARASHTRA SINKS DEEPER INTO DEBT An AI-generated image but refused to clarify their number or nature. Pakistan claimed it had shot down six Indian aircraft in air-to-air combat, including the French Rafale. India said it had downed “a few planes”, a claim that was refuted by Islamabad, even though the country acknowledged its air bases had suffered hits. India’s Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen Anil Chauhan admitted to fighter aircraft losses during Operation Sindoor but denied Pakistan’s claim that it downed six Indian The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and his party for playing up US President Donald Trump's remarks on five jets being downed during Operation Sindoor saying he nowhere mentioned that all these belonged to India. Earlier, tagging Trump's remarks at a dinner, Gandhi had asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "reveal the truth behind the five jets" adding that "the country has right to know". Reacting to this, BJP leader Amit Malviya charged that "Rahul Gandhi's mentality is that of a traitor. In his statement, Trump neither took the File pic A day after the United States State Department designated The Resistance front as a terrorist organisation, President Donald Trump has claimed that up to five fighter jets were shot down during the military conflict between India and Pakistan that followed the terrorist attack on Pahalgam. He did not specify the break up of the countries the jets belong to or their make. But he followed it up by saying he prevented the hostilites from escalating. He was making this claim the twenty fourth time in about seventy days. This time he made the remarks at a dinner with some Republican lawmakers at the White House, without clarifying which side’s planes he meant. “In fact, planes were being shot out of the air. Five, five, four or five, but I think five jets were shot down actually," Mr Trump said while talking about the conflict. India has conceded that it had lost jets during the conflict Little group Dubey sets PM cat fading out among RSS pigeons fast: Trump on BRICS of artistic digestion, sighed: “He should’ve eaten the peel and the tape too. That’s the full experience.” This is not the banana’s first brush with edible infamy. In 2019, performance artist David Datuna also couldn’t resist temptation and chomped down the fruit at Art Basel Miami, declaring himself simply “hungry.” A year later, Justin Sun bought it, posed with it, and then swallowed it — performance art or investment snack, you decide. 4Contd on | Nation says Mahua Moitra FPJ News Service MUMBAI Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Saturday took a biting dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for invoking Goddess Kali during his rally in West Bengal’s Durgapur a day earlier. Suggesting the gesture was a belated attempt to woo Bengali voters, Moitra taunted Modi’s cultural connect by saying, “She doesn’t eat dhoklas — and never will.” “Bit late in the day to start invoking Maa Kali for Bengali
